Fifty Random Cooper Facts

Here are fifty random things about me, that you may or may not have known, and may or may not have wanted to know.

1. I have been to 37 of the 50 states, missing Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Washington. I have also been to Washington, DC.
2. From the ages of 9 to 14, I had the same shoe size as age.
3. In the sixth grade lunch line, a girl elbowed me in the stomach and I fainted. For another thirty minutes or so, my vision then seemed like a television receiving a static-filled signal.
4. Around the age of twelve, I gave into peer pressure and jumped off a high ledge into the Ohio River. I gashed my foot open on a rock and scratched up my back.
5. I have a dream of becoming a published author. I would actually love to be able to write full time instead of work in computers. I also think it would be great to be a songwriter.
6. My contacts have a prescription of approximately -8.00.
7. I've been pulled over for speeding 14 times and have been given 4 tickets. I was pulled over a 15th time for a burnt out headlight.
8. I eat macaroni and cheese with ketchup.
9. I was an underachiever in high school, and slacked my way to a 2.513 GPA. I did better in college.
10. I hate all fruit except bananas, tomatoes, and olives. I hate apples and yet like applesauce; oranges are one of my least favorite, and yet I drink orange juice, but not if it has much pulp.
11. I have moved residences 7 times and lived in 4 different states. Time totaled, I have lived in Minnesota the most (Minnesota: 10 total years, Ohio: 8, Pennsylvania: 4.5, Maine: 4).
12. My biggest pet peeve is smoking. I also rather dislike long hallways.
13. I fit into each of the categories of dork, geek, and nerd.
14. I am an optimist.
15. I am pigeon toed.
16. Related to the last one, every pair of shoes I’ve bought for the past decade has been a Nike from one of their outlet stores. My body is somehow a little screwed up and my feet need good support, and I find Nike to have better support in their sneakers than most others. Also, it is not always easy to find size 14 shoes in other shoe stores.
17. I took a year of piano lessons when I was younger. I also played baritone in the school band from 6th – 12th grade. I was never very good.
18. I’ve never had a drink of alcohol. Nor have I had a cigarette or any type of drug that was not in a medication or a carbonated beverage.
19. I’ve never had a broken bone.
20. I’ve never had a cavity.
21. I can count on one hand the number of times in my life I’ve slipped a profanity.
22. I have purchased and played several collectible card games included Magic: The Gathering, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Young Jedi, Jedi Knights, Rage, and Austin Powers. I have also played at least one game of Pokemon, X-Men, and Middle Earth. (I am also working on creating my own such card game, currently called Reclamation, based on the Bible.) I also love to play poker.
23. One day, my ten year old self and my fifteen year old brother decided to stack our small trampoline on the top of several wooden blocks, in an attempt to dunk the basketball hoop. He tried it first, and proceeded to break his wrist.
24. I’ve been to a doctor a total of two times (not including normal checkups): once for an ear infection and once for a 104 degree temperature.
25. I am a cat person, though my wife is allergic.
26. My favorite animals are large cats and sharks.
27. I almost never buy into conspiracy theories.
28. My best Scrabble word ever was “Gyration” – crossing over 2 triple words for 149 points. My best Scrabble game ever was 522 points.
29. I have only dated one woman, and I married her.
30. To clarify, I did have a “girlfriend” in high school for 3 weeks, but we never went on a date or saw each other outside of school. I was exceptionally nervous and shy.
31. By that time, I had become completely convinced that I was never going to get married.
32. Years later, I proposed to my then-girlfriend at a gazebo next to the lake in Albert Lea. The gazebo was decorated with roses and candles, and I read her a poem I am written for her.
33. I had taken out an additional student loan to pay for the ring.
34. My favorite pizza is from Pizza Hut. I love the stuffed crust.
35. I have only been to 2 other countries – Canada (which barely counts) and the Bahamas, for our honeymoon in 2006.
36. I have now built 2 of my computers instead of buying it as a system.
37. I did not vote for Barack Obama.
38. My favorite NFL team is the San Francisco 49ers, even though I’ve never been to California. My favorite ever football player is Joe Montana.
39. Geographically speaking, my favorite state is Colorado.
40. I once had a pedal snap off my bike and dig into my leg, and I still have scars from it. I have other scars from box knives and chisels, and the grill from McDonald’s.
41. I was picked on terribly in grade school. I was also punched in the face once before a little league baseball game.
42. During all of high school, I ate one cafeteria lunch. I usually had a sack lunch. I even brought a sack lunch into McDonald’s once.
43. I am somewhat lactose intolerant, yet I love milk, ice cream, and cheese. A stomach ache is worth a good bowl of ice cream.
44. When I was around 8 years old, I fell off my bike and knocked my mouth into the corner of a wooden picnic table. My two front teeth were knocked out because of it.
45. Concerning Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies: I have gone to see them in the theater a total of 27 times.
46. The first R rated movie I saw in the theater was Air Force One.
47. I love (non-alcoholic) egg nog.
48. The first CD I ever purchased was Michael W. Smith: The First Decade.
49. The highest profile person I’ve ever met is Senator Norm Coleman, from Minnesota. Also, my father attended the University of Maine at the same time as Stephen King, and one of my former coworkers was a college roommate with Tony Romo, current quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
50. I worked for two months as a nursing assistant at a nursing home, working with sufferers of Alzheimers. They let me go, and several months later I started working at McDonald’s, where I met a girl named Megan. Oh, and then I married her.

More than a Sound

Music is one of my favorite things in the world. I rather enjoy cranking up the volume and listening to some good hard rock. But music doesn't stop there. Music is not simply the sounds of the instruments. The words of music can hold great value; they can bring you messages of joy and peace and hope.

I listen only to Christian music, with the sole exception being Weird Al Yankovic. I listen only to Christian music because I want the messages of the songs I listen to to be positive and not tainted by a secular worldview. The lyrics of a lot of today's mainstream music flies completely in the face of what we know to be Biblical truth, and yet these are the songs we are choosing to play on the radio so our young children can listen and repeat over and over in their heads. I honestly feel that such music (along with movies and TV) all play into warping our beliefs about morality and Godliness.

Of course, probably due to a desire for success, many Christian bands use lyrics that, while they may not be morally irrehensible, are not always openly and obviously Christian. Their message is buried in analogies and subtleties, and it is not always obvious up front that it is a Christian band. They seem to be in the music business solely to provide entertainment, and not to use their talents to further the kingdom of God. While I understand that being "overly Christian" in your lyrics may turn off nonbelievers from listening, I really enjoy it and appreciate it when I hear a song that I really like that I can easily tell the beliefs and message of the band. We should not allow our choice of music to be swayed by the world and what they consider to be popular and true; for the music we listen to should be aligned with the absolute truth of Christ.

I recently purchased my first CD in many years. It is the Fireflight: Unbreakable album, and it is pretty much wonderful. The music is great (rock, but not too hard; no screaming), and the lyrics are obvious in their message. They have quickly become one of my favorite bands, and Unbreakable has become one of my favorite songs.

To finish, here are some pieces of lyrics from the Fireflight album. At some point, I might post some of my more favorite lyrics in general, but for the moment, I'm just really appreciating this album and its message.

God, I want to dream again
Take me where I’ve never been
I want to go there
This time I’m not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it’s unmistakable
No one can touch me
Nothing can stop me
- Unbreakable

Your love, it burns
Away my darkness
You guide me when I’m blind
You are the light
That shines inside me
Showing me I’m
So much more
When I’ve been on a losing streak
Hit so hard I couldn’t speak
But when I hear Your voice it fades away
- Brand New Day

And you want Him, and you need Him
But you act like He’s not there
Yeah, you know that you’re hollow
And something’s missing here
So you push and you pull the hole in your soul
But you can’t make the hunger disappear
- The Hunger

Yesterday I heard Your voice
Whispering through all the noise
I pretended I couldn’t hear You
But You kept on pursuing me
And You began to move in me
And I just couldn’t hide any more
- Go Ahead

And I’m here to stay
Nothing can separate us
And I know, I’m ok
You cradle me gently
Wrapped in your arms.... I’m home
- Wrapped in Your Arms

Making Less of Me

No, this is not a lesson in humility. Perhaps in a future post. :)

As I've talked about before, I am going to try to lose some weight. I have become more serious about it over the last few months, and am making a New Year's resolution (the first one I've ever made) to crack down on it and stick to it. Here are some steps I am and will be taking, most of which are obvious, but alas:

• Eat less. This includes, when going out to eat, eating half my meal and saving the other half. I do love leftovers. This also includes not overeating on snacks, as I have often done.
• Eat better. I have already been eating vegetable-type soups for lunch at work, and I will be making sure my suppers are healthier.
• Exercise. I will be using the treadmill 3 times each week. I have also started playing volleyball each week, which is a good workout. Trying to add extra walking to my day is also a good thing.
  
• Drink more water. I also need to drink less pop. We rarely have pop at home, but I sometimes overdo it when going out to eat or at game and card nights. At home, I drink mostly juice and milk.
  
• Get more fiber. I've been eating cereal for breakfast everyday for a year or more, but I've gotten some healthier cereals that are stuffed full of fiber.
  

I have small goals first, of losing 5 and 10 pounds, but my long term goal is to lose at least 40 pounds, hopefully 50. This will take sticking to a plan and not overeating. If anyone has any other weight loss tips, I'd love to hear them.

LotD: T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project. Tests With Inorganic Noxious Kakes In Extreme Situations.