I've written about several things that I like and dislike over the course of my posts here. I have opinions on topics large and small, and if I can't share them here, well then I guess I can't share them anywhere. I wanted to get a little specific on some favorites today, to let you know yet more about me and the way I think.
Let's start with an easy one: sounds. Of course, the very top of the list is sappy stuff about my wife's voice, my nephew's laugh, etc., so I'll spare you and get to a less Petercentric one. I really, really like the sound of opening a new can of coffee. I clamp down the can opener, and then the moment I start to turn the thingy, there it is. Sheeeuuuuuwm. I love it. I'm sure part of it has to do with my chemical dependency on the product it's unleashing, but it's just a cool sound, not that unlike opening a new can of tennis balls or turning on a light saber. Here's the thing though: Don Francisco coffee, which we drink every morning, changed their can types recently. The last one we bought had a pull tab on a flimsy aluminum thing instead of the normal can top. I opened it up hoping to hear the same exact sound, but it was a smaller Sheeeuuuuuwm and not nearly as satisfying. I now may have to pick up tennis (or light saber battling) to get my fix.
And now onto colors: My brother is 3.5 years older than me, so naturally I liked whatever he liked. His favorite color was red, so when asked as a little boy, my favorite color was also red. "That's my favorite color," he said, "get your own." I thought about it and chose blue, and I've been very happy with that decision ever since. I've refined it a little over the years, and I now like navy blue the most. Sky blue is very pretty for certain things too, and regular blue-blue isn't bad, but I like the navy variety. The only problem I have with navy blue is that I really have to look closely to tell which is my navy suit and which is my black one. This morning even, when my wife said her pants were navy, I leaned in closer, and she added, "Trust me." That's it though - it's a solid color. Close behind it are forest green and brick red, each a strong color in their own right. My wife and my friend Dusty both like purple the most. I don't know what color Greg likes the most, but since he's partially color blind, maybe he doesn't either. Kevin still likes red after all these years, so the t-shirts I had made for his bachelor party reflected that. Do people change favorite colors after they've chosen them in their youth? Gentle readers, what say you?
And then there are numbers. Ah, numbers. How many of you remember when you chose your favorite number? I know the exact date, actually. Here's what happened: When asked my favorite number, I said it was 5, because that was my brother's favorite number. "That's my number," he said, "get your own." I told him that it was only because I was 5 years old. "So when you turn 6, will that be your favorite number?" he asked, hoping to get me to commit to a timeframe. "Yep," I said. Like any good businessman, Kevin followed through. On my 6th birthday, he approached me and asked if 6 was now my favorite number. "Yep," I said, and it was. Exactly a year later and in exactly the same tone, Kevin asked me, "So, is 7 your favorite number now?" "No," I told him, "I liked the way 6 felt." And boom, it's been 6 ever since.
My wife's favorite number is 11, and I'm not sure why (although her birth month + birth day = 11). Greg's is 7, and he's born on the 7th. Dusty's is 12, and he's born on the 12th. Dave, who lies from time to time, has three favorite numbers: 11, 13, and 77. He says they have to do with jersey numbers from hockey players when he was growing up and nothing to do with his birthday, which happens to be 11/13/77. 5 has nothing to do with Kevin's birthday, and 9 has nothing to do with my friend Jon's, but those are their numbers. I'm proud of them for branching out. 6 is my birth month, but having heard my story, I think you'll agree that that's more coincidental than anything.
Is it strange to know so many friends' favorite numbers? Maybe, but after getting sports jerseys together and playing roulette together, it was bound to happen. It's not even close to as strange as the Timberlake wannabe on American Idol last night dedicating a song to his Grandma with "I could be the one to take you home/Baby we could rock the night alone" in the lyrics.
Let's start with an easy one: sounds. Of course, the very top of the list is sappy stuff about my wife's voice, my nephew's laugh, etc., so I'll spare you and get to a less Petercentric one. I really, really like the sound of opening a new can of coffee. I clamp down the can opener, and then the moment I start to turn the thingy, there it is. Sheeeuuuuuwm. I love it. I'm sure part of it has to do with my chemical dependency on the product it's unleashing, but it's just a cool sound, not that unlike opening a new can of tennis balls or turning on a light saber. Here's the thing though: Don Francisco coffee, which we drink every morning, changed their can types recently. The last one we bought had a pull tab on a flimsy aluminum thing instead of the normal can top. I opened it up hoping to hear the same exact sound, but it was a smaller Sheeeuuuuuwm and not nearly as satisfying. I now may have to pick up tennis (or light saber battling) to get my fix.
And now onto colors: My brother is 3.5 years older than me, so naturally I liked whatever he liked. His favorite color was red, so when asked as a little boy, my favorite color was also red. "That's my favorite color," he said, "get your own." I thought about it and chose blue, and I've been very happy with that decision ever since. I've refined it a little over the years, and I now like navy blue the most. Sky blue is very pretty for certain things too, and regular blue-blue isn't bad, but I like the navy variety. The only problem I have with navy blue is that I really have to look closely to tell which is my navy suit and which is my black one. This morning even, when my wife said her pants were navy, I leaned in closer, and she added, "Trust me." That's it though - it's a solid color. Close behind it are forest green and brick red, each a strong color in their own right. My wife and my friend Dusty both like purple the most. I don't know what color Greg likes the most, but since he's partially color blind, maybe he doesn't either. Kevin still likes red after all these years, so the t-shirts I had made for his bachelor party reflected that. Do people change favorite colors after they've chosen them in their youth? Gentle readers, what say you?
And then there are numbers. Ah, numbers. How many of you remember when you chose your favorite number? I know the exact date, actually. Here's what happened: When asked my favorite number, I said it was 5, because that was my brother's favorite number. "That's my number," he said, "get your own." I told him that it was only because I was 5 years old. "So when you turn 6, will that be your favorite number?" he asked, hoping to get me to commit to a timeframe. "Yep," I said. Like any good businessman, Kevin followed through. On my 6th birthday, he approached me and asked if 6 was now my favorite number. "Yep," I said, and it was. Exactly a year later and in exactly the same tone, Kevin asked me, "So, is 7 your favorite number now?" "No," I told him, "I liked the way 6 felt." And boom, it's been 6 ever since.
My wife's favorite number is 11, and I'm not sure why (although her birth month + birth day = 11). Greg's is 7, and he's born on the 7th. Dusty's is 12, and he's born on the 12th. Dave, who lies from time to time, has three favorite numbers: 11, 13, and 77. He says they have to do with jersey numbers from hockey players when he was growing up and nothing to do with his birthday, which happens to be 11/13/77. 5 has nothing to do with Kevin's birthday, and 9 has nothing to do with my friend Jon's, but those are their numbers. I'm proud of them for branching out. 6 is my birth month, but having heard my story, I think you'll agree that that's more coincidental than anything.
Is it strange to know so many friends' favorite numbers? Maybe, but after getting sports jerseys together and playing roulette together, it was bound to happen. It's not even close to as strange as the Timberlake wannabe on American Idol last night dedicating a song to his Grandma with "I could be the one to take you home/Baby we could rock the night alone" in the lyrics.
Got stories as to why you chose your favorite numbers? Send 'em along, and maybe you'll be featured in this week's Follow Up Friday. I know, that's heavy.
Have a good Hump Day, folks, and let's meet back here tomorrow, ok?
Have a good Hump Day, folks, and let's meet back here tomorrow, ok?
7 comments:
My favorite number is 11 too and here's why: it's so number 1, it needs two number ones just to show how number 1 it is.
Incidentally, a prof at NYU told us a story about how one night he was reading in bed when his son yelled at him from the next room: "Dad what's your favorite arm?" I think that's pretty funny. They both answered left even thought they're both right-handed. The dad because to him it represents liberal politics and subversion, the little boy because, "It's more mysterious."
I'm not sure exactly how I came to choose 11 as my favorite number, but I know why I like it now. It's a good prime number. In fact, I tend to prefer odd numbers to even numbers. Interestingly enough (give that he's an odd guy), Peter prefers even to odd. It's one of our major disagreements. :)
My favorite number is 7. I chose it because it is a strong, solid, substantial number. My childhood adoration of Detroit Tiger player #7, Rocky Colavito, may have had a small part in my decision, however. As favorite colors go, put me down for some shade of warm brown. I am well aware that some disgusting things come in my favorite color, but I love it anyway.
BKS, that's a fantastic story about your prof. I told it at lunch and got some folks to laugh out loud, so thanks for making me seem funny.
Amber, you are obviously correct about me liking even numbers a hell of a lot more. I really like 24 because it is divisble by so many other numbers, and you like just the opposite in prime numbers. Tomato, tomahto, I say. I'm so glad we're able to get past these differences.
And Laynie, most people would assume that I'd make fun of your "warm brown" color choice, but those are two of the main descriptors of coffee, so you're ok in my book.
I don't have a favorite number. I've never had one. Is that strange? But I have been in business a long time and therefore I like black numbers. Black numbers are far superior to red numbers. My favorite color has changed. It used to be red. Now it's forest green. I have no explanation for the shift. Do we really have to reasons for everything?
Paul
Anonymous Paul,
Not everything needs an explanation, but you answered one of my key questions: Do people change the favorite colors they choose as kids? You did, and I find that interesting. Were you not exposed to forest green as a tike and didn't realize it was an option?
No favorite number? At all? Evens more than odds? Anything? If you truly feel the same way about every number, then that definitely strikes me as odd. Weirdo.
I even have a favorite letter? Do you? It is "E". A solid choice I believe. A vowel, multiple pronounciations and perhaps the most commonly used letter in the language. I know if I had to "Buy a Vowel" on Wheel of Fortune, I'd send Vanna out to find that "E" for me. "E" is also ironically the fifth letter of the alphabet, but I don't think that has anything to do with it. Probably I love the "E" because it is prominantly displayed in my ifrst. middle and last names.
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