66 things about me (updated 8/6/09)
1. I like men. You don’t like that? Move on to another blog.
2. I was born in San Antonio, Texas (N.Y. father stationed at Fort Sam Houston) — lived there for 1 week
3. I was born 4 weeks premature
4. I’m an Aries
5. I was raised in Brooklyn, NY
6. I’m an only child
7. I attended anti-segregation school marches with my mother when I was 5
8. The NYC public school system saw it fit to hold the above against me and placed me in slow learning classes for my 1st year (yes they did)
9. My parents divorced when I was 6. I haven’t seen or heard from my mother since — can you say abandonment issues?
10. I was raised by my father and his parents (Bruno, Mary and Joseph)
11. We moved 3 times in one apartment building – 4th floor back; 4th floor front; down to 2nd floor front
12. I started smoking at age 11
13. I started using heroin at age 11
14. I fathered a child at age 11 – he’s half Puerto Rican (obviously something was going on when I was 11)
15. I was at the Stone Wall Riots (at the tender age of 12)
16. I attended every NYC Gay Pride March from the first through the 25th
17. I was homeless and lived on the streets of NYC for 4 months
18. I was a guitarist, then lead singer/guitarist in a band called TADUP (‘Til Death Do Us Part)
19. I practiced bagpipes for 2 years
20 I was in the graduating class of the first intermediate school established in NYC – I.S. 292
21. I.S. 292’s student population was 2% white and I was the tallest kid in school (ahhhhhh. I started this school at age 11. THAT’S what was going on when I was 11 [see #14])
22. I went to Art & Design High School
23. I took 3 semesters of H.S. math and failed all of them. The NYC school system required I just take 3 semesters of math — no need to pass them — and moved me on
24. I’m a high school drop out
25. I had someone else take my college math entrance exam and got away with it
26. I completed my Bachelors Degree in 3 years
27. At age 46 I learned I have a learning disability when it comes to math
28. I dropped out of my doctoral program with 3 credits and half a dissertation to finish, thus…
29. I have a Masters in Sociology
30. I was a display queen at Orbachs’ on 34th St
31. I bartended for almost 20 years
32. I was a Substance Abuse Counselor
33. I taught Research Methods and Social Deviance at the college level
34. I was an ACE and ISSA certified strength trainer
35. I was a male prostitute known as “Daddy Bruno” (my father’s name. No, no psychological shit there at all — seriously, NONE!)
36. I was a member of ACT-UP/NYC in the 80s and 90s and Queer Nation in the 90s
37. My CPR certification is up to date
38. I’ve been sober since October 9, 1988
39. I’ve been sober longer than I used
40. I’ve seen The Rocky Horror Picture show at the Waverly Theater 125 times
41. I am usually quite politically incorrect
42. I am 55% cat-lover and 45% dog-lover
43. I learned to drive at 37 (Hey! I’m a New Yawka!)
44. I ride a motorcycle
45. I still read comic books
46. I am a Taoist
47. I have 13 tattoos (more to come)
48. I can’t swim
49. My top 5 movies are (in no particular order): The Shining, Alien, Lina Wertmüller’s Swept Away, Night of the Living Dead, and Female Trouble
50. My favorite aurthor is H.P. Lovecraft
51. I am absolutely terrified of clowns and zombies
52. When alone, I sleep with the lights on
53. I find there’s a childlike joy to being scared
54. I was a Provincetown year-rounder for 5 years (I miss that town)
55. When I read the word “photography” my mind still registers it as “photo-graf-e”
56. When typing the word “forward” I always type out “fowad.” (Thank god for auto-spell checkers)
57. My favorite foods are bacon and ice cream
58. I have a ridiculous sweet tooth
59. I am completely infatuated with Mexico City
60. I am married to a wonderful man
61. We plan on moving to Mexico City in 5 years
62. I don’t tell my friends enough how much I love them
63. The Kindle 2 e-reader has me reading again
64. I cried at the end of 27 Dresses
65. I love horror (movies, books, comics)
66. Favorite quotations:
“One should be a work of art, or wear a work of art.” — Oscar Wilde
“No, they were not ‘psychos’, they were vampires! Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don’t give a fuck how crazy they are!” – George Clooney “From Dusk Until Dawn”
“All this buttoning and unbuttoning.” – 18th century suicide note
“Cthulhu fhtagn”
