About

A few (100) things about me... 

1. I'm terrible with names
2. Yes I was in the John Denver fan club
3. I was a paperboy
4. I make art, all the time. You probably do too.
5. A movie I never tire of watching "The Secret Life of Walter Mittie" with Ben Stiller.
6. I have a 3rd Dan black belt in Jukido
7. I have been diagnosed with depression
8. I am susceptible to shopping comas (I hate malls)
9. There have been times in my life when practicing meditation was not optional
10. My favorite Philosophical Idea is Daniel Dennett's Intentional Stance
11. I hold a 1st Dan in Tang Soo Do
12. Online surveys say I should be a Quaker
13. Dualism - really?
14. I subscribe to Austin Kleon's Newsletter
15. Yes, I've worn a dress in public before
16. I was born in New Britain, CT
17. I can never remember how many Ts are in "New Britain"
18. People know me by my laugh
19. I'm a cat person
20. I'm a child of the sixties/seventies, drugs were taken.
21. Speaking of cats, I am in program management and I work in biotech. Or as I like to say it, I herd PhDs (possibly worse than herding cats?)
22. The name Andrew means manly
23. Everything I learned about managing people came from applying behavioral therapy to help people with severe behavior disorders. (behavior = communication)
24. I think the coolest person on the interwebs is Patti Smith
25. I've written two books - Western Lights - A Collection of Essays on Buddhism and Clouds Tell Us: Poetry at the Intersection of Nature and Our Humanity
26. My favorite asanas are Ardha Chandrasana (half moon) and Rajakapotasana (Pigeon)
27. I'm not a cilantro guy
28. The one piece of advice I try to live by is "If I'm trying to make a point, I've gone too far"
29. Fire and brimstone fundamentalist Christians get me riled up
30. My favorite poet is e.e. cummings  Sarah Lyfsek
31. I'm a Buddhist Teacher
32. I think everyone should read Daniel Dennett (you don't have to agree with him, but please read him)
33. My last name (Furst - yes, that's funny every time) means prince (or someone in the prince's entourage). In Germany, A prince is more like a governor.
34. I make a mean chocolate chip cookie
35. I think as we get older we naturally gravitate toward poetry, photography or other forms of deep listening.
36. I have a degree in Philosophy
37. I've had about 20 poems published in journals since 2018. 
38. I live in Massachusetts, but I don't [think I] have a Massachusetts accent
39. I believe what you believe is just that - what you believe. It should be clear to everyone that the mind is not a tool for finding truth. 
40. Sarcastic - yup, sure am...
41. I have restless leg syndrome (no fun)
42. I spend too much time on the computer
43. One of the most formative experiences in my life was being in a band. It's running your own business. Running your own business makes things very real.
44. My kids are way cooler than me
45. Morality is subjective - there I said it.
46. Pie? - Oh Yeah.
47. I've watched the entire "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" series twice
48. I miss going to Acadia National Park every year
49. I tend to approach problems by using the Buddha's middle way (when I have the wherewithal to stop and think)
50. I drive too fast
51. The first rock album I bought was Boston, by Boston
52. I love the concept of a militant agnostic - I don't know, and you don't either
53. I traced my family genealogy back to Adam & Eve (Setting aside, for a moment, that I don't believe in Adam & Eve)
54. It's amazing the effect that a guitar has on people
55. My favorite color is yellow
56. I have Type II Diabetes
57. As a Buddhist, I'm technically a non-theist, but I cheer for the atheists
58. I played bass guitar in Ant Farm, I mostly play guitar now
59. I've only had to use my martial arts fighting skills once - nobody was hurt (badly).
60. I think life is like baseball.  If you're batting .300, you're doing well.
61. I had a college roommate named Al (his real name is Eric)
62. I don't chew gum
63. If someone younger than me asks for advice about life, I'm inclined to disappoint them. My experience is that we don't learn from other people's experience.
64. I have, and this is a quote from my children, "an evil Santa Claus laugh"
65. I wear jeans and sandals to work whenever I can get away with it
66. I've got a fake book of songs that I bring to parties and play on guitar. If you want a copy it's here.
67. The TV show King Fu is terrible to watch now
68. I've done lots of bad things in my life
69. I thought musicals were stupid when I was a kid. Then I acted in a musical and "got it"
70. Alcohol? - Yes - Whiskey
71. I'm a terrible salesman
72. Who's my best teacher? My wife
73. I am 5 degrees from Kevin Bacon - Through my friend Callie Beaulieu
74. Yes, I eat meat
75. I have blue eyes
76. Yes, there are bad ideas. There are lots of bad ideas. But we can learn from them.
77. The first company I started was named Sina, each letter came from the first initial of each member of my family
78. I graduated from UCONN
79. Best advice I've gotten about religion - "most of what religious people do is minding other peoples business"
80. I like chocolate (no - I really like chocolate)
81. I play music by ear
82. If I think about the sun, I get a sun burn
83. 2 cats, 1 dog
84. I'm terrible with money
85. Where do I think I will retire? - Maine or Western Massachusetts
86. I've worked for myself for most of my career
87. I've never been to Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, or North and South Dakota
88. When people ask me how I became interested in Buddhism, I have to admit it all started when I watched the TV show Kung fu when I was a kid
89. In 2020 I went into Sepsis - organ failure - and nearly died.  The infection attacked my spinal column and resulted in neurological damage I still feel today. 
90. I change my mind all the time
91. My Blood type is AB +
92. My son insist "I'm not actually all that bad"
93. I think Praying Mantises are cool 
94. I used to teach hatha yoga
95. My full name means manly prince - not sure if that is accurate
96. I'm overweight
97. I'm 6' 1" (I used to be 6'2")
98. I was in several bands in my twenties, the most successful was Ant Farm
99. I started recording music again in 2020
100. I've a had a handful of art published to journals. 
101. Is the glass half empty or half full? - It's full - half air, half water.

100 Things @  me