36 More Reasons To Love Him

Last weekend, my dear friend, Hannah, passed through my world.  We became friends during the year I lived in Utah, which was the year all things blogging exploded for me.  I was touched, deeply, that she re-routed her family to pass through my town on their way to the Lonestar state.

Her family rendezvoused with mine at a local restaurant and it was the first time for both of us that we had met each others' husbands.   Proper bonding is never really possible while chewing, so the men didn't become BFFs but afterward, when it was just me and Hannah again, she said, "Jay is a lot different from what I was expecting."  She further explained that on my blog, his persona comes off as mostly serious, maybe even intense.  Maybe it was pictures like these that helped that idea formulate:

I get it.  He is serious and intense.  But he's also sensitive, funny, kind, cute and adorable.  It has been my privilege for the last fourteen years, to get to know and understand this man named Jay.  Therefore, it is my joy and my song to share his unique personality to the rest of the world.   Here are 36 things that you may not know about this fascinating man.

1.  He is one of the few, or even possibly the only one, that can claim that soda is good for him.  The carbonation helps him swallow his food in a way that water, milk and juice do not.

2.  He'd like to live off the grid, but can't because he married someone too normal.

3.  You will never catch Jay wearing pants without a belt.  It is a major fashion faux-pas, in his opinion.

4.  He is very good at crossword puzzles.

5.  He thinks he, Dan Patrick and Tony Kornheiser would be great real-life friends.

6.  He brushes his teeth for a really long time.  Seriously.  I've tried to outlast him at the sink before and concede to his superior brushing skills each time because there is simply nowhere else for the toothpaste in my mouth to go.

7.  He can figure out anything.  I am a pay-someone-who-already-knows-how-to-do-it kind of girl, but he can just wing it, or, better yet, figure out the instructions.  I was all set to call someone to clean and get the hot tub going, but he just took off a few panels here and there, drained it, and knows which chemicals to add to get the water pH right.  Saved me hundreds, I bet!

8.  He loves salsa and meringue music.  If he hears it, it's an almost guarantee that some Jay-style dancing will follow.

9.  Anyone I meet who knows who also knows Jay always tells me that he is "the nicest guy."  I like that he's nice to people.

10.  He gets horrible heartburn.  He has to take prilosec, prevacid and zantac everyday.

11.  He still cuts his own hair.

12.  He also still likes NASCAR.  I kind of thought it might be a passing fancy, but, sadly, it is not.  Tony Stewart continues to be his favorite driver and Jay has even started buying little diecast cars with all of Tony's various paint jobs.

13.  He isn't convinced that his office is also his man-cave.

14.  He listens to podcasts when he runs.  I don't see how listening to Dave Ramsey talk about staying out of debt motivates him to run sub six-minute miles, but who am I to question the ways of those born to run?

15.  He has random allergic outbreaks.  Several times, but never consistently, he'll come back from a run with eyes that can barely open, itchy, itchy skin and trouble breathing.  It's freaky!

16.  It embarrasses him to have a big deal made out of his needing gluten-free food.  He'd much rather silently go without.

17.  Still, I know he's touched when someone makes the effort to prepare something he can eat too.

18.  He loves getting the newspaper.  Loves it.

19.  He also likes to be the one to get the mail.  Since most of the mail these days consists of junk radiology conference invites, I say, "go for it."

20.  Commercials about feminine products make him blush.  He thinks all such advertisements should be relegated to channels like Oxygen or Lifetime.

21.  What am I talking about?  He has no idea those channels exist.

22.  He's a talented woodturner and can make beautiful pens.

23.  He laughs without inhibition.  If he thinks it is funny, he will laugh out loud.

24.  He has no travel bug.  I can't convince him that going to Europe with me is worth the time and expense.  I think I need to find a race for him to run in to get him over there.

25.  His ringtone on his phone is the monologue from the Old Spice Commercial.  This is exactly why we get along.  

26.  He sings in the ward choir, even though he doesn't want to.

27.  He calls a man in town his nemesis because this man once bad-mouthed Jay's high school cross-country coach after a race, not knowing Jay ran for him and his subsequent great admiration for this particular coach.  Now, Jay takes great pleasure in beating "Jerry" every time.

28.  He'll shock me now and then by being really short with people on the phone when he's on call.  I've even heard him almost yell.  The people on the receiving end are usually radiology techs that mess something up or don't do their job right, but sometimes it's even another doctor and I find it really out of character.  That's what a stressful job mixed with what he considers incompetence can create, I suppose. 
29.  He has two kinds of "Arghs!"  One is higher pitched and makes me smile, even though I feel bad that something has frustrated him.  The other is lower, from the back of the throat with a rasp, and it makes me tense.

30.   He is frugal when it comes to spending money on things like clothes, toys or fixing the dent in his car because these things are "not necessary" but has no problem paying $4 or $5 for soda at movies and games.

31.  He has a loud natural speaking voice.

32.  He hates tomatoes and feels a little betrayed that I don't anymore.

33.  He loves to pick up the tab at restaurants.

34.  His generosity is balanced by his inability to eat out at most restaurants and the rare desire to be social.

35.  He likes to make me and the boys happy.  As proof of my point, remember this series of self-portraits he let me take of the two of us at the opera?

 A novice at holding the camera, I explained the need to resist the temptation to tilt the head back.  Always remember....chin down.

After this pictures, I added the helpful hint that it also helps to jut your neck out...just a bit.

 See?  He makes me happy because he knows how to make me laugh.

36.   He is wonderful at 36.

If that's not enough information for you, refer to past birthday posts.  Apparently, I feel the need to numerate on birthdays:)



100 Things About Jay

http://lifeisaspasmwhoflow.blogspot.com/2009/06/35-reasons-to-celebrate.html

We enjoyed a lovely steak and salmon dinner followed by a highly amusing showing of The A-Team (which deserves better reviews than it is getting.  It's totally cheesy, but it's supposed to be.  I loved the balance between humor and overdone action.  Best of all, Jay enjoyed it too.)

Happy Birthday, Jay!