100 Things about Brad
1) I was born in Oak Park, IL.
2) I was then brought home to a split level in Downers Grove, IL (Western Suburb of Chicago) where my parents still live
3) I am the middle child
4) I have an older and a younger sister
5) I started talking in sentences before I was one years old and haven’t stopped talking since
6) I was a reckless toddler and wore a doctor prescribed helmet after a long series of headers
7) I actually cracked my head open on the corner of a table at the doctors office waiting for a throat culture
8) Pre-school was fairly uneventful for me but my dad still regrets taking me to school my first day. I wrapped myself around his leg crying as he attempted to walk out of the classroom.
9) Kindergarten was all fun and games until I peed in my pants when the librarian wouldn’t give me a bathroom pass.
10) I was almost held back in first grade after missing over a month of school due to continually catching strep throat
11) By the end of first grade I got my tonsils removed, never got strep again but was scared after only getting lime ice cream in the hospital
12) I don’t remember a thing about second grade
13) Third grade brought my parents new excitement as I began sleep walking/talking
14) Four grade I realized my potential as a class clown and spent a lot of time in the corner reflecting on life
15) Fifth grade I developed vocal nodules from constantly talking (yelling and screaming) and was forced to stay inside for recess to improve my condition
16) Sixth grade I finally recovered from almost being held back and was placed in a gifted English class. I must have slept through that class.
17) Seventh grade consisted of a lot of note passing, talking about who was going out with who and playing with fireworks
18) In eighth grade I learned the art of placing patio furniture directly outside my window so I could come and go at will
19) Freshman year of high school I joined the gymnastics team (rings / parallel bars) and spent a lot of lot of time justifying it as a men’s sport
20) Sophomore year of high school I learned to drive on a 1977 Grand Prix (similar to parking a Carnival Cruise Liner)
21) Junior year of high school I dropped gymnastics and picked up down hill ski club. The majority of our time was spent attempting to knock each other off our skis. This game ended a after the first head-into-tree incident, but nobody was hurt.
22) Senior year of high school I spent most of my time preparing for college, which had nothing to do with studying.
23) I went to the University of Iowa where I majored in Pre-Med, Sociology/Criminology and got a minor in Chemistry
24) I wanted to work in the field of forensic medicine/science
25) I took summer school classes at night in order to finish my majors and minor in four years
26) Freshman year of college the Iowa River flooded out an entire dorm, which resulted in me spending the first several months living with 10 other guys in a study lounge.
27) Sophomore year I went on my first spring break trip to Mazatlan Mexico
28) I spent about every dime I had on that trip. From that point on I worked 13 hour days (2 jobs) during summers to afford a trip every year.
29) Junior year of college spring break was in Nassau with 15 other guys. Incidentally we went on a tour boat that sank the week after we left.
30) Senior year of college I interned for the 6th judicial correctional facility and worked at the hospital as a surgical sterilization tech
31) I still managed to make it to Cancun for spring break despite my internship and job
32) Upon graduation I moved back to the Chicago area and started the wonderful working world
33) I decided I didn’t want to go to medical school so I worked as a technical recruiter for a couple of years
34) It didn’t take long to learn recruiting wasn’t my thing so I started taking classes in web/software development
35) My new found interest and a friend landed me a job at Hewitt Associates where I spent the next 6 years.
36) After 6 years in a large corporate environment I packed up my stuff and gave the start-up world a shot at Driveitaway.com
37) A year and a half later I decide left Driveitaway.com for my current role at Sittercity.
38) My chronological list is now over and it’s time for some random facts
39) My niece (Morgan) is the cutest little girl alive!
40) My nephew (Ethan) is the cutest little guy alive!
41) I love animals
42) I have 3 Leopard Geckos
43) My male carrot tail leopard gecko’s name is Bobby and he resides in my Sittercity office
44) I have 5 Sugar Gliders
45) I adopted a male (Abe) and female (Anne) that reproduced twice before I found a vet that would neuter exotics.
46) All the males are now neutered and the whole family lives together in a huge cabinet/cage.
47) If you look at Sittercity on flickr you can see pictures of Bobby, Abe and Anne
48) I have had aquatic turtles
49) I have had iguanas
50) I have had swifts
51) I have had anoles
52) I have had true chameleons
53) I have had a rabbit
54) I have had garter snakes
55) I have had a salamander
56) I have had frogs
57) I have had toads
58) I have had tropical fish
59) I have had dogs
60) I probably would have had a cat at some point but I’m highly allergic to them
61) I volunteer at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium
62) I am also allergic to Wool
63) I am also allergic to Penicillin
64) I had my first ulcer at the ripe old age of twelve
65) I am accident prone
66) I have been to the emergency room for stitches more times than my 80+ year old grandfather has been to the hospital
67) I still play video games
68) World of Warcraft is teh best game evah (spelling intentional)
69) My friends make fun of me for my exotic pets as well as video games
70) I can’t stand cotton balls
71) I hate traffic and congestion, but I live in the city of Chicago
72) I don’t like yard work, so I live in a condo
73) I own a cell phone but it is rarely turned on
74) I check personal voicemail about once a week
75) I rarely watch TV
76) I love NPR
77) While I don’t watch TV but I do watch a ton of movies
78) I can’t stand shopping
79) My younger sister does all my gift shopping…woo hoo
80) I own an old grandpa car, which I love
81) I am a night person
82) If I didn’t work my days and nights would be reversed
83) My eyes are ultra sensitive to light
84) I don’t like watermelon
85) I like the smell of gasoline
86) I always lose sunglasses so I generally walk around squinting
87) I hate wearing watches, chains or rings
88) I imagine not wearing a wedding band will be problematic if I ever get married
89) Some people say that Disney World is the happiest place on year, but I don’t think those people have ever been to Las Vegas
90) I have stayed at MGM Grand
91) I have stayed at New York, New York
92) I have stayed at Monte Carlo
93) I have stayed at Paris
94) I have stayed at Ballys
95) I have stayed at Mandalay Bay
96) I have stayed at Red Rock
97) I have stayed at Westward Ho
98) Yes, I realize that long lists are somewhat cheating, but you try writing 100 things about yourself
99) I took about 3 months of procrastination to start writing this list
100) I have deleted more than a 100 items while writing this list
