I am not normally this narcissistic--well, I have a blog so maybe I am--but today society helps rationalize the care-about-me attitude because it is my birthday. I wrote a quiz about my past thirty years to kind of jog my memory before I forget everything. I'd like to say that making this quiz made me sit back and reflect on my life, but while life so far has been full of milestones and memories, there's still a lot more left. Plus, I'm still in school, so 30 just feels like 25--almost exactly like 25. If you score higher than 10, let me know. It means you scored better than two friends I met in high school and two friends I met in grad school.
1. When Andrew was 6 months old, he took his first
a. Step
b. Shot of whiskey
c. Look at the Statue of Liberty
d. Flight
2. In 3rd grade, Andrew wrote a book entitled
a. Crooks are Caught
b. Donkey Does a Doo Doo
c. Me and My Sisters
d. The Existential Musings of an Expatriate Returning to his Birthplace
3. Andrew’s sisters are named all of the following EXCEPT
a. Catherine
b. Ann
c. Erica
d. Bridget
4. Andrew tried out for all of the following high school sports EXCEPT
a. Soccer
b. Basketball
c. Baseball
d. Badminton
5. In his 8th grade play, Andrew did all of the following EXCEPT
a. Wear makeup for the first and last time
b. Play one of the two leads
c. Memorize all his lines
d. Wear a dress
6. Andrew has traveled to all of the following city-states EXCEPT
a. Singapore
b. Monaco
c. San Marino
d. Vatican City
7. Andrew has lived in all of the following capitals EXCEPT
a. South Bend
b. London
c. Seoul
d. Boston
8. All of the following are true EXCEPT
a. Andrew has broken both of his fibulas.
b. Andrew has broken his left clavicle twice.
c. Andrew believes his broken bones are caused by excessive calcium intake.
d. Andrew has broken his fibula and tibia at the same time.
e. Andrew has broken his right wrist doing Tae Kwon Do.
9. Andrew has personally interacted with all of the following Nobel Laureates before they won EXCEPT
a. Bob Horvitz
b. Eric Kandel
c. Andy Fire
d. Marty Chalfie
10. Andrew’s sisters thought he quit swimming when he was 8 because
a. he was the slowest swimmer on the team
b. he didn’t like to wear the Speedo
c. he didn’t feel buff enough
d. he always sank
11. Which of the following does Andrew consider the worst living situation he had to endure?
a. Living with a flat-mate who would randomly pick wrestling matches that often upended furniture
b. Living with an ex-girlfriend in the same drafty apartment for over a year
c. Living with a friend in a place that the friend referred to as “Motel 6 meets Tijuana” in a review
d. Living with a guy named Rudy at Notre Dame
12. How many years of Catholic school has Andrew had?
a. 8
b. 12
c. 14
d. 16
13. Andrew wears a size Small T-shirt now. What size did he choose to wear in high school?
a. Small
b. Medium
c. Large
d. X-Large
14. Andrew has had all of the following nicknames EXCEPT
a. Hell Raiser
b. Hellmaniac
c. Bruce Lee
d. Prunedrew
15. Which of the following is the youngest car?
a. Andrew’s current car
b. Andrew’s high school car
c. The Model T
d. The DeLorean
16. Andrew has seen all of the following bands in concert EXCEPT
a. Weezer
b. Dave Matthews
c. U2
d. Ben Folds Five
e. Flight of the Conchords
17. As a Boy Scout, Andrew did all of the following EXCEPT
a. Hike 67 miles in 10 days
b. Earn hella merit badges
c. Sleep on a submarine
d. Help an old lady cross the street.
18. Andrew enjoys doing all of the following at work EXCEPT
a. Reading ESPN
b. Research
c. Watching Hulu
d. Facebooking
19. As a baby, Andrew was super
a. Eloquent
b. Chubby
c. Screamy
d. That’s it, just super.
20. While living in London, Andrew did all of the following EXCEPT
a. See Stonehenge
b. Visit the Cliffs of Dover
c. A pub crawl
d. See a bunch of plays, operas, and ballets
Answers
1. d (flight)--from South Korea to Colorado
2. a (Crooks are Caught)--it's a classic
3. b (Ann)
4. c (baseball)--tried out but cut from bball my freshman year
5. d (wear a dress)--no, I have not worn makeup since then . . . or a dress ever
6. c (San Marino)--but I did do a report on it in 5th grade
7. a (South Bend)--lived there but it is not a capital
8. e (broken his right wrist doing Tae Kwon Do)--broke my foot doing TKD and most of the breaks happened after consuming dairy for many days
9. b (Eric Kandel)--was working in Bob's lab when he won, met Chalfie when he came for Bob's Nobel party, took a class with Andy before he won
10. b (he didn't like to wear the Speedo)--though I probably wouldn't swim now if I had to wear one
11. b (living with an ex)--though I did live in all of these situations
12. c (14 years Catholic school)--kindergarten (1), grades 4 through 12 (9) and college (4)
13. d (X-large T-shirt)--yeah, what an odd thing to do as a 135 lb teen
14. c (Bruce Lee)--some racist kid on the soccer field called me this, so it goes into the "slur" category
15. a (Andrew's current car)--surprisingly, yes. however, it is only one year younger than the car I drove in high school
16. d (Ben Folds Five)--a trick question. I saw Ben Folds but not the Five
17. d (Help an old lady cross the street)--don't want to be a stereotype
18. b (research)--but i try to do it anyway
19. b (chubby)--now that I'm 30, maybe I'll get that way again
20. a (See Stonehenge)--never made it, but I wish I had
