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Sunday, December 10, 2006

Confessions of a Coffee Diva...and other possibly little known facts of Jenn and Rusty

Yes, we've been tagged, like everyone else. I don't know how to define "little known facts"...known by whom? That entirely depends on the reader, and because I don't know who's reading this, you may or may not know these things about us. But I will do my best to dig up the only 5 potentially interesting things about us.

1. This is not interesting. But I'm a coffee diva. I hate to use the word diva in a sentence that describes me at all. Rusty always likes to say how I'm low-maintenance. And I am! I'm pretty easy to please. I don't require too much. But I do require good coffee. Possibly the most romantic thing Rusty ever did for me was buy that espresso machine for Christmas last year. I have a hard time remembering life before it. (I didn't have enough caffeine I'm guessing.) I didn't start drinking coffee until Justus came along. I was sleep deprived, and had no caffeine restrictions this time! (I was not pregnant or nursing, as I had been for many years prior.) So my survival began to depend on coffee. But when we got this machine...a new world opened up every morning. We are without it this weekend because it's being used in the church Christmas play, and we are walking around in a fog...where's the good coffee? We tried brewing some of that old-fashioned kind, but it just came out like muddy water. It's no good! This may be the most sacrificial gift we've ever given to the church. No dollar amount could equal this. I have completely blown the whole Matt. 6 command, of doing your good deeds in private...you know, don't let your left hand know when your right hand has lent out your heavenly coffee machine. My reward in heaven is blown.

2. I had brain surgery. I had a brain tumor when I was seventeen years old. I had brain surgery to remove it the summer before I left for Baylor. This was fun, because in all those "get-to-know-you" games you play when you start at college, I had a fun and memorable fact to throw out...I had brain surgery 6 weeks ago! No one forgot that.

3. I have a permanent hole in my right ear drum. I busted it for the first time when I jumped off a cliff in 1996 at Lake Powell. It was a very high cliff. But all the boys were doing it, and having three brothers, that immediately brought out the "I can do it too!" feeling. I've outgrown that by now...I hope. My daughter may have inherited it. You'll never find me swimming underwater, because I would spring a leak. And it would hurt.

4. I know American Sign Language. I am an interpreter for the Deaf, and also used to teach Deaf Education. That's what I did for money before I became a Mommy. My kids are now learning to sign, and they're awesome!

5. I do this weird typing thing in my head compulsively. I've done it since 9th grade when I took typing class. (Yes, on real typewriters! Some of you people born in the 80's have never seen one.) Anyway, if you know anything about typing- (this totally excludes my husband) your fingers go on the homerow keys- asdf jkl; - and all the keys are reached from those. Well, in my head, when I hear a phrase, or sentence, or read something, I instantly compute what homerow keys are used, and then put them in order from left to right on the keyboard. Ex. the phrase "Starbucks coffee" would then be asdfgjk. This is hard to explain, but I used to do this so much, my brain would never stop, it would drive me crazy. I'm better now.

That's it for me...You may be feeling very reticent about being my friend, so let me legitimize myself by telling you things about my husband! He has been tagged, but a blizzard will blow through Texas before my husband will get on this computer to post something, so I told him I was going to. I love to embarrass him! He asked if he could pre-approve these embarrassing facts, but I said of course not! So here we go...

RUSTY:
1. This is my favorite thing to tell people that embarrasses him...he's brilliant. He made a 4.0 here at A&M as a Biology major. He made a 1400 on the SAT. He graduated at the very top of his class in Med School. Baylor Med School was actually very unhappy with him for choosing Family Medicine. It makes them look better when their Smarties choose some prestigious specialty. Anybody could go Family Medicine. But this was always my husband's desire. To treat the whole family. He loves doing Pediatrics, and he loves getting to treat such a broad range of things. He's so smart, and if you're his patient, this is to your benefit to know this. You want to know this about your doctor! He is going to kill me for this!

2. Rusty LOVES meteorology! He is totally obsessed with the weather! The radar is his favorite. His biggest dream for his children is NOT med school, it's the Weather Channel! Storm Chasing! It's his passion.

3. At one time, Rusty thought he was supposed to be a Catholic Priest. He was hearing the Lord's call on his life, but luckily he realized that was not it. (Praise the Lord!) He was just realizing he needed a close, personal relationship with the Lord. God had something else entirely for him. The kids and I are so glad!

4. My husband loves to decorate for Christmas!!! We love Christmas around here! We figure the whole neighborhood should know how much we love Jesus...so our house glows. I mean, it really glows! Rusty lives for the one day of the year he gets to climb on the roof with a staple gun and execute the master plan he's been concocting in his head for an entire year. Every year, I pray really hard that I won't be a Christmas light widow. Him on the roof scares me, but so far so good. He's like a little kids when it comes to decorating for Christmas, and this brings me immense joy. Plus, we don't have to give out our address around this time of year. You just follow the glow.

5. Rusty loves to do circumcisions. He prides himself on his ability to do so. He is a self-proclaimed "penile artist." Not many people like to wear this title. I believe it sets him apart.

6. BONUS: Rusty used to be a d.j. He d.j.ed junior high dances, weddings, whatever. That's why we have every CD made in the 80's and early 90's. I brought his d.j.ing career to a swift stop after I helped him with a "gig" on our fourth date (Rusty was an intern in residency.) He d.j.ed a friend's wedding in Waco. We lugged heavy speakers up 4 flights of stairs, stayed for 3 hours after the bride and groom left the reception, where the relatives stayed to dance and kept demanding we play the song "Trashy Women." We got payed in a $15 gift card to Dillard's, which amounted to socks. We got payed in socks! Anyone calling to inquire after a d.j. after that, I promptly told them Dr. Bacak was out saving lives and didn't have time to d.j. their wedding.

That's it. If you still want to be friends with us, let us know.

12 comments:

Hendrick Family said...

Only 4 for Rusty? What? Rip off. RIP...OFF!!

Jennifer Bacak said...

Oh, Shoebox! I forgot the 5th. So I edited it and now there are 6! There's bonus material on Rusty! Yea!
jenn

Anonymous said...

We love knowing #1 and #5 knowing that Jude is his doctor.

We loved the random facts! Thanks for posting.

Anonymous said...

That is why he is the amazing Dr. Bacak...and I still want to be your friend.

Jenn, I have a funny thing I do in my head also. I think of words and then all the possible ways to spell them...like so, sew and sow. It keeps the brain moving for those of us born before the 80's!!!!

Lisa Smith said...

I type words in my head...my habit from typing class too.

Matt said...

Meteorology is the best. I can agree with that. Radar is especially awesome. I have a book about if you'd (Rusty) like an easy read sometime.

D. Bacak fam said...

Am I allowed to add to Rusty's list of little known facts? Or does that cross the line of Blog etiquette? It would be awfully easy for big brother to grow the inventory. But it is Christmas time, and I would not want to disturb little bro to the point of returning my gifts. So I shall refrain...until December 26th!

Jennifer Bacak said...

Don't hold back Darrell! Don't worry, I won't let your gifts go back...unless you say something unfavorable about me, and then your getting a Peppridge Farm sausage from us.
jenn

D. Bacak fam said...

Since Jenn has twisted my arm, I shall oblige and add to the list of Rusty's little known facts. Jenn, you're safe and I should be sausage-less this Christmas!

Little known fact #7 - Rusty was not the most cleanly boy growing up. For Rusty, Easter eggs (the hard boiled kind) were a keepsake. He also had pet newts that he kept in a bowl in his room. They weren't always the most obedient suckers as they would often escape. Ever elusive, Rusty would have a hard time finding them. By September, his room began to smell like a chicken house with mold issues and we all knew to check the desk drawers for Easter "nostalgia" and under his bed for newt carcass. It's amazing he achieves the proper sanitization standards in his medical practice. For any of his patients out there, keep in mind that I have not seen or smelled eggs or newts around Rusty in years and he never inhaled the fumes to my knowledge.

Little Known fact #8 - Growing up, Rusty lived in a world of unorganization and dishevel. If he owned it, at one point or another he lost it or had difficulty finding it amidst his scattered belongings. Which leads me to...

Little Known Fact #9 - Rusty had quite a temper growing up. This usually surfaced when I dominated him at backyard sports or when he'd fall victim to a misplaced item (see fact #8). When mom and I heard wall banging coming from upstairs, we knew Rusty was having a "difficult moment" finding his car keys. One good thing that came out of his undergraduate studies at A&M was that he apparently lost this trait in college.

Little Known Fact #10 - Back in the early 80's I accidentally hit him over the side of the head with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat. I was threatening to hit him with no intention to actually make contact, but it happened. It truly was a case of misguided eye-hand-to head coordination on my part. This incident apparently shifted his cranial synapses just enough to produce the stellar academic achievement in later years. Kudos to big brother for the "adjustment"!

Little Known Fact #11 - Rusty was an avid Dungeons and Dragons weirdo as a kid. You know, one of THOSE. To this day, I'd bet he still believes there are ogres, Dwarf fighters, and half-orc monks living in his bedroom closet. Rest well Jenn in knowing that he probably still has his lucky dice that he can roll to defeat the critters and defend the neighborhood!

Little Known Fact #12 - As a young boy, Rusty was of small stature. Actually, he was downright tiny. Because of this, he acquired the nickname "Beanie Weanie". I'm serious.

Little Known fact #13 - Up until high school, Rusty had an uncanny resemblance to Ricky Schroder of the sitcom Silver Spoons. That resemblance faded over time, possibly attributed to the Louisville Slugger incident in fact #10 or long term effects of the exposure to newt and spoiled egg fumes in fact #7.

Merry Christmas, bro!

Jennifer Bacak said...

RUSTY SAYS...
all that from the boy who never learnded how to ride a bike...and failed the entrance exam to be a Randall's sacker.. just sad...

D. Bacak fam said...

I forgot about failing to land the Randall's sacker job in high school due to the results of the "personality exam". I thought I had potential. Shattered dreams. Shattered dreams.

Anonymous said...

That cracked me up about the typing in your head!!! I don't even understand that! I, too, took typing class in high school on those old typewriters, but I am lost on your thought process there. You'll have to explain. And Mark is a "weather nerd" too. He has a lightning hat, which is a visor with lightning bolts sticking up off the sides. And I still married him. I howled at the Ricky Schroeder look-alike comment! More! More! Why stop listing them! This is too fun. Oh, and I was in awe of your coffee machine that you sacrificed for the play. I don't even drink coffee, but I could recognize the special-ness of that machine.