Class About Me

What’s your full name?
Thomas Jon Klind

Were you named after anyone?
Jon is a family middle name

Do you have a nickname? If yes, what is it?
Nope

What’s your astrological sign?
Scorpio

Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Night Owl

Do you wish on stars?
Not usually

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
No

Do you have tattoos ?
No

What do you do most often when you are bored?
Watch television or read

Donkey or Elephant or Neither?
Elephant

What makes you angry?
Drunk residents

What did you do last night?
RA staff meeting, read about 100 pages for school

What frightens you?
Snakes and zombies

How many keys are on your key ring?
7

What do you do to relax?
Watch television

Do you believe in superstitions?
Zombies. Oh my gosh zombies are the greatest

Have you attended a church or religious event outside of your own?
Yes. I go to eastern orthodox services every once in awhile

Name a foreign language that you know.
Spanish- though not very well

Name three things most people don’t know about you.
I won the WI state free throw competition in 8th grade
I don't recycle
My favorite dinosaur is the ankleosaurus

Family, Pets, & Friends

Do you have any siblings?
I have one sister, Kristyn, who just started her freshman year at St. Norbert College.

Who was your best friend in high school?
Dan

Do/did you have any pets?
I had a dog, Tara. I had a hamster, Hagar. I have a fish, Hercules. Also, I've had hermit crabs.

Cat person or dog person?
Dogs

Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
My mom

Travel

What states have you been to?
Arizona, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Colorado, Hawaii, West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky.

What countries have you been to?
United States, Canada, Dominican Republic

In how many states have you lived?
One

When is the last time did you take a train?
Last summer, I took a train to St. Louis twice.

Food

What do you like to eat for breakfast?
Nothing

What is your favorite food?
Pizza with bacon

What foods do you dislike?
Plain yogurt, cupcakes

What ethnic food do you like and dislike?
I love Thai food and Italian food.

What is your favorite chip flavor?
Tostitos with Guacamole

What is your favorite sandwich?
Italian Night Club from Jimmy Johns

What is your favorite drink?
Scotch on the rocks

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Peach Melba from Kopps

What’s your favorite salad dressing?
Caesar

Plain, buttered or salted popcorn?
Buttered and salted

What’s your favorite pie?
French Silk

What’s your favorite fast food place?
IHOP

Media

Which Harry Potter characters are you?
Hagrid (great beard)

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Gran Torino

What is your favorite TV show?
Sportscenter or Full House

Last book you read.
The Shattered Lantern- Rediscovering a felt presence of God

What picture is on your computer wallpaper?
Pope Benedict

What is your ring tone?
Just a normal phone ring

What are three favorite songs on your iPod?
Led Zeppelin- The Song Remains the Same
The Beatles- Abbey Road Suite
Stevie Ray Vaughan- Texas Flood

Do you have a Facebook page?
Yes

Do you have a Twitter account?
No

Do you have a blog?
yes

Wishes

Where would you retire to?
A lake house about one hour or so outside of Milwaukee

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Rome

Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive?
No and No

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Neon Green

What writing means to me

As a college student, there are plenty of nights (or early mornings) where I wish no one had ever written anything. Wouldn't it just be that much better if we all sat around fires and cooked our most recent wooly mammoth before retiring to a nice damp cave every evening? Then again, nothing quite gets me as excited as breaking open a new chapter of Aquinas come the beginning of a new semester.

I can't understand people who don't like to read. I don't read outside of my coursework on a nightly basis, and I certainly don't think that people should necessarily (I like a good hour of TV just as much as the next person). However, a good writer can touch the soul in such a way that television simply can't. Just think of how much time it takes to read a book and yet we've all suggested to our friends that they read something you've just read. It's such a time commitment that I impose when I do it- yet there is no way I would ask my friends to watch a 6 hour miniseries and then get back to me. There must be something special about reading someone else's thoughts that inspires.

Writing is an investment of the heart, an opening into the mind of the greatest thinkers. To be perfectly honest, thinking about it right now makes me wonder why I have been given such a gift as to even know how. Either way, when it comes down to it, more and more people are taking up writing, I just hope that the quality doesn't become less and less with the advent of blogging taking over traditional journalism.