There’s this thing going around FaceBook lately suggesting you post 25 random things about you in an effort to get to know each other better. It’s pretty fun. You get to know yourself and others quicker. It’s a lot of conversation topics for the next time you get together. Here’s my stab at it…
1. I met my wife Brenda via eHarmony.com. (She wasn’t my wife at the time.) We lived only a mile away from each other and had common friends. We’re listed on their website as a success story.
2. I’ve had 18 teeth pulled and never had a cavity. It’s pretty easy to avoid cavities when you only have two teeth left. Seriously, I have 14% less teeth than most adults. I always ask for a discount when I get them cleaned. Dentists hate me. “Here’s some carmel corn. See you in a couple weeks.”
3. I speak fluent French and have spent about 6 months in France. I also took a couple of years of Spanish in school.
4. When I was 16 years old I had my jaws wired shut for almost eight weeks after having surgery to correct a severe overbite. (I was “buck tooth” as a kid and got harrassed.) During that time I could only drink liquids. I gained 4 pounds on a diet of ice cream, Carnation instant breakfasts, pureed soup, and fruit juice. I carried around wire cutters in case of emergency sickness.
5. I went scuba diving off the coast of the Mediterreanean Sea with only a 5 minute lesson in French and no training or certification.
6. I play trumpet, piano, and drums…with favorite music being jazz/blues/funk, musicals, dixieland, rock, and classical. I started piano lessons at the age of 5 from my grandmother who was already a 3rd generation teacher. Her grandmother had traded a horse for a square piano.
7. I’m a magician and juggler. I started performing for kindergarten classes when I was in second grade after learning a few tricks from my grandfather and with a good friend. By fifth grade, I was performing in front of the entire school.
8. I learned how to ride a unicycle at the age of 36 by hanging on (for dear life) to a rope stretched across my garage while attempting to balance. I now know that there are easier ways.
9. At the age of 16 I got my first computer programming job developing educational software for schools on the Apple II. I was making $4/hour. After starting my own business, I was featured in Infoworld magazine and the Star Tribune as a “real life whiz kid“.
11. I was introduced to the president of Apple Computer, John Sculley (formerly of PepsiCo) and didn’t even know who he was until he got up to give the keynote address. I’ve sat in Steve Jobs chair where he’s addressed Apple employees.
12. I worked selling althletic shoes and toys at Dayton’s in Rosedale. Dayton’s later became Marshall Field’s (owned by Target) and then Macy’s. My first day of work was the Daisy Sale. I gained a lot of respect for cashiers that day. I walked around practicing card tricks a lot of the down time. They didn’t provide any training on shoes…so I made it up. “What kind of shoe should I get?” “Do you like to do walk or run?” “I walk a lot.” “You should consider a walking shoe.”
13. I wrote a database that tracked every single item that appeared on the target.com website and another database that scheduled all the programming that is viewable on “Channel Red” in the entertainment section of Target stores.
14. I graduated from the University of Minnesota Intitute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering and a minor in theater arts. This pretty much qualified me to be a robot in a musical. My advisor tried to discourage me from wasting my time with “those theater classes”. I graduated from college debt-free due to my consulting work.
15. I’ve visited the Grand Canyon several times and studied extensively how it was formed and what it can show us about the past.
16. My speaking topic “Child at Heart” was inspired by my grandparents, my kids, and my experiences in life. I’m passionate about bringing hope, laughter, and healthy innovative ideas to people.
17. My ancestor, Jan Cimbura had a book written about him because he was an upstanding citizen. The book was also made into a movie. I had it translated from Czech. Nearly every Cimbura in the world is related to me…though there are a few I wish that weren’t. The word “Cimbura” in Czech refers to a battlement or crenellation…the rampart built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows or guns.
18. I have two precious daughters. Arianna Elizabeth Cimbura (meaning Holy Consecrated To God) and Brielle Madeleine Cimbura. (meaning Exhalted or Elevated…Madeleine is also a traditional sweet from France). They teach me a lot about life and give me tons of smiles and laughter every day. If we ever have two more daughters we’ll call them Brianna and Arielle…just to confuse everyone.
19. I was the first person to develop an application that allowed a personal computer to do magic tricks. I eventually updated this program to do several magical effects and based it on FileMaker Pro.
20. My handwriting was turned into a font. Some guy stole it and is selling it on his web site. I give the Tim Cimbura font away for free. Hopefully it makes him mad.
21. I went on a mission trip to Slovakia where I performed about 14 programs for the same audience at a kids summer camp. I brought over 150 tricks with me in one suitcase.
22. I love photography and won a contest to have one of my photos published on a calendar. I was also the cartoonist for our high school newspaper.
23. I work out at LifeTime Fitness about 4 times a week with group fitness classes like Hip Hop, Latin Fusion, Strike!, and kick boxing.
24. I was member of the year for the Minnesota National Speakers Association. I’ve been president of the Minnesota Fellowship of Christian Entertainers for many years.
25. I performed improv at ComedySportz during two workshops.
26. My Myers-Briggs profile is ENTJ (Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging). I like that I’m in the same category as Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, and Harrison Ford.
27. My Strengths Assessment showed my top 5 strengths as:
Woo – people love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
Learner – people have a great desire to learn and want to continuous
ly improve.
Positivity – people have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
Achiever – people have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.
Significance – people want to have an impact on the lives of others and be recognized as a person that can help them achieve their goals.
28. I’ve traveled to: France, England, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Canada, etc… and most of the U.S. (including North Dakota). I would love to travel just about everywhere else in the world.
29. I’m a Christian. I’ve had many doubts along the way as I struggled to understand the difficult questions and wondered how the Bible can work with scientific and historical facts. I’m always open to learning more…
30. I’d rather play sports than watch them. I played tennis and football in high school. I love biking, volleyball, swimming, and floor hockey. Dodgeball would be a lot of fun. Last year I ran my first 8K on a whim without any training. I was sore the next day.
31. I lost count of how many random things I was going to write somewhere in there.
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