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I was recently tagged by Jessie Jane, fellow HOW design forum haunt and buzzsaw-pace creator of Small Failures, an upstart blog on sustainable living (and the like). The tagging refers to a game of mentioning five things about one's self and then passing off to five new people to do the same. Without further adieu, five – quite – random things of my own:

I was recently on The Tonight Show ... sort of. At the tail end of our September local vacation, Kerry and I ate at an upscale restaurant at Elkhorn Resort in Riding Mountain National Park. I noticed trout was available, which I absolutely adore having in my tummy. Kerry began to snort – then laugh – at something she noticed in the menu. The reason? Colossal typo. And a pilfered copy was in the mail to Leno a couple of weeks later, which appeared on the show's "Headlines" segment just last week. Above is a transcript of sorts, which you can check out on the show's website.

I was lunchlady for a day – During a transition period at work between in-house cafeteria staff, the lunchroom has been heroically run by the interpretive centre crew. But on Friday, my buddy Jason and I volunteered to craft the day's lunch special – not completely aware of the amount of work actually necessary. On top of shopping for ingredients the previous night, we prepped and stuffed manicotti over most of the morning for 25 lucky meat-loving (and vegetarian!) co-workers. And to the best of my knowledge, nobody keeled over and died.

I'm selectively moment-oriented– I'm not blessed with the greatest memory; I've forgotten many things in my time, from countless days and events of childhood, to names, faces, tasks and lunches at home in the fridge. But what I do have is a strong selective memory, especially an impeccable visual lock on circumstances and surroundings when I'm in a moment I appreciate. It's difficult to explain. One example happened the same day as the outhouse trout dinner; near the end of a disappointing day of hiking, Kerry and I were on a non-descript trail – when out of the woods popped this completely placid lake and dock (above). And in time I may not remember a lot of the goings-on from that day, but I'll always be able to recall this intensely visual moment. The photo is now framed in the foyer of our home (click here for a highly recommended closer look, and here for a look at the picture's final resting place).

I did not make my New Year's resolution – that of riding 2,080 kilometres on my bike this year, despite beginning a month earlier than normal (wiping on the ice my second day out) and closing near the end of November. But I did put in 1,700.29 kilometres, a personal best. I'm not hardcore – I know some can polish off this number in a few weeks – but for me it's an accomplishment. Plus I got to see the countryside on my way home from work, join the cycling ranks in a marathon fundraiser – and one morning, almost mow down a galloping raccoon.

I do the Sunday New York Times crossword – in pen. Which puts me in a league with whiz-host Jon Stewart and ex-prez Bill Clinton (according to the crossword-doc Wordplay). I don't brag about much, but a couple of weeks ago I destroyed a puzzle in 61 minutes. OK, that too was a personal best, and truth is I only fully complete about one in five – but I do use a pen and almost always finish more than half. And this ties in nicely with my third point: my selective memory.

So that's it, kids! Maybe not the randomness that "tagging" usually evokes, but it was a good excuse to toss some recent happenings your way. I'll spare the pay-it-forward portion of tagging since I think just about everyone I know who blogs has likely done this already.