Conversations that don't include money or work

Read this. How many times have you asked a complete stranger -- for lack of anything better to say -- what he did for work?"

For my part, more times than I could count.

So, here we go, a list of conversation openers that don't reference money or work:

1) The time I snapped a wet towel at my brother so hard it drew blood.

2) The time I skied into a drift fence and smashed it to pieces in front of my friends and about 30 ski lift passengers.

3) The time I crapped my pants at work and tossed my boxers into the dumpster out back of the building.

4) The time my martial arts instructor choked me so hard I blacked out (and the other time that happened, with a different instructor. What fun.)

5) The many times I've been kicked in the balls.

6) The greatest animated movies I've ever seen, which include but aren't limited to: Princess Mononoke and Heavy Metal.

7) The thrill of sport, and the agony of defeat.

8) The world's greatest electric guitar tones, including Hendrix, Van Halen, Zappa and Nugent.

9) The allure of the female breast.

10) Why rare meat is better than well-done.