runaway truck ramp

What Goes Here?

2017-07-16T15:12:00.002-04:00

"Trust me. Everything's going to be fine. You met me at a very strange time in my life."
- The Narrator, "Fight Club" (1999)

I wound up here because I wanted to dig into the vault. I wanted to see what 23 year old me was talking about. What drove him. What made him happy. What made him tick.

I wanted to write a post that played off of that. Where have we gone a decade (plus one) later? Are we happy? How have we grown? How have we remained the same?

And as I formulated that post in my head, I realized something. None of that shit matters. At all. Most of the people who were here a decade ago are long gone. Those I've picked up along the way, don't even know that this place exists. The only person who knows Terence from 2005...is me. And while I may not remember them perfectly, I remember all of the posts here. Good and bad (and ridiculous).

So. Let's fast forward a bit.

"She's my changing weather. My Sunday morning together. I think I need her forever."
- Angie Aparo

Yesterday, the realization hit me that I've been with Emily almost 10 years. (It'll be 8 years this October, but let's round up...) In that time we've done great things. We've been there for each other professionally. We've been there for each other during times of sadness. We've been there during times of joy. We even managed to hold things together to buy a really nice house. And while the weight of time makes me think, "wow, we were babies when we first met," I'm super excited to see what comes next. We're looking to advance our careers. We're looking to start a family. There's so many things we discuss that I'm just excited to see what happens next. Will all of our dreams come true? Who knows? Maybe. Maybe not. But if nothing else, I'm glad that she's by my side either way.

"Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on."
- Baz Luhrmann

Earlier I mentioned how many folks from '05 are gone. And they're not dead or anything, they're just not in my life. And to be honest, that makes me a little sad. I mean, time happens. Space happens. People change, people start families, people move, etc., etc. I get it. And some folks you'll cross paths with again and it's like you never stopped hanging out. Others? You're not strangers...but you're not terribly familiar with each other anymore either. One of my goals this year was to reconnect with my friends who are a little farther away. If I had to grade myself, I'm probably at a solid "D." And in a weird, crazy sort of way, that's good? If nothing else -- in between hanging out with my current set of friends and making new friends, I did take a minute to reach out to the folk who got me to this point. As communication is a two-way street, many people can't say the same. While I've only been able to touch base with a handful of people, maybe that's good enough. Maybe I'll be in someone else's handful next year.

"...and would you want to see if seeing meant that you would have to believe..."
- Joan Osborne / Eric Bazilian

Generally, I don't talk about my moments of charity. I don't give to make myself look good to you people. I give because I want to - need to share anything on social media be damned. That said, I want to talk about a recent donation I made because it ties into a bigger story. I recent gave a fair donation (relative to our monthly budget) to St. Martin de Porres Elementary School - a Catholic School in Columbia, SC. The principal of this school happened to be the principal of the elementary school I went to as a child. I don't know what it was, but something called upon me to look her up. To see if she was still alive and if she was, what she was doing. At the time I did so, St. Martin de Porres was having their annual gala to raise money for the school. Having been there, I knew that this wasn't a "gala" that most would associate with private schools. Ya'll, I say this earnestly - I went to a poor private school, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I gave what I could. And it wasn't until that donation was returned to Emily & I (4x over) that I knew why something called upon me. I know "where" I should be. That said, my heart hasn't found the right place. It hasn't found the right people. In the interim, I will try to continue being a good person. When the time is right, I'll go. That's the best I can do. For now at least...

"To be content does not mean that you don't desire more, it means you're thankful for what you have and patient for what's to come."
- Tony Gaskins

Going back to the genesis of this post, I guess it's safe to say that all in all, I'm happy. Yes, I still have some questions about what happens next. Yes, I'm nostalgic for people and moments long past. But at the end of the day, I'm extremely happy with my current lot in life. Will I look to continue improving it? Of course. Do I have any regrets about my current place in the world? No. I've already been lucky enough to get to this point. Asking for more right now would just be greedy.

That's a blessing that someone else can have. I can make due with where I'm at for the time being.

Bonus
Since it's Sunday, here's my current favorite track...
Childish Gambino - "Redbone"
Listen on YouTube

#WWE #WrestleMania 32 Predictions

2016-04-03T17:48:00.002-04:00

Since I've started to blog again, I figured why not resume one of my long standing traditions...WrestleMania predictions!!

2006: WrestleMania 22: 9-2
2007: WrestleMania 23: 3-5
2008: WrestleMania XXIV: 2-6-1 [Funny, this was the one I went to]
2009: WrestleMania XXV: 4-4
2010: WrestleMania XXVI: 4-5 (No pick on the Diva tag match)
2011: WrestleMania XXVII: 3-6
2012: WrestleMania XXVIII: 5-4
2013: WrestleMania XXIX: 6-3

As we see, I missed WM XXX and 31. Partly because I wasn't watching wrestling or blogging much, but that's besides the point. Let's jump into this real quick. The preshow is starting...

WWE Network Kickoff Show:
Tag Team Match:
-The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz
Winner: The Usos

United States Title Match:
-Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback
Winner: Kalisto retains the United States title

Tag Team Match:
-Brie Bella & Natalya & Alicia Fox & Paige (Total Divas) vs. Lana & Team BAD & Emma (BAD & Blonde)
Winner: BAD & Blonde, aka, "Heel Diva Team"

WrestleMania 32 Main Card:
Handicap Match:
-The New Day vs. The League of Nations
Winner: The League of Nations. There's a reason this match is not for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title:
-Kevin Owens (c) vs. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Zack Ryder vs. Sin Cara vs. Stardust
Winner: Multimen matches are hard to predict. So I'm going to go out on a limb and guess Sami Zayn wins this. If nothing else, it'll set up a nice Zayn v. Owens feud for the summer.

3rd Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal:
-Heath Slater, Curtis Axel, Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, Big Show, Kane, Tyler Breeze, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, Fandango, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, Konnor, Viktor, Goldust, R-Truth and 4 others TBA
Winner: I'm following the dirt sheets and guessing that the Wyatt Family will enter the Battle Royal. As such, Bray Wyatt will likely win this due to the help of his followers.

Hell In a Cell Match:
-Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker. If Shane wins he gains control of WWE Raw.
Winner: The Undertaker - look for some crazy post-match shenanigans though

Singles Match:
-Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles
Winner: AJ Styles. Jericho does the job.

No Holds Barred Street Fight:
-Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar
Winner: Lesnar. This will be Ambrose's "WrestleMania 13" moment.

Triple Threat Match for the Divas Championship:
-Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
Winner: Sasha Banks wins the newly rechristened "WWE Women's Championship"

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match:
-Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Winner: Roman Reigns

This Isn't About The Children #HB2

2016-03-31T02:26:00.000-04:00

This is the first thing you see when you visit the website commissioned by NC's Senate leader, Phil Berger. The website is in support of NC Governor Pat McCrory and the highly controversial HB2 legislation that was recently passed. That legislation removed protections that were in place for gay, lesbian, and transgender people. (Among other things, it also has a say in how the minimum wage limit is set across the state, but that's another post for another day...)

While the law itself is terribly "unfriendly" (to say the least), let's talk about how the campaign supporting the law is based solely on fear and ignorance. To those in favor of the law, forcing transgender people use restrooms that reflect their gender at birth is worth it to protect the children of NC from child molesters and pedophiles. Really? Because this law will stop people who want to break the law? To quote a friend, "When we talk about gun control, they're quick to say, 'CRIMINALS DON'T OBEY LAWS!'" Meanwhile, innocent, law-abiding people are being strong armed into doing things that are against who they are as people by the government that's supposed to be there to protect them. Along with the protect the children argument comes the now-standard "religious values" argument. Both of these stances are tired and lack any sort of education or desire to listen from the aggressors.

Here's a secret that most don't know about me. I was against the idea of gay marriage and most other LGBTQ rights for a long time. Longer than I care to admit publicly. My reasons? Many of the same ones you hear repeated from the conservative base. "It's not natural." "It goes against The Bible." "We shouldn't teach children these things." Then a friend talked some sense into me. She was able to get it through my thick head that how other people choose to live their lives generally has no effect on me. Which, if that is the case, why should I want to stop LGBTQ persons from enjoying all of the same rights that I do? I shouldn't. So now I don't.

However, in order to get to that point, I had to open myself up to be educated. I had to open myself up to listen to a worldview different from my own. I had to be willing to accept something that went against everything I knew. Being honest, doing so was tough and it wasn't an overnight process. Thankfully, I was equipped with the tools and ability to learn and grow as a person.

For many of the conservative constituents that Senator Berger and Gov. McCrory serve, that's not the case. [Mind you - I did not say all.] Most of them won't listen to the minority opinion. Most won't even bother to pretend to care. It's either their way - the "natural," "Biblical" way - or no way. Which is sad. To make matters worse, our elected leaders (McCrory, Berger, and others) are failing to lead for fear of negative political repercussions.

After the embarrassment that was Amendment 1 (and it's eventual overturning just two years later), I had hoped that North Carolina was done making a fool of itself on a national stage. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case. At least maybe this time we'll be able to work this out on our own instead of needing some other court to step in and clean up our mess.

Do better North Carolina.

Out of Frame

2016-03-29T03:09:00.000-04:00

While I generally have little taste for Facebook, I truly enjoy social media as a whole. It's both a great way to connect with people from all over the world and an awesome timesink. It's kinda neat to be able to peer into the lives of others, even if it's just for a little bit. Best of all, there's so many ways to do so. Prefer written text? Blogs and tweets are your friend. Looking for a real-time live stream? Have you heard of Periscope? Pressed for time? Vine and Snapchat have got you covered.

And still, I know that for all of the stories that are told on social media, there are tons more that are left untold. Sometimes by happenstance, but many times by choice.

Photo by Chompoo Baritone

In an effort to put our best selves on display, we only share the good, but very rarely the bad or the ugly. And while sharing the "good" is great, we're probably doing ourselves and our friends (followers) a disservice in not talking about the less than pleasant parts of our lives. Being imperfect or vulnerable doesn't make you less of a person or harder to love. In fact, sharing your whole story probably does the opposite.

I have a lot of respect for the people who share major setbacks and build from them. Job loss. A miscarriage. The unexpected passing of a loved one. A major mental, physical, or financial setback. These are things that, much like the "normal and happy" moments in our lives, change who we are. Open and frank discussion of these moments can be beneficial not just for us, but also for connections who might be going through the same thing. It's a nice ideal to want to inspire others by putting our "perfect" lives on display, but we would probably do a better job of building connections and fostering relationships by occasionally showing off a blemish or two.

Maybe we would all be in a better place if we turned to embrace and share our "less than pleasant moments" just as much as we did everything else online?

Or maybe we could stop sharing every minute detail of our lives, but where's the fun in that?

Catharsis

2016-03-28T01:53:00.000-04:00

noun
noun: catharsis; plural noun: catharses
1.
the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

It's been forever since I've written a blog post. Being honest, I'm not even sure why I'm giving firing up the ol' blog engine another go. Most of the people who will read this I've either never met in person or I've fallen out of touch with. On top of that, life is pretty swell at the moment, so it's not like I'm looking for a place to mope around and wax poetic at.

Still, something inside of me wants me to start putting words to "paper" again. So here we are. I don't know how long we'll be together or what we'll talk about, but let's enjoy the ride for as long as we can...

Family Ties

2015-09-07T23:15:00.000-04:00

I went to a wedding on Saturday. I didn't want to go. Well, I did, I just didn't want to go to it on this particular Saturday. Saturday was both the start of Labor Day weekend and the beginning of the college football season - a combination so wonderful that my mother was surprised when I sent a "Yes" RSVP back. Attending said wedding meant that I was going wind up missing most of the first Clemson game and spending seven hours in a car, but since it was family I decided to go with very little grumbling.

I'm glad I did.

While I get to see my dad's brothers and sisters surprisingly often, I very rarely get to see my cousins. Not only are they a lot older than me (my sister and I are the two youngest and there's a 10 yr gap between me and the next closest cousin), but we're all pretty spread out. Knoxville, Greensboro, Atlanta, Columbia, etc...getting us together in one place doesn't happen too often. It was nice to see everyone (and in some cases, their kids) even if it was only for a brief moment.

Em and I wound up having to bail on the reception because of the three and a half hour ride facing us, but even that wasn't too bad. Surprisingly, I think we both enjoyed the time we spent in the car together. Between our respective social lives, our joint social lives, and the demands of our jobs, it's been a minute since we've had a chance to really talk to each other. Sure, we talk every day, but it's not the same kind of conversation as when you're alone in a car. It was nice to just talk about any and everything for a bit.

Sometimes it's the days you're least excited about that wind up being the best.

Sunday Night Selections: Summer 2K15 Playlist

2015-07-12T23:53:00.000-04:00

TOPolk's Song of the Summer 2015
Major Lazer, MO, & DJ Snake - "Lean On"

Summer Blazin' 2K15
Maroon 5 - "This Summer's Gonna Hurt"
Walk the Moon - "Shut Up and Dance"
OMI - "Cheerleader" (Remix)
Tove Lo - "Talking Body"
DJ Snake - "You Know You Like It"
Major Lazer ft MO & DJ Snake - "Lean On"
The Weekend - "Can't Feel My Face"
Rachel Platten - "Fight Song"
Natalie La Rose ft Jeremih - "Somebody"
Silento - "Watch Me"
D.R.A.M. - "CHA CHA"
Nicki Minaj ft. Beyonce - "Feeling Myself"
Drake - "Energy"
Rihanna - "Bitch Better Have My Money"
Fetty Wap - "Trap Queen"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - "Summertime"

Finally Furled

2015-07-10T23:54:00.000-04:00

As a native South Carolinian, I'm glad that this day has finally come, but I'm sad that it took so long to get here. And while removing the flag from the State House grounds won't change anything overnight - people will be just as hateful tomorrow as they are today - I'm hoping that it will be the start of a new beginning. South Carolina is slowly moving into the 21st century, one baby step at a time.

A member of an honor guard carries a Confederate battle flag as it is removed from the Capitol grounds. (AP)

Women's World Cup: Sexism or Basic Economics?

2015-07-08T13:58:00.001-04:00

“All 16 national federations for the teams that failed to get out of the group stage at the 2014 men’s World Cup received $8 million from FIFA. That was $6 million more than the winning national federation will receive at this year’s Women’s World Cup, and that is just the start of the disparity.”

Let’s not forget about this f*cking travesty. We must keep demanding more out of FIFA and their trash federation. (fiftythreecrimes)
The 2011 WWC reached 151 million international viewers, the 2010 MWC reached 1.3 billion people worldwide. That’s quite a massive difference, almost like the graph above.

I’m sure the 6,000+ people who have liked or reblogged this post want to know what they can do to change this? Well it’s quite simple, support these players outside of every 4 years. Go to an NWSL match. Can’t do that? Buy their merchandise, watch them on TV/your computer/a ham radio. If you don’t actually support the sport, people won’t pay these women to continue playing.

Womens club soccer has been incredibly volatile in the US, with teams closing, leagues closing, and general shityness, mostly because the support wasn’t actually there. You want to see these numbers even out? Actually support the sport instead of actually feigning anger on the internet. (illustratedexample)

The boldface is mine because it’s pretty much what I would have typed out anyways. To be frank, it’s been annoying as hell to see post after post about the pay disparity between the Women’s World Cup and the Men’s when no one actually looks into WHY that pay difference is there. I’m all for gender equality when it comes to getting paid, but I also understand supply and demand. If you’re FIFA, you have little incentive to pay [for] the best women’s soccer players the same way you would the men. The monetary figures from advertising revenue, attendance gates, and flat out profit favors the Men's World Cup on a rate of more than 10-to-1. "The 2011 Cup brought in just $5.8 million, while the men’s cup in 2014 netted $1.4 billion. Fox Sports, which is carrying this year’s World Cup, says it has already tripled 2011’s revenues, but the numbers are still far apart. This imbalance trickles down to the prize money as well." (New York Times) And while the US Women winning the World Cup was the highest rated American soccer match on US TV, the same cannot be said globally. If the eyeballs aren't there, the money won't be there either.

I don’t bring up these points to throw the Women’s game under the bus. I bring up these points to say “Hey, put up or shut up.” Out of all of my friends - both online and “IRL” - only one of them is an active supporter of women’s soccer. She’s doing her part. All year, every year. If you show up only once every four years to support the ladies, then bitch about them not getting paid, you’re part of the problem.

[reposted from my tumblr. please excuse my brevity.]

My Life as an Amiibo Scalper

2015-06-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

"You used to be like, 'I'll only buy extra to help my friends.' Now you're all, '$17 isn't enough profit. I can get more.' What happened to that old mindset?"

"War. War changes things."

Once again, my wife is always correct.

When amiibo first launched... (Wait. Some of you may not know what amiibo are. Before you go any farther, skim this page, then come back. I'll wait... All set? Good.)

When amiibo first launched, it was a fun little celebration of Nintendo's history and classic characters. It was collection of fairly detailed little figures that also unlocked in game bonuses in various Wii U and 3DS software. I didn't want to buy into the hype, but I did want to play along and have a few figures of my own. On the day of the amiibo launch, I purchased three figures to go along with my copy of Super Smash Bros. - Link from the Legend of Zelda, Samus Aran from Metroid, and the Wii Fit Trainer from Wii Fit. A few days later I picked up an amiibo of Fox McCloud to represent my favorite Nintendo franchise, Star Fox. Things were great...until the bottom fell out.

Merry #Smashmas! #WiiU #PlayNintendo #smashbros #amiibo #NintendoDay
A photo posted by Terence Polk (@topolk) on Nov 21, 2014 at 3:22pm PST

In early December, a rumor got out that Nintendo was going to discontinue some amiibo. This didn't make sense as the line had just released in late November and appeared to be selling well. Then the confirmations came. The "Holy Trinity" of Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer were being removed from store systems and the Race to eBay was on.

Was it an issue of Nintendo manufacturing demand? Probably. No matter, as Wave 2 sold out equally as fast and with it, its own set of effectively discontinued figures. Nintendo couldn't (or wouldn't) keep up with demand and in order to get the figures you wanted, you did one of two things - you either formed an alliance with friends or you paid a scalper. Obviously, one option was way more pleasant than the other. Given the choice of sending a few bucks to a friend to mail you a Marth versus spending $120 for one on eBay is an easy decision. I chose the former. Between people I had met on social media and real life friends, we had Wave 3 covered. If one of us found a rare or "unicorn" amiibo and we knew of a friend who wanted one, you picked it up for them and mailed it off to them. I was proud of this. I was even interviewed by GameInformer magazine as the Yin to the scalper's Yang.

Polk decided he was going to assist those who couldn't find figures they were looking for. "Maybe I'm a believer in karma, but I've never asked for more than face value plus sales tax plus shipping costs," he tells us. "With the way demand has been for certain characters, your options are to pre-order everywhere possible or resort to paying extreme markup from scalpers. In that case, I'll go with the former everytime."

Then came Wave 3. With Wave 3 came more amiibo, more attention, more hype, and more scalpers. With more people wanting to collect amiibo, be it for fun or for profit, more and more of the collectors that I was close with dropped out of the game. The time and stress surrounding these $13 figures just started being not worth it anymore. For whatever reason, I've stuck around, but with the exception of few twitter friends, I'm no longer looking out for the best interest of my fellow collectors. Instead I use those same collectors to subsidize my collection. Nintendo fans are a passionate, if not crazy, fanbase who will pay a pretty penny to get what they want.

Why'd I change my mindset? I don't know. I think I just got tired of seeing people pocket easy money while I shipped off rare figures for a song. Being the good guy wasn't giving me the "warm-fuzzies" anymore. I got much more of a rush from turning $13 into $40 without doing much more than uploading a couple of pictures to eBay and shipping off a box. Coincidentally, my "reselling" of amiibo started right around the time I stopped driving for Uber, so maybe I was just trying to fill that void. Who knows?

Will I keep doing this? Well, I'm not going to lie and say no. Two weeks ago I sold a figure for $119 ($100 profit). Hell, as I was writing this post I sold a figure for $50 ($26 in profit - which is the cost of two amiibo), so this train will keep on rolling. That said, a little (very teeny tiny) part of me feels gross about it. That's probably why I'm writing this post - a little bit of my guilty conscience is peeking out.

Wave 5 of the Smash Bros. line launches in July. With that we get a little bit closer to end of amiibo madness as we currently know it. Which is good, because the devil in me is getting tired of putting a muzzle on the little angel on my shoulder.

A Tale of Two Kindles - Part III

2015-06-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

Part I || Part II

So it's been three weeks since my Kindles came in the mail. They arrived only a day apart, with the OG Kindle arriving first, so I didn't really have much time to grow attached to one before the other arrived. While I do have a favorite, both of them come with their own selling points:

OG Kindle

- It's tiny. With it being so small and super light, it's easy to toss it into my work bag for a lunchtime read. Also, I can curl up into a weird position and hold this with one hand, much like I would with a real book.
- Distraction free. This is an eReader. Nothing more, nothing less. There's no browser, there's no games, there's no apps. When it's time to sit down and focus on reading, this is the device I go to.
- Awesome battery life. This thing does not die. It's gotten a fair amount of use in the last few weeks and I've only had to charge it once. This makes this baby perfect for vacations and long flights.
- The screen creates a "soft reading" experience. Reading on a tablet can be tough. While the OG Kindle's screen isn't as easy on the eyes as the Kindle Paperwhite, it's still a very pleasant experience.

Fire HD 7

- The speakers on the HD7 are really nice. I bring them up for two reasons: 1) Sometimes I like to listen to music while reading. Yes, even my leisure time requires background noise. 2) The Fire HD7 has a "pretty good" text-to-speech program. While I haven't used it much, being able to turn any book I'm reading into an audiobook is quite nice.
- Magazines and Newspapers are great on the HD7. Currently I subscribe to the digital versions of The Washington Post and WIRED Magazine and I've been more pleased with both. WIRED is also available on the OG Kindle, but it loses something without the interactive features and content that are in the HD7 version.
- Even though I was looking for an eReader, having a tablet isn't bad. It's still my third option behind my phone and laptop, but it's a nice option to have. I have found lounging about in the recliner while fiddling around with apps or whatnot to be rather relaxing.

As to which one is my favorite, I'm surprised to say that it's the Fire HD 7. The whole reading experience is better on the OG Kindle, but it's not bad at all on the Fire. In reading "Guestlist" by twitter friend, @JayFingers, I found that 70% of my reading was done on Fire. When I sat down and thought about why, I realized that it was because the tablet allowed me to be distracted for a moment, then go back to reading. Physical books and even the OG Kindle get "put down" and don't always get picked back up. Meanwhile on the Fire, I can stop reading, look something up, send out a tweet, check my email...then go right back to reading. This works for me. That said, I still enjoy my OG Kindle and would recommend it to anyone looking for a small-gift to anyone who doesn't have an eReader already. In the same vein, I can't necessarily recommend the Fire HD 7 to someone who doesn't have a tablet, but that's another story for another time...

A Tale of Two Kindles - Part II

2015-05-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

Part I

After looking at all of the Kindle SKUs that were available, I set my sights on picking up the basic, plain Jane Kindle. Why not aim higher and grab one of the Kindles with a better screen and more functionality or one of the (Kindle) Fire tablets? Well, basically it boiled down to cost. I didn't want to throw out $199 on something like the Kindle Voyage, only to find out that I didn't care for eReaders either. So the $79 basic Kindle it was.

Then Mother's Day happened. Leading up to Mother's Day, Amazon slashed the price of the Fire HD 7 from $139 to $99. Not only was this a $40 savings, but it was also only $20 more than the regular Kindle I was considering. Now, I'm not a fan of tablets, as I generally find them pointless, but I am a fan of a good deal. $20 was a small hurdle to jump over for a device that could be the eReader I wanted plus so much more. So yeah. Kindle Fire HD 7? Cool, I'm down.

...Three days later, someone at Amazon decided cut the price on all of their Kindles (and tablets) by $20. So the $79 Kindle I was eyeballing, was now $59. Sixty bones. That's squarely inside of "impulse buy" territory for me. Especially since Amazon was offering to let me pay it off over five months, interest free. So yeah. OG Kindle? Yeah, let's do this.

"So wait. You bought two Kindles?"
"Yes."
"Why? You can only use one at a time."
"Well, I bought the tablet because it was on sale and was a good value."
"Then why'd you buy the other one?"
"Because it too was on sale and that's the one I wanted."
"So why didn't you just buy that one first?"
"Because it wasn't on sale when I bought the tablet."
"Why didn't you cancel the tablet then?"
"Because it was a good value."
"...but, that reasoning doesn't make any sense."
"It doesn't. But does. Sort of."

So let's be frank here. Emily was 100% correct. There was no need for me to get both Kindles. However, I am my mother's son and I don't let a good deal pass me by. With two weeks having passed since they both arrived, did I make a good decision? And which Kindle is my favorite?...

A Tale of Two Kindles - Part I

2015-05-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

"I think I'm going to buy a Kindle."
"For what?"
"Um, to read books? What else would I use a Kindle for?"
"But you don't read books."

True story. Up until last night, I hadn't completed a book for the entirety of my relationship with Emily. If my memory serves me correctly, the last book I completed was "Angels and Demons." Based on this blog post, I finished that book in May 2009. Emily and I started dating in October 2009. It is now May 2015. It's been a minute.

That's not to say that I haven't tried to read a book or two. There was "Water for Elephants," a book of Emily's that I tried to read early on in our relationship to earn some brownie points. I read half of it and got bored. There was "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," a comedic take on a 'literary classic.' It didn't take me long to realize that "Pride and Prejudice" was still the same story that I didn't care much for in 11th grade and that adding zombies wasn't making it any better. Ironically, there was "The Shallows," a book about how the Internet is ruining our attention spans. I read three chapters, got distracted by something on the Internet, and forgot where I last put it down at. Most recently I started reading "Dad is Fat," a small, easy-to-read book by comedian Jim Gaffigan. I like Jim Gaffigan. I like the book. It is currently sitting on our coffee table, somewhere around 70% completed. I've been saying that I'll come back to it for two weeks now. At this point, there's a good chance that I will have kids of my own before I go back to finish reading those last 60 or so pages.

As I started recalling all of the unfinished books that lay beside my side of the bed, I started thinking about all of the things I really love to do. I love listening to music. I love wandering around the Internet. I love playing videogames. And as I started thinking about these things, I started thinking about how the way I discovered and consumed content has changed over the past 6 years. If I was changing the way I found and used things that I loved, maybe it was time to change how interacted with things that I only somewhat enjoyed?

Fast forward to the conversation that opened this blog post. So it was decided - I was going to buy a Kindle. Maybe an eReader would jumpstart my desire to read? If nothing else, it was worth a try. But picking a Kindle was no easy task. Amazon has no less than 7 devices that either carry the Kindle name or are part of the family tree. Which one would I choose?...

To Work or Not To Work - That's Not Your Question

2015-05-11T01:49:00.002-04:00

Poor Sean Dunbar. Who's Sean Dunbar you ask? Mr. Dunbar is the gentleman behind the article "Why I Won't Let My Wife Quit Her Job," where he detailed the reasons why he didn't want his wife to become a stay-at-home mom. Not surprisingly, much of the mommyblogging sect are up in arms about this.

Weirdly enough, this is one of those times I kinda agree with them.

Mind you, I am not in favor of a woman becoming a stay-at-home mom. It's one of those core, non-starter type things for me. I have my reasons - some historical, some financial, some personal - but I'm just not in favor of the idea. Luckily, the woman I married has no aspirations of being a stay-at-home mom, so this isn't really an issue on my end. And it's not that I disagree with the reasons as to why Mr. Dunbar didn't want his wife to become a stay-at-home mom. I can empathize with many of those same concerns. My issue with this situation is that he completely took the choice away from her. That's lame.

A recent post on The Federalist sums up Mr. Dunbar's offense quite nicely:

"There are all sorts of problems with this attitude. Namely, Sean is spending a lot of time thinking about what he wants and not a lot about what his wife wants. He lists all the reasons why he wants her to work and so by the time you read in the piece that Sean’s wife specifically said she’d like to stay home with the kids, you want to send her a help line." - The Federalist

Now Mr. Dunbar is claiming that he was a victim of the editor's red pen, which is very possible. I know folks in media who have had their work retitled or heavily recast to fit a narrative, but for some reason I doubt that's the case here. It seems like Sean was more worked up about maintaining the image of what he wanted his wife to be instead of listening to what she wanted to be.

As I noted, I'm not in favor of stay-at-home mommydom, but if Em wanted to give it a go, I'm not going to overrule her decision. Being honest, I wouldn't be excited about it. That said, I'd be willing to talk it out, look at the pros and cons, and give it a try. If it worked for us, great. If it didn't, we'd figure out something else to try. Key words in those last two sentences? "Us" and "We."

Hopefully this situation will serve as a wake up call for Mr. Dunbar. It seems like his life is pretty good, but maybe it could be even better if he just listened to what his wife wants.

#Splatoon: Global Testfire Event - Quick Thoughts

2015-05-09T17:36:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Nintendo held the "Global Testfire Event" - essentially an online stress test - for their upcoming new Wii U game, Splatoon. Splatoon is Nintendo's take on the shooter genre and as expected, it's full of the quirkiness and whimsy we've come to expect from them. Unlike its contemporaries, the goal of Splatoon isn't to rack up the most kills. Instead, your goal is to cover as much of the ground as possible with your team's ink. There are "kills" (or "splats" as they've been lovingly referred to) involved, but with that not being the main objective, "Splatoon" has a very different feel from something like Call of Duty or Destiny.

The Global Testfire Event was held at three times - 11pm ET on Friday and 7am & 3pm ET on Saturday. I got the chance to partake in two of these times and I wanted to toss out some quick thoughts on my experience with the game:

I love that Nintendo continues to be a publisher that says, "We don't have a problem using colors OTHER than brown, black, and gray." Splatoon is very colorful and rather easy on the eyes.
The online was surprisingly smooth. Even though many of the matches I played paired me up with people from the other side of the globe, I'm happy to say that I experienced very little to no lag. After the strong showings from Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros for Wii U, I'm glad to see that Nintendo is starting to become competent in delivering a solid online experience.
...that said, there's no voice chat. As the matches are pretty short, its omission isn't terrible, but it would have been nice to have that option available.
The controls are great...after you disable the motion controls. They were very responsive and the Wii U Gamepad is actually put to good use. When waiting on a match, the Gamepad is host to an NES-style mini game (Squid Jump!) which actually wasn't half bad. I mean, it's better than staring at the TV. During a match, the Gamepad provides you with not only a real-time map (to track how much of the map is being covered), but also a way to instantly jump to where your teammates are. The latter is something I ever remember seeing in a FPS, so I'm looking forward to seeing what strategies come from it.
The gameplay was fresh, fun, and lighthearted. Going into Splatoon, I can't say I ever expected to use those words to describe a shooter - a genre that I've found stale for years. It's nice to have something that's both different AND good.
Black squids!! Representation matters. It's always nice when your in-game avatar can somewhat resemble you.

If the full retail release delivers, Nintendo could have a hit on their hands. Will it dethrone Call of Duty or drive Wii U sales into the stratosphere? No. Not likely. But it will find its niche. For a new IP on a system that hasn't had the success of its predecessor, that's not a bad start.

Splatoon swims onto Wii U on May 29th. After my two hours with the game, I think I'm going to put down the cash to be there Day 1.

Cutting the Cord: After Four Years Has It Been Worth It?

2015-04-22T23:40:00.001-04:00

Today on my way home, APM Marketplace ran a story about how cable companies have been getting concerned about the recent trend of customers wanting - and finding - smaller cable bundles. Which makes sense as no one wants to pay for things (like hundreds of channels) they don't use. As I listened to the story, I couldn't help but think about how things have changed since Emily and I first "cut the cord."

When I moved in with Em in 2011, it was the first time I had cable in two years as I had gotten rid of it after finishing grad school. (I don't know if it was because I was broke and trying to save money or the fact that I tend to spend more time in front of a computer than anywhere else, but in 2009 becoming a "hulu only" guy was an easy move to make.) During my "funemployment" stint, cable was pretty much the only luxury we had. It was a reasonable expense because it kept us a) inside and b) entertained. Spending money saved us money - at least that's what we told ourselves.

Throwing logic to the wind, it was once I got a job (and thus a second income) that we downsized our cable package. It made sense to cut it loose as once we got home from work, the one television we had was only on for an hour or so before we left to go to the gym, go out with friends, or waste time on the Internet. We wound up not completely cutting the cord though as TimeWarner managed to upsell us into their "Starter TV + Internet" package. Basically, for $10 more than what we would have paid for Internet, we got all of the over-the-air channels plus TBS and CNBC. Seemed like a fair enough deal. Once the dust settled, we went from paying $118 a month to only $65 - a savings of $53.

Shortly thereafter we added Netflix to our lives, first at the $15.99 tier for the one DVD plus streaming option, eventually settling into the current $8.99 tier once we realized that we did a shit job of actually watching the discs that came in the mail. All-in-all, we were still saving $44 a month. Not too bad.

Fast forward to present day. Over the past four years, both the amount of content to stream and the ways to consume them have increased. As such, Em and I have created our own package that works rather well for us:

We still have our Starter TV package. Mostly because we're stupid and lazy, but whatever. Somehow I rationalized that paying that extra $10/mo was better than buying three HD antennas (we may have picked up a couple more TVs over the years) it's not, but again, I'm allowed to be stupid and lazy. Unfortunately, due to taxes and other general price increases, that starter package is now $78. (insert grumbling here) Still, we have access to local news and weather, programming on the major networks, and regional sports. It could be worse.

Netflix ($8.99) is also still around, but it's been joined by some new friends. Amazon Instant Video (effectively $0) joined the party as a side benefit of paying for free shipping at Amazon. WWE Network (it's only $9.99!) came into our household shortly after I got back from WrestleMania XXX. And recently, Sling TV ($19.99) reintroduced us to the idea of watching programming not on-demand. It's OK though as Sling TV has been good for scratching itches that Netflix and Amazon Instant Video can't. With a selection of networks such as ESPN & ESPN2, AMC, TNT, TBS, Food Network, HGTV, and Cartoon Network/adult swim, Sling TV is almost the perfect set of channels for us. I say almost as it's missing USA Network. Still, for the price, it's been a welcome addition to our entertainment menu. Total cost for all of our streaming options? $38.97. A pittance for the amount of content available to us, especially since all of those options are also available on mobile devices and PC.

So with all of our new streaming options are we better or worse than we were four years ago when we first cut the cord? Well, I'd say we're better off. When you add our Internet and streaming packages and compare them to our original 2011 costs, we're still saving $1.03. So you know, that counts for something. But if we're being fair, we need to compare our current costs to that of an equivalent cable package. You know who still has the same cable + Internet package that we had? My mother. And while she doesn't live in our metro area, her cost are probably a good measuring stick. What's she paying a month? $155.72. Using that number, we're still coming out $38.75 ahead. Not the $65/month we were saving, but every little bit counts.

So yeah. Cut the cord. You don't need "big cable" sucking your wallet dry every month. Unless you're a big sports fan. In which case your options are limited and they will bleed every dollar they can for you.

Sorry bros.

She's Still Alright By Me

2015-04-21T00:25:00.001-04:00

Sure, it's been a while since I've posted anything in this space, but I really wanted this here. It just seemed fitting.

Big League Fun In A Minor League Park II @GSOHoppers

2013-07-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

For the first time in a long time, Em and I took up our local Minor League Team (Greensboro Grasshoppers) on their "Money Off Monday" promotion. Every Monday home game comes with the treat of $1 hot dogs, beverages (beer / soda / water), snow cones, and $5 lawn tickets. It's a deal. A deal that was made even better by the fact that we didn't have to pay for our tickets due our winning of a Twitter contest a couple months ago (box seats, score!).

With all of the rain we've had in central NC lately, the Grasshoppers were forced into playing a doubleheader, so by the time we arrived, they were already halfway through the first game. The thing is, this worked out in our favor as we sat down with our "dinner" just in time for all of the drama. The Grasshoppers wound up losing the first game, 6-2, but it was entertaining nonetheless. Em remaked, "That was the best themed restaurant we've been to," and I couldn't help but agree with her. The weather was perfect, my company was great, and the hot dogs were...hot.

No complaints from me.

/sidebar
Every time Em and I try to burn off a set of tickets, we always wind up getting our hands on some more. Not surprisingly, another set dropped into our lap yesterday when the ticket attendant accidentally printed off tickets for today's game instead of Monday's. When we went back to fix the error, we were told that we could keep the Tuesday tickets. Go fig. Unfortunately, they went unused as today's game started at 12:30p -- a fact I totally missed until today when I was about to hop in the car to drive down to the stadium to give them away to someone standing in line. Whoops.

Taxis Ain't Cheap

2013-07-20T20:18:00.000-04:00

Having lived in southern, medium (or small) sized cities my entire life, I've only been jealous of my peers in larger cities for one reason - the ability to use cheap - or at least somewhat affordable - public transportation on the regular. Prior to this weekend, I had only ridden in a taxi in four different cities - Chicago, New York City, Savannah (GA), and Los Angeles. I've used buses, light rails, and subways in countless others, but never in the city where I lay my head. What a shame too, because if I could our social calendar would change dramatically.

Last night Em and I scored very cheap tickets ($2 each) to our local minor league team, tickets that came with open bar wristbands. Sure, there was no liquor, but there was all the beer and wine we could consume. Knowing that this was a deal to not be missed (and I really didn't want to be DD), we called for a cab. Now I've got no complaints with the cab company we used. For a taxi in Greensboro, NC, it was fairly clean and service was quick. But damn, $15 for a 5 mile ride? Geesh.

Now yes, the $30 we spent was infinitely cheaper than the expenses that would have come from getting pulled over for driving under the influence, but it would be nice to have some other options for when we both want to catch a game, throw back a few brews, then grab a late dinner afterwards. Had we not gotten the cheap-o tickets and free beers, we would have easily dropped a $100 last night. While we both make decent money, it's not that good. Do not be surprised if in a few weeks time I'm writing a post about how nice Greensboro Transit's Bus System is. For a $1.50 one-way fare, I'm willing to give it a shot.

Truthful Tuesday: I Don't Know How I Feel About The Zimmerman Verdict

2013-07-16T23:48:00.000-04:00

Since the verdict was read in the Zimmerman case, I haven't been able to come to a conclusion on how I feel about it.

Being a rational human being, I want to be upset. I should be angry. A grown man shot and killed and unarmed teenager and was allowed to walk free. Mind you, this whole situation could have been avoided had George Zimmerman simply followed the instructions that were given to him. This whole situation could have been avoided had he not confronted Trayvon. This whole situation could have been avoided had he had an ounce of honor. Seriously, everyone knows that it's a bitch move to shoot an unarmed person. Who cares if you were getting your ass beat in a fight, shooting a person who doesn't so much have even a knife is a coward's way out. If Zimmerman had run away, that would have been more honorable.

But I digress...

Then I look at how the case was presented. This is America and you're innocent until proven guilty. (Supposedly.) Well, the prosecution did not do their job of doing just that. You can say that they overcharged, you can say that their case was flawed, whatever. At the end of the day, the prosecution did not prove that George Zimmerman was guilty of second-degree murder. They also failed to prove that he was guilty of manslaughter. Mr. Zimmerman stood by his claim that he shot and killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense. Say what you will, but this is the system that we have. This is the system that 'worked' for OJ Simpson. This is the system that 'worked' for Casey Anthony. Compound that with the lack of physical evidence, the lack of witnesses, and the only account of that night being that of the defendant's, and I can't say I was completely surprised with the outcome.

But more than being angry or sad, I think I'm just flat out disappointed.

I'm disappointed that we have yet another name and scenario to add to this seemingly never ending list. I'm disappointed in the behavior and words and actions of many people - on both sides of this case - after the verdict was read. I'm disappointed in the racial undertones that this case has been mired in from the start. I'm disappointed in the double standards that not so secretly exist. I'm disappointed in the lack of good judgement on that fateful night last year. I'm disappointed in the general lack of respect that people have for each other.

So what do I feel? Anger? Sadness? Disappointment? Confusion?

I think it's a bit of all of above. Unfortunately, with all of those emotions mixed up in there, it's been difficult for me to pull the proper lesson(s) from this. Sadly, I'm sure that I'm not the only person who feels this way.

Best Place To Watch A Game? #POLL

2013-07-13T15:29:00.000-04:00

From 2000 to 2009, I hardly missed a Clemson home game. During that span I think I only missed the 2004 game against Wake Forest and the 2006 contest against Louisiana Tech. That was almost a solid decade of spending most of my weekends tailgating with friends, sitting outside in the sun (or rain in the case of the 2009 season), and watching my Tigers win more than they lost. Life was good.

In 2010, I was unemployed, living with my parents again, and consequentially, didn't go to any football games. However, I did get to watch tons of football games on television. Where I was previously giving up 12 hours of my Saturday to follow one game and all of the activities that accompanied it, I was now following five or six games with no problems. Honestly, outside of the whole living at home thing, this wasn't a bad setup. By the time 2011 rolled around, I was employed again and while I wasn't able to go to all the Clemson home games due to distance I was able to go to a couple. I also managed to work in a few trips to go see Duke, Wake Forest, and Ohio State play. Last year was a repeat of the same, minus the trip to Ohio State.

While the last two years have been fun and I've really enjoyed getting out and going to the games, part of me missed the simple fun of the 2010 season. There was something to be said about being able to watch every game, including the marquee ones, instead of just the one you're at. Then there's the expense factor. Even though I wasn't working, I was able to come up with enough cash to buy a 12-pack and some meat to grill. I could have a blast for less than $20. Going to the games is great, but when you do it six to seven times a season, it adds up fast. Gas, tickets, lodging, food, and beer don't come cheap, then there's the hard to measure aspect of time. Believe the hype, time is money. Still, nothing beats being at a game in-person. College football season might as well be a four month long reunion. Every week is a chance to catch up with friends and family that you probably haven't seen since last football season. Old memories are recalled, bad decisions are made, and as a result, new memories are created. Have I ever shared with you how ridiculous that trip to Columbus in 2011 was? No? Well it was awesome. Have I ever told you about all the fun I had in 2010? No? That's because there's nothing to share. Being social has its perks.

Ohio State beat up Indiana that weekend. Our crew beat up downtown Columbus.

With the 2013 season quickly approaching, I've been trying to decide how I want to spend this season. Do I want to hide inside my apartment for 4 months, only to overdose on football? Do I want to go full bore the way we have for the much of the last 13 years? Or do I want to split the difference and check out a game or two in person while catching the rest from the comfort of my new recliner?

What are your thoughts? Where do you prefer to watch a game?

Sunday Night Selections: The Top 25

2013-07-07T23:40:00.000-04:00

Since my blog's inception, I've tried a few different themed posts. Some good, some bad, but the one that I surprisingly stuck with the longest was Sunday Night Selections. I wrote my first SnS post way back in April of 2006 and somehow, someway I managed to crank out over 160 of them. With so many of them under my belt, I felt now was a good time to revisit some of them and pick out my top 25 songs. Since these posts try to be more about the music than me rambling, I'll cut the chit-chat and start with the music. This week's entry...

#25: Fastball - The Way
Originally featured September 9, 2007

Pop
Fastball - "The Way"
Everyone remembers the finer details of their firsts. Their first kiss. Their first sexual experience. Their first paycheck. Those are fun and all, but who remembers the details of their first experience as a legal driver? I do. On a nice summer day in June of 1998, my grandpa and I left the DMV with more than what we entered with. My grandpa with a newfound sense of relief (or fear) and me with a freshly minted South Carolina driver's license. Now that I was the official wheelman I got to control what we listened to on the radio. With little delay I flipped the dial from whatever gospel station my grandpa was listening to Top-40 station WNOK. Fastball's "The Way" happened to be playing on the radio. While not a big fan of the group, I do like the song, so I left it there. Now as to why I actually bothered to remember that this song was playing, who knows. Maybe I thought it would be good trivia fodder down the road.

As far as the song itself, apparently there's a nice backstory to it, which makes the lyrics all that much more interesting.

'The Way' revolves around an older married couple who decide to give it all away by packing up and going driving. Along the way their car breaks down, so they continue on foot. As the song goes on, it becomes apparent that these two achieve happiness by losing touch with the world.
Fastball bassist Tony Scalzo came up with the idea for the song after reading journalistic articles which described the disappearance of an older married couple who left home in June of 1997 to attend a family reunion but never arrived. About the song, Scalzo said that "It's a romanticized take on what happened" - he "pictured them taking off to have fun, like they did when they first met."

Fascinating.

Turning Over A New Leaf...in Animal Crossing #ACNL

2013-07-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

(Ha, I'm not even sorry for that pun. It was bad on purpose.)

It's hard to write a review on for Animal Crossing: New Leaf (for the Nintendo 3DS), as the game really has no purpose. It is completely what you make of it. There's no princesses to save or bad guys to kill, it's just you, your neighbors, and your imagination. Unlike say, Super Mario Bros. or Assassin's Creed, no two players will have the exact same Animal Crossing experience. It's that uniqueness that makes Animal Crossing special.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (ACNL) is the fourth game in Nintendo's Animal Crossing series. Animal Crossing is best described as "a community simulation video game series, in which the player lives in a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, carrying out various activities. The series is notable for its open-ended gameplay and extensive use of the game systems' internal clock and calendar to simulate real passage of time." At its core, that's exactly what ACNL is. If you've played any of the previous games in the series, you know what you're in for. Though, at the same time, you really don't. You see, Animal Crossing: New Leaf throws a new twist into the series. In this game, you become the mayor of the village, replacing the now retired Mayor Tortimer from the first three games. On the surface, this move seemed to be nothing more than a gimmick, this game's 'hook' if you will. Thankfully, was I quite wrong in making that assumption. Taking on the role of mayor breathed just enough fresh air into a franchise that was starting to get a bit stale after the less than stellar Wii iteration, "Animal Crossing: City Folk."

Much like before, you'll spend the majority of your time tending to your quirky neighbors, expanding and decorating your home, collecting bugs and fish, and cultivating your flower garden. However, in your new role of mayor, you now get to make decisions that effect day-to-day life in your village. Should you renovate the museum or dedicate resources to building a fountain? What would your fellow villagers enjoy more, a coffee shop or a night club? Or perhaps both? Mind you, none of these decisions need to be made, they're just fun to do so.

And at the end of the day, that's what Animal Crossing: New Leaf is all about - fun. Good, clean, fun. Making mayor-type decisions? Fun. Taking the time to perfectly organize your house? Fun. Filling up your museum with fossils you dug up? Fun. Jumping online to visit the villages of your friends? Fun. It's a simple, passive fun, but a strangely addictive one all the same. Once you have started a game of Animal Crossing, you will find yourself coming back to it quite often. Sometimes for only 15 minutes, sometimes for 3 hours at a time. Each play session will be completely different but comfortably familiar at the same time. This is a title you will lose hours and hours of your life to, yet you will be strangely OK with that.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf has an MSRP of $34.99 and can be purchased from various retail outlets or directly from the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

Disclaimer: As a Nintendo Brand Ambassador, I am occasionally provided with products from Nintendo to review. A complimentary downloadable version of Animal Crossing New Leaf was provided for me to review. We purchased another copy of ACNL from the Nintendo eShop ($34.99) for Emily to experience and enjoy the world of Animal Crossing. The opinions expressed are all mine and not those of Brand About Town or Nintendo.

The Gift of Life

2013-07-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

In SC you have to renew your license every 5 years. In 1998, 2003, and 2008 I made the conscious decision not to become an organ donor. It wasn't that I had anything against the practice, it's just that I hadn't quite come to grips with my own mortality yet. The idea of them "harvesting" my organs wasn't something I wanted to be reminded about every time I looked at my driver's license - no matter how infrequent that was.

A few weeks ago, I had to renew my driver's license. This time, I checked the box to become an organ donor. I'm not really sure why, as I'm still not "comfortable" with the idea of dying. Maybe it's because I finally decided that my silly fear wasn't worth potentially losing two lives over. It took me two seconds to say "Yes." Those two seconds could be life changing (or life-giving) for someone else. Knowing that is kinda cool.

Lazy But Talented

2013-07-01T23:57:00.000-04:00

"Lazy, but talented."

It's a phrase most people wouldn't use to describe me. Any time I've been judged, be it by friends, coworkers, or supervisors, it's been generally very positive. Phrases like "Creative thinker," "Team player," and "Hard worker" get thrown around and they're all great, but they couldn't be further from the truth.

"Lazy, but talented." Forever damning, forever true. My entire life, I've always been the kid who never had to exert themselves to succeed. I'm a smart, amiable person who somewhere along the way figured out the art of bullshit. Over time that creates the perfect wave of momentum that can carry you pretty far in life.

After 25 years or so, the water in my wave pool ran out (hey recession, great to meet you), but I think I've finally managed to pull myself back onto the surfboard. That's great and all, but really bad at the same time. I'm not sure what it was, be it turning 30, the current case of "low job libido" I'm suffering from, or some other event, but for whatever reason I really want to see what I can do *with life* when I really put my mind to it. No one more than me realizes how much potential I have. Maybe it's time to finally start using some of it.

A long time ago I found out that the secret to being truly successful was to do the things no one else wanted to do. With today being the first day of the second half of the year, I decided that now was as good of a time as any to start doing shit I hate doing.

Who knows? Two years from now nothing may have changed. I may give this up next week. Whatevs. What matters now is that I'm giving this an honest shot. We'll see what happens when it happens.