It's Hard Writing Blogs On a Phone

Let me just start off by saying that my laptop died, thus, I am writing this on my iPhone. Please disregard any spelling and/or grammatical errors! Okay. So... Same story. I've had this problem before. I forget/put off writing anything on this blog. I know it's really not that big of a deal, but I always end up doing this. Writing is something I absolutely love doing. I genuinely enjoy it. The passion and desire to write isn't why I go weeks on end without posting anything. My problem is this: I love too many things.

I know we all have hobbies and activities that we enjoy. If I had to guess, I'd guess that most of us have a handful. Maybe 2 or 3 at the most. But me? It's more. For starters, I love to read. It's probably the one thing aside from breathing that I do the most. It's borderline obsessive. Between my Bible, the 100+ blogs I follow, newspapers, multiple magazine subscriptions (Wired, Popular Science, ESPN Magazine, GQ, National Geographic, and Relevant are a few of my favorites), and whatever books I'm working on (currently I'm reading two: One about advanced statistical analysis in baseball and the other on quantum theory), I read at least 4-5 hours a day. Sometimes it's even more than that. I wake up every morning at 3am just so I have time to read everything I want to before work at 7am. I pack my tablet and a book in my bag every day and I read on all my breaks. I think you get it. I really like to read.  

I'm not going to go into much detail with my other hobbies too much, because it's really not that interesting and no one wants to hear it. Instead, I'll list all of the extracurricular activities I enjoy daily that don't pertain to work or school. These are things that I literally do every single day. They're part of my routine. They make me happy. But, they can also prove to be huge impediments to my time. 

1. Biking: I bike around 8-10 miles a day. 

2. Running: The time and distance I put in fluctuates, but I run 2-3 times a week. 

3. Basketball: I have a hoop on my driveway and I take a few hundred jumpshots every single night.  

4. Walking: I walk 2.5 miles to and from work every single day. I never drive.  

5. Sports: I'll be as broad as possible. I love sports. I follow baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and NASCAR with a passion. I'm always up to date. I always know scores, standings, stats etc. I also play a ton of fantasy leagues and I work on my lineups daily.
6. NASA. Yes, NASA. I follow up on everything that has to do with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

There are obviously more, but I'm trying to be brief. I keep dragging things on. It annoys me, so I know it annoys those of you reading this. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I invest so much of myself into so many things. I've always been like this. It can be a great thing, and it can be a horrible thing. Anything I take interest in, I become borderline obsessed with it. I want to learn all about it. I want to be an expert in it. The plan isn't to become good at something to impress others or seek their approval, although I guess it may seem like that. But rather, I just really get into things. I've always felt like my mind runs on a different gear than most people. It has to be fed constantly and it acts up really bad when it doesn't get what it needs. Malika can attest to this. My temperament shifts constantly. I've really been working on it. I've been trying to consolidate all of my multiple passions into just a few. I've noticed that every time I try to get away from one hobby that has been eating up my time, I just acquire another. It's just this horrible vicious cycle. I just need to pray on it. I'm going to listen to a podcast while reading baseball news and watching Sports Center.

This blog is horrible, fragmented, pointless, and uninspiring. But, I wrote something! I'm hoping to get back into it more when I get my new computer next week. Writing anything makes me really happy. Moving forward, I hope this is one of those hobbies that I make more time for. I really enjoy it. Thanks gor reading, ya'll. 

Drums.

   
     I don't listen to enough music. I just don't. I'm convinced that music is just one of many things essential to my overall health. I try not to make it an idol, but I put it in the same class as exercise and drinking water. It's just really important to me. Everyone has a thing or things that bring them joy. Music brings me that joy. Bliss. One of my goals (I hate the idea of "resolutions" because it's synonymous with failure) for 2013 is to make music a bigger part of my life again.      These past few years have really shifted things in a major way for me. For those who haven't known for me for very long, I used to play drums. A lot. All the time, in fact. Since sixth grade, you'd almost never see me without a pair of drumsticks in my hands. It's really scary and alarming how things can change so quickly. It's time to recommit to my craft. The compulsion and desire to play drums and make music never went away at all. It's just as strong as it ever was. Yep, time to get out my sticks and my practice pad and put on some headphones and just do it. Time to play.

By the way, this post made me all nostalgic and thinking about the good ole days when I was in high school and all of my siblings were in band with me. So, I went searching, and pulled this one up. Talk about a blast from the past. There was one year where all four of us kids were in band at once. I've got to find a picture of that one too. Man, the fun we had.

Does music do this for you, too? What effects does music have on you? Let me know with a comment.
 

Newtown

     I've been in a really odd mood the last few days. I attribute nearly all of the emotions I've been feeling to the shooting. I don't mean to sound so introspective in this; that would be so selfish and wrong of me. But I find that expressing myself through writing helps me figure things out in a way. My mind becomes less fragmented when I form my emotions and thoughts into little sentences. I know everyone has been talking quite a bit about the victims and the killer these last few days, and with good reason. It's captivating in the worst possible way. Nearly everyone feels pain in this.

   
 Evil corporate media isn't helping the situation in the least. I mean it. They're evil. These news stations operate under the premise that true journalism is certainly dead, and it doesn't bother them in the least. They're not reporting the news; they're poking and prodding and trying to exploit these victim's families. They are the harbinger to complete human indecency. It's all about sensationalism. The Story. Nothing is considered too low for them. They have no class. But, then again, neither do we. We crave what they give us. It's a circle. A chain. They don't do what they do for nothing. They have an audience. Give the people what they want! Does anyone else feel this way? I'm literally avoiding watching any tv at all. I can't take it. Events like this are horribly tragic, but so is our reactions to them. It's sad. It's heart-breaking. It's disgusting. No one is showing these families any respect. Let them grieve.
     I am really struggling with what I should be feeling. A part of me is doing all I can to not succumb to the hatred that many people have for the shooter, but it really is a challenge not to. We want to hate him. We feel like he deserves it. After all, look what he did to them. But, we have to refrain from judgment and hatred. All that is expected of us is to pray. Pray for everyone involved directly and indirectly. Pray for those who were lost, their families, the shooter's family, and even the shooter himself. I know, that is a really tough thing to do. Pray for the killer? How can we? Just try. Give it all to God. Just pray for all of us as a whole. Men and women can be so cruel. So dark. We all suffer from afflictions. No one is perfect. We don't know what was going on in that man's mind when he did that. I'm not justifying his actions in the least, but we have to at least consider the option that this person had severe mental disorders. Instead of hating him, let's refocus our attention and energy on supporting the families involved in all of this. Let's rewrite the story. Let's be better.

These Last Few Weeks

     This last month has been crazy. Absolutely crazy. Malika and I are finally in our new home. It sounds kinda weird saying that, but it's a good weird. I didn't expect to feel so good about owning my own home, but I do. We went through so much to make it all happen. There were several instances where the stress of it all became almost too overwhelming and I wanted to just call the entire thing off, but Malika kept me grounded and faithful and we finally got it done.  

     

     Now that we're in the home, it has become very apparent that the work is not finished. There's a lot to be done. It's okay, though. I know that we're going to be here for a while. There's security in this. It actually motivates me to start banging out some projects on this home. It's ours. Malika and I share the same vision; we want this home to be our sanctuary. It's going to be exactly what we want. We've already started caulking holes, changing light fixtures, and spent hours working on the yard. It hasn't been shown any love in a long time. We've got a huge unkempt starfruit tree in our backyard. There are starfruit everywhere. Everywhere. I don't even like starfruit all that much. If anyone wants some free starfruit, let me know. The second bathroom is bright yellow. The entire bathroom. It will literally hurt your eyes when you walk in.  I know one thing: THAT'S GETTING PAINTED. There's a lot of things that we want to do to the home, but there really isn't anything majorly wrong with the home at all. The water heater and A/C unit are both brand new, as is the fridge that the former owner left us. The front yard has a beautiful tree in the middle of it, and the back yard is fenced in and enclosed with beautiful trees around most of it, so it's really private and quiet. It's literally a haven. Our own little place in the world. Fellow homeowners know the feeling. It's great knowing you own your own place.  I'm just so excited. I'm an overly-happy and optimistic person by nature, but buying this home has pushed me over the top. I'm thrilled. 

     

     This fall semester of school was tough, but I'm trying to finish well. I just pumped out a 15-page research paper. I did all but two pages of it in one 6-hour sitting at the public library. Yeah. I feel pretty good about it. It's probably not the best paper I've ever written, but I did put a lot of time and effort into it and I'm confident. Malika has already scheduled me for Spring semester. I have no idea what classes I'm taking, but as my life coach, , motivational speaker, and personal assistant, I know Malika has scheduled me for all the right classes that I need and will be successful in. I place so  much faith in her. She never lets me down. She never forgets anything. She's the secret to all of my success.  

     

     We've been dealing with a lot the last few months. A whole lot. But ironically, we've gotten closer during all of this. We have really started to cling to each other when stuff gets real. She's been essential to my sanity. Those close to me know this: I have several apparent character flaws. I bottle everything up, then I'll randomly snap without warning. Not saying that I destroy things or punch people in their faces or anything. I just allow myself to become emotionally defeated at times. I am extremely analytical and tend to skew reality because of it. I often become to enveloped in the present, and struggle to see the bigger picture at times. I hate that about myself, but she handles it really well. She doesn't ever take me too seriously. She knows I don't always handles things in the best way and finds way to calm me down and feel loved. I always feel loved by her. I give her a lot of credit. I'm annoying and there's a lot to me. She keeps me grounded in my faith and constantly reminds me to trust in God and just pray. What an amazing woman. Men, do you ever wake up and just thank God for your woman? You should. They're real gifts. Treasures.   

     

     My birthday is on the 10th. I never make a big deal about it. For whatever reason, I don't like drawing a whole lot of attention to myself by letting everyone know about it constantly. I know a lot of people who do that. It doesn't hurt anyone and they can do what they like, but it's just not for me. I'm off work that day. Malika keeps asking what I want to do that day. So far, this is all I've got; Read a lot, eat a cheeseburger, take a nap in the yard, go to the library for some new material.. That's it. I'm lame, I know.  

     2012 has been really good to me, but I'm really looking forward to 2013. 

What was the best thing about 2012 for you? Leave me a comment. Let's talk. 

I'm Really Disappointed In Us

I need to get a few things out. I am just so disappointed and saddened by the actions many of my friends and colleagues during this election year. This has left me feeling genuinely discouraged. Why is it that politics always seems to bring out the very worst in all of us? We says things about other people that we would never normally say, and we justify it by the fact that it's a "part of politics." Seeing adults resort to name-calling and getting into heated arguments on Facebook and Twitter is disturbing. To be completely honest, it kind of makes me want to find new friends.
   
This is how I see things. People are negative and confrontational by nature. We're aggressive. We love drama and chaos. We love telling people how we think and feel and how things should be. Challenging other people's beliefs is something that comes naturally to us. We're often narrow-minded, stubborn, and deficient in grace and humility. This is instinctual. We really have to keep ourselves in check or we turn into monsters. If we never take a step back and look at ourselves, we'd never see this as truth because it's something we do without stopping to think about it. Because we're so driven emotionally to politics, we often forget to think and speak rationally. Our best God-given qualities are overshadowed by blind rage. We forget who we're speaking to. For the most part, the arguments I've witnessed weren't between strangers, but rather, they were between friends and family. Isn't that sad? Do we really hold our own flawed personal ideologies to a higher regard than our family and friends? Think about it. We are so consumed with pride and self-righteousness that we are willing to denigrate everyone we know to preserve our proverbial pedestal.

Basically, stop being so nasty all the time. For real. Don't allow two guys you've never even met ruin the real relationships you have in your own personal life. People before politics. The election is over. It's time to come together and be better. The world is already filled with enough negativity. I don't know why this short post makes me feel a little better, but it does.

Question: Do you think this country will always be governed by a two-party political system, or do you think we will ever get to the point where things are run by popular vote and political parties no longer exist? Why or why not? Let me now by leaving a comment.