id·i·o·syn·cra·sies
1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

I have one that I’m not sure anyone else really thinks about. Tomorrow I’m leaving on a trip for a few days and will be back on Sunday. Even though this is only a short period of time, it is essential for me to clean up everything in my living quarters so that when I return, it’s perfectly neat and clean. A one night leave doesn’t require that this happen but anything over 2 is a must. I think it has to do that when I return I don’t want to have to worry about anything being out of place because most likely my mind will be somewhere other than how clean my room is.

Just a few that come to mind:

I could turn this into a lengthy post but I don’t have the time. I’m sure everyone has their own quirks which is actually perfectly normal therefore contradicting it being peculiar. So it goes.

There is no arguing with this list, it is truth.

• As you walk, if your right foot points out to the right and your left foot points out to the left with each step you take, you’re not athletic, you are perhaps even goofy. Athletic footsteps points straight ahead. A theory that hasn’t been proven but that has been suggested is that toes that point inward with each step are the highest level of athletes.
• The pace of your walk decides your dedication to life. Slow walkers are probably lazy, out of shape, and are generally lax about life. Quick walkers have places to go and don’t want to waste their time walking from point A to point B.
• Hot Shots Golf 3 on Playstation 2 was the best golf game ever created that tested your hand eye coordination and decision making. If you could shoot -21 on some of their harder courses in high wind, you had something to be proud of. I don’t count golden tee because the track ball isn’t as precise.
• You would think I would have some creative ideas about sleeping and eating but I really don’t. I’ve seen skinny people eat ridiculous amounts, fat people who work out, and people who sleep too much or too little, I don’t see any connection whatsoever to how that determines you as a person.

In more ways than one. It’s sort of a stalled feeling. I’m not sure if its the weather or what but my brain is encountering a blockade. I can’t think through ideas and I’m not even sure what I should be doing if I were to do something. Instead I’m just posting about not knowing what to write about. I’ve used this idea of a post plenty of times and I know it gets old but I have to imagine this is better than nothing. Once people check the site a few days in a row with no update, they just stop checking it.

I also think it’s a combination of my next week coming up which will involve me being out of the state on business and pleasure. I move right into check out mode starting as early as possible. That’s at least my excuse for why I’m not producing for this blog. I’m sure I’ll figure something out but for now, that’s it.

Goddammit. This is what happens when you lay yourself out there with a prediction that falls so flat on its face that you just throw your hands up on the air and say “how can I be so wrong”? I would like to add that this isn’t the first time this has happened to me and it certainly won’t be the last. Life is about conviction and when you believe in something you have to stand by it. If you happen to be wrong, you swallow your pride, admit your wrong in a blog post and move on. If I cost anyone money, I’ll buy you a drink at the bar next time we hang out. I’ll need some proof. How can people that I envy so much fall so short? I’m supposed to have a good judge of character and that has led me to Brady and Belichick. They couldn’t even score a point in the whole 2nd half. It was an embarrassment. Nevertheless, I was wrong, I admit I was wrong, and I will continue on being wrong. One of these times with full conviction, I will be right and forget I was ever wrong.

Today was the first day I put in time serving my community towards the 25 hours I must do before February 9th. I was only able to put in 3 hours but at least it was a start. I’m working at a guild house in the Fairmount area mostly doing landscaping work. I’m working with a girl fresh out of college who is looking to go to med school and serves at the guild house’s communication with any volunteers. Not surprisingly, I’m the only one for this winter portion. This actually works out fairly well considering I force her to take on projects that would most likely be put off to some other time. Today I spent my time shoveling grass out of a 3′ x 20′ bed that will be turned into an asparagus garden. The work was fairly straight forward even for a gardening dolt like myself. It was pretty much how I expected it to go.

I think the bigger picture of this exercise is giving back to the community, something that I rarely do. Sure I’ve run the big shoe game with Jkash at a Ronald McDonald facilty, or walked for a cure with my fraternity back in the day but for the most part, I don’t partake. I suppose there is something fulfilling about working for a better cause even if it’s only so a guild house can eat asparagus. I still have 22 hours to go in the next 3 weeks so I may grow tired of it by then but for the most part, it was a worthwhile exercise.

If you haven’t noticed, which I’m sure you haven’t, I’ve been trying to turn this into more of a barstool fashioned “blog”. Commenting on topical issues or random thoughts that come into my mind that I think would be neat to write about. It’s not surprising that these type of sites are more popular than when I mindlessly write about my daily life. That certainly doesn’t mean that I’m not going to comment on my day to day but it’s clear that unless it’s really interesting, it’s not what sells. All of these sites wouldn’t be moving towards that style if it didn’t read and sell better.

I prescribe to the principal that being yourself and doing what you think is always better than being a follower. What I’ve described above could be looked at as selling out. Attempting to be like something else. I disagree with this assessment because the key to success and improving is adapting. It’s viewing what others are doing and then implementing what they are doing right into what you do. This is called being smart. There is certainly a place for your own ideas but they can stem from a collection of everything that you encounter. Not everything has to be a completely unique idea to be yours.

One of the best questions to ask yourself is what do I want to be? What do I want my business to be? What kind of person do I want to be? What do I want this blog to be? A long term set of values are important to work towards in coming up with short term goals to achieve them. I don’t think most people think about this or they think too little about it. I think people want to got to school, find a job, make money, have a family, and grow old. The journey in between those steps is life and what becomes routine.

I want to be an educated, well rounded, generous, human being who turns a business into a money maker so as Forrest Gump says money becomes one less thing to worry about. When people talk to me I want them to walk away with a feeling that that guy listened to me, was honest, and seemed like a genuinely good person. I’ve already come to terms that I’m going to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. I don’t have the patience in any one activity to belong to the principal of 10,000 hours will make you a master of a subject. The list of things I can do well will just continue to grow as I get older because I’m determined to get better at everything. I want to die saying I’ve traveled the world, I’ve established close relationships, I’ve participated in what life has to offer, I died happy.

So just to conclude with where this post started about the blog. This blog just continues to grow. My grammar will continue to be bad because I never devote any time to getting better at it but the ideas within the blog will develop. The posts will become more interesting. I keep an eye on what people like to view and try to cater towards what people like to view. One day this site will get more than 100 people a day. It may not be today or tomorrow, but I promise this blog is one thing that won’t die because it’s my life no matter how many times I say I’m quitting. These are my ideas and thoughts. It’ll be my legacy, sad as that is but at least there will be something to show my existence for future generations. I probably won’t be looked upon as great mind or tremendous thinker, but to the people who know me and read this blog, you’ll know what I’m about and how I continue to improve in every sense of life.

It’s funny because a few days ago while I was driving I was going to make a post that explained why some of my abilities were superior to most other people. It stemmed from the fact that on my 5 hour trip from Pittsburgh I was literally passed by one other human being. Meaning only one person in our human race that day on our PA turnpike, out of what must have been hundreds, is able to press the limits of our law and speed down the highway. In my own mind for whatever reason I justified that this must set me apart…with the disregard of the law. Coming from a court date this past Wednesday for a public drunkenness where I hired a lawyer and had a judge sentence me to 25 hours of community service as a way to wipe it clean, I decided that maybe a post dedicated to some of my faults may be better suited. To the list.

Lack of History – I’m terrible with history of all sorts. My brain doesn’t handle dates very well and my knowledge of US history is frightening. If I was trying to name the Presidents in order, I’d fail after 3 (Washington, Adams, Jefferson…). I’ve gotten better as I’ve gotten older but I think my brain just doesn’t prioritize historic information as important. We live in the present and I feel like that’s what I should be focused on.

Drunk Memory – This weakness can make you feel like a schmuck. Being hammered but being able to function enough to communicate is dangerous. The state of black out drunkenness or even really drunk leads to not being able to remember information. So if you have conversations with people about specific details when you are too drunk to remember, and then you see that person again, you’ll look like a total ass and repeat info. This makes it so you are constantly guessing what to talk about as not to repeat yourself.

Too quick to judge – My standard thought about someone is that they have to prove to me that they aren’t retarded. I feel everyone has their own skill set but most people are just underachievers. I have a good example and why I picked this trait. I was going back to my apt and in the elevator were these two bros who got off at the same floor and kept walking closer and closer to my door. After realizing these two were my neighbors I asked if they liked Ping Pong, they did, and if they wanted to play. We started playing and it quickly became evident that these two were pretty decent players. In the 4 games of doubles we played, we won the 1st (with better paddles) and lost the next 3. If I had to guess how many rando’s could beat Jeff in I in Ping-Pong, I’d probably say 1%. The fact that two people who happen to live down the hall beat us just shows how I under-estimate the abilities of the human race.

No filter – I’m not sure this is a weakness but I tend to jump to conclusions rather quickly and then speak my mind. Once I consider the variables, I talk. This may lead to a hasty thought process but it will also lead to action. My dad would say this is major negative to my personalty. I believe his thought process is what I call analysis paralysis. It’s analyzing something to death and than not making a move. I find this to be way worse. Even though I may say stupid things or make incorrect decisions, it still an active approach. This however can get you into trouble.

I’m sure people who know me could point out more. I purposely left out drinking and gambling which seem obvious at this point.