Friday, March 27, 2009
Dan Seals (1948 - 2009)
Everyone might not have been a fan, but I was. From his days as 'England Dan and John Ford Coley', to his solo career, I always liked the music of Dan Seals. I was sad to hear that he had passed on.
It's not quite Elvis dying on his toilet, or John Lennon being murdered, but it's still sad. He had better songs, but this is the one I want played at my funeral.
Dan Seals (1948 - 2009)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
25 Random Things About Me
Just as an exercise to keep on here and writing, since I've been so bad lately, I'm going to add this. This is my 25 Random Things About Me From Facebook. Not everyone who reads here is on my list on Facebook, so some people haven't seen this.
What I'm going to do, for what it's worth, is break this down and make each item an individual post. Just to expand on it. Some will be good, some will be boring, some might be revealing. Stay tuned.
This is it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
1. I think the 5 greatest musical acts in history are the Beatles, Elvis, Merle Haggard, Pink Floyd, and Alison Krauss. You don't have to agree, but then it just proves you don't know what good music is.
2. I've been on television in six countries (United States, South Korea, Germany, Angola, Latvia, & Slovenia)
3. Someday I will buy a tropical island in the South Pacific, move there and never leave. Special invitation only to visit, so be nice to me.
4. People think I talk to much, and I should shut up at times. They're right, but I don't care. People who knew me when I was young know how painfully shy I was and how hard it was for me to interact with people. I would take F's in school, so I didn't have to get up in front class and read a paper. I know how I was then, and I know how I am now. Yeah, I irritate people at times, but I will not be silent. I will never be that way again. Deal with it. I have.
5. Beer, pizza, ice cream, buttermilk biscuits. I believe that pretty much says it all.
6. If they offered me a place on a space mission to explore new planets, I'm gone. No doubt, no hesitation. I won't even pack. I'll buy it when I get there.
7. I think a lot of people are jealous of me, because they always show it when we trade stories. The problem is, their stories start: last fall, when I was in Sheboygan for a convention. My stories start off: when I was in the middle of Africa watching the wild elephants; the day I came face-to-face with a North Korean soldier; one day in the middle of a tank battle; yesterday, when I met the President; or this time I got arrested by the police in Latvia. Sorry, that's what I have. I'm not going to apologize for living a charmed life. I think instead of being jealous, people should stop reading about my life on Facebook and go get their own. Take a chance. Explore. Experience. There's a whole, big, bright, beautiful world out there, and it's yours for the taking.
8. I love my daughter more than anyone in the world, but I know it's a good thing she was born at the time she was. If she had come along 10 years earlier, or 5 years earlier, or even 2 years earlier, I'm not sure I was the man I am today, and I don't know if I would be doing what I'm doing now. I would like to think I would, but I also think I might have been the guy to walk away. I guess timing is everything.
9. I don't know if I'm the person I am today because of my family, or in spite of them. If you know my family, you know what I mean. That's not meant to be an insult to my family; it's just the truth. And they all know it.
10. The only thing I've ever really wanted to do is be a writer (realistically). Someday I will get paid to write something. There has to be a book out there I can write. And I will do it. Eventually.
11. I've only ever loved 2 women in my life, and they were both the right woman, at the time. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it work with either one of them. But I'll keep trying until I get it right.
12. I think my friends that I have are my greatest asset. I have the greatest group of friends anyone could every want. And because of the places I live, I have friends all over the world. Thanks to e-mail, I talk to people everyday on six continents. Whether or not they want to take credit for it, I am who I am today because of my friends.
13. My favorite vehicle of all time that I owned was a piece-of-shit '75 Dodge Ram pick-up. The breaks were shot, the suspension was a distant memory, and I swear it got negative gas mileage. You can have your Mercedes and Volvo's. Give me that pick-up again, and I'll never own another vehicle again.
14. I've had six surgical procedures, have been to the emergency room 29 times, but have had only one broken bone, and only received stitches one. Sure, I need to lose 15 pounds. But I bounce.
15. I hesitate to use the term soul-mate (since Jorgen has said we shouldn't), but I know who the perfect woman for me is. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I wasn't able to do anything about it at the time. But I know she's the one, because any time you can get a woman to smile like that, you're doing something right. I know where she is and what she's doing. And one day, when my life is better, I'm going to go knock on her door and ask her to move to an island in the South Pacific. And I'm 90% sure her answer will be: "What took you so long".
16. I'm one of the 5 smartest people I've ever encountered. Sure, there are people out there with higher IQ's, and who are smarter than me. But of all the people I've ever met in my life, there are only 4 as smart as I am. That sounds egotistical, but it's true. Deal with it, and don't complain. And if you have to ask if you're one of the 4, then you aren't.
17. I don't understand people who like to play, "What if?". Because you can't. You can't go back and change things. You can't redo decisions and change situations. What you know is what you have. I could have made better decisions in my life (we all could), but I wouldn't trade what I know for what might be. If you change, you relegate the people you know and the things you've done to nothingness. If you're not happy with your life, make better decisions in the future, stop complaining about the ones you've made in the past. And stop asking me, "What if?"
18. I've ordered beer in 35 different countries in 12 different languages. It's important to have a hobby.
19. Every day I doubt myself about whether I'm doing the right thing for my daughter. I know I am, and she's better off having me here than not, but it's still rough for her, and if I can't make her life better, then I should go away. I know I am a positive influence on her, but I still doubt myself everyday. Maybe that's a good thing, because it will make me try harder.
20. I wish I could have a better relationship with my daughter's mother. Not because I want to be friends with her, but we do have a child together. We are supposed to be the adults in the equation, and some days we fail miserably at it.
21. I like beer.
22. I subscribe to the 3 B's theory of life:
Blond hair
Blue eyes
Big tits
Sure I'm a shallow person, but I'm having fun. Are you?
23. I plan on living until I'm 100. The day after my 100th birthday, everything is fair game. Before then, I'm going kicking and screaming and taking the bastards with me.
24. I think people who engage in exercises like this only do it try and impress people with how smart they are, or the things they have accomplished in their lives. I, however, am able to pull it off successfully. It's the truth, you know it, deal with it.
25. I love this crazy tragic, sometimes magic, awful beautiful life.
What I'm going to do, for what it's worth, is break this down and make each item an individual post. Just to expand on it. Some will be good, some will be boring, some might be revealing. Stay tuned.
This is it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
1. I think the 5 greatest musical acts in history are the Beatles, Elvis, Merle Haggard, Pink Floyd, and Alison Krauss. You don't have to agree, but then it just proves you don't know what good music is.
2. I've been on television in six countries (United States, South Korea, Germany, Angola, Latvia, & Slovenia)
3. Someday I will buy a tropical island in the South Pacific, move there and never leave. Special invitation only to visit, so be nice to me.
4. People think I talk to much, and I should shut up at times. They're right, but I don't care. People who knew me when I was young know how painfully shy I was and how hard it was for me to interact with people. I would take F's in school, so I didn't have to get up in front class and read a paper. I know how I was then, and I know how I am now. Yeah, I irritate people at times, but I will not be silent. I will never be that way again. Deal with it. I have.
5. Beer, pizza, ice cream, buttermilk biscuits. I believe that pretty much says it all.
6. If they offered me a place on a space mission to explore new planets, I'm gone. No doubt, no hesitation. I won't even pack. I'll buy it when I get there.
7. I think a lot of people are jealous of me, because they always show it when we trade stories. The problem is, their stories start: last fall, when I was in Sheboygan for a convention. My stories start off: when I was in the middle of Africa watching the wild elephants; the day I came face-to-face with a North Korean soldier; one day in the middle of a tank battle; yesterday, when I met the President; or this time I got arrested by the police in Latvia. Sorry, that's what I have. I'm not going to apologize for living a charmed life. I think instead of being jealous, people should stop reading about my life on Facebook and go get their own. Take a chance. Explore. Experience. There's a whole, big, bright, beautiful world out there, and it's yours for the taking.
8. I love my daughter more than anyone in the world, but I know it's a good thing she was born at the time she was. If she had come along 10 years earlier, or 5 years earlier, or even 2 years earlier, I'm not sure I was the man I am today, and I don't know if I would be doing what I'm doing now. I would like to think I would, but I also think I might have been the guy to walk away. I guess timing is everything.
9. I don't know if I'm the person I am today because of my family, or in spite of them. If you know my family, you know what I mean. That's not meant to be an insult to my family; it's just the truth. And they all know it.
10. The only thing I've ever really wanted to do is be a writer (realistically). Someday I will get paid to write something. There has to be a book out there I can write. And I will do it. Eventually.
11. I've only ever loved 2 women in my life, and they were both the right woman, at the time. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it work with either one of them. But I'll keep trying until I get it right.
12. I think my friends that I have are my greatest asset. I have the greatest group of friends anyone could every want. And because of the places I live, I have friends all over the world. Thanks to e-mail, I talk to people everyday on six continents. Whether or not they want to take credit for it, I am who I am today because of my friends.
13. My favorite vehicle of all time that I owned was a piece-of-shit '75 Dodge Ram pick-up. The breaks were shot, the suspension was a distant memory, and I swear it got negative gas mileage. You can have your Mercedes and Volvo's. Give me that pick-up again, and I'll never own another vehicle again.
14. I've had six surgical procedures, have been to the emergency room 29 times, but have had only one broken bone, and only received stitches one. Sure, I need to lose 15 pounds. But I bounce.
15. I hesitate to use the term soul-mate (since Jorgen has said we shouldn't), but I know who the perfect woman for me is. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I wasn't able to do anything about it at the time. But I know she's the one, because any time you can get a woman to smile like that, you're doing something right. I know where she is and what she's doing. And one day, when my life is better, I'm going to go knock on her door and ask her to move to an island in the South Pacific. And I'm 90% sure her answer will be: "What took you so long".
16. I'm one of the 5 smartest people I've ever encountered. Sure, there are people out there with higher IQ's, and who are smarter than me. But of all the people I've ever met in my life, there are only 4 as smart as I am. That sounds egotistical, but it's true. Deal with it, and don't complain. And if you have to ask if you're one of the 4, then you aren't.
17. I don't understand people who like to play, "What if?". Because you can't. You can't go back and change things. You can't redo decisions and change situations. What you know is what you have. I could have made better decisions in my life (we all could), but I wouldn't trade what I know for what might be. If you change, you relegate the people you know and the things you've done to nothingness. If you're not happy with your life, make better decisions in the future, stop complaining about the ones you've made in the past. And stop asking me, "What if?"
18. I've ordered beer in 35 different countries in 12 different languages. It's important to have a hobby.
19. Every day I doubt myself about whether I'm doing the right thing for my daughter. I know I am, and she's better off having me here than not, but it's still rough for her, and if I can't make her life better, then I should go away. I know I am a positive influence on her, but I still doubt myself everyday. Maybe that's a good thing, because it will make me try harder.
20. I wish I could have a better relationship with my daughter's mother. Not because I want to be friends with her, but we do have a child together. We are supposed to be the adults in the equation, and some days we fail miserably at it.
21. I like beer.
22. I subscribe to the 3 B's theory of life:
Blond hair
Blue eyes
Big tits
Sure I'm a shallow person, but I'm having fun. Are you?
23. I plan on living until I'm 100. The day after my 100th birthday, everything is fair game. Before then, I'm going kicking and screaming and taking the bastards with me.
24. I think people who engage in exercises like this only do it try and impress people with how smart they are, or the things they have accomplished in their lives. I, however, am able to pull it off successfully. It's the truth, you know it, deal with it.
25. I love this crazy tragic, sometimes magic, awful beautiful life.
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