It seems as if there is a pretty nasty bug going around. The ‘meme‘ bug. I’m blaming the water this time around. Last time this bug hit it was due in part because of National Blog Posting MOnth. This time it was a note that was tagged in. At first, it was just one person … the next day, two tags …. the next day 4 tags…. and it just seems to grow exponentially. I figured not only will I post up my meme, but I’ll respond in paragraph form, mostly, and It’ll be a multi-part series.

So here is the first part ………. ’15 Things you probably didn’t know about me’

1. I’m anal retentive when it comes to ironing. I mean ANAL. Every morning for as long as I can remember I’ve always ironed my clothes. Even boxers and socks if need be. I know what your thinking, and the only thing I can say is pray for me.
2. Even after 15+ years of wearing an analog watch, If the dials are not on the 12, 3, 6 and 9 I still have to count the notches. I know, pretty ridiculous.
3. I have a plastic sandwich bag dated February 5th, 1995 full of my hair I pulled out while going through chemo. I know, gross. Freebie. I had a pick line placed in my arm with a small circular hole, and two more smaller holes where the stitches were. When my elbow is bent at 90 degrees, it looks like a smiley face and makes me chuckle every time I see it.
4. I can’t stand wearing regular T-Shirts. You’ll be hard pressed to find me wearing just a regular T-Shirt. 99.9999999999% of the shirts I wear have collars and are button-ups.
5. As a kid, I had dreams of being an Aeronautical Engineer. I still do, and as much as I hate *coughs* love computers, I think I’ll eventually have a second profession within my lifetime GOD willing.
6. I’m a 5 year old trapped in a 24 year old’s body.
7. When I smile, my right side dimple isn’t really a dimple but a scar I had when I was a kid. I was the victim of a serious dog bite that left a chunk of my cheek missing.
8. 9 times out of 10 mornings I awake only to think to myself ‘I wish I could just spend the day in the mountains instead of ‘ _________________.
9. Although I’ve worn contacts for 8 or so years, I still squirm a bit knowing I have to put my finger in my eyes.
10. In my ‘man purse’(read: my backpack that happens to go with me everywhere), I carry  my ipod, my phone, flint, an emergency blanket, a knife, a whistle, signaling mirror, waterproof matches, a compass, a lighter, and a stogy. You never know when your ever going to want to light up …. or …. be in an emergency situation
11. Not to pat my own back, but I am exceptional problem solver. The bigger the problem the better. My brain just works that way. On the other hand, don’t count on me to tie my shoes without complicating the situation.
12. I was told by a physic I was a fearless captain of a pirate vessel who once lost his entire crew to the likes of a vicious sea monster only to slay the beast by pure luck. Apparently he choked to death on my peg leg. Ok, so I wasn’t told all of that exactly … only that I was a sailor in my past life, which so happens to explain my love of the water and my ‘loaner’ characteristics. Freebie: I’ve actually never seen the ocean. I lived in England when I was a child, however, I don’t remember any of it. I also flew to Houston to see my sister once, but due to sun glare never saw the Gulf.
13. I love super heros. Any of the comic book charachters I love, and could tell you alot about them, but here’s the catch. I’ve never owned or read an actual comic book. Superman is the coolest in case your wondering. Wolverine a close second.
14. I’m a boring guy. Gee, really? Yes, really. So much so that I’m perfectly fine eating the same food day in and day out, and I can listen to the same song on repeat for hours on end, days even if it’s good enough, without ever needing to change the song. Freebie: I love music. It and it alone has the power to make me feel like a million dollars, or drop me to my knees in dispair. It’s envokes such powerful reactions from me. At work, you’ll always find me with a pair of headphones on, and 9 times out of 10, you’ll see I will have music going if I’m ever by myself. Also, you’ll notice just about all of my blogs have titles that are unrelated to my actual post. If you copy and paste them into google, usually it’s song lyrics. I can pinpoint exactly what I was doing when and where just by the music I remember listening to when I was blogging.
15. Even though I’m a big guy, my favorite excercise is to ride my bike. I could ride my bike 20+ miles and not even notice it. I’m not sure what it does, but it does something to me. A trance almost.

So there you have it. 15 things you probably didn’t know about me. Stay tuned, this is the first of a few part series……….

Whew. What a year. I have to admit, it’s already shaping up to be a good one. One worth blogging about. One worth remembering.

My main reason for posting(although I have many) was due in part to cross a partial item off my Bucket List! Item #9 was to learn to snowboard, so I’m going to have to amend the list. I didn’t learn to snowboard, but I DID go skiing! 6 Years of living in the Rockies I figured it was about time, and the opportunity arose. My goal is if it’s on my list, regardless of how daunting, to say yes and cross it off.

We headed up to Copper early Saturday morning and truth be told it was a pretty decent drive. The whole morning I was pretty sick to my stomach. Not due to the flue or cold, but I was pretty nervous. Everybody I had talked to in regards to hitting the slopes basically painted a nightmare of a picture. Broken ribs, a chance for my femur to be shoved through my nose, legs wrapped around my head. “Your going to hate it the first few times” everybody said, “Don’t buy any gear for a while until you get the hang of it”. In all my years of living here, I’ve heard the same ole same ole and it confused me. Why would anybody WANT to ski? If it sucks so bad the first few times, who’d be stupid enough to continue through with it? Plus, how expensive it is! All the gear needed, gloves, socks, pants, a good coat, and that’s just to be allowed onto the mountain. It’s a really expensive hobby to say the least.

From the highway you could see the mountain tops, and these specks that I later realized were ski lifts making their way to the tip top of the mountain. Oey. I’m afraid of heights too, did I mention that? Ok, perhaps I did, but did I mention that the “safety bar” is optional? Yes, no typo, optional. Insane. Coupled with the the thought that I’d have a yardsale or two in front of an entire ski resort. Well, sign me up! Sounds like an awesome time! Even better that I have to pay for it!

Fast forward a few hours and as tired as I was, I was enjoying myself. Tired? Skiing? Lets just say I snowplowed down copper mountain twice If you’ve never snowplowed, the best way I can describe it is if somebody is trying to push your legs together, and it’s up to you to push twice as hard against it, or you’ll rocket down the side of a mountain. Still not making sense? Imagine a thighmaster on it’s highest setting and you have to keep you thighs squeezed …. all the way down a mountain side. How long is a mountain side you ask? It took about 20 minutes to get to the very top going at a pretty steady speed.

At first I was a bit ballsy. I’d go wrecklessly try to stop, wipe, rinse and repeat. That of course changed over the course of time. Your body, I found out, can’t wipe too many times until it becomes painful. Another reason that changed my wrecklessness was going down in a pretty steep hill. I gained too much speed, became a bit wobbly, and headed straight for the tree line. I probably was only going 2 miles an hour, but it felt like I was going a hundred. I knew the concept of stopping, but putting a concept into practice is well, it’s useless it’s first time. Heading straight for the trees, I had no choice but to bail. Skii’s, poles, arms and legs scattered in all directions. It was a fall that made me just lay sprawled out in the snow, not wanting to move a muscle knowing I was but a minute away from the top of the mountain, with a bigger majority still left ahead of me.

I took it pretty easily from there on out.

I was asked by some co-workers if I’d do it again. It’s not a matter of if, but when. I’m thinking in two weeks or so when my limbs reattach themselves to my body properly, my muscles stop burning and my injuries obtained through my countless face plants wear off.

Skiing is a ton of fun, and the views despite my fear of heights were absolutely breathtaking. As for skiing, I’m not that good at it yet, but I do want to be “decent”. Then I’ll try snowboarding …. not because it’s cooler, or it’s hip, or anything like that. Primarily because I want to punch the inventor of the ski boot in the face and because carrying 2 poles, 2 ski’s and ski boots is fuggin ridiculous. I basically dragged my ski’s over the asphalt I was so exhausted. &^%$ them, they were rentals

I’m lazy. What can I say?

With the passing of time, one year into the next, it’s customary for me to tell you all about how I’m going to quit smoking, lose weight by going to the gym everyday, or a resolution to go solve world hunger. Sadly, life doesn’t work out exactly according to plan, so in the spirit of the New Year, I give to you, not only my new years resolution, but an updated “Bucket List”. Hopefully when I get to cross them off my list, I’ll be able to update everybody with a blog entry! Hopefully I’ll be able to update this list frequently with items I get to remove!

1. Bury my feet with the incoming and outgoing tide of the ocean(the gulf doesn’t count. I’m talking Atlantic/Pacific).
2. Touch a dolphin. Nay, did I say touch? I meant kiss.
3. Watch the Buffalo Bills win a SuperBowl.
4. Drive a vehicle 200mph+, or own a Corvette. Either will do.
5. I want to spend enough time in the boonies to write an autobiography.
6. Learn to flyfish. I bought a rod a year ago, and have been practising!
7. Run a mile in under six minutes …. when I’m 45 years old or older, ok at any age from here on out.
8. Go offroading in Moab.
9. Learn to Ski & SnowBoard.
10. Pull 10 people’s cars out of the side of the road during a blizzard. I pulled 3 cars out of a blizzard on my way back from lubbock with the Jeep. It took a LONG time to accomplish that, so I’m calling this one good.
11. Play *and* BEAT all of the Final Fantasy series(minus online).
12. Go Deep Sea Fishing. Preferably with my pops.
13. Go on a super scary roller coaster, like the mind eraser. Believe it or not, I had a little lady chauffeur me around Six Flags, and not only did I go on the mind eraser(multiple times mind you), I LOVE roller coasters now! There is an old wooden one at elitches that’s my favorite.
    
14. Visit the FJ Summit in Ouray Colorado for a week.
15. Be employed by the Buffalo Bills to be a beat writer.
16. Read the entire Bible, front to back.
17. Learn a foreign language.
18. Fire a Bazooka, I mean really fire a bazooka.
19. Learn to Scuba Dive.
20. Go to a 3 Doors Down Concert(Ok, I’ve already done this, but it was something I wanted to do for many, many years now).
21. Go on a cruise.
22. See the running of the Bulls.
23. Travel to see USA play in a World Cup somewhere, on a side note, I’ll settle to be able to watch USA actually WIN a world cup in my lifetime.
24. Ride in an Apache Helicopter.
25. Own my own home. Feb of last year I purchased my first home. A condo. It’s been good thus far, although it could be better. Homeownership is not what you’re led to believe when you’re a kid, and it’s 100 times more trips to homedepot then you ever originally thought.
26. Be a Ping Pong master. I don’t suck at ping pong anymore. If anything I’m pretty damn good at it! At work, both MCN/ReturnPath I’ve been doing good
27. I want to fall in love.
28. Build an online community of 100+ people that does something. I don’t know what, but just something. Even if it’s a REM sleep disorder club.
29. Vacation on a dude ranch, like the one in city slickers.
30. I want to die for a greater cause than myself.

This list will be updated often, so check back often!