Within the past week or two, I was standing atop Pikes Peak via their cog railway with amazing views. I went tubing up at Boulder Creek only to lose my Oakleys, hit my ass on just about every rock imaginable but had an amazing time, also was so close to Chris Henderson of 3 doors down(One of my favorite bands) that I got hit in the face with a guitar pick.It got me thinking of all the cool and neat adventures(to me at least) I’ve been on in my lifetime, things that if when I die and CNN for whatever reason does a story on me, a cliff notes version of my life, a list of things that when I’m old and gray, suffering amnesia, I can reflect back on, or even stories that I might share with future generations. All the cool/neat/amazing/awesome/interesting things, an incomplete but ever expanding and growing recollections.

So without further ado, My Life To Date(M.L.T.D), in no particular

1. I have an amazing family.
2. *My parents have a photo of myself in the Louvre, me atop my father’s shoulders, while we are looking at the Mona Lisa. In true KC form, I’m asleep, with my head comfortably resting on my fathers head.
3. *I’ve been in Paris on the final day of the Tour ‘De France. In true KC form, I again was asleep, with my head comfortably resting on my fathers head.
4. I’ve been bit by more dogs then you can count. My right dimple was caused by a doberman pincher taking a chunk out of my cheek. Ironically, even today, I prefer dogs to cats.
5. I’ve camped to awaken to a foot of snow, sub zero tempatures, and in true KC form, I went back to sleep.
6. *I’ve lived in England.
7. *I’ve visited stone hendge. I put the * next to it, but I DO remember it(just not all of it). For example: we left a cooler that had rotten milk in it on the side of the road, and I can still remember the stench.
8. I’ve survived Stage 4 Hodkins Lymphoma. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 out of 15000 kids aged 10 and below get cancer(which is 0.0067%). Talk about luck. Now where is my lottery ticket?
9. I’ve been to the top of Pikes Peak, which is where Katharine Lee Bates wrote “America The Beautiful”. 14K+ feet above sea level, and my ears have yet to fully recover.
10. I’m trying to do my part in donating to the WWF for over a year now, on a monthly basis.
11. I’ve seen the Yankees play.
12. I’ve felt the tugging at the end of a fishing line on multiple occasions.
13. I’ve partaken MANY jet flyovers in the missing man formations after national anthems, probably one of the coolest, most patriotic things one can witness(ok, there are plenty of other patriotic things one can witness).
14. I’ve come within inches and seconds(literally) of rolling my vehicle off the side of a mountain.
15. Last night(7/17/09) I was so close to Brad Arnold, I could have picked his nose. Ok that’s gross. Let me rephrase that, I was so close I could see his nose. Ok, that too is a little gross. You get the point.
16. I’ve witnessed an African American voted into the White House, in which I voted for.
17. I also worked downtown during the DNC of ’08, in which Obama gave his acceptance speech.
18. I’ve witnessed a city with it’s baseball team(the Rockies) go through the world series!(What a crazy atmosphere! It’s rocktober time baby!)
19. I’ve voted.
20. I’ve been stranded in a reservoir with a boat who’s engine died and was quickly approaching the damn.
21. I’ve seen an American flag the size of a football field.
22. I’ve ridden the Mind Eraser. <— Keep in mind, I’m afraid of heights and all things associated with death.
23. Turned my hatred into Love for Jesus.<– Pretty awesome.
24. I’ve seen the fray, single file, flobots, matt kearny  in concert all before they made it to the big stage.
25. *I’ve been to the grand canyon(even though I never actually “saw it” because I was at least 100 yards away from the edge at ALL times(See #21, Keep in mind, I’m afraid of heights and all things associated with death.)
26. My current record for an ice cream cone creation is at LEAST 8 inches WITHOUT falling off/out of the cone.
27. I’ve sat inside the cockpit of an fighter jet, and a helicopter, and also saw an F1-11 inside a hanger. Amazing sight.
28. I once had a drunk lady climb over my table at IHOP, squeeze in next to me, flirt with me, then have her husband also climb over the table, squeeze in next to me and offer me some crazy chip concoction that looked like throw-up, and then spill my soda all over me.
29. I’ve written code that is being used in 3 different companies concurrently as I write this.
30. I was #75 on the twitter bandwagon here in Denver Colorado.
31. I’ve seen rabbits being born!
32. I’ve witnessed abused,abandoned, left for dead dogs find love and in most cases a good home at the Haven in Lubbock TX.
33. I’ve been skiing!
34. I once crossed paths with Josh Blue while leaving my office building.
35. I went tubing the Boulder Creek! Awesome time!
36. I live in the USA.
37. I’ve sipped some crazy concoctions at IHOP in the wee hours of the morning. For example, Mixed all together, pankcake syrup(all types, maple, strawberry etc…), salt, pepper, sausage, mashed potatoes, pancakes, soda, water, eggs, and a few other disgusting ingredients.

Hmmmm, there are so many more ….. check back and I’ll keep updatin.

We’ve all experienced it. Even I have become a victim to it at one point or another, and if I’m honest, far too many times. Perhaps victim isn’t the right word. Maybe it should have read, Even I have found myself in this situation, far too many times.

There is a saying, “One man’s A game, is another man’s C game”. Ok, so I just made that up, but what it means is that your best sometimes isn’t THE best and as an end result, you end up falling short of your objective. Be it in relationships. The woman of your dreams found another man with a faster flashier car, a bigger pocket book, bigger biceps … a bigger pen*cough* … I meant pen(you know, one of those cool pens that you can write with underwater and upside down, one of those pens?). I’m going to show my complete and utter dorkiness but I feel I must. For the sake of saving this inadequate blog post.

My favorite quote comes from Star Wars, the first one, yes, the one with Jar Jar(/shrug). They were underwater and I believe they were headed to Jar Jars home town when they were getting chased by this monster of a fish. This HUGE fish. No fish could possibly come close to the size of this thing, and right before this fish gobbles up their submarine as if it were a light snack, a bigger, badder BAMF came by and ate the bigger fish, allowing sadly, Jar Jar and the Jedi’s to escape.

I want to deviate from my post for just a moment.

• How much greater of a movie would Star Wars have been had they somehow figured out a way to kill Jar Jar 3 seconds after his character was first introduced?
• How much greater of a movie would Star Wars have been, had the jedi’s, after they were eaten and starting to digest, bust their way out of this BAMF’s stomach with their light sabers?

I digress.

Obi wan kenobi says, “There is always a bigger fish”. Amen Brother. Isn’t that the truth.

Its a philosophy I’ve always adhered to in my life, and it’s a philosophy that I try to keep in the back of my mind when I get defeated, when I bring my A game, and really, its somebody elses C game. It’s frustrating. However, it is a good learning experience, knowing that there is always a bigger fish. It keeps you going, for failure is the greatest motivator, and it helps to sharpen your A Game ….

Even if it’s just somebody’s C game at best.

Falling short while bringing your A game is one thing, falling short in general is a whole other beast.

I’ve recently realized that life is all about decesions, choices and calculated risks. Everything we do, everything we say, is all based on a decesion or a choice, that at one point or another was a calculated. The pros and cons all evaluated, and eventually the pros outweighed the con and eventually the calculated risk was worth it. Hell, even waking up in the morning and getting out of bed is a calculated risk. You could be struck by the proverbial bus going to work, or a piano could drop 30 floors above you. Getting out of bed in the morning IS a choice, and with it brings a calculated risk. That’s not to say that those things would be silly to even consider, simply because the risk is so small …. but every now and then there is a choice we make. A decesion. A calculated risk.

Perhaps it’s choice that we want back, or perhaps it’s the decesion we didn’t make that we wish we could redo. One has to think that risk was calculated when making the decesion. Right now, in this very moment anybody and everybody is debating a choice, regretting a decesion or calculating a particular risk.

I’m still learning though. My A game isn’t good enough to compensate for poor decesions and choices when the calculated risk 50/50, let alone a sure thing.

Your A game, no matter how great it may be, means nothing if you take too many calculated risks.

So while I keep re-reading this post, trying to digest my own advice, by the time I finish, Perhaps George Lucas will re-write star wars to kill off Jar Jar, and have the Jedi’s bust out of some BAMF’s stomach with their lightsabers and jedi kung-fu.

Here is to wishful thinking.

Cheers.