My Golden Year: 23 for 23

Last year was my golden year (I turned 23 on the 23rd day of December in 2009). Let’s find out how golden it really was.  The following are 23 thoughts, highlights, lessons-learned in my 23rd year.

5 Revelations from Jail: PART II- The Follow Up

I’ve now tasted three full days of freedom since I last served time.  This is a glimpse into what’s happening now and how life is a little different.

5 Revelations from Jail

***Disclaimer: this is NOT a post about the Biblical accounts of Paul’s (in Rome) or John’s (on the island of Patmos) imprisonment.***

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Today, on my way to lunch with my mom, I was pulled over for speeding.  When the officer routinely ran the check for my tag, it came back stolen.  This is the truck I’ve been driving since I was 16, and there’s no way it was stolen.  But the tags…they actually

Shops & Houses: Coffee & Tea

I can’t think of a better time of year than right now to make a post about hot drinks, the places I consume them and what I look for when I go to these places. I watch and I learn everywhere I go because I really want to open one someday.

It’s what I call my dream job.

Below are a few places I’ve found that embody certain characteristics of a good shop or house. Many of these places have a variety of these qualities, but I’ve highlighted a few things that

Chivalry Needs a Revival

I’ve heard a rumor that all guys are jerks.

I’m here to partially dispel that notion.

It’s simply a gross generalization, and I won’t stand for it!

If you were to say that a lot of guys are jerks, I can’t argue with that.  They are.  You win.  But I would argue that some of them just haven’t been taught some of

Rock-Skipping Life

Skip to my lou.

This summer, I ran overnight camping trips at Table Rock Lake for groups of 20-30 kids being watched by 4-6 counselors.  Sometimes it ran like a well-oiled machine.  Other times, it was organized chaos.  More than once, “Child A” would be skipping rocks where “Child B” was swimming near the shore.  You can probably see where this is going.  “Child B” ducks under-water, playing with his friends (Children C, D, E & F), and resurfaces to a +40mph bullet to the back of the head via A’s laser rocket arm.  When reminiscing with a fellow “trip-man” from this summer, I got to thinking…there’s a difference between playfully throwing rocks at your friends (which we had to constantly discourage in a land of literally +1,000,000 small rocks) and

The Same Stall

Break the cycle.

Trying to quit.

My morning routine.

Practice makes perfect.

All of these are phrases that can be associated with habits.  Some habits are good—some bad.  Early in life, I learned: brushing my teeth = good.  Picking my nose = bad.  Some habits we form naturally (nose-picking), and some habits, we have to learn and work at (brushing your teeth).  I’ve noticed that as I grow older,