Here’s to You

Here’s to you, Steve. Thanks for allowing me to call you “Boss” for awhile. (b^^)b

100 Days.

Having a (semi-) hidden WordPress blog pays off. I’m going to do this one day at a time, but when that day begins remains to be seen.

Day 01 – A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 – A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.
Day 03 – A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 – A picture of your night.
Day 05 – A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 – A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 – A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 – A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 – A picture of the person who always makes you smile
Day 11 – A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 – A picture of something you love.
Day 13 – A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 – A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 – A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 – A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 – A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 – A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 – A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 – A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.
Day 21 – A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 – A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 – A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 – A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 – A picture of your day.
Day 26 – A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 – A picture of a school dance (homecoming, prom, etc.)
Day 28 – A picture of something you’re afraid of.
Day 29 – A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 – A picture of someone you miss.
Day 31 – A picture of a tradition you have.
Day 32 – A picture of a crazy night.
Day 33 – A picture of the house you grew up in.
Day 34 – A picture of your currently most played CD.
Day 35 – A picture of your favorite place to eat.
Day 36 – A picture of your ‘other half’.
Day 37 – A picture of the people you spend most of your time with.
Day 38 – A picture of the best part of your day.
Day 39 – A picture of your favorite movie.
Day 40 – A picture of your favorite Disney character.
Day 41 – A picture of your pet.
Day 42 – A picture of your dream house.
Day 43 – A picture of something you can’t function without.
Day 44 – A picture of someone you’re told you look like.
Day 45 – A picture of your room.
Day 46 – A picture of where you wish you were right now.
Day 47 – A picture of your favorite place to shop.
Day 48 – A picture of your favorite actress/actor.
Day 49 – A picture of where you live.
Day 50 – A picture of your most frequented place.
Day 51 – A picture of your dream car.
Day 52 – A picture of your favorite sport.
Day 53 – A picture of someone you think is hot.
Day 54 – A picture of the one thing you would bring if you were stranded on a deserted island.
Day 55 – A picture of the last movie you saw in theaters.
Day 56 – A picture of something that makes you happy.
Day 57 – A picture of your favorite holiday.
Day 58 – A picture of your favorite animal.
Day 59 – A picture of a random item that you own.
Day 60 – A picture of something you’re excited about.
Day 61 – A picture of your school class picture.
Day 62 – A picture of the last place you traveled to.
Day 63 – A picture of your sports awards.
Day 64 – A picture of your favorite childhood book.
Day 65 – A picture of you and your best friend.
Day 66 – A picture in you your freshman year of high school.
Day 67 – A picture of you and a friend of the same ethnicity.
Day 68 – A picture of a magazine you like.
Day 69 – A picture of your closet.
Day 70 – A picture of something you borrowed from someone else.
Day 71 – A picture of your favorite piece of jewelry.
Day 72 – A picture of a stuffed animal.
Day 73 – A picture of your lunch.
Day 74 – A picture of something you found under your bed.
Day 75 – A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 76 – A picture of your outfit you wore today.
Day 77 – A picture of the last thing that you bought.
Day 78 – A picture of your sunglasses.
Day 79 – A picture of a ticket from somewhere you’ve been.
Day 80 – A picture of your favorite childhood movie.
Day 81 – A picture of something you baked or cooked.
Day 82 – A picture of the most embarrassing thing in your closet.
Day 83 – A picture of the moon tonight.
Day 84 – A picture of your favorite pair of shorts.
Day 85 – A picture of you your junior year of high school.
Day 86 – A picture of something your mom bought you.
Day 87 – A picture of something you hold dear to your heart.
Day 88 – A picture of your bathroom.
Day 89 – A picture of what’s in your fridge.
Day 90 – A picture of an old school picture.
Day 91 – A picture of something that made you smile today.
Day 92 – A picture of something weird in your house.
Day 93 – A picture of the view from your bedroom window.
Day 94 – A picture of what you are doing right now.
Day 95 – A picture of you your senior year of high school.
Day 96 – A picture of some place went today.
Day 97 – A picture of something heart shaped.
Day 98 – A picture of your favorite nail polish color/favorite cologne.
Day 99 – A picture of something that makes you feel accomplished.
Day 100 – A picture of the final picture of yourself smiling.

The Truth Behind the Guy

I called off his players’ name as they came marching up the steps behind him… All nice guys. They’ll finish last. Nice guys. Finish last.
-Leo Durocher (1905-1991)

It’s a sad but true fact. We can hide it all we want; avoid it like the plague. The problem will always remain the same;  nice guys will always finish last.

What’s stopping these people, these ‘nice guys’ so to speak, from moving up on this list? Well… where do we even begin?

It’s their ambition. There’s no drive for that person to go and get what he wants, simply because in their minds… What she believes is best for her, will be best for him as well. It’s a stupid belief, but still one nonetheless. So the nice guy likes the girl, but she’s going out with a jerk. Doesn’t matter how much you convince yourself that it’s best for her to be the nice guy and just support her and listen to her when the shit breaks down just so that she can go back to him and repeat the whole process again. It’s still going to happen.

It’s just how it is; nice guys don’t really get much choice in the matter. All there is to do is really just follow along for the ride.

A Single Perspective

The title is aptly appropriate, if nothing for more than the following reasons:

a. I’m single.
b. It’s something that’s been on my mind and nobody else that I know of.
c. It’s a completely opinionated SINGLE perspective (mine, obviously… what makes you think I give a shit about yours?)

Having said that, I’ve come to establish and realize (albeit obvious to many others) that being in a long relationship presents multiple problems and situations for when you suddenly become single. I suppose that it’s never hit me before because my previous relationships prior to this one were for various (and ridiculously short) amounts of time, whereas this last one hit’s the ground at just almost 2 years. Call it being blind because of love or whatever, but it never occurred to me what would necessarily happen when you “suddenly” (don’t worry, we’ll touch more on this in a minute) become single again. First off, you have to wonder how everybody (and at this point I mean EVERYBODY: Friends, family, coworkers, people you don’t know, stalkers, muggers, fish… the list goes on) is going to think. How will they react? Will people start taking sides? I mean, what can truly happen in a situation like this? I suppose that an even bigger question at hand will be… “Is there any way to prevent that sort of bias from actually forming in the mind?”

It’s easy to say “I still love her.” I mean, the same can be said of pretty much every situation in the world regarding something like this. The hard part is always the aftermath of “the decision,” where people begin to take sides. The only problem is that it’s scary when two sides collide together, creating one big situation. “I still love her, but people might think I’m just being a douche.”

… yeah, something like that.

How do we beat that kind of bias? How does one beat that narrow perspective? It’s only natural for humans to form a sort of opinion on everything, no matter how much of a “neutral” stance we take, we’re always forming opinions about absolutely everything. Did you know that Canada has increased the payments for their internet services and added a cap on their dl/ul rate? I’m sure you’ve read about it, but what does that make you feel? Forming an opinion based on something that may almost not be entirely true (for the record, it’s only partly true, but I’m too lazy to go into specifics).This is pretty much what happens right after two people break up. People make a biased opinion based on some random things they’ve heard.

It is what it is, but the big question is how do we beat it? How can we not form opinions based on only partial knowledge and how close we are as friends with the people who broke up. How can we go about our lives trying not having just one opinion…?

How do we break away from just having a single perspective? (You see how I incorporated that? hehe)

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Note: Once again, this blog was intended to make you, the reader, spark thoughts based on what I type (because what I type is an opinion). If you aren’t sparking thought then obviously something happened in the time you read this to the time your brain processed it. Sorry if shit got lost in translation.

New Year for a New Mindset

I had this awesome post typed up for the new year (sort of anyway), and apparently I didn’t post it.

Not going to try to anyway, since I’m not a big fan of any of those “New Year’s Resolution” posts or anything, so we won’t go into details about that. Instead I’m going to fire out a problem and see really what happens from there…

To start things off? I’m a little spoiled child. I know it, my family knows it, but yet nobody else really understands it. I’ve had the privilege of leading a good life without having anything too bad happen to me. To my family members, it means that I’ve lived an amazing childhood, but to everybody else it means I’ve lived in the poorhouse all my life. Naturally, neither of those conclusions are technically wrong because it’s something that we’ve all thought about before.

… that’s besides the point. I’m not going to change my mindset because my family knows I’m spoiled but my friends think I live the life of poverty. I’ve lived the same way for 20 years now and I’m not going to change it. I go to school, I have a job, and I have a life. What have you done to make yourself useful to your self?

Woot of Shirtness

Whatever it is, I didn’t do it in this life!

I’ve become such a fan of “shirt.woot” shirts lately that I’m half-ass tempted to make a shirt and submit it into the reckoning to see how well it would do. Being as how my ability to draw is only average at best, I can imagine what would happen if I actually submitted something at least recognizable. I really can’t wait though, but I’ve been amazingly obsessed with these Woot shirts that I would want to buy a lot of them and just not grow up for a little while.

The shirts are amazingly, a lot of fun. Check it out for yourself, really: www.shirt.woot.com

Revivial Only As Sweet

No quote here, just a new revival for a “blog” that has been forgotten through the ages of life and maturity.

Honestly, Off the Beaten Path was probably viewed by, at most, 10 people in a given month. It was a place to vent out my life’s frustrations while also looking back on the stupidity of both myself and others. More or less, it will continue to be something of that effect, but now there’s a tumblr with the same name and the same idea; just an easier way to post up my life’s frustrations without having to go on a computer (the WordPress app on my iPhone is too complicated for me to want to mess with; really now, who uses html on a phone and gets away with it?). For all of life’s troubles, I shall continue to post on this blog, dwelling deeper into a mind and a subconcious that I not only will never understand, but I will never understand it with others.

What this blog is for is beyond me; one of these days I shall remember. Until then, it will be revived.

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(See, I don’t even have an idea of what I was typing.

Logic

“Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit.”
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944)

Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to do that; perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to break things off like that. Things really never turn out the way you plan them in your head…

She never really did forgive me for what I did, and in retrospect I probably will never be forgiven for what I did. There was always that dream or “aspiration” she had and was always telling me that ‘even if all hell breaks loose, I will never lose that dream or aspiration.’ I respected that, because who the fuck has aspirations they hold so truly?

Then we got into some things that would be always questionable by most, if not all… and slowly those dreams and aspirations made way for the “here and now.” That vision she had for wanting to keep that dream was slowly vanishing, and I was helping that dream vanish. It became a question of “How do I keep her dream from vanishing?” rather than “How do I help her achieve her dream?”… and in that desperation, there was logic.

Logic told me to stop her from losing that dream… that vision she had valued so much. In doing so, I lost a friend. Maybe the way I went about stopping her wasn’t the best, and to this day it’s the reason why we don’t talk anymore…

In the end the dream, that vision, was completely lost forever a few months later, but I can’t help that it was my fault that her dream was never realized. It makes me question if logic was the reason that killed that dream, or if it was because I was unable to help her achieve that dream?

Reasoning Beyond Recognition

Whenever I start a blog, a post… really just pretty much anything… I always questioned what that post or that blog was going to do; what was its role in my grand scheme of things? Was it something just for venting out about the daily grind of school, work, and the same rituals that occur on a somewhat daily basis or was it for something more?

I asked myself those questions when I began this one as well, because it was so mundane. I mean, who really gives a damn about some college kid living in Sin City and his problems and takes on life? Really now, the world had better things to do than to listen to my random philosophies on life and how everybody should live it or the things I found to be appealing to me.

That’s what this WordPress blog was about though… It was for me to talk about my “inner-self” (if such a stupid phrase exists in this world) and not give a damn about who was reading it and let them understand that there was something more than the “Joe” that people have known me for. I’m just ‘that guy’ who nobody could really explain, and it wasn’t something that I gave a damn about if people misinterpreted anything I did or said; if you liked me then you liked me… if you didn’t, well I’m not going to bend my ass over and please you… that just wasn’t who I was or am. I question that mentality now, because do the people who come to know you shun you for any reason and never talk to you again? Do you try to make contact with them knowing that they don’t really like you anymore, or do you just not do anything and let the roles of society play out?

That’s really what this blog is about… to sort out my “inner-self.” Through all this, I sometimes find an answer and try. Through all this, I sometimes don’t and continue to search.

Through my ranting, I hope you find an answer that you’re looking for…

Looking Into the Distance

“The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don’t have it.”

– George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

I’ve always thought of myself as having very acute observational skills, despite never having any formal training the art of subtle observation. Honestly, I always thought it was a load of bull when I thought about it, because it just didn’t sound realistic when you voiced it. “I can understand people just by being around them.” It just doesn’t seem like something possible, right?

Yet, it seems that having observational skill does help play into the world itself, but the question remains to be whether or not it is effective in assessing a situation. Can you really tell how somebody is by the way they act? Can you read their subtle movements, their shift in stance, their reaction to what they hear… can you really figure something out by the simple understand of their gestures, their movements, their facial reactions? The answer to that depends on the understanding of the person itself. How well do you know this person? How about their dreams and aspirations? Their future, their present, their past? While it only helps in a little way when you know more about them, the only thing that is concrete is what you see in their movements.

So look at their movements, look at the way they talk, they way their eyes shift, their smile… anything. A person will tell you nothing, but show you the world. You just have to open your eyes and see.