How To Be Who You Want to Be

Have you ever started ranting about something in your mind, only to realize you are guilty of it yourself? That just happened to me about 2 mins ago.

Here is the deal: Stop making excuses why you can't help other people. Don't tell me you have had a busy weekend. I don't want to hear that you work early, or how I wouldn't like what you have to offer, or how it isn't convenient, or you are uncomfortable. Be who you want to be. Do you want to be a person that is selfless, generous, and passionate? Cool, then be that. Do you want to be a person that is selfish, dull, and cold? Ok, be that.

Whatever you decide you want to do, do that, just don't make excuses. Own it. If you are to lazy to help someone, say that. If you don't want to spend the energy to give to others, say that. If you don't want to be generous because it is a sacrifice, then say it. Owning what you are is WAY more cool that constantly pretending you are something that you are not. It doesn't really mean you are right to be the way you are, but at least you will be honest about it.

If you want to live a non-complicated life with plenty of rest and lots of time for you to "Just relax", then don't try to be like Christ. His life was horribly complicated, short on good sleep, and He had very little "Alone time".

Don't twist this thought into meaning you have to do everything for other people and not think about the consequences of living that way. We all need some time to ourselves, but honestly, it is probably not as necessary as we like to think. All I am saying is this: The way you spend your time reveals what your priorities are. Are you living for you, or to make a difference? Am I tired a lot? Yep. My Dad told me when I was a kid, " Tired men rule the world."

People that make a difference are putting it all on the line. Life is too short to be irrelevant. What are you doing to make a difference in this life?

5 Laws of Sleep Deprivation and Awesomeness

It has come to my attention that there are people wandering around out there that are unable to cope with a lack of sleep. For those insomniacs and narcoleps out there, these Laws do not apply to you. You have your own set of rules.

5 Laws of Sleep Deprivation and Awesomeness

1: Law of Compact Awesomeness - Less is more in this Law. Those of us that are of a compact stature (EG: Short and stocky) are able to compress more awesome into a smaller frame. If you are tall, lanky, thin, or huge, you may be out of luck. You must be able to compress a lot of awesomeness into a small space to achieve maximum Sleep Deprivation (Also known as "Epic Night Syndrome)

2: Prioritization Law of 1986 - This Law states simply, "Your love of Awesomeness must be greater than your love for unconsciousness." By adhering to this law, you will place events of the epic nature higher than sleep on your list of what is important to you.

3:  The Coffee Non marginalization Standard -  If you do not love coffee, you are, by default, not awesome. Coffee is Ethiopia's gift to the world. Coffee is how we know God loves us. Coffee can cure cancer (I'm not 100% on this last one.) You must be awesome to live a sleep deprived life and Coffee is therefore a must. Oh, and medically speaking, it has a crap ton of Caffeine and that seems to help as well.

4: The 12AM Paradox - My mother once told me that nothing good happens after 12am. But to be fair, of all the funnest things I do, very few of them could be catorgorized as "Good Ideas". Ergo, since staying up late yields a more positive environment for fun ideas, the margin for awesomeness goes up drastically. Since most of the world works during the day, we must also be up before 12am. Therefore, leaving little time for sleep.

5: The Erickson Effect -This law states that people related to, friends with, fans of, or members of the Erickson Family have a 97% success rate when trying to achieve maximum Sleep Deprivation and Awesomeness. Now, this Law does not exclude people outside this group, but it does lend creedance to the fact that your chances for success skyrocket if you are a member of the "People related to, Friends with, fans of, or members of the Erickson Family" group.

11 Observations, Tidbits, and Truisms About Life

I finally made it back to Djibouti. Yes. I live in Djibouti, ha ha (Stated drolly and sarcastically). When I arrived once more, I suddenly realized a very poignant truth. Djibouti is hot. The end.

Ok, for realz, I have had several things happen in the last month that are worth pointing out. Mostly observations on life, but a few tidbits, and one Truism.

1: Raw meat, no matter how culturally founded, is still horrible.
2: 350LB Pigs, do not like being cooked for dinner.
3: (Observation) Reese's is the greatest brand of candy in the world. They make nothing that is not good.
4: (Truism) Coffee is delicious.
5: If you play soccer for 2 hours on a very solid surface, your feet have the consistency of ground up beef.
6: Feet that have the consistency of ground beef are painful.
7: (Observation) Being away from the woman you love for a year is not fun.
8: This table is making the creation of this list much easier by providing me a stable platform.
9: After listening to African/Arabic music for the last year, I can honestly tell you, the best music in the world is created in the USA.
10: ?
11: Making $ is easy. Press shift+4




I have lots more to say, but I'll wait till I publish another list.


I told the following people that I was "Totally putting that in my blog!"


MSG Steven Jackson - Enjoys photographing people jumping through fire.
SGT Julie Vosilus - Can Dance with Ethiopian woman without even knowing the moves.
COL Nameunknown Hayes -  Gave me the 5 rules of an Effective Deployment
SPC David Lane -  I can't really publish his misdeeds at this time.
Mr. Gregory "Danger" Gorham - Still believes that it is ok to be a Cubs fan. Sad.