If you have followed this blog of mine from its genesis, you know that I started off in a whirlwind of blogposts. 3, 4, or sometimes 5 per day. From random thoughts to moments in my relationship to personal losses to outings with friends to assessments of one (or many) of the effed up aspects of the city I live in (Baltimore). But recently, I've slowed down a bit. I hate to admit it (cuz I'm a WebNerd like that), but I was losing the urge to blog. There are several reasons but most of all, I've been starting to wonder how what I convey via this open forum we call a weblog, can be completely misinterpreted (or taken way too seriously) and hinder someone's view of who I am as a person. I mean, anybody can see read this blog. What if someone reads this blog and makes their judgement of who I am based solely off this blog? Would I be comfortable with that? Would I be embarassed or ashamed of some of the stuff I've wrote? My mom has the URL, I don't hear anything from her. But is she really a barometer for the rest of the civilized world? Of course I don't care what every person in the world thinks. But simultaneously, I don't want random people to think that this is all there is to me either. I'm not just hip-hop. I'm not just sports. I'm not just a Paula Patton fanatic. There's more to that guy in the red cap that what's read here.
On top of that, I've been wanting to challenge my ability to write so that I can be a better writer. This is something I don't think I can accomplish by continuing to post my "somewhat cohesive" rants covering a crapload of topics. My buddy L is one of the best writers I know and he tells me I write well. But I read his stuff and I am blown away by his ability. I doubt I'll ever have the ability he does, but I'd like to improve upon what I have right now. Now though, I think I have the most compelling reason to: 1) stop bloggin altogher, 2) begin to change the focus of what I talk about, or 3) change how I talk about things (read: "less rage and expletives").
This reason is my new job. I rarely talk about my job on this blog becauuse people can get (and have gotten) fired over job-related comments on their blog. In addition, most of what goes on at my job is better conveyed over a drink (LOL). The stuff is just THAT funny. I actually enjoy my job very much so you'd think I would talk about it all the time even if it's indirectly. But nope! I can't do it!
I applied for this new position with my employer back at the end of November. I got invited to interview last month. The interview process consisted of interviewing with 5 different people here: 3 division heads, the person who will be my direct supervisor, and the director of my company (most people would call this person the CEO). I had no idea I'd have to interview with that many people but it let me know the magnitude of the position I'll be filling this Monday coming up. I'm blessed.
An increase in responsibilities, accountability, and time spent away from my desk will undoubtedly lead to less posts on this blog. But hopefully, the quantity will decrease while the quality increases tremendously. I'm thinking that a combination of changing what I post about and changing how I write will add to your experience reading this blog, but also add to my growth as a person. That is my plan people (cuz you know I got one)! Let's see how this works out...
On my lunch break today I went with a couple co-workers to the climbing wall at my gym. They go pretty often on their lunchbreaks and have encouraged me to attend for a while. So today I took them up on their offer and went with them to climb. To my surprise, it was actually a pretty fun experience. I've always looked at the people climbing the wall at the gym and wondered how difficult it was or if I could do it, but I never really had the urge to do it. But today for some reason, I was just thinking "Eff it!" 
The harness that engulfs your "junk" wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I imagined it being very tight and constrictive, but it was not bad at all. And I bet it magnified my "junk" a little, which made me feel like 
So my co-worker instructed me on the signals to use if I need to rest while climbing the wall and which color-coded pegs I needed to follow and I hop onto the wall like a cat climbing a tree. Okay, maybe not. But I hopped on that joint (LOL). I start climbing and I am making pretty good progress. Pretty soon I get stuck and realize that I am about a story or so off the ground. At this point I realized the key to this whole climbing thing is to NOT LOOK DOWN while you're headed up the wall. I got a little nervous but I kept it moving and eventually made it all the way to the top. 
Little did I know that the worst part would be trying to repel back down the wall. Once at the top, I realized that I had to rely on my belayer (the person holding the other end of the rope) to support my weight while I repelled back down. So I was a little apprehensive about just letting go and having someone else support all 62 lbs (LOL) of my weight while I repelled a couple stories down. But after some communication with my belayer, I eventually let go and repelled down the wall safely. After that I waited a couple turns before I went back up a section of the wall that was a little more difficult and made it to the top on that one as well. You know I was SICED! I am still a little upset that I didn't get pictures though. 
Tonight, I am going to see 
They've lost a few games this year and I think that will strengthen their resolve (I sound like George Bush, arghhh). Besides, they're bringing back the same starting 5 that won last year and even though people think Arizona and Maryland might challenge them in that region, it's still inconsistent Arizona and Maryland (my squad, by the way) that we're talking about here.
I can only see Duke and Pitt being a problem for them until the Elite 8 where they'd most likely see Kansas. But Duke pretty much sucks this year in big games and Pitt doesn't seem strong enough to beat UCLA on the west coast where there'll be a ridiculous crowd advantage. This same advantage will be key in UCLA beating Kansas in the Elite 8
I know, I'm a "homer" (see 
I didn't really want to make this pick, but look at the bracket! Who's got a shot at beating them (seriously) except Texas A&M? And if Acie Law IV is off, they don't have a snowball's chance in hell. Mr. Wrinkle-Face (Greg Oden) is not going to have a problem rebounding, dunking, and blocking shots against the likes of Central Connecticut 
