Labels: germs

I was tagged by James, so here is my attempt at compiling five things about myself that (most of) you don't know about me:

- Despite being a big computer nerd, I actually minored in Business Management in college and am planning to return to college to pursue my MBA as early as this fall.

- If you count the first job I technically had after college (a stint at the now defunct Arthur Andersen in which I never actually spent a day at work, yet was paid several months salary), I am on my 4th job in a little over 5 years. Some of it, obviously, was bad luck and the other part is the fact that I'm a malcontent who always sees the grass greener on the other side.

- Prior to starting to run marathon in 2005, I despised distance running. In 8th grade, I was the fastest sprinter on the team, and only ran the shortest distances possible (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) and complained about any running that I had to do beyond that distance. Despite my success, I only ran the one year because I didn't enjoy it and all the training that went with it.

- Since many people might consider me to be somewhat of a music snob, it should be surprising to hear that the first concert I went to was to see soft-rock radio favorites the Moody Blues at Blossom Music Center way back in the early 90s when I was 13 or 14. My brother's friends had an extra ticket and swung by to see if he was interested, which he wasn't, so I got to tag along instead. It was awesome.

- I am a huge baseball fan and hope to one day attend a game in every major league stadium. So far, I've seen games in 9 different stadiums (Cleveland (2), Detroit (2), Cincinnati, Seattle, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City), 4 of which are no longer in operation.

I tag Will, Ken, Josh, Erik, Kelly & Jose.

Even though I'm getting a little older, there are still things I encounter every day that amaze me. For instance, today the CEO of Home Depot resigned. His reward? $210 million dollars. And that's not even for a job well done. In the six years that he was in charge, Home Depot's stock actually went down about 3%.

I could only hope that my company will do the same for me when I decide to hang them up. Heck, I'd be happy with just a half a million. But I'll probably just settle for a nice cake.

Happy New Year everyone. Typically I am one that spends this time doing a lot of introspection and resolution making for the new year ahead. But this year, I decided to avoid all that stuff. Looking back at last year's resolutions, I realize that I feel more regret about the resolutions I was unable to keep than I feel good about the resolutions that I was able to keep. Doesn't seem like a very good formula, does it?

As far as retrospectives, this is something that I've gotten very used to doing at work though I still fail to see their usefulness most of the time. Looking back at what could have been done better is a good way to create a list of things to improve upon. But what happens with that list is the real heart of the matter, and unfortunately that list rarely ever turns into anything useful, at least in my experiences. It's all about follow through, and I am admittedly as bad at that as everyone else.

I am looking forward to the start of the new year. I always feel the sense that it is a new beginning and things can change, even though it rarely does. It's all about possibilities. But unfortunately, it also means that the gym is going to be very busy for about 2 months. My fellow gym frequenters and I dread this time of year. Hopefully this amazing Cleveland winter weather keeps up and I can get in more outdoor runs before hibernating for the winter.

Labels: new year