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I was thinking for awhile last night about how lucky I am overall in life. I may not be rich or great at StarCraft, but I have a house, a beautiful wife and son, and a family that is overall supportive. I started to remember all the little things that I love. I am a huge fan of the idea that nothing is trivial, so those little moments always put a smile on my face. I thought that I might list some of them here:
Things That I Love:
Interacting with people on a personal level.
I love being useful and trusted to help someone when they need support.
Playing games. Most of all, I love the nights with friends playing games like Risk or Monopoly. I love it when you plant seeds and try to talk people into or out of trades or plays because they may affect you later in the game but acting like they are not important. I love the personalities between the players and knowing when to play the game and when to play the player.
Women. Yeah, I am a guy. I love beautiful women in dresses on a warm summer day. That feeling when you hold the one you love and run your hands on and around their curves. Curves are the best. =) I will stop here before getting rated-R.
The Beatles. I am one of the hugest Beatles fans that you will find. I have a theory that so far has held true for a lot of people that if you claim to dislike the Beatles, it just means that you have not found YOUR song yet. Their styles are so varying and diverse, lyrics are top notch, and their entire story is one of interest. When I hear "Revolution" or "Day in the Life" on the radio, I have to turn it up all of the way because to me they are proof that they were the greatest musicians in the world. I love that slight ghostly sound to John Lennon's voice when he starts the song with "I read the news today, oh boy..." Sends chills up my spine.
StarCraft and the TL Community! Since joining I have found this site, the people, the players, the tournaments, and the community as a source of strength and that which is fun in the world. I love when we were watching MLG and the stream kept going on. People on the treads just kept joking about the eagle stream and posting the pic of the cat jumping the shark over the river and all that. I was practically rolling on the floor laughing at each reload.
Playing my acoustic guitar and singing. I love just sitting alone outside of a coffee shop and playing old folk covers by Phil Ochs. He had so much to say and he said it with humor and humanist sensitivity, but is all but forgotten by a lot of people today. I love singing and playing songs by Bright Eyes or The Mountain Goats and opening people's eyes to those two wonderful songwriters.
Comics and graphic novels. Cartooning is the closest medium to film making which I originally wanted to do when I was younger. I remember when I first read "Blankets" by Craig Thompson I wept at parts because I knew his life very well and he understood those confusing feelings of growing up in a world where it is hard to reconcile being a nice guy and being a man in today's society. Same goes for "Too Cool to be Forgotten" by Alex Robinson. When I see someone's soul poured out on paper I am constantly amazed.
I love that feeling of checking one's email and seeing something a response from a friend that you miss. This also applies to snail mail, facebook, and other forms of contact. Finding or hearing from old friends is one of the best feelings in the world. There was a great old blues song which said "I love old friends because they remember me when I was a young man." That always hit home with me.
Awkwardness. This is strange, but I love meeting someone and trying to gauge how to approach them or talk with them. Learning about someone, that stage of intimacy known as "Infatuation", and playing the game where you want something, they want something else or even the same thing, and trying to navigate that world of awkward communication.
Childlike Wonder. I love getting to see the world through the eyes of my son, who is 2 right now. He is open, nice, and unprejudiced to new things. I like to get on my knees to the ground and look at bugs close up with him, watch his excitement when he finds a worm or a rollie pollie and laughs. It makes me feel like I am doing someone good for at least one person in the world.
Reading books. My wife and I own quite a few book shelves and they are all stuffed to the gills with book, periodicals, and artwork. I love when someone is having some issues and I can pull a book off of the shelf for them to read, they do, they understand it, and it helped them in some small way. Short stories are such a good medium as well as ultra-short fiction, hint fiction. The six word story which legend says was Hemingway:
For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.
Wonderful stuff. The shorter the writing, the more the imagination has to fill in.
Sitting out side on a warm evening and watching stars. There is not much more to say about that. Perfect for contemplation.
British humor. Come on. Hilarious. Whether is be Monty Python, Black Adder, of reading Hitchhiker's Guide where the meaning to life is 42, it cracks me up every time.
I think that I need to stop there for now. Maybe I will make a part 2 later. What are things that you love and why?
 
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Nice blog mate _b
I love about half those things, the first thing you listed is the one i cherish the most.
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On July 03 2011 12:49 whaty0uwant wrote:
Nice blog mate _b
I love about half those things, the first thing you listed is the one i cherish the most.
Yeah, it is all good. Thanks for reading. There is so much awesome stuff about life that is fun.
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Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it. (not sarcastic, i really enjoyed yours).
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you sound like you are living the life i want to be living when i get older....
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On July 03 2011 13:00 chomsky wrote:you sound like you are living the life i want to be living when i get older....
Thanks! 5 years ago it never would have crossed my mind that this is where I would be today. I like a simple life with loved ones, games, and art.
You know what I forgot tom put in there?! Pizza! God damn I love me pizza and I am always on pursuit of the perfect pie. Thanks for reading.
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On July 03 2011 12:57 MaxField wrote:
Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it.
Wow, thanks. I appreciate that a lot, but don't look at too many of my other ones. I am sure there are plenty of time-wasters in there. =)
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On July 03 2011 13:03 TheAmazombie wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2011 12:57 MaxField wrote:
Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it. Wow, thanks. I appreciate that a lot, but don't look at too many of my other ones. I am sure there are plenty of time-wasters in there. =)
i don't think you caught what he was trying to say
not that i agree with it
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On July 03 2011 13:13 tube wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2011 13:03 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 03 2011 12:57 MaxField wrote:
Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it. Wow, thanks. I appreciate that a lot, but don't look at too many of my other ones. I am sure there are plenty of time-wasters in there. =) i don't think you caught what he was trying to say not that i agree with it
No, I get what you are saying, but whether or not that was what he meant, I have the right to take it how I want to take it. I ignore trolling. =) Thanks for reading.
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I like the Beatles, don't LOVE them, but I will over look it because of the rest of the blog was worthy. And boy do I wish I could find people who play games like Risk, Monopoly and the Stock Market game (I don't recall the title) more seriously and actively.
I also miss/love the memories of playing video games late into the night without a worry/care in the world. The last memory of this was leveling 80-84 the night Cataclysm was released (this was in college, so there was some worry as to skipping class the next morning, but before that it was years ago playing CSS for hours). Good times.
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Ah, so happy. Thanks for this. Gave me a good smile. Keep on being happy man.
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Fantastic OP. I'll throw a couple ideas.
Playing piano. I love experiencing the progression from starting a piece, where your fingers feel so clumsy, and you struggle to play through one handed or ridiculously slowly, to being able to play the piece up to tempo and with expression like it's second nature. It gives me such a great feeling of accomplishment, and I love being able to give other people enjoyment with it.
Hiking. I'm spending my summer in Colorado, and hiking mountains is awesome. Such a great social activity, and it really gives you an appreciation for nature. It also gives a fantastic sense of accomplishment when you hike uphill for hours to get to a beautiful summit/lake/waterfall/whatever.
Engaging conversations. I (unlike the OP) pretty much hate small talk and view it as an unfortunate necessity to get to have awesome conversations about deep topics like philosophy, science, or politics. It's at it's best when it doesn't turn into a debate, but just a mutual exchange of ideas and knowledge. It's especially fun talking about this stuff with people different from you (whether nationally, or academically, or any other relevant way). It's just so fun and bonding to work with a friend to try and understand the world or each other better.
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On July 03 2011 13:17 TheAmazombie wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2011 13:13 tube wrote:On July 03 2011 13:03 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 03 2011 12:57 MaxField wrote:
Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it. Wow, thanks. I appreciate that a lot, but don't look at too many of my other ones. I am sure there are plenty of time-wasters in there. =) i don't think you caught what he was trying to say not that i agree with it No, I get what you are saying, but whether or not that was what he meant, I have the right to take it how I want to take it. I ignore trolling. =) Thanks for reading.
Wow, just read it again and i really meant it as a compliment. I did enjoy that, but i sounded like a complete douche. Wow, sorry, and great blog (for real).
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On July 03 2011 13:55 MaxField wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2011 13:17 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 03 2011 13:13 tube wrote:On July 03 2011 13:03 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 03 2011 12:57 MaxField wrote:
Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it. Wow, thanks. I appreciate that a lot, but don't look at too many of my other ones. I am sure there are plenty of time-wasters in there. =) i don't think you caught what he was trying to say not that i agree with it No, I get what you are saying, but whether or not that was what he meant, I have the right to take it how I want to take it. I ignore trolling. =) Thanks for reading. Wow, just read it again and i really meant it as a compliment. I did enjoy that, but i sounded like a complete douche. Wow, sorry, and great blog (for real).
Haha, I just read it that way now, and I have to say, your first post has to be one of the most hilarious backhanded insults that I've ever read. (Even though you didn't mean it that way.)
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you sound like you're an amazing dad. 5/5 great blog post
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This blog made me smile
There are many things that I love, maybe I'll share them sometime >.>
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I'd like to add sleep. I can't because there's a party outside and I promised myself I'd finish this function even though I've wasted much of the last four hours.
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On July 03 2011 13:53 matjlav wrote:
Fantastic OP. I'll throw a couple ideas.
Playing piano. I love experiencing the progression from starting a piece, where your fingers feel so clumsy, and you struggle to play through one handed or ridiculously slowly, to being able to play the piece up to tempo and with expression like it's second nature. It gives me such a great feeling of accomplishment, and I love being able to give other people enjoyment with it.
Hiking. I'm spending my summer in Colorado, and hiking mountains is awesome. Such a great social activity, and it really gives you an appreciation for nature. It also gives a fantastic sense of accomplishment when you hike uphill for hours to get to a beautiful summit/lake/waterfall/whatever.
Engaging conversations. I (unlike the OP) pretty much hate small talk and view it as an unfortunate necessity to get to have awesome conversations about deep topics like philosophy, science, or politics. It's at it's best when it doesn't turn into a debate, but just a mutual exchange of ideas and knowledge. It's especially fun talking about this stuff with people different from you (whether nationally, or academically, or any other relevant way). It's just so fun and bonding to work with a friend to try and understand the world or each other better.
Yeah, conversations are one of the things that I miss a lot. I moved to Nevada a few years back, gave up everything I ever knew to become much more stable. People around here don't like conversation and do not seem to want to know you, so making friends has been more difficult for me than ever. They are not bad people, just different and it is hard to adapt sometimes. =) The point of a good conversation is to continue the great conversation.
As for piano, hell yeah! I have an upright that finally got moved up to me here in Nevada recently from my parents back in Cali. I have a full-sized Korg, a 50's Wurlitzer Organ, and my son loves banging on them all. I was a music major back in college and in various bands for years, so I still love playing and I love that my son loves them, but I just do not have much time to focus on my own stuff, just play for the joy of playing. Thanks!
On July 03 2011 13:55 MaxField wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2011 13:17 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 03 2011 13:13 tube wrote:On July 03 2011 13:03 TheAmazombie wrote:On July 03 2011 12:57 MaxField wrote:
Great stuff, I also would like to add how i love a blog that is not a waste of time after you finish reading it. Wow, thanks. I appreciate that a lot, but don't look at too many of my other ones. I am sure there are plenty of time-wasters in there. =) i don't think you caught what he was trying to say not that i agree with it No, I get what you are saying, but whether or not that was what he meant, I have the right to take it how I want to take it. I ignore trolling. =) Thanks for reading. Wow, just read it again and i really meant it as a compliment. I did enjoy that, but i sounded like a complete douche. Wow, sorry, and great blog (for real).
I did not think you did, but as it was somewhat vague, I can see where others did. Thanks a lot!
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On July 03 2011 14:29 EpiK wrote:you sound like you're an amazing dad. 5/5 great blog post
Thanks. I sometimes think I am great and other times I am constantly questioning some of the things that I am doing. Having a son and caring for him is so hard because you are in a constant state of questioning, even when you know you were right. He is a great kid, nice and very outgoing, sometimes he does stuff that we have to try to teach him not to do and I have to look at myself in the mirror everyday and wonder if I am doing good things, wonder if I do something that I want to do, would I want to teach him that it was okay? It is scary, hard, fun, and full of smiles constantly. The frustration for me has mostly been just trying to communicate with him. I had a real hard time when he was a newborn because I could not understand him at all.
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Nice blog! I'll throw a few of mine out there since you asked :D
Searching for/Showing off awesome movies: A few summers ago I started watching a lot of instant movies on Netflix. In the process you find a lot of hidden gems, or B movies that are excellent. The fun is in the search. Last summer I spent most my weekends either playing BW or watching 5-6 instant flicks. Most of them aren't worth watching a second time, but every so often you hit gold! Once that happens I hop on Amazon and buy it. The next greatest pleasure is recommending it to someone and maybe even watching it with them. I have about 25 sitting on my shelf that are pure gold. Just looking at over half the covers you never would have guessed!
Mentoring: I'm the oldest of four brothers. Being a big brother is my favorite thing to be. Naturally, this attitude carries over to normal friends. It served me very well working three years as an RA for a freshman hall and friends who are younger. I'm exhausted just getting through an 8 hour work day, but when working to better other people the time flies so fast it's incredible. I would have pursued student affairs if the age gap wasn't getting too large. I never minded being on the front lines because every day I could help the 50+ people live a good life and have fun! The downside to all this is that I'm terrible at relating to people my age and older and I can't take advice and mentoring very well since I'm used to forging my own path. Part of me thinks I'm asking too much in looking for a career that combines all these aspects. However, I feel it will suit me very well as a parent - the number one thing I want to become (if only my girlfriends will stop breaking up with me!).
My Strange Taste in Music: It's hard explaining the music I like to people because it doesn't fit any one genre. The ultimate song, in my opinion, is hard rock backed by an orchestra backed by a chorus with moving minor melodies. Combinations of fewer elements are fine, and doing this has brought a strange variety of awesomeness to my mp3 library! Listening to movie scores turned into a year-long love affair with New Age which birthed a love for classical crossover, symphonic metal, and gothic metal. I judge a song based on the music itself. If I like it I'll listen to it a bunch of times. By about the fifth time I MIGHT start listening to the lyrics. This has gotten me in trouble with a few songs that are about bad or depressing topics, but have really pretty music (for example: Forever Yours by Nightwish), though I'll eventually listen to the words as well.
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EPT
