The Over Achiever I Am

I am that guy.

The groceries make it to the car in one trip or I am not a real man.

And no, those little hand-held baskets don't count. Not even close.

It's just the way I am. Fine, go ahead and roll your eyes at me. I also have to strive for perfection and greatness. Is that such a crime? Of course not!

If the basket has to roll all the way to your car, you are doing it wrong.
For one thing, I know you have no intention of ever putting it away correctly and will leave it in that parking spot next to you that someone else wants. (Yeah, I'm looking at YOU.)
For another thing, you have to stand at your car and deal with the gaudy basket on wheels that roll and fight any traffic that is circling for parking spots. While fighting a basket that rolls. On wheels. Into traffic. Smart.

So maybe I'm making a big deal out of this, I suppose. But it's really not my fault. I'm not the one who says "Let's run inside for one gallon of milk," and ends up having to pass by the express lane after counting beyond 15 items in the cart.

Everything goes in one trip. Period.

That Lonesome Road of Life

Think about this: There was a time in your life that your parents picked you up, held you, set you back down and never picked you up again.

Do you feel old now? Welcome to my world.

With graduation looming ever nearer, adulthood becomes inevitable (save the possibility of grad school but that's another subject to accrue debt over).  Job hunts are not as fun as hide-n-seek used to be, that's for certain.  It feels more like a corporate version of red light/green light.  I won't even mention student loans and their sick version of freeze tag.

But you're never too old for gummy bears so I got that going for me.

Ever notice at graduations that the old poem by Robert Frost called "The Road Not Taken", is over-read?  Okay, we get it. You took the road that wanted wear and then you got so lost you couldn't come back. Why don't you just come out and admit you procrastinated on your homework?

But it is quite often read as a tale of regret. It mourns the decision to take a certain path without ever finding out what happened on the other path. How appropriate for graduations.

Honestly, I feel that a certain passage from A.A. Milne would be a smidgen more appropriate:
“Pooh," said Rabbit kindly, "you haven't any brain." 
"I know," said Pooh humbly.”

That says it all right there.

It doesn't take much of a brain to admit that like it or not, I have to grow up sometime. Now that I'm almost done with college and getting jobs and things I suppose now is as good a time as any. Time for me to put off the childish things and actually become a mature human being.

Wait, there's good news.

I was talking with a buddy of mine in Nashville couple weeks back (I hate to drop names so I'll be as ambiguous as I Kanye). We both strayed from our conversation to lament about how adulthood comes sooner than you expect. My friend pointed out that as a banjo picker (psyche!) he technically never grew up either. That brought up an interesting point:

We have to grow up, but that doesn't mean we have to lose our childlike spirit! As long as we have a desire to grow, we are still as children and we have the curiosity and fiery passion to learn more. Growing up is mandatory, but losing the child in you isn't.

And so it is this cycle of growing and staying young that puts one foot in front of the other on this road that wants wear. Only you can walk the road of life. I can't do it for you.

So now is the time for the announcement! I've finally grown up and am a little kid again! Let's celebrate with an apple juice and a nap while we sing our favorite VeggieTales songs...right after I get home from work!

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

For those of you who got past the ridiculous grammar in the title, I will disappoint you again by mentioning that this post has nothing to do with the Rolling Stones.

But life never works exactly how we want it.  The unsinkable still sinks. The unbreakable still breaks.  The unthinkable still...thinks. My voice still breaks when I sing...

This past week I've been recruiting for my capstone research project, but everyone I talk to does not meet the qualifications to participate. C'mon!

Last month I changed all the strings on my guitar, but something didn't set right on the .035 string so it couldn't keep it's tune and broke five minutes after I took it out of the package. Why me?

The other day I had a large iced coffee, but the barista served it with a medium straw so that the more I kept drinking, the farther my nose sank into the whipped cream. Really, people?

Just when life's plans start shaping up, something goes wrong. Curse you, Murphy and your stupid law!

But life goes on. I guess I can't complain. Young bucks like me can find a lot of things to complain about, but the reality is the majority of our complaints are little ones. In the midst of a life bent on success, things will go wrong even if you try and you try and you try and you try...

Nobody promised life would be easy. Nobody promised life would be fair. It's up to us to stop complaining, get some whipped cream on our noses and make the most of it.

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