Backseat Love OR I Should Have Done This a Super Long Time Ago

So Mrs. Twink posted this forever ago and I just never got around to it. Good thing I can say I at least did it in the same year... here goes.

MEME Rules:

1. Put Your iTunes / music player on Shuffle


2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.


3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT


4. After you’ve answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and then let them know they’ve been tagged to do the meme themselves!

• IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY? "Welcome to the Fold" - Filter. So I think this may be something that I would say... ummmmm never. So goes the Meme. What's Next???
• WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? "Whisper" - Evanescence. Umm... I don't really think so. Let's be serious, at 6'2" and 200+ I am anything but a Whisper.
• WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? "A Story About a Girl" - Our Lady Peace. I am pretty sure I also like actual girls as opposed to just stories about them... I guess I should get into romance novels or Penthouse letters or something.
• HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? "Blow it Out" Ludacris. Tha'ts right... I don't want to tell you how i feel... so there!
• WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE? "Hello" - Jazz Poet Society. Clearly, if you need to ask you just don't get it. Or maybe it is all about meeting people. Wow... that is deep.
• WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison. While this is true, a little pain can go a long long way.
• WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? "Candy Girl" - New Edition. Oh Man, I hope not, But I guess you take what you can. It could have been worse.
• WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS? "Shoot Down the Stars" - Gym Class Heroes. I must be out to get my parents. Okay, that isn't true at all.
  
• WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? "Hang Me Out to Dry" - Cold War Kids. Well, At least I can be careless in my summer clothes. On a personal note this is one of my favorite in the car and sing along songs.
• WHAT IS 2+2? "The Catfisherman" - Marah. Yes, the Fisherman can do Math, could you please go ask him?
• WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? "A Thousand Miles" - Vanessa Carlton. A surprisingly appropriate song.
• WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "Why Do They Rock So Hard?" - Reel Big Fish... it's true, they rock.
• WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?"Barrel of a Gun" - Guster (Y100 Sonic Session Edition). Really, A Barrel of a Gun. Life is hard, but not that hard.
• WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? "Bleed It Out" - Linkin Park (Live Earth Edition) While I don't really want to be bleeding wen I grow up I will dig deeper.
  
• WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? "One of A Kind" - Breaking Point. Sometimes these Meme my iPod things are a little creepy.
• WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? "Why Georgia" - John Mayer. Probably Why Baltimore, but close enough.
  
• WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers. I think I am going to saty away from the adultery songs.
• WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? "High Road" - Fort Minor. I would be okay with this, so long as I actually do take the high road.
  
• WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" - Kanye West with Jay-Z. Diamonds may not be my hobby, but being a mogul, I could see that as a nice distraction.
• WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? "Time + History of the D" - Tenacious D. My secret is that I laugh hysterically at these two funny men.
• WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?"World Go 'Round" - No Doubt. They already do make my world go 'round, no need to find another way.
  
• WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS? "Backseat Love" - N.E.R.D. Sure... that makes sense.

Well, Glad I got that in this year. If anyone else has the inkling to do this... well you should. it is fun. If you don't have a blog, put it in the comments.

100 Posts... w00t!!!

So this is post number 100 for my thoughts. Who knew that I could think so much. I want to thank everyone who has read the blog to this point. I really like the interaction that has given me and I hope you enjoyed reading it. To mark this occasion you should tell a friend about the blog and post a comment or two.

Thanks for reading and here is to a great new year and another 100 or so posts.

Things Not to Do When Updateing Your Blog Template

When updating your Blog Template do not forget to put your Google Analytics Tracker back into the new template. Turns out this causes some bad things to happen, like reporting no information... That can be kinda annoying.

2008 will be Great

So 2007 is coming to a close. It has been a big year with lots of ups and downs. There were lots of first in my life as well. I thought I would do a personal recap of some stuff. Here goes:

• Professionally - I got laid off, found a great new job (two actually), got promoted and feel like I am on a path for great things in the next year. I have been able to work with a fantastic group of people and am starting to share what I have done with other people as they begin their careers. I have joined the Project Management Institute (today actually), and will be scheduling my exam with my next paycheck, and will have my certification soon. Overall, it was a difficult start to my professional year, but it ended on a great high note. Lets hope this continues in 2008.
• Family - It was a pretty good year in my family as well. Like I said in a previous post I feel like I have come into my own as a member of my family (this is still a weird feeling). Also, things are looking up in terms of family health. Dad is still fighting, but the latest news was extremely positive (read no chemo). Mom is also doing well, as is Gram and the rest of the fam.
• Personal (Friends) - While I lost some people in my life through stubbornness and ridiculousness on both our parts, I have gained or reconnected with quite a few people whom I really value. I am constantly reminded that I have the greatest friends in the world. I want you all to know how much you all mean to me and how much I value our friendships. I have no doubt that good people will continue to enter my life and I can only hope that each one of you receive the same gift in 2008.
• Personal (Relationships) - A little rougher on this front over the course of the year. I think at 26 I am finally realizing that I have alot to offer someone and deserve someone in my life who I can share with, who I am happy with and who I can be myself with. Next year I am going to try to put myself out there a little more than I have in the past. I am not entirely sure how I am going to go about this, but I am no longer going to do things to prevent myself from being hurt, cause at the same time I am preventing myself from being happy.
• Personal Growth - There have been lots of time throughout my life where i have felt like I have grown up too fast, where lots of things have been dumped on my, but this year was different. I didn't grow up because of stuff happening to me. I grew up because I choose to. It is weird, and in many ways I tried to stay a kid, but it is happening. I am slowly bettering myself, the situations I am in and the communities which I am part of.

So overall, 2007 was pretty good. There are lots of loose ends that I hope will get tied up really soon, but I can be patient. Really, I liked 2007 and 2008 looks like it will be a fantastic year.

A New Blog Template and Some Other Improvements

If you are a frequent visitor you may notice some changes to the site. I am going to try to layout the steps I took to make these changes in case you want to make some improvements to your blog as well.

First, you will notice that the blog is now wider. This is a huge deal since the standard templates that are included in blogger are quite thin. I checked Google Analytics and saw that most of my readers have above 1024 pixels wide resolution. I did not want to push the boundaries of everyones screens, so I increased the width to 960 pixels. This means that I could add 220 pixels to the posting area of the blog (Yay). I googled quite a bit and found all the areas I needed to change within the HTML template.

From there I needed to adjust the images that are used to round the corners throughout the blog. Three images are used to create the look of each section. The corners on the top, the corners at the bottom and the rails that run along the side make up each section. I used a great program called Paint.net to adjust each one of the images (which you can find in the HTML template). In order to use the adjusted images I used my Google Page Creator account to upload the images and have them available via a link. This pretty much finished the widening of the page.

I then used Paint.net again to create a new header for the page. I like the new design. It feels like it fits the page and makes it seem more professional then the standard header. It was really easy to create, about 20 minutes in I was all done. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Last changes were around the ads running after posts. I decided that I really wanted them centered so I added them to the template using the Google Adsense script as opposed to letting blogger do this for me. This gives me a little more control on placement and look of each ad.

Now that I have made these changes I may be making a couple more. I have put my foot in the water. If I decide to make a jump, watch out for the splash.

An Update... An Update... YAY an Update

Hello My friends,

It has been a while. With the holidays and lots of work I have not had a ton of time to gather my thoughts and update you on what is going on in my life. I have a second or two today so lets take a care of a little bit of house cleaning.

First, I have been able to cross off a couple of things from my 101 in 1001. One was a huge surprise. I was promoted to a Senior Consultant with my company. I was sitting at home on a Sunday when I got the news. The Eagles were playing and I was checking my email while watching the game. I saw the mail and i screamed a little. My sister was in earshot. The following scene then took place:

My Sis: What happened? Who Scored?
Me: I Did!!!

Like I said this was a little bit of a surprise. I have only been with my company for nine months, but I guess hard work paid off. If anyone is looking to join the dark side please let me know and send me your resume. Cross the promotion off my list.

Another item crossed off was making homemade pasta. I had $25 to spend at amazon and was debating what to get. I ended up with a nice little pasta machine. I made a test batch last week where I left the noodles a little to big. Last night I made another batch for the roomies and it was scrumptious. Turns out pasta is pretty easy to make, just a little time consuming. Another item crossed off the list.

On another note, the Holidays were pretty standard for me and the family, though we did some tradition bucking for the better. This was the first year that I really felt like an adult during holiday time. I am not sure what it was, but there was just something about this year that made me feel better about the whole thing. It may have had something to do with the conversations between myself, my 35ish year old cousin and my 65ish great aunt about her Wii and DS. That is right. I have a granny gamer in the family.

Outside of those things there is not a ton going on. I am working hard right now to get ahead of the game financially. It is not really fun, but it will pay off in the long run.

I am going to have a couple posts today. Stay tuned.

If Wrestling was Life: Five Things in Wrestling that Would be Cool in Real Life

So I was watching wrestling last night and I decided that there are some things that happen during the great male soap opera that would be really cool if they happened in real life.

1. Championship Belts - This has started to take hold in other sports already. Seriously, how awesome would it be if they gave you a belt as you graduated college, or got a promotion. Something to show all those other folks what you have accomplished. Carry your belt on your shoulder as you were picking up groceries at the supermarket. Have competitions for biggest and most belts. Even better... Could you imaging the pickup lines? "Hey baby, I was wondering if you could help shine my Belt". Okay, that probably wouldn't work.
   
   Yeah, a Championship belt. I would get it from this guy, cause if you are going to wear a belt, it might as well be from the source.
   
   Would you carry your belt with you and show it off or stash it on the mantle? Could you be challenged for your belt by your rival? So many questions to ponder.


2. Entrance Music - You walk through the doors of your office a gong hits and the music begins. Maybe a pryo here or there. What a good way to announce your presence. It says to the rest of the room, "I don't know or care what you are doing, please stop everything and acknowledge that I am here". Don't you think that everyone could do with a little more acknowledgment? I am so coming in to "Sirus" by the Alan Parsons Project
   
   Now that I think about it, this could get annoying. Maybe there should be entrance music for just me?
   
   If you had it, what would you choose for your entrance music?



3. Divas - Okay, I can't lie, being the full blooded American male that I am there is a special place in my...heart... for some of the beautiful ladies that enter the ring each week, particularly this one.
   
   The characters they play run the gamut from crazy psycho to sweet an innocent. Seriously, take your pick, every type of personality represented and every one really good looking. The other great part about the Divas, there choices in men. In real life not a single one of them would ever choose the wrestlers that their characters find attractive. When was the last time you saw a beautiful girl on the arm of some guy named Ballz? If only it were real!
   
   Yeah, I know this is crazy, but it is my fantasy, I will put in it what I want.
   
   
   
4. The Call Out - Wouldn't it be nice? Whenever you needed someone you could call out their name and they would appear in the doorway. Think of the possibilities. Need a cup of coffee, yell for Juan Valdez. Hungry? I think Emril is free, just give him a shout. he will show up in 3...2...1. If only it were true. Oh, and if you are frustrated call out that bully from elementary school. It turns out he is an accountant and you can take him easily now. Don't believe me? Just call him out and get back all that lunch money, adjusted for inflation.
   
5. Number five.... turns out there isn't a number five. Just the four listed above. If you can think of a fifth leave me a comment.

Sme Timez U Nd 2 LOL

moar funny pictures

I Can't Wait for This....

I am a huge fan of Batman and I think the next movie with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger is going to be really good. Take a look at the posted just released on the Joker's viral site (whysoserious.com)

I can't wait.

This May Be the Cutest Thing Ever

I found this photo through Digg and their new images section. It is by a guy named Christopher and it is on flickr.

Are you ready

Seriously be prepared for the cuteness.

This thing is kinda ridiculous.

Pug Dogs need love too.

Told you it was cute