Light 'Em Up & Watch 'Em Burn

There are basically 4 types of people in this world...

1. There are people who take shit. Lots of shit. All the time. They let people walk all over them. Whether it's to avoid confrontation or because of strong insecurities, these people take it over and over and over again. They become victims, and get stuck in a perpetual cycle of allowing people to take advantage of them or hurt them without repercussion.
   
2. There are people who allow people to give them shit, but then find subtle or unobvious ways to get back at them. They are passive-aggressive, often being behind a retaliation, but making sure that no one knows it. These people may or may not have a high tolerance level for people's crap, but when that point is reached, there will be some kind of consequence. These are the kind of people who will slash your tires in the middle of night, or start rumors that can never be traced back to a source. The repercussions are annoying, inconvenient, and can cause problems, but you can never prove that the person is responsible.
   
3. There are people who don't tolerate shit at all. At the slightest indication of someone disrespecting them, they will go off the deep end to prove their point. Often, this type of person is driven by anger, jealousy, and a smaller than average penis. Their retaliations are fast paced, thrown together, poorly planned  and executed, and often immature. But they can be effective in making people think twice before messing with the person, because people don't like dealing with a wild card. When you don't know what you're going to get, most people choose not to roll the dice, therefore, this person is able to maintain their ego and status with the threat of instant and intense retaliation.
   
4. This type of person has a reasonable tolerance level for bullshit. They realize that some battles aren't worth fighting, so they choose revenge carefully. But, when pushed to that point, ALL bets are off. This is the type of person who will look you in the eyes, pour gasoline over your head, strike the match and stand there watching you burn. Everything they do is cool, calculated, and well planned. This person doesn't do things out of emotion, doesn't act irrationally, and makes sure every angle is covered before they make their move. Weeks, months, or years can pass between the time you cross this person and the time they burn you. But when they do, you will know. Everyone will know. And you will most certainly regret whatever you did to end up staring at this person's face while you are burning in front of them.

A word of advice - it's a really good idea to know what type of person you are dealing with before you start playing games with them. It's also a decent idea to realize the kind of person you are, and adjust accordingly.

If The World Ends Tomorrow...

There seems to be a lot of buzz about this world ending tomorrow (or technically, now, today) thing.

First off, I'd like to make a couple of points about this:

*Despite the dramatics, no one is actually claiming the world will end tomorrow. They are claiming that the Rapture will happen tomorrow. That means that Jesus takes all his followers to Heaven, and everyone else will be left on earth for another 7 years before it is finally destroyed. So while we might be down a few family and friends, the world will still be here.

*I'm not a Bible beater by any means, but I do have a little bit of knowledge about this Christianity thing. And I'm pretty sure it specifically says in the Bible that no one knows when Christ will return. So, in my humble opinion, if you believe any of the Bible, you need to believe all of the Bible, and therefore, that means that if you believe the Bible that the Rapture will someday happen, you have to concede to really not having any idea when this is gonna happen. So basically, this whole thing is kinda ridiculous.

It has, however, given many people, myself included, the opportunity to reflect a little bit about what it would be like if this really was it. If tomorrow really was the end.

It made me think about all I've accomplished, all I want to, and all I should have. Not gonna lie, I'd be pretty pissed if I worked my ass off for my degree only to have it for a week before it didn't matter anymore. That would suck. :)

Mostly though, it made me think about who and what is important to me. Do they know how important they are to me? Do those people know how much I love them? Do my boys know that they are my whole world, and they make my life worth living? Do my friends know how much I respect and appreciate them? Does my family realize that, despite our many differences, I will always hold them dear to my heart?

The truth is... I don't know if people know this. But I want them to. I want to live a life that, if my world was to end on a moments notice, I would be okay with. I don't want regrets. I don't want what-ifs. I don't want people to wonder where I stand.

A lot of the time, I live in tomorrows. I assume there will always be time later to do things, tell people things, or make things right. But that's not always true. There won't always be a tomorrow. You can't bank on that.

So instead, I really want to live each day completely, and be able to live without regrets at the end of each day. I want the people who matter to know it, the things I do to be impactful, and the life I live to be exactly what I want.

So at the time my world really does end, I can face it head on without any regrets for how I spent my last days.

And since the world is NOT going to end tomorrow, I can start doing this today!

Fight Like A Girl

I rarely post videos or anything generic like that.

This one, however, is worth the listen.

I so relate to this.

You probably will too...

Enjoy!

GRADUATION

So, May 12th was pretty much one of the most MONUMENTAL days in my life.

It was GRADUATION day!

Y'all, this has been a long time coming, and it felt sooooooo good to walk across that stage and get that degree. I'm pretty proud right now.

I graduated Cumae Sum Laude (4.0 GPA) and with other honors.

The family was in attendance. (Although they almost missed it due to a freak Colorado blizzard that left them almost stranded in Denver - so I got to pick them up at 4 AM and graduate at 10. Always a good time)

So, it's on to the next stage of my life. You know, the one I've been completely indecisive about for the last 9 months or so? Yep, still no clue. Lovely. I'm kinda going with the let's just see what happens thing... because I have a knack for landing on my feet. I am starting to get nervous though, because, honestly, I don't know what the plan is.

For now though, I'm totally enjoying the fact that I'm a GRADUATE!!!

My baby and Me

AKPsi Business Fraternity Graduates

Check out our badass Graduation Caps!

Bring on whatever is next, because I'm ready!

Anyway

ANYWAY

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

Closed Doors, Open Windows

So, you know that phrase that goes "When God closes a door, he always opens a window"?

Yup, I'd like to call bullshit.

Because sometimes ALL the doors get slammed shut, directly in your face. And sometimes all the windows are locked tight too.

So then what?

I'd suggest grabbing a hammer and start knocking the hell out of some walls. But I've always been kind of an extremist.

Basically, the point I'm trying to make right now is that, on occasion, NOTHING goes the way you need it to at all. So at that moment, you have 2 options. You can sit there and suffocate in the little locked room, or you can start digging your way out.

Right now, I'm going with #2.

Life has thrown some crazy things at me the last month or so. And, per usual, I have absolutely NO idea what my next plan is. So for now, I'm going with the flow, trying to enjoy the ride, and digging. We'll see what's on the other side of these walls.