I’ve moved guys

Hey all,

Thanks so much for checking out my blog. From the overwhelming support I’ve already received for this blog, I decided to jump to self-hosting a WordPress.org blog. You can find all my new posts over at Life as an Experiment.

Thanks,

Jamey Burrell

Procrastination? I’ll put that off ’til next year

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I’m about to enter into my 16th year of New Year’s resolutions. I’m 25 (May birthday) and let’s be honest, those first 10 years, I was an angel (aside from temper tantrums in public, pooping myself at inopportune times for the ‘rents, and lack of social tact – telling the whole world what happened behind closed doors), so if I had possessed the awareness to make resolutions, I didn’t need to.

I prefer not to make resolutions because a resolution, by definition, means the act of resolving an issue (well, I guess I do have a few issues), but resolutions make me feel like I’ve been traveling the wrong path; instead, I reexamine my goals for life, and set out specific, attainable goals for the coming year. For this year, my list looks pretty standard compared to those of years past – (For #’s 1-4, I literally have an Excel spreadsheet that has tracked these areas since 2006 – see below).

Current as of 12/10/2010

1. Run 190 days
2. Workout 215 days
3. Eat fast food <2x month
4. Drink less than in 2010
5. Call friends and family more frequently
6. Floss… weekly? heck, it’d be an improvement

…a few vague ones

• Take more chances (“Do one thing everyday that scares you”- E. Roosevelt – See Be Brave), overcome self-doubt (I’m sure I’ll laugh at 60 about my ignorance thinking self-doubt can be shed like a tackler in football), and live in the present (good post here by @LiveWell360)

Granted, I do have a few unique goals

1. Remaster my fluency in Spanish
2. Move abroad (eyeing Buenos Aires, Barcelona or Hong Kong?? Suggestions?)
3. Sky Dive (if only the weather had cooperated that April day in 2006 when I
   

   Image via Wikipedia

   was set to do this in Interlakken – Canyoning was a blast thought)

4. Complete (1) 1/2 Marathon, (1) Sprint Triathlon, & (2) 10-K Races (Will be 14th Peachtree Road Race this year)
5. Kayak the tidal creeks and rivers around Charleston
6. Reach 500 followers on Twitter
7. Reach $1M in sales for Eco-Protective Products
8. Stand on the observation deck at the Empire State Building
9. This list could go on indefinitely

But what I had planned to do beginning January 1, 2011 (1/1/11 – pretty cool date) was to begin sharing my blog with the world, this blog, not my business blog for EPP – but check that out, too. My goal was to actually expose share who I am to the world via this blog, but why wait until New Year’s Day? I can procrastinate about this later, when I have more time. There’s no guarantee of tomorrow or even The Day After Tomorrow (such a tragically terrible movie) so I have to act now. If I wait until everything is perfect & risk of failure is minimized, in life, love, business, or blogging, etc, opportunity will pass me by. So here I stand, at the edge of the deep end, without holding my nose, ready to dive in head first (enough cliches for ya?).

Hello? Oh, never mind. That's just me.

So what’s holding me back? It’s not like anyone really even knows I’m here. I feel like I’m shouting into a giant tunnel, and the only evidence I said anything at all is hearing my echo answer back. If I do this will I suddenly become a social pariah, losing my clout (not Klout) in all the enviable social circles for being slightly brazen? Will my parents seat me back at the children’s table at Christmas dinner if my words aren’t well accepted?  What if I never have any followers or comments or worse my comments are negative and critical? Will I be forced into years of wallowing in a pool of self-pity and burdened to walk through life with slumped shoulders and a lack of self-esteem; will I have written all this for nothing? Is this a mistake? Heaven forbid that my friends stumble across my babblings, lest I’ll never escape the onslaught of jeers and laughter. Do I offer anything more than a regurgitation of that which I read? Will my readers take value from my words? I’m shackled by fear. A prisoner of my own self-doubt. A non-starter. I can’t publish this blog.

Ace Ventura @ the Mental Hospital.

I’ll keep it to myself like a lune locked away in an asylum, talking to the many ghosts of his past, present, and future but always to himself and no one else. Years from now, I’ll think of what could have been and sigh, but at least I’m comforted by knowing I didn’t fail because I never tried. Enough. Let’s do this. I’m stronger than any fear that could ever crawl up or down my spine.

If you follow this blog in the future, you’ll discover that I love using metaphors however hackneyed they may be. When I arise in the morning before the waking sun, brew my coffee, put on my cold weather gear (long johns, sweats, gloves, stocking cap, and vaseline to keep my face from chapping), lace my shoes, and head outside to log a run it isn’t for the quiet cheers of passers by, to catch the eye of a fashionable young lady or win the approval of high school coach; I do it for me, to nourish the needs of my soul and body. Such is the same with this blog. I am only as of recently realizing my love of writing, but I have long recognized my burning passion for life, and this is yet another medium to explore that passion.

So today, I cast off the shackles of fear of failure, the crippling uncertainty, and suffocating doubt that has held me back. I may fall flat on my face, but at least I know that I had the courage to leap.

There is no way to be certain what will follow; I’m a rambler & a ranter, slightly eccentric and often impassioned. I have an affinity for discussions revolving political matters and current events but a pinch of tact to avoid becoming overly engrossed in them. As a child, I was prescribed Ritalin, but my parents dismissed the doctors claim I suffered from ADD – I’m pretty sure that I was just bored. Have I mentioned I am addicted to Angry Birds on my iPhone?  I’ve broken par once playing golf. I prefer gloves to mittens & hand tossed crust instead of thin crust pizza. What was I talking about? Ah yes, the future path of this blog. Well, it isn’t there one, at least not yet. I’ll create it as I go. Although I can make zero, zilch, nada promises about this blog’s future, I am certain some big thank yous are in order.

Me, Mom, Dad - 2009

Looking back, my life has been a crazy ride of ups and downs but through each eternal moment of anguish and fleeting moment of joy, I have been fortunate to be surround by my parents, family, and friends whom I love and will forever cherish. Read my post about my parents, “Thank You” here & Friendships – There’s no Groupon for That about the importance of friendships.

And a big thank you to you. If you made it this far, I’m flattered and humbled. I hope that you come back every now and again, and that if you feel so courageous, you leave a comment below.

Friendships – There’s no Groupon for That

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This is going to be the quickest, least edited post you may ever read on this blog, and the reasoning contradicts standard protocol of writing (especially in an instantaneously disseminated medium). When writing an email, wait one hour before hitting send. If it’s in an angry response, wait two. Walk away from the computer then comeback. Count to ten before you answer… yea yea yea, and I would if this were to be a post devoid of emotion, but emotion is at its core. It is what compels me to not stop to sip my Starbucks‘ coffee or admire the cute college coed sitting across the cafe. It’s why spellcheck can wait and that phone call can be ignored.

Samir had to capture me striking up conversation with the oldest people on the cruise. Yet another thing he rips on me for.. always talking to old folks.

I just got off the phone with a friend, a good friend. And when he speaks, because he undoubtedly will – even if I don’t ask him to – at my wedding’s rehearsal dinner and/or reception, this post will surely rank high in the things he will use as a weapon in his arsenal to take down the pillars of my manhood (honorable mentions: my passion for taking pictures of nature while running and subsequently post them to facebook, fondness for movies deemed “Chick Flicks“, borderline addiction to hot tea, and love of cooking.)

Instead of feeling embarrassment, I’ll welcome what he’ll have to say; he will have earned the right. Just like I’m learning that Twitter followers can not be bought (read “Get Twitter Followers my A**” by @ShellyKramer), friendship is not purchased or negotiated, despite what Fraternities and Sororities tell incoming freshman (I was once one of those naive pledges); there is no Groupon to get it at a discounted rate and no Facebook group that can tell you where or how to find one. Your Klout score will not effect it, although at times, you may Stumbleupon it when you least expect it.  A true friendship, true brotherly love, is cultivated over time from mutual respect and loyalty. Unlike a stale blog’s diminishing Google ranking, friendships don’t lose value or relevance when years pass before they are revisited. They don’t have blackout dates like FF miles and no closing hour – you can call them at 3AM just because you need an ear to listen. They don’t show up to the bar on the night of your promotion just to score free drinks – they’re there because you’d do the same. They laugh at you when you screw up but don’t abandon you. They pick you up when you need a hand… or two, even if you didn’t ask. They are to be cherished because it’s not the amount of material possessions we amass during our trip around the Sun but the wealth of people and love that matter most.

Today, our conversation consisted predominantly of recounting our recent trek to Athens, GA for the annual in-state rivalry football battle (ha, like it’s a battle. UGA’s record of stomping Tech greatly diminishes the credibility behind this game as a true rivalry). Like our 4 years (and victory lap final fall semester before graduation), we drank too much, acted too immature, and had entirely too much fun for our age and perceived (perceived because I’m not sure I believe it either) maturity level.

Samir winning the build a drunken pyramid challenge in Costa Maya on our cruise. The kids from Ohio stood no chance.

The conversation skirted the main reason why I called until the very end; after 2+ years of training in South Korea, Lt. Samir Talbi of the United States Army will leave tonight for a tour of duty in Iraq. I trust his training and intelligence will serve him well during his deployment, and I await his return with subdued eagerness because I’m sure that the weekend he returns will be destructive to my [our] liver(s) and, probably, my [our] dignity.  I am proud of my friend and thankful that I have managed to make such wonderful friends throughout my lifetime.  God speed to you Talbs. ASB 2K11 (Adult Spring Break for those of you lacking acronymic prowess) will be planned (yes, I’m a huge planner & write emails about our planned trips that rival Homer’s epics – another point he may make in the future in order to poke fun at me), the “pizza” purchased, and the women and children will be forewarned of our impending destruction.

This Christmas season, thank a person(s) in uniform whether the Armed Forces or police and firefighters. They protect us and the ideals that make our way of life possible.

Thank you, my friend, thank you.