I didn't give up!

Don't worry! I didn't give up! I did start to feel bad that I hadn't written anything in almost 2 weeks, but to be fair I was in New Orleans for a week, and didn't have much time to sit down and write (even though I did have the romantic notion of writing a post sitting outside on the patio of Cafe du Monde while eating beignets and drinking chicory coffee.)

Me, Dana Jill, Erika, Ben, Trey, Molly, Mom and Dad. 

So my brother found an amazing woman and somehow convinced her to marry him.  Erika and Ben have the same brand of weird, and it is a delight to be around the two of them.  Any of you in Hattiesburg, MS should count yourself lucky.  These two are a fantastic pair and I couldn't be more happy for both of them.

I've been thinking a lot about Ben this past week.  I wasn't exactly sure who the best man was before getting to New Orleans (it's not neccesarily out of character for my brother to have forgotten to ask someone, and technically I didn't really have an official best man at my wedding) and honestly didn't really find out until the rehearsal.  I wasn't the best man, I was second in the line up, which in no way hurt my feelings.  The only reason I mention it is because I was unsure whether or not I was going to have to give a speech.  I wasn't super worried given my love for storytelling and love for my brother (plus it was an open bar so all of that bodes well for an ad lib'd speech at a wedding), regardless though I wanted to be prepared.  So I'll use this to share some of the thoughts that I was going to share if I did have to give a speech (turns out no one gave speeches, which was for the best, I think).

Me and Molly goofing off while Ben's stomach was in knots before the ceremony

There are tons of stories I could tell about my little brother.  I could talk about when we were all little bitty kids and Molly and I covered him in flour and put him in the kitchen cabinets (and he LOVED it).  I could talk about how he used to pee in our closet for fun when we shared a room growing up.  I could talk about when he had long hair and Molly and I used to roll his hair up in the windows of the car  or make him go get the mail when we got home from school and then lock all the doors so he couldn't get back inside.  Molly and I also helped him finally pronounced the word crayon (kray-on) which he originally pronounced "crown" by mercilessly making fun of him until he changed.

However despite all of those things, I want to talk about hospitality.  I can remember one year  Ben had a sleep over for one of his birthday parties.  It was the next morning and we were all downstairs watching TV.  Mom came into the living room and asked Ben if his guests were hungry.  When she said this, the boys all perked up excited for some sort of breakfast.  Ben turned to them and said," Oh yeah, uh... There's food in the kitchen.."  Disappointed, none of his friends moved towards the kitchen. They just sat there and continued to watch TV.  They hadn't been over to the house many times before so they didn't know where anything was.  Mom quickly told Ben to get off his ass and to go get some cereal bowls down and show them where everything is, and he hopped to.

We hid Ben in the bathroom while
Erika was coming up the elevator

Fast forward a decade or so and Ben finds his passion.  If you have sat at his bar, in his section, or just talked to him about cocktails you already know that he just lights up.  He genuinely wants to take care of people and make sure that they are having a good time.  As a restaurant manager, I can tell you, this is rare, and is nearly impossible to train someone who doesn't have that natural desire.

I was talking to Kathryn, one of Erika's bridesmaid who lives in Manhattan.  She was telling me a story of when Ben and Erika went to visit her.  She shared that any time someone makes it out there to visit her, she feels obligated to show them parts of the city that the person would enjoy, and that varies from person to person, but either way she's a good host and gives her friends a taste of the Big Apple.  She said the only time that she didn't do that was when they came.  The reason being was that Ben and Erika took her out.  Ben did the research.  They took her to places they had only vaguely heard of, and they had an amazing time.  He knew what bars to go to, which bartenders were working where and, what restaurants that they needed to hit up while in New York.  So Ben gave Kathryn a taste of New York that she hadn't even experienced before.  

AMAZING charcuterie from Primitivo in New Orleans

I'm sure that any of you who don't live in New Orleans have gotten some sort of suggestion from Ben or Erika on spots you have to hit and how amazing the food is. Ben has probably talked to you about the line of products that he represents (shout out to Giffard's).  Erika has a spreadsheet, of restaurants and bars that they have been to, so that she can make suggestions on where to go in New Orleans for great food and great atmosphere.

I am amazed at the man that my brother is becoming. There was a period of time where he almost died a couple times due to a duck, and some heart problems, and mom and dad have almost killed him too many times to count.  So to see that he has found his bride, and has pledged to take care of her as they grow together through sickness and health, richer or poorer is mindblowingly amazing.  Erika you are in good hands, and I am so glad that you have joined our crazy family.
I told my brother that marriage is the hardest thing he'll ever do, and the best thing he'll ever do.  Here's to the hard times, and the best times.  Cheers to Ben and Erika.

WAKE UP

Lately I've been fired up.  I've felt awake.  "What are you fired up about Sam?" you might be asking me.... Well the answer isn't that simple.

I spend too much time on my phone.  I spend to much time on Netflix.  Dana can confirm both of these facts.  Before a few weeks ago, my days off consisted primarily of doing laundry, cooking, and watching Netflix.  I'd sit on our couch (which is where I'm sitting right now typing this) and just veg out non-stop;  finish whole seasons of shows (Limitless the TV series, Netflix's Voltron, Penny Dreadfuls etc.) or sometimes re-watch movies I've already seen (The Matrix trilogy for example).  While watching these movies I would play a Marvel game (Contest of Champions) and a Star Wars game (Galaxy of Heroes) along with the normal Facebooking. I wasn't even pay attention to the movies!   

Even while I've been sitting here, I've checked Facebook and Instagram twice, watched Bad Lip Reading NFL 2016 (very funny) and started listening to a podcast about fantasy football.

None of these things are bad in and of themselves.  What I have come to realize is that I have been asleep.  I stay distracted.  Why?  That's what I'm trying to figure out here today.  

Why is it that when there is an infinite amount of information out there for me to learn, hobbies out there for me to tackle, and people out there that need someone to talk to or tell their story to, I am watching 30 Rock for the 3rd time (btw Toofer follows me on Twitter!) I love all of those things.  In fact the joy that I get out of the those games and re-watching Fieval Goes West or Ant Man pales in comparison to the joy I get when I sit down, do the work, and realize that I can be out of debt in 5-6 years.  By a long shot.  

I am beginning to do things differently.  I'm researching.  Historically I'm not a detail oriented person.  I am more excited by the big picture ideals that guide, inspire, promote, and communicate the "why" behind things.  The details are more about the "what".  Why someone does what they do is more interesting that what they actually do.  I can easily listen to someone talk about their passion for accounting and how they love when the data of a system comes together to paint a picture of what is going on.  When they get into explaining what that data looks like, or how they put the puzzle pieces together, that's when they start to lose me.  

SO there are a few things (you will hear more about in future posts, but I'll tease them here), that I have been digging deep into, because I think they might be right for me and that is Crossfit and the Ketogenic diet.  I'm not going to be trying them all at once, I would probably turn into a monster for a few weeks having to transition from basically inactive and somewhat paleo to high intensity, constantly varied, functional movement (kick your ass into shape) type workouts and a diet that consists of high fats, low carbs, and moderate proteins in a hyper regulated fashion.  

I am still more excited about why I am going to do both things, but because I am actually doing the research about what I'll be doing, how I'll be doing it and what kind of results I can expect (details!!) I am even more thrilled to start trying these new things.  

So back to the question at hand.  Why have I been so willingly distracted from the things that I know would  help my financial, physical and marital health??  I have been asleep.  It is becoming easier and easier to distract myself with little things here and there so that I can avoid addressing my real life major issues like debt, fitness, or growth (personally and professionally).  It's self sabotage.

Playing games on my phone and watching tv is the easy way out.  It's lazy, and I'm tired of dedicating hours of my life to them.  It reminds me of that saying, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people".  It's not these apps, movies, tv's shows, fantasy football teams, or podcasts that are causing me to ignore my issues, they are merely the vehicle I am using to ignore them with.  Once again, much like in my last post, It's me!  I'm the one who is choosing a phone app over learning more about healthy eating or connecting with my wife.  I'm over here watching Pokemon when I could be learning Spanish so that I could understand how much crap the kitchen staff at work is talking about me (That's my main motivation behind learning Spanish).

So as of today, I'm waking up.  I think this awakening started with this blog.  I made time to actually pursue something that I know I love doing.  It's time to wake up and get healthy.  I needed to nurture my creative health.  Thank you for reading these posts.  Even if you don't comment or like it on Facebook, know that by reading any of my posts, you've encouraged me to keep on doing this.  You've encouraged me to keep writing, keep pushing, and to put my stupid phone down.

I promise this won't turn into a Crossfit or healthy diet blog; it will probably just be what it's been so far;  me telling you stories (I have considered doing interviews and posting them on here... let me know if you'd be interested in that type of content.)  Thanks for the encouragement.  Thanks for the wake up call.

Time to get to work.