Off the grid
The past two weeks I spent visiting the Philippines. For most Americans, the Philippines isn’t a top tourist destination. For me, it was a chance to reconnect with my past.
It was an interesting trip. First and foremost, I was off the grid for over 15 days. No internet. No email. No voicemail. No mobile phone. Nothing.
It was great! Once you live off the grid you truly begin to realize that internet, email, voicemail or mobile phones aren’t necessities at all.
Ten days into my trip I had an opportunity to check email at an internet cafe. All my email accounts funnel into my gmail account and I was stunned at the amount of email I received. It’s taken several days for me to go through my inbox. I made a lot of observations during my trip and I’ll be blogging about it for the next couple of days.
Tags: denver, vaSpring Break and Reruns
I’ll be taking a break for the next two weeks. I’m trying to figure out a way to rerun my most popular posts, in the mean time you can enjoy Rerun (aka Fred Berry from What’s Happening):
Tags: vaThank you Joe Nacchio!
I have a running joke with my wife every Monday night. We usually watch “24″ at 8 PM and it’s followed by the Fox Evening News at Nine. After the scenes for the next 24 episode come on, I usually say “Up next on Fox News, something bad happened, something worse happened, and we have a dog story that will touch your hearts.”
I changed the channel to the Nuggets versus Lakers game too quickly to see if my prophecy was fulfilled.
If it’s negative, you’re going to hear about it whether it’s in the news, on a blog, or in a conversation. I blog about mortgages so lately it’s been tough to blog about recent events because of all the negativity surrounding the industry.
That’s why I want to say Thank You, Joe Nacchio! You’ve pushed the mortgage madness here in Denver and Colorado to the back burner while your insider trading trial is underway.
Tags: colorado, denver, mortgageTop Five Fridays - Dream Jobs
Contrary to popular belief I don’t consider blogging about denver, mortgages, real estate and just about anything in between, my dream job. Here are my top five dream jobs:
- Sportscenter Anchor: This has been a dream job of mine since I was 14 when Chris Berman and Dan Patrick were the anchors. Reporting the news and cracking jokes will always be appealing.
- Backup Quarterback: Quite frankly this has to be one of the best gigs on the planet. For the most part, you never play which means you never get hurt but if the starter goes down you finally get a shot at glory. In 20 to 30 years, we may not remember Drew Bledsoe but we’ll always remember his backup, Tom Brady.
- Stand Up Comedian: I’m sarcastic 100% of the time. Some of my jokes are funny. Some aren’t. Using your comedic talents to appeal to a mass audience isn’t just a challenge, it’s an art.
- Bill Clinton’s Biographer: Love him or hate him, the man was a force. If you’re a republican, you’re probably blaming him for the housing mess. If you’re a democrat, you’re hoping our laws can change so that he can run again. He was more sinner than saint but according to most people, once you meet him, you walk away impressed.
- My daughter’s father: I have the greatest child on the planet. Being her dad is the best job ever!
More books I’m reading
The best part about the Denver Libary is that you can put a book on hold and they call you when it’s ready. It beats going to Tattered Cover, Borders or Barnes and Noble and reading a book you really have no intention of buying.
Recently I picked up a book with the greatest title ever: Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad by Mike Greenberg of Mike and Mike fame on ESPN Radio.
I expected it to be humorous. It was about as humorous as the sitcom “Yes, Dear!”
When someone has what you consider your “dream job” you really don’t expect their lives to be rather pedestrian. I almost gave up completely on the book until I read a paragraph that Mike wrote about Micheal Jordan:
“It was all in his head. It was all in his confidence and competitiveness and determination and mental toughness. I traveled with Michael Jordan for years and never once saw him waver. I never say him afraid. Michael Jordan was the most supremely self-confident human being that ever lived. His unshakable faith in his ability is what set him apart, made him special. It is what enabled him to fly.”
Good job Mike!
Tags: denverBlogs start with B and ends with S
Lately I haven’t been blogging. I’ve been reading books.
If you blog and haven’t read Seth Godin’s blog, go there now. It’s a must read. I’m currently reading Seth’s book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. The premise of the book is about telling authentic stories. Companies that are able to tell an authentic story usually succeed.
What story are blogs really supposed to tell?
Most blogs fail because people fail to find their voice. I don’t exactly know what that means but I do know that right now the internet is full of blogs. You might even say it’s blogged down with blogs. There’s so many people out there with a story, positive or negative, to tell. I walked into Starbucks yesterday and I noticed 2 people blogging. How do I know? They told me when I asked them.
How are blogs supposed to tell an authentic story?
It seems like the best blogs or at least the blogs with the heaviest traffic/readership have an author(s) that spends all day blogging and commenting. I mean all day. Before the sun rises till Linda Cohn hosts Sportscenter. The blogging world is doomed when bloggers start blogging about other bloggers blogging about other bloggers.
How do I know that my blog is authentic?
This is how I know my blog is authentic. My blogging efforts usually begin when I sit down at my computer with a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal or oatmeal and ends when the aforementioned cereal or oatmeal is in my belly. If I have something to say, I say it. If I don’t have something to say, I read other blogs. There are enough blogs that start with a B and end with a S. I just don’t want to be one of them.
Tags: denver