So, I'm sitting here watching baseball, blogging, and listening to Frank Sinatra. Quite the combination, eh? The fact that I'm listening to some good ol' Sinatra reminds me of something: People really need to find other things to pick on me about other than my taste in music.

Yes, I'm a black boy from Chicago. Yes, I lived in a mostly black area. And yes, the same boy we're talking about happens to listen to virtually EVERY GENRE OF MUSIC ON THIS PLANET. What can I say? I love to break stereotypes. I guess it's just funny seeing people's reactions when I say something like, "I have to go to that John Mayer concert!" The funniest reactions? When I told someone that I listen to Michael Bublè.

And then there's the time when people found out I listen to country music. Their expressions were like, "What the HELL is this city boy doing listening to country?!" The moral of the story is this: you can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't apply a stereotype to everyone.

Also, people just have to deal with the fact that I'm not your average black boy from Chicago. Yeah, I'm cultured. Deal with it.

Pardon my indulgence.

Show of hands: how many of you guys have seen, heard, or know of someone(s) that seem to be in a new relationship every other day? Yeah, there is quite a few of them.

Okay, maybe saying there are a "few" of them is being too kind, but you get the point. I've seen and know quite a handful of them, and to tell you the truth, it's pretty annoying from a spectators' point of view. Now, I'm not against dating people and keeping your options open. At the same time, though, if you say you "love" each and every one of them yet break up within a week, that isn't really showing love, is it? It's like they just HAVE to be dating someone, you know?

Now that I think about it, if people notice this, why are they quick to date a person like that? Wait, I think i just answered my own question, and I think it's better that I don't post that.

I'd like to think that this school year, I broke out of a shell that I've called home for about 6-7 years. For my friends, they finally saw the happier side they've been waiting to see. To others, it was a case of , "Where the hell did THAT come from??" Feels pretty damn good, I must admit.

If somebody told me a few years ago that I would eventually trade in sports for the arts, I probably wouldn't have believed him. But I'm pretty damn glad that I did.

Now, when I say "traded in sports", I don't mean that I completely banned and shunned sports from my life. I'm still that athletic, sports loving kid (who also happens to be a stat geek), but I'm starting to show more of a side I kept hidden. Yep, you guessed it, the artsy side. Who would've known, right? Definitely not my friends, parents, and hell, anyone else for that matter. I even shocked myself a couple times!!

Actually, multiply those "couple of times" by at least 100,000, and you get how shocked I was/am at myself. And I must say, I'm also pretty proud of myself.

It feels good to be involved in theater, music, and all the like. Considering that I do music on the side, it didn't feel as weird when I did Vocal Velocity. Acting? WHOLE new ballgame. Was I nervous? Nervous would be an understatement, but people seem to say that I have good stage presence. That's good to hear, I guess! After all, I'm still a rookie.

I think it's safe to say that even though I love sports A LOT, I may have found a different kind of "home-field advantage": the stage.

Pardon my indulgence.

HA!! See what I did there? I crack myself up..

Anyways, I just learned something after watching the Heat absolutely thrash the Spurs after a game: the numbers (which said the Spurs, after winning Game 3, have a 93.8% chance of winning The Finals) don't exactly mean everything and anything sometimes. Me being a stat geek, and someone who admittedly gets a bit paranoid at times, that fact is sometimes hard to believe. But lets talk about things that aren't directly related to stats or percentages sports wise.

Picture a guy who's about 5'11 or so going up against a guy who is about 6'5. Whether it's basketball, football, boxing or whatever, odds are that if you take a random person off the streets, they're putting their money on the bigger guy. PLOT TWIST: the bigger, stronger guy gets his 6'5 arse kicked by the smaller  5'11 person. This is a case of two things: size isn't everything, and numbers sometimes lie.

Then there's a possible situation in a classroom: a nerd who's passed the past 10 tests, and a slacker who's failed the last 10. What happens on that 11th test? You guessed it, the complete opposite happened. Everyone had basically put their money on the guy who was a perfect 100% on the the past tests, and those same people (if they actually bet money) would've been paying up.

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.......THE NUMBERS ACTUALLY LIED! NUMBERS LIE!!!!......sometimes.

Again, I'm a stat geek, so it's easy for me to get caught up in the numbers (the irony in this is that I'm not a math person at all). But in some form of way, numbers are involved on BOTH sides of the spectrum. Even if it's the most minuscule chance of happening, the numbers actually prove to be true even if the predicted result doesn't come to fruition. Is this a case of not doubting the underdog? Yes, but if you look closely it leads to the second case, which is the following (and as Michael Smith would say):

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left...and NUMBERS NEVER LIE!!!

Oh, and pardon my indulgence. 

Remember the old saying "Time changes people"? Well, I want to find the person who coined that phrase and give him or her an award.

It's a given that people are going to change in some way or form; I'm not disputing that or trying to advocate against it. But man oh man, people take that changing thing to a whole new dramatic level. Those people are obviously the ones who changed for the worse, and desperately need to change for the better. I mean, come on: we all know that ONE person who changed into a person that we borderline hate at times. 

Hypothetically speaking, there's an old friend of yours that you knew since you were little. You grew up with that person, something happens (whatever that reason is), and you two don't see each other for what seems like years on end. Then, somewhere down the line, you two meet up. You guys catch up, and things seem to be picking up where they left off. Just as time goes on, and you start to think that the person you once knew was becoming even cooler and better than he/she originally was....

PLOT TWIST. That person goes completely the opposite way you thought, and now you hardly recognize the person. Okay, yes that happens a lot. But what happens when that change was so extreme, and the person insists that he/she is still the same? I'd go so much BS, it wouldn't even be funny. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I suppose I don't know certain people as well as I thought I did.


Or maybe this is all attributed to the fact that I'm not much of a people person. Regardless of whatever it is..

Pardon my indulgence.

There are a lot of things I find annoying in this world. One of them being fake friends.

I've been out here for a while now, and I can confidently say the following: Some people that I see are probably the most fake of them all, and not just to me. It's one thing to be a fake friend. It's another thing if you're being completely obvious with it even though you're trying to be discreet. I know, there are going to be a lot of fakers and friends who are just unreliable quite frankly. Still, those people never sit well with me, and I'll be shocked if I find someone who is fine with dealing with fakers.

I suppose what REALLY grinds my gears is the fact that, even though everyone and their grandma knows they aren't a true friend, they are so persistent to prove otherwise. Sure, that's probably the point, but lets be real: it's freaking annoying and a royal pain in the arse. I've had real friends, and I've had fake friends. The great thing about me having those fakers? I knew it right from the start. They weren't discreet at all. Hell, I know for a fact that I still have a few right now! How often do i socialize with them? Damn near never.

In short, allow me to quote a line from a Drake song: "Just holla if you got me, and skip you if you had me." He obviously didn't say "skip", but I'm trying to keep it as close to PG as possible.

Pardon my indulgence. 

From the classroom to the workplace, playgrounds to professional basketball courts, and the internet to real life, braggers are everywhere. Everywhere.

Yes, we are all braggers at some point and in some form of fashion. Some do it rarely, some do it occasionally, some do it regularly, and some do it all...the damn....time! Now, if you can back it up, more power to you, and you (to a certain degree) have a right to talk yourself up. But this is where that "certain degree" comes into play. People talk and brag and hype themselves up; that's a given, and you can't get rid of them. They're going to be a few of those in life. But there is a certain limit as to what that person to say.

There's a certain line that, regardless on how much one talks and brags, you should pretty much NEVER cross. And when that line is crossed, the talker starts to look downright pathetic.

Again, don't get me wrong, if you can back up what you brag about, then you have a right to talk. But once you start going too far and getting beyond personal, how does that make YOU look? To be honest, I don't care how smart one is, how good at a sport one is, or (and heaven forbid ANYONE brags about this) how many girls/boys one slept with. If that person who brags continues to breach ones' personal boundaries that hits close to home, that "right to talk" I mentioned earlier starts to fade away, and it fades fast. 

Everyone's personal boundary is subject to the type of person that they are. But there are universal boundaries that, regardless on what is being talked up, a bragger should never, ever infringe upon. Yet, there are those who do this without any form of remorse. Not going to lie, I was once a talking, bragging son-of-a-gun and I've also had my personal boundaries infringed upon, so I've been on both ends of the spectrum and can see both sides. But I've lived my whole life absolutely hating braggers, egomaniacs and all of the like (not to mention always HATING when I've been called an ego-maniac....biggest pet peeve. One of many, that is). Needless to say, if you brag and love to touch on topics that hit close to home for someone, calling you an "egomaniac" wouldn't be doing that term any form of justice.

I'd much rather be a quiet, humble and happy loser than a bragging, (and equally happy) egomaniac winner.

Pardon my indulgence. 

Here's where you find out how much of a geek that I am, but it will all make sense.