by on June 29, 2007

The Enneagram Personality Profile

EnneagramI’m a 5. You are probably wondering what a 5 is, so I’ll just come out and say it: I’m going to change the world… someday. What I see in the descriptions for being a 5 is that I am progressing up the ladder of “personality health” and will eventually be able to manage my strengths and subdue my weaknesses to become who I know I can be.

Liz Strauss pointed the way to this test with guest blogger Mark McGuinness this week. Mark stopped by to read the comments and saw my comment. He was another amazing person who was inspired by my guest post last December, titled “I Want to Make a Difference, Too.” I’m both shocked and humbled by such positive feedback on my writing.

He is something like the tenth person since that post that has commented about my writing style and the thoughts behind it. YOU people are the reason I am finding my way with what I desire to do to make a difference. I will get my BS in English and hone those skills like a finely crafted sword.

One of these days, my idea or knowledge will come to me, and I will be able to communicate it to the world.

Filed Under: Personal, Relationships, Writing
by on June 27, 2007

Ready for USF; Is USF Ready for Me?

My wife has Wednesdays off, so I asked her if she would be willing to go pick up my textbook for my class that starts on the 5th. She met me at work to take me to lunch on her way over and we had an interesting “interview” on what school supplies I wanted, too.

“I don’t know,” was my typical guy answer. I hadn’t really thought of it yet, which is very standard practice for me. Thursday would arrive and I’d realize that I needed to go to the campus bookstore on my way to class or something. It happened every semester before. I remember buying scantrons for my community college exam one night 5 minutes before the bookstore closed on my first exam night. That’s Jesse for you.

School SuppliesHere is one of the reasons why I love my wife so much ->
I was sitting at work wondering if she was finally going to be able to find me a school bag that didn’t look like a purse. It is also ridiculous to lug around a backpack for one stinking book. Backpacks are soooo 1997. She found a perfect YAK PAK commuter bag that is just big enough for one or two textbooks, a notepad, and a folder. I slung it over my shoulder and it felt snug around my back for those long campus walks that USF has. I looked at the tag and saw that it is touted as a Booklyn, NY bag. That was enough for me. She knew that, too, of course. What makes it even better is this particular model seems to be a special college edition available only to college campus Barnes & Noble stores, because it’s not on the company site or the B&N site. Cool.

Jesse standing What I did not expect was a great school shirt. It reminded me of the time in Gilmore Girls when Rory visited Yale and changed her mind to not go to Harvard and her mom bought all that Yale stuff. I am pretty pumped, as you can tell.

I have decided to take Tony D. Clark’s advice to get a notepad for my pocket for jotting down things that pop into my crazy head before they vanish forever, never to be thought of again. What I haven’t decided on is which Moleskine is better: Moleskine Reporter Pad or Moleskine Small Pad. Once I have that figured out, I’m all set.

Filed Under: Personal, Relationships
by on June 26, 2007

Lion Whisperer: Kevin Richardson

Kevin Richardson - Lion WhispererSome people are insane. Some people know what they are doing. This guy brings back memories of Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. He can even hold a baby hyena without fear of attack from its mother, likely because his brain is not sending him signals correctly. Sometimes God’s elbow gets bumped when pouring in peoples’ brains.

According to this amazing news story, Kevin Richardson is 32 and has been doing this for years. I suspect that this kind of behavior usually ends in tragedy, like the bear lover Timothy Treadwell.

Check out the full story at Daily Mail.

UPDATE: Since writing this post, I have learned that he is also the producer of the film White Lion – Home… is a Journey. It is a story about Letsatsi, a white lion, and his struggle to adulthood against all odds.

LISTEN UP! I’m tired of people asking me how to get in contact with Kevin. He’s a nutcase. I am NOT his PR rep. I am NOT his agent. I do NOT know him. I do NOT know where he is. I do NOT know what he ate for breakfast. Read the article, Google about him some more, enjoy your tea, and move on.

E-mails like this will be ignored from now on: “We are headed to South Africa to shoot an episode and wanted to connect with Kevin and possibly include him in a segment ….Do you know how to get a hold of him?”

Filed Under: Relationships Tagged With: , , , , ,
by on June 21, 2007

What Do You Do When You Have an Itch?

Itchy?According to Wikipedia:
An itch (Latin: pruritus) is an uncomfortable sensation felt on an area of skin that causes a person or animal to desire to scratch that area.

I come from a long line of jacks of all trades. I’d make your head spin if I told you all of the things the men in my family can do without hiring out for outside help. I definitely inherited both that ability and the urge to continuously try new skills.

Unlike my dad and grandfather before me, my employment history has not been as stable as theirs. My dad worked for the same metal container manufacturer for 25 years and my grandpa co-owned a John Deere dealership for a good three decades. They always do their own work around the house and my dad went back to school to get an electrical engineering degree and moved up into the ranks of management when we moved to Florida.

My itch is different. I have this incredibly strong drive to “be all I can be.” When my counselor asked me if I can be happy to be the best in my position or my company or even my field, the answer was “no.” That would still be wasting 80% of my brain. Nothing drives me crazier (unless I am dead tired) than sitting around idling. Even if I am playing a computer game, I am exploring or experiencing something new. I have an unquenchable urge to improve myself. Something inside me says that if I keep at it, I will be perfect… some day.

Ridiculous, I know, but that thought is still in there.

I get to the point in everything that I do where I determine that I have either gone as far as I can go with my abilities or that what I’m doing did not keep my itch away. I don’t think there is anything out there to satiate my thirst to do new things.

Do you have an itch? What is it?

Filed Under: Personal
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