Monday, February 2, 2009

These are 25 things I bet you didn't know about me...Well, you probably did.

These 25 things about you are like an epidemic that cannot be stopped. I wrote them on facebook but also wanted to add them to the blog. Enjoy, you crazy blog readers.

1. Two of the happiest times of my life were spent as a counselor for the youth group in Macon and as a little league baseball coach here in Tupelo.

2. I have a wide array of great friends. Some of them I'm closer to than others. Of those that are male, I'm definitely the best looking. (I have done research and have references available upon request.)

3. I consider Auburn to be my home. When I refer to Macon, I say that I'm "headed to mom and dad's." When I refer to my house, I say "Tupelo" or "the house." Only Auburn gets the title of "home."

4. I have people I consider friends at every Southeastern Conference institution, thanks in part to my days as a student assistant in the Auburn Media Relations Department and as an intern in the Sports Information Department at the University of Florida.

5. While I may not be the best at sustaining a relationship, I'm really good at wooing the ladies. I try not to do the same thing twice to win a girl's heart, but I have pulled some great ones in my time.

6. I hate using the word "never" for anything. However, one thing that I can say with absolute certainty is I will never purchase anything from Build-A-Bear Workshop (either in person or online) ever again. Never.

7. My two favorite bands are Chicago and Sister Hazel. My favorite song of all time is "Will You Still Love Me" by Chicago. I have been made fun of for this, but I don't care. It's a fantastic song.

8. I believe the TIVO/DVR is my generation's gift to mankind. Along those same lines, as my DVR has revolutionized the way I watch TV, the GPS has revolutionized the way I drive and approach road trips. If the DVR isn't our best contribution to society, the portable GPS definitely is.

9. I try to practice chivalry daily. I believe in opening doors for people and paying for the girl when you take her out. It's not that hard to be courteous and considerate. However, it never ceases to amaze me how shocked people act when you do these things.

10. I know much more than I ever thought was possible about mortgages thanks to my job with BancorpSouth. Even with all this knowledge, there is a ton left to learn which is extremely difficult with our government and investors changing the rules hourly. These are indeed crazy times.

11. I want nothing more than to be out of debt, but I will not sacrifice living my life to do so. I hope I never have to live to work - would much rather continue on this path of working to live.

12. After April 18, I will have been a groomsman six times. Hopefully, this says something about my friendships mentioned earlier.

13. Being a journalism major and spending my high school years writing for the Commercial Dispatch, I'm fascinated by almost all kinds of writing. While I don't necessarily care for science fiction and fantasy, I'm astounded by the writers' ability to develop all those characters and their background stories. I'm much more suited to writing biographies and non-fiction. I have tried writing fiction but continue to fail miserably.

14. I have taken one football season and traveled to every SEC campus for a game with one of my best friends. We both enriched our appreciations for Auburn University and the 2004 Tigers through this experience.

15. I'm a fantastic dancer. Just ask Colleen Geary of Gator Boosters.

16. Occasionally, I will break out my Kucek dialect. If this happens around you, just deal with it.

17. Back to coaching, my favorite moment came in our district tournament last year. Being the third base coach as Jesse hit his first ever home run and watching him pump his fist as he rounded the bases before stopping to give me a high five to end all high fives...yea, that was a great moment. Later on last summer, I got a text from Jesse that said I was his favorite coach of all time.

18. My experiences in coaching have made me want to be a dad for the first time in my life. I do not want this responsibility for a few more years, though.

19. I learned so much about myself during my year in Gainesville. I feel like I left that internship a better person than when I left Auburn.

20. My little sister amazes me more and more each day. To see the person she has become is a blessing that I hope I don't take for granted.

21. My parents...there are not enough words to describe how much they mean to me. I could not have become the person I am or reached my dreams without their help, assurance and guidance. I don't know if I could ever repay that debt. I do know that if I ever become a parent myself, I have a great example to live by in each of them.

22. I have lived in nine different places since the start of college. This moving around was conditioned by the constant moving we did as a family growing up. From my childhood, I still consider Albertville, Ala., as my favorite location.

23. My hero is David Housel. Hearing people talk bad about him still hurts me to this day, and its the reason that I gave up on pursuing my dream of becoming an athletic director.

24. I have attended Major League Baseball games in seven different stadiums (Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium, Turner Field, old Busch Stadium, Tropicana Field, Minute Maid Park and Wrigley Field). I hope to add two more to that total this summer (new Busch and Fenway Park).

25. I have worked as a member of the media relations staff for 28 different championship events/tournaments at the conference and NCAA levels. Despite all those experiences, I don't think anything can quite top going to the World Baseball Classic in 2006. This would not have been possible if it weren't for my best friend, Andrew.