If You Identify With This Blog Post... You Just Might Be Ghetto/Country...

Okay folks, so I was having lunch with a friend today, and during the lunch the conversation took a turn to ghetto type scenarios with regards to family members.

It got me thinking about my childhood and how I either observed, or myself actually did some of those ghetto/country things. I say country because given that I grew up in a small town in Mississippi, my situations may not always have applied to actually being ghetto. So if you have ever wondered if you are, or have had these tendencies, here are some of mine that I observed growing up.

Ghetto/Country Things I Did:

1. Re-used the Chicken Grease Over and Over Again - I know I'm not the only one whose family did this. Either it was a big coffee can where you stored the grease, or in our case, a green pot on the right back burner of the stove. Then had the nerve to wonder why your fried fish tasted like fried chicken.
2. Wore a Stocking aka "Wave Cap" To Bed - Hey if you wanted those fresh waves, sacrifices had to be made. You were even more ghetto if you had the wave cap band/imprint on your forehead the next day at school even after it had been off for a few hours. You get extra ghetto points if you wore it to school or out in public in general.
3. Had an "S-Curl" - Not quite a Jheri Curl, but if you sat down against a cheap couch and leaned back, you may or may not have left a curl spot. 
4. Barber Shop (It Wasn't Just a Movie) - This one is two-fold, but if you ever went to your barber and told him or her to cut your hair based on the pictures on the wall. Or if you would go to the Barber shop just to listen to people tell stories.
5. Ghetto Slip-N-Slide - You didn't have a slip in slide, but your family bought one of those tiny plastic wrap kiddie pools. Unwrap the pool and turn the hose on and you have an instant Slip-N-Slide. And you didn't have the special nozzle on the hose to change the water pressure, you had to put your thumb over it. (My mother reminded me of this one)
6. Nintendo Cheat Code - If you knew the code to unlimited lives on any Nintendo game was  Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A, Start. 
7. Kool-Aid - I could go so many directions with this one, but if you made that Kool-Aid snack in a ziploc bag with sugar and/or salt. Or if you would use an entire batch of sugar on one pitcher of Kool-Aid.
8. Ghetto Snack - If you know what a "Zip" is/was... If you ever flipped the zip upside down in the cup and ate it with a spoon from the bottom (in a styrofoam cup).
9. Ghetto House - You have a ghetto household/family if you or your relatives did any of the following:
• Plastic cover on furniture so it would last forever
• Have a big picture of Jesus on the wall
• Have two tv's in the family room one of which didn't work, but served the purpose of propping up the smaller tv that did work
• Your mother wouldn't let you or your friends drink water from inside of her kitchen after you got through playing. You either drank from the garden hose or you were de-hydrated
• In the winter time, if turning up the heat meant turning on an extra burner or in extreme cases turning on the oven and leaving the door open
10. Cereal & Sugar - You put sugar on Frosted Flakes, Corn Flakes, and/or Rice Krispies.

*Bonus: SWV Song: You never learned the words to this SWV Song. All you ever did was hum the chorus and get "Weak in the Knees" when you heard it.

Ghetto/Country Things I Observed (either by friends or relatives):

1. Bath Water - When you were little, you didn't drain the bath water after you took a bath, because you knew your brother had to use it to take a bath.
2. Embarrassed at School - Your mother or father gave you a whippin aka "spanking" at school in front of your friends and/or classmates because you were acting bad and the teacher didn't know what else to do, so she called your mother or father at work and told them to come down to the school.
3. Hair Salon: You spent at  least the equivalent of an 8-10 workday at the beauty salon on a Saturday with your mother while she got her hair "did." 
4. Telephone Number: If the house you were born in still has the same telephone # it did when you were a kid. Meanwhile, you are now 36 years old.
5. Lotion vs Vaseline: If you didn't use lotion, and instead used Vaseline on your skin. There was always a tub of it lying around somewhere.
6. Ghetto Family Tree: If you were a teenager (16 and above) and your grandmother was under the age of 45. (Not saying any names, but yep)
7. Don't Step on My Shoes: If you ever were involved in an altercation (Verbal or Physical) because someone stepped on your new shoes. (I may have been guilty of this one)
8. Broke Automobile: If you or your mechanic (you may be both) are the only ones who can start your car properly.
9. Tupac and or Biggie's Death: If you remember what you were doing at the exact moment you learned of Tupac and/or Biggie's death. (I was at a football game when Marcus Carr told me Tupac died from Gunshot wounds, and at first I didn't believe him).
10. Ghetto Church: There were numerous people at your church who could not sing, but yet were invited back week after week and handed the microphone.

*Bonus: Telephone Technology: If you thought or still think that Caller ID and *69 were the greatest technology advancements of our time.

**Extra Bonus: Ice Cream Man: If your ice cream man sold drugs in addition to frozen tasty treats out of his ice cream truck.

For those of you that are wondering, not one of these is made up. Real life experiences folks! I remember all of this like it was yesterday, and wouldn't change one thing about it! Makes you appreciate what you have now. I know it does for me. What ghetto/country moments do you remember from your childhood?

Random ADHD Thoughts...

Vampires
I am really getting tired of all of these Vampire related shows and movies. I mean in this day and age, how realistic is it to be a vampire? You can't just go around sucking on anyone's neck these days, otherwise you will be spending your days at the free clinic instead of napping...


Verizon FIOS
Have had Verizon FIOS for a little over 24 hours now and have mixed emotions about leaving Brighthouse. On one hand I love the channel lineup and all of the options that I have from Sports, to movies, etc, plus the super fast internet. On the other had, the installation took too damn long, customer service isn't 24/7 like Brighthouse, and managing/setting up the account online was a major pain in the ass. So if I had to grade it thus far I'd give it a B-, mainly due to customer service issues.


Jurgen Klinnsmann
ESPN reported late last night that Jurgen Klinsmann has spoken to Sunil Gulati and about possibly taking over for Bob Bradley. Anyone that knows me and reads this blog knows I have been wanting this move for awhile, as the former World Cup Winner with Germany is the best man to come in and take over. Let's hope this change happens...

Deals Plus
If this website were crack, I'd be in rehab by now. I keep finding stuff on here that I need and all for a great prices. If you haven't heard about it, I suggest you give it a try, but first make sure you have someone hide your credit card.


Manchester United
Another three points today for my Red Devils, and to top off a great victory, we got goals all from guys that needed to get on the scoresheet. Rooney from the penalty spot, Nani with a great run at goal and finish, and my boy Berbatov with a trademark side volley beauty! I know we are only three weeks into the season, but at this pace Paul Scholes is going to run away with Player of the Year honors. Another masterclass performance in the center of the park today.


Strippers
Well I don't really have anything to say about strippers... just thought I would throw my readers a curve ball with this one...

2010 Thus Far...

Okay so once again I have been slacking and this is my first post in months. Figured it was a good time to check my progress on some of those goals that I had set going into the new year. Not doing bad as far as reaching them, but not doing great either as you can see:

1. Still no progress on this girlfriend thing obviously, and I am not optimistic at all.
2. No promotion yet, but I am more optimistic about this than I ever was about getting a girlfriend.
3. No luck on the MBA Program as of yet, as the UT thing fell through.
4. First one! Did finally get the car about two weeks ago, and loving every second I am in the car.
5. After being in the workforce for going on 6 years now, I am finally taking a full weeks worth of vacation. Hard to believe huh...
6. Doing okay with this one, as I have done a few speaking engagements to a couple of groups this year, minus the big one at UT a few months back. We have Popeye's Chicken to thank for ruling me out of that one and putting me in the hospital.
7. I knew this one was a long shot when I type it in, as far as taking a trip out of the country goes. Who knows though, as I got a good amount of vacation time to use and we still got a few months till the end of the year.
8. Not quite an expert in my field yet, but definitely at a good place with it as I feel we are doing some good things at work and we'll just wait and see what happens.
9. Haha, why the hell did I even put learning salsa on the list. Wish I had the time and energy though as it would be good to work up that sweat.
10. Still dodging 30! At least for a few more months...

Well that is the update for now, and as I said, its not going great, but its not going bad either so just keep plugging away as I'd like to be at 70% by the end of the year with these goals. 

Hopefully we won't have to wait another 6 months or so for my next post, keep checking me out here to get the latest!

Speaking Engagement at the University of Tampa #UTampaSocMed

Been a while since I last wrote a post, so figured it was time to hop back on here and attempt to get into the habit. I actually think it was one of my New Year's Resolutions to blog more, but I guess that speaks more to how people tend to not follow through with resolutions.

Getting to the point, I wanted to hop on and talk about an event that I am working on with the University of Tampa and the TECO Center for Leadership. First though I need to give a little background on how this all came about.  

Dr. Judith Washburn is a former professor of mine from UT and over the years we have kept in contact. About a year ago, I agreed to in front of one of Dr. Judith Washburn's graduate level marketing courses about my job and responsibilities at Tampa Bay & Company. At first I can honestly say that I was hesitant to accept the offer as this was my firs real speaking engagement, but I decided to do it anyway, if for no other reason than professional development.

I ended up doing the presentation and rather enjoyed the experience. It was really cool to see how many questions the students had about my job and interactive marketing in general. I think I ended up speaking well past my allotted time, because we had such an energetic group. The next day I got back in touch with Dr. Washburn to thank her for having me, and we started to brainstorm about how we can bring great content to the students, but do it on a much larger scale.

That's when we came up with the idea to put on a few events or panel discussions that are centered around Internet marketing trends and techniques. The first one that we decided to do is Social Media Marketing Panel where we invite local and national experts and help the local business communities to leverage Social Media within their marketing mix. We were able to partner with UT and Dr. Michael Weeks, Senior Associate Director, TECO Energy Center for Leadership. Together we were able to put together a great program, with Dr. Weeks moderating and thus far have a little under 100 people registered.

Myself and Travis Claytor, our Communications Manager at Tampa Bay & Company will kick off the event with a brief history of the Tampa Bay & Company Blogging and Social Media program. Afterward the panel will begin, and we have some great panelists line up to participate, such as:

• Doug Karr – President & CEO of DK New Media 
• Anne Fischer - Lifestyle and Digital Marketing Senior Manager Busch Entertainment Corporation (Busch Gardens, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, etc…) 
• Kevin Hourigan – President & CEO Bayshore Solutions 
• Tom Wagner – Public Relations Manager The Florida Aquarium

The event will be held at the University of Tampa on the 9th Floor of the Vaughn Center on March 16, 2010.The event will run from 7:30 - 9:30 am. If you or anyone else you know is interested, please feel free to register and spread the word for us. Admission for students is $10 while general admission is $25, which is a steal, believe me!

I'll have updates as we draw closer to the event, but hope everyone can make it out for the event!

What Does 2010 Hold for Jerm You Ask...?

As a follow up to my post earlier today regarding what I learned in 2009, I also wanted to take the time out to talk about what I hope to accomplish in 2010.


2009 was a great year for me professionally as I excelled at work and was very proud of my efforts. On the social/personal side however, the year was very much so a let down, and I look to rectify that in 2010. Don't get it twisted though, as you won't see me in Blue Martini every weekend or out on the town 5 nights a week, as I am too old for that shit in addition to the fact that its never really been my style. Having said that, I will take a step back from my workaholic nature and try to focus more on that side of my life.


With all of that said...here goes:

1. Find a "woman" not girl, but "woman" that is worthy of my time, energy, and love. I am prepared to wait until 2011 to find this woman. I have no intentions of settling just for the sake of not being alone. I'm stronger than that.
2. Get a promotion & title change at work.
3. Enter an Executive MBA Program.
4. Drive a 2010 Volkswagen GTI off of the dealers lot. Nope, not a test drive either.
5. Take more vacation time.
6. Do more guest lectures/speaking engagements with regards to my profession. This includes successfully putting on my Social Media Marketing Panel discussion at the University of Tampa.
7. Take a trip abroad for the first time. No... Canada doesn't count.
8. Become an expert in my field, with regards to digital marketing techniques in the Hospitality & Tourism Industry. I am pretty close now, but still got a few areas to improve upon.
9. Taking up salsa again... don't laugh... I was actually somewhat good at it in college.
10. Dodging age 30 for just one more year. FYI I turn 29 at the end of this month.

What I Learned in 2009...

So as we toasted to 2010 at midnight last night, I found myself thinking about 2009 and decided to collect my thoughts here on what the year was and what I learned from it.

It was without question an up and down year but here are the top ten things I learned from 2009...

1. There is nothing in this world that I can't achieve when I put my mind to it.
   
2. I can't continue to live in the past. No matter how much it hurts, I have to move forward.
3. Learned who my real friends are and who I can place my trust with.
   
4. Some people get it, and some people just simply don't.
   
5. My mother, sisters and brother will always have my back. So I need to make the effort to see them more often.
   
6. My two best friends are borderline alcoholics... they know who they are!
   
7. While I never thought I could love someone else's kids, Penelope and Anahi changed that in the blink of an eye. I'd do anything for those two little girls.
   
8. Women are and will for the foreseeable future remain a mystery to me.
   
9. There is always someone who will let you down, so only depend on yourself.
   
10. Taking care of a dog is not an easy thing to do.

Stay tuned for later as I update you on what I hope to achieve in 2010.

So I Can't Sleep...

Dammit I can't sleep, so in between watching SportsCenter and working, I have decided to talk about my recent trip to Mississippi for the Christmas holiday.

All in all, I have to say it was a good trip as I got to see my mother, whom I only see once a year, as well as see my Uncle Lewis and Aunt Vernetta who I haven't seen in about 4 years or so. Wish I could have seen more people, but we were on a short time line so I didn't get to make the rounds that I had originally hope.

As far as food and Southern Cuisine goes, there is nothing quite like it. My mother was on hand to fill my belly with macaroni casserole, potato salad, shrimp, fish, ham, turkey, rolls, greens, and sweet potato pies. Keep in mind I was only there for less than 36 hours, so as you can imagine, upon my return to Tampa there was indeed a gym visit in my future.

I really wish I could give a valid reason for not going home more often than I do, but I can offer none, other than admittedly being married to my job. One thing I will try to make it back at least once a year...in addition to family of course, is to have an opportunity to eat at Ward's. If you haven't heard about  this place, it is like heaven in the form of Big One Combo and a Root Beer Float!

As a result of my not being home for so long, I truly felt like a tourist in my own home town, as so much has changed with regards to the landscape and certain areas of town. When the hell did Oak Grove become a big city...lol, someone tell me that! 

As far as Hattiesburg goes, They restored parts of downtown, and my old neighborhood has a highway running through it, which was a complete shocker, as last time I was there that highway was nowhere near completion.

I didn't recognize allot of things, but one thing I did notice, was that all of the local businesses seem to be in tact. Of course you have your big chain stores and restaurants as you do anywhere, but in Hattiesburg, the family business will always remain, and that is good to see in this day in age.

All in all, it was a good trip and I look forward to the next one. Hopefully i will be sooner than later...

Jerm's Top Ten Signs He is Getting Old

Been having a few humbling experiences lately, and I think they are signs of me getting old, so I wanted to steal a page out of David Letterman's book and put together a top 10 list of signs that tell me I am getting old...

1. You go to the eye doctor for a routine eye exam and walk out of the door with a prescription for glasses...
2. The guy at the door at the club doesn't even bother to ID you...
3. People refer to you as Sir...
4. You start reminiscing with co-workers about how fun "Field Day" was back in elementary school...
5. You start using the phrase "Man I Remember When He/She Was Born" all too often...
6. Your writing a blog post about the signs of aging...
7. When it takes you at least a half hour to stretch before working out...
8. When you start referring to people younger than you as "kids..."
9. Your body cringes when you see kids in college now who you know were born in 1990 or later...
10. People actually say to me... "Damn You Are Old..."

Okay those are all things that have happened to me recently and make me believe that it is all down hill from here...

Reflections From Jerm...

Been a minute since I last wrote. Lot has gone on here in the past few weeks. The biggest thing that has happened is that I finally realized that I am not a robot and can't go for years without taking some time away from work without it starting to take its toll. So I sit at my computer right now knowing that I have a vacation day tomorrow as well as on Tuesday and I can take some time out and just rest up. Its amazing how your body can tell you these things. A few years back my body told me it was time to step back from a previous un-named job by not letting me keep food down. Soon as I left that Job, I was fine. Now my body is telling me that I need to take a break, in the form of fatigue and just an overall feeling of blah-ness.

This probably won't be a one time thing either as I am trying to put together a few trips over the course of the next few months so that I won't continue to overwork myself. Now of course, for any of you that know me, you know that I can't really just take myself away from work completely. SO I will schedule these trips and term them...working vacations, if there is such a thing.

Well thats pretty much it for today folks. The lesson for today is to pace yourself...

Life is Precious...

What an odd past few weeks its been. First Farrah Fawcet, followed by Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, Steve McNair, Billy Mays and recently Arturo Gotti. There have even been a few more instances of local famous people here in the past few days passing on as well. Kind of makes you wonder how precious life is and how we should do our best to live life to the fullest. You just never know what the following day awaits you I guess.

One of those even hit a bit close to home as Steve McNair was born and raised in Mt. Olive, Mississippi just a few minutes from my place of birth in Hattiesburg, MS. Collins, Mississippi, the town my father's family hails from is even closer to Mt. Olive (as shown in the map below). I have even heard on more than one occasion growing up that we were related somehow, but I have nothing other than proximity to back that claim up.

My heart goes out to those family members and friends of those recently deceased. I know all too well what its like to lose a family member that is very close to you, with my father having past away unexpectedly when I was 17. Its always a harsh lesson to learn about life when something unexpected happens like that, but you have to take comfort in knowing that often times, they are in a better place. I spent the first month or so after his passing asking questions about why this had to happen to myself and my family, and how I would go on without him.

One day it just hit me that my father was not the type that would want me to sit around, mope and mourn about the fact that he wasn't physically there with me. I had to go on and live my life and attempt to be a man that he could be proud of. I'd like to think thus far I have accomplished that, but still have a ways to go before I can put myself in the same category as him.

In short to all of the children that these people have left behind, for what its worth I understand your pain all too well, and encourage you to move ahead and live your life just as you would if they were still on earth with us. They will never be truly gone, as they can live on through you and your memories.

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