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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There Will Never Be Another Like Michael Jackson...

It was a sad day this past Thursday when news broke that Michael Jackson had indeed left us. I don't know about you, but I will never forget where I was or what I was doing when I first heard, and there are millions of people around the globe who will say the same thing. In the coming days weeks and months, you will hear tons of speculation about the way Michael left this earth and who was responsible, and so forth. I for one would like to remember Michael and the way he lived his life, and all of the joy he brought to so many though his music, philanthropic efforts, and the impact he left on all of us.

Some people reading this blog post might wonder why I have focused so much attention and time on this subject over the course of the last few days. On Friday i did an all day hourly tribute to Mike and some of his greatest hits, and spent the better part of my weekend reminiscing about legend that is Michael Jackson. Truth is, some of my most fond memories with my brother and sisters were with Michael Jackson's music. I have vivid memories in my head of when we all used to stay up late at night to watch Friday Night Videos, greatly anticipating seeing what Michael was gonna do next, and what amazing dance music choreography he had up his sleeve.

There we were up way past our bedtime just the four of us all laying on one couch trying to keep each other awake so we wouldn't miss anything. It was significant, because as close as we were, we were not all the same age, so this was one of the few opportunities where we shared significant amounts of time together. Every Friday Night like clockwork we were there in our pajamas, and when we all fell asleep, my mother would come to the den in her long john pajamas and make us all get up and go to bed.

Another instance was when Mike was making one of his comebacks and the video to "Remember the Time" was debuting on BET. This was a big moment in my household as we all got together that night and as a family sat there and watched the world premier of this video as we ate dinner. Again this was significant, because we really didn't eat dinner together, or at least not as a family that often. It took Michael to bring us together and that means something to me.I also remember my cousin Keith doing his best impression of Michael and he would actually approach girls with this MJ like facade, and to our amazement, it worked well for him.

As far as my personal life goes, one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs is "Off the Wall," and I can remember that song getting me through many a bad day in college. I often listened to that and the Thriller Albums when I am having bad days, just because Michael's music can always put me in a better mood. Even if you didn't dance, you could just sit there and marvel at his brilliance and musical ability.

Some people may not admit it, but they owe their musical success to Michael Jackson, because no matter what your tastes, be it country, pop, R&B, or whatever, MJ was the inspiration behind it all. He perfected the art of the music video, the on stage performance, and was a model for the music industry on so many more levels. I think we can all admit that at some point in our lives we attempted the moon walk. I know I did, and probably a few other Mike moves that I had no business doing. I will always keep that MJ play list on my IPhone when I feel the need to dance, laugh, or cry. Thanks for the memories Mike and you will no doubt be missed by many.

So Close... Yet So Far... Bradley Strikes Again...

So after my last blog following the initial group stage ass-whoopin that the US suffered at the hands of Brazil, the team finally decided to look between their legs and show us that they each indeed did have a pair by going on a run that no one expected, not even me I must admit.

Who would have guessed that the boys would have fought back and beat a good Egypt team 3-0, but also to turn around and take out # 1 ranked Spainby a score-line of 2-0 to setup an improbable finals rematch with the same Brazil team that made the US look like club soccer team less than a week prior.

What I wanted to see all along was a better effort from our guys and for Coach Bradley to start getting the best out of his star players for once. While the players started to step up and prove they were worthy of the occasion I don't think it was due to any speech or advice that coach Bradley may have given. I really think the players didn't want to be the laughing stock of yet another international tournament and at that point, just decided to take it to another level. With that mindset, the team made it to the finals against the footballing juggernaut know as the Brazilians.

One thing I didn't want to see from a tactical standpoint was for us to sit back and try to weather wave after wave of Brazilian attack like we did in the second half of the Spain game. Seen that far too often and if there is anything I know about watching the Samba Kings, its that you have to go at them if you want to walk off the pitch victorious, and even then its still a tall order. I don't know of any team in the world that is good enough to sit back and absorb attack after attack from a group this talented.

I watched that first half of soccer and was honestly inspired by the effort put in by the US team. Not just the two goals that we scored which were both well worked, but just the effort in which we we able to take the Brazilians out of their game. You could see it in Robinho as well as Kaka's face that they were frustrated with a lack of opportunities to really trouble us, and when they did make into our defensive third, were thwarted by the defense or great saves from Tim Howard. Despite what I saw a few people say on Facebook, both US goals were good ones. Spector's cross into the box was clinically finished by Clint Dempsey, who at some point decided to go on a goal scoring run in the last few games. The US second goal, was nothing but a text book counterattack finished off brilliantly by Donovan.

Then came the second half and it was a completely different story. I can't really fault Jay Demerit on that first goal, as he did close down the space, but that was just a brilliant play by Fabiano, nothing more nothing less. You can't do much about it when a guy receives the ball with his back to goal, and without even looking up turns, fires, and puts it into the side of the net. Brilliant goal, plain and simple. After that, I think the rest of the way was purely a failure by Bradley and his staff to make the proper adjustments, or just make every effort to keep the Brazilians on there heels like in the first half. We employed that sit back and relax tactic against Spain, and rode our luck that the defense was able to come up with some big saves, but you can only employ that tactic for so long before you get punished. Even after the game all Bradley could talk about was how that goal hurt us, which indicates to me that he had answer for it. News flash coach, you are playing Brazil...did you really expect a shutout? Great teams and great coaches find a way to win, they don't make excuses at every chance.

What troubles me is something that we have not only seen in this tournament but in World Cup Qualifying as well. Bradley and his staff can't seem to be able to make necessary adjustments when the team gets scored on. Granted, we shouldn't plan to get scored on, but it does happen, and when it does you have to adjust your tactics and just deal with it. We saw it against Costa Rica, Italy, and twice against Brazil where once we gave up a goal, the game was turned on its head and we never really recovered. Imagine how different the games against Spain and Egypt would have been had we given up at least one goal? Based on recent results, we would have capitulated and the coaching staff would not be capable of making those adjustments. That's what separates this coaching staff from the likes of some of the worlds best. I mean seriously, someone explain to me what the hell Sacha kljestan and Bornstein are doing coming on for two of our most dangerous players in Felihaber, and Altidore. Bornstein is not at this point a world class calibre player, and all Sacha Kljestin had done in this tourney is lose the ball and get sent off for an woeful red card. Did i mention that Bornstein is not even a midfielder by trade, which is where Bradley had him playing. Explain to me why Jose Torres can't get a look. This guy plays in Mexico and is battle tested. Against Costa Rica a few weeks ago he was the only player on the filed who seemed to not be fazed by the occasion and was a bright spot on the evening. He should have been on the field, him and Feilhaber both. Jozy did look tired in the end, but to think that either of those guys is an able sub is laughable.

I am proud of the way we fought back to get back into this tournament, but I can't help but think about how we could have lifted the trophy with better coaching. Its obvious to me that after watching this tournament, that there are good and dare I say it potentially, world class players on this roster, but they have to be put in the right situations to succeed. We are not as deep as Spain, England, or Brazil, but we can probably put 11 guys on the field and compete like we did the last few games.

We made allot of progress in this tournament, but I won't settle for second place, especially since I know we can do better. I think Landon Donovan said it best after the game when he said “Hopefully, but we’re at the point where we don’t want respect, we want to win. There’s no guarantee that we ever get back to a final game like this so it’s disappointing.”

I only hope Sunil Gulati was listening, because if he was, then he has to realize that if we want to win next year's World Cup, then we need a new mindset as a soccer nation. And yes I said win dammit, part of moving forward is expecting to win the tournaments, not just show up and not get embarrassed.

Was That Really Necessary Tampa Police Department...

This post is in place of the normal "Lessons Learned" blog post as I kind of need to vent about something that happened to me last night. If anyone was paying attention to my Twitter and Facebook status last night then you already know what this one was about.

Last night around 1 a.m. I was walking home from having a few drinks with a friend on her birthday. For clarification purposes when I say a few drinks, I mean one drink. Since I literally live 3 or 4 blocks from the strip where all of the Hyde Park night spots are I decided to walk back, as it made no sense to take a cab or drive. As I am walking I notice a police car circle me a few times and I didn't think anything of it, as I just figured it was a normal patrol and I kept on walking. As I am but a few steps from Fremont Ave, where I live, I notice a truck pull up behind me with the lights flashing on bright. At this point I am thinking to myself that it is some drunken idiot just driving around South Tampa heckling people, so I continue to go on and mind my business. The truck continues to follow me and as I hit Fremont Ave, the truck pulls out in front of me and the window rolls down.

Now I am thinking okay, what the hell is going on, when the truck stops and a female Tampa police officer gets out of the passenger side of this unmarked pickup truck and begins to question me like I have done something wrong. Her actual questions were:

1. Where are you coming from? My answer...Cheap on Howard
2. Were you working there or were you a patron? My answer...patron
3. Did you do any drinking? My answer...yes I had one as we were celebrating a friends birthday
4. Where are you going now? My answer...Home
5. Where do you live? My answer...right across the street here at Post
6. May I see your drivers license? My answer...sure

The part about all of this that really irks me is that they really didn't have any legitimate reason to stop me. Last I heard it wasn't a crime to be walking around in a neighborhood on a Saturday evening, especially considering that this is a walking neighborhood with at least 6 bars within 100 yards from me. Also, when asking the questions, the officer had this accusatory tone in her voice like had done something wrong. I get the impression they wanted me to talk back or protest why they had stopped me just to give a reason to either arrest me or something of that sort. I was tired and just wanted to get home so I cooperated and went on with my evening.

I hate to play the race card, but I can't help but wonder if that was in any part, the motivation for stopping me. Running my driver's license wasn't necessary as I showed no signs of impairment and and the fact that I told you where I was walking should have been good enough. Even if I was drunk, at last I checked there was no crime for being drunk and walking home. Did I "fit a description" or something? Not a lot of 6'0 250lb black dudes running around South Tampa causing trouble, unless I missed that article in the TBTimes or the Tribune. And also, did it really take three of you standing around me to answer those questions. There was the officer who got out of the car, the one in the truck who ran my license, then the cop who pulled up three minutes later. I know I am a big dude, but I am not that opposing and I posed no threat.

Maybe I am making more of this than what it is, but nonetheless it still bothers me. As a tax paying citizen I would like to think that the police can better spend their time tracking down and finding real criminals, not college educated, employed citizens with no criminal records. Or maybe I am asking too much?

I know I Keep Talking About This But...

I know I keep talking about this but it really is sad to be a US Soccer fan at this moment in time. The recent string of qualifying games, plus this awful string of performances at the Confederation's Cup in South Africa make me ill. I don't even know where to begin with where to place the blame, as there are allot of people to point fingers at, but I think it has to start with the head coach and his staff.

I truly believe that BOB BRADLEY HAS TO GO. From a tactical point of view, I have seen better organization on my Sunday league team than I have seen from us in recent weeks. I think Jamie Trekker said it best in his blog that the Americans were a formless, shapeless mess, an amoeba of men on the field." I know that there is talent on that team and it seems like at any time there are just 11 guys out there on the field running around with very little knowledge of what they are as a unit. On some level it pays to be fit and to be able to out last your opponents, but what good is that fitness if you are always chasing the game. You can't honestly watch us play and figure out a style of play, and that lies at the coaches feet. At least with Bruce Arena there you knew were gonna go out there work hard and play for the opportunistic goal, but now it doesn't even seem as if we have that.

We are not a defensive minded team like the Greeks, we are not a possession team like the Spaniards, and sadly we don't even look like the Egyptians who are a very hard working team, which used to be our trademark. The last few games defensively we have given up an early wasteful goal, and more often than not, not been able to recover from the early goal. Had it not been for the heroics of Tim Howard, the scorelines in each game would have been far worse. Sunil Gulati as President of the US Soccer Federation has to take a good hard look at where we are now and where we need to be if we are to ever challenge for a world title or at least not get embarrassed in South Africa next year and beyond.

As I said I know there is talent on this team, but good coaches know how to get the best out of their players and its obvious that this is not the case with Bob Bradley. A good example of that is Clint Dempsey. I watched him play allot this year on television for his club Fulham n England and his performances were that of a player who knew that he had to fight every minute of every game in order to stay on the field, as a bad performance would see him relegated to the bench. His runs were good, he works hard, and there was even a well worked goal or two from time to time. When you watch him play for the US, the same level is just no there. While he still works hard, his runs are often misplace, he never seems to get close to the target, and he constantly gives away possession in or around midfield. If he were to give a similar effort for his club, Roy Hodgson would have him playing for the reserves. Signs of a player that knows that no matter how badly he plays, he will still get picked. Which brings up my next point about why Bradley continues to select Damarcus Beasley for national team duty when its obvious his best days are behind him. How awful does he have to play in order for the coaching staff to realize this?

I just don't think that Bradley has yet to grasp an understanding of coaching this team away from the comforts of home on US soil and in the friendly confines of CONCACAF. In MLS and on home soil you can probably get good performances from Donovan when he is deployed as a striker, due to the weak competition, but put him against a quality defender that forces him to play with his back to the goal and he will struggle to find the ball. He is at his best when he gets the opportunity to run at defenders and use his speed. A part of me hopes that Egypt mops the floor with us tomorrow as that is what it will take for Sunil Gulati to make a change. We as US soccer fans deserve better. And if you think I am crazy, lets just take a look at the US Women's National Soccer team. We don't just expect those girls to go out and have a decant showing at tournaments, they are expected to win each and every tournament they are involved in and I think its time we took the same approach with the Men's team. Greg Ryan actually had a string of good performances and an overall good record when he was the women's national team coach, but a few bad decisions that contributed to a 4-0 loss to Brazil in the 2007 World Cup and Ryan was out on his ass. This was a guy who as coach from 2005 to 2007 compiled a 45-1-9 record as coach, yet he was on his on the unemployment line after that tournament.

In short I think we have gone as far as Bradley can take us, and its not too late to make a change. We are going to qualify simply due to the fact that we are one of the top teams in CONCACAF, but if we want to avoid the embarrassment of the Confederations cup for this time next year at the World Cup, then a change has to be made. There are a few qualified candidates out there with the experience and know how to take us to the next level. Juergan Klinsmann and Gordan Strachan to name a few.