AND THE ANSWER THERE... THE DAILY DOUBLE

just this week i was saying to a few people that swimming up stream can make a MANN very tired. people always want something different and brilliant, but they never fail to approach everything in the same dull way. it's insanity really. doing the same thing over and over despite the same negative results every time. thing is, the insanity gets to you and makes you crazy too. suddenly you start to believe the hype and think that you're the crazy one. you start questioning your ideas and wondering if you should just be one of the hive. (HA! bee one of the hive. get it?) and for a moment, discarding your desire to make a difference or just do something different seems to make sense. who cares about hopes, dreams and good ideas. get that paper and live a life of few challenges.

but i've never been able to keep doing anything that didn't present me with a challenge. i tend to do things that i love and things that i believe in. however, recently i came to a point where i was ready to throw in the towel and just be "normal". just get the 9 to 5. just make that mortgage money. just put that new truck up on them 22s. just make that bar money. forget the risky way. just be safe. and i know a lot of that came from the fact that outside of the box is kinda lonely for the most part. nobody really tells you what to expect when you're outside of the box. after all, inside the box is where everybody is at... or so it seems. that's why this video posted by my good friend jermold seemed share-worthy. it's a nice reminder that taking a different approach is actually the sane move and there are other mad people out here that are just as sane as you.

We are 138 from VITA BREVIS FILMS on Vimeo.

"the bonuses always come." couldn't have answered the question better myself. because doing it the risky way doesn't mean doing it the poor and struggling way. it just means working hard, following through and swapping out time spent worrying where the money is going to come from for time spent creating opportunities that are worth money.

i don't want to say i'm sure my latest projects are going to work out, but i'll do them until they don't... because as MANN, i'm actually more concerned about saying i didn't try.

IF I GO CRAZY THEN WILL YOU STILL CALL ME SUPERMAN?

"i want to put a ding in the universe." one of my favorite quotes. mainly because, like steve jobs, i want to put a ding in the universe too. well... maybe not the universe. i'll settle for a ding in my country. but that's the problem. this country seems un-dingable. it's as if we never listened to that sprite campaign. the one that said image is nothing, thirst is everything. because who you can do is more important than what you can do here. of course networking and other pumped up versions of it exists all over the world and i have no problem with that. but i do have a problem when that overshadows merit. as MANN, i think this is sad. how are we supposed to be encouraged to continue creating innovative and progressive ideas to present to people who aren't necessarily innovative or progressive?

i can regale you all with epic stories of incidents such as presenting a food blog to the marketing manager of a leading food store who was in charge of the company's website and being asked "so exactly what is a BLOB?" or even that time back in the day when i was told to use my aunt's address to apply for jobs because it's harder to get a job coming from my area. but to keep the entry short and blog-like, lets just say we've been backward for some time and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. so how do we keep our sanity and continue trying to be the super heroes that we want to be? well, apart from appreciating the process and enjoying the growth that comes from enduring, taking a beating and getting back up, we can take some comfort knowing that brilliant ideas pop up despite many obstacles and set backs. ideas like this one:



kinda nice to know that there are still supermen out there.

CLEANING OUT THE CLOSET

like it or not, things evolve. this blog is no exception. my idea was to start back blogging in the same sarcastic tone as before, which was basically being an ass and talking about things with the most macho of perspectives. a mixture of some sense, some nonsense a lil kicks and a lot of issues. but, i'm not feeling that right now. so, i think i'll do something slightly different. what will it be? i don't quite know yet. i'll just wing it. that's the mode i'm in right now. so in preparation, i deleted all of the previous blog entries. clean slate. no temptation to revert to the old format.

i think this could be cool. lets see.

RETURN OF THE M.A.N.N. once again!

i could hear the song running like a theme in the background. i'm right around the point where mark morrison is singing the hook, but instead of "return of the mack..." he's singing "return of the mann...". i have on some spankin new black suede pumas and some other black clothes. just the pumas stood out from the dream sequence. and i'm walking down a random street that looks a lot like the set from the billy jean video, but with more people. now that is an entrance! snap back to reality, this would just be another entry on a blog that hardly anybody knows exists. which is fine by me. this blog really wasn't meant to be popular. this is my venting blog. i haven't been in a venting kinda mode for some time, hence the absence. but now i am... which is all that really matters.

it's been a while, so i've observed stuff. learnt stuff. changed my views on stuff. have things to say about stuff. liked and disliked stuff. adds up to a lot of stuff. but before i stuff some stuff up in this blog, i think i should flip it back a bit and address some misconceptions. let's manage some expectations via a short FAQ shall we?

Do you write this blog because you're bitter, can't get laid and have trouble finding/keeping a partner?

not 100% true. i get my fair share thank you very much. not one to boast, but i don't do too badly. of course everybody has the story about the one that got away or the story about the one that probably wasn't meant to be or the i-think-there's-something-there-but-not-too-sure story and i'm no exception. but the words here are far from bitter ones. what fuels this is more interest in getting feedback about a lot of things that i think about in my limited spare time and/or things i talk about in my circles. so while there are some things that might actually upset me, it's not a general, overall disgust.

Do you vent because you've been in some really bad relationships with some really bad women?

nah... not true. i mean, one or two of them turned out to be a little caught up. a little selfish here, a little on the dishonest side there, but in general, i've been with some ok girls. i mean ok enough that i don't have an ex i can't call up and have a genuine, good conversation with. i think that speaks well of both the relationships and the women.

Are you too picky when you shouldn't be? you're not all that yourself?

ok, the last part is true. the first part is false twice. if somebody decides to be picky, i think they have every right to do so. go out there and get what you want. with that being said, i'm not picky at all. i think picky describes a person who has overly particular demands. now there are a lot of things i do not like, such as those gladiator sandals that girls seem to think look cool for some reason, but most of them aren't deal breakers. actually, all i ask for is honesty. it's my belief that everything else can be worked out.

Are all the entries about your personal experiences? You've been through a lot!

i have been through a lot, but all the things i talk about don't all happen to me. like i mentioned before, the topics here are more so things i observed and things i have discussed with friends that i want more responses on or find interesting enough to share. one or two things might be about me, but i try not to distinguish between the two to protect the identities of the innocent.

Do you like liver?

no

Is this a woman bashing blog?

not really. it's a stupidity bashing blog. as a matter of fact, the tone of the blog might probably class it as a man bashing blog first. but in reality, it's not really about gender. it's about thinking and how we deal with this world and its interactions. it may seem like a boy's club coming from a man and directed primarily to men, but the brunt of my fire is really for men who fail to step up and think about things like men.

So what's the point of all this?

well, i think i'm a better person because people shared with me. parents, friends, even some strangers. i'm an observant guy if i may say so myself, so i see lessons in things. understanding that it's not necessarily the common approach to look at things from different perspectives and go beyond surface value, i think a blog like this with some ideas can help trigger thought and at least get us thinking about stuff.

and thus endeth the FAQ session. if you read this and have a question, email me or post a comment with your question and i'll try to answer. if not... aight then. on with the show.

MANN... out!