7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

Recently, my buddy Samir Balwani tagged me with the meme 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me. I’m a pretty open guy here on this blog, so it’s a bit of a stretch to come up with 7 things that I haven’t already put out in the wild here. Regardless, meme’s are a fun way to get to know people and this is my first, so let’s see what little tidbits are hiding behind the scenes.

1. I’m actually quite shy in real life: Yes, I know. This must come as a complete shocker. After all, I’m a blogger, consultant, am involved in open source and numerous social networks. How could anyone who is so far out in the public eye be shy? Simple, this medium we share empowers people. There is a certain safety a person feels as they sit in their home or office pecking away at the keys on a message destined to the endless abyss that is the Internet. There is a sense of disconnection that makes being social in spite of being a shy person possible. Having done this for several years, I’ve been able to port this mentality into the physical world and thus give lectures, teach classes and approach people I would have normally crossed the street to avoid. Yet still, I do not like crowds and do not like to bring attention to myself in real life. It just goes to show, you can be anyone you want to be online.
2. I was voted most likely to be dead before the age of 18: You know that crazy guy in your old highschool who was always up for some insane adventure? You know, that guy that was the hardest partier in the crowd who would do keg stands then jump over fires. The guy that thought climbing water towers when totally trashed was ‘cool’. Um, yeah, I was that guy. Fortunately, a back injury at 19 took away my ability to walk upright for a few months and that was pretty much the end of my ‘crazy’ days. I’ve since settled down quite a bit and now have an appreciation for prudence.
3. I use to work in construction and food service, among other things: Yup, before meeting my wonderful wife, I was a GED educated, hard working, back breaking laborer in construction and the wonderful food service industry. I’ve also done various jobs in appliance repair and delivery, I’ve worked in the fields flinging watermelons, I’ve worked in auto repair shops, and for some time, I even worked as a Machinist where I made the structure for high speed CO₂ etching lasers. Still have scars from that job. So, yeah, I know the value of a hard days labor.
4. I come from a big family that I never knew: Some total, I have 7 siblings. There is only one I have spent any real time with, that being my sister on my Mom’s side. Even then, we did not fully grow up together. My Mom chose to move to Florida when I was 7 and she raised me there until my mid teens. By the age of 17, I was on my own in the real world and never looked back. I keep contact with my Mom and her side of the family, but that’s about it. It’s not something I really talk about because, honestly, growing up so far away from them, you grow disconnected.
5. I’m not an SEO, or SMM, or Web Developer, or Server Administrator, or…: In fact, I reject your labeling and will not adhere to it! I don’t like labeling as a whole and nobody I know online can agree on ‘what James is’. The fact is, I don’t fit into anyone’s tidy little box. I do all of the above and many more things. While I’m certainly not unique as a whole, there are many ‘jacks of all trades’ out there, I am unique in that I am me. I label myself as a ‘web-a-holic’ so people have some clue what I do, but if you want to tag me with a professional label, the only one that fits is Consultant. That’s because I do a little bit of everything.
6. I’m a nature lover trapped in a geek’s body: I love nature, animals, tranquility, simple living, being one with my environment. I’d love nothing more than to grab a backpack with only tools in it and disappear into the mountains and become a part of nature. Just me, some basic tools and nature. However, having a wife, a child and a business does kinda put a damper on the whole mountain man gig, so I’ve put the gray matter to use online, doing what I do. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wife and kid and I’d even want to take them with me, but that isn’t going to happen, they’ve made that quite clear!
7. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, Dyslexia, and Anger management issues: In other words, I’m a bass ackwards jerk who can’t sit still. Seriously though, these are real issues that I struggle with daily. I don’t like to be quite this personal out in the public eye, but my story does serve a purpose. If a guy with a GED, mental health problems, a background of manual labor and physical injury can go from most likely to FAIL to being a college graduate (with honors) and who has become a success online, anyone can! If you want it bad enough, work for it, it will come.

So there you go. 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me. Clearly, people are more than what meets the eye. I think the quotes that sums this meme up quite nicely are the immortal words from Shrek…

Shrek: NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[sighs]
Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions.

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