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HomePersonal Situation2 Years of Blogging! Something More Important than Finances

2 Years of Blogging! Something More Important than Finances

When I was deciding how to memorialize my second year of blogging I thought of two things.  A blog give away or a really detailed financial update as to what has changed in my life since I wrote my first post on August 5th, 2008.  But then it hit me, it would be a cool way to commemorate this blogaversary would be to write an letter introducing myself to my unborn son, Pooh Bear (real name is under negotiations).

This is just a brief introduction as each mini paragraph could be a a book nevertheless a blog post.

A Brief Introduction of Evan to my Unborn Son

Mom has written you a ton of letters already and since we don’t really know each other yet (I think you may have just gotten some ears) I’ll take this opportunity to introduce myself, and some of the players that will be in your life.  If given a choice I think I prefer to be called dad.  You could go with Pops as my father is loving referred to, or straight “Father” if being condescendingly referred to.  But I hope the former is more prevalent than than the later.  You could also try out the Greek, Patera Mou, when having a few beers…I won’t judge you no drinking!

A Little Bit About Me

I am one of those annoying people that doesn’t really feel anxiety and even to a lesser extent stress…and you have provided me with more heartburn, anxiety and a weird stress feeling that I have ever felt before AND YOU AREN’T EVEN OUT HERE YET!  On a positive note I think it is just bad ass that, I have got that parent guilt thing down though, although I think it has less to do with of becoming a pops then it does of just being a huge pain in the ass and learning from my parents who are fantastic at it lol.

Speaking of pain in the ass, I am one.  I am generally a loud person, who tends to ask too many questions when I am interested in something and ZERO questions when I don’t care.  I will probably embarrass you in front of your friends with jokes that I find funny and you don’t.  But I can promise you one thing, I will never, and I mean ever, do the fake gun snap hello gesture.

I am going to put it out there, I don’t sleep a lot, but the sleep I do get is very very valuable to me so if could hook me up and be one of those amazing newborns that people are jealous of and sleep a lot that would be simply fantastic.  If not I tend to get cranky.

For the most part, I am kind of liberal guy when it comes to personal choices so whatever your choose to do with your life you’ll have a huge supporter.  If you want to be a running back, a 145 pound wrestling animal (Dad’s wrestling weight, no seriously I did weight that at one point), an actor or a computer dork, you’ll have my support (I do have to ask you to be one of those cool computer dorks that invents the next Windows so mom and dad don’t have to work anymore and you marry a supermodel).  There are only two things I can’t stand by.  Male cheerleading and getting an art history degree.  Please don’t become a male cheerleader just to spite me.

The Uncles

The amount of love you will receive will be shocking.  Dad is very lucky to be surrounded by amazing family and friends.  First I have 2 HUGE brothers (or at least massive to me since they have 6 and 8 inches of height on me)  and while looking up at them should be scary for an infant they are literally the most loving and caring guys I know (and if they give you any shit…you let me know, I still think I MAY be able to take them, but its not definite so please make sure it is a real problem).  Eventually they are going to mutter atrocities to you about childhood and even adulthood.  LIES I TELL YOU LIES.

On top of those people you will have a ton of fake Uncles that Dad grew up with…watch out for these characters! Again, they may tell you stories that don’t make sense or scare you…just let it go I hang out with them because they pay me.

Dad’s Parents

We also have Nana and Papou.  While the names might be confusing they are both holding on to heritage so let them have it.  These two wizards of parenting raised Dad and the two giants, and if I say so myself they did an excellent job, each in their own way.  Nana will love you and might literally kill for you, I am not joking…kill.  So it is best to keep her calm.  She controlled a house with 3 boys all 18 months apart, she knows all your tricks way before you even think of them.  Beyond letting you ride him like a horse Papou will treat you like an adult the moment you can put together a sentence.   I love them both a lot and am proud of how they raised me.

While their parenting style may be different of each other they share in the goal of advancing the ones they love in any pursuit.  I am pretty sure they would still support you if you went the aforementioned art history degree…but please don’t do it!  It probably sounds cliché, but they can’t be trusted when it comes to JUNK FOOD!  They will say things like, “don’t tell your parents but…” please tell me!

Mom’s Parents

In addition to Nana and Papou we have mom’s parents Grandpa and Meema.  Grandpa and MeeMa are a great time to hang out with and wise beyond their years (although they are getting up there in “their years” so I am not sure when that saying gets old, pun intended lol).

While I didn’t grow up in their house, they let me into their house at the young age of 20 (yup, Dad started dating Mom at the age of 20) and have shown me nothing but respect and love.  The fact that Grandpa didn’t pull a gun on my punk ass is a testament to his patience.

Well there it is a brief introduction to those in your life who you aren’t growing inside of!

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15 COMMENTS

    • It is kind of weird they both are bald/balding and I have an awesome head of curly thick lustrious hair, so I am thinking there is a connection there!

  1. Nice letter! Sounds like you have a great family, and “Pooh Bear” will have a great environment.

    I’m also curious how come the bros are so much bigger?

  2. Cool post Evan. You and the wife will make great parents…but get ready for the biggest challenges of your life! 🙂

  3. I can totally identify with the stress comment. I am/was the same way.

    Good luck with your son, Evan. It’s a fun ride.

  4. Happy Blogiversary! Keep up the great work.

    Excellent letter to Pooh Bear there. Wish I had thought of that.

    One point – Male Cheerleaders get to hang out with some awesome looking chicks, man. Imagine the eye candy he can bring home, pop! 😉

    Art History – gonna have to agree with you on that. LOL

    • Hmmmm you have a point with the male cheerleading thing, but I still think it is creepy when they show these guys rooting for other men on the sideline of a college football game.

  5. Wait…I heard the “L” word applied to Evan! Eeek!! 😉

    What a trip parenthood is. Trust me, that kid will dream up things you can’t even begin to anticipate. Art history? Wait till he decides to major in wymmen’s studies!

    Actually…my son’s college roommate majored in…uhm, not art history; he was a Romance languages major, but he was always into the arts scene. He now works for a major gallery in London, makes a very good living, and enjoys life immensely. What more could a parent want?

    • Romance Language?! UGH…I happy it worked out for your son’s roommate, but I’d love to ask him how many of his brethern are doing what they wanted?! lol

  6. @ Evan, re your query: “I’d love to ask him how many of his brethren are doing what they wanted?! lol”

    Well, you know…of the ones whose lives I’ve followed, one who majored in philosophy is now a physician’s assistant, having started in the six figures and still loving the job; one who majored in theater is now a lawyer with a prestigious firm; another who majored in philosophy is on a Fulbright in Germany; one with an undergraduate liberal arts degree recently finished a master’s in international management at the Thunderbird School of Global Business and debarked to Hong Kong, where he’s founding a financial trading business with a business partner. Meanwhile my son’s former roommate, who was an Army nurse — an eminently practical career course — went back to graduate school the minute she was sprung from the military, got a Ph.D. in anthropology, spent several years doing research in Guatemala, and now has an academic career. They all seem to be doing just what they wanted.

    Of my students that I can think of… One with undergraduate and master’s degrees in history is editing a business journal at a nice salary; one went on for the Ph.D. at a decent school (Arizona State University not being one of those) in Illinois; another is editing a trade magazine; one has a highly paid public relations job with a multistate utility company; one ended up directing a large university tutoring center; one went off to Oxford, England, to pursue an MBA there; one went to law school; another went into ASU’s MBA program; one is teaching at a community college where salaries average around $70,000…it goes on and on.

    It’s a myth that an undergraduate degree in the liberal arts is the doorway to a dead-end job. Quite to the contrary.

    • I don’t think an undergarduate degree in liberal arts is a doorway to a dead end job, at all. Actually at my undergrad my degree, a BS in Business Economics, was considered a liberal arts degree rather than a business degree.

      I just feel (read: I have absolutely no stats behind what I am saying) that those with those out there degrees rarely follow the degree, and instead end up in other positions.

      For example: The Art History Degree. Just how many curators are out there for someone whose focus for 4 years was studying the painters and scupltors of 200+ Years ago? (if we were going to talk about the Flemish Dutch Painters of the 1800s…oh yeah, Evan took one art history class lol and I sucked at it). Yes that person can do other things and probably will be great at it, but they probably didn’t WANT to do other things when they signed up for the degree.

      I also don’t think this about all liberal art degrees. English is an amazing degree to have. I just read a study today that a huge problem employers are having trouble with today’s job pool (us Gen Y’ers) is our lack of communication. English should solve that…or at least the written part of communication.

  7. @ Evan: It’s a bit of a conundrum. Liberal-arts agraduates often don’t pursue careers in their undergraduate majors, though. They finesse their knowledge and skills to take them in new directions, as you can see by the philosophy major-turned-P.A.

    When I was directing a “professional” (read “you get paid for this kinda work”) writing program at ASU, I once did a short seminar titled “Jobs for Writers and Liberal Arts Majors.” In the course of doing the research to pull together something to say to our students, I came across several studies showing that people with technical degrees (in that the researchers included business and accountancy) earn more at the outset, but as the graduates matured, the liberal-arts alumni outstripped the “technical” alumni in earning power…sometimes by a large margin.

    Several speculative theories were advanced to explain this. Interviews with higher-level corporate executives suggested that corporations tend to advance candidates with strong logical thinking skills, creativity, and communications ability. Others suggested that people who go into the liberal arts at the outset have a more open-ended view of education and so continue to develop knowledge and skills over time, which, once they’re in the business world, translate into higher pay.

    Unclear what the explanation is. But the phenomenon is there. Strangely enough…

    Still, if I were gunna do it over again, would I major in English? Heck, no. Today I’d go straight for a Ph.D. in business management or accountancy, where academic jobs abound and junior faculty are paid six-figure salaries. Or I’d look for something in health care that didn’t require me to carry bedpans…probably try to find a business or law degree with a health-care management spin.

  8. Evan, I’m here to encourage your son not to tell when Nana gives him a forbidden treat. 🙂 That is the privilege of grandmothers, you know!

    Great letter to the baby. I’m looking forward to your evolution once he gets here!

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