Truths Be Told Here

OK, so being honest is one of the best traits a person can have.  Honesty is always the best route to take, even if it hurts.  Why does it hurt though when we tell the truth?  Sometimes when we tell the truth it may hurt others feelings, but if you lie to them, you are not only delaying that hurt, but making it a lot worse because that person will know you lied to them when they find out the truth.  Sometimes we lie for our own personal reasons, almost a self preservation mechanism.  For instance, children will often lie when asked if they did something wrong, even if they did it right in front of you.  It almost seems like deception is in our nature, but with work and perseverance, you can win that battle.  Here are a few truths (with my now famous “no explanation” list):

1. I don’t always call people back.
2. M&Ms are my go-to cheat snack. They will be the death of me.
3. As much as I try not to, I will let some people down, and it hurts deeply each time.
4. I have a very small circle of very close friends, and a medium circle of great friends.
5. I worked in a call center for a flower company for a week, but the callers were way too negative for me.
6. I love photography.
7. My goal is to be a personal trainer full time.
8. I don't always smile, but that doesn't mean I'm unhappy.
9. I have cut my left knee open twice, once when I was 4 and once when I was 12.
10. I have a fondness for all superheroes, but I specifically have a Batman complex.
11. I have five tattoos, with plans for more.

I know, kind of random, but sometimes my brain is random.  As always, you can send me all your comments, questions, or concerns, directly to me at jaydee.riggs@gmail.com.  And for those of you wondering about the next podcast, hold on tight, it is in the works.

Until next time, dear readers...

Tattoos and Taboos

Tattoos, do I have any? Oh yes, I do.  Am I going to get more? Absolutely.

Tattooing has been around for almost ever.  There are plenty of opinions on the subject, and it makes it hard to distinguish some facts.  First of all, people from all walks of life have tattoos, there isn’t anything inherently evil or wrong about getting a tattoo, however, that is also dependent of the tattoo you are getting.

There has been (and probably will be for some time) a debate amongst Christians on whether or not it is a sin to get a tattoo.  For the side that thinks it is a sin, they will usually quote Leviticus 19:28 - "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourself".  Those that use this verse as their proof that it is wrong are actually misinformed or are taking it out of context.  

Our modern concept of tattooing isn’t actually addressed in the Bible, as it wasn’t really in practice at that time.  That verse is actually referring to a practice that was in use at that time, cutting, marking or gashing your own body for ritualistic purposes, used frequently while mourning the dead.  Instead of being called tattooing, it should really be called scarring or scarification, which is completely different that our modern definition of tattooing.

That being said, anything on your body that is sacrilegious would be a sin by all accounts, so basically, you have to use common sense to figure out if the tattoo you are getting is in direct defiance of your religious beliefs, so it should be a pretty cut and dry matter.  Often the simplest explanation is the best.

Back to my tattoos, well, I have a Batman Logo on my right shoulder, a Nightwing Logo on my left shoulder, a semi colon on my right inner wrist and a tear away revealing machinery on my right leg\calf.  Each one I have has a special meaning to me, even if it is silly, and not one of them violates any of my religious beliefs\morals.  As I said, I plan on getting more, but haven’t set in stone (or flesh) for sure what they are.  I want to get another tear away revealing machinery on my forearm, but I haven’t decided which yet.  I also want a lion on my chest (Leo’s gotta represent, right?).

Here are some good examples: 

I also have a very special tattoo planned that I am getting next, and it will be a matching tattoo that Cassie and I are both getting.  By far it will be my most emotional and meaningful tattoo.  Now, I hear an all too familiar comment very often, and it’s something like “You going to regret getting a tattoo when you are old and saggy.”  First off, the tattoos I’ve gotten so far and the ones for the future are not in locations that will actually “sag” that much, if at all, so that’s not a worry in my mind.  Now, about the old part?  I doubt that when I get old my biggest regret is going to be that Batman Has been on my shoulder all that time.  I also think of this couple when I hear the “old” argument come up:

I see no problems with tattoos as long as you stay true to who you are when you decide what the artist will do when they put the needle to your skin.

Your thoughts?

Look for a special podcast episode coming up soon, the first (of many hopefully) with an incredibly special guest.

Until next time, dear readers...

A Lesson About Selfies

So, I take selfies.  Gym selfies specifically.  Over the past few years, some of my friends have given me a hard time about it, joking that I was being narcissistic.  I’m not, I swear.  Whether I post the selfies or not doesn’t really matter, I take them (but often post them).  It’s not about bragging about my progress, it’s not about wanting compliments, it’s nothing like that at all.

What is it about then? Motivation.  I take progress pictures of my body transformation on a regular basis.  I take body measurements, I compare only to myself, because I am only in competition with myself.  Do I have the biggest arms? The flattest stomach? An eight pack? Pecs that would make The Rock jealous? Of course not, nor do I expect to.  I have every expectation that I am making progress, and the best proof of that is photographic evidence of my journey.

My goal is to improve my physique and health by eating right, working out regularly and eliminating the unnecessary. I’m lucky enough to have two ladies in my life that will gladly go to the gym with me, and they have no idea how much that means to me.  I’ve mentioned it in a post before, but working out with a partner makes you more likely to push for that extra rep, or try that extra 10 pounds on the deadlift.

Every so often, my oldest daughter, Victoria, and I  will do a max out day.  It’s exactly what it sounds like.  We take turns pushing ourselves on all of our normal exercises.  She has impressed me quite a bit with her abilities, but she does something extremely well that I have some problems with.  Knowing her limitations. I push myself, and don’t get me wrong, she pushes herself too, but she knows when she has reached her max.  So, in contrast, I have a good feeling when I’ve hit my max, but I still try just a little more.  Now, you might be thinking this is a good thing, and to a certain degree it is, but it can also welcome injuries.  I know my body well enough to know when I need to stop, but having the ability to tell myself “Don’t try that” is hard sometimes.

My fiancé and I will go workout together as well, and I can’t express enough how much she impresses me.  She has got the drive that most people only dream about.  When she starts a set, she finishes, or goes out trying.  She pushes herself to the point of exhaustion and it’s something that took me a while to get the hang of.  A lot of people won’t attempt that last rep of a set when it hurts.  They think, “oh that’s close enough” but in reality, you may make more gains from that last rep than the ones preceeding it.  She is aware that it will hurt.  She openly acknowledges it as a matter of fact.  She knows it will hurt, but she knows she will benefit from the pain, so, she presses on.  Absolutely amazing.

Now, back to the issue of selfies.  As I said, I get a lot of ribbing over my gym selfies, and I take it in stride.  I often play along with it, and here are a few examples of conversations that should show you that I don’t take myself all that seriously.

Friend: When taking my gym selfies, which hand should I use to take the picture?

Me: You right handed or left handed?

Friend:  What do I need to be thinking about to get that awesome expressionless look you have in your pics?

Me:  I pretend that I’m being attacked by a monster that can sense emotions, so I stop them.  All of them.

Friend:  What if someone else is around you or the mirror when you are ready to take your selfie?

Me:  Hand them your phone and tell them to take your picture.

Friend:  Geez, you sure like to look at yourself.

Me: Not really, but apparently you do, you’ve liked every selfie I’ve ever posted.

Friend:  Yes. Shut up.

So, as you can see, it’s silly stuff, but I welcome any and all comments, after all, I might need to be knocked down a few notches, you know, to #stayhumble.

Until next time, dear readers...

If You’re Happy and you Know It

They say being happy is a state of mind.  I agree.  I am right, now, probably happier than I have ever been.  That’s not to say everything is going the way I want it to, or that everything is sunshine and roses.  Everything isn’t. There are still things I’m working on, still projects to complete, still stuff to be done.  With all that is pending, I’m still happy.  I’m happy with the progress in my life at this point.  Everything is looking up.

I’ve read that everyone needs to take responsibility for everything in their life.  That doesn’t mean you have to accept blame for everything because that isn’t healthy.  What that means is that you need to accept the responsibility for how you react to everything in your life.  It falls in line with that taking lemons and making lemonade bit.

Bobby McFerrin was an genius.  His song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a philosophical high point in our existence.  Seriously.  Things aren't always going to be great, but that doesn't mean you have to just sit down and wallow in your sorrow.  That was an unintentional rhyme, so I hope that made you smile a little bit.

About smiling.  Do it.  Fake it till you make it works in some cases.  Your smile is infectious.  There is a certain lady in my life, that whenever she smiles, I can't help but feel really, really good.  Every. Single. Time.  Smiling leads to laughing, laughing leads to forgetting about the problems currently surrounding you, and ultimately leads to you being happy.  Be the one that makes everyone happy, no one likes Debbie Downer.

I'm making this entry fairly short because I am about to start filming for a new web series that I'm working on, more on that later, but please guys, be the light that others like to turn to.  Simple.

Until next time, dear readers...

Life is a Puzzle

At least I didn’t say it was like a box of chocolates.  Seriously though, life is exactly like a puzzle.  Sometimes we think we see the image and we try to make the pieces fit that we think should complete the image, but they just will not fit.  Now, on the reverse side of that, sometimes you find, just by trying, by accident, that a piece fits.  Then the next piece then also, just fits. After a while, you stop trying to make the image what you think it should be, and allow it to become what it is supposed to be.

Too deep? Ok, well, to sum all that up is easy.  When you stop trying to make things happen, things fall into place.  To use another cliche, sometimes things have to fall apart to come together.  I have given a lot of thought into my life lessons, and really, every post on this blog.  I have a lot of readers, who have amazing hearts.  I haven’t updated in a while, because, well, it’s been a combination of things.

I’ve been busy.  Now, this doesn’t mean that I have been avoiding updating and that’s my excuse, it means I’ve genuinely been busy.  I’ve been spending my visitation time with my girls on a series of adventures.  I usually update you while we are staying at Beaver’s Bend, but this year, I forgot my laptop.  There will be pictures soon, some are already on my Facebook page, some soon to be on my Instagram. There, as always, are those who ask me how my personal life is doing, and I generally like to avoid that topic.  Something has changed that though...

Through a combination of luck and timing, I did meet someone.  When I say that, the statement carries a certain gravitas, I suppose.  I’m not the type to just put out information at random, well, not personal information, well, not this personal.  I was looking for someone, that much you know.

We started by just simply talking, or texting mostly.  In the process of getting to know each other, we discovered we had both had similar life experiences. Further on, we discovered that we had a very similar sense of humor, which is saying something, but honestly, that’s been difficult.  She is extremely intelligent, and gets my weird pop culture references.  Well, she might not get all of them, but I’m pretty sure that no one gets some of them.  Not even me.  Moving on.  We slowly (or not so slowly depending on who you talk to) realized that we really enjoyed each other’s company and conversation. We are both very happy, and I don’t see that changing anytime.

I figured I wouldn’t make this entry just a big love letter to Cassie.  I'm a happy man now, beyond what I ever expected, and all of a sudden all of those dopey love songs make sense.  I's a very, very good feeling.

Until next time, dear readers...