You're such a meathead

Meat. I understand that as first impressions go, my previous, first-ever blog entry betrays a certain je ne sais quoi. Actually, I do know what it is and it's meatheadedness, at least according to my future wife upon reading said entry. You can thank her for the title of this entry. You can thank Ogre and the Alpha Betas for showing the rest of us wannabes how it's done and pounding nerds whenever the opportunity arises. I learned in college that the amount of meat packed onto one's frame is directly correlated to the amount of meat one packs into the cranium. The more one talks about lifting, the less one wants to talk about reading, thinking, etc. Perhaps exercise redistributes body stuffs that would otherwise be used as brain cells? Maybe I was just born with natural disadvantages on both fronts. In fact I'm certain of that.

So for the sake of purging red meat from my otherwise gray matter, let's discuss something else. Tampa Bay Lightning franchise centerman Vincent Lecavalier is a wealthy man and is set to become an even wealthier man by way of $85 million over the course of the next 11 hockey seasons. The deal will take him up to his 39th birthday. Naturally, my first thought is that I can't relate to what it feels like to be swimming in money - literally if Vinny ever felt so moved to drain his swimming pool from the fresh Pellegrino he fills it with everyday and try something new.

Something else I can't relate to and that provides better food for thought is the feeling of being the best in the world at whatever it is that you do. Be it hockey, academia, medicine, pounding nerds, whatever. There is always a supremely elite class of performer who knows a feeling that no one else can truly know. One question that comes up is whether everyone has this one thing yet only a select few are lucky enough to unearth it. The idea is rather exhilarating and even egalitarian in a sort of kindergarten-eque, "you're all special" kind of way.

Life is a grind, though, and we only have limited time to explore our talents and capabilities before it's time to get serious. I feel like that time is shrinking, too, with our capabilities and roles being defined, either by others or ourselves under pressure from others, much earlier in life. I already sense this becoming an impossibly long entry, so I'll pick this up later. Suffice it to say now that conventional views of success and education are completely out of whack with what is actually needed from our promising young people.

Sincerely,