First time, be gentle...

Have you ever been laying in bed, and had the most wonderful thoughts and ideas traveling through your head?  You know the ones, where you have solved homelessness, Middle East peace, the hunger situation, and the national debt.  Well, I haven't ever been quite that brilliant but I think you get the point.  Sometimes, you have thoughts and ideas.  We live in a time where we are lucky enough to have a portal to share these thoughts and ideas, the Internet.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, websites, and texting all make it convenient to share.

So here is my creation.  A blog.

What do I want this to accomplish?  Heck if I know.  I really just wanted a spot to share randomness.  Sometimes these blogs will be funny (I hope anyway), sometimes serious (not too many), sometimes informative, but always they will be what I am thinking and feeling at the time.  I hope some of you choose to comment, agree, disagree, share, spread the word, and contemplate what it means, if anything, to you.

I have absolutely no idea how often I will update it, but I plan to do so regularly.  I was thinking every few days or once a week, depending on whats burning on my mind.  I want to write about things that are relevant and timely, but occasionally I may do a throwback such as a 2,500 word essay on the merits of sharecropping.  Just kidding.  

So.... On with the show!

Today will be simple, just an introduction to me.

Understanding who I am will help you understand what my blogs mean.  My name is Jesse and I am 35 years old.  I live in Virginia.  I have always lived in Virginia but I have had the good fortune to get around to a few other places.  I am married (which I am sure will be the subject of a blog or two) and I have 2 teenage kids.  I got married in High School, which is something that surprises a lot of people.  I usually get the comment "Wow, most people dont make it that long!".  Its been 17 years, not all great, but not too shabby either.  My daughter is 16 and my son is 14.  I have Crohn's disease.  (a subject for a whole different blog)  I work with businesses to help them get customers from the Internet.  Yep, I sell Internet Advertising!  There are lots of great things about my job and quite a few crappy ones.  This blog will NOT be used to try to sell you anything, so no worries there.  I absolutely LOVE taking cruises, except the Costa Concordia, glad I didn't do that one.

I enjoy making people laugh.  I try to come up with silly thoughts and ideas.  I tell stories about anything and try to get people to smile with my words.  If you have spent any significant time with me, I hope I have made you smile.

I enjoy making people think.  I like to challenge the status quo.  Question the how and the why.  I want people to see things that have always been there but are missed.  Sometimes I will take the opposite side of an argument just for the sake of challenging someone's thoughts, even if I completely agree with them.  Critical thought is seemingly lost in our society.  People are so wrapped up in their own day to day actions that they fail to see a bigger picture and choose to just accept what is happening because its easier than getting involved.

Mostly, I enjoy making people engage each other.  I guess what I would love to see more than anything else is for someone to say "You know what Jesse said?" and then spur on a great debate or discussion.  There are lots of things that I don't like, but I guess those are best left for other blogs.

This is long enough for the first one.  I was told to keep them short, for those with short attention spans.  I can't promise that all the time, but I thought I should start out on a good foot anyway.  So until next time here is something to read and contemplate.