Social Skills
I’ve mentioned that growing up I was a geek in the classic sense of the word. I liked computers, games of all kinds, Star Wars, and comic books. Interestingly, I still like all that stuff but I’m no longer a geek. The difference between now and then? Social skills. Unfortunately, it took me until deep into High School to realize that how I interacted with people had a direct affect on both them and myself. I climbed down off my high horse and realized that what I thought made me superior was really just a defense mechanism and made it harder for people to like me. Read more »
Posted: September 19th, 2008 under Improvement.
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My father bites his nails or at least he used to. Looking back on my life I distinctly remember starting to bite my nails because my Dad did it. I’m not sure what the exact logic was behind it, but I was young, under 10 easily, and I wanted to be like Dad. I can’t imagine how many pounds of fingernails I’ve digested over the years, ugh. I kept biting well into my early twenties. One day, though, I decided for whatever reason that I needed to stop doing it. Thus began my quest to break a lifelong habit. 
So I had my teeth cleaned today and now they are shiny and smooth. Growing up, a trip to the dentist meant a day full of stress and worrying. My mother would typically take me after school, so I’d be sitting in the waiting room worrying until that door opened and they called my name. I would actually be a little queasy because of how worried I was. They’d walk me back to the chair and off we would go. I would hope that I did not have a cavity, but most of the time, that was not the case. A new appointment would be scheduled, this time with needles and drills, adding to my stress level. 
I’ve always been a “nice guy.” There is a comment lament, one I’ve said myself, that the good-looking girls always go for the jerks and leave the nice guy out in the dust. While there is truth to it, it took me years to realize that the girl that goes for the jerk is not the girl I would be happy with. Also I just cannot be a jerk; it is not in my nature. There is also an image that nice guys get hosed in life by those not as nice. They get bad deals at the car lot, settle for mediocre service, and are easily intimidated. The problem with this is the fact that people confuse being nice with being passive; not wanting to offend. The two are definitely not equal and you can certainly be a nice guy but not a pushover. As the great philosopher Patrick Swayze says in the movie Roadhouse “Be nice until it is time to not be nice.” 
One of my writing gigs is to review board games. I’ve written for many magazines and also online at places like boardgamegeek.com. It is a lot of fun to get a new game and give it a critical look. You see how easy it is to play, what the pieces are like, how fun the game is, and ultimately, if it is something worth purchasing. Over the past five to ten years, there has been a huge transformation in the board game industry. The new modern board game is worlds different from the likes of Monopoly or Risk. These games, often coming from Europe, have amazing features like little down time when it is not your turn, cooperative play, wacky themes, and sometimes they don’t even include any dice.