As much as I tried to keep this weekend from being deep and introspective, that’s exactly what it was. Fueled by some of that “real life mumbo-jumbo” that I rarely let into my little blog, and inspired by my the blog of a friend of mine, I spent a lot of time thinking about advice I’d like to give to my kid(s) one day. Give it a read; Cory’s a talented writer and a pretty funny sonofabitch. My additions are below.

 *I will never tell you not to do something because of the risks associated. It’s healthy to experiment with danger and to push your limits. There is one exception: Don’t ever do hard drugs.

*The quickest general way to impress new people is to show up with a case of beer.

*One of the greatest gifts my folks gave me was telling me that they’ll always be my out for situations I needed help getting away from, for whatever reason. I offer you the same courtesy: If you need a ride, I’m there. If you need an excuse, it’s me. I will always go to bat for you. No questions asked.

*Don’t waste your time on someone who makes you feel like you’re wasting theirs.

*You and I share some pretty awesome DNA. With that there are some shortcomings. Don’t let them dictate what you become. I was a 22-year old with terrible hair; I turned into a pretty good looking bald guy. Genetics never says you can’t do something. It says, “You can’t do that like this. Figure out another way.”

*High school can either be the best 4 years of your life, or just some random 4-year period in your life. Either way, it won’t have much effect on the rest of your life.

*If the voice in your head is saying not to do something, that’s a pretty good reason not to do it.

*There is always a silver lining. Always.

*If it didn’t work once, it won’t work twice. The definition of stupidity is doing something repeatedly and expecting a different result.

*The only thing that comes close to having a good time yourself is seeing other people have a good time. Yours cannot prevent theirs. Theirs should not prevent yours.