The Most Interesting Man in the World?

One Sunday, I had a few friends over watching a football game when one of those Dos XX commercials came on television. One of my friends turned to me and said, "I think they should have used YOU in that commercial - you are the most interesting man I know." Several friends chimed in and agreed, sharing their own versions of several stories from my life (mostly accurate, but some were embellished - I made sure to correct those).

Now, I do realize that I have been fortunate and have had a multitude of opportunities placed in my path through life so far. I also know I am the type of person who wants to do or try everything. My goal in life is that, when I am laying on my deathbed, I don't want to have any regrets - I don't want to waste my dying breath saying, "If really with I had........" - I want to be able to say, "OK...I've done it all...I can go peacefully now."

With that in mind, when an opportunity arises, I jump at it. I had a bucket list before bucket lists became cliche (I called it "things to do before I do list" before the movie put the term "bucket list" on everyone's lips).

BUT...am I the most interesting man in the world? I seriously doubt it. I will admit that I have had an interesting life and will continue to live my life this way until I am no longer physically able. But there are a great multitude of people in the world much more deserving of that title than I am. I'll stick with the "most interesting man my friends know" and be completely happy with that.

So, what makes my life so interesting to my friends? I think part of my problem is that I am easily bored - I always have to be doing SOMETHING. I also don't sleep - or not much. Three or four hours a night is sufficient for me - in fact, getting more than that will actually cause me to wake up feeling hung over.

A few quick facts about me so you'll know a bit about where I'm coming from in my future posts:

I grew up in a military family - we moved every few years, allowing me to experience a lot of the world and various people and cultures - this is probably where I caught the travel bug and why I love to travel so much. By the time I graduated from high school, I had lived in:
- San Antonio, Texas (where I was born)
- Athens, Greece

- Amarillo, Texas

- Irving, Texis (while my father was in Viet Nam)

- Clovis, New Mexico

- Felixstowe, England

- Ipswich, England

- Saxmundham, England

- Chandler (Phoenix), Arizona

- Satellite Beach, Florida

I love to learn - I have a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, a Masters Degree in School Counseling and two Doctorates (one in Psychology and another in Educational leadership)

During my life, I have had several "careers", which I will discuss in later blogs:

- US Army - 20 years (six active, fourteen in the reserves) - including three combat tours

- Special Education Teacher

- School Counselor

- Swim Coach

- Water Polo Coach

- Psychologist

- Actor (and director, producer, casting director, etc)

- Travel Agent

So...as I progress through these blogs (which I hope you will read), I will let you decide just how interesting my life really is. Hopefully my writing won't prove too boring. I'll try to keep it mostly upbeat, though there are periods in my life (as there are in most people's lives) that are dark and it would be hypocritical of me to just discuss the "happy/funny" things and leave out the ones that make us all human.

I hope you enjoy.