Adventures in Sin City

Ahhh Las Vegas...the real-life Wonderland.

I honestly don't know how people can make multiple trips per year there. One trip lasts me and my wallet at least a year...although I do love the penchant for producing adventures that the city has.

As much as I love Las Vegas, I cringe when I think of how hard each trip is on my body. Ridiculously late nights accompanied by copious amounts of booze, and a tasty late night meal followed by very little sleep, then a trip to the buffet of choice for one Gargantuan, fattiliscious meal that eliminates the need to eat again until the next late night snack. The rest of the time is spent either partying, or at the pool.

There were six of us on this last trip, and each day we totally dominated the pool with our Frisbee antics. Despite how crowded the pool was each day, we would seriously have a huge section of the pool to ourselves because no one dared cross into the "Frisbee zone territory of Chaos!"

As good as we are with "The 'bee," I won't lie...there were some innocent bystanders who suffered the wrath of a stray toss here and there.

I only hit person. I was trying the throw the Frisbee over my shoulder about 50 yards across the crowded pool and hit Jeff in stride...unfortunately I haven't perfected that throw yet, and instead of landing softly in Jeff's hands, it landed uncomfortably on a girls noggin.

Me, being the fast thinking mastermind that I am, decided to hide by going underwater. It was then I realized that:

A: Water is clear, thus someone hiding underneath is completely visible
B: I only had about 20 seconds of air in me in my haste to get out of sight
C: This is a bad plan

I popped up with the girl giving me a semi serious "look of death." Oops.

Jeff though, had the record for pool casualties.

And speaking of Jeff, he may have had the single BEST adventure from Vegas which I will recant for you now.

Before going out one night, we were all partying while Jeff was taking his daily nap. He woke up about a half-hour before we were leaving for the club of the night and felt the need to "catch up" in his alcohol consumption.

Bad Idea.

By the time we get to the club, Jeff is delirious. Three of us go in, while Jeff, Brent and Bruno were going to wait outside for a group of Girls we were meeting up.

I never saw Jeff again that night.

Apparently he disappeared to use the bathroom before getting into the club, and never came back...thus began his adventure for the night.

Jeff drunkenly stumbled and bumbled through the Venetian looking for a bathroom, until finally came upon a nice Italian restaurant.

Hostess: "Hello sir, would you like a tab--"
Jeff: "BLAH!! BAAATHROOOOOOM!!!!!"

The best way to imagine Jeff's state of being is to think of Will Farrel after he's struck by the tranquilizer in Old School. Jeff, like Will Farrel, was in a zombie like stupor with one thing on his mind...expelling his guts in a private facility.

Jeff barreled through the restaurant and finally reached the bathroom of this place. Unfortunately for the other patrons he robbed them of the typical bathroom privacy we all generally prefer and expect from a bathroom.

Jeff found his way to the stall, and as he entered, completely slammed his shoulder painfully into the wall. This caused a loss of footing.

He was going down.

When he came-to a couple of seconds later, he opened his eyes to a couple of legs above his head, leading to the body of a portly man "taking care of business" in the stall next to him. Yes, Jeff had landed with his head face up, poking under the stall barrier into the next unit.

In the process of falling, he also sliced open his hand which began bleeding profusely.

He makes it out after some time and heads to the elevator to go back to the room. The only problem is, there's a security guard who only grants access to the elevators to people with room keys. Conveniently, Jeff's room key is in the room.

So instead of going to the front desk to ask for a room key, as any sober man would do, drunk Jeff hides behind a pillar spying the elevator doors. When they ope he makes a dash passed the security guard into the elevator! Jeff manages to hit the "close door" button fast enough before security can reach him!

Once on the 22nd floor, Jeff, feeling a rumbly in his tumbly, decides to decorate the back stairwell with his own personal concoction of hydrochloric acid, vodka, and blueberry muffin. Once finished, he retires for the night, curled up in the fetal position, in the hallway in front of our room door.

Some time later he awakens to a security guard poking and nudging him with his foot.

Security: "Stand up"
Jeff: (Extending arms for help up)
Security: (seeing Bloody / Drunk Jeff) "is there a problem sir?"
Jeff: "I just wanna go inside..."

I don't know what happened from that point on, but when we arrived that night with our harem of guests for the night, Jeff's cloths were everywhere, his Driver's licence was halfway across the room with his wallet in another corner and his credit cards in another, pants are hanging on the lamp shade, the phone in the bathroom has blood on it...not exactly the ideal place to bring guests back to party.

Only in Vegas does Jeff not get arrested for the Drunken antics of the night.

Yes, I had a couple of mild adventures, but I think Jeff inadvertently topped us all!

Other Sin City Observations:

-You'd better trust your wife if she goes to Vegas without you, because a ring apparently doesn't mean anything to a lot of women in Vegas.

-The clubs are awesome, but you'd better be rolling with a harem of women if you want to get in anywhere crazy!

-Cirque Du Soleil is the most amazing production ever. I've seen two shows now and each one has been well worth the $100+ dollar ticket price.

Stay Tuned, Adventures in Sin City part II, starring ARUN!...coming soon.

Get Comfortable By Leaving Your Comfort Zone

Recently I was pondering, and thinking about I've changed over the last few years and realizing how much I think I've really improved at Life. If I can somehow match the personal growth I've experienced these passed six years, I think I'll be in great shape to publish volume II of "Arun's Guide to Lifetime Awesomeness!"

All this thinking made me realize the biggest factor contribution to my personal growth.

Leaving my Comfort Zone.

This has ranged from moving away from home, to switching from briefs to boxers (which guys, if you haven't done, you should make the transition). Sure the security of living at home and having extra support for your loins is nice, but the feeling of freedom and indepedance that both me and my jewels acquired after switching was worth the initial discomfort.

There are so many instances in life where people have the option to change and leave their comfort zone, or remain in current state they are in because they fear any sort of discomfort.

Let's take exercise for example. Obesity in America is obscenely prevalent. People are afraid of the discomfort that is eating healthier and exercise.

Let's be honest: starting an exercise routine is not fun. It's hard work, you're gasping for air, you're sore...not exactly something to look forward to. When I was Chubby I dreaded having to do any sort of exercise. When I finally resolved to suck it up and get out of my comfort zone, I made one of the biggest improvements of my life. I got in shape both physically and mentally!

Once you make the commitment to get out of your comfort zone and power through the initial discomfort of change, you'll find that you end up on silk sheets as opposed to those old cotton ones!

I know tons of people who decided to stay at home after graduating high school. Some of them had no choice but others were simply afraid to leave. A lot of people I knew in college had difficulty being away from home, and moved back before finishing their degree.

They chose the easier, more comfortable solution rather than the challenging one. When I compare the personal success and maturity of these individuals to those who chose the road, the people who powered through the initial, or even prolonged discomfort of being away from home, having seemingly found more success, happiness, and personal growth.

The beginning of college was somewhat difficult for me. Before leaving for college, I had never been serparated from my parents for more than two days. I had so much to learn! Landry, cooking, finance, and just independance in general were all things I had to learn. I can't imagine how different I would be if I hadn't been thrown into the fire of moving away from home.

Now, any opportunity where I can see even remote benefit, I try to take and embrace the leaving of my comfort zone.

I think taking crazy vacations as often as possible is important. I recently took a trip to India which was totally crazy! Comfortable? Not in the least. In fact, everything about being in India is totally UNcomfortable, but the experience has made my life better, and I would do it again.

Having adventurous and crazy vacations not only boosts your experience, but it magnifies the comfort of you own special comfort zone. After going to India, my appreciation for warm showers, traffic enforcement, cool weather, etc. was so much greater, and my home felt amazingly comfortable.

After returning from Vegas, I appreciated the healthy, productive lifestyle I have. I was really looking forward to exercising, eating healthy and yes, even going to work!

And speaking of work, a couple of months ago, I was presented with an opportunity to do a bunch of work for a totally different branch of my company. At first I was hesitant. I would have to learn a LOAD of new stuff, and basically everything I learned in the last year with the company would unapplicable. I reluctantly decided to do it, and am much better off because of it!

The first month I spent completely lost! I didn't know anything about what I was doing. Now, I'm well in the flow of my added responsibilities, I've made a bunch of new friends, have networked within the company, and have become increasingly important.

Had I not taken the opportunity, I would have been totally unknown by this other department, my name and face would not be as recognized (something, as you might know, I love is recognition), and my importance to the company would be looked over.

Things like this happen all the time, and too often we take the easy, more comfortable way out. Try and look at the big picture and embrace the fact that leaving your comfort zone is the best way to make life more comfortable!

Models for Hire

Yes, it's true. I have begun to expand my career into modeling!

Now we all knew I had the good looks and charm to make it (well...at least I did), but all I needed was my big break! Apparently my impromptu runway show from earlier this year was not enough to generate the flurry of modeling demands that I expected.

That's why I was excited when my friend Catherine called in need of some "Young Gorgeous Male Models" for a restaurant advertisement (Chive) on the cover of her magazine. Me, being the extremely modest individual that I am, saw this as the perfect opportunity to "give back" to the city I live in. After all, what better way to give back to the community than to grace the cover of "San Diego Community Magazine" with the modern yet timeless art that is ME!

The magazine is actually distributed to some 130,000 San Diego residents. It's basically a coupon magazine with advertisements for upscale and and fine dining restaurants in the Downtown and Uptown areas of San Diego.

To be completely honest, I was not slated to be the star of the shoot. That privilege went to my roommate Jeff. Apparently he had the precise "look" Catherine needed. If you ask me, I don't know how tall, dark, and devilishly handsome (me) can't be anyone's "precise look," but to each her own. Actually, Catherine has always had a particular affinity for Jeff. I think she might secretly be in love with the second best looking man in San Diego.

To we arrived to the restaurant, well dressed and ready for action. We met Catherine and sat around catching up while indulging on drinks at the bar, courtesy of the magazine. The photographer finally arrives as does the female model.

I'm thinking "Hmmm, I could get used to this: free drinks, hot female model, stardom and attention....what's not to like?"

The photo shoot itself was actually rather uneventful. I sat at a table having conversation with a lady who works at the restaurant. We had full wine glasses and were supposed to "look natural and enjoy each other's company." No problem. I'm a joker anyways, so getting her to laugh and bringing the energy up was easy.

Me, being a stickler for capturing the "naturalness" of dining out, also sipped and refilled my wine throughout the shoot in order to create realism.

The shoot ended up being pretty fun and I met some cool people. It was great catching up with my "French Connection," Catherine.

The photographer also turned out being an interesting character. He was pretty friendly and said to me, "I could maybe use you in some future work." That was all fine and dandy until I later found out that he happens to film pornography in addition to his photographic career. Ok, as "gifted" down there as I might be, I draw the line there.

Margo, the female model, also turned out being really cool. She plays tennis and golf which happen to be two sports that I love to play, and was surprisingly down to earth and nice: not really what I expected from a model.

The lady I was sitting with most of the evening turned out to be a coordinator for photo shoots and fashion shows in San Diego. As soon as she told me this, I kicked the charm up a couple of notches! Now, she has my contact information and clothes sizing and is going to contact me (and Jeff) for future gigs.

Come September, the cover of "Downtown San Diego" magazine, will be graced with Jeff and Margo posing with Martini's in the foreground, with me behind them likely sipping some wine with Kristen across the table, laughing hysterically.

Since we did this shoot for a friend, we did it "pro bono," but honestly free drinks, revisiting my French connection (Catherine), making a future modeling connection (Kristen), and making yet another friend (Margo...although the jury is still out on her since she did miss our crazy Sunday BBQ adventure for a photo shoot...apparently she hasn't adventured with us!) was payment enough.

Now, in order to properly train for my now expanding career in modeling, I watch Zoolander everyday, and practice my walkoff skills down the halls at my office. Yes friends, Arun and Jeff are taking San Diego, and then the world (I figure we should start small), by Storm!

The Marriage Proposal

As a 23 year old, adventure seeking guy living in San Diego, I make it a point to have as many adventures as possible, and keep spontaneity as high as possible. Crazy things happen to me all the time and I love them!....usually. Normally I expect the unexpected.

Well I didn't expect the recent marriage proposal I received.

Now before all of you ladies freak out and start sending me messages about how desperately you love me and how you can't believe this is happening, hear me out! I guess I should probably ease your souls right now. I declined.

Now for the story behind this.

Through my crazy network of friends, I happen to know a LOT of Brazilians. In fact, most of them would not like this post because they like to the "business arrangements" I'm going to discuss pretty hush hush.

Well it turns out many of the "single" Brazilians around, are not really single. They live live the single life, yet they are married!

I think you can see where this is going.

They view marriage as a "business arrangement." Man gets Tax benefits and possibly some bribe money, woman gets green card, and everythings peachy.

So the other day, I'm at my buddy's house, and he happens to have two female Brazilian roommates. I've been there quite a few times, so I know both of them. They're sort of friends "by default." I would never call them to hang out, but I always chat them up and make them laugh when I'm over.

Anyways, we're all hanging out while I wait for my buddy to get ready, and one of the girls whose name I won't mention, drops this little morsel conversation on me:

Her: "So Arun, what's your job again?"
Me: (explaining my career endeavors to here)
Her: "Oh that's great! So you like your work?"
Me: (not yet seeing where this is going) "Yea, it's great!"
Her: "Well what do you think about marriage?"
Me: "Uhhh, well I think it's good for people who are ready for it."
Her: "Would you consider yourself ready?"
Me: (getting uncomfortable) "uh...no no no."
Her: "Well what do you think of Marrying a friend to say, help them out"
Me: (speechless at the realization of what's happening)
Her: (explaining all her reasoning then ending with:) "You are a good guy and I think I can trust you."

Then came the words

Her: "Would you marry me?"

Inside my head I'm thinking "HOLY MOTHER OF MARY! What the Hell is going on!? There is no bloody way I'm marrying ANYONE, let alone YOU who I don't have any sort of relationship with!!!"

What I actually said was "Uhhh, well I wouldn't really feel comfortable..."
Her interjecting: " Oh! Don't say No yet! We might be able to reach an 'agreement!'"
Me: "No, I really don't think so."
Her: "Well think about it, and if you know any really good guys who might be interested, would you ask for me?"
Me: "Sure"

What I was really thinking was, "No way! I'm not gonna go around asking my friends if they want to get married to a girl they don't even know for a shady business deal!"

Suffice to say, me and my buddy got the hell out of there FAST!

My friend (he's Brazilian) later told me that for the "agreement" she mentioned, going rate is about 4,000 - 6,000 dollars.

I don't know what my price would be for a phony marriage, but it sure as hell isn't 4-6 grand.

Things have gotten back to normal with those girls now (or as normal as they can) but I know if I ever really wanted to, I could be married within a day.

This gives the term "fall back option" a whole new meaning!

Ladies of the world. I know this was a close call, but fear not! You haven't lost me yet.

Bad Education

As much as I know you all enjoy my crazy rants, no, this is not a diatribe on the current state of education in the world. It's the next best thing...an embarassing story about ME!

Well, maybe more peculiar and uncomfortable than actually embarassing.

During college, there used to be this small movie theater near my house in downtown San Luis Obispo called the "Palm Theater." Me and my friend Jeff used to like going there every now and then because that was the only theater in town that showed Independant films.

We had been on a streak of seeing great indi films before this fateful evening...before we were eternally scarred by the realism of cinema, and the assumption of a passerby.

So one evening Jeff calls me up to see if I want to grab some Chop Suey (there was a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant right next to the theater) and catch a flick at the theater. Jeff's favorite movie is "The Motorcycle Diaries" (an excellent movie) and he noticed there was a new movie playing at the Palm called "Bad Education" starring Gael Garcia Bernal (the lead actor from The Motorcycle Diaries).

He reads the description to me which is verbatim as follows: "Two children, Ignacio and Enrique, know love, the movies, and fear in a religious school at the beginning of the 60's. Father Manolo, director of the school and its professor of literature, is witness to and part of these discoveries. The three are followed through the next few decades, their reunion marking life and death. "

Sounds innocent enough right?

WRONG!

So I went into the movie hearing only this description and knowing the lead actor. We entered a really small theater which can hold maybe 70 or so, and there probably only 5 other people there. We sat down, leaving the comfortable one-seat buffer zone since the theater was relatively empty. There was a girl sitting in front of us by herself, so I started engaging her in conversation before the movie started.

Me: "Hey! So are you also a fan of the Spanish independant flicks?"
Girl: "Yes! And I love the lead actor! He's wonderful, plus he's really hot!"
Me: "Yea we like him too. He was good in Motorcycle Diaries"

Then she starts looking at Jeff and I with this really curious face.

Girl: "Is there any reason you guys have an empty seat between you guys?"
Me: "Uhh...well there's plenty of room in the theater and..."
Girl: "Oh sorry, I was just curious if you guys had a fight or something, and I didn't wanna make things awkward for you two."
Jeff: "What? No. We just had dinner, and its nice to sort of sprawl out after eating"
Girl: "Oh ok. I just thought it was kind of funny for you two to need a seat in between you."

Jeff and I were both confused by what she was talking about, but we just ignored it as the movie started.

It started out innocently enough, but soon things went downhill in a hurry. Next thing I know, there is a man in drag, performing fellatio on some other guy!

Now let me make one thing clear...nothing was explicitly shown beyond two men making out hardcore, but a LOT of disgusting acts were heavily implied.

At first I thought this was an isolated occurence and that the movie would move passed this crazy plot twist.

Nope, the whole plot was the twist. I honestly sat there watching the whole movie waiting for the blatent homosexual imagery and implications to stop, but it never happened!

I have never been so uncomfortable in my entire life. What possessed us to stay and sit through the entire movie is beyond me.

Now let me clarify, this was NOT a pornographic film, but damn well could have been for how uncomfortable I was. Just as I thought things were settling down to normalcy, BOOM!...someone cops a feel-up on another guy...BOOM!..someone fantasizes a make-out session...BOOM!...guy dresses up in drag.

When the movie finally ended, I was just sitting there with this shocked look on my face. I turn towards Jeff, and he had the same stupid look. I turned towards the girl, and she had this smirk on her face.

"That was so good! I know you guys must have enjoyed it!"

Neither of us responded. It took us a good ten minutes before the shock of what we had just witnessed wore off.

Then I realized...she totally thought we were gay!

Me: "What the HELL was that!?!"
Jeff: "I don't know! I swear I read the description and it didn't say anything about erotisism!"

I went home and read the description, and sure enough, it was exactly as quoted above. Apparently though, Jeff did manage to miss the NC-17 rating.

To this day, I cringe when I see that movie sitting on the shelf. I have nothing against the aforementioned lifestyle, as long as I don't have to see it "in action."

Gael Garcia Bernal, you're still a good actor...a little TOO good. :)

Antonio Banderas: The Arun Lookalike?

Antonio Banderas: Butt-kicking badass, Latino Lover, Hollywood hunk...and apparently, Arun lookalike.

Recently, people all over over the place have been saying I look a lot like Antonio Banderas. I don't happen to really agree, but I seem to be vastly outnumbered. I think my longer hair (I've haven't cut it for about 10 months) has a lot to do with it, and the longer it gets, the more people say I look like Antonio!

In fact, one girl I met at the beach last week, wouldn't stop calling me "Antonio," because she said I looked exactly like him, only a little darker. I was thoroughly annoyed, and ignored her the rest of the day.

To be honest, I actually don't like the fact that people say I look like anybody! If anything HE looks like ME! I suppose I should take it as a complement since girls seem to think he's good looking, but personally, I think he's missing the "Indian Flare." :)

So I dug up a picture of me with longerish hair that I "self took" (my hair's a little longer right now). You be the judge!

Independence Day Craziness

Who ever thought the Fourth of July, let alone a Wednesday, Fourth of July could be so crazy?

Growing up, all Independence Day meant, was a day off from school and some fireworks at night.

Apparently San Diegans have a different idea.

This was actually the second Independence Day I've spent in San Diego, and let me tell you, it's freakin crazy! I think the official count of people at the beaches of San Diego this year was 955,000.

NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FREAKING FIVE THOUSAND!

Lets put this in perspective. That's nearly twice the population of the state of Wyoming. In fact, there are seven states and a District of Columbia whose population is smaller!

Let's add a further level of perspective. The 3 mile stretch of beach and bay from Pacific Beach down to Mission Beach, contained 750,000 people. What does this mean? Well it means the biggest party you've ever been to is at the beach ALL day! Good luck finding parking if you come anytime after 12:00. In all likelihood you'll have to park at least a mile from where you want to go. That is, unless you're ME.

In all fairness, this special connection was through my friend, but it so happens that his "Grammy" has a vacation home right in the midst of all the craziness, AND it just so happened that that home contained a vacant parking spot just for us!

Since we're putting things in a lot of perspective today, lets do it again. To understand how good this parking spot was, just know that people were selling parking spots that were FURTHER from the beach for $100. That's right...ONE HUNDRED BUCKAROOS!

To add to the greatness, Grammy even gave us juice and cheese crackers before we dove into the foray! In addition to the fun we had, some pretty great things also happened to unfold.

1. I established a reputation as a legitimate "Frisbee-er." Yes, I spent a lot of time perfecting my throws and catches of the aforementioned disk, and I think it's safe to say, I have Frisbee skills. I actually managed not to directly hit anyone despite the mass of people, and I made a couple of face saving catches as well!

2. We met an awesome chick named Heather who lives in Arizona. We discovered her in Mission Bay and she hung out with us all day (and on Saturday night). She managed to be the only girl to live up to the awesomeness standards of Jeff, B-Rent, and I. In fact, we have already scheduled a trip to Arizona in September for some craziness and adventure (and you "Daily Remedy" regulars know about my attraction to adventure).

How did I know she was cool? Well, at one point during the day, in response to some previous conversation, she looked at me and said "Why don't you come over." I sensed seduction in her eyes (either that or it was sun which was directly in her face, but I still say it was seduction). I reluctantly followed her home. The conversation went something like this...

Heather: "You're gonna get something real good"
Me: "Oh really? How good are you?"
Heather: "Downright orgasmic."
Me: "Wow"
Heather: "Why don't you sit down and get comfortable"
Me: (nervously) "Ummm, ok"

With that, she went behind a wall in the kitchen, and I heard a lot of ruckus. Something good was about to happen: I could feel it.

Heather (from the kitchen): "How do you want it?"
Me: "However you do it best."

With that, she appeared from around the corner, just the way I like...

Holding a giant Turkey Sandwich with the works!!! It was even on a hogie roll! OK, so I may have exaggerated a bit of the conversation in a slightly (and possibly greatly) risque manner, but she still made me a damn good Turkey Sandwich! I was starving!

3. Heather happened to be staying with her parents and friends in some crazy vacation home rental on the bay, which was a PERFECT place to see the fireworks.

4. I wouldn't file this under great, but we met some other girls who happen to be going to Las Vegas the exact same weekend as us. Why is this not great? Well, without going into all the details, lets just say that as Jeff was driving "Doof" home, she made him pull over so she could urinate (apparently she had to go) in the road...and no they weren't in Tijuana.

Anyways, I would say that Independence Day was once again a success! Beach, Beer, Women, Turkey Sandwiches, Friends and Frisbee...what more could a man ever want?

Practicing For Lifetime Awesomeness

We all know the old cliche "Practice Makes Perfect." Most of the time though, when we think of "practice" we think of a very specific skill such as practice at a sport or a musical instrument.

One of the things that I think a lot of people overlook is practice at self improvement.

There are so many elements to self improvement that I couldn't possibly go over them all. Plus, everyone has their own personal elements that they want to improve. A common trend is to read loads of information and gather all types of material, but no one ever seems to practice these sort of non-material abilities.

Confused yet? Let me give you a couple of examples.

When I was a Sophomore in college, I thought about trying to get an internship with some kind of engineering company. Unfortunately, I had very little practice in actually trying to get a job. The only job I had ever had up until this point was essentially handed to me.

I started submitting applications and visiting career fairs armed with a sub par resume and no clue of the "verbal cues" that get employers interested. Suffice to say, I was offered only one internship with Pulte Homes, and it wasn't even related to my major.

Fast Forward three years. I am a few months from graduation and, despite having average experience and qualifications related to my engineering degree, I was getting quite a few on-site interviews and job offers!

What was the trick? You guessed it...PRACTICE. I had honestly been to probably 10-12 career fairs by the end of my Senior year. I had been to resume seminars where I practiced emphasizing different aspects of myself on paper and was appropriately critiqued. I wrote a slew of cover letters and improved on each successive revision. Most importantly, I had been through seriously about 80 job or company related interviews. Eighty!

I know what you're thinking. "Common Arun! If you interview eighty times, you're bound to have at least a couple of people interested! Your good looks alone probably got at least one foot in the door!"

Wrong! (but not about my good looks :)

The first barrage interviews generated virtually nothing. But from all the interview practice, I learned exactly how to present my resume and myself in a light that made me individually appealing to each company.

At the same time I was starting to have success, I noticed a lot of my classmates struggling because did not have the same practice that I had had over the last couple of years!

Here's a better example that most people can apply to their lives if they feel this is an area in need of self improvement.

My regular readers know, I'm a big advocate of being social. The Power of Being Social seems to open so many doors.

I probably would've said the same thing about five years ago, however I was far less social back then. Sure I made a lot of friends and was very sociable in my circles, but I rarely talked to random people and was extremely shy about asking a girl out.

Deep down I knew I always wanted to be more social, so I started putting myself out there more and more. By doing so, I not only became "smoother" at social interactions, but I became much more comfortable approaching and talking to most people.

To this day, this is a skill I'm working to further improve. Having great social skills seems to be a talent that can help in virtually any avenue of life. I should probably clarify that a sociable person does not mean someone who just talks nonstop to everyone, and yammers on and on. Being sociable means that people WANT to talk to you because you have lots of interesting things to say and you make them feel good!

As an offshoot to my social improvement, I recently saw a video on youtube advertising a DVD where an instructor shares a bunch of tips and advice with the audience on how to attract and "pick up" women. One of the things he mentioned was that tons of people come up to him and tell him how good a certain conversation opener that he uses with women is, and how everything he says and actually does seems to really work!

Then the instructor asks these people how many of them have actually put his suggestions to work, and 80% of them say things like "Ahhh, well, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to soon!"

These guys will never be successful with women if they don't practice. Will they fall one their face a few times at first? Totally! But after awhile, they'll become comfortable, skilled, and much more successful.

I used to be incredibly shy about flirting and asking women out. In fact, when I think back to the first girl I ever dated, I am surprised she went out with me initially. Our first conversation consisted of me asking these incredibly dull questions. "So, what do you study? Where are you from? What's your family like?"

BORING!

I quickly learned, after learning women don't find this type of conversation particularly interesting, to change my approach. Also, the more people I talked to and approached, the more confident and less nervous I got.

Confidence in ANYTHING is obtained by practice!

I think everyone should identify at least one of these sort of "life skills" they want to improve and actively PRACTICE it. Honestly look at yourself from an outside prospective and think about productive ways you can practice. Then, when you're out living life, EVERYDAY, do something that can make you better.

For me, it might be introducing myself to the new hire down the hall who I'll probably never need to interact with since he's not in my department, but because it is another step to being socially great.

For someone else, it might be deciding to start living more organized and putting organizers in their notebook.

Maybe for some who eats out a lot with the excuse, "I'm a bad cook," it could be stopping by the grocery store and picking up the ingredients to practice cooking, and thus be healthier.

There should be no reason to accept a deficiency in any aspect of behavior, because we should all practice everyday to make ourselves better!