Oh, hey.  I’ve been thinking for months about how I wanted to start this post. It’s been almost two years since I last wrote to you guys- and since I last wrote more much of anything at all. Should I start out with a knock-knock joke? A goofy, awkward line about how much I know you missed me, even though most of you have probably talked to me on the phone this week? Should I tell you that my laptop got eaten by a bear while I was on the Appalachian Trail last year, and I finally tracked down the bear and made him buy me a new one? Or…

For those of you who follow along with Sheila and me, you’ve probably noticed that most of my posts recently have been a little serious. What can I say, I’ve been in a reflective mood. But I’ve recently decided that if I write one more serious post in a row I’m going to get a second look at the pepperoni tacos I ate for lunch. So we’re done with the emotional crap (at least until something else happens that makes me contemplate my life.. but you guys should be safe for at least a week). And in honor of the less serious, much more screw-up-worthy 99% of Sheila and my…

If you’ve been reading my posts since the beginning, first of all, I’m shocked that you’re still reading. But second, this means that you have been with Sheila and I through a figurative (and sometimes literal) roller-coaster of experiences- a series of screw-ups ranging from the mildly unfortunate, to the strange, to the totally ridiculous.. especially when it has come to my dating life. You’ve heard all the stories, learned all the fake names, and no doubt been absolutely shocked when each relationship hasn’t worked out (sarcasm intended). As promised from the first day I started this new chapter in my life, it has been messy. And don’t worry, I…

If I could use one word to describe my family.. well, I don’t think there is one word that could ever depict our insanity with enough accuracy. But one word I definitely will never use to describe my family is boring. So heading home to the arctic tundra that is the state of Maine for Thanksgiving about a month ago, I was completely unsure what to expect, but the one thing I knew was that this trip would be interesting. And it certainly didn’t disappoint.  Immediately after getting back to Maine, I found out I had to have my tonsils removed the week after Thanksgiving. After coming to terms with…

Sitting in a Starbucks in Apache Junction this morning, I realized that I missed Sheila’s half-birthday. In other words, the 6-month mark since we started adventuring full-time. And sitting there, on the eve of the day I’m returning to Maine for a two-week Thanksgiving visit without her, I started reflecting on everything we’ve been through over the past six months, and how much I’ve changed since I pulled out of the driveway back in May. I began reading old blog posts, and it all came flooding back- the places we’ve been, the people we’ve met, the really weird things we’ve done, and how over these past six months I’ve become…

What’s up from Apache Junction, Arizona! Never heard of it? Understandable. It’s a small town right outside of Phoenix, at the base of the Superstition Mountains. And it’s definitely an… interesting place. But I’ve been down here for two weeks now, and I’m absolutely loving every minute of it.  I know, I promised from day one that this wouldn’t be a travel blog. And it isn’t- I promise I’m not going to rank all the McDonalds’ in order from best to worst McChicken or tell you where to find the nicest Planet Fitness. But I do think it’s worth writing about- because it’s possible that Sheila and I have found…

I wrote much more serious versions of this post way too many times. I started them, scrapped them entirely, started over, and then finally I realized that I was just being way too serious- this blog is called Screwing Up and Taking Names, so instead of wallowing in my mistakes, I need to do a better job of owning them, learning from them, and taking some god damn names! So here it is. Those of you who have been following along from the beginning (basically my immediate family) know that there has been one “main character” in my dating life for the past few months- Jerry. Well, that is done.…

You know, when I was a kid, I was afraid of everything. The dark, frogs, big dogs, social interaction, my own shadow- you name it, I was scared of it. And there was never any reason to push through my fear- if I didn’t like frogs, I just wouldn’t get near them. Intimidated by social interaction? There was always someone more outgoing to do it for me- my parents, my sister, friends. And nobody I knew ever pushed themselves either- ever did anything crazy, or outside of their comfort zone. Sure, you heard about people in the news who did amazing things, like climb incredible mountains, explore exotic places, jump…

Hey from Hurricane, Utah. So a lot (if not all) of my blog entries up to this point have been about doing things wrong- about mistakes I’ve made, guys I’ve left, or embarrassing moments I’ve had. Which of course isn’t going to change- there is nothing I love more than screwing up. But sometimes even I need a change of pace- so instead of an unfortunate story about me flashing some guy in a Walmart parking lot or going on a series of bad dates, this time I’ll be writing about the reasons why I am willing to embarrass myself in the first place. So here they are- the top…

Hi again! Getting sick of me yet? I haven’t written this much in a while- but a lot has been happening. I always tell my family when they ask about a new post “If I want to write about it, I have to live it first.” Well I’ve been doing a lot of living, and I’m about to tell you guys the whole story.  So I promised when I first started this adventure that one of the things I’d be doing was going on a bunch of bad dates. And I’ve been slacking on that promise- whether it was because I was waiting for Jerry to pop up and confess…