I got the #16 from my mom weeks ago, cant let her down. Here goes - TopicsExpress

I got the #16 from my mom weeks ago, cant let her down. Here goes Nadine Ellis Knight... 1) I matured at a very early age. In fact, by the time I attended the maturation class in 5th grade, I could have taught that dang thing. Boom, started with a bang. 2) Ive played hundreds of competitive basketball games. Growing up, my heroes were my basketball coaches Steve Nabor and JD Rasmussen. Looking back, those fellers were so insanely dedicated to take off work and travel all over the state/country year round to coach us kids... 3) Only 2 people have ever cut my hair, my mom and some random girl at a hair salon in Ogden that I went to once when I was sixteen. 4) When it comes to sneakers, Im a 13 year old trapped in a 28 year olds body. Ive got an entire closet filled with countless Jordans and Nikes. 5) My favorite historical figure is MLK - Ive listened to or read every speech I can possibly get my hands on. Traveling to Atl this year and seeing his childhood home, the church he preached at, and he and his wifes tomb was an experience of a lifetime for me. 6) People that have known me a long time will tell you I used to rap. My response? Whats with the used to nonsense? Ive always enjoyed poetry and putting words together. 7) Ive been the same height since 8th grade (62). I thought I was going to be a giant. Believe it or not, I am NOT the same weight now as I was in 8th grade :-) 8) I was student body president at NOJH. I performed an Austin Powers skit in front of the entire student body, which included a controversial pelvic thrust. Ive never been afraid to make an ass of myself. 9) For our first date, my future wife and I went to the Skybox at the Gateway to watch my Vikings lose to the Redskins. It was then that I realized I wanted to spend my life with this woman, and then that SHE realized that Im not too terribly romantic. 10) I did, however manage an incredibly romantic proposal to my wife 5 years ago on December 17. How do I remember the date? I called my dad to tell him the good news. After a pause he said, Oh, I thought you were calling to wish me a happy birthday. Epic fail. 11) My favorite movie is Tommy Boy. Favorite actor - Chris Farley. Greatest of all time. 12) For the past 3 months, Ive watched 2 episodes of Modern Family EVERY night before bed. Prior to that, I watched 2 episodes of The Office for 3 years every night before bed. Before that, 2 episodes of Seinfeld for 3 years... I have not seen more than one episode of ANY other comedy series on TV in the last 6 years. 13) Ten years ago I showed up to my Home Depot interview in a black t-shirt, wearing cubic zirconia earings and sporting a $20 GIANT chain necklace. Not sure how I was hired... 90 days later a supervisor named Steve pulled me back to the office and told me I was the worst freight associate in the history of Home Depot, if I didnt shape up I would be fired. Not wanting to go back to Arctic Circle, I straightened up and the rest is history. Im a firm believer in tough conversations, letting people know where they stand, and affording them the same opportunity I was given to improve performance. 14) Ive held a job since I was 9 years old. Paper route on the streets of inner city Ogden. Boy did I see some strange things as I went around my route to collect payment at the end of the month. 15) One of my other early jobs was selling pizzas for Ligoris in Ogden when I was 10 and 11. I dropped a pizza as I was delivering to a nice couples home down the street, the pizza flew out of the box and landed on the asphalt. I quickly realized I couldnt possibly pick all of the gravel out of the pizza and made a snap decision to box it up, deliver it to my customer and never speak of it again... It somehow got back to my mom, that didnt end well for me. 16) My true love in life, other than family - is service. There isnt a drug that can give me the same feeling as I get giving back to someone, and accomplishing something that they otherwise would have been unable to do on their own. Service projects sincerely keep me going through tough times, and Im extremely fortunate to have met some of the most incredible people in the past several years.