The Stone's Favorite Mail Carrier

Matt Baile and I are the best of friends. We met freshman year when he came across the hall and asked if he could borrow a bowl. I told him I didn’t have any, even though I did. Who is this guy? How could I trust him with one of my bowls out of my plastic bowl set that I bought at Target that came complete with plates and cups?

We moved in together the following year. When he got married after college, I gave a beautiful speech as his best man. The speech was truly magnificent, the clouds parted, women cried, babies smiled, and men bit their lips while nodding their heads. Then an epic slow clap started and was built up into a quite roar of applause and ovation. The wedding was nice, too.

So, Matt was the twentieth blog follower, which means he got to choose the next topic (#30 gets to choose a topic, etc). This is what he chose:

The topic is this: anything in your life (or maybe a few things in your life) that you would change if you were able to. This could be a major, life-changing decision, or a seemingly insignificant one. Don't give me that crap about not wanting to change anything in your life - that is bullshit. This can be real or made up, I really don't care. Just make it entertaining.” Matt Baile 8 September 2010

Well, if I was given god-like powers, I’d probably go back in time and make a few changes, hell, I might make a lot of changes. I would probably stop Julius Caesar from accidentally burning down the Library of Alexandria, stop the Lincoln assassination, and give J.J. Abrams the mettle to actually tell a story.

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I wish I tried harder in math classes in school instead of simply giving up, knowing that I was bad at math. I gave up with math in the 6th grade. I always enjoyed chemistry and physics in middle school and high school, but without a strong math background, you can only go so far in the sciences. I’m not sure if I regret my English degree though. I read a lot, wrote a lot, enjoyed most of it, and met some great people. Writing is something I’ve always enjoyed.

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If somebody gave me a quarter billion dollars, I would most likely make some changes in my life. I’d give a million dollars to each of my relatives and a handful of friends. I’d put a hand full of money into the stock market, focusing on a mix of blue-chip stocks, REITs, and ETFs that focus on innovation specifically in green and industrial sectors. Why? I don’t know, sounds like fun.

I don’t see myself owning more than half a dozen homes. Maybe a nice big farm (not a real farm where you grow things, just a big house on a big piece of land with some dogs and sheep and stuff) then a couple small city homes in Philly, NYC and somewhere on the west coast, then add a beach house in there somewhere, and hell, maybe even a spot overseas, if I ever got around to it. I’d buy a Bentley, and a couple sports cars, and maybe that Tesla Roadster, but I’m not really into cars, so I don’t see myself owning more than a dozen.

Naturally, I’d have a large library of music movies and books, and when I finally get all this crap that I don’t need settled, I’d probably take the rest of the money and either send some kids to school, or throw some solar panels up on some poor people’s houses, or maybe give some mosquitoes nets, condoms, and water filters to Africa. $250,000,000.00USD is a lot of money, but is it enough to do all of these things? Of course it is. How? Compounding interest, my friends. Even with an interest rate of only 1% I’d still be pulling in 2.5 million a year.

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I try not to live life with regrets, but as the years come and go, there are always a few things that I wish I had (or had not) done. Oh well. There are a couple projects that I never got around to finishing that still need to be finished.
But that’s the thing, I still (hopefully) have some time to make some changes in my life. Maybe finish this or that, maybe go back to school, or finish a book, finish the bike I’ve been not building for two years.

Although I’m not in the best spot right now, things could be a lot worse, and they even have been in the past. I’m in my own place, with a fantastic girl, and it’s a warm sunny day outside. I’ve been paying all my bills on time, and still can afford cable and internet.

I’d like to have a full time “real” job, always have wanted one of those, since a child. But aside from that, things are going pretty well. All I need now is for Warren Buffet to call me up and give me a quarter billion dollars. I signed up for a sweep steaks with ING Direct, and I’m hoping that I win the grand prize of $50,000. Don’t worry, I won’t, and if I do, I probably won’t tell you about it.