Scott Knowles - What I am: An Essay

Hello!

My name is Scott Knowles. I live in Belmont, NC. I have a complete collection of hair nets and name tags (no wait, - that's someone else).

Actually, though, I've worked enough jobs to have hats, hair nets, and name tags that could potentially make a display to that would shame the one Wayne Campbell uses to begin the movie Wayne's World :)

I am a Florida Gator. It's great to be one. I've lived in Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and Hawaii. I'm a military brat. I love my parents; I've had three fathers in my life as my mom has been married three times. I never got to know my birth father, Ken, who was a Navy pilot. My first stepfather, Grover, a Marine Corps infantry officer, was really "Dad" - and my current stepfather, Peter, is a great, great man. He is retired but was never military himself. I admire him for his humility, perseverance, faith, and organized lifestyle. He's had many accomplishments, some recognizable nationally.

I still miss my father, Ken, very, very, VERY much. There's a big hole in my heart which will never, ever be filled.

Politically, I'm a former Barack Obama supporter who changed his mind recently. I'm now fully behind John McCain. I guess I have to admit it - I'm a flip-flopper in true John Kerry fashion! I unfortunately *did* vote for Bush the first time around. I have always been Libertarian. I think since before I knew what politics even was.

I'm a man (not just a guy), a Roman Catholic and trying to be faithful, but unfortunately I'm also trying to come to grips over some disagreements I have with the Pope & the Magisterium.

I'm a science-fiction and fantasy fan. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and a good many other blockbusters are my favorites - but I also like well-made and gripping low-budget/independent films that really suck you in. Brick, Seraphim Falls, and Pan's Labyrinth are some smaller films I like a lot. Basically, I love the classics, sci-fi, fantasy, and the independents. I also subscribe to Netflix. I budget for that every month and, as a result, actually see few movies in the theater.

I read science fiction and fantasy, too, but a good novel in any genre can make my reading list. I listen to the most books via Audible.com and my iPod (5th generation - with video - it's close to my favorite possession).

I love sports - watching more than playing. Favorites are the fightin' Florida Gators (any sport), the Miami Dolphins, and NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick (#29). I never miss a race if I can help it. I'll watch basketball, and am becoming a big fan of the game. This is unusual for me, and a sport I'm forcing myself to like.

It's unusual because I'm trying to fill the baseball void with basketball. See, I *was* a Florida Marlins fan until the cancellation of the World Series in 1994. Since then, over time (too many disagreements to detail here), I've come to despise MLB. The organization itself, not the sport. The people in it - both the owners and players - are overpaid and arrogant. Anyway, I *love* college baseball. So now I watch that & college basketball :)

In particular, NASCAR races every week take my mind off baseball. I won't miss a race if I can help it - my sister and brother-in-law (James & Becca - but not respectively ;) ... lol) also love it. Races help me stay close to them.

I'm an ESPN and a History / Discovery / National Geographic channel junkie. But I don't watch that much broadcast/cable TV anymore. LOST, Jericho, and the occasional TCM or AMC classic movie is all I regularly watch besides the science stuff. Oh - I love Jeopardy and want to be on the show someday .... win or lose !!!

I work at AIM Mail Centers part-time, and part-time with James & Becca. They own their own company, Carolina Lift Stations. Ask me about it sometime - it's a little difficult to explain all we do. I hate working more than most people, and only do it to finance the rest of my life. That said, though, I'm happy in both jobs and, in general, happy with my whole job situation at the moment.

Oh - I have a condo in Atlanta I'm looking to sell - it's in a great location. 2 bedrooms & 2 bath unit in a beautiful setting. Interested? My email address is ...

smdk66 (at) SPAMmail.com

(Replace 'SPAM' with a 'g' to get me. That's to defeat robotic spaminators from harvesting my address.)

I like to talk movies, sports, current events (especially politics), faith issues, and/or anything else under the sun! Even if all you want to do is tell me how much you like Kevin Harvick, too, how annoying and inane I appear to be, or how last night you were abducted by little gray men with bulbous heads, big black eyes, and long steel probes. I don't care.

Go ahead ... drop me a line. I'll be nice. I promise :)

Disclaimers:

I'm generally a happy camper. I get upset sometimes, cuz, well, everyone does, doggone it ;) And other reasons, too. Read on........:

I intend my family and friends to be my target audience . Not necessarily strangers. At first. If I don't know you yet, maybe you'll want to become a friend.

I further intend this blog to be different from the usual whiny, self-indulgent crap that passes for "blogging" elsewhere on the Internet. The guy who blogs words that cry how terrible life is and whine in paranoid tones how "friends" betrayed him or how the red states are conspiring against the blue is just not fun to read.

Instead of all that negativity, I want my blog to be at least a little bit fun, somewhat entertaining, and informative all at the same time.

For the record, I *know* the fact I'm writing about myself in the first place is "self-indulgent" to a great degree. Some (maybe even most) people will choose to describe my blog as whiny and/or crappy.

I regret that, but choose to write anyway. I write about what I'm doing, movies I've seen, some family relationships, and what I like. In positive terms. Not what I hate, nor what I think the world *should be* and how awful it really is cuz somebody won't take my advice ...

If I do any of that, please send me a virtual attitude adjustment!!

I will write, including pretentious quotes all over the place, because I love just being alive. Life is mostly hell, punctuated by brief periods of happiness and enlightenment. Sometimes a quote expresses what I feel at the time much more poetically and directly than I can phrase it.

In short, sometimes the clouds part and the sun shines God's Love down on the Earth ... I'm living for those moments.

I'm happy with who I am, though some of what makes me myself is painful. For example, I've been diagnosed with genetic clinical depression. I take medication, and no, I don't forget or think I'm better off without it! Ever ...

SO ...

That said, hopefully you'll find keeping up with my life interesting reading. Reading between the lines should be particularly entertaining ; reading *how* I write about my life will reveal as much or more about me than just the words themselves.

Life is interesting and very, very informative from my perspective. I hope to share some of what I learn, for better or worse. I occasionally like to step out of myself and watch the world from someone else's perspective. I'm WAY too empathetic that way ... lol!

In conclusion (in the best English class term paper fashion), I hope you'll hop aboard this train for a ride with me. I'd love the company.

Finally, here's another one of those pretentious quotes I was talking about:
_______________________ "Life's a dance you learn as you go; Sometimes you lead,
Sometimes you follow.

"Don't you worry 'bout what
you don't know...
Life's a dance you learn as you go."

-Garth Brooks, "Life's a Dance"_______________________

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All images on this site have been uploaded without permission of their individual owners, and will be removed upon request. Please note that no expression of ownership of the images by myself is intended or even implied. I just like to display 'em :)

I'll happily attribute ownership in return for permission to keep them up on this site.
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