Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.
Charles J. Sykes
What I’ll do for lent: No meat and no smartphone
Lent starts tomorrow and every year I think about what to do.
Recently I am a bit annoyed about all these posts on Facebook, that all kids have smartphones today and no one had them them when we were young but I bet most of the like clicks are done on a smartphone by the complaining generation. (Maybe I post another post about this sometime.)
I had my first cell phone when I was 11 and that already had internet (WAP). I won my first smartphone 9 years ago, when I was 13. So for over half of my life I was reachable on the go and already as a teenager I had full access to the internet in my pocket. Now I thought it would be about time to go back where I started. So for the next weeks I will be using a classic phone that can handle calls, SMS, has an alarm and very few games and, to be honest, supports WAP and very basic HTML. But you cannot use that these days anymore; I have tried when I took it to festivals or camps.
It will be interesting what I will do when I am not able to scroll the Facebook feed or play a quick round of a game, when I get bored. Also I wonder how much other people will be dependent on communication methods like WhatsApp. My ‘lent projects’ from the last years showed that it causes quite a lot confusion, when they do not get a reply from me for days.
Another thing I will be doing, is to stop consuming meat. In the last years I did not follow this traditional lent installment, as I had alternatives and the meat one seamed outdated. This year I think differently mainly because of some recent studies showing that Germans consume 100% more meat than they should, leaving a negative impact on health and the environment. So I take the opportunity of lent and try out how to substitute meat and hope to learn some things for my everyday earring habits.
So from tomorrow I will cut two everyday things out of my life and I really wonder how that goes. I’ll post on here and keep you updated, but keep in mind I cannot post this from my Fairphone, as I do now.
Crazy enough to change the world
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Apple Inc.
Be yourself
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
I am: unpredictable
So you think you know what I do next? You might be wrong or be surprised. Sometimes I won’t react as you think, sometimes I come up with crazy ideas. Be prepared to expect the unexpected!
I am: fun-addicted and crazy
Best thing is to have fun and I love participating in any fun activities. Combined with my craziness it can get quite extreme sometime..
For example, if you ever say anything silly; I might actually ignore your sarcasm and just do if it sounds like fun.
I think it is important to also have a good amount of fun in life, and I try to have it as much as possible.
I am: a music lover
If you are my friend on Facebook you will see my Spotify updates in your news feed now and than. And if you scroll through it, you will discover all kind of different genres. I like almost everything that has a beat and pick the best of all. Exceptions are classic pieces and so called ‘Schlager’.
Without my daily music on the train, I get a bad start into the day and get a bit grumpy. Whenever I get to listen to music it usually empowers me and makes me happy. On some days you might even find me in the streets wearing my headphones, smiling and shaking like crazy to my tracks.
I am: a smartass
I know a lot of stuff and with that comes an unpleasant behavior: I like to let it be known, that I know things better. And sometimes in a unpleasant way or if it doesn’t even matter. That’s one thing I am working on, but it’s quite hard to turn that off, I had to realize. Until than, you are free to call me smartass whenever I start doing it again.
I am: a nerd
You might bump in to me wearing a bright green 1UP-mushroom beanie these days. In the summer, I’m likely to wear a T-Shirt with that image or other retro game graphics, Big Bang Theory quotes or science prints. That and my profession as developer and my shyness, will soon let you label me as nerd. Well, I do so, too.
I love science and computers and get obsessed about it. Sports is not my field of expertise, but if you don’t know how to configure you tablet I’m the guy you turn to.
My friends often compare me to Sheldon Cooper, and they have a point there. Well, I’m proud to be a nerd. And I love how nowadays it’s not a shame anymore to be one.
I am: shy
When you meet me for the first time, I might not talk to you to much. I’m a bit shy, well quite a bit. And it often bothers me afterwards. It’s something I try to eliminate but this task is easier said than done.
Quite a shame as often I could contribute much more. So if we ever meet, don’t be irritated. It is not you, it’s me. And don’t hesitate to push me a bit out of my comfort zone, I sometimes just need that.
I am: a youth leader
So I told you about my two income producing jobs, now here is one I do for free: being a youth leader at my church. But if you would ask me to give up one of those, I would not choose this one.
I love being together with the teens at our “MUP-Club” or the yearly summer camp. Sometimes I do not even feel as much a leader then a normal member, and even learn some live lessons on the way.
Which is good, as I think that I’m not the perfect youth leader and have to improve on some things. Some of them will come along the way, some of them require myself to push myself. One thing I had to realize in this job quite soon, was one thing we tell the teens so often: Nobody is prefect, we make mistakes and we should take this as opportunity for improvement. Doesn’t only count for them but also for us as leaders.
I am: a business owner
So I do not communicate this much, but I own a small little business. It started out with just a few friends I developed stuff for, configured computers and networks and other stuff. At some point I started the business to track and tax the income.
Now I’m in the middle of thinking about new ideas, solutions and how to get more customers. So you might hear more about it in the feature, until then I leave you with its website: http://brainvation.de
I am: a developer
I like to code. I like to develop and program applications, that assist you and provide services. And I’m very interested in how other apps might work.
All this has been around for quite a while, so when I was 16 I decided to apply for a job, that represents my hobby. Today I code ABAP and Java at a banking group for my living, and code other languages, currently mainly PHP, when I feel like it or for my small business.
I am: a twenager
About 3 years ago I had to realize: I’m getting old now and I can’t change it. I was going to have a 2 as first digit of my age. But I did not really want to and I had to realize that a number alone doesn’t tell how mature you are too get over it. So I decided to not let my inner kid die just because I’m too old to be one.
I think the word twenager describes it best: Me being a teenager is over, but the fun isn’t and I am never to old to be excited, adventurous, silly and curios. And have a amazing life time!