Grim News

So “Who the hell is this ‘Grim’ character?”

If I say that I’m something special, then I’m an egotist.  If I say that I’m just an Average Joe, then I’m being falsely modest.  Since I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t,  here’s what I am in a nutshell (and in no particular order).

• Internet Security Professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry, currently working as a consultant for an unnamed US Government Agency in Atlanta.
• Avid MMORPG player who writes a weekly column for Massively.com
• Current director of the MMORPG track for Dragon*Con , one of my guiltiest pleasures as a geek.
• Sports junkie who plays tennis now that I’m too damn old to play hockey or rugby anymore. (Yes, I played both)
• Husband to a better wife than I deserve.
• Father to a child that has me wrapped around her little finger.
• Opinionated egomaniac who often thinks that he is the smartest person in the room, and is, sadly, right FAR too often.

I don’t think I’m exceptionally brilliant.  I see people every day write and say and do incredible things and I do my best to learn from them as much as I am capable.  On the other hand, I also see a lot of idiots in the world, and too many of them are trying to call the shots in my life.

• Government (I don’t mind folks making rules, just make them apply to everyone, ok?)

• Work (Whoever said “The customer is always right” is a freakin’ moron.)

• The guy at Subway who wants to call the cops because “There ain’t no such thing as a 2 dollar bill.”

• The A&R executive at a major record label that is trying to make my musical menu consist of the same “Happy Meal” bands cranking out mass produced crap

• The TV executive who thinks we need yet-another-reality show to fill the dead airwaves that are probably frying my brain as we speak

• The marketing executives who actually funded an advertising campaign trying to convince me that “high-fructose corn syrup” is “just as healthy as sugar” despite the fact that my belly button and spine have threatened to live in separate zip codes in the past.

Do I blame these people for the sad, sorry state of my life?  Hardly.  My life is pretty kick-ass.  I’m not bitching because I’m railing in helplessness against things that I blame for making my life miserable.  I’m in charge of my own damn life, and I’ll make my own damn mistakes.   I believe that making my voice heard, in whatever small capacity that I am capable of doing so, will provide a tiny bit of information and hope to those people who ARE feeling helpless about the state of their own lives.

But most of all, sometimes I just want to get things off of my chest.  Writing a blog is a hell of a lot cheaper than therapy.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.

-Kevin “Grim” Stallard