One of my high school teachers used to tell me that it is imperative that we as humans do something to take us out of our comfort zone at least once a month. It can be speaking to someone who intimidates you, or applying for a job you think you have no chance to get, or something more extreme like hang-gliding. According to her, challenges like this keep our minds sharp rather than dying a slow, mundane, boring death. My first foray into the discomfort zone involved me learning to swim, and that has been going...well swimmingly. My fear in the water is minimal now, I am spry, svelte and getting much stronger with my stroke (that's what he said), and oddly enough, it is making me feel confident in all aspects of life. My second step in the discomfort zone will come this evening.

This guy named Mark, who attends the University of Nebraska, and is a part of a show called the "Sports Dude", asked me to come on his college radio program tonight at 8:30 to discuss the NBA playoffs. I have been on recorded conference calls before for work, but this will be the first time I have been on a live radio show, and even though these are college kids I'll be doing this for, I am still absolutely nervous. Writing about sports is easy for me, because I love to write, I love sports, and I hate people, so its a win, win win. Sure I have to interview and talk to athletes and coaches to write an article, but it never bothered me before. But now I have been summoned to TALK for at least 10-15 minutes(maybe longer if I'm good) about the NBA playoffs.

I wonder if I'll come off as smart, arrogant, timid, uninformed and all that. My lady says I'll do fine, because I love sports, and I want to believe her, but I'm still panicking a bit. By the time they call me, I will have played over at least 1000 scenarios in my head, sweat like Patrick Ewing, and had at least 3 glasses of wine. I am both looking forward to and dreading this at the same time, but there's no way in hell I'm backing out.

The fact that this is going to take place at the very end of my day (8:30pm) is also bugging me. Its akin to being an 11 year old child who is at a cookout with his parents and lots of family. The child does something stupid and his dad finds out, and promises to spank him terribly later, but he can't do it now, because too many people are around, and he needs privacy to spank you. So you live in fear all damn day of the ass whipping coming to you later, and you never really fully enjoy yourself, because you are scared. That's where I am now.

But yeah besides that everything is lovely!

If you care to listen, here is the site where the audio streams live. I'll be on around 8:30pm..that's Eastern Standard Time.

Watch Out - De La Soul