Friends: The Ones You Make Earlier in Life May Help You Later

When I attended Florida State University in the early-1990s, I wrote for the FSView school newspaper.  I originally started out as the student government writer, but then worked my way up to features editor.  For my last semester in Fall 1994, I was the sports editor and even had a sports talk radio show five nights a week on WTAL 1450 AM.

I worked with a lot of great people, many who have gone on to do some amazing things. Sports Editor Manny Diaz is now the defensive coordinator with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Photo Editor Lance Rothstein worked for many years with the St. Petersburg Times and now resides in Belgium.  Melanie McCullough went to work for Duke University and then the V Foundation before finding happiness as the Director of Communications for a church in Chapel Hill.

However, this blog entry is about one person in particular - then-Sports Writer Mike Avila.

Mike and I hit it off immediately.  We had great sports discussions and wrote a lot of side-by-side pieces where he expressed one opinion and I expressed another.  One particular memory I have is getting Mike a press pass to interview then-WCW World Champion and FSU football legend Ron Simmons before a match at the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee.  Simmons totally broke character for the interview and Mike asked him excellent questions, including what it was like to be the first-ever African-American World Heavyweight Wrestling Chamion.

After graduation, Mike and I lost touch; through the years, I looked him up many times.  Unfortunately, Mike Avila is a very common name and I never did locate him.

That all changed with Bobby Bowden's retirement.  On December 2, the day after the retirement, I managed to stage an event on Twitter that included about 50-75 others who changed their avatar for 24 hours to Bobby Bowden.  Gators, Hurricanes, LSU Tigers and Seminoles all participated in #Bobbyfor24. 

One of the people who participated that day was a person on Twitter named @MikeAvila. When I reach out to him, we immediately realized who each of us was - after 15 long years, I had finally found Mike.  It was no surprise to me that Mike has gone on to become a successful writer/producer/contributor for many news organizations in New York.

As 2010 moved along, Mike and I communicated often on Twitter.  Finally, on April 16 (my dad's birthday), Mike friended me on Facebook.  When I confirmed him, it said he had one mutual friend.  I naturally thought it was someone we wrote with at FSView.  However, to my surprise, it was a friend of mine from South Florida that I met through Twitter almost a year ago: @JoseBoza.

Jose and I are both in Public Relations and would often talk to each other at events about PR and other communications-related topics.  Not once did we ever talk about sports, though.

When I noticed Jose was the mutual friend of Mike and me, I was curious.  So on Saturday, April 17, I called Jose up to talk.  I found out that he and Mike went to Coral Park High School together and he was a year or two behind Mike's class.  At that point, I explained to Jose about how I knew Mike and that Mike and I were huge sports fans.

That led Jose to mention he had wanted to talk to me for a while because he could tell from my Facebook and Twitter posts that I was a big sports fan.  He mentioned he had thought about starting a blog/website for a long time that dealt with social media and sports in a way not yet being done.  The second he said it, my ears perked up and I began agreeing with him.  He said he thought I would make a great partner on this venture.

After adding my good friend Jarret Streiner AKA @jarret23 (who I have known since high school and reconnected with a few years ago via a client event) to the team as our web designer, we went through some names until Jarret came up with "Pitch to the Rhino."  It plays off the children's riddle, "What do you do to an elephant with three balls? You walk him and PITCH TO THE RHINO!"

One month to the day of my first conversation with Jose, we launched the site on Monday, May 17.  It has been a fun project so far thanks to the support of so many on Facebook and Twitter, and one that keeps this old sportswriter-at-heart involved in sports

Had I not been such good friends with Mike back in the day and had Mike not friended me on Facebook, none of this may have ever happened.  Thanks, Mike!

Life is But a Tweet Away

Let me begin by saying I can't believe it's been over seven weeks since I last updated my blog. When I first started it, I fully intended to do it 2-3 times a week. However, between tearing my achilles tendon in mid-October and simply having other interests these days, I haven't found the time.

It's been quite an interesting year on many levels for me. I've had some rough patches but found a way to work through them. I feel more in control of things than ever before. I am not shy to voice my opinion and I've decided life is too short for games and drama.

I've got a beautiful wife who I first wrote to via http://www.jewishsinglesconnection.com/ (the predecessor to J-Date) on December 23, 1998, which means we have been together for 10 years now. She is my rock and my strength and I love her more than words can say. I'm trying hard to help keep the house clean and help more and more with things I used to put off.

We are fortunate to be blessed with two beautiful children - Bailey, our 4 1/2 year old son, and Riley, our daughter who turned one this past Sunday. They are both amazing children, and after so many difficulties trying to have both of the, we feel fortunate to be blessed with such wonderful kids.

My job at Tilson Communications is going well. I've been there for a little over 2 years and am enjoying the versatility of our clients. I am also speaking up a lot more and not shy when it comes to my opinion.

One discovery I made this year that has changed the way I approach everything is a micro-blogging service called Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/). In 140 characters, you tell people what you are doing, answer questions, and basically communicate with people of similar interests. I first discovered the service in late-August through a tele-seminar that I wasn't expecting to learn much from.

Then, a lightbulb went off. I immediately understood how great this service was. I saw it as a tool for personal and professional use. I try to integrate a little humor into my tweets whenever possible.

In almost four months' time, I have tweeted from events such as Dunkin' Donuts grand openings, Alan Snel's Tampa Bay Rays celebration ride, an FSU-Miami Football Game, Dania Jai-Alai, Pompano Park at The Isle Casino, an AC/DC Concert, the launch of @TrulyNolen on twitter, rehab appointments for my left ankle, and much more.

I have also discovered the power of people, as a Chicago-area PR professional named @PRSarahevans created a weekly group discussion at http://www.journchat.info/. Created as a way to bring PR professionals together with journalists to discuss relevant topics to each profession, it has caught on like wildfire and I have met so many great people over the last two weeks. In addition, I'm always taking the principles I learn in the discussions back to the office where I work and sharing with my great colleagues.

The way I have my Facebook account set up, my Twitter updates often reset my FB status. I have had friends make snide comments about the amount of updates I do.

You know what? If it makes ME happy, I'm not going to let others bring me down. If I want to tweet a set list from AC/DC, that's my choice. If my friends don't want to read it on FB, they can skip my page that day. If someone on Twitter doesn't like it, they can unfollow me.

So, fair warning to my Facebook friends - I'll be tweeting from our Nova High Class of 1990 (and other classes) reunion at Howl at the Moon this Friday night. Know why? Because I want to. Period.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all and too all a good night!

My Wife Doesn't Have to Dress Up on Halloween - She IS Wonder Woman!

I can't believe it's been five weeks since I last had some thoughts to type here. Half of that was because I was busy and the other half is because, for those who don't know, I tore my left achilles tendon on Friday October 17 and have been on bedrest ever since. My surgery to repair it was on Wednesday October 22 and I have a doctor's appointment later today to get fitted for a cast so I can hopefully start getting back into the swing of things. My boss was kind enough to lend me a laptop this week so I could start getting back into the swing of things little by little.

-

My thanks to all of my friends from Twitter, Facebook, work life and real life (lol) who have continually checked in on me, who are praying for me, and who want to know if there's anything they can do to help. I appreciate all the sentiments and am so glad I have such great friends and so many people who care about me and my well-being.

-

That being said, I don't need anything. Want to know why? Because MY WIFE IS WONDER WOMAN:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SOtH1MNXtQ&feature=related

-

She has somehow managed to A) Get both kids ready for school (something I usually do), B) Leave me lunch by the side of our bed so I don't starve, C) Drop off the kids in the morning (something I usually do), D) Go to school to teach her 4th grade Rugrats, E) Check on me during the day, F) Pick up Both kids, G) Come home and work on the house (something I help out with) while I spend time watching tv with the kids, H) Make dinner for all of us, I) Bathe the kids (something I normally do), J) Dress them for bed (something i normally do), and K) Tuck the kids in for bed (something I normally do).

-

How she is doing all of this with a chipper outlook and no complaints, I'll never know. I truly married a special woman. I always knew that. I just didn't know that I married Wonder Woman.

-

So honey, in case I haven't said it enough...I love you more than words can say. You mean the world to me. Just tell me WHY you've kept this secret identity hidden for so many years!