It has been a while since I’ve written much. I guess I’m just not quite as enthusiastic about blogging as I used to be. Still, I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon, I just don’t think I’ll be posting as frequently. As a side note, here is a handy site if you happen to read a sizable number of blogs like I do: Bloglines

It really makes checking blogs a whole lot easier.

Now, on to your semi-regularly scheduled blog:

I recently became 25 years old. First off, I have to say I had a totally rocking birthday party and I want to again thank everyone who came, everyone who wished me a happy birthday, and even all those people who completely forgot about my birthday. I love you all. It was pretty cool sharing birthdays with my friend David Limbaugh, who was also born on January 18th. The party went better than I could have imagined and the merging of two different friend groups went surprisingly well. Special thanks goes to Elita for being such a great host and letting us take over her home.

Anyhow, back to 25. Such a landmark birthday usually involves some kind of personal reflection and my own was no exception. In one sense, it doesn’t feel different at all, it’s like any other day to me. I mean, if you were to ask me what age I feel, it would be younger than 25. Maybe 21 or 23, or possibly 24, but not 25. I guess it’s because I have a lot of expectations in my mind of what being 25 should be like and I don’t think I’m fully experiencing them. I thought for sure I’d be married or at least considering marriage by now, but, alas, no dice. I have a great job but I still don’t feel as if I have an established career. But don’t be fooled, I’m not dissatisfied, merely coming to the realization that I’m not where I expected to be at this age. Whether that’s good or bad, it’s hard for me to say. On the other hand, I feel that I’ve become more personally responsible and am continuing to make progress in that area. Also, I’ve developed and maintained some very important relationships, and that’s got to count for something.

All in all, I’m doing well enough while still hoping for significant change, and I don’t just mean in the political arena. I’ve been feeling the need to make some personal changes that I believe will lead to a healthier, happier, more prosperous life. At the same time, I want to be realistic about it; if I try tackling everything at once I know I’ll become overwhelmed. So I’ll take it a little bit at a time and see how things progress. As Richard Dreyfuss said to Bill Murray, “baby steps Bob.” Of course, he also suggested Death Therapy, but we won’t go into that just yet.

On another note, my car recently broke down and I had to rely on other people to transport me over great distances. This happened right on the weekend of my birthday + birthday party, which made things interesting. I was taken aback with amazement at how incredibly generous people are, it was inspiring. As much as I usually find myself avoiding it when possible, there is a lot to learn from having to rely on others. Dependence is humbling to say the least. Also, I know I can be very self focused and I really want to improve my ability to sense the needs of others and take action to help. I want to give without always needing to fist count the personal cost and worry about how much my own comfort level might suffer. It doesn’t come naturally yet, but you know what they say about practice…

Happy New (gnu) Year everyone!

And I feel like I’ve just gotten accustomed to 08. The year really should be longer.