It's as good an excuse as any.

Yes, I am still alive. Yes, I know you're shocked. I'd like to say I've been living the life of privilege, but well, actually I kinda have. Maybe for a day or so. Sucks to be the rest of you that day, huh? I'll admit the rest of the days weren't as nice. I'll tell you all about those later. For now, I have a tag to respond to and I wouldn't be a good blogger if I didn't do that. I need to build up my blogger cred anyway since I kinda squandered all of it by vanishing for a few months. Here we go, responding to a tag from Alonzo Mosley (FBI)...

People who have been tagged are required to reveal eight facts about themselves and to post and obey the following rules:

Rules:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and that they should read your blog.

Eight Facts About Me:

1. I donated blood today. It was the 38th time I've done that in my life, according to the little sheet. Bonus fact: it only ever works when they use my right arm, and I've pretty much determined that as the root of all my continuing elbow problems.

2. There is only one reason I regret vanishing from the blog world for a few months... And that is the Golden State Warriors playoff run in May. Wow, so many things I would have loved to have written about. Oh well, such is life. I just regret the fact that nothing like that is ever going to happen again, and it's certainly not going to happen to my favorite team ever again. Ever.

3. After being a referee for over a year now, I can pretty much tell you every possible strategy for winning a game of dodgeball. It's sad, I know. But it's true. The sadder part is that if your team can't catch you're going to lose. Period. Learn to catch, dodgeballers!

4. I haven't watched probably 2/3rds of the DVDs I own and of those I'd say probably 1/3rd of them are still shrink wrapped. There's a reason I sold a whole bunch of them last year and barely ever buy new ones anymore...

5. I can rarely smell flowers of any kind, especially roses. If you tell me they smell wonderful I'm just gonna have to take your word for it.

6. The smell of shrimp makes me physically ill, as does looking at lobster or crabs. How people eat anything shellfish-related is completely beyond me. It's like the horrible 70s band Queen. The continued love and popularity of both shellfish and Queen completely baffles me. Both reek to high hell, people.

7. My favorite song and musical artist fluctuates on a daily (almost hourly) basis but the films on my personal top ten rarely change position. Bonus fact: My favorite song title right now is "Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down" by Interpol. Get the new CD, it's almost as good as Turn on the Bright Lights. Seriously.

8. I don't read your blog anymore. No, not even yours. Sorry.

At this point I'm supposed to tag 8 bloggers... So I'm just gonna take a random guess at who will actually read these and how long it will be between when I post and when they read this:

Neonalune - about 45 seconds
Kate - 1.15 days
Lindsay - 2.6 days
Beanerdog - 2.79 days
Jacob - 3.14159 days
Ed - 5 days
Melis - 2 weeks
Matty - somewhere between 3 months and never

I might be back. You never know, but I am kind of a busy guy and all.

That wasn't the first anniversary I've missed...

Guess what turned 2 years old last Wednesday? Guess who only just now got around to mentioning it? I think you know what and I think you know who. It appears the sophomore slump continues. One day I will stop working, stop doing freelance design jobs, stop reffing dodgeball, stop going out drinking, stop playing basketball, stop playing Xbox 360, stop eating my 93 boxes of Samoas, stop watching 24 and stop enjoying life long enough to actually post something on here again. But don't count on it until at least April. Consider yourself warned.

Thanks for stopping by anyway! All three of you can talk amongst yourselves.

Rumors of my demise were, of course, greatly exaggerated.

Yeah, you could say I've been busy. What with my regular work ramping up, my freelance work ramping up, my dodgeball work ramping up, my 24 and Lost watching ramping up and my social life in general ramping up, I've been kept away from fun time on the computer pretty steadily lately. But that's okay, trust me. It's a good thing. Well, other than needing to get stitches in my eyelid due to some new social activities, but that's a story for another day.

So, Valentine's Day. It's funny because I look at this post from Valentine's Day last year and it's almost comical to me. Am I really that different now? I guess I am... And the thing that made me realize it is a song, strange as that sounds. I wouldn't have "gotten it" a year ago, wouldn't have understood it and why it's so on target, but trust me. It's on the new Bloc Party (which is excellent, you should have bought a copy by now and if you haven't, you're just not cool in my book, sorry.) Anyway, it's called "Sunday" and it's got a simple line near the end that makes an immense amount of sense to me when I think back on my relationships the past year.

"You see, giant proclamations are all very well,
But our love is louder than words."

I realized I had convinced myself of a lot of things and was always constantly re-affirming them to the women I was with. I was always telling them how much they meant to me, how much I cared, doing little things to remind her, all of that stuff... When really all I was doing was trying to re-affirm those things to myself. Granted, everyone loves when someone does little things for them, but you do them too much and they lose all meaning. Especially when they weren't needed in the first place. When I don't need that constant reinforcement and neither does she, that's when I'll know things are right. And well, I convinced myself things were right when they really weren't. Which is okay, that's what life's all about, isn't it? Learning from what you've messed up in the past and recognizing it so you don't do it again. Because I certainly wouldn't trade anything or anyone from the past year and I certainly wouldn't go back to the guy I used to be... Because, well, he just didn't get it. Here's hoping he does now.

Anyway, hope you like the song and have a great Valentine's Day.

Everybody loves me only for my "24" knowledge.

So, in the weeks preceding the HUGE PREMIERE EVENT ON FOX, which was TWO DAYS, FOUR HOURS OF 24 ON FOX, which we were reminded of during every Fox sporting event possible, it seems the number of visits I get per day has absolutely shot through the roof. The reason for this is simple...

Everybody loves The "Official" 24 Drinking Game.

Seriously. You would not believe how many people come here looking for that. Especially lately. It's kinda-sorta disturbing, and it really speaks to the lack of 24-related drinking games out there on The Internets. I mean, sure, there's the "dammit" one, but I really think people want more than that since you're only gonna hear it a couple times per episode. With the new season here already (which is FRIGGIN' AWESOME so far, but you knew I was gonna say that) I'm not sure if I should add new rules or not. I mean, so far we've had a man kicked out of a moving subway car, only to explode seconds later, we've had a man's jugular ripped out by another man's teeth, we've had an air-strike on a residential house, we've had both Kumar and Black Bauer killed, we've had a freaking nuclear bomb go off in the middle of LA and it's only the first four hours! I mean, really, the body count is already off the charts. Jack's had to ditch two blood-soaked shirts and he'd only been out of a chinese prison for 90 minutes! There would just be too many new rules, and I think a ton of the old ones still apply.

Teenager in peril? Check.

Cell phones and rude hangups? Check.

Nonsense computer techno-babble? Check.

Nobody believing Jack? Check.

Jack being right anyway? Check.

"Not enough time?" Check.

Jack killing at least one person per hour? Check.

I could go on and on. And that's just the first four hours! But again, this is why I love this show. It's like one big, long action movie that really doesn't make sense when you stop to think about it, but considering how much I overanalyze everything else, it's nice to shut off my brain for a while and just watch somebody going around kicking people's asses. Preferably when they're terrorists. Actually, especially when they're terrorists.

I can't be happier that The Jack Bauer Power Hour is back. God bless America. God bless Fox. God bless Jack Bauer!


PS: For those who don't know, this show is absolutely insane in HD. Had to throw that in there.

Attention, Ford F-150 driver on I-95!

Yeah, you in the gigantic Ford F-150 that gets 6 miles per gallon on the highway. I'm talking to you. You need to stop and pay attention, right now.

Why?

Well, I'll tell you why. Listen up.

Scientists estimate that light travels at a speed of approximately 670,616,629 miles per hour. Yes, much faster than your Ford F-150, even downhill. "Why," you may ask, "do I care about the speed of light?" Well, this part is important. What our eyes actually see is the light reflected off of objects. You're not seeing an object, you're seeing the light that is bouncing off of the object. I know, it's heavy-duty science stuff to comprehend, especially for a guy in a Ford F-150 with six tires because four just isn't enough, but it's okay. Stay with me. I know, I know, it doesn't involve NASCAR or Gator football, but it's okay. Expand your horizons. Stay with me here.

Now, considering the distance that light can travel in a year (hint: really, really, mind-bogglingly far) , when we observe stars in space, we are actually seeing light that left them hundreds of years ago, if not thousands. The star could no longer exist, yet we still see the light that it broadcast before it died. The same goes for planets. Anything we can possibly observe on another planet will have already occurred long ago. Think of it like the 7-second delay between the real football game and the broadcast on TV. Except the delay is years and years and years. Is this making sense? I hope so. I hope I'm not losing you.

It is assumed that once our society is long dead, and our planet extinct, all that will remain is the light that has reflected off of our planet and out into the universe. Well, that and our radio and television broadcasts, provided they can be interpreted by an alien civilization. Which is iffy.*

Ok, driver in six-wheeled Ford F-150 on I-95. You need to pay attention because this part concerns you.

If you think about the light that reflects off of you being seen by an alien telescope millions of light years away millions of years from now, do you really want your eternal legacy, in fact the legacy of the human species, to be you picking your nose? And then eating it? Is you excavating a monstrous chunk and then devouring it to be your crowning achievement that will live on forever? God, I hope not. Yet there you are, chiseling away in your nostril. Knock it off man, seriously. Either get a tissue or wait until you're home, man. That's just nasty. Just remember that if I can see it, chances are the aliens of the year 3257609507 can see it, too. You need to represent us better. And yes, this is coming from the guy whose eternal legacy will be laying in the gutter outside My Place Bar on New Year's Eve Eve a few years ago shouting, "yeah, that's all me!" while high-fiving random passers-by. But at least I have an excuse, dude. All you have is a sticker of Calvin peeing on a Chevy logo. I sure hope the aliens can figure out what that one means.**


* Total side note here, but which is more depressing? The fact that a speech by Hitler was the first radio broadcast to actually leave our planet (and is likely to be picked up first by whatever other civilization exists out there) or the fact that we have ten years of Friends episodes that will outlive the human race as we know it by traveling out into space? Ten years worth of Friends. It just gets me angry thinking about it. Wonder if it's still as unfunny to aliens as it was to me?

** Now that I think about it, I hope they don't.

Six Weeks. AKA Get A Move On.

Welcome to 2007! I guess this means I'm back to the whole blogiverse thing. I bring you no "missions" this year, though. I think we all know how last year's ended up, now don't we? In spite of all my positivity, let's just say I fell a little short in those (2-drink limit, anyone?) And, of course, it's more fun to make up missions as I go. I figure why cram them all into the beginning of the year when I've got a whole rest of the year to work with, right? Yes, this is my pre-made excuse for later in the year. I'm just sayin'.

Alright, music, if you want it.

So, anyway, the title of this post! I know there was a short-lived, long-deleted post (that nobody but me could read) with the title "Six Weeks" which happened to be posted six weeks ago. Go figure! What did it mean? Well, the meaning's changed quite a bit since then, but it's still got some validity for me. Anyway, it's kind of my new philosophy. Give everything six weeks. Thinking about selling your house? If you're not still motivated to do it in six weeks, then you know what? Stay. Thinking about getting a new job? If you still hate your job after six weeks, it's time to get motivated. (Note: just an example, my job is still great, thanks.) Want to learn to play guitar? See if you still want to get lessons in six weeks. That last breakup mess you up good? Trust me, in six weeks it won't matter to you like you thought it did. Need a blog hiatus? Give it six weeks. Don't feel like coming back just yet? Then give it another six weeks. Pretty easy philosophy to follow, isn't it?

You see, the thing is that a lot can happen in six weeks. Six weeks can feel like a lifetime in the right situation. But you know what? In the big scheme of things, six weeks is nothing at all. What it is is just enough time to determine whether or not you're doing the right thing. Whether or not you've made the right choice. And it's just enough time to change your mind if you haven't. It's the cutoff point for either keeping the status quo or getting a move on. Give it six weeks, make a decision and then stop thinking about it, for god's sake!

Let's call that my new year's mission. Get a move on so I don't get left behind. Check in with me about it around Valentine's Day. I'm sure you guys are smart enough to do the math on that one. Coincidentally, that's about when I'll be taking down my Christmas tree, too. Just a little FYI for you.


Coming later this week: Something that's not all introspective and stuff and actually fits the title of "More Junk." Rejoice! It'll be like the old days! Honest! It's good to be back!

A kinda-sorta requiem for 2006.

Well, I guess it's not a requiem, since 2006 isn't dead and gone yet. But I really don't plan on posting anything further this year, so I guess this will have to do, now won't it?

So, anyway, how have you been? It's been a while now, hasn't it? I know there's about 40 or so of you a day that stop by daily for whatever reason... And all I can say is thanks for doing it. Sorry to keep disappointing you on a daily basis with the same post staring you in the face. Even if I do seem to have received more positive response from that last post than just about anything else I've written... But really, what I've had to say for the past month or so, well, you probably wouldn't want to hear it. Even I didn't want to hear it! And I certainly didn't want to type it out and then post it all over the internet, that's for sure. But I'm pretty much over that phase and moved on to the next phase. Which makes a pretty good segue into the theme of this post...

2006. When I was little, this was a year that was just so damn far away. That was the year I'd turn thirty. THIRTY. That is SO OLD. Yet, here I am. It's an odd feeling, but the way 2006 turned out really has made me feel a lot better about being in my thirties. Why? Because 2006 was easily the best year of my life. I really hit a whole bunch of highs, and of course, hit quite a few lows, too. Most of which you guys saw documented on here... But not all of them. Not even close. Some things are just for me and some of them I share only with those who were there. And those people know who they are.

When I look back on it, I realize that there are very few things I'd change about how I lived my life in 2006. Sure, I made some mistakes. Huge mistakes, in fact. Ones I still regret. But the thing is, I've learned from every single one of them. I've learned more about myself this year than I did in the previous 29 years. I also learned a lot about other people this year, too. I've seen friends get married. I've seen friends get divorced. I've seen friends make terrible decisions. I've seen friends do the right thing. I've made friends, only to lose them a few months later. I've made friends I know I'll have for a lifetime. I've said goodbye to a friend I know I'll never see again. I've seen the happiness in a friend's face when he announced his wife is having twins. I've had a friend's wonderful little baby drool on me. I've given advice that worked out. I've listened to good advice. I've ignored advice and screwed up because of it. I gained a new respect for my mom after watching her rehab a broken leg. I realized that my dad is one of the coolest guys I know. I saw my little sister graduate law school and start working in the "real world." I painted my house. I sold most of my DVDs. I made art simply for the sake of making it. I've been a shoulder to cry on. I cried on a few shoulders. I've fallen in love. I've given "that look" and received it right back. I've been given that sad look that says, "it's over." I've learned how to let go. I've been sadder than I've ever been in my life. I've been happier than I've ever been in my life. In short? I lived my life more fully this year than any other year before it.

But the biggest thing I took out of 2006? I may not have accomplished my new year's "missions", but I got something much better out of this year: I realized what's really important to me. And believe me, what's important to me is so completely different than it was at this time last year. I read posts like my Valentine's one and I wonder how I could have been such a different person back then. How I could be so naive; how I could have learned so much in the time since I wrote that. I've had dreams come true this year. Doors that I thought had always been shut to me were suddenly open. And I had the guts to walk through them. Does it matter that those dreams ended up smashed on the rocks? No, because even if you only live a dream for a little while, it's better than never having lived it at all. And that doesn't make it any less a dream come true.

The thing is, it's easy to let your life settle into a repetitive pattern. Our modern society is practically set up for that repetition. Wake up to the alarm at this time. Go to work at that time. Leave work at this time. Get home at that time. Watch these TV shows this night, those TV shows that night. Go to bed at this time. Repeat. That repetition numbs you. It makes you forget about what can truly make you happy. You spend day after day doing the same thing, going to the same places, dreaming the same dreams but never achieving them. Before you even realize it, there's a void there. A void you didn't even know existed. But once you've had something that shakes your life up and shows you that void exists and then fills it, well, you realize pretty quickly that you really weren't all that happy in the first place. But once you're aware of that void, there's no going back to the way things were. And that's the way life should be. A constant process of moving forward. A journey towards making yourself complete. Shedding the stuff that truly doesn't matter and replacing it with the stuff that does. The trick is figuring out which is which. I'm starting to think I'm on the right path. I guess that's all I can ask for. We'll know when I'm writing a post like this next December from a new computer in a new city, with a new job, with more new friends, and with a new life. Or maybe not. The interesting part will be seeing which fork in the road I decide to take when I get to it. Here's hoping I feel as hopeful and as happy then as I do right now. Because life is long and there's plenty of it ahead of me. And I don't want to squander a second of it.

Something tells me 2007 is going to be fun. I can't wait.