Das year in review...

Welcome, folks, to the year end review from pre war condition.

On the left we have Elsie giving the classic fowler gaze. i am going to start with her, as she has been the biggest thing that EVER happened to me besides meeting Terri.

Elsie,
you have given me so much and have taught me more in three and a half months, than i have learned in as many years. i will protect you, guide you, teach you, nourish you, engage you and make sure you understand as much as possible about life, in the best way that i can. you mean so much to me-yourself and terri that is-and i want to make sure that you know this each and every day. i thought i knew everything about life until i helped create you and you deserve the best that i can give to you. i hope that i can show this to you some day to let you see what i have written, because it comes from my heart and my being.

i will love you endlessly...

wha? that's not the usual cynical sarcasm that we are used to? what gives?

sorry, things have been too good to wallow in the mire.

i have enjoyed a year of constant progress, both internally and externally. i have found new things to distract my self with as well as finding new ways to challenge my self to be better.

1) 'How To Be Free' by joe blow. don't let the author's name fool you. i downloaded this as a free book through the app store for the iphones. it's sort of a self help book, but not in a cheesy way. 'joe' guides you in a very easy way through how to let all of the things that hold you back GO AWAY. he leaves a lot of room for one to ponder but never forces his ideas on you. it's as though you are having a conversation with a stranger on a bus and you have an epiphany. if you can find it, i suggest you read the story. It opened me up and let me let go of a lot of baggage.

2) family. there is no doubt in my mind that i love my family. it has been an ever expanding, contracting and morphing entity that i have enjoyed, hated, endeared and was confused by. the thing is, the love has always been there. because of my family i have the thick skin that i have today. BUT because of my family, i am also losing pieces of my armor and am able to let them see me for who i am. each and everyone i am related to has had some impact on me in one way or another, and i'm grateful to be part of every one of you.

3) gadgets. the laptop, the iphone. the flat screen t.v. i don't mean to follow a meaningful paragraph with THINGS, but it's these things that help as the glue to keep my family together for me. i am entertained, enjoyed and constantly in awe of what technology has given me over the past year. and to think, thirty years ago these things were a thought in someone's head.

I hope that some day i can give back to technology. for now, i will continue blogging in my lonely corner of the interwebs.

4) friends. this is an expansion of family, but i had to give my friends some mention. you are all my family, when i am not with my family. you take me for who i am more than anyone else and i appreciate that. most of the people i am around with now, have been in my radar going on twenty years. we have had epic adventures, lots and lots of good times and many battles too. you don't find a good friend, they find you. that is why we are all gathering tomorrow to ring in the new year and i cannot wait.!

You know, technology aside...things are pretty damn good. i never in a million years would have thought that i'd be in the place that i am in, in this world. you are reading this and i can't express it enough how important family and friends are and have been.

so that's the year in review?

i'll check in with you later.

from january 7th until the 12th, i will be on vacation in new york city whilst terri goes to buying conventions for her job. free hotel room on 7th street! i'll be taking care of elsie all day, terri and i will be going out for dinner. i hope that the used copy of half life 2 for the pc comes in before we leave...

happy new year everyone!