twenty-five years of reflections…almost

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So in a little less than 24 hours, I’ll be 25 years old.

If I’m lucky enough to live a pristine, monk-like-healthy sort of a life, that means that a quarter of it is now behind me, and as scared as I think I should be about that, I’m just not right now. I’ve got too much on my mind to be that forward-thinking.

It’s been a rough summer…hands down the very worst that I’ve ever lived out of all 25 of them.

I thought it would be over by now, and everything would be back the way it was. Hell, I thought it would’ve been over two and a half months ago, just in time to catch the 4th of July fireworks, but it wasn’t. It still isn’t, and I don’t know what else to do.

Only a few months ago, I had everything I’d never even known that I wanted out of life. I was so happy there were times that I felt like I was in a dream, and every now and then I feared that one day I was going to wake up. It was all perfect, and then on one cold Friday in May, I actually did wake up and my life hasn’t been the same since.

Just like the song goes, you really don’t know what you’ve got until its gone. It’s so hard to remember the good times and look positively towards the future when all that comes to mind is how much of an asshole you were when you were needed the most, but I’ve said it myself – some people just have to learn the hard way. Fuck…

Of everything that I’ve learned over the past 25 years, I feel like I’ve learned the most this year:

  • You’ll never know until you try. Just like that stupid poster in the breakroom at work says, you’ll miss 100% of the chances that you don’t take.
  • Love with the right person is worth more than anything else in the world – it’ll turn your life upside-down, make you beam the brightest smiles and cry the biggest tears. It sounds cheesy, but to feel incomplete without them is pretty darn accurate. Nothing compares and simply put, those who find it are the luckiest people in the world.
  • Enjoy the ride – you don’t have to try to change the world every single day. There’s too much to be missed if you don’t pace yourself.
  • When someone tells you that things could be worse, don’t be too anxious to ask, “Like what?” because one day you’re going to find out and you’ll suddenly realize that nothing else really mattered in the first place.
  • Tell people how you truly feel today because you never know when you’re going to get hit by the proverbial dump truck. Don’t walk away angry without giving her a kiss goodbye because you may never get the opportunity again…In a little less than 24 hours, I’ll be 25 years old…and of the one thing I want for my birthday more than anything else in the world, I know that the chances of my getting back what I once had are probably slim to none at best.

    I don’t know why I’m so down tonight, but maybe I’ve just kept it bottled up for too long. I know that you might not ever even read this, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Les. You deserved so much better from me when you needed it the most…

    *sigh*

    Here’s to hoping that 25 is better than 24…

I

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I now have a new favorite site – its name is digg.com.

Some of you may recognize this one as the brainchild of former TechTV host Kevin Rose – it brings bookmarking to a whole new level by allowing users to share favorite sites amongst the masses. This is where I’ve found some of my favorite links lately, such as:

apparently Northern Michigan is still trapped in the ’80s…

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Isn’t that about when garage door openers first came out, when they were “the next big thing”?

I came across this press release when I was working on an upcoming article and despite the fact that it’s technically a year old, it still frightens me just how behind in the times they are…

Mackinac Bridge Authority rolls out new “push-button” technology to further streamline commuter crossings

Basically, they’ve developed a transponder with a button like a garage-door opener to trigger and open the toll gates after crossing the bridge. Concept is – you pull up to the gates, press your new Mackinac Bridge garage door opener, and the gates open after the toll is subtracted from your account.

Call me crazy, but why go through all of the hassles of transponders if you’re just going to cut technology off at the pass at the last minute?! We have them all over the place down here – toll roads, apartment complexes, and even the parking garage at work opens off of a transponder that hangs from my rear-view mirror. If this is supposed to speed things up for commuters, why not remove the gates altogether and work them like SunPass works for us down here? You have cameras setup for those who choose to whip through without paying, and this way people can continue their 35 mph from the bridge right on through the toll plaza and back to I-75.

Or you could just give everybody garage door openers…whatever works for you!

a nice view in HD…

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I watched bits and pieces of The Fellowship of the Ring in HD tonight – very nice, indeed!

I always find it interesting to flip back and forth between the standard broadcast and the HD version to compare just how much better the HD really does look. A friend of mine at work just recently bought an ED (enhanced definition) plasma TV and has been trying to convince me that it looks just as good as HD, but I remember doing that very comparison last summer and frankly, there’s just no contest. There are reasons that the next format was chosen to be HD and not ED, and Rivendel is one of those reasons! 😉

Almost makes me wonder if I’m going to regret dumping all of that money into DVDs after blu-ray comes out and Hollywood scrambles to re-release our favorite titles at $30 a piece as high quality, HD versions. I see that Shark Tale is one of the offerings on HD Pay-per-View this week, so I might just have to clear a bit of my schedule this weekend for some fun under the sea…

damn squatters

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I think there should be a rule that if you have a legitimate idea for a website that you want to create and one of these stupid search engines has your preferred domain name already registered…along with 10,000 other slight variations…they should be required to sell the domain over to you for only the registration fee. I came up with a great name today at work to salvage some of the old Just Laugh content, but its already being held by some mysterious cyber-squatter in the Grand Caymans… 😛

It is up for renewal near the end of October – maybe I’ll just have to keep an eye out and try to swoop in if he doesn’t renew…what a pain.

…and that’s why I bank with Wachovia.

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Case in point – just received the new credit card that I applied for from Wachovia (0% until 2007 – woo hoo!). The card was activated maybe an hour and a half ago.

Sent a quick e-mail to their online services group asking that the new account be added to my profile with my other existing accounts – received the standard auto-reply e-mail that I’d hear back from them within one business day.

Log back into online services thirty-eight minutes later to double check the balance in my checking account. New credit card has already been added to my profile!

5/3 couldn’t have dreamed of providing service like this… 🙂

quite the lama, indeed…

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I don’t remember where exactly I found this, but good stuff nonetheless – straight from the Dalai Lama himself…

Instructions for Life:
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.