Remaining Life Goals

As if I’ve ever made a list before. The list is kind of restricted to stuff I feel like I control well enough to make happen also. Just FWIW. The three-month, 15,000-mile road trip. Become functionally fluent in at least one more language. Spend at least a(nother) year living in a foreign country. Get five

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Screen Shot of My Greatest Life Accomplishment to Date

I mean, think about it, there have only ever been, in the whole history of humanity, 255 people who have ever scored higher playing guitar on Gouge Away on the XBox 360 version of Rock Band than me. I rule. bkd

And Now I’ve Taken Up Road Cycling

Because my life-goal is to take up every hobby on Earth for a good, solid six-week period. Anyway, here’s me and my new, non-robotic best friend (I have a weird-looking chin now apparently): Here are the vitals: Everything: 2006 vintage. Shimano Dura-Ace components (9×2 gearing). Carbon front fork, seat post (Easton). Mavic Ksyrium (no, not

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Different Worlds, Same Family Reunion

For instance: “So where are you living now?” “Orange County” “Wow! Do you just love it out there?” “Uh… What kind of answer are you expecting? Like, do you want a real one, or should I just say ‘yes’?” [Brief hesitation.] “A real one, of course.” “Huh. So I was pretty miserable in New York,

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*Good* Memories from My Mission

Because there were a few of them after all… Water coming out brown the first time I tried to take a bath in-country. Trying not to look at magazine stands. Observing Hamilton teaching Leuzinger how to say “Don’t bend over to pick up the soap.” Geschwister Böhme in Groitzsch. Driving Brigham home, turning left on

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What I’m Going to Look For in a New House

I’m not quite house-hunting yet, but watching the prices here in Orange County keep on falling is making me think I could start looking in another six months or so. So for the sake of posterity, here’s what I’m going to be looking for: No speed bumps between the house and the main street. Yes,

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Desert Island Albums

Rules/Guidelines: Can only choose five. No compilation albums. One album per band. It’s not really the albums you would take with you onto an actual desert island. It’s: if you could only listen to five albums for the rest of your (otherwise normal) life, what would they be? Mine (alpha by artist): DEATH FROM ABOVE

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Program Music: An Ode to the Gulf War That I Wrote When I Was 24

This came up on my iPod at work today and it cracked me up. I’m guessing no one else will have the same reaction. Shame. I wrote this while I was taking an honors class on Beethoven my senior year in college. One day we talked about Wellington’s Victory and it sounded like it was

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The DIY Kitchen Table Project is Done (or Close Enough)

Here’s proof: It turns out that, size-wise, the table’s more of a writing table than a kitchen table. The idea that two people could eat at this little guy is almost laughable. Oh well. It’s the size that would fit in the allotted space, so I’ll deal with it. The table isn’t for me anyway:

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States That Do Not Love Me

According to Google Analytics, my blog has only been visited by people in 39 of the 50 US states + DC. Here’s who’s missing out: Alaska Delaware Maine Michigan (and I sort of *lived there* for four weeks) Mississippi Missouri Montana Rhode Island South Dakota Vermont West Virginia Wyoming Punks. Clearly the M-states are killing

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