I hate doing this, because it sounds like i'm asking for something.... but this past Friday was my birthday. There, now I can get on with my story....

(We interrupt this story to remind you that Dan always accepts presents! Please check the links on the right for my Amazon.com wishlist and more. ;-) )

So most of my friends have the tradition that we honor the person whose birthday it is. It's great, because with other people, you'd get some people who just say, "You're a cool cat, Dan." These real friends and family actually talk about the gifts that God has given me, which is a real treat to hear because I overlook them all to often.

The first that many talked about was that I seem to have an unbouding joy. I think that's true, although I'm sure you see it a lot less online because it's just me and my computer and sometimes I get a bit bored. But when I'm out hangin' with my friends, I'm always havin' a fun time. Sometimes I think it's a problem, though, because I don't worry too much about life. (It's a "hakuna matata" type of thing.) Sometimes I think that is bad because I don't tend to worry about tests or interviews and such too much, I just figure they'll go well if they're supposed to.

Oh well. They're probably right. It's a good thing.

Another friend honored me because I keep working at this job search thing. Yeah, I suppose so. Sometimes I feel like I'm doing nothing, mostly because nothing so far for almost a year has worked out. I guess it's a good thing this type of stuff doesn't get me down much, because getting rejected twenty times really does hurt. Am I good for anything in this computer industry? Or is it that I need to think past this crappy Minnesota area?

Yet another friend honored me for just being there and ready to hang out. Yeah, when it's easy, I guess I am. This friend lives four blocks away and I see him at events at least once per week, so it's easy to keep up and do stuff. But I haven't talked to anybody I knew at St. Thomas since summer. I don't know if that' s good, but it would be harder to get together with those people. Plus, I'm kinda ashamed to tell them I don't have a job yet.

Alright, I'm done with this rambling. All this double-thinking the honoring stuff is almost getting me down about life. And I can't have that!