Where were you one year ago? How much has changed since then?

Looking back, I think I'm almost exactly in the same place as I was. An entire year has passed and I have virtually nothing to show for it. I've moved since then, but it's almost the same living situation as I had. I'm still in the same job, and (still) really don't want to be in the same job.  Personality-wise, I think I'm better off, still awkward and shy.. but less so.

I think that's the biggest change I can come up with - being able to deal with people slightly better.

I'm not sure if there's anything more frustrating than looking at your life and seeing that it's so stagnant. So, a few of the ideas that have been floating around in the back of my mind are being pushed way up to the front of the queue. The limiting factor here is going to be my annoyingly consistent tendency to procrastinate.

Oh, and I ate muscat flavored chocolate covered jellybean things.

Warning! May contain nuts.

More lolcats!

I have to say, I was surprised by the amount of "happy birthday!"s that I got yesterday. Facebook, email, txt, IM, phone.. it definitely helped brighten my day. An old friend waited up just to be first to say it - I was dead tired, but she definitely won, especially considering that no one else (thank god) was playing that game.

Another year down. Which means.. I'm that much closer to being abducted by aliens or some other unplausable thing.

Yep, somehow I've managed to survive another year.

Just once though, I'd like to have a birthday when I wasn't sick or feeling like the world was falling apart. This year isn't that bad.. still congested and achy and with a few more worries than I'd like, but nothing terribly wrong.

I have to be optimistic, otherwise I risk bringing down myself and the people that I care about.

So how bout it? Let's all work towards making the next 365 days the best we can for everyone. That's what I want for my birthday - for you to enjoy your life.

Water treatment seems like it should be a pretty solidly-researched and standardized thing. Granted, for most of our history obtaining water has been completely different - natural sources (rivers, lakes, etc.), rain, wells.. modern plumbing is relatively new compared to all of that. Even looking at it like that, we've been doing this long enough that water should be - water.

If I can go to a major city and get good clean water out of a faucet, why, here, do I have to choke down water that either tastes overly metallic or reaks of chlorine? I guess most people don't really care, but I'd really like to have easier (faucet) access to water that doesn't taste like other things.

Overall.. I'm going to say it was a good trip. From Wisconsin to Missouri.. well, it's quite a drive.

The wedding reception thingy was fine, I was imagining something with at least a few moments of incredible awkwardness, but nothing really happened. I had a blueberry pie made especially for me, so my overall impression of the event is very good. I also got to witness an adult taste what could have been either salt, sand, or sugar from the centerpiece - which she decided was actually little grains of plastic.

I ate at Sonic for the first time, as did Fumbles. That was good. We went to a couple zoos - pictures should be up on flickr by the end of the week, and maybe some videos on youtube. I saw St. Louis flooded again, and rode to the top of the Arch for the second time in the last 10 years.

On the way back home I raced for several miles down I-90 with some asian kid in a Mazda RX8. That was some good clean fun - I haven't felt the urge to weave through traffic like that for a long time.. nor have I seen the speedometer in this car get so close to 110.

I feel like I'm failing a Turing test.

not-yet-adopted kitteh tries harder

Yep, there are even more in the post.