Holla at ya boy!

I thought I'd let y'all in on a couple things that have happened recently that have reminded me that from time to time, I am cool. Granted, it's not often, consistent, or really of note when it does happen, but it does happen. The first instance was last night, listening to my iTunes on random. A song came on that I really like and I just looked up and saw what the next few songs were as listed in alphabetical order and was surprised. If all you saw was that portion of my playlist, you might actually think I'm cool. Here it is: "Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and the Family Stone; "All Star" by Smashmouth; "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins; "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg; "I am a Man of Constant Sorrows" by the Soggy Bottom Boys; "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden; "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf; and the grand finale, "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. Don't act like you're not impressed. The other thing that made me think I was cool happened today. After frying my brain with the Shark and the White Guy trying to learn this language, I was sitting on the couch staring at some pictures my room mate had up on the wall. They are all pictures out of some calendar he had. The White Guy asked me what I was thinking about and I told him that I was thinking about the pictures, and how I had been to so many of the places. He asked me which ones, so I went up and pretty much told him my life story through the pictures. One was of the low country somewhere in the South, could've been South Carolina, but definitely somewhere in the South where I grew up. The next was of the Tetons. I spent a summer in Yellowstone during college and saw Grand Teton from as close as you could get without actually climbing it, hiking a smaller (but still over 13,000 ft) mountain on the Idaho side of it. Then there were three that were generic Rocky Mountain pictures of Aspens and Spruces. It could've been anywhere in WY, MT, or CO, all of which I have spent a fair amount of time in. And the last one was of an arch in Arches National Park, which I visited during my six months in Grand Junction, CO. All totaled, of the 9 pictures on his wall, I had been to places in 6 of them. The other three? The Great Wall of China, the Sahara Desert, and what looks like Scotland or Ireland. I felt pretty cool.

And really, this is a pretty selfish post I know. But I thank God that He has allowed me to experience such a wide variety of things in my life and met such a wide variety of people from such a wide variety of backgrounds in such a wide variety of places. Obviously, this blessing is still being given, and I hope it continues to be poured out on me. I've had a very exciting life so far, and that's the only way I would have it. Maybe I will write it down in a book someday for people to read about, or maybe I'll pass it along to my kids at bed time (assuming a wife and kids is part of this blessing), or maybe I'll just keep it to myself as a reminder to be thankful for what God has given me, even if it is all taken from me tomorrow. For it is written, "Naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21
PEACE!