Birthday 2007.

I turned a quarter of a century old yesterday. I would like to say that this was a life-changing realization for me (I mean, having spent over ¼ of my life and all), but it really wasn’t. No, I haven’t cured HIV or worked with orphaned children in Africa. I haven’t saved a species or written a book or started an influential punk band. I’ve never traveled to Spain, gotten a medical degree or painted anything worth looking at. I do not regret the things I have not done—I look forward to doing them in the future. Instead, I have waged my personal war more quietly. I have made some truly incredible friends. I have become closer to my family. I have found out what I love (Aikido) and what I do not (going to punk shows). I am beginning to see the picture a little more clearly, to learn what is important in life (a warm cup of tea with good company) and what is not (having lots of stuff). These things might seem small, but they are significant to me. And so I have passed my first 25 years relatively quietly, but I have done so with love. I am excited to see what the next 25 have in store for me.