Thinking Out Loud and Catching Up A Little

It's already November...wow, the time just flies by these days. When I wrote my last entry, I remember thinking that I was going to start writing more often, but then I went to sleep that night and by the time I awoke, I'd forgotten that plan. I'm writing now because I stumbled across my old buddy Brian's blogs from years ago. With the popularity of Facebook, and our ability to use it to chronicle and share our everyday lives, I haven't found much use for blogs lately, but reading Brian's words made me think. Reading all of Brian's recollections of our visits and adventures pulled up so many memories so clearly, so vividly, that I felt pained by all the fun stuff that I've experienced but never WRITTEN about. Little status updates are fine, and pics are always worth a thousand words...but I LIKE words. They work for me. And blogging like this makes me feel a lot less constrained than that little Status box on Facebook. So maybe I'll find motivation to put more of my life's events on here, as well as on Facebook. You know...for posterity.

Thanksgiving is almost here, and I have lots for which I'm thankful. I'll go into all that at some point. Wow, now that I'm thinking of writing, there's just SO much I want to write about, and it's getting late enough that I can't even really start on anything and complete satisfactorily. Sigh. I'll just have to start checking in here more often.

I lost a dear friend recently. It shocked and saddened me deeply. Like down in my bones deep. I'm still not sure if it has truly sunk in, and truth be told, I don't know that it ever will. Jason Blankenship was more like a brother to me than a friend. I've known Jason since 6th grade, and even if weeks or months went by between conversations, when we talked, it was as though no time had passed at all. He was a unique and amazing guy, truly gifted as both an artist and a scientist. He deserves way more than just a quick paragraph here, so I'll write more on him later. For now, suffice to say that every time I hear Billy Idol, I both smile and feel sad. Miss you, Jason.

Other things on my mind these days...we've got one year left on our lease at Jade Mountain. I want to move us to a better place near the mall. That will require big improvements in several areas, so already working on them. Lacrosse season is two-ish months away, and I've got to get going on my training for all that running. Another Tough Mudder is on the schedule for May 2014, and I'm looking forward to that quite a bit. I managed to get my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this past year...that was fun! I've also completed two parts out of three of the General Instructor Course in Krav Mag. That's been even more fun because of the immersive nature of the training.

Lots of things swirling around in my head. I'll see if I can cover a few of them here.