so today is a day like any other day, but for some reason, we hold certain days with certain significance. namely, today i enter my last year as a 20-something-year-old.  and nothing says "happy 29th birthday" like trying to follow tony horton in his back and bis p90x workout.  week 7.  ugh.  stronger - yes.  more happy - questionable. 

so i figure i should be able to list 29 things that i'm thankful for, but maybe i'll try to list the top 29 lesson's that i've learned over the years . . .

29. Don't ever buy speakers (again) from people driving their SUV around strip mall parking lots
28. Eat as much as you can while you still can (high school to college years)
27. Buffets are not always your friend
26. When you're in school, take courses that you're actually interested in
25. When you're in med school, you need to study
24. When you're in residency, you still need to study
23. There is no rush to move on to the next "life-stage" - enjoy each stage for what it's worth
22. Surround yourself with good friends
21. Don't date around flippantly- it only leads to lots of hurt
20. Spend time with your family - they're not always going to be around
19. Learn to appreciate home cooking (during school, during holidays, during marriage (j/k!))
18. Touching electric fly-swatters definitely will shock you
17. Listen to your mom when she threatens to beat you if you don't practice piano/violin
16. Listen to your wife when she threatens to beat you if you don't help clean up
15. Staying in fellowship with brothers and sisters is vital to your spiritual well being
14. Take lots of photos of everything
13. Write things down so you don't forget them
12. When waking up from anesthesia after having your wisdom teeth extracted, make sure you trust the person who is taking you home to not abuse you in your somewhat-intoxicated-freely speaking state
11. When living in a big city, live close to where you work
10. It is exceedingly unwise to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts in 1 sitting
9. Accountability is necessary for your spiritual well being
8. There is no perfect church - but do your part in making it better
7. Cherish your friendships/relationships and nourish them
6. Read the Bible to find truth
5. Christ defines and gives value to who I am
4. Church exists really for those who are outside its walls
3. Proverbs 18:22 - He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.
2. God's grace is sufficient for me
1. Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so

i'm way overdue updating . . . and i figured today's as good a day as any to jot down some quick thoughts.

1. I can't believe it's actually snowing here in atlanta!  it's like 40 degrees outside and the weather forecasters basically predicted that there'd be a 90% chance of snow . . . and sure enough, it's falling all over the place!!  it's so beautiful . . . (this coming from a florida boy who's not used to seeing cotton balls float down like manna from heaven).

2. I survived 4 months at Shepherd Center!  and not only survived, i actually enjoyed it!  maybe there's a future for me in inpatient rehab.  we'll see.

3. We're going to taiwan March 13-21 to see family and EAT LOTS OF FOOD!!!  as if the 15 lbs that i've gained since marriage aren't enough . . . ugh.  time to eat salads, work out and run miles and miles . . .

4. Frank's engaged!  *shocker*  how can i get him back for what he put me through in my bachelor's party?  hmmmmm . . .

alright, enough for now. :)  'til next season at least . . .

as if there weren't enough going on already . . . i was on my way to a department of medicine year-end party . . . and i was actually parked . . . well . . . kinda . . . i was parking and i was in a very small spot . . . and i just didn't feel comfortable in it so i backed out . . . and backed out smack into the side of another car that was driving by.

this just really stinks . . . and i feel responsible for this . . . no police report . . . the other person was just trying to park 'cause she had a test to go take . . . and here i was in a rush to go to a party . . . needless to say . . . didn't have too much fun at the party as all i could think about was this accident.

sigh . . . so we swapped info . . . and i felt really dumb . . . and yadda yadda yadda . . .

i guess i'm maybe growing up a little though . . . slowly but surely . . .

just wanna take responsibility for my mistake and move forwards i suppose . . . thankfully this only will cost money . . . rather than costing something more precious like lives . . .

well, yeah . . . 9 more days until i officially move out of gainesville . . . for good more likely than not . . .

14 days 13 hours 3 minutes until the wedding . . . and the start of a new family and a somewhat new life i suppose . . .

oh yeah, and i'm taking step 3 on the 12th and 13th. just about as fun as the other 2 steps . . . . yeah . . . not fun at all.

ok . . . back to studying . . .