Twenty Six

I recently turned 26 and had a wonderful birthday full of surprises thanks to my lovely wife. In honor of my more than a quarter century on earth and in the style of Facebook's "25 Things About Me," here are 26 things I've learned about myself or this thing we call life.

1. Like my sister, my favorite ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip. Breyer's makes the best.
2. Also like my sister I am somewhat musical and can carry a tune...unlike my dad.
3. I play the drums, most keyboard percussion instruments, guitar, and I am learning the harmonica.
4. Like my brother, my favorite video game of all time is River City Ransom for the NES.
5. I was married May 20, 2006 to my lovely wife and best friend, Heather.
6. Like my parents, I am a Christian; however, my faith is often expressed differently than theirs.
7. I have a dog, Dakota. She's great. The three of us pal around a lot.
8. Everyone experiences suffering, and no one's suffering can be compared to or judged by another person's suffering. The best way to help is to walk with another through his suffering.
9. I have worked in the grocery store business for a total of 5+ years.
10. I've always wondered what really happened to the Lost Colony.
11. I've been skydiving. And I hope to do it again.
12. I hate that I live in a culture that is sickly obsessed with material things. Sometimes I want to live in another country with as few 'things' as possible.
13. Apparently my sister can trace my genealogy back to John Alden and Priscilla Mullen of the Mayflower.
14. I graduated from UNC-CH with a Bachelor of Music and will soon complete a Master of Divinity from Campbell University.
15. Life and death are not opposites. Death is the only for sure part of life. The opposite of life is more likely loneliness. There's no refuting that humans thrive on our relationships. Without any relationships, more people would find no reason to live.
16. I love movies. My wife and I watch them all the time. My favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption, but the Dark Knight is a close second.
17. I think that there is a God out there. After all, where did all this stuff come from?
18. I love to go skiing. I was on a ski racing team for three seasons in school. In eighth grade I placed 5th overall.
19. I've been to Alaska for over a month, Northern Ireland for two weeks and Mexico for a day.
20. I don't know what I'm going to be in the future, and I'm glad of it.
21. I'm a band geek to the end. Although, being a band geek has got me into 3 Carolina-Dook games, free trips to Florida and DC, and front row seats when the Tar Heels won the 2005 NCAA basketball tournament.
22. I get a kick out of making puns. The worse they are the better.
23. The more I write, the more I realize that I like writing. The same goes with reading.
24. Like millions of others I am into Harry Potter. I blame/thank my brother for that.
25. It seems like too often, the more money people have the more they want and worry about it. Also, the more they have the less of a realistic perspective on life they have.
26. I think every so often we all ought to cry for the violence that we allow to take place everyday in our world and for those who starve when we're trying to lose weight. Then we should do something about it.

Comments welcome.