Post It Notes

Be a gentleman.
Be chivalrous.
Be respectful.
Honor friends and family.
Serve freely and joyfully without expectation of repayment or acknowledgment.
Be gracious.
Be forgiving.
Be patient.
Demonstrate understanding.
Shut up.
Listen.
Be watchful.
Be careful.
Be calm.
Foster peace.
Seek the truth.
Speak the truth.
Be happy.
Know, show, and share joy.
Tread softly.
Step carefully.
Walk straight.
Guide well.
Follow well.
Say please.
Say "thank you".
Be thankful.
Be honest.
Be humble.
Don't gloat when you're right.
Admit when you're wrong.
Speak your feelings, don't trust their intuition.
Listen carefully to others, don't trust your intuition.
Don't categorize unnecessarily.
Don't categorize incorrectly.
Don't categorize.
Don't assume.
Ask.


I started this list in a spat of entirely unjustified anger and self pity. The root was not good, but the thought process and the writing process were. Here you have a map of the forces which act on me daily. A collection of Post-It Notes, stuck on every surface of my brain. Too many to remember and pay attention to at one time, but each one very valuable.

My ears hurt, and I couldn't be happier

My house has a covered back porch. At first I didn't see the need for it, but then the first thunderstorm hit; I've been hooked ever since.

My dad and I spent over an hour out on the back deck, thoroughly enjoying the sound of the rain and hail striking deafening blows on the plastic roof. The constant roar of thunder around us was the real spectacle though; It's been a long time since I've been in a storm that was this active.

I love it, I honestly cannot think of a time when I've been more relaxed than sitting in a chair on the deck, unable to hear anything but the relentless pounding of the rain on the roof above. My ears hurt after listening for that long to something that loud, but yet I was almost falling asleep out there.

So ya, I love storms.