My housemate had his laptop stolen a few weeks ago. He came home from work one night, and it was gone from his room. Just the laptop was missing and nothing else. In fact, the rest of the house appeared untouched. There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing else was missing.

It’s a little disconcerting that this happened in our house. Since nothing else was missing, it appears to be an inside job. That would narrow down the suspects to our two other housemates. I don’t know either of them very well, so it’s a tough call. Either way, stealing something is not a good way to build trust.

This incident reminds me of one of the hardest lessons of growing up — the fact that life keeps happening even when you’re not around. It’s something you don’t realize when you’re just a little kid. The concept of time hasn’t quite made it into your tiny head yet. As far as you’re concerned, life is only whatever you see.

Somewhere along the line, we start to realize that time doesn’t stop when we’re not around. We finally understand that when our parents leave for work, they’re doing stuff without us. We start having to remember things, so we can share what happened when they get back.

Of course, our memories aren’t perfect, and everybody lies. These two things make life dramatic, exciting, and mysterious. I think we spend 20% of our lives doing stuff, and the other 80% figuring out what happened while we were gone.

Life is a giant game of Clue. We try to figure out who did what and where. The problem is that the only person you really know about is you. I know that I didn’t steal the laptop, but that’s it.

The rest is … a mystery.

If your room is a reflection of your life, then mine could use a little cleaning up right now.

To say that my life has changed in the past six months would be a bit of an understatement. Life is always changing, but you tend to notice some changes more than others. Lately, I’ve been experiencing a lot of the “more than others” changes.

For the first time since kindergarten, I’m done with school. Done meaning completely finished with it (almost). Completely finished meaning I’m never going back again (unless somebody pays me). Never going back again meaning I’m one of the newest members of the real world (still waiting for my welcome packet).

New slang when you notice the stripes, the dirt in your fries.
Hope it’s right when you die, old and bony.

– The Shins, New Slang

I moved again. College and grad school have taught me that moving sucks no matter how many times you do it, and this is coming from someone who can fit all of his important possessions into a four door sedan. Someday I’ll pay other people to move my stuff, but in the meantime, I’ll just work on accumulating enough stuff to make it worth the money.

The scenery around here is amazing. Back in Texas, a two hour drive got me to nearest big city. Now I drive for a couple of hours, and I end up here — the edge of the earth.

The raw beauty of the California coast is something everyone should experience at least once. There’s something very humbling about standing at the edge of the cliff looking out over the Pacific. I think it’s mainly the realization that if you took one more step, you’d be completely at the mercy of nature.

The best part about not blogging for over half a year is that you don’t have to explain what happened to your readers because there are none. Sweet.

In honor of the California wildfires, I decided to torch my old site. Please, don’t cry. I know it’s sad to see all of those trees go up in flames, but they grow back, just like my blog. I promise. (Not really.)

If you’ve been here before, you may notice some changes around here. I’ve removed all of my projects, so this is strictly a blog now. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ll be moving all of my “professional” work to a more “professional” site. If you know me, then you’ll know where to find it. You’ll also know not to expect it for another six months.

While it’s sad to let go of what used to be here, it’s good to clear out the clutter sometimes — a skill that comes not-so-naturally in my family. In fact, it doesn’t exist at all, so I’m not sure how I managed to do it. Maybe I’m adopted?

A lot of things have changed over the past six months. None of which you’ll know about because I didn’t blog about them. Sorry.

With that being said, I’d like to welcome you back to my blog again for the very first time. For those who don’t remember, shoes off please and no smoking unless you’re on a designated smoking page. I hope you enjoy your stay.