Uhh, excuse me? Mr. Time? What have you done with August?

Apparently I was tagged about a month ago in a blogworld game of "it" that I didn't even know I was in. I guess that's what I get for abandoning my web-nerd roots. Well, I know it's kinda late and the game's probably lost all of it's momentum, but here's to gettin it goin again ...

1. Bepot - The Black Eyed Peas
2. Cool - Gwen Stefani
3. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
4. Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog
5. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

I'll even go a bit further and analyze each one ... #1 because it's in tagalog, the languauge of one of my halves (Filipino) ... #2 because it's just "cool" and I've been on this kick where I love songs that have subtle or not so subtle 80's flavor to them ("White Shadows" by Coldplay, "This is Such a Pity" by Weezer - there's more but those are the big highlights) ... #3 because, well because it is so rockin 80's ... #4 because Kermit is the man, and that song is so uplifting, I won't admit to you that I almost had tears rolling down my eyes when I listened to it for the first time in years ... and #5 was definitely NOT because I happened to watch the season premiere of Laguna Beach where Stephen was blarin it in his Expedition or whatever and I definitely don't know who Stephen is - no, not because of all that, but because I've always loved Journey.

So I think the other part of this game of tag is that I have to tag five other people ... Dan, Liz, Laura, Kristen, and Kate (via Fort Knox) you're all on deck.

The drive into work this morning was amazing. It's hard to believe that we could have days like the last couple we've had in the middle of August. And last night I got an unexpected trip back to mexican music night. The weather made the drive out to Mo'ville just awesome with the windows down, the music blarin, and the memories floating by. I even remarked that it reminded me of an end of summer evening in Hagerstown, where I used to spend summers with my grandparents when I was young. You know, everyone always told me I'd hate the working world, but I think it makes moments like last night and this morning that much more enjoyable.

Though I graduated from the greatest university in Raleigh, I am not the most faithful of alumns. I know this because after five and a half years at school there, I managed to collect three school t-shirts. That's right, just three measly shirts to show for thousands of dollars spent and countless hours of instruction.

But don't let that be an indicator for the sense of pride I feel for that fine university. You can throw whatever facts and figures, ratings and rankings, propoganda and propopooh-pooh you want at me but you'll never convince me that I could have chosen a better university for myself. The fact is, I got the education I wanted at the pace and price I wanted. Can't beat that deal.

Anyway, in an effort to advertise this wonderful deal, I make it a point to pack one of my shirts whenever I go on a trip. So far, my navy blue¹ recruiting tool has been singing with cicadas in Maryland, loving with lovers in Virginia, surviving the Columbian (SC) heat, living it up with lucious Georgia peaches, and funin in the bright Florida sun. I'm about to hit up S. Carolina, Georgia, and Florida again so I'm preppin the ole' navy for yet another short trip. So if you find yourself on the Florida coast this weekend and you happen to walk by the only guy with his shirt still on, stop by and ask me about N.C. State, there's no finer university in Raleigh.

¹ Of course our school colors are red and white, but I love navy blue. Give me a break, at least the letters are red and white.

Someone much smarter than myself might enlighten me on the origins of the words reputation and repetition. They might know for sure that it is no coincidence their alpha-composition differs by only 2 letters and that each implies a consistency of something, in my case character. You see, because I have a history of repetitive abandon, I have a reputation for not following through; I say I'll be there or I'll do this and then I won't go or I'll do that instead. And of course it's not intentional, I don't commit to something with malice, knowing full well that I won't do what I say I'll do. But that doesn't make it okay. And it doesn't make it okay that my intentions are actually good, that if someone asks me to do something or to be somewhere, that I genuinely want to be there. It's not okay that I think, "well maybe that'll be too much, but I'll just figure it out later". Maybe part of being a good friend involves some forethought to go along with that compulsion. I don't know, maybe that sounds too much like I'm some ill-fated saint in constant turmoil with too much goodheartedness.

I know that isn't the case.

I guess what I'm really trying to figure out isn't so much time management, it's self-management. How do you balance spiritual health with relational health with familial health with physiological health with psychological health? Are they all related? Can I have spiritual health without relational health? Can I have relational health without psychological health? Is my psychological health correlated with my physiological health? Can familial health really be salvaged? Just kidding.

Okay, so I'm talking in circles. At least I'm talking. Err typing. Did you like it the old way better, you know with the absent silence?