I'm not dead, but I'm not a zombie!

You know what I love? Not being dead. Lets review together, in the order they randomly pop into my head, the benefits of this un-dead condition. Listen to this while you read.



1) My cousin Kellie. Kellie is always so positive and full of the joy of life that you can't help but have your spirits lifted in her presence.

2) The book "How to Win Friends and Influence People." You may ask, "why is this cool about not being dead?" I will answer you. This book has been the sole cause of my transformation from hateful punk rocker, to loving metal-head. Okay...metal-head has nothing to do with anything, but you get my point. Because of this book I learned how to look at things from the other persons point of view. As it happens, its a lot harder to be angry and mean at someone when you are looking from their point of view. This book taught me that everyone justifies their actions to themselves, and they think they are doing the most right thing possible. Changes things, eh?

3) Ice Cream

4) Rock Climbing. I had a conversation with my friends this weekend about why they climb. They all climb because its fun. I do not. I enjoy it, and would call it fun, but that is not why I climb. I climb because I love the control of the body that it requires. To be a good climber, to do static moves, you have to be able to control individual muscles with remarkable precision. I like that.

5) It is my dream to one day have a jukebox in my house. I will fill it with awesome music that is fun to party to.

6) Guitars, Mandolins...I guess just playing music in groups. It brings people together. It brings happiness to any room or gathering. In fact, you really could say that it is a lot like Kellie.

7) Kellie's room-mates and friends. One of the reasons I love Kellie is that hanging out with her introduces me to a whole new circle of people I would never find on my own. For example, Mary. I would never have met Mary, or anyone like her, if it hadn't been for the fact that she was one of Kellie's friends. I love that they are kind, and not rough like the people I run with. They have a much less abrasive spirit than my friends, or even myself.

8) Mary. I like Mary. She makes me happy, and I like when she giggles at things that aren't particularly funny. It makes me feel like I am even funnier than I usually think I am. Mary, you should apologize to everyone who has to deal with me in this mood.

9) Children are perhaps the best part of life. They are innocent, and forgiving, and loving...they are joy. Its like a person is given an amount of joyfulness at birth, and when we are children it has less space to reside so it comes out more. When we reach adulthood our joy portion fits much easier inside of us and we appear less joyful as a result.

10) Have you ever had one of those days that kind of sucked, but then you used your body really hard in some physical activity that you enjoy? For instance, today was kind of crappy. But after work I rode my bike up to Vivian Park with Matt (about 24 miles). We pushed pretty hard and now I am smashed. It feels fantastic. It makes the whole crappy day seem fulfilled and like I am not going to bed having wasted the day.

11) I hate talking on the phone. This seems negative, but it leads me to my next reason to enjoy not being dead. Texting. I love it. I can exchange the information or thought that needs exchanging, and then....that's it. I love it. In fact, the cellphone in general is pretty darn amazing. Have you ever thought about all the things it can do? If its flabbergasting-ness is escaping you, think back 10 years to the technology back then. Crazy, eh?

12) The fact that I was not born in, nor have I ever been to France. I was born in the best dang country the world has ever seen. The U. S. of freakin A.!!

Those are my thoughts for the night. Forgive me if you were not mentioned, or if this is too many posts too quickly. Remember the list was completely at random. And I like posting. If you don't like it, stop reading. Both of you...just stop reading.

Actually....Best wishes from Dan and the whole crew here at Steinblog.