i guess that i'm withdrawing from this internet community, not as a matter of principle, but for lack of content. this is a great place to exchange ideas, but i can't commit the time, thought, energy required to make it worthwhile anymore. thanks, xanga! i hope this venue continues to serve others as well as it has served my friends and i!

i'll return soon to print my entries, and save these thoughts for a rainy day . . .

suddenly i could pull out these specific incidents over the past few years where i behaved like someone else. on the upside, i realized it's not me, that i have a fundamentally good nature that'll only let me go so far before i recoil in shame and embarrassment at my own asshole attitude. moderation has never been my style either, but i'm giving it another go.

i'm in the mood for a good coming of age novel, or maybe some percy.

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.

For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.

This we know: The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know.

All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.

Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it.

One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover, our God is the same God. You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white.

This earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator.

 - Chief Seattle, Suquamish

That's me on the left resembling an anime character.               

And this is me immediately after realizing how much that hurt.

Not the best finish line photos.