If a strange man offers you a ride, I say take it.

Long-time pal Stephen reassures me that my reaction to last week's biopsy was pretty much unnecessary. Having not heard the results yet, the possibility still looms like a dark cloud over my head, but the cloud is small and inexplicably plays "I'm walking on Sunshine" at random times during the day. Oh and thanks for the many words of encouragement from the rest of you. It was great to hear such nice things from so many people* I hardly know.

In light of my last entry and the lack of activity for the foreseeable future, I've decided I should learn a new skill, namely music theory. I've been meaning to get into it for some time but never followed through on my ambitions. Anyway, look for some derivative techno in the coming months.

*And by "so many people I hardly know" I mean "nobody".

What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.

I live a relatively dull life. My ups and downs relate almost entirely to my financial and scholastic standing at the current moment. I try not to let things get to me. Jerks in traffic pretty much roll off my back and rude people are never worth my time. Contact with my family is pretty scarce, entirely by choice. However, when I go to the doctor's office and he scrapes something off me, sends it off for biopsy, and then says it's "probably benign" (carefully omitting what it probably isn't), I have to wonder a few things. I have to wonder why I'm so reluctant to share my life with other people, even my own family. I have to wonder if this sanitized, unremarkable life I'm leading is what I really want. I have to wonder how I'd reconcile the holes in my life if the worst turns out to be true.

This thing probably is benign. And if it isn't, I know I'll pull through whatever comes from that. But if nothing else, for a moment, I'll have to pause and reflect on where my life has taken me and where it's going. And smile for a change.

I shall not want.

Well, I went to church today of my own free will without any nudging by anyone. A significant step forward if there ever was one. After doing some looking around during the week, I settled on Hope Community Church, a surprisingly large church given its modest name. In fact, with the large projection screens displaying sermon notes and the large stage complete with lights, the setup is a little much. And I counted four black people total in the whole congregation, which isn't surprising since blacks constitute a whopping six percent of Cary's population.

But those details are largely superficial. The people and the sermons determine the quality of the church. And the sermon was pretty good and the people were friendly enough. So will I be back next week? Possibly.

Please think of the kittens.

In a nice change of pace, all this week at work I’ve had plenty of stuff to do. Yet now at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, I have absolutely no desire to continue doing the tasks I have been assigned. It’s not that the impending weekend has sapped my work ethic, it’s that the work is so damned boring I’d rather do something, anything but it. Tedium seems to be the norm these days.

I can back up Stephen’s rousing endorsement of the new Batman movie. Director Christopher Nolan successfully crafted a convincing, dark world in the city of Gotham. More importantly, the film portrays a deep, complex character in Bruce Wayne, exploring the many facets of his past and how they led him to become The Dark Knight. It’s better than you could’ve hoped. I hesitate to put this movie above the far-underrated Mask of the Phantasm, but it’s the best, live-action Batman film.

Think outside the box.

Somehow I was convinced that the summer class I'm taking over the web is ruined. I waited too long to start watching the video lectures, I have a test next week, and I still haven't bought the textbook. However, the first homework assignment represents the ultimate sign of my inevitable fall. I have no clue how to do 90% of the problems and it's due TOMORROW. Worse, work is busy (for a change) and I can't just take time off to prepare. Then it occurs to me. I can turn it in late. Disaster is averted for the time being.

This revelation is a welcome relief in a day filled with annoyances and frustration. The new software release caused more than few frustrations when I began to test it. My boss, only six weeks into his career with our glorious corporation, came to me every time he hit a roadblock. His various blunders throughout the day is only lessened by the many, many instances when my own intelligence proved less than adequate, which for those keeping track, runs from my first day up until about two hours ago.

Leaving annoying bugs behind, I bounced out of work 10 minutes early, hoping to avoid rush hour traffic. Two miles down the road convenience escaped me once again. It was raining and traffic was slowly trudging along. To put it more accurately, Poseidon was looking to expand the Atlantic Ocean into the greater Raleigh/Durham area. I was scared shitless. The ability to see five feet in front of your windshield is far too underappreciated these days. After nearly inflicting water damage on my engine about a dozen times, I finally arrived at my destination. I was home.

Damn, it felt good.

Nobody told me that the road would be easy.

Ugh, taking graduate school courses over the summer seriously breaks up my weekends of overt laziness.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish a Happy Birthday to my boy Stephen who turns 25 today. It's crazy to think that 10 years ago we had just finished our freshman year of high school, but I hope this birthday was a good one despite being away from home.