Birthday times!

So, it was my birthday today... er, yesterday, by now. I'm now officially 21, and my sister is 17 and a half... both kinda scary thoughts. I can now legally drink intoxicating beverages and my sister is only 6 months away from being able to get a credit card. *shudders* Ooh the responsibility.

What have I done today? Not too much, actually. I woke up around 11:30ish I think, then got up a while later and took a shower before getting dressed and ready for the day. My mom and I went to Goodwill and bought some new (old) pants, which I thought were pretty spiffy. Consignment shops are tomorrow, because I woke up too late to get much done. Then I went home while Mom did some picking up of siblings and other errandy-stuff, and then we went out to get out family Christmas pictures taken. The actual picture taking part went just as smooth as can be, but the paying-for part with special-coupons-that-are-printed-on-the-same-card-but-not-combinable part was not so fun for my mom, but I'm sure her gray hairs welcomed a few newcomers to the fold.

Then we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Bacoli Delight, down in Essex. It was pretty dang good for a small establishment such as it was. I had Veal Chesapeake, which included Veal Medallions, crab, and large shrimp over fettuccine and covered in some sort of sauce... I forget what it was called, but it was goood... I've still got some left over in the fridge.

I got my birthday gift from my parents, which was a box with a bunch of small items I'd asked for on my wishlists this year. I'd honestly forgotten about that and was genuinely pleased when I got the stuffs, and then Dad made the remark "Isn't it great you got all this stuff you really wanted?" (or something similar), at which point I thought "Oh yeah! I did have a wishlist for presents and stuff. Sweet!" Of course, I was still just as thankful, and I think I'll keep the wishlist around for future years, though I won't be in college much longer to take advantage of it, just one more birthday, and I'll be graduating then. More presents! Yay! :-p

Afterwards we came home and had some light conversation over great cake that my mom made herself (*applauds*) before plopping down in front of our respective screens, me catching up on some video podcasts I'd stopped watching while at school (darn bandwidth cap), and my brother watching some cool shows on the Discovery channel. Now it's getting late and I'll probably go to bed in a few moments, so I just want to thank all of you who wished me a happy birthday today. I appreciate it.

-Gilligan

Even MORE thoughts from Relient K

If you haven't guessed by now, I like Relient K's music.

"Come Right Out And Say It"

I'd better rest my eyes
'Cause I'm growing weary of
This point you've been trying to make
So rather than imply
Why don't you just verbalize
All the things that you're trying to say

Thought this would turn out so well
But I'm beginning to see
That instead it's trouble
Into a pattern we fell
Of prolonging the inevitable

[Chorus:]
Why don't you
Come right out and say it?
Even if the words are probably gonna hurt
I'd rather have the truth
Than something insincere
Why don't you
Come right out and say it (come right out and say it)?
What it is you're thinking
Though I'm thinking it's not what I wanna hear

I better check my pride
Because I was starting to think
I was on to something good
But things started to slide
And I sit here in retrospect
And understanding that I misunderstood
Thought I could make up your mind
And then this decision locks up
So tight it couldn't be touched
Thought you were being so kind
But keeping your mouth sealed shut
Rather than just opening it up

[Chorus]

And I tried
To guess what goes on in your head
'Cause in your mind
I just might find
All those things you left unsaid
And I'll try to maybe not regret anything
Later on after I'm gone
You'll wish that you
Had listened to me (listened to me)

Why don't you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are gonna hurt
We're better off this way
Why don't you
Come right out and say come right out and say
What I know you're thinking anyway
Why don't you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are probably gonna hurt
I'd rather have the truth than something insincere
Why don't you
Come right out and say it (come right out and say it)
What it is you're thinking
And just what it is you're thinking


Also,
Life's tough.
Leaders push through the difficulty.
Good leaders do it on their own.
Better leaders don't.
The best leaders take their direction from God.