20 years on this earth.  Ok, so I know its not really that long, but still... hard to believe.  One of my friends pointed out today that I am now halfway to 40.  Kind of crazy.  I think this is the first birthday I've ever had where I've been really, truly conscious of the fact that I am getting older.  Maybe 18 was like that, I don't know.  The thing is, when you're a kid, and you have a birthday, all you really care about is that you're getting presents, because let's face it, even though you're older, you're still a kid.  Well welcome to full fledged adulthood.  I'm actually aging, and I'm nearly (if not already!) a quarter of the way through my life.  It's kind of an abstract concept to think about.

It's funny, you hear older people talk about how much the world has changed since they were kids, and it really truly has... but man, even thinking about how things have changed since I was born.  A couple examples:

    -When I was born, computers were just starting to come one the scene.  Now, 20 years later, I am in the

      market for the fourth one I will have owned.

    -When I was born, the United States was far more concerned about Communism than they were about

      Islam.  Needless to say, that has changed.

    -When I was born, the career path that I have chosen to follow essentially did not exist.

...and the list goes on.  It really is a crazy world that we live in.  It's been a good 20 years, though... and I'm happy with the direction I seem to be headed in for the next 20.  I have a loving family, great friends, and a God who loves me as His own.  I'm starting a career doing something I love, and I'm seeing new opportunities to serve my Lord through music all the time.  I'm doing pretty well.  And on that note, I will end.