This is going to be long, so feel free to read it in stages!  I know, I know. How lucky can you get?.

 

I don't know the real me, especially now that I am on all sorts of meds, so I'll just spout out some things that come to mind. There's always other posts for more details, right? Tomorrow I will most likely be a different person.

 

I live in the beautiful, but currently very dry state of Utah. I am 29 years old.

 

My wife has cerebral palsy, which doesn't affect her mind at all, but makes physical things hard for her. Her right arm is basically useless, and the rest of her is uncoordinated and her balance is easily lost. In her own words, she has a "cute lil jiggy" when she walks.

 

My older son, Kyler, is a budding, energetic 3 1/2 year old. His intelligence, unfortunately, often gives him the upper hand, and he effectively runs our home. He also has a very big, sensitive, sweet heart, and he constantly amazes me with his simple but perfect wisdom on things the world has blinded us adults to.

 

My younger son, Collin, is 11 months old. He is just starting to walk, and loves to wander a few steps between his mom and me and half-leap into our arms and give us a big hug. Then we clap and say "yay!" and he starts trying to walk and clap at the same time.(Which some adults can't seem to do, I might say.) He is smart beyond his age, and manages to surprise me every day with what is little infant mind has learned.

 

Needless to say, I am surrounded by smart people, and so I have a major inferiority complex. So bow to me! Wait, that isn't inferiority. Maybe I am an egomaniac... *NOTE TO SELF: research inferiority/superiority neurosi*

 

OK, now about myself.

 

I have a degree in Drafting Technology, major in Mechanical drafting. I was hired before I graduated college by a small civil engineering company, which has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. That job brought my first exposure to the marvels of the Internet. Suddenly my social anxiety wasn't such a factor. I could talk to people online and...shock of shocks...some of them even liked me! Woohoo, score! I met my wife in 1998 in an online singles club for my religion. We got married about 4 months later.

 

I love love love kids. Years ago I dedicated my life to helping them, though my health and social anxiety have greatly hindered that goal. For quite a while I was a volunteer chat room moderator and private mentor to abused kids. My job was to keep the chat room safe from perverts and other bad people who are drawn to such places. My eyes were opened to many things, and I learned so much. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, but also very very draining. As my health got worse and worse, I had to give it up to have anything left for my own family. I miss it a lot sometimes.

 

I often use humor in my life for a variety of reasons. I love to cheer other people up, of course, but I also have a lot of walls built around my real feelings. Humor does well to distract people from getting too close to that. So back off, or you may unleash the Hulk or Mr Hyde or something. :P

 

And as you can see, I do tend to blab on and on, but just understand that being able to yack is about the only thing that keeps me kind of believing I actually have what it takes to be a "real" writer.

 

I think that's more than a little about myself, so I better get out of here quick!

 

Peace out.