"It's a Sad Day to be Mormon."

Not really, of course, but that's what my roommate Asmond thought the sportscaster said on the BYU football game today, where we were getting thrashed by the other team. It wasn't what he really had said, but it would have been really funny if it were.

So I've been catching up on my 24 lately, and I love that show. Every episode has stars, guest stars, and special guest stars. I used to look at my life as though I were the star of some TV show, and random people would come in and out. Lately, though, I have started to feel like one of those special guest stars in everybody else's life. It's a weird thing. I used to go to parties and be the center of attention and often the host. Now I'm happy to just mix with the other guests and try to soak in a little of each person. I still tell stories and such, but I really like to hear from others and see what they think about life.

Speaking of stories, I've been thinking that they will be an integral part of my future. I want to hone my writing skills, and write things that people will enjoy reading.

Four of my favorite people have read my entire blog in just a day or two recently. That makes me feel a few things simultaneously. The first is the obvious feeling of accomplishment at having produced something tat people will put in enough effort to at least finish. The second is this weird and unexpected feeling of loss. It has taken me a year to write all of that, and here these people come and read it all like it's a magazine on the back of a toilet. Of, course, I realize that this is a completely unreasonable response. I just feel a bit like J.K. Rowling must feel after she slaves away for two years putting all these details into the latest novel, only to have a million people finish reading it on the first day it comes out. The final feeling is one of connection to these friends. Three of the friends began their own blogs after reading it (the fourth already had hers). They are all prodigious writers, and I am glad to add them to my list of daily reads. I recommend them to anyone who appreciates a nicely turned phrase.

I wrote too much today. I had it all as one long entry, but I have since broken it down to make it more digestible. Read at your leisure. I've set a major goal to write a lot this upcoming year so I can figure out what it is that people like in my writing, so there will probably be a lot more of this coming.