There are advantages and disadvantages to long intervals between blog posts.  You have a lot more to write about but there is a lot more to remember.  Regular posting is a good habit… one that you feel guilty about when you skip sessions.   I intend to play catch up with this post.  Details will be missed and stories will be forgotten but I’ll be back on track.
Here’s a brief timeline on what I’ve been up to:

• Auctions – It felt like I was at an auction every weekend in October.  The Seattle Works Auction (SWANK) was fantastic this year.  We also attended a great auction for the Queen Anne Help Line which is an organization that I’ve been actively helping out this year.  Great people, great food, and great items + credit card = plenty of charitable contributions.  Coupled with the Gates Foundation’s generous 3:1 match on donations up to $10,000, I felt like a true investor in the community and its incredible non-profit programs.
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• Birthday #29 – One year closer to the big 3-0. I wasn’t filled with panic like I was last year, but I definitely feel more like an adult now.  For better or worse. This was a memorable birthday!  I had some great carrot cake (sometimes a cake must not be judged by how it tastes but by the story of how it was created and why 🙂 ).  Thanks Megs!
• A Texas Halloween – We had auctions at work to dress each other.  I purchased a few people to wear Texas T-Shirts to work.  That weekend, Texas suffered its only loss of the season against Texas Tech.  I was purchased as well and dressed up as Pedro from Napolean Dynamite.  
• Trip to Vancouver – Vancouver is a beautiful city.  I went there for a conference but spent some extra time checking out the area.  We went to a Canucks game, explored the downtown areas, and hung out at the parks.  It is definitely worth a second visit!
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• The Election of Barack Obama – It was hard for me not to vote for the only Republican presidential candidate that I’ve ever admired but the election turned McCain into a caricature of himself.  He called himself a maverick but adopted the principles of the far right.  I hope that someday he can return to the glory of his first few decades in the senate where he was a champion for the people regardless of the party.  I’m excited that Barack Obama is our next president!  While I don’t know how he will manage the “inbox from hell”, symbolically he represents tremendous hope and change for this country.  I’m excited that we finally have a great orator in the White House!  As for Palin, I sincerely hope she is not the future of the Republican Party.  She was great for Tina Fey’s career, but was a serious detriment to McCain’s ticket.  The voters she attracted to the ticket were offset by voters like me… people who realized how much McCain was selling out on his principles to win.  That’s all I will say about that.
• Seaplanes and the Glass Museum – Megs and I took an entire day to enjoy some of the bounty from the auctions.  We took a seaplane over Seattle and then went to Tacoma to visit the Glass Museum.  It was a lot of fun and the weather was great!
• Vacation in Cancun – Megs and I found a ridiculous last minute deal to Cancun and we spent a few days there before Thanksgiving.  We enjoyed some time at an All-Expenses Paid Resort, exploring the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, and kayaking in the sunshine.  Life is good!  We almost didn’t make our flight back home but that is a story for another day.
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• Thanksgiving in Austin – I went to Austin to celebrate Thanksgiving with my little sister.  She surprised me with an awesome meal and a chance to see the Longhorns beat the tar out of the Aggies.  It was incredible!  We spent time  working out and discussing movies, TV shows, and Twilight.  I can’t wait to spend more time with her and my parents in Korea this Christmas!
• Losing the ‘Fro – I finally got a haircut after five months of growth and deferred my attempt to re-dread my hair. It was getting a little too unprofessional and hard to manage.  I’m glad I can still grow hair though 🙂
• Texas gets BCSed – The Longhorns have had only one loss this season.  Texas Tech beat them on a last second touchdown in Lubbock.  For all intents and purposes, this was the most miraculous play of the entire college football season.  However, due to a ridiculous set of formulas known as the BCS, they will not go to the championship game.  That honor will go instead to Oklahoma… a team Texas beat 45-35 on a neutral field.  I hope Oklahoma gets blown out by Florida and Texas destroys the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl.  Poor Colt McCoy will probably also lose the Heisman now despite being the heart and soul of an amazing team.  Maybe he’ll be back next year to avenge this tragedy.
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• Apartment Move – I moved down the hall to another apartment with a view of the water.  It’s much smaller than my old apartment, but nothing beats looking out the window for views of Lake Union.  I won’t be seeing July 4th from a house boat ever again but I will enjoy a distant view of the fireworks.