My 20th Birthday was this week. WOO HOO...not really. Birthdays have never been an exhuberantly happy time to me. I haven't had a party since I was like 12 and I get irritated when people act unrealistically nice to you just because it's your birthday. It's dumb and weird. For years after year in my youth I either spent the birthday at church camp on someone else's schedule or at home alone because mom and dad were out of town. The only thing I really look forward to on my birthday is the greetings I get from people. They may not be closest friends or strong relationships but it says something that they took 5 seconds from their day to say Happy Birthday to you.

I get a brief Happy Birthday text from mom on her way to work that morning but then I hear nothing all day. After I get off work, I call her to initiate conversation when her voice inflection clearly stated that she did not care to talk at that time. No greeting was given. Once getting back from eating dinner with my girlfriend, sister, and various other friends, my sister asks "So, did you have a good birthday?". Now me and my sister have been working on our relationship as siblings and being supportive of each other so for her to concerningly ask me this particular question really meant a lot to me. At that point I thought and immediately grew into a deep state of emotional pain when I realized that neither of parents bothered to make at least a 4 minute phone call to simply say Happy Birthday and I Love You. When I got home and checked facebook, I noticed my mom left a facebook note on my wall. I guess it serves as the same for some, but at the least, your parents should make a phone call.

Now my parents have never been the kind to be emotional, rational, or truly comforting in most situations of this matter so I wasn't really surprised but nonetheless hurt. I was 18 before my dad told me, "Son, I'm proud of you" for the first time. I remember crying like crazy out of pure excitement. My whole life, my parents have always acted like I was some burden on them because they spend their money, their time, their money, their stress, their money, --oh and did I mention their money?-- to support me. Since I started college, I rarely ask for anything because I know that if I ask for 5 dollars from them, then I get a guilt trip 2 months later because I just bought a 89 cent limeade and it wasn't necessary.

Their spending, social, and relational habits have always been a LARGE thorn in my side but I keep it quiet because it's honestly not worth another fight over. I have fought too many battles over it and I just rather ignore it and do my own thing anyway. I guess their money and their own personal wants and whims will always be loved more than the real treasures of life.

I know that they do care, sometimes, and for the most part they do love me, just perhaps, but it comes in spurts. I believe Haley Williams said it well "we've got to find other ways to make it alone, keep a straight face. And I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance."

So I have a new friend. This person may not realize it themselves but our pods were separated somehow years and years ago. Who knew that today would be the day I realized I found him/her. If you think about it, you still won't know who you are. Every time I get a new song in my head or just learn a new one, it shows up on your page. Every issue you have day to day directly corresponds with the life I am living and if that's not enough, our reactions are generally identical. The one thing we don't have in common, I don't read. Oh well, I guess all friendships aren't perfect! I wish you well and I look forward to our new found friendship and all of the hidden "you know what I'm talking about" moments and inside jokes that neither one of us will know the other one gets. Well to you, My Friend, good day!

So I don't know if you ever get disappointed over small things that really don't matter to anything in life, however, recently I have found myself in this category. Domino's Pizza has completely revolutionized online ordering! It even has an interactive alert process letting you know Who is preparing your food, When it's placed in the oven and even When its sent out for delivery. Sound too good to be true?

After a long day and a frustrating evening, I was too tired to cook and too upset to go anywhere. Sounds like the perfect night to order pizza to me. After ordering the pizza online and paying for it with my convenient Easy Pay Account on Dominos.com, I waited, waited, and waited. After 40 minutes I called to ask where my pizza was that was supposedly sent out by "Daryl" for delivery. I thought "Domino's, We deliver in 30 minutes or your order is free!" This was the first of ruined beliefs. I asked the guy where my pizza was and alerted him that the online tracker stated that the order was already delivered. He responded by telling me that it was a computer generated timer and that it is in no way tied to the actual order. WHAT!? So much for personalized service!!! I have always been most amazed by this interesting feat of technological intelligence!

Day by day I lose my faith in technology. It slips away as it fails me and proves itself more ignorant than a 3 month old comatose snail thriving on no life at all! I guess life as we know it is only as difficult as we allow it to be or even perhaps make it. The simplicity is still there; hidden by our wretched greedy need to be "convenient". Sorry, but I don't consider waiting 73 minutes for a pizza, convenient, especially when an ignorant source tells you to expect it in 30!