Off the grid

No April Fools.  Life is getting busy.... Family, ministry, travel, and all those wilderness/mountain outings I lead.  I'm gonna take a break from Garth's Blog (but not from my other blogs, nor Twitter) so I can focus on writing the remaining credentialing reports for my ministerial licensing process.

Garth's Blog will return.

Here is a re-post from one of my other blogs about my anxiety of being phoneless, originally posted last month:

March 4, 2017

Day 3 of no cell phone.  Cancelling my Mount Hood climb up/ ski down event that I was leading for NW Wilderness yesterday was a bit of a relief.  It's a challenge to coordinate these outings without a phone.  Though I was bummed that the mountain weather was too extreme for my friends and I to play on the slopes... What could beat sitting inside a Sprint repair store for 3+ hours on a sunny Saturday instead?  Blah.

Grumbling aside, being phone-free has ultimately been a calming experience for me.  But first, I had to overcome the expected anxieties:

• My friends are gonna think I'm either a flake or a jerk for not texting them back (some of them apparently followed up on Facebook, which I also can't check when I'm away from WiFi).
• How will my loved ones get ahold of me in an emergency, or if they need me for something?
• I have plans with my surfing buddy and also hiking/climbing friends this upcoming week... How will any of them let me know if something comes up?
• I already miss my Twitter friends.
• How many Instagram friends will I lose from not posting my daily Instagram Story pics?
• When I'm away from WiFi, how will I even message my overseas friends to plan our international trip for next weekend?

Looking back at this list, it's embarassing to see how overly social I am.  It's silly.  And it's sobering to realize how much I kill myself to stay in touch with the people I love.

Everything will be alright.  I'll see my friends when I see them.  In the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy being offline.

From my Instagram Story:  The latest winter adventure I led for NW Wilderness was, ahem, eventful.

Venting about the U.S. Presidential election

Photo from my Instagram Story last night:  My Jeep at the polls

America voted yesterday.  Despite Hillary Clinton winning more popular votes, Donald Trump won the electoral college... And on January 20, 2017, Trump will be inaugurated as our next President of the United States.

Photo credit: https://psmag.com/trump-vs-clinton-fighting-the-national-debt-ef127b9f5be6#.icgwa3p49

While I won't explicitly share on Garth's Blog how I voted, it's easy math: I voted for the Presidential candidate whom I thought had the best chance of stopping the LEAST MORAL/ MOST UNQUALIFIED candidate from winning (though none of the major candidates could claim much of a moral high ground).


Specifically, my conscience wouldn't allow me to vote for a man who...

...Is endorsed by the KKK, degrades women and graphically boasts about sexually assault, makes fun of disabled people, categorizes Mexicans as drug dealers and rapists, pushes for a ban on Muslims, racially stereotypes POCs and inner city residents interchangeably, threatens to abolish relationships with our international allies, disregards the validity of the democratic voting process/ peaceful transfer of Presidential power, changes his position on abortion out of political convenience, wants to deport every undocumented alien without offering any hope for a path to citizenship, cited "Eye for an eye" as a favorite Bible verse, and doesn't even read books.

Note: I have sources for each of the above.  But the list goes on and on.

Continued below, after a couple of my tweets...

Scripture was quoted by both Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine in their concession speeches.

Trump's Scripture quote?  "Eye for an eye."

— Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) November 9, 2016

@kathleenRose70 Ha! Funny that the only Scripture which Trump could quote was the verse Jesus refuted.

— Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) November 9, 2016

For me personally, last night seemed like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from (or fall asleep to escape). I was shocked, discouraged, and depressed as the results of each state's votes were gradually reported live by the equally stunned cable news anchors. I wept for this country. I barely slept. And I continued to feel ill today, throughout my work shift at Delta Airlines.

Photo from my Instagram Story:  This morning's Delta breakroom was a mix of tears and cheers.

How could this have happened? My own loved ones may be direly affected by Trump's worldview and proposed policies. Woman and minorities may continue to be dismissed as second class citizens. And the United States may cut ourselves off from the nations that we should be reaching out to in cooperation for ending war, genocide, human trafficking, environmental neglect, hunger, and poverty.


Yet I do not look down upon nor judge any of my family and friends who voted differently than I did. We are all Americans.  Countless veterans have fought and died for our liberties, including choosing who will represent us in government.  And I am thankful for these freedoms.

Tonight in my youth group teaching, I challenged my students to support candidates whose lives look the most like Jesus Christ (Without even hinting about which Presidential candidate I voted for last night). I will be lifting up President-elect Trump in my prayers. I have hope for the future of this country, and for our world. And I am encouraged by the assurance that God still reigns on His throne.

Regardless of any election results, love and peace will ultimately win!

Top 10: Most popular NON-travel posts (Unpublished #2)

This is Part 2 of a previously unreleased "Best of" series from January 2014, based on page views for my 2013 posts.  The 2014 page hits haven't been tallied yet.  My new blog content still isn't quite ready.  We've been celebrating baby Levi's first birthday since last Thursday with all of our might!  In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to have a look back.

Links look like this.  Last week's "Honorable mentions: Most popular non-travel posts" is here.  And the list of Top 10 travel posts (from 2013, *snicker*) is coming next!

10.  Blog Changes: Twitter Feed and More

A throwaway post about the latest tweets from @garth_hamilton on Twitter being added to my blog’s sidebar, as well as some other design changes

9.  Dude (Looks like a baby):  We're having a boy!!

As if the bad Aerosmith jokes in my earlier Lovin' an Elevator: A tale of entrapment misadventure at PDX Airport weren't desperate enough, I returned to the well for our baby's gender announcement.  This one features an early guest photo appearance by baby Levi!

8.  Our home’s first Thanksgiving

For a change, we had the family (plus a special guest) over to OUR house for Thanksgiving dinner.  This post also includes pics from the always-huge day after Thanksgiving extended family dinner at my parent's house.

7.  Father’s Day week photo spectacular

This was a simple collection of exclusive Daddy-daughter photos from the previous year.

I had so many favorites that the pics spilled over into Father’s Day week photos, Part 2: The Outtakes.

6.  Olympic Mountains, Day 1:

Lena’s 1^st camping trip

The spectacular photos of Mount Ellinor (which I'm climbing this winter season) and Mount Washington from Olympic Mountains, Day 2- Back on the trails took a back seat to family camping photos of Day 1.  Okay, so it was only car camping.

Scouting out Mount Ellinor/Washington  for Daddy's upcoming double-header climb

Lena lovingly sidetracks Daddy from setting up the tent

As a bonus, the follow-up "Day 2" camping blog boasted another exclusive-- A photo of Lena hiking her first mini trail!

5.  Sunriver, Pt 1: A wedding countdown (feat. Kathy)





The excitement began to build during our preparations for Brent and Cheryl's wedding in Sunriver, near Bend.

And the Kathy-penned Part 2 featured the wedding ceremony, toasts, cake fight, reception, and after-party!

Sunriver, Pt. 2: A wild wedding (feat. Kathy)

4.  Once upon a time in Enchanted Forest

Lena visited Oregon's unique roadside theme park, Enchanted Forest, for her first time.  Daddy, Mommy, Grandma Lora (Mimi), and Uncle Tony came along for the ride.

3.  Breaking news: We’re pregnant again!!

Hot off the press-- Baby Levi cometh!

2.  Banks Lake heats up! (Pt. 2 of 2)

This entry was chocked full of tubing/ wakeboarding near-wipeouts pics from the second day of our family’s 31^st annual Banks Lake camping trip.  That night's birthday shenanigans in Coulee City were just icing on the cake.

Camping photos from Day 1 were featured earlier in Banks Lake camping, Take 31.

1.  Video: Breaking news: Lena’s first steps!

A lifetime of Lena hiking, running, skiing, climbing, and playing sports has begun!

Coming next on Garth's Blog, one final "unpublished" post from January 2014 before we get to the new stuff...

Top 10: Most popular travel posts!

Are youth group Super Bowl parties worthwhile?

This was Sunday's "guys only" blanket... including 2 1/2 week old Levi!  The Vine video from our Super Bowl party is at the bottom of this post.

This is yet another post shared from my other blog.  I've had zero free minutes to work on those upcoming posts that focus exclusively our newborn baby Levi for this main blog.  Chalk that up to focusing on Kathy, Lena, and baby Levi in real life!

For readers who keep asking, the anticipated post with Levi's baby delivery story/photos should drop later next week, after Homecoming weekend at Warner Pacific College is behind us.  In the meantime, I'll continue to include baby Levi in every post and feature new baby pics each time I update "Garth's Blog!"

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Until the Dallas Cowboys (remember this trip to Cowboys Stadium?) bring home another Super Bowl ring, I can't think of a happier ending to this pro football season than Sunday's E.P.I.C ministry Super Bowl party. A few students and graduates joined our house party to witness the world domination of the Seattle Seahawks, a.k.a. Super Bowl XLVIII.

Anyone still unaware that the Seahawks utterly defeated the Denver Broncos 43-8 is probably blissfully ignorant of sports in general. More power to ya'll. I'm originally from Washington state, though, so I was pumped to cheer on the local team as they won their first ever Super Bowl title.

More important than the big game's outcome, however, is enjoying opportunities like this to spend time with our students. Save for saying a tough goodbye to a deeply loved graduate who is moving away, there were few spiritually earth shattering moments here. The on-screen gladiatorial combat occasionally took a back seat to our laughing, snacking, gaming on the Playstation 3, and playing with Lena and our 2 1/2 week old Levi.



Some youth pastors in the blogosphere have been skeptical that Super Bowl parties can have any value in a Christ centered student ministry. Objections range from the lack of ministry intentionality to the potential of sexual objectification in the commercials and half time show.

My evolving perspective on nonessential, fun events such as Super Bowl parties is this: Why not?

1. Can't we honestly discuss those cultural excesses that will be seen by students anyway, instead of pretending they don't exist? The ability to view culture through the lens of Scripture is a hallmark of spiritual maturity, and it may not happen without being taught. Not to mention, a DVR tape delay does wonders for dodging future wardrobe malfunctions-- I'll never forget my own relief (and disbelief) the year when EVERY SINGLE ONE of my high school guys somehow managed to miss Janet Jackson's infamous Super Bowl slip on live TV.  I'm not gonna lie... they were unhappy campers.
2. Does setting aside time for "just for fun" life moments like sports, capture-the-flag nights, and backpacking trips detract from the more intentional ministry opportunities that we as ministers plan? Granted, time with our young people is precious and shouldn't be wasted. But is wasting time a total waste? One person's perceived "wasted time" may be received by another person as an affirmation of love, acceptance, and validated self worth.

So, are Super Bowl parties worth it?  I can't answer that question for you. While we don't plan on canceling our annual Super Bowl parties any time soon, there are certainly more efficient, effective, and purposeful events that should deserve priority on our ministry calendars.

But if a dedicated Dallas Cowboys fan like myself can take a day off to unabashedly cheer for his second favorite NFL team during their Super Bowl spotlight... then perhaps there's room on our ministry calendars to also have fun with the less essential stuff.


Related:  William Lane Craig: God Hears Your Super Bowl Prayers (from Christianity Today)

Here are a couple of extras from our Super Bowl party:

Lena, Levi, and cornerback Richard Sherman (remember this?) are dumbfounded by the Seahawks' staggering lead.

My latest Vine video on Twitter: Go Seahawks!!

Unclick the "mute" button above for the obnoxious audio.track.

Garth's Blog will return in a few days.

Break Every Chain

Garth's Blog is on a one-month hiatus from Dec 15- Jan 15.  The holidays have been busy, and our baby boy is due on January 10!  To kill time until then, the short New Years update below is followed by a personal "share" from my other blog.

I'll update my Twitter occasionally, and we'll return with new blog content in mid-January. Check back on January 15 as we resume with all new family updates and recent overseas adventures!

New Year's Eve at McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse/ Imbrie Hall:
Lena stopped smiling just long enough for a quick photo.

Happy New Year!  Our family had fun celebrating New Year's Eve last night. And this year, we actually got home in time to witness our neighborhood loudly deteriorate into a war zone around 11:30 p.m.  It's hard to imagine any of those firecrackers/mortars/rockets/shotgun blasts(?) being legal within Beaverton city limits.


Our block hadn't heard such deafening blasts since all four news networks were falsely tipped off about explosions from within our neighborhood Intel campus. As terrifying as that sounds, the "explosions" heard from neighbors blocks away were actually the results of a fire at a garbage truck yard next door.

The link to the story of me ending up in front of all those TV news cameras is here: Garth's Blog: Having a Blast at Home.

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Today's entry below is a "share" from one of my other blogs. It may look familiar to readers who saw my original post yesterday morning. If this seems more personal and spiritual than a typical "Garth's Blog" post, that's because this wasn't originally intended for a mainstream audience.

But don't worry, new "Garth's Blog" content is coming soon! I'm still gathering photos for upcoming posts about Christmas, surfing, student ministry, pumpkin patches, hiking, and some late 2013 overseas trips.

In the meantime, feel free to check out my Twitter feed or just follow me. My latest Tweets are also embedded on the upper right corner of this blog page.



Here's yesterday's post, "Break Every Chain," from my other blog:

There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus
To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain.

Those words from a Jesus Culture "Awakening" event were the soundtrack to my final early morning commute of 2013. Normally, the entire freeway portion of my drive time would be dedicated to prayer. But not today. Not after last night. Sheer exhaustion caused my prayers to stick in my throat... unable to escape my heart. Rather than giving up on morning devotions altogether, I allowed someone else's words to be my prayer instead.

There is power in the name of Jesus
To break every chain.

Leading up to today's uncharacteristically passive time of prayer, this happened:

Our formidably lunged, two year old Lena loudly decided on Saturday night that only having 1 1/2 hours of sleep would be more than enough for me. Sleep quantity didn't increase much these past few nights, either. I've been getting up multiple times to quiet Lena down, attempting to spare the Mommy-to-be the hassle of putting her back to sleep. Her crying persisted into the night, until a couple hours before my alarm rang.

There is power in the name of Jesus
To break every chain.

I've often prayed such a prayer in more obvious contexts: as an impassioned plea for healing and wholeness... for freedom from the bondage of sin... for the lifting of a heavy heart... for mending of strained relationships... for finding the grace to forgive friends who take advantage of me... for finding the humility to ask for my own forgiveness.

But today, such a prayer was a simple reaching out for strength, for the divine power to make it through the day. Extreme sleep deprivation stifled my attempt to pray even that, much like sleepless nights can physically throttle my various hikes and trail runs. Yet, like the disciples who got busted for nodding off in the Garden of Gethsemane, I'm yearning for a chance to redeem myself after a lackluster effort in my own garden of prayer.

Taking care of my family, I know in my heart, is more important than taking care of my ZZZs. But in my utter exhaustion, the satisfaction of honoring those priorities doesn't make days like this any easier.

2013 has been a joyous, high energy year that is ending on a brief down note. My own strength has decided to take the week off. It's time for me to draw on God's strength.

There is power in the name of Jesus.

Northern Italy: Confrontation in First Class

This is Part 1 of 3 (plus a possible 4^th post, now that I’m back in the U.S. to write one), typed from northern Italy last week while hanging with friends old and new:  Carli, Chris, Piotr, Sarah, Leslie, Chad, Jorge, Jenny… and the rest of the gang who surprised me in Venice!

Kathy and our two year old Lena drove to Salem and Bend with family for a few days last week.  Due to a work scheduling conflict on their first day, I wasn’t able to join them.   So I resumed a mini-version of our European trip, solo, that was interrupted last month when our family was in Madrid.  The blog posts about last month’s family trip to Spain are coming soon!

A few of my Delta vacation days were cancelled (and one wasted) late last week trying to fly standby from Portland to hook up with friends here in northern Italy.  But so far, this trip has been worth the wait!  Here’s a little pre-adventure story to kick things off:

Confrontation in First Class

I "live tweeted" about the following dust-up as my plane was returning to the gate in New York.  The passenger seated next to me had waaay to much to drink in the Delta Sky Club prior to boarding.  He was so loaded that his hands couldn’t even hold his pre-departure drink steady.  As our plane taxied off to the runway, he started making a fuss… and a mess.

Warning: This is gross.  My seatmate (a dead ringer for zombie-slayer Michonne, from the Walking Dead) and I gagged as this guy coughed up what looked like blood all over himself.  There were red droplets and chunks splattered everywhere:  the floor, his clothes, his seat, the TV monitor.  I asked him if he was alright, and he calmly assured me that it was merely wine and not blood.  He had regrettably “spent a little too much time drinking at the Sky Club this afternoon.”  So then what in the name of Gilbert Gottfried were those red chunks?

The pilot announced that our plane was returning to the gate.  No surprise there.  The tanked passenger started a series of arguments with the Delta flight attendants, then the captain, then the returning gate agent, and then finally launched a 2^nd and final bout with the captain.

While the utterly smashed passenger was being escorted off the plane, a collective wince fell across our Business Elite faces at his parting imagery.  He was trying in vain to prevent his sagging slacks from falling down around his ankles.  Pure horror.

Cleanup on Aisle 2: The cabin service crew earned their paychecks that night.  It took THREE of them to clean up that disgusting mess before our plane could taxi back out to the runway again!

The moral of the story is:  don’t drink and… fly, I guess?  Maybe the moral is even more obvious.  Just don’t be that guy.

Kudos to the New York-based Delta Airlines team for their professionalism in handling this heated situation.  Our plane departed the second time and made it to Venice, Italy without incident!

And a big congrats to the bewildered buddy pass rider who was suddenly upgraded from Economy Coach to the Business Elite seat of the crime.  Friend, your new seat was most likely sparkling clean by the time you sat down next to me.

But just in case, I hope you packed a change of pants.

Coming this weekend early next week

on Garth’s Blog…

...Pt. 2- Northern Italy: Verona, Venice, and Beyond!

Blog changes- New Twitter feed and more

Don't fear change.

The growing traffic on Garth's Blog puts my anemic following on Twitter to shame.  Ever since I joined Twitter last November (link), my longer form entries here continue to entertain a much larger audience than my sporadic contributions to Twitter's self-proclaimed "micro-blogging" platform.  Not that I mind.  Hey, I'm just glad so many readers have discovered this blog!

But if any of you readers have a hankering to scroll through my occasional tweets without becoming a Twitter follower, I've created an easy way for you to do that:   My Twitter feed is now embedded on the right side of this page, just above the Blog Archive of monthly links to my previous blog posts.  Alternately, anyone who is already on Twitter can click the "Follow @garth_hamilton" button directly above the feed.  But you already knew that.

Above the new Twitter feed, the other website change this week is the addition of the "Share It" buttons to recommend any of my blog posts on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

So what what do you think?  Since these "share" buttons are already on the bottom of each post, is this overkill?  Does the added Twitter feed help pass the time while waiting for my next blog post to drop?

Or is the new layout too cluttered, bringing back head-throbbing memories of staggering away from the sensory overload of a noisy Las Vegas casino? Or worse, from an old MySpace page?

Feel free to toss me your feedback either in the post a comment section below, via your favorite social platform, or the next time you run into Kathy and I grooving away at a local Americana/folk music festival.


Here's a random photo of Lena crushing Daddy's ear before we dropped her off at the Eason grandparents' house, prior to leaving for this month's Mexico mission trip:

Coming Tuesday on Garth’s Blog…

Our baby's gender is revealed!!

And then...

Last year’s birthday skydiving!

10 Most Popular Posts of 2012

Note:  Photos and blog links will be added to this post tomorrow evening, January 1 [Update: photos added, with links in blue].  Tonight we're heading downtown to get our New Year’s Eve on!

All good things must come to an end.  Parting with 2012 is such sweet sorrow.  A bird in hand… well, enough of the clichés.  2012 was our best year so far!

The overseas journeys (some of which were not even mentioned here on Garth’s Blog), the growth and development of Baby Lena, the unforgettable time spent with God, family, ministry partners, and amazing friends… 2012 has been a banner year.  Thus, I’m taking a different approach to choosing the year’s highlights.

It has been humbling to see the readership (aka, page hits) of “Garth’s Blog” grow exponentially this past year.  In honor of both our loyal and newly discovered BlogSpot audience, it seemed best to let you, the readers, pick the highlights of 2012.  In order of page rankings, here are the most popular “Garth’s Blog” posts of 2012 (links are in blue): 

Runner-up:  Twitterfied

A reluctant blogger’s leap aboard the Twitter bandwagon

10.  The Face of Fear

 A silly throwaway teaser for my upcoming skydiving post, which has yet to see the light of day.  Early 2013, anyone?

9.  (TIE) Tokyo Drifting, Part 1

This post from Japan fared slightly better than my sequels:  Tokyo Drifting 2: Senso-Ji Temple, Tokyo Drifting 3: Fleeing Sumida, and an educational encounter with a Japanese toilet.

This was just one of my many brief overseas trips to sample the Japanese (and many other countries') nightlife in 2012.  In early 2013, I'll try to blog about some of my other previously unmentioned 2012 international trips.

9.  (TIE) Thankful for Lena

 A Thanksgiving-themed update on Baby Lena, brimming with photos

8.  Tomato Battle: Portland

Portland’s biggest, rowdiest, messiest food fight

7.  Happy Halloween from Delta Airlines

Absurd, nonpartisan nonsense from failed VP nominee Paul Ryan and the A-Team

6.  Coldplay Put a Smile Upon My Face

  A taste of Para...Para...Paradise from Coldplay’s final Portland show before announcing their three year hiatus

5.  Belgium- Spring Break in 

the Low Countries, Day 3

  The most popular of my Benelux countries travel series with my dad, which also included stops in Amsterdam, Luxembourg, and EuroRail purgatory

4.  Backpacking Elk Meadows

An example of the many types of outdoor adventures that we provide for our students

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Before we reveal the top 3 “Garth’s Blog” posts of 2012, here are the two other most highly read E.P.I.C. student ministry updates from this past year:

International Youth Convention: Denver

 A rare appearance by guest blogger Kathy, who puts to shame my earlier post about this year’s IYC trip with high schoolers

E.P.I.C. Student Ministry Update- Feb 2012

 Serving the homeless, worshiping God, boating, camping, and shaving cream fights

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And now,

the Top 3 most popular posts of 2012:

3.  Intermission: Banks Lake Wakeboarding

 This was the Hamilton family's annual Banks Lake camping trip in eastern Washington, a.k.a. an excuse for a week of wakeboarding, waterskiing, kneeboarding, and white-knuckled tube riding.  Lots of great action photos in this post!

2.  Behind the Scenes in L.A., Pt. 2

 Decisively trumping March’s blog post about Lena’s first ever plane ride to Los Angeles, this 2^nd chapter of the making of our “Delta Wanderland” holiday video focused on the music video shoot itself.  Part 1, technically #8 on this 10 Most Popular countdown, shared the blood, sweat, and tears (okay, maybe just the sweat) that we dancers shed at the International Dance Academy on Hollywood Boulevard.

I milked the video shoot’s ridiculously lax policy (compared to the countless other film sets where I've been shot) on cell phone cameras for all it’s worth, and these posts are the result.  A brief, professionally made behind the scenes video was also added here last week, including some all-too-brief clips of our Soul Train dance-off.

1.  Lena’s First Christmas

 Was there ever any doubt?  Lena starred in the first “Garth’s Blog” post of 2012 and also tops your year-end Top 10 list!

Sadly, that cute little 15 ½ month old is currently ill for the first time in her life.  The promised Christmas 2012 update will be rolled into a Lena retrospective, and it’s coming in early 2013.

So there you have it.  Some of my personal favorites didn’t come close to making the Top 10, but that’s life.  Note that this list excludes those oft-viewed posts from years past which refuse to die:  Touring London, Kathy’s baby announcement, Banks Lake, randomly popular ministry updates, the Black Crowes, and boogie boarding.

Addio, 2012!  It’s been another riveting year!!

Twitterfied (Updated 11/29)

Twitter was just begging me to sign up last week to track the final day of the Presidential elections. After years of Twitter mockery, I finally caved in. My shiny new Twitter handle is @garth_hamilton.  Follow me at will.

Curious to read each candidate's tweets to their supporters on election night, I followed both President Obama and Mitt Romney. Incidentally, he with the most tweets won the election.  More power to him.

More interesting to me is the multitude of voices crying out to be heard during each Twitter millisecond. Each tweet, retweet, and reply is trying to find an audience. We have so much to say, but much of it ironically gets set adrift in a sea of selfishness and self-importance.

One of my early tweets about the new James Bond film was "favorited" by a TV personality that I really like but was not even following, and then he retweeted it to all 39,800+ (!) of his followers. Of course, some of those 39,800+ followers favorited my tweet and retweeted it to their followers as well.

As a new Twitterer, my brief but unremarkable flash of fame in the Twitterverse was unexpected and cool. Yet it did not yield a single meaningful human interaction.

Maybe that's not the point of Twitter.  I'm told it's about keeping up with current events. I'm told it's about following people you admire. Best case scenario: it's about conversation.

But in the end, perhaps we each just want to be heard.  With everyone talking, is anyone listening?

Update 11/28/12: 

Since signing up for Twitter, I've had some good times (making friends, posting concert pics from Winter Jam, getting real time score updates from my favorite sports teams) and bad times (having to change my password again after my account was hacked TWICE: on Thanksgiving, and then again yesterday).  I try to not tweet too often.

Update 11/29/12:

After that last update, I've now been hacked a 3rd time in the past week.  Google informed me that hackers attempted to access my Gmail account yesterday morning from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Hungary.  Aside from the mass PlayStation Network hack of 2011, I've never been hacked before.  Are my nonsense passwords really that guessable?

Coming this extended Thanksgiving weekend on BlogSpot...

Baby Lena makes her debut TV appearance,

and the guys go backpacking into the Mt Hood Wilderness!