Yes indeed. It's true. I have just hit the quarter century mark. My life as a young adult, seemingly over. I'm in my mid-twenties. Almost 30. And *sobs* halfway to 50.

"That's not old!" you say.. "He's only a spring chicken, still sitting on a veritable treasure trove of life!" True.. but I thought I'd have achieved so much more with my life thus far. Maybe even have fulfilled at least ONE of my major life goals by now... but I just can't think of any even half-decent right now besides buying a hot little sports car. A Ford Laser TX3 (which, incidentally, hasn't been on the road for a year now due to restorations).

Actually, after such a RADTACULAR long weekend, I'm a little amazed that I'm sitting here tonight (alive, healthy and livin' large) after what I'm contemplating as a heavily incident-laden life. Good stuff, bad stuff... lots of stuff. All shaping me to be me.

It all started with me being born on this day in 1979, six weeks premature, to parents who had been holding out for six years on having kids just to prove to those who doubted them that they _weren't_ too young to get married. That's right folks... 31 years this July. I spent more than the first month of my life in hospital being small and hard to get along with. My plumbing didn't work properly (hydrocephalus) and some thought I wouldn't last too long. I showed them. I showed them good! After constant visits to the Doc's for the first couple of years of my life and 3 major operations later, they finally sorted me out and sent me on my way.

I must have grown an attachment to hospitals and doctors and some weird fetish for scar tissue because, up until I was about 14 and even though I was told I couldn't play contact sports, I kept getting myself into trouble and doing crazy things that required plaster casts, crutches, bandages and stitches to fix. Last count: 15 decent scars (8 requiring stitches) and 4 broken bones. 

So that took up my primary schooled years pretty much and I'm sure that Mum was secretly NOT happy for me after I petitioned the local council and coal mine for either of them to build a skateboard ramp for my town. The petition was successful in both bringing a wicked bowl for the town to carve up and somewhere else for me to break a bone and smash some teeth in. It was the coolest!

My TV watching, from what I can remember, consisted of Ren and Stimpy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Astro Boy, X-Men, Comedy Company, Fast Forward, Jimoin, the odd Simpson's episode, anything on computers physics and time travel, Rage and *hides* Sailor Moon. If I ever say "I've had a troubled childhood", I am usually referring to my warped-sense-of-humor-TV-brain.

High School... What sweet memories! *crap*. As most people know, it isn't cool to be smart in high school. And me not being one for following the crowd and doing things like everyone else, I was friends with the science and computer teachers, hung out with the nerds who were up to 3 years older than me and always took home awesome feeds from Home Ec. My Dad being a carpenter by trade, I also regularly took home masterpieces from woodwork and metalwork class. Despite sassing the English/French teacher, almost blowing up the science lab and calling the Graphics teacher by his first name, I consistently got A's and B's in all their classes. Even some A+'s from the last two.

After my brother started high school and began failing subjects, Mum decided to give home schooling a shot. We all did the equivalency and entrance exams and began before my second half of Grade 9 began. While my brother did as expected, I started out with a Grade 12 spelling and reading equivalency and only had to do English because it was a core subject and exemption was not an option. I finished Grade 12 with a 96% score average over about 16 subjects. I picked up maths much better while at home but craved the social aspect of a public school so I took two jobs at the local supermarket and take-away shop, doing anything and everything. After working 40hrs a week and looking after a new baby brother, I somehow managed to finish Grade 12 on time and left as soon as I could in search of anything but a small country town.

I went to Tafe for a while but I was bored fairly quickly there. I helped out the technicians when I didn't want to go to class and played network games in class with other bored students and lazy Tafe employees. While away at college, I stumbled upon nightclubs and a wondrous entertainment phenomena called Karaoke. I took a job at the local Pizza Hut to fit in with my late nights and to supplement my dwindling funds. I discovered I could sing better than most other punters and really enjoyed myself. I ended up hanging out in one particular Karaoke joint about five nights a week, sometimes even working there. After almost two years of 'enjoying my freedom' by driving like a maniac delivering pizzas and partying like there was no tomorrow, I decided to head to Brisbane in search of big dollars in the computer industry.

The move effectively ended my love affair with Karaoke and a major crush on the Karaoke Queen. I also managed to escape a psycho pot-smoking mental ex-girlfriend that just wouldn't take no for an answer. Brisbane was full of opportunities, temptations, new people, no friends and old people who couldn't drive. About two months after I hit town I collected an old fart in his Nissan Bluebird, sending his car to the junkyard in the sky and my car to Dad's Panel Shop. He paid the insurance premium, I lost my car. After almost two months of taking the bus to work every day at 6:30am to make pizza dough and be generally exploited by a multinational corporation, I finally spotted my dream car parked outside my work on a typically late lunchbreak one Tuesday afternoon.

A 1990 Midnight Black Ford Laser TX3 Turbo 4WD. 

After I finished drooling over the masterpiece in the parking lot, I realised it was for sale and quickly jotted the number down. I rushed back inside and told everyone to check out my new car parked out front. "Yeah right!", "You're Dreamin!", "Whatever Trevor", they said. This made me even more determined. It would be mine. Oh yes, it would be mine. After talking to about a dozen lenders, some fool finally agreed to give me $12,000 AND full-comprehensive insurance to a rev-head Ford nut like me. I was stoked. I was The Quickest Delivery Boy in the West. Western Suburbs that is. 

The nice car brought more speed, a better future in computers and new friends into my life. Two of these were a bad thing. The one good thing suffered at the hands of the others. I lost my open licence in just over 18 months (which included going sideways down Centenary Highway at 145km/h and writing off a Cop Car in unrelated incidents), partied harder than ever with my new found 'friends' and had my new boss wondering what I was doing with my life on the weekends.

The next three years were filled with many life-altering decisions, another computer job, three relocations and a few more life-risking situations. Oh! And a new-found commitment to Jesus. That's the most excellent thing of all! He never meant anything to me personally for so long and then one day it just finally clicked.... like BAM! He started making a difference in my life. He never gave up on me once. He kept me relatively safe and away from anything I couldn't handle. He brought me into contact with people who would break me. People who would teach me things the hard way. He then gave me over to people who would repair me, shape me and make me. All part of his perfect plan.

With news of me starting what seems to be the job I have ALWAYS wanted in Brisbane soon (10th of May to be exact), my life on the Sunshine Coast is coming to an end and things are starting fresh. Almost a totally new life. I have the new job coming up, the (new) car due back on the road any day now, a new Church that I'd like to call home, a new bunch of awesome friends that I just seem to have slotted right into. Kind of like I just went away on holiday for a while and now I'm returning.. that's how natural it feels. Really... actually... none of this would have ever happened if it wasn't for one jazz-singing friend in particular. Teegstar. Who, on an almost daily basis, amazes me with how awesome, crazy, hilarious, mature, random, loving, rad, compassionate, interesting, wee-ord, adorable, honest, animated, relatable, considerate, enthusiastic and funny (did I say funny?) she is. If you ever have the privilege to meet this JesusHottie(tm), grab her autograph. She WILL be famous one day. I guarantee it. Thanks heaps mate... you've helped more than you will ever know!

Happy Birthday to MEEEEeeee

Happy Birthday to MEEEEeeee

I wouldn't be me without the T.V.!

Happy Birthday to MEEEEeeee!!!