My friends, let me start by once again offering my sincerest apologies for my severe writing deficit. It has been quite some time since I provided you with regular glimpses into my life or posted bits of random goodness for you to contemplate. For this I must apologize; everyone knows, that it is not due to a lack of things to talk about… it is because I haven’t made the time to tell you about it.

In today’s installment, I feel that it is only right to bring everyone up to speed on the “adventures of Matthew.” So much has happened since I last wrote you that I hardly know where to begin. So pull up a chair, grab a warm cup of tea, and let us start at, well, the end of the beginning.

The End of the Beginning

The end of the beginning was marked by a substantially monumental event, one that some thought they would never witness. College graduation, where young men and women transition from professional student-hood to professional old-ism (or more school, cough, Tyler). In my case, I said my tearful goodbye to the carefree days of college and then proceeded to spend the following month engaging in unprecidented levels of uselessness. The days were short, the nights long and party-filled… and life was delightful. Unfortunately, as someone wise once said, all good things must come to an end. Once again, the axiom proved right; I ran out of money.

Before I lead you assume that I was totally useless during my month of relaxation, I was actually quasi-productive. I secured a job with the local Air Force Base, moved a new house, and spent a week in Hilton Head with the family. Because Goverment paperwork takes so long to process, I didn’t actually start orientation until June 23rd, despite accepting the position the first week of May! That should have been a sign. After two weeks of “orientation,” otherwise known as “death by PowerPoint,” I finally got to my desk and started figuring out what grown up life might look like to normal people.

The Beginning of the Next

After a few days to settle into my new area, I started getting a little workload. I got my first paycheck, which ment I could actually afford important things, like food and HD camcorders. And I’m slowly adjusting to the working life. It’s a hard adjustment that has not come without its issues; for example, I still prefer to stay awake until 1am… in fact, I can’t seem to go to sleep any earlier. Unfortunately waking up at 6am doesn’t really work out too well – I’ve found myself napping in the afternoons. Napping! Good grief!

I have also been engaged in various “home improvement” projects. Of course, not my home – that sort of responsibility is unbecoming to someone of my particular level of responsibility, at least for a couple more years. We’ve installed a zip-line, an outdoor movie screen, a home theater system, and are in the process of building a bar and planning a deck. My theories in the field of home improvement may be a little off kilter, but whatever.

In addition to activities around the home front, I’ve been venturing out into the wide world around me. Parties in Atlanta, upcoming trips to LSU, concerts… I’m even hoping to start working on a private pilots license in the next few months, assuming I don’t spend all my money on something else. Fun times, indeed.

In Closing

I know this has been but a brief glimpse at the assortment of strange and wonderful activities with which I concern myself. Unfortunately I don’t have the time nor the recollection to write in detail about every entertaining incident. However, I will attempt to keep this as site up to date with my mischief as possible (and of course the random bits of useful tech advice).

If you want to better stay abreast of current events, be sure to look up my Vimeo page or my Flickr / Facebook photo streams (hopefully I can integrate all of those into this site at a future date). One friend even suggested weekly webisodes centering around “the life of Smitty.” We’ll see about that… I find myself more intrigued than I probably should be.

Of course you can let me know what you think, hit the comment button and write away!

Love ya!