Sometimes I fall into that slough of self-examination where I feel as though I have accomplished nothing with my life. Or, when compared to Person X, I am found wanting. This often happens when I’m not currently working on a creative project, as they tend to define me and give me purpose.

So I think it might be helpful to recollect the things I have achieved. Not in a boastful, resting on my laurels sort of way. But to remind myself that I am the same person who did all of those things. Try it yourself when you are feeling somewhat less than.

Here are some of the things I have accomplished so far:

1. Learned to program in BASIC when I was 8 years old
2. Wrote a computer game when I was 10 and sold one copy
3. Learned to ride a bike
4. Learned to play the trombone
5. Wrote and directed Welcome to the Real World during my senior year of high school
6. Wrote and performed skits and monologues in front of hundreds of people
7. Learned to drive a stick shift
8. Was class Treasurer and class Chaplain
9. Was a National Merit Scholar
10. Read the entire Bible
11. Graduated high school
12. Won best supporting actor for my performance in Off Kennedy’s Yacht
13. Won best playwright for All We See and Seem
14. Helped make the short film K
15. Wrote a thesis on Interactive Fiction
16. Ran a massively multiplayer interactive fiction game as my senior writing project in college
17. Saw Pink Floyd in concert
18. Drove across the U.S. both East to West and North to South
19. Learned how to build my own computer
20. Filmed, directed and edited the documentary Goodbye, Hello
21. Graduated college
22. Survived six car accidents, unscathed
23. Convinced someone to marry me
24. Created presentations for the biggest company on earth
25. Owned a house
26. Survived a divorce
27. Taught myself Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Poser, Illustrator, Premiere, and After Effects
28. Won a short fiction contest with my story The Numbers Game
29. Published a chapbook of poetry called Poem-Shaped Lies
30. Solved Myst III without any hints
31. Adapted The Warlock of Firetop Mountain into a module for Neverwinter Nights. It won a contest created by the publishers of the book. (The British) Steve Jackson played it and wrote me a letter of congratulations.
32. Checked in to a mental institution
33. Checked out of a mental institution
34. Made love to beautiful women
35. Stood naked on top of a volcano
36. Adopted a pregnant cat
37. Won a Telly award for my piece on the New Mexico Jazz Workshop
38. Had a crisis of faith
39. Learned how to break up with girls
40. Dual-wielded .45mm pistols
41. Published another chapbook of poetry called From the Ashes of Puppets
42. Won a fiction contest with my story My Strychnine Valentine
43. Sued the DEA and won
44. Learned how to make friends in a new city
45. Lived in at least 9 different cities
46. Performed slam poetry in five major cities
47. Created and published a board game called House of Whack
48. Created a web comic called Dream Job
49. Held my own with John Hodgman
50. Was a guest columnist for Secure Immaturity
51. Created and organized a film festival for women filmmakers called Something Real
52. Learned how to practice authenticity and integrity
53. Helped create a bumper for Fantastic Fest called Lollipop
54. Created a board game and beer meetup called Boards ‘N Brews
55. Performed improv comedy
56. Had an existential crisis
57. Beat Mischa in Wiz-War
58. Published The Stork
59. Filed my taxes in January
60. Saw the last night launch of a space shuttle
61. Designed hundreds of web sites
62. Avoided ever breaking any bones in my body
63. Have, at one time or another, lost everything I thought I needed to survive
64. Did what was right instead of what was easy