on the birth of a great man

(doug at our mustache bash a couple years ago - doesn't he look superb?!)

Its my best friend's birthday today. He turns 28. You can read about him here. I thought I'd add a few more things to that list of things about him today.

- Doug wants to be a screenwriter. He discovered this a little over a year ago and has been working toward it ever since. He has read almost every book there is to read on the subject, has written two full screenplays, and will attend graduate school in screenwriting in the fall of 2012. He works on his screenplays every night and has an entire notebook filled full of ideas for stories yet to be written. He carries this notebook with him everywhere and writes down ideas at the most random of times.
- Doug is an excellent writer. He has a way of capturing thoughts and feelings and then expressing them in the most perfect way. He pens raw emotion on a page and its incredible.
- Doug is superstitious. Not the traditional superstitious, like when a black cat crosses his path he tries to pet it, but his own version of superstitious. For example, he won't sit in the seat directly behind the driver's seat in a car. He always grabs the second of something (the second box of cereal on the shelf - the one behind the first).
- Doug is unbelievably not innocent and completely innocent all at the same time. He knows the raunchiest terms and jokes and rap lyrics and yet has this sweet boyish ignorance about him. Once when we were hanging out by the river in our town in Virginia, he was picking up the biggest rocks he could find and hurling them into the river, when all of a sudden he picked up a rock and there was a water snake beneath it. He jumped back and yelled "A SNAKE!" with utter glee and immediately tried to grab it. I saw the 8-year-old in him come out and it was so sweet and unexpected.
- Doug is incredibly intelligent. He learns things at lightning speed and this, combined with his amazing memory and his thirst for knowledge makes him wicked smart. I'm constantly in awe of his intellect and all of the things he manages to keep straight in his brain.
- Doug has a strong testimony of God. Though he can curse like a pirate and probably isn't your typical mormon, Doug reads his scriptures everyday, prays every night, goes to church every week, and has a strong belief in God. He KNOWS the Bible and the Book of Mormon. He has really studied his religion and other religions as well. He even used to want to do it for a living. We probably have as many books on religion(s) as we do anything in our house.
- Doug is unexpected. If you know Doug or were to meet Doug, perhaps one of my favorite things about Doug is that he is not what you think he is...ever. Doug is a gifted athlete and loves sports and can hang in just about any conversation with sports facts and stats, but he is no dumb jock. He loves music, theatre, and prose, but you'll never catch him in a turtleneck. He is super techy and loves electronics and plays video games and even wears a headset sometimes while he plays, but he is also completely up on politics and news and has more friends in real life than online. He knows all the words to the nastiest rap songs and shamelessly listens to them when he works out, but he also loves country music, and classical piano, and just about everything but opera. Just when I think I've got him pegged, he quotes a line from Beauty and the Beast or starts speaking German fluently when we are ordering food on our Europe trip.
I must admit, I absolutely love that about him.

I could go on and on obviously (and sorta have, sorry) so I'll just say, I've very grateful to have this gentleman in my life.

Check out this video (1 min. long) of some pictures of Doug growing up. :)



Happy Birthday, love!