…with 30 seconds to spare.

• I don’t like when people I care about are put in uncomfortable, lose-lose situations.

That post has well over 1,100 notes now.

I originally posted it because I thought it was an interesting image: the context being that it was a box full of razor blades sitting in the hallway of a high school in the middle of summer construction. It had absolutely nothing to do with the context that many of you are now reading into it, and I kind of hate that it has suddenly taken on a life of its own as an image that is enticing to cutters. But hey, art is art and this is what happens.

If any of you kids have stopped by steelopus.com thinking you’d find a haven for self-harm, well then you must be pretty disappointed by now - and yes, I deliberately used the word kids - because, of the hundreds of your blogs that I’ve checked out today, the overwhelming majority belong to teenagers.

Obviously I’m just some internet-stranger who has no comprehension of why you feel like self-harm is a solution to whatever problem you may be experiencing, so I’m not really in any position to give advice. I’m about as far from a mental health expert as you’ll find, but I was once a teenager and one thing I can promise you is that there are healthy and non-destructive ways to deal with your problems.

If you feel that family and friends can’t help you then all I can do is point you towards google and advise you to search for hotlines relating to whatever might be bringing you down. Help is out there, and it’s free, and it works.

Just please stop cutting yourselves.

Highlights include:

January

• Chicago (Toni & Dan, FMGreen, Steve Albini)
• Tonsillitis

February

• First dentist visit in 10 years.
• A lot of snow. A lot of shoveling.

March

• Tonsillitis
• Started 40 in 40

April

• David Bazan in Rochester
• Completed 40 in 40
• Tonsillitis

May

• Declared war on the dandelions
• Planted a Japanese Maple

June

• Great photography at STPR
• FMGreen released Victory!
• Big surprise for dad’s 75th birthday

July

• RIP D.K.
• Visited D.C.
• 3 days with the Blue Angels

August

• Played some shows
• Had a nice weekend in Naples, NY

September

• The end of the green!
• David Bazan in my house
• Made a direct effort to spend less time online and post less to this blog

October

• RIP Steve Jobs
• Aurora Borealis over Lake Ontario

November

• Grape Pie
• David Bazan in Baltimore
• Roflchester
• Actually walked up to and talked with a girl I’d never met before
• Tonsillitis
• Scheduled a Tonsillectomy

December

• Went on some dates with said girl
• Smiled; a lot.

I’ll remember 2011 as a year where I made a lot of music and went to a lot of shows. I traveled a bit and spent a lot of time with family. I made some commitments to myself and set some personal goals and I followed through and accomplished most of them.

2012 has a lot to live up to.