Have you guys ever noticed that I only have two links on my blogroll? Take a look on the right side of the page, down at the bottom of the content, under “Sites That Are Worth Your Time.” There they are. One, two. Today I want to talk about the first one.

I’ve been a full-time admirer and part-time friend of Neil’s for a long time (well, a year, which is long in web time). His site 1000 Awesome Things always, always gives me something to smile about each time I visit. He’s been counting down 1,000 awesome things every weekday for the past two years or so (he’s almost half done as of the time of this writing).

Every post has something good going for it. They’re well-written, funny, touching, full of fantastic images, and they almost always give you that “Yes, I know exactly what you mean!” feeling. I don’t know how this guy does it. I mean seriously, check this out and tell me it’s not amazing:

#538 Laughing so hard you start crying

It’s a beautiful moment.

Your friend suddenly squeezes her eyes shut and starts shaking her head while laughing so hard little streams of salty tears start running down her cheeks. She covers her mouth with her hands as her wide-eyed face turns red — and you can see shiny reflections sparkle in her glittery wet eyes. Big booms bounce off walls until she eventually slows down, gasps for air, and open her eyes wide while wet sniffling, smiling widely, and regaining her composure.

And then she looks you right in the eyes and smiles. And you look her right in the eyes and smile.

And it starts all over again.

AWESOME!

And they’re all like that. So do yourself a favor today and take a look at the site. If you’re anything like me, you’ll get lost there for a while, and it’ll be the best thing you’ll see online today.

Another cool thing about Neil: he just set me up for lunch with one of his best friends the other day. This guy happens to live in the Milwaukee area, so we met at a pub and exchanged a ton of cool ideas. One day I gotta get together with both of these guys, and see what comes of it. Great stuff.

I’m also happy to report that he’s finally throwing all these wonderful observations into a book, The Book of Awesome. It’s not out just yet, but you can certainly preorder it if you’re so inclined. Neil was kind enough to send me an advance copy to check out, and I only got a few pages in before I bookmarked one (”High-Fiving Babies,” if you must know).

Neil, I only have one thing to say to you.

AWESOME!

Similar Posts:

• There’s Always Pain
• 5 Things You Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of
• What Would Happen
• The Smile of the Universe
• Even In Sickness, Hope