Yeah, fooling myself by fishing for compliments as an external
   validation for a sense of self worth? Done that, apparently.
   Didn't realize I was doing it, even when people pointed it out
   to me. "Ah, fishing for compliments again, Ken?" I'd just look
   at them strangely. Didn't make sense to me.

   But I suppose they're right. I can't always see myself so
   perhaps that phrase is appropriate, at least from their point of
   view, so I accept that it might have some validity.

   While I haven't felt good about myself at every moment of my
   life; generally, I do. I found a tape of myself at 7 years old,
   playing and singing a song on the piano. [stuck it on soundcloud
   'cause it's simply ridiculous]

   Anyway, after playing and singing "Tomorrow" from Annie in a
   squeaky voice, at the end I said to the invisible audience in
   the tape recorder,
   "It was good, wasn't it?"
   "Yes it was! Yes it was, yes!" I finalized with an improvised
   sung/played chord.

   And that sums me up. I like getting validation but if I don't?
   I'm still ok. Validation is just a little icing.