thinning the herd

I remember that Darwin talked about the way that a species will naturally select certain traits and, for lack of a better term, remove them. Sometimes this happens by the ultimately sad process where the male is denied a mate, and their inferior genes aren't allowed to reproduce. Sometimes this happens through some other equally sad outcome, which ultimately works for the benefit of the species. Darwin failed me today. My school is conveniently divided by several streets--one of them being a freeway. There are adequate sidewalks, and to be honest, the flow of traffic is so minimal that one can almost cross without even thinking. That is where the problem occurs. Today there stood about 50 people on either side of the road. Each of them was completely engrossed in whatever else they were doing. This could have been texting (yet I doubt anyone would actually txt them) it could have been adjusting the music on their ipods (which was probably some crap that will turn their brains to mush) the rest were paying close attention to the traffic. Then, like a herd of dogs jumping out of the gates at a race track they all started moving. It was unbelievable! I say this because the road was jam packed with cars, and their light had just turned green. All of them, in unison jumped into the road as if they weren't crossing a street at all. Cars were honking their horns and slamming on their brakes, and yelling at the people to get out of the road. Guess what they did? The students all continued to look deeper into their little devices, as it is magically made them invisible and impervious to modern mechanics. Imagine, if you will, that you are participating with the running of the bulls in Spain. They throw open the doors, the bulls begin their stampede and suddenly everyone stops running and begins checking their FB updates. What do you think the bulls would say? I can tell you what they would say, "someone is in my way, and for that I will pulverize them into shanks of meat." Anyone who did that would die. These students should have died. I say that in the past tense, not in a vindictive way. There was no reason the cars didn't stop except for out of the goodness of their hearts. I have a real hard time dealing with stupid people. I also don't like that these students buried their heads deeper into their various devices. That does not for a good apology make, and it does not give them the right of way. This terrifies me because it shows a real paradigm shift in society. We ignore rules, and we don't think of others. Nothing is more important to us than our own insignificant happenings. More to come. I promise.

Baked Pickles.

So I know that it has been way too long since I've posted anything, and there is really no excuse. Today I'm posting about a great recipe I tried this week in honor of a recent excursion to a state fair. I freakin love fried food, but it will be the death of me if I eat it in "small" quantities. Enjoy! Ingredients 1 jar pickle slices 2 eggs 1/3 cup flour 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp hot sauce 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp Cajun seasoning 1 tsp pepper 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs Directions Turn oven broiler on high. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Mix well. Place panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Dunk each pickle slice into the egg mixture, than dredge it in the panko bread crumbs. Place coated pickles on a rack set above a baking sheet and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place pan in the middle rack of the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes on each side.

sorry

It has been far too long since I've written anything. School gets in the way, life gets busy, work gets hectic, and having a roommate move out and taking the router means that I rarely get internet at home. All of this means that I never have time to write when it is convenient. I just thought I would share a story from the past few months. I love riding the train. While it isn't the fastest mode of transportation, it certainly is the most luxurious. It is perfect because I don't need to drive, so I can just spend the whole time sleeping, or reading, or watching movies, and you get amazing scenery. The only weird thing about the train is the caliber of people riding it. Now, I'm not being disparaging of the train population, because i'm part of it, but every now and then you get some real pieces of work. This week I rode the train back to omaha, and there was a woman on the train making all sorts of inappropriate noises. There is no reason why lifting a backpack or stepping over train tracks should produce that noise, or anything similar. Well about 10 AM she goes running past my seat, and I got a whiff of poo. The next thing I know the conductor has come on the speaker and announced that there has been an emergency and the restroom is unavailable. 20 minutes later the woman walks past me wearing all new clothes. Okay, so I feel bad for this person, but there is no reason that should have happened. NONE WHATSOEVER. Each car has a restroom, she is an adult, there weren't lines on the train, no one was going to steal her seat, i just can't figure out why there needed to be an accident in the first place. so I encourage everyone to take a ride on a train. at the very least it will give you some great story about society, and at the very best you will get to see some amazing landscapes, read your favorite book, and get some pretty good naps.

I meant to write this earlier today

Well, day 2 of lent (i promise I won't give a count each time). I kind of liked the idea of filling my FB time with blogging time. I had something on my mind all day that I wanted to write about, but I got home and realized that my crock pot had been on all day (That is the point of crock pots) but for some reason whatever I was cooking just did not smell very good. As soon as I walked in the door I completely forgot everything I wanted to write about and became fixated on how I can get the smell of burned peas out of my house. I was really excited for this stew because it smelled so good while it was beginning to cook, but I got home and it now just grosses me out. What is more embarrassing is that I somehow managed to mess up a crock pot recipe. WHO DOES THAT? apart from a toaster oven it is the most hassle free kitchen appliance EVER. Lest you think that I'm a terrible cook, let me note that I made chicken curry the other day, from scratch. It was really good. Also I make an amazing grilled chicken breast sandwich with bacon, avocado, tomato, spinach, and pesto. It is probably one of my favorite meals. ugghhh I seriously can only smell the burned stew. it is making me seriously sick to my stomach. Well I better go to bed. hopefully with the windows open things will just air out.

Lent and other stuff

For the past few years I've observed Lent. It certainly isn't a required practice in my denomination, but I've had several catholic friends who've talked to me about it. I know very little about the ins and outs, but I love the fact that it is 40 days of sacrificing something in an attempt to draw closer to Christ. I'm at no loss of things to give up, in fact the hard part might be narrowing my "sin" down to just 1 or 2 manageable things. The last few years I've given up facebook for lent. I've actually really enjoyed this because I realize just how dependent my life is on social media--which I hate. I think I'm going to try that again. I wish i were in a position to completely give up media, but I'm so dependent on the internet for school, and work, and with my phone barely getting cell phone coverage the internet is the only way I have to stay in touch with friends and family. I think, as a way to fill my time with other activities I'm going to rededicate myself to my blog. I haven't written as often as i'd like, and I've had some great experiences which I haven't shared with anyone. So here comes my rant for Lent. Mark Twain once said something to the effect of, any library without a copy is Jane Austen is still a complete library. I don't know why he hated her so much. I'm sure she would look at his literature and say, "well that is just a bunch of crap, and what irresponsible children. WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS!!" I know that I actually use that line all the time, "What is with all these children? where are their parents?" This is quickly getting off topic--I have the attention span of an ADHD kid on crack. I don't know what his problem with her was, but I actually like her. I even miss having classes that required me to read her stuff. More than anything i lament the loss of her society. say what you will about her writing style, or her characters, or anything else, but please leave her culture alone. I LOVE the civility which her novels attempt to capture. We live in a world that has lost all notion of civility and decorum. I walked to the grocery store yesterday, and greeted everyone with whom I crossed paths with a hello, or a how are you. no one responded. In fact, no one even looked me in the eye. it was actually really pathetic. Civility isn't just lost on random strangers. I've even noticed it among acquaintances. There are a lot of people that I would like to smack in the teeth because they just don't seem to get it. Where were/are their parents? How is it that parents have completely given up on raising their children to be respectful. it makes me sad. On a positive note, I have discovered Spotify. this is a music streaming program like Pandora. I personally feel it is superior. if you don't have it I recommend it. Look up a few songs; Girls just wanna have fun by Emile Autumn, Holocaust of Giants by Rasputina, and just generally enjoy the exploration.

the sound of silence

There is a sign posted at the door of the library which reads thus, Silence is expected To maintain this tranquil place of learning, I--long ago--decided that I would conduct all phone conversations out in the lobby where I can't possible disturb anyone. The general populace here at Creighton is fairly polite when it comes to library etiquette. However there are a few who don't seem to understand what constitutes a breach of the library's expectations. 1. The gamer. Lets start here because it is happening behind me as we speak. we might be so accustomed to this noise that we forget it even exists, but the clicking of a mouse is actually a noticeable thing. While it is generally not a big deal the kid behind me is about ten seconds away from being punched in the mouth. Lets try an experiment. go to your mouse and click the buttons as often as you can, this will be synonymous with a woodpecker chiseling into your brain. Now, keep doing it. don't stop, no. Keep going. you've probably made it about twenty or thirty seconds before your finger gets slightly exhausted--or quanked as i learned today. Now imagine that noise continuing for 20 MINUTES. unbelievable. I don't think I would mind except that this noise is managing to pierce through my Beethoven Sonata, and the Mozart Requiem before that, and the Strauss waltz before that. Furthermore, sweats and a t-shirt do not an ensemble make. They also do not cover up to the fact that you haven't showered yet, as evidenced by your hair which is matted to one side of your head while looking like you just got in a fight with an egg beater on the other. Please don't use my library for your gaming exploits. if you need to level up, do that on your own bandwidth, and not while I'm trying to research theology and Renaissance art. 2. the phone talkers. Please relegate your conversations to the same lobby I use. No one wants to hear about how you got so drunk you passed out in the frat house and don't care how many people you might have done things with. Syphilis--like sweats and t-shirts--does not an ensemble make. lets not brag about what things you might have contracted during the weekends kegger. As an added note can we talk about obnoxious cell phone rings. This is why I don't think children should be given cell phones. They don't get it, and they don't know how to be polite with it. 3. the gormandizers. This is one that I'm totally guilty of right now, but I figure that since I'm not offending on the other two, that I'm safe. Also I'm not chewing gum. Could there be anything more repellent than gum? The constant smacking, and clicking, and bubble popping, it is just all too much. To my recent memory I can think of no one that I felt it was okay for them to chew gum. A lot of people bring food to the library. I totally get that, in fact I have a medley of carrots green beans and mushrooms with a vegetable dip at my kiosk right now. When one spends an entire day in the library one must be prepared in order to maximize ones time. Also I don't want to give up my killer kiosk to go and grab food. Well I think this is a good starting point for the blog posts. sorry i haven't posted very much this semester. I'll try and be more observant.

These are a few of my favorite things

Alright, I get that it has been a while since I've posted anything. I apologize. I'd like to say that I'm going to post more, but I think this semester might kick my butt. I figured that a good way to start out this year was to list off a few of my favorite things, again. I like this segment. It helps me to stay grounded. 1-I love ties. I've been mistaken for faculty so many times it is starting to give me a complex. Today while walking through the student center several Employees addressed me, while ignoring the countless students walking past them, and said "good morning Sir, how are you?" This just was flattering to me. Being the paradigm of civility I responded graciously and appropriately. 2-being old. I'll admit it, I'm getting old. I might be young chronologically, but everyday I'm reminded of the disparity between my culture and the culture of students only 7-10 years different (oh good crap! some of these students are ten years younger than me... forget that I'm old). While working diligently at my computer I was aware that several underclassmen were moving towards my table. They were engaged in a heated debate about the merits and flaws of certain battle bots. I don't know what those are, but I'm assuming that it is something akin to the pogs of my generation. I have a few ideas about what caused this cultural rift, but I'm not totally sure of the causes so I'll hold off on giving those insights. 3-Burberry. I'm a fan of Burberry. it is a refreshing and pleasant scent. 4-Scarves. i think that the weather has dropped unbelievably. How grateful I am that I have such great clothes to fashionably keep away the cold. Well I was going to continue with this list, but my table has been overrun by these underclassmen. A. no one has taught them how to apply deodorant, cologne, or clothing. B. they've started touching my belongings and moving them around. I think they are oblivious to the fact that I'm a bigger deal than they are. This leads me to my insight of the day. if a Masters is the new Bachelors, then underclassman are the new HS students. At no time has this been more apparent to me than here, at this table.

LAME

okay. I thought I was going to post more during the holiday from school. I actually haven't wanted to turn on a computer, but today I decided to watch some movie trailers while I checked up on some emails and other correspondences. I saw a trailer for a new G.I.Joe. SPOILER ALERT! My initial reaction to the trailer was one of optimism. As a child I loved playing with G.I. Joe action figures. most of them ended up going against my X-men toys who were riding dinosaurs and locked down in a huge fort made out of furniture. The G.I. Joes didn't stand a chance, lets just put it that way. The first movie did an okay job with the whole story, so how could this one be any worse? Well it looks like the producers knew that it was going to be worse than the first one because the synopsis of the sequel talks about how much money the first movie made. I'm no expert, but that doesn't seem like a synopsis. What it does seem like is a plow to convince people to watch this movie based solely on the monetary success of its brother. The action sequences look original enough (or at least re-creations of older sequences)I lost all interest in the movie as soon as Bruce Willis made a cameo appearance. How old is he? more importantly, who keeps hiring him for action movies? And lastly, what a sad gimmick. The movie (and its producers) aren't confident enough in the films merits that they need to hire someone and throw it in like some safety net to make sure that the movie isn't a flop. I was going to post the trailer, but it just bugged me enough that I decided not to. If you feel so inclined it is on apple trailers.

And on the 8th day God gave man language . . .

Usually I don't enjoy going to midnight showings of movies. I'm sure there was a time where this was appealing to me, but I'm afraid that I've grown a too old for this. When my friend informed me that we had tickets to see Sherlock Holmes I'll admit that I was excited. There were some great trailers. The new-and final-batman released a trailer which was thoroughly exciting. But I'll admit that my real joy came from from the movie itself. The first movie was so impressive, and I just loved the portrayal of Sherlock, and the way that he mentally worked through all the problems in his head before it actually happened. I also recently (and I mean before I moved out east) completed the series. I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone, especially since I'm writing this less than 30 minutes after getting out of it. I just love seeing how people navigate movies and literature. I love movies, they give something that books can't. I love books, they tell stories that movies never will be able to. If you haven't read any of the stories (they are short, people. go read them. it takes a few hours). They are so much fun, and many of you will know my mantra that language and especially writing is a God given gift that far too few people take advantage of, and most of them fail to develop. At this point I can feel my fingers getting tired, and I know that if I don't just post this soon that it will just start turning into ramblings, and other such nonesasnd,and sasodkntasjd, andu ,saslod, haha. good night.

a great video

Titles are always the hardest thing to figure out...

Does anyone else agree? I always seem to have a lot to say, but finding a catchy title that will be informative enough to let the reader know what to expect, as well as short enough to not be overdrawn, is really one of the hardest parts. anyway, on to the writing.

One of my favorite memories growing up was the James Bond marathon that would happen on TV about this time of year. I love, even more that these movies--most of them--are rated PG. I just started watching Goldfinger, and James just grabbed a naked woman out of a bathtub, started making-out with her, and then used her as a human shield when some guy came at him with a club. Listen James. Maybe she was enjoying her tub. have you ever stopped to think about that? You might be a total womanizer, and probably syphilitic, but that is no excuse to use women as human shields. people who do that are jerks, even in the 1960s. and just since I've started writing this paragraph I've heard more misogynistic references then the writers of MadMen are able to come up in an entire episode...and that is saying something.

Alas I didn't want to write a play-by-play of Goldfinger. Go rent it if you want to know what happens.

I wanted to write about . . . you know what? I don't know. maybe that is why it was so hard coming up with a title?
I guess we'll just leave it at James bond for the night. I know I've got a few things I wanted to write down, but I think I better give it some thought and organize it first before I publish anything.

have a good night.

Things I love

Well today is the day of my last--and only--final. I'm pretty excited, but I'm seriously procrastinating by writing this. you know what? it doesn't matter. I need to write, and not read more about Freud's theory of penis envy, or lesbian scholars talking about how the only truly oppressed people are black lesbians, and that no one understands them.

On that note, let us commence with my list of things I love today.

-Feeding the Missionaries

I don't know what it is about these two, but I just love them. I try and have them over for dinner once every week or two, and if you ever want to feel like you're on top of the world, invite them over for dinner. THey were just so blown away (it kind of makes you wonder what other people feed them). Last night I made mashed cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Rot kohl (red cabbage), and a pork roast, with hot apple cider. By the way, all of those things top my list of things I love, especially the red cabbage, and the mashed cauliflower.

-The cold side of the pillow

This really is probably the most comforting thing in the whole world.

-Christmas lights on campus

BYU used to put up lights on a few trees, but the severe lack of foliage in UT makes it a little difficult to really go-to-town. Creighton has the most extensive display, and I love it. it reminds me of when I lived in Germany, and the city would create a canvas of lights and drape it over the road. perfect. love it.

-Buffalo Wild Wings

for whatever reason we talk regularly of B-dubs in my graduate program. there are a few of us who just love it, and one of us who just can't stand it, but tonight after our test we'll most likely go and get wings, and play some amazing rounds of trivial pursuit. and on that note I should probably get some studying done.

Have a great day.

Everything i need to know i learned in Concert Choir: Abundance and Scarcity

"now stand up, slowly bringing your spine and neck and head out of the curve. Good. Feel the stretching, now imagine that a string running from your navel through your torso and up through your neck and past the top of your head is being pulled tight. Feel your chin drop, and your head elevate, and your shoulders being tugged backwards. Now breath in." The whole class simultaneously inhaled a deep breath, as if we'd calmly risen out of water after several minutes of holding our breath. "Breath in abundance" sister H would say in the reassuring welsh accent. "Now breath out, and exhale scarcity." Silently, as if any noise would ruin the moment all 100 students exhaled. "One more time, breath in abundance, and exhale scarcity. exhale all the stress of finals. exhale the problems with teachers, and breath in abundance. breath in the abundance." This was how we started class everyday, and everyday there was something new to add to the list of abundance, and everyday there was always something I was glad to exhale.

I'm actually thinking about writing a book with the title from this post because the more I think about it EVERYTHING I needed to learn about life was taught to me during those 5 terribly short hours each week.

The lesson today is abundance and scarcity. all of my anxiety, and stress, and fear comes not from any real problem that exists, rather it stems from my inability to exhale the scarcity and breath in abundance. I have this great gift of being able to analyze EVERYTHING, and the miracle of that gift is trumped by the fact that I can take this analysis and turn it into anxiety, not because there really is a problem but because I fill my mind with the what-ifs.

When I realized and actually thought about all the abundance I have in my life I've noticed that the void I've created by focusing on scarcity is filled immediately.

Why did it take me 4 years of choir, and two years after leaving it to understand the value in this lesson? maybe it had something to do with hearing it with the welsh accent. I don't know about anyone else, but English accents--and I mean any accent which comes from the Island nation of great Britain--carry a validity with them that makes whatever lesson that much more weighty and important.

Well when you all sit down tonight at the end of your day take a minute to try this. sit in a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and with every breath think about how much you have, of everything. There are experiences that no one else has ever gone through, books read, and thoughts developed that no one has ever contemplated, snow that no one has walked on, icicles which no one has touched, that cold part of the pillow on which no one has lain, and relationships which no one else has had.

and each time you breath out forget every time that you've felt insignificant, or not enough, or too short, or too fat, or the haircut that doesn't look good, or the person who dumped you.

I know that this is starting to sound like Maria VonTrapp in the Sound of Music, but I think it is still a valid point (man I love that movie, I think I'm going to watch it tonight.)

I was going to put a song on here from the BYU Concert Choir but I couldn't figure out how to add a media player, anyone know how?

I can't wait

Apart from that Baz Lurman (?) remake of Romeo and Juliet, there is nothing I like better then a retelling of an old story. Fortunately for me we have TWO versions coming out of the beloved Snow White. Let me first start by saying that one of these movies looks amazingly well done, and the other stars Kristin Stewart. :[



I'm really excited for this movie mostly because I love that julia Roberts looks amazing. She must sleep in a vat of preservatives because she is not aging, and she just looks really good. well played Julia, well played.
The other version, which does about as much for Snow White as Twilight did for vampires, looks just awful. apart from some pretty impressive special effects I just can't stand Kristin Stewart. I've seen rocks show more facial expressions then her.


I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. I'm really sorry that I haven't written more over the past few weeks. I'm a little tied up in final projects, but I promise to provide links to all my projects so you can see what has taken up all of my time.

Great Expectations Or How I was Disappointed by Hollywood . . . again

I feel like this should become a regular feature on my blog.

Last night I went and saw the new Muppet Movie. While I have a soft spot in my heart for the Muppets, this movie was pretty disappointing. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an almost unbelievably high rating. sad.

It was cute, there were certain things that touched my heart and made me feel like we were back in a golden age of muppets, but it fell short in so many ways that I actually wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Problem 1. the movie is WAY too aware of its own insignificance. this movie points out, probably a dozen times- that the muppets have become irrelevant, and that no one wants to watch them anymore. This wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't also for the fact that they kept hinting at a muppet revival. I understand that it was just a cute way to carry the story, but there were enough cameo appearances to really make one wonder if they were going to bring back the Muppet TV show. They probably won't, so it was just a whole lot of empty promises and whining about how no one loves the muppets anymore.

Problem 2. They tried to fill the movie with too much. obviously, less is more. more is not more. The muppets are a musical tradition, but when you can only perform one verse of a song because you have to move on in order to get to each of the other songs that you're going to only sing one verse to, well it makes it a little hard to do anything justice.

Redeeming quality

Well it did have a very touching lesson, in fact there were several touching lessons that I took from the movie, but they were hard to articulate, especially when I'm so disappointed with the work as a whole.

Parking

I've been fortunate enough to drive quite a bit. Growing up in Utah I learned to drive at the age of 14 on a dirt road up to our ranch. At 19 I went to Germany and had the great fortune of driving on the Autobahn. at 23 I drove cross country twice. then at 27 I drove back east. After thousands of miles I like to think that I'm an aficionado when it comes to driving. People like to claim that Utahns are terrible drivers. they might have their flaws, but they're not. Californians are. at the very least the Californians who leave the state and invade others are the worst drivers, but even with that said Americans really struggle with the idea of the fast lane. Ideally you should always stay to the right-most lane, unless you are passing, but once you've passed then you are supposed to get right back over.

Now that you've all learned how to drive, lets talk about parking. Omahanians take the place for worst parkers on earth. I'm not sure what it is about those lines in parking lots but these people seem to be under the impression that these lines are mistakes--perhaps left by migrant workers during the initial paving of the are. As a result they park in whatever helter-skelter formation they see fit. How hard is it, and I'm asking this in all honest, to pull a car into a parking stall with adequate room on either side of the car to allow passengers to load and unload? for some people it must be impossible. Perhaps they're color blind and the yellow lines are indistinguishable from the black asphalt. Perhaps asphalt is a new invention here. I've noticed plenty of roads that aren't paved, so maybe the idea of asphalt covered lots where cars spend their idle time, is so new or foreign that they see these lines and are filled with the same apprehension I get when looking at texts in Mandarin Chinese. While all of these are possibilities, I'm much more inclined to think that it is just because they aren't paying attention when they park, which means that they probably won't notice if I were to write mean things with my keys into the body of their vehicle, maybe they wouldn't notice if someone sliced through the tubes with the brake fluid in them. I'm not admitting anything, and I'm certainly not condoning it, but lets get real. people who park their cars terrible deserve to have just a little somethin-somethin.

Did she really just say that?

I’m in need of some good ol’ cathartic ranting. Pop your vicodin people, because this could hurt.

Today, as I was getting ready to play some flag football with some friends, I sat down to talk to one girl—who was obviously not dressed for an athletic event, wearing knee high boots and jeans. She and I began talking about our academic careers. She now works in some aspect of law. Who can remember exactly what she does? I’ve decided to forget that detail.

Anyway, It turned out that this girl also had taken several literature classes.

As our conversation progressed we had a few laughs, and she—in her giddy joy of having someone talk to her—exclaimed “Seriously? How did the guy ask her out, I mean he was in the English Class” She implied that men who study English are undatable.

Well I’m glad that someone who is educated and well read is unable to be appealing to women. Obviously her taste in men has worked out well because she’s…oh wait, she isn’t in a relationship. When a girl shows up 30 minutes before an event –alone—she obviously doesn’t have a boyfriend. Not that this is a problem though. I’m sure it is part of everyone’s life goal to grow old and alone…after all, that is why God invented cats.

Good luck law lady. I hope you enjoy living alone—with cats—for the rest of your life. I originally thought you were appealing, but your little outburst proved that you couldn’t be interested at all.

I really should be asleep...

...but I just had a thought from the day. During my jog my Ipod suddenly stopped working. despite my efforts to reboot it just wouldn't do anything. Jogging without music is THE WORST. Anyway, once I got it fixed I was going through my Ipod and I rediscovered a ton of great music that I haven't listened to in forever. I'll see if I can find some videos of them over the next few days, and maybe I'll even find some of their songs. the problem is that I have this strange addiction for European Music/groups. I sort of enjoy listening to stuff that i know no one else will recognize or know. I hate having music get over-played. A lot of times when I get music from an American band I'll play it through a few times before I realize that it basically sounds like everything else they've been able to push through a mold.

Oh well. I keep looking, and I'm not finding anything I feel like posting, or that I feel would make anyone like my music. I'll try again tomorrow

narcissus.

Mythology is super cool! I don't know if anyone has had a chance to look through some of the stories, but they are full of great life lessons. Lets start with this one.

Narcissus was a young hunter. Apparently he was also super good looking, and was so good looking, in fact, that he didn't need anyone else. He cast aside all those that loved him, because when you are hot it is okay to be a jerk to people. Nemesis, the divine being of retribution (seriously how cool is this religion? they have a god for everything) decided that she was sick to crap of his pathetic attitude, so while he was off hunting in the woods she presented him with a pond. This pond was crystal clear and allowed him to see his own reflection, which as we know is super hot, and he became entranced by it. Minutes turned into hours turned into days, and pretty soon he died--because even good looking people need food, and his beautiful reflection was just not enough to keep him alive.

The lesson here is don't piss off Nemesis. HAHA I'm just kidding. The actual lesson has to do with the prophecy by some old man who said that Narcissus would live a long and fruitful life as long as he never knew himself. So the lesson is that Narcissus would have lived a great life, full of valuable relationships, if he had just been nice instead of vain.

I could ramble on and on about the linguistic and actual similarities between gyms, the male gender and hunting and animals. In an effort to be "more manly" we spend hours in gyms, mostly because our modern sedentary lifestyle doesn't allow us to obtain physical activity in any normal fashion. I bring up Narcissus only because there is a huge mirror along one whole wall of the gym. It is often helpful to look at yourself in the mirror if only to motivate you through a workout. I'll admit it. I totally stare into my own eyes to try and intimidate myself into working harder. Usually that is all. I honestly give it my best effort to not flex in front of the mirror and stare at myself.

I just think it is so funny how often people will stand in front of these mirrors--for really long times--and just stare at themselves flexing. not lifting weights. not in the middle of a workout. just flexing. I get that some of them have worked really hard for their bodies, more of them have probably just injected themselves with--what we'll call--sugar water. Meanwhile their relationships are languishing by the wayside.

One would think, based on our academic setting that more people would know the story of narcissus, but I guess I'm just being altruistic.

why has it been so long since my last post?

Honestly. I can't answer that question. One would think that being sick, and spending my days at home would have given me the time to write something. Alas, being sick also left me debilitatingly tired. I think I slept like 10 hours a day, and that didn't include the naps. The good news is that the fevers have subsided. The body aches are gone. I'm still sleeping a ton (which I love, and thank heavens for the whole -daylights savings time which gave me an extra hour of sleep last night). The only bad news is that my rose is running like one of those Marathon runners that flies all over the world just running. Alright, that was a terrible analogy, but my rose is running like crazy. How does my nose make so much snot? you know that terrible raw feeling your nose gets when you've used too many tissues? I'm totally feeling that.

I'm sure I could take some medication, but really I have a thing with medication. No I'm not one of those crazy people, but my experience living in Germany has taught me that sometimes you just need Tea and sleep.

This reminds me of another story about drug use.

I had a surgery a few years ago. The doctor needed to put me under, and he said that he was going to use the strongest sedative they had. I explained that I didn't need that. If the nurse would be nice enough to simply shake the bottle in front of my face I would pass out for the rest of the day. Well the doctor didn't believe me, and he used a huge sedative and I ended up sleeping for like 5 hours longer than what they had planned.

Long story short I don't have a great tolerance for meds, which knock me out. That is probably the reason that I didn't write anything last week was because I was strung out on cold meds

Enjoy the upcoming week.