Day 131 Why Do I Care?

I was eating lunch today, and when I couldn't find anyone to sit with, settled on a spot by myself. My days eating lunch by myself -I won't lie- suck. Especially when I have nothing else to do immediately afterward. Days like this, though, are GREAT for people watching. As I watched...well...people, I took my headphones out, because nothing says "Don't sit by me" like a set of headphones. I heard some variant of a language of which I am not familiar, and it irritated me, especially because there was a table of about eighty people speaking said language.

Upon this realization, I thought to myself: Why do I care? What difference does it make? Loving people doesn't involve being irritated because someone can't speak the same language as I do. Why does it matter if someone cuddles with their girlfriend (although this is really just awkward and I don't know why)?

Why do we get annoyed?

I said a something from my Christian world view which in hindsight may not have been the most intelligent thing to say, although I believe it with just about all of my being. I can't remember what the question was, but it was some variant of how I thought problem solving amongs peers should work. I said that if two people are having a problem, and I included myself in this, that a portion of the problem exists within both people.

Which means I'm the problem, because not everyone has the same problem I do.

I think that's my flatulance for the day. I'm gonna make easy-Mac.

Day 130: I Should Be Reading, But I'm Over It.

If any one reading this cerebral flatulance knew how much reading I have to do, they'd scold me and unplug my internet, which would actually be better both for myself and the general population.

Today was the busiest day I've had in a long time. Woke up at 7:15, utterly annoyed to have to wrench the covers from my paws. After an "argument" with my roomie over what makes a man manly, I went to my first class. BORING. Some funny stuff happened, but luckily people either didn't notice or were mature and don't think any less of me for it.

Went to the VU. Typed on a paper for an hour before a friend stopped by. We both talk a decent amount, so we did that before I wandered off in search of sustenance. I can't remember what I ate. Oh. "Salisbury steak." That's what it was supposed to be, anyway. I can't remember how it tasted, either. Went to my next class (Eastern European/Balkans History since 1900,) and emerged an hour and a half later glad to not be in there anymore.

Side note: I'm scared to tell my prof that I've been to Slovenia and Central/Eastern Europe. There was one guy that had been to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and he made a presentation the other day. I'm not certain as to whether the prof asked him to, or if he volunteered. Either way. I don't want to take the chance.

Figured I was close enough to the library to go and read something I hadn't. So I did that for an hour, then went to light lunch, since my next class was three hours long and I was out of coffee again. Scarfed down a few bowls of salad, next class.

At least the second movie was interesting.

Class out at 6:00. Hungry again and out of coffee. Went to dinner, met some new people and reconnected with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Refilled my coffee.

Back to the library. Read the rest of the section I didn't finish earlier, finished and printed my paper, and listened to George Strait. I really relate to his songs for some reason.

Walked back to the room and got here at about 8:30 with the intention of reading, but didn't feel like it and realized that my desk was an absolute mess. So I poured myself another cup of coffee, cleaned my desk, and here I am, listening to the Eagles and drinking coffee.

For the record. I've had four 16 oz tumblers of coffee, and working on my second mug since I've gotten back. And I'm still going to sleep really well.

Tomorrow's Thursday. Which means that the day after that is Friday. Maybe catch a sunset over the Bay at that point? I'm in for a busy next-ten days.

Day 129

Woke up this morning to find the inch of snow that had accumulated last night almost completely gone. It must have rained or something. Some friends and I attempted to build a jump on the football field up to a hurdle with the intent of doing some pull-in jibbing. Needless to say, while it was fun, we didn't have enough speed even with four of us pulling.

Otherwise, I had an interview for an RA position today. It went really well, and my history background really came in handy, because it provided some great answers on the diversity questions. Anyway.

That's pretty much it. Went to the dollar store and wandered around making fun of the items.

Anyway.

Yeah, that's it.

2nd Day 125

I have just really had this on my heart all day. There's a lot of crap going on up here
drama-wise, and those who live up here in Bellingham, Gamma Stack9 can attest to that. I have the luxury of being able to not care, and when the stuff gets flung I go sit in my corner and rock back and forth, wondering why people can't just get along.

This is challenging for me as well, because there are certainly people I don't like to be around all the time. I say this to show that I'm not holier than the reader of this wasted bandwidth, but that I'm just like you. I try very hard to get along with everyone, and I still feel like I fail at moments.

For those of you that aren't Christians, bear with me.

1 John 3:15 says "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."

Here's another one

1st John 4:20
"If someone says "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar; for one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen"

If you believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, that should make you sweat. The Bible also, at least as far as I've noticed, makes no distinction between "liking" and "hating," nor is there a distinction between "liking" and "loving." "Love your neighbor as yourself," and I know that this phrase is found in multiple world views, so this should apply to everyone.

Another thing, and you can look these passages up yourself and place them in context if you don't trust me, but there isn't an "unless" right after. Love each other. No excuses. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s. That's it. It doesn't matter what that person did, what they said, what you heard they said. FORGIVE THEM AND MOVE ON.

Do with that what you want. I hope you get rid of whatever little things you're fighting about, because no matter what you believe, people are watching and drawing judgements about you whether you realize it or not. Do you want to be known as quarrelsome and unforgiving? Those certainly aren't traits I want ascribed to myself, let alone Christianity as a world view.

Ok. You can agree with what I've just posted or not. I'll leave it at this: People in this world are fighting, killing, and dying over century old disagreements. They started because two people, or groups there-of just couldn't get along, for whatever reason.

Day 125

The snow's flying up here. Maybe it'll stick, maybe it won't. I find I don't really care that much anymore. I mean, snow's good, and I don't have to go anywhere, but it's almost normal to me now, at least for it to be snowing.

Got back from hiking for awhile with some friends. Didn't even make it to the top. Kinda bummed about that, but whatever. Now I know what the trail's like, I'll have to head back up there. It was hard for about the first half hour, but remembering that trail Dad, Evan, and I took in Alberta nothing really seems quite so bad, so it's easy to keep going. It was just starting to get fun too...anyway. Enough of that. Now I have an afternoon with nothing to do.

I'm been sort of in a funk the last few days. It seems like I'm getting annoyed with things that I shouldn't, but at the same time I don't really want to talk to anyone about it just because it doesn't seem Christ-like to gripe about other people. I could be wrong. I suppose I mostly just don't like when other people talk badly about other people to me.

There's crazy drama going on around here too, plus what's going on in Gaza and the cut-throat nature of politics.

I guess that even with all the people that are around me, I just sort of feel alone, like I don't fully identify with anyone. Which would make me the problem. Imagine that.

124- Thinking Too Much

I've got to lead a discussion on Rousseau's Social Contract tomorrow, and don't really want to. Either way, it's happening tomorrow morning, so I get to be done with it then. YAY!

Hopefully the weather's decent this weekend so I can go on a hike.

I've been listening to a lot of country lately. I've got a new song. That's My Kind of Woman by George Strait. Oh. The Blue Scholars are awesome too. WOOT.

I'm just experimenting a lot lately with different music. The more I hear, the more I like. It's kinda fun to like stuff that most people really don't. Anyway.

I'm gonna go skateboard because I need to clear my mind and expend energy.

Day 122 I Saw Something That Irritated Me.

I've seen this bumper sticker a few times that really drives me up a wall. I came across it again on someone's facebook and I've been thinking about it all day. It reads this way: "Except for ending slavery, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism, war never solved anything." I figure I'll take this one point by point, although I am sure you know where I'm going just already.

Slavery. HAHA. Let's define it, shall we? Because this quote hasn't, I'm gonna do it instead. What about the girls in India that are forced into sexual acts with men many years older than them? That's slavery. And war didn't end it because it's still going on. "But no," you say "we're obviously talking about slavery in America." Ok. Again, we're defining slavery. So if setting someone free means throwing them out into a capitalist society where they have essentially no rights anyway, what good does it do? I'm not suggesting that slaves weren't happy to be set free. I am saying that they remained oppressed by the Jim Crow laws and a poor public opinion until the flippin' 1960s and 70s, and that oppression continues today as well. This doesn't mention the idea slavery of the proletarians to the bourgouisie, because as good as I have it in this world, I'm still a slave to the system.

Fascism. The only country that's ever had this government in it's truest form is Mussolini's Italy, and it worked really well. Fascism, for those of you that don't know, or even care, is a totalitarian form of government in which all power is centralized in the hand of one individual. What was bad about it is that it was based on extreme nationalism. These ideas still persist today. This same train of thought goes into Nazism, which was basically nationalism (you all know this) with somewhat of a socialist twist (industrial army and so on.) There are Nazis and Fascists still out there in this world today. War didn't kill the ideas, because you can't kill an idea. And, by the way, the 1st Ammendment to the US Constitution protects people's right to believe these things. Anyone heard of Aryan Nation? The Church of Jesus Christ Christian? Wikipedia them and see what you find. Essentially Nazis claiming the divine right of white people to rule the earth.

War won't kill an idea.

Communism. Anyone heard of Cuba? Because it's a communist country. Actually, if you're heard of the Bay of Pigs, they actually beat US. Go figure. Vietnam? Yeah, they're communist too. And I am of the opinion that there's nothing inherently wrong with communism, it's dorks that rush it and don't know how it works.

So.

Let's not say what war did and didn't do. It has resulted in millions of lives lost, served as events used for political and economic gain, and reinforced cultural riffs that have led to even MORE wars.

Ok. Sorry, ya'll.

I just really hate war. I see it's use, I just don't like how it's used.