blessed to be a witness

well folks, I take off on the first "official" trip of my journey tomorrow.  I'm going to Kansas City because a) it's close, b) I have a free place to stay there, and c) why not?  People have been asking if I'm excited and the answer is yes, but I'm also getting a little nervous.  I have lots of questions about how this whole project will come together, how I'll be in an interviewing mode, and oh yeah, let's not forget taking some time to figure out what the next few years of my life will look like.  I don't think I expected a 'transition year' to be so... full of transition.  Sometimes I'm confused by myself, other times I don't know what I am, but overall I am happy.  If not in the "look at me, I'm so happy way," then at least content.  Trying to embrace the transition and confusion and nervousness and everything else.  And isn't that the stuff that helps define us?  shouldn't who we are in uncertainty say something about who we are when we really have life figured out?  I think I'm rambling a bit... I'll let you know how the KC trip goes.

After an amazing weekend at Lake of the Ozarks, I am back and enjoying the beautiful weather.  For pictures from our trip, go to Stu's page and click the Lake of the Ozarks thumbnail.  Today I aided John in his quest to visit "Best of..." places.  We went to the Soulard Coffee Garden Cafe, which was very good.  He also helped me do some brainstorming for the interviews I'll do this weekend in Kansas City.  (Thanks, dude!) 

On a side note, I read somewhere that people were getting bent out of shape about the term "brainstorming" because it was offensive to those with epilepsy.  What a world.

 

There was a scary insect in my shower today.  It looked kind of like the bug at the end of Men in Black, except it was only an inch long.  And possibly more hairy.  Not to worry; I crushed it in a Kleenex and flushed it down the toilet.  The integrity of my shower remains intact!

I finally got to see Dodgeball tonight with Andrew, Katy, and Banji.  People getting hit with objects of any kind (particularly wrenches) is always funny.  In the movies, at least.  I'd like to think I wouldn't laugh if I saw somebody get clocked with a wrench on the street one day.  Maybe I would if they deserved it.  But I'd still like to think I wouldn't.

Those of you who have seen the new apartment know that my room is significantly larger than any other I've lived in during the past four years. There's all this space in the middle that makes it seem big. I think I need to get something for it, like a potted plant, or maybe a plastic slide-- now that would be fun. I'll probably settle for a rug.
I went to Kaldi's today and felt like the genuine yuppie I've become. Compared with Starbuck's, I'd say Kaldi's is superior in atmosphere (except it's usually more crowded) and the drinks are pretty good too. I feel better about ordering customized drinks at Starbuck's (i.e. a decaf, non-fat, something-or-other, etc.) because everyone does that at Starbuck's. Wireless access is free at Kaldi's (although the signal was weak so I kept losing it) and $6 at Starbuck's (which I will never pay, by the way). The coffee drinks appear to be similarly overpriced and froofy. So I guess I can't truthfully name a favorite. They both have a certain appeal.

  I got my new car on Friday!  It's a black Toyota Corolla and quite beautiful, if I do say so myself.  I've had a pretty fun weekend... dinner at Katy's on Friday, out with Laura and Amar last night, church this morning at the Cathedral, and soon off to a concert in the quad with May! It is so nice to have friends around for the summer. 
  My mom, aunt, and grandma get back from Ireland tonight! It's funny how you don't really miss people much until you can't talk to them.  More news later, I suppose.  I'll work on finding some news to write about.

I can't possibly let this day escape without wishing you, my dear readers, a happy Bastille Day. In France, the fireworks may be over, but the celebration continues in my heart. A New York Times article describes what the (French) President had to deal with today. It reminds me of that girl who faked her own abduction, except this French version is much more politically charged, considering the nature of the woman's claims. Interesting... nonetheless, celebrate La France before the day runs out.

Wouldn't it be cool if there were all kinds of conversions you could do besides the standard metric and other number-based ones? Like if things that happened to you every day were rated on some kind of scale and equaled other things that happened to you during the day? And you could replace something bad with something that was equal to it, but maybe less upsetting to you personally? Here are some conversions I have devised (feel free to popularize these):

the smile of someone you like= finding $5
tripping & skinning your knee= farting in public
drinking too much= running out of clean underwear
playing hide-and-go-seek= talking to an old friend
sleeping in= finding a great parking spot
a fender-bender= losing your wallet
cooking dinner= building a Lego house

If I could do these kinds of conversions, I'm sure my day would be totally different because I'd be constantly mixing things up into their alternate forms. Neat.

I took an excellent nap today because I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to take Lesley to the airport. I had one of those weird half-dreams where I was trying to wake up but I couldn't. In my dream, George and Steve were in my room whispering with each other. One of them had a pillow and it was obvious they were about to start hitting me in the head with the pillow while I was sleeping, so I was trying to wake up and tell them to go away but I couldn't. Must have been during a REM cycle.

In other news, well actually I don't have other news to write about. Good weekend, though.

So I saw Spiderman 2 the other night and you know what impressed me most? The fact that Spidey has a complete and total lack of faith in law enforcement's ability to do its job. He hears sirens, sees a fire truck or police car and that's it, he has to drop everything, pull on the spandex and web his way over to save the day. Now I know that in Spiderman's New York, there are villains even policemen can't stop. Like Dr. Octopus. So the super-villain requires the thwarting power of a super-hero. I get that. But muggings, car chases, and fires? If he keeps jumping in and taking care of things with his super wall-climbing abilities and instant webs, the FDNY and NYPD will lose all confidence and the whole city will go to the dogs. Come on, Spidey. Let the men (and women) do their jobs.

Did I mention that I was at Bank One Ballpark to see Randy Johnson pitch his 4000th strikeout on Tuesday night? God bless baseball.