Preparations

2 October 2007

10:09 PM

I was just down at Parkside restaurant - the cafeteria embedded in one of the residence halls here - and something very interesting happened. Being the bit of a loner that I am, and being that it was 8:30, and most people I know had already eaten, I sat down at an empty table by myself to have dinner. No later than 30 seconds after I sat down, a man at the table next to mine turned around and introduced himself - Garland. He asked my name, asked how to spell it and what origin it held, and proceeded to introduce me to a couple of his roommates/suitemates. Now, I don't necessarily see myself as a particularly outstanding person when it comes to physically attractive features, but this guy had an attitude that just seemed too friendly to me. Naturally, I started to worry that I was being hit on, especially after his friends left and he stayed to chat with me a little longer. I never found out whether or not he was gay. What I did find out was that, seemingly innocent in his initial background questions toward me, he was really setting up the conversation for something very influential in his mindset.

When I told him my name, he asked where it came from. When I told him it was from the Old Testament, he took note of it, and shortly after, he picked the topic back up by asking if I followed the Bible. He found it particularly funny when I replied with "Not really... I'm Agnostic." After he expressed his amusement, he tried to correct me by changing 'not really' to 'definitely not.' I told him it was a better response than telling him I was an atheist, and he asked why. I made the distinction between the two by claiming that an atheist denies existence of God whereas I, an Agnostic, just don't have any proof that He exists.

And here's the prestige!

Continuing conversation, he admitted to me that he was a big follower of Jesus. He said he didn't believe much in following the Bible because of all of its tradition and pickiness, but that Jesus was the best 'drug' he could possibly be on. Throughout the rest of our conversation, he tried guessing some things about my familial lifestyle, and when I asked him if he was trying to be psychic, he simply replied that he was channeling Jesus, and trying to listen to what He was telling him. Soon, our conversation was done, we shook hands, and he left. Just left. He said he'd pray for me tonight - for me to find the 'proof' I'm looking for, and to eventually find Jesus.

It may not strike you as particularly intriguing, but en medias res, it turned out to be a very peculiar and interesting experience.

Moving on...

It appears that the bulk of my time spent on homework isn't evenly distributed. The most time-consuming assignments come from my Writing and Critical Reasoning and my Law, Politics, and Public Policy classes, primarily because they are the ones that require me to write essays. I wonder if I'm the only one who finds it especially pointless that my efforts are concentrated on the only two classes in my schedule that don't directly relate to my intended major. I suppose my real argument here is this: I know how to write. I choose my words carefully and I try to support my arguments. However, these characteristics of my writing style are more prevalent in works that I choose to write. It doesn't seem right to be grading me on an essay based on a topic that I didn't choose to write about - that I don't care to write about. Whatever. Fuck it. If I can make it through these two classes this semester and express myself in the manner the instructors expect me to express myself, I'll try to avoid taking two general education classes in one semester ever again. In the mean time, I have to figure out how to 'make my ideas flow together' when I'm writing about the extent to which political cartoons offer an effective political critique. Ugh.

I got a haircut today. I really like it. It feels so nice to have short hair because (1) I don't have to spend as much time in the morning futzing with it and trying to get it to look decent, and (2) I think short hair makes me look cleaner - better. Long hair on me usually equates to big hair, and usually causes me to think my face looks wider and less appealing. Hopefully this new confidence staring back at me in the mirror will carry out into the classroom and within large groups.

In a little more than two days, Niki, Chris, and Dallas will be on their way down to LA to pay me a visit.
=D
I'm pretty excited about that. I talked with Niki a lot last night about planning, and it actually took me a little too far from my studies and homework. Whatever. If I told you I cared about school more than hanging out with my best friends after a month and a half away from them, it'd be a lie. Niki and I figured that we'd go out looking for parties on Friday night, but then have people over to my apartment on Saturday night for a kickback/mini-party. After I finish this post, I'm going to get on Facebook and start inviting people. We're gonna go see Across The Universe this weekend, too, since it's not playing in Nevada. Hopefully that happens Friday afternoon. We might to go the beach at some point. I'm not sure which one; we haven't really decided yet. Oh well We can't possibly plan every event to take place this weekend, 'cause that's just not our style.

Hmm... That seems like the bulk of things I had to write about.

"I will follow you into the dark"
Vaniah Juniper Schwenoha