So it just occurred to me that I never committed to this post-per-day challenge. Also, I never got those emails from undisputed. So why be trippin'? I can miss a day or two. Also, WHOA it's the twenty first and I've only missed one day. That's nuts. Why am I writing so much?

Anyway, here's something of a full post.

So my spiritual birthday was on Tuesday, and yesterday was (coincidentally) the spiritual birthdays of one of my roommates, and another roommate's girlfriend. Generally, we try to really encourage each other on our spirthdays with a small party and a time where people just take turns sharing about the...uh, spirthee?

So we had a surprise party for J and G. I was a bit late because of Chapter, but I showed up right during the sharing. That's something I'm not very good at: enumerating the ways I think a person is awesome and/or Godly and sharing that with them in front of a dozen other people. But I think I'm getting the hang of it.

But after the sharing was finished, there was a surprise: the party was switching focus to ME

:0

This was my first year as a Christian, so it was weird having people say all these nice things about me. I generally don't know what to do with myself when people are complimenting me. I'm afraid my head can get swollen pretty easily. We did something similar in high school youth group, sometimes, but that was generally "You're a great friend, you're great with the kids, you make me laugh, I'm gonna miss you, etc. etc." This was on a whole other level. People are exposing attributes that I hadn't even considered about myself. And it wasn't just the guys from my apartment, or just guys and girls from Tech. We had a bunch of people from OTHER campus ministries coming down to share about J, G, and me.

"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.�

Unrelated: Here's some weird progressive metal music. Gotta get back to my roots.



I've made some colloidal silver. It's a bit of psudoscience that I find particularly interesting; apparently, silver ions kill or otherwise neutralize virtually all single-celled organisms, like bacteria, viruses, and fungi. You just stick some silver rods into a jar of water, run a current through it, and bam you've got ionized silver floating around in solution. There are people who DRINK this. Like...a lot. Drinking a little won't hurt anybody, and I only occasionally gargle it. What I'm really interested in, though, is making my Five Finger shoes not-stink. I've been soaking my right shoe in the solution (I know, colloids technically aren't a solution, bear with me) and when I wear them I'll see if it stinks any less.

The problem is that it's way too cold to be casually wearing my Five Fingers around. I have poor circulation in my toes, so they're liable to just turn white and stop having sensation. I don't want that.

On a slightly related note, I got a camping hammock for Christmas, and I finally got around to using it. Our apartment has a tiny little porch area, and I can tie it up to the railings and chill out. Last night and the night before, I actually slept outside on our porch all night long in literally freezing temperatures with nothing but a sleeping bag, a pad, and a too-small blanket.


And a small pillow.

I'm quite pleasantly surprised by how warm I am in there. And I haven't had a problem from the trains at all so far, which could either mean that I can sleep through almost anything or that they haven't been as active the last two nights. (You can't see them in the picture, but JUST behind the fence there are five active train tracks.) As long as it doesn't rain, I think I'll keep staying outside. It's...a ton of fun. The main problem (other than possible precipitation) is that I normally use my phone as an alarm clock, but I don't want to have my phone exposed to the elements, so I have to rely on roommates to wake me up.

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You know, Hulk (2003 [I feel like I have to specify because people like to pretend this movie was never made]) is a very strange movie. The effort put into making it look and feel like a comic strip come off badly, I think. I'm always bad at discussing acting quality, but frankly the main character was a pansy man. It was just...awkward. One of my favorite awkward parts is right after Bruce has transformed into the Hulk in the lab, and the next day Betty is at his house asking him what happened, and all he tells her is that he could feel his heart beating, slow and strong. He makes these faces when he tries to imitate the effect, completely deadpan, and it's just...sort of hilarious. Anyway! That's what I was just thinking of. ka-THUMPppffmfmosfasf

So, during my last semester of school I took a Photoshop class. And I have to say, I really enjoyed it. I have a free trial of CS5 waiting for download eventually, and I plan on buying it 80% off as a student when I get a laptop. I think to celebrate I will make a new layout. I already have an idea or two. I also would like to take some programming classes, so maybe I can break away from the nutang order of things, like Muffy did.

One of the revelations I have endured (yes) has to do with so called "one-sided relationships." It is thus: If I am going to consistently snub somebody, whether purposefully or not, then I need to learn to just deal if somebody does it to me instead. I mean, I'm sitting here complaining about someone being a bad friend, and then I go on to be a TERRIBLE friend to someone else. That is the worst way to be.

So first I'll learn to sit and take it. A bad friend isn't worth keeping; that's what I keep telling people, so it's about time I adopted the same idea. Soon I hope to learn to fix the other side of the issue and not be such a let-down to people. But that's harder so it'll have to wait.

tee hee

A somewhat close friend of mine seems to have rediscovered the Bible. She's getting excited about it. She's been having video-chat Bible studies with her friend from out of town, and asking me about the sermons from Horizon and stuff. She being excited is rubbing off on me, and I gotta say that it is quite refreshing. I had already started my own little process, but now I have someone to discuss it with, and that makes it better. Fellowship! And I daresay the best kind.

My dog is laying in my room and sneezing incessantly. And I can't just hear the sneeze itself, she's also adding a bit of her voice to it. I do love me some doggy.

OK now she's sniffing the door to take a pee. >.<

It's nice to meet new people. Last night we had this year's Fire Night and we had three near strangers attending on account of one of them is dating my good friend. Anyway, it turns out they're actually NOT near strangers! I am, in fact, one of the only people there who did not know one or more of them. It's weird to think about! All this time we've been so close to knowing each other. Makes me wonder about all the people I could possibly know.

Makes me wonder about...physics! Going off to GT soon for orientation. Oh man oh man oh man I don't get excited but I'm sort of excited.

Anyway, great fun times last night. I met some new people, hung out with people like Natty whom I haven't really interacted with in a while, and friggin' cooked some hotdogs on coat hangers. Quality experiences.

Almost every thing that my mom does is completely stressing me out. Everything. Get me out of here.

And on that note, I must finish this up because my stream of consciousness has been interrupted.

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This is a conversation about a future girlfriend coming to visit my hometown.
-----
Katie - I'll pretend I don't know you!

Me - OH YEAH
I could lie about you

Katie - Heheheh

Me - good plan

Katie - I'll ring up your stuff with a huge grin on my face.

Me - Is that how you'll pretend?

Katie - "Did you and your LADY find everything YOU WERE LOOKING FOR?"

Me - geeze

Katie - "WAS THE PLANETARIUM FULL OF SEXYTIMES?"

Me - And while we're walking away, I'll say, "That's Boyman. I dated her. Sorry."

Katie - If you tell her I'm called Boyman I'll tell her I nicknamed you Tiny and that it wasn't an act of irony.

Me - Also, you read too much dino comics because you just called it sexy times

Katie - =.=

Me - ALSO
WHAT

Katie - Probably untrue (women can judge penis size just from looking at the guy), BUT EFFECTIVE.
<3
!
But really, you don't tell your new ladies that I'm called Boyman. It makes you seem bitter about the past, even if you aren't.

Me - WHAT

Katie - And girls don't date bitter guys for long.

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I just got back from Utah! It was photo-fantastic!

Enjoy!

1. Sometimes when I say something crazy or mean and people say, "Are you serious?" I don't know what to say.
2. My contempt of popular culture stems from the fact that most of it is too simple. Simple and shallow.
3. I subscribe to stereotypes. There, I said it. The fact is, they're usually pretty accurate.
4. I don't drink or smoke and I don't plan on it.
5. It's partly for religious reasons, partly because I've never felt the need to "upgrade" my fun, and partly because I'm pretty sure I have a super addictive personality.
6. Everybody thinks I'm pretty good guy, but unless I'm trying really hard I will be a selfish, manipulative jerk when the situation presents itself.
7. Between #5 and #6, I'd be a huge mess if it weren't for God. For real, my life would suck and it would be my fault.
8. I'm sad because the friends I leave behind at GT have been a huge part of my life.
9. I'm not sad because I know we'll keep in touch and I'm looking forward to the awesome people in my future.
10. I try to impress my personality on everything I write or say.
11. I really really like chocolate chip cookies, especially when they are warm and moist.
12. I think it goes without saying that I love reading. Science Fiction is my poison of choice.
13. I appreciate immature humor but I really like high-brow stuff more. I think Internet memes are a strange combination of both.
14. I was making fun of my friend for being picky about girls, but then it occured to me that I've only "gone steady" with one girl all of high school.
15. I can't imagine what life would be like if my dad weren't dead. It's a strange train of thought.
16. I have what I think is a healthy appreciation of morbidity. Healthy, because I don't let it guide my life.
17. I think Stephen King's The Dark Tower is much better than Harry Potter.
18. Overused repetition bothers me. It bothers me in songs, in poetry, and on test answers. I interuppted the string of "I" on purpose.
19. Being on a constant hugging basis with all these girls is totally awesome.
20. The best person to make laugh is Keener.
21. My favorite things are irony and contrasts. I find them funny and poingnant, respectively.
22. Life is best when it is simple, or at least systematic.
23. That's why I like learning about physics.
24. When I become overwhelmed, I shut down.
25. My favorite things to photograph are colorful landscapes with interesting shapes.
26. It is very rare that I "artistically" photograph a person other than myself.
27. I photograph myself a lot, both artistically and otherwise. Mostly otherwise.
28. I like a challenge.
29. My dad's name is my name, and vice-versa.
30. I'm not an artist or a writer but I kind of wish I was.
31. Being cold is better than being hot.
32. Pain doesn't bother me that much. What really freaks me out is the thought of damage to my body.
33. I can never get away from Emily because we're Universe Twins.
34. Digimon was cooler than Pokemon. And might I say, BETTER WRITTEN?
35. Cheating bothers me. Especially when other people do it. Especially CHEATING AT LIFE.
36. Palmetto Boys State 2009 was off the chain!
37. Even though I try to take life seriously, I go through phases of interest like most other teenagers.
38. I used to go through phases of musical intersest as well, but then I found Dream Theater and settled down with certain styles and sounds.
39. I don't really get excited or anxious about stuff. When I do I feel nauseous, though.
40. My immune system is a beast.
41. I appreciate things being "natural." I like home remedies, Vibram Five-Fingers, and freeware. I don't care about "organic" food though.
42. I am very easily distracted and I dislike doing work on my own time.
43. I am very simplistic
44. I don't always do things the easy way, I do them the fun way.
45. If I make up a series of something it has to be three items long or it will bother me.
46. I know that I am a hypocrite.
47. When I talk, half of what I say is expressed through diction and facial expression.
48. If I had to choose a mental disorder, I'd take mild Synthaesia.
49. I love analogies. The relationships between concepts and/or ideas makes my brain hum.
50. I visualize stories as I read/hear them or write/tell them.
51. I'm like a less mustached version of my dad.
52. I hate having bad habits, and I hate that I love them.
53. The number 19 reminds me of the Dark Tower. Oh, Discordia!
54. When I swim I pretend I can fly.
55. I've probably sat in more male laps than female.
56. A guy and a girl can totally be friends and not get romantic. Just look at my youth group.
57. I don't wear Vibrams because they're more comfortable. I wear them because when I hike in them my feet blast past 110 degrees F. and it makes me a man.
58. Even though I really am nosy, I do keep up with people because I want to be there for them.
59. The Simpsons is better than Family Guy.
60. I take this thing way too seriously.
61. Almost every cut or scrape I aquire becomes a scar.
62. I don't smell like deoderants or anti-prespirants because I don't wear any. And nobody notices.
63. Never had a surgery, unless you count the dentist appointments, and that was only for a cap.
64. Never broken a bone.
65. I want to go skydiving even though half of the attraction was that nobody does it. (it's getting popular)
66. That parenthetical insertion bothers me because it's grammatically incorrect but I'm too tired at the moment to fix it. Plus I get a fact about it.
67. It's funny that 33% is considered one third, but if you multiply it out the connection falters. 33%, 67%, 100%. What is that?

That's funny, right?

68. I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I still don't really know, I guess.
69. My parents were both engineers. It wasn't until highschool that I crossed that off my list of Things To Aspire To.
70. The connection between consciousness and physical phenomena strikes me as vaguely romantic.
71. I use "romantic" in the broader sense of the word. I don't mean having to do with love or sex or something.
72. I laugh at laughter.
73. Attention to small details can really make any artistic expression better.
74. I'm pretty clueless about girls.
75. Everything in moderation.
76. After I excersize really hard and my muscles are sore I think it feels good. It just doesn't feel like bad pain.
77. One time my shoulder started grating in its socket during a swim practice and that freaked me out more than any soreness I had ever had.
78. I love the movies I grew up with.
79. I can be easily impressed.
80. Man I am so paranoid of people I don't trust.
81. I don't trust a lot of people, but I would put with anything from the ones I do.
82. I admire hackers for their skill.
83. I had blond, wavy/curly hair when I was little.
84. My prefered state of dress is none at all.
85. But super casual is also good.
86. I am pretty lucky.
87. I don't like a lot of the newer FPS games like Call of Duty. Halo is fun. Half Life 2 is fun. Gears of War is not.
88. I usually run my Windows XP computer without "Explorer.exe" That's right, I live on the edge.
89. I want to learn Saurus.
90. I have taken around 9,900 photographs and videos. That's like 40.5 gigs.
91. I make little programs for fun sometimes. My next project is a morse code translator and then a stutter generator.
92. I really like Android and HTC makes a sweet phone.
93. I like English.
94. Mixing foods is a very precise art. Sometimes it goes wrong, but usually it's delicious.
95. I thought The Spirit was offensively stupid.
96. After visiting Atlanta I realized that I'm sort of a country boy.
97. Entertaining myself is never a problem. Always something to read, watch, or at the very least think about.
98. My bed is the same Twin sized frame that I've slept in since the cradle, cramped into the corner of my room. My feet hang off the edge a bit. I want to keep it forever.
99. One of my favorite movies ever is Ink, which I watched recently. It really blew me away.
100. My favorite color is purple mixed with dark blue.

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