We're all a million different people from one day to the next.

Christmas aftermath entails:

-food coma brought on by extreme consumption of baked goods and other festive foods.

-hangover of thanks after having had to thank trillions of people for their gifts. (And yes, each thank you was sincere.)

I was thinking today about how at this time of year, it always seems that you want some sort of company. I've been told by more people in the last few days than ever before of how they're just lonely and looking for some attention from really anywhere that they can get it. Are we that unstable that we've got to constantly seek the company of others to feel alright? I'm no different. Feeling alone sucks. I've never taken a psychology class, but I imagine feeling wanted and appreciated is a basic need.

Christmas Eve/Morning

It's 3:30 in the morning on Christmas Day, and once again, life rocks. I encourage everyone who should glance at this post to take a moment to appreciate their families and friends who've surrounded them and make life the amazing gift it is.

These last few days have been unbelievable. Terrible, amazing, unusual, drab all in the same day at times. But my God, I feel like I've grown 10 years time since this past Friday. It's all about perspective, and how you look at things I guess in life that make the difference in what happens to you. Take what you want out of that. It's late, or early, and I'm brainwashed from my Star Wars mini marathon me and my brother did tonight.

New objectives for the rest of break:

-Watch all 6 Star Wars DVD non stop. This will be accomplished.

-Have a Friday Friday. You know what I'm talking about, and if you don't, go to hell.



A few thoughts-

1. Jesus Christ lived and died so that we may be forgiven for our sins and be granted eternal life at His side. I hope we don't lose sight of the importance of this time of year.

2. It's truly better to give than receive, and the best gift of all, is kindness. Smile at a stranger, open yourself up to the world and for lack of better words, spread the good vibes!


Stop being such fucking scrooges and Merry Christmas!

And you thought you had problems?

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2008/12/18 <---That chick, has problems.

Anyways, each time someone tells you that something that happens unfavorably towards you is a learning experience, it's usually the last thing you want to hear. True story. It's so wild when you actually realize just how much you take away from those instances though.

My new objective-To communicate openly and honestly my feelings with others, and to not sugarcoat or be embarrassed about doing so. You only hurt yourself worse if you never let people know how you feel.

Don't think, just be.

Friends are friends, and enemies are nothing.

It's up to you to decide who's which and for how long they remain that way, because things change in an instant.

At this point in my life, my friends and enemies are constantly changing, and one of those enemies of mine is myself.

Who are your friends and enemies?

Theraputic Self Destruction

Music is an absolute escape into another world where you can do anything you want. Whatever you're carrying, whatever you're feeling, you can sink into a song and just wash away with it. By the end of that song, you're so far removed from wherever you were, a different mindset has taken over. That's kind of the case for me anyways.

It's warm (Florida warm) here, and I'm loving it.

I met Alonzo Mourning tonight at a book signing, and if anyone is interested in a strong willed individual, I suggest you research him a little bit. My all time favorite basketball player.

I'm taking this winter break to focus on personal growth, as I have a lot of free time on my hands, and am trying to be productive in some sort of way. My goal is to develop a better understanding of myself, so that I may understand others more clearly because of it. This sounds kind of dumb, but I think everyone at some point should have to face themselves, but rarely do we ever get the courage to recognize and acknowledge our flaws and actively pursue a solution to them. This is my early New Year's resolution. What's yours?

If you're an astronaut, I'll take you to the moon and back

It's amazing what the sense of touch can do to affect your mood. Just notice what happens when your hands touch some other person's the next time it should happen. Interesting sensation.

In other news, Fall 08 is over, and I'm looking at strait A's.

Today at Costco, my dad and I had a thought:

Does the mentality of living for reward and fearing punishment foster a lack of ethics? What I mean by that is, if we always look to be rewarded, and we always fear being reprimanded should we make an error in any way, do we lose sight of being good for the sake of being good to others? I'd like to hear what anyone has to say about this. It's a pretty interesting thing. Do we then think it's ok to do things that society deems unacceptable, but we ourselves do because we know there's no chance of being punished? If we know there's no punishment for an action, is it then seen as acceptable in our eyes to do it? Is it justified? What happens if that action is harming someone else? I'd love to hear what someone else thinks.

Other than that, it's warm, all the windows in the house are open, and I'm in shorts. Go to hell Northern states.

In the name of the wolf

That's a song by the band Last House on the Left. They're sick. If you dig heavier music, give them a spin. Rad stuff.

It's finals week, and I am unaffected. I have three to take in 5 days. In the immortal words of Travis Cook, "I'm chillin real hard."

I watched a total of 10 minutes of TV today and loved it. Not having to subject myself to constant barrages of advertisements about things I don't need is relaxing.

I leave for Florida this Saturday, and am very excited, but not in the same way I was last year. I noticed the differences:

Last Year-

I was excited to come home and see my friends, not have to worry about classes, and party. That and I was looking forward to cavorting around West Palm without a curfew. The typical stuff.

This year-

I'm still excited to see my friends, but that group I want to see has gotten considerably smaller, and I like it. Those I want to see are the ones I hold dearest to me, those friends who've always been behind me, and who I know regardless of our futures we'll always be able to pick right back where we left off. But most importantly, I'm excited to see my family.

I think one of the most forgotten things in our lives today is the importance of family. Not your extended network of friends you call your family, but your blood. They are the cradle from which you were molded into the human you are today, for better or for worse. I have a spectacular family, one which I love very much, and I'm not one known to use the word love in every day use. Just take this Winter Break, and appreciate it not for the spirit of Christmas so much (although Christmas still rocks) but just enjoy the moments you share with those you hold the closest, the ones you love the most. That's what I feel times like these are about. Family is the most important thing next to God in my life, and it only took me 19 years and change to realize that.

Back to coastin'

What a long and enjoyable weekend.

Just today was nice, waking up late, getting a good run in, going to an amazing show, and watching some movies with friends. It's been nice lately.


Real quick since it's 4:30 in the morning:

Life is weird. Just have faith you're going in the right direction.

College football, Christmas parades, Golden Corral

Going to see Between the Buried and Me and Advent tomorrow in Charleston. If you haven't heard Between the Buried and Me, I encourage you to do so. Unless of course, you don't like music.

I hate the concept of time and how it works.

Time is always our enemy, whether we have too much of it and are anxiously waiting for it to dissipate, or we're squeezing every second out of every minute, whether to preserve a moment, or just to cram in a few extra facts before a test, like... FINAL EXAMS. Obviously, this has been said trillions of times before, but time has absolutely flown by these past months. This semester became past-tense in record time I feel. I can't tell if it's because I just forgot to appreciate all that was happening around me or if I was just so busy with schoolwork. Either way, I'm shocked that I'm a semester away from half of my collegiate undergraduate career being over. I can remember a time when I just wanted to get old enough to watch PG-13 movie. I can remember when I used to think college was just going to football camps all the time. I still think though that I've got a lot of things to accomplish these next 5 semesters. Only my friend time, will tell.

I go to school in the SEC. Therefore, I have a healthy dislike for my conference foes. Florida, in particular, isn't a favorite of mine. But I can't for the life of me, hate Tim Tebow. I don't know how anyone can. He's humble, he's hard working, he's a great leader, he's a good kid, and holy crap he's a great football player. I just hate that he's not on my team. He won the game for them today against Alabama. I thought the Tide was really going to take it at points in the 4th quarter.

I hate Big 12 games. Anticlimactic. I really am a product of the generation of instant gratification.

Speaking of which, what's up with every player in college football having an issue with the other players during the game? It's like everyone's got to shove and jaw at each other during the game. A lot of puffed up egos strutting around on the field is all I see. I understand the emotion of the game, but a lot of it is just prostrating. If I had D-1 athletic ability, I'd much prefer to be a silent assassin. Say nothing, annihilate everything, whether it be a receiver across the middle or a hustling defensive lineman with his eyes upfield and not on me. Speak softly, carry a big stick baby.

A few things:

1. Trying to eat more is HARD.

2. President Bush admitted the War in Iraq has taken longer than expected and been costlier than expected. That's all I have to say about that. (In the immortal words of Forest Gump)

3. I just found out about Tommy Bowden's daughter. It's gonna suck to be her kids in this era of infinite information.

Thought:

For some reason, some people dislike you putting effort towards caring about them. I find this to be odd, but even more strange that others agree about this. I thought one of the basic principles that we as humans are taught growing up is to care about your fellow man. When were we supposed to forget about that, and how come it's almost looked down upon amidst the more youthful culture? Maybe people are afraid of returning the kindness they've received? I guess I just wonder what a world would be like if people knew and actually remembered the concept of unconditional love. Doing nice things for people just to be nice. And for those who believe I'm sounding too soft by writing this, to quote Vincent Bennett, "I don't mean any disrespect, but I hope you are buried alive."