3 pairs of boots and 3 pounds of bees

I think that people who are foreign exchange students who speak Japanese in the library have their own secret language. It’s Japanese. Part of me wishes that I too spoke Japanese so I could find out if they were all really witty and we never knew. Someday maybe we will find out that they know something really important that we don’t and we missed out that day in the Library due to our lack of Japanese. It is highly possible. Or maybe they were making fun of my scarf….That couldn’t be it.

On a related note, I was strolling through campus the other day (I think it was Tuesday) when I noticed something striking.The 3 girls in front of me were wearing 3 almost identical pairs of brown boots. I have noticed that cold weather brings out the boot-wearing side of girls. It’s like the way that the gym tends to bring out the cut-off shirt wearing side of guys, except that it tends to be seasonal. I usually don’t notice obscure bits of clothing like this, except that I for some reason have been doing it more often. I am starting to notice haircuts, scarves (because I like them and want to encourage others to wear them), boots and when girls have taken time to do their hair. Why? I am not sure. Mostly I think it has something to do with the fact that people need affirmation. They like to be told that something they put time into picking out/deciding on (if they’re a girl) is cool or something. So I try to do that. Not just to be nice. I only say it when I mean it. However, I’ve noticed that once you start you can’t stop noticing. I’ve also noticed that you cannot point out the similarites in boots to people speaking a secret language…that happens to be Japanese.

Shortly after this I talked to my folks on the phone. It seems that my parents are building a bee hive. Apparently one can get up to 3 gallons of honey out of a bee hive during a year. If that’s the case I will be using HONEY ON EVERYTHING when I go home. Sandwich? Honey. Cereal? Honey. Lasagna? Maybe honey. When my mom brought it up she said that they were buying a queen and 3 pounds of bees. It seems that bees come in pounds. I don’t know if I can fully express the very strange nature of this statement. I guess I wonder if there is an insect that comes in kilos…

My brother was in town this weekend. On Valentine’s day I went maternity shopping with him and my sister-in-law. They’re having a baby. It was a pretty fun day. I am not huge on shopping, but hanging out with my brother and his wife was super cool. There was an interesting scene downtown. I would go so far as to call it a gong show. Let me tell you about it.

The corner of pine and somethingorother by Westlake center was abuzz with activity. There were angry protesters of Israel’s military action in Gaza who were shouting things like “Palestinian Pride” (that’s what I recall), there were angry Jesus yellers shouting about people being damned unless they turned to Jesus, there was a guy waving a US flag and an Israeli flag at the same time, the firefighters were out trying to raise money for cancer research by doing stairclimbing in full gear, and to top it all off there were people offering free hugs.

What exactly does one do in this situation? The Gaza protesters weren’t doing a great job of triggering useful dialogue or even being balanced in their approach to protesting, the Jesus yellers were trying to scare people into heaven, the flag man was being contrary, the firefighters were trying to help, and the hug people were just out to be nice.

My response was to tell some guy out there that Jesus loved him (regardless of what the street yellers said), make jokes with the firefighters about how people should give them more money, and get three free hugs. Free hugs are awesome. Whoever thought that was a good idea on Valentine’s day was a good thinker. Seriously. Makes me feel okay that I am single on the most couple-oriented day of the year. Frikkin’ disgusting. Tyler Gorsline told me to ask a girl out on a date. I didn’t. I don’t think I missed out on anything.

Today was a day that reminded me of free hugs. The sun was out. I went and walked around in it. I enjoyed it until it was too cold to enjoy any more. I got all hyper because of the sunlight. I felt like superman, but still was unable to fly like he does in the movies.

Riddle me this world. Is batman a superhero or just a hero? I vote hero. He doesn’t have super powers. Punto. Nobody counts “super-rich” as a super power. Not a superhero. The end.

It’s sort of late, but since I rambled about silly things I have been thinking about without conveying any deep sorts of things. Maybe I will try to do that briefly.

It’s funny when you have trouble finding God and then ask Him to reveal Himself. He does. The deepest points of my own despair, frustration, self-loathing, and pain are the places where I find myself reaching out to God and then waiting to see His response. I guess I don’t expect Him to answer sometimes. Not because He’s not there, but rather because I get all melodramatic or distraught “Why would He answer me?” part of me asks. It’s shocking what happens within a few hours of praying. The fog lifts. The sun rises. I find myself standing on solid ground in the middle of a sunny afternoon wondering why I ever thought myself to be stuck in a bog to begin with. I don’t get why He loves me the way He does. I don’t necessarily think that’s my job though. I think my job is to get over myself and just accept it. What would we be like if we owned the love God has for us? I don’t even know…but I think it would shatter a few people’s worlds. Would the loss of our own silly self-condemning world be such a great loss in comparison with a world of uncontrollable grace that drags you into who you were meant to be? I doubt it.