A very funny moment

Mark Pickering and I drove together to FHE tonight. Because he lives close by, it was no big deal for me. The drive over there was interesting. One thing you'll have to know about Mark is that he is interesting. After finishing his JD at the University of Chicago, he decided law wasn't for him and that he wanted to pursue a PhD in Philosophy. His wide range of knowledge always makes for interesting conversations. Don't ask me how, but our conversation quickly became an analysis of homosexuality among the ancient Greeks. I will spare you by not going into too much detail, but suffice it to say that I learned a few new things today. After a fun evening at the first counselor's home, we headed back to Brookline in the Trentmobile. This time the topic of conversation was different, nothing related to the gay topic we had going on earlier. The funniest thing happened as I was approaching his house to drop him off. Keep in mind that I didn't know exactly which street he lived on as he usually walks over to and from my house for rides. Today was especially chilly so I wanted to drop him off. As we neared Brook St. where my house was to the left, I slowed almost to a stop. I knew that I either needed to go straight or turn right to get to his house. I asked, "Are you straight?" He, obviously seeing that I was trying to make advances on him, replied without hesitation, "Yes I'm straight, you're not taking me home with you."

Britney Spears is not my hero

I'm going to divulge some information about myself that not a lot of people know. I like keeping up on celebrities. I have a People gadget on my iGoogle homepage which lets me know the happenings of the rich and the famous. One thing that I do not like following is the recent Britney Spears news frenzy. The whole thing, from the custody battle to the recent Dr. Phil estrangement, is not funny, cool, or interesting to me in the slightest. When I think of Britney, I just get a bad feeling in my stomach. Speaking of bad feelings in stomachs, I once went on a really awkward date (I'm talking about the cream of the crop for me). Before it all began, I had one of those bad feelings in my gut. This date was actually not too long ago (last May) and it was actually not a date technically, but maybe it was. It depends on who you ask I guess.

News of some sort awaits me

I've received a lot of emails and letters throughout my 25 years of life, but never have I been as excited to receive them as I am right now. I check my email at a ridiculous level of frequency. When I see that my I've got a new email, my heart jumps with anticipation (just a little bit). Already, five law schools have received my application and are going through the acceptance/rejecting process. The truth is that I'm going to find out the results of all these applications within a few months, so I probably shouldn't let it occupy my mental faculties. But you'll have to understand that my mind doesn't think logically like that. I like to know for myself the results of my performance whether it be fortunate or unfortunate. When I go bowling, and it looks like the ball is going gutter, I still keep my eyes fastened on the ball until it whizzes by all the pins. In college I would check Route Y on a daily basis after finals were over to see if new grades had been submitted. I would like to someday go to a psychotherapist and have her sit down with me and explain why I do certain things. I feel it would be interesting to probe somewhat into what makes me, me. I heard that some medical insurances cover such therapy. In the meantime, I'm going to keep on checking my email and mail for some sort of noteworthy news.

There's something to be said of constancy

After watching the debates, I was particularly impressed with John Edwards passion about fighting for the middle class. His belief, he said, was personal and needed to be personal to be effective on the battlefield of politics. The Republicans were posed a question by President Bush along these same lines. What kind of beliefs did they have that would guide them in a world of change? That started me thinking about how there are some personal beliefs that we should hold true to, no matter what the consequences. I know that we need to change to best accommodate our changing environment. At the same time, we are trying to find out who we are and I've heard studies that it takes us until about the age of 30 until our personalities are finally locked in. Up until then, we are trying new things out. But besides the little personality differences, I'm interested in beliefs that we don't budge on. One that comes to mind for me is treating others with the respect I'd wish for others to treat me with. I believe it is the sign of someone of great moral character who sticks with his values even when it is hard to do. It also draws him or her nearer to God. God doesn't love us only when He is having a good day, or when He feels like it. "For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?" (Quoted from the Book of Mormon 9:9) Well did David O. McKay say, "Character is built by adherence to principles." I didn't know this topic was going to turn so religious!