Condescension aside...

Okay. I honestly don't think I'm (at least) as condescending as I used to be. And it feels good feeling that way--that I have worked at myself and toned it down. But I'm still critical, and I'm okay with it. The thing is... we're on Spring Break, in Phoenix and it's gorgeous. I won't go into details about the weather and city because that's really not what I want to talk about. The basic mindset behind Spring Break, with college kids, is to let loose and get drunk-whatever. Which is, I suppose, ridiculous because we-the five of us here on this trip-can get drunk on any weekend during the semester. Dordt isn't a huge school, but it has its accesses to underage alcohol. We didn't need to drive 23 hours to Phoenix in order to do that. I was under the impression that we drove all this way in order to soak in the sun and the city (Suns game!). And then we'll drive to LA, to Paul's house, and see where he lives.
We had a good day today. We got to the mall, pool, barbeque, out for pizza and a hookah bar where we purchased one and brought it back to Brent's apt. for some vanilla cherry and a few beers.

At the pizza place, Ben and I were standing at the podium waiting to be seated and I glanced down where some Korean waiter had written something in the miscellaneous note section. It was two words--five consonants and five vowels. I laughed and, when I was trying to explain it, said, "Umm... it said shit face. But without the shit part."

"So, just shit?"

"Well, no. Haha. Yeah, but the shit was directed at someone."

It was funny but the guy was pissed. (I saw him later in the evening.)

We were back at the house shortly afterwards and I was talking to Renae out in the backyard. I was interrupted... which, yeah, it did initially irk me a bit. But especially when a hypocritical oaf interrupts my conversation because he had to tell me how much he needed to drink in order to get a buzz... it's more than enough to disgust me.

Rules:

1) You don't bitch about the brand of beer when your host is gracious enough to supply you for free, especially when you are underage and doubly especially when you're staying at his apartment and he's taking you to all these money spots in the city.

2) You don't look down on the beer when you yourself are the "Bud Light" of the group.

3) You don't put on a condescending face to the other members of your party because you don't regularly see them at the inebriation fests on campus.

He got drunk and, as always and even without alcohol, danced for the rest of us like a monkey. It got old a few years ago and it was even more disgusting this time with alcohol involved. This is the guy who bitched out another friend, calling him an idiot and a faggot, because said friend spent a night on an inebriation fest. When friend responded with, "Well, there's another one tonight," monkey boy asked to come along.

Tonight, when monkey boy said, "I'm never ever going to smoke," and that was met with a, "Just like you were never ever going to drink?" he responded with a simple, "Fuck you."

Condescension aside because this doesn't have to do with me. The guy, monkey boy, is a dumbshit. If, as we decided earlier tonight, a person is part body and part mind, monkey boy has no water in his glass; he is no person, but an empty vessel as his anatomical ambitions are shallow and self-glorifying, his mind weak and saturated with thoughts of lust. I am sorry if this sounds harsh, but I very much behind what I have written.

12:34 wish at 10:18

This one is for my homies.

"Hi!"

"Hey!"

"How are yo-"

"Oh! Guess what we did today!!"

"OK. What did you do?"

"We... Ok, guess what TWO things we did today!"

"Just quick tell me!"

"Are you freaking out?"

"Yeah, uhh yeah. What did you do?"

"Uh... we put a couch outside and then stayed there in the sun for like six hours... awesome. And then we biked to Sandy Hollow (6 up-and-down miles) and the volleyball pit was flooded with snow water so we stripped down to our boxers and belly flopped."

"Ohhh... awesome!"

"Yeah... why are you freaking out?"

"...I don't want to talk about it... I have two tests tomorrow, a quiz and three papers."

"Wow. How far are you?"

"Umm... not far enough."

For two tests, a quiz and three papers by tomorrow. My wish is for her tenacity and vigor in completion, because I'm pretty sure that she will be through and off to the Dominican after tomorrow's obligations. Word to the motha.

That thing... that one thing... oh yeah, my MAJOR.

Yeah, it's English: Writing and

I haven't written anything in so long.

I haven't written in so long, but I HAVE been reading. The bulk of it being Theology texts and Short Stories (Carver, Barrett and anthologies before that).

This is not to say that I am dwindling in inspiration and voice, rather that I am lacking time and practice to voice thoughts and create onto paper... or screen. And then Katy wrote something that people will read because it is beautiful and important. (Dr. Schaap keeps saying that reading good and gorgeous things make him want to stop writing, to stop trying. I'm the opposite of that.)

Feeling inspired, and clearly so, I wrote down two sentences during class the other day.

I think I'll share them once I expand and finish up the Environmental Studies PowerPoint presentation, Heresies reading and journal, racketball etc. etc. etc.