Brains in my Feet

All of the following was written on 12/26/09:

Today I was riding in a car to a fancy country club. I was with my family and we were all dressed up to go to my grandma’s country club in Michigan, with one exception… my feet. I had forgotten to pack nice shoes, so my options for footwear were my slippers or my tennis shoes. My family decided that the slippers looked better, so that is what I was wearing. On the way to the country club, everything seemed to be in order except my feet. I don’t know if it’s the same for you, (I only just realized this myself) but my feet play a major role in how I feel. My slips have a distinct feel to them, and it isn’t a country club kind of feel. It’s an open, comfort, leisure kind of feel. As a result of this, I had very mixed feelings about where I was headed for dinner. My head said we were going to the country club, but my feet told me we were going somewhere well known and full of comfort, like my house or my cottage. Furthermore, my feet were warm, so it felt a little like summer time, but I don’t normally wear my slips in the summer, plus my toes were a little cold… so it felt a little like the fall or spring. I was really confused (and amazed by how much my feet influence me).

As previously mentioned (see first blog post), I’m not exactly happy to have a blog (although there are certain people that make me feel better about it). I feel it comes with a certain stereotype, like oooooooh… you’re a blogger. I feel a little like a nineties college geek who blogs about everything he does. This was confirmed recently by my friend Colin. I said I was going to give him a preview of what might be appearing on my blog in about a month and he would see it then, then I revised that statement because I realized he didn’t know about my blog. I then offered to tell him about it but he declined, telling me that he isn’t really the type of person that follows blogs. This was enough for me (luckily for you, despite all of this, I will continue to post). This is also the reason I don’t use twitter. I feel like twitter is blogging on speed, crack, and any other drug you can think of. In other words… it’s really stupid.

Movies and Books

I think if we (the humans of earth) made movies of the lives of ordinary people, we could have several new blockbuster movies. I think, under the right direction, people can have extremely interesting stories to tell. We don’t realize how interesting our own lives can be when shown in the right way. For example, my friend Jackie (who is not an ordinary human, she is more than that (or so she has informed me)) described to me (and a couple other people) her epic fight with death by dehydration and it got me thinking, she could have a movie made about her. I’m not saying we would include every second of people’s live in their movies (like The Truman Show) but if it was put together correctly, I think a lot of people would have very interesting life stories. The best part is, not only would we be able to learn from other people’s mistakes, but there would such a large variety of genres. For example, somebody who has a lot of sexual partners would have their movie as a porno.

I think authors get too much credit for their books, and other works of writing. It is my belief that they write their books with absolutely no intention of symbolism or further meaning. The teachers of the world have made up all of the symbols that we find in books. They find deeper meaning when in fact there is none there. (I would also like to point out that my brother and sister (Ryan and Erin) agree with me that all this symbolism crap is totally bunk. Furthermore, Erin would like to say that poetry in particular has been too deeply interpreted).

Holiday Lights

As much as I love them, holiday lights are an abomination. The lights, while festive and entertaining, are dangerous. While I was a young child, my family would sometimes go out into the world to view the houses of the families that were a little more enthusiastic than my own. I always enjoyed seeing the lights. As I got older, I began to have to put up the lights, and it gave me an even greater appreciation for the lights that I saw all around. Back to the point though… holiday lights are dangerous. While driving the other day, I was paying attention to the road, when all of the sudden BOOM! A bright flash of light appeared to my left. Somebody’s lights were flashing distracting me from the road. Ergo: holiday lights are dangerous, possibly one of the most beautifully dangerous things I’ve ever seen.

Scary Stairs

Stairs are one of the scariest things on earth. I don’t mean they’re scary for old people, small people, children, or the walking impaired, I mean they’re scary for everybody. Next time you’re walking up stairs, look at how little material there is actually supporting you. It’s probably not more than a foot. I was walking up some stairs the other day (which is one of the most useless things you’ll ever hear. It wasn’t today, so it was any other day in existence, that really narrows it down. The reason I’m saying the other day is because at the time I’m writing this, it happened yesterday, but at the time that you read this, it will not have been yesterday and I didn’t think that the date was very important so I said the other day) and I looked at the side and it was really thin and it was only attached to the wall. I was half convinced that the stairs would collapse despite the fact that I’ve walked on them many times. I think I prefer the elevator. (I’ll include a scale drawing to further your knowledge of what I’m talking about).

Sorry it's such a bad image, all you need to know is the narrowest part of the stair is about as long as your longest finger (or mine at least).

I Think...

I don’t mean to get all philosophical, but I think there are some sayings that are just created to help people live. I’m talking about phrases that make you think, wow… that’s deep, that really makes sense… like it’s not the end result that matters, it’s how you get there. I’m not saying this isn’t true, but I am saying it helps people get through their lives. I was just watching a movie called Donnie Brasco. In this movie, there are two main characters, portrayed by Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. Al Pacino is filmed in a way such that he seems like a good guy, but in reality (moviality, in the movie), he is a mobster. In the end of the movie (it is up to interpretation, so I’m not actually giving anything away) something bad happens to him, but since we’ve watched the entire movie learning to love Al Pacino, we are forced to come up with a reason something bad happens. I think that a lot of sayings were created because of this.

The terms I think, I believe, and in my opinion, are completely unnecessary. If you’re saying it, it’s implied that you think it. There is no need to say the obvious. You wouldn’t say pass me the orange carrots or I’d like some alcoholic rum, so why would you say I think that sharks are the best animals (sharks are pretty great though). It would be one thing to say, it’s a scientifically proven fact that sharks are the best animals, but otherwise, it’s just an opinion. The only time that you need to specify is when it isn’t your opinion. That said, I won’t stop using these terms.

People Cards and Being Thoughtless

While I was talking to my friend Peter, I got this idea. I think it would be cool if people had stats, like on baseball cards, or like the sims. Nothing revealing or embarrassing like how many sexual partners somebody has had, but interesting stuff like vocabulary, spelling, and memory. So everybody would have their own life cards and you could hand them out. Or right before you get married, you play a game to see how well you know your fiancée or something like that. Nothing creepy, just little interesting facts.

It’s amazing, I never realized how much classes helped me think until I stopped attending them. I don’t mean they help me think about class, but when I get bored, I begin to think random thoughts. Many of the things that I have written for you to read are a result of my mind wandering and coming up with thoughts. Now that classes are over, I feel like I think a lot less. It’s a little depressing. Also, now that I've gotten a couple people that I hang out with a lot, I've stopped writing down my thoughts and just started expelling them to the people around me which results in me writing much much much less. I'll try and turn that around.