And death i think is no parenthesis

I got home from the Black Hills early this morning. As far as I could tell, everybody had a blast. Bonus: I met two very awesome people - Matt and Dan. There is nothing quite like a camping expedition to get acquainted. All of the photos are on my profile on facebook, but I'll put a few of them here to give you an idea of what we did. Here I stand in front of the beautiful rolling black hills. This is still in the first day of hiking, so I still feel as if I'm alive. Ann ponders the meaning of life. Our campground for the first night. Although it's dispersed camping, we stumbled upon a relatively convenient bit of forest for the number of tents we had. At lunchtime on day #2, we took a break on the tops of these rocks and took in some great sights. We were close enough to see Harney Peak at this point. On the morning of day #3, the remaining campers hiked out of the wilderness. And then they stabbed me with walking sticks. We saw a television advertisement for these new P...

I thought this article from Time was particularly interesting this week. I found that I meet many (though certainly not all) of the criteria that makes a person happier. However, none of them are particularly groundbreaking, in my opinion.

I had dinner with a friend that I had not seen in perhaps 3 or 4 years. I didn't know what to expect. In fact, I was slightly nervous that it would be too awkward. Luckily, my fears were completely unfounded. We had a wonderful time, and ended up not only having dinner, but shopping, walking her dog, and seeing a movie with a couple of her other friends. We had both changed a little since we last had a chance to really talk, but those changes couldn't erase the fact that we were still friends. This got me thinking about a more extreme situation. Let's say that my friend and I hadn't seen each other for 20 years instead of 3. Rather than changing a little, let's say that we had become complete opposites. Perhaps I had become Rush Limbaugh's understudy while she was heading up the Kansas chapter of the ACLU. Could we still get together and hang out and just have fun? I think so. I have seen this with some others since leaving for college. Another guy and I used to...

Here is a pretty funny video clip made by those strange people at The Master's College. Only some of the outtakes are funny, though.

Ah, I love The Onion Radio News. This story about mice is just plain funny, no matter what your sense of humor.

I just finished watching the heartbreaking movie United 93 . It was the first time I have seen it, and I really liked it. It made me think about a few things. Many of the passengers in called to their family and friends once they knew they were probably going to die. They all said the same thing: "I just wanted to say that I love you" or "Tell _______ that I love them", etc. This is so true. In almost every crisis situation, our last impulse is to let those whom we love know that they are loved. Many people's main regret, after having unexpectedly lost a family member, is that they just wished they could have told them "I love you" one last time. Why is that? It is obvious that love is by far the strongest human emotion. None of those passengers said, "Just be sure and tell Billy that I'm scared" or "I just wanted you to know that I'm really mad at these hijackers for what they are doing" or "Please promise me that you...

Well, today I'm 19. Dad and I celebrated last night, because he's been gone today to watch some racing in Topeka with family. I almost got to come along, but the situation was complicated, and the circumstances turned out against me. My dad was really disappointed that I couldn't come. That was okay by me; I'm not the kind to get excited over automobile racing. However, it does mean that I'm spending my birthday approximately 90 miles from my nearest friend or family member. Why is it that painful memories all seem to come back on holidays? Maybe it's just because I have more time to think today. It hardly matters. I thought I could spend the day listening to good music, or watching movies, or reading a good book, perhaps. Instead, for some reason, I've been spending most of the day trying not to cry. I think it's good, though. Everybody needs those kind of days now and then to vent bottled up feelings, I guess. Perhaps I'll start writing a novel tod...