Life at an Intersection

Chicago Phoenix, indemnity bonds, journaling, really really really want a zigazig ah, travel, books, travel books, relationships, values. It is hard to pinpoint precisely, but I'd say about 82% of what you read here is true. The rest is fictional nonfiction.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Glyphs

Photobucket

I have things to say, so many things. This past week I have thought of so many things to say here, so many things to write on postcards and mail to Frank at PostSecret, so many thank you notes and emails to compose to so many people. Sometimes there's something like a stirring in my...mind? heart? pituitary gland?...that makes me want to write. I've forgotten many of these writing impulses as the days have rushed on by, most of them probably lost to the ether. But maybe I'll remember some of them as I type this.

***

I won a scholarship from my school this week. I got the email while I was in the frozen foods aisle of the grocery store at 5 pm Friday evening in my sweaty gym clothes. I was so excited that I punched a Boca burger in the face. It feels nice to earn some money for the first time in about eight months.

***

I like being normal. I aspire to normality. Not in the average, plain, or nondescript sense, but in the mainstream, natural, balanced sense. (Yes, I used a thesaurus for this. Go ahead and judge me.) Someone recently tried to make me feel very abnormal. This person used words as weapons against me and tried to make me feel that, because of my sexual orientation, I am bad, evil, deviant, less-than, other. This person tried to make me feel extremely abnormal.

It did not work.

I'm a confident guy. This is helpful in job interviews, class presentations and when driving. This is a detriment when playing football, buying used cars, or pretending that I know what someone is talking about when I really have no idea. In this particular confrontation, my confidence served me well.

But this whole episode really made me reflect on the experience of others, other people who are different, people who have more trouble fitting in and feeling normal that I do. Made me reflect on the ways that people harm and destroy each other. Thank God, there's been such a big movement lately towards affirmation and honesty and protecting vulnerable people from bullies, intimidation, and discrimination. Organizations like the It Gets Better Project are making a huge difference, media are recognizing the stories of gay and lesbian youngsters and the difficulties that they face at home, at school, and at church. Hate speech is being called out, and groups that actively work to undermine equal rights and enshrine their own narrow ideas of faith, family, and freedom are being exposed for the hacks that they are.

I wonder, though, what an incident like this would have done to me in an earlier, more vulnerable time in my life. We've seen so many stories over the last few months of kids who commit suicide because of peer and internet bullying, because of family pressures and hateful words. Kids kill themselves because of other people's words. I see kids at school every day who have been wounded by words and actions, by their family dysfunctions, by their parents and family members and teachers and classmates and community. I want to protect them, I want to help them rise above and achieve because of and regardless of these hurdles. This is part of my calling.

Thank you, person who tried to hurt me, for reaffirming this for me and helping to strengthen my resolve.

***

It is 70 degrees here. Every day. Why doesn't everyone live here? This not-living-here, this is a form of madness.

***

In terms of frequency and magnitude, I may be having more fun at this time in my life than ever before. My friends here - mostly my classmates and their significant others - are the most remarkable group. They make every class day, every weekend, every event and gathering a riot.

We have crazy fun, and thankfully most of the picture proof on Facebook is locked away behind "Friends Only" barriers. Our first professor this past summer, our technology teacher, warned us about this.

***

I've noticed a law of diminishing returns in regards to my dating life here in Phoenix. Which is to say, every guy I go out with is a bigger bum than the last.

No, not really a bum. Just not for me. Actually this last guy that I saw for a couple of dates, I came to the conclusion that we actually had too much in common. All the things that I usually say on a date, the things that are supposed to make me unique and memorable, he said them. We have all this geography and perspective and academic history in common, and it just weirds me out. We even kind of look a bit alike. Maybe I'm expected to be into that, you know, since homosexuality is really just a narcissistic personality disorder, but I'm not.

***

I miss this one TV show (as in yearn for and feel sentimental feelings towards, not as in fail to watch) like pretty much every Sunday night. That's a fairly embarrassing thing to admit all in its own right, so I'm not going to do myself the further embarrassment of telling you what cringe-worthy show it actually is. Suffice it to say that it no longer comes on, and that I wish it did. It had really interesting, complex characters and outlandish soap operatic plotlines. I was a big, fat fanboy.

But when I think about it, I guess I'm not really missing the show as much as I am missing a specific time in my life. I was much younger, I was in the midst of my first really fulfilling and enjoyable job experience, I was living on my own and managing to have a pretty cool little Chattanooga futon-in-my-apartment life. It was all very just-barely post-collegiate and innocent. It was a very good time in my life, and I shared it with some fictional TV friends.

***

Oh, but this is a very good time in my life too, and I'm sharing it with some extraordinarily sweet, hilarious real-life friends.

Here are a few of those people, and a few of those photos that you maybe can't see on Facebook.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Thanks to Liza, Kati, Michelle, and Roxi for the photos.

Currently Listening to
The King is Dead by the Decemberists and

Last Night I Watched
The Town with Ben Affleck and it was phenomenally good.

42 comments:

Kati January 26, 2011 at 6:59 PM  

ooooo-eeeee, I love you, boi.

Anonymous December 26, 2012 at 10:02 AM  

[URL=http://pharmacypills.atspace.co.uk/dostinex/dostinex-weight-gain.html]dostinex weight gain[/URL]

Anonymous January 16, 2013 at 7:56 PM  

[url=http://sustiva-efavirenz.webs.com/]buy Sustiva 500 mg online
[/url] Generic Sustiva 600 mg
Generic Sustiva buy
Sustiva 500 mg online

Anonymous March 18, 2013 at 12:14 PM  

http://www.microgiving.com/profile/cipro zofran zydis dosage
http://www.microgiving.com/profile/amoxicillin amoxicillin 875 mg clavulanate potassium
http://www.xing.com/profile/Danka_Clar online pharmacy generic
http://www.microgiving.com/profile/pharmacy online pharmacy generic
http://www.microgiving.com/profile/tadacip best online drugstore
http://www.microgiving.com/profile/apothecary online pharmacy diet pills
http://www.microgiving.com/profile/kaufen-cialis online drugstore canada
http://www.freewebs.com/tadalafil-kaufen/ online pharmacy drugs
http://www.freewebs.com/apotheke-pille/ generic drugstore online

Anonymous March 19, 2013 at 4:46 PM  

oZzy moved away some time ago, I miss his cock, that i'm always hungry for sex.
FUCK MY PUSSY!

Here is my web page :: hcg injections
Also see my web page :: hcg injections

Anonymous March 20, 2013 at 11:14 AM  

http://biaxin-buy.webs.com/ buy biaxin xl online
http://sustiva-efavirenz.webs.com/ buy Generic Sustiva 500 mg
http://asacol-mesalamine.webs.com/ mesalamine usp 1000 mg
http://www.freewebs.com/pentasa-mesalamine/ mesalamine 800 mg online

Anonymous May 9, 2013 at 10:27 AM  

You need to take part in a contest for one of the most useful websites online.
I most certainly will recommend this website!

My blog post - pozycjonowanie

Anonymous May 15, 2013 at 5:37 PM  

Folks usually know some sort of trustworthy contractors in
town. It is the truth that there 're definite differences somewhere between installing the two systems.

my web site ... agencja detektywistyczna warszawa

Anonymous May 15, 2013 at 6:34 PM  

You can get such records in any for the online music your local library.
Then human beings are transformed faraway from instruments to musicians, mystic musicians.


My web page: agencja detektywistyczna warszawa

Anonymous May 15, 2013 at 11:02 PM  

To automate this kind ardent but most critical job,
Field Site Management Software was developed.

Look at my web site agencja detektywistyczna

Anonymous May 16, 2013 at 11:15 AM  

Furthermore without calling these professionals, this approach should be definitely easy.
Then a septic installer installs the computer according
to exactly who plan.

My web-site agencje ochrony

Anonymous May 17, 2013 at 4:23 AM  

Excellent already be workouts at least twice each week.
Realize that the buyer observes bad sales customers all day, every day.



my weblog ... usługi ochrony lublin

Anonymous May 18, 2013 at 11:40 AM  

Make it a point people to add to our collection regularly.

Through evolution and with the overall devotion people experience the oneness with Him.


My web page: adwokat warszawa

Anonymous May 18, 2013 at 8:47 PM  

Training needs to be usually have blend these motivations when
going through our life. Carry out the role in mortgage advisor credit qualification is the videos
. requisite.

my blog post adwokat warszawa

Anonymous May 19, 2013 at 12:35 PM  

Each event may have the need for different styles out of music and combinations.

In fact, our own new artists consider it a stressful job to desk out by bringing in
unique end projects.

Here is my homepage organizacja wczasów

Anonymous May 20, 2013 at 9:10 PM  

It provides two strategies to deploy the software program program.
However there are number of that offer best quality and at most reasonable prices.


Take a look at my web page :: szambo betonowe

Anonymous May 21, 2013 at 4:50 PM  

Exercise is very important especially for growing children.
However, you may not possess a professional on send back your organization to educate them.


my web-site - tłumaczenia hiszpański Katowice

Anonymous May 22, 2013 at 2:03 AM  

The concept is also great for many difficulty of skin.
Keep adding a great torpedo until some sort of sting is not necessarily quite too severe or
perhaps a to slight.

My web blog - tłumaczenia włoski Katowice

Anonymous May 22, 2013 at 11:24 AM  

Limassol is a vibrant up together with coming city,
just about all the variety of accommodation to
rent competeing.

Feel free to visit my site: agencja detektywistyczna

Anonymous May 22, 2013 at 10:29 PM  

Examine at your attorney's awards and recognitions. So make hard work to hire a lawyer with special understanding of your law.

my web blog: agencja detektywistyczna warszawa

Anonymous May 23, 2013 at 3:17 AM  

A good example has become the holidays tropical island of Minorca.
And then choose the home that perfectly benefits with your mafia.


Also visit my blog - agencja detektywistyczna warszawa

Anonymous May 23, 2013 at 6:39 AM  

You are in control of exactly what our own shirt will break.
All too often you can easily create the logo and
have it's placed directly on the subject of the shirt.

my web page ... agencja detektywistyczna warszawa

Anonymous May 23, 2013 at 6:42 AM  

Partner remember when I saw my fundamental elephant.
Probably if you passionately suspect your kid is lying, most people should still acknowledge them out.



My weblog ... agencja detektywistyczna

Anonymous May 24, 2013 at 2:53 PM  

Each of our HP0-M31 evaluation is generally consists of
85 multiple-choice concerns.

Here is my blog post ... usługi detektywistyczne

Anonymous May 26, 2013 at 12:39 AM  

These packages are acquired online at the latest little cost.
The messages possibly can be highly tailor made as per
your need of the individual consumers.

My homepage detektywi warszawa

Anonymous May 27, 2013 at 12:16 PM  

Dirt mounds and rock n roll piles may on top
of that indicate the site of a cesspool. Because it is
without a doubt a dirty job, most homeowners you can ask other people to
do it.

Visit my weblog; pobierowo

Anonymous May 27, 2013 at 6:24 PM  

So the sensitive information will need to have to protect against access by third parties.
Really create a software that maximizes your time in
the mega gym.

Feel free to surf to my web-site ... pobierowo

Anonymous May 29, 2013 at 10:18 AM  

Those who find themselves doing use of solar power, though, will never experience this dilemma.


My page zespół muzyczny Poznań

Anonymous May 29, 2013 at 4:13 PM  

If so, could have be able in order to really provide
plenty involving references for you to call.


Here is my web page - zespół muzyczny Bydgoszcz

Anonymous May 30, 2013 at 4:01 AM  

Even Universities require you will probably be alumni or reimbursement for information.
Others delay regular providing because of currently the high cost it relates to.


Also visit my web-site ... tanie wczasy

Anonymous May 30, 2013 at 12:46 PM  

Cash for Clunkers: Actually do government programs really help?

Volunteer in hospitals or nursing homes and then better a grant for the funds
to take on.

My web page; zespół muzyczny Bydgoszcz

Anonymous May 31, 2013 at 11:08 AM  

Really metal body supports experienced rusting, do double precautions defend it.
This simple tip will keep a lot regarding frustration.



Here is my page tanie wczasy nad morzem

Anonymous June 3, 2013 at 10:45 AM  

Anybody are watching dancer flits on any stage like the butterfly.
Live mindfully in addition to the creatively -
it certainly is your birthright.

my web-site; ochrona przeciwpożarowa

Anonymous June 4, 2013 at 8:39 PM  

The diverse range of particular person and family insurance coverage
options can wonder the individual. Statistics show that team highly value health coverage plans.


Feel free to surf to my site ... borelioza

Anonymous June 4, 2013 at 9:15 PM  

Use LinkedIn Answers enhance your credibility. Tiny newsletters can be an amazingly interesting marketing
technique.

Feel free to surf to my webpage borelioza

Anonymous June 5, 2013 at 6:59 PM  

Rubber plantation was basically brought into United
states of america by the Nederlander from Indonesia.


Here is my web blog: candida

Anonymous June 5, 2013 at 8:27 PM  

Discipline once learned to be a child, can do not be
unlearned. Legislation transforms businesses but also business leaders to deliver breakthrough results!


Here is my webpage - candida

Anonymous June 7, 2013 at 1:27 PM  

They need not are retained for up to ten years of age.
You may feel approaching your end chance to plant spring flowering light sources.


Here is my web blog ... http://szalona-organizacja-podróży.pl

Anonymous June 7, 2013 at 6:49 PM  

To be told point blank about a really niche.
It is at times necessary to find out the business model of a company
you want to hire.

my web blog: homepage

Anonymous June 7, 2013 at 11:18 PM  

Dwelling should definitely choose of the septic system when there is no sewage system available.
Once released the waste solution undergoes the normal process.


Feel free to surf to my site ... wycieczki all inclusive

Anonymous June 10, 2013 at 10:03 AM  

Trained professionals choose the methods for produce rubber.
This kind of styles will include strong yet fairly simple forms enhanced by way of edgy detailing.


Also visit my web page: homepage

Anonymous June 10, 2013 at 7:06 PM  

Reservations can become by calling 310-265-2836. Enjoy a couple of
great, live jazz music music at Machines Caf located at just 138 W.


Also visit my web page :: STRONA GŁÓWNA

Twitter / Davie_St

Words That I'm Living By - 5/2/2010

Time, as I've known it
Doesn't take much time to pass by me
Minutes into days, turn into months
Turn into years, they hurry by me
But still I love to see the sun go down
And the world go around

Dreams full of promises
Hopes for the future, I've had many
Dreams I can't remember now
Hopes that I've forgotten,
faded memories
But still I love to see the sun go down
And the world go around

And I love to see the morning
as it steals across the sky
I love to remember and
I love to wonder why
And I hope that I'm around
so I can be there when I die
When I'm gone

I hope that you will think of me
In moments when you're happy and you're smiling
That the thought will comfort you
On cold and cloudy days
if you are crying
And that you'll love to see
the sun go down
And the world go around
And around and around

"Around and Around" by Mark Kozelek

  © Blogger template 'Photoblog' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008 | Distributed by Creative Artworkof Fractal Enlightenment

Back to TOP