Bobby Fisher. Michael Jordan. Sean Connery as "Forrester." Elie Wiesel. - You figure out the connection I'm making between all of them -- and me -- and then we'll talk.

Update of thoughts:

Walt Whitman - is it possible to admire and respect a man apart from his explicitely immoral poetry and lifestyle?

What is the standard of poetic and literary criticism? Does it mean something of itself, or is it only in your interpretation?

Did the serpent that deceived Adam and Eve really walk on four legs and appear as a gazelle? Mr Elton Smith thinks so. Is it because he's a prof at USF or just because he's 88 years old?

Living in Tampa makes me want to go deaf. when was the last time I was somewhere that was truly quiet?

I love apartment life! My girls are the best, my laundry room is the best, and my leasing agent is the best: TEEEENA! Where's LEEdia and Cat-y? Who's Feffenia?

Texts to put on your must-read list:
Milton - Aeropagitica
Francis Bacon - essays on Superstition, Truth, Education, Marriage vs Single Life
John Donne - enough said... joe joe joe
Arthurian tales, esp Marie of France
Elie Wiesel - Night

I know... such an uncreative blog... but, I feel inadequate. All day I read incredible records by men and women who are truly capable of expression. I am nothing. Why are you reading this? Go improve your mind. Read the Bible.

Today was the last day... and I'm so excited to head to Florida tomorrow!

Last supper with the parents: STEAK! My dad decided to splurge and went out and bought the necessary food for a good ole steak dinner. He, of course, did not cook it.

Last northern exposure: coffee with the tannest northerner i've ever known, Nathan Diestelkamp. He would want me to specify that he did not drink coffee. He is quite the individual... quite the construction worker too.

Last night in my house: my room, my closet, my desk, my dresser... all completely empty. i applaud myself on my minimalistic environment... and then remember that it's really all crammed in my car.

Last minute nerves: i've never driven as far by myself as I'm going to drive tomorrow. although the directions seem more than a little confusing, i know i'll be okay if i just head south.

Itinerary:
Tuesday - drive to Bowling Green
Wednesday - hang with my sister, drive to Gallatin, TN
Thursday - drive to Florida with gregory c

I'm going to bed. I've got miles to go before I....wait...

Over the last few weeks I've developed a new love for cycling.... not participating in it, though that is fun, but watching it on the good old OLN where the announcer's accents make my heart melt like butter. Lance Armstrong is so hot right now. Have you seen his leg muscles? Boy howdy!

Sammy Sosa needs to be traded off the Cubs...please.

Yea for the Olympics and my all-time favorite event of speed walking. I'm actually thinking of going into that... sport...? Someday I need to understand what that word really means.

There was a baby at the store today who was laughing at me. He looked at me, judged me, and laughed at me.

stereotypical, adj. from French, Greek, Latin

According to dictionary.com:
"A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image. One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type."

Alternative definition: "lacking spontaneity or originality or individuality"

Don't we usually get offended at someone stereotyping us, when, in fact, we may do it to ourselves?

Today begins what is my final week living in Chicago. Tonight I experienced another depth to that realization. I am moving away, and it seems as though I am leaving memories behind forever.

There are some things we remember only because we are reminded of them by a smell or a sight. It seems to me that leaving Illinois will deprive me of being near those places where so many things have happened to me. I've lived here since I was 6 months old. How much will I forget?

Do you ever wonder what it's like to be old and to forget the things that happened to you. Someday we won't even remember the hardships that we're experiencing now, and the things that take up so much of our thought and energy will fail to even pass into our conscious thought. In a few years, in several years, they won't even be a memory. They'll be completely gone.

How can it be that we will live our lives, devoid of those things, and yet feel complete? We will always be making new memories, but, what if those memories never quite fill the void of what we've left behind?