Congrats, You're Engaged! Now Let's Tear That Down!

Here's part two of the previous blog. I have only been engaged for 6 weeks, and yet I've been exposed to some pretty terrible things people who should know better have said. Things people say to try and remind you how awful it is now that you're engaged to someone. Because, ya know, being engaged, the precursor to pledging to spend your life with someone is just so terrible and should be avoided at all costs.

So, this will probably be a mushy post, with a bit more aggressiveness than my last one. If you don't want mushy, go read about the war or something. Fair's fair though, I keep seeing all the passive aggressive posts where people whine about how everyone is getting engaged and having babies and how that's just TERRIBLE and ruining their day every time they see that. (The deeper question is, why? But that's another topic.) So, passive aggressiveness aside, here's some mushy aggressiveness about what you should really never say to engaged people. Because really, you're just trying to tear down their relationship. And that's meaner than kicking a kid's sandcastle.


You're going to have to marry that.
Well, yeah. Duh. That was kind of the whole point. Usually said when fiance does something funny or weird. This phrase tears down the person of your affections to a mere object, and that's not funny. I'm marrying a person, not a box of cereal. It also says that you're probably making a mistake, look how weird they are. I used to just laugh it off, but that's not ok anymore. Laughing it off is tantamount to agreeing with what that person just said. "Haha, yeah, I'm marrying that, poor me." Really though, what I've found works best is when you hear this phrase, you wrap your arms around your significant other, plant a big kiss on their face and say, "And I can't believe how lucky I am!" Usually people saying this are just trying to be funny, and I understand that for certain cases. Others of you though, should definitely know better.

We never get to hang out anymore, and I always feel like a third wheel.
Am I marrying you? No, get used to it. I really am trying to keep up my other relationships. I love friends, and I love going out and partying. Or at least having people over to watch movies. I know I always invite my fiance along. No he doesn't always come, but do you want me to purposely leave him out? He's my most favorite person in the whole world, so unless we specifically plan a girl's night. I'll be inviting him too. And because I'm a nice person, I'll bring along another third wheel for you to hang with. They'll even be funny and moderately good looking. This statement tries to make you feel guilty for wanting to spend time with your significant other. Why should you though? Why would I be marrying someone I didn't want to spend time with? So excuse me, but no, you can't separate us.

You're going to get all fat and have a baby.
Um, what? First off, that's none of your business. I'll get fat and have a baby if I want to. Second off, how dare you imply what you're implying. The deeper meaning behind this is that they speaker is saying, "You're going to get overweight and out of shape because you'll get married and stop caring about your appearance anymore, and then you'll have a baby and your life will be ruined." That's a pretty hurtful comment to say to someone. Babies don't ruin lives, lack of willpower and caring does. Marriage won't break my will to live. If anything, this new journey has inspired me to try and be even better. I work out more now, I've lost weight, I've taken more care with my appearance. And as far as babies go, that's still none of your business. Also, since when did my appearance become the only thing that was important to me?

You're engaged? Why'd you go and do that?
Because I wanted to, because I want to spend the rest of my life with this person to the degree that no one else measures up. This statement again implies that being engaged is not a good thing to do, that pledging to live your life with someone is akin to a ball and chain rather than a step towards freedom. Seriously, someone to always have your back, to bail you out if you need it, to cuddle with at night? Yep, why would anyone ever want to go and do that?

So there you have it. Getting engaged is a little scary, it's hard when people poke those fears so they come out from under a rock and bite you in the tush. It also forces you to face them, so perhaps these passively hurtful comments are for a greater good, ya know? Still, don't say them to my face. I'll karate-chop you with my words.

If You Actually Read This...

If you actually read my blog, please leave a one-word comment describing what you think of me. Thanks!

I'm Getting a Second Job

Here's a typical Thursday or Friday evening for me.

Me: Hmmm, I want to go out this weekend, tired of staying in...let's see who wants to hang out!

Me: *Calls boyfriend* Hey handsome, doing anything Saturday night?
Boyfriend: Yeah, I've got this super cool acting thing all day, and then my family is all going swimming!
Me: That sounds fun!
Boyfriend: I know, it'll be super great!
Me:....so...Saturday?
Boyfriend: I'm busy then, but talk to ya later for sure!

Me: *texts Social Girl* I'm thinking girls night Saturday, what do you think?
Social Girl: Sorry, I can't, I've got tons of work gibberish to finish.
Me: Hey that's cool, I understand. Maybe next time?
Social Girl: Maybe, having a real job is so hard! You're so lucky your job isn't as real as mine.
Me: Haha...ha....ah....yeah.

Me: *calls best girl friend* Hey bestie, wanna hang on Saturday?
Bestie: Um...I live in Florida...
Me: Oh, yeah I forgot...

Me: *texts Purple-Hair Girl* You, me, horror movie, Saturday night. Whaddaya think?
Purple-Haired Girl: Got a hipster concert to go to with all of my similarly styled friends that night, but thanks for asking!
Me: I was thinking of dying my hair pink. No prob, have fun!

Me: *Texts Work Friend* Hey, want to grab dinner Saturday?
Work Friend: Why are you texting me?

Me: *posts on Facebook* I think I'm going to see New Popular Movie on Saturday, anyone want to come?
Facebook:
Facebook: *Friend/s that lives in Wyoming/Florida/Europe/The Moon/Provo* Would totes come if I lived closer!

Me: *calls mom*
Mom: You have reached the voice mailbox of-
Me: *hangs up*

Me: *group Snapchats everyone who is socially acceptable to do so.* (Insert puppy-dog eyes picture) Anyone want to hang Saturday? Fun stuff planned!
Snapchat: You have no new updates.

Me: *texts Weird Stalker Friend* I'm super bored, wanna go do something?
Weird Stalker Friend: Don't you have a boyfriend?
Me:....


So...guess who's getting a second job?

Wanted: New Best Friend

I've had some issues with my close friends recently. To be more specific, my two best friends have become distant to the point that the best friend post in my life is rather empty. Let me explain, keeping in mind that I love these two people like crazy and wish that life was different.
          First:: My best friend forever currently lives in Florida. That's well and good, but I miss her like crazy and she is often unavailable to speak with due to time differences and jobs. The bigger fact of the matter is, as she's not close she is unavailable for girls nights out. You know, like going to see sappy movies your boyfriend won't go see, staying at home and doing nail parties, and going out for ice cream at 1am just because you feel like it. Plus I miss the ghost hunting.
          Second, my best Utah friend started dating a guy in February and has basically disappeared from off the face of the earth. It is now July and I can count on one hand the number of times we've hung out and it only takes two hands to count the number of times we've had an actual conversation. I used to talk to her once ever few days, now I'm lucky if it's once a month. Lists and lists of unreturned texts and calls have necessitated looking elsewhere for someone to confide in. Same issue with having no one to call on for impromptu hang-outs.

So! Instead of moping I have begun a search for a new best friend. Please read the below posting for information and how to apply to be Charlotte's Best Friend. Perks and remuneration for filling said post are numerous, the most important ones are listed at the end :)


Wanted: One Best Friend

I am looking for a new best friend, qualifications are as follows...

- Must Be: Female between the ages of 21 and 28. Ages may be waived depending on maturity level. It is possible for a male to be my best friend, but he must fit all the other qualifications below.
- Practicing LDS or have extensive experience with the LDS culture. This is very important, as someone who can't or refuses to understand this culture will not understand a core part of me.
- Experienced at dating. Preferably had at least 2, if not more previous relationships. *Can be currently in a relationship.*
- Not currently married. You may consider getting engaged or married, after 3 months of being best friends, but to start out this relationship you must be single on your tax forms.
- Likes to talk and knows how to listen
- Able to keep secrets. (Duh, that's like, the whole purpose of having a best friend.)
- Stable emotionally, not crazy. **

Duties
-Engage in 2-3 phone conversations per week. Each may be up to one hour in length, possibly shorter.
-Willing to come over at least once per week or as needed.
-Availiable for emergency counseling/advice (this will be once or twice a month)
-Answers phone calls/texts in a timely manner ***
-Live within 30 minutes of my house

Payment
You will get in return for performing these duties: 1 best friend, possibly for life. You will get a confidante, someone who adores you, who will go to the weird concerts with you and smile anyways, who knows how to cook, have fun, and has lots of cute guy friends if you need set up. Plus I'll be honest if those jeans actually do make you look fat, and suffer through early morning yoga with you if you want to get in shape.
Also free concert tickets, free dinner occasionally, fantastic nails, hair advice, shopping buddy. Your call really, the time you put in will be the time you get back.

I'm a fantastic friend, and an even better bestie. What I really want is someone to confide in about my dating life, to hear the issues and celebrate the good stuff, and someone to do something with when I'm super bored. Right now my confidantes are my mom (who opens up dating convo's by asking, "You engaged yet?" No, can't get him to call me on his own so...yeah) and my BFF, who unfortunately has never had a boyfriend and lives too far away to give me notes on how she observes his actions. I mean, seriously, Google can only get me so far. I'll do all of the same for you.


Sound interesting? Want a new BFF? Shoot me an email at ccapron@live.com with the title; NEW BEST FRIEND APPLICATION, and why you think we should give being besties a shot. We'll set up lunch and possibly a screening process (in the form of going to a movie, and another night where we talk and get to know each other while doing nails.) After that, we'll take it from there!

NOTES
*If in relationship or going to get in one, this expectation uppermost: Doesn't dedicate life to boyfriend. Many girls become impossible to get in contact with once they start dating someone (see above), this is not acceptable in a best friend as that negates the purpose of having a best friend. If this happens you will be regulated to just 'friend'. Plus, that's really not healthy for you.
**I have had best friends that try to drive away all my other friends, one that tried to kill themself, one that would call me 12 times a day until I went crazy. A small amount of what can be deemed 'interesting' is necessary and healthy even, however if you can't regulate your own emotions then other people can't do it for you, so please don't expect me to do that.
***As far as answering phone calls and texts, this is kind of a no-brainer. If you're at work or out with other friends or with family, you're not expected to answer. You are however expected to get back to me either with a kind, 'I'm busy' text or a phone call later that night. 24 hours is the absolute longest you can go without returning a call, you know it's just rude to go for days and weeks without returning calls. Just be honest when you're busy, it's not like I'm expecting you to drop your life for me, just take 20 seconds and return a text. The same will go in return for you.

Life Moves At A Glacial Pace...

...until suddenly, it doesn't.

Things can stay the same for months, years, a lifetime. Until suddenly, in a flash, everything changes forever.

I guess I'm speaking from a place of watching people around me change, go through events in life that propel them onto the next and next and next stage, and I'm still wandering around this level looking for the exit.

It's a fun level, but there's not a lot of prizes or cash influxes. Tons of interesting people to interact with, and a lot of long, lonely stretches where you open door after door to find room after empty room.

Looking for the level-up factor has been one of the most difficult things I've ever attempted, but the thing is, I'm sure it won't stay the most difficult forever. That scares me, because according to many people, I should be leveled up by now. To the married level, the career level, the having own apartment level. The stable part, the traveling part, any part but the scraping by level.

It hurts to see friends getting married, buying houses, siblings going on missions, other crazy-good but heartrending news that I am super-happy for, but at the same time devastated because it reminds me all over again that my greatest achievement is graduating from college and... yeah, nothing.

I look on these level-ups as blessings, because it motivates me once again to try harder. I don't know if it's a secret lack of motivation, money, ability, opportunity, or a combination of these, but as I approach 25 I'm once again faced with the news that I didn't propel myself nearly as far forward as I wanted to/could have/should have. Yes, I'll probably spend the day crying (I have on every single one of my birthdays since 16 except 24, and that's because I actually achieved something when I was 23).

So my question is...when is life going to change for me? When is it going to take one of those fantastic leaps forward that propel me to the next level? Maybe next month. Maybe next year. There are too many what-if's and maybes to guarantee anything. I can't even get Weber State to get my transcripts read over within a decent amount of time, so unfortunately I'm still stuck spinning my wheels, going to work, and listening to snide or blunt comments by friends and family who should know better.

All I know is, as soon as I see that blue glowing door that separates this level from the next, I'm launching myself though it with the speed worthy of Superman.

Food Poisoning and Social Skillz

On Tuesday I was struck with a bout of food poisoning, something that hasn't occurred since I was 12 and ate a weird sandwich from a now out-of-business chain known as Blimpie's.
What's that?
They're not out of business you say but thriving? Even here in Utah?
Perish the thought, all Blimpie stores should burn to the ground for inflicting such pain on a 12 year old.

This time however, something besides an unsuspecting sandwich caused my pain.
It was a combination of waffles made by eager FHE boyz, homemade syrup, and generic brand Nutella. I'm not sure which exactly caused it, however SOMETHING I ate there caused it, because after I ingested the awesomeness I ate nothing else until the disaster struck my insides. I ate, went to sleep that night feeling slightly weird, awoke the next morning and went to work.

By noon I was starting to get chills. By 1 aches were adding themselves in and vaguely flu-like symptoms began to assert themselves. I decided it had been because I didn't eat breakfast and resolved to get home and fix that. At 2pm I got home, ate a bowl of cold cereal, and was immediately struck with such aches and pains and bubbling the likes of which you have never experienced before. I didn't quite know what was wrong with me but when the diarrhea started then I knew.

I'd been POISONED!

What kind of food poisoning you ask, only strikes once the food is half-way through your large intestine? I have no idea. I have an awful time puking, to the point I think my stomach is invisible, it tries to hide from the food I randomly introduce to it. So the rest of the day was spent in achy pain near a bathroom, with only sad liquids for company.

The next morning I felt somewhat better, but still shaky and pretty dang awful. I resolved to stay in bed and work on my new computer, doing nothing in particular but recovering and eating absolutely nothing. A few Vitamin waters, tons of real water and Vitamin C Tangerine supplements, but no real food. Couldn't even look at the stuff actually.

It would have been fine if  I really didn't have to do anything all day, except it was Wednesday. Nicklemania Night. Also the last night I was probably going to go to Nicklemania for a month due to impending work at Nightmare on 13th. So when I got the text saying: 
"Holy mother of nickels it's Wednesday. You down?" ...
...I of course texted back....
"Heck yes! Carpool?"
Why did I say yes? Because I'm dumb and somehow thought I would magically be better by the night and that being social was way more important than my body still being held in the 'purge cycle'.

Four clicks to the right and now we are the little used purge cycle

I then promptly forgot about it and curled up into a ball in my bed and started watching Season 8, episode 4 of Dexter, waiting for the text that always came saying, "We're coming!" or "You still need a ride?" I rationalized that if I didn't feel 1000% better, I could just beg off and continue watching my beloved Dexter try to patch things up with his sister.

Well, I got sucked in to watching Dexter track down the Brain Surgeon, so at 8:15pm when a knock came at my door.... I didn't even hear it.
That's okay, my grandma did though, and she came running up to my door with a big grin on her face.
"Charlotte! You're boyfriend's here!" she whispered conspiritorially at me.
Boyfriend? When did I get one of those? What's going on!?!?
Then it clicked that instead of texting me, my group had opted instead for showing up to take me to Nickelmania. This was my thought process...
Crap, not ready. Do I feel better? Sorta. Can I wear this...NOPE, different pants! I think I have a fever...but they're here! Get going! Okay, shoes on, purse, GO!
And out the door I went, super excited and slightly flattered my friends had remembered me without my texting around and begging for rides.

The night started off really fun. I'm a whiz at the 55" plasma screen that's been turned into Fruit Ninja. At least, I like to think I'm good at it.

DIE EVIL FRUIT!

However, 30 minutes in...
This was a bad idea...

I rested my head against the cool and slightly grimy tile in the bathroom, willing my heaving stomach to subside. The worst part was I couldn't even beg off early and go home, because I had ridden WITH people. Curse these saving gas tendencies. Literally and figuratively. I started thinking;
"Is the amount of fun and the nice moments I'm having with these people balancing out the amount of physical distress I'm in? Yes, yes it was."
So, I sucked it up, raised the ceiling on my pain threshold, and went back out to kick butt at Fruit Ninja. I actually managed okay the rest of the night. I'd just go find a nice place to sit every once in awhile to give my poor body a break.


So....Theoretical part of this blog. Is it worth it to overcome actual physical pain to hang out with people? Depends on who those people are. I obviously made a choice in a moment, but I don't regret it. Didn't regret it. Well, only regretted the 15 minutes that were spent in the bathroom and another 5 bemoaning my ragged and slightly peaked appearance.

My social skills lack somewhat, so I try to make up for it by being available to hang out and spend time with people, and while I don't regret Fruit Ninja'ing it up at Nickelmania while suffering intestinal distress,  I won't be doing that again. That is, unless Benedict Cumberbatch comes along. I'd muscle through the Black Plague for him. Although I'd have to arrange to get over it first or contract it later (like, when I'm 103 years old) so I don't infect him too... okay, I'm done :)

The Most Important Thing in this Life

I once heard in General Conference that the most important things we will take from this life are our relationships with others. I don't remember where that quote is from exactly, but this has come to my attention time and time again over the last few weeks, and I wanted to expand on that a bit. 

The most important things in this life are our relationships with others. 

This has struck me again and again, is it really going to matter how much I worked or how successful I was. Will it even matter whether I finished all the levels of Candy Crush Saga? Not really, in fact, maybe not at all. What does matter are the people that we meet, live with, work with, play with, and choose to be around. 

Also apparently, to be Batman. When I was Googling my topic to see what else was out there, I typed "The most important thing in this life...." and Google completed it with "...is to be Batman." Gotta love the interwebs. 

Treasure your relationships, not your possessions. -Anthony J. D'Angelo

Why do you think so many movies and stories have been written with love in them? It's because relationships are the most interesting thing in the world, and love relationships top them all. Most of the relationships that involve love are given to us from birth, those are the ones of family. These are givens, at least hopefully they are, in a perfect world they would be. The second ones are those of platonic love, the people you choose to love that are your friends. Now these are interesting, but not as interesting as the relationships involving romantic love. These are relationships that begin in a myriad of ways and have just as many ways to end, but they have more of a spark, a fire, drama and intrigue than all other relationships. They are begun sometimes quite suddenly, and ended even more abruptly at times. 

In the end, love is all that matters. 

Why is this though? Why would someone take the time to pen the quote, In the end, all that matters is love. I think that's because it's true, I can't see clearly sometimes through the fog of life, but the one thing that stands out is how we treat others, our relationships with them, and the love we cherish and develop will be the one thing that stands the test of time, from this life to the next. 

The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing.  -Blaise Pascal

The heart does have its reasons, and if we tried to explain what makes us connect with other people, we would never get to the end of it. Love and our ability to connect with others and form relationships with them are what makes us human, what sets us apart on this world. 

As I go forward I want to work on connecting with more people, take the time to work on my relationships with others, and be the type of friend that I want to have. I'm still looking for that one special relationship, but I have a feeling it'll come when I'm not looking so hard. It's hard to admit to myself that I care so much about people, because often it feels like they don't care back, and I worry that this is the case with a lot of others.

I'm on the compassionate service committee in my ward, and as I've been reaching out to try and help girls, the amount of people who think they are alone and that no one cares is staggering. These are girls that have tried to make friends but feel that they still have no one, girls that feel shut out from the already existing friendships in the ward. I wish we could see, in color, how people feel, because I think we'd be shocked at how many people feel the same way that we do. The relationships we develop are so important, and if you take the plunge and reach out to someone else, you never know how that may affect them in the long run.

Just, take the time to work on your relationships. You never know which ones you will come to treasure, to need, and to cherish.

Inverse Happiness

I saw someone smile today,
They looked happy to me.
Something nice had gone their way,
And things were good you see.

That made me mad, 'Oh Why!' I cried.
"Why is my life always bad,
and their life better than mine?"

Inverse happiness,
is like that you see;
When others achieve greatness,
It makes you angry.

When an ex finds a lover,
Or a friend a new job;
You want to have them over,
and grenades at them lob.

This doesn't make sense though,
It just isn't right;
To be feel really low,
when someone else is bright.

Is your ex supposed to,
be forever alone?
No one to talk to,
No one to be at home?

And what if no one,
ever got a new job?
We'd all be poor,
running like an angry mob.

Be happy for others,
when they happiness find.
Smile for your brother,
Tell your ex you don't mind.

Someday soon,
It'll come your way.
A blessing, a boon,
Like chardonnay.

The tables will turn cruelly
And all your friends can be mad at you
When you show off new jewelry,
they just might sneer at you.

So be happy for others,
tell them you don't mind.
Keep happiness going round,
when it's your turn to shine.

Hearts Brought Together As One

I am on the compassionate service committee for my singles ward. I remember getting the calling with frustration. Compassionate service? How am I supposed to serve others, I don't even have any friends, I'm the one that needs service! Thankfully, the Lord overlooks selfish thoughts like this and makes you persevere with the work.

One thing that's been brought to my attention is the amount of loneliness that exists within my ward. It's staggering to realize how many girls (I'm sure guys too, but I'm only in charge of girls) are struggling with feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, friendlessness, and general social depression. It's so easy to pick up a phone and connect with someone, message them on Facebook  send them an email, a text, some form of communication. I'm sure we could even do smoke signals if we wanted, but the thing is, we don't.

That's generally what my thoughts are on today. I've been lonely quite frequently over the past year, and I still struggle with loneliness. In my experience, the best way to overcome it is to put yourself out there, to make that first communication. It's scary, and some people may not reach back, but you will be surprised with the way people reach back. So, I want to change that.

One of the best things in my life is having a friend group that meets together frequently, just to hang. It's a given that on certain nights of the week, I will find them at a certain place. I think this is something that everyone needs. A place to call theirs, friends that accept (or at least tolerate) them, and something to do. It speaks volumes for people that are able to accept others into their group of already established friends, I know from experience that it means the world to people.

So, I guess the basis of this is, we need more people who are willing to reach out to others, to include them in their circles. I'm trying to work on that now, and while it may seem a daunting task, it is possible. One of the ten commandments is, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I'm pretty sure that means, "Be a good friend with those around you. Also bring them chocolate, because that is always appreciated."

Everything Shall Happen at Once

From henceforth today you shall read the rant of the Everythings. Things that clump shall stay clumped, and empty space shall be nothing but open space. Everything shall happen at once, or not at all.
(Law of Everthings chapter 2, section 4.16)

If Chaos was a picture, this is what my brain would look like. 

I have decided that the universe is rather lazy, and likes to clump everything together to save effort. Especially along the time-continuum of things. Haven't you noticed that nothing will happen for ages on end, you'll have weekend after weekend free of anything social or even important to do, then suddenly three of your friends will call and invite you to paintballing, hiking, or a show all on the same night. At the same time. You haven't noticed that?

Okay girls, all the single ladies that read my blog. That's at least 3 people, right? Anyway let's talk about dates. How often has this scenario happened? You'll go weeks, months, even years without a date (heck, I went 2.5 years at one stretch) then suddenly you'll get asked out. Not just by one gentleman, but two. If you're lucky, three or four, even a fifth will express interest in you. And all within the same week. Sound familiar? Why does this happen then? I'm not really sure, I have some ideas, but this happens time after time so it's not a coincidence, there's some law actively governing things here.

Don't believe me yet? Well let's move on to pets.

How does this apply you may ask? Well, think about it. You probably went 3-4 years, heck, maybe even a decade without a pet of some sort in your life. Then, you decide to get a bird. Or a dog. A small dog. Suddenly, within 3 months you have become home to a petting zoo that consists of a dog, two cats, several birds, and all the neighbors asking if you can tend THEIR animals on the weekend. After years of petlessness, you are overcome with animals. Something fishy is going on here.

What about friends? It works this way too. You'll move to a new place, or even stay in an old one, and you'll  seem to have no friends that can stand being around you. Maybe no one knows you yet, maybe all your friends are busy or can't stand the sight of you and need a break. So you'll go a month or two spending Saturday night lying on the couch and trying to eat potato chips off your chest. Then, you'll either decide you've had enough of couch crumbs or your friends will forget why they were avoiding you and contact will once again be made. You'll have something to do every night of the week, sometimes five or six things and you're swamped. How does this happen?


Here's my explanation. The Law of Everythings clumps things together so that the most action takes place on the fewest amount of days. Don't ask me why, but it's as recurrent as Newton's Law of Gravity. You'd think this law would allow events to be spread out over time so you could handle the most amount possible. Not so.

     My explanation has three parts. One, life is like a floodgate. You either shut certain aspects completely out or you become entirely waterlogged with those occurrences. This may be a trick of the mind, but once you become aware of a lack of something in your life, you open yourself up to receiving it. Not the world's fault your life floodgate only has off and full blast.
     Second, sometimes you put off some sort of aura or personal bubble that people aren't welcome in. This applies especially to Laws of the Median involving other people. You bounce people off your bubble and then one day without your conscious mind realizing it your psyche carefully flips the reverse switch. Suddenly it's like people haven't seen you before and can't get enough. This would also explain weird trends in popularity like Beiber Fever.
     Third explanation is that we suffer from the Baader-Meinhoff Phenomenon on a much larger scale than we realize. This phenomenon explains that there is tons of information in our world. Such a large scale of sensory information that our brains block quite a bit of it out to keep from being overwhelmed. But, once you notice something, like how there is an arrow between the E and the X on the FedEx trucks, you notice this everywhere. Your brain becomes sensitized to the information and you can see the other occurrences of it. This explains the other half of the phenomenon that's not people related, but more you or other thing related. It's actually a rather interesting phenomenon and I recommend reading more on that.

Anyway, the reason for this introspection is that I was offered three different options for the first two weeks of May. Once is that I'm going to watch my aunt Roberta while my Grandma goes to Israel. Two is that I was offered a rather full-time job of working with the PTC (a 6-week run that starts the end of April). Three, I was offered a volunteer opportunity to stage-manage the Farmington summer play, which starts with auditions the first week of May and would require almost full-time attention every evening until the show opened. So, I can only do one of those things adequately. I haven't had a job for three months now, and suddenly there's a possibility for three of them? All starting within 4 days of each other? Yep, that's the Law of the Everythings at work.

Think about it, and I'll bet you can identify things like this right off the bat in your life. Currently this law is quite frustrating to me, although at other times it can be awesome. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day and see if you can find a FedEx truck just for kicks.

Mind Explosions and Quantum Physics

Your mind on Physics

You know when you find out something that you never thought you'd see, it practically makes your mind explode? Like when you watch "The Sixth Sense" and you find out (Spoiler Alert) that Bruce Willis is frickin' actually DEAD! That's a mind explosion. Mind explosions can also be things like finding out Santa Claus isn't real, stepping on a crack won't break your mother's back, or finding that another one of your old friends is about to get married and they didn't tell you because you're not important in their life anymore.

Things like that.

A color version of a sea slug neuron, which uses quantum
particles to fire. If sea slugs can do is so can we!

I think there's an explanation for this that can be explained by the highest of sciences, Quantum Physics. Now, according to quantum physics, everything is made up of quantum's, the smallest particles of matter ever. These particles can communicate with each other on several levels, and throughout time, space, and planes. Excuse me all of you physics buffs that know I'm mangling explanations, but let me theorize for a moment. Now, when you are living your life, you are satisfied with the explanation of the way things are, until suddenly you are presented with incontrovertible evidence that you must accept or risk being seen as a lunatic by the rest of the adult world (case in point, Santa Claus isn't an actual person, took me awhile to figure that one out). Now, once you have this evidence, the mind is not in it's present state able to accept the reality, until suddenly BAM, the quantum particles from the higher plane suddenly have a path through the data to your brain, at which point they travel faster than the speed of light to change your neurons and synapses over to a different plane of existence. This is a little difficult though, and as matter cannot be created or destroyed, your brain must technically cease to exist in it's previous state and travel to another. This is rather painful, and is known as a mind explosion!

A picture of quantum particles on their quantum paths

I am in fact feeling a little sorry for myself today. Yet another of my friends seems to be in a committed relationship, which they conveniently forgot to drop even the slightest hint to let me know. So, I was faced with another mind explosion today, which I got through by doing insane amounts of work and then running barefoot up the mountain across from my front yard. It's very invigorating, you should try it sometime. Once my feet were peeling and tingling from the snow, I felt that I had transcended the previous plane of existence and now was on a different, better level. I have to admit it sucks though, since when is the world allowed to change without your knowledge?

Anyway, next time you're faced with a bit of knowledge that seems impossible to accept and then suddenly your mind is aware of it and feels like it is being rung through a washing machine to accept it, that's quantum physics at work. That's all folks. Peace out and enjoy the weekend.

Good Friend/True Friend

A good friend is someone who listens to you. A true friend listens and understands.

 A good friend compares stories about awful days with you. A true friend shuts up so you can get your bad day off your chest.

 A good friend tries to give advice when you need help. A true friend doesn’t act like a therapist but jumps into the problem with you.

A good friend always has a fun story to share with you. A true friend doesn’t try to one-up your experiences.

A good friend listens to your secrets. A true friend trusts you with some of their own.

A good friend overlooks your flaws. A true friend cares enough to point them out.

A good friend is there when you need them to be. A true friend knows how to give you time alone.

A good friend also leaves you alone when you tell them to. A true friend keeps bugging you anyway.

A good friend helps you. A true friend lets you help them.

-A true friend lets you be a true friend back.