Long Time No Write

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I have last touched this blog, which seems to be the way I start about 90% of my posts: commenting on how much time has passed since the last time I wrote. A new friend of mine made the comment recently that it was "no bueno" that I hadn't composed anything in so long, and I would like to thank him for inspiring me to once again take up my keyboard. Writing, like many things, is a skill that needs to be constantly practiced. As my friend said, you use it or you lose it. Now, in the interest of preventing the ironic situation that I should lose the very skill I am currently going to school for, I write to you again, dear readers. I shall endeavor with my best efforts to commit once again this summer to my writing, and to not only keep this blog fairly updated, but to compose some fiction which has been running around in my head for the past few months.

This morning my thoughts have turned to... well.. coffee. I started drinking coffee at approximately age 17, and my experience has been unoriginal in the fact that college has exponentially increased the amounts and the frequency with which I partake. I love the taste almost more than I love the caffeine. I rarely add anything to my coffee, occasionally mixing in a little bit of milk. I prefer it black, and the darker the better. I think that anything but the straight brew, untainted by flavor shots and sugary sweetness, is a travesty. I'm convinced (probably unjustly and, I admit, very cynically) sugar is an American pop culture twist; an addition of sugary sweetness and glitz to a rich and deep beverage. One of my pet peeves is annoying platinum-blonde high schoolers who are proud of the fact that they "drink coffee". No, what you drink is a soda that tastes about 0.1% like coffee. Drinking coffee flavored sugar and bragging about it does not make you mature or cultured, it makes you an idiot. Yes, dear readers, I am a coffee snob. By the way, I am also proud of it.

The smell is so hard to describe, as many smells are, but it brings me undeniable joy. It is a relaxing, rich smell, full of body and smoothness. I am of the opinion that there is no other smell in the world as relaxing as fresh brewed coffee in the morning or evening hours. I think a cup of coffee in the morning gives one perspective. Coffee is strong enough that, if you drink it correctly, it has to be consumed slowly. It offers the consumer the chance to reflect and think, which is a often neglected in the morning. I have often had bad days, realizing later that the reason why is that I got off to the wrong foot. I was thrown into my day and my routine suddenly, without much warning, and without time to prepare myself. Coffee gives me a chance to plan, a chance to prepare, a chance to get ready. Starting correctly improves your chances of finishing strong.

More than the cliches, I ENJOY coffee. I often wonder, in our obsessive health freak culture if we ever take the time to enjoy things. Yes it may not be the best for me to drink coffee. Maybe there are things that could do differently to increase my life expectency by a couple years. I would ask, what doesn't kill you nowadays? Life kills you. The boogeyman is going to get me eventually no matter what steps I take to prevent it. I'm not advocating for a completely reckless lifestyle, but for goodness sake, let me enjoy some simple pleasures. I enjoy coffee, and anyone that knows me know that I enjoy my tobacco pipes too. Even further, the combination of a relaxing smoke and a good cup of coffee can turn an evening into an extremely enjoyable and enlightening discourse. I pity anyone who has not experienced the subtle flavor of a good English blend, or the oaky bite of  Latakia. I would like to write a book someday about a futuristic society that smells of hand sanitizer and tofu. These people would live tobacco-free lifestyles, go to the gym everyday, never eat meat, and their children would play in McVeggie's Super-Safe Playlands enclosed with padded walls and wearing full body protection. The irony would be that depression rates among this society would run rampant, and the book would end with the main characters committing suicide by overdosing on salad and Purel.

-sigh- One day I will write a rant-free blog... I apologize, readers. My original vision for this blog was to provide a look into my own mind, both for myself and for those who would be interested. In that I feel some measure of success. These are my opinions and my perspectives, even if they may descend sometimes into cynical rants.

Until I take up the keyboard again, I shall finish off this cup of coffee. Tonight, I may also have a cancer-inducing pipe-smoke. It has been a good month since last I smoked, and my smoke rings need some work. One day I hope to be able to blow smoke in the shape of ships like Gandalf.

(An idea is forming in my head for a blog about the relationship between writing and pipes. JRR Tolkien himself was an avid pipe smoker, and of course world renowned for his writing. For another time, readers!)

An Intense Reaction and then Reflection (Kyle's Christmas Break)

“God gave me you for the ups and downs..”

                I can’t get that song out of my head. It means so much to me lately.

                I’m tired, I’m sore, my legs are cramping up.

                But I’m here.

                And I’m so, so happy.

                She’s at work right now and she doesn’t know I’m here yet. I haven’t even seen her yet and still just being in the proximity of 100 yards of her takes my breath away. I’m shaking so much I can barely type. It’s like my whole body just wants to get up on its own and run, or maybe dance, who knows!

                She is so stalwart and strong. A lot of girls couldn’t do what we are doing. We have both had to grow up through this process, this being apart for weeks at a time. I envy her sometimes, because she seems like she almost deals with it effortlessly at times. I love her so much. In every way. She is my light. She gets me through the hard times. Whenever I need someone to talk to, she’s there. I always. ALWAYS feel better after talking to her. I have never been more lucky or blessed in all my life. She is everything to me.

                Anyway, this blog was supposed to be reflective or something, but it’s turning into just a mishmash of emotions! I’ll take another stab at the subject later, when I can actually do it justice and not just stumble over my own words. But for now I will say this. One hug and four weeks apart and 600 miles just melts away.

                Me and her have received a lot of criticism. We have only been in this relationship for eight months now, and already we have had lots of challenges. Certain people say that we are way too young to bet his serious. And this has made me think a lot about what it means so be in a relationship. I’m convinced that ones age has very little to do with it. I mean, sure, it can play a significant factor, but I think there are mire things going on than just years lived on the planet.

                Age is not an appropriate measure of maturity. It never has been and never will be.  People are as different as the proverbial trees in the forest. Everyone is at a different level, and there is no guarantee that a person at forty can be considered a mature human being, nor that a fifteen year old can be considered immature. To quote Buster Kilrain (look it up), “I take men one at a time.” You cannot determine one’s character, and consequently one’s maturity, without first getting to know that person.

                When it comes to serious relationships, I think there are several reasons that some are convinced that age is tied to maturity.  One of the biggest is that many people are career driven. A person wrapped up in his or her own career would obviously want to get established in that career at a young age. As Americans, a consumer society, we are taught that to be the most economical we should establish our money making opportunities early and later get “tied down” with a relationship. It’s true that once one settles down and has a family, life opportunities outside of that family are going to be limited. But I submit to everyone’s very advanced intellect that some people may not be so career-driven. My life aspiration has always been and always will be to have a family with a person whom I love very much. I have never cared very much for money, or for making a lot of it. I get the most out of life from my relationships, both friendships and otherwise. To me, being in a relationship has never been something that has tied me down. On the contrary, it has always for me enhanced and improved my life and my outlook on my own life. The truth is, I am living my dream.

                Some people seem to also think that someone as young as I could not possibly know what having a relationship requires to be successful, or what it is all about. I think that somehow in society and cultural thinking in general most people are under the impression that age is directly correlated with both intelligence and self-awareness. As I said before, this may in fact be the case some of the time. But it is by no means the rule. For instance, I have grown up with my parents being a very big influence in my life. They have been happily married for many years, and in my time with them I can remember one time that I ever witnessed them fight. I remember it so vividly mainly because it was such a rare phenomenon. I have grown up, therefore, witnessing firsthand what it is to be in a relationship. I took a course for the eighteen years that I was under their roof in how a man should treat a woman. I saw how important communication is to any relationship, and how vital kind words and affection are. That was always contrasted with the strife and sadness I sometimes experienced at my friend’s houses. I experienced what a good relationship looks like, and I decided based on what I witnessed that I wanted one for myself.

                Do not tell me that I am not ready for a relationship. Do not tell me that I am incapable of being serious about someone because I have only lived nineteen years on this earth. Do not tell me that I am not self-aware, or that I am not mature. I would challenge you to talk to me first about my knowledge of relationships, and then make your judgments. Do not think just because I am not driven solely by a career that I am unhappy. Realize instead that for the thing I want most in life, I may understand it very well indeed.