Benjamin Steinberg (That's the Name)

12 days, that's what it took. Though it didn't really require me to build much courage. So, I went to dinner at Simmons tonight, even though I was going to be alone, which makes it much more convenient to drop by Redifer because you don't have to stick around. (though I suppose with take out meals that isn't really necessary at Simmons either, but I've never experimented with that yet) Anyway, I was about half finished with my meal when I young man asked if anyone was sitting with me. I said that there wasn't and he asked if he might join. Imagine the awkwardness he might have felt if I had said he couldn't (something I would probably do on occasion). So he introduced himself as Ben (though I soon forgot this and had to ask him again right before he left, BUT I DID). He said he was in the band, plays the clarinet, and had just gotten back from Michigan. He asked his roommates to come to dinner with him, but I guess they don't like Simmons. He said he just thinks Simmons food is better, not interested in the healthy aspect which apparently turns his friends off. I on the other hand usually don't head to Simmons or any other dinning commons for dinner because it costs too much, but we didn't get into that. He said his major was computer science, wasn't sure what he really planned to do with it though I asked a couple times. He's owned by the army, since they're paying for his school, and will have to give them 3 years after college. He figures he's in at that point, but doesn't really want to make a career out of it. He hates the army for sending him to Georgia in the summers. He wouldn't mind Atlanta, but they've placed him in the middle of nowhere. To this end he was sorry for dissing my rural roots when I told him I was from a farm. He is from Bethlehem, which thanks to Kristina I have some idea where is. He's got a friend with a severe milk allergy which is THE WORST KIND. This after I told him I eat breakfast at Pollock (who's food he detests) because my friend can get gluten free food there. He was very disappointed I don't go to the games, or at least watch them (I didn't get into my whole reasoning for that being that I unplugged my tv so as to not waste my time). We decided it wouldn't be worth my money to buy a ticket to a game at this point. He is not a Schreyers' student and feels like an intruder every time he dines at Simmons. We discussed scheduling. The unfair advantage that Honors students get because they schedule first. He's a junior and has never been able to schedule all the classes he wants, especially this year English 202. That privilege in itself would have been enough for him to join the college. Though he thought it interesting that not writing a thesis only resulted in the penalty of not graduating with honors, so we get the "better" dorms and scholarship money and great scheduling. I think he wishes he had joined. He got 2 hundred and some calorie cookies for dessert, though his plate was really not that full for dinner. He had 5 missed calls from his parents, they think he's going to die when he's sick. He thinks every one's parents are like that. Then we left, he making sure Rebecca was right, and me wishing I had kept better track and having to ask again. Anyway, I think that sort of fills the requirement of my 2nd to last blog. I didn't think the last one really counted.

Global Warming Fiction

Rather lengthy speech about the truth of global warming, but well worth watching. link

Interesting Developments

So, I'm just going to ramble. As everyone knows I like to hear my own voice. I guess that means that I should really be saying all this stuff to myself out loud, but I'm not, I'm just typing away still, though I have thought about opening my mouth. Surprisingly, my mouth doesn't really want to open I guess it's lazy, or maybe it's just storing up energy so that it can spew forth at the next random person that comes across my path and gives me an opportunity to tell them my life story. That kind of happened last night in fact. I went to a scholarship banquet, in some sense to honor my scholarship donors, in another to get free food. That is always the highlight of a college student's life! Anyway, I met this man, I think his name was Rich. He was the rep for some industry I don't remember and he had given a scholarship with two reciepients. That's about as much as I learned from him, however. He on the other hand learned that I grew up on a dairy, my uncle is starting a cheese business, I love creamery ice cream, I bought a freezer for college and then couldn't keep it here, and that I got a flat tire on the way home from PSU once, along with many other things I'm sure. My mind can't keep track of all the things my mouth has to say you know. All of this on top of listening to a sermon on James that told me that I was supposed to talk once listen twice. Oh my, I'm really bad at making changes in my life. However, the other sermon I heard yesterday told me that I should just make changes, not excuses. Therefore, I'm not excusing this lapse, but rather bringing it to everyone's attention so that they can judge me critically and tell me to shut up and listen!
On another note, I think it is very unfortunate that I have posted so few blogs. I don't know why I don't seem to find the time. I often realize that others have this misfortune too however. They start with good intentions and write daily or weekly, but then it becomes monthly and then pitters to scattered, and I guess my brain went into weather mode because it wanted me to say, with a chance of cloudy.
And just on another note, I wanted to let everyone know that I've stopped watching television. You would think that this would increase the productive portion of my day exponentially, anyone who knows how much tv I watch that is. The problem is, this hasn't been the case. I find many new creative ways to procrastinate. Much of which, to my chagrin, has been listening to sermons. Oh what a way to waste time. Instead of going out and talking to people and being Jesus in their lives I sit in my room and listen to preachers. Not saying that what they have to say isn't relevant, but you've got to go put that into practice rather than sitting around listening to the next sermon. So, I've got to say that I'm rather upset with myself that others around me seem to be able to take on ever more daunting tasks while I do the minimum amount possible in order to get by. My parents taught me better that that. Although, I do know that in high school years the television was our connection to one another. We all sat watching a tv program together and considered ourselves to be a good family. How sad is that? I think that this has really developed in me a desire to get something out of the relationships I seem to have with television personalities rather than real people. I've never built myself a foundation of friends. I've been a loner, but I didn't really sense the loneliness because I had my tv relationships to fall back on. Now what I'm really trying to do is build a strong relationship with God so that I can go out and have genuine conversations with folks about their lives and really care. I mean, does it matter if you care what happens to Jim and Pam's relationship on The Office? Does knowing everything about their story really make you part of something real? Of course not, but on the other hand there are very real people out there that need real support. So I challenge myself, go out and meet someone strange, find out everything you can about them and report back next blog. Though, that gives me a lot of time, cause I decided when the next blog will be. But make it reasonable, at least in the next month or so. It shouldn't take longer than that to build up some courage. Should it???