Rambling Topics

Hey everyone,
Well, today is a study day, but I'm not gonna study. I got a lot on my mind anyway. I had a professor ask me if I'd like to help him write a screenplay for a movie about Socrates and I'm trying to think about how I'd write that, I'm feeling the after effects of eating fettuccine alfredo twice yesterday,

(bad planning, I forgot the philosophy department was going to buy me dinner at an Italian restaurant... if only I planned my days better. I had Italian food for lunch at 3 and then I went to the dinner at 5....stupid)

and I have a headache.

It was a fun at the dinner anyway. I sat next to one of my professors (who is actually one of the world's most recognized scholars on ancient philosophers) and I was able to ask him important questions like "was Socrates really polygamous?" and "Did Nietzsche die from syphilis or a brain tumor?" These are questions that everyone should have a ready answer to.

Today I went and got some lunch at a cheap little mexican restaurant near where I live. I was eating by myself at a table. The only other people in the restaurant were a young couple and their child that looked about 2 years old. The father was digging into his food not paying attention to anything else, and the mother was playing with her son. It was pretty cute. The little guy was just starting to walk and he'd go as fast as he could, and his mom would chase him around and block him off, and then he'd laugh and try to get around her by going a different way, and then she'd block him, and he'd laugh, and then she chased him all around the restaurant.

Eventually in their wanderings they ended up near my table. As they were playing around where I sat the owner of the restaurant came up to me and tried to be really friendly. He said "that's sure a cute kid."

I didn't know why he was talking to me, but it was a cute kid, so I said "yeah, he's a cute kid." And then I didn't say anything more.

The owner tried to keep the conversation going and he said "so, how old is he?"

I said "I have no idea?"

He looked at me really surprised. He said "you don't know how old he is?"

I said "nope"

By now I realized his mistake, but I thought I'd let him work through it all on his own. Unfortunately, he didn't catch on very fast...but he kept on talking.

He looked at the young mother and said (jokingly) "how do you feel about him not knowing how old your son is?"

The lady looked at me and the man shocked. She said "I don't know what you mean, why would he?"

I shrugged and gave the body language equivalent of "beats me?" as I watched the awkwardness unfold. The manager just stood there with a dumb look on his face...slowly computing....computing....computing.....and finally! Understanding! His face slowly lost the slack and unintelligent look....his mouth closed...his eyes focused....and then, all of a sudden... embarrassment. Avalanches of embarrassment!

I smiled at him and pointed to the other man in the restaurant (who was still digging into his nachos with complete disregard for health, cleanliness, and propriety).

When the manager fully comprehended his error his face turned beet red. He apologized to the lady again and again. I tried not to laugh, but the whole thing was pretty funny.

The lady picked up her kid and went and played over near her husband again, and the manager ran into the back room as fast as he could.

It really was pretty comical. The man was very animated, and flustered, and red in the face. He seemed far more bothered than he should have been...neither of us were offended.


In other news, last night after my second dinner a friend in my ward asked if she could come over and watch 500 Days of Summer with me. I guess she had heard that my roommate John had just bought it. I said sure and she came over. But when she got here she started talking about some book called "the 5 languages of love." I've heard this book mentioned before but I haven't read it or anything. She explained to me what the main idea was and she asked me what I thought about it. I told her I didn't really have an opinion on it, never gave it much thought, and that she'd be better off talking to John about it since he's a psychology major. John got sorta annoyed cause he thinks most pop psychology is trash, but he indulged her and had a conversation with her about it.

Most of the discussion revolved around reasons why that book wasn't very good (although both John and I had never read it).

For those who are curious, the 5 love languages( if I remember them right) are.....

1) Words of Affection
2) Gifts
3) Acts of Service
4) Quality Time
5) Physical Touch

You can remember this with the slightly racist mnemonic "White girls are quite pretty" (sorry just came up with that, best mnemonic that came to mind on short notice)

.....oh, I can't help myself. Here are a few more mnemonics that might be better.

"Why give a queen painkillers?"
"Wicked gymnasts always quilt pathetically"
"Worldy goods are quite posh" .....okay, I'll stop there.

This conversation sorta bored me. I'd much rather have watched 500 Days of Summer. That's a really good movie. As I write this my roommate is watching it in the other room and I'm wondering why I'm typing this right now.

Anyway, I just want you to know that....

You're all great (words of affirmation)
I hope you enjoyed this post I put together for you (a gift)
I hope it helps you (acts of service)
It took me some time to write (quality time)
And if I see you anytime soon feel free to ask for a hug (physical touch)

And that means......I just communicated that I love you all!

Well, I'm off to go play ultimate frisbee.

Oh, and just so you know, today is the day the Titanic sank. I think the year was 1912 but I'd have to look that up to be sure.

Hope you all have a great day.