More than Complicated

“I realized I loved you, and I didn’t want to be married to somebody I didn’t love. I wanted to be married to you. It isn’t all that complicated.” - Fireworks by Richard Ford

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day! I have never viewed this holiday cynically, but I have never been a real huge fan either. I think a day where you really focus on the idea of love is important and I'm kind of tired of all the "it's too commercialized" arguments you hear from unhappy discontents. People can celebrate it how ever they want, that goes for you too. I enjoy the single awareness day tag that it has been given in recent years, but though it makes me chuckle, I don't really see it as that. Sometimes it is just fun to get all dressed up and celebrate for the sake of celebrating. It isn't like its the only romantic time of the year.

This weekend my friend Christina went horseback riding with some of my other friends. I didn't go because I wanted to be responsible and save some money for my house downpayment. They had quite the adventure, especially Christina who was able to stand up to her fears and well watch them come true, making her defeat them. It has been a long time since I have been horseback riding, but even longer since I have been on jet skis. That is on my list for this summer. Like the saying goes, you have never seen an unhappy person on a jet ski. I might be too old for spring break, but not for a trip for a Caribbean island.

The Superbowl has long past, but it was pretty exciting weekend. I was happy that Green Bay won, especially since my cousin Rino is a huge fan. Abram had a Superbowl party at the house which got a good turn out. It was timely that we just got the carpet cleaned because it really made the place look nicer. My favorite commercial was the one with the little Darth Vader. All I could think about was how I have to go to Cowboys stadium next year.

On last Wednesday night, I went to a pot luck dinner party with friends in San Marcos. My friend Christina came with me and we took wine and salad. It felt like a real grown up thing to do. The host's home was really nice. Since I'm looking, I like seeing different layouts and what works best for me. I really liked how the kitchen's bar faced the living room. I really like that setup. The main course was eggplant, which even now I'm not sure if I liked, but I'd have no problem trying it again. I learned a lot about Chinese weddings and played Risk for the very first time. I was not very good and lost quickly for being too aggressive. It is fun to attack. Part of me prefers pizza and poker I must say.

Last week, the dictator of Egypt finally stepped down and I was very happy. I'm very pro-democracy, but not by means of war. There is a lot of fear mongering about what this will mean, considering that if you get rid of a dictator that was our friend, it can be substituted by voting in some religious nut that might take the country into a worse place. (Also what I worry about with Republicans for 2012, but that is my personal politics.) The fact is that there are risks in democracy that the right leaders might not be picked, but I'd rather have the freedom to choose than have a benevolent dictator who keeps stability (in which case this one was not.) With freedom comes responsibilities and to say that being under a dictator is better than being free because it serves our country's best interests makes no sense to me. I don't know what is going to happen next, but I really hope they have free and fair elections. Here is hoping to a positive outcome and that this sentiment may spread in the region. Looking at you Iran.

Due to the cold weather as of late, I've had to put my outdoor running aside for a bit. I will admit, part of me just took the excuse to be lazy. Now that things are getting sunny, I hope to rev up again and hopefully increase my miles. A half marathon still seems like an impossible goal right now, but I'm going to keep trying. I've done all my running in my Vibrams and I am still happy with them, though I still have terrible form. The eating changes I made a few months ago are feeling more normal, but my cheat day each week worries me. One day where I can have bad food makes me feel like I'm more willing to go bad to old habits than if I just tried to stay away from everything forever. Then again, really how realistic is it to never have ice cream again, or enjoy a soda. Speaking of eating right, here is a health blog one of my friends just set up: http://eatingforlife.blog.com/ The start of law school was the last time I took on a being more healthy project like this and I was pleased with my commitment then. I also had a schedule where I could spent hours in the morning in the gym, but there are always excuses.

I feel like I have learned the most about parenting from Facebook posts, as an uncle 7 times over and from conversations with my friends about their kids. Here are a few lessons I have learned. I mean everything in a lighthearted way, especially considering I don't understand the first thing about parenting and have a lot of respect for parents since they have an important task-making sure they raise a good human being. I'll do my best to tread these waters carefully because lesson one is that parents take things super seriously, especially when it in any way is related to their children. Constructive criticism is a no no, so pipe down if you think there might be a better way to handle a certain situation. Though, they have no problem telling you what others are doing wrong, which is kind of cool and also how most people are about life in general. I thought I enjoyed taking pictures of my pets, but I'd say that at least 50% of a parent's pictures are of their kids. Though I find it interesting that if they have more than one kid, then that starts to decrease, and seems to be a bigger ratio when you have just one. Second, kids are super smart now, but for some reason their teacher has it out for them. I don't know how to reconcile this with the fact that test scores keep dropping across the country. I have learned a lot about childhood illnesses and by that I mean colds/rashes/stomach aches, from Facebook, which make me worry that dealing with a child when they are sick is super stressful because it happens so often. I have been told that I'll never understand [insert parenting topic here] because I am not a mother, which means even when I have kids, I still won't get it. Birthday parties are super important, even if the child is 2 and won't remember any of it. (Not an argument for it not being important, but maybe for a bit of restraint.) Next, people really really enjoy going on dates with their kids. Part of me could never imagine my mom calling taking the kids out to the drive-in as a date night. Oh and when kids are away, this is a super sad time when all you can think about is how much you miss them and can't wait for them to get back home. Kids require a lot of driving to and from places-I knew this, but it really started to sink in. Oh, and you can't forget that kids are the reason for living, which worries me sometimes because I enjoy living too. Here are some things I do fine adorable, Halloween costumes, babies in pj's with animal ears on them, and how much some kids resemble their parents, since I knew some of those parents when they were kids. I'm sure I have other observations that slip my mind right now, but I'll keep a running tally.

I recently discovered Reddit and I must say I'm pretty addicted. Such a great website and that is because I just read the posts, instead of adding anything because I could see that as becoming a slippery slope of trying to get up votes. It is worth checking out and I catch a lot of news and funny things there before it is picked up.

biting off more than I can chew