When to the Farmville Town Council meeting for one of my classes. My favorite quote of the evening:

“Of course, all water is the same age because it was all made by the Creator at the same time.”

I can’t even. This guy was supposed to be the “technical expert” and he actually said this. This is why we can’t have nice things.

So a lot has happened these past few weeks. And by a lot I really mean just one really significant thing: I broke up with my girlfriend. I just needed to happen. I had a startling amount of influence over her life and I don’t think she could see it. This next year is super-important for both of us and we need clear minds to make sure we don’t screw stuff up. I didn’t want her to be making plans about her life based on what I’m doing because I’m not going to do the same. I need to take care of myself first and I want her to do the same. Plus, lets’ be real, we’re stupidly young. There is no need to have any part of your life revolve around another person yet. I’m not saying we can’t be together somewhere down the line, just we need to make sure that’s what we want first. I don’t have enough data points to accurately determine that and neither does she. I feel like everybody needs that one period in their life where they’re just experimenting and there’s no commitment attached. It helps you to make better decisions down the line. More data points. I want to see some different people and I want her to too. If we still want to be together after all that data has been gathered and analyzed, then fine. But it might turn out that we don’t actually want what we thought we did. I have 6 more years of grad school and I might want different things after that. I don’t know. Nobody can know that.

So here’s the plan. I’m just gonna live like a double agent. Reckless but responsible. Work hard but play harder. Make mistakes but find solutions. Get close but keep my distance. Be trusted but never trusting. 

Operation: Double Agent is in effect.

Facebook is not the place to post shit you’re only going to half-ass. If you want to make a comment on how messed up the education system is just say that. Say what you want to say. Clarity saves lives people. And if you don’t want to put in the effort to make it clear, then just don’t post it. The world will move on without knowing your thoughts on education. When you half-ass it, you just look like a whiny bitch and it irritates people because it’s not clear what you’re getting at. 

But seriously, you’re a fucking idiot. My observations don’t match-up with your post. You say one thing but you’re doing another. I already don’t like you but maybe I can at least make you see how fucking annoying you are.

1) Phelps might be the most decorated Olympian ever but that doesn’t make him the greatest. Being a great Olympian is more than just the medals. It’s about your attitude. Phelps was just here for the medals. You can see it in his eyes. It’s not about representing your country as you go toe-to-toe with the world’s best for him anymore. It was just about the medals. A great Olympian would keep putting it all on the line every time they competed, regardless of the medal implications. A great Olympian would say “I might have 400 bajillion gold medals but I’m going to give it all I’ve got for the folks back home” not “I’ve already got my sundae, I’m just adding toppings.” A great Olympian would treat every Olympics as a chance at a new sundae. I mean, let’s be real. Who the fuck only wants ONE sundae?

2) Chick-fil-a Shenanigans. Let’s set a few things straight: A) I’m not saying the man is not entitled to his beliefs, and I’m not upset that he holds those beliefs (per say). What does piss me off is that he is actively and willing trying to restrict the rights of other human beings. That’s not cool. B) I don’t give a damn how much of the money goes to helping communities. That does not justify sending money to certified hate groups to try and keep other people down. Hate groups ALWAYS do community service shit because it gives them a support base. Almost all of those projects occur in areas that pretty generally support that groups position anyway. They’re simply taking care of themselves, not communities that actually need the help. You don’t see the KKK building any community centers in the middle of Harlem. Just sayin’. 

3)The United States is the only democratic, industrialized nation where it’s ok to actively sabotage the freedom of another person and it be protected as “First Amendment rights.” Freedom of Religion means you’re allow to have and practice, no matter how stupid. And practicing a religion does not mean trying to make everybody join your club and live like your sky-wizard says. Practicing means you’re allowed to do what ever it is that pleases your deity of choice, without infringing upon folks’ rights, in private. If you believe eating pork is a sin, you don’t have to eat it, but let the rest of us unwashed heathens have your helping of bacon. It’s not against the law for you to do that. Quite frankly, I’m happy to let you do whatever weirdo practices you have, as long as I don’t have to play along. Just keep that shit behind closed doors. They built churches for a reason. Use them.

Every time that I see one of my friends is supporting this hateful “Support Chick-fil-a” bullshit, I lose a MASSIVE amount of respect for them. Which is bad because some of these people didn’t have a whole lot in the respect bank to start with. Others I have a massive amount of respect for and it makes me a little sick inside to know that’s how they truly feel about the subject. Do they realize that they are turning their backs on some of their best friends and good human beings? Being gay doesn’t mean the almighty sky-wizard is going to damn you to Hell for all eternity. Betraying your friends and being downright hateful to other human beings, however, might just earn you a VIP seat. Think about that while you enjoy that ignorance-inducing, bigot-producing chicken sandwich. 

1) I have been absolutely horrible about updating the REU blog. It’s just been so crazy that I don’t have the time to sit down and put down all of the exciting thoughts and experiences. All of the posts will eventually be put up (I’ve been keeping a simple paper log the whole time). Trust me, the wait will be worth it.

2) I had a lengthy conversation with one of the faculty that founded the Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences here at Hampton. He worked for NASA for 30 years before that. Oh and the man basically invented LIDAR. The man is a living legend. Awesome experience.

Dating me is like dating Tony Stark. Seriously. Watch Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Avengers and it will become pretty clear. My ego is so huge it can be seen from space. It’s completely out of control. And I’m kind of an asshole…about everything. And I can teach myself super-advanced physics practically overnight. I might not have like 14 bajillion dollars but let’s be real…if I did I would totally build an armored powersuit. It would just happen.

And yet my girlfriend is still willing to be seen in public with me :)

So I just got back from a 17-day stint in Morocco and Spain.

Words cannot describe how awesome it was. There were literally so many things that happened that it would be an exercise in futility to try and document them in a fashion that accurately conveys the sheer magnitude of the total adventure. So I won’t even try.

Great friends, great memories, great adventures.

So I just got a departmental award for Outstanding Performance in Physics Research. That’s 2 departmental awards to my credit now. If I can just get the Senior award next year, I’ll be set. I’m pretty sure nobody has ever done that since they started the awards but I’m gonna go for the three-peat. WIN ALL THE AWARDS!!