This weekend was so perfectly lovely that it’s already noon on Monday and i’m still disappointed that it’s over. Friday Nathan and i went to a park to enjoy the summery (85 degree?) weather for a while, then left to get slurpees (except we don’t have 7-elevens here in Iowa, so they weren’t actual slurpees) and took them to a cemetery where we sat by the pond and enjoyed the weather a little more. Later we went for a run, and then had an amazing dinner at an East Village restaurant called Lucca.
It started storming that night and didn’t really stop until last night sometime. Saturday Nathan took me shopping and then to his Mom’s place to have dinner and watch a movie. Yesterday i started to feel a little under the weather, so we took the papisan out on the terrace and had tea and watched the rain for a long time, which i couldn’t have enjoyed more. Nathan made me wild rice & mushroom soup and we watched Milk, which we both enjoyed.
Today i feel a bit sicker, with a sore throat. I finished The God Delusion and am now reading The End of Faith. It’s interesting to me how these two “New Atheists” have such different ideas about spirituality. So far Sam Harris seems to think mysticism is cool, as long as people’s lives aren’t dictated by ancient scriptures.
I highly recommend The God Delusion, but i’m told that Dawkins is really just a narcissist and a propagandist and that his positions are illogical and make no sense, so i guess i still have some research to do. I suspect that people just don’t want to believe what he has to say, because it all made perfect sense to me, and didn’t strike me as being the least bit corrupted by greed or self-love. To each his own, i suppose.
Whatever you believe, Spring is truly awe-inspiring, and i hope all of you are enjoying it as much as i am.
I had a pretty funny episode yesterday where i tried to re-heat some pizza and ended up setting off the smoke detectors and running around turning on fans and opening doors in a panick. I do something along these lines about once a year, and i sincerely hope it never results in an actual fire. Smart people do dumb things sometimes, right?
Something like what my feet look like
I was hoping to post my own actual x-ray here, but the medical records department hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I went to a podiatrist on Tuesday, and they took x-rays of my feet and told me what i pretty much already knew: that the only solution to my bunion problem is surgery. The pain went away as soon as i’d made my appointment, however, so i don’t plan to have surgery until it becomes a chronic issue.
I’ve started back up with running and i’ve been set back a little for not running in three weeks, which is only a little disappointing since the weather has been cold and crappy in that time anyway. Now, hopefully, spring is here to stay and i’ll be taking some real strides in getting back up to running three+ miles at a go.
In other news: VEISHEA is this weekend – let’s hope it’s not as rainy and cold as it was last year. The painting class is almost over and i have a long way to go on my last painting. I’m not loving it quite as much as i’d hoped i would.
I’m more than halfway through The God Delusion and i absolutely loved the first three chapters. The fourth chapter is the central argument of the book, and it goes something like this: If you believe that the complexity of the things found in nature implies that there had to have been an intelligent designer, then you must also ask ‘who designed that designer,’ because such a designer would necessarily have to have been an even more complex entity. I think it makes perfect sense, but the whole idea of God is metaphysical, magical – it has nothing to do with reason, and that’s exactly why – unfortunately – it can’t really be argued with.
I think there are plenty of great arguments for Atheism, and all of them are thoroughly covered in the book, i’m just not sure why Dawkins chose this one as his cornerstone. I’m reading currently about why morality and ‘goodness’ are inherent in human understanding and not reliant upon religious convictions, and that’s one point i really wish more religious people could understand. That, along with why the atheistic life is just as meaningful and worth living as one dictated by religion.
Sorry about this post going completely from one topic to another. These are just the things that have been rolling around in my head lately, i guess.
I’ve been on a reading kick lately, which is pretty unusual for me. The last couple of years i could easily count the number of books i’d read on one hand by New Year’s Eve. This year will finally see a change in that realm for me.
I finally finished Nothing, which was a pretty much worthless account of one agnostic woman’s tiffs with her in-laws over religion. Nothing profound, not really something i’d recommend anyone read in order to better understand my point of view. I don’t understand agnostics. Make up your mind already – amirite?
Then i went and picked up The God Delusion, and that will definitely be the next book i finish. I’m pretty excited about that one.
In the meantime, i’ve read Blink by Malcom Gladwell, which was also a completely pointless book. Then last week i literally ran into the library and took about two minutes to select and check out Accidentally On Purpose, which i don’t even want to think about anymore it was so bad. Why anyone signed a book deal with a woman who essentially just wanted the world to know how much of a pain in the ass she is, i’ll never know.
I’m now about to finish It Sucked and then I Cried by Heather Armstrong (dooce). It’s very funny and all, but in a way i can’t wait to finish it because this is my second pregnancy/motherhood book in a row, and i’m seriously tired of hearing about it. On the upside, these two books have strongly reinforced my conviction to never, ever have children – to the point that i’m seriously considering doubling and maybe tripling up on the birth control methods.
I had to stop running right after the last run that i posted here, because i’ve been experiencing some foot pain. My feet never hurt last year when i ran, so i don’t know if running is the cause. It may have been triggered by a massage i got several days before the pain started, but that doesn’t seem very likely. It remains a mystery. It seems lesser today though, so i continue to procrastinate on making an appointment with a podiatrist. It’s not actually my Achilles heel, it’s my bunion – and i’ve read enough to know that the only solution to bunion pain is surgery. Screw that.
We had a small housewarming party last weekend, which was great fun but far too abbreviated. We will begin the last third of our painting class tonight. The first color painting we worked on didn’t turn out so well… We were pretty unmotivated. Hopefully by the time the class ends i’ll have something pretty to post here again.
Nathan and i just celebrated our six-month anniversary last weekend, as well. I’ll spare you the details and just post a couple of photos instead. 
