HP and PB

Are you a Harry Potter fan? I finished the new book. It was satisfying and came to a good close. I will look back and in the future reread this great series, but I am okay with moving on. I have recently encountered several individuals who are quite depressed and or distraught over the completion of the series. My intention is not to be offensive, but I think that this is rediculous. There are countless good books out there, why invest so much emotion is these seven? I urge you to expand your horizons.

Paint ball. I am very excited about this game. It was a long time coming, and I had much internal struggle reaching this place, but I think that you should all love it. I am what you might call a bit of a pacifist, so the idea of "war games" has and still continues to be a bit repulsive to me. That said, I am not sure how I have become so enthralled with the guns that shoot paint.

I guess that it started with the groundhogs. This urged me to finally give in and go with my brother to his monthly paintball game. Despite the bruises, it was the most fun I have had in a long time. (You know I actually loved the bruises.) I envision Lyndsey Teter, Amanda Johnson, and Jessica Meyer playing this game with me in the near future. While I think that all the rest of you should play too, these are three that I see excelling at the sport. Prepare yourself. I will inform you when the time comes.

boys.

I have recently been wondering how much the opinion of friends matters when it comes to boys. You see, in the past I have put the opinion of my friends, in regard to the matter, above even the opinion of myself. Further, I have completely disregarded the opinion of my family. Now, being 24, approaching a place where I think that I might be intersted in finding that significant other, I think it might be time to take a new approach.

It is possible that I am looking to revise my strategy because of current circumstances. There is this boy. He and I have been friends for some years now, and it seems that he is putting on some of the moves. This puts me in a bit of a pickle. My entire family loves him and would be quite pleased by the connection. I have a few questions, many of which might easily be answered or resolved, but a few others that might be a bit more sticky. The biggest conundrum... I totally love the kid, but I am not sure if it is limited to the brother/ sister sort of love or if it could evolve into that other kind. The friend pool is either impartial or not a fan of the idea. The base objection is that I could do better, or he isn't right for me, that sort of thing.

So, do I give the kid a chance and take some action to get my questions answered, or do I not get involved at all? Do I go with the family, the friends, or do I disregard them both and make my own decision. Any and all input would be appreciated. Thank you.

It should be noted that this is not the same boy matter that we discussed earlier.

on a lighter note.

I think that I may be having second thoughts on the shooting of the groundhogs, whether it be with both real or paint filled bullets. My weakness is a bit upsetting.

We had a bonfire on Saturday night. It was a tremendous success. All of the wood that was once the shed living on the North end of the property has been diminished to ash. It was great fun, and quite satisfying to make a big fire all by myself, with only a lighter and newspaper (this is really very impressive).

My experience has thought me a few things, so I will share with you my new knowledge. As the manager of the big fire, be sure to wear some sort of full coverage shoe (as in not a flip flop). There was no real problem with the sandal, but my foot was dirtier than I have ever seen it. Keep a water filled hose and a shovel handy. I had both of these items by my side from the start and they both proved to be essential. The hose was necessary at the beginning and the shovel was needed towards the end. Lastly, start the big fire approximately 30 minutes to an hour before the guests arrive. When the blaze began, it was hot, very hot. So, I tended the fire with the water hose while everyone else stood back about 20 feet and giggled at me frying my skin. It was not the most fun and a bit lonely too.

I grilled. There was a massive amount of beer. It really was fantastic. I wish that you had been there.

emotional.

I would like to talk about life. Things in my life have been quite good lately. I am very busy, but managing to not get too stressed out and still finding time to do some fun things. It seems to me that I have found some sort of happy place where things are good, while they are also bad, but really they are good because the bad things aren't worth investing my emotion in. I like this place. It is happy, or satisfying, or something.

The state of my life is really of little import, and usually I wouldn't talk about it here unless I was so miserable that I needed to make it known to all. So things are good, but it seems that things with all of the others is not so good. My roommate (the great Erin Molnar) has cancer. One of the other friends is having tremendous boy problems. Another one is drinking far too much, which is a bit disconcerting. Then you have your obvious problems. So, I am sad. I am happy because my life is functioning quite well, but I am sad because my friends are hurting, and I want it to be better, but I don't know what to do. I am sorry, that I can't fix you. I will look into getting in touch with Chris Martin. Maybe he can help.

Oh, and Coke bought Vitamin Water. This makes me VERY sad, and a little bit upset.