It's Better in Wyoming.

I'm reposting this from Unity Politics , which in turn is posting from Letter to a Christian Nation  by Sam Harris.  I like it for capturing some of my own hesitancy about religious claims of the "right" version of the worlds we can't see. "I have no doubt that that your acceptance of Christ coincided with some very positive changes in your life. Perhaps you now love other people in a way that you never imagined possible. You may even experience feelings of bliss while praying. I do not wish to denigrate any of these experiences. I would point out, however, that billions of other human beings, in every time and place, have had similar experiences--but they had them while thinking about Krishna, or Allah, or the Buddha, while making art or music, or while contemplating the beauty of nature. There is no question that it is possible for people to have profoundly transformative experiences. And there is no question that it is possible for them to misinter...

last night, on the way back from night-skiing with melissa, katie, and bryon, i said, "i don't know what i expected my life to look like at 33, but this definitely isn't it."  i mean, ten years ago i don't think i could've ever imagined how amazing and rich and full life feels to me right now.  ten years ago, i was a baby  in so many ways.  i won't claim that i've "grown up," but i take it as a huge sign of maturity that i'm okay with where i amt today, and i'm even more okay with trusting that the experiences ahead of me will be even better.  i've spent a lot of my life trying to predict the future, and i think i'm finally realizing that the unpredictability is part of the wonder. i admire my friends who are "settled down" and have kids and wives and lives that predict much of what the next steps of the years ahead will look like.  watching my niece grow up these past few years makes me realize that kids are their...

My samples from The Perfumed Court arrived last week.  So, far, I'm excited.  Last night I wore D&G's Le Bateleur, which I picked because I was interested in trying some unisex scents.  Here's what atgstores says about the perfume: Anthology 1 Le Bateleur EDT Spray for Men and Women The very notion of provocation often has to do with the element of surprise and the juxtaposition of unexpected partners. Le Bateleur by Dolce and Gabanna, inspired by the Tarot card for the 'eternal charmer', mixes an equal amount of masculine (cardamom, juniper berry, vetiver) and feminine (olibanum, dewy accords) touches to render something that is neither, but which moves with dynamism into a new freedom of playfulness. A spicy citrus with a twist! Top Notes: Cardamom, Juniper Berry, Birch Leaf Middle Notes: Aquatic Accord, Coriander Base Notes: Vetiver, White Cedar, Oliban I like it.  Reviews on other sites argue that Le Bateleur is a cliched version of Acqua di Gio, but I...

Sometimes I'm guilty of taking my family for granted.  I hardly ever blog about them or spend much time being consciously grateful for their support and sincerity.  But when I think about other families, and their odd little preferences and manipulations and unforgiven hurts, it makes me realize how lucky I am to have a family that hasn't really participated in that type of bullshit too much.  Instead, we just get together and appreciate the good stuff.  Like my niece Kendall, the littlest member of the family: Yep--my family is all right.

Another of the reasons I love Eddie Vedder:

finally finished reading  The Perfect Scent . ordered a half-dozen perfume samples from The Perfumed Court. started reading  No-Impact Man . now I feel guilty about all the packaging and transportation waste caused by my order. hell.

i feel like my life would be a whole lot easier if this equation worked out: like + like + like + like + n (like) = love i mean, it seems so simple: if you like enough things about a person, that should add up to love.  but it doesn't quite work out that way.  not for me, at least. if i'm honest with myself, i guess i don't really want my heart to be controlled by such simple math, but sometimes i wish the equation was a little bit easier to solve.

Despite wind chill readings of -10, Katie and I headed up to the Tie City trailhead just as the sun was setting, for my second go at night skiing. Two fine feet, one good friend, miles of trail minutes from town, and a good scarf to keep me warm. What more do I need in life? It's easy to get sucked into wanting more, but--gawddamm!--nights like these remind me that I've got plenty to be thankful for. Amen.

last night i drove down to greeley to stay at sarah and joel's.  they took me out to birthday dinner and then we had schwan's peppermint ice cream for dessert.  note: schwan's peppermint ice cream is delicious, even though it's green.  seems like peppermint ice cream should be pink, but no. then this morning i drove down to golden for my old college roommate's wedding.  i got to meet aaron's fiance (then-girlfriend) last fall when they were on their way to yellowstone.  she seems super great.  the ceremony lasted twenty minutes.  the part i liked best was watching aaron and molly while the officiant dude was talking, because they looked so happy to be there together (and so oblivious to the officiant dude blabbing on).  at the ceremony i ended up next to aaron's aunt and uncle who, turns out, live in laramie. then i drove along the foothills rather than taking the interstate back up to fort collins, and the drive today was great.  clear, ...

fact: frozen m&ms are two times as good as m&ms at room temperature.  putting them in the freezer is like doubling your money.

After a pretty spectacular trip to Yellowstone ("spectacular" in both good and bad ways), I was home a day earlier than expected and ended up making my own birthday cake.  In terms of presentation, it's not much to look at (definitely not as pretty as it would've been if Steph made it), but it tastes pretty damn good: Before cake, Katie and Bryon took me out for dinner at the Chinese restaurant.  All in all, Chinese food and german chocolate cake is a pretty nice way to end the first day of the new year.