"Life is a game and true love is a trophy."

-Rufus Wainwright, "Poses"

It's amazing to me what a little time, coupled with a simple ability and commitment to listen, can accomplish.

Life has its bumps, no doubt. Everyone can vouch for that in their own way.

I think more than a few can be resolved, though. I needed to feel confident of that before traveling halfway across the world, and I do now.

Tensions that have been building up between my parents for the past 22 years came to a head last night.

My dad had an interview for a job in Kansas today.

I don't know what's going to happen. Maybe arrangments are going to change, or maybe not. I don't know.

When I was a little kid, the thought of my parents being apart was the worst imaginable thing.

Things change, though.

I want to run a marathon.

Maybe a half marathon would come first.

Regardless, I want to do one, at some point in time.

In 22 days, I'll be on a plane to Frankfurt, Germany. From there I'll go to Hannover, and I'm going with some friends of mine to Zurich, Prague, and Vienna before classes start at the university.

I talked with Richard (who's spent close to six months jetting around Europe) today about Vienna, and he said it's nothing spectacular. Instead, he mentioned Krakow. Possibility? Perhaps.

I figure this is going to be one of the last summers I have to bum around the house. If I get offered (and then take) a job after field placement, I'll be occupied with that.

I've been ready to test and prove myself in the context of a professional environment, and grow upon that.

It might be rough, and I might trip and fall more than once, but I want to see this "real world" that I have heard so much about.

When I speak passionately about a social or political subject, I sometimes hear, "Oh, you college kids always think XYZ . . . "

My views stem from experiences, and whatever investigation and learning I can maneuver. I don't (like to) think that I'm another homogenized poster child.

I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am always willing to learn.

It's 1:34 a.m., and I'm sitting here staring into a laptop screen.

I know that if I go to bed, I'm going to lay on my back, eyes wide open, heels going numb, hands over the latter part of my ribs, hair wet and tangled from a shower, until I finally come to the well worn conclusion that I don't know for sure what the future holds.

How sweet it is to be loved by you.