The value-pack post. Don't forget to cut-out and collect points.

In case any of you haven't read The Daily Universe lately, Calvin and Hobbes is being re-published in papers nationwide for a while in anticipation of a...get this...three volume hardcover set of every Calving and Hobbes comic strip ever created! I haven't been this excited since...I can't remember! I'm going to have to purchase this whether I can afford it or not.

Feelings. They have been so perplexing lately. I guess they always are. I'm the biggest emotional sap.

So naturally I went to Smith's last night. I walked by the sushi and noted how dang expensive it was. $4.99 for six little pieces of sushi! What a rip-off. And then a thought came to me...

"You could just steal it..."

WAIT JUST A DARN MINUTE! WHAT THE F***!? I literally stopped, twisted my head to an angle, squinted my eyes really hard, white-knuckled my shopping cart, and mouthed these words to myself. I'm sure someone must have seen that and rightfully thought I was nuts. Did I just think that? I NEVER think things like that, EVER.

Stealing is what my best friend Steven always used to do in high school. He was Blaxican, so he could pull it off real smooth if he wanted to...but I never had any part in that. (Though he did once leave a stolen book at my apartment, which I still have....hmm) I'm not a klepto and never have been. Satan is coming at me from a whole different angle, ladies and gentlemen. That was bizarre. Everybody had best watch their stuff from now on.

And now for a brief sidetrack entitled: The Top 3 Ways in Which Satan Generally Tempts Pinetree:

1) Anything in regards to homosexuality. This is pretty much constant.
2) Cussing like a sailor from time to time. I can't help it, its in my blood, and sometimes stuff can be pretty nerve-wracking...like playing Taboo.
3) Ignoring people, places, and responsibilities for the sake of being interested in something much less important.

...So I decided to buy and pay for the sushi like a good kid, despite the price, and then go on and eat the whole thing under a tree. This has actually become one of my favorite pastimes.

And that is my story about spiting the devil.

Apparently, I spontaneously combust. Someone is going to have to explain this to me sometime. Usually I can't think of anything to do or say at all...especially around cool people like those of you who read my blog.

I found some old journal writes that I did in English class from my senior year of high school. Basically the teacher gave us a prompt (questions, quotes, thoughts, etc) and we would have to respond every day. (Cry Me a River should remember these...) Here are a few of them.

1/12/04
"Life is worth living, since it is what we make of it." - WIlliam James
Man, I think this is the trickiest prompt yet. I do believe that life is what we make of it. I like to think we can do anything that we want to with our lives. But some people are just planted in bad circumstances to begin with. I go mad just dealing with my life, my issues, my family, my weaknesses, even when comparatively my life isn't so terrible. I live in America. I eat every day. Some people are given such crap that I just don't understand how they go on living. I'm sure that somewhere there's a 17 year old kid with all the problems I have in life, but on top of that he's starving and doesn't have access to an education and all sorts of other things just piled on top. There is someone out there with absolutely no reason not to be miserable. If I was this person, I'm not sure where my will to live would come from. And really none of it would be my fault, it would have to do with how and where I was born and my genetic make-up and all sorts of variables that aren't under my control. So in some circumstances, how does one make his life worth living? It would take an enormous deal of effort, if such things are possible. I admire people who find a strong will to live out of despicable circumstances. At the same time, I think there is probably some other 17 year old living in some Los Altos Hills gated community who thinks that his life is over because his girlfriend of two weeks has just dumped him. Would this person be able to handle my life? I don't know.

1/14/04
"Respect a man and he will do the more."
Definitely. I think people really aspire to the respect other people hold for them...or the lack thereof. Take Jessica Simpson for example. Jessica is a hot, typical blond sex symbol for America. People have little respect for her. Her parents probably treated her like a Barbie Doll; kids at her high school probably couldn't see past her knockers. She probably commands very little genuine respect (even if she does command a lot of attention) because she is so hot. She's an object. So how does she act on her cable TV show? She's a complete bimbo. All she knows how to do is pose for cameras and act flirtatious. She says cute little stupid things all the time. She lives up to the respect people hold for her. She probably isn't REALLY so incredibly dumb, she just literally puts on a show for everyone because she knows that is what they expect.
In contrast, I think that those who are given respect will live up to it, even if it seems like that couldn't possibly be so. I think that many times in my own life I was only motivated to do something because other people believed I could do it well.

1/15/04
Free Write
So the other day my little brother and I wanted a phat breakfast. Like IHOP style. So I whipped out all the ingredients and made pancakes from scratch. They turned out light and fluffy and golden brown. Just perfect. The we realized that we were out of syrup...only a minor setback we thought. We could just use a little jam. We then realized that we were out of both bacon and ham. So what did we resort to? Hot dogs. Yes, little tube-shaped chunks of processed beef and chicken meat. Then we realized that we were out of milk. Pandemonium. I had used the last of if to make the pancakes. The only really normal thing in our grand breakfast was eggs. Needless to say it was indeed a disappointing morning.

1/20/04
What is your most treasured memory?
This is difficult to answer. I have several memories that are all my most treasured; all equally valuable. They all feel the same. I think their common thread is just the love and happiness that was being felt at the time. The Grand Tetons is one of them, being there, sitting on the rocks in front of the lake with the majestic mountain in the background and me and some friends just feeling great and relaxed. Being in Salt Lake City at Temple Square on the lawn for testimony meeting with a bunch of people I've known my entire life, looking at the temple and the lights and the night sky and everyone being really happy. EFY, when everyone was in that concert hall at BYU and we were all singing, hundreds of kids singing, and everyone just loving each other unconditionally and all the girls in tears and the boys trying not to cry and everyone was glowing and it seemes like there were angels there singing with us and nothing could have made the moment wrong. Or having conversations with Wade or Ashley about people or the future or aspiring to be a zuchini farmer or our ideas and philosophies on everything. Or the stake play, dancing the waltz with Julia with the bright spotlights in our eyes and glittery costumes and our faces caked with make-up and knowing that everyone was in awe of us for that single moment. Or running down hills at Rancho San Antonio with the wind in my face feeling really fast and meditating, talking with God and just feeling so tired but so energized...man. I'm sure there are loads more. But really they're all the same. I wouldn't give up a one of them.

1/21/04
If you could ensure that your child has one experiencethat you have had yourself, what would you want it to be? Why?
There are loads. Again, I can't just pick one. But my kids will learn what they need to from life I think. They may not necessarily need to experience the same things that I needed to experience in my life. With a great dad like me though, I'm sure they will be exposed to many amazing things and places and tastes and sounds. I really look forward to being a dad, mostly because I will be able to give a child experience. I want to introduce the world to someone. I think it would be fantastic and that it is somehow part of my eternal being. My children will be an extension of me, and I an extenstion of them.

This is just a few of them, I will perhaps post more later. I've been noticing that my posts are rarely about just one thing. Sorry about that, my thoughts don't come individually wrapped. I mostly get them at Costco, rarely at Safeway.