Diecast

These are some of my favorite or unique 1:64 scale diecast cars that I have collected over the years. I haven't done so in years anymore, though. I'd estimate this is about a quarter of my collection.

Pick a Time, Man

I finished The Grapes of Wrath the other day. I do not know why I was never assigned this book in any English class I've ever had. Heck, you could apply it to history, too. The Dust Bowl seems like a distant event over 75 years later, but the politics behind shoving people out of their homes and a high unemployment rate because of the job market's over-saturation still happen today. I can only imagine the bravery it took for Steinbeck to publish this, a work that openly slams the banks and the wealthy.

Today is the day we move our clocks forward an hour. So it is daylight for much longer, but once again it will be night time when I wake up. I love traditions and old quirks that don't really have any use nowadays (like the Electoral College), but this is just ridiculous. Pick a time and stick with it, people in charge of time.

I am obviously glad it is spring break. I feel mentally exhausted all the time, even if I am not tired. I don't even know why. I think it will be better with the week and a half of no school, though. This is my sixteenth spring break ever.

Events in 2013

More than music or TV or video games or books or anything else, my favorite form of entertainment is sports. Now that I've been following the NBA and college basketball for a couple of years, there is no part of the year without something to follow. And although the other eleven months each have their own special events, February is probably the king despite its 28 day handicap. The Super Bowl is annually the first Sunday of the month. In the middle of the month, the NBA's All-Star Weekend takes place, with competitions and events Friday through Sunday. That same weekend, NASCAR season kicks off in Daytona, with the Daytona 500 concluding Speedweeks the following Sunday. So many big events.

That is what I look forward to the most in the future. Every year these events will take place, but the players will change and memories will be made. This year's Super Bowl suddenly became interesting in the second half, when the lights went out in the Superdome and San Francisco took advantage of the break to stage a late comeback. This past Saturday, the Slam Dunk Competition was held in Houston, and my favorite was Jeremy Evans dunking over a painting he made himself of himself dunking over the painting. He came in second and autographed the painting and will auction it off for charity. Pretty cool.



Even though I think the concept of Lent is strange, this year I've decided to give up something and take something else up. So far, so good, though it's been tough. What I am doing is something I should have done a long, long time ago. Although no one reads this anyway, maybe I will mention what I've done after Easter.

I've started on The Grapes of Wrath and gotten a bit in, but this book is harder than I thought it would be. Steinbeck depicts dialogue using the actual way the common man pronounced words, which is tough to understand for some reason. I haven't really had problems with works that use this method in the past, so I don't know why I am having such a difficult time here. I will keep you posted.

Another Trip to the Library

I checked out both The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden today. I've never read any Steinbeck work before other than Of Mice and Men. I'll try to finish the two by the end of the month.

7 7 33 18 4 5

Today marks the anniversary of my grandmother's death. It was a Tuesday and I was 7. Although I've talked to her a lot since then in my head and through prayer, I'm never got to say goodbye or anything in person. She was in the hospital for a while but I was not allowed to see her. Just thinking about this sucks.

Top 5s

The weather was horrible today. It's rained on and off since last night, and it should continue until tomorrow. Last night I had a dream involving an IM chat from a long time ago, so I went on my AIM account for the first time in years. They've really advanced, allowing you to completely connect it with your Facebook/Twitter/Google accounts now. I also decided to weed out my Facebook "like" page, removing about a hundred pages, most of which I followed a couple of years ago. Facebook allows you to show which pop culture interests are your highest, which made me think about how that can change over time. So, here are my top 5 lists for books, movies, TV shows, video games, sports teams, athletes, and (musical) artists. As of February 5, 2013, of course.

Books:
5. Angels & Demons
4. Gone with the Wind
3. 11/22/63
2. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
1. To Kill a Mockingbird

Movies:
5. (500) Days of Summer
4. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
3. Inglourious Basterds
2. Step Brothers
1. Skyfall

TV Shows:
5. The Office
4. How I Met Your Mother
3. 30 Rock
2. Parks and Recreation
1. The League

Video Games:
5. L.A. Noire
4. Assassin's Creed II
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. The Saboteur
1. Red Dead Redemption

Sports Teams:
5. LSU Tigers
4. Atlanta Hawks
3. Atlanta Falcons
2. Atlanta Braves
1. Florida Gators

Athletes:
5. Julio Jones
4. Al Horford
3. Jason Heyward
2. Matt Ryan
1. Jeff Gordon

Music Artists:
5. The Clash
4. Train
3. The Strokes
2. The Beatles
1. Anberlin

My Ravens, Don't Read

I'm not good with words like I thought I was. Looking back on stuff I wrote about just a few years ago, everything I wrote which I thought would be profound is really just immature and stupid. When I look back five years from now, too, that is how I will feel about writings like this one. I have always wanted to be a thinker, someone who could understand life's mysteries and knows the answer to everything. It is now clear that no matter how much progress I make, there is no way I can ever achieve this, at least for the next few decades.

What I think I know is always changing, too. One day, life seems pointless and the glass is half empty. The next day, anything is possible with just a little willpower. I don't know if it's just the weather (one day/week, it's cold and cloudy, then it's hot and muggy, then it rains like crazy, then it's cold but the sky is clear, repeat until the spring) or what.

It's getting better and it's never been worse at the same time. I don't mean anything serious, just that I don't know anything about life. Maybe it's something you don't know ever really figure out, but when you're 40 and you have an established career and a family you have something to build on. I'm 20 and I don't know what I want to do with my life. Lots of people my age don't, but many will soon figure it out, and what if I'm left behind? I had more plans, more ambition than this just a few years ago. I wish I could just see into the future and see where everything goes.

See? There I go again. I suck at talking about my feelings, my word choice is poor, and every sentence uses the word "I." Maybe I look down on what 15-year old me wrote, but I'm whinier than him. Will 25-year old Ryan be the same? Or do I finally mature out of this cycle? I'll see in 2017.