Looking at pictures

I can't decide what to think about looking at pictures of my former life as a ski bum or pictures of other people doing the same. It makes me ask questions like 'Why am I in Georgia? It makes your sweat smell like urine slash there's a lot more of it to go around, you can't see any mountains, and it's not Utah. Or British Columbia. Or Alaska. Or any number of places which I would choose to spend my time. So yeah. Sorry if the sweat comment was too much information, I just really don't understand it. If anyone knows of a solution- don't be afraid to share. At any rate, I've spent a good part of the weekend 1)trying to figure out how to salvage together some method of putting pictures on the interweb so that all of my fans back home can see what my new life here in Georgia looks like. 2) Looking at all my fans' pictures to see what their life looks like in wherever it is that they are. Since I love lists(they're so easy to read and aesthetically pleasing), here's a list of things that have changed in my life:

• Whereas my hair used to feel too long when it was... 4 inches long? it now feels too long when it's 3/8 of an inch long.
• Whereas I used to lament having to wake up before noon, now if I get to sleep past 6 it's a good day
• Whereas I used to spend most of my waking hours angsting over what such and such a girl thought about me, now I don't meet girls. At all. I've become celibate and didn't even realize it. At least when I went on a mission I knew it was coming
• Whereas I used to avoid wearing shoes at all costs, I now wear 8 inch high boots all day long, everyday. It's killing me.
• Whereas I used to pour over the latest Patagonia catalog, now I browse the US Cav store, Commando's and Ranjer Joe's for the latest tactical gear and camouflage, and satellite telephone antennas.
• Whereas I used to lament the a)pathetic driving abilities of Utah drivers and b)the horrible traffic patterns in Provo; now I wish I could a)drive a car and b)deal with the horrible traffic patterns in Provo.

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that I hate my life and yada yada. I just wish I was in Utah doing whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. I liked that. I like being here, too. Ultimately, I like being here more when I don't look at pictures or think about being home with the people I love and doing the things I love. Nevertheless, those experiences make me who I am, and I don't dare to forget them. I'm rambling. And this is basically a continuation of my last post. Don't think this is a rant about how my life sucks and woe is me. On the contrary. It's merely a commentary on pictures and memories and their effect on me. On the one side, it depresses me that I'm not there still and that I'm a freaking 'adult' doing 'adult' things and attempting to live my crazy beliefs that even I don't understand 100% of the time. Simultaneously, it makes me happy to remember all the good times I've had with friends and family and I wouldn't trade them for the world. Moral of the story- thanks for all the aforementioned good times and hopefully we'll be able to make some more memories here before too much time goes by and we turn into old people.

Pictures coming soon- I found the charging cable for my camera tonight after I threatened it with purchasing a replacement.

So I guess I'm in Army

The problem with doing things because you believe in them and not because they're what you want to do is that you don't really want to do them. While that might seem to be an obvious statement- it took me some thought to really come to grips with it. Ultimately- I believe that anyone can like anything- not necessarily anything but among those things which people enjoy. So while I make fun of people who... well, pretty much anyone who isn't my friend. I can nevertheless understand how extenuating circumstances could influence you to subscribe to... buck hunter or something like that. It just takes a little more work for certain people to like some things whereas other things come naturally. These things come naturally to me:

• Musick of the Ugly People variety, see also 'indie'
• Skiing
• Mountain Biking
• Dogs
• Climbing
• Camping in the summertime
• Movies, see also 'Cristopher Nolan'
• Girls
• Chacos
• Mohawks
• Utah
• Electronic musick
• iPods, see also 'greatest invention of modern times
• Good books, see also 'easy to read not necessarily good'
• sleeping
• Concerts
• Backpacking ON TRAILS and IN THE MOUNTAINS

Not so easy for me to like are the following:

• Army life
• Georgia
• Camping in the winter
• Waking up early in the morning to backpack 2.5 miles one way and turn around and backpack back to where you started. On the road.
• Killing
• Country musick
• Running
• Anything involving Realtree
• UFC
• Marching around and singing songs

I'm not sure where I was going with this list thing. I just like making lists. What I'm really trying to get at is that there is a set of things which are both easy for me to like and I also feel are acceptable- I don't make fun of people who like those things. Whereas there are other things that I like that I honestly make fun of other people for liking. Moral of the story is, I suppose, that Georgia is not Utah. By any stretch of the imagination. Further, Fort Benning is unique. Army is unique. And while I hope that my core(which I wouldn't make fun of) stays pure and true you can't avoid changing and adapting to your surroundings. It is inevitable. I am a different person than I was in April when I left my friends and family to live my beliefs. I haven't figured out what all this pursuit will require of me. At the very least, 3 years. I haven't yet determined whether my beliefs support turning this into a career or not. If I had my druthers, I'd be done and back to skiing, and biking all the time in three years. But, if I had my druthers, I'd be back in Utah now. So. Yeah. Sorry that this is so rambly and wierd, I just felt like I should write something about the philosophical dilemmas slash self introspection I've been experiencing. So anyways. Hopefully I'll post more. I just hate my computer situation right now and that means that I don't like sitting in front of it. So anyways. Hope this isn't too wordy. No pictures of Army due to the aforementioned computer situation.