Ignorant Americans are at it again! Take 5,485, 384, 193....action!

I am, once again, disappointed in humanity as a whole, and the average American specifically. I am, of course, referring to the current controversy over the proposed Muslim Mosque in NYC.

How can a group of murderers actually be associated with the true practice of Islam, which emphasizes love and peace? Ignorance, that's how. We are all acutely aware (at least those of us possessing any hint of intelligence are) that ignorance breeds all sorts of negative outcomes, namely intolerance and violence. Sadly enough, I feel that this is more natural for humans than is love and acceptance, which requires wisdom and appreciating a perspective/lifestyle/culture/belief other than your own.

Would people in this country be so quick to call a group of murderers claiming to be Christians true Christians? I think not. I think the general population would be quick to say, " Oh no, those aren't TRUE Christians. They don't represent America or what Christianity is all about. Jesus is love!", and so forth. Yet, when the situation is exactly the same involving a religion that the average American knows NOTHING about, the rapidly touted response is, "Those extremist Muslims! They're violent! Islam is all about jihads [again, a part of Islam rarely understood and often taken out of context] and killing non-believers!" How quickly they associate all Muslims with one group of people claiming Islam as their religion, when in fact this group of people possess not one of the qualities that makes up true Islamic practice.

I have grown so weary of religion as a whole. Instead of fulfilling its purpose, which across the board is generally peace, love and acceptance (and the occasional self-righteous assumption of being the "only TRUE religion"), we are left with the creation of many prejudices and heads buried in the sand. People, I think, are afraid to see things for themselves. They are afraid to accept or tolerate something that their religious leaders may tell them is "wrong" or "evil." If you believe in God, why not listen to God instead of other human beings? I don't think God would sit here insulting followers of any religion, and I highly doubt God would ever tell a group of faithful people they couldn't build a place of worship where they wanted to, despite the actions of a very small, non-representative group claiming to be part of that religion.

I'm reading Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, and boy is it depressing, albeit very well written. It's about a man named Gregor who wakes up one day to find himself transformed into what Kafka calls "a monstrous vermin." From this point on, his family (with the exception of his sweet younger sister) views him as nothing but this and forces him to stay in his room, completely rejected. As my sister put it, he has the uncanny ability to make people feel miserable. Either way, it's still a good short story. I'm going to finish it, tears or no!

In other news, Jason and I had a great time on his birthday, which was this past Wednesday. He suggested canoeing for the day before the Green Day concert that I had bought tickets to, so we traveled up to the Shenandoah River and rented a canoe. We traversed the river for about 3.5 miles, which took us just under an hour. It was relaxing, peaceful, and fun; we want to make an entire day of it, perhaps in September.
The Green Day concert was fantastic; they brought lots of fans on stage throughout various parts of the performance, and even let one sing the entirety of "Longview." The lead singer gave this particular fan one of their guitars, too! Even better is the fact that Green Day sounds great live. They played a lot of their old school material, which J and I were thrilled about!

Last night, Soheil, Laura G., Nicki and I went to this bar/restaurant called Spyder Kellys in Clarendon for happy hour. That was fun; they have a different happy hour special every night of the week, and the food is good and cheap. Last night was $3 margaritas, $3 craft beers and $2 bud lites.

Today I have been relaxing with tea, my book, Pandora radio, and some noodles that I made for lunch. I am in a slightly depressed mood, probably due to the combination of the book, the rain (which I actually like), and the fact that I'm working tonight. Sometimes that happens to me; after being off for a few days, I'm bummed when I finally have to return to work. I'll get over it as soon as I get into the shift, though. I've grown used to the pattern, which fortunately has almost completely faded.

Not much else to say, except that I'm looking forward to my first steak-broiling experience on Sunday-- Nicki and I are having a surprise dinner for Jake at my place, and I'm cooking steaks for him and Jason (since I had promised to make Jason one also for his bday). We'll see how it goes! =P We're also going put-put golfing, which should be fun!

The Black Cherry yogurt at Trader Joe's is outstanding.

It's like having whipped black cherry pie in a creamy goodness. Mmmm.

Anyway, since I last posted, I still have not gotten my last tattoo. =P Since I had to end up spending that nearly $700 on my car (as previously mentioned in my recent post), getting the tat done was no longer a priority. Once I have more money saved up again, I'll do it!

In other developments, I've been approved to switch to mostly days. They're having EVERY nurse on staff sign up for at least 6-8 nights per seven weeks, which really isn't bad. So, I've signed up for my six today. The nice change is that my weekends I have to work are going to be mostly days. I have really stopped caring about what days I work, as long as I get my requested time off (which I have 100% of the time, so far). Nursing is a job in which time is more real, because the structured definitions of "weekend" and "work week" disappear, since hospitals never close and people never stop being sick and needing care. I've grown to actually appreciate and like Time as it really is, just flowing irregardless of you and your definitions and categories.

I rode my bike this past Saturday morning and it kicked my ass! I was going on mostly inclines for the entire 30-40 mins, though, so at least I got a workout. I literally lay on the floor for about 20 minutes after I got back. I need to get back to the yoga studio. Badly. It's been a few weeks. I'm so bad about exercising on a regular basis. I eat healthy, I just don't get enough exercise. At least I'm doing one thing right in that regard. =P

Jason's birthday is this Wednesday! We're going to a Green Day concert, which should be fun. I hope they play most of their old stuff, seeing as how neither Jason nor I really enjoy much of the recent tracks. AFI is opening for them, so I'm really interested to see how they've developed over the years since I last saw them at Warped Tour in 2003 or 2004.
To be mooshy for a moment.....it doesn't cease to amaze me on almost a daily basis how great my relationship with Jason is. He is one of the greatest people I have ever known. We've already talked about "when we get married." It seems that we're unofficially engaged, haha. Oddly enough, I don't mind at all. I'm completely comfortable with it, because it's so real and natural. We're perfect for each other, as far as I can see. :)


Ok, that's it for now. What's new??