All The World's A Stage And We Are Home Again

I apologize to anyone who actually reads this for not updating in a long while. I've been so insanely busy, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I just haven't had time to update. There's so much to say, so I'm hoping that I can remember everything and get it all down.

First off, the semester is coming to a close. Thanksgiving weekend starts tomorrow night. I've finished the majority of my work for the semester, although I have some large final assignments to tackle. This semester flowed a lot more smoothly then I originally thought it would, but I am in no way complaining. I've spent a lot more time doing work than in previous semesters (which was even observed by my father, but we shall talk about him later), but the important thing is that I'm trekking through it. I wish I could have seen some friendly faces more often, but I will make it a point to do some catching up over Christmas break.

Since Thanksgiving weekend is almost upon us, that means that Black Friday is right behind it. I'm not happy at all that I have to be at work at 4:30am (or be up at 3:30am), but I'm even less happy about the concept of Black Friday. Blatant and rampant materialism and consumerism. I'm not going to get all political, as I hate politics to no end, but the whole concept of Black Friday just bugs me. Getting up at ungodly hours for a "good" deal. *headdesk*

After almost having completed a full year's worth of Art and the World, I'm walking away from it with a considerably larger knowledge of art than I walked into it with. I can't say I really enjoy the class (or the passive-aggressive teacher) very much, but it is informative, and she is definitely knowledgeable about the subject. However, I feel like I'm walking away from the class with something I didn't expect to get out of it: a solidified atheism.

I wasn't brought up in a religious household, but I've had a fair amount of experience with many religions, specifically Christianity. I've been an Agnostic for a long time, years, but never really a convinced atheist. It's not that I really had any desire to believe in a higher being, I just never made an attempt to approve or disprove it. I was an apathetic agnostic, if you will. But after sitting through Art and the World and seeing the formation of the Christian religion, it really, almost unconsciously, showed me how bogus the Christian religion is. I've read plenty about the lack of facts and the hypocrisy that is involved with it, I agreed with almost all of it, had debates and deep conversations about it, but I always kept an open mind. It seems like my mind has finally decided to shut. Or almost. I can't say that I really have a closed mind about anything (or very few things at least), but I'm pretty sure that my mind is pretty set at the moment.

My relationship with my father has never been good for very long. It has been stable at best, enjoyable in very small quantities, and overall not a pleasant experience. I've never really spoken about this subject openly, short of a few people, but I think expressing it in this outlet will do me good. I'm going to spare the details for the honest reason that they are irrelevant to me. Simply put, we do not get along. It used to just be him walking all over me. For a long time. Then I grew up. Within the past five years, it dawned on me, and I decided to stop taking his ridiculousness. As with the end of all power regimes, there was resistance. A resistance that continues until the present day. He resisted my mother when she stood up for herself, and he has done the same to me.

I can't say I have a great relationship with my mother either, as I definitely don't, but it includes a different type of dysfunction. My father makes mistakes and tries to cover them up and justify them to himself by offering bribes. My mother makes mistakes and begs pathetically for forgiveness. The latter is the lesser of two evils I suppose, but neither is very appetizing.

My musical tastes have been changing. They have been for a while. I'm still listening to a good amount of metal, but I've moving more and more towards the progressive side. I've also been listening to a lot more rock and even a little bit of pop. I got into metal for stereotypical reasons. I though life sucked, people sucked, and that loud, raw music was the perfect outlet. And it was. But now that I'm maturing, I have other musical needs. Metal will always be my genre of choice, but my specific preferences are evolving. To cite specifics, Devin Townsend has been one of my favorite musicians for a while now. With the release of his latest album, Addicted, the title could be used as a very adequate description of my opinion towards it. It's an amazing album, and is metal at heart, but draws on so many different types of influences, it's mind boggling. Metal, rock, pop, country, electronica, dance. It has everything. The man is a damn genius.

Last and most certainly not least. My girlfriend. Oh what to say. Tis been almost four months now, and it has been my most successful and gratifying relationship to date. By a long shot. That really blows my mind. We haven't even known each other a year and already have a connection that I can't say parallels with any other connection that I have or have had with anyone else. Like I said, mind blowing. I'd like to think that I'm not being naive, as I have never (in any recent years) been one to do so about these things, but I'm quite confident that I'm not. The facts don't lie. If the relationship were to end tomorrow, I would still deem it my most successful. Hands down. I've learned more about one single person, about myself, and about people in general, in the last eight or so months than I ever have in the past. She's been through so much, and has more strength than anyone else I know. She knows what she wants out of life, and is thankful for everything that she has. Including me. And I love her very much for that <3.

And this concludes probably the largest blog I will ever write. I hope that I will now be able to update more frequently, so as to not have to do this in the future.

I shall leave with some lyrics by the almighty Devin. These lyrics don't have any specific significance for me, but they've been in my head all day, and it's a really good line.

All the worlds a stage and we are home again.