today was a good day. the weather for november was gorgeous. so much sun and in the 50's. didn't really even need a coat. i love that. i got 9 hours of sleep last night. that's right. yesterday i was falling asleep in every class, so when i got home from church i went to bed at 10. and woke up at 7 this morning. and let me tell you it was fantastic. i didn't have to take a nap today because i was so energized. and then my hebrew class got out a half an hour early. and i didn't have to work! i spent about an hour reading acts today. it really came alive. i love it when the bible does that. when it comes alive, that is. reading about events that occurred 2000 years ago yet still identifying with them, it's really quite amazing that the human condition hasn't changed so much as we think it has, or rather as we say it has. i went to the Y tonight. i ran 3.5 miles. i've been running more lately. and running faster. i go through phases where i don't enjoy it and then times that i do, and i'm not really at the point where i enjoy it again yet, but i do like the rush afterwards. i love doing weights and pushing my muscles to the greatest capacity that i can and then later feeling that victorious exhaustion of a work well done. i think working out keeps me sane. i really do. because this semester has been so busy that at times i would go for a week without running or lifting and i start feeling down. but this week i feel great. and when my metabolism is up that means i can eat more. which is always great.

after the Y i talked to a good friend via phone for awhile. i'll be real honest with you. it is such a nice ending to a day having a light-hearted conversation with a kindred spirit. it puts a smile on my face. it makes me remember how good my God is, that laughing was His idea in the first place, that life is full of beautiful and meaningful detail that i tend to overlook in my haste. sometimes i think that we make our lives so busy so that we don't really have to face ourselves. i was talking to my philosophy prof once (before he was my philosophy prof) and he brought up something that really made me think. he said that he wondered if the reason why so many people don't like being alone is because they are afraid of themselves. if they have no one to talk to, nothing to watch or listen to, they are subject to their own thoughts. they have no choice but to face themselves and everything they've done, good or bad. and really, i think that makes a lot of sense. when i have done something i am ashamed of, i don't like being alone. and i never really reasoned why, but now i think it is because in solitude i have to be completely honest with myself. and after having this conversation with my prof i decided that i never wanted to fear being alone. i want to embrace it as time well spent developing good character and being introspective. and it seems to me that ultimately the quality of my decision-making abilities seems to be much sharper when i spend time alone every day. i just thought of that. i was asking a friend of mine this past summer what character flaws he saw in me, and the first thing he said was that he thought i was introspective to a fault. this very well could be true, but i was thinking (ironically enough) about it, and really, all of the major "good" decisions that i've made, i've made when i was alone. just me and my thoughts and God. often with input from other people, but ultimately sorted out when alone. the bad decisions i've made have generally come out of impulse. i think there's definitely a connection there. so yeah, phone conversation. it just reminded me how good it is to slow down. to enjoy little things. and i think occasional solitude really plays a part in doing that.

so now i'm sitting alone, at the end of a great day. i'm going to go read for awhile longer before i sleep. i think in the morning rozi is going to talk to washington and see if he can't get us 4 more hours in a day. i'm thinking that would definitely be for the betterment of mankind. if you agree i suggest writing your approval on a postcard and sending it to the white house. i mean it won't do any good. they're all liars up there anyhow. but at least they will know where the american people stand in the quest for a longer day.