Hi. My name is Chris, and I'm addicted to peanut butter. And almond butter.

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A couple of weeks ago, I had withdrawal. It was like the withdrawal I used to get after a week of summer camp at age 8, when I'd be apart from the girl with whom I'd been flirting for those previous six days. It made me feel hopeful, like I was going to see her again, but I'd no idea when.

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A man has to be able to make a living before he can provide a place for love to dwell.

-Lu Xun, Mourning the Dead

I don't know how I feel about this. I do not believe that love cannot dwell in a place if a man has no living, yet I sense some wisdom in the words.

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Out of all of the little intro things that come on before a film, the Dreamworks one is, hands down, my favorite. Good visuals, Excellent music.

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I have no shame in admitting that I think Erin Esurance is way cute.

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Moving out feels like moving home.

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I rest in the assurance I have that God Expecto Patronum'd all of my filth away.

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Dear American Television,

I despise you for not broadcasting the Boston Marathon. Or football (unless it's the World Cup or a USAMNT home game or select MLS games or Mexican league games on the Spanish language channels.)

Hate,

CK

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I saw two people talking to themselves yesterday. Yes, I am sure that they did not have Bluetooth things in one of their ears.

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Crossword Puzzle Update:

After my last post, when I wrote about how bad I am at crossword puzzles, I got better.

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Thanks for reading this, Bee Tee Dub.

没什么

Things have been calm recently. My schoolwork is winding down- with the exception of day-to-day assignments (which are few), I only have two papers and finals remaining. Anyway, I figure I'll do what most people do when they are bored... talk about themselves. Or, in this case, write about themselves. Myselves. Self.

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I try to do crossword puzzles, but I rarely get very far. Sometimes I get lucky and complete around 50% of a puzzle, but this is rare. My ego protects itself by telling me that "This one must be another really tough one", "You must just not think in crossword-puzzle terms" (whatever the hell that means!), or "These are all pop culture references and you just don't keep up with that stuff".

Today must be a lucky day. I'm staring at a crossword puzzle that's more than halfway done, and I'm not even close to giving up...

Actually, I'm staring at a computer screen...

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Paramore

William Fitzsimmons

Feist

Benny Bennasi

Kaskade

Phoenix

Swimming with Dolphins

Sufjan Stevens

Muse

Massive Attack

Portishead

Epik High

Gemma Hayes

Immy

Iron and Wine

Mint Royale

These are a few of my favorite things

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I mix most of my food.

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Peanut Butter

Almond Butter

Tempeh

Pizza

Yogurt

Olive Oil

Milk and Cereal

Fruit

Brownies stirred up in ice cream

饺子

烧烤

These are more of my favorite things. I do NOT mix all of these foods together.

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I haven't listened to the radio in more than a few months. I don't miss the radio.

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The severance or lengthening of relational ties is looked down upon in American society.

I submit that there is a time for severing or lengthening ties.

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It pains me to watch people picking things up with their backs instead of pushing up with their legs.

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Being shorter than average has an advantage- Most people underestimate short people, which means we perpetually have the element of surprise on our side. Underestimate in what regard? Every regard. I suppose I'm mainly thinking intellectually and physically.

I'm short, and I'm not ashamed.

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Mocky feat. Feist- Fighting Away the Tears

I do not appreciate it when my professors comment on an essay that I have written by writing the word "Why?" in the margin. It's not like they put it beside a passage in my paper that requires further explanation or background. Furthermore, it's usually the case that I have answered the question, "Why?", which they have so succinctly posed in the margin, I have just answered it at another point in my argument.

One may present a vindicating argument for said posing of question, "Why?", in the margin of a university upper-level division class essay. I find it annoying and pointless, I daresay, nonetheless. Why pointless? Because I already wrote the paper. Because the paper has been written. Because after the paper has a grade on it, it goes in the manila folder, and after it goes in the manila folder, it stays in the manila folder. And after it stays in the manila folder, it gets thrown out at the end of the semester.

Why?

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I found this article quite interesting, and I wish I could present this quote to my Chinese acquaintances when they cite, boast of, or complain about the hours and hours they spend studying and getting tutored:

Former U.S. assistant secretary of education Chester Finn recently wrote in TheWall Street Journal that the average Chinese college applicant has spent 30% more time in the classroom than his American counterpart--and that's not including considerable time in enrichment classes after school and on weekends. Finn cites that figure as something the U.S. should emulate. I could not disagree more. The amount of time in class is not the issue; the quality of that time is, and there the Chinese education system is lacking.

Here's to critical thinking...

Here's hoping for a good education reforms in China, even when they don't seem likely to ever happen.

Here's to the hope we have in Christ and His redemption of all that is so effed up...

...starting with me.

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When playing drums in a marching band drumline, if one drops a drumstick during a performance or rehearsal, one must take part in the "Lean of Shame" to pick up said dropped drumstick. It's not fun. If someone watching didn't notice that a drumstick was dropped, they will definitely notice the dropper leaning over.

I find that there exists in the classroom a similar shameful lean. If one drops his or her writing utensil and it lands or rolls to a position which is directly beneath the desk or table at which one is sitting, one must lean over to pick up said dropped writing utensil. To make matters worse, it is usually most convenient for the dropper to bring his or her head very close to the table while he or she reaches for the dropped writing utensil. This produces, for a moment, an awkward moment during which it appears that the dropper is just laying his or her head on the table or desk for some unknown reason.

Don't believe me? Try it. Drop anything under the table or desk at which you are sitting... chances are high that you won't want to put your head underneath the table or desk, and chances are high that it will be most convenient for you to keep your head above the table or desk while you reach for whatever you dropped.

I wrote way too much about this.

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"If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat?"

-Samuel Rognstad

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"If you form your hands in certain ways, your enemy is gonna die!"

-Chinese Lit prof talking about Kung Fu-genre characters

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"How do you explain the music of the 80's?"

and

"Why is giving a diamond ring an expectation when getting engaged?"

Answer to both:

"It's just something that some lady made up."

-Philosophy professor

Question: How is requiring that a man give a woman a diamond ring when he asks her to marry him NOT encouraging them both to view love as something which is inseparable from money?

Wouldn't it be much healthier to start out such an incredible relationship with the giving of a $.25 ring from the toy machines in the lobby thing at Wal-Mart? Wouldn't it save a lot of money that young married couples could afford to hold on to? If a ring is representative, then it's monetary value should be insignificant.

Round 1: Fight!

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"My father told me and my brothers and sisters that his name is Gerald. I only found out that his real name is Maurice a couple years ago."

-Philosophy professor

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I don't like this post.

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I like this song.