dump.

I'm sitting here at UVU, nothing to do, and I figure that if I want to stay true to my weekly blog update, I have to take this opportunity. Let's throw some ideas at the wall and see what sticks.
It was my birthday on Monday. I received many wonderful gifts, including four pairs of shoes that I didn't know I needed. I got a new graphic tablet, which I am all sorts of excited about, even though I still lack faith in my own artistic skills. A new leather wallet is always spunky, and cologne will definitely help in my quest for the female. I'll be honest: I'm very bummed that I didn't get a 3DS like I asked for because it means that I won't be on the ball as much as my friends or acquaintances for my Pokémon training, but I think that flame of fury has dwindled now. I'll have to earn it, just like everyone else.

I'm trying to get back into my old hobbies and interests. It's really hard. What I enjoy most right now is being with my friends and having social interactions with someone other than one person for 24 hours of the day, like I was compelled to do for the last two years. I feel like, though, I am only taking my enjoyment from the stories and ideas of people around me. I really need to start forging my own pathways in life so that I may be able to share them with others. However, I continue to enjoy gospel discussions and sharing stories from my mission. I'm not one of those awkward RMs that try to relate EVERY experience to my mission (at least, I'm trying hard not to be that guy), but I have to fess up to the fact that that's just who I've been the last little while. I learned and experienced a lot.

I've definitely found that my mission was just that: my own mission. My companions might have had similar experiences to me as we were together, but ultimately, the sequence of events and the people I met all compile into one great whole that I can carry with me for the rest of my life. My adventures in Arkansas left a permanent impact on me. Am I still as obedient in the gospel as I was for 24 months? Hardly. But I can always look back and analyze what made me happy then, and try and mimic it now.

I've been blessed with many privileges that I've never had before in my life, the grandest being my own computer. I've dreamed of it for years, and now I finally have one. It's mine. Computers are such powerful and wonderful things that give us access to webs of social and intellectual information. I can't quite handle so much of this outpouring at once, so I kinda let my mind flit around and pick up sweet programs and junk wherever I go. For example, I can now play games on my laptop using a Wiimote! Useless, yet genius. I guess that's just how I am.

One of my biggest goals right now is to find a girl. I've found that my creativity works best when I have someone to spend it on, particularly if it's a maiden with a soft heart to touch every now and then with little gifts or showers of endearment. Basically, I need inspiration to create, and in the past a girl has been my limitless source. I wasn't interested in graphic design much at all until I met Krissy. Alexis only made my creativity thrive as I learned to sew and gain other awesome talents. What will the next girl bring, I wonder? What will my life be like after meeting this next (and possibly last) special someone?

You can call this entry a mind-dump, but don't we need those every once in a while? I've found that I discover so much more of myself in these processes. It also give me a self-evaluation to look back and compare myself to. Next week I'll share something more deep, I promise.