the gods envy us

i just finished watching the movie troy on tv (LOVE dvr) and...it left me upset and disconcerted. i thought i would really like it since i love ancient rome/greece and inspiring battle cries, but when it finished i mostly felt mad that so many brave, loyal, good good people died for (mostly one individual's) pride and greed. maybe this was the point -- war is not glamorous, war is heartbreaking, war is terrible, war can be unnecessary, war is the thoughts and feelings of few affecting the lives and families of millions. everyone on every side is human and everyone on every side has someone who loves them. maybe i'm glad all war movies are rated R and i haven't seen them. i don't know if i could handle a story about people that actually existed and that could have been my grandfather and his friends.

today was a big day. went to a couple of estate sales and goodwill, chipped in for our christmas tree, a glass pie pan, and lots of cheap picture frames. i'm excited to start decorating my walls! also today i finally went into the dealership and picked a car to buy -- i'm going to get a honda fit, and assuming they're both still there on monday, i'll need to choose between black and silver. it turns out car shopping, as a process, is much less fun than i imagined. it's mostly worrying about whether you're getting the best deal and being on guard in case you're being cheated. i hate the feeling that you're not allowed to trust someone and treat them how you feel they should be treated. that happened in cairo -- a person would start helping you and you'd want to say thanks and accept, but if you did he'd start asking for or demanding a tip, following you, not leaving you alone unless you adamantly ignored him and made it clear you are no longer acknowledging his existence. it felt terrible. i had similar feelings talking to the car salesman. i had been warned by several sources: don't give him any details about yourself. don't tell him whether you're there to buy today. it's okay to ignore his questions. he's trying to wring the most money out of you he can, don't trust him, don't feel sorry for him, don't be fooled by him. it was my least favorite part of the car buying process by far.

BUT, that part is generally over, and i'm glad i'll have a car soon. i'm more glad that amy's coming in less than FOUR DAYS and that my roommates are fantastic and our house is wonderful and i have a challenging yet possible task to complete at work and i get to pretend i'm still in school because i need to (re)learn how to program in scheme and that i have wonderful blockmates whom i still love and who still love me even though we've been living apart for a year and a half (almost). i miss summer adventures, but so far, minnesota hasn't been so bad. turns out life is good wherever you go :)