Friends

Davis, Calif. - Sometimes I forget how incredibly lucky I am to know such awesome people. Fortunately I was able to remind myself this past Saturday when Devin hosted one of our gatherings. As usual he made his amazing pizza, Alex made his tamales, and I brought a bottle of coke and some sort of snack (this time it was Fudgecicles).

It wasn't a movie night, but instead a night of creativity and thought. Rachel worked on her LARP costume and ended up making the coolest mask for one of her mage characters. Aaron sharpened his knives on Devin's wetstones and worked on his knots. Alex made his famous tamales and surprised with some horchata; if I remember correctly I told Alex I loved him about 8 times that night. Carola worked on some knitting before running off to catch some sleep. Devin worked on his chainmaille, which is looking really awesome. He's got a good portion of the chest done as well as the shoulders and parts of the sleeves. Rachel's boyfriend, along with Alex, bummed around on the internet and I read "Empire" by Orson Scott Card. It was a really enjoyable evening.

What I love best about getting together like that is that while we do our own things we end up getting into some great debates and conversations. I really like the fact that we challenge each other to think about various issues. We don't always agree, but we're all extremely open to new thoughts and ideas. I'm usually the first to admit that I really hadn't thought about something in a particular way.

I suppose these debates and random thoughts are due to Aaron. He always throws out his ideas and starts the conversation going. And while we get into the a discussion on defining heritage, ethnicity, nationality, and racism we can easily joke around at the same time. It's just a room of people doing what they enjoy and at the same time throwing out ideas and thoughts. Usually they're the ideas that you don't talk about often - the ideas that you think about while you're on the John or when you're unable to sleep. Thoughts you don't usually share with anyone except your significant other. I really like that.

I ended up finishing Empire last night. I really enjoyed it. Just like my friends it challenged me to think about and even question my own ideals. I questioned whether or not I fall into the trap of stereotyping when I try desperately not to.

At the same time it scared me, because I have met people who go to the extreme when it comes to their political and religious beliefs. It's scary to think that one person can carry so much fear and so much hate for a certain set of people.

Anyways, I'm starting to ramble due to the hour and I should try to get some sleep.