So... That dating thing

Yes, I read the infamous I Kissed Dating Goodbye a couple of days ago as I lougened around Josh's apartment. I have heard many people express distaste for this book, ironically most have never read it, they simply judge it by the title. In all honesty, I read only about 2/3 of the book, the beginning and end for two reasons: I was time limited and it seemed largely directed towards high school students and the writing was very simplistic, and most of his examples of "dating gone wrong" involved high schoolers. That's fine and all, but I'm a sophmore in college, I want to hear about people in their mid-20s.
I liked his overall message, it seemed the main point he was trying to make was that relationships with the opposite sex should not consume our life, that we should enjoy our time of singleness and use it to glorify the Lord as much as possible. My friend DJ once said a better title would be "I Kissed the Pursuit of Dating Goodbye," which in one sense is appropriate, but ultimately it would fall short, since Harris is without a doubt against dating. The alternative he gives has more of the appearance of courtship, in other words a serious relationship in which from the very beginning marriage is stated as the end goal. The very idea of that is very intimidating, but that is his point -- if we aren't that serious about relationships, we have no business being in one. I have to say I strongly agree with him on that point.

When Morning and Afternoon Blur

Hello blogger fans,
I find myself in Bobcat Village, apartment number 13103, where I have spent 55 of the past 60 hours of my life. Whew, it's like a marathon. I've found myself keeping very strange sleep habits, with the intrusion of the PS2 video game Gladius, as well as the oppurtunity to observe my friends proceed through the recording process of of Josh's CD (due in Feburary). The first night I slept, I remember waking up to Matt (a good man from UTSA) and Josh walking through the door, and asking me to sleep in Justin's bedroom, as opposed to the living room couch, since they would be recording acoustic in the living room. I gladly stumbled away and fell asleep to sweet melodies. Last night, I stayed up till four with them, watching the process of recording electric guitar. After I went to lala land, they continued till 10am, finishing up electric for 10 songs.
Food has also been a rather interesting subject. I ate half a burrito on Thursday, that was it (not all that bad, considering I sat on my butt all day). Friday was slightly more nutritous, when in the afternoon I walked across the street for an amazing baked potatoe, and after ushering a graduation ceremony, I finished the night at Chile's, my first real meal since Tuesday. I have discovered my money supply from sold books is dwindeling though.

One advantage of all this is that I have found a good amount of time to read, and as the guys sleep till 3 in the afternoon, a lot of time to think. I have come upon a "chicken or the the egg" problem, similar to John Cusack's in High Fidelity. Do girls (and for that matter, all people), watch chick flicks because they are sentinmental, or are they sentimental because they watch chick flicks? This question came upon me as I remembered this past Thanksgiving break, in which I watched one of my favorite TV shows, Smallville. I enjoy this show mostly because of the relationship between Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. They have an uneasy friendship at best, with secrets kept on both sides. Lex is potrayed as a bad guy, trying to be good, trying to make the right decisions, and you hold out on him, hoping he will leave the dark side, but then he does something ever-so-often that crosses the line, and one is left on the edge of his/her seat, hoping against hope that he will become a good guy. Clark has also built up some romantic tension between a few of the female characters. With clever shots and sentimental music, one feels a sense of longing or nostalgia for relationships. This struck me over the break, because these were feelings I hadn't felt in quite some time.
And thus the chicken or the egg came to mind. I began thinking of some of my reallife experiences as friends I know get married or are on the road to marraige with a "special someone," and as I talk to them about their relationships, I have no sense of longing or envy, but rather joy for them as they experience the wonders of marriage. So I've come to the conclusion that "chick flicks" can potentially waken or increase emotions that don't really need to be drawn out.

I guess I should mention that at the same time that I had those thoughts, I was in the midst of reading I Kissed Dating Goodby by Joshua Harris :). More on that later.

Dan

A New CD and a Cell Phone on the Horizon

Last Night I bought my first CD this month, and the second since july or so:Australia by Howie Day. I was a little reluctant to spend the $10 at first, b/c although I've enjoyed the few songs of his I have heard, but I didn't want to buy a CD just because a couple of friends of mine bought it. Michael convinced me to get it, and so far it's been an enjoyable purchase. My music collection is slowy (let's emphasize the slowly) growing.

Some good friends of mine particapted in some college shananigins down by the beautiful (and warm) San Marcos river, which I missed by a few minutes. The problem was that I arrived when they said to, but they got slowed down by technical difficulties, and since I did not have a cell phone, there was no way of us getting a hold of each other. I talked to Tucker afterwards, and he has me almost convinced to buy one. It all depends on that price though...

As I battle the technology of the 21st century,
Dan Reiter

A Beautiful Summer Day

Today, dead day, is a day given to us college students so that we may study for upcoming finals. But do we? If only you could see my smile as I type this.

My day started off ten minutes till 10am, with a great couple of games of Ultimate Frisbee, (MW Rice, you were missed). Playing in broad daylight was a nice experience. A good number of us went to Harris to eat a harty meal, and afterwards, I had fully intended to study, but plans changed. I ditched my study buddy Josh Bronleewe for a trip to Devil's Backbone and a swim in the river with the persuasion of four lovely young ladies (Sandi, Meagan, Marisa, and Lauren) and my persistent roommate, Sam Hunt. In Sandi's words, "You won't remember a test years from now, but you will remember hanging out with your friends." True, but I do have good studying stories, you can ask Josh or Austin about it, or maybe I'll post about it later. Actually, probably not. I did have a great time, eight of us crammed in a Jeep Liberty going all across San Marcos and Hays County. And we did swim, and it was awesome, even more so when one realizes it is December 7th. Ya gotta love Texas.

Till next time,
Dan Reiter

Hello?

Hello everyone, I hope finals are treating all my fellow college students well.

A small brief on the weekend: I went camping this weekend at Lady Bird Johnson and visited Enchanted Rock on the side. It was a good amount of fun, although slightly cold. I could probably write an entire post on this subject, but I thinkSean Raybuck (www.livejournal.com/users/seanraybuck) beat me to it.

The highlight of the past two days was a gift from my friend and roommate, Sam Hunt -- a "cell phone"! It has buttons that make noises and internet acces (although it is dial up, but I'll take what I can get). What really struck me is that everyone commented on my hatred of cell phones. I did accuse them of being the spawn of satan in an earlier post, but perhaps my words were too harsh. I don't really hate cell phones, but I can become frustrated with them, such as when people ignore me in favor of the person that just called them, and the idea of being roped into a two year contract where I have to pay $40-50 a month does not excite me (the money statement should keep most people from giving me a hard time, since their parents pay the bills, but alas it doesn't).So the big question -- will I ever get a cell phone. I don't really know. Hopefully, a few friends and I will all live in a house next fall, and depending on the cost of a house phone, I may have to crater to the demands of a high-tech society and purchase a cell phone.

As I try to remain in the stone age
-Dan Reiter

For these momentary, ligh affliction are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. 2 Corinthians 4:17

The Problem with Saying Nietzsche part2

Hello world. I hope everything is going well. You may notice the part 2 and ask, "where is part 1?" Well, it got deleted, because computers are really stupid. A half hour down the tube. But anyways, I'm going to make a second attempt, albeit, slightly abbreviated.

I find it funny that we Christians can get caught up in arms whenever some mentions a certain name (such as Nietzsche) or philosophy (such as existentialism). These names are instantly barraged by insults and why they are bad, without giving a full look to the person or idea.

I'm learning about existentialism in my philosophy class, and although I don't agree with everything it says, it definately has some worthwhile ideas, to say the least. I could talk about why I disagree with this philosophy, but that is really long and time consuming, so I'll present the good ideas. One that jumped out at me was existentialism's emphasis on responsibility. That's a message that our world could hear more of. We so often want to dodge the consequences of our actions, and it only brings about further frustration and problems. Last year I helped out with a church event at San Marcos First Baptist, and during the weekend I broke a student's laptop. I initially offered to help pay for it, but when I realized I couldn't afford it, I payed less than I said I would and made an excuse that through the blame more on the junior high student. This angered the mother (as it should have), and caused a lot of unnessecary grief and problems. In the end, I took responsibility for my actions, but from that point on, it made attending the church difficult and conversations with the youth minister became akward. My friend Ben Stuart said one of the great tragedies of the fall of man described in Genesis was when Adam blamed both Eve and God instead of taking responsibilty for eating the forbidden fruit.

All this to say, we need to be discerning when learning of other philosophies, but we should not be close minded, and we should not unreaonably discredit those who think differently than we do. When I declare that I'm a philosophy major, Christians often give me a look of concern, warning me that I may be pulled away from the faith. I love them for it -- that they are concerned about my spiritual well being and that they desire to gaurd their hearts against the things of this world, but I don't want to have dogmatic beliefs -- claiming things are true only because other people tell me to. C.S. Lewis, one of the most brilliant Christians of the 20th century refrenced philosophers and ancient writers as much as he did the Bible. I have a friend become a Christian in the same semester he was taking a philosophy class, and what he learned in philosophy actually reinforced his beliefs. I know that by beliefs will be challenged over the next couple of years, and I will struggle with doubt, but if the Bible is the living truth (which I believe it is), then this is also true: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." (John 10:27-29 emphasis mine).

Till next time,
Dan Reiter