All grown up.

so since i left home theres been quite a few changes in my life. some may not seem very monumental to you, but they are to me. im becomin a man now. let me share some of them with you.
1. LAUNDRY- this is probably one of the most significant changes in my life. no longer do my clothes magically appear clean and dumped on my floor, waiting for me to fold. ive discovered this entire new world of pretty smelling detergents and fabric softener and that those little white sheets you put in the dryer actually do do something. it's kind of exciting, because i feel like im all on my own, but then its not so cool, because doing laundry stinks. i mean you have to set aside like 3 hours of your day so that you can wear clothes that dont smell and you have to fold them and fix all your socks that turned inside out (which takes forEVER, and HOW DO THEY TURN INSIDE OUT? it doesnt make logical sense). i say let me wear my clothes the way i want and dont judge me if they smell. so WHAT if ive worn the same pants for 2 weeks. if i stay moving you cant really even smell them, so whats the big deal? sigh.

2. GAS- yes, it is nice to have a car. yes, i am extremely thankful to my wonderful parents for allowing me to take their car to texas for a year. i mean, paying for gas is a pretty small sacrafice for being allowed to drive. the only thing is, is that when youre like part of the 19% of the 700 people that have a car here, people tend to notice you a little more. heres an example..."hey james, me and some people were talking and we were gonna go to applebees for lunch after church...we were wondering if you wanted to come?" then i usually respond with, "whats your name? you dont want me to come just because i have a car and you have no other way of getting there do you?" then they respond with, "you have a CAR?? man, thats weird. i didnt know that. but yea, we need a way to get there, wanna go?" sigh. THEN, after out of the bottom of your heart you take them to their destination (and everything here is atleast a 30 mile round trip), you say, "hey, if you guys dont mind, could some people chip in a couple bucks for gas?", everyone in the car goes silent, and i get a dollar. but thats alright. i cant complain. i love paying for people mooching off me. im just a servant i guess....

3. RAMEN- ive been a ramen fan since i came from the womb. ive eaten it when i was sick, ive eaten it when i was well, ive eaten it in the little cup thingy, and ive even eaten dry. i love ramen. it was only until i began the journey of living away from home that i gained a new love and respect for it. you can get like 12 packages of those jokers for a buck twenty five. i mean yes, it does have its down sides, but for a buck twenty five i dont even care. its beautiful. i started to think one day while i was eating it though, how to they make this stuff? then i imagined like a bunch of melted animal fat, flour, and buckets and buckets of salt being dumped into a big pot, and thats as far as i took it. i dont want to know. and i dont care. its my favorite and thats that. i do kinda wish mrs. dejarnett taught me how to cook though...

there are many other things that ive learned and grown in over the past 6 months, and i plan on writing more about them, but for now thats all. as you can see, the opportunities for things to learn out here are endless. the sky is the limit.