Chicago served as a rejuvenating breathe of fresh air. I stayed with older cousin Crystal. I got the chance to see my best friend from high school to catch up and be silly all over again like when we were loud theatre kids.
Seeing my cousins and my favourite aunt are always a treat. On Saturday I went out to do cute vegetarian/vegan diner in Boystown. My cousin Josh is a intellectually junior version of me and we see eye to eye well on debatable topics.

Saturday afternoon I ran into an ex fling from my past by sheer coincidence. He was sitting on some church steps talking on his mobile as I was passing by. He informed he would be at Berlin later that night which I planned on attending with my cousin that night. Long story short, that evening was nothing short of a disconcerting/awkward experience with Adam. I held a lot of esteem for him in hindsight.I don't often have experiences in the same respect that I did with him. Now I realise I was just a pawn, for lack of a more sympathetic word. I suppose I'm glad I've finally seen clarity on this.

Religion came into conversation the past few days. Once on the train ride to Chicago with a student from MSU who sat next to me. We talked two hrs casually on topics of traveling and food before we even delved into god. It was obvious she had never questioned any viewpoint outside her Judeo-Christain faith because one dense question she raised was,

"The tomb in which Jesus was buried in. His bones are not there, so don't you think he had to of risen from the dead?"

I must admit, I could have laughed abruptly and even comically at that question, but I resisted. It wasn't within my nature to demean or embarrass this girl. I wanted her to really think outside the articulately barbed box that her upbringing bred her into. I didn't try to seem self righteous with my talking points. I actually wanted her to learn something from our talk because she seemed like a bright person otherwise. Today I got into the same discussion again when a friend admitted to me he didn't believe in evolution at all... It's fine to hold your beliefs to be true to what works and is consoling to you. But evolution is a fact, and it explains the origin of species and how we got here now. There is an overwhelming evidence since the 21'st century to prove it to be true. Now people can argue moral truths, or a theory by which supports ones interpretation of the purpose of the world and ones life personally, but I am arguing the scientific truth, the universal truth, what life is, how we got here - only which the scientific truth rationalises. Religion and blind faith do not have the presence of evidence to support its figmented theories, therefore it has no relevance nor heresay to what should be labelled and taught about in the educational sense.

I care about the real truth, not poetic conjectures. I am not going to impose what's in fact really true on people, far be it from me to force it upon them. It bothers me when children are brought up separation from the scientific truth which is deliberately erected by tradition or authorities in particular cultures and it develops into artificial explanations by which has no creditable base to it; thereupon it attempts to blur the staggering evidence of evolution and natural selection. I may sound self righteous when I justify my points, but unlike religion or psuedotheories, my explanations are valid and have the appropriate criteria to back up its claims.
I can say Sarah Palin has no tangible credentials to be President. That is matter of opinion and an argument of my belief system. Evolution is not a belief system in the same respect as 2+2=4 is not a belief system. I only wish more people could notate the separation between the two.

My mood is a little discerned lately. A guy I met in a random way told me he would only date someone like me if I would dress more "mainstream" like him. It was probably one of the most ludicrous things I ever heard. It was just under the time a guy told me he believed himself to be a form of a vampire. Just proves how many insecure people there are out there trying to change people for their own benefit.

Leaving Chicago was bittersweet as usual. It was hard to take the train back alone and going back to the same to same redundant and subdued environment. In a comparison from Detroit suburbia to there, I know Chicago has much more to offer. I have genuine family members there. Big cities are starting grounds for me, and they give me an initiative. This is something I should stop losing sight of.