On a train right now bound for Tarrytown. A little town in either upstate New York or Jersey where some friends live, not sure which state I'm actually going to now that I think about it. But that's what's great about trains isn't it? I like the idea of hopping on the train and just heading somewhere for a night. reminds me of Europe. riding public transportation in New York is weird. Interesting and fun, but challenging. A lot of strange people. it’s a very different experience for someone who was raised in the suburbs like myself. Its like overload sometimes with the amount of different people you encounter. From so many different backgrounds and classes and cultures.

What I do like about riding on trains though is that you just get to chill in your seat and see stuff out the window that you wouldn’t normally see if you were flying or driving; the cities and the towns just pass you by and you really get to take it all in. I don't know much about the new England states. there is a strange dichotomy that exists here. on the one hand the land is a dirty city, littered with industry and concrete and noise and grime. And then an hour outside of all that craziness are these quaint little suburbs nestled away in lush landscapes along rolling rivers with great views of forests and mountains. Like a different world. The north east is some very beautiful land.

[I am in and out of a half sleep, admiring the land that rolls by my eyes when I open them now and then. I think to myself, we are lucky that our ancestors were so much stronger and meaner and crueler and less fair and just and honest than the native Americans who lived here before we did so that we could kill them all and steal this great land from them. I am very grateful for this. without that, I would not be on this train. Without that, I would not be calling this great land ‘home.’ lucky indeed. We are also lucky that this God that people speak of does not seem to be partial to the good, or the just, or the honest, or the fair, or the kind, or the righteous among us, but rather prefers to take the side of whoever is strongest, richest, or more powerful in each battle. We are lucky for this for now, because in this lifetime, if American, we are on the right side. I want to explore this more. I will later. on a future date.]

I dig itunes for a lot of reasons, but it also sucks because it transforms your songs into this unique format called mp4 instead of mp3s. so then you can’t send them to other people. but besides that, itunes is groovy because besides music, you can also use it to upload whole audio books and then put them into your ipod and listen to a book while you are traveling or exercising. That's cool.

Right now I'm going through the whole Verbal Advantage program. About 24 cds in all. twenty words per CD. good stuff. I'm at level six, by level six you are in the top thirty percent the instructor announces. But I don't believe him. at this very moment we are learning the word ‘legerdemain.’ This word means ‘a slight of hand,’ something akin to that. other words at level six include ‘abstruse,’ ‘ supercilious,’ and ‘capacious.’  I don't believe that thirty percent of our population knows these words. but I enjoy studying the language. By the time one finishes this program they will have the vocabulary of the top one percent of the population. The problem of course is that once you know these words you may want to use them. and of course then no one will understand a word you're fucking saying. As if I need it to be any more difficult for me to communicate with people. LOL.

For me its not about using the words. I have always held a mild disdain for people who use big words that no one ever hears in day to day conversation. I always look at them rather suspiciously; as if they are missing a few marbles because they don't seem to notice that no one around them understands a damn thing they are saying. there are hundreds of words that we all know that we just don't use everyday but when we read them we understand their meaning. But that doesn’t mean we use them everyday. I think its nice when you can speak and other people actually understand what you are saying. I mean, in the end, that's what its all about really.

So no, I'm not going to start using words like pedantic and prodigious and desultory as if I were back in college again. When you first hit college I think there is some sort of unwritten and secret law that states that you have to go through a few years where you use all these big words all the time and think that everyone around you is an idiot because they don't use these same words. but then you grow out of that because you begin to realize that understanding and good communication are much more important skills to posses than having a big vocabulary.

It is said that most people (in America) have a vocabulary of approximately 30,000 words; while linguists could have a vocabulary nearing 250,000 words. for more info see this page: http://www.anatomy.usyd.edu.au/danny/anthropology/anthro-l/archive/august-1996/0436.html

For me I have always found that it’s all up to the company I am with at the moment. Having a large vocabulary should be like owning a handgun. You own one, you know how to use it, you have been trained in its care and use and its benefit if one day you need it to protect your home and your family. But you keep it hidden away, under the bed, or in the drawer of the nightstand. You don't whip it out all the time showing it off to your friends. So yeah, like that. Now I know what circuitous and plethora and bucolic mean. So if I ever encounter these oddities in passing while reading something or listening to someone speak, then I will understand their intention. But I don't think I'm going to be one of those guys who uses these words in day to day conversation. Not yet. Perhaps I'm just too young. Or perhaps I hang around in the wrong crowds.

----------------------

O.k. its later in the night and I am hanging with Craig and his nine year old daughter Rachel. I have known her since she was born, but haven't seen her in years. She is very dramatic and dynamic and hyperactive. So innocent. I am reminded how innocent we are when we are younger. She is all smiles and eager to do and say anything. I wonder what happens to our innocence as we get older?

I am noticing that I am so happy around kids. Thinking, what can I do to hang out with kids more... it feels important. I feel very rewarded being around kids. Makes me feel all jolly and happy and full of joy and eagerness to be alive... you know? I think this would be a cool thing to do more and more...

Went to the little town of Nyack to this Hindu chanting and drumming ceremony. A nice town. a nice ceremony. They had tablas and harmonium and 2 string guitars there. and we all just chanted Hindu and buhdist prayers for two hours. I was very relaxed, and remembered who I was and what I was all about for a moment.

They were serving vegan cupcakes afterwards, which was very nice. To Craig I'm like ‘bro is this vegan? It tastes pretty good. weird huh?’ And he says to me, ‘hey be careful around here man. A lot of these people are vegan.’ And I'm like ‘you can tell that because of their pale and sallow complexions and those circles under their eyes right?’ I laugh. And he tries not to laugh. We talk about it a while. he is a natural foods nutritionist and is very much against the vegan diet. I must admit that I never met a really healthy vegan. But then again, how often do we meet anyone healthy these days. from a nutritional basis it is very hard to live healthily without meat. Not impossible, but just a lot of work. I have a lot of friends who are vegans and mealtime is a bitch. Iron, protein, and vitamins are all very hard to get into the body without meat, and the nutritive content of meat is also much better absorbed than from vegetables in the human body.

With all that said, and for as much as I personally enjoy meat eating, I love the idea of not eating animals. When you think of how they are treated before slaughter... I mean, just the word ‘slaughter’ is a pretty horrible word to have to even utter right? when you separate yourself from it, it’s pretty gross that we cage, then butcher, and then eat animals everyday still. I was telling Craig that personally I would like to stop. I think I would just feel better as a person, more mentally and spiritually than physically. It’s a nice thought. 

People who were into the vegan thing ten years ago are now really into the raw foods thing. and this is a good thing from what I can feel from it.