Blahhhg

Now that I (finally) have a blog, I'm finding I don't have very much to blog about. I have to invent things to talk about.

I was thinking about the reason I watch Star Trek episodes over and over again and I think today, I finally figured it out. While I love the premise of Star Trek: a future reality in which prejudice, discrimination, poverty, disease, and warfare are things of the past, at least between humans, it's not that that keeps me coming back for more. When it comes right down to it, I think that Star Trek is just plain the best storytelling I've ever encountered. They tell really damned good stories. Of course, over six series and eleven movies it gets a little repetitive from time to time, but I don't mind.

I've been working like mad on my interviews for my book and my book itself. I've done eight interviews in five days. I need to do about twelve more interviews I think. I'm hopeful I won't have much trouble finding the number of people I need to do them. It's very exciting, writing a book, and writing about other people's lives. It's kind of cool. I feel empowered in a way. And very responsible to, to try to do justice to these people's stories.

My Book

So for those of you who don't know, I'm writing a book. Its exact content is so far top secret, but the basic premise of the book is to examine the contemporary relationship between the LDS Church and the gay community. As part of my book, I am interviewing gay youth who are former LDS Church members. I am knee deep in my research process and I am having an amazing reaction to the feelers I have put out for finding research participants. All the people I have contacted (with the exception of like two who haven't yet responded) seem to be very excited to be a part of the research. I am doing my first interviews this week and I can't wait to see how they go. I am having so much fun with this project so far. I have already started writing the first chapter of the book, too, and in one day I have written about one fifth of the amount of words that were in my Senior Honors Thesis. That's how I know that I am much more excited about this book (probably because it was my idea) than I was about the extended thesis (even though I did enjoy writing that, too). I will keep updating about the book project as it unfolds.

About Last Night...

So I got way too drunk last night. I took about three too many shots of tequila. It was a lot of fun, but it was also the drunkest I've ever been. I wrote Andrew a love note apparently that was very strange. I don't remember that part. And I put on a Batman mask. I had a bit of a headache this morning, but it really wasn't too bad.

So we went to San Diego today and toured the U.S.S. Midway Museum, which was an aircraft carrier from the WWII era. It was cool. That was the second time I've been. Andrew and I went about two years ago in December. It was a lot of fun.

It's amazing. I was walking around a big city in California today, and the weather was fine, people were walking around like everything was normal, even though PROP 8 WAS OVERTURNED!!! I couldn't believe it! Life went on after all, even though gay people can get married again (soon). It wasn't the end of the world or our species! I was so amazed! It was craziness. People didn't seem to care that much. It's like it doesn't really matter after all. Who'd have thought?

We go back home tomorrow, stopping in Vegas overnight. I am kind of excited to get home. Now that I have finished my Senior Honors Thesis, I am ready to start on my book that I have been wanting to start writing for months. I am not going to say too much about what it is about right now, but I will say that I need to interview people who are young, gay or bi, and former Mormons. If anyone knows someone who fits the bill, give them my e-mail address please (sean.paul42@gmail.com) and tell them to send me a message if they are interested. I need upwards of 20 people to interview. It's going to be a lot of fun working on this project. I can't wait.