Blurry Diner...Today I had an pretty frustrating Spanish class. I was talking with Leslie about it on the phone and it made me feel better. I don't want to get into it because it's not really worth spending the time to explain it nor is it worth remembering (in detail at least).
I was thinking about what I have said in the past few days about my house mates and I felt a little guilty. I spend too much time critically thinking about it and less time being thankful for how amazing they are.
One amazing thing about Adam and Amanda is that they probably two of the most intellectually curious people I have ever met. I believe that I have probably tried (at great length) to learn from them in terms of how to approach learning -- and I am not just talking about what happens in the classroom. In fact, I am talking about everything else that happens in the classroom. Rem and Amanda are very good at perceiving the world around them, they are very good in showing and communicating how they feel and they serve as a big influence on me on how to approach a relationship, adulthood, life. One thing I think that keeps all of this going for them is that they are very good listeners. Or, at least, they are really good at hearing what I have to say and lending an ear for support.
I have really come to admire and respect Amanda even more while living at 3 Ring Street. I suppose that the reason why I say that (instead of focusing on Rem) is that I had come to know and revere Adam from all of the time we spent on the road and working construction together. I'll never forget those numerous early mornings when Rem and I would throw our tools and sling our lunches into the old work truck, put on With the Beatles or The Ghost of Tom Joad and drive to the job site before the sunrise. But with Amanda, it took more time to get to know her. I would later come to find out that this was because she is a very tough person -- that is to say that she is mentally tough. I don't think I have ever seen Amanda truly back down from a challenge. This was an important observation for me, say, back in February of 2008. Then, I was jobless, out of school, and out of answers in terms of what life had in store for me. There were days I would just literally stay in bed from when I woke up at 12 or 1 in the afternoon until 2 or 3 in the morning. However, I remember having a mental picture in my head about how Amanda would balance everything that was going on -- her grad school work, taking care of the dogs, keeping an impeccably clean and efficient living space, monitoring and treating her diabetes, and also being a loving and supportive wife. To me, this vision of Amanda has always stuck. Even when I felt somewhat down in the dumps, Amanda made me feel better just by witnessing how focused she was not only knowing her responsibilities but also doing them.
Maybe I am rambling into some sort of soapy tangent about how much I appreciate my friends and house mates but I really believe these things.
