Please don't you be very long

Today I wore a red Indian tunic type thing that I got in Egypt. It was pretty much the center of all my conversations at the tutoring center. (Oh and it doesn't really look like the above picture, but I'm too lazy to take an actual picture.)

"Miss Stewart!!! You look pretty all in reeeeed!" shouted Hannah as I walked in. She is always telling me this sort of thing. She is definitely one of my favorites (not just because of the constant compliments...I'm sure she has other qualities.)

And then, an hour later, came my favorite conversation of the day. Nathan Vo – not nefarious Nathan, a different one – looked at me and asked me very seriously if I was wearing Satan red.

"What?" I felt like I was missing something.
"Is that Satan red?" he was smiling, intent on getting an answer.
"Are you color blind?" I didn't know what else to say.
"Is it Satan red?" he insisted, ignoring my question.
"Satan red? I don't know." At this point he realized that I found his question bizarre.
"Well, what does "s" "a" "t" "i" "n" mean?"
"Satin? Nathan, satin is a type of material."
"Ohh. Okay, I thought it might be like the red you're wearing."
"No. This isn't satin."
"Oh. Okay." He went back to his work. I felt strange.

Other notable red tunic comments:
"Miss Stewart why are you wearing red?"
"Why aren't you wearing red, Jason?"
"I am!" (He was.)

Andrew: Miss Stewart! Why are you wearing an Indian shirt if you're Arabic?

Andrew also asked me if I knew how to text. I gave him a withering look.
"What do you think?"
"Well last time I asked you, you asked me how old you looked."
"Oh...did I?"
"Yeah, you did."
"Well, how old do I look?"
"But I don't just want to text. I want to know all the abbreviations and slang and emoticons. You know, the little smiley faces."
"I know what emoticons are, Andrew."
"Yeah, well no one I know will teach me."
"What problem do you need help with?" I asked, glancing at his math homework.

It's so nice to have that line as a guarantee subject change. Because when you're technically never supposed to be having a casual conversation with someone, it's really easy to have an out. I'm still trying to implement this in my everyday life:

Man at gas station: Will you go out with me sometime?
Me: Have you finished your reading?

Okay, so it needs some polishing, but I think it'll be life changing.

Today's Article was shown to me by my friend Edmund who has a secret blog which he is unwilling to share with anybody. I don't actually believe it exists. The article, however does – it's about how blogging is good for your health. Like, cancer healing good for your health.

"Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery."

So add that to your cheerios diet.

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Two of my four readers happen to be named Emma. This is rather unfortunate, and I've been getting confused because both of you apparently channel your real life sarcasm onto the internet very smoothly.

Also, I've noticed an "M" theme to the places my family frequents and lives. Morocco, Michigan, Missouri, Montana. (Okay, so Montana isn't completely legit – we all have t-shirts from there!)

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Quote of the Day:

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.

After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.

I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened."

– Don Miller, Blue Like Jazz

I really like Miller's writing style. I also like that this quote reminds me of "About a Boy" when Hugh Grant complains about Marcus and his mum closing their eyes while singing "Killing Me Softly." And then later he ends up onstage singing it – far too long – with his eyes closed. Beautiful.