I've done a lot of thinking lately about the state of the world today. Specifically, I was thinking about marriage. A few states this week have legalized gay marriage and I got to thinking about how and why we got to this point. Today, I just wanted to share some thoughts I had about marriage, divorce, and what love is nowadays.

It disappoints me to hear women frequently say things like "I'm scared to get married because I don't want to get divorced." Or even worse: "Well, if it doesn't work out, I'll just get a divorce." In my opinion, the ever increasing pace of the world has harmed the way we love. For some, love is confused with like. In the past, people took real time to get to know each other before considering marriage. Now, it seems that marriage is just something else you try out if you want. I see less and less people who truly care about each other and more people who just want to get married, it seems, because when you like someone, that's just what you do. If I may be so bold to say, I think that the notion that marriage is just something to try or something you can get out of if it doesn't work is absolutely despicable. Furthermore, I think that anyone, especially celebrities, who go into a marriage without true love and commitment proved through a courtship based on getting to know each other intellectually, not just physically, deserve to have a piano fall on them.

This goes back to what I mentioned on Valentine's Day about dating these days. Guys and girls alike seem to think that they don't have the time to actually date someone for a long time. Of course, dating for a long time before getting married is not always successful. I see people all the time who date for years and years only to find that they never really fit right for marriage. It can be frustrating I know, but if you want success, I guarantee if you go back to the fundamentals of courtship, one day, if it is right, you will find a love that will last. You don't have to subscribe to things like kiss on the 3rd date, or if you aren't holding hands by the 3rd date, forget it. I'm gonna say something that may just shock you: follow your feelings and, believe it or not, pray about it. But, don't expect a choir of angels to descend and sing Hallelujah; just like if you're looking for answers for other important things, seek peace and solitude, listen close, and see what you can discern.

To my single friends, there are far too many other things to stress you out in these times for you to become distraught over love. Work towards finding that happiness, give it real effort, but do not judge yourself if things progress slow or you have failures. I would much rather see my good friends enter a marriage that will last than watch what their temporary happiness fade in the bitter courts of divorce.

Another good friend recently mentioned on Facebook how love songs have changed a lot. I have always liked the older ones, and today I chose one for our song of the day. This one has been a favorite for many, many years, it's "Annie's Song" by John Denver.

Remember back when I said that when I do not blog frequently it is because I am not as happy and willing to share all of my achievements? Yeah, that's what happened. But, do not fear, I have remedied my deficiencies and am back.

The past little bit has been a whirlwind. I absolutely love working and generally I do not like having days off besides Sundays. But, recently I have had so much to take care of outside of work, I was glad to have some time off to get things done. Let me tell you about Wednesday. Wednesday, I spent the day trying to get a car loan, get a new phone, and trying to run other errands. I visited the bank twice, Sprint once, AT&T twice, Verizon twice, Shopko once, campus twice, stopped in at Great Clips and had to take some phone calls too. I was running all over town. In the end, the day was a mild success. I got a haircut, replaced my old phone (a tribute post will come shortly when I officially retire the old one), got approval on the loan, and got some of my other errands done. My success was blunted today though, when the bank called and said they actually were not going to do the loan. So, it is back to square one with that.

I'm tired and have to be at work early tomorrow so I will cut this off. That and my roommates are being excruciatingly loud downstairs and ever since my chronic fatigue I cannot think at all when there are noises distracting me. If I continue writing tonight, my grammar will be horrendous, my thoughts disconnected, and it will literally take me half an hour to complete a paragraph. So, let's get a song of the day and call it a night.

Our song today is the "Song that Never Ends" because I'm simply feeling annoyed and annoying :)

I do a lot of thinking about my life. I think about where I've been, who I am, where I am going, and who I want to be. I think about my successes and what my accomplishments have done for me. I contemplate my mistakes and failures and how I have and can continually grow from them. I notice how events and people make me feel. I perceive how my actions make other people feel. When I think, I feel life.

I think it is important that we contemplate these things. All of these notions make up our lives and whether or not we are fulfilling our purpose here. I have no scale for measuring how successful my life is, but I know that as long as I continue to make mistakes, feel emotions, have triumphs, and grow, I am doing okay. The days where I feel most confused and lost are the days I know I must be on the right track.

If you never stop to contemplate your life, how can you know where you are going?

I logged into my blog to deliver what would have been a long and strong-worded tirade against the ludicrous entertainment industry, but then I got excited about us single dudes cooking steak and shrimp for Valentine's Day dinner, so I went to the store at 11 pm to buy everything. When I got back, I realized that the vociferous post railing against Hollywood would have to wait and that today, I would rather share a more appropriate message.

Valentine's Day is, in my opinion, a great holiday. Back in the old day, chivalry was alive and well and women were treated with respect and dignity the way they ought to be. These days, things like opening doors, buying flowers, leaving kind notes, and respecting a woman's body are considered old-fashion or out of date. Thankfully though, there is one day of the year where most men take the opportunity to do something special for their significant other. However, it is not solely a holiday for couples. For those who currently do not have a significant other, it provides an opportunity to show good friends and family how much you care about them.

While we are on the topic of couples and relationships, I just want to throw out a few suggestions to all of you about showing appreciation for loved ones.

First of all, to the guys out there. Every girl deserves flowers. But please, don't go to Wal-Mart and pick out the clearance bouquet or the cheapest nice red roses you can find. Roses are great, but there are so many absolutely gorgeous flowers out there to choose from. When at all possible, visit your local florist and customize your bouquet. If she has a favorite flower, build the bouquet around that flower, but other flowers to accent it. If you don't know her favorite flower, or if you do and you want to do something different, find a flower that when you look at it makes you think of her. I recently got flowers for a good friend I was taking out for her birthday. I spent a good 10 minutes looking at all the flowers before settling on some Gerber Daisies that seemed a good choice for this girl. It turned out that those were her favorite flower and she loved them. Lastly on the topic, flowers should be an unexpected surprise, both in the fact that you got flowers, but also in the thought that will show in the flowers you present to her.

For both girls and guys I highly recommend home made gift baskets. They are super simple to make, but the thought you can put into them and the effect they can have on someone is tremendous. The best part is you can spend any amount from $0 to $100 or more. They work for any and every occasion.  Get a basket (Hobby Lobby has their baskets at half off for a good part of the year and they have them in all sizes), a card, some tissue paper (dirt cheap at the craft stores), then whatever you want to put inside. Fruit, sparkling cider, candy, bath soap, toys, anything. On Valentine's Day you can combine flowers in a gift basket to add a very nice touch. Just coordinate colors and you'll be fine.

Lastly, it's the little things. Smile always, care deeply, and always be the best you can for the ones you love and you will always come out on top.

Our song for Valentine's Day is one of my favorites: "You and Me" by Lifehouse. In the spirit of Valentine's Day I'll share a cheesy secret about me. When I hear this song, I always envision myself dancing to it with the girl of my dreams. I have yet to ever dance to this song, but maybe one day I will get that slow dance with the future Mrs. Colonel Meier.

I believe in the popular saying that life is full of ups and downs. Though, I would make it a bit more complex by saying that the ups and downs vary on more than one scale. Each day you have ups and downs, but those daily ups and downs contribute to the long-term as well. Even more interesting I think is that a down day could contribute in the long run to a very up period. It is very intriguing to look at your life and how all the ups and downs interact with each other on the different scales.

Anyway, I could talk about that all day, but I think you'd rather hear what I intended to post about, which is the ups and downs I have recently experienced.

Today, I mostly wanted to focus on the financial. As I recently talked about, I have been working towards a complete financial responsibility overhaul of myself. I am happy to report that despite an upcoming car repair that will cost as much as $1100 and owing taxes upwards of $800, things are looking great. I am almost finished paying off my small debt to US Bank and hope to have that account closed by the end of March. The good credit I have established enabled me to be approved for both an overdraft line of credit and a credit card at my other bank. I still face a big uphill battle to cover housing costs, car payments and repairs, taxes, and other cost of living expenses, but somehow things look a whole lot better than they did.

Playlist.com is down right now, so I'll post a great video of the song I want to be the song of the day. It is the Piano Guys again doing a mix of Beethoven and One Republic. Enjoy.

I often dream of living in a different kind of world than we have today. Sometimes, I imagine living in a post-apocalyptic world, say, after the zombie apocalypse. Other times, I think of surviving in a world devastated by a plague. Today, as I have frequently done in the past, I found myself contemplating living in simpler times.

If you know me, then you probably understand that I am a little different in my approach to life. I often differ from my generation in how I think and act. For one, I follow politics world-wide and I have a deep and profound love for my country. More seriously though, I still believe that every girl deserves flowers at least once in life (aside from their wedding). A handshake to me is more binding than a contract is to others. Satisfaction comes from laboring hard, and I get disappointed when I sleep in. A clean house is essential and a garden out back is pleasing. My music is mellow, much of it centered around core emotions, and sometimes all I need is a piano to feel at peace. I stop to smell the flowers and I take time to notice the little things.  Friendship to me is more than having someone to hang out with, it's always thinking of what I can do to improve another person's life.

Today, I read an article that had me wishing we were in simpler times. The article (found HERE) was about a place in California called Slabcity, where many people have moved to live off the grid. I certainly would not want to move to that particular place, but I sure would like to visit and see. I also heard of a similar place in Arizona where many retirees who travel and/or work in the summer months go and park in the winter. They have a close little community where they just enjoy the warm winter and do nothing but relax and visit with each other. A city is a few miles away for their needs, but other than that, they are free from the busy world.

There are days where I truly wish the world would collapse and we could go back to simpler lives with no banks, no cable tv, no ridiculous entertainment industry; a time where judgement was left to God and you had to really labor to survive. But, alas, for now I am resigned to muddle through this maze of a world where money rules and expectations rise every minute.

Our song of the day is by one of my favorite artists, someone who understood life similarly and whose music has helped me feel alive during the darker times of my life. Enjoy "Rhymes and Reason" by John Denver.

Sorry, I keep my laptop upstairs and I've been downstairs, so the disconnect kind of led to me not posting recently. That and I'm lazy...and stressed.

Things are going pretty good. Lots of work to keep me busy days, enough movies and friends to keep be occupied nights.

I really don't have anything specific today to say, just wanted to update though so you all know I'm alive and still on here. I also had to put a less sad song on.

The less sad song I settled on is the Mo Tab singing "In Dreams" from Lord of the Rings.