Well, I survived my trip to nowhere, only a few cuts and bruises the worse for it. I'm sure I learned something important out in the woods, I'm just not sure what yet. In the meantime, here some the things I did learn from this trip:
-When the ranger says "Oh, nobody's been up that way yet this year", turn around and go home. Just leave.
-Look at a topographical map before you plan your route, not after. And 3,000 vertical feet is a lot more than you think it is.
-Bringing only powerbars, trail mix, and craisins for food might sound like a good idea, but those are appetizing for exactly one meal in a row.
-If you get to the top of a snow-covered cliff, and your map directs you to go over it, don't. In a fight between your map and your common sense, always side with your common sense (there's some analogy to morality here, I'm sure of it...)
-If you lose both your water bottles (one in a river, another in a swamp), an empty ziploc craisin container makes an excellent makeshift canteen. Also, free cranberry flavored water.
I have quite a few entertaining stories, but none that I feel particularly compelled to log to the indelible annals of the internet. Most of them involve me being stupid and/or doing dangerous things.
I'll be back to posting on a few of the metaphysical ideas I was ruminating on in the next couple of days. But in the meantime, the Ideological Turing Contest is in full swing over at unequally yoked- feel free to head over there and check out the entries so far.
Glad to see you made it back in one piece. So far I'm ready to go double or nothing on #5 on the Turing test. There's one sentence that gives me pause, but I feel otherwise pretty good about that pick. If you are #5, might I suggest Miserere Dei for your listening pleasure. I suggest it not because it's religious but because I find it other-worldly like nothing else. It's a bit long and repetitive, so if you want, skip to the 1:35 mark for the best bit. If you are not #5, my apologies.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcWo1hKHu40
Haha... I won't tell which one I am, just in case anyone else happens across this page, but #5 was definitely my favorite
DeleteThe #5 atheist hit on several things you've said so far - getting past authorities, more empathy for LGBT persons (nearly using your same words), and he linked to wikipedia!! The one line about atheism being a negative and no big deal was definitely not something I thought you would say. I picked the #2 Christian answer because it mentions growing up in a fundamentalist area, strong scripture basis, and C.S. Lewis. I'm only disappointed that I didn't get the bonus points. It looks like Leah's shout out to you has increased traffic (yeah!) so I'll keep quiet awhile and see if some smart Catholics will come and post.
Deleteyeah... oddly, increased traffic makes me feel uncomfortable. Probably a moral lesson in there somewhere.
DeleteBut please don't feel like you need to keep quiet- you were here first, and I definitely value your opinion on these things
So my Christian guess is #2 but I'm much more iffy on this one.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, my Christian one was pretty bad. I was leaving for my "vacation" the day after I got the prompts, and I didn't put in enough time. I tried to mimic the fundamentalist evangelical position I grew up with, but apparently a) it's been too long, b) There aren't any of those on Unequally Yoked, and c) I've been reading too much catholic/atheist literature, so I talk in catholic and atheist terms now.
DeleteI didn't try to immitate a Catholic because I don't have the diction down (too much Latin...) but I Think you'll be disappointed by my actual Christian one :(