Rambles and shambles.

What a fucking week, man. I thought last week was rough.

Just registered for the June LSAT's. $130.
New Asics running shoes because my old ones are 2+ years old and my arches are bitching and hurting quite a bit. $80 (with work discount).
Rent. $950.
In a couple weeks, I gotta pay for LSAT courses. $1450.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

This/next month is not conducive to saving money. But I'm also not traveling for at least until past June. I'm going to try to save like a fucking Chinaman during that time.

My anxiety to travel kicks in every couple of months. It's starting to kick in hardcore at the moment, but can't do much about that. I guess I'm thankful that there's a slough of visitors all throughout February and through early March. Then it's lock-down study time until June.

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I watched this Emmy-winning documentary yesterday: Return to Africa's Witch Children
It describes the serious problem on how young children, as young as babies, are accused of being "witches" and "wizards" by Evangelical "pastors" in the Niger Delta. Led into believing that these "witches" are responsible for financial and familial woes, these children are shunned, tortured, and even killed by their villagers and their own families. "Pastors" charge fees for deliverance and exorcising these children. Parents pay. Sometimes by selling everything they own, which isn't much to begin with. For so many reasons, I seriously recommend this to everyone. It'll take you out of your element. And you can also help.

So many issues come to surface -- the importance of education. The abuse of religious authority and of human desperation. The lengths that people will go to climb out of a hole they were born into. Africa has always been a raw, mystic place that I've always doubted I could handle. An incredibly strong and stable friend of mine studied abroad in Africa, only to return early with serious psychological and physical damage, described his time as such: "Everything you have ever known or believed to be true, everything you valued -- it means nothing. Absolutely nothing."

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Finished Middlesex today. It was fucking amazing. So rich and expansive, yet eloquently and simply put together. It was like a drawn out 5-course meal paired with the perfect bottle and an incredibly sophisticated dinner date. Considering buying Virgin Suicides. I'd like to start digging in to some technology/science-related material. Also books on the history and development of religion -- anything that's reasonably easy to read and objective (Hitchens is on my list, very open to other authors of differing perspectives). Considering going through some Bible parts.
Recommendations for anything related to the above are requested.

Note: wasn't very big on Freakonomics. It kind of bored me.

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And now, slumber.
Sweet, sweet fucking slumber. Then... FRIDAY!!!