Sorry about the shitty ice cream, we should do that again sometime

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Yo! Today is Awesome!

I've learned so many things! Like, I don't mean everything, but definitely a notable amount of things. I learned how to walk, for the most part, and though I can't remember the actual day I learned, I imagine it was super fucking hard. I learned that if you do your homework, you get better grades. In kindergarten, I learned that if you jump from really high places, you get really hurt. I learned not to talk with my good friend Nicole before her morning coffee. I learned that no matter how hard you try to be clear, your friends will never be able to read your mind. I learned that the rain gods will know when you're not carrying your raincoat around with you, and that you can't fool them by carrying around a jacket no longer able to repel water. Last week, I learned that White Russians taste delicious and make you more like The Dude, but less like Tom Waits, because he drinks bourbon, or scotch, or something. Anyway, it feels like all these years and interactions are leading to something. I think it is this:

Learning things the hard way sucks. You put all this time into whatever it is (life), and then it gets all confusing because you totally did whatever it is (life) wrong. Sometimes it is funny (I say that with hesitation, because it really is only sometimes). Your knees are left swollen and skinned. You end up with coffee ice cream potent enough to kill (and your ailing, toothless friend still eats it). You lose contact with friends. But most of the time, all you get is a good story and advice for folks walking on the same path you have previously trodden. And it’s a beautiful thing watching the same revelations happen in the people you love. I say to myself, "I think I think that is funny now? I think I think I was stupid?"

I recently learned to take a step back. It just gets hard when you see those same people you thought had everything figured out making the same mistakes you’ve made in the past. People are going to fuck up, and that is just what it is. How can you hold that against someone?  Fucking up is just human nature, and we’re super good at it.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is sorry if I learned something the hard way at your expense. I promise that lesson did not go to waste. In fact, I probably have scars on my knees from it.

Forever learning things the hard way,

Riley.

P.S. I've been listening to this album by the Magnetic Fields called The Charm of the Highway Strip pretty much on repeat. It is really good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfO9immAajA