Hmm...I'm sure everyone has heard about the Russian submarine that was trapped on the Pacific Ocean floor with 7 men aboard. I'm relieved, along with the rest of the world, that this accident didn't have the same outcome as Russia's last major submarine incident (the 2000 sinking of the Kursk, in which all 118 sailors lost their lives.) It's amazing to me that these 7 men are alive and now safe; the fact that at least 3 of the world's superpowers came together to end the crisis gives me hope. I hope that someday Russia, Great Britain, and the U.S. will be able to unite and work together in a concerted effort to solve other more omnipresent issues, such as poverty and war. These are idealistic hopes to be sure, but I believe that they may someday be realized...

(On a somber note, August 12 is the 5 year anniversary of the Kursk tragedy.)

Heyyyyy kids. Man oh man, I am not loving the idea of going back to college pretty soon--August 12th, to be exact. But I will hopefully still spend (or waste) plenty of time on TIG, I'm sure.

It's funny...to change the subject kind of randomly, yesterday something strange happened. I was walking through a King Soopers grocery store parking lot with a female friend, when we were approached by a stranger. This dude was apparently trying to sell magazines to passersby, but when he walked up, all he said was "Are you girls nice?". Not knowing what to say, we replied "Yeah, sure." And he reached....man, I wish I could show you what he did. He reached into his jacket in such a way that it seriously looked like he was reaching for a gun. I'm not even kidding. I just about had a heart attack; I couldn't even laugh it off when he pulled out his collections envelope. (I'm not gun-shy by the way--I'm an elk hunter, for goodness sake!).

Musing about it today, I'm not sure why I felt so terrified. I'm sure the guy was some nice, random guy just trying to make a buck. After all, it was the middle of the daytime in a nice neighborhood. Was it the aggressive way his simple gesture came across? Or was it because that's the movement people make on television when they're reaching for a gun??? Am I just a pansy? Hmm...give me your take on the situation.