i am sick of seeing bob marley's face.

(I really am.)

I've had a really irritating weekend. I used to always moan about the filth of Milwaukee but I've really realized this past weekend in Madison that the city annoys me. Self-consciously hip, maybe, is the best way to describe it. I like the authenticity of Milwaukee. The post-industrial-ness of it and the dirt-covered beauty is very unique. It is very emblematic of the Midwest. I am going to miss it next semester.

I have noticed that the homeless people in Milwaukee are getting more bold. It seems like the care less about getting money and are more just looking for conversation. On Friday, I was crossing the street after getting off the bus and a man darted across in front of traffic. There was a homeless man waving his arms wildly at him, and shouting, "What the fuck, man!" He looked at me and said, "That guy just crossed the street without looking! And he wasn't even wearing a coat." Honestly, I have no opinion on that. I have nothing to say and I could care less about this guy's wardrobe choices. Some other man is always at the bus stop in the morning and he is always telling me about his turkey sandwich. He seems terribly lonely, but I do not want to have a conversation about the ratio of mayonnaise to mustard in his turkey sandwich at ten in the morning. I've been avoiding that particular bus stop the past few weeks because of this, which is a bother, but I don't want to be confrontational.

The church people seem to be out in hoards as well. Three times this last week I got into arguments with Mormons and such. One guy handed me a pamphlet that told me I was going to Hell and asked me if I was a Christian. I said no and he continued to try and convince me to come to his side. Why would I become a Christian in five minutes? The argument they always use is, "If God doesn't exist then where did all this beauty come from?" I can appreciate beauty without seeing some sort of being behind it. For the sake of argument, if there is a God, he/she gave me the ability to intelligently question my place and meaning in the world, thus he/she would want me to look critically at religion. Besides, the label "God" is a human construct and automatically makes "God" finite. And how can a finite being (God) create other finite beings (humans)? It's not possible. Anyway, I was trying to say this to Elder Smith and he kept repeating that the burden of proof lies on the atheist, which is absolutely infuriating. I see no need to try and explain my lack of belief in any higher being because Christianity is one of the newest major religions and that leaves the burden of truth on them. Then he gave me some flier that showed a garbage can full of dead babies. Really persuasive. I really take to fear mongering.

Anyway, so excited for London.