Conflict, conflict everywhere. Everywhere I turn, I’m having to push back at something. At work, online… Everywhere I spend the majority of my time. Sometimes it’s physical conflict, like the guy who sits in the cube across from me—he taps his fingers on his desk like a drummer, and shakes the whole floor with his shaky legs. He’s so distracting, that I can barely concentrate & get any work done. I’m passive-aggressive, so one of these days, I’m going to slide razorblades into his chair seat.

I’m having ideological conflict everywhere. The four other people in my group at work are all anti-religion. They degrade conservative views and Christian ideology (and those who hold those beliefs) almost every day. Up to now, I haven’t spoken up. Yesterday, however, the topic of church-going came up (we were talking about the effect The Passion has had after its first day of release). One of my coworkers mentioned how one of her roommates was church-hopping for a while and happened on McLean Bible Church. She said he didn’t like it because of its modern rock worship service, etc. I finally spoke up and mentioned how my brother works at that church, and how I’m friends with a lot of the people that go there. That pretty much ended that discussion.

Most of the places I hang out online are filled with folks who disagree with me ideologically, as well. Whether it’s discussions involving The Passion or just traditional views, in general—I seem to be in the minority.

All this stress combined is just wearing me out. Physically and emotionally. I’ve been having major physical problems this week, and I think it’s due to the stress. I’m just breaking down. Maybe not mentally or emotionally (I’m pretty established there). It’s mostly physical. It seems my will is fierce, but my body is weak.

I think I need to just cut out what I can, and spend more time with like-minded people. I’m sick of feeling like the odd man out—the outsider, the foreigner. I just want to feel comfortable and a part of whatever group I’m around.

I’m cutting & running. Not to give up in defeat, but to recharge myself and have an emotional vacation. I know I have to fight the good fight, but right now I just want to rest the good rest. And pause for a moment to heal.

I spent most of the day today on Jessica’s live journal, debating the role of government and a Christian’s place in it. This got me thinking about apologetics and reminded me how much I love to debate and research topics—especially topics in the Bible. I need to get back on a regular schedule of studying Scripture. Maybe this week.

As I was sitting at my desk at work, I grew more and more dissatisfied with my bad eating habits and deteriorating health. I felt like a slob. I was so hard on myself, that I left work early just to go home and exercise. I popped in Green Day’s “Kerplunk” CD and blasted it on my stereo. I jumped on my elliptical machine and rode it for…like…five minutes. It’s a far cry from the 45 minutes I would ride it everyday a few summers ago, but I’m back at the beginning—I have to work my way up. After that, I did a full workout on my Bowflex. That felt good. My arms feel like big tootsie rolls right now—and I’m sure I’ll be very sore tomorrow—but I know I did my body some good, and that’s the kind of jump-start I needed. I have plenty of Atkins-friendly food in the fridge, so I should be able to get everything health-related on track this week.

The two other things high on my priority list are doing daily devotions and going to bed at 10 PM (and thus getting up at 6 AM). Following that, I’ll have to dedicate some time to write, but that’s later down the road. First thing’s first—my health.

Well, I found out I had more money in the bank than I thought. Therefore, I decided to go ahead and book my trip to San Diego in July today, as well. I’ll be flying in on Wednesday, July 21, and will be leaving Monday, July 26. I’ll be staying with my friend Kelly for the week, and will spend 2 or 3 of those days at the San Diego Comic-Con. The rest of the time will be spent hanging out with Kelly and visiting all sorts of fun places in San Diego. I booked a convertible rental car, so I’ll be able to enjoy the glorious San Diego weather all the more. I couldn’t believe the difference in price. This trip is twice as long as my trip to Orlando, yet the total cost is less. I guess it’s all in the timing!

I just got finished booking my flights and hotel accommodations for my weekend in Orlando, Florida on April 9-11. I’ll stay mostly in Orlando—hanging out in the hotel and at Universal Studios. I booked everything through Priceline.com. The package included non-stop flights to and from Orlando from Dulles (at fantastic times!) and 2-nights at the Radisson Hotel.

I’ll be arriving in Orlando at 9 AM on Friday morning. I hope to spend the day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (though I mostly just want to go to Marvel Super Hero Island and The Lost Continent—both at the Islands of Adventure). Friday night, I hope to hit the bars and clubs at CityWalk. On Saturday, I’ll be leaving bright and early for Gainesville to get to Robby’s wedding at noon. I don’t know what’s happening afterwards, but I’ll leave Saturday night open for hanging out with family and friends. I’ll spend Sunday sightseeing in Orlando and maybe hitting one of the theme parks I didn’t spend enough time in on Friday. My flight back to Dulles leaves Orlando at 9 PM. I’ll be home around 11 PM.

The only thing I haven’t done yet is book my rental car. I’ll be doing that through Priceline, as well, but I have to wait to free up the $150 necessary. All in all, this weekend is going to cost me $700—and that’s not even counting the Universal Studios admission price! I guess that’s an extra $100. It’s a good thing my prostitution gig is such a success.

Everything was timed perfectly. Not by me, of course. But maybe someone—up there—was looking out for me today. First, I found out that Sean Hannity’s appearance at the Borders bookstore in D.C. today was starting an hour earlier than previously advertised. Not only that, but tickets to the book signing were being distributed at noon. I wasn’t planning to be there until 3 PM, so I was instantly at a disadvantage time-wise.

When I got into D.C., the traffic was already swelling. I found Borders with little trouble (it’s right off Constitution Ave., close to the White House). Parking, however, was a huge problem. Every parking garage I passed was full (parking along the streets wasn’t even worth considering). I drove around the block the bookstore was on, and just as I was about to pass a valet parking garage located behind the store, I noticed a car exiting. That, of course, opened up a space for me, so I pulled in and parked and took the short walk to the store.

When I got in, I was immediately disheartened. The place was packed, and Sean was already beginning his radio show (apparently, he pre-taped an hour before the show started, then played that hour as the third—and final—hour of his radio show later on). I bought two copies of the book, then snuck around the huge crowd and embedded myself along the right side of the mass. Once Sean finished taping the pre-hour, he got up and started signing books for those up front. They brought in a podium for him to use, and—as luck would have it—set it on the right side of the radio table.

Everyone in front of me got their books signed and one-by-one filed out, allowing me to get up closer. As soon as I got right up to Sean, he stopped signing and continued with his radio program. This gave me the privileged opportunity to watch Sean conduct his show for an hour, as if I was sitting there at the mic with him.

It was fascinating to see all of the multiple things he has to do during the show—all while talking into the mic and listening to callers. He had two laptops set up—one was logged onto AOL with additional news feed windows open; the other—which I couldn’t see—was the source of viewer e-mails and information on callers, etc. He had multiple, worn printouts of John Kerry quotes he referenced frequently during the show. During one phone call, he began digging in his suitcase for something—obviously not listening—coming up for an “uh huh” every once in a while.

During the commercial breaks, Sean talked with the audience. He went out of his way to sign books for military folks and cute girls. Several people got on their cell phones and asked Sean to say hello to their loved ones. I called Jeff, but I didn’t try to get Sean to get on the phone to talk to him. It’s okay for giggling girls to do that, but if I had tried to do that, everyone there would’ve thought it was just sad. Finally, at the end of the second hour, Sean began the formal signing again, and I was first in line. Even though there were strict rules against personalizing books, I asked Sean to write a special message in my second book (it’s for you, Jeff!).

After that, I shook his hand, made my way out of the crowd, left the store and went home. I hit some traffic on the way, but was grateful I made it home before rush hour. Everything worked out perfectly. There must be some kind of life lesson here. Even though—at first glance—everything seemed like the pits, it all worked out in the end.

So, now I’ve met Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. Now, I just need to meet Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. …and eventually President George W. Bush!