things i cannot begin to understand

I have realized lately that there are many things in life that just don't make sense to me. Here is the short list:

1. Marathons. The Chicago marathon is coming up in a few weeks, and for the life of me I cannot understand marathoners. I can appreciate the fitness aspect, as I myself enjoy a short run (usually 5 miles or less) fairly regularly. But 26 miles is a bit extreme. I think I will even say crazy. Do people know what happens to you when you run 26 miles? Consecutively? You lose your bladder/bowel control. That alone is enough reason to not run a marathon. You also burn about 3 days' worth of calories--which is not nearly enough motivation to get me in public and not be able to control my bowel functions.

2. Skateboards. Call me old, but I saw two guys walking down the street last night--one walking, the other on a skateboard. And they were traveling at the same speed. So what's the point of a skateboard again? Unless you are Marty McFly, I'm going to say skateboards are unnecessary. And will leave you with more muscles in one leg than the other. Which may leave you looking a little lopsided.

3. Fergie. I cannot think of one single song by Fergie that I have heard without knowing it was her and thought, "Oh, I like that song, I wonder who sings it." Not one. So let's state the facts here: she is really not that talented. She is really not that attractive. Her songs are terrible. But hey, at least we know she can spell the word "glamorous."

4. The evolution of the word LIKE. This has plagued me for years. Like is a word meant to be used in comparisons--his eyes are blue like the sky, or as a verb--I like pizza. Like is not a filler word for when you don't know what else to say. Like is not a substitute for a comma. Like should not be inserted between every other word you speak. Like used to be a word relegated to a specific people group--the Valley Girls, the preps. It has devolved so far that I now hear it when talking with kids starting at the age of about 6. Preservationists of the English language, we must take a stand against this word!

5. Chicago's Olympic bid. If Chicago gets the Olympic bid, I sincerely hope that I do not live here by that time. The preparations are going to be awful. In the five years I have lived in the suburbs, not once have the tollways been free of construction. Let's imagine this for the next five years as well if we get the bid. Sure, the aftermath will be great--nice paved roads that will only have to be resurfaced every year or so after the winter cracking, giving us MORE construction...I guess I'm just not that into the Olympics. Boo if you must.

6. Women's fashions. This needs no explanation.

7. Genetics. If you know me and my sister, you know that we are nothing alike, and yet we have nearly the same genetic makeup. This baffles me. In my family, the oldest cousins in each family have very similar characteristics. The rest are a hodge podge, to say the least. Why is this? If someone could interpret DNA to me, this would be very helpful.

8.Why we continuously choose to live life in a stupor. So this is the serious one. Tuesday I was at school walking to class in the rain, but the sun was shining. Over my building I saw a perfect arch of a rainbow. I looked around me then and realized that no one else was noticing this. How is it that there is this remarkable world around us at all times and we consistently close our eyes to it? We become absorbed in our own little worlds, which contain none of the majesty of the greater world around us, the canvas of the great Creator. Too often we walk in a tunnel. Let us step into the light.