Ok, so I am not sure why I feel I need to write about this, but it kinda blew me way last night.  After we got home I had to run with dad to drop off this new van that he bought so he could have something done on it, and on the way back he changed the radio back to this Christian station (I rarely listen to christian radio anymore, because the repetitiveness of the songs annoys me) and while we were driving this like commercial came on.  Anyway, the commercial was basically about the concept of "love the sinner hate the sin" (a statement that my dad likes to use but, from my perspective, often times fails to practice).  We'll in this commercial the guy was talking about how everyone likes to say this phrase and in certain situations is easy to practice (if what you consider "sin" is in the past, or when you don't really know the person); but when it comes to close friends and family who are in your mind "living in sin" or whatever, loving them as a person and not just condemning them for their sin can be more difficult.  But then he went on to say that even though it maybe difficult it is totally important to continue to love and continue to have a relationship with that person basically love and relationship speaks louder than condemnation and separation.
When I heard this I felt like crying, but I couldn't allow myself to do so because I couldn't think of a reason to give my dad for crying (other than : "I'm gay, and I'm terrified that when you find out you will stop loving me and disown me; and this man. who I assume is Christian, says that even if you think being gay is "sin" or whatever, you shouldn't just cut me off".  \
So I stayed quiet; but it really moved me, and I think moved me more that dad didn't change the channel halfway through the commercial.

On a different note...ish

The trip was cool

On the way out, we stopped in Amarillo, TX and went to the big texan (don't see the appeal, but my 'rents love going out there with new people).  Then we stopped at the buried cadalac place and took some pictures to compare with when I went there like 18 years ago, then we spent the night in AZ then the next morning we went to the grand canyon and walked like 3 miles around the rim.  It looked like a picture.  I guess because of the distance between the sides of the canyon, it looked fake, like it was a picture background and not the real thing; but it was deffinately incredible.

Vegas was AWESOME, although I do want to go back with friends and not my parents sometime. But it was still a great time.  Definately better than the drive through Vegs experience I remember 18 years ago.  I was planning on going on the coaster at New York, New York, but then chickened out after watching it too many times and being scared of loops; but we did a TON of walking, went and looked in almost every hotel/resort thingy, went shopping (I bought a hoodie and a new pair of shoes) and just chilled.
home,


On the way home, we stopped by hoover dam and the petrified forest/painted desert (one of the things I told mom I wanted to go to if we had time and went out there).  hoover was cool, but I've seen it a few times since I was little so it has lost its super appeal to me. But the petrified forest on the other hand was like seeing it for first time.   It seemed smaller than the one in my memory, but then again back then I was a short shrimp so that could have affected my perspective.  but it was still cool.  the petrified wood, really felt like trees still.  And the painted desert is just super pretty.

so that is a short re-cap of my trip.