Today, Julie and I ventured out into the bitter cold to go see Pride and Prejudice. Ah, what a beautiful, beautiful movie! I love the way the characters speak. I wish that I could speak in such a style without being answered with looks of total bewilderment from the majority of the population. "You have bewitched me, body and soul. I love....I love...I love you. I wish to never be parted from you, from this day forward." ~Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth. *swoon!*

In the past two days, I have made the acquaintance of two of the friendliest fast-food employees I think I've ever encountered. Yesterday, as Sarah and I partook of the goodness that is Chicken Express, one of the employees came over to our table and engaged us in a riveting, 10-minute conversation about college, the price of college, paying off college loans, and finding jobs after college. Today, the lady who took my order at Wendy's chatted happily with me about the weather, the status of my Christmas shopping, and the status of her Christmas shopping. After Julie and I were seated, she came by our table to make sure we were satified with our meals, and lowered the shades on all of the windows near our table so that we might not be blinded by the afternoon sun. As we left, she wished us a good day after making doubly sure that I did not, in fact, need a refill on my Dr. Pepper. The sad thing is, my initial reaction to both of the instances was not one of appreciation for their pleasantness, but rather one of judgmental surprise that they should feel the right to impose themselves into my life in such a way. I now regret that my thoughts should have taken such a course. There's nothing wrong with being friendly and showing a genuine interest in the life of a fellow human being. My apologies and gratitude to these inspirational members of the fast-food industry.