Steve called for me this morning and we drove out to a couple of 'Christmas fairs' - the last one was the one that mom organised. It seemed to be going with a swing when we got there - plenty of people, lots of things going on...

By the time we left to go on a walk, it was pretty late - too late to set out for a 19km walk, anyway. We drove out of town and parked up near a small village, and we walked across fields and up and down hills for a short while... Then Steve took it into his head to walk to another village while we still had a bit of light left in the sky... It wasn't all that far, maybe 4km or so, but it was hella muddy, and it started raining (and getting dark! lol) while we were stranded in a beet field half way through. >< Some date, huh!

Haha - I enjoyed it, though. I like walking in the country because it's kinda nostalgic... reminds me of when I was a kid and used to go picking conkers in the autumn. I don't get the chance to do that now I live in a city, so I miss it. And it's good to see the orange leaves and smell the fresh air. ^^

I never thought there was something nice about crunching through beet with wet socks in the dark and rain. It just goes to show - you can open your mind to something new everyday... =D

We walked back via the road... during the last part Steve held my hand because it was cold (aww... ), lol. The meal was delish. ^^ But there was a kinda freaky part... Steve told me I looked pretty and had nice eyes... wtf?!?!? I'm not pretty! I'm just plain and ordinary looking. Ms Normal, that's me. But that kind of thing is starting to make my head spin round, and not in a good way. Because of stuff the Machine has said, too. What the hell's going on that I seem to be attractive all of a sudden? @_@

Well, regardless, it was nice to get complimented and have him put an arm around me and hold my hand - which he did all the way back to the car, which had been parked up a lane which was as black as the Earl of Hell's waistcoat. We talked deeply and meaningfully about various things... lol. Disagreeing on some things - of course. I find him... a 'good sort' (lol) but somewhat... intractable, I think is the word. And intolerant (even though he insists he's a tolerant person!). For example, he only likes people he sees as 'educated'. << He makes a judgement of whether someone is 'educated' depending on their accent and manner and way of acting, straightaway... and he thinks people who are educated are somehow 'better' people. I can't agree with that! ::shock:: I agree that of course it's beneficial for people to get educated because it helps you to use your mind more... and I think that people who aren't educated but who are intelligent will tend to use their intelligence to learn and improve their mind anyway (even if they aren't aware that's what they're doing). But I also think that some people who aren't 'educated' but who look beyond the confines of their own situation can be 'better' people than some who have had the advantage of education but in fact use that to become lazy and make a good impression without actually having to do much real thinking. I just think Steve's attitude is really judgemental. I try to look at people for who they are, and obviously some people haven't had the luck and chances that other people have, but you have to look at what they are like as a person, not all the peripheral stuff that gets bolted on later.

He also looks at the past through rose-tinted glasses. He thinks that society 'these days' is worse than it's ever been. Well, I agree that some things are worse. But often that's to do with science and technology (and its availability) - things have changed in ways that they couldn't before. And yeah, in a lot of ways he is right and society is 'worse'... but I still think he idealises the past. Because although technology changes, human nature doesn't change. There is still the same capacity for evil in people and that has always been the same, just the tools and media they can use have changed.

And I don't think people were necessarily 'better' in the past just because they were conforming to a 'better' set of rules. Those rules might have been more good for society, in fact, but I don't see the great merit in conforming to 'good' rules just because society demands it of you. If you're not thinking for yourself but just doing what you're told - or obeying the rules reluctantly - there isn't any moral benefit for a person in that. I just think he's overlooking - or failing to imagine - some of the things that went terribly wrong in society in the past. Not having lived in the past, I can't prove anything, though... ><

In spite of it all, I think he's a pretty sound guy. ^^ He's very considerate...

It's amazing how things can change so much in such a short time... *thinks back to 2 weeks ago*