I have always thought I was prepared.

I assumed that no matter where or when I would be ready to take on a creationist who wants to make arguments against evolution based in "science". If they resorted to faith, I know, I would not be able to argue, as they'd be in an arena I am unequipped to enter. But fake science I am all over.

Joining a gym has provided a few new opportunities for me. For instance, last week I was hit on while naked for the first time ever. A guy ogled me in the shower, and then tried to take me home (while still in the shower, and then again in the locker room). It's an ego-boost to have someone interested in you for your fully exposed body, but also it's a little weird.

Tonight went a tiny step further when, while I was sitting in the steam room the only other guy in there started talking to me and masturbating a little. I looked away to indicate my lack of interest. I think steam rooms are a pretty legit place to pick someone up, so I assumed he was just seeing if I was interested, because he stopped when I didn't respond favorably. There are pretty basic rules of conduct. No reason to get offended unless you indicate lack of interest and a guy persists in automanipulation. After all, if there were naked girls in the steam room and I were in any way comfortable propositioning a strange girl, I'm sure I'd try to pick people up in the steam room, too. There's something tantalizing about being hot and wet and not able to see very far. Maybe not if you're myopic and lost in the everglades.

When I didn't go for the flesh, he switched over to congenial conversation mode, which I am pretty much a sucker for, so we talked about what exercises we do, and then he told me about how if you don't use your leg muscles your body starts to die, which I countered by talking about this totally fantastic article I read the other night about how monkeys have way long toes and we don't and there are a bunch of scientists who think that the only reason our toes would have evolved shorter is so that we can run extreme distances. I think that's great, that we evolved to run all day, and to chase down animals to eat. He sat up and told me that they haven't proven evolution and that's why it's "just a theory".

What? Really? You were just masturbating to see if I was interested in anonymous gay sex and you're a conservative christian? How does that even happen? In my confusion, and also due to my wanting to relax after some exercise (hence the steam room), I didn't jump to my defenses and correct his swapping of the vernacular bastardization of "theory" (which we probably should put an end to) for the much more stringent scientific actual definition of "theory". "Just a theory" doesn't make a thing unproven. "Just a hypothesis" does.

I learned today that I am not always ready to take on the confused. Because sometimes I, myself, am confused.

That sounds like the beginning of a secular sermon. Are there science churches? There ought to be. Where really charismatic people talk about dealing with issues and coping with the world and also science. Neal Degrasse Tyson would be a great minister of science.