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David, #1

Ginger - I have her CD!

I-man

Jackie, the roommate

Jennie

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fark.com

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Daily Dose of Imagery

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Fun, Interactive Stuff (92 is my favorite)

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Name Meanings

SG-1 Info Site

 
so,

the good news is that it's beautiful and snowy outside. the bad news is that the most promising practicum site has fallen through. i'm actually not that upset about it, though, and have already started calling other places. i'm pretty sure God'll either send me to the right place or tell me to ditch the lpc track, get my hsc master's, and run. we'll see. honestly, more and more i'm wishing i'd be done with school already. as we're planning at work for our enormous convocation, i'm realizing i'm gonna be doing a heck of a lot of work. and that, of course, makes me sad.

in other news, amazing grace was pretty good - go ioan!

i'm gonna go warm me up some chicken and dumpling soup, grab a blanket, and watch... something. likely robin hood for the 87 millionth time or doctor who, the last two episodes of the second season, i think it was. 'cause i think martha was third, but i always get confused by the pre-david tennant guy's season. whatever. anyway, yeah. something british. keep warm! (2) comments

 
so, it's been... a while. and though i'd love to say i had some glorious epiphany, which is why i felt the need to start up the ole blog again, that's not the reason. reason 1: in an interview, the lady asked me how i relax. i said that being able to just sit and write (usually in a bookshop somewhere) really refreshes me. but i don't get to do that very often, so, consider blogging a stopgap in my pursuit of sanity.
reason 2: i ditched facebook.
reason 3 (the most important one): i'm supposed to be writing a paper right now. or at least planning the presentation to go with it.

currently wishing for: a lotus exige, wisdom for middle east leaders in talks, oodles of Christmas music, dvds of dr. who, top gear, and robin hood (season 2), more time for this paper, and sleep.

told you it was nothing earth-shattering. (0) comments

 
alan johnston is free!!! what a great start to independence day!!! praise God.


p.s. happy almost birthday, daddy! (0) comments

 
wow,
so, it's been a while. between class, work, youth group, deja dead, the lucifer effect, robin hood, and 7050 miles on my car, i've managed to acquire another nephew!

edmund luke joined the outside world this morning around 5am, via c-section, after putting his poor mother through a ridiculous amount of labor. he weighs 9lbs, 8ozs, and is healthy and adorable! his parents, grandparents, and at least one uncle are busily catching up on sleep (as though that's possible for new parents). anyway, TOTAL excitement! the only truly sad part is that i won't be able to get down there for a good while yet to see him... but still, i'm glad all is well, and i got to talk to trisha today already, so i'm content.

the other day i was feeling financially reckless, which happens from time to time, so i went out and bought the bbc series "robin hood". and then i spent the next two or three days watching it. actually, i've watched at least one episode every day since i bought it... on saturday? actually, maybe thursday... see? my concept of time is already gone. anyway, i am, in case you're daft, LOVING it. now, granted, robin hood is my absolute favoritest legend, hero, good guy, whatever EVER, so it takes a lot to convince me you've screwed his tale up, but still. *contented sigh* now, in buying this, i began to have a sense of guilt that these dvds, things, were making me happy. but then i realized that that makes total sense. things should make you happy, otherwise why would anyone ever buy them? the idea is that happiness should not be what you're chasing. i thought through that right after i bought "robin hood" and became pleased that i enjoyed the series (having never seen any of it before), and then we talked about happiness versus contentedness in sunday school, as if to reinforce the point. for the record, i don't usually buy things willy nilly - frivolous things, at least. i won't spend more than $10 on a dvd (unless i'm super desperate, but note that i haven't yet purchased dear frankie b/c of its price tag), and i don't buy things unless i've seen and enjoyed them (with the exception of the buy 4 for $20 blockbuster deal, where you'd spend just as much to rent a movie anyway, so for 65cents or so more, you get to walk away with something). so this was weird, and actually, i use the term financially reckless b/c i didn't think, "i wanna go buy 'robin hood'." i thought, "i wanna go blow some money on something that's probably not the wisest thing for me to buy." and then i thought of "robin hood".

the lucifer effect. it's amazing. i'm fascinated by it, even though parts of it are hard to read or keep myself from imagining. for any psychologically minded people out there, it's worth your while.

p.s. for jax, a shot of my first pedicure:
(1) comments

 
mom's criticizing my pictures! :(

in other news, i've been way sick. and i'm "baby-sitting" this weekend. it's actually teenager-sitting, thusly the quotes. i went into work once this week. totally sad, especially for my bank account...

class tonight. joy. rapture.

congrats to jed and sarah! way to be an aunt, too, hannah! we'll hafta have an aunt party!!!

okies, off to write my one-pager for tonight... (2) comments

 
so,

about 800 miles, one speeding ticket (my first!), and a bloody foot later... i'm back from trisha and immanuel's. the beach was beautiful, but the company was the best part. oh, how i miss the whole family. :( and i'm trying to see when i can squeeze in a visit to go see edmund, when he decides to show up (which very-pregnant trisha is hoping will be very soon). the clan down there has taken to calling my nephew "michael, jr., jr." which you totally get and think is clever if you a) know that my brother and my dad are both michaels, along with the new arrival and b) have seen everything is illuminated. good times. anyway, i can't blog for long b/c i hafta run to youth group before too long, so i'll throw a couple of pictures up here, and then you can bemoan the fact that you didn't go...

trisha, in case you don't know...

and the beloved atlantic...












still the atlantic... (1) comments

 
well,
it's sunroof hair time again... so nice. unfortunately, the humidity is hitting pretty hard already, and yeah, we don't play so well together. still, the days've been gorgeous, so i've been out with my camera (mostly taking landscape or baby michael pix, but, y'know). i wasn't actually gonna blog tonight, but i'm waiting for adobe flash player to load so that i can sew together a baby yawn i took in stills(assuming i have any clue at all about how to go about it). so, trial version, here i come! in an estimated 32mins50secs...

again, i know you probably don't care, but consider this the doorframe on which i mark my child's growth: bastian has over 5,000 miles now. this time for serious. and i'm driving to nc on monday, so we'll see how many that adds. :D super excited about that, btw. even though t&i warned me that i'll be essentially moving them into their new home the whole time i'm down there, it's so worth it. especially if edmund comes early!

pix are making it onto my harddrive! placed in folders by subject! it's crazy! (it's 8.5GB of crazy!) so, probably 9 or 9.5GB per year... that's not so bad. if i can clear off a bit of hd space, though, that'd be nice.

so, yesterday was amazing. i can't even recall all the awesome, unexpected things that happened, but it was nice. it was just a decently stress-free day, which i appreciated. and then tonight was my first night of summer class. ugh! every fri night of the whole summer? torture. but at least we have an excellent, knowledgeable, and entertaining prof. it just might be worth it.

dinner tomor... today. church sunday and probably heading out to ashburnigan to party about moms' day. :D now kellan gets to join the crowd!

i had some introspective things to say, i thought, but... they're sooooo gone. and i'll have to post prof jim's quote sometime in the near future. good times. good insights, after one class. homework, too, after one class.

summer class schedule: fri 6-9pm, may 11-aug 17
tues/thurs 1-4pm, jun 19-aug 7
those wacky, wacky people. and i have to start my practicum search, like, now. and i'll be in peru from the 15th-22nd or so of july. hopefully i'll still find time for, y'know, people. (0) comments

 
so, my school made it on the daily show last night... i can't quite decide how i feel about it, b/c everyone up here has always agreed that we're glad we don't go to the school down there. so, since we do kind of have a separate mentality, i wasn't terribly offended. actually, i was more offended that the jokes surrounding it weren't that funny... except for the "university setting" one. and then, i got to be a bit saddened/amused (on my coworker's behalf) by the colbert report's interview with guamanian rep. madeleine bordallo. *shakes head* poor american territory in asia. anyway, it was a little fun to feel slightly like i had a personal stake in what they were saying - after the hungarian-heavy episode, it's starting to become a habit... :)

anyway, be good, kids! the end of the semester is coming, and the grade fairy knows whether you've been naughty or nice. two more nights. two exams. two-ish papers.

two more children of dune quotes to send you on your way... "governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristicratic forms. no government in history has been known to evade this pattern. and as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class - whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy" (190).
"'you, priest in your mufti,' the preacher called, 'you are a chaplain to the self-satisfied. i come not to challenge muad'dib [the dune series messiah, of sorts] but to challenge you! is your religion real when it costs you nothing and carries no risk? is your religion real when you fatten upon it? is your religion real when you commit atrocities in its name? whence comes your downward degeneration from the original revelation? answer me, priest!... muad'dib [and his son] risked! they paid their price! and what did muad'dib achieve? a religion which is doing away with him!'" (225)
i just found both of those interesting and fairly applicable to current society in a lot of ways. bye, now! (0) comments

 
i'm glad someone agrees with me... (0) comments

 
so, my car will hit 5,000 4,800 [i don't know where my brain was when i wrote this... obviously not in its right mind][randomly, think about this sentence: it's environmental in nature.] miles today. i never thought the term milestone would be so appropriate... speaking of milestones, i also applied for a passport yesterday - my first one as an adult! i'm pretty excited about that, really.

randomly, this exchange is from a long time ago, but i remembered it the other day and laughed out loud, so i thought i'd share. (the precise wording is a bit hazy, but you'll get the gist.)
mom: alright, getting in [the car]'ll take me a minute 'cause i've got all this stuff to carry.
dad: why don't you just put it in the trunk [of my car]?
mom: b/c you've got junk in your trunk!
helen: *gigglefit*

work is boredom right now. everyone at my office is in malaysia, but i need to be here full-time to make deposits and answer phones. (not that we've gotten more than 5 calls or so this week, but, y'know.) i've been out of the house at 8:10 and only make a short bird-feeding and deodorant stop there before i finally get home after class at 9:20 or so. it's a long day. remind me not to become a workaholic. speaking of that, i thought work'd be good 'cause i'd be SO bored i'd write all my papers. let's just say i underestimated my procrastinating spirit...

left for this semester:
1 low-stress presentation (4/25)
1 first-person, 15-page paper (due 5/2)
1 in-class, open-book (praise the Lord!) exam (5/2)
1 take-home, open-everything exam (due 5/3, presumably)

i bought my books online today, so between that and the expedited passport, i'm a little on the broker side. however, i am working full-time for a week, which means my paycheck might just even things out.

is it wrong to listen to chevelle while you're working in a Christian office with a lot of old-school type Christians? i hope not. i'm anticipating comments, though, i have to say.

i'm off to open mail - the highlight of my day! (please note that if i had time to go see my nephew, THAT would be the highlight. i'll take him way over mail any day. actually, i'd likely take any of you over mail. you're pretty cool, after all.) (0) comments

 
they done brunged it back!!!! party at my place when i get a bazillion million dollars and can buy my own exige... (0) comments

 
I'M AN AUNT!!! (for legal this time!)
michael lee was born on saturday, which was when the baby shower was supposed to be... whoops! he was 5 and 1/2 weeks early or so, but he was a good 6lbs, 4ozs and 18ins long! he's still in the nicu at the moment for a few breathing issues, which, while stressful for his parents, is probably best for him at the moment. better to have bunches of qualified professionals keeping constant track of him than having mom and dad constantly worry about him at home... anyway, he's ADORABLE (partially b/c he was a c-section baby, partially b/c his parents gave him good genes... we all know older siblings steal all the best genes. not that i'm bitter or anything. *cough*).

so, i've considered posting about the vt incident, but i just can't think of anything worth saying that hasn't been said. obviously, please keep all the students and their families in your prayers, including the parents of the shooter.

and randomly, i ran across this quote that, though old and from a scifi book, i like: "This is the age of the shrug... Our civilization could well die of indifference within it before succumbing to external attack" (Children of Dune, 149).

no one in my classes has any motivation. we all have papers to be writing and exams to be worrying about, but we're just... not. we have an 8-12 page research paper due tuesday, and only one person has started working on it, to my knowledge (and that's only b/c she's on her honeymoon and so finished it before she left). it's not just that the school's closing (which they are, after next fall... which won't affect me really at all but will definitely put some people in really odd or frustrating situations) or that it's spring or that we have nothing left to learn. even one professor gave us the night off, and another let us out early. no one's interested any longer.

i'm here at the office all day, and will be working full-time next week. if anyone wants to drop by, i'll likely be pretty bored. my co-workers all left me for malaysia. :( pray nothing falls apart at the office while i'm here alone!

okay, back to a stupid two-page paper (read: busywork) in which the professor, who's divorced and getting remarried, asks us to discuss what the Bible says about divorce and remarriage. loaded question much? (0) comments

 
it's been a while since i've written or read anything to do with blogs. okay, a while for me. class and life have both been a bit overwhelming and busy, which you think i'd be used to by now... we found out yesterday or so via e-mail that regent is shutting down its dc campus. the ridiculously vague e-mail gave no indication of timeline and so gave all of us a bit of anxiety. today during class there was an impromptu meeting to give us a bit more information and separate those who should panic from those who should not. (in case you're wondering, i was on the no worries list, so even though i'm a bit perplexed at the shutting down of the campus after the program finally got a decent enrollment, i'm not panicked.) anyway, also since i last posted, dad got his knee operated on. he was/is walking around with a cane and was on vicadin for about a day, plus he was as grumpy as, well, he always is, so many "house" references were made. :D and the one hungarian lady that goes to my church is about to have the very same part of her knee operated on, which is just weirdly coincidental.

easter was good. a bit... slow-moving. but good.

i'm feeling very unepiphanical at the moment. i think i used all my brain power for the week on my exam and paper. i've been really moody lately - moody in the sense that i'll have three or four times each day that i think, 'i should watch that movie/listen to that song... i'm TOTALLY in the right mood for it.' the problem comes at times like now when i could've popped in a movie to sleep to, but now i don't recall any of the movies i've considered, plus i doubt i'd still be in the mood for them. the weirdness that is me.

oh! now i remember why i needed to post. i was going to share the quote of the month with you, even if it is slightly sad and weird if you don't know larry bramble or the circumstances surrounding its utterance. "helen belongs at aa meetings like i belong at church." i think it mostly just makes me happy that barry still remembers who i am, at least enough to say the above. how can you not love barry? (no one comment that you can if you don't know him. it's simply not true.) anyway, i got the quote from diane when she dropped by for dinner. good times, funny times. tripping drunk guys crack me up! sadly, i missed ang, but i'll make sure to catch up with her later.

i killed my hair. i don't know what chemical combination did it, but between my shampoo, conditioner, and spray stuff, vanessa became decidedly unhappy. and she let me know. i feel bad.

okay, to sleep with me. i'm babbling, and i need to get up tomorrow (and not drink coffee). g'night! (2) comments

 
awesome. finally. (1) comments

 
my attitude's gotten a little better with the weather, but i'm still a bit out of sorts. today is an open sunroof+jimmy eat world day, which should continue to improve my sense of well-being.

books on my reading list:
children of dune (started)
me talk pretty one day (started)
deja dead (five pages into)
he's my brother (father-owned)
the spirit of the disciplines (not owned)
dissecting death (not owned)
sister bernadette's barking dog (not owned)
imperial life in the emerald city (not owned)
(the last two are listed last b/c i'd rather have them in paperback, and that's not an option yet. i have plenty else to keep me busy till then.)

i got me a new phone. same number, just new spifferific phone(+camera+mp3 player). i'm turning into a yuppie without even trying hard.

(for the record, if you want to possibly make yourself sick - and i am not kidding - you should use the "search inside" feature of this book... very educational, but a bit grosser than i'm used to. and i watch forensic files and bones.) (1) comments

 
so,
it's been a long while. bastian had over 3200 miles on him before i took my first overnight trip (not including one sleepover in annandale i almost forgot about and the all-nighter around new year's also in annandale). i went to lynchburg to drop off jackie (insert long, complex explanation here), and now my car has upwards of 3600 on it, i think. please keep in mind i got this car at the end of november (21stish or so, according to the blog)(why aren't my archives working???). holy cowsers. anyway, having jax around was good and schtuff, visiting lynchburg was weird, and i had no idea how to get anywhere anymore, the campus is uberweird now, and the city's gone mad with development. but i totally liked the 65mph speed limits (although it snowed/sleeted/rained the whole way down, so we didn't ever do much over 70).

i'm tired. i'm not even choosing between something i like and something i'm avoiding anymore. i'm avoiding the thing i want to avoid (generally homework) and having to decide between the things i love and enjoy and treasure. not this coming weekend but next, i have plans to go out to visit a friend in winchester, leaving friday, and then i need to be back for ester's birthday celebration (i can't remember what the last family dinner i actually went to was), then angie just told me she's gonna be around in lynchburg that sat/sun/mon?, and i'm supposed to be at a sunday school class we're just starting up at 9:30 sun mornings, and i believe i have something else after that, too. it's just getting to be a bit much for me. i spend my time feeling guilty b/c i'm choosing the planners over the spontaneous people, so i tend to NOT see the same people over and over again. and i'm having to plan my dinner and a movie type stuff two or three weeks out. it's ridiculous, but i don't know how to make it stop.

this spring break was the first one i've ever wanted to do stuff during. usually, i just want to be a couch potato and eat spaghettios. this time, though, i had plans. restring guitar, go to the national gallery of art, do some much-needed shopping, go to a park, find a place and take some pictures, and on and on. did i do any of it? no. my work week was atrocious (sp?), including fri, which went from 7:30am to 10pm. just bad. worst spring break i've ever had. ever. and i'm just the teenie tiniest bit bitter. couldja tell? 0:D

sorry this is kind of a depressing post. i'm just being generally frustrated with life at the moment. i know it'll pass. i just don't know when. (0) comments

 
i had totally neglected to post emotion eric under boredom cures in my linx... i went to find it just now b/c it took up just the right amount of time for me to get inspired to finish the last two questions of my exam. single spaced, and with one-inch margins all around, i'm already halfway through page 5. with the last two questions, i'll probably be at a full six pages. most of my papers are longer than this and take me less time. (i was up 'til 5:45 this morning working on it, partially distracted by, well, you saw. or you haven't yet read my last post.) anyway, i need to kick this thing before my caffeine wears off. i've been mostly working on it since i got home from work at 12ish. what a drag!!! pray i make it back tonight at 9 in one piece with both eyes open. i discovered this morning that doing that whole resting one eye at a time thing doesn't quite cut it when you're driving... distance vision and all that. (okay, so seriously, i would sleep in my car for a bit of rest if i weren't up for driving. i've done it before and have more qualms about driving with the threat of falling asleep than i do about locking all my doors and asking someone to call me fifteen minutes later. so don't actually worry.)

okay, back to it! (1) comments

 
i've spilled about eight things on myself today (slight exaggeration) and i'm waaaaaay behind in my schoolwork (and laundry), but i couldn't be happier.

i'm in flip-flops and a light shirt today - the weather's ridiculously beautiful. i got to talk with trisha, which i hadn't gotten to do in forever. and i left work at 11:15 to go to lunch... which we didn't return from 'til 3:00!!! poor dan... he had no idea what he was getting himself into.

anyway, time to work. be good, y'all!

*time elapses* (about 10 hours or so)

okay, so now i'm sort of kind of half-heartedly updating b/c i'm watching arts tv, and this guy is cracking me up and impressing me all at the same time! i'll find out what it is in a minute and then go see if i can find it on the web to share with all of you... bryn terfel, baritone, singing "wotan's farewell", wagner... i can't find a video clip of it, but i ain't a-lookin' very hard either. i'm too busy watching mikhail baryshnikov. and avoiding my exam. that's due by 6pm.

some other really good thing happened to me today, and i can't quite recall what it was. it wasn't that bayo got a five-year extension on his work permit, though that's AWESOME. it wasn't that i got a free lunch thanx to dave and his culture, though that was pretty fun, too. it wasn't that i only had to sit through two hours of class instead of three b/c we had the practicum meeting, but that was nice. it's not that i'm on break next week, though YIPPEE! it's not that my new shower curtain is up, though i am happy to let the mildew go. i really can't figure it out. but at least a lot of cool things've happened to me today!

now i'm just looking for excuses to not do my work. like the fact that the recycling has to go out... byeee! (1) comments

 
from developmental marriage & family class, in which we were asked to come up with lines people use to pressure someone into having sex and then to come up with replies to shoot them down. as you can see, my group started off pretty normal and ended fairly wittily...

"I love you." "If you loved me, you'd wait."
"Don't you trust me?" "I trust you not to pressure me."
"Everyone's doing it..." "Like your parents?"
"God made us sexual beings." "Let's chat with Him, then."
"Are you a lesbian?" "No, but you might drive me to it."
"Is there any room for me in those jeans?" "After dinner, there's barely room for me!"
"Do you wanna die a virgin?" "I don't wanna die with you being the only person I've slept with!"

anyway, i just thought i'd share. our group was the only one who really had fun with it... i encourage you to come up with your own pick up lines and responses. good stuff.

in other news, i can't recall what i last blogged about, so i'm sure there's a big chunk of time missing ('cause y'all really keep track of that, i'm sure) (all two of ya)... don't be offended if you're in that chunk. i still need to unpack from fla and then i hafta unpack what i packed for the youth group sleepover (muchly from the fla packing job). so my stuff is strewn about, and i still have lots of other things to do. ugh!

(the rest of this blog is mostly one big whining fit. i didn't mean for it to go that way, but it did. it's just on my mind. read at your own peril...)

to do list:
read.
read.
read.
journal (for class).
journal (for another class).
go to aa (also for class).
run on elliptical (also for class).
work.
shower.
go to class.
go to church.
go to youth group.
return phone calls.
return e-mails.
set up tape for bones.
pray for snow (enough to cancel class tues & wed).
eat a meal.
do laundry.
sleep.

and yes, they tend to go in that order. that's why i still haven't called amy or eric, who're both deserving of my time. and actually, by the time i get down to the return phone call part, i'm not usually in a very personable mood, and so i put it off. i can't recall the last time i had a normal, long, catch-up conversation with trisha. and i last talked to betsy in december, when i last saw tim. and i haven't seen amy since new year's. and my life is just... booked. i'm gonna go now to possibly shower and definitely watch some brainless television. i know it's not on the list, but i'm recognizing that i get ubercranky if i don't do at least one mindless thing each day. (0) comments

 
so, randomly, here's an interesting article for all of us who think america is a bit work-focused and -obsessed.

and here are some quotes from my office...

"it's gonna lose its little fizzaroo"
-jackie f.

"i'm just gonna save everything that's on your desktop to your my documents folder."
"but i'm taking my laptop with me..."
"no, i mean, the files that you see on your screen, i'm just gonna drag them into my documents."
"oh, okay."
"have you saved any files anywhwere else?"
"no, no, i don't think so. oh, except word! i do use word... you should make sure to save that."
-my convo with sam

"here, helen, you can have half of my lunch."
"no, don't worry about it..."
"no, really! here, i brought a lot!"
"no, seriously, if i need to, i'll just go to safeway. actually, i'm kind of in the mood for ramen anyway. that's so strange since i haven't had ramen since college, really."
*as i'm talking, lourdes reaches down and opens her desk drawer and rummages around*
"so don't worry about me."
*as i say this, lourdes plunks down a package of ramen for me to eat*
*i die of laughter, b/c who but lourdes would keep ramen in their desk*

in other news:
i'm all kinds of in florida, stayin' with the jax and her fam and her animals. good times, good times. i may blog more about it later if i want you to be jealous... (1) comments

 
all the reason you need to praise God every time you flush...

so, recently i've been struck by the number of people who don't understand the way i (and some other people with lead feet) drive. i keep hearing people kind of sneer at traffic lights when they pull up next to a car that zoomed past them three blocks ago and saying, 'see? didn't get you any farther, did it? heh!' that seems to imply that people who drive like i tend to (or some who're downright obnoxiously zippy) want to get ahead of slower drivers b/c we think it will get us somewhere faster. for me, that's generally untrue. (every now and then when i'm late somewhere, i do use speed as an agent of, well, speed...) for the most part, i want to get around people so that i can have the freedom to go as fast or as slow as i want. i get just as antsy when someone obviously going much faster than i am crawls up my car's behind. let me move outta your way so i can go back to setting my own pace, which is slower than yours. my intention is never to bully people out of the way, even when people are cruising in the passing lane (ARGH!). and it's not b/c i think me passing them will get me to the next red light any faster. it's about the freedom. driving should be an enjoyable experience, and i enjoy it most of all when i feel able to go at a self-set (and speed limit sign guidance set) pace.

p.s. today on 495 there was a cop who just kept driving with everyone (with only one person as far as the eye could see doing anything under 70). i can't tell if that scares me or reassures me.

i had something else to say. really, i did. it's just not coming to me at all. so maybe later. i've gotta get to class so i can read a bit before the prof shows up.

going to fla on fri, so i may be incommunicado-ish. (1) comments

 
okay, so i have a way lot to post about, so hold onto your seats.

first, interesting class conversations
class discussions this time around've been pretty super. there's a lot to say and a lot to hear, and they aren't really contrived. don't get me wrong - i still feel like one of my classes is a ridiculous amount of work, the reading won't mean so much to me, and i often wish i were already done with school. but now i've gotten back into the late lunch, 9.30 dinner, turning on lights before i leave the house groove, and that makes things seem less stressful. and as we in the psych world know, it's not about reality - it's about perceived reality.

second, sarah's party
so last night i went to a friend's birthday/housewarming party. it was in dc, so i caught a ride with mandy and her hubby, which was excellent. i actually replied to the evite before i knew mandy and nate were going, which i consider a step in the right social direction. i figured, 'hey, for once i don't have anything planned! i'd love to see sarah, and maybe mandy and becca, and i do know how to mingle, even if i haven't had to do it in a long time.' however, i'm SUPER glad that mandy was there. not that i can't mingle, but sarah was being hostessy and talking to many, many people, so we didn't get all 4 hours with her, obviously, and then almost everyone else was from her church. and i do mean everyone. there was a pretty large group there, and i was impressed we all fit in the house - which is ADORABLE, btw, and a decorator's dream almost - but it was so weird b/c everyone else knew everyone else. so at least i had another outsider to chat with. we pulled in another non-res (the church is something something resurrection, so everyone calls it res) partygoer so she wouldn't be stranded, and actually had a good time. some very funny things happened, though. three current or former advocates employees were there! me (obviously), mandy (who'd interned there), and sam (who goes to res and is like an adopted son to one of my coworkers). sam, i'd met briefly once before, but it was kind of weird to go, 'hey! i know a lot of the same people you do!' but cool. and then, i ran into a guy i used to see at frontline. now, we're talking frontline, so that puts it at about 6 years ago. it was really random, but he was very cool about being like, 'yeah, you do look slightly familiar, but i haven't been to frontline in a looooooong time.' anyway, so that was my random, "yet so-so playful" time.

actually, the party raised a weird question for me. i'm not a beer person at all. never have been, never hope to be. it just seems somehow unclassy to me, and for me it's always associated with a bunch of greasy chip eating, football watching, t-shirt and plumber's butt guys. anyway, last night, there was beer served, along with whatever you call fruity hard liquor-ish (not licorice) stuff, which i guess is malt, but doesn't, for me, fall into the same category (as evidenced by the fact that i had one). anyway, much of this is just to show you that i'm actually a snob in disguise, and the other part is to try to figure out what i would or wouldn't have at a party to which i invited almost all church friends. now, this is a little weird b/c my church is made up of mostly older or mostly younger people, so the scenario's a little off, and also b/c i know that if i had a party, i'd likely invite quite a few people who'd have no problem getting completely sloshed. so i was just trying to decide what i'd serve if i definitely didn't want anyone puking on my furniture but still wanted it to be what we in this country have decided is a party.

third, devotions
i've really been slacking off about reading my Bible or anything decidedly Christian lately. i don't know why - likely laziness - as it's not like i've stopped believing anything written in there or have stopped thinking God is all that and a bag of chips. i know i need to get back to it, but i just can't seem to. maybe i'll make a deal that for every cup of starbux coffee, i hafta read two chapters. or maybe one for tall, two for grande... as many shots as i have, i have to read chapters. we'll see how it goes.

fourth, gchat
so i was introduced to gchat the other day and am sort of enjoying it. i must say, though, that i've definitely done the accidental sign off in mid-converation thing. whoops! anyway, if you wanna gchat me up, this is your invitation.

fifth, dvds
i've been trying to cut down on spending recently. i don't know what happened, oh, wait, textbook buying... i DO know what happened, but i've been running more lean on money than i usually care to. i've been trying to stop my impulse buying. holy cow, i'd no idea i had such a problem with it! and why do i think that $10 dvds are a good bargain? buy two, and you're out a full $20! that's not little! i'm also at the stage where i've pretty much stopped watching things on vhs. this makes me sad on many levels, one of them being that i have movies i should replace with dvds. i just can't bring myself to do it. i mean, what, am i gonna throw out all the vhses (okay, so if that were in caps, it might be vhss, but that looks funky in lowercase)? is a puzzlement.

sixth, life
i've been a total slacker as far as e-mail and phone call returning goes. i'm just at the point where my lethargy is more important to me than keeping up constant contact. that's bad, and it needs to change. right now.

happy weekend, everyone! i actually got to see SNOW the other day! not that it stuck or lasted for more than ten minutes, but it was SNOW, and that's all i needed. (2) comments

 
so yesterday, if i had had my camera with me, a place to park, and any sort of photographic talent, i could've given ddoi boy a run for his money. sadly, the camera was at home, all the parking lots require permits, and... i'm me. i may post some that i took today, though. not artisticly cool, but an interesting place. man, i have many, many photos to catch up on.

class has started again. back to being behind in my reading. back to long treks to school as the sun sets. back to before-class posts. :D (1) comments

 
all i have to say is "WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!" the somali attacks are ridiculous. what, we've just decided that when our satellites pick up suspicious activity or our oh-so trustworthy sources point the finger at someone, we shouldn't talk to them or give them any type of trial or even chat up consequences with the government, shaky as it may be... if they're in a nation that's in a state of unrest, we should just send a plane over there and bomb 'em. what the heck is wrong with us?

future posts: sore afraid and some other revelation i'm sure i've had...

class time! (0) comments

 
this is me on the night before classes start... printing up syllabi, the shortest of which is ten pages long, checking the amazon.com delivery date for the textbooks i'll need, looking around my desk trying to find where last semester's papers, notebooks, and texts are so i can shove them to one side, scavaging what notebook pages are left as recompense for the inordinate amount of printing i'll do in the coming months, scrawling due dates i already dread in my planner, digging my messenger bag out from the accrued pile on top of it, finishing the last chapter of interpreter of maladies, deciding which dvds i should rush to watch before i enter the long dark of school, and tiring already.

a lot's gone on since i last posted. i felt a lot better through about new year's day... and then my health went down a severe decline. but first, the fun.

x-out at church is the youth group's year-end event (generally on new year's adam, but this year on new year's adam's eve so we could go to a wizards game). it's an all-nighter that goes from 5pm to 7am the next day, and boy is it a kicker if you've not prepared adequately by, say, getting sleep. but even when you're already in need at 5pm, it's still loads of fun (aside from the boring wizards game and the worry that you'll lose one of the 25 kids on the overcrowded metro). we played capture the flag again this year, and since x-out 2005 was my first youth group event, memories of first knowing where i fit when we played came back to me. last year i didn't even understand what they were talking about when they said 'the field' and 'the upper & lower buildings', so this year was even better. i got some entertainment playing ddr, trying not to whack people or full cups with pool cues, deciding how to handle the suggestion that we give a fifth youth group kid a ride to church by putting him in my trunk, and having several conversations about who likes whom and other middle and high school stuff.

new year's eve was just ridiculous. it started with a trip to bethesda, md, in the morning for church with trisha, immanuel, and his clan, plus a touch of hannah. then it was off to somewhere close to the middle of nowhere, md, for some olive garden and a visit with ha(u)nnah and jonfen. good times. but then i had to say bye to t-bird and iggy, which was very sad, but i was slightly consoled b/c i was heading toward va to meet up with diane (who was in from philly) and amy. so we hung out for a bit trying to figure out what to do the rest of the night... we made one restaurant choice which, after we had some people already heading there, turned out to be booked for parties our size (no fat jokes!). then we sat around amy's apt trying to think of good food but no too good (and therefore expensive) food, trying to come up with places nearbyish but convenient and not already packed... lemme tell ya, it's not that easy, even in nova! so then we figured it out, lost a few people who'd lost interest along the way, but eventually got to dine with david and trina, and eventually john g.! oh, the laughter. for you who know that crew, you might be able to imagine. it was a seriously good time, and hopefully we'll do it more often. long after our dinners were eaten, we parted ways, with amy and diane taking me back to my car in mclean (with poor john trying desperately to follow us!), and me scurrying off to ashburn. so, i got to michael and kellan's house, and we were like, 'waddaya wanna do?' leave it to michael to break out his latest toy, a gamecube. so we rang in the new year by playing mario kart double dash. then we stayed up a good piece later and finally drifted up to bed. i got to wake up lateish on new year's day and hang out with the sibs, which was excellent, and then later mom and pop done joined us. good stuff. anyway, even though i had a GREAT time at each "event", the day wore me out... i was late getting everywhere. the kfc clan was running late for church, so i didn't go in until they got there, then lunch started late-ish 'cause we hung around church 'cause there were people trisha and immanuel hadn't seen in a long time, then heading back to va took longer than i'd thought it would 'cause i had been calculating from a different part of md, then figuring out what we were doing took way longer than we'd expected, then we all enjoyed dinner so much that we stuck around for a long time, then i hadn't thought about how much closer the restaurant was to m&k's than amy's place, so it took me a long time to go all the way back and then forth again. anyway, it was... a delayed day. what the heck...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (0) comments