Pause...Wallow...Move On...
I'm overwhelmed. I'm not going to lie. All of the semester's stuff has really crept up on me, and I now realize that unlike all of those other kids who prepared effectively for the end of the semester who can now relax, it's not even a sprint to the finish line for me, it's a 750 meter dash. I have Christmas shopping and six decent sized papers to complete, a family that's decided now is the best time to visit, a group of visitors who are living and breathing Christmas Break and Basketball games, and me, one who has taken just a moment to wallow in her own self pity, and will then move on.
I woke up crabby for the first time since I was 16, which was quite a shock to my poor innocent roommates who unfortunately fell victim to my verbal aggression. A few good things have happened this week, things that I was sure I wanted to happen, and now, am scared to death about. Take for instance, my summer plans. On one of those, "I could achieve anything if I just believe in myself enough," kind of days, you know, the days when you quote the British Air Force slogan, "Those who risk, win," kind of days, I signed up for Northland Camp and had an interview. No Biggie. I figured it would quite honestly just look good to the people back home and maybe I would get in, but probably not. And then, I began thinking positively about the whole thing and wishing I would get in and dreaming about my fabulous summer up in the North woods where I grew up. Low and Behold, I got in. Now, I'm terrified. I mean, it's one thing to talk about sky diving, and another thing to actually jump. I know with a lot of prayer and contemplation I will be able to make the right choice, and well, I pretty much already know what I have to do, it's just finding the strength to do it.
I've lost all motivation for the rest of the semester, and well, am curious to see just what will happen to me in the next short months. Now, for some humor. The following are odd moments that have occurred with my teachers and friends over the last few sleepless days...
Dr. Perdue- " Just tell you're friends you have to go 'Cut some babies in half,' next time you have a decision to make."
Mr. Licht- "All of those Southern slave-lovers."
Mr. Midcalf-"And I don't really not want to want to not to tell you about what not to write your paper on."
The following is a conversation where the other party shall remain nameless:
ME: "Well Guys, I've got to go, my D.P. paper is calling my name." (D.P. Standing for Dev. Psych)
FRIEND:"Yeah, so is my IBS!"(Poor Girl, IBS was supposed to stand for Intro. to Bib. Studies)
*keep in mind that entire conversation took place at a loud decibel across the dining hall*
Thanks for saving us from the Ravages of the Savages...
Happy Thanksgiving! Imagaine, a year ago today I was doing the exact same things I'm doing today, eating and sleeping and watching movies. Let's see, I've been home a grand total of three days and I've seen 7 films, plus television. Crazy huh? And I've achieved nothing. That's right, nothing. Not one of my five papers has been written, not one of my homework lessons glanced at, not one of the two books that I have to read cracked open. Yes, I've been lazy, and the sad and scary part is, I'm not feeling one bit guilty.
Tomorrow is a day of indulgence, not that these past few days haven't had their moments of absoloute perfection. Tomorrow is the one day out of the year that I rise before five, that's AM CST, and stand in line along with dozens, sometimes hundreds of other shoppers and help support the economy and the credit card companies. Tomorrow, I will risk everything, well, sleep deprivation and the occassional television box to the head, in order to achieve a financially economical Christmas. Also known as, buying everybody what they want so they all think that I'm spending way more money than I should, when I'm actually getting everything for dirt cheap by getting up at the crack of dawn.
I also am pleased to not that three weeks from today, I will be sitting in this same location, the bay window in the family room, typing away on my laptop, having successfully finished my semester of 20 credits, work, and the play. Happy Thought.
Life moves fast. It's true. If you don't blow off school every once and awhile, you might miss it.
Bonus points for those who can identify the title of this blog, meaning the author and the year. If you're really cool, add double bonus points for identifying the last line of the post.
The Importance of Skipping Homework...
Yes. We had the concluding perfomances of The Importance of Being Earnest this weekend. Here are some fun pictures, the last picture is us dissing our homework! Have a safe Thanksgiving Travel Time friends...
Things that won't appear in Maranatha's school play...
The following are the top ten qutotations that should have appeared in the Importance of Being Earnest...I am the only one, other than Justin, Ruthann, etc. who have the ability to do this, since we were involved directly with the play...the following are in no particular order and yet, here they are...so if you haven't seen the play, please print and insert where you will...
10) Than a passionate life of celibacy is all that any of us have to look forward too...9) Caused by the explosion of a temperance beverage, an incident that occured at Lemington...8) The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, if she is plain.7) And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties he becomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I don't like that. It makes men so very attractive.6) Algy, you're always talking nonsense. It's better than listening to it. 5) Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven’t got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die4) Divorces are made in Heaven3) In married life, three is company and two is none2) No married man is ever attractive except to his wife1) Nowadays, people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.Thanks and enjoy the show!
It's deep out there, and I can't swim...
There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way." C. S. Lewis What a crazy busy week for me. It's been crazy with the play and everything. I've been going to bed late and getting up super early, just to finish what I couldn't finish the day before. Don't you all remember summer when the days at work were so long that you just couldn't stop staring at the clock. What happend to those days?
The above quote is one that I've been pondering over the last few days, and will probably end up printing on the infamous daily quote white board we have in our room. The daily part of the board has been lacking since my roomate put up the "Godliness with contenment is great gain" verse. We were going to take it down just as it appeared she would be dating, but then, that didn't happen and thus, the verse has stayed.
Anyway, all of that aside. My buddy Clive Staples really hit a home run with this one. I've been feeling lately just like this verse. I know that what I want right now and what God wants for me are probably not the same thing. Not that I want anything bad, please allow me to clarify. I see things happening in the lives of those around me and basically want that for me. And yet, am I willing to trade the life I have now for that? I'm not sure. I don't want to be 20 miles wide and 2 inches deep, and yet I want some shallow stuff too. I wish that I could see part of my life 20 years from now and just see the end result for 10 sec. I wish that I had met someone in particular sooner than this semester, for it would have been interesting to see what would have or could have happend. So, instead of saying, "All right then, have it your way," I'm going to try to start saying, "Thy will be done."
BOOK UPDATE: It's working friends. It's working...
I'm so unique I'm just like everyone else...
Well, I've officially experienced some crazy days here at Maranatha, I'm not going to lie. Here are a couple of things that I've gleaned both from the reading of other blogs and just talking to other people around...minus my mother, who is going to kill me for not calling her for an entire week....
1) I'm just like everyone else, and yet I'm different. My thoughts about life and the struggles I go through are very similar to other people, and yet, I'm quirky. Quirky is perhaps the only accurate word to describe me. I'm just not normal, and yet, not mal-normal? Sorry, that was another quirky word. Anyway, there's great comfort in knowing that almost everyone else around you is going through the same struggles you are, and yet, your trials are unique and colorful. (i.e.-see James 1:1-7 and do a word study on divers temptations)
2) What is up with the weather? Last week, I'm so cold I wear two pairs of knee socks, which getting the second pair of knee socks over the first pair was quite a task, and I was still freezing. And today, short sleeved polo without a coat. I have a love hate relationship with my home state...
3) Play Practice. Enough Said. When is it going to end, and when am I going to stop feeling so sad that it's almost over....
4) Sorority and the Student Body Officers- well, I pitched my sorority to the student body officers along with my co-president on Tuesday. They loved the idea, but were more interested in our sorority discussions (i.e. Top Ten Single Guys on Maranatha Campus) than in our actual ideas...hmmm....
5) Thanksgiving is coming. Holy Cow! I just finished unpacking here like a week ago, and I'm telling the truth, and now, it's almost the end of the semester? As Jill would say..."are you for real?!"
6) Good ol' Wisconsin votes yes to marriage and Doyle's casinos, some things never change...
That's about it...I'm sure I'll have something traumatic to blog about next time...Thursdays are usually D-day for me for some reason...Peace out.
The Best Book I've Ever Read...(well, almost)
I hated
I Kissed Dating Goodbye, I'm not going to lie. That book I thought was full of people who believed that sitting on your butt and waiting for God to bring you the right man for your life (or girl for that matter) was being more "holy" and "pure" then those stupid people who are constantly dating. Yet, I was not certain that I was right, and well, I thought I must just not be as good as a Christian as those other people were. Well yesterday, in an event that can only be described as God's will, I had a total paradigm shift (bonus points for using a philosophy term). I discovered a Christian Dr.'s prospective on dating that has totally changed my life. The book is called, as you can tell from the picture,
How to Get a Date Worth Keeping: Be Dating in Six Months or Your Money Back. Well, obviously when I saw the "or your money back" part, I decided that this might be a book worth picking up. So I dug around in my wallet until I found 12 bucks, and paid for the book, expecting it to be full of useless or already well-known knowledge. What I found changed my prospective. Dr. Henry Cloud is a genius, not in the Dr. Saxon type of way, but in the "I know this is what you've been taught and how you think, and I'm going to gently attempt to change that," kind of way. Although that prospective makes me cringe and red flags pop up all over in my mind, it became a book well worth reading. So, the next few posts will undoubtedly be about what I have learned from that book, and hopefully, in six months I'll look back on this chapter in my blog and smile, then exit this page, run down the stairs, and meet the man of my dreams...
Friday Night Lights...
Well, I made it. The week is over and it is officially Friday night here at MBBC. I'm working at the library this evening, so I apologize in advance if this blog becomes reflective in nature, it just sort of happens when I'm in this building. Anyway, something magical happens here on Friday nights, I really can't quite explain it. It's like the entire student body breathes a sigh of relief. It's Friday night, you can do anything you want because you have all weekend to finish your paper. It's Friday night, you can ask that guy out because you want to go out, and it is, after all Friday night. It's Friday night, and you have the power for a few short hours to completely control you destiny. It's Friday night, and you have absolutely nothing to do. You are feeling very guilty because you have failed once again to prepare in advance for that paper due Monday. It's Friday night, and you are much too self concerend to ask that guy out, because your fear of rejection is amazing. It's Friday night, and you really don't feel like going anywhere in particular, or doing anything that fantastic. This begs you to ask yourself that dreaded question, "Am I a Friday Night Buzzkill?" Am I that girl that no one asks out because she could go shopping and fill up the bags underneath her eyes with all her purchases, because she looks like she hasn't slept in a week? Am I the girl that has no where to go because she chooses not to go anywhere, or am I just too afraid? Am I the girl who is so concerned about her future that she wonders if she will ever be able to relax and not stress over the paper? There will always be something due Monday, there will always be that one wonderful guy you just can't stop thinking about no matter how much you try. There will always be that destination that is scary and requires greater courage than you ever thought you'd have to get there. But will you be brave enough to put the project aside? Brave enough to pick up the phone and call him, and completely put yourself out there? Brave enough to get in the car and just go? I don't know the answer, and I'm scared that I will allow my fear of due dates, rejection, and adventure to keep me from ever really experiencing life. I don't want any answers, I just want to send these question out into this cosmic cyberspace and let them float away...
I Hope Life Never Gets Boring...
It's true. God has a sense of humor. And, in light of recent events, I have been the victim of that humor. You see, Monday night, as I was driving back to campus, some guy in a big black truch went speeding past me at a crazy speed. So, being the good Christian I am, said fine, see if I care. Well, 10 min. later, he was stopped in the middle of the road with his flashers on. This is not good, I thought to myself. Then I said, Self, should you stop, seeing it is dark, you are by yourself, and well, this could be dangerous. So I decided hey, I've got a cell phone, and pulled over. Well, I see the driver of the vehicle kicking a large object in front of the truck, and his friend, doubled over with laughter. O my goodness, he hit a person, No, it is too big to be a person, but wait, that's a really big deer, o my goodness, he hit a cow. That's right ladies and gentlemen, he hit a cow. So guess who blocked the road while he Mooooooved it, Me! That's right, I was 45 min late for play practice, because the guy in front of me hit a cow. So now, the rumor around school is, "Girl in Melford Hits Cow." Just to clarify, I did not hit the cow. I helped moooove it...
