Here’s the rule: Bold the things you’ve done & post on your blog!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band - oh, the long-ago days of band…high school marching band counts, right?
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (what about DisneyWorld?)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo – how about in the shower?
11. Bungee jumped – I don’t think this is even on my list of things I want to do!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty - I’ve seen it in person, but didn’t go up.
18. Grown your own vegetables – my parents had strawberries and tomatoes, and I’ve grown basil… is basil a vegetable?
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked – in Mexico, nonetheless!
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill – “mental health days” were not acceptable in my house!
24. Built a snow fort –with what snow???
25. Held a lamb
26. Kayaked a fjord – ok, I added this one myself ;-)
27. Run a Marathon – the closest I’ve come is an 8k
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice – that's expensive, man!
29. Seen a total eclipse – definitely some partial ones!
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise – hmmm, do ferries count? Even nice ones?
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community – I’ve seen Amish people, but I haven’t really been to a community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing – does scrambling count? Or in a rock gym?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke – yes, thank you, Aaron Kennedy, at the Groundhog Day party
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching – I was on a boat where we saw whales, but that wasn’t the sole purpose of our excursion
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – does a book count?
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been given a raise
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book – how about a book of my photos from snapfish?
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House – I’ve seen it from the gate, do they let you inside anymore?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – yup, a chicken in boot camp.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life – I’d like to think so…. I was a lifeguard and had a couple “rescues”
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous – Kato Kaelin and Mike Tyson were on my flight to nowhere…
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit – hmmm, I worked at a law firm one summer that had its share of issues, but none involving me. Except that I was working there temporarily because 2 attorneys and a clerk were in jail. Does that count?
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee – plenty of wasps, thank you.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
winter quarter
so. phew. i have quite a lot of work to do, but tonite, i think i'm just going to do some thinking and processing. there's always tomorrow to write the paper due the day after tomorrow, right? right.
first off, I GOT A 97 ON MY POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT PAPER!!!! if you can't tell, i'm ECSTATIC!!! i really thought my best hope was a 90. i threw together the material at the last minute and, as you may recall, sprinted to the office to get it in by 5pm. i spent waaay too much time researching and reading about greg mortenson and the central asia institute (the heros of the book three cups of tea) and way too little time reflecting on the development literature that i was using to evaluate CAI. yet somehow, it worked! there was a whole other section i had planned to write that i just didn't have time to do. but i tried my hardest and spent an hour formatting it properly. no joke! the professor was serious about what he wanted! i was anxious to find out my grade, and i went 3 times today to try to pick up my paper and finally got it. i was speechless. hard to believe, i know, but SPEECHLESS.
ok, so living situation: courtney had told me in dec that she's moving across the freeway with some girls in march. actually, the girls all already live there, but she won't move until march, when our lease is up. i'm excited for her, but a slight bit anxious about my own plans. i had wanted to move out of chang because it's so expensive, but.... yeah. so a friend i work with is getting married about the same time, and i happened to sit next to her current roommate when watching the unmentionable game last thursday nite. so she said i could move in with her! they have a 3-bedroom here in chang, so i'd have my own room, get to stay near my friends, and still be close to campus. then tonite, a classmate who's also in my cohort mentioned that one of her roommates is moving out, so i could move in with them, too. it's not in chang (which = cheaper), but it's across the freeway, next to where courtney will be living, actually. it's a really pretty street full of fun fuller people, but a longer walk to campus, and not as convenient or close to work or the store, either. so either way, i'd live with one person i like and one person i don't know, i'd have my own bedroom, and i've got somewhere to go!!!
ok, classes.
1. globalization and the poor. this class is taught by bryant myers, who taught poverty and development last quarter, and is also my cohort leader. yeah, we're tight. ;-) here's the official class description:
"This course explores globalization as a deeply rooted historical change process that has significant impact for good and ill on the poor. The course will deal briefly with the history of globalization, its supporters and its skeptics. The course will address multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank and the WTO, in terms of the impact of their policies on the poor. Special attention will be given to globalization and the non-formal economy where most of the poor live. More than half the course will focus on macro development issues and strategies for poverty eradication including topics like the Millennium Development Goals and making markets work for the poor."
sounds good, huh? globalization is one of those words that means so many different things to different people, so i've learned that i need to define it when i use it. the class will be more work intensive than poverty and development, but it should be good. for the record, this class meets once a week, thursday mornings, 8-11am.
2. global evangelical movement. this is the class that is the reason i will not be coming out to play anytime soon. the work load is RIDICULOUS, but the professor is fair and funny. well, he's a hard grader, but he's said if we don't like our grade on the first two papers, we can redo them within a week for a higher grade. oh, and one of those was due today, and the other is due the day after tomorrow. talk about diving right in! the class is essentially a history class, tho, so even tho i don't like history, i'm glad it's not theology where it gets all philosophical and crap. ;-) i think in the end i'll love this class. and i think i've already learned more in this class than i did all of last quarter in church and mission. for serious. ok, here's the course description for this one:
"The evangelical movement has been the main engine of the modern missionary movement and has contributed directly to the globalization of the Christian faith. This course will examine the historical and theological roots of contemporary evangelicalism as well as the socio-economic and political factors, which have shaped its expressions and impact in a variety of contexts. Special attention will also be paid to characteristic features of evangelicalism worldwide, including its inner tensions, internal debates, and traditional proclivity for anti-intellectualism. Its prospects in the twenty-first century (notably in its Pentecostal/Charismatic forms) will also be assessed."
this class is taught by jehu hanciles. i've already talked to him outside of class twice, cried in his office once, and i've got another appointment to see him tomorrow. and the class meets twice a week, mon and wed, 11am-1pm.
3. spirituality and mission.
this class is taught by jude tiersma-watson and paul jensen on monday nights, 630-930pm. this is just about as non-academic as a class can get and still be for credit. we're looking at different varieties of spiritual disciplines and practicing them ourselves with the realization that all life comes from Christ. in mission, we are constantly giving of ourselves, so this is more about how to feed ourselves so we don't dry up. which is actually a good lesson as i work through the stresses of global evangelical movement! it's no accident that these 2 classes are offered in the same quarter!! here's the official course description:
"This course will help students develop an approach to their spiritual life that integrates their spirituality with their life in mission. We will examine Richard Foster’s approach to the six traditions of faith, seeing how God has worked through all these streams in history. The interplay between context, culture, theology, and spirituality will be explored within the contemporary collapse of space and time. Various practices will be introduced in class, including the Jesus Prayer, Lectio Divina and the Examen."
this class will be time consuming, but hopefully more life-giving than draining. but it will certainly take stretching and discipline i have yet to exhibit!
so yeah, this quarter is going to be tough. i'm not sure how i'm going to get through it, but i'm sure i will, somehow. and i think in the end, it will be much more fruitful and rewarding than my classes last quarter.
so with that said, i'm going to redding this weekend! redding is in north central CA, about 8-10 hours away. there's a church up there that ruth's pastor from norway is interning at for 5 months, so we're going to see him (and apparently several of ruth's other friends who are up there) and check out the church, bethel church. there's a lot of cool Holy Spirit stuff going on, and this will be my first foray back into that kind of ministry in a long time. pray for grace!! but i'm sure good things will come of it. i'll let you know what happens. there's a group of a dozen or so of us headed up, so if nothing else, it will be great road-trip fun!
the following weekend, i'm going to the san diego zoo! a group of us from my church, oasis, are going down for the day to see the awesome animals. matt, our "outdoors pastor", comes up with some outdoors-y activity for us each quarter, and this is one of the events on the agenda for winter. (remember, we went to joshua tree last fall? we also did the hike to the bridge to nowhere, and we tried a full moon evening hike, but ended up just going up the 2 to get a view of LA at night.) also this quarter, a ski trip is in the works (not sure if i'll do that one) and hopefully, a camping trip to anza-borrego desert state park. the desert is in full bloom in early march, so hopefully we can go then. next quarter, a camping trip to yosemite is in the works. woohoo!
which brings me to this past weekend... i went with hanne, matt c and jakeoung to the scandinavian film festival! i had to work that night, so i went to the afternoon showing of white night wedding at the writers guild theater in beverly hills. the film is the icelandic academy award entrant for best foreign film. we'll see if it gets nominated! i really enjoyed it (i laughed a lot more than anyone else in the theater), and we had a good time of discussion afterwards. i drove home along sunset blvd at sunset with a full moon - fabulous!!!
sunday, i decided to make the most of the GORGEOUS weather and my access to courtney's car (she was gone for the weekend). i have wanted to go up mt wilson for a while, so i finally just decided to go, despite the work piling up around me. ruth went with me as we drove the 210 west to the 2 north up the back side of the mountain. if only the mt wilson toll road were open, it would have been much much shorter!! but alas, it's just a hiking trail now. there's an observatory at the top, as well as a bunch of TV antennas and ... snow!! yup, in the shade, there's still quite a bit of snow up there! and the views east and north (which are normally obscured from pasadena by mt wilson itself) were also superb! not to mention sunset over LA! we could see the ocean for miles and miles, as well as catalina island. the view was MUCH clearer than this, but it gives an idea. the two parallel lines of brighter lights at the bottom of the frame are pasadena. also similar is this. we could also see these islands!!! ok, i'm so excited! i knew it was a clear evening, but i didn't realize HOW clear!
oh man, good times.
well, folks, thanks for reading this far! let me know how you guys are doing!
first off, I GOT A 97 ON MY POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT PAPER!!!! if you can't tell, i'm ECSTATIC!!! i really thought my best hope was a 90. i threw together the material at the last minute and, as you may recall, sprinted to the office to get it in by 5pm. i spent waaay too much time researching and reading about greg mortenson and the central asia institute (the heros of the book three cups of tea) and way too little time reflecting on the development literature that i was using to evaluate CAI. yet somehow, it worked! there was a whole other section i had planned to write that i just didn't have time to do. but i tried my hardest and spent an hour formatting it properly. no joke! the professor was serious about what he wanted! i was anxious to find out my grade, and i went 3 times today to try to pick up my paper and finally got it. i was speechless. hard to believe, i know, but SPEECHLESS.
ok, so living situation: courtney had told me in dec that she's moving across the freeway with some girls in march. actually, the girls all already live there, but she won't move until march, when our lease is up. i'm excited for her, but a slight bit anxious about my own plans. i had wanted to move out of chang because it's so expensive, but.... yeah. so a friend i work with is getting married about the same time, and i happened to sit next to her current roommate when watching the unmentionable game last thursday nite. so she said i could move in with her! they have a 3-bedroom here in chang, so i'd have my own room, get to stay near my friends, and still be close to campus. then tonite, a classmate who's also in my cohort mentioned that one of her roommates is moving out, so i could move in with them, too. it's not in chang (which = cheaper), but it's across the freeway, next to where courtney will be living, actually. it's a really pretty street full of fun fuller people, but a longer walk to campus, and not as convenient or close to work or the store, either. so either way, i'd live with one person i like and one person i don't know, i'd have my own bedroom, and i've got somewhere to go!!!
ok, classes.
1. globalization and the poor. this class is taught by bryant myers, who taught poverty and development last quarter, and is also my cohort leader. yeah, we're tight. ;-) here's the official class description:
"This course explores globalization as a deeply rooted historical change process that has significant impact for good and ill on the poor. The course will deal briefly with the history of globalization, its supporters and its skeptics. The course will address multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank and the WTO, in terms of the impact of their policies on the poor. Special attention will be given to globalization and the non-formal economy where most of the poor live. More than half the course will focus on macro development issues and strategies for poverty eradication including topics like the Millennium Development Goals and making markets work for the poor."
sounds good, huh? globalization is one of those words that means so many different things to different people, so i've learned that i need to define it when i use it. the class will be more work intensive than poverty and development, but it should be good. for the record, this class meets once a week, thursday mornings, 8-11am.
2. global evangelical movement. this is the class that is the reason i will not be coming out to play anytime soon. the work load is RIDICULOUS, but the professor is fair and funny. well, he's a hard grader, but he's said if we don't like our grade on the first two papers, we can redo them within a week for a higher grade. oh, and one of those was due today, and the other is due the day after tomorrow. talk about diving right in! the class is essentially a history class, tho, so even tho i don't like history, i'm glad it's not theology where it gets all philosophical and crap. ;-) i think in the end i'll love this class. and i think i've already learned more in this class than i did all of last quarter in church and mission. for serious. ok, here's the course description for this one:
"The evangelical movement has been the main engine of the modern missionary movement and has contributed directly to the globalization of the Christian faith. This course will examine the historical and theological roots of contemporary evangelicalism as well as the socio-economic and political factors, which have shaped its expressions and impact in a variety of contexts. Special attention will also be paid to characteristic features of evangelicalism worldwide, including its inner tensions, internal debates, and traditional proclivity for anti-intellectualism. Its prospects in the twenty-first century (notably in its Pentecostal/Charismatic forms) will also be assessed."
this class is taught by jehu hanciles. i've already talked to him outside of class twice, cried in his office once, and i've got another appointment to see him tomorrow. and the class meets twice a week, mon and wed, 11am-1pm.
3. spirituality and mission.
this class is taught by jude tiersma-watson and paul jensen on monday nights, 630-930pm. this is just about as non-academic as a class can get and still be for credit. we're looking at different varieties of spiritual disciplines and practicing them ourselves with the realization that all life comes from Christ. in mission, we are constantly giving of ourselves, so this is more about how to feed ourselves so we don't dry up. which is actually a good lesson as i work through the stresses of global evangelical movement! it's no accident that these 2 classes are offered in the same quarter!! here's the official course description:
"This course will help students develop an approach to their spiritual life that integrates their spirituality with their life in mission. We will examine Richard Foster’s approach to the six traditions of faith, seeing how God has worked through all these streams in history. The interplay between context, culture, theology, and spirituality will be explored within the contemporary collapse of space and time. Various practices will be introduced in class, including the Jesus Prayer, Lectio Divina and the Examen."
this class will be time consuming, but hopefully more life-giving than draining. but it will certainly take stretching and discipline i have yet to exhibit!
so yeah, this quarter is going to be tough. i'm not sure how i'm going to get through it, but i'm sure i will, somehow. and i think in the end, it will be much more fruitful and rewarding than my classes last quarter.
so with that said, i'm going to redding this weekend! redding is in north central CA, about 8-10 hours away. there's a church up there that ruth's pastor from norway is interning at for 5 months, so we're going to see him (and apparently several of ruth's other friends who are up there) and check out the church, bethel church. there's a lot of cool Holy Spirit stuff going on, and this will be my first foray back into that kind of ministry in a long time. pray for grace!! but i'm sure good things will come of it. i'll let you know what happens. there's a group of a dozen or so of us headed up, so if nothing else, it will be great road-trip fun!
the following weekend, i'm going to the san diego zoo! a group of us from my church, oasis, are going down for the day to see the awesome animals. matt, our "outdoors pastor", comes up with some outdoors-y activity for us each quarter, and this is one of the events on the agenda for winter. (remember, we went to joshua tree last fall? we also did the hike to the bridge to nowhere, and we tried a full moon evening hike, but ended up just going up the 2 to get a view of LA at night.) also this quarter, a ski trip is in the works (not sure if i'll do that one) and hopefully, a camping trip to anza-borrego desert state park. the desert is in full bloom in early march, so hopefully we can go then. next quarter, a camping trip to yosemite is in the works. woohoo!
which brings me to this past weekend... i went with hanne, matt c and jakeoung to the scandinavian film festival! i had to work that night, so i went to the afternoon showing of white night wedding at the writers guild theater in beverly hills. the film is the icelandic academy award entrant for best foreign film. we'll see if it gets nominated! i really enjoyed it (i laughed a lot more than anyone else in the theater), and we had a good time of discussion afterwards. i drove home along sunset blvd at sunset with a full moon - fabulous!!!
sunday, i decided to make the most of the GORGEOUS weather and my access to courtney's car (she was gone for the weekend). i have wanted to go up mt wilson for a while, so i finally just decided to go, despite the work piling up around me. ruth went with me as we drove the 210 west to the 2 north up the back side of the mountain. if only the mt wilson toll road were open, it would have been much much shorter!! but alas, it's just a hiking trail now. there's an observatory at the top, as well as a bunch of TV antennas and ... snow!! yup, in the shade, there's still quite a bit of snow up there! and the views east and north (which are normally obscured from pasadena by mt wilson itself) were also superb! not to mention sunset over LA! we could see the ocean for miles and miles, as well as catalina island. the view was MUCH clearer than this, but it gives an idea. the two parallel lines of brighter lights at the bottom of the frame are pasadena. also similar is this. we could also see these islands!!! ok, i'm so excited! i knew it was a clear evening, but i didn't realize HOW clear!
oh man, good times.
well, folks, thanks for reading this far! let me know how you guys are doing!
too much to say
so this quarter will be ridiculously tough. way more reading than i can accomplish, a paper was due today and another is due wed.
and in the midst of it all, i find myself singing
"Oh praise the One who paid my debt! Who raised this life up from the dead!"
oh the sweet blessings of Jesus, to remind me of the right perspective. i am nothing without Him, and i can accomplish nothing on my own (including school work)! if am to learn anything this quarter, to write any papers or do any research, it will only be because of the gifts He has given me and His grace to get me through.
and so i can rest.
oh praise the One who paid my debt, who raised this life up from the dead!
and in the midst of it all, i find myself singing
"Oh praise the One who paid my debt! Who raised this life up from the dead!"
oh the sweet blessings of Jesus, to remind me of the right perspective. i am nothing without Him, and i can accomplish nothing on my own (including school work)! if am to learn anything this quarter, to write any papers or do any research, it will only be because of the gifts He has given me and His grace to get me through.
and so i can rest.
oh praise the One who paid my debt, who raised this life up from the dead!
Monday, January 05, 2009
i live in a broken world.
pasadena is starting to feel like home, yes, but not completely. it's still very hard some days.
last fall, i got here, went thru a little shock and adjustment, then LOVED it. i love my church, my new friends, being in school (maybe not the classes themselves, except for poverty & development), living in my apartment, living in CA, the new store i work at, all of it.
a little more than 2 months in, reality set in. the honeymoon phase came down with a crash. people have flaws, my classes intensified, i had an enjoyable but not restful thanksgiving with my sister, relationships got hard, and i settled into a groove of just existing, not living the fullest life possible.
so then i pushed through (time-wise), finishing the quarter and trying to get things done before the break.
being in VA was good; busy, but good.
and now i'm back in CA. hoping that all is well again, and being sorely disappointed that all the frustrations i left behind are still here. work is sometimes hard. i don't really know where i fit in at my church. my friends are very different than i and it's hard to communicate effectively with them. there's a certain level of awkward with some of them, and sometimes a one-way admiration. i have to look for a new apartment in 2 months. my bed sucks, but should i get a new one if i'm moving in 2 months? my friends want to visit (yay!) but it's the weekend i've got a "retreat" for a class.
not to mention i still don't know what to "do" with all the homeless people i see around here. one of them, diane, lives at my starbucks. (great name, isn't it?!) usually she's in a jovial mood, tho easily set off to be a foul mood that it's best to give her some space. yesterday she just looked defeated. i don't know what happened, but she wasn't in her usual good mood or her usual bad mood. and i don't know what to say or do or how to help her. i want to respect her and give her dignity, but how?
and in less than an hour, classes start for the quarter. geez.
last fall, i got here, went thru a little shock and adjustment, then LOVED it. i love my church, my new friends, being in school (maybe not the classes themselves, except for poverty & development), living in my apartment, living in CA, the new store i work at, all of it.
a little more than 2 months in, reality set in. the honeymoon phase came down with a crash. people have flaws, my classes intensified, i had an enjoyable but not restful thanksgiving with my sister, relationships got hard, and i settled into a groove of just existing, not living the fullest life possible.
so then i pushed through (time-wise), finishing the quarter and trying to get things done before the break.
being in VA was good; busy, but good.
and now i'm back in CA. hoping that all is well again, and being sorely disappointed that all the frustrations i left behind are still here. work is sometimes hard. i don't really know where i fit in at my church. my friends are very different than i and it's hard to communicate effectively with them. there's a certain level of awkward with some of them, and sometimes a one-way admiration. i have to look for a new apartment in 2 months. my bed sucks, but should i get a new one if i'm moving in 2 months? my friends want to visit (yay!) but it's the weekend i've got a "retreat" for a class.
not to mention i still don't know what to "do" with all the homeless people i see around here. one of them, diane, lives at my starbucks. (great name, isn't it?!) usually she's in a jovial mood, tho easily set off to be a foul mood that it's best to give her some space. yesterday she just looked defeated. i don't know what happened, but she wasn't in her usual good mood or her usual bad mood. and i don't know what to say or do or how to help her. i want to respect her and give her dignity, but how?
and in less than an hour, classes start for the quarter. geez.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
back in pasadena...
wow.
i haven't really been honestly blogging in a while. part of that is i don't know what to say. part of it is i don't want the whole world to know what i'm really thinking. i've had ridiculously conflicting thoughts and emotions the past 3 weeks. well, 2 months, really. i guess that comes with the territory: VA no longer is home, but CA isn't quite home yet. but it's on it's way in, so i think i can call pasadena home now.
but home in a transient sense. i won't be living in this apartment but for 2 more months. which is crazy to think about, and stressful to try to think about "where next?" i'm not worried about finding a place, but just the change in relationships that comes with a change in roommates and neighbors.
i had a great time in VA. it was kind of nice - i didn't have to worry about "fitting in" or being the kind of person someone would want in a friend, like i had to impress people into liking me. i was more focusing on the friendships i already had, which was freeing that i could talk to people and enjoy them as a person that i couldn't have done 6 months ago. ok, this sounds weirder and a bigger deal when i write it out than it actually is... but anyway.
flying across the country sucks. when i moved here, all things went well, but going back to the east coast and coming back to the west were harder than anticipated. stupid winter weather and broken planes. flying into and out of vegas is cool. lake mead and the hoover dam, a great view of the strip - the mirage, the venetian, mandalay bay, the eiffel tower, the luxor... all icons visible from the plane. we also flew over the grand canyon, which was awesome to see from above. it looks different from way up there. now i just need to get to the bottom. on the way out of CA, i also flew over joshua tree. it was cool to see from above, too, especially since it has snowed the night before. from above it's a lot easier to remember i really do live in a desert.
so classes start monday. i'm ready to start thinking and seeing my friends again after the break, but i'm not ready to dive into actually studying again. i bought some of my books online, some i'll go pick up at a bookstore today, and some i will need to buy at the school bookstore, which conveniently doesn't open until monday. i'll post later what my classes are... once i'm more in the academic mood.
i'm not used to such strong, opposing emotions. it's quite frustrating for me, really. i'm so glad to be back, but once i got back, i dropped my bags and was immediately lost and lonely. thankfully matt and lara rescued me from that, then a movie night at becca's with matt, lara, matthew, courtney, julie, and boram helped. ;-)
i've unpacked one bag, the easy one with all the clean clothes. i haven't opened my other bag. i need to run some errands today before i go to work at 4pm. i feel like i've wasted the whole day, but really, i've accomplished quite a lot and it's earlier than it feels. i guess part of that is jetlag. interesting. i can't wait for my other friends to get back...
i fell both immensely loved and incredibly alone. it's a strange burden, part of adjusting to a new life, i guess. i constantly have to keep my expectations in check. i want the whole world and know i should be content with much much less. it doesn't help that i'm an introverted verbal processor.
ummm, yeah. i think that's it for now. onward-ho!
i haven't really been honestly blogging in a while. part of that is i don't know what to say. part of it is i don't want the whole world to know what i'm really thinking. i've had ridiculously conflicting thoughts and emotions the past 3 weeks. well, 2 months, really. i guess that comes with the territory: VA no longer is home, but CA isn't quite home yet. but it's on it's way in, so i think i can call pasadena home now.
but home in a transient sense. i won't be living in this apartment but for 2 more months. which is crazy to think about, and stressful to try to think about "where next?" i'm not worried about finding a place, but just the change in relationships that comes with a change in roommates and neighbors.
i had a great time in VA. it was kind of nice - i didn't have to worry about "fitting in" or being the kind of person someone would want in a friend, like i had to impress people into liking me. i was more focusing on the friendships i already had, which was freeing that i could talk to people and enjoy them as a person that i couldn't have done 6 months ago. ok, this sounds weirder and a bigger deal when i write it out than it actually is... but anyway.
flying across the country sucks. when i moved here, all things went well, but going back to the east coast and coming back to the west were harder than anticipated. stupid winter weather and broken planes. flying into and out of vegas is cool. lake mead and the hoover dam, a great view of the strip - the mirage, the venetian, mandalay bay, the eiffel tower, the luxor... all icons visible from the plane. we also flew over the grand canyon, which was awesome to see from above. it looks different from way up there. now i just need to get to the bottom. on the way out of CA, i also flew over joshua tree. it was cool to see from above, too, especially since it has snowed the night before. from above it's a lot easier to remember i really do live in a desert.
so classes start monday. i'm ready to start thinking and seeing my friends again after the break, but i'm not ready to dive into actually studying again. i bought some of my books online, some i'll go pick up at a bookstore today, and some i will need to buy at the school bookstore, which conveniently doesn't open until monday. i'll post later what my classes are... once i'm more in the academic mood.
i'm not used to such strong, opposing emotions. it's quite frustrating for me, really. i'm so glad to be back, but once i got back, i dropped my bags and was immediately lost and lonely. thankfully matt and lara rescued me from that, then a movie night at becca's with matt, lara, matthew, courtney, julie, and boram helped. ;-)
i've unpacked one bag, the easy one with all the clean clothes. i haven't opened my other bag. i need to run some errands today before i go to work at 4pm. i feel like i've wasted the whole day, but really, i've accomplished quite a lot and it's earlier than it feels. i guess part of that is jetlag. interesting. i can't wait for my other friends to get back...
i fell both immensely loved and incredibly alone. it's a strange burden, part of adjusting to a new life, i guess. i constantly have to keep my expectations in check. i want the whole world and know i should be content with much much less. it doesn't help that i'm an introverted verbal processor.
ummm, yeah. i think that's it for now. onward-ho!
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