Elvis

When I find things on the Internet that I like, I usually save them to iPhoto so I can ogle at them later.
I'm usually not very good at taking note of the source, so I rarely share them.
As I went back to look at some of the photos I saved, I noticed how many are in black and white.
The classic simplicity of it is very cool.
Right now, my background is Elvis drinking coffee because
A. I like Elvis
B. I like coffee

My grandmother LOVES this guy. She has tons of Elvis paraphernalia. She even went to his concert right before he got his big break. So. Cool.

I wish I had been around in the heyday of Elvis. Overall, the era seems like a cool time to be alive. I love to hear my granparents' stories about the things they did with their friends. Once my grandpa's friend wanted a convertible, so he just sliced the top of his car off! 

My grandparents would go on skating dates to the roller rink and once, when my grandpa was trying to show off,  he skated right into the girls bathroom. 

I talked to my grandparents on my birthday (January 24th!) and was reminded that when my grandmother was 19, she was married and had a kid. That is so far from where I am it's insane. 

Life has shifted so much in 50 years. Two generations ago, that was the norm. Now, who can say what is normal? 

It's a little terrifying to think if that much can change in 2 generations, what will the world be like 2 generations from now? 

Yikes.

With that scary thought, I suggest you take a sip of some delicious coffee and then set it down so you can boogie to "Hound Dog"

Happy Saturday! 

My Grandpa

Are you ever just struck with this undeniable urge to hear a song you haven't heard in ages?
All of a sudden Monday night I really wanted to listen to "Unforgettable". In particular, the version that Natalie Cole performed.
I don't know that I had ever heard the song all the way through before but my brain asked my rather urgently to listen to it.
Her voice is so beautiful. What an amazing duet!
Take 3 and a half minutes and enjoy it. If it's not in your music library, search Grooveshark.com or youtube. I can't imagine you will regret it.
It's making me think of my grandpa.
Every time he slow dances, he sings to the lady he's dancing with. Typically it's my grandmother but I got to dance with him at my grandparent's 50th anniversary party last November and he sang to me too.
He has a beautiful voice too. He loves Alan Jackson and Johnny Cash and especially Randy Travis (have you ever heard Diggin' Up Bones?)
Grandpa's working through some illness right now and it's hard to know when I'll see him next.
I love him!

Almost Birthday

So remember that thing I gave you the teaser on? To find out what it is, click this link to the youtube video. This is pretty much exactly how it played out in my head when I imagined telling all of you, so I thought I would go straight to the source.
That's right people, I got bangs! It's kind of a big thing in girl world, in case you are male or was otherwise unaware that this is a major decision. The reason I think they're such a 'major' decision is because at some point, you always get sick of them and want to straight up rip them out of your scalp because they're so annoying. At the hair salon, it's the "Is looking cute now worth the nearly inevitable annoyance of these babies approximately one and a half to two months from now?" But if you are a normal person and don't over think hair styles, then you clearly think I'm a lunatic.

Do you ever have that moment where you're thinking "my life is so chill right now, nothing's going on" and then BAM! you remember that you have a zillion things to do?
That totally happened to me tonight. That means right now I have to go watch and take notes on 2 videos for my fine arts class. Care to learn about Goya and Degas with me?
Just kidding. I also have to reread Oedipus Rex and take an online quiz. I should do some math homework, finish my PHE lab and start on the next history chapter, but we'll see how far I get tonight. I had some super delicious fresh brew tonight after unit dinner which was great, as per usual. I really need to begin paying closer attention to the names of the brews I do and do not like.

Also, it's my birthday tomorrow. Woohoo!
19 years old tomorrow. I would do some huge life reflection like "look at where I've been, where am I going, bluh bluah blah" but I'll spare you - at least until that amazing revelation comes to me.
I did get to see my family this weekend which was pretty cool. I'm never sure when I'm going to have all of them together again so I like to soak up what I can get. Hey, that sounded like an adult thing to say. I'm getting the hang of this!
This is my last year of being a teenager. Weird! Anything I do this year, I can still look back on it and say "When I was a teen...." but after this, I cannot.
What's something fun you did as a teen?
I dyed my hair purple. That was pretty neat. There's a photo of it not too far back in the blog, so scroll if you care to view it. Thanks to Kate for dying it!

Here's a photo of my new hair (but not a new face because that would be strange).

Ps- did you watch the rest of that video clip? No judgement if you did!

Happy Monday!

Winter in the Midwest

There are some wonderful things about winter in the midwest.
Some of these things are:
Cute sweaters (check)
Cozy coat (check)
Matchy gloves (check)
Snuggly hats (check)
Warming up with hot coffee or chocolate (I think you know the answer)

There are also some bad things about winter in the midwest.
Some of these things are:
Waiting three minutes inside to be able to feel your face again (check)
Achy ears from the cold (check)
Having no feeling left in your fingers after getting the snow and ice off your car (later today!)
And checking the weather online a zillion times when you have a trip planned (check)

I'm supposed to head out to Michigan today for a family weekend but the weather is pretty nasty.
It's coming from the west and headed directly into my path of travel. Darn it!
I want to just be there, but I want to be safe.
Here's the thing with this kind of stuff. I'm not saying you should be stupid and reckless and do whatever you want so God can use it to change you. I think that God will use whatever tool He wants to, a car accident, falling on your butt on the sidewalk, or a perfectly safe trip to wherever you're going, in any way He wants to. You can't sit in your room, safely, waiting for God to do something amazing.
If my dad tells me not to drive today, I won't.
I'll be extra careful and not even jam out that hard if it would make him feel better.


*On another note, my friend Tyler and his parents are visiting campus today. Visit days for me were the only way I knew if I wanted to go to that college or not. I hope today is informative for him and helps him make a decision. And also, it's good to see people from home :)

A Teaser

In case you had not noticed, I blog about teeny tiny things that happen in my life.
For those of you who do not live inside my brain, you may be surprised to know that I think in writing.
Allow me to demonstrate with this hypothetical example although I have the feeling I have done so before.
2:20:04 PM - I am waiting in line at McConn.
2:20:56 PM - I am at the register and my eyes see the barista is wearing a cute white sweater and dangly blue earrings that, had I seen them in a store, I would have mentally declared them 'too cool' for me.
2:20:57 PM - My brain says "I finally got to the register and the barista was wearing this cute white sweater and dangly blue earrings that, had I seen them in a store, I would have mentally declared them 'too cool' for me."

Do you see what I'm getting at?
I do not have thoughts for me, I have them for an audience as though the catalogue of my thoughts were being read in real time. Thank heaven that's not true and I can edit myself here.

Today, something worth blogging about happened but I won't write about it until after this weekend when I see my family because I KNOW they read this (I've made this blog a bookmark on their computers).
No worries, it's been photo documented and you will see the results soon, as well as hear about my birthday weekend with the fam.
That's right, I turn 19 on Tuesday. Woo!
Enjoy the suspense, all.

Morning People

I've never considered myself a morning person, but the truth is, I'm very capable of waking up before I need to and functioning. 
It's easier for me to wake up an hour before I need to be awake than it is for me to wake up 15 minutes earlier than I normally do.


For example:
Monday I have a class at 8:55 and Sunday night I said "Hey, I'll wake up at 8:15 instead of 8:25. That way, I'll have a little time for coffee." That, ladies and gents, absolutely did not happen. No coffee entered my system on that morning. 


Monday night, I realized I absolutely could not make it through one more page of Homer's The Iliad which I'm sure you can sympathize with if you've ever read a Greek epic. I'm very grateful for the translation we are reading. It's much more readable than the translation of The Odyssey we used my freshman year of high school. 
So I said to myself, "I'll get up early tomorrow, take my book to McConn, and sip coffee while I read some classic literature." That vision of class I had was a little skewed due to my choice of a TMNT tshirt under my sweater (no regrets), but the main idea remained. I finished the reading (and 2 cups of coffee) all because I set my alarm for 7:45 instead of 8:45 like I would of for a typical Tuesday. I did well on the quiz and, as an added plus, think I'm going to get along well with my group for that world literature class.
And, another plus, the apple I had in the dining hall today was perfection. Judge all you want, but you know a great apple is a beautiful thing.


All this to say, perhaps I am a morning person. I did not meander in a zombie-like fashion to McConn and suddenly wake up like a wind up doll once I had my first sip of coffee. I was alert, polite, and highly functioning (see: reading Greek poetry) before I had finished half of my first cup. So take that, preconceived notions of myself. 

Story Time

As promised, here is a post about my time in the Dominican Republic.
On Thursday, my team went to the leper hospital.
Last year, I spent time with a man named Marcelino who has the best laugh on the planet. My spanish isn't great and neither is his hearing, so we don't do too well on the verbal communication front.
He is old and sick and his teeth are crooked and he is joyful.

I saw him almost right away sitting out in the courtyard. It's an open air set up so he was on one of the paths in a metal garden chair. I ran up and hugged him and asked him how he had been. I asked if he remembered me but I didn't think he would. I brought him a photo of the two of us from last year and he seemed to remember.
One of the hospital workers brought him a snack and his hands were too full to do much. I helped him walk back to his room and put away the snacks and his photo. I wrote my name on the back in case anyone found it later.

We sat back down and smiled a lot. I told him about school as best I could and he tol dme how he had two sons and two daughters. Soon it was time for the party.

We sat in the exact same spot that we did last year and I smiled. Creatures of habit are not easily rerouted. He held his hand out flat and I placed my palm on top of it.

"Ah huh, ahh huh!" he reassures me. I wish you could hear it. The way Marcelino says it is so distinct!
We laughed and clapped with the puppets and then I got up to help with the music team.
We sang "Cuan Grande es Dios" which is "How Great is Our God" and it went really well.
For the rest of the program we sat together, hand in hand.

Then the present passing started. I didn't help because I wanted to sit with him more, but hey, that's my prerogative. We opened his gift together- toothpaste and a toothbrush, a nice button down shirt, a towel, and a Beanie Baby bunny! Thanks to everyone who donated for these gifts. The residents really love them.

Marcelino kissed the bunny and laughed. He thought it was a dog so he barked. I attempted to tell him it was a bunny, but figured it wouldn't matter anyway and went along with it. I walked with him back to his room again to put his gift away. We sat a little while longer and then it was time to go.

Marcelino's joy is astounding. His willingness to laugh loudly at something he finds funny is a trait I've lost. Sometimes I tell myself that something isn't cool or that no one else is laughing (usually they aren't) so I shouldn't either. Who cares? If it's funny, the appropriate social response is to laugh.

Spending time just sitting with him holding his hand also reminded me to slow the heck down in life. Too often, I'm running from one thing to the next, trying to get and trying to achieve. What's the point? It's much better to spend lots of time on the important things, including sitting with friends and enjoying company, than to run around like a crazy person as life passes you by.

This is Marcelino and me this year.

The music team doing our thing

Someone else snapped this shot of me helping him back to his room

ps- I finished my Arrowhead application today too! 

Feelin' Fine

You know that moment when you have a lot to do, but it all seems do-able, and you feel energized about it all? That was me 15 minutes ago feverishly writing this blog post in my head. So here's how today has gone down thus far.


*This entry is full of me finding joy in the little things. Seriously, prepared to be enlightened.


This morning, I woke up at 7ish. Since I have been back at school (Tuesday) I have woken up before my alarm every time. I think this is an awesome little treat! I have some anxiety about being late, and my body wakes up, looks at the clock, and says "Hey, just wanted you to see, you have another [2 hours, 30 minutes, 2 minutes] left to sleep. Enjoy!" It's great! Like a nap you don't have to plan any more time for and since I'm not in deep sleep, I know I won't miss the alarm. That happened this morning  before my 8:30 appointment in the health center. I was prompt and bundled because it is extremely windy and snowy here today. I don't know how much snow has fallen though because it's whipping around like a rodeo. I sat down with a very kind nurse practitioner, who's name, regretfully, I did not learn, and explained everything to her. 


I kind of enjoy the freedom of a doctor's office. When I'm talking to my friends about being sick, I never want to tell them what's actually going on so they don't have some horrific mental image of me. Euphemisms are entirely unnecessary in a doctor's office. You just say what the truth is and it's their job not to giggle or make a face about it. That's pretty cool. Not long after that, I was out of there and headed to my 8:55 math class. 


I had emailed my professor the day before and told her I would be late and why and she was so sweet about the whole thing. I had been in her class once and in her email she said she would be praying for me and my whole team to be feeling better and that she would gladly take my homework at the end of class. [another point for Christian universities]. 
I was nervous about class because we were one seat short last class period. The fear was that I would have to loudly drag a chair over and squish around an already full table and make a big scene while she was trying to teach. 
Last time, I sat in the back row (of 3) on the left side so it was like this:
{edge of room} [seat] [me] [seat] [seat] {aisle} [seat] [seat] [seat] [seat] {edge of room}
Of course, all those seats were full around me. 
So here we go, I walk in maybe 6 minutes late and the seat I was in before was empty. My heart was warm! I liked that a lot because we are all creatures of habit and how great it was not to have to scan the room awkwardly for an open chair. To me it said, "Hey you, welcome to the class! We left a seat for you!" Perfect.


Then it was time for chapel. I sat with me very good friend Malesa and my suitie Liz. Dr Jim "Umfundisi" Lo spoke about complacency in our hearts from Amos 6:1 which says, from the NIV, 
"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!"


Then, I went to CVS to get my prescription filled. I didn't have a snow scraper in my car and I was nervous about having to drive around for a parking spot upon returning. I know that's stupid, but that really gets me for some reason. Slowly but surely, I made it to CVS and got Gatorade (electrolytes), pens, pretzels (carbohydrates), beef jerky (protein, baby), my prescription, and an ice scraper for my car. I drove back and to my surprise, my spot was still there! I don't know how many other crazy cats are driving around campus today, but that was a primo spot. 


All of these dorky, warm, fuzzy moments to say that God has really been looking out for me in ways that speak to me. He's pretty awesome like that. Also, because it's cold today, I wore my new Carhartt jacket, the Carhartt hat I got last Christmas that is so comfy cozy I sometimes sleep in it, my favorite t-shirt, and a good old flannel shirt. All of those things, Manchester Orchestra's album "Simple Math" playing while I blog, and sipping on Gatorade makes for a pretty awesome Friday. What can I say, I know how to party. Also, I know my head is in a weird place but I was trying to eliminate the glare from my glasses. 


I have one more class today and it's history. This class scares me quite a bit but I am willing to buckle down and do the work. Unless I have a D in there in 3 weeks, then I'll probably drop it. But hey, we will cross that bridge if we come to it. 

This weekend, I am going to finish my application to Arrowhead to see if I can work there this summer. During Dr. Lo's sermon he was talking about floating downstream in a kayak. Arrowhead has a lake not a river but thinking about being out there on the still water in a kayak is the most peaceful thing. Wonderful. Also, this weekend I will write at least one post about the Dominican. I Promise! 

Sickie

I want to gush all about my trip to the Dominican Republic. Right now, I feel pretty sick. A bunch of the other members of my team are also sick so it's likely something we picked up while there. I'm trying to not let Satan steal my joy about the fresh start of a new semester and the amazing God-sightings from the DR trip, but I'm struggling. I've been sick since the morning of the 7th and the nurse practitioner is booked until Friday morning. I want to feel well!

Headed Back

Happy 2012!
It's hard to believe that 2011 is totally gone.
I am driving back to school today but just wanted to let you know that I have tons to write about my mission trip to the Dominican Republic which lasted from December 31-January 7, hence the lack of posting.
I'm still not entirely packed yet (did you expect anything less) and I really want to get on the road before 10:30 this morning. That being said, when I am settled in to my room in the next few days I'll write about the Dominican Republic.
Thanks for your patience!