Inspiration

I just saw the movie Blindside and all I have to say is: WOW; LOVED it!

Winter

The dry, frigid winter has come to embrace the High Desert again and I’m finally done with finals! Hurray! I am so looking forward to sleeping in, drinking hot beverages, gift wrapping and most of all: reading! My mind becomes so thirsty for literature during the semester while it is fed mostly with the cut and dry textbook writing style. So bring on the books!
I’m currently reading What Is God Waiting For? Embracing The Divine Delays In Your Life by Marlinda Ireland and Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. I would also like to find a novel to read in the near future so any suggestions are welcome!
This season I have found amazon.com to be invaluable for my Christmas shopping! I don’t typically shop online, but these last few weeks have been frazzled and scattered thanks to the various commitments I’ve made. I have very nearly purchased all my Christmas gifts using the internet, however sacrilegious that may sound. The best part is they’re delivered right to my door. :-)
About two weeks ago, my computer practically exploded (In Natalie language that means that it got a virus.) and I lost all my pictures, music, and documents from this semester. What a disastrous event that was. I was amazed to find out how much I really do “store my treasure on earth” in the form of pixels and megapixels. So now I basically have a “tabula rasa” for a computer as I had to reset it to its original state and start from square one. I’m accepting donations in the form of email attachments with any fun pictures from the last year!
Here is one that I was able to salvage:

My Jr. High Tribe

Blessings on you all during this Advent season.

AVID

After a couple months of paper work, board meetings, finger printing, and 16 hours of training I am finally an AVID Tutor! AVID is a program for Jr. High and High schools which focuses on building the skills necessary for college entrance and success. This program has done an excellent job of leveling the playing field for all children with college and career goals and I’m quite excited to be a part of it. So far I’ve led one tutorial which was somewhat of a “crash-course” for me as I wasn’t supposed to be giving tutorials until next week.

I believe that in giving the first tutorial I made a wonderful group of little enemies. The tutor training session made it very clear that AVID Tutors must maintain a certain amount of professional distance from the students in order to get the highest performance from the students. I am to be kind and caring, without succumbing to or allowing any of the antics which are prevalent among Jr. highers. I whole-heartedly agree with this method, yet, the application is a bit difficult. Of course I want them to like me! But alas, it is not to be, as I happened to lead the tutorial of students from the “in-crowd.” The sighs, eye rolling, and profanity were not what I expected to be welcomed with!

However difficult this endeavor may turn out to be, I feel like the Lord has me immersed in this age-group for a reason. Between tutoring and tribes I am completely surrounded by pre- and mid-pubescent children. I hope I will be able to make a positive impact on many of these hurting and troubled students.

Living Radically

This afternoon I was at home working on some homework with the television on (which is a bad studying technique by the way) and then it hit me! BAM! Every commercial that came on used the words “indulge,” “convenience,” “easy,” “fast” or some other variation of these self-gratifying words. It is so disheartening to see what our culture has put on the pedestal: ourselves! Good ol’ number one.

Our culture enforces the antithesis of what the Bible encourages. How are children of God to follow in the wake of Jesus when such conflicting messages are bombarding them at every turn? Is the purpose of life to satisfy our gluttonous, lustful, rebellious selves? Absolutely not, yet that is what the world preaches. “Whatever feels good is right.” “Find your truth.”

This fact is bothersome because it hits so close to home. So often I want what is easiest, most convenient, and I want it now. I want answers to my questions now. I want to attain what others have and I want it fast.

This reoccurring theme of selfishness has so permeated the human race that it is not seen as wrong. It is acceptable and easy. Self-sacrifice and self-control are not valued. What a pity!

Application: this is where I always falter in my grand ideas and philosophies. Instead of pointing my finger at this obvious flaw in humanity I need to focus on how I should go about my life in a way that would make a difference. And that requires self-control and self-sacrifice. It certainly takes a great deal of faith to live in a way that is difficult especially when there is an easy way out: the world’s way.

“Then [Jesus] said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23)

Let us live radical lives for Christ and actually do what he commands of us! Let's "indulge" ourselves in the love of Christ by loving others and sacrificing our own comfort for the good of the Kingdom of God.

Love is a chance we should take

Hello my friend
I remember when you were
So alive with your wide eyes
Then the light that you had in your heart was stolen
Now you say that it ain't worth stayin'
You wanna run but you're hesitatin'
I'm talkin' to me

Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There's a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it
There's a girl on the streets, she's cryin'
There's a man whose faith is dyin'
Love is calling you

Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

Why do we go with the flow
Or take an easier road?
Why are we playin' it safe?
Love came to show us the way
Love is a chance we should take
I'm movin' out of the way

Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
(Stand out)
Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
(Stand out)
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There's a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it

Chico!

I traveled up to Chico this last weekend to take a look at CSU Chico. I absolutely LOVE it up there and cannot wait to go back. :-) I would love to write more about it but I'm actually quite sick and don't have much energy for writing. Here is a short video I put together of my time there.

melancholy

Sometimes I feel like life has left me in the dust. I don't want to exist, I want to LIVE!

And not just for the future, but for the present.

This week I just existed.

Pathetic.

One Down

I turned in my first college application tonight. Wow, let me rephrase that. . . I turned in my first college application tonight as an upper-division transfer student. Woa, I guess time does fly! It's shocking to think that after this semester I will have completed half the necessary requirements for a B.A.

I've changed and grown in so many ways since high school. I hope this rate of change doesn't continue for the rest of life because I find it exhausting! (Well, it is exciting too.)

Oh, yes. . . my new major = Liberal Arts with a Literature emphasis.

Goal = credential in single subject instruction.

I think God has finally pushed me over the edge. Apparently He has decided that the ONE career I refused to embark upon is the one that is best. . . at least for now.

Nutrition is still in my interests though, I plan to pursue that subject for the rest of my life. :-)

Netflix

This summer I discovered the beauty of Netflix thanks to my online "Film as an Art Form" class. First, I explored different interpretations and adaptations of classic novels such as Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Mansfield Park and other, mostly British novels. It is quite fun to see how the same book can be interpreted differently and explored through an entirely different medium than text.

Recently, I've been interested in the many documentaries out there. I've been especially caught up by the documentaries that are based on the books by Lee Stroble. (Stroble is a Christian journalist who documented his journey from Atheism to Christianity based on solid evidence.) His documentaries include "The Case for a Creator,""The Case for Christ," and "The Case for Faith." I find that these documentaries are complimented by the recent "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" by Ben Stein.

I'm also quite excited to watch other documentaries about health such as "King Corn."

All in all I find that Netflix has opened up an entirely new world of discovery! It enables me to learn in a much faster way. It is such a discouraging thing to realize that one can read for an entire lifetime and still not read all the great novels, biographies, or informational works that are present in this world. At least Netflix has allowed me to expand my knowledge double-time.
( NO, I did not get paid to write this.) :-)

Road Trip Video

Well, I have had this video in a state of partial completion for quite some time. It's been sitting on my computer just waiting for the pictures from my cousin's camera. But I have decided that awaiting their arrival is futile as my cousin is quite busy and I'm sure has completely forgotten that the pictures even exist! Therefore, this is a semi-complete timeline of our road trip through the Midwest. And as I was the photographer, there are many sections which were not recorded because I found it difficult to operate a camera and a motor vehicle simultaneously. I know that it is a rough cut video, and that it is probably very boring for most people as it includes many road sequences. (Hence the term "road-trip") But I hope it is still fun to watch. I ended up cutting quite a few portions of the original video because got to be fairly lengthy. Unfortunately, it is still long but I found it hard to condense 4,000 miles into 8 and 1/2 minutes! :-)

I hope everyone enjoys it!

Much love,

Chin up!

Whoa! It sure has been a while! I guess I got out of the routine of writing but don’t worry I’ll reinstate it! Life is currently quite busy, in a good way. After the upsetting start of the semester, I’ve gotten involved with some extracurricular activities such as: Jr. High ministry at HDC, work at “The Island,” and I’m currently in the training process to become an AVID tutor at one of the local Jr. High schools. I’ve also been trying to spare time to help my grandparents move out of their house in Arrowhead. So that’s life in a nutshell. I don’t really have anything specific to write about tonight but I wanted to update my blog so that people don’t think I’m still drowning is self-pity; I’m not. :-)

Aurora and I all ready for 80's night at Jr. High "Tribes."

Ventation

I’m almost done with week-one of school. :-) I’ve wanted to post a blog almost every night this week but when I would sit down to write, words wouldn’t come to me. I have had a much harder time adjusting than I expected.
Even though I’ve known that I’d be attending VVC this semester, it has really “hit me” now that it’s a reality. The reason for me staying home seemed so logical to me before, but now I am constantly trying to rework my decision. Hindsight is always 20/20 right? Life certainly does not go according to plan. I think that should be the theme of my blog as it seems that every few blogs I post have something to do with plans and expectations!
It’s hard to put raw emotions into written form, especially when it’s on the internet. Basically here is the gist of my life for the past week: I attend VVC. I’d rather not. I have applied for many jobs, none have worked out. I feel kind of lonely. I’m a little on the angry/discontent side even though I know that God has me here for a reason. I’m slowly learning that God really needs to be enough. I need to rely on Him first and foremost. :-)

Wow, this is great therapy! Thanks for reading my venting post.
Much love!
Natalie

P.S. after a quick edit of this post I realize that 10% (I did the math) of the words used include some form of the word “I.” Ugh, perhaps (I) should work on being a little less concerned about (my)self!

Road-Trip! (Apple Valley -- Odessa, TX)

I am currently sitting on a nice clean hotel bed in Odessa, Texas. The road-trip has been a delightful experience so far! It’s my first road-trip with people other than my immediate family or grandparents, and also the first trip in which I have been an active participant in the decisions and responsibilities that go along with traveling. Yesterday was full of talking, laughter, singing, and music. We traveled from home to Albuquerque, New Mexico which took about 12 hours total. That’s including stops for gas, restrooms, driver swapping, and a few wrong turns thanks to Maggie the GPS who decided to take a vacation from functionality.

Along the way we have collected quite a variety of splattered insect intestines and have created a thorough video commentary to be published at a later time. We’ve also tried to document the every changing terrain. Some plants have been quite astonishing: a certain shrub that can be found thickly along the highway just south of Albuquerque is quite unique. When I was finally able to focus on these shrubs (during a lull in the usually excessive speed of a certain cousin of mine) I was able to discern that these plants are not shrubs at all! Instead, they are black cactus! Quite an astounding thing to realize! Perhaps this discovery means more to me because I was, at the time, quite trapped in the back of a Ford Focus.

Another discovery that was made by Autumn and I is this: breakdowns in communication are likely to occur after excessive amounts of time spent in such close quarters! A quick anecdote to prove my point: While discussing the stupidity of drug use I jokingly admitted to secretly doing meth in my “underground laboratory.” Unfortunately this phrase was taken as my “Undergrad Lavatory!” After we deciphered our communication error, we had a great cramp-inducing belly laugh. These communication flubs, among other things have been the source of many laughing spells which include snorting, eye-watering, and muscle spasms.

I am full of other comments but must refrain from writing more as it is now about 1am Texas time and my slave-driver cousin insists we leave by 8am. I have been taking many pictures and videos of the trip and hope to have a video posted shortly after I return home.

Much love to all my friends who are moving back to college this weekend!

Here's a challenge:

I am hardly sure this is possible, but here is a challenge for you:
Try to do your homework while watching 9 children run around the house screaming, laughing, and slamming doors. (They're playing tag of course.)
If you manage to succeed please tell me how, that I may be able to emulate your technique.
I'll wager you'd find it difficult too.
:)
Cheers,
Natalie

A tribute to Blaise Pascal-

"Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world."

"Human beings must be known to be loved; but Divine beings must be loved to be known."

"It is good to be tired and wearied by the futile search after the true good, that we may stretch out our arms to the Redeemer."

"Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair."

On a more humorous note:
"Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself." :)

It's hard to blog at home!

The busyness that I experience at school is different than when I'm home. When I'm at school, I am usually in class or in my room. Almost all homework assignments include the use of a computer so I find it much easier to blog about this and that. At home, however, I find I am on the computer WAY less, therefore I post fewer blogs. Don’t give up on me though!

Recent happenings:
My family went to mammoth for five days. It was beautiful and relaxing. You can check out pictures on facebook, or simply wait for the next video. (Who knows when that’ll be!?)

I am taking two online art classes through Victor Valley College -- more on that later.

In two days, Felisha and I will find ourselves at Thousand Pines Christian Camp as Jr. High camp counselors. I’m very excited!!

I got my old job back at the Island coffee shop. =) Hooray!!

Summer has seemed to be as scattered as this post. I guess I’d better get used to it!

The Shack

I decided that this summer would be one of reading! Not that my other summers haven’t been considerably full of books, but I rarely make a point of reading books (outside of class) that don’t fall into the categories of good-feeling/light-reading, historical-fiction, or romance. This summer I will not only try to get my fill of those types of books, but I will also dedicate time to digging deeper into what it means to live in the center of Christ’s love. The first book on the list was The Shack by W.M. Paul Young.
This book is certainly a work of fiction; however, that fact was often forgotten as I fell in love with the reality of the characters and the connection that can be made between their humanity and my own. The main character named Mack is invited up to the shack where the last traces of his abducted daughter were found. There, he is met by God, to break through the politically correct, theological perceptions of God that Mack holds. While the book’s portrayal of God was revolutionizing to me, it also made me think about how God is so completely indescribable. If this perception and understanding of God can be created in a work of fiction in the mind of a human, then the thought of the reality of God blows me away! This God loves me: Unbelievable!!
Anyway, if you’re up for a good cry (or lots of them) and you want to fall more deeply in love with your Creator, read The Shack.

Currently reading:
Your Relationship With God: drawing closer to God every day, by Dr. Gary Smalley
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God, by Francis Chan
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis

Up next:
Any or all works by George Verwer.

I LOVE SUMMER!

Clutter!

It’s taken me much longer than I expected to combine my two lives, materially speaking. I got home around midnight on Saturday, May 16th and Monday morning I began my project of massive organization. Since I’m most likely going to be here at home for longer than a few months I don’t want to just box everything up to wait for the next time I move out. Therefore, my room has looked very much like a cyclone went through it for the last couple of days. I HATE it when there is so much stuff I can’t even move! I cannot function when my room is messy. I’m almost done with this, thank goodness!!
Currently, my mind is filled with concerns about finding a job. With this economy it is imperative that I have a job, but that is easier said than done. If you could keep that in your prayers I would appreciate it!

Goodbye Point Loma

Well, I just finished my freshman year at PLNU. I have no idea what lies ahead.
These are some strange emotions!!
Off to bed.
Goodnight!

Finals

Three down, two to go.
Ohhhh man.

I can't believe I'm putting this on my blog.

But I think it's really funny! :)

Improv Everywhere!

I've seen this dozens of times. . . and it never gets old! :) I hope you enjoy it.

Plans

I have been very unwilling to speak about any plans that I might have for my future because God has this little knack for changing them. :) I do think it is important, however, for me to relay some of the circumstances in which I find myself. I believe most of my family and friends know that I will not be returning to PLNU next fall. I have several reasons for this, here are some of them:
1. I cannot pay $33,000.00 a year. It’s just not going to happen.
2. I refuse to take out loans which will further inhibit my financial freedom later in life.
I am not against returning to PLNU at another time if God desires me to do so. I simply cannot see it as an option in my immidiate future.
I will be going home for summer! (I’ll take some college classes and get a job – hopefully!) As for next school year, I’m not really committed to anything at this point. I had really hoped and planned to live here in San Diego but as of right now, I do not have any solid plans for that to happen. I’ve been very much against going back to Victor Valley College, I really do NOT want to go there. However, I’ve spent a lot of time in prayer about this next year and I really want to be open to God’s plan instead of making my own. God knows of my desire to stay here in San Diego, I guess it just never occurred to me (until now) that God might be sending me to the very place I’ve been trying to get away from. (The High Desert.)
So my only solid plan as of right now is to go home on May 17th. After that it’s competely and totally up to God! I’m just along for the ride! Woohooo! :D

Finals

I'm sitting at work right now studying for finals. I have partially been looking forward to finals week because it means that my schedule has much more unstructured time than normal, which is kind of fun every now-and-then! Unfortunately, I believe I have already started loosing my mind due to excessive studying!
True Story:
This evening I decided to take a short nap before I got ready for work. I got in bed around 7:45pm. The next thing I remember, there was a loud noise coming from the door. I bolted out of bed and stared at the clock (with wild/panic stricken eyes) which read 8:36. Now to a perfectly sane mind, this makes perfect sense: I had been in bed for about 51 minutes. But apparently I was not in a state of sanity because I thought that I had slept through the night (and my graveyard shift at work) and had also missed my first final. This sent such an adrenalin rush through my body that I could no longer stand and I began shaking like a leaf. My roommate spent quite a while trying to persuade me that I really had only been in bed for an hour. When that realization finally hit me, I spent the next twenty minutes laughing off the rush of adrenalin.
In my opinion, this story makes a statement about the unbelievable pressure that is on college students to perform well on their finals! Minds just aren’t quite normal when they’re under this level of stress. In my personal case, I also realize it may not be in my best interest to watch murder mystery movies before I fall asleep either. Perhaps I shall take that into account next time.
I think That’s all for now!
P.S. There is a HUGE insect here in the welcome center. I can hear it flying around and bumping into things but I haven’t actually laid my eyes on it. Rest assured that if it happens to be another gigantic moth I will promptly evacuate this little cage of a building. That’s a promise.

I love this song

Slacker!

I've been such a slacker the last couple of weeks! I have not written one word, at least not physically. I write blogs in my head all the time but somehow they never materialize. This coming week is finals week and I'm dreading it like crazy. I just hate that feeling of never being as prepared as I should be. I never feel like I can study enough even though I spend hours and hours at it. I guess this is just part of college.
I've already started packing up and my room now looks like a hospital! It's way too white and cold. Sarah and I never realized how "lived-in" our stuff made it look but now that everything is off the walls it just seems so unfeeling. How sad is that!?
My mind has been full of lots of crazy things, most of which I can't write about at the moment. Prayer would be very much appreciated! I'll probably write again later when my brain is too full for studying. Until then. . .

Love

1 John 4:7-10

(7)Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (8) whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. (9) This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. (10) This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Oh the Joys

Of working for “Pub-Safe”:

I’ve been working for on-campus Public Safety for eight months now and I’d say it is one of the best on-campus jobs. Dispatch is especially conducive for college students because we are allowed to do homework while on duty. We can also listen to music as long as it is set as a respectful volume. It also combines the duties of reception and emergency response, so I now feel a little bit more qualified to apply for other reception jobs off campus. It also operates 24-7/365 which can be a good thing AND a bad thing. Good because the hours are very flexible with class schedules, bad because it means that you can’t just close it down when no one is available to work over breaks.

Public safety also has its quirks. I don’t know if any other job would put me in a situation where I needed to turn down marriage proposals at 1:00 in the morning! Yes, that happened. I don’t know of any other job that would force me to put up with screaming girls attempting to do Chinese fire drills at the stop sign. (Which doesn’t really work) And finally I don’t know of any other Job that would force me to create my own script: “Okay sir, you’re going to want to go up to the second stop sign, take a left and follow that around this loop here until you get to the parking structure on your left. Then you can walk to ______. No it’s not a long walk. Yes, left at the second stop sign. . . .No problem. . . Have a nice day!” I could go on and on about specifics of this job, but I'll just say that over all working at pub-safe has been a blessing this year even though it has gotten me into some interesting situations.

March/April video

Video #3 of the semester. . . a new record!!

Important:

1. Turn off the music at the bottom of the page!

2. I know that most of the footage is super shaky. . . sorry about that!

3. Most of the people included in the video are from my hall.

4. Music: Mainstay -- "Story"

I should be doing homework but I'm blogging instead.

This week was spent in the library, so

this is probably a pretty accurate picture of how I looked all week due to lack of sleep!!

I would not want to run into that in a back alley after dark!

Time Management

I just took a quick peek at my schedule . . . and in the next 3 weeks I have 11 Midterms/tests/ or term papers due. Let me break it down a little more: that is 3 midterms (in 2 days), 5 term papers, and 3 unit tests on top of regular homework and Easter "break." WOW

It's funny how. . .

When it's a matter of life and death, the preservation of life is the only important thing. Material things mean nothing.

*Pray for my Gramma.

Implications of an overly active mind

My mind runs 12 million miles a minute. I've calculated it out. Now, that doesn't hold true when I'm actually trying to do a math equation or when I'm trying to come up with a witty retort on-the-spot. But I tell you, the second I have quiet, my mind runs wild!
I frequently have "what-if" moments where I am simply doing a normal every-day thing when out of nowhere I come up with a random and semi-plausible situation. For example: *I'm sitting at my desk, studying for my Human Development test (which is TOMORROW) and I suddenly hear a deep rumbling noise underground. I scream "EARTHQUAKE", grab my computer and flee. Unfortunately, my computer is still connected to the wall and I stumble as I try to yank it out by force. And while I'm preoccupied I trip over the floor fan and face-plant into the fuzzy green rug.* This is a thought that I really had. You can ask my roommate, she will testify to its truth because I was forced to tell it to her after I had spontaneously erupted in laughter.
Another problem with my mind is that it doesn't relent when I'm trying to sleep. Take now for instance, I'm sitting in bed, without anything to do but fall asleep. But here I am . . . blogging. No offense, I love writing blogs, but it isn't high on my priority list tonight. Or should I say this morning as it is now 1:00am.
One thing that does help an overly active mind is something monotonous. Something that doesn't require much thought but just enough to keep the mind from creating too much havoc. Because of this truth, I have taken up knitting! Check out my FIRST attempt:

Notice the way it expands in width, that's not supposed to happen. Also, check out the gaping hole in the bottom right corner, that's not supposed to happen either. And while we are in an analytic mood, lets also recognize the unusual hand motion. I don't even know what's going on there.

"Twilight?"

I first heard of the “Twilight” book series last year while walking through Barnes & Noble with a friend. When I asked her what they were about she said “They are vampire love stories.” That was all I needed to know before I resolved never to read a word. I have even openly laughed at my acquaintances that do read these novels.
I was finally able to see the movie this weekend. I must admit that I was quite anxious to see this movie that has caused such a stir among girls and young women (maybe even guys) all over the country.
Unfortunately, I thought the movie/story line was downright ridiculous! There were a few “good-feeling” parts like the time when he saved her life, and the other time that he saved her life, and then the end when he saved her life. I’m not sure if that sounds repetitive to you, but it sure does to me.
I actually laughed out loud at some parts because of the absurdity. My favorite line was from Edward, the leading male character; he told the leading female, Bella, that she was like his own personalized brand of heroine. (This was said to describe how tempted he was to eat her.) If I was in her shoes I definitely would have turned around and ran forever. I most assuredly would not lean in for a kiss. But that’s just me.

He is with me

"God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain."

~C.S. Lewis

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Last night Felisha, Leslie and I went to Fashion Valley Mall to watch Confessions of a Shopaholic. Don't waste your money!!!

First of all, Felisha and I spent the entire movie fighting off panic attacks at her amount of debt. Second of all, Hugh Dancy (the leading male role) is way above this type of movie.

I should have taken the hint when the guy letting us into the theater said that it was "such a girly movie" and that we definitely wouldn't see any guys in the theater. (There actually WAS a guy in the theater, I hope he brought an ipod or something.)

That's all I have to say about that!

Stress and other random topics. . .

Some of the greatest conversations happen around the table at Starbucks over an iced caramel Macchiato. The most recent conversation I had was with Felisha and Caily, the topic: stress! Each phase of life is stressful; it seems to fall into the category of the human condition. In looking at all the life I hopefully still have to live this knowledge is quite ominous! It seems I spend more time trying to outrun the pressures of life instead of just embracing them and enjoying the moment. I don't want to outrun the pressures of life because when stress is escaped, life is forfeited. I'd rather just enjoy the moment. My new tactic for embracing stress is simply to laugh out loud! I encourage you to try it.

This first week back to school really hasn't been too bad as far as school. Unfortunately, I have contracted some sort of illness that has settled in my throat. So far it has kept me awake two nights in a row. It is most unwelcome.

On a completely random note, I went through my parent’s computer while I was at home for spring break and I found lots of old pictures! It was fun to take a jaunt down memory lane. I thought I'd share some:

Babysitting with friends: '07

Yosemite '06

Skiing! Sophomore year

My little cousin Ryen! '05?

My first driving lesson '05

Felisha's Grandparents house Freshman year?

Seattle '07

NYC mission trip '06

Back to school

Returning to school after spring break is much more difficult than returning after Christmas break. Instead of starting fresh with new classes we, as students, are dropped into the "sludge" of the middle of the semester. We already know what to expect of professors and they already know what we are capable of. There are no excuses.
From now on I have at least one term paper, term project, test, or midterm in EVERY WEEK until finals week. Lovely.
However, with only 9 weeks left of my Freshman year of college I am determined to make the best of everything!

Time Flies

Today I managed to accomplish a nearly impossible feat: I finished my homework by 7:30pm! I am still in awe! When I finished I certainly did not want to just sit around and do nothing, and I especially did not want to start on my homework for next week. Instead, I decided to create another video. . . this one is in memory of the Greece trip. I've been thinking about it all day so I decided to make this video. (That's two in one week folks!) It is a pretty rough cut and the pictures go by quickly because I didn't want to bore you all with long dramatic pictures of ancient ruins.

Just a few notes to read BEFORE watching the video:

• As always: Turn the music off at the bottom of the page.
  
• Keep in mind that the man I'm posing with in about the middle of the video (in the tan sweater) was the owner of a pottery shop who told me that I must chose between him or his brother, as neither of them were married, and that I must take a picture with him and kiss him on the cheek. Wait, I mean cheeks! (As in plural) It was entirely awkward and I was fairly FREAKED out by this greasy old Grecian man who had a serious 5 0'clock shadow that was quite painful to "kiss!" However, the experience did give me an awesome story to write on my future blog!
  
• On a more serious note, some of these ruins were places that the apostle Paul actually walked on! I walked in Paul's footsteps. Amazing.

Past and Present

This week has been super busy. Lots of papers, midterms, reading, work, and general lack of sleep. I am so grateful that the weekend is almost here because I will be able to get some SLEEP! Hallelujah! Other than that, there is nothing incredibly exciting to report.

Leslie's Birthday!


It has been almost TWO years since I went to Greece! I can't believe it. Today I went through all my Greece pictures and completely relived the experience. I WILL go back before I die. :) I thought I'd share a few pictures:

So Funny!

These pictures just make me laugh so I thought I'd share them with you!

Weekend Madness

Ah, where do I start!? This weekend was full of excitement.

• We'll start with Friday. . . my last class was cancelled and so my weekend started at 10:30 am. I could get used to that in a HURRY! In the evening I went to the cheesecake factory with a small group of girls to celebrate Leslie's birthday. I ordered Chocolate brownie Sunday cheesecake and WOA it was rich!
• I house sat for a family friend/Professor here at Point Loma. She has an AMAZING house! It's like a museum of modern art. . . that can be lived in. Totally awesome. Aurora spent the night with me so that I wouldn't freak out by myself and we made a giant cupcake! (There is a picture of it toward the end of the video in the previous post.)
• Saturday included homework and a few trips from campus to the house and vice-versa. I got a LOT of exercise. It was great! In the evening I had a movie marathon with Sarah, Trisha, and Felisha. We watched: Juno, Forrest Gump, and We Are Marshall. . . those last two are SO SAD. My face was practically a balloon by the time I went to bed. It was sob city.
• Sunday was full of homework and studies because midterms have arrived! oh boy.

Well for some reason I feel like I'm lacking skills in the communication department right now. It's probably because it is currently 1:53am and I don't think I'm functioning at maximum capacity! So I'm going to go watch Get Smart until my shift ends. I had some contemplations to share with the world today, but they seem to have abandoned me at the moment so I guess I'll just have to write them down later.

Video

About 1:00 this afternoon I was struck with the inspiration to create a video. I think it is largely because I don't really want to study for my literature midterm. ICK!
So I threw together this video of fun events from the last two months. (Don't forget to turn the music off at the bottom of the page before playing it!)

What a glorious day!

This semester I have classes that start at 7:30 in the morning! I officially hated myself for the first 2 weeks because I am by no means a morning person, but now that my body has adjusted to such an abnormal schedule (for me) I find that mornings brighten up the day! (Literally!) There is something refreshing in waking up at the beginning of the new day instead of in the middle of it. I have come to appreciate sunrises almost as much as sunsets and the brisk walk in the morning from my dorm room to class -- as long as it's not raining. I feel like God created mornings to be something special between Him and His children. Sometimes I think I can audibly hear Him say "Good morning beautiful!" What a way to start the day. . .

Contemplating Love

My mind has been swarming with ideas about Valentines Day and how to incorporate it into a blog entry. Some possible topics are:

1. Renaming Valentines Day to Singles Awareness Day.

2. The media's amazing ability to hype everything up and turn a day of love into a day of material.

A few other ideas have popped in and out of my head as well, but when it comes down to writing. I just don't feel like writing about love. At least not human love. . .

I want to live my life with God as my first, and most important love.

That's all!

So here I sit. . . . like a bird in the wilderness?

My grandma sings that song every time there is an awkward silence. "Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness. Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness. . ." I think you got it. So I guess the point of the title is to explain that there is an awkward silence in my mind. I'm thinking everything at once, and nothing at all. That could partly be caused by the grande-iced-caramel-machiato-with-an-extra-shot that I got from Starbucks at 9:00 PM, but it could also be because I feel a hurricane of emotions: contentment, concern, wonder, excitement, nervous energy, calm reassurance, and nonsense. I'm sure that didn't make any sense to you, it hardly makes sense to me, so don't feel bad!
Sometimes I wonder why God made us each unique. While it definitely shows his masterful artistry, sometimes I wonder if we were all the same, wouldn't it be so much easier to help each other out? Sometimes I'm at a loss when it comes to compassion and love. At times my own self-consciousness keeps me from selflessly loving others. I'm not so sure I'm okay with that.
Also, the acoustic radio at last.fm is the bomb, and it just stopped working. So now I feel like my world is falling apart! No acoustic radio!? You've got to be kidding me!
For the record. . . I had an entirely surreal experience today. I was simply doing my philosophy homework which is reading, of course, and I was writing a reflection paper. Suddenly, I felt like I wasn't thinking in a language. I really felt like my thoughts were in tongues because I had NO WAY of putting them on paper! It was incredibly irritating.
Another random fact: I think caffeine stimulates the imagination because I am suddenly deathly afraid of the dark. And that's bad. Because I'm sitting in a booth. In the middle of the night. In pitch. Black. Dark.
Creepy.

B-e-a-utiful!

The beautiful San Diego Skyline.

Last night my Uncle Bob (fondly called Yoda) took Felisha and I out to dinner and THIS was the view from the restaurant. SO AMAZING!!

This week will be action packed that's for sure! I have a test, a quiz, and 3 essays due in the next few days besides the normal reading. EEK. I'm also looking forward to seeing my aunt and cousins tomorrow, and my mom and brothers this weekend. (Reid's going to get a taste of college life .) I am currently at work trying to finish up some homework and be kind to all the people who simply drive by the booth and roll their eyes at me. grr

Only 37 minutes until my shift is over. woooh

A day at the beach. . in January!?

Repelling down the cliff of death.

This weekend has been full-to-the-max with great things! Last night some friends and I went grocery shopping. . .for FIVE hours. Now I know what you're thinking and no, we are not that obese, we simply do not have vehicles and therefore must rely on the shuttle. (Fondly known as the shut-shut, the looser cruiser, or the Fruttle. I, however, call it the shuttle because I'm not able to call anything a name like that without causing a socially awkward situation.) Anyway, today included a Point Loma baseball game, (WE WON by 4 runs. sweet!) a hike to the beach, and another hike off campus to Pete's coffee to do homework, (teehee, yea right.) and an 8 minute ab work out. (check it out on YouTube, trust me it kills.) Now I'm sitting here blogging, which is a new form of procrastination, with an Afro of newly-blow dried hair.

I'm not sure why I felt all of this was relevant to anyone other than myself BUT as I said I felt the need to procrastinate. On to homework. . .

My Birthday!

Felisha and Sarah decorated my room while I was at work. This was right before we took down all the decorations to avoid a fine!
Nolan and I toasting our eclairs. YUM!

A toast!

Reid was already sea sick at this point, so it's an incomplete family photo.

Delicious dessert!

Windy!

Sitting in the harbor before going out.

Liar, Liar!

If you'll recall, I DID write something about having more structured time for blogging. . . well. . . that only works when you make use of the time. Which I haven't. (That is a round-a-bout way of apologizing for not writing in forever.) So much has happened since the last post It'll be hard to catch you all up. In fact I'm a year older than I was last time I posted a blog. WOOOH 19!
Anyway, I'll have to put up pictures of my adventures in a later post (which probably means never) because I'm on the computer at work and don't have access to any photos to break up my monologue, or sonnet, or epistle, or whatever this is.

The introductions to new classes have ended and I am now in full throttle mode. My days consist of school, homework, school, homework, eat, sleep, school, home. . . well you get the picture. And I really should have put reading instead of "homework" because that is what all my homework is.

The January heat-wave is over and I have a little more peace of mind. Last week I was a little disturbed by my urges to go to the beach instead of reading.
I had planned on writing about my birthday adventures, but have decided against it. It will have to wait until I can give you some visuals to go along with the narrative.
Until then!

Starting a New Semester

It is spring semester and I’ve spent the last week getting back into the school-groove. This also means that I will now have more structured time for blogging, which is definitely a top priority!

I spent my Christmas vacation mostly at home with my family doing fun things like reading some old favorite books, playing board games, and baking delicious Christmas treats. My family also made a few weekend trips, one to Hume Lake Christian Camp (see the video blog below), and another to my Aunt and Uncle’s cabin in Big Bear. Those were great family bonding times!

So far, my new classes seem challenging but do-able. I am taking: Masterpieces of World Literature (at 7:30 am!!!!!), World Civilizations 1, Philosophy, Human Development, and Sociology. Thankfully I don’t have any science labs this semester, but my time will surely be full of reading. One thing I am especially looking forward to this semester is my human development class. This class requires that I spent an hour a week at the Early Childhood Learning Center here on campus to interact and observe the behavior of 3 and 4 year olds! At first I wasn’t TOO thrilled about that idea because it meant that I have to get up an hour early on Thursdays, but on further evaluation I think it will be a highlight in my week. I’ll be able to interact with little humans that still have the innocence of childhood (that’ll be a nice reprieve from constant interaction with college students!)

Felisha and I have concocted many plans to keep some spice in our lives. Our plan is to do some fun, fairly spontaneous, and INEXPENSIVE things here in San Diego such as: exploring tide-pools, taking the trolley to Seaport Village, doing homework at the park, baking cookies in the Klassen Kitchen, etc. I’m sure we’ll make many fun memories. . . I’m looking forward to it all!