Quickies

1) I absolutely love recruiting! Yesterday went really well. Omaha's not such a bad place :)

2) I received notice that I've been accepted for an initial interview with TF@ for a Recru1tment D1rector position!!

3) Tonight's the big night with Jas! 15 hours and counting :) And I get to be in my favorite city!

4) I simply cannot stop listening to My Savior My God by Aaron Shust. Go get this song!

PS GO PATRIOTS!!

How Humble Your Love

[Wonderful Maker, Jeremy Camp]

..to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes...
[from Isaiah 61:3, NIV]

There is so much to say, but only limited time exists in which to say it. I promised three blog posts a week and I'm pretty sure last week was only two. My bad. But SO MUCH has been happening. Yowza.

For now, I can delve into the details I alluded to in my previous post. For weeks (months?) the plan has been to see Jason when I go to recruit for TF@ near P0rtland, 0R this upcoming weekend. Only... scratch that. I received a call last week and, due to scheduling conflicts, it was realized that I'd have almost no one to meet with. Thus, it was up in the air as to where I would go. They still wanted to send me somewhere, they just weren't sure where. The Midwest was mentioned more than once as a possibility. Aka... far, far from the Pacific Northwest.

I had mentioned in a previous conversation (with the same woman- let's call her Shannon) that I was planning to do some personal stuffs in the evenings while in P0rtland in addition to my recruiting efforts during the day. Shannon asked about these plans, and while I knew Jas might be a little crushed at the news, I was able with full confidence to say that my number one priority was to recruit and serve her in any way I could, and that while I was really looking forward to seeing my pal Brendo and my wonderful boyfriend, they were simply not my ultimate motivation. She said she'd work out whatever she could, and would send me where she most needed me, and I just had peace that God's best was in store regardless.

I had Jas call and broke the news that there was a distinct possibility that I might not be able to finally see him this weekend. It was a sweet testimony, however, because earlier that same evening I was talking with my roommate (I call her Elili) and telling her about my confidence that no matter what happens in life, He has His best in store for me. Last spring I thought I had met the man I would marry, but when God revealed that this man simply believed false doctrine I had to make the painful choice to surrender what I thought was love, something that once I thought was God's best.

Though it goes against what would make sense by man's standards, within 6 weeks the Lord brought Jason into my life, and I now see that I was given beauty in exchange for ashes. I know, it's ironic that the first guy's name was Dusty, but he was mere ashes in contrast to the absolutely beautiful relationship that I have with Jason. And, as a side note, a check of Dusty's MySpace a while ago showed that he met someone else who, presumably, shares his doctrine and is a great fit for him and he proposed to her, so while I'll never have contact with him again, I do hope that he feels that he received beauty for ashes when I left his life; I don't want my calling him ashes to seem like a put down of any sort. We simply were meant to be together for a time, I learned from it, and moved on, hopefully he did too, and that's ok!

So... back to the point! I was able to testify in faith to Elili that sometimes what seems perfect (like, say, a job recruiting full time for TF@! My dream job! I'm praying and trusting God! And, of course, I applied :) ) ends up seeming almost worthless in comparison to what God has in store for us. When I wrote the previous blog post I didn't know what would happen with this upcoming weekend, but had just prayed with Jason on the phone, and we both knew that regardless of the outcome, God's best awaited us.

The next day I heard back from TF@. I'm going to be recruiting Friday and Saturday at Creight0n University in... Omaha, Nebraska. And that's totally great! It's God's best!

***

Now, before you get bummed for me, Shannon was so blessed by my willingness to simply serve her in whatever capacity she needed me to that she worked it out so that I'll fly to Omaha Thursday night to recruit for those two days, but then Saturday night I'll fly to... Se@ttle!! I'll be able to be in my beloved city with my beloved man, meet his family that lives there, go to church with him, and see his stomping grounds. His roomies have even agreed to let me stay there (my wonderful and loving man will take up residence on the couch and give me the respite and privacy of his room... which is REALLY sweet considering he's 6'5" tall and I'm pretty sure the man just doesn't fit on a couch!). He's pretty great like that :) I'm just happy I'll be with him, in Se@ttle, able to go to what will probably become my home church in five months, and just... be with him!

How wonderful is that? Our plans of P0rtland, which seemed like the best thing ever only a week ago now seem like ashes compared to the beauty in what actually was God's intent all along. I fully believe we can enjoy His blessing because we chose Him, and chose to believe Him and refused to feel sorry for ourselves or like we were missing out on something great. God is so good, and so faithful.

Oh, and how well does my man know me-- plans are already in the works to watch the AFC championship game Sunday afternoon (GO PATS!! TOM BRADY IS A ROCK STAR!! I LOVES ME SOME NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS!!!) and even to splurge from my healthy regimen for some pizza, sprinkled with the possibility of some stolen kisses during commercial breaks :)

[Insert: I'm painstakingly moving out of the period of mourning over our heartbreaking loss to Chicago on Sunday; I'll ALWAYS love my Seahawks and though I'm rather sad that we didn't win I embrace the knowledge that next fall will come... maybe we're just meant to win Superbowl XLII in '08. But it still hurts. *sniff*]

I love Jason with all of my heart. God has blessed me with him, and I'm amazed that a man like him even exists, let alone is in love with me. I can't believe that in 97 hours I'll be in his arms.

I pray I would NEVER cling to ashes and miss out on the beauty God intends to bless me with.

I want to update. Only I don't know what to say. Other than I am so, so, so ridiculously happy.

Just happy. And blessed.

Praise God for His love and provision.

And praise God for Jason.

Give me one more chance to be near you

[On Fire, Switchfoot]

I know that I never update anymore. I'd apologize, but the fact is that if I'm forcing myself to write then should I really be writing anyway? I don't think so.

That said, I'm also just usually really busy working and doing work related things. And if I'm not really busy with all that then I'm rebelling against how busy I always am by doing absolutely nothing. Not even "fun" stuff like e-mailing friends and blogging and all that. I just play Snood. Lots and lots of Snood.

This weekend I decided to reinstall XP on my desktop. You see, I had problems last winter so I reinstalled XP but I didn't wipe the hard drive clean, so I ended up with 70+ gigs of stuff on my hard drive and it kept telling me that I couldn't do anything due to low memory. I did a clean install this time, getting rid of EVERYTHING and most of my Friday and Saturday nights have been lived in dedication to getting my computer to where I want it. The nice thing is that it's WAY faster now. Yay. I'm not installing any junk- only things I actually use all the time, like Firefox 2, Google Desktop, Google Talk, and then the random stuff like Shockwave and Flash and Adobe and all that.

Today was spent at a TF@ Professional Development Day. It was a'ight. Afterward, Lizaboo and I went to RoRap, made a Wal-Mart run (I got fun art supplies to be more artsy and to be able to develop my creative side), and then went to dinner. I had some DELICIOUS pizza... as did she. We each ordered our own large pizza and we shared a set of cheesy breadsticks. I think we're awesome. And now we get to eat pizza for breakfast and lunch and maybe even dinner tomorrow. OH, and for my authentic Chinese-food loving friends (aka people who have spent time in China) I bought tomatoes because I am seriously eggs-n-tomatoes DEPRIVED. And I have really good Jasmine rice to eat them with. Oh, yum.

Anyway, post-date with Lizaboo I came home to continue the 92 hour project of fixing my comp. Grr. But I do know that I want to get Windows Vista when it becomes available. And Office 2007. The interfaces for both are SEXY, and, to be honest, Vista looks much more like a Mac interface. And I like Macs but am unwilling to give up things that don't work on Macs. So Windows wins this round.

That said, I still want an iPod so much that I feel a physical ache for one.

Ok, not really. But I do want one pretty much more than any other material item I've ever wanted in my whole life- and I prayed for a new bike for like 2 years before I finally got one for my tenth birthday. I do physically ache for one thing, but he's a man moreso than a thing. Hopefully I shall see and touch him in January when TF@ sends me to recruit in the Portl@nd, 0R area. And then he's coming here for my Spring Break in April- YAY! My roommates can't wait to meet him, because they know what a huge part of my life he has become.

Life is good :) Now, back to the *joy* of fixing my computer. Hopefully there's not too much left to do but reinstall Office... 2000. Old school, I know. That's just the way I have to roll until I have $300 floating around to upgrade to Vista and Office 2007 :)

PS I loves me some Seahawks.

PPS I also dig my Pats and my man Tom Brady

PPPS Gonzaga rocks your face off. Hard.

It's not over

[It's Not Over, Daughtry]

I thought I had so much to say, but now it all seems to have faded. Hmmm.

School has been good- I love my kids, though I'm hitting the downward slope in my desire to keep working so hard. For example, despite the greatest of intentions I just couldn't force myself to work over break. In my defense, though, I am sick. It's a weird illness. I'm a little stuffy, but mostly I have the headache of DEATH, and I ache all over, with a fever to boot so I'll go between feeling ready to boil and then freezing and shaking from (it feels like) within my bones. I know, boo. Oh, but my headache is so bad that it makes me really nauseated and has caused me to throw up twice, from simple things like walking down stairs.

I just have to say that driving is BOO on the east coast around the holidays. Today I wanted to just die. I can't handle stop and go traffic on the freeway. Grrr. Seriously, I-95 is death. But I am so blessed to have been with Becca- at one point I angrily asked why the [jerk who just cut me off] had to be in my lane, because I thought that both lanes became 295 (the loop around Richmond, VA so you don't have to deal with their traffic). Bec informed me of this- that they needed to be in that lane in order to get on 295- and I said, "Bec, I know that I'm going to ask illogical questions with perfectly logical answers, but the fact is that if you give me those logical answers my anger will become directed toward you." She's so great because she totally understood and didn't get offended and we were able to get along perfectly.

I'm amazed at how wonderful my relationships are with my roommates. I mean, Becca and I see each other every day, share a bathroom, and spent essentially a full day driving out of the four, not to mention I was totally crashing her family's Thanksgiving dinner and such. It was so great of them, I just feel bad that I was feeling yucky. Her family is great though. I love being with them, so Christmas will be awesome :) But the point here (my head in pain seems to be wandering away from my actual point) is that I spent a heck of a lot of time with Becca and we still love each other and totally get along. Amazing :)

Another amazing relationship is with my favorite man, my J-Baby :) Seriously, how did I find this guy? God is good to me. I didn't know guys like him existed. I could write about him for 86 years and hardly scratch the surface, but suffice it to say that he's wonderful and my life is so much better with him in it. He's everything I ever wanted and even more. I don't know what will happen with him, but I sure do hope that I'll marry the man. I'm seeking Christ, as is he, and we refuse to think we're meant to marry unless the Lord tells us that's His will. I don't need to know what tomorrow holds but I'm content to enjoy this amazingly wonderful man as much as I can today. I just wish I could see him and hug him and kiss him until my lips fall off :)

Ok. I need to go. But there's an update :) I do have to say that there's the COOLEST sign outside of Rochester, NY that lists three cities (I can't remember what cities) but their distances are listed as 10, 16, and 81 miles. So it says 10, 16, and 81 down a list to the right side of the sign... I just so happen to have been born on October 16, 1981- 10/16/81 :) Awesome, right? I know. I'm going to totally take a picture of it on the drive home after Christmas. Sweet, I know.

PS I wish I lived in Seattle. Here's to praying that I'll be there this summer.

PPS How about them Pats, huh? And my man Tom Brady? Mmm-hmm.

PPPS My Seahawks are hosting MNF (Monday Night Football) tomorrow! Yesssss!!

List Thursday

So I know that tomorrow is Thursday, so it's unfair to call this "List Thursday". But the fact is that I'll likely not get a chance to post tomorrow, and most of you won't see this til Thursday. Plus, it's Thursday in two hours. Actually, one hour and fifty minutes. So bite me.

Here we go...

1) I just found out that next year daylight savings time will start in the second week of March and end in the first week of November.

I think that's stupid.

How will this affect computers and such? And I have an alarm clock with a chip programmed to keep track of the date and time so it automatically resets the time in the whatevereth weekend in April and the last weekend in October. Grrr.

Like I said, stupid.

2) I hate that every morning I drive to work feeling like I'm an hour late. Also, I hate that in the evenings it's DARK when I get home. I'd rather have it be dark in the morning and lighter in the evening.

3) The ONLY redeeming quality of daylight savings time is that it makes (well, now "made") October the longest month, since it has 31 days PLUS the extra hour. Now, no more. Stupid.

4) Ok, enough complaining about stupid daylight savings time.

5) Yesterday I downloaded the following albums. Note the speedily increasing levels of dorkiness as I progressed.

Braveheart soundtrack
Crash soundtrack
Help! - The Beatles
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Titanic soundtrack

Yah. True story.

6) Ok, and this weekend I downloaded songs from the following albums...

The Lion King soundtrack
Aladdin soundtrack
The Little Mermaid soundtrack

7) Yes, I really am 25 years old.

8) Oh! It's 10:16!!!

9) Ok, I have this weird and uncanny ability to see the clock when it's 10:16. Seriously, most of the time I'll not look at the clock for anywhere from 10-45 (or more) minutes, and then I'll just randomly look at the time and it will be 10:16. I think my body is just programmed to know when it's that most awesome time of day!

10) On a more serious note... I just don't know what I want in life. Last week I was certain I wanted to move to Seattle next year. Now I wonder if I should stay here one more year. Should I go see what happens when I'm in the same place as JJ? Should I pursue this new charter school in Connecticut (aka New England, which I LOVE) that's recruiting me? (Side note: I think they're recruiting all T*F!@'ers, not just me) The problem is, I don't know what I want! Usually I just really want something and run after it.

Ugh.

I know I just need to pray more. The Lord has a plan for me and isn't revealing it yet for a reason.

Honestly, God has a sense of humor- "What if His People Prayed?" by Casting Crowns just came on my iTunes. Seriously, all you Christian types get that joke.

11) I really, really, REALLY want an iPod. So bad. I don't remember ever wanting something this bad that I just can't have. It's kind of a sad, sad day.

12) So I realized that my mysterious pain in my side went away, but came back precisely the same day I started PMS'ing. So I'm going to tough it out this month and see if it comes back next mont at the same time. If it does then I'll have to call the doctor. Grrr.

13) Ha- Men in Black by Will Smith just came on iTunes. I love it :)

14) I COMPLETELY cleaned my room, the basement, the bathroom I share with Becca, did three huge loads of laundry (I usually have at least two once a week and I had two weeks of laundry this time), the area where I sort of camp out upstairs, and... uh... something else I can't remember on Monday. And I put together my bookshelves, brought in my books, hung up my AWESOME quote cards from Darla, and organized and filed all of my bills (I hadn't done it since... cough... August... cough....), created a spreadsheet for my house's bills to our landlord (he pays them and then we reimburse him), created a budget for the month, and even finished writing my midterm for my classes on Monday. All in about 7 hours. I know, I'm awesome. Go me.

15) Tomorrow night is conferences when parents come in and meet me and get their child's report card and all of that jazz. I acutally love that night, I'm just not thrilled that I'll be at school until at least 7. And then there's a football game Friday night, and it's our last home game, so though teachers are free to leave at 1 pm to make up for the late night tomorrow night I get to stay at school until 10 or 10:30. Ode to joy, huh? I'm hoping that I'll actually be productive and get work done. We'll see :)

16) It's 10:28 and I get to go to bed! And tomorrow's The Office and Grey's Anatomy and Six Degrees! Oh, and my man Tom Brady is ROCKING it hard this year! Too bad my 'Hawks are struggling. I'm a true fan and loving 'em anyway. Plus, while I know way more about football than most girls, let's be honest- the Seahawks have the hottest uniforms BY far over everyone else in the league. Oh, and the Steelers have a record so bad I can't even remember it! And they haven't even lost their best players to injury, so they have no excuse! I mean, really, neither do we, besides losing the league MVP and our star quarterback, among numerous others-- we should still pull it out and overcome. We better at least beat Oakland, especially since A) I get to see it on Monday Night Football and B) it'll be IN Seattle and C) Oakland SUCKS. OOOOOHHHH- AND Gonzaga tips off in 9 days! Guh-LORIOUS!!

A'ight, I should sleep.

'Night, kids.

So hard to fathom

[Simply Nothing, Shawn McDonald]

So... it's list Thursday. Here we go:

1) Yay for The Office! I've been totally bonding, primarily with my roomie Liz but also with Becca and a wee bit Elise, over the second season. In fact, I am going to hide the last disc so I can be there when the drama between Jim and Pam goes down in the last episode!

2) Yay for birthdays! I am ridiculously old (I've hit the quarter of a century mark... that's 25 for you slow people!) but as my favorite dude says, I'm on the right side of 25. So... I'm gonna choose to believe him. I was so blessed by people who know me so well getting me perfect gifts- Bec gave me supplies for my very own disguise box, Elise got me the GREATEST Godiva chocolate, Liz told me to take her up on a dinner date some time for some quality one-on-one time with each other, Darla sent me a great bookmark, encouraging me to read more, and that afore-mentioned favorite dude sent me the world's greatest cookies. Not. Even. Kidding.

To be honest... it was a huge blessing because I was given zero presents last year. I mean, the roomies got Bec and I (her bday is three days before mine) a cheesecake. It was kind of heartbreaking, to be honest... but what a difference a year makes. Last year I was homesick, hardened toward God, and feeling completely alone. This year I am SO much closer to Liz, Bec, and Elise which makes home a happy place for me to be (I was the one pushing them away last year), I'm closer to Christ than perhaps at any point in my life in a more real and deep way, I have a peace about where I am and where I'll end up, and I'm simply blessed by my relationships as opposed to hoping they'll fill a void that is God's alone. So... yay! Yay, yay, YAY!

3) Praise Jesus for going HOME!! I am going to recruit for T^F@ this weekend; I'm flying home Saturday and coming back Tuesday. I am SO excited. It hasn't seemed real. Tonight I was making plans with Brendo and I couldn't believe that less than 48 hours existed between that moment and the one where I'd see him for the first time in 17 1/2 months.

Wow.

Just to say that I haven't been home- even in the Pacific time zone- in SEVENTEEN AND A HALF MONTHS seems kind of overwhelming. Yikes.

4) While I'm pumped to see friends (maybe family... not sure at this point) I'm super pumped to recruit. I love what Te@ch f0r @mer!c@ is doing in my school, and in my students' lives, and I just really want to see more quality people joining the movement-- and Whitty (my fond name for my alma mater) is chock full of quality people.

This means YOU Clintonius Maximus! I know you read this. ;)

5) Tomorrow's homecoming. Hectic day of hangin' with the other T^F@'ers from my high school replete with watching the parade and doing a little tailgating in the parking lot pre-game with some students. Then I'll be a keepin' the stats for the actual game. Sweet, right? I know :)

6) That said I have a LOT to do tomorrow so I need to get to bed. I got a done completed tonight but there's still a lot to do tomorrow- it's not easy to be gone for two full days. And... uh, I'll get home at 11 or so and I need to pack. I have to leave my house at like 4:30 am Saturday. I'm just going to try and not think about it! What is sleep, anyway?

:)

Hasta, quesos. And if you're in W@sh!ngt0n, I cannot wait to see you. Seriously. Can't. Hardly. Wait.

PS I LOVE OCTOBER!

And I'll stop this pretending that I can somehow deserve what I already have

[I Need You to Love Me, BarlowGirl]

I am so blessed. Amazing things are happening in my life. There's one relationship that is changing my life for the better and I'll never be the same now that this person has become a part of me. There's another that's less enjoyable; I can't really share details, but God is really working on my heart concerning a difficult relationship. He convicted me today in my quiet time about the fact that every Christian- regardless of his/her spiritual gifts, personality, socio-economic status, station in life, nationality, location, occupation, etc- is called to one common ministry. That ministry is the ministry of reconciliation; every single blood-bought believer of Christ is called to bring restoration of relationship between humans and God. I certainly don't often enough say the words (nor think the thoughts) that keep this reconciliation at the forefront of my daily doings. I want to be more intentional about this, however, and pray that I will.

Also, I am seeing the deep need to remember that I am a steward of all things in my life. Not a single thing in my life is meant for my own personal gain. Sure, I try to remember that I'm a steward of the money and material possessions that God has blessed me with, but I forget that I am also to be a steward of EVERYTHING. I do not own my personality- I am to be a steward of it. I am a steward of my talents, the Word of God, the relationships Christ has blessed me with... ALL things. A steward is responsible to carefully make sure that they use what they have been entrusted with to bring profit and glory to the Master. I can't honestly say I intentionally live this way in my daily life. Again, however, I pray that I will :)

Finally, the Bible study I am currently doing is called LORD, Give Me a Heart for You by Kay Arthur. I love what she wrote in this paragraph that I read this morning:

I think it would be good if every morning, before we ever put our feet on the floor or rise from our bed, we would make the conscious decision that this day, no matter what the discipline, the cost, we are going to live for Christ. It would be the first commitment of the day, spoken aloud- a confession with our mouths from our hearts.

Don't you love that? I do. I'm going to try to start doing it. I might have to shut my alarm off first. Maybe not. But I plan to start doing this. Feel free to ask me periodically if I have.

In other news, I went to the doctor today. My bloodwork showed no abnormalities, though the lab forgot to do the one test that would help show if it's a certain ovarian issue. However, my doctor was alarmed to hear that the muscle relaxers didn't work (so it's almost certainly not a muscle spasm issue), and that when I had HORRIBLE cramps this weekend the 2,000 mg of Tylenol that finally curbed the cramps had zero effect on my mystery back pain. I have to go get a CT scan on Thursday morning (at 7, in Hender$0n, which means I have to leave at like 5:45 AND find a teacher to cover my first period class- boo!). And this is now my daily regimen of pills:

1,000 mg Tylenol
Wait four hours
600 mg Motrin
Wait four hours
2 Aleve tablets
Start back at Tylenol

All day, every day. Ode to joy, huh? I know, I need to stop complaining. It's just frustrating. But, as Paul talked about having a thorn in his flesh, in his side, I have a literal pain in my right side, so I need to let God use it to bring me closer to Him. I do trust Him- be this something small and easily fixed or something more serious. I am in His hands, and my life is His to do with as He pleases. I want to just say, "I'm sure I'll be fine", due to fear of sounding overdramatic if this isn't an actual serious medical issue. But I refuse to play this up OR downplay it. What it comes down to is that I am Christ's and I trust Him.

I was reminded of something this week- it is in Christ that I live and move and have my being. He died for all, so that they [I] who live might no longer live for themselves [myself], but for Him who died and rose again on their [my] behalf. The love of Christ controls me. To live is Christ and to die is gain!

I pray I would live each day on this earth becoming more and more prepared for the Day when I stand before Christ and give an account for all I have done. I pray I would keep the eternal things in mind as I walk through this earthly existence.

PS Happy birthday Brendo!!

PPS Happy second anniversary Darla and Daryn!!

LIst Thursday

For all of you List Thursday lovers, Bekah-the-rock-star-gliznast reminded me that today is, indeed, list Thursday. So buck up, little broncos! Here we go:

• My beloved Seahawks were absolutely creamed by the Bears on Sunday. I'm still reeling from the effects.
  
  
• My beloved Patriots asbolutely creamed the Bengals on Sunday. I'm still reeling from the effects.
  
  
• The Lord has been working on me about my whole belief that the roads belong solely to me and that everyone is simply able to use them at my generosity. Now, I do pay enough in taxes each month to somehow feel justification here, but nonetheless now that He's brought it to my attention I am unable to rest in my old ways. So I pray on the way to work in the mornings, and that has helped A TON. Plus I pray much more consistently which really is needed.
  
  
• Speaking of prayer, my brother was smashed in the face with a baseball bat and mugged in downtown Spokangalangeles. He's all right, though the docs say his nose will never be the same nor look quite right. I feel bad for the kid- he's a few months out of prison and really trying to live right and these are hard times. So if you pray, pray for mi hermano.
  
  
• I can't say "hermano" and not think of the hilarity which ensues from that word on season 1 of Arrested Development. :)
  
  
• Speaking of TV shows, I LOVE LOST! They're so stinking creative and smart on that show. Though I need to understand how the others went from clean little book clubs and muffins houses to the rags they had on at the end of the year. Wait. I think I just figured that out. Nevermind.
  
  
• I wonder where Michael and Walt are. Huh. I forgot about them.
  
  
• I really don't like Kate. Never have, never will. I don't feel sorry for her. Meh.
  
  
• I also love The Office! And it's on tonight! And I've begun to get the roommates hooked on it and oh happy day! And Grey's Anatomy is on as well, and I have decided to give 6 degrees a try mainly because I loved the lawyer dude on Friday Night Lights. And he's really hot. (Sorry, JJ, but he so totally is.)
  
  
• Watching Grey's ALWAYS makes me wish I lived in Seattle!! Someday, someday.
  
  
• I LOVE FOOTBALL!!
  
  
• I had blood drawn today. It was a long hassle including multiple pokes and the needle being shoved around under my skin. She felt really bad, and I'm used to it because no one is ever able to easily get blood from me, but it still sucked. Plus I bled a lot after she pulled the needle out so I can't take the bandage off but the tape really itches on the back of my hand (she had to go from inner arm to back of hand because I have stubborn veins).
  
  
• My students are doing a project on Greece this week. Note to self: One day you WILL visit the Greek islands. Any takers?
  
  
• I'm really hungry.
  
  
• I made delicious lasagna AND delicious chicken noodle soup the other day (both homemade, because I rock).
  
  
• No, my chicken noodle soup does NOT have a soda on the side. (If you get that, then seriously, tell me. Because I bet 98% of you have ZERO idea what I'm talking about.)
  
  
• I will be a quarter of a century old in 11 days. Ho. Lee. Kuh. Rap.
  
  
• I hope my insurance will do gown. I keep meaning to call about that.
  
  
• I get to go home for the first time in 17 months in 16 days!! That'll be sweet. I'm pumped.
  
  
• I'm a little apprehensive that people won't be very excited to see me. I don't really know why. I think I'm just scared of being disappointed? Home not living up to the hype? I hope I'm wrong... and I probably am.
  
  
• I decided to stop going to my church. It was pretty spiritually unhealthy. I'd love for your prayers about where to proceed from here- and I really need to remember to call around about some churches in RoRap (it's a mid-sized town- maybe 15-20 thou- about a half hour away).
  
  
• We have a football game tomorrow against the school one of my roomies teaches at. I hope we win. By a lot. And... I love football, but we only have five games left and I'm kind of glad because I can't wait to actually have Friday nights again!
  
  
• I received a letter and some photos from my child in Uganda that I sponsor. His name is Isaac, he loves God's Word, he's ten, and I really love him so much that getting a letter from him made me cry. Maybe sometime I'll try to figure out how to use my scanner (I know, techie-T@mi hasn't figured out to use her scanner though she's had the printer for a year and a half... bite me.) and put up a pic of him :)
  
  
• That's all for now. Happy list Thursday!!
  

4 Things... Randomosity

I don't really feel like typing a real update. So instead I'm just gonna type 4 random things each about any random subject I can think of. Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you won't. But read it... you might learn something new about me or my life!

4 Things... Randomosity about:

MY JOB
1. I am known by what appears to be every student in my high school where I teach, though I know only about 1/2 of them (there are 950+ and this is only my second year, so give me some grace here).

2. Chaleese, a senior and in my first semester of teaching last year, claims this is because my reputation is for being a cool but good teacher.

3. I can't decide if that's true or if she's just sucking up for college recommendation letters ;)

4. My principal reprimanded me yesterday for not taking a day off to go to the doctor (I might have broken my foot, or at least fractured it, when I fell down the stairs; also, I have this weird either back pain or kidney thing going on. I'm not sure which. But I really just haven't dealt with either. I never really go to the doctor. Until my principal essentially rebukes me. And then I think about it a little more... and go, "Nah.")


My House
1. I'm pretty sure its worth is in the vicinity of $800,000+ ... and this is an economically depressed area.

2. My rent is only $280 a month.

3. That's almost $100 less than the (less than stellar) apartment I stayed in this summer. And I have my own room and share my bathroom with only one (very low-maintenance) roomie.

4. And I get a garage to myself. Yeah, life is good. Plus, we have a pool table, big screen TV, lake, beach, big back deck with furniture, huge double-decker dock with loads o' lounge chairs, really nice furniture, a big 10-person dining room table plus a five-person breakfast nook, and on and on. It's a blessing :)

MY ROOMMATES
1. This is perfect to do fours because I have four. So... let's start with Jenny. She has long red hair and is going to donate 10" of it to Locks of Love- how awesome is that? And she's from Pennsylvania.

2. Becca can read my mind. Seriously. Ninety percent of the time we are thinking the exact same thing about any given subject. The other ten percent we disagree with the other but still know her exact stance on ths issue. She's from New York (Rochester, to be more exact.)

3. Elise chews a gazillion pieces of gum a day. And her boyfriend is named Mac, but we all (ok, Liz and I) call him Mac-Attack. She's from New Jersey.

4. Liz's boyfriend Matt is going to circus college in Australia. I'm not even kidding. He's specializing in juggling. He's a rock star. She's very artsy and encourages my creativity to flow. And she's also from New Jersey (same basic town as Elise, actually.) And she went to the same college as Jenny (Bucknell... and don't worry, if you're from the West Coast no one else out there has heard of it either, though to speak to Jenny you'd think it's a huge deal and everyone's heard of it ;) That's just the split between East and West Coast for ya.)

MY CAR
1. It's an Acura. 1992 Vigor. It's a five speed (aka stick shift, because it is- and I am- awesome) with a five cylinder engine (yeah, I know that's not normal but I'm not making it up, and I know what I'm talking about.). It's luxury so it has all the ammenities- auto everything, leather, sunroof, sedan, etc.

2. I only paid $600 for it. Because Jesus loves me. And, despite having 240k+ miles it still runs really well. I love my car!

3. It has some sort of electrical problem. Things that have recently quit working (over the last couple of months) include: the inside dome light, the interim setting on the windshield wipers, the rear defrost, first the front and then rear passenger side windows, the dinging bell when you open the door and forgot to turn your lights off, the car charger (aka cigarette lighter but I only ever use it for my cell phone and will eventually when I get an iPod for the car hook-up) and... probably some other stuff I am forgetting.

4. Yeah, I know, I really need to get it checked out. I will. Eventually.

MY HOPES FOR THE FUTURE
1. I really, really want to call Seattle home.

2. Some of you assume this is because of a boy... yes, he's part of it, but my main reasons range from wanting to be closer to friends and family to love of the city (seriously, I've been to 25 states and many bigger cities and Seattle still is by far the best) to being able to watch my favorite teams (college and pro) on the local stations to loving the weather (hey, I don't really like the sun. So what?).

3. But, to be fair, yes, there is still the large curiosity about what God is going to do between a certain (wonderful and amazing) male friend and I once we live in the same place.

4. My hope is that I will be able to work in recruiting for T.F.@ in the greater Seattle-metro area at local colleges and universities. They take really good care of their employees (benefits and salary are among the best in non-profit organizations nation wide) plus it would fit my passion to see low-income and often racial-minority students receive a fair and equitable education.


That's really all I've got for now. But I hope you enjoyed it :) Someday I'll post some of the awesome and random pics I've been taking... I love taking random pics :)

You know all the right things to say

[Too Little, Too Late, Jojo]

Thursday... LIST DAY!!

• I. Love. The. Office.
  
  
• Yesterday I had to run a bunch of errands before Bible Study so I decided to set up shop and work at Subway for a little while. A girl (woman?) seemed REALLY excited to see me and hugged me and told the little boy with her (her son?) to say, "Hi, Ms. ^*." She commented on how great it was to see me, and I smiled and had no idea what to say because I had no idea who she was. Yeah.
  
  
• The other day at school a black teacher started talking (well, shouting) about how all white people are liars and thieves. He kept saying (to a white male teacher), "YOU went over on the boat!". [This was in reference to slavery; I am passionate against racism, and I am not justifying slavery. That said, I would just like to point out that it was the Spanish, not Anglo-Saxons, that started the transatlantic slave trade; also, once the United States was involved, it was not primarily white people that captured Africans- it was rival African tribes getting rich off the capture and sale of their enemies. Again, slavery was horribly wrong. But it's just as wrong to make ignorant and sweeping statements like accusing a person today of being part of the slave trade just because they happened to have been born with white skin. Grrr.]
  
  Anyway... back to the situation... I was just like, "What. The. Heck. Is HAPPENING here??". What do you do in that situation? Plus, it was in the cafeteria with kids all around. And the black teacher was really loud in his yelling about it. The white teacher pointed to a fellow T^F@ who is a white male, fresh out of college, and said, "What about them?". The black teacher said, "They are different! YOU are a redneck! Rednecks are liars and thieves." Now, there was some element of kind of a little bit of humor, but mainly it was just the most awkward situation of my life. Stinking N0rth C@r0lin@.
  
  
• The Office was HILARIOUS. And sad. And good. And totally not offering up resolution.
  
  
• Grey's Anatomy is good so far. It makes me REALLY wish I lived in Seattle. Well, I wish I lived there because of this show and... other things. :)
  
  
• Tonight I fell down the stairs. I'm such a freaking idiot. I refuse to turn lights on. So I had my dinner (a DELICIOUS salad made with spicy black bean burgers, romaine lettuce, black beans, salsa, onions, black olives, some cheese, and a little ranch) in a big bowl in one hand and a tall, full glass of ice water in the other. Because it was dark I thought I was on the last stair and started to take the last step and walk forward... and totally fell. Because it sure wasn't the last step. And by some miracle nothing spilled though I ended up laying on my back with some pain in my feet and calves from getting all banged up. Yet not a thing spilled. Miracle. I have a picture but my cord is at school. You'll see soon enough though.
  
  
• I'm SO glad tomorrow's Friday. So glad. I need some sleep.
  
  
• I really want an iPod. *sigh*
  
  
• I'm TOTALLY going home for the first time since June 5th of LAST year in a month!
  
  
• Plus... it's almost my birthday! Yeah, dude. Sweet :) Too bad I'll be FREAKING old. A quarter of a century. Ack.
  
  
• And... time to write tomorrow's quiz. Happy Almost Friday!
  

The phone call went really, really well.

:)

Looking for something I've never seen

[Trust Me, The Fray]

I wait so long between updates that I never know where to start. Then again, my life consists primarily of 16 hours a day committed to school and two hours for showering/Quiet Time in the Word/cooking/eating/driving to and from school/a random e-mail/etc. Then on a good night I get 6 hours of sleep.


So... let's see. I went to a soccer scrimmage Friday since a bunch of my boys play and there was no football game (it's our bye week). Then I came home and had a grading party with the roomies. We watched Empire Records as we worked, and Jen and I grabbed some (tragically sub-par) cheesesteaks from Andy's. Yesterday was a P*D^D (Pr0fessi0nal Devel0pment D@y) in Durh@m for T*FA so we went down around 11, got a little (mostly useless for me) training in Excel, then spent three hours doing random T*F@ stuff (all group meeting, then Le@rning Te@ms where you go with everyone in your content area to swap ideas, help each other out, etc).

After the P^DD we went to hang out at a local bar/restaurant called Tyler'$ Tapr00m. I had the BEST po' boy sandwich (shrimp... yum!) and garlic fries ever. We all joked about how there'd be no making out for us since we all ordered/picked off of other's fry orders. Then there was some pool, some hanging out, some football watching (um... WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO NOTRE DAME???). Then we decided to go to Franklin Street in Chapel Hill (yes, the same one where UNC-Ch@pel Hill is located). That's pretty much the street with all the bars, and not really my favorite scene, but I was in a car with three other people and Liz was a rock star and drove so it wasn't a huge deal. I mostly was tired/bored so I texted friends and tried to stay awake. The wine bar we were at was actually pretty chill... it had a great atmosphere and swell ambience. I happened to not mention the HOUR we drove around trying to find a place to park. But in the end it was fine. I drove home because A) I really like night driving and B) if I didn't drive we would have stayed with friends in Durham and I really like sleeping in my own bed so I wanted to come home. We got home at 2 am, and when my alarm went off this morning I was on 5 hours of sleep and made the lack of sleep-induced stupor based decision to turn my alarm off and go back to bed. And then I woke up later, fervently hoping it was like nine, but it was noon. Oops. I guess I probably needed the sleep, but it's still annoying.

Today I'm going to work for (hopefully) a solid 5-6 hours, then the boys are coming over at 6 for dinner, and then after that a guy friend is calling for the first time. There's a lot that could be said there, but really at this point it's on a need to know basis and those who need to know what's going on already know. It's all very low key and will be for a long time, but if ever there's a major step out of "friends with feelings there but waiting on the Lord to make His will clearly known" mode I'll tell the world. But at this point that's where we are.

Happy Sunday, and I hope everyone has an AWESOME week. There was an exciting development in what might possibly happen in my future per job and moving to Washington, but at this point it's all hypotheticals and I simply don't have the time at the moment to write it all out. When I think I do have time, however, I certainly will tell you all about it.

This could very well be my only post this week, so I hope it's plenty long enough for you ;)

PS Go Seahawks! Let's get like 6 touchdowns today to make up for last week! And the same to the Pats!