A Little Rambling

So far, my alliterative plan of school + sleep + social life (+ sanity) is working out just dandily. Fridays are my favorite days right now, because it's my day off and I only have two classes. After 11:30, I have freedom! (Until observations start...sigh.) This Friday was reminiscent of the best parts of summer in that I got to spend about 12 consecutive hours with the Knights of Ubiquity and friends. I went out to lunch at Pita Jungle, which was delicious - so much so that I went again tonight (although in Peoria instead of Tempe) with a very old friend to celebrate 17 years of friendship. (I am constantly in search of a döner kebap substitute, so I keep trying different gyros. Pita Jungle's was delicious, but it's just not the same! The shawarma I had tonight was delicious, too. I do so love middle eastern/Mediterranean food! I need to eat it more often. Oh so scrumptious.) The rest of the afternoon ended up being movie at Matt's ( The Italian Job ), dinne...

Question. Why is there such a stigma about talking about the weather? The general idea is that either you've run out of things to say, you're boring and uncreative, or you're trying to fill space in an awkward silence. But maybe the weather is remarkable - like the July 5th haboob, or the October 5th 2010 hail storm. (Apparently Phoenix likes its dramatic weather to be on the 5th of the month.) If you look at these pictures, I'd definitely say that's something worth talking about! epic pictures from the haboob the back of my house after the hail storm last October So, incredible weather is clearly worth talking about. A picture's worth a thousand words, giving me an excuse to ramble on for 3K about the weather. Or perhaps you live in Phoenix, and the main thing connecting us all together as a people is the miserably scorching heat we are experiencing. It may not be anything new, but it's an instant bond with your fellow Phoenicians -...

I am normally what one would call a grammar nazi, were the term even remotely politically correct. I don't slaughter people over incorrect grammar or spelling, but I have many a friend who will testify that I have jumped down their throat over their minor tweaking of the English language. I value correct pronunciation, punctuation, and spelling. This may be a good portion of why I so dearly love Rebekah in all her linguistics major glory. This is also why I just LOVE to edit people's papers - if you are ever in need of a peer review, please come to me! However, as I'm sure you've noticed, I tend to stretch those rules to their limits - and often break them. I definitely overuse the hyphen, and the comma...and the ellipse. It galls me at times. But! (Oh yeah, and the whole starting sentences with 'but' and 'and,' and having sentences that don't end, aren't enough words, or run on and on, or lack an actual verb...or subject...). Sigh. ...

I made one of my professors cry today. In class. Actual tears. Apparently my laugh is just that funny. Her hee!

I should be in bed...I'm drooping with exhaustion. But I just have to say how happy I am! Today was long - class from 9:40-7:30. It's miserably hot outside. I made several treks back and forth across campus. My last class had little to no air conditioning, and very dull subject matter. I dripped sweat and was probably pretty stinky by day's end. I was hungry and dehydrated and now I'm here barely keeping my eyes open. BUT that doesn't matter. I spent the day with some of the best people I know. I got to enjoy time in God's Word with awesome people, people who are willing to take a chunk out of their Monday and spend time praying together and start their week focusing on God. I got to sing through some lovely music in what promises to be an amazing choir. I was lifted off my feet and spun around in a hug. I played four square with strangers. I had friends in all my classes. I talked to cute boys and made closer girl-friends. ...

It's only the second day of school, and I've already managed to take an unplanned 3 hour nap instead of doing homework. Also, it's only the second day of school and I already have homework! Sigh. This was one of the best summers I've ever had. It was chock full of late nights, sleeping in, wonderful friends, and a sweet summer romance. It makes such a difference, starting school knowing that I'll be seeing familiar friendly faces in most of my classes, and that I can go to lunch with people I love dearly. There's no more lost, new-student feeling, but a confidence in knowing that there are people here who love me, too. Classes are going to be great! I have to reorient my brain to having every moment saturated with music, but that's a lovely thing. I got a new bag (I don't carry a backpack, ever, so this is quite the concession!), and am armed with my iPad, so I'm starting off excessively organized. Hoping it stays that way! I also bought a l...

If you remember back a few weeks, I told you about my friends and I enjoying a night spent reading Much Ado About Nothing aloud as a group. Well, last night, we decided to continue the Shakespearean tradition, alternating now to a tragedy - Hamlet . the group The set-up was a little more advanced. We still sat in a circle and had our ice cream, but in addition to the various hard copies of the play, the script was projected onto the wall for easier reading. There was also a stage, complete with photo backgrounds projected onto the wall for each scene. Despite the show not being, in it's nature, comedic, there was still riotous laughter through most of the evening. The accents continued being silly, there were costumes and swords, and a lot of impromptu singing. There may be video evidence to share with you at a later date. :) enter Drew as the leader of the players I have decided that, were I ever to have a little brother, I would want him to be like Drew's. When I arri...

If you've never been to the Music Instrument Museum - and you live in Arizona - you should definitely make a visit. 'Tis a fascinating place, divided up geographically and taking you through worlds of music. The best part is, it's not just a place to go and look at the instruments, though their collection is remarkable in itself. The fun is that it's an audio tour, so you actually get to hear all the different musics. There was an Native American water drum song that captivated me, and a Samoan haka that was just exciting. There were many, many, many more that were wonderful, but those two stand out particularly. Anyhoo, the museum partners with my studio, and I was asked to perform there yesterday as part of their 'museum encounter' series. I was rather filled with trepidation, as I have mentioned before that playing piano in front of people scares me to death. So, I figured out my songs, spent a lot of time rehearsing, found myself a wonderful accomp...

This week has been so much fun and chaos that I haven't had time to blog - and am now quite overdue to fill you in on my adventures! Rather than making one very long post, I'll just split it up - there is no rule, after all, governing how many posts I can post in one day! (Though perhaps there is one about how many times I should use 'post' in one sentence.) Tuesday night, we commandeered a room in Gammage for our own private swing dancing session. We were evenly matched girls for guys, although at the end, Ryan was dancing with both Rebekah and myself, and J.D. was left with the camera. (How he managed to only crash us once is beyond me, that much mental coordination must have been exhausting.) At the beginning of the evening there was a brief lesson on the basic steps for J.D. and Rebekah, and then we took off. I'm treasuring the time I have left do indulge in this fancy before school starts and my life is sucked back into the grind. The coolest part f...

So, I'm housesitting. I'm watching a menagerie: birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, the whole shebang. Today has not been my day. The lizards get to eat crickets, which means I get to pick up crickets with my hands and feed them. Gross. With gloves, it's not that bad, but it does mean reaching into a box swarming with them and counting out the right number. Ew. I'm currently resentful that the crickets decided to up and die today before I could more happily provide for their demise by lizard, and that I had to go buy more, and then stick my hand into an even larger swarm. The lizards were happy though. Then, as I went to feed everyone else their dinner, I noticed that one of the parrots was missing. WHAT. The large, main door to her cage was open. I've never touched this door, doing everything instead by way of the food and water doors. So, I pulled on thick gloves, grabbed a towel, and went parrot hunting. I'd been warned of where she...

I went back to the church I grew up in today. I've been there most years for Christmas Eve, but I haven't been on a Sunday morning in ages. About 11pm last night, I remembered that Brad Ellgen would be speaking. I'd put the date in my phone calendar many moons ago, so as not to forget, and yet forget I did. I hurriedly scribbled a note asking anyone from my church to cover for me in Pre-K so I wouldn't miss it, and a friend graciously agreed to step up in my place. It was strange to be back at the church after so long. The buildings are largely the same, with some subtle (and a few very obvious) signs of changing times. A great many people are the same, though half of them do not recognize grown-up me. Those who do recognize me made me glad I came by. It was wonderful to get to see Brad. If you don't know, Brad and his wife Debbie are the missionaries I lived with in Germany, which you can read all about here . I got to see Debbie a couple times earlier this...

I'm sitting here watching the final hour of The Fellowship of the Ring with my darling sister. She moves back to the dorms tomorrow, and so we are enjoying our last summer evening of bonding. It involved a few hours of grudging productivity in packing and cleaning, a trip to the grocery store for copious amounts of ice cream, and watching this beloved movie. Well, I've been mostly watching and half grilling chicken and making pasta salad and folding laundry, preparing for my upcoming week of housesitting. She's been guilt-tripping me every time I step out of the room...I love her. We've had several moments in the last week of laughing till our faces hurt, breath stops, and bladders threaten embarrassment. It's not like she's going far away, but school is a lot further than the next bedroom - although even then I have a bad habit of texting her instead of getting up (or even shouting), to which she replies via facebook. We're tight like that. "...

1. Ice cream, with warm caramel and hot fudge 2. friends who don't need a lot of words 3. cupcakes, even just pictures of cupcakes, I love cupcakes 4. friends who sacrifice time and considerable mental effort to help me out with musical endeavors 5. little girls who are growing up 6. watching a lightning storm on the trunk of my car with my cat 7. Ryan 8. laughing until I almost wet my pants in the middle of the night with my sister 9. penuche frosting (made just to eat with spoons) 10. warm, scrumptious pizzookie, shared with someone wonderful

I sometimes forget that I am shy. I have a wonderful, wonderful group of friends. Around them, I am loud and enjoy attention (sometimes too much so) and try to be in the middle of things, laughing and happy and having fun. I get used to that me, which is definitely not a shy me. Sometimes quiet and not needing to be in the center, content to watch, but confident in my place. When I teach, I am aware of my role of authority and have no problems, even when parents insist on sitting in the lesson with me. At auditions and speech classes and teaching pre-schoolers, I am secure and open and myself. Sunday, I remembered that I am shy. I went to a baptism at a church where I knew practically no one, and my initial instinct was to cling for dear life to the one person I was with. I answered rather monosyllabically (is that even a word? It should be!) to most questions and comments directed my way, smiling and trying to be friendly while at the same time trying to hide behind Ryan. I r...