What I really Need is...

In response to Heth's "filler" in which she listed things that google came up with that SHE needs, I did the same thing, and googled "Hannah needs." Interesting results:

• Hannah needs a new name.
• Hannah needs adoptive parents
• Hannah needs to use more than skills to escape the trap
• Hannah needs a little help
• Hannah needs a little sister from China!
• Hannah needs more than 10 hours to paint a room
• Hannah needs to wear a cute black mask
• Hannah needs to make a decision
• Hannah needs to travel to this spot

And my personal favorite:

• Hannah needs all of her training and resolve to unravel the tricky legal maneuvering and all of her athletic strength to survive.

Woah nilly, I'm busy!

This past week has been CRAZY with schoolwork, midterms, photo projects, and drawings. Thankfully, I'm past the worst of it, and sunny Los Angeles is a mere week away! Yesterday, I made a huge schedule/to-do list, partially not believing it was possible to accomplish it all, but praying that I would. Not to be prideful, but just as Natalie had her super-mom day, Tuesday was a super-student day for me. I got up before 8:30, bought camera supplies, took film in, picked up my film, ate lunch, went to the darkroom and printed photos, went to the digital lab and scanned and printed photos, ate dinner, went to work for 5 hours, then came back and studied for my science midterm. EVERYTHING on my to-do list. I don't think that's ever happened.

Lately, Josiah and I haven't spent much time together, because we're so bogged down with work, and most of the hours we've been together have been devoted to schoolwork. I'm so proud of my baby, he's such a hard worker and hasn't procrastinated a single bit this entire semester. And he has such a ridiculous amount of homework - many compare the coursework of Moody Bible Institute to be as difficult as Harvard, and by the looks of it, I believe it. Sometimes he has way more homework than I do, but my homework is so much different it's hard to compare. Where he is reading books and writing papers, I'm shooting pictures, printing pictures, altering pictures, making drawings. I promise I'll post a couple of my drawings once I've gotten them back from being graded.

I've got to go so that I can make a couple phone calls before I head outside with another photo major to take some late-night pictures for my midterm. I'll post details on my project soon.

Death to charcoal.

It's 12:41 am and I'm just so sick of drawing. Time for a 5-minute blogging break.

Today after church, what I planned on being a one-hour nap ended up being more like 2 hours, 20 minutes. And I've been lethargic ever since.

Josiah and I went to the University Center's Oscar party, spent a couple hours longer than planned there. It's been so long since I've watched an awards show, I had forgotten how long they run. We didn't even stay for the last hour.

But now I'm kicking myself for not getting my drawing homework done. I completed all my 15 minute sketches (10 of them), and now I have a 2-1/2 hour charcoal value study to do. And I'm to that point where I don't even want to pick up my charcoal.

Oh well, back to work. So much homework these days... midterms coming... ughh

$60, no, PRICELESS

Tonight, for the first time in a long while, I have had time to kill. Whew, that feels good, doesn't it? So what have I used the time for? Sleeping? No. I've been listening to music and checking hockey scores. "Hockey scores?!?" some of you may be asking. Yes, hockey scores. I never used to care at all about the NHL, but all that has changed thanks to my guy, Josiah. He's an avid Colorado Avalanche fan, and has turned me into the same. Want proof? Here's a picture of me in my Avalanche track jacket:

Where am I standing in this picture? At United Center, of course, where Josiah and I saw the Avalanche play the Chicago Blackhawks back in January! (Meant to post a block that weekend, but I got really busy...) So here's a play-by-play of our hockey game experience:

We take the #19 Bus to United Center, excitement is building. After all, this is our first real life NHL game, and we paid 60 buckos for these tickets, and they are gonna be good. We arrive and find our seats, to discover the seats really are good ones.

Note the look of satisfaction on my face because we have a great view of the rink!

The players come on the ice and start to warm up. Hey look, there's our favorite player, Joe Sakic! He's the bomb.

Josiah could tell you probably everything about this guy. What kind of boxers does Joe Sakic wear? Just ask Josiah. Ok, Josiah is not a stalker, I'm just kidding about the boxers question. But seriously. This guy rocks.

The pregame show consists of fancy lights and music. Pretty cool, we got some good video but no pictures. I can't be taking pictures ALL the time, after all, I have to just watch sometimes.

The game starts, and within 17 seconds, the Blackhawks score! Ugh, that's not the way to start off, Avs!


At this point I would like to insert this picture, where we can clearly see the Blackhawk player in red the totally whiffing a shot. How embarassing... Yeah that's right, nice job. Boo. Thank goodness, the Avalanche score about 5 minutes later. So, we're happy and hopeful as the first period (three in hockey) comes to a close. We head out to buy a $4.50 slice of pizza and $4 Root beer, woohoo.

Seriously, we're psyched about using our life savings to buy concessions.

The game starts up again, and we are dismayed that the Blackhawks score two more goals before the Avalanche score their second. I mean, the Blackhawks are at this point considered one of the worst teams in the league, and the Avalanche have a big winning streak. Why, God, WHY? When our beloved team gets to this point, the Blackhawk fans surrounding us are starting to wear on our nerves.

The Blackhawks score again. The score is now 2-4, we are losing. The second period ends, we head out and buy two $4 hot dogs and another $4 soda. Since our life savings are already exhausted on these refreshments, I put it on my visa. I'll have to work for months to pay back that bill, let me tell you.

Third period starts, and no one ends up scoring the entire time. Both teams must be tired or something. I know I would be after two twenty-minute periods of skating. Then again, I can't ice skate very well. And I lack hand-stick coordination. At least I think I do, I haven't played ice hockey in my entire life. Just floor "hockey" in elementary school gym class, you know, where if you lift the stick above your waist, you get a whistle blown at you and have to sit out for the rest of the game? Back to the subject. We are sad. Hence the first picture where I'm frowning while showing off my cool track jacket.

But sad enough to regret paying $60 and going to the game? No! It was soooo worth it. We had a lot of fun, it was exciting, the atmosphere was awesome, and I learned a valuable lesson: it is much easier to see the puck in real life, when you aren't dizzy from the ESPN camera moving fast back and forth.

My Choice

Last night was honestly a breaking point for me, I have been overly stressed lately due to an apparent lack of trusting things to God. After spending a very long time last night having a heart-to-heart with Him, I feel a huge burden lifted off of my shoulders. I received an email today that I wanted to post, since it embodies where I'm at right now.

By Max Lucado Taken from “When God Whispers Your Name”

"It’s QUIET. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love…

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose to love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy…

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace…

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience…

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness…

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness…

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness…

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose gentleness…

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control…

I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest."

I Need Some Rocky Road Ice Cream

Swimsuit shopping.

Most women who are reading this now are probably making a horrible face of disgust already, just by my topic. Tonight I went looking for a one-piece suit because I'm going to try swimming as therapy for my lower back. Starting tomorrow. Needed a suit.

So, I figured Target of all places would have a good variety at a low price. However, I quickly came to find that the only one-pieces that Target had were size 14 and up. Nice. Old Navy had no one-pieces. I went to TJMaxx, hopeful.... I love TJMaxx in Waterloo, but this place was really REALLY ghetto. I tried on six swimsuits there. A quite interesting suit I tried on was the "miracle suit, guaranteed to make you look 10 pounds thinner instantly!" Like I really need to look 10 pounds thinner... 10 pounds thinner for me would be pre-8th grade weight. the suit was extremely tight top to bottom and was slenderizing, but had this weird support in the butt that lifted so much that, well, it made a crease where there shouldn't be one... I'll leave it at that.

So finally, I went to "Filene's basement" which is just like TJMaxx, only better. Tried on 4 more suits. Found a Ralph Lauren sport one that fit nice.

What gets me is, I'm a small girl who doesn't feel the excessive need to change her body, pretty happy with where I'm at. Just being here in Chicago and living a busy lifestyle has made me lose weight I wasn't trying to lose. So why is it, that the size of clothes I normally wear is tripled or quadrupled to be the size my swimsuit? How's that for a self-esteem builder? And those lights in the dressing room, someone needs to wise up and realize that women would buy more clothing if the lighting was more flattering and not so show-me-all-my-imperfections-to-the-max.

I'm glad I found a swimsuit when I did, I was about to give up. Blech.

Home and Back Home

I first off want to apologize for my blogging... or lack therof I guess. But I did warn beforehand that with school starting up again this semester that the continual blogging would diminish. That being said, I would have to admit I have really missed blogging and reading everyone else's blogs.

I went home this past weekend to smalltown, Iowa. I was supposed to leave Thursday afternoon since I don't have classes on Fridays, but the huge snowstorm kept me inside. It snowed a lot in Iowa, but the storm must have shifted, because we pretty much just got lots of rain. (I'm not a snow person, so I am not complaining.) So I made the usually-5-hour-drive on Friday instead, and finally understood this "cold" the Iowans were complaining about. It was so bitter cold. When I called Josiah from Iowa and told him it was -7 degrees that evening, he told me that Chicago was still pretty nice, in the 20s/30s still.

Of all the things I planned to do while at home, I accomplished relatively little.

Original plan:
shoot 4-5 rolls of film, including 2 rolls of portraits; get my federal and state taxes done and my FAFSA started; spend the night with Haleigh Saturday and go to church with her Sunday; have a relaxing weekend at home; get my sketchbook assignment done for drawing class. Ambitious huh?

Here's what actually happened:

Babysat Bill & Nat's kids and failed to use that opportunity to take pictures. And to do my sketches. I had hours. But I just chilled while the kids slept. At least I got to see the kids and Bill and Nat and my good friend Megs. I did relax though, overnight got to use the marvelous sleep number bed. My sleep number is 25. Or was for that night, anyway.

Shopped at Goodwill with Mom. I don't think she fully understood that I take hours to shop there because I try a million things on out of hope for a steal. She had wanted to go so that she could look at all the house stuff like cups/dishes/etc. I bought 7 awesome skirts and two short dresses to wear over jeans. I was pleased. But we were there for probably 2-1/2 hours at least.

Went to dinner with the fam, got to ride in the new family vehicle. Wow, we have never owned something so nice. Good job, Dad. I'm impressed. Leather interior and everything. We ate at Pizza Hut, which was fun, I still get my employee discount because I'm technically still on the payroll. (I never officially quit, I may work there some in the summer.)

Tried to do taxes, but Dad had chores after dinner and I was so tired, I gave up before he could really help me. I went to bed, my federal taxes are maybe half done. Haven't even touched Iowa taxes, and I may have to file in Illinois also, I haven't figured it out for sure yet. And FAFSA? Ugh. Not now. Maybe next weekend.

Drove to Ames Sunday morning, saw Haleigh, went to church. Had a great time, ate a good and cheap lunch, shopped at Target. Proved my theory that if I go into Target for 3 things, I will always find more that I "need" and end up spending $50 or more.

Drove back to Chicago. It was the longest drive of my life, I felt. Highway 80 is quite... non-exciting. I had real issues with trying to find a good place to fuel up and use the restroom, the places I pulled off ended up being either way out-of-the-way or closed. Let me tell you, when I saw my Chicago skyline, I got very excited, and got that feeling of, "thank God, I'm home" that I would normally get coming back to Iowa. I love being at home in Iowa, but there's something about this city that feels so familiar, so comfortable to me. But sometimes I feel as if I don't fully belong in Waverly or in Chicago. I think a part of me has to have both to feel satisfied.


Pepper spray in my pocket, and boyfriend 15 minutes away again, I am at ease.

Amendment to my previous post, by request

I got some comments asking, "What about Josiah?" from my last post, so here's the nitty gritty of it:

Hours spent talking on the phone to Josiah per week:

Probably around 5

Hours spent with Josiah each week (in person):

Probably about 30

So basically, i'm not actually spending those 27 hours doing homework nor those 56 hours sleeping. Just like T said, everything looks better on paper... it doesn't actually work out as planned.

Also of note, this past Tuesday, Feb. 7th was my 1-year anniversary with Josiah, from the day we were officially not-just-friends and a real dating couple. Tonight we celebrated, since Tuesdays he has his ministry training at an inner-city youth group. We exchanged gifts - I bought him this awesome Colorado Avalanche (our fave NHL team) sweatshirt, and he gave me a "Best of Coldplay" piano book and some other sheet music, as well as some adorable magnetic kissing stuffed animals. We ate at a casual steakhouse called "Ronny's" and shared a 20-ounce t-bone, baked potato, corn, garlic bread, and some unbelievable good lemonades. All for less than $25. Woohoo. What a wonderful year it has been. Being together almost every day now has really stretched us in many ways, but excitingly, we are growing closer as a couple and much closer to God. I am so blessed!

One favorite date place of ours... Sunday afternoons at Lincoln Park Zoo.
(It's free, and there are penguins.)

p.s. Keep me in your prayers for Saturday morning and after, I'm interviewing to be an RA for next year, which would save me a nice $11K for next year.

Where has all the time gone?

Wow, I actually feel kind of guilty for not blogging for so long. Actually, maybe guilty is not the word, it is "amazed." The past three weeks of school has really flown by. How has all my time been spent? I felt the desire today to mathematically determine how ridiculously over-scheduled I am. So here's the weekly breakdown:

Hours expected from my teachers to work on my homework:

27

Hours to actually sleep 8 hours per day:

56

Hours spent in class:

19

Hours working at H&M:

15

Hours devoted to an average of 40 minutes to get ready in the morning:

4.67

Hours devoted to eating two meals per day at 20 mins each:

4.67

Hours in church on Sunday:

2

Hours on public transportation to get to church and work:

2.5

Hours walking to and from class:

1.67

Daily devotions:

sadly, a mere 2.33 hours per week

The grand total of these activities.... 134.8 hours

How many hours are in a week? 168.

Theoretically, I have nearly 5 hours to spare each day. If only it worked out that nicely. And looking at how my time is spent, I am sort of saddened. I sometimes find it hard just to spend those 20 minutes a day with the Lord. I spend twice as much time per week getting ready in the morning than I do reading the Bible and praying. It's humbling, a real reality check.

Trip Down Memory Lane, Part 4: Kodak Moments

This is my final photo installment in this mini-series (egh I sound like I'm trying to make it so official or something...) devoted to those pictures that just capture the moment so well. Here goes:

Part 4: Kodak Moments



Natalie Joy, do you recognize the beautiful baby in this picture? This is the day that Haleigh and I came to visit new baby Mel in the hospital... AND she smiled for the picture!



Megan and I got tired of shooting still-life pictures in the junkyard, so we played around. We found this oversized tricycle... I want one of those to ride downtown here... wait, parking would be too expensive...



Hehe, look at the fire behind those blue eyes of mine. You may also notice that I am completely missing my front-left tooth, which got knocked out when I was one years old when I fell on my bottle. I like to think of myself as the calm, sensible child of the four of us, but by the looks of this picture, I must have had some 'obnoxious' in me at an earlier age.



This is in Bill and Nat's old backyard where we had youth group one night. Haleigh and I had just been out taking pictures together all day.



On our very second photoshoot, Haleigh and I took a bunch of timer photos. For this one, Haleigh stood in the water and I pushed the button, then ran and jumped in the creek. What I didn't know what how HORRIBLY cold the water was. It startled me, quite frankly.



While in England, our choir group stumbed upon this professional violinist playing in a square. It was so insane... he put on a cd of a famous symphony and played the lead violinist part of the song. Wow.



Though betraying the idea that these are all pictures I dug out from my old photo album, I had to end with this one. It is one of my favorites from my trip to Kenya, where I worked with Christian Mission Aid in the slums of Nairobi. This little girl followed me around quite a bit, and one afternoon, she was just standing in the doorway of the school building (a shack, really) and when I pulled out my camera, she smiled (Kenyan children adore getting their picture taken!) Every time I see this picture, I want to jump a plane and go back there...

Well, that's all for this series of photos, eventually I plan to write about Kenya in detail and show more pictures from the trip, but I want to have time to pour my heart out into it, and with school started up again, it will be hard. Thanks for taking time to look at my blog!

Trip Down Memory Lane, Part 3: My Funny-Farm Family

Years ago, my mom sent my older brother, Adam, a card at church camp signed "from your Funny-Farm Family" and the term kinda stuck with me. Note the hyphen... it joins the two words into one... This is my third installment of pictures, dedicated to my wacko but wonderful family...



Um, what better picture to start with? It fulfills everything you could imagine for a crazy family. The grumpy looking farmer father, the disinterested eldest son, the goofy mom who still loves the concept of bunny-ears, the over-glammed daughter, the over-stressed twelve-year-old, and the never-ending perplexity of a young'un who never seems to mature!



AWWW... look at me in my carseat.... awww look at.... AWWWW.



Doin' what he loved to do... Haleigh, you took this one the first day we took pictures with my new camera. I will cherish it forever.



Why the weird finger thingy? I don't know. It was Jacob's idea.



This is a picture from one of my "vacations" to Chicago... we went to the best Cubs game ever, I think four homeruns were hit or something?!? It was AMAZING.



I think the best part of this picture of Jake is how ridiculously innocent he looks... do not be fooled, my friends; there is obnoxious fury hidden behind all those freckles!



Adam, I want those glasses. Oh.... I was thinking I should try this hairdo sometime again, the one where there's a curlyish tuft on top of my head and all the hair on the sides is real thin and worn down.



My grandparents, who are now footloose, eternally dancing together like the first day they met.



And finally, (phew, that was a lengthy one!) the two rejects. Theme for this photo? I'm guessing indigestion and constipation!


Hope you enjoyed that! I sure did. Coming up next - the final installment: Kodak moments

Trip Down Memory Lane, Part 2: Memories of OBC

Alright, here's the second installment, as promised...

Part 2: Memories of OBC


Ever need a really awesome place for a date? This is a picture I took of the Chicago skyline during our missions trip to Chicago. This was the trip in which I first got to know and fall in love with this city. Taken from one of my favorite date places of all time, Navy Pier.



The Chicago trip ended with a bang, literally... I took this picture after our 5-vehicle pile-up, telling Jess, "Smile big, we're in Chicago!" I love this picture, though I am reminded almost daily of the not-so-good part of the accident, my sprained back!



Road trip to regional music/drama competition. Bill was taking a long time to buy snacks, so Tim, Jess Teidt, and I washed the car right there at the gas pump.


Back to School Retreat, click on this one to see it bigger for sure, the expressions and personalities are so fun to remember. We were goofballs. Wait, I don't think that's changed.



Another good one from the Chicago trip, I think this was all but a couple people that went... I remember that one guy (Jon Wolfe? I don't remember) stayed upstairs in his room for the evening, and Brenda took the picture, and we went out to walk around downtown. That was such a fun night, walking past all the ritzy stores and beautiful lit wall with water cascading down... Ahh I love my Chicago.



My worship team, celebrating our immense victory at Mosaic (woohoo... a trophy.) Actually, I believe we got scholarships to the Chicago trip from this one? Maybe I am mistaken, but good times...



I'll finish with this beauty, taken of the two koolest girls ever... that year at church camp was crazy... we were incoming freshmen, on the worship team, and we both were hit on big time by upperclassmen. Ughh. :O)

Alright, that's all for this installment, coming up next: The Funny-Farm Family.

p.s. I posted an additional picture on the last installment, when I made the original post it simply wouldn't upload. But I got it to work, and it's definitely worth checking out...

Trip Down Memory Lane, Part 1: Silly/Unforgettable

Today I have been "cleaning house," though it actually seems I am making a worse mess since I'm plotting to re-arrange my room. I just have gotten so bored with the setup of first semester. I may have to enroll some of my neighbor guys to help me move the bunk beds tonight. Consult my roommate? Why? She's NEVER HERE. Anyhow, as I was "cleaning house," I opened up my photo box and perused my old photo album and a loose batch of photos... oh what memories. So I wanted to post some of my favorites, so you all (that know me) might take the same trip down memory lane and enjoy yourselves. This will be a three or four-part blog.

Part 1: Silly/Unforgettable



This is me at the peak of my training. Notice that boxing is no longer grueling for me, that it's become easy and fun to knock out my friend, who smiles because she expected to be clobbered anyway.



This one was taken at church camp when I was on worship team. It was rainy, and we all made a slip-n-slide down the hill at the ol' campgrounds. Pheew... that mud had a nasty smell, let me tell you...



Whoahh!!! That gravel can be tricky sometimes... I performed this rolling stunt at age 15 with my school license on my way to cross country practice. Funny thing I just noticed: you can see my hand print on the door where, in my shock and horror after flipping, I jumped out of the broken window and ran home (only a 1/4 mile away.) A moment of silence for the car, please.



This picture at Winsor Castle in London is pretty self-explanatory.



I will never be able to forget this picture, or how significant it has been to both Haleigh and me. Derek had wanted so badly to plan prom and be able to attend, and he did both of those. He passed away less than a month later from complications of cancer.


There you have it... coming up next: Memories of Open Bible Church

Veddy Interesting...

I was reading Chilihead's blog talking about a site she found with digital retouching of a bikini model, so I googled a phrase and came up with another great site to look at. It's so fascinating (and disturbing) to me how much work is done to the models' pictures. There are women who do have gorgeous bodies and skin, I'm sure, but it's not as normal as we make it out to be. Take a look at the site, if you scroll over the pictures, you will see the before version. Interesting...

Getting to Know Me... Getting to Know All About Me

Bill tagged me a while ago with this meme… I was wondering the same thing, what IS a meme? Just a game? Where does the word “meme” come from? Oh well, here goes…

Four jobs you had in your life.

1. Huge milk bowl watcher – once my dad’s milkhouse equipment was acting up when I was probably 6 or 7 years old, and he had me watch to make sure the milk level inside the huge glass sphere didn’t go beyond a certain level. Problem was, probably after about 5 minutes, I was so bored and worried I would have to be there forever that I ran out into the barn crying, saying I didn’t want to watch it anymore. Luckily my dad let me off the hook.

2. Hay raker. What could be better than sitting on a tractor, just making sure I stay in a straight line, all the while getting a tan in the skimpiest bikini I owned, and singing as loud as I could to my little brother’s Cadet CD? Oh, AND I was paid $7 and hour to do it.

3. Pizza Hut waitress. “Can I get you a refill?” “I’m sorry, there was a mistake made in the kitchen. Your pizza was made ALL with pepperoni and sausage instead of half and half.” “Sorry sir, I’m the only server tonight and I have twelve other tables that ordered their drinks before you!”

4. Caretaker for Grandpa. When I discovered that my grandfather was engaged twice before he even MET Grandma, something my dad didn’t even know. The best job I’d ever had.

Four movies you could watch over and over.

1. Spanglish. So many quotes I could put down, I love it!

2. The Wedding Singer.

3. Sabrina. Not the teenage witch. The movie with Harrison Ford. I watched this movie every single time I came home sick during high school.

4. Two Weeks Notice – because it’s Hugh Grant. Sorry, Josiah.

Four places you've lived.

1. Mama’s belly. It was wet and dark in there. We were both pretty happy when I decided to move out.

2. RR 4 Box 123. Before our country road even had a name, just a number. It was a good old blue house, with lovely shag carpet.

3. The main Epley farm. I love it there.

4. Chicago, IL. Fast paced, just right for me. But when I go home to the Epley farm, I hear imaginary city noises while in bed because I’m not used to the peace and quiet anymore.

Four TV shows you love to watch.

***I do not really watch TV anymore. These I have liked in the past:

1. Family Guy

2. Average Joe

3. Friends

4. Who’s Line is it Anyway?

Four places you've been on vacation.

1. Chicago, a few times.

2. France and England, if you call a choir trip a vacation.

3. Maryland, because that’s where my aunt, uncle, and cousins live.

4. Maasai Mara, in Kenya, Africa, where I went on a 3-day safari.

Four websites you visit daily.

1. google.com. I don’t know why, I just don’t feel fulfilled unless I’ve googled something each day.

2. hotmail.com and aol.com, to check my email.

3. facebook.com. The college version of myspace.

4. blogger.com. I love reading what’s new with my favorite Waverlyites.

Four of your favorite foods

1. Spaghetti

2. Chicago style pizza – my new favorite is Giordano’s.

3. Mom’s macaroni casserole. Coming to a church potluck near you. Seriously, it’s the greatest.

4. Stir fry, preferably with some steak strips inside.

Four places you'd rather be right now

1. In Kenya, doing just about anything.

2. In Los Angeles with my brother. (My spring break plan.)

3. Hanging out with Josiah, anywhere.

4. On a Caribbean cruise.

Four bloggers you are tagging

1. Haleigh, though her blog isn’t up and running right now.

2. Angela

3. Uhh… anyone else I can think of that hasn’t filled this out…

4. …?

My TV's Ethnicity

In an earlier post, I explained that my TV was broken, that it wouldn't work no matter what I did. So when Josiah moved in last week, his parents helped me out by driving me down to the repair shop to take in the television.

I must explain that mapquest was quite misleading in its estimated time of 17 minutes to get there. First of all, the shop is located smack dab in the middle of the Spanish part of town. Spanish part = narrower streets. It took us an hour to get there. Why Philips doesn't have a closer repair place to where I live, I am baffled. Anyhow, we got the TV to it's repair shop, I paid my $50 deposit, and headed back home.

A couple days later, I got a message on my answering machine asking me to call and explain what the problem was with the TV. I was a little confused, since I explained pretty clearly when I dropped it off. Nevertheless, on Monday, I called the store and explained thoroughly how my TV set was broken. They said, "OK" and told me they would call me when they figured out what the problem was.

An hour or so later, I got a call saying the TV was fixed and ready to pick up. Why, I wondered, was it fixed so fast? Suspicious... So yesterday, Josiah and I took my car from Hyde Park to the repair shop to pick up the television. Mapquest's directions this time conveniently took us through the "lock your doors and pray we don't get shot" part of Chicago. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty ghetto. We spoke with the technician who worked on my TV... he plugged it in for us and it worked great. Then he explained that he did absolutely nothing to fix it, he even opened it up and checked to make sure everything was fine, and it was. Josiah and I brought the TV back, plugged it in, and voila, worked fine.

I have since played with many theories as to why my television acted as it did. Maybe the outlet it was plugged into was messed up. But I have it plugged into the same outlet now, and it's working great. Maybe, as my grandmother suggested, the car trip to the repair store jostled something back into place. Perhaps. But I have decided on a much better theory:

My TV is of Spanish descent. Why else would it suddenly start working again once it got to the Spanish part of town? It must have felt comforted to be home, around people speaking the same language, who looked like family. That comfort gave my TV the strength it needed to do its daily job once again.

Next time your TV is broken, maybe you could try playing some ethnic music to soothe its homesickness. Maybe it would have saved me $50.

A Funny Forward That Was Actually... Funny.

Today in my email I got a forward from my cousin, Kris. It had a link to a very funny (and clean) video, which I wanted to share: (clicking below will start downloading the video.)

http://www.military.com/Video/050303_DanceTime.wmv

Enjoy!

Young and in Love, part 2

Now that my scanner is working, I also wanted to share my new favorite photo of Josiah and me together. As I've already discussed, his love has taught me so much! I love you, babe!

Diversity at Columbia

I got my scanner working!!! Ok, for my first semester photo 1 project, I decided to do "diversity at Columbia." So the following pictures were my attempt to capture Columbia's diversity in ethnicity, student life, and personalities... enjoy!