Were making the move!

Hey ladies and gents!

Were moving this blog over to Wordpress.  The new URL will be dontgochasingwaterfalls.wordpress.com

I sent everybody that was a contributor to this blog an invite to be a writer on the other one as well.  I was able to import all of the posts and comments and whatnot in the new blog.  The reasons behind moving the blog are mostly for me, i know greedy right? The wordpress blogs are so much easier for me to edit and customize, they load faster, they have way more themes to choose from and I think it will be a better overall experience.  So long Blogger!  You have been good to us!  A message to any followers that we have, you should still continue to follow us over on Wordpress as well!  I promise we will still bring the same amazing quality to our posts!

Put me in coach!

Alright Katelyn and Molly, I'm ready to come back into the game...although I am still a busy maniac, but now the beautiful iPad that Jessica got me allows me to connect to this old ghost town of a blog on the go!  More about the iPad shortly...but for now I just want to give everybody an update on this blog and the sad state of it's design.  I am going to be working on a redesign for it.  Something light, something airey, and something colorful.  Who knows when I will get this done, maybe sometime after our Disney vacation but we will see what these next few weeks throw my way. 

I am currently developing Mr. Padriac Routa's website and it's going to be pretty friggin sweet, Pat and I are unleasing the creativity and pushing my personal boundaries as a developer (which is never a bad thing).  Since my last post I have launched Chuckie's golf cart website, http://www.chuckscustomcarts.com/ so check it out if you feel like!  I have been busy with side jobs that have stalled in the water and it's very annoying. 

Racing season is back in full swing and I couldn't be more excited!  Last weekend I lost in the second round, it was my own fault, I didn't drive as well as I should have but we will go out this weekend and go for a win. 

Back to the iPad....it's amazing, I have only used my laptop a handful of times, and it's usually when Jes is on the iPad playing games or I am doing some side job.  It is so much more than a giant iPod touch like most people tend to say.  I definitely see computing in general turning this way, I don't see Laptops and Netbooks sticking around and we will see more tablets.  Desktops are too useful to get rid of...for now.

A few weeks back Jes, Chad, and myself, along with the dogs, went to the park and walked and hung out for a while and we noticed that the new part of the Metro Parks that just opened behind Wal-Mart has a sand volleyball court.  I would absolutely love to setup an afternoon with the Dirty M's playing volleyball and maybe grilling on the grills that they have there?  Think about it...let it marinade for a little while and get back to me! I don't have a date picked out or anything so we can all just collaborate and figure that one out.

I think all of us need to get together very soon to have a night of drinking and game playing.  I just had the idea of maybe Sunday night we can all gather at Brace...drink some drinks and have fun? I don't work Monday so I would be all in for that!

So long for now my fellow Dirty M's I hope it's not 35 years before I write here again...and maybe next time my post will have more of a subject to it and more structure, this post is truly a cluster-fuck :)

Welcome back riders, how was your rideeeeeee

Molly, does your back ache from carrying the weight of this entire website?? I'm sorry I left you here, me of all people, knowing the frustration of rallying our group together to the dontgochasin' site. Sigh....

Well I'm back, and unemployed, and working on being better than ever. Graduation was windy (in bowling green's style) but beautiful. And summer came in at the same time it always does, so i think things will settle in more come August. Moving in with my Dad a.k.a. Roomie a.k.a. Eeyore has been better than I could have expected. He is quiet and never puts away his shaving stuff in the morning, but he didn't ask me to mulch with him and he likes to eat a big dinner (which I appreciate). We had to put tasha to sleep (our German shepard) today and big John was bummin.... But eh, puppies get older.

So home brings back memories of old friends who knew me with frizzy hair and red glasses. I was just talking with Jessica about coming home and re-getting to know all of my friends that knew me when I was little but haven't quite gotten to know the me that I'm most proud of. It seems weird to think of getting to know people that already know my favorite color, but we've been away from the E for a while and I started eating different foods (sort of). Or I started coloring my hair darker shades, sort of. Or I don't know...the small idiosynchrosices that you only know of others when you spend late nights together.

I'm so busy being nostalgic I'm missing the things right before me.

True or False?

Circle One:

1. Fear is inevitable in human beings. T F
2. Love and hate are opposites. T F
3. People are, by nature, good at heart. T F
4. Being "scared" & being "afraid" are the same. T F
5. Fears stem from imperfections regarding love. T F
6. Fear is the best motivator. T F
7. Love is the best motivator. T F
8. It is possible to fall out of love. T F
9. Fear is always irrational. T F
10. Love is an emotion. T F

I have had the incredible opportunity to create and facilitate a program at Loyola called "Dynamic Dialogue," a sporadic open forum for sophomore students that focuses on one semi-abstract theme for an hour. We welcome anyone who wants to dialogue, and we allow the conversations to lead wherever they happen to lead, be that a sharing of personal experiences, respectful disagreements, or further probing. We wanted to develop a space on campus that existed solely for engaging in deep, meaningful, critical conversations about anything on students' minds.

This evening was my final DD, and the theme was (duh) "Fear & Love." These are two of my favorite topics, other than our first theme (which was "Vulnerability & Trust"; surprise surprise!). It was one of the most phenomenal conversations I have had in a while, and I am still hatching some ideas that were laid by others during today's session. I am so endlessly grateful for the omnipresence of depth in my life.

I continued my night's quest for life's answers with the EVOKE Scholars. We meet every single Tuesday for 3-5 hours of play time/discernment/encouragement/advice sessions, and that informal routine has only reinforced my thoughts that Tuesdays are my absolute favorite day of the week. We only have 2 gatherings left before I move home, which is terribly heartbreaking because they are the most supportive community in my life right now, but there are already great plans in the works for continuing our involvement with each other next year. I have a deep appreciation of and respect for the 2009-10 Schollies and the incredible gifts they provide me with!

Job searching continues. Prospects are exciting and extremely intriguing to me, but I won't spill on here for sake of getting myself (and all those loyal readers out there) worked up for no reason. Updates will be posted as they are received.

Before I leave, M. Scott Peck's thoughts on what love really is: "The driving force behind spiritual growth; extending one's ego boundaries to include another...the spiritual nurturing of another."

Sending my love to anyone in need of a little extra energy and compassion tonight in the world. P&L!

Am I that big of a mood-killer?

So did my last post REALLY dampen everyone's desire to blog that badly that no one has posted since? I'm a terrible team blogger, apparently.

In an attempt to turn it around before I go prepare my apartment for a JESSICA SHOBER VISIT (!!!!!!!), I will fill in my favorite format of life summarization:

Reading: Eating Animals, What is the What, my calendar, my syllabi, job descriptions galore
Listening: Music from my once-alive laptop (thank goodness for external hard drives), Loyolacappella's Lake Show prep, my new phone's stellar ringtones, Dorian's incessant purring
Watching: Sports (I don't even like baseball), the seasons change, youtube videos ("Sassy Gay Friend" and a revisited obsession with the "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism" Vids)
Wearing: rain boots, MU ASG sunglasses (thanks, Matthew J. Forrest!!), a bookbag, dresses, my contacts too much
Wanting: letters (but I'm a terrible penpal this semester and don't send responses enough to get any of these), focus & order, more sleep, to move home, a job offer

It was SO incredibly good to be home this weekend. Weekend ratings: Wolfy's gets a thumbs down, Train Station (always) gets a thumbs up, and The Feve (frequently) gets a thumbs up, though I could do without the medieval zombie movies. Makes me look forward to a summer in the E with some of my favorite [dirty] people. I'm talking to you, fellow DM bloggers...!!!


"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."- Lao Tzu

"Preparing Women & Men to Lead Extraordinary Lives."

Today was quite an emotionally intense day in my classes. It's beautiful out, the CTA worked in my favor, and I got an incredible grade on a midterm that I took pre-spring break, which really helped balance the hard-hitting material that was touched all day.

In my Domestic Violence class, my professor started off the class by reading an email she'd just received last night. The email was from a woman who had taken this course in Spring 2008, and after taking the class she promised herself that she would never, under any circumstances, stay in a relationship where there was violence. In her message, she explained that she started dating someone over the summer and had told him from the start that violence was her breaking point-- she would never stand for it. In February she decided to make a move to England to be with him. The day that she got there, he slapped her across the face. Literally that same day, she gathered up her just-moved items and got on a plane to return to the U.S. She said she never would have had the courage and perspective to do that without taking this class, and after being out of the relationship she was able to see the abusive patterns that led to that point.

My professor was obviously deeply moved by this email, and she gave all of us 20 minutes to write about our experiences with violence in relationships and how much we would be willing to promise ourselves at certain levels of intimacy (especially because most often, abusers wait until the commitment level is somewhat high-- like moving in together, marriage, children, etc.). I haven't decided whether or not I will be posting mine on here, but it might surface eventually. Regardless, a discussion in this class a few weeks ago was about whether or not love and violence can exist in the same relationship; I'm an extremely firm "no" on this topic, and I think that that can give you a framework from which today's response can be understood.

I had lunch with Britt (my former roomie) and Alex (Loyolacappella) at my favorite little deli downtown, and we had some pretty intense conversation about our lives; I won't go into detail because I want to respect their privacy, but it was definitely a much-needed heart-to-heart that went far too quickly for me to be satisfied. :)

My last class was focusing on missing, abducted, and "throwaway" children, as well as children abused. I have not had enough time to process this conversation, but we ended up reading multiple news stories surrounding a terribly upsetting abuse-murder case of Lattie McGee, witnessed by his brother Cornelius Abraham. It was heart-wrenching (to say the least) and the follow-up article was absolutely incredible and refreshingly compassionate.

What I'm trying to show is how endlessly thankful I am that I have had access to an education that makes people-- as in, individuals-- and meaningful dialogue the central task in developing its students. My world would be shaped so differently without days like this in my educational journey. Thanks, Jesuits.

an Elyria Police Officer was slain last night

It's unfortunate news that in our own town, a Police Officer was shot and killed in the line of duty.  James Kerstetter was more than just an Officer, he was a truly amazing person that touched the lives of those close to me.  I wasn't extremely close to him, but I know people, people that are very close to me that are directly effected by this unfortunate tragedy.  I found this poem online about fallen Officers, and I am going to reach out to all of those close to me and ask that you do this if you are in the Elyria area.

"A Blue Light

Place a light in your window, make sure it is blue
Reminding friends, an officer gave a life for you
Give light to their remembrance, the color is sad
To family left by officers who knew them as Dad
It isn’t the money, most definitely not the hours
They aren’t comic book hero’s with unnatural powers
They’re simply human beings who place life on the line
Place a blue light in your window, let their memory shine!"

Kerstetter served in the Elyria Police Department for 15 years, and served with the Lorain County Sheriff's Department before that.  He and his family are very close to Jessica's family and it is such a sad thing to think about.  Please help me spread the word about the Blue Light movement if you can, he is deserving of such a memorial. 

my wireless internet it taking longer than usual to load

perhaps my wifi wishes it was still on spring break, too!

i had a really really amazing break with some of my college girlfriends in nashville and then with the regulars in elyria. nashville is absolutely beautiful, it doesn't even need green grass to show off it's landscaping or the unique was the city has a large lawn with it. we went to a second-hand clothing store that only accepted designer items (which seems like a contradiction in itself...do designers wish they got comission on stores such as these?) and i tried on very fun business suits and stuff but walked out with a t-shirt (satisfied). there was a quirky coffee shop that i really liked called "fido"---all of the drinks were cleverly named around dog stuff. i'm having trouble thinking of an example on the spot, but it made me want to open a shop were people could get any kind of drink they wanted.

on to elyria, someone thought i was a mother. not like i was babysitting and just walking around with a baby on my hip (which doesn't really sound rational either, but i'm trying to help this guy out) but someone literally thought i was OLD! this makes me uncomfortable. so i told my dad trying to get the sympathy vote and he replies "at least we weren't standing together, someone might have thought we were dating." thank you, dad, that is really really thoughtful of you. shawn said "i really don't know what you want me to say here, you're not old?" thank you, shawn, that was so gracious. no, cyberspace, i'm not looking for affirmation here. just thought i'd share a story gone terribly wrong on 3 separate occasions.

so now i'm back at college, i'm going to lay in bed and get some reading done. not even college reading, i can't stop reading franny and zooey but i keep putting it down so i don't finish it. sounds backwords, but if you've read a good book i think you've felt that way before. (at least i hope you've felt it)

Just something I felt like doing

An image that I created today.  I was in the mood to make something grungy and full of texture and odd-bits.  Tell me what you think, I love criticism.

This is what I wrote on the Chronicle's website regarding the Elyria City Schools teachers making 'too much' It's lonnnnggg.

Remember, this is a response to what they wrote on the Chronicle's site, so there is some referencing of quotes and whatnot.

Man oh man, you critics sure do know it all.  David, Elyria Resident, Sitting Bull (I know your lurking somewhere) 'grab a hot-chocolate, and some marshmallows if it makes you feel better… this may hurt.'

You guys continue to amaze me with how much you 'know' via Google or the Comicle Telegram.  I'm not too sure what the Chronicle was trying to establish by printing the teacher's salaries, to me, they don't want to stand behind the school district of the city they are located in.  Where is the 7 page report on Lorain's teachers?  We got an average pay, but I don't see the huge print up on them?  Again I ask you....what is the most important thing that you want your child to have?  Health? Sure!  A good Education?  Judging by your responses and your un-willingness to support your local school district, No!

Sure Rigda is double-dipping, that makes me as mad as any of you, but you can thank the State of Ohio for allowing him to be able to do that, don't take your anger out on the Elyria City Schools.  Are there some teachers that get over-paid? Sure!  But...(this is where it gets good)

The parents are the ones dropping the ball with their kids.  Way too often do kids not care one bit about school, and the blame must fall on the parents.  Nowadays if a teacher calls home to report that their child was misbehaving, fighting, swearing, or just not caring about their work what do the teachers get in response?  A parent that is furious AT THE TEACHER!  Or just a hung up phone on the other line.  Tell me this...why is it the teacher's fault that YOUR KID sleeps through class?  Why is it the teacher's fault that YOUR KID goes home, doesn't do their homework, and fails tests?  The teachers that have been there for 10+ years are the ones making the good money because they are REQUIRED...again...REQUIRED to get a Master's Degree.  And since you all seem to be so fond of 'Googling' things I did a little Googling myself.  The AVERAGE, so don't attack me with your LCCC costs, or your Phoenix online rates, the Average cost to get a Master's Degree is $180,000.  So tell me, is it worth them making 70K per year? Well when you add the fact that most of these people have families, a car payment, and a house payment ontop of around 100K+ of student loans...then Yes, I believe it is justified.

And here is another point that I find just too funny to pass up.  David, you said "My Answer: Did History and Mathematics change while I was out grocery shopping? "  Technically History changes daily because not only do these textbooks need to include new updates about things that go on in the present, but even things like 9/11 are the past, things like the never ending war in the middle east is part of the past.  The first black president being sworn into office is the past, all of these things make up the history that we all know, ontop of every other significant event in the past.  The social studies department isn't just HISTORY, it's History, it's current events, it's Women's Studies, it's European History, it's Sociology, in other words, it's far more than just history.  As far as the mathematics books are concerned...Math itself may not change, but in order to compensate for the changes that the state requires, and to keep up with the learning curve of children today books need to change.  And why the heck are you even complaining about the books?  Sure the books cost the district, but books do not effect a teacher's salary, and they don't cost the parents much of anything.  In college, just in case you forgot, books cost hundreds of dollars per semester.  So you can go ahead and stick your tail between your legs and drop the book argument.

You also said this:
"My Answer: Sorry to report, I am a product of Private Schooling… you know, where Teacher’s Unions are frowned upon and teacher’s must excel to keep their jobs."

Were sorry that your parents thought it was so neccesary to private school you.  Every private school graduate that I know is a bum, and my 'public school' friends are doing a lot more with their lives.  Private schooling does nothing more than give kids an ego, and shelters them from the real world.

Teachers do far more than people give them credit for, but all of you narrow-minded people would never understand, the only thing you pay attention to is that they are 'over-paid', they belong to a Union, and the schools require taxes to stay afloat.  Another thing that amazes me is how people get all fired up if you say the schools are going to cut extra-curricular's like sports, or make them pay to play, yet you are perfectly fine with letting 150 teachers go...so I say BRAVO to you for that.

I ask you all to take some time and think about what is important to your children, or grandchildren.  Take the time to do that, and ask yourself if it's worth a little over $100 per year? I challenge every one of you to honestly say that your child's education is not worth a little over $100 per year, because if this levy doesn't pass, that education that you want for your child...well, it's going to be a whole lot harder considering the classrooms will almost double in size.

You know you live in Northeast Ohio when...

• You drive around with the windows down and the heat blasting....when it's 40 degrees for a high
• You wash your car, by hand when the heat wave hits around 45 degrees
• You go to work with a coat, gloves, and a hat on...you leave work thinking your cool with just a long sleeve shirt on
• You head down to the local Wal-Mart and see multiple people in camo shorts (in March)
• You are in a traffic jam because of 'sun glare' AKA, it's sunny, were not used to it, we ran out of windshield washer fluid, and we are yet to put the sunglasses back in the car
• Your home team is set to break the World Record of most snuggies worn inside a building (The Cavs)
• the Cavs win the Championship in June, this place will burn (out of pure Joy)
• the Cavs make it to the Finals, and don't win (I had to say it), this place will burn (out of pure Rage)

I was bored right before lunch and didn't feel like taking more than ten minutes to write something up.
I am loving everybody's entries as of lately...including you SB!  Where is Padraic at?

when all her words fail she speaks in mixtapes and master beats

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering. When they were ten he asked her to marry him. When they were eleven he kissed her for the very first time. When they were thirteen they got into a fight and for three weeks they didn't talk. When they were fifteen she showed him the scar on her left breast. Their love was a secret they told no one. He promised her he would never love another girl as long as he lived. "What if I die?" she asked. "Even then," he said. For her sixteenth birthday he gave her an English dictionary, and together they learned words. "What's this?" he'd ask, tracing his index finger around her ankle, and she'd look it up. "And this?" he'd ask, kissing her elbow. "Elbow! What kind of a word is that?" and then he would lick it, making her giggle... When they were seventeen they made love for the first time, on a bed of straw in a shed. Later- when things happened they could never imagined- she wrote him a letter that said: "When will you learn that there isn't a word for everything?"

i think that's all for now..

Shall We Do Some Blessing Counting??

1. SNOW DAY ON FRIDAY!! - This is not just a Snow Day, but initiation into the teaching profession!
2. Realizing how sweet I felt playing BBALL against my college friends (but really only because none of them are over 5'10)

3. Reuniting with an old friend from Freshman year only to find out he hasn't changed in 4 years!
4. Dusting of the XBOX to find out that having 9 controllers does not guarantee that 4 will work

5. Grocery Shopping at Kroger on Saturdays - what bread-crumbed chicken breast (Transition)

6. Collaborating with Ms. Katelyn Bonko towards a mystical dinner

7. Spending a Saturday night with Katelyn baking muffins (berry berry or banana nut? It was a tough call)

8. Great Sunday Morning Church Service

9. Awesome Spinach Salad for dinner (Spinach Salad + Caesar Dressing = Happy Shawn)

10. Blogging on a site named "dontgochasingwaterfalls" on a Sunday Night...named by a few of the coolest girls I know I might add

ps. Really enjoying your posts Chris(-TOPHER)...keep it up, you are not alone, I am here with you (MJ??)

The light at the end of the tunnel...or is it just somebody's flashlight?

As I have said in my previous entries, life is INSANE, and you never know what it will bring next.  It's very much like Forrest Gump's mother told us...Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.  Last week we lost another drag racer, unfortunately he was way too young.  Drake Simmons was 23 years old and passed away last week due to a pnuemonia that he had been battling for a few weeks. Now I wasn't as close to him as I was with Andrew, but it still hits you hard and makes you re-evaluate how fragile a life truly is. Drake was one of the nicest people I have ever met and truly had a passion for the sport, God has a bigger and better plan for him in Heaven than he did on this Earth...it's unfortunate that he had to go so early.

Katelyn,
Drumming was so refreshing last weekend.  Going up there and playing music for more than just my own pleasure was so great, and I look forward to helping them out when they need me.  Everybody in the band is so nice and even though I was rusty at first (not playing for three years will do that to you) they let me work through the rust and by the time the second service was over, Bill was grinning with some of the stuff that I was doing. 184 misses you, and we are truly dissapointed that you will not be there for the last weekend of the Whiskey Ranch ;). 

Now onto the whole light at the end of the tunnel thing.

I don't know if it's because I have figured out a way to deal with my new, intense schedule or if my workload is actually lighter but I haven't felt as stressed-out lately.  Sure I wake up feeling like I got a half hour of sleep, but you try sleeping with a 70lb Golden Retreiver snoring in your face, lets see how good you feel in the morning.  I have been getting up early so I can see Jes in the morning because who knows what our schedules are after I get home and there are times we don't see eachother until we go to bed.  It's sad yes, but we will survive.  I do feel bad for her, she puts SO much time into preparing for the next day and those inconsiderate kids just don't care.  Another thing that is unfortunate for her is that she works the 40 hour work week, then instead of resting the weekend away...she has to work the entire thing.  She has been picking up extra hours and doing more tutoring and also babysitting a lot.  I greatly appreciate everything she is doing to help keep us afloat.
My car...well it's causing us a whole deal of grief but now it is fixed.  I had a brief scare and thought I was going to have to get a new car this weekend but it's fixed!  I am hoping this summer I can buy something brand new.  I am looking at 2010 Mazda 3, 5-door's...they are small, get pretty good mpg yet they have a lot of room being a hatchback. So stay tuned because I am sure I will keep all of you updated on that progress.

Jes and I are planning on going to Disney with the Madrigals and whatnot in June and we can't wait!  The last, and only time I have been there is for band and how lame was that?  I am really excited to spend a lot of time down there, and a lot of time away with just her.  It appears that the light at the end of the tunnel has the silhouette of Mickey Mouse ears.  Some great dates to look forward to are coming up though and it will help with this bad case of cabin-fever we are all getting



3/17/2010-St. Patty's Day
4/01/2010-April Fool's day (my personal favorite)
4/02/2010- Mom's 50th Birthday
4/08/2010-Jessica's birthday
4/18/2010-Chad's Birthday
4/22/2010-Chuckie's Birthday
4/30/2010-Jessica's Last day student teaching

Well, that's all I have for today friends, I hope you enjoyed!

sniff, cough, etc.

I have whatever usually goes around in February, which is some mix of night-time-sneezing-coughing-finish the rest of the nyquil ad here. I wouldn't even mind it if I wasn't the kid in class that is coughing and has to get up to get a drink. I keep hand sanitizing, I keep clean kleenex with me at all times, but there is no attractive way to go about meeting people/visiting with healthy people while sniffing!

Molly--I'm so glad to hear about you reading books that you actually want to! I really need to spend my time more wisely, I have 3 books half finished and I really should just work to finish 1!

Chris--How was drumming this past week? Your note was SO encouraging! I have had some heavy things on my heart lately, and I just really feel emotionally exhausted after this weekend. So i'm not changing things in cars and driving to work far away, but all different kinds of tired really are---tiring. I miss you!

I think it's those blues that can only be accredited to a seasonal slump. I think of all the things I have that are good and I smile. I think of the time of the year, how it has been difficult for me in years past, and I frown. My continual prayer has been to fix my eyes on the right things, the truly good things, because pressing on is important! (And spring break is soon, so i'm tryin to get out of this town for a second)

'gbye!

If you let it...and if you spread it.

Bonjour, mes amis!

I'm currently putting off writing a paper proposal due tomorrow at 9:20am, but I'm getting hungry and have asparagus waiting for me at home, so I'll buckle down and do it soon...

This weekend was beautiful in so many ways. I have made a hobby out of tracking down winter farmer's markets, so I found one on Saturday and my favorite microgreen vendor was there; the result is that my fridge is stacked with fresh, hella potent microgreens: broccoli, cilantro, arugula, snow pea sprouts...mmmm.

I had a goal last week of reading 4 books (for fun), and I finished 3 with ~230 pages left in the last one, but it felt really great and I don't want to rush good books just for the sake of fulfilling a self-made goal. 'Twill be my next conquer this week ::maniacal laughter ensues::.

Today I'm feeling pretty inspired for three reasons. The first reason is this: MY COUSIN WHO LIVES IN TANZANIA CALLED ME TODAY TO MAKE PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER, meaning that we are both working from both ends to do anything we have to do to get me there for a month or two this summer. AHHH! I am really starting to get excited about this. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Second source of inspiration: I had my "Justice League" (social justice living learning community of first-year students) create their own vision board today at our afternoon gathering. The result was pretty powerful, and I think that they were not only allowed to unleash their positive energy and creative juices, but they were able to come to the realization that they all dream about and want to work toward the same things for the community and for each other-- they just have had trouble recognizing that and holding one another (and themselves) accountable to those two goals. With the vision board hanging in their hallway to be added to and adapted, I think they will finally have the reminder they may need. :)

And reason #C why my heart is feeling light: I get to cook for the EVOKE Scholars yet again on Tuesday because I invited them over. Goodness, I love cooking. On the menu: buffalo tofu lettuce wraps, raisin rice, and roasted veggies with creamy garlic cheese sauce goodness. This week is going to be a great one...I can feel it.

Here's a poem that appeared on our vision board. I loved it:

Think.

Few things possess more Power than
a Thought.

Because a Thought has the potential
to become something significant.
To solve something meaningful.
And to inspire us to achieve great things.

What makes a Thought so powerful
is that it can be created by anybody.
At anytime.
From anywhere.

That's why Thinking should be encouraged
and nurtured in all its forms.
No matter how small.
Or how impossibly grand.

Because wherever Thinking happens,
Big Ideas will follow.
Minds become enlightened.
Knowledge grows.
And people discover new ways to unlock their
Potential.

So start Thinking.

time to stop....and breathe

Right now is the busiest I think that I have ever been.  There are so many things that I love doing, and I think right now I am doing most of them at the same time.  Here's a rundown of all of my extra-curricular's
-Drumming in the Church Worship Band (starts Sunday)
-Playing volleyball on Mondays
-I have 4 sidejobs going on at the same time right now
-Trying to fix my car
-Probably something I am forgetting

Now take all of that, and toss it on top of what Jes and I already have on our plate as far as keeping 184 afloat, working full time and trying to have time for the two of us to see each other.  I feel like these past few weeks God has been testing me, I feel as if He is challenging me to grow closer to Him, to worship Him, and He will guide me through these hectic times.  I feel like He pushed me to play drums in the Worship Band, and I am so glad that I did, so far I am really enjoying it.  I know there are people out there that don't believe that God is real, but there are so many signs in my eyes that he is.  I felt like the sermon that Tim gave on Sunday directly effected what has been going on in my life as of lately, yet, I bet everybody in the congregation thought the same thing.  God works in funny ways, there are sometimes he works in tragic ways...ways that we may never understand, but then there are times like this, when I feel so overwhelmed, that I take the time to stop...and breathe, and I get a second-wind to take on the tasks at hand. Jes and I have both been so busy lately that we don't get to see each other too much, does that worry me?  No, we've been together for almost 5 years and have seen our share of ups and downs, this is just a hiccup...hell it's not even a hiccup, were not upset with each other, were just upset that we don't get to spend a lot of time together right now.  Do I wish we could clear our entire schedules and just spend time with eachother? Yes. I am so happy with how well she is student teaching, her adviser was very impressed with the way she carried herself.  She has been teaching, and tutoring, and working a lot lately, and I can't wait until she just has to teach, because she's going to be damn good at it :)  Well, it's time to head home and dive into this fun evening of fixing closets, fixing cars, and fixing websites.  Good Evening!

over the rhine

Pura vida, vaya con Dios: I wish I had a button that I could push (similar to the idea of the reading-helper leap frog) for the computer so the proper accents could be placed on the proper parts of the words....just so my foreign tongue doesn't mess up something much better than what I could sound out. Someone should invent that, Chris--go ahead and get on that as a part of your web-development way of life.

SO! Today was preview day at BGSU! or, shall i write this more appropriately--- BGS-YOU! Everyone loves to complain about how crowded campus is, and I really loved how this was the easiest conversation starter with someone. You could say to a complete-stranger-that's-a-student: "Wow, campus. psssh. can you BELIEVE the nerve of these people? coming to actually look at campus before they decide to come? the NERVE." and they would agree!!! anyways, i didn't mind it. my favorite part was when a tour guide came into one of my classes because they thought the lecture hall was open (and there was a class there, aka me) and then they got very nervous and hurriedly pushed a father and son out. poor kid, he was just trying to see what all the fuss was about.

My nature class has remained very interesting. We took a hike today to note trees throughout the floodplain- it was really neat to note the differences between the native trees and the nonnatives that park rangers had planted. In the 1950's there was a big push (not for nature) but for aesthetics to "boost" nature, so lots of slow-growing, green trees were planted. This might not be interesting when typed out, but my teacher really has a way with not only her presentations but the way she means the words she chooses.

For Lent! I'm going to give up wearing makeup! I was really nervous about the idea at first, but I think by removing something I do every day will actually mean something. I have given up certain things before (soda pop, meat, pizza, candy) but those are just certain things I can move around. Make-up means get proper rest the night before, brushing my hair, striving too look awake, to not only boost confidence but perhaps an awareness (along with the meanings of lent!) So, the journey begins... with a clean face!

'bye!

New Colors

Sorry to drive everybody crazy, there was a request to make the site brighter since we are all little rays of sunshine so I brightened it.  That background probably isn't permanent but for the time being it will be there.  I am trying to find better ones but I made the changes on lunch break and ran outta time.  Suggestions are always helpful

Friendships need THREE aspects...

At cru we are going in to THREE things real, deep friendships need. So, we need to be...

1. to be known and understood

2. to be loved and respected

3. to be challenged

This works better with an actual interactive group, but I was just challenged by two of my really good girlfriends about a serious part of my life... and it worked! By that i mean, i was forced to actually have a real conversation after they did that. I think a lot of times being challenged is the hardest part of a friendship, because what if the person I say something to doesn't want to hear anything about this? Anyways, I didn't want to hear it--but after I did I realized it was helpful. I'm being vague for a few reasons...but I wanted to share how thankful I am for real friendships.

On a different note, I slept for 14 hours yesterday. Literally, I napped for 4 and slept for 10 that night. I couldn't believe that even was possible. Today I feel a little groggy, but mostly thankful that I had a week where I could do that (for all the weeks I don't let myself sleep properly). I'm going to Columbus this weekend to take my brother out for his 19th birthday! I hope that

1. He doesn't leave me somewhere 2. I don't try and wander somewhere 3. His friends don't mess with me while I'm sleeping on a fouton.

Let's hope those things don't happen.

k, bye!