"Yo, yo!"

Looks like I'll be sending out 2010 making yo-yos. Actually, I'm quite excited about it. It's my latest project. I doubt I'll have enough to make a quilt, but maybe a pillow cover? :) We shall see.
A yo-yo is one of those individual circles.

Not a bad way to send out the year, considering. I'm not feeling great, so going out was out of the question.

I can't believe how long of a year 2010 was. I feel like the past 4 months of school made up the whole year, but there were 8 months previous to that! It hasn't been the easiest of years, but I've learned a lot. I think the overarching theme of the year would have to be learning to trust in God. I have had bookend experiences at the beginning and end of the year which rounded the year off nicely, giving it a balanced feeling.
I never really have any new goals for the new year. Rather, I always seem to have the same goals that I've never quite reached. Funny how that happens. :P
This year I hope to continue to:
stay true to myself as much as I can,
use the opportunities put infront of me to learn,
be a blessing to people if that is possible,
remain cheerful,
realize the little blessings that go so far to make a day wonderful,
and go out of my box to experience more.

Maybe instead of yo-yos I should stitch these on a pillow to remind me. :P

"Fee, fi, fo, fum!"

Playing "monster" with Luke has to have been one of the best parts of break so far. I'd stomp after him, chanting in a deep voice "fee, fi, fo, fum!" He'd run squealing into the living room, looking over his sholder, until I got to "phum." Then he'd turn around and come straight into my arms, when I'd launch him into the air, and pretend to eat his belly.

Words of Wisdom?

"One of the secrets in life is know how to do everything yourself but not advertise it, so you don't have to do everything yourself." :P
and from my grandpa:
"share 90% of what you know with your friends/coworkers, but keep 10% for yourself."

So. Good advice or is it being selfish?
I guess they can take you far in the business world.

Everything Fall.

It's been a bit, but a while ago, I went up to an apple farm. Technically orchard, yes, but lets not be technical. We were hoping to find an event that was "all things fall." Danielle and I found the apple orchard and everybody else was on board, so we hit the road! It was a perfect day- slightly cloudy- but not raining, and we found apples, pumpkins (rotting by this time), hills, tractors, and a whole lot of fun. Go figure.





Afterwards, we found a cute little place to eat. They had super yummy food- and Amy was brave enough to order (and nice enough to share!) an apple grilled cheese. Pretty yum, actually.

Story of my life

While You Were Sleeping. Funny stuff.

Boo Radley

Just last week I was talking to Dave (an RD) about how much I love To Kill a Mockingbird. It has to be one of my favorite books- and the movie did a great job of capturing parts of the novel. He throws a movie night every once in a while, and he said he'd put To Kill a Mockingbird in for me. Well, I kind of sort of forgot and went down to Hollywood instead. Boy did I hear about it! But he forgave me- eventually. He was gracious enough to lend the movie to me before it had to be returned. So I watched bits and pieces of it Monday/Tuesday. Then, on Tuesday, my school offered the amazing opportunity to go watch the move at the Museum of Tolerance! And Boo, Robert Duvall, would be there! Well, I skipped history and went! I watched the move for the second time in three days, and afterwards there was a Q&A session with Mr. Duvall. We kind of hoped to get a picture with him, but of course he was escorted out of the building pretty quickly afterwards. The line to the elevator was too long, so we took the stairs down to the bottom floor. I looked to my left, down the hall, and there he was! They must have taken a wrong turn- anyways, we got our picture and were able to talk to him for a few minutes before more people gathered around. It was totally an awesome night. He was such a 'real' guy, as far as actors go.

PS- Disregard the cheesy Sea Beggar flag. Some of our "advertiser" people take their job seriously :). They even gave him an electrically orange t-shirt. I have no clue what they expected him to do with it?

Hollywood!!

Beverly Hills- that's where I want to be! Livin' in Beverly Hills. So my title says Hollywood, but this song is totally running through my head, so I decided to include it.
This past weekend a friend, and former student at PCC, came down to visit.
Friday night the Drama team performed A Mid Summer's Night Dream- which was simply incredible. They did a wonderful job.
Saturday, I was settling in for a long day o paper writing. I have quite a few, 2 paged papers due this week, and presentations that go along. Well, THAT didn't happen. A group of the most random people (Karolina, Christine, Ali, Amy, Bryan, and Justin) headed down to the metro. We spent about equal time on the metro and on Hollywood Blvd, but whatev' it's all good :P. It was cool to get off campus, see all the interesting people, and what not. And boy are they interesting. Break dancers on the street, drummers, homeless, and soccer jugglers..... We were so hungry afterwards, on the train home, we decided to go out to eat. Well, the others never showed up, but Bryan, Justin, and I went to TOPS. Wonderful of wonderful, I had a great gyro.

Election Day!

Nothing quite like running into vote with three other people 10 minutes before the polls shut! :)

3:45am?!

It's been a while since we went, but it was just so much fun, that I had to write about it. After mid-terms, everyone was wanting some fun. Stalin had told me about trip to the beach he made with his French during the summer. They'd get up really early, drive to the beach, watch the sunrise, have breakfast, and return to Paris. I know. Sounds like a movie, right? Well we aren't living in Paris, but we decided to do the rest. So on Monday morning- or Sunday night, whichever you prefer- we awoke at 3:45. And did I mention that it was raining?
I won't bore you with too many details, but the drive there was so incredibly funny- probably because we were running on 2.5 hours of sleep, but still. There were 6 of us, so we had to take two cars. Stalin led, and I followed. Following him is the funniest thing ever. We had the whole freeway to ourselves, basically. I mean it was 4! Who's out at 4am? He decided to drive behind the one truck that was on the freeway, though. So there we are going 60mph on an empty road..... We were all questioning his thought process. Then he got cut off by a bread truck. Finally we made it close to the beach. I kid you not, I don't think he ever played the game 'red light, green light' as a kid. 6 out 10 green lights, he would slow down, and I would have to slam on the brakes. Ok not slam, but I'd have to slow down!! At a green light. Occasionally we'd stop completely and just sit there. He is so weird. AND! Parking. There were curbs on either side of us. Long, open, inviting curbs to park at. Apparently they weren't good enough for him? We drove for over 30 minutes, until we finally called them and told them to PARK THE CAR! :)
2 hours later we DID make it to the beach, it had stopped raining, and we were there plenty early to watch the sunrise. After some fun conversation, we made our way back to the car and stopped at Dennys around 9. I managed to keep my lids propped open, but took a long nap through lunch.

Success!

I successfully wore one dress everyday for a month. I questioned my sanity at more than one junction, but it'll be a story to tell the kids, eh?

Dreams fulfilled.....

As a child I used to stand on a corner, waiting. Gazing at the corner diagonal from me, I waited for the light to change, knowing I'd have to wait again, after I crossed the first street. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the lights would turn red, and people could just dash any way they chose?" I'd think.
Of course it would! About a week ago I got to use one of those handy dandy cross walks that allows you to walk diagonally. Pretty neat stuff. :)

October Pics again- only one more week!

It's been yet another cold, chilly week. I wore sweaters and jeans most of the week. Hair stayed up, as there was no point in straightening it. Overall, a boring week dress wise- not to mention cold. Who freaking wears a dress in the rain??

I'm Walking on Rain Clouds!!

I've been incredibly busy, and tired, and stressed for mid-terms. I only had two, but they're pretty major, and they were on the same day- Wednesday. This meant that I'd been going to bed after 3 Monday and Tuesday, waking up at 8. Not the usual 8 hours or so that I'm used to, to say the least! After mid-terms on Wednesday, though, I went to bed before midnight, and woke up at 8. It felt so good to wake up and not be drained. I had the same plan for last night- Thursday night.
Things don't always turn out the way you plan. Instead, I was texting a friend- Michael, my RD, Dave's brother who comes to visit every Thursday- around 12:30. After being cooped on campus without time to walk, I suggested we go out for a walk. It was misting slightly- perfect. It was great to hang out with someone new, at a random time, and just be spontaneous. He tried to climb a tree- and failed. We were going to use someones swing- but we thought we saw the curtains move. We found a shopping cart on the sidewalk, so he gave me a ride- until we came to an abandoned lot- where he decided he wanted to throw the shopping cart. So we lifted it over the fence, and there it remains. Then we found a park with swings to use. YIPEE! So we ran around on the playground equipment- avoiding the homeless people, of course. We began our walk back to campus, but got slightly distracted when we found a Church of Scientology questionnaire stuck in a chain link fence. We picked the driest curb available and filled about half of it out. Then, we fiiiinallly made it back to campus around 2:30. Just a fun night of randomness with a random person.

I've never..... 3

I've never done my laundry in the sink, I don't think. It's nice not having a ton of laundry to do. But that means that there is no way I'm going to throw one dress into the washing machine. So I wash by hand in the sink.



And can I say, that after 17 days, I'm getting pretty sick of trying to think of new ideas. I've repeated some. It's not that I hate wearing the same thing, it's that I feel like I have to look a certain way when I'm in a dress, and I'm running out of ideas to meet that standard!

Dress pics cont'd

These are actually a few of my favorite outfits. They each change the look of the dress a lot. Fun stuff.

Rules for life.

This is one of mine.
If you don't have 50 pairs of shoes to match every outfit you own, buy red shoes so you can match none.

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles!

Last night I received two, perfectly lovely emails, stating that two of my classes for the day were canceled! Hip-hip hooray! All I had today was one period of earth science. So not only was I allowed to sleep in, but I also accomplished much. Books were read for a class that I never read for, simply because I never have time to read all that he assigns. Seriously, I have two books that I don't think I've yet picked up. Oops.
So that started off the day in a grand way. After earth science, Stalin and I had decided to hike up the mountain. It was pretty smoggy, so the view wasn't that great, but it was great talking to him nevertheless. We even were able to see a deer! Pretty cool stuff. Anyways, that took about 3 hours, and I managed to sneak into the cafe right before 6:30 (closing time!) and grab some food. Dinner was relaxed and casual- just the usual talk and fun stuff. I only had 30 minutes, though. At 7 I met with my RD to go out for coffee- which was the first time we'd done that, and it was really nice to catch up. But I'm pretty sure my drink wasn't decaf, and so I might be up alllll night tonight. :(


Oh, and just as a side note. A senior from last year (brother to a current student, and fiancé to another student) was on his way home last night, when his car battery died and his car flipped. He was in the hospital, and for a long time we didn't know what was going on. It was so neat, though. There were about 25 of us standing in our quad praying. Freshmen- who didn't know him came out, and it was just an awesome thing to see. The support that people provide in times of crisis is amazing. Chad is fine- he's out of the hospital with a neck brace and very sore, but ok! Praise God.

October Dress.

Cold, rainy day where all I wanted was jeans a big sweatshirt.




Nice and hot this day- all that was needed was a tank top

I've never..... 2

To continue on with the list.
#3- blow-dried a dress dry.
Wearing a dress so frequently means you're going to have to wash the dress frequently. Well. I don't exactly want to spend $.75 to wash it and $.75 to dry it. So instead, I hand washed it in the sink, and laid it out on a towel to dry over night. I figured 9 hours would be plenty of time. Guess not. This morning it was still damp, but again, I refused to pay $.75, when all it needed was 5-10 minutes in the drier! So I stood there with my blow-drier on high. :)
#4- stand fully clothed in a hot shower to warm up.
The weather has changed drastically from last week to this. From 113 degrees to in the 60s! Craziness. But anyways, normally I would be wearing jeans and a big sweatshirt. But since I'm wearing a dress, I'm freezing! So I decided to try to warm up by sticking my feet in the shower- I'm too lazy to actually take one. Plus! I took one 5 hours ago- there is SO such a thing as being too clean.

I've never....

Wearing a dress for a whole month is going to bring along some "I never" moments. Not that they'll be outrageous necessarily, but I figured I'd record them- just to see what they were.

So here are number 1 and 2.
#1-Bbqing
#2- washing cars

Oh! And another thing... What do you guys think about accepting free oil changes from random customers at the gas station? If it weren't for the fact that my car isn't due for a change until November, I might have taken him up on it.

And so it begins.

Today is October 1st. Day one of the game. For all of October, I, my whole quad (7 other girls), and a few others will attempt to wear the same dress for the month. I think it'll actually be quite fun. We only wear one dress, but of course you're allowed to do with it what you want: jeans, sweaters, t-shirts underneath- you just have to be wearing the dress! For some it's an exercise in simplicity. Since for me this is ideal, it's more of a practice in creativity. I'll try to take pictures of a few different outfits I can come up with.
Let the challenge begin.

The simple, bare necessities!

Someone discovered this "game" which involves the "one month dress." Here are the rules: you are allowed to wear one dress, all week long, for four weeks- excluding Sundays. Sundays you are allowed to change, but just for the day.
You are allowed to 'alter' this dress in different ways, however. Scarves, pants, leggings, jackets, earrings, etc. All can change, but the fundamentals remain unchanged. My roommates and a few other girls just left to go thrift store shopping with this in mind. Isn't it wonderful? Granted they all have the extra accessories so they won't just be walking around looking the same everyday, but I love it! I didn't have time to go tonight, due to a preponderance amount of papers, quizzes, readings, projects, and tests coming up (not to mention I'm missing class for three days to go on an earth science trip!) but I am still thinking about participating.

zzzZZzzzZzzz.....O.O

The year has just begun, but the adventures just keep on a coming.
My sleeping pattern has been very much disrupted this week. Typically, I enjoy 8 hours. Going to bed at midnight, waking at 8- or 9 on Wednesday and Friday. Due to the fact that the Canadians, Stalin, and I went out star gazing Monday night, I was a little late getting to bed. It was around 12:30, and I was rushing a bit. I was in the bathroom with Ev, when I feel a splashing on my feet. My first thought, was, Wow! She brushes her teeth vigorously. Then I realized the back of our sinks were spewing forth water. Not one sink- all three. Our bathroom floor now has an extra shiny coating of water. First I ran upstairs to get the RA on duty. She of course has no idea about plumbing, though, so she went to get Dave- the RD. He was just about as clueless. The water had stopped meantime, though. We decided to leave it until morning when we would file a maintenance report. So that's what we did. We had it into the office by noon. Spasmodically throughout the day, we would hear the sinks gushing..... No one was even IN the bathroom! Ridiculous. I ran to get the maintenance so that they could see the problem. The guy 'in charge' came and saw, but it was after dinner, and everyone had gone home already. He decided to leave it until morning (Great.). Around 12 the sinks are going off again, and this time, BAD! We are now wearing sandals to pee. And it smelled like gross plumbing! But I was going to bed. I was so close to sleep when my phone rings. I hate that! I was so close to sleep. I rolled over, and was so so close yet again. This time, I hear men voices in the hall. It's closed hours, what could they possibly be doing? Well. They were mopping our bathroom. Apparently the water had leaked down into the guys rooms below us (oops!). Anyways, Sleep was pretty much shot for me until 2 am. And the maintenance FINALLY decided to fix the problem.... at like 7:40! Gee thanks. It's important in the morning when I'm trying to sleep but not yesterday at noon when I told you about the problem.

Chinese Food?

Candace and I were hanging out in Deb's room Wednesday night "doing homework." Well, as usually happens, not so much was getting done. Deb, as RA , had rounds to make (which of course as a good friend, I couldn't let her do alone, right??), and we made hot chocolate/tea, and things were just generally hilarious that night. So what better way to "do homework" than not do it? Dave, the guy's RD came knocking on the window with his brother, and Ruby (the girl's RD), asking if he could persuade anyone to come out to Chinese food- Michael was buying! Free food? Heck yes. Not much persuasion needed. We collected Ev along the way, and piled (illegally) into Dave's car. This night was so much fun. I got stuck between Micheal and Ruby. Ruby was great, but Michael drinks....a lot (just water- don't worry). But let's just say by the end of the night I so did not know who's cup I was drinking out of. He stole any one's glass within reach that had water in it. Plus it was just nice to get off campus with random people.
After the (DELICIOUS!) food, we went back to studying. And this time we really did. We finished homework around midnight (successfully avoiding the guy's movie trap that they tried to induce us to watch). THEN, (dun, dun, dun)midnight rolls around, I've just changed into my pjs, and am closing down the computer for the night. I start to receive random texts from Dave. Hilarious texts. And I did so want to go. When he finally brought out the fact that he had rocky road ice cream, Ev and I were sold. We put sweatshirts on (over pjs)and went. We ended up turning off their movie and putting Everybody Loves Raymond in, while playing Jango. And eating salted unsalted peanuts by downing them like you would shots (Apparently- I wouldn't know, of course.). Playing games with guys is always an experience. Playing a game when the two guys are brothers is even more of a competitive experience. Anyways, we eventually escaped and made it to bed around 1:30. Truly was a great night, though!!

"Life is a Highway"

First of all, let me just say that I love that song.
And second, do you ever feel that life is just whizzing along? Sometimes taking you along, and other times leaving you on the edge, needing your gas tank refilled or tire changed?
Summer ended and school began. So many changes came flooding in with this one simple, seemingly ordinary, occurrence. Being on a new campus has been wonderful, as well as posed its own set of problems. Things are just so much louder here. I can here the people above me, the people below me, the people in the parking lot, the people who share my quad, and the guy who loves to blast his music one floor down and a quad over! Combine this with heat and our lack of air conditioning, and you have one overly stressed ME! Problems which should be fairly simple expand beyond all proportion.
But things have begun to get better. A volleyball court was set up on campus. And as trivial as that sounds, it makes a huge difference. No longer do we sit in our rooms wondering where everybody is (since we are such a small school on a large campus), we have a meeting spot where we know we will find PCC people! It's a great way to get to know freshmen. The weather has broken, and for the first time I haven't woken up feeling sick from heat. So little things have been helping, and the pendulum has begun to slide back into normality.


As far as adventures go, I've managed to fit a couple in.
Friday night we had a campus movie: Cinderella Man, which was fun. Always interesting to squeeze what is practically your whole campus into one room. Afterwards, Stalin and I gathered a group (which kept expanding!) to attempt to discover a mountain. This is actually much harder than one would think. We had three cars at one point, but they dropped out, until it was just Sarah, James, Stalin, and I cruising up streets that dead ended or were much too populated to yield any results. We ended up walking down Colorado Blvd around 2am. It was good to hang out, though being followed by some creeper asking for money, was an experience.
Saturday a group of us went down to Venice beach. Can you tell we're taking full advantage of not yet having papers to write?? Venice is just an interesting place. We talked to a couple Salvation Army drivers at a stoplight, saw LAPD on horses, and a huge bus "painted hippy" stopped in the road, throwing chips to passersby (I regret to say that we did not get any: despite honking horn and me flailing my arms out the window!). It's been great to be back with school people, and as we find more places to congregate, I'm sure things will only continue to improve.

A long, long time ago- that I can still remember

This blog was begun nearly 4 years ago. CRAZY! I feel like we were just standing in the hall in front of our lockers, when Danielle told us about this new 'fad thing' that was going around. Anyways= I believe this is the only thing remotely resembling a journal that I have kept for more than 2 days. Success! :)

From the mouth of 'babes'

Durring the course of the day, Aiden poured for himself two generous glasses of chocolate milk. While I prompted him with a few questions, I am not manipulating what he said.
"I'm a drinker." "I love to drink. I can't stop drinking them."
Too funny.

Interiors

ok... except for this one, they are interiors. This is to ride around on when you must leave the interior. =]

Hippy at heart.

"I have a dream....." to live in Northern California, where the sun don't stop shining, and the air is clear, and plants flourish. But really. I think it would be amazing to live in a small house on an acre of land, with *Larry* and my 5 boys. We'd have tons of fruit trees, a large garden, and animals galore. Wouldn't it be amazing??
Until I get there, I do things like make yogurt at home. It was super easy, and basically all you need is time. I made it last night, let it grow over night, and then this morning, presto! Yogurt. Know what I discovered? I don't like plain yogurt. So I have some blueberries that I'm going to blend and ad a little brown sugar to to try to mix in. We'll see if it works, or if I can manage the taste any better.

Picture post

Perspective

Talk about putting things into perspective. One of my friends, my RA, has been seriously sick. With an infection that no one can find, pneumonia, trouble breathing, and low blood platelet count, she's been in the ER, ICU, and had to transfer to a larger hospital. Not to sound callous, but coming right after my disaster with my car, how could I not be grateful? Not that she's sick of course, but man, I have nothing to complain of! Hard way to learn this lesson, but all I can do now is pray for her. He is, after all, the best physician and ultimate healer!

Fail (cubed)

Bad things come in threes, no?

With the arrival of summer comes the ever present query, "what do you want to do?"

Well, for once, I actually knew. So I dragged Danielle up to Signal Hill Wednesday night (after her Spanish class, which left her *slightly* loco). Just a normal night, right? We made a pit stop at Starbucks for drinks, then pulled the blanket out of my car to sit on and look at the lights. Evidently brain deprived from her class, she looks over the expanse, and asks, "is this ALL Long Beach?" About 30, maybe 40 minutes, after we arrived a security guard came flashing the brightest light into everyone's face, telling them to leave. Fine. We'd go to a different park, no problem. WRONG! As files of people stream past us to get to their cars, my car decides to- NOT turn on!! So there we sit with it 'revving' but not starting- looking, well you can imagine how intelligent. :). Eventually, we were able to call a tow truck (Danielle had AAA, thankfully), and about 45 minutes after the park closed we were on our way home. You can imagine how thrilled the security guard was when we couldn't leave. The next morning my dad and brother took it to my dad's old work where, since he is friends with all the mechanics, we don't get ripped-off. (Because, naturally, once we had it towed to the mechanics by my house, it started. Figures, right?!). Anyways, we got a call the same day, saying they'd fixed it! Awesome!! My dad and I went to pick it up. I told him I needed to stop for gas, so he told me to follow him, and after a bit on the freeway, we'd get off. Once on the freeway, though, things didn't looks os good. My temp. gauge turned to HOT, and my 'check engine' light turned on. So there I am crawling behind (rush hour), honking my horn repeatedly, and waving my arms to try to get his attention (he has no phone). I can only imagine what those around me thought. Anyways, to head this off.... turns out my car is definitely over-heating, and Monday I need to take it back to where we first had it towed, because it won't make it all the way back to his work. Yay for being ripped off by mechanics, eh?
And now, my computer is acting up, and won't let me on Word, and keeps freezing or alternately shutting down- which defo needs to be fixed before school starts. BUT I just had it fixed!!! ARghh.
And because, as the saying goes, bad things come in threes, I am deciding to count the fact that my bike is broken, as an 'evil.' I didn't get paid until Thursday, and my car broke Wednesday, so I didn't have a chance to get a new tire. Blech. Would've been nice to at least have a bike while my car is broken.

BUT, on the bright side. I might be watching a second little boy this summer. It would be at the same time as Aiden, so it might actually make things easier, and the money will definitely be useful in the car/computer situation. So much for saving up for next year life/college expenses, right?

Picture Timeline :)

Here is what I've been doing lately- while waiting for work to begin :)





Joey is adorable.

Many a prank took place the last couple weeks of school! The guys- Henry and Ben- put goldfish in all the sinks and plenty of toilets around the dorms.


This one was my fault. Mine and Annika's (just wait, though- we haad reason). We took Vaan's underwear and strung it up in the shower room.

I also took part in this one. Deb, our RA, gave Candace candycorn to fill her cupcake candy jar. May I state that it was like March? Way past candycorn season. So we returned it! :D




This is what Vaan did to me and Annika. Dressed our pillows with all sorts of clothing- and then strung our underwear up. What a way to come back from spring break :P All in good fun.



So yes. Sorry this was out of order. Kind of went backwards. And not really a timeline- just my random compilation of pictures that I haven't posted anywhere :)

done, done, and DONE!

Freshmen year is finished, never to be repeated! Oh man, am I glad. I enjoyed the year immensely, though. It certainly went out with a bang. Friday was my roommate, Candace's, birthday. Evelyn and I (another roommate) conspired to plan a surprise party for her up on the mountain. A group of 4 of us often went up to a particular mountain at midnight to gaze up at the stars, and get away from school. I took up a group of people around midnight- there ended up being around 20 altogether, and then at one (it took them a bit longer than planned) they came up. We had a cake, and balloons, and a group of people waiting for her. So from 1-3am on Friday, I was partying it up on a mountain under the stars:)
I slept in Friday, since exams ended Thursday, and then began to pack for home. After lunch, Justin Bond and I headed down to LA. We went to USC for an MRI. USC was offering some money for a marijuana research program, so to help another roommate out on May term, we went down and did it. We split the money. That was one of those things I never thought I would do- participate in those 'phony' research assignments. But I did. Cross that one off the bucket list.
MRI was finished around 5- rush hour. I was NOT going to drive out of LA at 5. So we went to dinner, and then brought out the Garvin to see what was around. We ended up going down to Sunset Blvd, and Amoeba Records. Pretty neat place. On our tour of Sunset Blvd, we saw..... Annie Wersching and Kiefer Sutherland! Fairly random, but pretty awesome! They were across the street from us on a red carpet event. We made it back to campus around 9.
I watched a senior video, and then began to pack again..... Candace's mom was coming at 11, so it was a race to get the room semi-decent before she arrived. We made it look presentable, considering everyone's stuff was in the middle of the floor, and closets were empty ;)
At midnight, a group of us headed out under the gazebo, hearing that there was going to be a prank pulled. Well there was.... on us. A crazy Costa Rican (aka Stalin) and his friends brought out the eggs and began throwing them at us. It is tradition to throw eggs at the birthday-person, but they decided to expand a bit, and include Sarah and I. Fortunately, the egg shells were pretty hard. One was thrown at me, but didn't break. So I picked it up, and ended up smashing it over James. Which was both brilliant and foolish! I got him, but then I got chased down the field and had a nice scalp full of egg- I've always heard it's good for the hair, though.....
So that was that. After putting clothes in the wash, and washing my hair, I headed down to Lowes. Lowes is just a block away, and a bunch of us hang out behind it just for the sake of getting off campus. We sit on a wall that faces the freeway and watch the cars zip past and talk.
At 2am we had a room check to make sure we hadn't harassed any of the furniture too badly. After that it was bedtime! Bed at 3, up at 8:45 for graduation. Have you ever heard of a more extremist day? :D A great way to end the year- with the most random things that could have possibly happened.

Mt Wilson

Friday night- after a week full of paper writing, and staying up late, about 25 of us drove to Mt. Wilson for a 4W. We left at 3, and got back at 3. Being up that late after a week of no sleep, you can imagine how crazy everyone went!
It started with the drive, which can be highly entertaining in a 15 passenger van, with 15 people on little sleep. We were just joking around and talking the whole way up. When we got there, we parked at the base of the observatory and had dinner. Then I walked around with a senior, Annika, who I don't know super well, but love. We had a photo session with the whole group, and played around a bit with the little snow that was on the side of the mountain. Finally, the lady who was going to show us the telescope, came down. She was amazing! She was totally Ms Frizzle's sister or something. She had a star jacket on and the rocket ships coming out of her hair :) We made our way up to the observatory (where Einstein studied!! it was a 60in telescope:). The dome opened, and the explained all their technology to us. Eventually, it got dark, and the stars came out. We saw the moon, a cluster of stars (100,00-250,00 stars!, Saturn (rings and 4 moons!!), and a couple other stars. It was spectacularly amazing. The dome had great acoustics, so we started singing hymns. I've never heard anything so wonderful. At the end, the lady, who was not a Christian, asked us to sing a couple more- awesome. It was also freezing in there. We were there from 7-1 am, with the dome open to the night. No one knew it would be that cold. So I ended up sitting on Lorah's lap, with two blankets on top of us, listening to Jake tell stories about his childhood.
I love 4Ws so much because I get to talk to people I wouldn't regularly talk to: Scouting around the mountain with Annika, sitting on Lorah's lap, listening to Jake, talking to Kevin, huddling under a borrowed blanket with Bond to keep warm- it was an amazing night.

It started behind the dumpster.....:)

I was so incredibly hyper last night. The night started off with a chorale concert, which sounded amazing. I've thought about joining choir, but it isn't a choir where just mediocre people go to sing and fulfill their fine art credit- they all truly have amazing voices. So that's out.
After the concert, I came back to campus and watched a Harry Potter film. Half-Blood Prince, I think. It was after that, that I went berserk.
I was being hyper, but just talking to people in the hall and looking for food with Justin Bond. After that, I went out with Candace, my roommate, to empty our trash. There we met Brett and Jake. Then Bond came out. Candace was still normal at this point, but I think I completely scared the guys. Then Candace and I left them. Across the street they were playing some music- so she and I held a dance party! With some pretty weird moves. We brought the dance party onto campus, and got some very weird looks from the security guard and all the couples that are still up at midnight.
Later, we ran and danced through the sprinklers. Then, left the sprinklers to sit in the hammock. That section of sprinklers then decided to turn on! Naturally. We got soaked, because we didn't want to move. Eventually, around 1am, we made our way to bed. I just never have gone so wild with anyone on campus!

Kicked out of class.....

I took AP English senior year, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to use the credits. In fact, I didn't even want to take the AP test- but they wouldn't give me my money back, so I took it anyways. I did decently well on it, but still, didn't turn it into PCC. Instead I took Eng 101 - Composition, thinking that I could begin learning to write on a college level. The prof. is really well known- he went to speak at a convention in Paris, earlier this semester, in fact.
I've roughly turned in a paper for that class every 1.5 to 2 weeks. I did well on them, but not so much better than anyone else in the class, I thought. I knew some people were struggling, but I figured those were mainly the people who had English as a second language. The last paper I turned in, I scored perfectly. He was calling us up to the front, one by one, and discussing our papers with us. He basically called me up and asked why I was in that class. He said I've done well on all my papers. I replied yes, I took an AP class last year ,but figured college writing would be different. Apparently it isn't- not for him, anyways. We went to see the registrar, and all he has to do is write a letter explaining why he's letting me out of the class! So I get credit for it, I just don't have to show up or do the work! How great of a deal is that? such a blessing, too, since my computer broke, and the last paper is research, which would require tons of time spent in the library. So yes, I have officially been kicked out of a class- for good :D

Conglomeration

This is going to be an assortment of mismatched items that have nothing whatsoever to do ewith each other :)
#1- I have another "Only at PCC moments." I was sitting in the chapel painting a background for drama one Thursday night. It was two days before a dinner, at which, the choir would be singing! Around 8:45, they came into practice. Upon the arrival of the last person, they collectively moved into the guys bathroom to sing. Apparently the acoustics are much better in there. (It also appears that it is not uncommon for them to go in there to practice!:) Only at Providence....
#2- My computer broke!!! It appears that I am going to spend the last 4 weeks of school computerless. Oh joy. With 7 or 9 papers (I can't remember which) due and tests galore (notes all on the computer, of course), it's going to be a super stressful rush to finish.
Alright. So that really wasn't that much, but it felt like a lot :P

Getty AND the beach!

End of the semester. Which means 4W crunch time!
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to go with a group of about 40 people to the Getty! It was so amazing. We split in half, and one group went with one professor, and the other group went with the president. My group went with professor Mac. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear him at all! So, I was just looking around the room at all the paintings. Next time I looked up, the group had vanished, and it was just me, Ev, and Stalin. So the three of us ditched the rest of Dr. Mac. and Pres. Halvorson- and slowly walked through all the paintings. It was so amazing, and I definitely enjoyed the whole day. After lunch, we basically ran through two more buildings and the gardens, because we wanted to see it all.
On the way back, squished into a 15 passenger van, we decided nothing would be better than hitting the beach. We came back to school for a quick 15 minutes, picked up another person, and headed out again. We were nearly out of gas, so we stopped before heading to In-N-Out for dinner. Unfortunately Stalin forgot the keys to unlock the gas tank, so we ended up sitting in the back of the car, while both guys tried everything- including breaking- the stopper. Finally we went to a mechanic and they were able to lift it out with pliers :) We finally made our way to dinner and then the beach- after what felt like 50 billion u-turns. But it was a great night, and a great day. No homework was completed, it was just an all-around relaxing day to end a super stressful week!

Crowded much?

We signed up to host visinting students who are thinking about coming to Providence. So for the last 5 nights, we've had seven, yes SEVEN people sleeping in our room. Can you imagine? It is quite the jungel gym getting out of bed and out the door without waking anyone up:)
And supposedly this is just the beginning. This weekend we have eleven visitors coming. Yikes! I think this campus is already operating at full capacity- aren't we breaking fire code or something? :D It's going to be a crowded rest of the semester- not to mention next year.

Spring break is over:)

And I'm headed back to school....
Spring break was so enjoyable! Not only did I get to visit with Mary, Ben, and Luke, went to Price is Right, but also got to visit with Danielle up at Santa Barbara.
Things are back to normal, these days, though, with two papers to write, and one turned in already. My English professor is in Paris speaking at some conference, so a group of us decided to utilize last night (and our ability to sleep-in this morning). The Canadians, Mark, Stalin, and I made our way up to the mountain at midnight. The three girls relaxed on the hood of the car- huddled together to keep warm, while the guys took the ground. We just sat there and talked and enjoyed the stars. Finally we headed back to campus around 2am. It was a great way to start the week, AND the rest of my last 7 weeks of being a freshman.

The Price is Right!!

Bethany called up a few days ago and said that she and a few friends had an extra ticket for the taping of The Price is Right. So, Tuesday evening I drove up to APU. I was able to meet all of her friends, and see Rachel. Kim, Beth, and I decorated some shirts that we were going to wear the next morning. At an all too early hour we woke up and headed out- up at 4am, in the car by 4:30. Not bad, eh? We reached Hollywood about 6, where we stood in line. A little forshadowing of the rest of the day. Filming didn't start till 12, so for about 6 hours we waited and waited and waited in line- taking an occasional nap, thankfully. It was completely worth it, though. It was great to see it- Kim, the one who had organized the whole event for us, won a door prize of $100 and a video game. Oh! And it was totally the filming for the April Fools day show. They gave us a free lunch and at the end of the show, free lunch! How sweet is that? So basically, the only difference for the show, was that they named us all Pat. You know the nametags the contestants wear? Well they gave everyone that said Pat.... it was a try at an April Fools, joke, anyways.

The art of procrastination....

I have learned it, at long last. Though I'm not as bad as some, I've definitely progressed in this area. Last night I was SO determined to get to bed early (like 11:00!!). But things kept getting in the way, and I kept putting it off, and off, and off..... I was supposed to be studying my Bible verses (Isaiah 1:10-20), but talking to people online was much more entertaining. I endded up having four really good conversations- well three, good ones, and one pointless one:) And ended up staying up till 1:30! How did that happen? Now I'm trying to study for mid-terms (which are tomorrow, yikes!) and am sleepy. I did manage to roll out of bed at 7 and go get coffee by 7:30, though. Not a bad start for a morning, eh?
There is this one guy on campus that I can never have a conversation with. Never. We are always teasing each other, and going back and forth. But we can spend all night talking on Fb. Something about writing, makes it easier (for him and me!). We go back and forth asking each other questions, usually. He is one of the most interesting people- he has done so much. It's been fun getting to know him- even if it is only online (believe me, I realize how sad and 21st century this friendship is:).
Happy Monday, all! I'm off to study the history of Europeans.

Shhhhhh

I'm supposed to be studying for a mid-term, but am taking a quick break to.... procrastinate:) Don't tell anyone.
I forget when, but sometime last week, Deb (our RA) and Candace and I all snuck out at 1am, to go to Dennys. Where we had a 'midnight' snack to tide us over till morning. I don't even really know why we went- we were all studying in Deb's room and then decided to go. It WASN'T so much fun the next morning, but it made for good memories.
Last night, at the dinner table, was also quite humorous. Candace and I were standing at the drink 'table.' We were just talking and laughing, just like any other night. Then she took a big gulp of her milk, and of course, something struck her as being funny right at that moment! I turn my face towards her, and wham! A face full of milk. I started to laugh so hard- I think we could have gotten away undetected if I hadn't started laughing so much:) I had about three people offering me napkins, or wiping my face for me. I found it hilarious, but poor Candace was so embarassed.
The end. The night wears on, and I have to know the whole history of education in America by Thursday. Oh joy!

A little pre-dinner boredom.

Going to a small school, there are a lot of 'only at Providence' moments. Last night was yet another. Firt of all, having such a small school, the cafe is not open at all times of the day, but has set intervals when meals are served. Last night, something went a little skewy:) Dinner was running late (a full 20 minutes, so we had quite a long time). All were seated... waiting- patiently, or not. One table over, song suddenly burst out! The cafe was filled with a selection of music anywhere from Disney to contemporary rock. Only at Providence. At my table, we passed the time playing the hand game. You cross hands and go around the table tapping, reversing direction if someone taps twice. Again, only at Providence!

A Night for Randomosity :)

These past two nights have been so much fun.
Thursday night, I went out with Brett, Michelle, and Jake. It was completely random and unexpected. Brett and I were talking after a Bible study and then the other two walked up, so we all headed over to Lowes. Where we sat on a wall located behind the store and just hung out. Doesn't sound fun, I know, but it was. I guess it was the people. And getting off campus =)
Friday was even better. Our room has been trying to go out together for a long time, but we've always been so busy. But we finally got a chance! We went out to Color Me Mine. Which was a lot of fun. We were there for like 3 hours!!! One of my roomies was takinga long time, so the rest of us went next door for pinkberry while she finished up. Afterwards we went to In-N-Out. Then we headed back to school- it was around 10:30. Then at 11:30, a group of about 14 of us decided we wanted to do something. So we piled into three cars and headed to WalMart. Where, we played the WalMart game (Makes sense, right?:). Basically each team grabs 5 of the most random, hard-to-find objects possible. Then all the teams switch, and have to put the items back! Whoever gets done first and meets back at the designated spot wins:) Afterwards, we went to In-N-Out for shakes (I felt right at home, having left only like an hour before that). We got back to campus around 1:45, and all split to our different rooms. We were up till maybe 2:30 just talking and hanging out in our room. It reall was a fun way to start the weekend.

Time flies :)

So- it's been awhile.
1st semester has ended. I totally loved it. I was busy all the time, going to bed at 1 or 2 every night and waking up at 7 or 8, but having so much fun. And squeezing in some studying of course:)
2nd semester is so different.We haven't had as many events planned. And Justin is gone, for another thing. He's taking a break to work. Which means a lot more free time! I've made it into bed by midnight almost every night!!! I think I've only gone to bed after that like 3 times. And I get to sleep till 8 every morning. It feels so amazing. Classes are all going well. And! I understand math- so far:) Very nice.
This week it has been pouring like crazy! And of course, we were running around in it nearly every day. A bunch of people got up a game of ultimate Frisbee on Monday to play in the rain. And something quite amusing to me- we had a couple nights where we heard two or three thunder claps. Everytime we heard one, all the girls would come rushing out of their dorm rooms to stand outside. Why? I have no idea- you can't SEE thunder :P
Hope you all are doing well!