My current thoughts....

So as I sit here absolutely HATING MY LIFE because of this STUPID PROJECT, it strikes me as completely ironic that I am putting myself through the agony of this class while a) I don't even want to do this for the rest of my life, so why is my senior project on it? and b) I'M PAYING THEM A LOT OF MONEY TO MAKE ME DO THIS.

Four more days, and I am free.... free, Free, FREE!!!!!

Today's news

Mandy is being very domestic today...

Cobblestone Capers

Some people get their house toilet papered. Some get their lawn forked. Some people get their cars stuffed with balloons.

Well, tonight, my truck got mattressed.

It all started a couple of days ago when Mandy walked outside one morning to go to work and found a king sized mattress resting atop the roof of her car. A bit surprised, as most people are when they find furniture on their cars, she simply rolled the thing off and rested it against the wall.

So the mattress sat there for a couple of days, until it appeared once more atop her car. And once more it was rolled back to the wall.

Well, tonight, Sonia left with Paul, and Mandy left with Dan, and I stayed home for about half an hour by myself before heading out to my truck to go watch Jessica and Mikey's wedding video.

The mattress had found its way into the bed of my truck.

I just stood there and stared at it, wondering how I was gracefully going to haul that thing out, maneuver it between the cars parked on either side of me, and return it to its resting place against the wall.

Fortunately, I did not have to wonder long, as two of my neighbors, specifically known on the internet as Analyst Catalyst and his gf, happened to pull up, and A.C., the hero of the night, not only took the mattress from my truck, but also officially destroyed it, ending any more mattress mischief that may have ensued.

I blamed Mandy and Dan, but when I walked in and they and Sonia and Paul spilled the beans, I was told it was none other than... (da, da DA)... Justin Miller.

Revenge will be mine, Miller. I know where you sleep in Apartment 25....

Easter

Today was Easter.

After waking up way too early on a holiday, I stumbled to church about ten minutes before I was forced backstage and made to wait half an hour in the dark for my part in the Easter celebration/presentation/illustrated sermon to take place. Three times. In between, I taught a bunch of Biblically dressed kids who were going antsy in the multi-purpose room how to play Mafia, and I must say it was a huge hit. The illustrated sermon, too. As we sat behind the curtain (back onstage)in almost-silence (how much could they really hear from the first row anyway?), we discussed deep theological questions, like, "When is it okay to lie?" and "Well, if the Nazis came to your door and asked if you had five Jews hiding in your house, would you tell them the truth?" (Assuming you actually do have five Jews hiding in your house at the time.) We all decided we would lie, but the question was, would God hold it against us? Ooooh.

I was pretty much asleep when I got home, but I just had to clean up the apt a little-- it was driving me nuts. And then I sat down to do some homework. I got through a whole chapter without falling asleep and was really stinkin' proud of myself as I set in for the next chapter.

But in the midst of it, something was calling me. Maybe it was the fact that I was studying while laying out on the couch with the door wide open, facing the beautiful day that was going on out there without me. So, even though I was actually purposefully studying for the first time in about two months (as opposed to the quick one-through of the chapter five minutes before the quiz), I laid my book aside and went to change into my sneakers for a quick run.

It was that time of day where it was really starting to get cool outside if you were just standing around, but perfect if you were running. I figured I had about twenty-five minutes or so of daylight left so I took the usual trek up Granite Hills toward the stop sign at Washington.

When I was close to that farm off to the right, I came to this one street that has always intrigued me. Mainly because it's just a very calm-looking, nice street, but also because it winds around and I can't see more than maybe fifty yards up it. And I wanted to know where it went. So I headed up there.

It wound up for awhile before reaching its peak and heading back down in three different directions. I chose the one that headed back home. I came out on the other end, hoping I could find a side street that cut back to one closer to the apt, but I only came to dead ends. So I headed back up the hill and then down the original slope.

It was one of those streets that had no sidewalks. But the street was preferable for running anyway. It was smooth, perfectly even all the way down, and the street had this feel about it, like I wasn't really in El Cajon anymore, but somewhere that God could speak to my soul. It was just above the rest of the houses, so the sunset was gorgeous, this orange color with some pink clouds that I'm pretty sure God set out just for me.

So I was jogging down my little paradise, headphones feeding me Rob Bell's latest sermon, beautiful sunset to my left, totally feeling like I was in Nooma video, and I knew that God was the something that had been drawing me outside. Because even though spending all morning at church and then devoting my time to cleaning and homework was good, all day God had had a date planned for me and him at seven o'clock. I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Tonight I feel...

For some reason I kind of feel like a Collin Raye song tonight. This one in particular, but not about anyone in particular... maybe just everybody....

She said we’re much too different, we’re from two separate worlds,

And he admitted she was partly right

But in his heart’s defense he told her, what they had in common, was strong enough to bond them for life

He said look behind your own soul, and the person that you’ll see, just might remind you of me...

I laugh

I love

I hope

I try

I hurt

I need

I fear

I cry

And I know you do the same things, too...

So we’re really not that different... me and you

She could hardly argue, with his pure and simple logic, but logic never could convince a heart

She had always dreamed of loving someone more exotic, and he just didn’t seem to fit the partSo she searched for greener pastures, but never could forget, what he whispered when she left...

I laugh, I love, I hope, I try, I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry

And I know you do the same things, too...

So we’re really not that different... me and you

Was it time or was it truth? Maybe both lead her back to his door

And as her tears fell at his feet, she didn’t say I love you... what she said meant even more

I laugh, I love, I hope, I tryI hurt, I need, I fear, I cry

And I know you do the same things, too...

So we’re really not that different, me and you

For everyone who saw Little Women at SDCC without reading the book or watching the movie first...

JO SHOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH LAURIE.

And I am still a little bitter about how this play strays from accepted norms of romantic plotlines.

Catalina '06

First, let me make an observation here: We girls at apartment 11 have a slight addiction to homemade chocolate chip cookies. I think cookies are made nearly every night over here. I don't understand how all of us aren't fat as heck yet.

But that's a side note.

So here's what happened this weekend.

At approximately 10:00am we congregated outside of the west dorm, packed our necessities in a trailer, and headed north. We boarded a boat for Catalina and made it to the island before dark. Then we made the long trek to our tents, about a five-to-seven minute walk from the town. We unpacked, hiked back to town for dinner, hiked back to our village, and sat around the campfire for a couple of hours. The night game was "Honey if you love me, please smile," a game where the person who is "it" has to go up to someone randomly and try to make them smile. Let me tell you, we have some hardcore frowners in our class. Josh was the most entertaining, with his approaches to Aaron involving slinking along the ground and grabbing his hand then running back into the group and darting around from the other side.

As the next morning was April Fool's, a certain person on our side of the village thought it would be best if we pulled off the first prank, so all alarms on the girls' side were set to 3a.m.; screaming at the top of our lungs would commence at 3:05. The plan was to wake the boys, then pretend to be asleep, but a few chronic gigglers ruined it for the rest of us. From across the road came a groggy boyish roar of, "You think that's funny!" which, of course, just spurred the gigglers on.

We were all awakened again at about 5a.m. at the sound of all the rain on earth cascading down on our peaceful little campsite in torrents. The entire earth was shades of gray, there were deep puddles everywhere, and no one could walk more than a couple steps without getting their shoes weighed down with the clay-like mud.

Breakfast that morning was made interesting with Andy and Brent's stories of what happened on the guy side at 3 a.m. that morning. According to them, they awoke to our screams, jumped out of bed, and their only thought was, "Something is eating them and I have to go kill it!" They also informed us if something ever did happen they would be the only ones to come to our rescue, as the most any of the other guys did was roll over. Great. Thanks, guys.

The day was spent at the beach, playing volleyball, kayaking, fish shooting (also called spear fishing), and sun burning. The day had cleared up dramatically from the showers of the morning, and as the sun shone, the roads also dried, making for a much nicer walking experience by the time we got back up to camp.

We sat around the fire eating dinner (and the fish Daniel caught) before a game of OTL was established, boys vs. girls. Jenna, Anna, Heather and I were going to demolish Aaron, Josh, and Paul, but we decided to be merciful to them and let them have an early lead. Later on, we all went back down to the beach again, climbed on the rocks, looked at a few crabs, then crashed on the sand with conversations of the evils of Myspace and Paul's regaling tales of what he's going to do after he graduates (among these include banking and being a pirate).

The next day brought us a warm sunny morning and my favorite day of the year (daylight saving's time day), and I didn't even complain about getting up an extra hour earlier than I already was to go on a special Jon Morse hike. Six of us set out for a view of the second harbor of Two Harbors, and fortunately all six of us made it back. I say fortunately because on the way back to camp we ran into a huge buffalo that could have killed us just by staring us down. Thankfully, God has more plans for each of the six of us and the massive animal made its way peaceably back to the road.

We had about an hour and a half or so of just lounging around the beach, then we all met up at the pier, made ourselves some sandwiches, carried all our stuff aboard again, and headed back to real life.

Sigh.

It was a good trip. Relaxing. Fun. Adventurous. I think we should do it every weekend.

Catalina bound girls

Catalina bound girls
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Here we are, on our way to Catalina, on the Catalina Express boat, which travels under this mock version of the Golden Gate Bridge!

Aaron Overboard

Aaron Overboard
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

This picture was taken right before we pushed him in... just kidding.

Home sweet home

Home sweet home
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Here we are in front of our tent-like cabin thing!

Kayaking boys

Kayaking boys
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Paul and Aaron breaking the rules on the one-person kayak. A little later they set out on the two-person... with Josh and John jumping on too....

The Big One

The Big One
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Daniel, our resident fisherman, shows off his catch. When asked what he wanted to name it, he responded, "Dinner."

Josh and Paul

Josh and Paul smile game
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

During a fireside game of "Honey, if you love me, give me a smile", Josh entertained the whole lot of us by repeatedly going after a repulsed Aaron before finally settling on his good buddy Paul Craig. Sadly, Paul denied him a smile....

After Showers

After Showers
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Heather, Jenna, and I after we took our freezing cold outdoor shower (don't worry, we were in our bathing suits)....

Bethany

IMG_4251
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Bethany, toasting her hot dog bun. The night before she put together a whole s'more on a wire hanger and cooked the complete treat over the fire...

English Majors

English Majors
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

Brandon and I, two English majors who trekked up "the hill" early in the morning to see the other harbor,come face to face with a buffalo, and lived to tell about it in Seminar in Lit Crit class....

OTL Josh

OTL Josh
Originally uploaded by thesmallblondeone.

A little OTL... boys vs. girls