home

well, I'm home, have been home for two days (counting today) now.

I thought I'd sleep better when I was home, but as yet, only one of the two nights has been a solid sleeping experience. I am so tired of being tired even though I try to sleep! It's not so much that I can't fall asleep, I'm pretty good at that, but I've not slept soundly. I can't figure out why I've had such trouble sleeping through the night. I don't seem to have dreams, my room is fairly dark now that I am home, and I'm a decent temperature. I haven't slept well since Thanksgiving, though. This is frustrating.

I'm currently reading a book that my dad got. It's "My Wild Kingdom" by Marlin Perkins, who was the host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom show. I'm about 1/3 through and I really am enjoying it. He's got a lot of interesting stories.

There sure is a lot of snow out there.

en al final, finalmente! (at the end, finally!)

If I can just get my (4-6 page) Philosophy paper written, I'll be pretty much scot-free. Wednesday I have a test in Psych, but it's not cumulative, so I'm not worried about it. I've got a pretty decent start on my paper, I think. Force it done and I'll be freeeeeeee!

Tonight, my girlfriends and I are going to have a little fiesta. I am excited. :)

I've discovered something nice about iTunes. First, free music, and second, being able to listen to other people's music for free. Quite nice- it expands my music experience.

I'm so tired I'm wired. This is not a good sign. But I'll live. Not much longer and I shall be home!! :D

Despues de las tormentas de nieve (After the snowstorms)

Today's Picturing. It's cold. When I got up this morning, it was -3F WITHOUT windchill, and down to -25F with windchill. It's currently 13F and windchill is around 1F. Um. Cold!!!(I wrote this yesterday the 10th, actually, but didn't get a chance to post.)

This car is so tiny... and so COVERED!

A snow cave!

The ice INSIDE the window in my friends' room! Whaaat?!

The crazy amounts of snow in the parking lot. Note how all the cars have a lot of snow behind them from the plowing.

Little berries in the snow.

Looking north toward my residence hall. That pile of snow is higher than the truck on the left!

I was amused by the truck full of snow.

The steam leak, which is THE clearest spot on campus.

Pretty Smith Chapel... Gorgeous.

Steps? What steps? Oh! Those steps.

Panorama shot from the top of the steps of the chapel. Click to enlarge (may get too big, not sure.)

The nativity scene.

The nativity scene from further away. I wanted to show the pew candles too.

Icicles. Everywhere. This is on the Music Building.

At night, this arch is lit up in white lights that have blue in them. It's cool.

Squirrel tracks! I saw a squirrel having trouble with the snow because it was so deep. Really cute.

I think this is the best picture of a fire hydrant I've ever taken. Granted, it's the only one I've ever taken... but I still think it's good.

EPIC icicles. I think Simpson needs to invest in better roof insulation...

Wow.

This photo comes from a pastor here's Facebook (No, Mom, you haven't met this one- he's from the Methodist Church itself). It is an image from this morning. Yes, the snow really is pretty deep!


All my classes are canceled for today. There was a phone call at 5:30, a text at nearly 6, and 2 emails, all this morning. It didn't wake me, though, so that was good.

There is a steam leak in between two buildings, and as of approximately 10 last night, it was still clear in that spot. This amuses me.

And now, I'm off to attempt to be productive...

MORE snow!

These photos are from my friend E's camera; she and I went outside and played in the blizzard. :D

Er. This is me, being silly. Yes to the Ws, that IS the remnant of my graham cracker house.

This is how I stay warm- Leggings under jeans!

Why yes, as a matter of fact, I AM knee-deep in snow! :D

E decapitated me! But I think this is a funny picture.

Singing in the... Snow?

Whiteout conditions, which are currently continuing, actually.

Snow angel!

Snow angel again!

Yes, there is a huge blurry spot. I think it was a snowflake on the lens.

I was doing a roundoff. Yeah Tumbling!

This is the backside of my dorm. I live on this side but you can't see my window.

Cartwheeling in the snow!

It may be immature, but I really like that umbrella and The Oracle of Squishy.


My 8 and 9 AM classes are canceled tomorrow.

Forecast, quoted from a campus email: SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 14 INCHES ARE ANTICIPATED FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL IOWA... ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 16 INCHES ARE FORECAST FROM EAST OF DES MOINES TO SOUTH OF WATERLOO...NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH... WITH GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED. VISIBILITY LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF A MILE ARE EXPECTED FROM THE HEAVY SNOW THIS EVENING FROM TIME TO TIME. HOWEVER...BY THE TIME THE WINDS INCREASE OVERNIGHT AND INTO WEDNESDAY...WHITEOUT CONDITIONS WILL BECOME COMMON WITH VISIBILITIES FREQUENTLY NEAR ZERO... SNOW DRIFTS OF 8 TO 12 FEET ARE POSSIBLE BY WEDNESDAY. WIND CHILL READINGS ON WEDNESDAY WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 20 BELOW ZERO.

I think the proper phrase is, "Good grief!"

The International students amuse me a little- they are all a bit overwhelmed by the Iowa weather! But they've got good warm clothes, so they'll be okay. :)

For Sara, wherever I may find her.

My 8:00 class was canceled, so I went out and took your requested SNOW photos. These photos have not been edited in any way. Also, they're in reverse order- Blogger always puts them in reverse order and right now there's too many to make into the proper order.

A handicapped button.

I can't believe people have their windows open!

The bricks of the library run vertically.

Wallace academic building.

Inside the "sun room" area at Amy Robertson music building.

A railing, snow on it, near Amy Robertson and the Chapel.

Berries!

The outside of the sun room at Amy Robertson. See me?

A bench.

I liked how the snow looked on the library's name and on the bushes/railing.

A rock outside my dorm hall.

Icicles on Pfeiffer/Great Hall. Clearly the roof is not that well-insulated.

I am a procrastinator, but I have time to do it all... later. ;)

So, I've done very little homework Saturday and today, but what I have done is a fair amount considering the due dates of said homework. I've got about half a page for each paper, one is due Friday and the other is due "by the 18th" so I have lots of time for that one. (I realize I sound like I am procrastinating. I admit it.)

I've learned that darkness comes early in the winter, but there is still light. Beautiful lights in the park; an arch of light in front of College Hall; the glow of the Chapel's stained glass; it is all comforting in the darkness that comes suddenly, completely.

Sometimes there's emotional darkness, too. But there are people who give light, and though their light is pale in comparison to God's light, it is still comforting.


Last night, I was treated to Handel's Messiah, full length and live. Alumni from Simpson (even a professor here!) were the soloists for the performance. My girlfriend A was in the chorus of it. She's been whining about how long it is, and I somewhat had to agree, but we still enjoy it. The performance was beautiful. The Hallelujah chorus... WOW. It was potent. Goosebumps, teary eyes. It was incredible, just amazing. Standing up, with all the people singing, and the sheer force of the sound of a hundred voices and the orchestra and pipe organ... I can only imagine the power of say, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It's giving me goosebumps to even try to imagine.

My CA told me she would work-order a checkup on the heater in my room, and I hope that they will take care of it soon. It's a bit troubling when your room is colder than the hallway!

December already

Snow flurries today!

Snow flurries, Christmas music, spiced hot cider.
Final papers. Final projects. Reading, reading, reading.
Freaking out because the wireless died. Being happy because the wired connections work.
Tired. Sleeping poorly, waking up at least twice every night since Thanksgiving. Using sleep mask, but still waking up.
Got sick on the day before the full moon, had no classes that day. Really hate being female sometimes.

Remembering that God is good, all the time, all the time, He is good.
Seeing the beauty in the floating flakes of snow.
Helping a friend.
Singing carols.
Learning piano on a baby keyboard.

Life has its balances and counterbalances. Life carries on despite our troubles and our joys. I like my life.

so fast and so slow at the same time

This week keeps going faster and faster.... Yet it is going slowly because I'm waiting for Monday night when I can go home.

Today I went to class at 1 and that was it. We didn't really do much other than discuss the chapter we were supposed to read for today. Snooze.

Not much else going on today. Pfeiffer had Thanksgiving dinner, which was better than the usual food. They're fixing the steam pipes outside the exercise building.

I started my paper today. It has about half a page so far. (this is good.)

church night!

So, I'm still dealing with not having my FM, but I should have it back by next Wednesday.

The dance party last night was really fun. My girlfriend K and I were really silly and had a lot of fun. We learned the Electric Slide. There was free food. It was good. It may seem silly, but I'm going to miss the class. At least I know where the instructor works! (Hy-Vee, she's one of the helpful smiles) Also: Annie's Song by John Denver is a waltz. A fast one, but a waltz, none-the-less.

After the dance party I went to Cornerstone (youth group). It was fun and silly and more awkward than usual. I like Cornerstone. I've started to call it K.J. Time- this girl is in charge of it and she's so outgoing and fun that I named the time after her. :D

And now, today.

I went to my first class. We discussed God. I panicked because I thought I had forgotten an assignment for my second class, so I did it whilst the rest of the class was discussing evil and God's existence and blablabla. I'm kind of tired of the argument. We don't get anywhere and it's all speculation anyway because we have too small of minds to comprehend God.

Second class was about why we act the way we do and conformity and other stuff.

Third class was canceled, students were supposed to just go talk to the prof at appointed times throughout the day. So I went in, and she told me I should go to grad school for Spanish. I was like, "Huh?" but I told her I was already planning on making Spanish a minor. She said I ought to make it a major because I have the skills for it. Okay. That was... surprising, needless to say. I have very little confidence in my Spanish abilities, haha.

Fourth class was a waste of my time. But I go anyway because my girlfriend A is there to make it more bearable. At least today we had an activity in groups, so that wasn't too bad. This is also the professor who drives me nuts with her super-positivity that is SO see-through... But that's another point.

I got my Spanish homework done, did my Psych, and all I have to do is read a chapter in "God, Evil, and Design" for tomorrow's 1:00 class. I'll read it tomorrow seeing as I need to go to bed soon. Tomorrow, I'll also start the paper that is due Monday for this class (this is a record, I think. I'm really ahead of schedule!)

I went to Revelation Singers this evening and we sang Christmas songs... Sigh. It's too soon still. After Rev Singers there was Campus Worship. The songs are great. The speakers still irritate me in their seeming persistence in NOT sharing the way to be saved, but they do use Scripture in their sermons and try to point us toward Christ. Prayer time is different but I like it; we join hands across the aisles and then one of the chaplains leads prayer. (By the way, Mom, the chaplain with long hair cut it! It's still long for a man, though... It's about the length mine was when it was cut. I've noticed recently that my hair has grown back at least an inch. This makes me happy, but I want it to keep growing!)

I haven't had a chance to keep reading "One Thing" but I will read a little bit before I go to sleep tonight.

Today's song is Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns (I LOVE Casting Crowns's music.)

Tuesday!

The Bible verses I am going to work on as of today: Ephesians 2:8-10, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I have a song I'd like to share. We sing it in campus worship a lot and I enjoy it. It's called Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong United.




Today I've only done one homework assignment, but it was the only one due tomorrow... And I did laundry and cleaned my room- I even changed my bedsheets (no small feat when you have a lofted bed!). No passing out in the laundry room this time! I also went to a Wesley Scholar meeting.

I'm reading one of my new books. It's called One Thing and it's by Dwayne Roberts, pastor at IHOP in Kansas City (International House of Prayer, not Pancakes). So far, it's been a pretty good read. He's talking about how our purpose in life is to desire God above all else. It rings true and I am enjoying it (despite the conviction I tend to feel!).

My room has been kind of lonely the past weekend/week- Roommate has not been around much. It's nice in a way. I can go to bed when I want and turn the light on in the morning without worrying about waking someone up. But it's a little lonely being in here by myself. So I go to my girlfriends' room! :D

I have a dance party to go to- this is the last class for my dance class :( But it's been fun, and there is another session in January that I am doing.

a post at last for all you people who are so diligently waiting... or something.

Sorry about not writing much... I have decided I'm going to try to post something every day for this week and we'll see if I get back into a better habit of blogging.

So, let's see... last time I posted was my 2 year. Not much has happened since then.

THE big thing is that my boyfriend got baptized. I am very proud of him for making the choice to do so. He is growing in faith and it is a joy to watch. :D

I have decided to start memorizing Scripture intentionally. I'm starting with the verses that are best for talking about salvation. So far, I've got John 3:16 (which doesn't really count because I just knew it anyway) and Romans 5:8.

My FM system broke, so I sent it in today via UPS overnight air... It was about $43 for shipping alone. Good grief...

I figured out how to make a root-beer freeze- fill part of a cup with soft-serve ice cream, add root-beer, stir. Enjoy!

I got my books today that I ordered. 5 books for $20, a great deal. They're all Christian books from Relevant magazine/media. I'll write about each one as I get them read.

Today is a special day.

It's November second. Two years ago, my boyfriend and I began dating. 730 days, over a million minutes ago. We've had the experiences that couples have. It's been a good two years.

-----
Halloween was fine. I froze at the football game as a duck. Quack. I also helped sod yards for Habitat for Humanity much of the day.

Sunday was okay. I had to do my paper that day but it was fine because I got it done.

Not much is really going on right now that is blog-worthy. I apologize for the lack of posts.

Homecoming Slideshow

http://www.simpson.edu/slideshows/homecoming09/

I particularly am amused by the upset faces at the end (Yes, we lost to Central, we got SMOKED.)

Fall break!

Fall break starts tomorrow and I am extremely excited because it is the first time since I came to college that I get to go home and see my family and friends and my bf.

Dance class continues to be fun. I convinced one of my friends to join me and I did the guy part while she did the girl part. We'll switch it up more as we do it longer.

I have surprisingly little homework over break. I'm happy about that.

I'm going to do laundry at home over break too! This is a good thing as I have not done laundry for a week...

Happy Diwali!

Diwali is a Hindu festival and it appears to be something like Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July combined. We went to the Iowa Cultural Center and Temple, and the building is rather striking. It is all white, with many statues and elaborate carvings on it. Inside we had to take our shoes off to enter the sanctuary area. In this area, there were several deities. Some were white colored, like large porcelain dolls, and some were black colored. There were alcoves, some with one deity, some with multiple. Each had faucets, and a drain, for some reason. Each alcove had a place where only the priest could go, and each also had a kind of offering jar.

The ceremonies we were a part of were called poonja, or blessing. There was a HUUUGE altar in the front-middle part of the room, covered with many many bowls of food and drinks and all kinds of offerings. The priest would sing and the people would sing and clap, all while seated cross-legged on the floor. It was interesting- they'd be chanting and clapping, kind of in an excited, festival way, and then they'd suddenly go very serious. There was a guy who would walk around with a small mustard oil lamp, waving it in front of each alcove, while constantly ringing a bell. The priest (who was half robed) had a plate of these lamps and waved them around too. He also threw some flowers onto the altar. It was confusing because nothing was in English. I looked at the Hindi people around the altar who were singing and clapping. They had such pretty fabrics and jewelry on.

After the ceremonies we went outside (we put our shoes back on) for supper. They had many dishes, but the only one I really liked was the flat fry-bread like food. There was this rice that was an odd color, and I found out why when I took a bite- the spices were very strong. There were no meats. Some of the food had unusual flavors but I can't really describe them. One thing had saffron, possibly. I'm not really sure.

After eating we went inside to look around the sanctuary room more closely. It was pretty interesting. After all that, we went back to our van, drove out of the parking lot, and parked by the side of the road for the fireworks show. The fireworks were very nicely done. They shot very high and they even had smiley face fireworks! Cool.

We returned to Simpson and now I'm writing this post. I have a pancake breakfast in the morning to help with, so I'd better go to bed soon. Goodnight.

Smile.

This song has been on repeat all day. Thanks to the person who sent it to me! :)

Salsa!

Dance, dance!

Tonight I learned basic salsa, merengue, and reggaeton dance steps. Awkwardness ensued because I had to dance with this guy who was about my height and he kept trying to spin me. Humorous. Don't worry, he kept his hands in the proper place and didn't try to get in my space too much. I had fun dancing, but I wished it was my bf and not some random guy whose name I still don't know...

Only a few more days till fall break! I am excited.

Wednesday Wackiness...

Procrastination for the win.


This video is very cute, and the title lyric keeps playing in my head.




I did four homework assignments yesterday,and I did one and started another today. I think I'm allowed a tiny break today.

I've been pretty busy since the weekend. I've got 2 papers due Friday (one's done, the other's started) and a major reading assignment due Friday as well. Next Monday-Wednesday is midterm time, but I think none of my classes have midterms.

Monday was a good day, just learning things about other people who I never took the time to get to know in high school. I am learning some valuable lessons. 1- if you were a jerk to someone, even if only in your head, apologizing is pretty much awesome, and makes things better. 2- the person you talk to is actually pretty interesting, and you should kick yourself for not having been nicer to said person. 3- Don't judge people by their actions. Maybe they don't know they're being rude. It was a good conversation, and I also REALLY learned these things, not just thought them.

Also on Monday, my girlfriend who was in swim team finally quit. We have been waiting for that! My CA actually said "Congratulations!" when she said she was quitting! She has been doing too much, and she seems happier and healthier now that she has had a chance to recover a bit. However, she wanted to keep working out, so we started working out today.

Tuesday I started my ballroom dance class! I was super-excited before and I still am after. I was a tiny bit late, maybe 3 minutes, because it was dark and I had to drive in the rain (a friend let me borrow her car, her mom said it was okay- the friend was sick, sadface). However, I was one of 3 single ladies, and we all danced the guy part and the girl part with each other. I tended to dance the guy part and they'd do the girl part (it was easier for me to learn the steps), and then the lady instructor would dance the guy part with me, and I'd dance the girl part. We learned 2 steps for Foxtrot, and will continue next week with a turning move for Foxtrot and starting the Waltz. It should be pretty fun. :D

Also Tuesday, I missed out on the seasonal (Not H1N1)flu shot clinic because by the time I got there, they were out. They are offering the H1N1 shot/mist at the Administration Building for free, but I hesitate to use an untested vaccination.

Today my girlfriend who quit swim team and I worked out in the weight room. It totally kicked my butt, because it was the first time I REALLY worked out in quite a while (read: since Spring), but "it hurts so good" as she said. We did squats, lat pulls, a few arm curls, and 20 minutes of cardio on the elliptical machines, after that she did crunches and I kind of just laid on the floor, feebly doing about 40 crunches total. We are going to work out together for an hour every day except weekends (Sat&Sun). Neither of us can do a workout on our own and stick with it, but together we can do it!

Tonight's campus worship was good. There's a song called The Stand that is very emotional, strong, etc. I like it. Also, I've found out that my LAS professor is not actually a flaming atheist. That is a comfort.

Shout-out to my family- I love you all! :)
Shout-out to the W. family, you know who you are. I love you guys. All of you. :)

Simpson Homecoming Weekend

This week has been homecoming week here at Simpson, and the festivities have been great. Not only is there a mental health screening, there are jokes about the Ugly Central Girls...

But anyway, I digress.

Wednesday night. Campus Worship. The pep band *that I was not in* played songs and the RLC folks made up new lyrics. I thought it was funny but vaguely blasphemous, particularly when they made "Stacy's Mom" into "Jesus' Mom"... Yikes. There was no sermon, either. But we sang the school song! And had lots of Bible verses!

Thursday night. Float, Sink, or Swim. This was pretty awesome. Two person boats, made of cardboard and duct tape, must make it across the swimming pool and back. Some of them sank pretty badly- a sorority didn't duct tape their whole boat, and it went down... It was fun to watch.

Friday night. Yell Like Hell. This is a pep rally, but it wasn't really that peppy to me. The pep band played *I was there this time* and there were a lot of groups that did stomping routines. Broke Phi Broke was probably the best- 7 guys and some pretty awesome stunts. There was SAE, who had a guy who did back handsprings and back flips. Also, they crowned the homecoming king and queen. The guy who did the tricks was king and I don't know who the queen was.

This morning. I woke up to find that it was snowing! There was supposed to be pep band at the football game today, but our director called it off. Phew. I was worried that I would have to freeze at the game. Our stadium is outdoors, not in... Brrr!! Anywho, I am not going to the game at all. I'll look at the score online or something.

October 10th and there's snow?

January Schofield

This is January "Jani" Schofield, who is six years old. Isn't she adorable? But she has a hidden disease: schizophrenia. Her father, Michael Schofield, blogs about his daily life with her at www.januaryfirst.org. I just have to share this section from a post titled "Move One Muscle" with you. I find it beautiful.

On U2’s previous album, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” (I get the title now. Everyday we try to dismantle the atomic bomb within Jani) there is a song called “Miracle Drug.”


Bono has said that this song is about how God works through medicine, which I believe. However, the idea for the song came from the band’s relationship with Christopher Nolan (not the actor). There had been complications when Christopher was born in 1965; he had been deprived of oxygen for two hours and was born with cerebral palsy, leaving him unable to move anything but his eyes. He could not speak.


During his life, Christopher was a writer, a poet. And in order to help him write, he needed a pointer that attached to the middle of his forehead, which he used to pick out letters on the keyboard.


But even that was not enough.


The world would never have known the beauty inside Christopher’s head without his mother, Bernadette.


Because Bernadette would stand behind him for hours on end, holding his head in her hands, which allowed him to pick out the letters on the keyboard.


I think that may be the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Bernadette Nolan could have left her son to suffer in silence. Instead, she literally held his life in his hands, standing, ignoring her own discomfort, so her son could share himself with the world.


So what is the “miracle drug?” I wish I could say it was Thorazine or Clozaril. But it isn’t. We need the drugs, yes, because they help. Eventually, a drug was invented that allowed Christopher the ability to move his neck and shoulders before he died.


But the miracle drug was not that drug. The miracle drug is a muscle. Ultimately, it is the only muscle that needs to move.


The miracle drug is the human heart.


The miracle drug is the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends who are willing do what it takes. The miracle drug are all of you who have taken it upon yourself to hold another’s life in your hands. The miracle drug is all of you who never give up, even when everybody is telling you you should.


The miracle drug is you.

Tuesday again

I'm procrastinating right now. I should be writing a paper, and I should be doing Spanish vocabulary, and I should be reading chapter 9 of my book for my LAS (I read it last night but I was sleep-deprived to the point of silliness at the time and don't remember what I read) but I need a break and Mom and Dad have been after me to tell them things about how college is going, so here I am, blogging.

Well, I suppose I should talk about my weekend at the Y-camp in Boone. It was relaxing and soothing, for sure. We had a fireplace and a fire, and cushions so we could lay on the floor in front of the fire, feeling it warm us. That in particular was so relaxing. We had LOTS of food. I pigged out a little bit. Sun Chips, fruit snacks... Yum!

We had worship and talk time, a lot of both. We sang Prince of Peace so many times that I think I have it memorized now, both the male and female parts. I enjoyed singing with the people who were there. There were 20 of us, 14 girls and 6 guys. We did a lot of talking about ourselves, and about God, and how things were in our lives. It felt good to talk. We played a game called the Un-Game, which basically was a question and answer game, and it helped us talk about things. I learned that approximately half of the people who were there have divorced parents. That's not something that people just tell you. It was eye-opening and made the statistic that about half of all marriages now end in divorce so much more real. It's just a number until you connect people to it.

It was so wonderful to be in nature, hearing the wind rustle through the trees, seeing the colors of fall, watching the peaceful river rippled by fish, breathing the clean air. Even hearing and seeing a train go by was peaceful in its own way. The experience made me miss Aldersgate... On Saturday morning I discovered a beautiful outdoor chapel, high up the hill, 147 steps up. My legs hurt when I finally made it to the top, but it was beautiful and serene. Buxton Park, here outside my window, is "natural" too, but it's too groomed and doesn't have any water to stare into, so it's not as peaceful.

I learned a lot about the other RLC people this weekend and I liked the chance to get off-campus. I got to watch one of the guys be silly and climb up the fireplace, and I got to watch people make a beat band (they all had their own "instruments" and made a song out of it). We got to play a game where we had to think of and sing as many songs as possible that fit a theme. For example, "sky" yielded "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", and "Singin' in the Rain". That was pretty fun, especially when the song theme was "Songs that have a dance, and you have to do the dance, too". :D

We ate at Hickory Park in Ames on the way back to campus. Needless to say, the food was delicious BBQ and ice cream (they serve Blue Bunny, woohoo!). Sunday afternoon around 1:30, we were back on campus and I was procrastinating on my paper that is due Wednesday. I spent much of the afternoon "catching up" and hanging out with my girlfriends. Roomie had her boyfriend here (apparently all weekend??) and so I didn't want to be in my room to work on my homework. Not because they were doing anything, it's just that they were distracting.

Monday I was tired, and I went to classes. In LAS we discussed the nature of God because we are starting to get into our large arguments of the semester: "How does the idea of God square with all the evil in the world?" and "Does the existence of the world mean that there is a God?" It's basically a creationism/intelligent design argument. It woke me up to listen and contribute to the argument.

Psych was about learning and conditioning. Thanks Mom for the advice that a child should be in time-out for about a minute for each year of age- it made me sound smart in class! :) The professor showed us videos that I saw in my high school Psych class, but they had cute kitties, so it was okay. Haha. :)

Spanish was fun. We got to teach the TA/Fulbright Scholar from Argentina about America's educational system, and she was surprised by some of it, particularly the length of the school day. Apparently, in Argentina, the students are in school for longer periods of time than American students are.

English was funny because there was a spider on the wall, and I made the 'mistake' of pointing it out to my girlfriend who hates spiders (she was sitting next to me) and the look on her face... Absolutely priceless. She watched that spider all through the lecture and note-taking. I thought it was hilarious, because said spider was about the size of a regular fly and it was on the opposite wall from where we were sitting.

I ate lunch at the Grill Express, which was pretty decent- tacos. I had a nap, because I was sleep deprived. I tried to work on my brain-breaking paper. And then, I went to Spanish table. Oh was that entertaining! The TA from Argentina is the leader of it. We were talking about how it has gotten cold here, and she said she went to Jordan Creek Mall this weekend for clothes, but the sales weren't for cold-weather clothes yet. She asked "When are the sales?" and we told her about Black Friday. She was appalled and amazed. It was funny. Her: "I don't want to get killed!" Us: "Just don't go at 4 AM when they open, you'll be fine." Her: "Are you sure?" Us: "Yep! You'll be fine."

I came back to my room to work on my brain-breaking paper and ended up having a mini-breakdown. Don't worry, I'm fine. I was just so tired of writing and sleep-deprived I ended up being EXTREMELY silly. I said stupid stuff, like this exchange between me and one of my girlfriends.
Me: "I have two shoes to throw at you. That's a lot."
Her: "Two is not a lot."
Me: "Well, there are four more shoes here. That's... SIX! I can do BASIC MATH!"
Her: "Your basic math skills cannot help you now!"
Me: "Really?"
Her: "Really."
Me: "Aww man... Ooh! I can spell too!"
Her: "Spell... antidisestablishmentarianism."
Me: "a-n-t-i-d-i-s-e-s-t-a-b-l-i... (a pause to think) m-n-o-p! *hysterical laughter*"
Her: *shakes head*

And then I cried because my flash drive appeared to be extremely RUINED because I picked up my computer and accidentally folded the flash drive against me. I realized it looked broken and wham! instant tears. Hysterical laughter to instant tears. I was NOT in a properly rested state despite having had a nap. My girlfriends forced me to go to bed and I feel much better today.


Today I went to the doctor for yet another check-up on my ear, and he said it was much improved" and I am wearing my hearing aid again. Yay for being able to hear again!

I am going to go check out the CASA presentation on Argentina given by the TA and a buddy of hers. Should be interesting and I am looking forward to it- tonight at 6.

I am also going to check out a Hindu temple in a couple weeks with InterFaith. That too should be interesting.

There are a lot of really cool Forum events coming up- more about them later.

As for my brain-breaking paper, I HAVE to finish it tonight or I'm going to be doomed. What would you write when given these questions? "What facts are most certain and why? Is there anything more certain than facts?" OW MY BRAIN HURTS. It doesn't help that I don't see a point to this assignment, either. Facts are facts are facts... Update: Paper is finished, and coherent. Woo!

All in all, a very good weekend, and an odd week so far.

Two things

1. I will be gone til Sunday afternoon. Feel free to leave emails, comments, fb messages, etc.

2. Today is 23 months. Happy 23, my dear. <3

Happy October!

I have been pretty busy with papers, but I've finished now, except for one that is due Wednesday. I've started thinking deeply about it, though.

This week, it has been raining a lot at night, then in the mornings it is still gray, so I have been tricked into carrying my umbrella when it isn't raining. Alas.

This week I have been presented with an interesting question: Is there something more certain than facts?

Mom and Dad and Grandma came to visit on Sunday for Family Weekend and they got to meet most of the RLC people. That was pretty cool. They got me a DQ blizzard- Cookie Jar. It was okay. I prefer just one type of cookie if I'm going to have a cookie blizzard.

My friends are sick, but I am not. That makes me confused. However, one of them is in a lot of stuff and she is going to drop from exhaustion, I just know it. She has 2 choirs, swim practice 2x day, homework, classes, and 5 hours of enforced study in the library each week.

I suppose I ought to say what I am in nowadays. Monday I have class, Spanish table, and Pep Band. Tuesday I have volunteering in the coffeeshop and no other obligations (but I am going to start doing other volunteering). Wednesday I have class, Spanish table (if I want), Revelation Singers, and Campus Worship. Thursday I have one class, Forum Events (if they happen), and Atta Ha-eesh, a new Bible study group. Friday I have class and no other obligations. Saturday, no obligations. Sunday, church and no other obligations. I go to bed around 10:30 each night and get up at 7:00. It's not a bad routine.

I don't know what else to talk about... Life is fine. :)

Week

No organization on this post whatsoever. Just things that I've liked/disliked about the week.

LIKED:
- An A on my first paper for my LAS!
- An A on my first test for Psych!
- Hanging out with my awesome friends in room 222!
- New Bible study called Atta Ha'eesh (You The Man) led by that one guy who is involved in everything. We're going to watch a Paul Washer sermon next week. I'm excited.
- First Wesley Service Scholar meeting. Not bad.
- Cornerstone youth group
- My paper for LAS is almost done, just have to do the Works Cited page.
- Doing almost a whole day of service at the United Way food drive (tomorrow, actually)
- Humans vs. Zombies game starts next week!
- Discovering the Grill Express actually has pretty decent food. Only problem is they don't serve milk with the meals.
- Talking in Spanish with the TA from Argentina and actually understanding and being understood!
- I'm not sick! No H1N1 or MRSA for me this week.
- Family is coming on Sunday!
- Revelation Singers and awesome Campus Worship!
- Discovering that my floormate who also scored the Duffy Obama poster has Skype!
- Discussing controversial topics in LAS- it's fun.

DISLIKED:
- My dorm room door is broken! It doesn't always lock, and it's the weekend, and the earliest it will get fixed is probably Monday. Bah. I just have to be extra careful and make sure it locks when I leave. (No way to tell if it is locked from the inside.)
- The Achilles Fly in room 222 that wouldn't leave me alone.
- Realizing that I am out of shape. And gaining weight. I did do some exercise tonight, and I'm going to do some every night from now on (Hold me to that!), and I am going to start my dance classes soon, so I will be ok.
- I had a case of writer's block with my second LAS paper. But it is almost done!
- Missing the research project I signed up for because I took a nap. On the plus side, that nap was really good.

All in all, it's been a pretty good week. I can't really complain. I'm enjoying it, and I am looking forward to seeing Mom, Dad, and Grandma this Sunday. :)

Tuesday Newsday

Timestamp says this morning because I started the post this morning. It's really around 8:00 p.m.

I really don't have much to talk about.

Monday's LAS class was fairly similar to last Friday's class except the actual professor taught, but we talked about the same things as Friday. Claims, warrants, and reasons. Not a difficult concept.

Psychology had a 60 question multiple choice test. I am fairly certain I passed it.

Spanish class was different. We analyzed news articles in Spanish and we analyzed a poem in Spanglish. It was pretty fun actually but rather difficult for me because I just do not have a big vocabulary in Spanish.

English was boring. I wouldn't usually say that but this time it was not very engaging. We were pre-writing for our essays, and we were following the questions in the book, and I tried to take the time she gave us for each question. It just was too much time for me because I would complete the task quickly. And I was tired too, and it was difficult to stay awake. Not a good experience, but we got out early, and there's no class Friday and Monday.

I did my psych and LAS homework and then I hung out with my floormates. There's nothing that is of major interest to blog readers there; we just talk and behave like girls our age do.

My roomie and I filled out the roommate contract. Pretty simple and we had no major conflicts about it.

Today I got up and went to the coffee shop where I actually got to make some coffee and a shot of espresso! Gasp!!

I went to the Study Abroad Fair and I really want to go to Argentina or Spain. A country that is Spanish-speaking would be a plus for my Spanish minor experience. Besides, college in Argentina costs next to nothing, according to the TA for my Spanish class. She should know since she is from Buenos Aires! :)

I finished my homework this afternoon and read four newspapers. One of the girls and I were chatting about our respective high schools, and so I showed her the senior video. She thought it was pretty good. :)

I have Bible study in about an hour, so I think I will read for a while. I feel pretty settled-in now that I have cooked steak on a pizza pan, learned the combo to my girlfriends' room, and spoken with the cleaning lady about how contacts feel.

Steak!

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I decided we were sick of Pfeiffer food. In the early afternoon, we went down to Hy-Vee by way of Moats Park (a playground with the most awesome equipment ever!) to get some food to have for supper. It turned out that we discovered a Hy-Vee deal that we could get 3 palm-sized steaks for $4. We both are meat eaters, so we decided that she'd buy the meat and I'd buy the seasoning. We returned to our rooms after our purchases and spent time doing homework and watching TV and talking in her room.

Finally, we decided we were hungry and it was time to make the steak. I pulled out my pizza pan and a knife while she brought a fork and plates, and we went into the little kitchen. (This kitchen is not much bigger than the average bathroom, and it has a stove, sink, and microwave. There are no utensils or anything.) I slapped the steaks onto the pizza pan, and we cooked them on the biggest burner there was. Once the steaks started to get done, I made Parmesan couscous from a box. The steaks finished cooking and we put them onto a plate, nearly drooling at the sight and smell of Real Meat. She scrubbed my pizza pan because there was a considerable amount of black charring on it, and when she flipped it over to rinse it, we discovered a scorch mark from the burner. No big deal. We went back to her room and I cut each steak in half so we could each have similar taste experiences. We divided the couscous and then, we ate.

To say that it was a pleasurable experience would not be a lie. That steak tasted so very delicious, savory, with the right combination of seasoning, meat flavor, and juiciness. It was like manna from heaven, it was so wonderful. It's making me nearly drool to remember it!

I'm Back!

As usual, don't believe the timestamp on this post. It's 1:23 A.M. right now. And this post is EXTRA long since it's been about 5 days since I posted.

I got my computer back yesterday morning (Thursday), and boy am I happy about that. It's just not as comfortable to use a school computer. I feel more like "Big Brother is watching" when I am on a school computer, even though I know they can monitor this one too.

Let's see, what was the last day I posted about? Sunday? So, I should talk about Monday. To be honest, the week gets so full so quickly I don't remember much of what happened. Good thing I put the date on my class notes!

LAS was a continuation of understanding certain things in the textbook, so I won't bore you with the details of structuring arguments.

In Psychology we discussed the anatomy of the human brain, which was pretty dry and sleepiness-inducing. That all changed when the professor opened up a 5-gallon bucket and showed us what was inside: a real human brain that had been donated to science. He picked up the two pieces (two parts of the right hemisphere) and showed them to us, and he gave us the opportunity to hold the brain pieces. Only 4 of us did, myself included (there are 25 people in the class, I estimate). It was really cool. I wondered a little bit about who the person was that the brain had belonged to. Of course, the professor couldn't tell us, but it was still fascinating to see an actual human brain.

In Spanish, the TA gave a presentation about immigration in her country, Argentina. She caused jealousy when she told us that public college education in Argentina is FREE! Private college education is inexpensive as well, only about $100/month. So, guess where I want to study abroad? haha.

English was just note-taking over things that any high school junior or senior would know, so I'm not going to bore you with those details either.

Tuesday, I got up and went to the doctor for a follow-up on my ear infection. It feels better, but he told me it still looks pretty nasty in the canal. He told me to keep using the ear drops and to come back and see him in 2 weeks (we had to change that to 3 because he isn't going to be in the office in 2 weeks), and if the ear was not any prettier then, he would refer me to the ENT because it could be fungus-related. No fun guy jokes please. Anyway, I had to order a refill on the ear drops because I will run out tomorrow, and I haven't picked it up yet because I've forgotten.

I took my computer in to the IT folks and began to suffer withdrawals. (I'm joking.)

Not much else happened on Tuesday other than I did homework and volunteered in the coffee shop where I met a commuter student who was a mom and a pre-med major. She was nice to me and we chit-chatted. At the end of the day I went to Cornerstone, the youth group for freshmen. We decided we are going to go to Wesley Woods and do the high ropes course October 11th. I'm excited.

Wednesday I started working on my paper after discussing it on Tuesday with my professor (who also happens to be my advisor).

In LAS we discussed the problems with using analogies to make arguments. We spent the entire 50 minutes talking about the watch analogy for proving intelligent design. The professor concluded that the watch analogy breaks down for the proponents of intelligent design. He said that the people who are arguing for intelligent design usually want there to be only one designer, and that we cannot reasonably conclude that there is only one designer, if there is a designer. In my own opinion, some things just have to be taken on faith. I believe that there is one designer and that is God.

In Psychology we discussed child development in terms of Piaget's stage theory. Then we discussed the errors/fallacies in Piaget's theory, and then class was over.

Spanish was a game day. We had memory, pictionary, and charades. I never won but I did have fun anyway.

In English we discussed the professor's favorite topic: Show, don't tell. We also went over an essay by Annie Dillard called An American Childhood which was about an experience she had with a man who wouldn't give up chasing her in order to chew her out for throwing an iceball at his car.

In the evening, we had a debate for Constitution Day over the constitutionality of gay marriage. The gay man won, I think. He certainly presented his arguments clearly, precisely, and with proper emotion. The other man, who was a Christian, kept bringing up the phrase "procreation potential" in reference to hetero marriage. He tended to polarize the audience against him because he was repetitive and his arguments were flawed (one such flaw was he argued that gay marriage caused lower rates of marriage and childbearing in the Netherlands after it was legalized there. Correlation does NOT equal causation!)

However, the Christian made a point that I will share with you: The problem people have with gay marriage is the word marriage. The power and the history and the meaning of that word, to most people, means one man and one woman bonded. It's not that people want to keep rights away from gays, it's that they want the meaning of marriage to remain the same. I'm all for equal rights but I don't think the word should be corrupted to mean two men or two women. The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. I do not judge you if you are not straight, but I do hate your sin. Disagree with me if you like, but please be polite about it.

Thursday I worked on my paper all day until about 3:00 when I went to help with Warren County Habitat for Humanity. We sodded a yard for a new house. It was a small yard, the sod was dry, there were about 10 of us doing the work, and so it went quickly. We found a Sphinx Moth that had just hatched. It had shriveled-up wings and a large body. By the time we left it had pumped up its wings in order to be ready to fly.

There was another Forum event, this time featuring Brian Duffy, the former editorial cartoonist for The Des Moines Register. He talked about what it is like to be in a dying industry, and about how he got canned from a 25-year stint at the Register. He showed us his static cartoons, and some animated cartoons that he is doing for KCCI, the local TV station. Then he closed out his talk with a question and answer session, and as he answered questions, he drew caricatures of famous political people. The first he drew was Obama, and he also drew Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Glenn, Arnold Schwartznegger (spelling?!), Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. After he finished, a girl from my floor and I both were interested in the caricature of Obama, and we waited in line to talk to Duffy. We let him know we were interested in the Obama caricature, and I said I didn't have to have it, I'd take a different one, but he drew an Obama just for me! I thought that was pretty cool. Also, Obama's position on Kanye West is definitely one that both liberals and conservatives can agree on. ;)

Today has been the same kind of day as Wednesday. I turned in my paper and the LAS class got out early because the professor was gone with his kids (they're twins, 17 years old).

Psychology was a continuation of development using Erik Erikson's theory of development and somebody else's theory of morality. We had an exercise on morality in terms of cheating on a final. Fairly interesting and it ended up that we had more reasons to cheat than to not cheat! Don't worry, I will not be cheating at any time.

Spanish was a continuation of game day and I still didn't win, but I did learn that the TA's handwriting is tricky.

English was a discussion of narration and narration techniques. Things I already knew, but then we had time for listening to our peers read what they had written. My one girlfriend who is in the same class made me laugh with her story about victory over spiders.

This evening was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and RLC's interfaith division sponsored a meal with a Jewish math professor. The food was good and I don't remember any of the Hebrew names for the food. There was a sweet carrot stew, raisin-nut bread, pitas, hummus, cucumber, tomato/pepper, pomegranate seeds, dates, honey-cake, apple, and grape juice. There was wine but I didn't drink any during the ceremony for Shabbat (the Sabbath). The professor's home was pretty and simple; so far she and her husband have not gotten moved in quite yet. I'm jealous of the heated tile in her bathroom, though. We got to see their marriage license. It was written in both Hebrew and English. It's gorgeous- truly a work of art. She had a canopy (Fiddler on the Roof will help you understand) and this canopy was handmade for her of a similar design as the buildings and colors used on the marriage license. Very beautiful.

After we ate, the professor's in-laws showed up, and we left to get to the service, which started at 8:00. The temple is Reform, so we could sit where we wanted; women were not segregated from the men. They even had a female cantor and a female speaker! However, the rabbi and his helper were both male.

The service began with the cantor walking in, singing a capella. She had a beautiful voice, haunting and clear. Then there was the lighting of 3 candles, and a blessing. After that I don't recall clearly but there was standing up, sitting, Hebrew prayer, Hebrew songs (Lots of them, by the cantor and a recorded male voice- wonderful combination), opening and closing of the Ark with the Torah inside, a sermon by the rabbi (in English- he referenced Fiddler on the Roof! Woo!), and a final song that was written in transliterated Hebrew so we Gentiles could sing along. The service was an hour and 40 minutes long and they gave us candy at the end for a sweet new year. :)

Some things I noticed about my surroundings: the pews were segregated by little walls of wood- each person had a compartment! Most of the men wore the yarmulkes but not all, since some of us were Gentiles from RLC. They had little baskets of white yarmulkes in case the men forgot. Women were dressed fairly conservatively but in nothing that was particularly memorable; no head coverings or things like that. There were these poles in front, and I kept trying to figure out the significance of the poles, and then I realized that they were Bose speakers... Needless to say I felt kind of dumb. There was a cupola at the top with a gigantic chandelier made with stained glass hanging from it. The Ark was built into the wall, covered with beautiful wood, and inside were silver objects (I am not sure what they were, couldn't see them very well through the white translucent veil). Ornate decorations covered much of the ceiling and upper walls. The lectern had 5 microphones attached to it! I was wondering if there was going to be a press conference. :p On the front walls there were menorahs with light bulbs instead of candles. They had an "eternal flame" in honor of the dead, much like Catholics. It is now 5770 for the Jewish calendar.

Well, that's what happened for this week. This is BRIEF. Leave comments for clarification and I will try to answer. :)

Posting Interruption

Hello all,

I do not currently have my own computer as it is in the IT guys' hands for repair. I also have a 3-5 page paper due on Friday. As such I will not be blogging for the rest of the week.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be pastors!

Since it is Sunday, I thought a song about pastors would be appropriate. :) Take it with a few grains of salt- it is meant to be humorous.

Forgot to mention

I forgot to say in my last post that Simpson has a suspected case of H1N1 (that's Swine Flu). I don't know who it is. They (health services) are taking precautions. I am using ridiculous amounts of hand sanitizer. I doubt I will get the Swine Flu. And if I do, I doubt I will get super-sick and die. If I DO end up getting it and dying, I will get to see Jesus that much quicker. But I think He has a plan for me that doesn't involve dying from Swine Flu. ;)

You may need to block out the next 30 minutes to read this post.

Don't believe the timestamp- That's when I started writing this! It's actually 9:55.

Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat and my nose draining like a faucet that had been left on. I had nothing to do during the day because I had already done my homework, and I don't have classes on Tuesdays. Mom had been after me to go see the nurse about my ear (it too was draining), so I went to the nurse in the morning. She took my temperature, looked in my ear, and referred me to the doctor. I called the doctor's office and scheduled an appointment for 2:40 the same day. After I did that, I went to the coffee shop, where I was scheduled to volunteer and sat there by myself. Three people came in while I was in there, but none of them wanted any coffee. It's probably because people don't want coffee at 11 in the morning.

I didn't do anything except try to rest in my room until about 2:00 so that I could figure out just where the medical clinic was and fill out paperwork when I got there. It ended up that I had to do 4 forms and then wait until they were ready to see me. The clinic was very efficient. I got in, they took my weight (117.6 lbs, Mom), my height (5 foot 5 with tennies on), and my temperature (97.7). Then the nurse led me back to this tiny room, about 10ftx10ft and she took my blood pressure (can't remember, she said it was good though) and my pulse. I was sort of surprised she could even feel my pulse, but she said it was good too. I told her what was wrong with me and then she left.

The doctor, an average-sized brown-haired young guy, came in, shook my hand and asked what I was there for. His medical student, a tallish blond guy stood off to one side. I told the doc what was wrong with me, he looked in my ear, said I had otitis externa (read: swimmer's ear, basically), and then asked if the med student could look in my ear. I said, "Sure, I don't mind." So the med student looked in my ear. And looked in my ear. It felt like ages that he was looking and he finally stopped looking right before I was about to giggle. I felt silly because he was looking in my ear for so long... Anyway, the doctor gave me a paper with my prescription on it, and told me I could go to Medicap to get the prescription filled. He left and I went to the receptionist and made another appointment for 9:50 this coming Tuesday.

I walked approximately two blocks to get to the Medicap, where I handed the woman my prescription, my insurance card, and my ID so she could fill the prescription. I waited for a while, and they had the prescription filled. They called my name and I went up to the register to get the medicine. The manager told me that the insurance company has my birthday wrong, so I have to get that straightened out. She then proceeded to ring me up, and it turned out to be $100 for one little bottle of ear drops! She looked in the records and found that she could give me a different (non-generic) bottle of drops for only $30. She had to call the doctor's office and get the proper approval for me to have the medicine, and it finally worked out. I paid my $30 and then left.

When I got back to campus it was about 4:30 so I decided to hang out with my girlfriends until 5:30, when I had Food for the Soul in the chapel lounge. The speakers were from Shalom Zone in Des Moines, and they told us about what they do and how they help kids have someplace safe to go to after school. It sounded like a good ministry. Free food was provided and it was walking tacos with fresh crunchy veggies as a side. It was nice to have fresh veggies- Pfeiffer usually has steamed, but not often fresh (I'm spoiled by Mom's garden!). After Food for the Soul I went back to my girlfriends' room and we watched some Monty Python sketches (Spanish Inquisition and Dead Parrot) on Youtube. The Spanish Club was having game night at 7:00, so I went to that around 7:20, and I had a hard time hearing, so I left again.

Next was Cornerstone youth group in the chapel lounge at 9:00. Cornerstone is for freshmen and it is led by some of the upperclassmen. One of the guys from my LAS class is in it, so that is a comfort. We introduced ourselves and ate leftover brownies from Food for the Soul. The RLC has a Question Ball, a beach ball with questions written on it in permanent marker. Wherever you catch the ball, you have to answer that question. It was fun to hear people's answers to the questions. After everyone had a chance to answer a question, we brainstormed things that we want to do as a group. Among the ideas were trapshooting, night sledding, and Thirty Hour Famine. Once the ideas died down, we went around the circle one more time, saying our name and why we love Jesus. My reason is pretty simple: He loved me first. :D

So that was Tuesday. Wednesday was a class day, so I got up, packed my backpack with lots of kleenex, and traipsed off to my LAS class. This class is a philosophy class. I have been in the habit of sitting front and center in the curved rows of desks, so I tend to be right in front of the professor. I don't actually contribute very much to the conversations, but rather just listen. This particular class was about why and how we argue, a continuation of last Friday's class.

I know I need to learn how to argue well, because I don't like how the professor attacks religion. He has said some things against faith that have made me uncomfortable. However, the boy I mentioned earlier is much more verbal than I am, and he defends faith. It's hard to defend my faith without using the Bible, and the professor has attacked the veracity of the Bible. He insinuates that it is not very intelligent to believe in intelligent design, saying things like "It'd be silly to believe that the earth was made in 7 days" and then giving reasons based on scientific evidence. But he has also been somewhat of an apologist, because he thinks that there is not necessarily a VERSUS kind of debate. He asked, "What if we could put together evolution and intelligent design? Each has its strong points." The main thing for me is, what do I do with this kind of thinking? If I believe that the Bible is my framework for life (and I do), am I allowed to pick and choose what I believe from the Bible (ie believe that God created the world, but not that the world was made in 7 days)? I don't think so. The question remains: How do I defend my faith without being made to look like a fool for it? And so I remain silent when we discuss God.

Next class is Psychology, and we discussed research methods and how correlation works. The lectures are fairly simple, with consistent examples and writing on the board involved. I have the opportunity to participate in a research study for extra credit, so Friday the 25th I have a 30 minute survey to fill out. It should be interesting, and it never hurts to have extra credit.

Spanish was bewildering. We tried to watch a video that the professor had downloaded onto her computer, and the voices and lips were NOT synced at ALL. To add to the confusion, it was in Spanish, about immigration, and some of the speakers didn't seem to breathe while speaking. Also, the voices and video were so off at certain points that a man's voice was matched to a woman's face! Confusing! However, the professor played it again, actually from the internet, and the sync was much better. I understood about 3% of the whole thing, but the professor knows it is difficult to understand at first. The rest of class felt a bit... ineffective? The word escapes me. But we just got several unnecessary papers and not much for actual Spanish speaking or activity. I think this was an isolated incident, though.

I had lunch with one of my girlfriends and we found out that a mutual friend's father had a stroke. Her father has since passed away. Please pray for her and her family. Please also pray for my girlfriend's father- he was the doctor on call when the stroke happened. Thank you.

Next was English class, which I enjoyed. The professor wrote this on the board: "She is playing." She told us to write what the picture was that popped into our heads and gave us about 5 minutes to do so. Then, she had some of us read what we thought, and she made the point that we didn't imagine the same thing. As a class, we played with language and expanded the sentence quite a bit so that it was almost ridiculous. Next, she divided us up into groups and gave us five more sentences. The room was full of laughter and playful words as we expanded the sentences. One of the sentences was "We went to the mall." EVERY group expanded "the mall" as "Jordan Creek Mall". I thought that was humorous. Once each group had read their first four sentences, the professor decided that the room was too hot, and we were released ten minutes early. She has told us not to get used to getting out early, but so far we have gotten out early during EVERY class. I agree with her that the room was fairly miserable, but my reason is different. The air conditioner clanks something dreadful sometimes. Right now my hearing is limited because I am not wearing both of my hearing aids (Thanks, otitis externa!) and the air conditioners on campus just make class a little harder to hear. (No Mom, I am not having trouble hearing the professors- the FM works just fine. It's just that I realized what I was missing when I got the second hearing aid and now I have temporarily lost what I was missing.)

After classes were over I did homework. You'd think it would be boring, but it's really not. I love my Psychology textbook! I really do enjoy it (twas the most expensive of my textbooks but it is a fun read).

I had supper in the Grill with my girlfriends. At 7:00, our section of the floor decorated tee shirts in the classroom in the basement. Mine says "I Heart Simpson Storm" and has a cloud and tornado on it. It's actually semi-decent for a puffy-painted shirt that I have decorated. My one regret is that the shirt was actually wider than I am when it was laid out flat, so my design does not exactly fit my front. That's okay because I won't be wearing it anyway.

I left tee shirt decorating to go to Revelation Singers in the basement of the chapel. There were seven of us girls there and we sang old-school praise songs like "All in All" and "The Heart of Worship". Let me correct that: They sang. I croaked and sniffled and blew my nose. They had a concert planned for tonight (Thursday) for the Village, which is the old folks' home here, and I told them that I wasn't sure if I would come because I felt like I was losing my voice. After singing we went upstairs to campus worship in the chapel.

Campus worship is really cool. It's good to know that there are other Christians on campus, and to see some of them get all fired up about God is inspiring. There's a guy who is super-involved, he's a football player, he squirted everyone's hands with hand sanitizer at the beginning of the service, and I think he is a junior or senior. He was literally on his knees with his arms raised during the music that was playing for communion. Wow. I am not that expressive, but he was inspiring and he made me tear up a little bit. Anyway, worship was awesome. I had communion and I was served by the same pastor who served it to me on Sunday, which I found amusing. My only complaint about the worship is the music- our chapel is one of those great big cathedral-types, and the music bounces around so very much. I have a hard time hearing the voices and end up lip-reading to keep up, but that isn't a bad thing, because I don't think anybody else is having it any easier than me! haha.

Today I woke up with no nose drainage! I was thrilled. I ate breakfast with one of my girlfriends, went to the BSC to check my mail because I had a package notice last night, opened said package and was slightly let down by the fact that it was simply an extension cord for the vibrating part of my alarm clock, and came back to my dorm room. I got onto Skype and the internet and debated with my boyfriend about an article I read on the internet called "John Rock's Error". The article is about John Rock, the inventor of The Pill, as well as effects of The Pill- the whole thing is rather involved- and you can read it here: http://gladwell.com/2000/2000_03_10_a_rock.htm I really recommend it, even if you don't believe in The Pill. It is a fascinating look at Rock and his reasons for inventing The Pill the way he did. Did you know he was Catholic? He truly believed that he was not going against the Catholic church's dictate about using 'natural' birth control only. This discussion took up a lot of my morning.

I went to lunch at 12:30 for class at 1:00. This is my LAS discussion time, where we discuss Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". Today's main topic of discussion was: Why don't the man and boy commit suicide? Is suicide, in this circumstance, an "easy way out" or a "logical, rational choice"? We talked about Hope and we tried to find out the essence of why the people in the book either were strong and didn't eat others, or why they ate other people. I really enjoyed it today. There was no discussion of religion, and the professor was making jokes. He seemed a little bit more human today, because he had to leave class early to go pick up his mother in Des Moines and take her to the doctor. He also couldn't find his cell phone. The teaching assistant took over when he left, so we didn't get gypped out of class time.

After class I went to the poster sale in front of the BSC. I bought three posters: a Star Wars one for my boyfriend, a "What is Love?" one, and an "E-cow-nomics" one which explained economics using cows. I put the second two posters up in my room. It took some effort because masking tape doesn't want to stick to my ceiling. I finally had to just move that poster onto the wall. I really wanted the "What is Love?" poster to be on my ceiling above my bed so I could be reminded to love when I got up, but it wouldn't stay. Alas.

After all this finagling, I went to the BSC again to meet the Revelation Singers for the concert tonight. We went and ate supper with the old people, and then we sang for them. There was another act there, a Simpson boy who played guitar and harmonica as well as sang. We traded off songs. When we got done singing, the hot air balloon people started to blow up their balloon, which was no surprise considering this is Indianola and it is famous for hot air balloons. We left. I came back here and started blogging about the past three days. Now I'm going to shower and go to bed.