Aaaaaand…done!

Much more entertaining than politics.

So, tell me how exciting this sounds: six pages on habeas corpus and the war on terror, with particular emphasis paid to the detainees (or 'enemy combatants') of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Yeah, that's what I thought.  That is the topic of my final paper for this class.  And all I can say is, I'm so glad it's over.  My new class is a math class, and I'm almost 99.99% positive there will be no papers for this class.  How would one go about writing a paper for a math class, anyway?  I'm not sure.

I'm not even entirely sure how to take a math class online.  I guess I'll learn, eh?  I really do wish I hadn't taken two years off of school, though.  I now have to take an algebra class because it's been more than five years since my last one.  This is why you shouldn't procrastinate, children! 

Oh well, so my graduation date gets pushed back a little more.  So what?  At least I like math.  To a degree.  I like algebra, anyway.  It fascinates me, even though I don't actually enjoy it.  Isn't that a paradox?  I like math, but I don't enjoy it.  Hmm…

I have discovered the joys of loose teas, and now, there's no going back!  So!  There's a tea shop called Teavana in Bayshore.  I'm tempted to schedule an evening with Sarah and then drag her over there to check it out.  From what I hear, it's about as awesome as you can get.  And seriously, if you could smell some of these teas…my client's daughter went, and she invited me to try some of the teas she bought.  I tried her blueberry acai blend, and OMG, I just wanted to sit here and stick my nose in the bag all night!  It's so ridiculously fragrant, I bet even my 'tea just tastes like colored water to me' boyfriend would like it.

SO!

Puff pride!

Guess what, guess what!

I am going to be a bridesmaid for the first time ever!  I know, I know, it doesn't seem like a big deal.  And maybe in the grand scheme of the world, that's true.  But do you know what?  My little brother is getting married to the woman he loves, and I am invited to be a part of that.  So, as far as I'm concerned, the "grand scheme" can suck it, because I am utterly thrilled!

I'm kind of feeling sassy at the moment.  I'm so proud of myself for finishing a paper I really, REALLY didn't want to write, for a class I really, REALLY didn't like or even want to take.  Yes, I put it off until the last possible moment, BUT!  But I finally finished it, and I'm proud of myself.  Even though I have a pounding headache and a belly full of cramps, and I'm really, really overheated right now.  Because I did it, even though I didn't want to.

FYI, I could have passed the class even if I had totally blown off the paper.  But I still did it anyway.  So, go me!

My life may be boring, but it's mine and I enjoy it.

Because it's the most adorable little
Firefly/Harry Potter crossover in existence
(if you don't understand the reference, I pity you.).

I am a little bit of a goof.

Okay, I'm a lot a bit of a goof.  I knew I shouldn't.  But I did it anyway.  I stayed up last night to read.  Wow, I haven't actually done that in a while.  Not for pleasure, definitely.  Some for research papers, or to watch TV, or just because I had insomnia, but it's been a while since I stayed up all night to finish a book.

I remember when the last time was, though.  July 22, 2007.  It would have been July 20, 2007, but I was with Mom in Chicago at a Women of Faith conference, and I didn't even get home until Sunday afternoon.  Some of you, if you're like me, will remember the significance of 7/20/07.  It was the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the actual Deathly Hallows, people, not the first movie part!).  I had to work in the morning, and I still stayed up all night to finish it.

Do you know what it's like to be physically unable to put a book down?  If not, I pity you.  It's one of the strangest, most exhilarating, most wonderful feelings in the world.  It used to happen to me all the time.  Then, I guess, I just read too many books.  The feeling cannot be repeated or recaptured by going back and reading the book again.
It can be renewed, though.    Personally, I like Rick Riordan for that.  The Kane Chronicles were the first, then the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  Now it's going to be the Heroes of Olympus (I've already pre-ordered the next book in the series).  I love this feeling!

There are so many books out there that can cause that feeling, too.
I intend to read them all. :-)  The days of staying up all night reading Harry Potter books for the first time is back- with a vengeance!

Try these

Navy Baseball does Frozen

This just made my entire day.



Jenn, my dear, sweet, sister-to-be, you are my total sunshine today!

Social media sucks

I resent Facebook.

Not re-sent, but resent.  As in, I feel a stab of resentment whenever I check my Facebook news feed.  Which also, I suppose, makes me a masochist, since I check it every time I connect to the internet.

On that same note, I'm actually considering getting rid of my Facebook page.  On the one hand, it is moderately convenient to be able to look at Facebook and see how friends and family in other states are doing.  But on the other, it wastes so much of my time, and I'm tired of getting news second-hand.  If I don't warrant first-hand updates, then I'd rather not get them at all.

Sounds selfish and childish of me, I know.  But when your best friend gets engaged, you don't want to find out from Facebook.  You want to find out from them.  Social media sites (and I'm not just talking about Facebook now) have made us lazy.  We went from letters and thank you notes, to emails and phone calls, to texts and tweets within a ten year period of time, and...well, it's kind of sickening.  We no longer have to put forth any effort to let people know they're important to us, so we make the whole world our best friend.

I don't know the whole world.  I don't want to know the whole world.  But I want my friends to know they're important to me.

Sending them a Facebook message doesn't quite convey the feeling appropriately.

World's Toughest Job - #worldstoughestjob

Yeah, I was fine until they started crying.  No offense, because thinking of everything my mom (and dad) does for me makes me intensely grateful and (depending on how much sleep I got), moderately misty, the crying felt...kind of contrived.

But very well done.

Happy days!

I know we're "supposed" to draw it on our left wrist,
but I'm left-handed, so I drew it on my right wrist.
Deal with it.

So, I've definitely given up on tumblr.  It just bothers me, and it's no fun, since even the fandom posters (like Disney bloggers) want to discuss the morality of things like abortion and same-sex marriage (most of the tumblr-ers are pro-both, just FYI).  So, instead, I have returned!
And with good news!
My brother, my dear little baby brother (he's 26, despite my simpering, in case you were wondering), proposed to his girlfriend last Friday night (isn't that the name of a movie?) and she said YES (well, of course she did).  My baby brother is getting married!  Isn't that wonderful!?
I think it's wonderful.  And I think my brain is finally used to the idea, because it hasn't gibbered at me in a while, like it did all weekend. :)
It's been a long week.  Yes, I know it's only Wednesday.  Sue me.
I hate the internet.  Or, at least, I hate the internet connections.  And the people who spend so much effort creating viruses to wreck other people's lives when they could be out getting real jobs instead of being parasites.
Trust me, that wasn't as random as it seemed.
I'm going now.

I wondered how many I really knew by heart (meant to be posted on April 8)

"For I know the plans I have for you," said the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future." –Jeremiah 29:11

"Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint; they will soar on wings like eagles." –Isaiah 40:31

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son; that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." –John 3:16

"In the beginning, there was the Word.  And the Word was with God and the Word was God." –John 1:1

"I have hidden your word away in my heart, so I might not sin against you." –Psalm 119:11

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." –Genesis 1:1

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not upon your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." –Proverbs 3:5-6

"If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you too may fall into the same sin." -1 Corinthians 10:12

"These three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love." -1 Corinthians 13:13

"Ask and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find.  Knock, and the door will be opened to you.  For all who ask, receive, all who seek, find, and all who knock are welcomed in." –Matthew 7:7

"Take heart, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." -1 John 4:4

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." –John 14:6

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." –Philippians 4:13

Off the top of a really tired brain, those are the ones I remember word for word, along with their associations.  I'm sure there are more; I remember most of 1 Corinthians 13, and Psalm 23.  I remember verses without being sure of their references, like "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" which I think is Romans 8: 23 or Romans 3:23.

What's sad?  I used to remember more than this.  It just shows how far I have fallen.  How long it's been since I actively practiced a living, growing faith.  But you know what?  I can change it.  And I think this time I shall change it.  Starting with my memory of verses.  I want to accept Rick Warren's challenge to memorize a Bible verse every week for the rest of my life.  If nothing else, it will "stock" my spiritual "arsenal."  I believe it was Pastor Warren himself who equated memorizing Scripture with buying bullets for my spiritual "gun."

Personally, I prefer swords and arrows to bullets.  Call me a traditionalist. J

Torn...

I can't really make up my mind.

Here's the question of the day:
Which is my favorite Frozen song: "Do you wanna build a snowman?" or "Fixer Upper"?

Yes, I love "Let It Go", but it was never my favorite (despite the fact that Idina is the QUEEN!).  I liked the hope of "Do you wanna build a snowman" from the get-go.  And let's face it, "Fixer Upper" is just plain fun.  It's definitely a Disney movie that's right up there with quality music.

Oh well.
Looks like she doesn't want to go for a walk today.  But at least the sun is shining, so staying in the "media room" will give us plenty of natural light.  It's even warm enough to crack the windows a bit for some fresh air.  We're listening to the Frozen soundtrack; she likes the instrumentals, but I think she also likes the ensemble cast songs, like the vocalizations of "Vuelie" (the very beginning and end) and "Heimr Amandair" (the choral selection at Elsa's coronation).

I get to go to church tomorrow!  For the first time in a month!  Not that I'm not thrilled for Soan and this new chapter of her life, but I miss church ever since I took her Saturdays.  It's a complicated system; don't question me. :P

Bored Swedish Marines Greased lightnin' in Afghanistan [sorry about the ...

I couldn't help it; this was so much fun to watch!  And I'm not even overly fond of Grease as a musical!

Productivity is the word of the day.

I feel all accomplished today.  I wrote a long letter to Tiff, I did some character sketches for my new book (yes, I'm working on it; NO, don't ask me when it will be finished!), did some reading for class (as fascinating as the American government is, reading about it from a liberal bias, however slight, raises my blood pressure, so I can't do much reading at one time), and some work chores.  And it's only five!  Not even dinnertime.

It's interesting how, in the process of writing a letter or a journal entry, you can reach a decision or a realization that remained out of reach while you were furiously thinking it through from every angle.  Somehow, the act of writing it out makes the decision come out from behind whatever mental "shelf" it was hiding behind.  I like that.

I've also come to another realization (for which, Jennifer Theisen, I love you), and that is that I need more girlfriends.  I mean, seriously!  I have two girlfriends who live in Wisconsin.  One of whom I see maybe every two or three months, schedules permitting.  The other is not only my brother's girlfriend, but also has a schedule almost as psychotic as mine.  Of the other girlfriends I have (there are five, counting my mother), one lives in California, one lives in Minnesota or Kansas City, depending on when you ask, one lives in Illinois, and one lives in South Carolina.  The fifth is my mother.  I mean, I'm glad I have close relationships with my friends, even those in other states, but that doesn't make having girls' days an easy thing to achieve.

So, I'm going to do more thinking, a little free writing, and a drabble that was inspired by this YouTube video of the cast of Australia's The Lion King breaking out into "Circle of Life" aboard a plane.
Hopefully, that will help my current feeling of mental overload.  It's a sad state of affairs when happiness and contentment are foreign feelings that must be "rested from."  :)

Watch the video.  You'll like it.

Learning what makes 'happy'

"Go enjoy the sun and open up the gates!"

I really enjoy the music of Frozen.  The soundtrack makes an awesome writing backdrop.  It keeps me from taking myself too seriously. :)  How could anyone take themselves too seriously while listening to a bunch of rock trolls singing about the shape of Kristoff's feet?

So...I was doing quite a bit of thinking.  I know, right, so what else is new?  I always seem to be thinking about something.  I have to admit, reading The Purpose-Driven Life is helping me make a perspective shift- a necessary one.  The thing that I'm struggling with the most is that it's bringing some things about my life to my attention that, if I change the way I think God wants me to, will make at least one person in my life upset.  No names.
I mean, I know that unbelievers will always be perturbed by the choices believers make, especially when it actually impacts them.  But that doesn't make the choices any easier to make.  You'd think it would, though, right?

*sigh*
I'm looking forward to this weekend.  This is the first Sunday I've had off in months, and I'm psyched to be going to church again.  Like, you have no idea.  I've been craving fellowship for weeks, which for introverted me is a very big deal.
I'm also going to the Wisconsin Singers concert at GHS on Sunday evening.  I'm kind of looking forward to that.  I haven't been able to do anything except movies with Justin in forever.  It's going to be lovely.

Tell me something nice.

Today, the storm came.
Rather, today the storm broke.
It was a seemingly small thing, not really that big of a deal in the long or the short run.  I misremembered a movie time and by the time I got there, Justin and Jenn had left.  And I went off the deep end.  Even I'll admit that my emotional state was completely out of proportion to the problem.  It wasn't even a problem, really!

First I got angry- how dare they not wait until I showed up?!  Never mind that Justin had called me twice and texted me, and only after waiting at least 15 minutes did they (logically, since I worked last night) assume I had fallen asleep.
Then I got morose- don't they love me?  Don't they want to hang out with me?  There were tears, there was sobbing, there was a general feeling of pervasive loneliness and depression (the weather is not helping today, God!).  I think I called Justin like four or five times.
Then there was self-deprecating sarcasm- of course I'm being irrational and unreasonable!  Do you know how stressed and exhausted I am (which I then proceeded to detail for Justin).
Then there was deep breaths and a little retail therapy (which I excused by deciding I was buying myself an early birthday present), followed by music.  Lots of music.

"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small."

I still need a nap, though.  I need more time, time to sleep.

One more thing.
Please stop asking me when my next book is going to be done.  You're stressing me out.