Ah, the smell of eBay in the morning!

During some online exploring I discovered that one of my 12 feedbacks (I'm such a NEWB as my brother would say) is neutral. Neutral? Whoa, what did I do? I wasn't that bothered because apparently said neutral was not enough to affect my rating of 100%. This is why I never noticed it.

So anywho, I curiously went to check out this feedback and see what a bad girl I'd been. :) It read:
"Right back at ya! I ship as quick as I can, sure didn't deserve a neutral!"

Ah, so this is from someone I left a neutral for. I am quite stingy with my neutrals, by the way. Especially now since any negative feedback could utterly ruin my eBay career, no? This is what my feedback said:
"Took over a week to ship, but item is just as described."

Oh yes. This is the item that took almost two weeks to reach me. I noticed other feedback on this woman's page mentioned slow shipping, but these users were content enough to at least leave a positive. So then I got to thinking about whether my patience was really the issue, or if her neutral was merited. What do you guys think?

I, for one, am not sorry I left her a neutral. Her eye-for-an-eye attitude certainly didn't change mine. (Ah, I get a neutral because I left you one. How very mature, madam.) Is it just me, or does the eBay population include quite a few high-school-level drama lovers?

Rejoice, Rejoice

Woohoo!! Today was the glorious last day of the semester; a day of such significance, I felt that the consumption of many cookies was only appropriate. I even managed to scrounge up enough determination to do a lesson of algebra - my new Christmas break hobby. The cookies will help me make it through.

Dreadfully So

Yes, folks, I have totally lost the will to study. Thankfully, only one of my finals really matters. But this final is tomorrow, so mayhaps I should practice some self-dictatorship? Time to awaken my inner Castro.

A few shout-outs:
Happy 17th Birthday to my li'l sissa, Siara!
Congratulations to Bethany on her new job (bring in the mooooolah).
And many thanks to Liz Jordan, who played a huge role in making last night special.

(Last night was the Point of Grace Winter Wonderland concert. I thought last year was amazing, but somehow they made it even better.)

I'm job-hunting this week, so prayers are appreciated. Our God is faithful. :) Canna gettuh amen?

You can neeever escaaape

Spanish Version
Hace una semana que tengo agujeros en mis oídos, y nada mal todavía. Me duele un poquito uno de mis oídos cuándo muevo el pendiente. Probablemente va a caerse o algo.

Ayer, di una presentación oral en Español (completo con PowerPoint). Pasé todo el día antes memorizando el discurso de 6 minutos, porque no podemos leer de nuestras notas. Bueno, pienso que el discurso fue bien, pero hablaba muy rápida... así la clase probablemente no entendió mucho.

English Version
I've made it through a week of having holes in my ears - so far so good. One of my ears hurts a little when I move the earring. It's probably about to fall off or something.

Yesterday I gave an oral presentation in Spanish (complete with PowerPoint). I spent the previous day, in its entirety, memorizing the 6-minute speech because we weren't supposed to read from our notes. So I think I did well, I just talked really fast... so the class probably didn't catch half of it.

Stuff I'm Not Going to Translate into Spanish
Somehow I came across these articles today and found them fascinating. (Yes, now I want to be an astronaut.)

NASA telescope sees black hole gulping remote star
Space cuisine: beyond freeze-dried ice cream
24 Hours of Chaos: The Day the Moon Was Made

The little bit of His creation that God allows us to see (and possibly understand) is incredible. What I find sad is that these articles so readily deny His existence. Notice how in that last one, the latest developments which finally seem to show "that the Moon could have formed when a Mars-sized object hit a fully formed Earth" are "comforting." Comforting? They make you comfortable, because now there's not that possibility of a God who formed everything, right? Because now your science explains everything, and you don't have to worry about some Higher Being watching you?

I admire Jenn (and this Jen too) a lot for the Spiritual analogies she comes up with. But now I feel one coming on. ;) Let's be stars that dare to travel too close to the black hole of God's overwhelming love. Often we give Him just pieces of our lives, but with each piece that is no longer ours but becomes part of Him, we get closer to perfection. He consumes us, and He is irresistible. And one day He will have our whole lives - but in the meantime, we'll keep drawing others to Christ through His overwhelming love.

Ok, I totally want to know what it's like to get eaten by a black hole now.

Blech.

Yesterday we had adventures in weather! Yes yes. I left the house at 7:15am, in flip flops 'cause it was warm and muggy... 70-something degrees. The sky turns cloudy and a yucko color while I'm on the road. I'm almost at school when my windows start fogging up. By the time I park and get out of my car (7:45am), it's wet, very windy, and the temperature has dropped 30 degrees! The temperature was 37 for the rest of the day. Good gravy, it was nasty. And I knew it was coming, mom. I just like flip-flops.

Also, I had the pleasure of seeing Aaron Shust in concert a year ago, and he did a great job leading worship. Wonderful guy. But am I the only one who thinks the placement on this shirt is horrible?

Don't forget the Spazz.

What was I thinking??? I just got my ears pierced. I've got holes in my ears! Straight through em! And something stuck inside them! Aaaaah!!!

Yeah, I'm a little freaked out. No wonder I let my holes close up before. Rebecca was a little worried beforehand, and I was not. But Becca went first, nice and brave because I had conveniently forgotten that getting your ears pierced really does hurt at first. But she was nice and didn't mention my absentmindedness until after I got mine done. And after it was over and we left the store, I freaked out.

But it was a good experience aaaaand ohmygoodness I have to fiddle with these brand new holes three times a day!! What have I done to myself?

PS: Aunt Wendy - hurry up and post something on your blog so we can leave you comments. :D

Snazz, Jazz & Razzamatazz

Tomorrow I'm doing something. Something I haven't done since I was like, 9. *ahem* Rebecca and I are going to the mall, and walking to Claires, and getting our ears pierced. *.* I'm not scared, per se, but I'm a little nervous because I can't be so carefree with my ears once they've got holes in 'em. I mean, I sleep best when I've got my pillow all squashed up under my ear. I let my holes close up before 'cause they got infected (some 9-year-olds just aren't the best at cleaning their ears). So we'll see if I can be a big girl and make it all the way to wearing cute earrings this time.

Good Gravy (and Lists)

So what have y'all been stressing about lately? If you're like me, sometimes you'll be in bed trying to go to sleep when you remember something you have to do. There's that inward groan and the mental zap that jump-starts your heart and won't let you get to sleep just yet.

I mention this because our message in church yesterday was entitled "...So Don't be Anxious." And... wow. God really spoke to me. Especially with the holidays here, and finals around the corner, and everything else we go through every day, I know we worry. And this message was such an encouragement, I'd encourage you to listen to it next time you've got an extra 40 minutes or so. They haven't posted it online yet but I'll post a link here when they do. :) 40 minutes can seem like a lot, especially around this time of year, but come on: could you stand to miss one tv show?

Here are a few of my notes, which I'm going to need to keep nearby over the next couple of weeks:

• When faith is dying out, anxious greed comes to life
• Worriers act as if they had the ability to control the uncontrollable (worrying won't prevent cancer, or produce perfect kids)
• A worrier stores treasure in the wrong place. If your treasure is something that can be taken away, you're setting yourself up for worry.
• The best thing you can ever want, you can never lose, and you can always give it away.

Seven Reasons Not to Worry (Luke 12:13-34)

1. Your life is so much more than what you do/don't have.
2. (v24) "Consider the ravens..." God provides for the birds. And we are more valuable than them.
3. Worrying does No GOOD and accomplishes nothing.
4. (v27-28) He clothes the lilies - how much more will we outshine the lilies? He will clothe us in His glory.
5. (v29-30) Anxiety makes you like the world, those who do not know God. God knows what you need. He will give you what you need to live if you need Him.
6. (v32) It is His pleasure to give us His kingdom. Our Father is God! He chooses gladly to love us.
7. We become anxious because we want to get, not lose what we've got. So give.

Thanksgiving break to-do list:
Register for spring semester
Reply to all blog comments (er, some?)
Catch up on all blogs
Complete media scrapbook
Get halfway caught up on e-mails
Find time for a few episodes of Gilmore Girls
Survive the mall on Saturday
Catch up on reading from Govt, Hist and Soci.
Finish online QUIA homework and chapter of Puntos
Begin work on oral presentation in Spanish

Eh, not too bad I guess. We'll see if I can get the rest done this week. :)

Lovers of the Strange

I concocted a rather scrumptious new dinner. Or breakfast or whatever. But it's my dinner. Ready? Kay, make oatmeal. Add dried cranberries. Add cinnamon. Add whipped cream. Mix and eat. Not too fast.

Well, I survived the mall today! Mrs. G (lady from my church) and I went to practice speaking Spanish, and I was really surprised because we didn't get trampled. Very pleasant mall experience. ¡Me divertí mucho!

More interesting stuff:

• Monday I was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the honors society of two year colleges (not for free - haha).
• November 18th was the two-year mark of my first day of work at the bagel shop. So I remembered getting up at 4am and getting stuck in front of the register at 5 with pretty much no idea what to do, only one manager, and impending doom as the breakfast crowd arrived. Aaaah! (I learned a lot that day.)
• Does it get any better than being able to browse YouTube for school? I found a couple of movies that are great for my media scrapbook, and a bunch of other stuff that's just great. Lazy bums unite.
• Yesterday I ran to Sonic to get a drink (apple limeade - coupon!) and turned on the radio to hear Bing Crosby going on about chestnuts and snow. No matter that it felt like 80 degrees outside. Meh.

A Guest and a Dance

Another daily entry! Aren't you special?

Speaking of special, we have a very special guest with us for Thanksgiving: Señor Pancho Don Quixote Hidalgo. (We call him Pancho.) I've never had a bulldog before... but I'm beginning to think they might be related to pigs. Dear Aunt W comes to pick him up again tomorrow and I think I shall miss his oinking. I was going to post some pictures and stuff but I needta get my hands on a USB cable first. In the meantime, you can enjoy the following video. Answer me this: is it more disturbing that this was a children's show? Or that I still remember this song?

The Defiance of a Stricken Mirror

Guess what? I finally got one of those little antenna balls for my car. :D My mommy brought me one from her trip last weekend. It's a little reindeer head from Jack in the Box and it looks so cute on my car antenna. And I'm scared someone's going to steal it. :(

Thanksgiving break to-do list:
Register for spring semester (halfway done picking classes... mind boggling process)
Reply to all blog comments
Catch up on all blogs
Complete media scrapbook
Get halfway caught up on e-mails (my poor, bloated inbox)
Find time for a few episodes of Gilmore Girls
Survive the mall on Saturday (Spanish-speaking practice with una señora from my church)
Catch up on reading from Govt, Hist and Soci.
Finish online QUIA homework and chapter of Puntos
Begin work on oral presentation in Spanish

I pray your Thanksgiving is blessed and that your heart finds great reason to rejoice in the grace of our Lord. -J

They've obviously never played one.

My spanish class meets in a compter lab, which can be kind of annoying but hey, at least we don't have to meet out in the marsh, right? Anyway, today somebody left a document minimized on the taskbar of "my" computer. So I opened and read a one-paragraph report on violence in video games. Hm. And then I left a message about how video games should be appreciated because they pretty much were my source of mad driving skills. MarioKart, people! I didn't get to mention how much fun it is to beat up Pikachu in Super Smash Bros because class started (and we were not talking about video games).

For Country and (the) King

Yesterday, I voted for the very first time! Woohoo! It was whoppin' easier than I thought it was gonna be. But they didn't give me an "I Voted" sticker, which put a damper on things. Oh well. And as I stood in line behind my mom, one of the ladies helping out cynically reminds me that I don't look old enough to vote. So I just waved my voter registration card at her. Take that.

And just as exciting: Leslie graduated today and is officially a Marine!! We've been able to keep in touch over the past few months via letters, and I'm sure she's über-relieved that boot camp is over. She should be coming home tomorrow, and she promised we'd go to Jason's Deli sometime so I can get a panini. Yessss. Oh, and we might talk in-between bites. If you think of it, keep praying for her: I was able to share the gospel with her before she left, and I think she understands most of it, but I'm still hoping to see her commit her life to the Lord. :)

Yes, Even in Texas

I went ice-skating!! Rebecca has gotten me interested with all her skating talk. So we finally made it out to a rink last night and I set foot on the ice for the first time since I was 5. I had a blast. It's a good thing Becca's so patient 'cause it took me a while to get the feel of it. But I think I'm addicted and it's too bad the rink is so expensive. Oh, and Becca saved some guy's ankles from certain destruction by telling him his skates were too loose. This earned her "Angel" status.

We stayed till free skate ended at 11 but I would have loved to stay all night. Tonight will be another late night, though (uncommon for me) - Girls Party with some of Rebecca's friends, which unfortunately means that I should stop telling y'all how excited I am and get started on "that stuff". Bleh.

All Things Wise and Wonderful

Tonight is a good night for putting off homework in favor of blogging! Woot.

Several weeks ago Rebecca posted some memories associated with specific songs. That got me thinking about some of my own music-related memories, so I thought I'd share a few.

Dive by Steven Curtis Chapman - body-slamming into the seat of the van with Samantha and Emily on the way to Rand, West Virginia for a missions trip. I guess it became the unofficial theme song of the trip - that poor seat!

The "Shut Up" song by Grits - pretending to be ghetto while Beth, Em, Sam and I watched the music video. I honestly don't remember what the real title of the song is, but I guess "shut up" was the catchiest part for us. Wouldn't our parents be proud?

The crazy "are ya achin' (yup yup) for some bacon (yup yup)" song - I was probably 7 or 8 when I spent the night at my cousin's house here in Texas for the first time. We sat down to watch The Lion King (while we colored in The Lion King coloring books - beat that). And my cousin reeeeeally loved this song. I finally had to tackle her to keep her from rewinding the video again.

I think I actually have more memories associated with whole albums...
Superchic[k]'s "Beauty from Pain" - Emily and I checked Wal-Mart for this at least every other day when she visited in 2005. I finally got it - on the way home from taking Emily to the airport. :P At least I had some new music to be all gloomy too while I cleaned up my room.

Another Superchic[k] one: Bethany and Emily bought me "Karaoke Superstars" as a moving away present in 2003. I listened to it the whoooooole drive down here (5 days). Thank God for headphones!

Rachael Lampa's "Live for You" - I think I was getting a ride home from ballet with some friends and I got to hear most of this album. For someone who had previously heard mostly stuff like Carmen, the Beatles, and classic Newsboys, some female power pop went over quite well! And I think this was the first CD I purchased with my own money.

And speaking of songs... last week, my government book prompted me to check out Al-jazeera's website and compare its news coverage to that of western news networks. I finally found the "English" option and began exploring, and came across some animated cartoons. They were pretty 2-dimensional and stilted, with midi-music in the background. And as I'm watching the last one, I notice that the song playing is "All Things Bright and Beautiful" (??). I'm guessing the Arabs don't sing Christian hymns that often.

Short and Sweet, like Grass under Feet

I shall do my best to post something of more substance next time.
But for now: tidbits!
I got my yellow star on ebay. :D I'm so easily amused, sorry.
An obvious thought came to me: I'll start calling my ring a purity ring again, for this is what it is. Ta da! Less confusion.
Um... I don't remember whose blog I was reading, but I came across this song, which may be quite useful to any of you who are potty training. Beware: it's very catchy, in a scary way.
Also: if I had money, I'd be inclined to buy this.

Are you bilingual yet?

Spanish Version (los que habla español: correcciones son bienvenidos)

"Debo blog sobre eso" va por mi cabeza por lo menos una vez por día.
Pero Uds. pueden culpar el hecho que mi pobre blog NO está actualizado por lo menos un vez por día en esa cosa maravillosa que llamamos cariñosamente tarea.

Bueno, tenía que escribir muy rapidia para decir Uds. que ¡estoy contenta! ¡Compré una nueva grapadora! ¡Es una poquita y linda! Y cuándo estaba buscando grapadoras, vi grapas coloridas. Y ahora, no puedo esperar a empezar sujetando con grapas así puedo usar todos mis grapas platas y aburridas, y comprar unas de las grapas teales o verdes o rosadas.

Estoy contenta.


English Version (those who speak English: you should have no reason to make corrections)

"I should blog about that" runs through my head at least once a day.
But you can blame the fact that my poor blog is NOT updated at least once a day on that wonderful stuff we affectionately call homework.

Anyway, I just had to write reeeal quick and tell you that I'm excited! I bought a stapler! It's a little mini cute one! And while I was looking at staplers, I noticed these colored staples. And now I can't wait to start stapling stuff so I can use up all my boring silver staples and buy some of the snazzy teal or lime green or hot pink ones.

I'm excited.
And this wasn't so quick because I wrote it in Spanish. But it was fun.
'Kay I'ma find something to staple.

As Fruitless as Incredulous Water

D'oh! Mariah tagged me. She gave me four words and I'm to write what pops into my head. :)

1. friend: sleepovers. phone. sister. concerts. crazy. troubles.
2. mountain: snow. awe. rock. climbing. cloud-tipped.
3. freckles: cute. sunkisses. smiles. noses.
4. movie: popcorn. dark. laughter. couches. sticky floors. surround-sound.

I'm tagging Christy*, Lauren*, and Hannah (twitter_bug), but participation is optional.
Your words are: headphones, outlet, bulletin board, and corduroy.

*Because you guys have entirely too much time on your hands.

A Few Numbers

Saying that I'm glad it's the weekend would be a gross understatement.

The 5th week of school just ended and as of today I have:

• read approximately 599 pages
• taken approximately 97 pages of notes (155 if you include the Government notes I would have taken if my neighbor hadn't given me hers)
• survived 4 rounds of Survivor in Government class
• stayed awake through approx. 27 PowerPoint presentations
• taken 5 quizzes
• taken 2 exams
• been forced to neglect the 53 e-mails in my inbox
• and wished they would turn the AC down 1,367,938 times.

Only 11 more weeks to go!

I'm sure these numbers aren't impressive (especially to crazy Jennifer who is taking what, 21 hours this semester???), but I wanted to have them logged somewhere.

I also had two people ask about my promise ring yesterday. Actually, they asked if I was engaged. I should probably think of something to tell them besides "Oh, no, it's a promise ring" because they probably don't understand what kind of promise ring it is. I guess I just feel a little awkward blurting out, "Actually, it's a promise ring symbolizing my commitment to abstinence until marriage!"

Next week: 3 exams and lots more sitting on my butt.

Something Different

Two rules:
1: You can only use two words
2: No explanations!

And "Uhhhh" or "Ummm" or "Yummm" don’t count.

1. Yourself:
meh bleh

2. Your room:
bitty bad

3. Your hair?
major help

4. Your mother?
sleeping early

5. Your Father:
not sleeping

6. Your Favorite Item:
can’t pick

7. Your dream last night:
incredibly bizarre

8.Your Favorite drink
strawberry limeade

9. Your Dream Car:
orange malibu

10. The Room You Are In:
disaster area

11. Your nose:
say what?

12. Your fear?
spiders (ew)

13. Where you want to be in 10 years?
not here

4. Who you hung out with last night?
my grandparents

15. What You're Not:
that stupid

16. Your Best Friend(s):
rock hard

17. One of Your Wish List Items:
new heart

19. The Last Thing You Did:
homework, e-mails

20. What You Are Wearing:
jeans, tee

21. Your Favorite Weather:
breezy & warm

22. Your Favorite Book:
long list

23. The Last Thing You ate (drank):
cookie, water

24. Your Life:
is changing

25. Your Mood:
la la

26. Your body:
is mine

27. What are you thinking about right now?
something yummy

28. What are you doing tomorrow?
homework yay!

29. What are you doing at the moment:
rockin out ;)

30. Your summer schedule:
lazy bum

Yup yup yup.

Today I've been doing some reflecting on my old job. And food. Ohhhh food.
A year ago today is when the bagel shop closed. I do miss their food a lot, but that's not the food I've been reflecting on. I have been praising God, who has provided for my needs over the past year even without a "real" job. (League of Extraordinary Babysitters, unite!!) Jehovah Jireh indeed.

The food comes into play because of some mystery virus I contracted who-knows-where. Yesterday must have been one of the most miserable days of my life as far as illness goes. By the time I got home from school, I was praising God for keeping my insides intact through that last class. And we'll skip the TMI, but after several hours in the bathroom with no relief I was begging God to just let me throw up. (And normally, I would rather eat Brussels Sprouts wrapped in American Cheese. Though they might have that effect anyway.)

What made yesterday so miserable was that I didn't get that relief for several more hours. Oh my goodness, a normal tummy has never felt so good in my life! (I'm really thankful I still live with my mommy.) And today I stuck with the liquids diet, so of course I'm craving everything. I didn't want to take the chance of having a relapse in school tomorrow, so I'm saving my munch-fest till after then. Tomorrow afternoon has never felt so far away.

Anyone wanna go out for a late lunch? And dinner? And maybe something like dessert too? Just follow the rumbles of my tummy.

I'm sure you've found this immensely interesting. ;) To reward those of you who read all the way through... here's a *pickle*. You don't know how special you are.

Pages: A Falling-Out on Facebook

Yes, I just can't seem to let go of Pluto.

In other interesting news, Facebook has recently, like, exploded! First there was the Newsfeed/Mini-Feed controversy. But after the creation of who-knows-how-many variations of the "Students Against This Creepy New Feature" groups and some petitions, Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook) seemed to get the point and enabled more privacy options. But now comes the open door policy. Facebook has been restricted to college and high school students with school e-mail addresses, as well as employees of select companies. But now users will able to invite their previously-ineligible friends (read: anybody) to join the site.

At first I was quite opposed to this idea but that last article makes it clear that Facebook's trademark privacy options will still be intact and users will have total control of who sees their profile. So I'm happy, but not everyone is.

One article from Forbes quotes a Fred Stutzman: "The Facebook users feel like they have ownership in the company . . . When they realize that they're not the ones in control, it's a real slap in the face."

While it may be true that the Facebook users are really not the ones in control (Facebook is free, after all), Zuckerberg just may find out how much power Facebookers wield. If Zuckerberg's goal is to compete with MySpace, garnering more users and increasing the company's worth, many users may make good on their threats to delete their accounts. Enough upset users could counteract the anticipated growth once Facebook's "doors" open. And how will that benefit Zuckerberg?

I'm starting to think that a 6-month hiatus from all spheres of internet community isn't such a bad idea. Mayhaps I'd be compelled to go do random things with friends again, instead of just randomly writing on their "wall."

I'd like to spend my summers there!

Today the news reached me that Pluto is being stripped of its status as a planet. Poor wittle pwanet!

"The IAU determined last week that a planet must orbit the sun and be large enough to assume a nearly round shape, as well as 'clear the neighborhood around its orbit.' Pluto's oblong orbit overlaps Neptune's, which led the IAU to downsize the solar system to eight planets from the traditional nine.

McNamara argued that only about 400 of the union's thousands of members were present when the Aug. 24 vote was taken.

'This was not a statement by the astronomical community at large,' he said, adding that a petition opposing the IAU definition of a planet is circulating among the world's planetary scientists and astronomers." (From here.)

It'll always be a part of that planet song from elementary school that dances around in my head, even if some picky astronomers decide it's too bitty and too far away.

Tea... and Other Cool Things

This is probably a new record for me: hot tea on the 3rd of September. Well, maybe I used to drink it around now back in Maryland. But it's still in the 90's here - what gives? Ehh... the arctic temperatures in church today and my brand new cold. Ironically, last week I was talking with the mom I babysit for about how everybody starts getting sick around now. Remind me to keep my back-to-school observations to myself next year.

Earlier today I did something I need to do SO much more frequently. Daily, if not hourly. Minutely. I made the choice to forgive, which is very painful because I have a jumbo chunk of pride that I insist on dragging around with me. But taking the chisel of forgiveness to that pride, chipping away some small fragment, was incredible. Not 10 minutes later the devil was shoving lies into my head, reminding me how much "fun" it is to be bitter, daring me to disobey God and pick up that fragment. And it felt really good to laugh inside and say "Nothin' doin'. I HAVE CHOSEN TO FORGIVE."

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. -2 Cor 12:9

We Ogled at Boxes

Whew, it's hard to believe summer vacation is over. I spent the weekend sweaty, tired and sore... moving boxes and furniture, making several trips between houses, trying not to bite too many heads off. I've gotten asked quite a lot so I'll just answer here - no, I don't really like the new house but it's what God provided and I'm trying to be grateful. Maybe it's not so much that I don't like the house, maybe I just don't like that I have to live in it.

Anyway, school started today. Some teachers are better than others but I think I ended up pretty good this semester. All the classes seem enjoyable, actually. History not so much, because of the patronizing teacher, but without a lot of papers to write (no English class!) this semester shouldn't be too hard.

Oh guess what - I randomly decided to buy a new bed on Saturday. :D After taking apart my loft bed to move it, I decided I was really tired of that bed (as nifty and space-saving as it is). So after we had unloaded everything, I went to Target and bought a futon sofa. I have a big closet now so it's ok.

And now I'll stop boring you and get started on homework.

Ballad of the Trigger-Happy

Ho ho! I love deleting stuff.
Emptying my virtual wastebasket
Saying goodbye to 1,534,892 files
that I don't need or use.
What a thrill! To see them go
so unceremoniously, with the
click of a button.
No lasting enjoyment from this
act will come, but nothing else
gives such momentary pleasure as
deleting stuff. Ho!

Actually, this morning I deleted 27 buddies from AIM. Screen names people no longer use, people who haven't bothered to contact me in a year or more, or people I just don't talk to. Felt quite nice, what what, to declutter that small area of my life. If only cleaning my room were so easy.

We got word that we can move this weekend, praise God! And I will mention that this time around, I'm probably moving 2/3 the amount of stuff I moved three years ago. That in itself is a reason to praise God. Beware, Packrat-itis! Thou shalt not find me in thine clutches so easily as my father. Poor soul.

Shameless Media Plug!

So Megan has aptly named me. Yes, this is a plug, but this time it's for me. After my birthday a few months ago, one of the first things I did was sign up for Blingo. And let me tell you, it's the best thing that ever happened to me! Just kidding. If you haven't heard of Blingo, it's a search engine, like Google. Except they give out prizes at random times, so if you happen to search at just the right time, you could win an ipod or a movie ticket or an iTunes gift certificate or something nifty like that. My mom won something, and one of my friends has won twice. Now I haven't won yet, but that's just more reason for you to join because if you win something, as your referral I win the same prize. :D So you could be the lucky dog who makes us both wealthy beyond all imagining (or, you know, wins a movie ticket). It works the same way with friends you refer.

Now that this knowledge has been passed on to you, I beseech thee - journey yonder and check it out.

Shameless Media Plug out.
(Thanks to Rebecca for referring me.)

Of Merchandise and Money

This is a story about textbooks.

One day, on a day like yesterday, a student went to the campus bookstore to get her books for history class. She did not know what books were required. Otherwise she would have ordered them online from the comfort of her home.

A nice employee at the bookstore helped her find the books.

And she bought them for $75, carried them to her car, and gently drove them home.

The student, now in possession of helpful ISBN numbers, found these books online and started to laugh.
"Silly me!" she said. "I could have gotten those books for half the price."
The student smiled and shook her head sadly at the textbooks. "Nothing against you," she said.

The next day, the student returned to the bookstore with a crinkly bag of textbooks in hand.
"I'd like to return these," she said to another nice bookstore employee. "I found a better price."
"We can do price matching," said the employee.
The student smiled apologetically and explained that she had already ordered the textbooks.
Then the nice employee gave her $75 dollars.

The student left campus, went to the mall, and bought a $75 blender with the capability to liquefy orange peel.

It was a good day!

Heavens to Fauntleroy

For those who asked, we're moving again because the owner of the house we rent decided he wants to sell it. Since we don't want to buy it, we have until the end of the month to move out. So no major move this time, thank God! (Though this will be the third time I've moved in this city. Heh.)

My mother and I saw four houses today. A couple of them would work for us, but we haven't been able to find anything in this immediate area - we live pretty much right in-between church and where my dad works. One house was up closer to church (prolonging dad's commute), and the other was closer to dad's office (making it a longer drive to church [and college, for that matter]). Both houses had bugs on the floor. ;) It makes things interesting but gives us plenty of opportunity to trust God.

Wow - I was looking at my calendar and noticed that four years ago I was in Rand, West Virginia. Missions trip. I think my team ended up doing inventory on the 8th. Lots and lots of ladders and paint cans and brushes. Oh my.

Last Friday, Boo graciously invited me to her house for Spanishfest! We spent a few hours reviewing last semester's Spanish (so we only look like partial idiots when Spanish starts again) and then enjoyed Moulin Rouge, one of the more bizarre flicks I've seen. Quite good, though. She's recruited another fan. Later that evening, Rebecca chanced to call and suggested going out to a movie. However, since theaters on Friday nights are comparable to Brussels sprouts in hollandaise sauce, I countered with the "girl's night in" idea. So we rented Rent and went to her apartment. Unfortunately, we disliked the movie quite a bit. But it was fun to get together.

Now I'm off to do more fun things that involve boxes.

Preramble

We, the person, do ordain and establish this blogstitution in order to serve the public with unintelligible jargon as long as we both shall live. Those not in favor - - you don't get a say so you might as well siddown and enjoy the show.

It's better to let someone think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it.

Whoops. My bad.