Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Bible is Hilarious

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Seriously... every once in awhile, when I need a good laugh, I get it from the Word of God.

The masses have requested a new blog entry, so I decided to write. (And by the masses, I mean Kevin). Since I don't really have any news to report, I thought I'd share the verses that made me giggle today.

I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the phrase from the Bible that goes something like this: "You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness." It's even included in a worship song or two. What I bet you were not aware of is that those words were spoken in accusation. Jonah, who spoke them, was angry at God for being merciful to his enemies. Basically, in the same breath, Jonah tells God, (in my words) "this is why I disobeyed you in the first place, and I was right! You are loving and kind." (As in, kind of a pansy?) In the next breath he asks God to take his life. Clearly, life is not worth living, with a God who is loving and merciful. Ha! If you haven't read the book of Jonah, you should, it's very short. The end of the story is funny too. Jonah continues to be completely ridiculous, and God teaches him a lesson using a gourd. It's good stuff.

The picture is from Jaffa, a city in Israel that we visited. It's where Jonah fled when he was disobeying God, just before his adventure with the whale.

Funny stories of the week:

#1 features a 9 year old boy that I worked with.
Him: What kind of phone do you have?
Me: A Samsung.
Him: Oh. Do you have an ipod?
Me: I have a Shuffle.
Him: Oh. Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: No.
Later... after a discussion of my schooling and credentials.
Him: So you graduated college and you still don't have a boyfriend?

Kids. Gotta love 'em. And later that night....

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Him: An inventor.
Me: Neat! What will you invent?
Him: Weapons.
Pause.
Him: But for emergencies only. Not for the Iraq war. I'm tired of that war.

:)

Last story, involves my friend Ginger. (Who is 24).

Me: If you could be an animal, what would you be?
Her: An eagle. I mean definitely a big bird. Maybe even Big Bird!

Ha ha. (Also discussed: if Ginger were a crayon, she would be Cerulean and I would be Periwinkle. We were happy to realize that in a big box of crayons, we would be pretty close together).

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Me vs. The Dryer

So here's what happened... Sunday I purchased a washer and dryer on Craigslist. This was very exciting. I hate laundromats. I managed to find a pretty good deal, and a person who was willing to deliver the appliances to me. The man was very nice, and had his girlfriend with him, which made me feel more comfortable having a stranger come to my house. He installed the washer for me, but the plug for the dryer didn't fit in the outlet in my apartment. So the guy explained to me what kind of plug to get, and how to install it. When I returned from a successful trip to Home Depot, feeling accomplished and independent, I began the attempted install. After I plugged the dryer in, I saw a problem, so I climbed atop the washer and wedged myself between it, the dryer, and the wall. Moments later there was a pop, a spark, and boom... no power. In the entire apartment. So, I stood there, wedged in the crevasse, afraid to touch anything, and unable to see. I managed to climb out. It was like pulling yourself out of the deep end of the pool. In the pitch dark. I couldn't find the circuit board, and in the face of the following day, full of work and school, and a paper that needed to be turned in, I started to have a bit of a break down. I decided to go to bed, and deal with everything in the light of day. (It was late in the evening by this point). I dreamt of California. It looked more like Hawaii in my dream. I wondered why I ever left. When I woke up, I laughed at myself a bit, but was still fairly overwhelmed. I couldn't print my paper, couldn't use the internet to e-mail it to myself (because I don't have wireless) and I started stressing about the food going bad in my fridge... I tried everything I could think of with the switchboard to no avail. So I needed to make some phone calls... only to discover my phone was dying and I couldn't plug in the charger. (Are we a bit dependent upon technology? )

In the end, I managed to go to school, work, get my paper turned in (there's a corner of my apartment where I can borrow my neighbor's wireless internet, so I e-mailed it to myself) and at the end of the day, the electrician came. He got the power back on, and got the dryer hooked up (no more laundromats! Yay!) and fervently recommended that I not attempt any further installations of major appliances. He also mentioned that I was lucky not to have been seriously hurt. Did I mention that I already had a minor fear of being electrocuted, and that I literally say a prayer every time I plug something in? Oh yeah. So this helped a lot.

That's my story.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Call + Response

I had some crazy times this past weekend that are sure to make an entertaining blog, but I don't have the energy to write about them right now, so stay tuned.

I do want to make people aware of a movie that came out last weekend that everyone should see. It's called Call + Response. It's a documentary about an important issue that most people are unaware of. I definitely was. So spreading awareness is the first step toward making a change. I could tell you all about it, but instead you can just watch the trailer. (The beginning of the trailer is a little weird, but it makes a point.)



It's a very upsetting documentary, but it's tempered with musical performances and very interesting discussion. Also, every penny of the proceeds from the movie goes to charity. Go see it.

Friday, October 10, 2008

This Time Last Year...

October 2007 was busy and oh so fun. Currently, I am loving Portland, but I'm starting to miss everyone a little more distinctly. (Luckily I'll be seeing a lot of the peeps in a few weeks!) Today, I shall lovingly reminisce on this time last year.
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Corn maze with the girls at a pumpkin patch in Los Osos.
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Kayla was yelling? Or something? Krissy doesn't know!
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Camille and her pumpkin are ghetto.
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Rochelle was probably telling me something really interesting about pumpkins.
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Taking some home.
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Group photo op! Why I am I the witch?
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What to carve?
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Camille contemplates...
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Yummy pumpkin seeds!
And then Jenna and Phil's Wedding...
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And Halloween...
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Butterfly!
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Rochelle... aka preggo Nicole Richie... hilarious.
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The girls.
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The whole group!

Ok that's all... miss you guys! (And everyone else I love, who I did not have the pleasure of spending last October with).

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Rain... Day Six

I'm happy to report that we are still doing well! Accident free! I am now feeling free to love the rain without the anxiety. I love the way it sounds in the morning, I love the way it makes the trees smell, I love the feeling that fall is here... my favorite time of year!

The weekend was fun and relaxing. Friday night Ginger and I had lunch and walked around the mall. Saturday was the school retreat in Boring, Oregon, which turned out to be quite beautiful! There was worship, speakers, food, games, and general fun. I'm feeling more and more at home at Western. Most of the faces are familiar now, and everyone is quite friendly. I also got to chat with possible future husband, who sadly turned out to be not a likely candidate due to the fact that he and I have very little in common, but he's sure nice to look at! ;) After church on Sunday I went to the Greek Festival with Ginger and Stephen (her bf) which was a very fun cultural experience.
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It was at the beautiful Greek Orthodox Church in Northeast Portland. There were tents set up outside with Greek food, art, music and dancing. I had some delicious spanikopita, teropita, gyros, and of course... hummus! It was a good time.

I don't have any child stories today, but I'll leave you with this story about my funny little dog.

I was getting ready for school in the morning, and the dogs were wrestling and playing in my room. Abruptly, they ran into the hall where I could see them, and Rocky was... wait for it... wearing my shirt. Seriously. Head in the head hole, both front feet in one of the arm holes, and a goofy grin on his face. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on hand, and he climbed out of the shirt a minute later. It was good though.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Rain... Day One

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We have survived it. Penny, who is 2 and 1/2 and completely housebroken, has been known to have accidents on occasional rainy days because she's afraid to get her dainty paws muddy. Needless to say, this was a minor concern of mine when moving to Oregon, which is, as my psychopathology teacher put it, "the capital of sad" (seasonal affective disorder) due to the buckets of rain all year long. I think I may have actually been suffering from "rad" (rain anxiety disorder), but now that we made it through day one I'm feeling better. There were no accidents, and the dogs were still happy to go for a walk in the wet, muddy, outdoors. (It was not actually raining while we were on our walk so that will be a hurdle for another day.) I will keep you all updated on how my dogs and I are dealing with the remainder of the rainy season(s).

In other news... I did yard work! Yes, that's right folks, I raked leaves, picked weeds, and put sod in my little yard! This was all in preparation for the phenomenon described in the previous paragraph. I actually did all this on Sunday, but then I had some deep thoughts that took blogging precedence over my hard labor. The people who lived here previously clearly had no interest in having a remotely attractive or even functional outdoor space. So... the yard was fairly gross, and I would not have blamed my dogs if they did not want to go out there to relieve themselves. So I tried to make it a little nicer to motivate them to go out there despite the scary scary rain. I am very proud of this accomplishment. I was afraid that when I asked about the sod at Home Depot that they would look at me a little like they look at me at the mechanic when I try to describe to them what my car has been doing ("it's kind of like a growl, but not so loud, maybe like a purr? But in a bad way, you know, not like a kitten. Because kittens purring are really cute, this is more of a concern...") Sod, apparently, is not as complicated as my engine. The next day I was actually sore in muscles I didn't even know I had, but it was worth it. The yard is looking much better.

I will leave you with my recent favorite tidbit from my work life with the kiddos:

Me: How old are you, Mia? (Her height and vocabulary make her seem about 4, but she has only recently conquered toilet training)
Mia: Two. I'll be three in a few weeks. Ok?
Me: (Laughing) Ok.

Later in the evening...

Mia: Do you have children?
Me: No, I don't.
Mia: I could buy you some. I have some money.
Me: (Laughing) Thanks, Mia.

Also, to clarify: Seasonal Affective Disorder is an actual diagnosis. Rain Anxiety Disorder is not. But if you could choose a diagnosis to have, wouldn't you like to be RAD?