Thursday, June 30, 2005

It's So Good to Know

I've received some exciting information today- I know where I'll be living for the next year!

That's Siegburg, a city in North Rhine Westphalia. I'll actually be in Uckendorf (possibly the coolest name ever), a small town next to Siegburg. I'm living with the Schmitz family, who have 2 girls, ages 11 and 9. This means I have sisters, which is entirely new to me.
I'll be going to school at the Lessing Gynamsium.

Once again, if you want contact info for this new home, e-mail me (as always, it's oneseventy@gmail.com ).

Gender: 87% male

I think we can all agree

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This is the best pun ever. (In case you can't read through the blur, and are somehow unfamiliar with this sign, it says "You never sausage a place! You're always a wiener at Pedro's!")

Also, Little Brother wins an award for knowing how to work the internet, unlike me.

Gender: 100% male

Monday, June 27, 2005

I Drew Some Pictures, Maybe You Will Like Them?

You may look at them with your eyes. They are sort of based on last week's adventures, but only a little bit.
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I've decided that girls are kind of fun to draw. John Allison says this is because "a man is just a big old rectangular lozenge to draw." He's probably right.

Gender: 54% female

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Future Contact Info

Oh yeah- I have my Tübingen address. I'll be there from July 31 until August 10, so e-mail me (oneseventy@gmail.com) if you want it- people tell me it's a bad idea to simply post addresses on the internet for all to see.

For those of you with any idea of Central European geography: Tübingen's a little university town in D-Land (Germany).


And no, I haven't heard anything on host families. When I do, I promise you'll be the very first to know (well, after my mom).

Gender: 57% male

Wakkie Nu Nu!

The Official Diary From the Road (edited for normal syntax)
17 June 2005
North Carolina highlights:
-North Carolina is clearly irresponsible about fire- I saw 2 (sort of)! One was in the brush by an offramp, and then I saw a large column on smoke off beyond some farm field not 20 minutes later (and it was in a different direction, so it belonged to something else).
-There was some really awesome guy playing one-handed air piano out of the window of his car.
-North Carolina believes in roadside beauty- there were big yellow daffodils all along the highway throughout the state.
South Carolina:
-North Carolina makes South Carolina look bad. In an effort to keep up, the Southerners planted orange flowers by the road at first, but gave up after a few miles, hoping we'd forgotten how much prettier North Carolina is.
-I was trying to draw (I'll get those pictures colored and posted sometime soon), and was much annoyed by South Carolina's bumpy roads- another way they are worse than NC.
-I saw a guy riding his motorcycle with his feet hanging off- his legs were perfectly straight. He went very fast.
-I rocked out to the Ramones because South Carolina is boring.
Georgia
-There was a sticker on the door of the welcome center that said "Georgia Welcomes Its Canadian Neighbors," and had a Canadian flag. I thought that was rather nice of them, but then felt it was sort of rude to only welcome their English-speaking Canadian neighbors. If I knew French, I would have complained loudly, Quebec-style.
-It rained a little bit around Savannah, but then it just got kinda cloudy and I could see the rays of the sun through the clouds, and it was beautiful.
-Georgia is a really really pretty state- we drove all through these great wetlands, with green green grasses and really blue water that just shone in the sunlight.
-The hotel had a really hyperactive air conditioner, which I discovered on the way back is apparently normal for Best Western, and murder on my throat (why do I always get stuck sleeping next to the AC?)
Arrived in Florida June 18.
The house was really great- we'd stayed there once before, so I knew about the pool and the awesome view and all, but it's still nice to be reminded. I took pictures, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get my new camera (don't get me started on my new toy- I love it!) and my computer to play nice, so I'll post those when I work everything out.
I went to Dollar General on June 19, and was really scared when I saw books with titles like "Britney: Not So Innocent" and "Demi: The Naked Truth." There was also one that looked like it was about Tom Cruise and the end of time, but maybe I just interpreted it wrong.
Also on June 19, there was a big Father's Day party at my granddad's place, with every single one of my dad's siblings (there are 6 including him, and it's rare to get them all together) and some cousins I'd never met, and second cousins too, and a talkative bird, and a great time was had by all. I have tons and tonnes of pictures from this event, and my excuse for not posting them is above. When I post them, I'll remember the awesome stuff that happened and share.
On June 20, I encountered some people speaking German at a pizza place. I did not attempt to interact with them, because it seems rude to just go up to someone and say "Hey! I know the language you're speaking!" But I got all happy inside to hear German.
I spent the next few days swimming and lounging by the pool. It was wonderful. Also, it rained a bit, which is my dad's fault for washing the car. Also for trying to play golf, although he was ultimately successful. In spite of the clouds, I managed to get a pitiful pale-skin's attempt at a tan, but did not burn! This is the first time I've not burned in Florida, and I'm proud.
On June 24, we left Apollo Beach for Daytona, planning to spend the night there and catch one of my cousin Kevin's baseball games. On the way to Daytona, I saw a reststop with "no facilities." It was a parking lot and a bunch of trees. I worried a little, and was glad I didn't require it.
That night, I hung out in the hotel room because baseball is way too boring, and it's not like we were actually going to be able to talk to and/or hang out with Kevin. It stormed, and the game got called after 8.5 innings anyway. I didn't care, because I was hanging out in the hotel room watching VH1 (there were lots of power ballads, so I was very happy).
On the morning of June 25, Travis and I found the best. infomercial. ever. on tv. It was for Appliance Direct, and involved this apparently Hawaiian guy and his overly energetic female business partner discussing all the benefits of their direct-from-the-factory appliances, and the guy would yell "I Love Appliances!" all the time, and say things like "Wakkie Nu Nu!" Well, maybe you should just go to the site and watch the commercials- they are truly golden, each and every one of them.

As we were driving north, I watched Tom Tykwer's Heaven. That movie is absolutely amazing, and the commentary is more like Tykwer talking about his filmmaking philosophy than the movie itself- I plan on watching it again and taking notes because he said so many amazing things. I've now seen every Tykwer movie available on DVD (unfortunately only 4), and he's definitely my favorite director. He's apparently done a short with Natalie Portman (who I love), and I really hope I'll be able to find it somewhere (like Germany)- Tykwer makes me excited that I know things about movies and making them. I also took advantage of the hotel's free HBO and watched their new movie The Girl in the Cafe. If you get a chance to check that one out, it's pretty good, too- a little overly political at times, and it could have been more subtle, but it was really well-acted and when it's not trying to shove it's "Save Africa, G8!" message down out throats, it has some really brilliant moments. Also, saving dying children is pretty important.
Today, we drove through South Carolina and I read South of the Border billboards. These confused me:
-"Virgin Sturgeon! (also unused bagels)"
-"When the going gets Tuff- the Tuff go shopping!" (why the spelling change?)
-I though "Time for a Paws" with paw prints all over it was a cute pun.
-I belated tried to get some pictures, and was mildly successful. Unfortunately, I did not capture my favorite billboard, "You never sausage a place! You're always a wiener at Pedro's!" It is 2 miles from SotB on northbound 95, and anyone who manages to get a picture will be my personal hero.
Also in South Carolina, I saw a hotel billboard advertising "indoor plumbing." Heading south, I'd seen a sign offering "P-NUTS" at some store. I'm really worried for South Carolina.

That's pretty much all I recorded in my notebook. I also worked on my Norwegian, and scribbled some Iron and Wine related stuff- the new Woman King EP is so so so so amazing- it's better than Our Endless Numbered Days, which I had thought was about as perfect as music can get. Of course, with a title like Woman King, how could I not love it?

Gender: 50.4% female (just barely, and this is the first post to have enough words- hmmm).

Friday, June 17, 2005

Gone

Within the next hour, I'll be getting in a car for the impossibly long drive to Florida- I assure you that this is the last thing I want to do.
In any case, expect me back my June 27- until then I guarantee nothing internet-wise.

Gender: 100% male

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Messin' with the Template

If you look to your left (and down), you'll notice that I've added a (rather long) links section. It's mostly comics, with a few friends' blogs thrown in for good measure. Peruse and enjoy!

Gender: 100% male

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

More Pictures!

Back on May 22 (in addition to mumbling about communist Jesus and a certain Edwardian) I was in a production of Godspell, and it was a ton of fun. I mention this now because Bill sent me some pictures tonight- they're kind of pixle-y and the color's still a little off, but the lighting was much worse in the originals and I've done what I could.

First off, we have Megan and I strangling Mary- we were Weed Seeds choking the Good Seed in the parable of the sower (this is after we've frozen in position- there was much more emotion in the strangling process).
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Then we have two from my "solo-" I did signing on the song "Beautiful City," and apparently it was pretty decent. The first is me signing "see," as in "out of our night of struggle can we see a ray of hope."
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And this one is me signing "city" (as in "we can build a beautiful city") while Douglas sings the words.
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Also: Raise the Roof tonight was pretty sweet. I was in charge, and had us do just general discussions- first we talked about prayer, and the things that keep us from feeling like our prayers are answered. Then, because TJ and Stephen live for controversy, I had us talk about errors in the Bible. TJ is a staunch believer in the infallibility of the Bible, and I had fun pointing out all the thousands-year-old "typos" and trying to get him to explain them. Stephen, of course, agreed with me and disagreed with TJ. We couldn't get Ally and Travis to talk much. We also talked about what the main purpose of being a Christian is (and I got TJ to accept a belief not his own- he had absolutely no argument against it!) and then we talked about how music can affect our relationship with God, and, briefly, if the Bible should be taught in public school. All in all, it was a great discussion, and I love TJ for always being willing to debate things with me- we're going to tackle the great gay debate soon, and it'll be bloody and messy and so much fun.

Gender: 66% male

Monday, June 13, 2005

Wiener Cafe

July 10! Woooo!



Sorry everyone. But I'm excited.

Gender: 100% female

BEGIN LIFE PHASE RICHMOND-TÜBINGEN

Friday, June 10, 2005

Letters from the Past

Apparently, in eight-grade English class, we had to write letters to our high school selves. I got that letter in the mail today. I'd type it here, but it's really long and parts of it are mildly embarassing or just plain mean now. But I must say that it's pretty funny to read what 13-year-old me wrote! I'd forgotten how awesome my friends from back then were- seeing them recently didn't bring any of that back, although I can get it a little from my eighth-grade yearbook. There's also random relationship advice- that's pretty hilarious, actually. I'm glad to see that I haven't changed too much, just matured. I was sure of myself back then- no stress, no fears, looking boldly into a future full of choice and opportunity, and I couldn't wait to make those choices. There's also the normal middle school complaints about teachers and parents and projects, most of which are nothing compared to the junk I've had in high school.

Overall opinion: this is a pretty silly letter, and I sort of wish I'd taken it a bit more seriously. But what can one expect from a letter written in class by a 13-year-old?

Gender: 58% female

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Awesome Meta-Dream

Last night, I had a nice normal pre-change angst dream in which I showed up at the airport with only the clothes on my back, lacking even a passport. But then, as part of me is totally freaking out about the lack of the necessary stuff to leave the country as well as my total inability to get in touch with anyone to let them know what's going on, some other part of me pops up (yes, they're two people- it was a dream!) and tells me not to worry, because it's all a dream! Things got really golden when this part proceeded to break down and analyze the dream for the stressed-worried-etc me. I seem to remember rational me saying "This is the first of many such dreams you must have. They are necessary to help you anticipate potential problems in an entirely new part of your life, and help you work out ways to deal with and circumvent them."


I think my multiple personalities are going to save me a lot of money on therapy one of these days.

Gender: 73% male

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Changes

Scroll down to check out camping pics- you're the best, Jill!

Well, I've walked across the stage in an uncomfortable white outfit and now I have a piece of paper validating my life. I'm ambivalent- I know I'm closing a chapter in my life, and a significant one at that, but I don't feel that way. I'm more distraught that I won't see my church people for a year than that I might never see any of these school people again. It's like I'm ready for closure, even though I love all those friends dearly. It'll hit me in a few weeks, probably, but for now I'm glad to be done, and not just with homework and projects and stuff. I'm glad to be out of high school, even as I head off for one more year.
Graduation itself was less tedious than expected, but still oh-so-boring. Kacey's speech was great- she worked in Dailey's Ace Ventura walk!- but the rest was so cliched it hurt. I really wish there'd been a seperate mass comm thing, but I guess it doesn't matter. Who really remembers high school graduation, no matter what anyone says? It's not important to me. I guess it's for our parents or whatever- a nice ceremony for people who like ceremony (says the Methodist who can hardly do anything without ritual). It'll be nice to look back on, but I wouldn't wanna do it again.

Went to youth group tonight, too, 'cause I'd rather do that than anything else. We watched Bruce Almighty, which is a great movie. It was fun, and there were eclairs. Life is still pretty sweet.

Gender: 70% female

Sparrows

The Sparrows thing went pretty well last night- we did have some rough spots, but it was great compared to how much we floundered Sunday. Thanks everyone who came!

As I was heading into church to set up for it, Bill gave me a big hug and told me he had a premonition that he was going to break a string. So, of course, in classic style, midway through our first set Bill broke a string. Fortunately, he had extras and Brandon was able to take it backstage and fix it, but there was some odd reshuffling while Bill took Tim's guitar, and then more when the other guitar came back- all on a way too crowded stage. I kept bumping Cindy and Mary with my mando, but cozy can be nice. I still prefer space to move when I play, though.

Bill gave me some pics from camping, and I'll upload them soon- I've gotta get ready for graduation now, though. I can't believe it's here already!

Gender: 53% male

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Lots of Words (And Pictures!) Because Life is Awesome

I've simply had the most AMAZING weekend.
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It was Sr High's annual camping trip- we made it longer this year by starting on Friday afternoon. I showed up at the campsite (numbers 5 and 6 at Pocohantas) and settled into a game of ImagineIff- basically, you go around this board and read off cards that say "Imagine if (person you know) _________" and it gives some scenario- was on a space shuttle, was a type of fruit, made an unpleasant and antisocial noise at a dinner party, etc, and then it gives 6 choices. Everyone that's playing has to pick one of the choices, and the people in the majority get to go forward, whether the actual person would agree with them or not. Image hosted by Photobucket.com
We had hot dogs for dinner- cooked over a campfire, natürlich.
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And Bill made smoothies with his Magic Bullet- I seriously want one of those things, if only so I quit giving all my money to Tropical Smoothie (more on that later).
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We were throwing a Frisbee around and decided we wanted more space, so we went down by the water to the big field and Bill, Mary, Douglas and I ended up doing some sort of low ropes course-type thing on a beam by the parking lot instead of playing Frisbee. It was getting dark anyway, so the other boys started trying, too- we were balancing on this beam that was probably only 4 or 5 inches wide and trying to get 2 people to switch places without falling off- it was hard! Bill and Mary finally did it.
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I think TJ and Andy accomplished it, too, but Andy's so small that it doesn't count. Stephen and Andy discovered some treefrogs, and started picking them up- the best was when they put one on the side of Bill's face and it crawled up to the top of his head and then jumped off. Mary and I also skipped up a steep hill to the bathroom, and skipping uphill became an odd theme for us this weekend- a total in-joke that will likely be a central part of our future hill-related experiences. When it got too dark to see, we went back to the campsite and Stephen and TJ played with the fire (Stephen especially- he'd hold a stick in until it just caught on fire, then pull it out and play with it- he didn't stop even when sparks fell on his feet a few times, although he did scream like a little girl) and we roasted marshmallows and made S'mores and Bill played guitar and sang (he did Piano Man just for me, although we had no piano).
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I went to bed around 11- apparently Mary couldn't sleep and stayed up most of the night. Mickey (the Ruxton's dog) decided that she wanted to be my best friend and slept with me for a bit.
Saturday morning I awoke to Billy making bacon- you don't want to know how gross it was to watch the grease drip from the grill and coagulate on the ground. I can't believe I ate the stuff (although it tasted good!). Kathy made pancakes and Mary and I heated syrup in the microwave- it had this special thing on it that told you when it was hot! That made me really excited.
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After breakfast, Christen Miller came by with the albino snake- I got to hold it, but it liked Andy and Bill best- it was crawling all over them!
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I then suggested that we go for a walk, so we did. The hike was great- I was with Bill and Mary most of the time, and we even skipped uphill a little! Nick had his bike, and Mickey walked with almost everyone- she really likes to walk through puddles, I found out.
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When we got back, we decided we were all sweaty and hot, so we headed for the pool. The water was cold! After a trip down the slide to try to adjust, Mary and I ran laps (we got most everyone else to run with us at least once) around the pool (yes, in the water- my legs are a bit sore) to warm up. We convinced Tim and Stephen to jump in (they didn't know it was cold) and Stephen let out the funniest scream when he hit the water. We tried forever to get Bill to get in, and finally TJ, Travis and Stephen had to literally throw him in- he told us we were crazy and barely stayed in the water for a minute. We of course teased him about being a chicken for the rest of the day. But the water was cold, so we went over the kiddie part where we went down the slides and crawled through the tunnels and shot each other with the water guns and had lots of fun. We left at lunchtime, and made sammiches back at camp. Bill thought I was crazy for putting potato chips on mine, but everyone knows that it is simply delicious that way.
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We relaxed after lunch- reading the paper, talking, doing the crossword puzzle, putting Oreo cream on Stephen's nipples (Bill did it while Stevie was sleeping, and things got nearly X-rated when he woke up, but we won't go there).
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Then it was Arts and Crafts Time. This consisted of painting the toenails of every male who would sit still long enough- we started on Tim because he was asleep, but he woke up and only let us finish one foot in a gorgeous coral pink. I painted Bill's toes with pretty pastel polka dots. Andy got a great blue with a flower on one foot, and green and red stripes on the other. I painted Douglas a pastel rainbow with purple glitter, and Ally added a flower. Stephen took more convincing- he said he'd do it if Travis would, Travis said he would if TJ would, and TJ said he would if Stephen would. Finally, I promised to buy Stevie a Tropical Smoothie, so he let us paint his toes a metallic pink that looked so so pretty on him. Travis wanted a smoothie, too, and let us do one foot pink with a great flower by Ally (she's awesome at flowers- Kae's pretty skilled, too).
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All sorts of pretty toenails, left unidentified to protect the innocent (and to provide you with a fun guessing game!):
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TJ had to lifeguard that night and used it as an excuse to keep his feet undecorated because he is a wimp that is uncomfortable in his masculinity. I let Andy paint my toes- they're pink with a green stripe and green glitter over them- look pretty good for letting a 12-year-old boy do 'em.
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Then Stephen drove me to Tropical Smoothie (did I mention he just got his license? He's pretty excited) and we bought 6 smoothies- 3 on my dime (Stevie, Travis and me). When we got back, they'd set up the other tent because more people had come and they thought we'd need it- they were wrong, however, and went to all that work for nothing. We had some delicious pork roast for dinner and went canoeing. Tim had thought the canoe trip started at 6, but it was actually 7, so we spent a while in the water just playing around- Bill, Mary, and I were in a boat together, with Mary in the middle as our princess. Stephen (who was with Travis) decided that he wanted to capture our princess, and became a pirate that we had to repel. Good thing Bill's in the coast guard- if nothing else, we had official seaman's lingo to yell at them! We actually managed to keep the pirates away all night. The official trip was great, too- we saw so many herons and beavers, and there was this one lonely goose that I think fell in love with Bill when he tried to approximate its call. After canoeing, we played Ultimate Frisbee and practiced pancaking and marking and even a little laying out (mostly on Bill's part, as he is the experienced player). It was really sweet, even if my team lost 6-1. Stephen and Tim were really good at it, and everyone wants to start a church team. When it got too dark to see the Frisbee, we went back to the campsite, where Stephen cooked questionable hot dogs and poked the fire. The adults had everyone sign cards for the seniors, and then they gave us the cards and a devotion book for graduates. Bill led the absolute sweetest activity- he had each of the seniors sit in the middle of the circle, and we went around and said things to each. I was flattered that most of the younger kids told me they looked up to me for being my own person and not caring what other people think- they mentioned that they loved my style, which is simply that I wear things that I like, and loved that I'll do what I want, no matter what anyone else might say. It made me feel really good to know that I have become exactly the person I wanted to be, and that they look up to me the same way I looked up to the older kids when I was their age. We were all nearly in tears by the time we got to Mary (the last one)- it's finally sinking in that I'm going to be leaving these people, the people I absolutely love more than anyone else, and it makes me very sad. Maybe Stephen's idea of me living in das Festhaus at Busch Gardens isn't so bad after all. Eventually, people started to head to bed, until it was down to just me, Mary, and Bill. We huddled up by the fire with a blanket 'cause it was getting cold- it was after midnight- and talked and looked at the stars and just sat together. Bill has the coldest feet ever- Mary and I spent a lot of time trying to keep him warm. Finally Mary got a sleeping bag because we were too cold- that was probably around 2. We drifted in and out of sleep and weren't able to really string full sentences together- I related one of the half-dreams I had to Bill, and he was astounded that I'd just had it there in the chair (which wasn't very comfortable). Bill and I poked each other to try to stay awake- Mary apparently had no want to sleep, yet again. Around 3:15, I decided I simply couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and went to bed. Mary and Bill followed by 3:30. I slept very well after all the excersise and staying up so late, but had to get up at 7:30 to get ready for church. We had doughnuts with tons of glaze on them, and had trouble finding enough showers for everyone. After the shower, Douglas drove his truck down to the bathhouse to pick us all up, and some rude little boy was mean to Mary, so Andy told him off. Kathy drove Nick, Mary, Kae, Mandy, Andy and me to church at 9:15 'cause we had to play bells. Todd Miller talked about angels in Sunday School, but we didn't really focus. Megan had Relay for Life this weekend, so she missed out on camping, but we filled her in and she thought everyone's toes were beautiful. The children's choir did their play this morning- it was so cute! Elizabeth Cump is a very talented child- the girl can act and sing and is so funny! Her brother Joe was great, too, as was Abby Heird (she always is!) and all the other kids- Mary, Megan, Ally, Mandy, Andy and I sat on the floor in the front so we could see really well. I'm going to miss these cute plays. I had to run out of church to get ready for Baccalaureate- the speakers were pretty great (Kacey's invocation prayer, which is in her blog, was amazing), especially Mrs. Dailey (well, the preacher was mediocre, but what can one expect from a Baptist?). When she talked about how God shows in us in the ways we're different from everyone else, I thought about what Kae and Mandy and Andy told me last night about how they love how I do my own thing, and I felt really glad that I was showing God to others, even when I feel like my own faith's a little weak. After Bac, I went back to my own church for the graduation party. We had a ton of fun- I'm mad that Stephen took his toenail polish off, but he let us do his hair in pigtails and I took these adorable pictures:
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Pat Shrader made me the most beautiful basket- she made one for each of the seniors, and each is a little bit different- they're amazing. Christen and Todd gave me this great little Bible that'll be perfect to take on my travels, and the Moms made us little books of pictures from our lives in church- I can't believe how much we've all grown up! There are pictures in there from preschool, and these 3 people- Mary, Megan and Douglas- have been with me all the way. True lifelong friends- the concept is so special to me and I don't know how to express the love I have for them and for Stephen, who I've known since he was born and who's also in most of those pictures, although he's two years younger. They also got us each these great big books that everyone signed- I haven't begun to read the things they've written, because I'll just cry and cry and cry, but there are pictures in there, too. I love anytime I get to just hang out with my church family, so of course the party was fun- Bill smeared icing on my face, so Megan went and put an icing flower on his forehead because he said that great friends and icing would be a wonderful combination.
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Todd made up a Trinity "gang sign" that I love- we have to incorporate it into future Sr High stuff! (The picture's blurry because my mom has trouble with cameras sometimes)
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We had Sparrows practice after the party 'cause we're doing a music service Tuesday- we had some serious trouble in the beginning, but we're pulling our songs together. Bill drove me home an hour ago, and I came in and wrote this blog. For an hour. Yeah, this weekend rocked. I doubt I'll have as much fun for a long time.

So: Bill, Andy, Ally, Mary, TJ, Douglas, Megan, Kae, Nick, Stephen, Tim, Cindy, Kathy, Mandy, Travis, Jamie, Todd, Christen, everyone else: I love you. You make my life. Being around you makes me smile and makes me the person I'm supposed to be and I can't believe I'm leaving you all. I promise to fill this space with words and pictures for you, and I beg you to leave me notes in the comments or e-mail me (oneseventy@gmail.com) or send me a letter or something. I will pray for you and you will always be in my thoughts, because you are the most important people in my life. Once again, I love each of you more than words can say.

I'm going to finish up with a few more pictures from the party.
The Seniors (Douglas, Megan, me, Mary):
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Me and Stevie:
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The Group (L to R Travis, Me, TJ, Mary, Megan, Stephen, Andy, Douglas, Nick):
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Travis, TJ and Megan Hearing, Seeing, and Speaking No Evil:
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Gender: 51% female (and this one totally had enough words)

Thursday, June 02, 2005

One of these days, I'll marry him

Specific reasons why I love G. Bernard Shaw, in quote form:

"Nothing is ever done in this world until men are prepared to kill one another if it is not done."

"A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth."

"Do not unto others as you would they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same."

"Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity."

"Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few."

"Liberty means responsibility. That's why most men dread it."

"Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody can read."

"The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business."

"As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death."

"Beauty is all very well at first sight, but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days?"

"Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs; rather devote it to making your own autograph worth collecting."

"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity."

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it."

"A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of Hell."

And so I manage to distill my entire personal philosophy, arrived at after a (rather short) lifetime of reflection, to a collection of quotes from one person who lived a century before me and was infinetly wittier and more talented. He was also a devout communist and supporter of Stalin, but I don't hold it against him. Who hasn't been a communist at one point or another?


Also, I'd appreciate if someone were to reassure me that it's okay that the love of my life is a dead Irishman.

Gender: 59% male (to be fair, at least 59% of this is Bernard, so that's about right)