Brrr!

It's cold! Too cold. And I am not happy.
If there was snow, the cold would (maybe) be bearable, but cold weather without snow is just useless.

I have to go back out into the cold and my ears haven't warmed up since the last time I was out. (And yes, I'm pouting.)

I love American Thanksgiving

It's great to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year.
American Thanksgiving rocks! I get a super long weekend for a holiday that has no real significance to me, no family obligations, and there is good food, friends to see and so much more.
I get to meet so many new people because of Thanksgiving. Two years ago I went to Laura's place and met her extended family, last year I went to Erin's and met her extended family (and all the strays -people, not animals- her family has picked up) And this year I got to meet Jeremy's family: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin's crazy mother-in-law... It was fun.

I went to Minneapolis and I stayed in Laura and Karissa's apartment. It was such a great trip and even though Laura, and I were sick with colds it was an awesome weekend. I met new people, made new friends and totally kicked ass in Settlers of Catan. Anyone up for a game sometime? Seriously.

Visiting friends’ apartments is really making me look forward to the time when I have my own apartment/house (hopefully by August). I can’t wait to have my own place that I can decorate and really make my own.











Here's us at the California Pizza Kitchen ( I took like four pictures this weekend - oops) Side note: If you ever have the opportunity to go to this restaurant, go; it's great.

townhouse 11/17/06

shit-iness

I feel like shit today. I've got such a bad cold, I can't breathe, or talk, and everytime I move my head my brain hits my skull and pain reverberates through my head. It sucks.

and to top of the feeling crappy physically, by reading someone else's blog I found out a close friend had her baby on Friday. And to make things worse I probably won't see that friend or the baby for a long time, and that makes me depressed.

But maybe I'm just depressed for other reasons. Sometimes life is a bitch.

I'm going to be a teacher!

I found out where I'm going to be student teaching next semester - at least for the first half.
I'm going to be at the Rock Valley public school and I talked to the teacher I'll be working with and I think we will get along and that it will be a good experience for me.

It is so mind boggling to me to think that next year and next semester (!) I'll be in charge of a class. I really hope that I'll be able to teach well, and show my kids that science can be really exciting and interesting and that I'll be able to be caught up on all the lesson plans, and that I remember/understand what I'm supposed to be teaching, and agh!!! I'm going crazy already.

But, I don't have to deal with that now.

ugh, brain hurt

I had my terrible, killer, engineering test today. And it was terrible and extremely hard. I think I got two questions correct (out of like 8) and I'll get some half points. But, ugh! it sucked.

I'm still alive - barely.

It's a good thing I'm not going to be an engineer; you wouldn't want me to design your car-stereo or blowdryer. It might go boom!

Overwhelmed

I have way too much stuff to do. I don't think I can handle it.
I have a big test in my electrical engineering course (which I shouldn't have to take!!!!) and I'm very afraid that I will fail. And on top of that I've got tons of other homework.
I don't know what how operational amplifiers work, I don't really understand how current flows or how voltage drops. I don't know how to calculate Thevenin or Norton equivalents! I am going to die on this test. I'm typing and thinking about how painful this is going to be and I'm kinda tearing up (how pathetic).
Here's a stupid cartoon about a fraction of my test.
Who would every want to know that? Not me that's for sure. But I have to understand it.
Update tomorrow on whether or not I died.

(Ok, I'm exaggerating, but I'm really worried, and I can't do poorly in this class - it's the only real reason I'm here this semester.)

so busy - therefore: procrastinate

I have too many things too do! Way to much homework. I think that I will end up staying up way too late trying to do my homework becaue I procrastinated.

I had a good day though. Went to chapel for the first time this year (I'm a bad person - but I don't really feel bad) good skit though. And then had a ridiculously fun lunch with cool people, complete with entirely inappropriate comments and awkward conversations. It was fun. I like awkwardness.

I went for a long walk to clear my thoughts this afternoon/evening and I feel much better now - even though it was fraking cold outside. Being at Dordt I rarely have the time or space to just sit and think and be alone. There are always people around and most of the time I like people (friends are good) but sometimes I get cranky and just need to be alone or else I rip people's heads off, and make everyone around me angry - but no worries, I'm happy again.

Back to the homework.

Arsenic and Old Lace - done!

So I finally uploaded my pictures from this weekend onto my computer.

I think I took about 100 pictures - Yeah for digital cameras! Here are some of my favourites:

Abby, Elaine, and Martha - all dressed up

Only four girls in the dressing room this year - ha! I laugh at the boys and their stuffy dressing room

I wonder if the corpse look will ever be fashionable because I can totally pull it off.

No Comment.

Watch out! We have wine and we aren't afraid to use it for our own twisted purposes.

Wide-eyed aunties

It's our last play together, and our last Dordt play. Hopefully not the last time we can act on stage though.

I have mixed feelings about this play ending - now I can go back to my life, but I'm going to miss being Martha and am really going to miss seeing some of my cast members everyday (there are some that I can certainly do with seeing much less of though).

This past weekend was so amazing; it was great to see so many friends, especially those who came from far away.

I'll say it again: what a great weekend!

Back to the realities of school now; Boo hiss.

Lay every burden down

Do you ever feel like a complete hypocrite? I find that so many times I go to a service like GIFT and I sing songs and say things that I don't really mean. A lot of times I want to sing the songs from my heart but there are things in the way that prevent me from doing that.

"I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross"

Those words really struck me tonight. I wasn't laying every burden down. I want to lay those things that are keeping me from God down at the foot of the cross, but at the same time I don't want to. I can't let go of my burdens, my worries, my struggles, because I deep down I feel that that is all I really am and without those worries and burdens I'll be totally open and vulnerable and I then I can get hurt. It's so much easier to hide behind that big brick wall that I've built up.

It's amazing how God can convict you of something with just a few words in a song.

ahh, simple pleasures - an update

Amy and Justine yelled "UPDATE!" to me this afternoon while they were checking blogs... so here it is girls, the update.

ahh, simple pleasures:
a well-made hot cappuccino
great conversations with friends
canadian chocolate bars (aero)
sleep
stargate (yup, I love sci-fi)
time to breathe
an amazingly wonderful song stuck in your head

mmm, contentedness. I love it when things just feel good and you can ignore the stress that you've been under (for the last how-ever long it's been) and you can just be and enjoy being around people. If you couldn't tell, I've been having a good afternoon. Even though I should have been doing tons of other things I took some time out and relaxed.

We have another performance of Arsenic and Old Lace tonight, hopefully it will go well. The selector from ACTF was here last night and the respondent is coming tonight. I'm always interested in what they have to say. The selector didn't think I was an incompetent idiot (Yipee!) - or at least he didn't say so :) - so that made me feel better about the whole show.

I love talking to people afterwards – one man came up to me today and said how much he enjoyed the play and that he really appreciated all the hard work that went into the production. I also had the privilege of speaking to the Gen 200 class with some of my fellow thespians. I enjoyed doing that - and the class actually asked us questions! I think that I just like to talk. Maybe it is a good thing I'm going to be a teacher - that way I can have 30ish students who have to listen to me. Ahh, the power. Mwahahaha!

Off to have a nap now!

the quoteboard can go back up

Put up the quoteboard again, the parents are gone. Anyone who knows me and my roommates can appreciate the fact that our quoteboard had to come down for parent's weekend or we would all be facing serious reprimands and disapproving looks.

Well, the weekend is over and life can get back to normal - kind of. It was parent's weekend and my family came to see me and my sister. And... Liz came here for the weekend to see her family and friends and she stayed with me. I didn't think that I'd see her this soon after graduation - thought I'd have to go to Florida for that. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her. And... it was opening weekend for Arsenic and Old Lace which went wonderfully - and much better than I expected.

For all the complaining we have been doing about the show and particular people in the show, things have improved dramatically *excuse the pun :)* and from an outside perspective the problems we've seen aren't as glaringly obvious as they are to us.

People loved the show and I didn't realize how much of a rush I'd get going out onstage during curtain call. I've never played one of the lead characters and the cheering has never gotten louder when I've come out -I loved the feeling. Don't worry - I'm not going to become an egotistical diva. But, it was pretty awesome. Now we only have 4 more performances - ugh. I'm so tired already.

Onto another subject...
This weekend I realized how much I want to be done with school. I love it here at school - great friends, wonderful experiences, etc. and I love living on my own but when my family was leaving I just wanted to go with them. If I could have gone with them I would have been in that vehicle in a flash. I've never really felt homesick but this time I wanted to go home so badly and not have to worry about school at all. It wasn't really that I was going to miss my family, I just wanted to leave all of the stress here behind and not have to do any schoolwork. Only a few more months and then it'll be Christmas break - and then a semester of student teaching, which seems to me like there will be way too much responsibility thrust upon me.

Enough self-pity.

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!
I got the crappy gray hairspray out of my hair! it only took half - well actually only about 1/6 of the bottle of shampoo to get it out.

and HUZZAH! we didn't suck tonight in Arsenic and Old Lace. I don't think I could have handled it it we were really crappy again. I might have cried. Seriously.

and HUZZAH! my parents and little brother are coming tomorrow - hopefully I'll see them Thursday if they get here in time.

and HUZZAH! I'm going to sleep soon!! and I get to sleep in tomorrow.

That's all, I'm huzzahed out.

well that sucked

I just got back from play practice - a semi-dress rehearsal - I thought it had gone ok/well until we were told otherwise. Basically it sucked. And this sucks because we only have one more dress rehearsal and then we actually perform before a paying audience.
I really hope we do well and that people like the show. *insert stressed out and upset face*

I just want to yell and scream but I have to do my frelling engineering homework.

Boo hiss!

too much information

I finished my book for class - A Day No Pigs Would Die- it was better than I thought it would be. But I don't want to read graphic scenes about pigs mating - there are somethings I just don't need to know.

On that happy note - pleasant dreams!

Wow, I totally suck at being a blogger. i keep thinking about it and then I don't post at all. Whatever. Maybe when I don't actually see or talk to friends everyday I'll get better.

Ahh! someone found out that I have a blog, so now I actually have to post or feel ridiculus.


I'm so frustrated with my classes. Actually one in particular. I'm taking this Elementary/Middle School reading class, and we have to read way too many freaking books at one time. So, I'm procrastinating by not reading A Day No Pigs Would Die I'm not fond of it so far and I have to do a presentation in class tomorrow.

Boo hiss!

But...
We had Canadian Thanksgiving dinner in my room yesterday - a little belated, I know -and it was wonderful. I love having lots of people over for food and fellowship. I can't wait to get my own house and have people over - oh wait, I don't know if I will have many friends close by when I have my own place. I'm going to have to move to Ontario where nearly everyone else is.

Well, I have to finish reading about pigs, death, and shakers.

Update on me!

Here's me really blogging for the first time:

This is what's going on in my life:

I'm back at Dordt in an amazing room or at least the roommates are amazing. I really didn't want to go back to school this year but here I am and I'm really enjoying it.

I'm in the Fall Show - Arsenic and Old Lace and I am one of the old ladies who "helps lonely old men". It's been wonderful!

I am not dying in my stupid @#$%ing Engineering/Physics class that I have to take. I don't like the class, I will probably never use the things I'm learning in my life - unless I start rewiring my house, when/if I get a house - but at least I kind of understand what's going on in the class.
At least I now know how a two-switch light works (you know the lights that are controlled by two different light switches - like on stairs or in Southview rooms). *my life is complete now- sarcasm*

My little sister is going to Dordt now! It's fun, and ha! she has to put up
with everyone looking at her and thinking/saying "I know your sister! You look so much like her" And... nobody calls me by her name - HA!

I keep reading other people's blogs - well, not that often and think I should blog, so here it is.
Be afraid, very afraid.

First time

So, I've decided to be a blogger - on a part-time basis though. I'm not totally committed to blogging... yet.