home home home home home, i havent written since ive been here. but what do you expect really? ive been preoccupied with family, friends, and sleep. christmas was good and new years is tomorrow. my first week here was fun and i spent it with my family and my cousin and my grandma who were visiting. we spent hours niffty knitting and watching the hills. wooo.
seeing my best friend mary for the first time in four months was amazing. she picked me up from the airport and i was so genuinely happy to see her. the time ive spent with her so far is amazing. she hasnt changed and our friendship is stronger than ever, but i guess that comes from talking on the phone everyday, at least once a day, every day, that i was away. i love her. its weird to see how my other friends have changed and how i have changed. its helped me a lot to learn who my real friends are or who i plan on staying close to for the next few years to come.
i love my family. being away from them helps me to learn not to take them for granted. of course my mom is great. talking to her everyday on the phone at school is good, she is my best friend, and i love her so so so so much. my dad is crazy, i think that when he sees me it just makes him hyper, because that is how he has been the entire time i have been home, and thats not normal. maybe he changed. but i love him more than ever. my brother is my brother. hes super duper, but he is the same as well, and i love him. having my grandma and my cousin katie here was neat too. katie is special, thats right special. i have so much fun with her and shes so level headed. she makes me look at things in a realistic point of view, and as she helped raise me and teach me life lessons when i was younger, she continues to do that to this day, and i love the advice she gives me. my grandma is comforting. she is a lot like my mom, and both of them are great people. i love to have her around.
so as you can see, i have a lot of love for my family.
i learned that i, among with others in my family, suffer from raynauds disease. which is bad circulation in certain parts of the body. all of my life people always commented on that obscure trait of mine, but now i feel that i can justify it. i also am suffering from whatever the opposite is of acute mountain sickness. being in colorado at such a high altitude its hard to adjust to this low one. ive gotten really bad headaches, tummy aches, as well as being really dizzy. it happened at thanksgiving to, and when i go back to colorado i have the same sickness. i decided i need to pick one or the other place to live and stay there because i cant keep doing this.
what else what else, im in talkeetna right now staying with noelle. its been good to see everyone out here and especially her parents. they are AMAZING. she has a nice bed and good food and theres not much else that i feel i could ask for. im spending new years out here and with her and im looking forward to it.
this post has just been a preview of stuff going on here. as nice as it is to be home im thrilled to be at my other home in colorado. i miss my bed there and the amazing people that i am always surrounded by.
one more sad story. i havent seen the sun since ive been here. it has either been dark or cloudy. so there has been no sun for me. today we slept in till about 130. we got dressed and went out to eat. by three, an hour and a half later, it was already getting dark. this sounds pansy-ish but this is a very serious depressing issue. we need some daylight!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
finals week is....
BORING
all i do is study, sleep, test, study, sleep, test
since there is only like an hour of finals three times this week for me ive had a lot of down time that ive spent studying. but i think there is a point that studying becomes ineffective. right now it is all building up for me. im freaking crazy and i just want to be home. my roommate made me some tea to calm me down. its midnight. i have a final at eight am. i studied all day. ad now i cant sleep. so as you can see, this is me, being finaled. too much sleep, not enough sleep. too many little words on a page, to be notes to review. ahhhhhhhhhhhh i really think you all know this is not the normal me (unless you really know me of course) but usually im really not quite this crazy i guess. i will be home in three days. once again united with my best friend and family and snow and bed and not homework. ahhhhhhhh okay i should sleep. yeah ill get right on that... my mom hasnt called back. come on people. okay, so youve experienced my first finals breakdown rant. the end.
p.s. Elf Yourself
all i do is study, sleep, test, study, sleep, test
since there is only like an hour of finals three times this week for me ive had a lot of down time that ive spent studying. but i think there is a point that studying becomes ineffective. right now it is all building up for me. im freaking crazy and i just want to be home. my roommate made me some tea to calm me down. its midnight. i have a final at eight am. i studied all day. ad now i cant sleep. so as you can see, this is me, being finaled. too much sleep, not enough sleep. too many little words on a page, to be notes to review. ahhhhhhhhhhhh i really think you all know this is not the normal me (unless you really know me of course) but usually im really not quite this crazy i guess. i will be home in three days. once again united with my best friend and family and snow and bed and not homework. ahhhhhhhh okay i should sleep. yeah ill get right on that... my mom hasnt called back. come on people. okay, so youve experienced my first finals breakdown rant. the end.
p.s. Elf Yourself
Monday, December 17, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
final essay of my first semester of college english
Mountains of Life
I have a paper bag. I carry it with me everywhere I go. It accompanies me to class, on vacations, in bed at night, and so many other places. I should mention that my bag is made of recycled paper, because I am eco-friendly of course. My paper bag is my life. Inside it I keep only the most sacred and important parts of who I am. My bag is enormous, although this does not come from being a packrat or holding on to things for longer than necessary. It is because what I have inside my bag is huge. If you were to look in my bag, it would be like peeping into an infinite abyss. There is no telling what you would find there. Although it is a miraculous view, the sight is not uncommon to many people. Inside my bag is a mountain, a huge mountain covered with rivers, rocks, wildflowers, and wind. This mountain is not like any normal mountain though because it is my mountain. Its unique characteristics range from worn and fallen trees to the new sprouts found in spring. The mountain is a constant cycle of all things old and new. This is the treasure found in my simple recycled paper bag.
My mountain is large and strong. It is powerful and can withstand anything. My steadfast mountain may be hit with severe thunderstorms, rainstorms, or fire, and it will continue to stand strong. I believe God delighted in making the mountains above the rest of creation. Just like snowflakes, no two mountains are the same; my mountain is my family. Like tree sap, it sticks together through the thick and thin. My family is unique like the mountains because God created each and every person different in some way or another. My mountain has been weathered; struck by broken relationships, lies, fighting, and work. Though there have been bad days, there have also been sunny, snowy, and beautiful days filled with joy, unity, comfort, and strength. After each rainstorm my family, like the mountains, have also prospered and sprouted new beginnings out of negative effects. This is what I admire so much about my family- though times can get tough we always pull together and conquer anything that is thrown at us.
My mountain’s terrain is unique and covered in rivers flowing in a hundred different directions. The courses and paths are always changing, leading into new places. Though the currents shift and branch off, they continue to flow. The waters push me off into new journeys, both good and bad, but always helping me to move forward. These rivers are the people I consider my friends. Throughout my life so far I have met many new people that have led me down new paths in my life. I have had positive influences that have sent me in areas and helped me to grow and mature. Other rivers have been raging rapids that caused me to backtrack in my life. Together, these rivers have carved their ways in the bank, creating new bends and turns that have led me to where I am today.
Mountains are obviously covered and built out of rock. This is essential for a mountain to stand tall and remain prepared and steadfast. The rock makes it capable for the mountain to be strong against everything. The rock of my mountain is my education. I truly believe this is one of the foundational aspects of my life. Knowing that there are uneducated children and people in the world has caused me to be grateful for God’s blessing of education. Having a strong education has not only prepared me for school work and got me into college, but it has prepared me for ‘real life’. I feel that with what I know right now I will be able to be independent. Teachers have shaped my life over the years and have helped me to develop my conscience. Education has helped me to create my moral standards and values. The rocks of my education help me to stand firm in my beliefs and lifestyle choices.
The wildflowers found on the mountain are one of my favorite parts. God created each one individually with vivid colors, unique size, and shape. Every flower is beautiful and bright. The wildflowers represent every different continent, country, and culture found in the world. People are my passion, specifically their cultures. I find it so amazing that God has filled this earth with so many diverse peoples, yet all are uniquely crafted by His perfect design, giving them immeasurable value. I want to take the time in my life to travel and get to experience every culture on a personal level. It is my life dream to take Christ to the world and to make Him known by all. I love to travel, to see new places, to engage in different culture, and my relationship with God. When I combine all of these together I come out with the idea of a missionary. This is what I want to do. I feel God’s calling on my life to live out His Great Commission to the fullest. I feel that everything in my life has prepared me for this. Daily I pray that He will strengthen my faith and my heart to fulfill His will for my life.
The most essential parts of my mountain are wind and air. Without them it would be impossible for everything to survive. The air rustles the trees, causes the rivers to move, and blows through the petals of the wildflowers. The wind affects everything on the mountain. Without it the mountain would lose its majestic mystery. The wind and air are God. I can breathe it in, and feel it surround me. Just because you cannot see it does not mean it isn’t there. The soft breeze gives me a feeling of peace and comfort. I know that I am not and will never be alone. God’s love is the air I breathe in. With every breath I am filled with Him and our relationship is strengthened. The air is filled with particles of his characteristics: love, peace, kindness, mercy, grace, and joy. Each time the wind moves through the mountain, I remember, I am never alone.
What I enjoy most about all of the aspects in my bag is that the all unite under one common theme: love. In all aspects of my life I am able to observe the beauty that is perfected through love. Within my family we all share a natural bond brought to us from birth. This unconditional love is so powerful. I know that my family will always be there for me and that I can rely on them no matter what. My friends are similar to family because I hold them closest to my heart. I have known them for some time and they have become like brothers and sisters to me. Their companionship means more to me than I can express. In addition to receiving love, I love many things in life. I especially love to learn. Without my education there is no way that I could progress in life. I’m thankful for all that I have been provided with and the ability to learn at a higher level. My love for people and culture is another important area of my life. This is more than a love, but a passion. Above all things, God is the most important form of love in my life. God is love. His love is unfailing, unchanging, and perfect. It is a comfort to know that God will never leave or forsake any of us. I feel that all of the aspects of my mountain unite under the perfect bond of love. Each area weaves with each other to create a beautiful and colorful quilt that covers my mountain year round with warmth and protection.
My paper bag is one of a kind. Its contents are incredible- uniquely created by God. Inside the infinite abyss of my bag is a mountain. In this mountain is my life, covered by rivers, rocks, wildflowers, and wind. My family, friends, education, culture, and God are what hold this mountain together. All things interact and weave through each other forming a shield that can withstand anything. The mountain is fortified for the worst of days and gladly embraces the good ones. This mountain that I keep hidden in my recycled paper bag composes my whole life. I carry it with me everywhere I go. I have a paper bag.
I have a paper bag. I carry it with me everywhere I go. It accompanies me to class, on vacations, in bed at night, and so many other places. I should mention that my bag is made of recycled paper, because I am eco-friendly of course. My paper bag is my life. Inside it I keep only the most sacred and important parts of who I am. My bag is enormous, although this does not come from being a packrat or holding on to things for longer than necessary. It is because what I have inside my bag is huge. If you were to look in my bag, it would be like peeping into an infinite abyss. There is no telling what you would find there. Although it is a miraculous view, the sight is not uncommon to many people. Inside my bag is a mountain, a huge mountain covered with rivers, rocks, wildflowers, and wind. This mountain is not like any normal mountain though because it is my mountain. Its unique characteristics range from worn and fallen trees to the new sprouts found in spring. The mountain is a constant cycle of all things old and new. This is the treasure found in my simple recycled paper bag.
My mountain is large and strong. It is powerful and can withstand anything. My steadfast mountain may be hit with severe thunderstorms, rainstorms, or fire, and it will continue to stand strong. I believe God delighted in making the mountains above the rest of creation. Just like snowflakes, no two mountains are the same; my mountain is my family. Like tree sap, it sticks together through the thick and thin. My family is unique like the mountains because God created each and every person different in some way or another. My mountain has been weathered; struck by broken relationships, lies, fighting, and work. Though there have been bad days, there have also been sunny, snowy, and beautiful days filled with joy, unity, comfort, and strength. After each rainstorm my family, like the mountains, have also prospered and sprouted new beginnings out of negative effects. This is what I admire so much about my family- though times can get tough we always pull together and conquer anything that is thrown at us.
My mountain’s terrain is unique and covered in rivers flowing in a hundred different directions. The courses and paths are always changing, leading into new places. Though the currents shift and branch off, they continue to flow. The waters push me off into new journeys, both good and bad, but always helping me to move forward. These rivers are the people I consider my friends. Throughout my life so far I have met many new people that have led me down new paths in my life. I have had positive influences that have sent me in areas and helped me to grow and mature. Other rivers have been raging rapids that caused me to backtrack in my life. Together, these rivers have carved their ways in the bank, creating new bends and turns that have led me to where I am today.
Mountains are obviously covered and built out of rock. This is essential for a mountain to stand tall and remain prepared and steadfast. The rock makes it capable for the mountain to be strong against everything. The rock of my mountain is my education. I truly believe this is one of the foundational aspects of my life. Knowing that there are uneducated children and people in the world has caused me to be grateful for God’s blessing of education. Having a strong education has not only prepared me for school work and got me into college, but it has prepared me for ‘real life’. I feel that with what I know right now I will be able to be independent. Teachers have shaped my life over the years and have helped me to develop my conscience. Education has helped me to create my moral standards and values. The rocks of my education help me to stand firm in my beliefs and lifestyle choices.
The wildflowers found on the mountain are one of my favorite parts. God created each one individually with vivid colors, unique size, and shape. Every flower is beautiful and bright. The wildflowers represent every different continent, country, and culture found in the world. People are my passion, specifically their cultures. I find it so amazing that God has filled this earth with so many diverse peoples, yet all are uniquely crafted by His perfect design, giving them immeasurable value. I want to take the time in my life to travel and get to experience every culture on a personal level. It is my life dream to take Christ to the world and to make Him known by all. I love to travel, to see new places, to engage in different culture, and my relationship with God. When I combine all of these together I come out with the idea of a missionary. This is what I want to do. I feel God’s calling on my life to live out His Great Commission to the fullest. I feel that everything in my life has prepared me for this. Daily I pray that He will strengthen my faith and my heart to fulfill His will for my life.
The most essential parts of my mountain are wind and air. Without them it would be impossible for everything to survive. The air rustles the trees, causes the rivers to move, and blows through the petals of the wildflowers. The wind affects everything on the mountain. Without it the mountain would lose its majestic mystery. The wind and air are God. I can breathe it in, and feel it surround me. Just because you cannot see it does not mean it isn’t there. The soft breeze gives me a feeling of peace and comfort. I know that I am not and will never be alone. God’s love is the air I breathe in. With every breath I am filled with Him and our relationship is strengthened. The air is filled with particles of his characteristics: love, peace, kindness, mercy, grace, and joy. Each time the wind moves through the mountain, I remember, I am never alone.
What I enjoy most about all of the aspects in my bag is that the all unite under one common theme: love. In all aspects of my life I am able to observe the beauty that is perfected through love. Within my family we all share a natural bond brought to us from birth. This unconditional love is so powerful. I know that my family will always be there for me and that I can rely on them no matter what. My friends are similar to family because I hold them closest to my heart. I have known them for some time and they have become like brothers and sisters to me. Their companionship means more to me than I can express. In addition to receiving love, I love many things in life. I especially love to learn. Without my education there is no way that I could progress in life. I’m thankful for all that I have been provided with and the ability to learn at a higher level. My love for people and culture is another important area of my life. This is more than a love, but a passion. Above all things, God is the most important form of love in my life. God is love. His love is unfailing, unchanging, and perfect. It is a comfort to know that God will never leave or forsake any of us. I feel that all of the aspects of my mountain unite under the perfect bond of love. Each area weaves with each other to create a beautiful and colorful quilt that covers my mountain year round with warmth and protection.
My paper bag is one of a kind. Its contents are incredible- uniquely created by God. Inside the infinite abyss of my bag is a mountain. In this mountain is my life, covered by rivers, rocks, wildflowers, and wind. My family, friends, education, culture, and God are what hold this mountain together. All things interact and weave through each other forming a shield that can withstand anything. The mountain is fortified for the worst of days and gladly embraces the good ones. This mountain that I keep hidden in my recycled paper bag composes my whole life. I carry it with me everywhere I go. I have a paper bag.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
christian shootings
this morning i woke up at about 730. kaylans parents called to tell us about the local shooting. it took place in arvada which is near our school. it was at a ywam (youth with a mission) training center. it was said that he shot people because he asked if he could stay the night there and they said no. he shot 4 people. two died, and two are in critical condition. the boy 23 was from alaska and the girl 26 is from minnesota.
we watched the news for a while ate breakfast and went back to sleep. we went to eat and do homework where we learned there was another shooting.
at New Life Church in colorado springs there was a gunman who shot anywhere between 4 and 8 people inside the church and in the parking lot. it is learned that 1 person died. there is an asumption that the gunman was shot and even that the person was a girl. but who knows. there is also no conformation that the two shootings were related. New Life Church is my roommates home church so she was worried. we drove down to colorado springs tonight and are staying at her parents house. pray for these people.
we watched the news for a while ate breakfast and went back to sleep. we went to eat and do homework where we learned there was another shooting.
at New Life Church in colorado springs there was a gunman who shot anywhere between 4 and 8 people inside the church and in the parking lot. it is learned that 1 person died. there is an asumption that the gunman was shot and even that the person was a girl. but who knows. there is also no conformation that the two shootings were related. New Life Church is my roommates home church so she was worried. we drove down to colorado springs tonight and are staying at her parents house. pray for these people.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
the blustery day
i barely made it to class without blowing away.
i woke up an hour early because the loud machines were going clearing leaves out of the way. it wasnt windy. all was quiet but these annoying machines. i got ready, put on a jacket, and left. i barely made it down my stairs because my eyes were blinded by the leaf debris that was shot out by the machine. when i got to the bottom and out in the open, i almost blew away. i have never felt or walked in wind this strong. tree branches, newspapers, and plastic bags were flying around everywhere like ghosts. of course i had to walk by the lake to get to class so i was struck by sharp droplets of water blown off the surface. the wind blew in my eyes so fierce that they started to tear and run down my face. my hair was standing straight up as the wind came underneath and shot it up. i finally made it to my classroom. while sitting there though i was convinced by the strong sounds and the shaking of the building that a tornado was going to come and blow us away. walking back from class was a little scary but comforting since austin walked with me and holding on to his hard helped me to not fly away into the infinite abyss. we quickly walked back to our rooms while still continuing to get pelted by water droplets from the lake and while tears ran down my face. i made it back inside safely but the sounds are terrifying. whistling, shouting, torments of wind. our poor little rocking chair out on the balcony is going crazy but i wont dare go outside to rescue it. good thing i dont have any more classes today because i am not leaving this room. unless of course our stairwell blows over, which it might very well do. wish me luck.
i woke up an hour early because the loud machines were going clearing leaves out of the way. it wasnt windy. all was quiet but these annoying machines. i got ready, put on a jacket, and left. i barely made it down my stairs because my eyes were blinded by the leaf debris that was shot out by the machine. when i got to the bottom and out in the open, i almost blew away. i have never felt or walked in wind this strong. tree branches, newspapers, and plastic bags were flying around everywhere like ghosts. of course i had to walk by the lake to get to class so i was struck by sharp droplets of water blown off the surface. the wind blew in my eyes so fierce that they started to tear and run down my face. my hair was standing straight up as the wind came underneath and shot it up. i finally made it to my classroom. while sitting there though i was convinced by the strong sounds and the shaking of the building that a tornado was going to come and blow us away. walking back from class was a little scary but comforting since austin walked with me and holding on to his hard helped me to not fly away into the infinite abyss. we quickly walked back to our rooms while still continuing to get pelted by water droplets from the lake and while tears ran down my face. i made it back inside safely but the sounds are terrifying. whistling, shouting, torments of wind. our poor little rocking chair out on the balcony is going crazy but i wont dare go outside to rescue it. good thing i dont have any more classes today because i am not leaving this room. unless of course our stairwell blows over, which it might very well do. wish me luck.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
weekend of joy
this weekend started early and i feel like its gone on forever. i believe it all started on wednesday night when we had a dance party... yeah, well we made some sweet videos the best being glamorous, and if youre really lucky ill show it to you all when i get home. so that night was pretty fun. the next morning i dragged myself out of bed to go to class, but i made it no worries mom. after we skipped chapel (to take a nap of course) and then we left to go snowboarding. it was the first one of the season so it was amazing. kaylan, breezy, jessica, and i all rode up to copper mountain. its kind of scary snowboarding somewhere else for the first time. ive never gone outside of alaska so i guess you could say i was a little intimidated. but despite that, i had the best day of riding that ive had in a while. afterwards we left and drove to beau jos where karissa, dylan, and nick met up with us. we had my birthday dinner. soooo good. how i love that place. they got me a special dessert too. it was perfect. kaylan gave me a birthday present, a heart necklace with three hearts that say faith hope and love. its so perfect. she is the best roommate EVER. that night we watched elf with some friends and then went to bed. ohh and breezy slept over, which happens like every night, so its nothing new. i do love to share a single bed with her, haha.
friday was fun. we slept in, went to the gym, which was killer since we were so sore from snowboarding. we cleaned and decorated our room some more. that night kaylan, breezy, jessica, and i went downtown to watch the parade of lights. we had to park a million miles away the traffic was so bad. but we finally arrived and it was totally worth it. we saw a lot of people from our school. everyone now knows us as "those girls who sang and danced to glamorous. yeah it showed up on our facebook newsfeed." we dont even know some of these people haha. but still the parade was fun. there were lots of dancers and bands and giant blow up things and lights! it ended and we walked and got some hot chocolate. we didnt quite remember where we parked so we took the 16th street bus hoping it would take us somewhere. the bus was about to leave so we sprinted after it where these two punk boys insisted that we couldnt get on because it was going to nebraska. dont ask. but one of them was from alaska and went to dimond. its always crazy when you meet people from home. its such a small world out there. well after our long walk and sketchy back streets and trying to stay near police cars (since we are four young girls) we made it back to our car safe and sound. when we got back to the room i went into my room to start putting clothes away and i heard kaylan call my name. i came out and there was my whole stairwell holding a cake and sang me happy birthday. it was so good! my birthday has been drawn out for three weeks i think and i love it! thanks to everyone who made it extra special. after all of this we had a sleep over in our room and watched the hallmark movie a boyfriend for christmas which is absolutely amazing and you should all watch it.
saturday morning i had to wake up early to go to a training day for our missions trips. all of the teams were there so about 70 people. we spent a few hours doing team building activiteis which is always fun...... haha, afterwards we just talked for a while and they brought us lunch which was cool. after that not much happened. i think we just hung out, watched tv. let me say the show intervention on A & E is amazing but sad. you should see it. hung out with nick that night. did laundry, dont know what else.
sunday morning we had decided not to go snowboarding the night before but karissa came into my room at eight and said to get up so we could go! so i sprinted, put on some clothes got my stuff together and we left. us two and breezy all went and we met up with two other girls up there. the drive was long, i guess there were accidents and the one hour ride turned into two. it snowed 12 inches up there. but seriously, im from alaska and i know bad roads, these roads were not bad. there was barely any snow let alone ice on them and everyone was freaking out and going 5 miles an hour. i wanted to die. people in the states do not know how to drive. besides that the day was great. it was warm and sunny our and the snow was powedery. a perfect day for riding. but it came to an end like all good things do. we got in the car and headed back where the hour drive turned into two again because people still dont know how to drive... i showered, ate, went to the store, and did homework. now here i am recapping the best weekend ive had in a while. k bye.
friday was fun. we slept in, went to the gym, which was killer since we were so sore from snowboarding. we cleaned and decorated our room some more. that night kaylan, breezy, jessica, and i went downtown to watch the parade of lights. we had to park a million miles away the traffic was so bad. but we finally arrived and it was totally worth it. we saw a lot of people from our school. everyone now knows us as "those girls who sang and danced to glamorous. yeah it showed up on our facebook newsfeed." we dont even know some of these people haha. but still the parade was fun. there were lots of dancers and bands and giant blow up things and lights! it ended and we walked and got some hot chocolate. we didnt quite remember where we parked so we took the 16th street bus hoping it would take us somewhere. the bus was about to leave so we sprinted after it where these two punk boys insisted that we couldnt get on because it was going to nebraska. dont ask. but one of them was from alaska and went to dimond. its always crazy when you meet people from home. its such a small world out there. well after our long walk and sketchy back streets and trying to stay near police cars (since we are four young girls) we made it back to our car safe and sound. when we got back to the room i went into my room to start putting clothes away and i heard kaylan call my name. i came out and there was my whole stairwell holding a cake and sang me happy birthday. it was so good! my birthday has been drawn out for three weeks i think and i love it! thanks to everyone who made it extra special. after all of this we had a sleep over in our room and watched the hallmark movie a boyfriend for christmas which is absolutely amazing and you should all watch it.
saturday morning i had to wake up early to go to a training day for our missions trips. all of the teams were there so about 70 people. we spent a few hours doing team building activiteis which is always fun...... haha, afterwards we just talked for a while and they brought us lunch which was cool. after that not much happened. i think we just hung out, watched tv. let me say the show intervention on A & E is amazing but sad. you should see it. hung out with nick that night. did laundry, dont know what else.
sunday morning we had decided not to go snowboarding the night before but karissa came into my room at eight and said to get up so we could go! so i sprinted, put on some clothes got my stuff together and we left. us two and breezy all went and we met up with two other girls up there. the drive was long, i guess there were accidents and the one hour ride turned into two. it snowed 12 inches up there. but seriously, im from alaska and i know bad roads, these roads were not bad. there was barely any snow let alone ice on them and everyone was freaking out and going 5 miles an hour. i wanted to die. people in the states do not know how to drive. besides that the day was great. it was warm and sunny our and the snow was powedery. a perfect day for riding. but it came to an end like all good things do. we got in the car and headed back where the hour drive turned into two again because people still dont know how to drive... i showered, ate, went to the store, and did homework. now here i am recapping the best weekend ive had in a while. k bye.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
pianos and a flute
ive been home almost a week and things are already back to normal. currently i am in the basement of the school of music. i hear it can be kind of sketchy at night and my roommate didnt want to come over here and practice piano alone so i came along for the ride. there is a pleasant yet somewhat awkward blend of a christmas song on the piano, and deep song on the piano, and a fierce flute. despite how much i enjoy music. i dont think i could handle it being my major.
weve been getting in the christmas spirit around here. tomorrow is a christmas tree lighting (there is a giant one in the middle of campus). im really looking forward to it, you know since i missed the one at home and all. but i guess there will be hot chocolate and cookies, and who skips out on a free one of those. honestly. well so yesterday we moved all of the furniture in our living room around and it looks adorable. its so open and welcoming. we bought a fake tree and put it in the room and decorated it with lights and ornaments. we put fake garland, lights, and candycanes around our sliding balcony doors, and we put colored lights around our kitchen window. i must say though, i absolutely hate christmas lights. they worked, then they didnt work, we changed the fuse and everything and it came down to us going back to walmart, returning them, and restringing them. what a hassle. this week we intend on having a stocking making party since they are just to epensive to afford these days.
a lot of homework to look forward to. three six page essays all do on the same day next week. wooo. i plan on going snowboarding two or three times this weekend. thursday afternoon, friday, and sunday. thursday night is mine and jeremys joint birthday party. we are going to a pizza place called beau jos, i think thats how you spell it. it has the best pizza of anywhere, it might even beat home..... so yeah thatll be fun. saturday i have a training day for my trip to romania. i dont know exactly what a "training day" is but im sure ill find out when i get there. since it is like seven hours and all... but dont worry about me, ill still get the essays done, i always do.
well the person on the flute keeps messing up there scale and it makes me laugh everytime, i feel like a mean person. hopefully karissa will be done soon and we can go back and decorate some more and watch the movie elf.
i post some pictures.
k bye.
weve been getting in the christmas spirit around here. tomorrow is a christmas tree lighting (there is a giant one in the middle of campus). im really looking forward to it, you know since i missed the one at home and all. but i guess there will be hot chocolate and cookies, and who skips out on a free one of those. honestly. well so yesterday we moved all of the furniture in our living room around and it looks adorable. its so open and welcoming. we bought a fake tree and put it in the room and decorated it with lights and ornaments. we put fake garland, lights, and candycanes around our sliding balcony doors, and we put colored lights around our kitchen window. i must say though, i absolutely hate christmas lights. they worked, then they didnt work, we changed the fuse and everything and it came down to us going back to walmart, returning them, and restringing them. what a hassle. this week we intend on having a stocking making party since they are just to epensive to afford these days.
a lot of homework to look forward to. three six page essays all do on the same day next week. wooo. i plan on going snowboarding two or three times this weekend. thursday afternoon, friday, and sunday. thursday night is mine and jeremys joint birthday party. we are going to a pizza place called beau jos, i think thats how you spell it. it has the best pizza of anywhere, it might even beat home..... so yeah thatll be fun. saturday i have a training day for my trip to romania. i dont know exactly what a "training day" is but im sure ill find out when i get there. since it is like seven hours and all... but dont worry about me, ill still get the essays done, i always do.
well the person on the flute keeps messing up there scale and it makes me laugh everytime, i feel like a mean person. hopefully karissa will be done soon and we can go back and decorate some more and watch the movie elf.
i post some pictures.
k bye.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
home sweet home
i am so lame. i made this completly awesome blog that people actually read and yet i have abandoned it. i got carried away by other priorities, school, friends, the outdoors, and going home.
last week i went home. seeing my family was perfect and everything that i hoped for. i ate a TON and played a lot of guitar hero. it was sweet. although i must admit that i was real disappointed with the weather. honestly, rain in november? come on world. whats happening. so there was no snowboarding for me. and no sledding. hopefully by christmas. it was nice to see shay and a few others but im sure next break will be better when people actually go home. im really looking forward to that. it was my birthday on thursday, thanksgiving day, it was exciting. i got some giftcards to where i needed them, some tasty chocolate, a movie, and a snowboard bag. i was very happy.
thanksgiving was a whole other story in itself. we drove out to cooper landing in the worst weather possible. pouring rain and terrible wind. we barely made it. we got o the cabin and dropped some stuff off and then went down the road to my aunts house where we proceeded to get dinner ready. my cousin katie was there who i love to death and i was so excited to see her. aunt cissy, our new uncle, step uncle? im not quite sure what to call him, so ill just call him nick. he is amazing and i really like him a lot. then his daughter alex, and my dad and brother were all there, ohh and my mom. so it was cozy.
five minutes after we started cooking, katie and i had just started to cut potatoes, the power went out. it was still kind of light outside but it would be getting dark soon. we got out candles and lanterns. then we realized the water was off too. this made the night so eventful. nick got us buckets of water from the creek which we used to cook our food, wash our hands, and flush the toilet. we even boiled it and washed dishes in it. the it got dark and a million candles were lit around the house. dinner was complete. we had a wood stove going and we sat down to eat by candle light. surprisingly the food was the best thanksgiving food that i had ever had. everything was perfect and amazing. ahhh i cant even explain. after dinner and the long process of washing dishes we played the game apples to apples and finally the power came back on at about eleven.
overall being home was a lot of fun. the end of the trip was better than the beginning so i was kind of sad to leave but it is a joy to be back in colorado. when i walked in there were decorations everywhere from my roommate. it was a great surprise. and now she is home and i am happy. the end.
ill write more often i promise.
last week i went home. seeing my family was perfect and everything that i hoped for. i ate a TON and played a lot of guitar hero. it was sweet. although i must admit that i was real disappointed with the weather. honestly, rain in november? come on world. whats happening. so there was no snowboarding for me. and no sledding. hopefully by christmas. it was nice to see shay and a few others but im sure next break will be better when people actually go home. im really looking forward to that. it was my birthday on thursday, thanksgiving day, it was exciting. i got some giftcards to where i needed them, some tasty chocolate, a movie, and a snowboard bag. i was very happy.
thanksgiving was a whole other story in itself. we drove out to cooper landing in the worst weather possible. pouring rain and terrible wind. we barely made it. we got o the cabin and dropped some stuff off and then went down the road to my aunts house where we proceeded to get dinner ready. my cousin katie was there who i love to death and i was so excited to see her. aunt cissy, our new uncle, step uncle? im not quite sure what to call him, so ill just call him nick. he is amazing and i really like him a lot. then his daughter alex, and my dad and brother were all there, ohh and my mom. so it was cozy.
five minutes after we started cooking, katie and i had just started to cut potatoes, the power went out. it was still kind of light outside but it would be getting dark soon. we got out candles and lanterns. then we realized the water was off too. this made the night so eventful. nick got us buckets of water from the creek which we used to cook our food, wash our hands, and flush the toilet. we even boiled it and washed dishes in it. the it got dark and a million candles were lit around the house. dinner was complete. we had a wood stove going and we sat down to eat by candle light. surprisingly the food was the best thanksgiving food that i had ever had. everything was perfect and amazing. ahhh i cant even explain. after dinner and the long process of washing dishes we played the game apples to apples and finally the power came back on at about eleven.
overall being home was a lot of fun. the end of the trip was better than the beginning so i was kind of sad to leave but it is a joy to be back in colorado. when i walked in there were decorations everywhere from my roommate. it was a great surprise. and now she is home and i am happy. the end.
ill write more often i promise.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
whole foods
this is college life. going out somewhere to do homework yet you still end up not doing any homework. i mean i could, everyone else is. but there are just one too many distractions. especially at whole foods, the samples, the pizza, the sweet tea, mmmmmmm. today i feel like i accomplished some things. i attended an international chapel meeting because next week is international week at our school and i got to help plan the chapel that will be going on. so that was pretty exciting. i also met with my ldc advisor planned my classes for next semester, talked about study abroad, and declared a major. my current (definitly not saying this wont change) is global studies with a minor in youth ministry. i am so happy about this choice since these are the two things that probably interest me more than anything else ive been learning about, culture and kids. so now i will get back to my whole foods appetite. maybe ill take a break fromt he work i havent started yet and go buy some deliscious pumpkin almond granola. mmmmm.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
the leaves they are a changin
so much has been going on i feel like i havent been able to keep up. two weekends ago i went to south dakota with some friends. that was really fun. then i got sick that week so that was no fun. the next weekend my dad came down here and we went and did stuff in boulder as well as drove up through the mountains which was really cool because i love long drives like that but no one here seems to. this week and the next couple weeks are going to be way busy. today i just took a test for my early christian lit test which i studied for like crazy. tomorrow i have a six pge essay due and then next week i have to have a six minute informative speech. on top of that i have three other midterm exams. lets just says its been a little crazy so i need some slack when it comes to writing on here for the next couple weeks.
besides that it is fall here. its starting to get cooler and the leaves are changing colors. everyday is more beautiful than the one before. it is perfect here and i love it. well time for class. ill figure all of this out later. peace.
besides that it is fall here. its starting to get cooler and the leaves are changing colors. everyday is more beautiful than the one before. it is perfect here and i love it. well time for class. ill figure all of this out later. peace.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
i havent written in while. i feel it is because nothing is going on here, or maybe just too much is going on here. all i know is that the last week has been crazy and i cant even explain it.
the last two days have been so cold. im sure they were in the fifties but to me it felt colder. i was bundled up from head to toe while there were still girls in skirts and flip flops. everyone couldnt understand how on earth i was cold. "youre from alaska" they claimed. hello. that doesnt mean i dont get cold. especially me, i am one who is cold in the summer. all i can say is that the weather here is crazy. one day its storming and fourty and the next day its sunny and seventy. who knew colorado was so weird.
on another note. i had no idea how much people get excitd over halo. last night i got to experince friends who purchased halo three the minute it came out and raced home to play it. it was a pretty exciting event to witness. the game came in a huge box. one would think that for a game it would come in a little dvd cover but no this one hundred and fourty dollar game came in a enormous box. once it was opened we knew why. our friend pulled out a life sive helmet that the characters in the game wear. granted you couldnt wear the helmet, but it came with a stand so that it could be displayed to everyone. it was crazy stuff. ohhhhh and there was a fold out poster. cant forget that!
the last two days have been so cold. im sure they were in the fifties but to me it felt colder. i was bundled up from head to toe while there were still girls in skirts and flip flops. everyone couldnt understand how on earth i was cold. "youre from alaska" they claimed. hello. that doesnt mean i dont get cold. especially me, i am one who is cold in the summer. all i can say is that the weather here is crazy. one day its storming and fourty and the next day its sunny and seventy. who knew colorado was so weird.
on another note. i had no idea how much people get excitd over halo. last night i got to experince friends who purchased halo three the minute it came out and raced home to play it. it was a pretty exciting event to witness. the game came in a huge box. one would think that for a game it would come in a little dvd cover but no this one hundred and fourty dollar game came in a enormous box. once it was opened we knew why. our friend pulled out a life sive helmet that the characters in the game wear. granted you couldnt wear the helmet, but it came with a stand so that it could be displayed to everyone. it was crazy stuff. ohhhhh and there was a fold out poster. cant forget that!
Monday, September 17, 2007
the cabin
a paper i wrote for english that i thought my family would appreciate. a lot of the juicy details were left out because it had to only be a page and a half long.
As a child a two-hour car ride feels more like two weeks, but the time spent at our cabin was well worth it. I always got excited when we passed the general store on the side of the road because it meant we were almost there. Pulling in was bumpy and rough because the ground was covered in lots of rocks. As soon as my mom would turn off the car I would jump out and leap on to my old tire swing. My family had brought this tire up from the river to create this fun play toy that would keep me entertained for hours. As fun as it was, every time I got off I was always covered in black marks. As I swung on the tire swing by myself I felt a fairy. It was forested all around me with dead trees and moss everywhere. I could hear the river from up the hill where our log cabin was. The cool, bitter wind blew through my childish curls.
Once my mom had finished unpacking the car I would follow her inside. It was always chilly when you first walked in because no one had been there for a while, so my mom always immediately turned on the heater. Inside the cabin I took every step very lightly for fear of making the floor shake or creek too loudly. The furniture was rough and old, the carpet gray and faded, although one would expect that after fifty years. The kitchen and the living room were one area with a wood stove, a couch and coffee table, a VCR with antennas that stuck out like enormous bug feelers, a table and a moveable island with a cutting board on top. The kitchen had high cupboards where old, and I mean old, food mixes are displayed, originally to keep our aging great grandfather from eating them, but now just for show. This was all the cabin consisted of for a number of years until it was built on to with a hallways, bathroom, and bedroom.
Outside of the bathroom in the hallway was a full size bed that I claimed to be mine. I loved this bed with a passion. I would jump into it and sink so deeply like falling into a pool of feathers, although it probably felt this way because it was so old.
Though I was crazy about my tire swing and bed, the river was my favorite. Just a short walk down hill led to a beautiful view of the huge mountain across the river where on certain days you could spot flocks of mountain goats with binoculars. The river had a rock beach where my brother and I would spend hours searching for flat rocks and teaching ourselves to skip them. If we were lucky we got to go down to the cabin in late August-early September. This was fish season, which to us meant finding dead fish washed up on the banks. As gruesome as this sounds, we would find sticks and walk up and down the beach poking at every fish that we could find. If their eyes were still there we would poke at them until they gushed and oozed. This event was definitely the highlight of the trip.
One time, when I was very young, my grandma came down to the cabin with us. As a girl she had come here often so she knew all of the “secret places”. One cool afternoon, we strolled down the river to a place she called the “fairy trail”. She took me to a creek that ran through it and told me that if you waited and watched very quietly you could catch a glimpse of fairies splashing in the water. Each time I return to the sacred spot, I always take the time to sit and wait a while searching for these creatures but I have yet to spot one. Someday I will though, I know it.
Every year we go there fewer and fewer times. Each time it remains exactly the same, the furniture doesn’t move, the food on the shelf doesn’t change, and my bed is still as comfortable. Each year though I change, but coming back to this magical place always reminds me of who I am and where I came from.
As a child a two-hour car ride feels more like two weeks, but the time spent at our cabin was well worth it. I always got excited when we passed the general store on the side of the road because it meant we were almost there. Pulling in was bumpy and rough because the ground was covered in lots of rocks. As soon as my mom would turn off the car I would jump out and leap on to my old tire swing. My family had brought this tire up from the river to create this fun play toy that would keep me entertained for hours. As fun as it was, every time I got off I was always covered in black marks. As I swung on the tire swing by myself I felt a fairy. It was forested all around me with dead trees and moss everywhere. I could hear the river from up the hill where our log cabin was. The cool, bitter wind blew through my childish curls.
Once my mom had finished unpacking the car I would follow her inside. It was always chilly when you first walked in because no one had been there for a while, so my mom always immediately turned on the heater. Inside the cabin I took every step very lightly for fear of making the floor shake or creek too loudly. The furniture was rough and old, the carpet gray and faded, although one would expect that after fifty years. The kitchen and the living room were one area with a wood stove, a couch and coffee table, a VCR with antennas that stuck out like enormous bug feelers, a table and a moveable island with a cutting board on top. The kitchen had high cupboards where old, and I mean old, food mixes are displayed, originally to keep our aging great grandfather from eating them, but now just for show. This was all the cabin consisted of for a number of years until it was built on to with a hallways, bathroom, and bedroom.
Outside of the bathroom in the hallway was a full size bed that I claimed to be mine. I loved this bed with a passion. I would jump into it and sink so deeply like falling into a pool of feathers, although it probably felt this way because it was so old.
Though I was crazy about my tire swing and bed, the river was my favorite. Just a short walk down hill led to a beautiful view of the huge mountain across the river where on certain days you could spot flocks of mountain goats with binoculars. The river had a rock beach where my brother and I would spend hours searching for flat rocks and teaching ourselves to skip them. If we were lucky we got to go down to the cabin in late August-early September. This was fish season, which to us meant finding dead fish washed up on the banks. As gruesome as this sounds, we would find sticks and walk up and down the beach poking at every fish that we could find. If their eyes were still there we would poke at them until they gushed and oozed. This event was definitely the highlight of the trip.
One time, when I was very young, my grandma came down to the cabin with us. As a girl she had come here often so she knew all of the “secret places”. One cool afternoon, we strolled down the river to a place she called the “fairy trail”. She took me to a creek that ran through it and told me that if you waited and watched very quietly you could catch a glimpse of fairies splashing in the water. Each time I return to the sacred spot, I always take the time to sit and wait a while searching for these creatures but I have yet to spot one. Someday I will though, I know it.
Every year we go there fewer and fewer times. Each time it remains exactly the same, the furniture doesn’t move, the food on the shelf doesn’t change, and my bed is still as comfortable. Each year though I change, but coming back to this magical place always reminds me of who I am and where I came from.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
mama and papa
heres for mom and dad, who dont have facebook so they cant see all the pictures of whats going on in my life and who ive met.
jesus saves
ive been struggling to write for a while but so much has been going on in my life, bad and good. i just wanted to take the time out of today to write about my experience the other night. friday night a group of about 50 of us gathered at school to go downtown to do the fatboys ministry program. which is where you pretty much bring food and clothes and talk with homeless people. our older friend told us to take off all of our jewelry, all of our makeup, and wear baggy clothes. we met together at the ministry house and divided up into groups by which route we wanted to go on. there were shorter ones, ones where you go into shelters, ones where you go to the heat grates, and so on. me and my two other friend decided to go on the jesus saves route which i guess is the more difficult one. jesus saves is a mission in downtown denver that feeds and gives homeless people a place to stay at night. but after they fill up many homeless people are left outside. we took the vans downtown and we started on our way. we walked for about twenty minutes until we finally got there. our group had about fifteen people so we decided to split up into two groups so it wasnt so overwhelming. when we arrived there we had to stay with a guy so i was with this boy V who is a year older than me, pretty big and protective looking so i guess you could say it was alright.
the first couple people we talked to were pretty friendly. we gave them some food and olnly talked to them for a short amount of time. it was easy to see that many of them were under the influence of drugs and alcohol but i still felt compassion over them. we walked around the corner to where more of our group was. we saw this older man, with a walker, who we talked to for a good amount of time. he told us how he had injured his leg (it really did look like a bad leg). he told us it was from a bull riding accident. he told us how his wife had died in a drunk driving accident about ten years ago, and that one of his sons died in iraq about five months ago. he said he still had two other children though. it is so hard for these type of situations because you cant always tell if they are lying or not, but all you can do is show love to them nonetheless. this man, his name was david by the way, was older and a very slow speaker. it made me realize that i need to work a lot more on my patience. he spoke very slowly and i knew that he had more to say, even if he was quiet for a moment.
after that we headed back to the cars and met up with everyone else. that night was so moving. its definitly something i would like to go back and do again.
the first couple people we talked to were pretty friendly. we gave them some food and olnly talked to them for a short amount of time. it was easy to see that many of them were under the influence of drugs and alcohol but i still felt compassion over them. we walked around the corner to where more of our group was. we saw this older man, with a walker, who we talked to for a good amount of time. he told us how he had injured his leg (it really did look like a bad leg). he told us it was from a bull riding accident. he told us how his wife had died in a drunk driving accident about ten years ago, and that one of his sons died in iraq about five months ago. he said he still had two other children though. it is so hard for these type of situations because you cant always tell if they are lying or not, but all you can do is show love to them nonetheless. this man, his name was david by the way, was older and a very slow speaker. it made me realize that i need to work a lot more on my patience. he spoke very slowly and i knew that he had more to say, even if he was quiet for a moment.
after that we headed back to the cars and met up with everyone else. that night was so moving. its definitly something i would like to go back and do again.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
young life camp
despite a terrible start to the weekend, it was probably the best one ive had since ive been here. all of our freshman class took buses three hours to buena vista where we stayed the weekend at a young life camp in the mountains. it was so beautiful there. I wont go into moment by moment details about the weekend but i must say i probably made some of the best friends while i was there. jasper, breezy, champ, and i got so close it was awesome. finally some people that i can create inside jokes with, i miss that. just hanging out with them in general was probably the highlight of my weekend. praying for each other, learning personal things, just getting closer was so awesome. the chapel this weekend was amazing. it was so great to be able to feel closer to god again. it is exactly what i needed. one of the other best parts of the weekend had to be the waterslide hands down. it was SO much fun. except for the cut i got from going down it with like ten other people. im so thankful that i had this weekend.
secret verse:
John 15:12-13 His command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.
that was from memory girls...
secret verse:
John 15:12-13 His command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.
that was from memory girls...
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
people
tonight my brother reminded me that i have yet to write about any of the people ive met here. i write about events, and places, and things i do but i never mention any people. its about time.
kaylan is my direct roommate. i love her and i couldnt ask for anything more. shes so much fun and exactly like me. she plays soccer for the school and shes very talented and fast. she listens to the exact same music as me. we wear the same size clothes and have the same size feet. its perfect. she has bright blonde hair that i adore. we are so compatible and i love it. she is really encouraging and a great person to be around.
karissa and kait are my apartment roommates. they live approximatly ten feet away from me down our hall way. they are both music majors and very talented. both play the piano. they are fun girls to be around. kait just got a really neat tattoo that i really like. karissa is a down to earth girl.
Louisa is my RA and Amy is my Chaplin. They are both sisters that look so much alike that they could be twins but louisa is the older one. they are both so much fun and have a great sense of humor. i love having them around. amy has the best laugh i have ever heard. they are both runners and very outgoing, always up for doing something new and fun.
The girls in the apartment next to us seem nice. I havent taken a lot of time to get to know them though. Averill is from new hampshire. i really like her. but other than that i dont know too much about those girls but hopefully over the course of the year i will get to know them much better,
The girls in the apartment below me are my absolute favorite. Theres Breezy, Kyra, Jessica, and Sarah. Breezy is from south dakota and i think has three or four older brothers who go here. We all went bowling the other night and that was lots of fun. Breezy and i won a bet so we should be expecting some blueberry muffins pretty soon. Kyra is from illinois and so outgoing. she has a loud personality that i love and a distinguished accent. she always has to be doing something and her all time favorite thing to do is play in the rain. i love that about her. Jessica and Sarah both play tennis. Jessica is great. She looks exactly like mischa barton im convinced. sarah is probably one of the funniest people in our stairwell. i havent gotten to know her too well but she seems like fun. i do feel bad for her having to work at starbucks at four in the morning. i love going into this apartment. the oc is always on.
Austin and Teddy are the two guys ive been around the most since ive been here. mostly because of sniagrab i have gotten to know them pretty well. they are both soccer players and looked absolutly rediculous when they had to shave their heads all awkwardly because they were freshman. they both are very unique and genuine boys that i love to be around. i hope i get to be closer with them over the year.
mike is from nome, alaska. finally someone that i can share something in common with, although i have never been to nome. its actually kind of funny because we know a lot of people in common from up there. he and austin have been teaching kaylan and i to longboard which is the most fun thing ever.
since ive been here ive met a lot of people but i havent been here long enough to really get to know people. i think the next month will be really good for settling in and getting to know people. im really looking forward to it.
kaylan is my direct roommate. i love her and i couldnt ask for anything more. shes so much fun and exactly like me. she plays soccer for the school and shes very talented and fast. she listens to the exact same music as me. we wear the same size clothes and have the same size feet. its perfect. she has bright blonde hair that i adore. we are so compatible and i love it. she is really encouraging and a great person to be around.
karissa and kait are my apartment roommates. they live approximatly ten feet away from me down our hall way. they are both music majors and very talented. both play the piano. they are fun girls to be around. kait just got a really neat tattoo that i really like. karissa is a down to earth girl.
Louisa is my RA and Amy is my Chaplin. They are both sisters that look so much alike that they could be twins but louisa is the older one. they are both so much fun and have a great sense of humor. i love having them around. amy has the best laugh i have ever heard. they are both runners and very outgoing, always up for doing something new and fun.
The girls in the apartment next to us seem nice. I havent taken a lot of time to get to know them though. Averill is from new hampshire. i really like her. but other than that i dont know too much about those girls but hopefully over the course of the year i will get to know them much better,
The girls in the apartment below me are my absolute favorite. Theres Breezy, Kyra, Jessica, and Sarah. Breezy is from south dakota and i think has three or four older brothers who go here. We all went bowling the other night and that was lots of fun. Breezy and i won a bet so we should be expecting some blueberry muffins pretty soon. Kyra is from illinois and so outgoing. she has a loud personality that i love and a distinguished accent. she always has to be doing something and her all time favorite thing to do is play in the rain. i love that about her. Jessica and Sarah both play tennis. Jessica is great. She looks exactly like mischa barton im convinced. sarah is probably one of the funniest people in our stairwell. i havent gotten to know her too well but she seems like fun. i do feel bad for her having to work at starbucks at four in the morning. i love going into this apartment. the oc is always on.
Austin and Teddy are the two guys ive been around the most since ive been here. mostly because of sniagrab i have gotten to know them pretty well. they are both soccer players and looked absolutly rediculous when they had to shave their heads all awkwardly because they were freshman. they both are very unique and genuine boys that i love to be around. i hope i get to be closer with them over the year.
mike is from nome, alaska. finally someone that i can share something in common with, although i have never been to nome. its actually kind of funny because we know a lot of people in common from up there. he and austin have been teaching kaylan and i to longboard which is the most fun thing ever.
since ive been here ive met a lot of people but i havent been here long enough to really get to know people. i think the next month will be really good for settling in and getting to know people. im really looking forward to it.
Monday, September 3, 2007
hiking
today a group of girls from my stairwell drove up to st marys glacier, although i would in no way even begin to call it a glacier. haha. along the way we ran into some firemen who were offering free hot dogs for donations into their boot. so we got some tasty food and some quality time with firemen. i love them. we drove the rest of the way up to the trailhead. we started hiking up. it was kind of hard because it was pretty steep and there was no real trail. just lots of big loose rocks. we finally made it to the lower summit. it was so beautiful. there was a little clear lake, pretty trees, and a cute bridge. we watched some people jump off of the rocks into the lake. it looked like fun. we decided to go up further to reach the upper summit. that climb was a lot harder and steeper. for me the alaskan, elevation zero, i wanted to die. my lungs hurt so bad and i felt so light headed. we stopped for a minute to see these huge storm clouds coming in as well as thunder. we decided it would probably be a good idea to turn around. the thunder got closer and it started to rain. when we were almost to the lower summit it started to pour rain and the lightening was right over us. it was terrifying. it made the popping sound and echoed off of the mountain walls. we started running down the mountain and it started to hail. the hail was so thick you could barely see and it was so incredibly painful. there was no tree covering so we ran most of the way to the bottem for fifteen more minutes while we were underneath the lightening and getting peltd by hail. we finally made it to the car. safe and wet.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
sniagrab
things are good. really good. they are getting better. besides the class work load, but ill get used to it. this week is the most fun. you wouldnt believe what weve been doing. its sweet. thats all for now. ill leave you with one word "sniagrab". peace.
Monday, August 27, 2007
monday.
i woke up at seven and even though i didnt have to get up until eight thirty i couldnt fall back asleep. lame. today was my first day of classes and i was a little nervous. leaving my stairwell i found a girl that had the same class as me and we walked there together. when i got there i found a few other people i knew so it wasnt so bad. thats the joy of going to a small school. my first class was early christian literature. my teacher is this funny little korean guy who seems very friendly. the class seems like it could be hard. lots of reading. the whole curriculum pretty much revolves around reading the new testament and keeping a journal about it, followed up by in class discussions. after that i went back to the apartment for a break and then went to lunch with my roommate. the next class i went to on my own but found one girl i knew in it from my stairwell too. the class is oral communication and it has a lot of upper classmen in it. during this class period we didnt go over mcuh but we all got the chance to stand up and speak in front of the class by playing the game two truths and a lie (which the teacher called "false" lying is bad of course). that class got out a little early so i took the time to sit on a bench by myself in the sun and called my family. my roommate kaylan met up with me cause we had the next class together. it was our freshman integration class which was great. today we just did an activity with blindfolds and leading each other and stuff along those lines. it was a great trust building and getting to know each other class session.
after classes got out i went to the library to make copies of a book i needed only to find out i had no idea how to work a huge copy machine. i called my mom asking her why she hadnt taught me this important skill before leaving for school. i finally figured it out but it took forever and it didnt even give me my change back.
i came back to the apartment tired from my long day. i checked my school email where there was an urgent one from one of my advisors telling me that i needed to switch out of my freshman integration class asap because the one i was in is for people who are living in two of the learning communities. stressed out and tired i switched back into my original one god moving around the world. tonight has been exhausting and i am even more homesick. we finally got a new couch cover though so we are able to sit on it instead of the nasty coushins thanks goodness.
after classes got out i went to the library to make copies of a book i needed only to find out i had no idea how to work a huge copy machine. i called my mom asking her why she hadnt taught me this important skill before leaving for school. i finally figured it out but it took forever and it didnt even give me my change back.
i came back to the apartment tired from my long day. i checked my school email where there was an urgent one from one of my advisors telling me that i needed to switch out of my freshman integration class asap because the one i was in is for people who are living in two of the learning communities. stressed out and tired i switched back into my original one god moving around the world. tonight has been exhausting and i am even more homesick. we finally got a new couch cover though so we are able to sit on it instead of the nasty coushins thanks goodness.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
the first weekend.
sooo my first night here was terrifying. there was an enormous thunder and lightening storm right over us at about two in the morning. it woke my roommate and i up and we sat and watched it for quite a while. the parking lot started to flood. it was intense lightening and the next morning i heard that it had struck a nearby house and caught it on fire. scary! so to say, i didnt sleep well my first night.
yesterday was pretty fun. went to a chapel service and then i went bathroom shopping with my roommate. our apartment is so cute. we had an information mandatory rules meeting that afternoon. that night i had to say bye to my mom which was really hard. we ate dinner on campus and she walked me back to my room. she gave me all of her last words of wisdom and then she left. i cried for a minute. it was hard. right after that we made a walmart run which cheered me up. we came back and tye-dyed some teeshirts for our intermural sports teams and we also made brownies. that night we attended a "kool-aid" party at the boys dorm. it consisted of a ton of people outside the dorm, byoc (bring your own cup) and a huge garbage can full of kool-aid. the drinks were so sweet it made you sick but it was just such a funny event thinking of other college parties compared to our small christian school party, it was pretty neat.
today after waking up late my roommate and i walked over to a ministry fair and learned about all of the areas that we can get involved in off campus. im really looking towards one that works with young children. i think that would be a lot of fun. maybe intercity kids or something. from there we walked ten minutes down to a spanish baptist church. we were supposed to be painting the sanctuary but that had almost been finished by the group before us so instead we spent lots of time cleaning every inch of the kitchen. the work wasnt the most exciting thing out there but i know that it was very well appreciated.
tonight was the moonlight volleyball tournament. i live in "your moms house" so thats our theme. we all dressed up. we had our yellow tye dyed teeshirts that say YMH on the front and on the back of mine it says Mama Bond. that, with shorts, was covered by a robe, we put curlers in our hair and tied bandanas up, mom style of course. we put on mom makeup, some purple eye shadow and red lipstick, and the rest of our face was covered with a bright green face mask. pretty cute. after a long night of intense volleyball with the whole school dressed out in costume our team finally took third for the girls. i cut my knee up pretty badly on the sand but its all good.
im excited for tomorrow. im going to visit a new church, Red Rocks Church, and then my roommate is taking me back to her home where her mom is making dinner and we are going to go running at Garden of the Gods. im really excited about a home cooked meal. tonight im a little homesick. talking to seth made me really sad because he was sad. i talked to my dad today also and he sounded like he missed me a lot. i wonder when it is going to hit me that i am at college. there is no going home. not until thanksgiving atleast....
yesterday was pretty fun. went to a chapel service and then i went bathroom shopping with my roommate. our apartment is so cute. we had an information mandatory rules meeting that afternoon. that night i had to say bye to my mom which was really hard. we ate dinner on campus and she walked me back to my room. she gave me all of her last words of wisdom and then she left. i cried for a minute. it was hard. right after that we made a walmart run which cheered me up. we came back and tye-dyed some teeshirts for our intermural sports teams and we also made brownies. that night we attended a "kool-aid" party at the boys dorm. it consisted of a ton of people outside the dorm, byoc (bring your own cup) and a huge garbage can full of kool-aid. the drinks were so sweet it made you sick but it was just such a funny event thinking of other college parties compared to our small christian school party, it was pretty neat.
today after waking up late my roommate and i walked over to a ministry fair and learned about all of the areas that we can get involved in off campus. im really looking towards one that works with young children. i think that would be a lot of fun. maybe intercity kids or something. from there we walked ten minutes down to a spanish baptist church. we were supposed to be painting the sanctuary but that had almost been finished by the group before us so instead we spent lots of time cleaning every inch of the kitchen. the work wasnt the most exciting thing out there but i know that it was very well appreciated.
tonight was the moonlight volleyball tournament. i live in "your moms house" so thats our theme. we all dressed up. we had our yellow tye dyed teeshirts that say YMH on the front and on the back of mine it says Mama Bond. that, with shorts, was covered by a robe, we put curlers in our hair and tied bandanas up, mom style of course. we put on mom makeup, some purple eye shadow and red lipstick, and the rest of our face was covered with a bright green face mask. pretty cute. after a long night of intense volleyball with the whole school dressed out in costume our team finally took third for the girls. i cut my knee up pretty badly on the sand but its all good.
im excited for tomorrow. im going to visit a new church, Red Rocks Church, and then my roommate is taking me back to her home where her mom is making dinner and we are going to go running at Garden of the Gods. im really excited about a home cooked meal. tonight im a little homesick. talking to seth made me really sad because he was sad. i talked to my dad today also and he sounded like he missed me a lot. i wonder when it is going to hit me that i am at college. there is no going home. not until thanksgiving atleast....
Friday, August 24, 2007
first night on my own
today was packed with soooo much to do. i got up early this morning and started packing up all of the new stuff i bought here. there is a lot. i got to the school and went through with the registration stuff. after that i got all the stuff finally up into my room and met the other girls im living with. they are really sweet and it seems like it will be a lot of fun. i started unpacking my room. its so perfect and beautiful. the colors coordinate perfectly, pink & blue. we raised our beds up so they are about four feet in the air so we could slide our dressers under there along with some plastic drawers and containers. we put our desks at the end of our bed and then we put a tall metal shelf inbetween our beds to serve as a night stand. its so pretty.
i met up with my friend gillian today. its funny because we were really good friends up until we were about twelve and then we went to separate schools and didnt really talk anymore. then this summer i ran into her and we found out we were going to the same school. that was pretty neat. today was soo funny though. maybe you had to be here but here it goes anyway. we were walking and she tripped over a chord and had a pretty bad stumble infront of a group of new students. she got up, smiled, and said "hi im gillian" and walked away. hahah. it was pretty unforgettable.
the rest of the day was spent exploring, taking id pictures, listening to lectures, visiting a church fair and such. tonight we went to a banquet which was catered by the same company that caters to the denver broncos. it was pretty tasty. after, we came back here. i changed into sweatpants, of course, and started unpacking the rest of my clothes. we met down in our RA's room and got a chance to meet all of the other girls living in our stairwell. it was pretty fun. our RA's started off with the "new" rules. as of october first we are only allowed to take five minute showers because the hot water is too expensive here. boys are no longer aloud to sit on the couches or chairs. only the floor.... AND the flourescent lights in the room automatically shut off at ten pm.. in my head im thinking "what the heck am i going to do. there is NO way i can take a five minute shower" then i heard "just kidding" the sad thing was that every girl in the room really believed them. haha. next we took a suprise walk to the seven eleven where we were too lazy to wait for our turn to get slurpees so we just walked back. i got ready for bed and now i am preparing for my first night, away from home, on my own. wish me luck.
i met up with my friend gillian today. its funny because we were really good friends up until we were about twelve and then we went to separate schools and didnt really talk anymore. then this summer i ran into her and we found out we were going to the same school. that was pretty neat. today was soo funny though. maybe you had to be here but here it goes anyway. we were walking and she tripped over a chord and had a pretty bad stumble infront of a group of new students. she got up, smiled, and said "hi im gillian" and walked away. hahah. it was pretty unforgettable.
the rest of the day was spent exploring, taking id pictures, listening to lectures, visiting a church fair and such. tonight we went to a banquet which was catered by the same company that caters to the denver broncos. it was pretty tasty. after, we came back here. i changed into sweatpants, of course, and started unpacking the rest of my clothes. we met down in our RA's room and got a chance to meet all of the other girls living in our stairwell. it was pretty fun. our RA's started off with the "new" rules. as of october first we are only allowed to take five minute showers because the hot water is too expensive here. boys are no longer aloud to sit on the couches or chairs. only the floor.... AND the flourescent lights in the room automatically shut off at ten pm.. in my head im thinking "what the heck am i going to do. there is NO way i can take a five minute shower" then i heard "just kidding" the sad thing was that every girl in the room really believed them. haha. next we took a suprise walk to the seven eleven where we were too lazy to wait for our turn to get slurpees so we just walked back. i got ready for bed and now i am preparing for my first night, away from home, on my own. wish me luck.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
time to move on
It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going
Broken skyline, movin' through the airport
She's an honest defector
Conscientious objector
Now her own protector
Broken skyline, which way to love land
Which way to something better
Which way to forgiveness
Which way do I go
Time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going
Sometime later, getting the words wrong
Wasting the meaning and losing the rhyme
Nauseous adrenaline
Like breakin' up a dogfight
Like a deer in the headlights
Frozen in real time
I'm losing my mind
It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going
-tom petty
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going
Broken skyline, movin' through the airport
She's an honest defector
Conscientious objector
Now her own protector
Broken skyline, which way to love land
Which way to something better
Which way to forgiveness
Which way do I go
Time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going
Sometime later, getting the words wrong
Wasting the meaning and losing the rhyme
Nauseous adrenaline
Like breakin' up a dogfight
Like a deer in the headlights
Frozen in real time
I'm losing my mind
It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it's time to get going
-tom petty
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
lakewhat?
lakewood, colorado. my new home away from home. a suburb of denver and for an alaskan reference a ratio of muldoon to anchorage. its different here. the weather is hot, but dry, so its not too hard to handle. ive only seen chain restaurants here so i cant realy tell what the personality of the town is like. there is a church on almost every corner and there is ONLY starbucks coffee! sick. what am i going to do??
leaving home was one of the hardest things ive ever had to do. saying goodbye to my family and friends was terrible. after finally making it on the plane i sobbed for the first two hours of the flight until i finally fell asleep. i woke up miserable and tired. my face was splotchy and swollen. we got in and checked into our hotel early where i got to sleep for a few hours. when i woke up i didnt feel any better. later on mom and i went to target (our family tradition) and that made me feel a little better. i did some emotional shopping and spent lots of money on buying new things for my dorm.
i woke up today feeling better than the day before. we drove up to boulder and ate breakfast at my favorite restaurant in colorado called burnt toast. it is so wonderul. all of the food is organic, fresh, and tasty. i had bread, apples, and brie. only some of you will be able to understand my pure joy in being able to eat brie for breakfast. mmmmmmmmmmmm. we spent the day in boulder. its a great town. so relaxed and chill. like girdwood, but bigger. we ate dinner at olive garden and finally came back to the hotel full and content.
tomorrow morning im going to meet my roommate and see my new dorm. im nervous and excited. i cant believe its all really happening.
leaving home was one of the hardest things ive ever had to do. saying goodbye to my family and friends was terrible. after finally making it on the plane i sobbed for the first two hours of the flight until i finally fell asleep. i woke up miserable and tired. my face was splotchy and swollen. we got in and checked into our hotel early where i got to sleep for a few hours. when i woke up i didnt feel any better. later on mom and i went to target (our family tradition) and that made me feel a little better. i did some emotional shopping and spent lots of money on buying new things for my dorm.
i woke up today feeling better than the day before. we drove up to boulder and ate breakfast at my favorite restaurant in colorado called burnt toast. it is so wonderul. all of the food is organic, fresh, and tasty. i had bread, apples, and brie. only some of you will be able to understand my pure joy in being able to eat brie for breakfast. mmmmmmmmmmmm. we spent the day in boulder. its a great town. so relaxed and chill. like girdwood, but bigger. we ate dinner at olive garden and finally came back to the hotel full and content.
tomorrow morning im going to meet my roommate and see my new dorm. im nervous and excited. i cant believe its all really happening.
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