I'm back home!

Drove my little '93 ford festiva (looks like this one) 7-hours home yesterday... in fog. Yes. Fog the entire way. Didn't bother me too much, but just made the trip a bit bleak. Actually made it a little earlier than expected, which was nice. Got home, took a short nap, and tried to figure out dinner plans. Only had two pop-tarts for lunch and breakfast, so was really hungry when I got home. Sarah called Mom and Angela, but they said that they were going to get pizza to us two hours later, which I just didn't think would fly. So I jumped out of bed, went downstairs and waited by the door with my keys, insisting that we go ahead and get dinner right then (I was . We ended up going with Dad to a restaurant in a little town down the road, which was nice, and had a good amount of substantial food. Mom and Angela met us there after they did their work-out in Hutch.
Everyone seems to be doing well -- Dad's been busy and stressed about getting the grades in for his students, Mom and Angela both have their last days of school today (and Angela's leaving this afternoon for Florida), and Sarah's been staying at home, relaxing. We're currently living in the front part of the house now, seeing as the sunroom and kitchen are getting new flooring put in. Looks like the new floors will be fantastic -- very exciting.
It was really nice to come home, get to bed and get to sleep in for a good amount of time. I really needed it. It's also nice to have pets. And snow. I'll see if I can get some photos put up here sometime. Then again, I have photos on my facebook. We'll just see. Took my car into the shop today to get things repaired, so hopefully La Tortue will be a happy little car. Am hoping to get some things cleaned up today and read some books that I'm interested in. We'll see how it goes!

-- Amy

It is nasty weather outside, but I'm done!!!! D-O-N-E -- done! Finally finished my UPenn Grad School application and am free from all things due (at least until next semester). It feels great. I can clean up my room again and relax and knit and spend more time with friends, sleep in, etc. It's fantastic. It's brilliant. It's wonderful. Whatever you want to call it.

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I saw my friend Lauren today, who has been studying in England this past semester (and is going into the Oxford program next semester). It was fantastic to catch up with her. Also, I got to have tea with her which was wonderful. She came over and I got out my teacups, saucers, little carton of milk, couple of tea bags, sugar packets; warmed up the tea in my electric kettle, had little biscuits, and everything! It was nice to finally have an official tea with someone.

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It has been sleeting outside since this morning and the world is white. Not nice soft happy, snow, though. Icy snow. Snow that you step on and it crunches. Wanted to take some pictures of it while on one of my rounds for the night, but the batteries in my camera decided that they were dead for sure. Luckily, I ran into Rachel DeCuir who had her camera out and was taking pictures, so she took some of me and we played in the snow. It's so nice to have people who are willing to just play in the icy snow and shine a happy light on the situation.

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Have to take my car in to the mechanic tomorrow to get the oil changed. Am also hoping to get the windschield fluid hose repaired as well. However, if this icy stuff continues, I'm not sure whether I'll make it there or not. We'll just see what the morning brings... we'll also see if I can go to bed at midnight again after staying up 'til around 2 around three nights in a row....

-- Amy

It's crunch time. I still have around 400 words left to write on my German paper, have to study for the German test, and have to finalize the personal statement for my UPenn application. Whew. It's alot. And I've been working on it all for quite awhile now. Don't worry, I've been taking plenty of breaks, but now it's time to get this stuff done. It's kind of nice to keep reminding myself that I'll be done with it all by this time tomorrow. It's a bit of relief. This time tomorrow, I'll have nothing to do for two more days except check resident's rooms when they leave and work in the campus bookshop in the afternoons. So excited.
I guess that's enough of a breather for now. Back to the books!

-- Amy

Took the GRE yesterday and bettered my Quantitative scores, but not my verbal. Took the rest of the day easy, because I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. So now all I have is everything due on Monday. Am starting to get a bit impatient to get home for the holidays. My favorite part of Christmas is the time leading up to it. I also love getting presents for people. You know that book that talks about the Five love languages? Well, mine is giving gifts. I don't know that I look forward to receiving the gifts as much as I enjoy giving them. For me, gifts represent thoughts of people. If I see something that makes me think of someone, I'm very tempted to buy it. Gifts also have to have meaning. I don't like getting meaningless gifts for people. Saw an interesting youtube video which talks about refocusing and making Christmas really what it was meant to be about. Spending time with people, making good memories and good relationships. Giving your time and love rather than just gifts. I like that and am going to try to do more of that this Christmas.
But this year just doesn't feel like Christmas. I don't know if it's because I've been busy with other things, but I just can't quite believe that it's coming up soon. And even though I am looking forward to going home for the holidays, I'm also not. On the one hand, I'm looking forward to seeing my sisters, mom, and dad. But my home is no longer my home. I love the house and am looking foward to getting it cleaned up and decorated for Christmas, but it's not the same as past years. My dorm room is more of my home now than the place in Haven. But I guess that it's only because I've settled down here more than I have in Haven. Hopefully this Christmas break will change that.
So I went on facebook the other day and saw that my friend Jo was online. She and I were best friends in high school and she has been living in the Denver area for years now, working with YWAM. So I chatted with her for a bit and found out that she's currently looking for a job and a little low on money. So I asked her what this meant for Christmas and she said that she'd probably just spend it with a family there in town that has kind of adopted her. I asked what she thought of coming to Kansas and she said that she didn't have a car to get there. Long story short, we found a cheap flight and figured out a way for her to come in and stay with us for around a week. Am really excited to see her again (haven't seen her in quite a few years) and am looking forward to having her around for Christmas.
In general, I am just looking forward to having a nice relaxing time back at home with family and friends. Now I just need to get through finals!

-- Amy

Two down, two to go...

I just turned in my last paper for Anthropological Theory and I now only have two 'finals' left. One is a real final examination , and the other is a paper Next Monday is the big day. My UPenn application is due, my final test is in the morning, and my paper is due by that noon. Until then, I just have the GRE to take tomorrow (wish me luck) and that's it!
Am super excited. I love finals weeks because people tend to have more time to hang out. However, it really stinks when everyone starts to leave for home. After the 15th, I wouldn't need to be here, but since I"m an RA, I have to check everyone's rooms when they leave for break, which means that I don't get to leave until the 18th for home.
Didn't get much sleep last night, due to working on the Anthropology paper, but am not doing too bad. I've been surprisingly calm and stress-free and seem to be taking everything in stride, which is great. Hopefully, it'll last a good long time.
Talked with my sisters yesterday on the phone and then on Skype. It's been snowing up in Kansas and has made the roads all nasty to drive on. Here, on the other hand, there was a high of 65 (fahrenheit) yesterday. However, today's high is supposted to be 39 (7 degrees above freezing for you celsius people out there). I really don't understand Arkansas weather. It's insane.

-- Amy

I ain't got no strings to hold me down...

Random entry:



Over break, I got a wireless keyboard and mouse for my computer. Because "Optimus Prime" (what I call my computer) can no longer hold the screen up, I can only use Optimus where I can prop up the screen. Therefore, I would have to lean over awkwardly to use my computer, which hurt my back.

So now I'm wireless. And yes, I did test how far away I could still use my keyboard and mouse. It passed the across the bedroom test, but at that point, it's quite difficult to read the screen. So, even though I'm wireless, I still keep my computer relatively close so that I can actually read what I'm doing. I must say, though, it has been quite fun, being able to sit back in my chair, whip out the keyboard and mouse, and being able to work on my computer in a comfortable position. Future tests may truly test the wireless distance capabilities of my computer, but for now I'm happy with it as it is.



Just a random note.



-- Amy

So this week is turning out to be rather crazy. Have a paper due on Thursday about Saussure that I still need to work on quite a bit. Difficulty is finding the time, of course, but it's good to finally get Saussure read. Now if I can just turn out a good paper about him...
Am looking forward to the end of the semester, but a bit sad that it's my last fall semester here. Granted, it'd be better if I knew where I was going to go afterwards, but we'll just see what God has in store. Gotta go read some more now.

-- Amy

Thoughts of Christmas

The month has now arrived where we celbrate the birth of Christ. With this joyful season, I have a couple of thoughts that I'd like everyone to consider. Often, I believe that we get too caught up in holiday seasons -- or at least I know that I do. I also know that most people only come to church on Christmas and Easter Days. Think just for a moment about what these holidays celbrate -- the birth and death of Christ. What is missing here? We have a holiday to celebrate that He came. We have a holiday to celebrate that He left, but how often to we celbrate the fact that He was here? I think that too often we focus on the birth and death of Christ -- Christ as a baby and as a Saviour, that we forget to focus on Christ as a man. Yes, it is important that Christ came to the Earth; yes, it is important that He died on a cross to save us all. But let us not forget all that He taught while He was here. Drivig down, yesterday, I was listening to the song "My Enemies Are Men Like Me" by Derek Webb, which starts out "I have come to give you life/ and show you how to live it". Yes, through Christ's death we have been given life, but let's not forget that He came to show us how to live it. I challenge anyone who reads this to spend this advent season getting to know Christ the man.

-- Amy

So a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked by a drop in the price of gasoline to 1.96. I was so surprised to see it under $2.00 that I rushed out and filled up my tank, even though it wasn't too low at the time. So when I was driving down the street the day before leaving for Thanksgiving Break, I was really excited to see it down to $1.67. On my trip up to Kansas, I kept a mental note of the prices and the lowest that I saw was $1.51 on some little gas station in the middle of nowhere. On the trip back today, I was happy to get a half tank of gas for $1.51 in Tulsa! I've been really impressed with Tulsa's low prices on gas -- it has had either the lowest or second lowest prices I've seen on both trips. I know that it's kind of silly to write about gas prices, but it really did surprise me. I never really thought that I would see gas prices that low again, so this is quite something.

-- Amy

Thankful

I made it home safely after my routine 7-hour drive home. I got up and out of the door at a good time and had nice weather the entire drive up. It has been nice to be back home -- home with family, pets, and some friends. Granted, at times it can be frustrating and stressful, but it is nice to be here nonetheless.
I couldn't help thinking about my friends back in England on Thanksgiving Day. While I was still working on making the pies here, I knew that my friends were also preparing their own dinner and I thought back on this time last year. I remembered staying up until 4 a.m. preparing the pumpkin pies with Graham and I remembered my growing excitement about the dinner that was coming up that evening. I remember going and eating a delicious meal with good friends and remembered that even though the dinner wasn't perfect and wasn't exactly like a Thanksgiving dinner at home, I was unavoidably thankful. I was thankful for friends, life, and all the many things God gives me and I had a wonderful day thanking Him for His many blessings.
This year, I have once again found much to be thankful for. I have been thankful for my parent's new home -- it has proven to be perfect for them and I have been enjoying helping out where I can. I have been thankful for all three of us girls to be at home for Thanksgiving and have cherished the fact that we have the ability to come together for the holidays. I have no clue where I will be next year and am not guaranteed to make it home for many Thanksgivings from here on out. I have been thankful for the dog and cats -- things to care for. I have also been thankful for finally being able to make some proper pies. Pies are indeed my specialty and it's been so long that I've been able to make one from scratch -- it was nice to do that again. And, of course, I am thankful for all the other things God has given me -- food, shelter, love, and salvation through His Son.
So I hope that this Thanksgiving has allowed everyone to stop and think about just how much we have to be thankful for and to make the most of it.

-- Amy

Introduction

I have been inspired to take up blogging again. I have been told many times that I often give too much information and lack clarity in my writing. I then saw Hugh's nice blog and was inspired to try my hand at it again. In the past, I have tended to write far too much and therefore it took much more time than needed. I view the world around me in a bit of a running dialogue in my mind and therefore find it difficult to narrow down and clarify things. But not with this. This will be my experimental blog. Maybe if I write little bits and pieces day by day, I won't feel this strong need to spill everything out when people ask.
So welcome to my new blog, everyone! Don't worry -- I'll still send out e-mails to all of you. This is just for in the mean time.

Today's News:
I won a Carnival Cruise for two to the Bahamas! Nice, eh? I could use it for myself, but I don't really know of anyone to take with me. So, I'm thinking I'll give it to my parents.
I won it in a raffle. In order to get the prize, I had to attend the event "Does HIV look like me?" -- an educational event about HIV. It was really well presented and the speaker was fantastic, but went on a bit longer than I expected. I missed The Office and 30 Rock tonight because of it, but it was worth it. Now I know alot more about HIV and AIDS and have two tickets for a cruise!

Now if I could just get some sleep... :-)

-- Amy