Trying To Be Patient

Apart from Chooseday Tuesdays (which single-handedly rectified my career as a Camp Bethel counselor after the "Have You Ever Seen A Camper Go To Pee" skit night incident), I'm not much for themed days of the week. So despite the fact that last Monday's post had some thought for the day as well, I'm not about to start a weekly "Motivational Monday" series or anything. Just clarifying.

However, I typically find myself laying in bed on Monday mornings thinking about everything I need to do during the course of the week. I'm a full-time student, obviously, so there's a never-ending to-do list of projects and meetings and exams and papers. I work two jobs---I'm a barista at the Coffeehouse and a resident assistant for a freshman dorm---so there's the fun of balancing shifts & on-call nights, handling issues with my girls, taking people to the emergency room, having Duke Police on speed dial, you know---the usual. Then this time of year rolls around & adds the stress of summer internship applications and resumes and career center appointments. And somewhere amongst all of that, I find myself curled up in a little ball ticked off at the world for being so messed up, because if I lived back in Bible times, I would have already been married for like, five years and have kids and not have to go to college in the first place. (I'm aware that statement can get me shunned by my liberal, feminist university. But really, think about it...)

So I get stressed and upset and frustrated. And I go eat sushi with Kacey because she always makes me feel better. And I remind God that He promised to take care of me and give me the future I hope for, you know... just in case He forgot that I have no idea what I'm doing this summer. Then I giggle, because I don't actually remind God about anything; I just remind myself. I really am content letting Him be in control. I've compiled my portfolio and resume, sent out all my applications, and I know that I'll end up wherever He wants me to be. And just like that---everything seems so much better.

Then, I make pretty things to remind me of the past twenty minutes, because inevitably, next Monday will roll around and I'll have these same little internal battles. Who am I kidding? It will probably happen again tomorrow.

both photos taken at Camp Bethel :)

Tar Heel Hatred: It's a Family Thing

Today, I spent the entire day with my cousin Shawn. Technically, our moms are cousins, which makes us second cousins (I think), but my family is super huge and super close, so first cousins are just like siblings and anyone else is a really close cousin. No lie.

Shawn is the coolest freshman at NC State, so all my wolfpack readers, if you see this kid on campus, you should probably be his best friend.

I drove to Raleigh yesterday morning and asked Shawn to give me a tour of the campus. We went to State during our junior year college tour trip in high school, but all I remember about that trip is almost setting a fake tree on fire in the middle of a mall, and then almost getting kicked out of the mall because we were throwing bouncy balls off the walls. And actually getting kicked out of Limited Too because these are my friends:

Awesome.

The only other thing I remember is absolutely hating State's campus because it was ugly and because I was in the worst mood of my life by the time we got there (we all were). Seriously, apart from the final six hours of the Washington, DC trip, college tours wins as worst class trip ever.

So, four years later and in a much better mood, Shawn showed me all of campus. I took one picture the entire time, but hey -- I made it count.

(Camp Bethel loves, this was on the door to the belltower. I needed someone to giggle with me & bust out with "and sow the seeds of peace!")

And as I suspected, I didn't hate the campus anymore :) I mean, it's not exactly pretty. Especially when I'm spoiled with Duke's gothic architecture and gorgeous stonework and bajillions of acres of forests and gardens. But I liked it.

**If I don't stop here, this will quickly turn into a post of how I should have gone to State's College of Design for free instead of dropping $100K at Duke (where there is not a design program at all), and from there it will probably spiral into the dozens of transfer applications I've filled out over the past two and a half years in my state of absolute misery but never actually sent off. Then I might mention how strange it was when I saw a group of three white guys, all six feet tall, wearing a t-shirt and jeans on State's campus yesterday. And then how strange it was to realize that's not strange at all, it's just strange to me because I haven't seen it in three years. And how weird it was to eat lunch in the cafeteria on a Saturday and see people just eating and not pouring over textbooks and articles. And how although I've made the Dean's List before at Duke, I'd make it a lot more often if the cutoff was a 3.25 instead of a 3.75. I'd also probably mention how 90% of State students are North Carolinians, as opposed to our 15%, meaning the majority of people here have not been raised "yes ma'am, no sir" and THINK THEY'RE ENTITLED TO EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD just because they're Duke students. But like I said, I don't want to get into all that, so I'll stop now.**

I took Shawn back to Duke with me, and he got to experience the "I-totally-don't-fit-in-here" feeling that I've lived with for three years. We went to the gardens (one of Shawn's friends is interning at the Duke Gardens this summer. Did you know you could also get horticulture internships at the Biltmore House? and EPCOT? So cool!) We did the typical Duke Chapel and Cameron Indoor Stadium thing. I also took him to our chemistry building, since he's in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at State and since our chem lab is pretty sweet seeing as how Bill Gate's wife donated $115 million for it to be built within the past five years. But, there were over 150 aKDPhis (an Asian sorority) practicing a dance/step routing in the lobby, so we left.

Such is life.

We did the typical Summit Church & Bojangles routine, which I've grown to love so dearly. Slash, if any fellow Summit'ers heard Clayton King speak this weekend, let it be known that I was absolutely dyinggg when he told that story at the end about the Marines. So. True. Oh, so so true. I'm beyond grateful that someone in the audience clearly was a Marine and let out a good ol' "oorah!" because if he hadn't, I'm afraid I would have. I could feel it coming up (like word vomit--Mean Girls) and then Zach would have completely disowned me when I told him about it :)

Shawn and I are planning to have another cousin day in a couple of months when the gardens are actually blooming, and I'm really looking forward to it! He had me laughing the entire day---I love how he speaks exactly what's on his mind :)

And now? I'm heading to Winston because my baby sister is turning sixteen. Is this real life? I can't wait to see everyone, especially since Grandpa is home & coming to the party!

Pre-Deployment Training: Fort Pickett

He's a cutie. Even when he calls me after he gets off guard duty at 4AM & halfway through the conversation asks, "wait, are you in the bed?"

"Yes, I'm in the bed! As is every other sane person right now..."

He really has no concept of time. But I wouldn't trade those 4AM phone calls for anything :)

Say Hey (I Love You)

I know I've been really slack about blogging this week. You know what I did instead? I took a nap. Every single day, I'm pretty sure. I think I took more than one on Wednesday. It got to the point where I almost felt guilty for not soaking up every bit of sunlight, but I pulled the "I'm-a-college-student" card and reminded myself that in a little over a year, napping every day will no longer be acceptable & I need to enjoy it while I can. And oh, I did enjoy it. And I don't feel guilty one bit :)

With that being said, I was wide awake at 5AM with this lovely little song in my head. Seriously, what better way to start a Friday?

So I listened to it, and I listened to it again, and I actually got out of bed at a much later 6:45AM, determined to suck all the marrow out of life today. I opened my blinds to find this:

For half a second, I contemplated crawling back into my little bed because there's nothing better than naps on rainy days. I don't even have class on Fridays; there was no need for me to be up. But then I remembered how I was going to suck all the marrow out of life today, so I decided there's nothing better than naps on rainy days except stomping in puddles with rain boots.

And that's exactly for I did.

I put on my rain boots (which I love more than any pair of shoes I own & would wear every day if I could get away with it). I also put on my men's x-large, bright yellow rain jacket, because I wanted a yellow rain jacket more than anything and the only one in Dick's the day before I left to work at camp was a men's x-large. Sold.

I know. I'm going to have stubborn, stubborn children one day who insist on dressing themselves and end up in various combinations of plaid and loud polka dots and stripes. And let it be known now that if that's what they want to wear, then that's what they'll wear, because goodness knows my mother put up with my lack of fashion sense.

With my "tree hugger, planet lover" canvas bag in tow, I walked directly across the street to... Whole Foods. (Yes, I can see Whole Foods from my bedroom window. It's a problem.) I made sure to jump in every puddle I saw :)

Just a sampling of my Whole Foods purchases from this morning:

Yes, my soap is made from goat's milk. And it's covered in shamrocks since St. Patrick's Day is less than three weeks away. I love my life.

Also, I should mention that I get awful, awful mouth sores every month (yes, it's related to other wonderful things that happen every month) and they hurt SO badly. I've tried a lot of supposed cures, but haven't had much luck, so I decided to try this:

It says to take it three times a day, and you know what? I can actually tell a huge difference already. Keep your fingers crossed that this works!

I decided the best way to top off my puddle-jumping, Whole Foods-shopping, goat's milk-showering morning was with... a Duke waffle from the Marketplace.

No worries. I smothered this baby with butter & syrup & whipped cream after the picture. And blueberries, just so it had some nutritional value. Add a couple of vegan sausage patties & a cup of chocolate soy milk, and I'm a happy little girl :)

And now? I'm laying here wearing my pink fuzzy socks & sipping on my green tea...

...when I noticed sunlight pouring in the room. Um, hello, when did that happen? It's gorgeous outside. Four hours ago it was pouring rain.

It's a perfect day for sucking the marrow out of life :)

Look Who's Alive

Oh yeah. It's Mr. Virtual Chi Pet. I'm so proud :)

Photo Dump

Long story short, I have a billion pictures on my camera that stare at me every day, pleading, "please share us with the world, too. Aren't we good enough?"

Yes, little pictures, you are good enough. You're just entirely random and don't really go together in any cohesive manner. But, I suppose life is random, and today I will celebrate the randomness of life with a montage of pictures that have nothing to do with one another.

Exhibit A: The Llama-Frog Card

Lauren wrote me last month & I responded with this little pretty. At National Youth Conference 2006, Devin started referring to me as "the frog" due to the fact that I spent the entire week riding on the bus with my legs bent & my feet in the seat like a frog. (I still naturally sit tucked in a little ball whenever I go to class and have to remind myself that I'm 21 years old & my feet go on the floor.) My frog legs, combined with the fact that my eyeballs are twice the size of a normal human being (not kidding), earned me the nickname "cutest frog ever."

As far as Lauren?

Well, she's a llama simply because she can do this:

She can even make the appropriate sound effects to go along with it. I bet nobody else has a picture of themselves doing the llama while watching the sunset at the Grand Canyon.

And thus we've been llama & frog ever since.

Exhibit B: My Alarm Clock

I took this picture for a project a while back & showed it to Zach. He responded with, "that's really cool!"

"What's so cool about it?"

"The time... 6:27. It's our anniversary. June 27."

Please tell me what other guy in the world would have pieced that together? Plus ten points for the boyfriend.

Exhibit C: The Paracord Bracelet

Simply put, these things are to the military what silly bands are to a class of second graders. No joke.

It's made out of 550 cord/paracord which was used in military parachutes back in the day & can hold up to 550 pounds (hence the name). This little baby has 24 feet of cord in it!

The guys wear them as bracelets, but in case of an emergency, they can unravel them and... I don't know, repel down a cliff or do something equally extreme and awesome.

Zach's been wanting one for a while. The "Survival Straps" website sells them for a grand total of $29.90. Girl, please. I put on my big girl britches, went to a military surplus store, bought some 550 cord, and made the entire thing for all of $2.25. Plus fifteen girlfriend points for me :)

Exhibit D: The Victory Bonfire

I know I posted pictures from Blue Devil Planet, but these were actually taken with my own camera. And I have approximately 300 more that look the exact same. Just proof that I was there... in the front row...

Exhibit E: Valentine's Day

Mommy & Daddy sent me a package with some chocolate that has shamelessly been devoured already AND a Krispy Kreme valentine good for one free doughnut. Kacey? Cameron?

A valentine from one of my sweet residents. Also note the candy has been eaten :)

A card in the mail from my mom's cousin :)

and... my Valentine's Day card from Grandma & Grandpa. She apologized for not having time to go out and buy actual valentines. Um, Grandma? Pretty sure the whole "being-in-the-hospital-with-Grandpa-for-83-days" thing gets you off the hook this year. Trust me. This valentine means more to me than any red & pink heart-covered card ever could.

Exhibit F: Domo Sushi

The past two Mondays, I've gone to Cary while Kacey was working & devoured some sushi. I never ate sushi until a couple of months ago. And now? It's pretty much my favorite food. No lie, I eat it on campus about three times a week as well. So. good.

Branching out from the standard "maynard" maki roll.

I'm thinking this is going to quickly turn into a Monday night tradition.

Also, let's point out how pro I am at using chopsticks.

Exhibit G: The Chalkboard Wall

My cute little tree is growing & it makes me so happy. (It's a little hard to read in these pics---MC, Casey, Kacey, "The Special One"--Megan, Anne, & Hong).

Helen has decided to trace her hand every time she comes over to visit or spend the night, which is currently about as frequent as I eat sushi.

But oh, how I love her.

Exhibit G: #1 Duke

This beauty of a picture wasn't necessarily on my camera, but I did compile a few screenshots of the various sports' headlines when I woke up this morning. I mean, ten straight weeks at number one was nice, but the past three weeks at lowly number five has been a little disheartening. It's nice to see us back on top.

May your day be random & wonderful and full of sushi :)

Thought For The Day

On A Boat

One of Zach's closest friends in the Marine Corps is named Baker. Well technically, his name is Bryan. But they all go by their last names, so that's how I've always referred to him as well. "Bryan" sounds funny. He's just "Baker."

Anyway, Baker & Zach were stationed together at Camp Geiger for seven months back in the day before Baker accepted orders to go to Japan for two years.

Baker, me, Zach, & Howard (who is currently is Bahrain for two years) at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2009

Baker always tells me if tomorrow is going to be a good day or not, since he's 13-14 hours ahead & it's already tomorrow where he is :)
He's one of the funniest people I've ever met & he's also just really down-to-earth with a great attitude about life.

Although Baker's permanent duty station is Okinawa, Japan for the next year (I can't believe he's already been gone for a year!), he's currently part of a MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) and is spending three months on a boat in the oceans around the Philippines & Thailand. And while I have not the slightest idea how to send mail to a boat in the middle of the ocean, he gave me his address and promised it would work. We'll see about that...

Haha, I thought it was funny. Zach did, too :)

And in case you're curious what an address to a boat in the middle of the ocean looks like, it's simply "CLB-31 Unit 38463 FPO AP 96604-8463." No big deal.

Keep your fingers crossed that this works.

Peer Pressure

Oh man, I've been tagged.I suppose that makes me an official blogger now? I'm not sure how I feel about that; I've spent the past year or so trying to keep to my little blog and not get sucked into the "blogging community." I'm not actually a "blogger," after all.

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step, right? Clearly I'm not there yet.

• • • • •

Here’s how it works:

1. Link back to the person who awarded you.

(That'd be Sally)

2. Post seven random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to other bloggers.

(Kacey Stevens, I'm looking at you...)

• • • • •

1. I was not a typical child.

During free time at preschool, my classmates would bring me books and I would read to them. You know, since I could read when I was four and all. When I was five, I typed out all the numbers from 1-1000 on the computer for fun. Trust me, it gets worse. Katherine & I would play "dolls" with puzzle pieces we had that were shaped like the 50 states. California & Texas were the parents, obviously, and Delaware & Rhode Island were the babies. You get the picture. They slept in the doll house beds & everything. It may have been slightly unconventional, but I guarantee you that we were the only kindergarteners who could correctly label a map of the US.

2. I drink way too much coffee.

I apparently take way too many pictures of coffee as well.

It's not even that I drink it for the caffeine; I could drink decaf & be content. I just like the taste. And by "like," I mean "love." And by "love," I mean "am addicted to." While I may still be in denial over my blogger label, I have no problem admitting that I am a coffee junkie.

3. I refuse to mix laundry with anyone.

(I just needed an excuse to show that I did THREE loads of laundry today AND FOLDED EVERYTHING. Look, Mom!)

When I was in elementary school, I watched an insane amount of 7th Heaven and that's what I learned---that doing laundry together is a really big deal. I promise there's an episode about it. Anyway, as absurd as it is, I cannot bring myself to do laundry with anyone until I am married. It absolutely freaks me out.

4. Kacey was my date on Valentine's Day this year :)

Corrie sent this to me in my Valentine's Day package. She made it. Craftiness clearly runs in the family.

On Monday, I drove to Cary to surprise Kace at Domo Sushi while she was working. I then proceeded to eat my Valentine's Day dinner being the only person seated at a table for four. Thankfully, I had the prettiest waitress in the whole wide world doting on me the entire time :)

5. If I could be anyone in the entire world, I would be Pocahontas.

Yes, this picture was taken within the last two months. Don't judge.

Pocahontas was my favorite Disney movie ever, hands down. I was Pocahontas for Halloween multiple times. One year, we had to dress up as vegetables for church (I have not the slightest clue why). I just remember being really bitter about having to be a stupid vegetable, so I wore my Pocahontas outfit and told everyone I was indian corn.

6. The number one item on my bucket list is to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.

I've hiked parts of it at various times in my life, but I would love to take six months or so and do the whole thing from Maine to Georgia. I'm thinking if I can raise $30,000 by the time I graduate, I may be able to convince my parents to let me postpone getting a job for six months. Any takers?

7. I broke my "don't wear braids & a beret more than once a month" rule tonight.

I couldn't help it---it's my favorite. One day, I will be cool enough to pull it off all the time. Besides, tonight was totally allowed because I went to singer-songwriter night at the Devil's Bistro and heard Brett Harris:

I'm a fan. You know I'm always a sucker for the $0.99 artists :) Check him out.
• • • • •
Whew, I hope that qualifies as seven random facts about myself. Like I said, I would pass this along, but my friends aren't lame enough (ahem, I meant cool enough) to blog like I do. It's okay. Their time will come. I think it's like owning a mini-van. Everyone always says they'll never buy one, but they all eventually do :)