this_ephemeral_life's Xanga

A Riddle For You

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:54:59 GMT

This is my favorite riddle...and I'm expecting some good guesses. *There will be cash prizes.

"My first wears my second. My third would be
What my first might get if he went to sea.
Put them together--one, two, three
And the belle of New York is the girl for me."

*Just kidding.

who I am when I'm with Rob

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:24:34 GMT

I used to think that this was just an easy out when someone traps you with the "Why do you love me?" question. All you have to do is look all cute and say "I love you because of who I am when I'm with you." Despite being cheesy and overused, it is one of the reasons I love Rob.

So here are a few of the things that I am because of Rob:

I am a morning person. I have been getting up at 4:40am for the past month, and I get up at 6:30am on Saturdays!
I am a breakfast-eater. It's gotten to the point where I can't not eat breakfast...and we go out for breakfast almost every day, which I love.
I am a fitness club member. And I exercise every morning.
I am a Southerner. Ok...I'm not really a southerner, but I am beginning to sound like one...
I am a tree hugger. I fought it, I tried to resist, but alas! saving the environment is important and pulling leaves off trees is not a very nice thing to do.
I am an investor. I certainly never expected that to happen. He even has me watching the stock market.
I am a drummer. I find myself drumming my fingers on my steering wheel as I drive. I wonder where I picked up that habit.
I am a furniture shopper. Forget AE, let's check out Ethan Allen!
I am a swimmer. To be honest, I am the worst swimmer ever...however, I've been swimming so much lately, I may improve.
I am a reader of fiction. I haven't read fiction since I was in ninth grade!
I am a humanitarian. Well, maybe that's too strong, but I serve with Rob in a food pantry.
I am a voter. Never used to be.
I am a sushi consumer. Never touched the stuff before I met Rob.
I am news radio fan. And I used to hate listening to the news.
I am an avid Skip-bo player. I play every day at lunch.
I am a biker. Not the motorcycle kind--the old fashioned peddle kind.
I am a coffee-aholic. Three cups a day, but still not addicted.
I am a Spanish speaker. Well, understander more than anything...but I'm getting there.
I am a lover of eating out, action movies, talking to strangers, pancake houses, Richard Walkers, evening strolls, good steak, Jamba Juice, A River Runs Through It, foot massages, hybrid vehicles, Norah Jones, ornate decor, and Southern cooking!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:43:53 GMT

For the past week or two, I've had the most obnoxious pain shooting through my neck. It comes in short intervals, with pain hitting suddenly and traveling up my neck to my right jawbone. Then there are few moments of relief before it begins again. Each time it leaves, I find myself holding my breath, hoping that was the last. While this is not a constant problem, it has happened enough (and been painful enough) for me to live in constant fear of its return. However, it has been coming back...more and more frequently as time goes by.

I don't share this because I think I have some health issue. I'm certain that it's just a result of stress and lack of sleep (as are 90% of my ailments). I'm certainly not sharing because I want pity...but feel free to give me pity anyway.

Sometimes I wonder if I post on here because I love/need to write, or if I post because I'm lonely and just want to talk to someone. When I don't have anyone to talk to, I guess xanga is all that's left. I must admit, if the latter is true, I am pathetic.

It was so nice having Courtney here for a few weeks. She came into my room every night as I got my stuff together for working out the next morning, and we just chatted. Kinda like the nightly summary Beks used demand every night at school. Anyway, since she returned to PA, I have been in some sort of funk--feeling frustrated, discouraged, and ...burned out. I need a vacation.

Thanks for listening.

30 Things to Do before 30...revisited

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:42:24 GMT

I did finish my "30 things to do before I turn 30" list several months ago; however, I have not had any desire to return to my xanga since then. So, my list has remained tacked to my bulletin board in my office. But, now, in order to prove that my word is good (despite eight months of silence), I will finish what I began.

30 THINGS TO DO BEFORE 30

Write a book.
Get my Masters (I'm looking at Graphic Design, Journalism, and/or Marketing).
Move out on my own (If I don't do this before 30, someone kill me).
Get married and have my first kid.
Own a sports car.
Take dance lessons.
Live outside of the country.
Work for Moody Publishers
Learn to play the piano. (DONE!--or at least I'm in the process of learning)
Write a girl's Bible study. (DONE!--well, I'm doing it right now)
Get a membership @ a gym...and use it! (DONE!--every morning at 5am)
Learn to cook.
Get involved in community theater. (DONE!--I just got casted in another Overshadowed show!)
Run in a race.
Skydive. (DONE!--photographic evidence is on Facebook)
Visit Main, Rhode Island, and Hawaii...and thereby visit every state in the USA.
Make a quilt.
Learn Spanish. (in process...slowly but surely)
Take guitar lessons.
Work for a magazine. (DONE!--though, I'd prefer TIME to the Baptist Bulletin)
Tour Europe.
Parasail. (DONE!--with Courtney in St. Thomas)
Vacation with girlfriends! (DONE!--senior cruise with Courtney and Bekah...so much fun!)
Read 30 books.
Own a house.
Start investing. (DONE!--have I mentioned that my boyfriend is awesome...and BRILLIANT?)
Take art classes/continue painting.
Learn to knit.
Start college education program.
Live downtown...Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, or Boston. Eh...I might count a few other cities.

Considering that I am only 21 and have already checked eight goals off my list, I think I'm doing pretty well.

30 Things to do Before 30

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:51:59 GMT

Ah, my lovely roommate has read my mind and listed her first ten goals to achieve before the glorious age of 30. I must follow suit. I'm afraid that even in sitting here, I've thought of at least six more...but I shall try to limit myself to ten...in no particular order:

Write a book. Ok...this has been on my list since I was 6, and the original goal was before 20...but I obviously missed that goal. And note that "publish" is in no way connected to this goal...I'll shoot for that before 40.
Take up piano again. I took about a year of piano in second grade. Needless to say, I'm a little rusty. I know a woman here who might be willing to give me lessons...
Learn to swing dance. My (little) brother and I have found a swing dance studio in our town and have received the OK to give it a go! Someday, ballroom dancing will be on the agenda...but I can wait to learn that with the hubby.
Visit Europe. I won't even be really particular about where in Europe, but my preference is London, England or Florence, Italy. But really...I'm not picky.
Skydive. I have ALWAYS wanted to do this. I simply do not want to be the only one paying all that money to go...I need a friend brave enough to join me. If you're interested, let me know!
Learn to play the guitar. I know I already have an instrument on here, but I really would rather play the guitar than the piano; however, I have a headstart on piano, so I'll try that first. But I also know of a single, attractive, and all around great guy here who plays the guitar...maybe I'll ask for lessons.
Move out. I've been anxious to move out of the parentals' abode since I was...about 15. And now that I am actually able to leave at any time, I don't really want to. However, if I don't move out before thirty...I'm in huge trouble. My real goal is by the age of 22!
Parasail. This is another thing I've always wanted to do...and I fully intend to check this one off the list during the Senior Cruise I'm going on in May!
Get a masters. Possibly two...or even three. Ten years is a long time. I intend to start next fall and see how long it will take me. But I never intend to stop learning. My doctorate goal is 40 years old.
Vacation with my girlfriends. Court, we talked about doing this...but I'm serious. Before I turn thirty, we're gonna go on a road trip out west. It can be our last hurrah before we get hitched and settled down for a life of diapers and laundry. (If road trip doesn't work out, we could always visit Europe, kill two birds with one stone.)

20 more to come!

On a different note...for those of you who haven't heard...I have a job. I am the "Production Artist" for Regular Baptist Press. To be quite honest, I couldn't ask for a better job. I LOVE the people I work with, I LOVE working in a Christian environment, and I LOVE computers and graphic design. I am learning a lot and writing freelance on the side.

Oh...and tomorrow I'm going to see Wicked in downtown Chicago. AND I have a backstage pass!

MIAgain

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:38:22 GMT

In a few minutes, I will be returning to MI to stay in my old house, visit my old church, see a lot of my old friends.

I do not want to go.

Of course, I am dying to see Sparky Barchenza...but that is where the excitement ends. There really is nothing for me in MI, and quite frankly, I am so happy in IL that I never want to go back to MI again. I have made wonderful friends here. I have found a church that I love, as if it were my own family. This is my home.

Strange how quickly things change...isn't it?

Moving

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:30:07 GMT

I'm packing my dorm room for the last time.

Weird.

you are what you eat...

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 04:32:23 GMT

I am a pomegranate.

I may seem boring and unattractive on the outside, but break me open and I am a million pieces of juicy goodness. Each piece is obnoxiously difficult to break from the rind; however, even one drop is worth the effort. I'm seasonal, I stain your clothes, I'm healthy, and I'm all the rage.

Ok...maybe I'm not a pomegranate...but if I eat any more of them, I may turn into one.

"Home"

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:50:30 GMT

I am surrounded by all of the things that are familiar to me; and yet, nothing around me is familiar. It's as if I am watching a play and am familiar with the scene--the lines, actors, costumes, even props--however, the set, the context within which everything is viewed, has changed into something completely unknown to me.

It's odd how odd I expected coming "home" to be, but it is odder still how little oddity there really is in the situation. I am home alone, lying on my couch in my living room, typing on my computer. Sadie is at my feet. The phone rings--even the ring is familiar. The lamp behind my head is the same as it has always been. The piano is the same. The mirror on the wall is the same.

I feel at home.

I guess it serves as a reminder to me that my home is not my location on the globe, but rather my location in reference to what I love. So, for now, I am at home.

***Fun little fact for you: I live across the street from a pedophile. No joke. He's a convicted sex offender, recently let out of prison. There were signs all over the neighborhood. I guess the kiddos didn't stop by his house on Halloween.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:45:53 GMT

I graduate from college in a little over a month, and tonight especially, I have been realizing how little I will miss this place.

I have loved my classes and professors and activities, but I am definitely ready to move on with life.

And I am reminded that the people closest to me will never be far away.