My cell phone has more contacts under "J" than any other letter.
The "save" icon on Microsoft Word shows a floppy disk, with the shutter on backwards.
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.
All porcupines float in water.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Memories
The strings of my heart- tied all over the world. They're tugged, pulled, yanked. Tugged to Hiawatha: to my fellow staff members, to campers, to more memories than words can express. They're pulled towards Hillsdale County, to Crossroads Farm, to late nights in the car, to my many family members there. The strings of my heart are yanked back to Pucallpa, Peru. Yanked to my Peruvian familia, to the orphans of Aldea Infantil San Juan, to the members of CEMY and Jovenes con Vision, to motocarro rides and meals at C'est si Bon.
It takes so little for a memory to come rushing back. A smell, a song, a taste, a Bible verse, a movie, even hearing spoken Spanish- can all bring back vivid, colorful, intense memories.
I smell smoke and dust and suddenly I'm walking the streets of Pucallpa with Ben, Craig, Azaky, Drake, Ian, Mel, or Kelly. "He Will Carry Me" comes on the radio and I'm back on stage, placing baby Moses in the river of arms doing that motion I still can't do.
We order Subway for dinner and I'm transported back to Reading. To those late nights in Subway, talking and laughing. To the rides home, listening to Yes FM. Singing at the top of our lungs- even though none of us are really singers.
Pastor Brad preaches on Psalm 139. I close my eyes, and I'm back at Hiawatha, surrounded by my closest friends. My arms are raised, tears squeeze through my closed eyes. Such a knowledge is too, wonderful for me/It is too high, for my feeble mind/Where can I go from your Spirit?/Where can I run from Your presence?/If I ascend to the heavens, You are there, You are there/You're rising up in the morning/In a dry and barren land/Leading me, holding me in Your hand/There You are/How wonderful to be where you are. I'm with God. I'm home.
Looking through movies on my computer, I see Son of Rambow. The memories rush back- arguing in the video store, skeptically agreeing after what seems like hours. Come on, don't you trust me? Aren't you always talking about how you trust me? Sitting in my grandparents' living room with two of my closest friends, laughing hysterically.
I can be walking through the mall when I hear somebody speaking Spanish. I strain to listen, hoping I can catch a few words. The language takes me back to my most recent trip to Peru, to the day when God put words in my mouth that I never knew I know. To those ten days of translation and communications. To realizing later that I had communicated full conversations- almost completely in a language I barely speak.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup takes me back in time to the camp dining room. Back to constantly "hitting the jackpot," to debates, arguments, and jokes. Back to laughing, getting mail, and thinking it would never end.
As we sing "He Keeps Me Singing," I picture myself standing between Rocky and Reuben on the platform. I'm one of maybe three staff members who know the song. There's a cheat board in the front row. I remember belting it out loudly, no doubt off-key, yet exuberantly joyful.
Work in Progress- more to come.
It takes so little for a memory to come rushing back. A smell, a song, a taste, a Bible verse, a movie, even hearing spoken Spanish- can all bring back vivid, colorful, intense memories.
I smell smoke and dust and suddenly I'm walking the streets of Pucallpa with Ben, Craig, Azaky, Drake, Ian, Mel, or Kelly. "He Will Carry Me" comes on the radio and I'm back on stage, placing baby Moses in the river of arms doing that motion I still can't do.
We order Subway for dinner and I'm transported back to Reading. To those late nights in Subway, talking and laughing. To the rides home, listening to Yes FM. Singing at the top of our lungs- even though none of us are really singers.
Pastor Brad preaches on Psalm 139. I close my eyes, and I'm back at Hiawatha, surrounded by my closest friends. My arms are raised, tears squeeze through my closed eyes. Such a knowledge is too, wonderful for me/It is too high, for my feeble mind/Where can I go from your Spirit?/Where can I run from Your presence?/If I ascend to the heavens, You are there, You are there/You're rising up in the morning/In a dry and barren land/Leading me, holding me in Your hand/There You are/How wonderful to be where you are. I'm with God. I'm home.
Looking through movies on my computer, I see Son of Rambow. The memories rush back- arguing in the video store, skeptically agreeing after what seems like hours. Come on, don't you trust me? Aren't you always talking about how you trust me? Sitting in my grandparents' living room with two of my closest friends, laughing hysterically.
I can be walking through the mall when I hear somebody speaking Spanish. I strain to listen, hoping I can catch a few words. The language takes me back to my most recent trip to Peru, to the day when God put words in my mouth that I never knew I know. To those ten days of translation and communications. To realizing later that I had communicated full conversations- almost completely in a language I barely speak.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup takes me back in time to the camp dining room. Back to constantly "hitting the jackpot," to debates, arguments, and jokes. Back to laughing, getting mail, and thinking it would never end.
As we sing "He Keeps Me Singing," I picture myself standing between Rocky and Reuben on the platform. I'm one of maybe three staff members who know the song. There's a cheat board in the front row. I remember belting it out loudly, no doubt off-key, yet exuberantly joyful.
Work in Progress- more to come.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
"It's all in the way I say what I don't mean, and mean what I don't"
Aaaand I'm back. The last few days have been fairly uneventful...
Sunday: Church in the morning. Went to lunch at Twin's (Bo's idea). It was bleh as usual. I watched some Gilmore Girls and did a whole lot of nothing until around 5, when I went to Skowronski's. Picked up my chemistry book, returned the microscope, and talked to Eric and Dr. S. for a while. I hadn't seen them since before this summer...
Monday: I most definitely did not want to wake up on Monday morning. Did it anyway. I went to Clio for my English Composition class. I think it's going to be a good one, although so far I haven't learned anything new. My teacher is really funny.
After class, I went to Montrose to pick up something for Mom. I stopped at a few places on the way home to inquire about employment. Wireless Giant is "always hiring," but I applied a while ago and still haven't heard anything. No one likes 16-year-old homeschooled/dual enrolled students who can't work weekends. I did a math lesson and a chemistry lesson when I got home... the two of those felt surprisingly similar. Meh. No me gusta la matematica.
Today: I hit the snooze button... 3 times? Is that possible? When I finally rolled out of bed, we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I headed to Mott from there. Spanish was first. Easy stuff again. I sat on the other side of the room today, though.
I realized on my way to the school that I had no money and no food, so I scraped enough change from the bottom of my backpack for a bag of chips and a water. Nutritious lunch :) Bridgeta sat with me while I ate, which was nice.
I had an incredible job opportunity presented to me today. Pray that everything works out.
History was interesting. My teacher is very open to religious discussion, and I've found out that there are a few more Christians in my class. We'll have to band together :)
I came home and ate some real lunch... uploaded some videos to facebook... and now I'm going to go to the library.
Later :)
Sunday: Church in the morning. Went to lunch at Twin's (Bo's idea). It was bleh as usual. I watched some Gilmore Girls and did a whole lot of nothing until around 5, when I went to Skowronski's. Picked up my chemistry book, returned the microscope, and talked to Eric and Dr. S. for a while. I hadn't seen them since before this summer...
Monday: I most definitely did not want to wake up on Monday morning. Did it anyway. I went to Clio for my English Composition class. I think it's going to be a good one, although so far I haven't learned anything new. My teacher is really funny.
After class, I went to Montrose to pick up something for Mom. I stopped at a few places on the way home to inquire about employment. Wireless Giant is "always hiring," but I applied a while ago and still haven't heard anything. No one likes 16-year-old homeschooled/dual enrolled students who can't work weekends. I did a math lesson and a chemistry lesson when I got home... the two of those felt surprisingly similar. Meh. No me gusta la matematica.
Today: I hit the snooze button... 3 times? Is that possible? When I finally rolled out of bed, we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I headed to Mott from there. Spanish was first. Easy stuff again. I sat on the other side of the room today, though.
I realized on my way to the school that I had no money and no food, so I scraped enough change from the bottom of my backpack for a bag of chips and a water. Nutritious lunch :) Bridgeta sat with me while I ate, which was nice.
I had an incredible job opportunity presented to me today. Pray that everything works out.
History was interesting. My teacher is very open to religious discussion, and I've found out that there are a few more Christians in my class. We'll have to band together :)
I came home and ate some real lunch... uploaded some videos to facebook... and now I'm going to go to the library.
Later :)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
"Then summer came, and you left me with your words..."
"...The clever sounds, of your mouth, that can make me feel so worthless."
Ohhh, how I love Emery.
Too bad I wasn't home when they played in Detroit. And too bad I'll be at the rally when AARON GILLESPIE is in Detroit. BLEGH. Of all the nights for them to play at The Fillmore. If it were the night after or the night before, it would be PERFECT.
Random lamenting about my lack of recent concerts over. I enjoy putting my iTunes on shuffle. Sometimes I forget what great music I have on there.
Currently playing: "Crying" by Manic Drive. "Sunset disappears/And I’m left in the dark/ Your will not my will be done/I won’t change for someone."
Wednesday: I had my first class at the Northern Tier Center, which was English. It was a little odd going to class in the building where Pamida used to be, as I remember shopping there with my mom as a kid. We spent the whole class time playing "Two Truths and a Lie." Productive.
Continued job searching after that, got applications from Tropitan, and Big John's, and stopped at around 10 places to inquire about my other apps or ask if they were hiring.
ooh! Now it's "Save," by Timmy Curran. "Please don't follow me/'Cause I'm headed down a one way evil street/I'm destined for disaster/I've done it on my own/Please don't follow me."
Thanks to Jared for that one :)
Thursday: I drove to Mott on my own. Found out the hard way that Irish Rd. is closed to I-69 currently. Ended up in Davison. I still managed to make it to Spanish class on time though. There was a very nice girl who sat next to me, talked to me, and complained that the class was too easy. She left after break and never returned.
After lunch, I talked to Emilyy for a bit while exploring the campus. I finally decided to just go up to my history classroom early again. I saw Monica on the way and talked to her for a bit.
In history, we discussed the Reformation. I've never known that it was possible to extract Jesus from that event, but I guess a secular school does what they want. It was a bit annoying, although I raised my hand and did my best to explain what "saved by grace through faith" means in the context of history. The other Christians in the class jumped in on that one.
I stopped at several places in Davison to inquire about employment. I picked up a couple of applications, but nothing promising.
Friday: Got up around 9:30 to drive to Roscommon. Picked up MY CAR, ate lunch in West Branch, and headed home.
Saturday: I may or may not have slept until noon. We went blueberry picking, took Bo to Garrett's house. I picked up some MORE job applications. Made a bunch of calls tonight. My new least favorite phrase is, "We're not hiring at this time, but we're always accepting applications." argh. I got some Gilmore Girls discs at the library, so there's my evening. :)
Adios.
Ohhh, how I love Emery.
Too bad I wasn't home when they played in Detroit. And too bad I'll be at the rally when AARON GILLESPIE is in Detroit. BLEGH. Of all the nights for them to play at The Fillmore. If it were the night after or the night before, it would be PERFECT.
Random lamenting about my lack of recent concerts over. I enjoy putting my iTunes on shuffle. Sometimes I forget what great music I have on there.
Currently playing: "Crying" by Manic Drive. "Sunset disappears/And I’m left in the dark/ Your will not my will be done/I won’t change for someone."
Wednesday: I had my first class at the Northern Tier Center, which was English. It was a little odd going to class in the building where Pamida used to be, as I remember shopping there with my mom as a kid. We spent the whole class time playing "Two Truths and a Lie." Productive.
Continued job searching after that, got applications from Tropitan, and Big John's, and stopped at around 10 places to inquire about my other apps or ask if they were hiring.
ooh! Now it's "Save," by Timmy Curran. "Please don't follow me/'Cause I'm headed down a one way evil street/I'm destined for disaster/I've done it on my own/Please don't follow me."
Thanks to Jared for that one :)
Thursday: I drove to Mott on my own. Found out the hard way that Irish Rd. is closed to I-69 currently. Ended up in Davison. I still managed to make it to Spanish class on time though. There was a very nice girl who sat next to me, talked to me, and complained that the class was too easy. She left after break and never returned.
After lunch, I talked to Emilyy for a bit while exploring the campus. I finally decided to just go up to my history classroom early again. I saw Monica on the way and talked to her for a bit.
In history, we discussed the Reformation. I've never known that it was possible to extract Jesus from that event, but I guess a secular school does what they want. It was a bit annoying, although I raised my hand and did my best to explain what "saved by grace through faith" means in the context of history. The other Christians in the class jumped in on that one.
I stopped at several places in Davison to inquire about employment. I picked up a couple of applications, but nothing promising.
Friday: Got up around 9:30 to drive to Roscommon. Picked up MY CAR, ate lunch in West Branch, and headed home.
Saturday: I may or may not have slept until noon. We went blueberry picking, took Bo to Garrett's house. I picked up some MORE job applications. Made a bunch of calls tonight. My new least favorite phrase is, "We're not hiring at this time, but we're always accepting applications." argh. I got some Gilmore Girls discs at the library, so there's my evening. :)
Adios.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I'm Alive!
That's correct. I am alive; I survived my first day at Mott Community College.
The classes I had today were good. I think they'll prove to be challenging without being impossible.
There are some "characters" in both classes... the man who made a rather lame political joke while twirling his handlebar moustache, (yes, you read that correctly) and the man who thinks America has a secret plot to annihilate every other nation. (Why else do we have "all the money and weapons"?)
And then there was the man who cheerfully "greeted" each of us while walking down the hall. Let's just say that if his words were a color, they would have been lime green. Or maybe neon yellow.
I have English Comp tomorrow in Clio. Here's to hoping Emilyy ends up taking it with me.
The classes I had today were good. I think they'll prove to be challenging without being impossible.
There are some "characters" in both classes... the man who made a rather lame political joke while twirling his handlebar moustache, (yes, you read that correctly) and the man who thinks America has a secret plot to annihilate every other nation. (Why else do we have "all the money and weapons"?)
And then there was the man who cheerfully "greeted" each of us while walking down the hall. Let's just say that if his words were a color, they would have been lime green. Or maybe neon yellow.
I have English Comp tomorrow in Clio. Here's to hoping Emilyy ends up taking it with me.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Inevitable
Today was a good day :) I got up in time for Sunday School, talked to Aunt Marilyn while we did our hair, and drove to the church. There were only two other kids in my class, and I didn't know either of them. After class, Mom and I waited in the foyer for Peru people to come. Mike came first, then Craig and his family came a few minutes later. Ian did NOT come, and is in big trouble.
After church, we went to Pizza Hut with the Kesterkes and Zebells. I spent most of the time chatting with Craig. After all, I hadn't seen him for a whole week. ;-) Seriously though, we talked a lot about the upcoming school year, his new exchange student brother, and just generally being bold. I caught up with Mrs. Z. a little bit, as well as with Mike and Anne.
Mom and I got home around 7. She got to work on the casseroles for the morning. I figured out where my classes are and registered to take the ACT. I talked to Jared the whole way to the airport, where we picked up Dad and Bo.
Kaylie will be here sometime around 3. Yes, AM. Laughter and not-sleeping will abound, ending with a large breakfast in the REAL morning. With that last, bitter goodbye, summer shall officially be over.
Anticipation & Dread,
Alyssa Joy
After church, we went to Pizza Hut with the Kesterkes and Zebells. I spent most of the time chatting with Craig. After all, I hadn't seen him for a whole week. ;-) Seriously though, we talked a lot about the upcoming school year, his new exchange student brother, and just generally being bold. I caught up with Mrs. Z. a little bit, as well as with Mike and Anne.
Mom and I got home around 7. She got to work on the casseroles for the morning. I figured out where my classes are and registered to take the ACT. I talked to Jared the whole way to the airport, where we picked up Dad and Bo.
Kaylie will be here sometime around 3. Yes, AM. Laughter and not-sleeping will abound, ending with a large breakfast in the REAL morning. With that last, bitter goodbye, summer shall officially be over.
Anticipation & Dread,
Alyssa Joy
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Hey, hey, that's freedom you hear...
Buenos noches mis amigos!
I'm going to try to blog more regularly now. I doubt I'll ever have a big, "recap," whatever, about the MONTHS it has been since I really blogged.
Last night was spent at Nanny and John's house. We went to La Pinata for incredible authentic Mexican food. mmm, chorizo. Lots of snuggling with my baby cousin. Walked the dogs. Watched (an extremely edited version of) The Green Mile. Wow. Good movie, at least what I saw of it.
This morning we snuggled with the baby some more. I chased him around his room for a while... we walked the dogs, went shopping, got some lunch (mmm. Teriyaki Chicken). Made the baby laugh like crazy on the way home (are you seeing a pattern?)
We left Nanny and John's around 2 and headed for Uncle Doug and Aunt Marilyn's house. We waved hello to Andrew on Skype (he's in Jerusalem!), walked MARILYN'S dog, went to the farmer's market for lettuce and sweet corn, ate dinner, talked... and now here I am, blogging it on up. :)
Tomorrow is church at Sister Lakes. It'll be a mini-Peru reunion, with Craig and Ian for sure, and maybe more! Huzzah!
Love and excitement,
Alyssa Joy
I'm going to try to blog more regularly now. I doubt I'll ever have a big, "recap," whatever, about the MONTHS it has been since I really blogged.
Last night was spent at Nanny and John's house. We went to La Pinata for incredible authentic Mexican food. mmm, chorizo. Lots of snuggling with my baby cousin. Walked the dogs. Watched (an extremely edited version of) The Green Mile. Wow. Good movie, at least what I saw of it.
This morning we snuggled with the baby some more. I chased him around his room for a while... we walked the dogs, went shopping, got some lunch (mmm. Teriyaki Chicken). Made the baby laugh like crazy on the way home (are you seeing a pattern?)
We left Nanny and John's around 2 and headed for Uncle Doug and Aunt Marilyn's house. We waved hello to Andrew on Skype (he's in Jerusalem!), walked MARILYN'S dog, went to the farmer's market for lettuce and sweet corn, ate dinner, talked... and now here I am, blogging it on up. :)
Tomorrow is church at Sister Lakes. It'll be a mini-Peru reunion, with Craig and Ian for sure, and maybe more! Huzzah!
Love and excitement,
Alyssa Joy
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