12-6-09
Last night we had a pretty awesome concert. Granted, there was squeaks in "Noel," but squeaks happen in each and every piece. Some pieces just make squeaks more obvious. Also, we had one piece that the best part about it was that we ended together, but OVERALL, we had an amazing concert. In particular, I think my solo went really well. I just played. Kevin and Christen said that it was the best I had done, including in practices. I'm really happy with it. I'm also happy that we don't have practice until January. But then, NEW MUSIC in January. Yay!
Also went to Steak and Shake with Kevin, Amanda, and Amy. Steak and Shake was the only place open at 11:00 on a Saturday night (yes, we went to eat after the concert). My meal was about ten dollars--which was decent, considering I got a shake, a hamburger and fries, and a soda. It was my first time back to one of those since before eighth grade. Guess I've gotten over the fear of cold milkshakes, warm bellies, and hospital stays (especially since my hospital stay was dictated by my appendix exploding, and not Steak and Shake shakes).
Tonight I went to the Campus Ministries/Student Missions Christmas Party. It was really fun, even though I got there an hour late (I was working my regular shift at the Writing Center). We played a Christmas-themed whole-body Rock Paper Scissors and the Steal the Gift Game for random presents that had been provided. I sort of wish I had ended up with the iPod, but that's okay. I got a nice box and a gift to use at some other party this week. :D
I also got to talk with Rebeca about Ebeye, who now agrees with me that it's not as bad as people make it out to be. People always talk so negatively about it! It's very frustrating. Especially when I've learned that it's not the circumstances or the environment that determines your well-being, but your mindset and your connection with God that determine your well-being and enjoyment. ARGH.
More later.
Showing posts with label student missions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student missions. Show all posts
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Student Missions Emphasis Week, Busyness, and Dive Boots
11-10-09
Last week was incredibly busy. I'm a Student Missions Club officer, and so I was involved in much of the preparation and execution of Student Missions Emphasis Week, which took place last week. I spent a portion of Sunday borrowing cell phones and making calls in order to get people to hand out hot drinks of the Promenade for last Monday morning. Blessedly, we got enough people. Although the setup of the drinks left me a little breathless (I ran from the Student Center to Brock in order to get to my first class), the day went smoothly. My friend Kevin helped me gather all the leftover supplies together, and I suppose someone put them away while I was at work. Anyway, then we handed out candy and invitations in the dorms on Tuesday evening. It took me an hour and a half to cover the third and fourth floors of Thatcher South, but I think it was well worth it. One person even told me, "This is the third time someone's told me about the Expo." And my reply? "Good." Wednesday we wore cultural dress, and on Thursday we wore our white flag shirts (and my flag shirt has unfortunately had a washing machine accident and I hope I can get the pink out; I washed the load in cold, and somehow a jacket bled onto my bath towel, a sock, and part of my flag shirt. I am not pleased.). On Friday we had set-up for the Expo, and then we had vespers. Vespers went smoothly, and the Expo did, too. Three people signed up as interested in Ebeye, and that, of course, excites me. But all the booths had at least one person sign as interested, and that excites me even more.
I am very busy, as my last post noted. Homework, of course, but I'm also working on the next issue of Roots and on several homework-y projects that are due within a few weeks (like a research paper for Cross-Cultural Experience or my paper for American Literature over The Grapes of Wrath; I need to buckle down and do those papers). I recently finished reading Moby Dick, and I'm not entirely sure why it's still read today (especially since I'm a fast reader and this book took me a year to read). Seriously, it was thin on plot and thick on encyclopedia. I would have preferred to read a short story about the whalers who all die but Ishmael because of a crazy hunt of Moby Dick, the White Whale, instead of having to wade through all the detailed descriptions of the different types of whales and Melville's rambly rants about everything. Also, I don't think I actually care about what the stupid whale symbolizes. I have some guesses, but you know what? I don't care. Perhaps that goes against everything an English major stands for, but, also, not much on the caring. I still need to finish Paradise Lost, which is also taking me a long time, but that's not because I don't enjoy it. That's because I have to be "in the mood" for epic poetry and have time to digest it properly. I haven't had time for that since I was subbing for Amanda during a week of Junior camp and got to swing in her hammock. Plus, I've been adding exercise, because it makes me sleep like a rock. In two days, I've walked four miles and biked four miles. Me likey.
Also, for randomness' sake, I wore my dive boots this evening, because it was raining and I figured that if my feet were going to get wet, they might as well get warm from the fact that the shoes are insulated. The only downside was that it doesn't have good arch support, but that's about it. They're comfortable, oddly enough.
More later.
Last week was incredibly busy. I'm a Student Missions Club officer, and so I was involved in much of the preparation and execution of Student Missions Emphasis Week, which took place last week. I spent a portion of Sunday borrowing cell phones and making calls in order to get people to hand out hot drinks of the Promenade for last Monday morning. Blessedly, we got enough people. Although the setup of the drinks left me a little breathless (I ran from the Student Center to Brock in order to get to my first class), the day went smoothly. My friend Kevin helped me gather all the leftover supplies together, and I suppose someone put them away while I was at work. Anyway, then we handed out candy and invitations in the dorms on Tuesday evening. It took me an hour and a half to cover the third and fourth floors of Thatcher South, but I think it was well worth it. One person even told me, "This is the third time someone's told me about the Expo." And my reply? "Good." Wednesday we wore cultural dress, and on Thursday we wore our white flag shirts (and my flag shirt has unfortunately had a washing machine accident and I hope I can get the pink out; I washed the load in cold, and somehow a jacket bled onto my bath towel, a sock, and part of my flag shirt. I am not pleased.). On Friday we had set-up for the Expo, and then we had vespers. Vespers went smoothly, and the Expo did, too. Three people signed up as interested in Ebeye, and that, of course, excites me. But all the booths had at least one person sign as interested, and that excites me even more.
I am very busy, as my last post noted. Homework, of course, but I'm also working on the next issue of Roots and on several homework-y projects that are due within a few weeks (like a research paper for Cross-Cultural Experience or my paper for American Literature over The Grapes of Wrath; I need to buckle down and do those papers). I recently finished reading Moby Dick, and I'm not entirely sure why it's still read today (especially since I'm a fast reader and this book took me a year to read). Seriously, it was thin on plot and thick on encyclopedia. I would have preferred to read a short story about the whalers who all die but Ishmael because of a crazy hunt of Moby Dick, the White Whale, instead of having to wade through all the detailed descriptions of the different types of whales and Melville's rambly rants about everything. Also, I don't think I actually care about what the stupid whale symbolizes. I have some guesses, but you know what? I don't care. Perhaps that goes against everything an English major stands for, but, also, not much on the caring. I still need to finish Paradise Lost, which is also taking me a long time, but that's not because I don't enjoy it. That's because I have to be "in the mood" for epic poetry and have time to digest it properly. I haven't had time for that since I was subbing for Amanda during a week of Junior camp and got to swing in her hammock. Plus, I've been adding exercise, because it makes me sleep like a rock. In two days, I've walked four miles and biked four miles. Me likey.
Also, for randomness' sake, I wore my dive boots this evening, because it was raining and I figured that if my feet were going to get wet, they might as well get warm from the fact that the shoes are insulated. The only downside was that it doesn't have good arch support, but that's about it. They're comfortable, oddly enough.
More later.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Student Missions Re-Entry Retreat
9-13-09
Friday I went down to Cohutta Springs in Georgia for the SM Re-entry Retreat. I had a fantastic time! A friend of mine (who's done a lot more missions than I have) said it was mostly "an island get-together," but what can I say? The Pacific Islands are well represented among our returning SMs.
I had a suspicion beforehand that it was mainly for us to blab to each other, and I was correct. We split up into groups of three on Friday night, and each one of us was given fifteen minutes to talk. All of us thought that that was an extremely long time, but we each discovered that we were in the middle of a story when our fifteen minutes ended. The next day we spoke about difficulties and fun times and memorable times, and compared our experiences and viewpoints and feelings upon returning. We sang songs and ate meals together. At Friday night's dinner, one of the other groups (a leader from the group of retired church workers) decided to introduce our group and his group to each other--and then made his group clap for us. Me, I thought we should have clapped for them, but whatever. Another of my friends mentioned that "no one had appreciated him for his year of service like that." He thought it felt "weird." Maybe it was. Then again, he and I spent three hours talking about our various years.
I'm a Student Missions Club officer--the publishing coordinator, to be specific--and I am very excited about this upcoming year. You see, the club has a three-fold purpose: to support returned SMs, to support current SMs, and to recruit new SMs. And we have lots of little and big projects in the works that address all three. Sure, it's a volunteer position, but I'm glad to have been picked to fill it. This is going to be a fun year, I can feel it.
More later. I have to study for my first Statistics test.
Friday I went down to Cohutta Springs in Georgia for the SM Re-entry Retreat. I had a fantastic time! A friend of mine (who's done a lot more missions than I have) said it was mostly "an island get-together," but what can I say? The Pacific Islands are well represented among our returning SMs.
I had a suspicion beforehand that it was mainly for us to blab to each other, and I was correct. We split up into groups of three on Friday night, and each one of us was given fifteen minutes to talk. All of us thought that that was an extremely long time, but we each discovered that we were in the middle of a story when our fifteen minutes ended. The next day we spoke about difficulties and fun times and memorable times, and compared our experiences and viewpoints and feelings upon returning. We sang songs and ate meals together. At Friday night's dinner, one of the other groups (a leader from the group of retired church workers) decided to introduce our group and his group to each other--and then made his group clap for us. Me, I thought we should have clapped for them, but whatever. Another of my friends mentioned that "no one had appreciated him for his year of service like that." He thought it felt "weird." Maybe it was. Then again, he and I spent three hours talking about our various years.
I'm a Student Missions Club officer--the publishing coordinator, to be specific--and I am very excited about this upcoming year. You see, the club has a three-fold purpose: to support returned SMs, to support current SMs, and to recruit new SMs. And we have lots of little and big projects in the works that address all three. Sure, it's a volunteer position, but I'm glad to have been picked to fill it. This is going to be a fun year, I can feel it.
More later. I have to study for my first Statistics test.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sleepy Scribblings
9-8-09
I'm about to go to sleep, but I wanted to drop by and add a few lines about the fact that I had a good day. I had good conversations with friends, opened a bank account (my first one ever), had a class cancelled, and got to practice my bass clarinet. The only thing I dread at the moment is if we have a fire drill tonight, since I never hear the stupid alarm and have to depend on my roommate to wake me up (yes, the dean and my RA know about this problem). Also, it rained today and is drippy and cool out tonight. We don't want people getting sick, so I hope we don't have a fire drill tonight.
I'm actually slightly ahead on my homework. Go figure. Probably a good thing, since I have the Student Missions Re-Entry Retreat on Friday and Sabbath. We're having it down at Cohutta Springs Camp, so I'll get to see Georgia's youth camp and hang out with my SM buddies. There's a lot of people who, for whatever reason, did not come back, and so that's a little sad, but I'm going to have fun this weekend.
Three more days of class left!! (Of this week, anyway.)
More later.
I'm about to go to sleep, but I wanted to drop by and add a few lines about the fact that I had a good day. I had good conversations with friends, opened a bank account (my first one ever), had a class cancelled, and got to practice my bass clarinet. The only thing I dread at the moment is if we have a fire drill tonight, since I never hear the stupid alarm and have to depend on my roommate to wake me up (yes, the dean and my RA know about this problem). Also, it rained today and is drippy and cool out tonight. We don't want people getting sick, so I hope we don't have a fire drill tonight.
I'm actually slightly ahead on my homework. Go figure. Probably a good thing, since I have the Student Missions Re-Entry Retreat on Friday and Sabbath. We're having it down at Cohutta Springs Camp, so I'll get to see Georgia's youth camp and hang out with my SM buddies. There's a lot of people who, for whatever reason, did not come back, and so that's a little sad, but I'm going to have fun this weekend.
Three more days of class left!! (Of this week, anyway.)
More later.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Settling In
8-25-09
I have textbooks. I have a job. I have a bunch of new clothes that I bought today. I have school supplies.
Now I just need classes to start.
It feels weird, being back on campus. I feel sort of...disconnected, or like I've woken up from a coma and have to re-learn the ropes of everything again. In a strange sort of way, I suppose that's really what it is. At least I'm aware of the times when I am reacting strangely to some new event. Like oohing over new renovations that everyone's been used to for a year--or feeling the slightest bit annoyed when I see that someone has put an almost entirely full plate of food on the conveyor belt (I mean, come on, food costs money, and at least this food is fresh). It's the little things that can trip a person up, like the rows and rows of canned vegemeat in Wal-Mart, or the fact that one's dorm room is about half the size of one's apartment the year before. Stuff like that.
I'm so very happy that I have a Student Missions Club to be actively involved in--as well as other clubs and diversions and what not. But I just want school to start and learn to get back into the swing of things. The waiting (which I should, by this point, be used to) is starting to grate. I want to hang out with people, and I can't seem to find them on this very big campus (which makes me glad that I don't go to a ginormous university).
I don't want to gain what I lost--nor lose what I've gained. But it seems as if it will be very, very easy for my viewpoint, my focus, to shift in lots of different ways. I've heard someone say that the college life is one of the most hedonistic lifestyles ever--and that's probably very, very true. A lot of the time it seems to be all about the hypothetical ME, and I don't want to slip into that. I want the focus to be on the I AM. Unfortunately, there will probably be times when I slip up and lose focus and lose sight--but I know that I'll get a nice reminder somehow and get my head set on straight again.
Happy news! I spent less than $300 buying a lot of stuff for school. Yay clearance and discounts and coupons and back-to-school sales. Also, thanks to the three ladies who taught me to look for such things: Mom, Cindy, and Trish. You three rock. And saved me a lot of money. It's why I passed on a really great looking shirt that was way overpriced.
More later.
I have textbooks. I have a job. I have a bunch of new clothes that I bought today. I have school supplies.
Now I just need classes to start.
It feels weird, being back on campus. I feel sort of...disconnected, or like I've woken up from a coma and have to re-learn the ropes of everything again. In a strange sort of way, I suppose that's really what it is. At least I'm aware of the times when I am reacting strangely to some new event. Like oohing over new renovations that everyone's been used to for a year--or feeling the slightest bit annoyed when I see that someone has put an almost entirely full plate of food on the conveyor belt (I mean, come on, food costs money, and at least this food is fresh). It's the little things that can trip a person up, like the rows and rows of canned vegemeat in Wal-Mart, or the fact that one's dorm room is about half the size of one's apartment the year before. Stuff like that.
I'm so very happy that I have a Student Missions Club to be actively involved in--as well as other clubs and diversions and what not. But I just want school to start and learn to get back into the swing of things. The waiting (which I should, by this point, be used to) is starting to grate. I want to hang out with people, and I can't seem to find them on this very big campus (which makes me glad that I don't go to a ginormous university).
I don't want to gain what I lost--nor lose what I've gained. But it seems as if it will be very, very easy for my viewpoint, my focus, to shift in lots of different ways. I've heard someone say that the college life is one of the most hedonistic lifestyles ever--and that's probably very, very true. A lot of the time it seems to be all about the hypothetical ME, and I don't want to slip into that. I want the focus to be on the I AM. Unfortunately, there will probably be times when I slip up and lose focus and lose sight--but I know that I'll get a nice reminder somehow and get my head set on straight again.
Happy news! I spent less than $300 buying a lot of stuff for school. Yay clearance and discounts and coupons and back-to-school sales. Also, thanks to the three ladies who taught me to look for such things: Mom, Cindy, and Trish. You three rock. And saved me a lot of money. It's why I passed on a really great looking shirt that was way overpriced.
More later.
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