saraelisabet

improvements

2008-04-03T23:45:00.003-04:00

Tuesday I interviewed with Fleishman-Hillard, a PR agency based in St. Louis, MO. As I was quickly reading over my writing test (sandwiched between seven interviews!), I fleetingly wondered how much my writing had improved in the past year or so.

An hour later I found myself in the office of the Multicultural Scholarship Coordinator, discussing our mutual feeling of lack of know-how in the computer world. She mentioned blogs which reminded me that this green webpage exists and has been sadly neglected. Somehow tonight, after completely conquering Blackboard statistics homework, I ended up reading old posts. And thus I received an answer to my original query: my writing has vastly improved. I'm ashamed of my childish yapping of yesteryear.

Obviously, however, as evidenced by this rambling, I've a way to go yet. Hopefully I get the opportunity to work on this skill, among others, this summer in St. Louis, or here in West Lafayette at SIA or a newspaper or a magazine. We'll see!

highway robbery

2008-01-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

So I went to Follett's with three books to sell back. The Follett's woman sniffed distainfully at one book (which I have been trying to sell back, unsuccessfully, since freshman spring semester, but there is only one professor who requests it), wrinkled said nose at another (which I admit is falling apart, but that's how it was when I bought it) and offered twenty measley dollars for the third. Something in me didn't want to accept $20.00 for a book I spent countless hours studying. So I didn't.

Half an hour later, laden down with heavy textbooks from Follett's as well as the ones they snubbed, I decided to try University on my way home. The dude in there looked like he couldn't sniff distainfully if he tried. He did sort of try on the leftover-from-freshman-year book, but he offered me $32.00 for the one Follett's said $20 for and $34.00 for the ratty, falling apart one! I was shocked and amazed, and I'm never selling books to Follett's again. A $12.00 difference is pretty big for a broke college student.

Getting High

2007-12-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

I just finished "Go Ask Alice", a book which is actually the true (and unedited, from what I gather) diary of a girl in the 1960s who accidentally gets high at a party. She's only 15, and from there on her diary is a swirl of running away from home to be high for weeks, returning to stay clean, getting slipped drugs again, giving in, etc. By the end of the diary, she's 16, people at school have stopped pressuring her to be a dealer again, she has a new boyfriend who's never used in his life, and she's determined the drug phase of her life is over. But the final portion of the book, titled "Epilogue" and written by someone else, says that three weeks after the last entry (in which she decided she was too grown up to need a diary any more) she was found dead of drug overdose in her bedroom. No one knows if it was accidental or not, or even how she got the drugs.

I was thinking about this book as I drooled over pictures of a Miata I might (might!!) go look at this weekend. I was thinking about drugs because I think Miatas make me high. Driving one was fabulous, and every time I imagine myself the owner of one of these itty-bitty, nada practicality, adorable Mazdas I get all giddy inside. In case anyone's curious, this one is a black 1993 with a tan interior and recently lowered suspension. It currently resides in Louisville.

One more thing...when I die, please don't publish my diary. Please! Even if it ends up being a perfect chronicle of a 2000s girl's descent into addiction to a very powerful drug, the CAR.

the clock is ticking...

2007-12-10T13:53:00.000-05:00

Today I saw a bike that had worse-sounding brakes than mine! My trusty steed and I were coasting to a stop on Grant Street and someone coming from a side street was slowing down to turn. It sounded like this:

My bike: squeeeeeeeeek (in a deep, throaty, kind of German accent)

His bike: squEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAKKKK! (in a fingernails on chalkboard sort of way)

Ha. I win. But who knows for how long...

"Oh my, how ridiculous!"

2007-11-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

...was my first reaction to this article about a British teacher in Sudan who is being tried for allowing her class of 7-year-olds to name the class teddy bear "Muhammed." Gillian Gibbons is charged with "inciting religious hatred" and could face 40 lashes and prison time.

My second reaction was just sadness. Muslims are not afraid to make a big public stink about blasphemy and the sacredness of their prophet's name. Why don't Christians stand up and make a stink when our Lord's holy Name is profaned?

(These are actually cookies. Yum!)

Matt 6:34; Jer. 29:11

2007-11-18T00:27:00.000-05:00

"Yes. Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don't rent them out to tomorrow. Do you know what you're doing when you spend a moment wondering how things are going to turn out with Perry?"

"What am I doing?"

"You're cheating yourself out of today. Today is calling to you, trying to get your attention, but you're stuck on tomorrow, and today trickles away like water down a drain. You wake up the next morning and that today that you wasted is gone forever. It's now yesterday. Some of those moments may have had wonderful things in store for you, but now you'll never know." She looked at me. She laughed. "Such a solemn-faced listener you are. If I were a teacher, I'd like to have thirty of you in my class."

(I stole this from a young adult lit book I'm reading in moments, also stolen, between homework... much like I have stolen this moment to bang away on my micro-sized keyboard to produce a blog entry instead of another page of my paper)

(From whom am I stealing moments? Isn't it only my future self that will suffer, on Monday, when three professors demand neatly typed neatly thought-out neatly turned in papers?)

what goes on between your ears

2007-11-13T01:35:00.000-05:00

So, what do you think about gun control? Should we have strict rules? Waiting periods? Background checks? Laws on what kind of gun you can purchase? Permits or licenses? Or should we just be like the Australians and make all handguns illegal?

Just wondering. I have a speech on this topic in two days and I have yet to write it. Whoops! Not that I'm asking you to write it for me. It's starting to formulate....slowly....perhaps I will share my opinions once I am done putting them in fancy, COM 314-style rhetoric.

Emotions on Starting an Org Comm Paper

2007-11-01T12:14:00.001-04:00

My ideas are no longer floating around
Loose and fluffy like cirrus clouds
I have tethered them
With Times New Roman they are caught
Trapped like a bronco in a stall

Establishment of a Tradition?

2007-10-20T00:35:00.000-04:00

Today as I elatedly* switched gears on my bike I spied the Happy Friday Guy out of the corner of my eye. I have seen the Happy Friday Guy, as I dubbed him, on two previous Friday afternoons. He wears a red cape with the words "Happy Friday" in gold glitter, underneath which he sports a black stretchy suit. He also wears a gold motorcycle-type helmet which conceals his identity, and sometimes he rides a little gold scooter. He spreads cheer by way of yelling "Happy Friday!" and giving out candy. He also scares parents of prospective Purdue students by engaging in such activities while bewildered parents are wandering around with wide-eyed children, who are really seniors in high school. I am sure the parents have horrified images of their children turning into such monsters as the crazy Happy Friday Guy while the students have similar visions bathed in the glow of freedom from parental restraint or beedy-eyed high school principals.

*elatedly, because for the first portion of today my bike did not properly function; this was because as I threw my bike down and ran inside Green Gables during the downpour/tornado warning last night, I ripped up the gear box (again!) and didn't figure out that I had reassembled it incorrectly until after being frustrated with it all morning

I'm going here

2007-10-05T16:22:00.000-04:00

instead of writing midterm papers which are due next week and worth huge chunks of my grades for English classes! Yay!

pie

2007-09-16T20:49:00.000-04:00

The residents of Stugan have picked the kind of pie most resembling each other.

Resident One: You're a banana cream pie!

Resident Two: Huh? (Conversation hitherto was not at all about pies.) Why?

Resident One: Because you're fluffy and blonde! What kind of pie am I?

Resident Two: (after a bunch of discussion about other things) I guess you're pumpkin because you like pumpkin brownies and all that.

Sadly, based on the ease of determining which resident is whom, there will be no prizes awarded for a correct guess. Please feel free to postulate anyway.

back home in Indiana

2007-09-09T13:51:00.000-04:00

This state is hot and it is humid. I feel like I have been complaining about both since I got home, but it's true. I have started dreaming about moving to Maine. Even Chicago, where I have long dreamed of living, is cooler and they have that nice breeze coming in from Lake Michigan.

But where you live is so much more than the climate, even though that seems to be the first thing people talk about when they talk to someone who comes from somewhere else. For me, where I live is mostly comprised of who else lives there and what kinds of things you can do (determined by geography and climate). Take here, for example. I have great Christian friends at Purdue, not to mention pastors. I can...umm, wait til dark to go running? Sweat without moving a muscle? Although today is not so bad.

The National Enquirer

2007-06-20T15:14:00.000-04:00

LOHAN SPOTTED IN SWEDISH SECONDHAND STORE

A 20-year-old American girl who is visiting Sweden for the summer was seen shopping in a Salvation Army store, Myrona, outside town. At about one p.m. the girl, who uses the pseudonym 'Sara Young' but is probably Lindsay Lohan or another celebrity in disguise, was seen purchasing a sweater, a T shirt, a tablecloth, and a curtain. She was accompanied by an unidentified, slender Swedish-speaking young girl believed to be Lohan's bodyguard, Tougho Macallister, also in disguise. Macallister was seen purchasing several dozen cases of Slim-Fast the week before 'Sara Young' descended upon Sweden.

"She was so sweet," gushed a salesclerk. "She was absolutely thrilled by that old curtain. She said it would match perfectly with her floor."

A riot ensued after the young American left the shop. The assumed cause was a mad dash to purchase the T shirt the girl tried on but decided not to purchase. Several young men were injured in a fist fight and were taken to the nearest hospital. Lohan's publicist declined to comment on the incident.

HUGE CELEBRITY BASH TO BE HELD IN SÖRMJÖLE--ARE YOU INVITED?

A visiting American has declared plans to host a huge party in a Swedish cottage while her relatives are out of town. One of our reporters chanced to be minutely examining the interior of a Sörmjöle lilac bush and accidentally overheard an unidentified American visitor invite a Swedish youth to what she described as "dinner."

The lad to whom the invitation was extended yelled something like, "Erik, we're invited for dinner!" into a basement window. From among the stacked-up wood, our reporter happened to see a blond head emerge. The American then mentioned the guest list, which included three sisters and possibly a tree-planting friend. Our reporter, who chanced to have lilac branches stuck in his ears as a disgui--er, we mean because it's the latest fashion, haven't you read Vogue yet?--did not hear the rest of the guest list but his best conjecture is Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and that hunky guy from The Princess Diaries, plus of course some famous bands.

The nearby larger town of Umeå hopes to profit financially from the expected descent of American celebrities.

Today...

2007-05-24T14:20:00.000-04:00

...I planted 1764 trees.

Yesterday, I planted 1575.

Tuesday, I planted 1449 and fell in a ditch full of water while wearing a metal tree-holding backpack.

Monday, I planted 1008, fell in a ditch that didn't have water in it while wearing the same contraption, and thought I was destined to die in a lonely Swedish forest.

oh my

2007-04-25T11:39:00.000-04:00

"...kids who watch 5 or more hours of TV per day are far more likely to begin smoking cigarettes ..." (and lots of other things too!)

Who would have guessed?

comic/tragic

2007-04-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I am muchly amused by other religions. Of course, when you really think about people believing them, it's unspeakably sad, but sometimes I can't help but laugh at stories my Eastern Religions professor tells us. Take this one about Taoism, for example. (It should be noted that Taoists believe in flowing with the Tao (the "way") and accepting what happens to them in a tranquil manner, or using really weird methods to change what happens to them).

~*~

Once upon a time, there was a wise old Taoist sage. One day he woke up and his left arm was dead.

"Hmm," said the sage. "I wonder what the Tao will do tomorrow."

The next day he woke up, and his left leg was dead.

"Hmm," said the sage. "I wonder what the Tao will do tomorrow."

The next day he woke up, and his right arm was dead.

"Hmm," said the sage. "I wonder what the Tao will do tomorrow."

The next day he woke up, and his right leg was dead.

"Hmm," said the sage. "I wonder what the Tao will do tomorrow."

The next day he didn't wonder any more, because he was dead.

~*~

Personally, I think this is more of an argument to not be Taoist.

what lies ahead?

2007-04-11T10:18:00.000-04:00

To follow is to be humble,
To keep your feet
On a preworn path.

To follow is to trust,
To believe and obey,
To give up your say.

To follow is to be second...
Second
Second
Third, fourth,
Last.

moon food

2007-04-01T23:32:00.000-04:00

Tonight the moon looks like it's floating. It's full (or nearly so) in a dark blue sky covered with drifting clouds. It is beautiful.

The chips I am eating are also dark blue. They taste beautiful.

fun homework

2007-03-29T21:34:00.000-04:00

How can doing homework get any better than this...

...sipping a cup of delicious coffee (into which you have dumped some cinnamon) in a cushy armchair in the Union, reading a gripping novel that is literally making you laugh out loud, thus causing others to stare at you, but you don't care.

Unless it was topped by last semester, during which I...

...sat around reading poetry I loved and writing pages and pages on it, sometimes while eating chocolate from Andrew.

If I didn't like people so much, I'd switch to English and sit around reading all day. However that would get old after a while.

How to Talk to Boys 101

2007-03-26T12:04:00.000-04:00

So I was a-sittin' in gender and communication class like a good girl, listening to people discuss religion in the context of gender inequality, when I heard this stuck in the middle of something one girl was saying:

"...and Christians aren't supposed to judge so I think that..."

I'd already opened my mouth more than most people, and I didn't know exactly what to tell her, anyway. How do you respond when people say that Jesus said not to judge? What verses do you use in support of your position?

still alive

2007-03-07T11:09:00.000-05:00

I realize my blog is sadly in need of a revitalization movement. I have probably lost all my readers except those who put me on their Google Readers, but perhaps I can gain them back by posting witty, insightful nuggets of information.

If only I had time to conjure up some witty, insightful nuggets of information.

But alas, I have a test in an hour and three (yes, you read that right) tomorrow.

I did see the Amazing Ross Cerbus today, though. He was walking along Grant Street lost in his amazing thoughts, holding a can of Mountain Dew, when Emily and I passed him coming home from WIT. We gave him a ride to campus, where I am sure he will astound his classmates with his brilliance.

Perhaps I should go study.

the shocking truth

2007-02-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

You know those big heavy black weights guys at the Co-Rec are always hefting into the air as they grunt impressively? Well, I told Patrick that one day, instead of bouncing around on the cardio machines like a sorority girl, I would try to pump some iron with him and the guys, or at least lift the bar minus the weights.

I was joking.

Turns out those bars weigh 45 pounds and I can't even do five reps without gasping for Patrick to save me from agony. On the tilted machine, I can't lift the bar even once, unless you count not going down all the way. How pitiful is that? At least my shoulders hurt today, so I'm satisfied that I must have done something.

I have a whole new respect for all those weight lifters now. Here I thought they were just showing off, and it turns out they're actually doing something.

touches of Amazingness

2007-02-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

Around 8:30 this morning, Kara, Jessica and I emerged from our cozy paradise into a blizzardy world of snow and wind. Lo and behold, we came upon the Amazing Ross Cerbus at the bus stop across the street. Apparently, the bus was running quite late so we talked him into wading through the drifts to campus with us.

Ross was the first touch of amazingness I experienced this morning. The next one is Amazing Bus # 1, which Kara is blogging about.

After riding Amazing Bus # 1 to campus, I took a 100-question test on gender and communication. It wasn't that bad, but I definitely didn't feel like studying interior design after it. So I went to the computer lab to check WebCT and see if French was by chance cancelled. It wasn't. But I had an email from my interior design professor, citing "blizzard conditions" as a reason for cancelling class and moving the test to Thursday!

I was so stoked.

Then, I bundled up to mosey home. This is when I encountered Amazing Bus # 2. Or rather, a the electronic sign outside Beering heralding the arrival of Amazing Bus # 2 in 3 short minutes. The ride home was warm and cozy. Shingle Paradise, complete with Kara rejoicing over a cancelled class and Mia proclaiming that she skipped all her morning classes, was even cozier. If only Jessica didn't have a conscience we could convince her to skip her studio and join our happy abode.

And to think last night Mia doubted that it was going to snow at all.

speling errers

2007-02-08T22:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not very used to getting my spelling corrected on papers I turn in. I definitely identified with number one on the Top Ten Ways to Tell You're a Liberal Arts Student list: the first thing you notice when you get a letter from your significant other is the grammar mistakes. Kara and I had a laugh over that one, not only because it's funny, but also because for us, it's so true (sorry, guys!).

Anyway, today I got a paper back that had a spelling correction, and after I'd used spell checker, too. Yup. My TA corrected the spelling of my name. Apparently, "Elisabet" is supposed to have an "h" on the end of it. Needless, to say, we had a chat and she apologized. I still find it amusing though. What kind of person doesn't know how to spell their own name? I think I just left that wide open for jabs at communication majors...

reflections on Valentine's Day

2007-02-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

Before you start moaning and groaning and otherwise making a nuisance of yourself because "oh no, Sara's talking about holidays again," let me point out that unlike Christmas, Valentine's Day does not claim to worship God. Therefore, this is no sermon; it will merely be a tripartite post consisting of a) history, b) observations, and c) what I'm up to.

Sooo... what exactly is Valentine's Day anyway?

According to Wikipedia, St. Valentine was a bishop of Rome in 143 who placed the marriage bed on par with the sacrements. He also added something called "redemption" or "apolytrosis." Then, "the early Christians in efforts to stop the Germanic tribes from celebrating their rituals, dedicated this month [February] to St. Valentine ... the patron of all lovers."

But enough about that. Wikipedia says that today Valentine's Day is a day on which lovers express love for each other, often by purchasing one of the approximately one billion Valentine cards sold worldwide each year. Also mentioned is the tendency of bitter or sarcastic singles to christen the day "Singles' Awareness Day."

But this information, while interesting, is neither here nor there. I have not noticed any additions to the sacrements nor Germanic pagans around West Lafayette or Indianapolis on previous February 14ths.

I have seen a glorification of sex and lust (think Victoria's Secret). I have seen girls giddily excited because they expect great things and guys distraught because they know expectations are high and dinner reservations hard to come by. Until recently, I hadn't realized how much Valentine's Day can hurt for someone who doesn't have someone to share it with. It's like a continuous slap in the face, and since the pink and red is ubiquitous this time of year, you can't get away from it. Valentine's Day is a push to pair off and it knows no age boundaries. Fifth graders do not need another excuse to "date".

It seems to me that the couples who do Valentine's "right," those who truly are grateful to God for the love they share and aren't caught up in lustful passion, seem to do the same thing on February 14th as they do on their anniversaries. The guy buys the girl roses and they go out for a romantic dinner. She gets to get all dressed up. It seems to me the only differences are that Valentine's Day is not a personal, special date and everyone else is doing what you're doing, and also, you are leaving behind some broken hearts crying in their lonely apartments. Or mansions. Or hovels. Hurting people can be found everywhere.

I have also noticed that Victorian Valentine's Day cards are beautiful frilly little affairs, and that is why this post is sprinkled with them.

This Valentine's Day I am going to have dinner with my roommates and Bonnie, I believe. Andrew is off the hook for now, and rather relieved for it, I think. Although I did remind him that all that scrumptious chocolate is on fantastic sales around February 15th-17th (you have to get there before all the good ones are gone!).

I'm not going on a campaign against people who are having nice romantic evenings and cherishing special people. I plan on allowing such things to happen to myself, in fact (HINT). But not nine days from now.

Valentine's Day just makes me wonder, why? Why do we create an excuse (as if we need one!) to make people feel like they need someone to lust after? I choose to chase after God and thank Him for the love He brings my way in a myriad of ways.

reasons to smile

2007-01-29T11:54:00.000-05:00

1. are too incomprehensible to understand

2. too countless to be enumerated

3. too boundless to be captured

4. too unspeakable to be told of

5. God

mes recommandations à vous

2007-01-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

…quelques choses à écouter…

Emery (self-proclaimed "Rock / Screamo / Alternative")

Sherwood (on the lighter side)

…quelques petits choses à lire…

Malachi

une poème d' e.e. cummings

'Amazing' Reprimanded for Indecency

2007-01-22T18:06:00.000-05:00

The Amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus was quietly chided during a workout early this morning at the Colby Fitness Center. Witnesses say a staff member singled Cerbus out of a group of students preparing to work out at about 7:15 am this morning.

"I was trying to show off my muscles in a ripped up T-shirt," Cerbus lamented. "I guess all those Proverbs about pride are true after all."

The fitness center, affectionately dubbed the "Co-Rec" by students, does not allow sleeveless shirts for health reasons.

Rory Cerbus, twin brother of "Amazing," said he is glad the center allows green shoes.

"I'd really be in a pickle if they started picking on my attire," Cerbus said. "Of course, I don't have the inner urge to show off my muscles. Except sometimes when I'm in Pennsylvania."

Fitness center executives said they are glad the matter has been cleared up and that Cerbus (the Amazing one) has decided not to press charges.

"We recognize the need of an individual to display the results of hard work," a press release stated. "However, in the interest of other patrons of our facilities who have not reached the capabilities of the Amazing Ross Cerbus--and indeed, probably never will--we have decided that he does not need to display his bulging muscles and must be held to the same regulations as the general population."

it's a thinky bubble

2007-01-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

According to a random page I opened to in my newly-arrived, Amazon-purchased gender and communication textbook...

"Social psychologist Caryl Avery states, 'Given one wish in life, most people would wish to be loved--to be able to reveal themselves entirely to another human being and be embraced, caressed, by that acceptance'".

Is that what you want most in life?

so this is philosophy

2007-01-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

I think I have discovered at least one professor that humorous quotes shall emerge out of this semester. Professor Mitchell, teaching PHIL 330 Religions of the East, has already said several things which amused me.

In his words, this class is a "chance for you to sit back and ask, 'What does it all mean?'" instead of doing math or whatever. It is also a chance to not have much homework. One student queried bravely if the mentioned tests were the only assignments we had or if there was other homework.

"Other homework?" (He wore a confused expression as he searched his mind to remember what "homework" is.) "Umm, no. This is a philosophy class."

Another student asked when the tests were, as there were no dates on the syllabus.

Professor Mitchell answered, "We just sort of go along, and when we're ready, I give you the test."

I'm thinking I like this philosophical approach to learning. Sitting around discussing things (like poetry last semester) sounds like fun. I am way too structure-oriented to wish all my classes were like this, though. Here it is only the first day of classes and I already have a to-do list made out, sitting on the desk beside me.

title??!! but I have to go eat lunch

2006-12-31T12:12:00.000-05:00

Well, who is lacking luster now? I apologize for my failure to post during break, but the general scent in the air is that no one would be reading it, anyway.

I have dabbled in many activities during my three-week bout as a lazy loafer. (Or is it four? My but I'm enjoying the complete nonimportance of times and dates while one is on break...) If you want details and specifics, feel free to contact me. If you want to partake in some dabbling next week, my agenda, while not blank (my poor mother...), is ever open to new suggestions.

Last night I served at wedding for which the wedding cake was four different kinds of cheesecake. The host had over-provided in abundance, which resulted in many happy servers having a cheesecake-eating party in the pantry. I have decided that cheesecake as wedding cake is an excellent idea, and several types to choose from is all the more excellent. After all, as I told one of my fellow black-and-white clad plate collector/wine pourer/club soda finder/hors d'oerves ingredient explainer/etc.'s, who knows what mood you will be in when you get up on your wedding day? It is best to be prepared for all situations.

soooo....

2006-12-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

...are you people not reading my blog because the posts of late have been too long for the speed-oriented Americans of this era? Or perchance because my new blog template is so disgusting you can't stand to look at it? Because I for one happen to like it better, or quite obviously I wouldn't have changed it.

Or perhaps, like me, you are far too busy with other things to bother to read a blog. Things like cramming for finals and having a nightmare twice in a row on the same night that you forgot to study for your Anthropology final. Things like reading about and writing about Emily Dickinson's poetry til it's coming out your ears (and yet somehow you are still not tired of reading her actual poetry, just books about it...) Things like going to Chicago to see Jet and Guster (and Gym Class Heroes, but they are not of paramount importance in the slightest) with Andrew, Jessica and Eleni (woot!!). Things like cleaning up your apartment and locking it up for three weeks with a sad sigh.

Is this the case, O devoted following? Because your devotion has of late lacked luster like an old silver candlestick someone forgot to polish...

what happens when I read bulletin boards...

2006-12-07T15:14:00.000-05:00

Today was my last poetry class.

Before I slid my backpack across the table I always sit at, before I unwound my cashmere scarf, before I found my squished peanut butter sandwich under my poetry books, I read a flyer on the bulletin board across from the door of Heavilon 206.

A poetry reading by the seniors was proclaimed. The date looked remarkably familiar; it was the same one as was scrawled across the container of today's lemons in the vegetable fridge at work. The time was also suspiciously at home. It was the same as the one pencilled in beside "ENGL 237H" in my planner.

And so, as I gave my backpack a toss and unwound my scarf and searched for food, I told Chazz about the flyer and saw the same spark in her eye as I felt in mine. "Maybe we can..." "Maybe he'll let us..."

Punctually four minutes late, Professor Morris set down his diet Sprite and stack of books and papers. He expounded on specific directions for putting final papers and neat, final copies of journals in a box outside his office. He began to messify the stack of books and papers across his desk as he began to speak of the poems listed for today's discussion.

I raised my hand unabashedly to the ceiling.

He was still spreading things around and did not see me. Jason laughed because he knew what I was going to say. I gave up on grade school courtesy and said, "Excuse me?"

I used a lot of qualifiers. I said "maybe we could" and "part of class" and "I think room 320."

"Well, class, would you like to spend our whole class there." He had forgotten to use a question mark and he was already closing his books and standing up.

The room was cramped and the seniors' eyes widened as we overflowed into it, ten minutes late. The bearded student at the front of the room paused but continued. I crammed into a corner on the floor and listened, for nearly an hour, as words in beautiful arrangements and some not so beautiful flowed out of eager and nervous and proud mouths.

Afterwards I leaned against the railing in the sunniest stairwell on campus (tell me again why don't people like Heavilon?), my finger dialing Eleni, my eyes looking through Wetherill at something no one will ever see, my thoughts wondering...what can I do with words? Can I manipulate them the way I manipulate people?

Dude, I dig poetry class.

paradoxi

2006-12-05T22:35:00.000-05:00

Things are winding with an ever-increasing velocity to what will be a sudden stop the second my last final paper is turned in on Thursday. (Or shall I be an overachiever and turn it on Wednesday?) It's that wonderful horrible time of the semester, when I am lackadaisically diligent.

I say lackadaisical because some things just don't seem that important any more. I know I get to drop my worst French test grade, and none of them are bad thus far, so I studied with a happy sort of ease and gave up as soon as a better diversion presented itself (in that particular case, I think it was the allure of my nice cozy bed that made me put away my books.) I am even lackadaisically half-planning to skip a class tomorrow. It's a review session that I don't really feel like going to, and I have better things to be doing anyway.

This brings us to the diligent part. My life is run by my to-do list more than ever this week. The number of pages I need to have studied, glanced at or written is larger than it has been all semester. But somehow, my drive only flourishes in times like these.

That is not to say I am not looking forward to a break, because it will be nice. Ten days to go!!!

i like some mighty weird things....

2006-11-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

I love poetry class!

Take words and twist them—
Make their meanings yours—
Decide their fate benevolently.
“Spiral” will recall spring;
Whereas “winter” will be warm
And lightly moistly damp.
Painted lands with altered words
May appear a minor wrong
Like cacti in plots of jell-O
But as long as they float on multilayered glass,
Words can come and go as you like.

In other news,

I tried to eat meat today for lunch. All the way home, I told myself I would eat a yummy turkey sandwich when I finally reached the haven of Shingle Paradise. I got home and took out all the ingredients. The turkey did not look appetizing. "Self," I said, "what you really want is ham." So out came the ham. The ham looked even less delicious. It smelled like ham and it looked like ham. "Self," I said. "Quit kidding yourself and get out the cheese and tomatoes." Needless to say, this advice was heeded.

Statement of nonvegetarianism.

I am not a vegetarian. I like dishes with meat in them. I eat meat practically every day (not completely by choice, but that's another story). However, I don't usually eat meat for lunch and I am a staunch advocate of the one-vegetarian-dinner-a-week (two on a good week) rule. Thus I have earned an undeserved reputation for being a detester of DAIHC (Dead Animals Intended for Human Consumption). Contrary to this popular opinion, I find that DAIHC can be delicious in appropriate doses, and furthermore, is a vital compotent of a healthy diet. Like chocolate, it should be eaten four to seven times a week for optimal performance.

updating just for the sake of updating...pitiful, I know

2006-11-27T22:32:00.000-05:00

Although I didn't drive a Miata or drift around a parking lot, break was not all that bad. I made sweet potatoes from scratch which was quite fun. I hung with some of my gal pals that I miss terribly, and I saw Casino Royale with friends gal and otherwise. I actually really liked it, although he had a little too much fun with women if you know what I mean. Plus, it's always sad to see cars die.

One thing I didn't really do is homework (minus reading 100 pages of a book about Emily Dickinson, which really should have been 200 pages plus another book). Therefore I have several things I need to be returning to right now, and very little time to update my blog.

Ciao!

Thanksgiving break is in two days...

2006-11-19T22:19:00.000-05:00

....and I intend to have some fun!

(When Sara discovers a new way to waste time on google, everyone benefits! At least everyone who clicks on her links...)

a Thursday...

2006-11-16T23:54:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin ice cream. Mmmmmmmmm...

Tonight I had dinner at Earhart with many other people from CORPs. A grand time was had by all as far as I could tell. The feast whet my appetite for some real Thanksgiving food, that is, Thanksgiving food prepared by my mother. No one can beat her pie crust. However, I must say the dorm version was fun and I owe a great hardy thanks to Stephen Paul Roberts.

Tomorrow is Mia's birthday. She will be 21 and the sherry in our fridge will finally be legal. Did I just type that out loud? Oops. My bad.

As I am currently being assaulted by my sister, I believe this is a good stopping point for this post.

olfactory appendage vs. concrete

2006-11-12T23:13:00.000-05:00

This Friday my nose made the acquaintance of the sidewalk by Northwestern Avenue. It was not an amicable introduction. My nose suffered the most from this encounter while the sidewalk seems utterly unaffected.

A third party in this incident, my bike, was slightly affected. However, its crooked handlebars were straightened out by the Amazing Ross Cerbus (haven't you missed his presence on this blog?) who happened to be walking by while I was bleeding bright red blood all over the unsympathetic sidewalk.

Signs of the meeting are declining, thankfully. The blue bruise across the bridge of my nose has faded, only to be replaced by a big red scab. I hope none of my freckles under it disappear. That would be just tragic since I am rather attached to them. This whole ordeal should be teaching me to be less vain about my looks, however.

MAA

2006-11-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

I hear the first step is admitting that you have a problem. I seem to have an addiction. All well and good; we shall now see if I can manage to act against my addiction. However, we won't be able to tell whether I am cured for several months. Let me explain...

It all begins when I wait for my advisor to come out of her office in Beering Hall and call my name. I have a tendency to collect yellow sheets from the big file drawers located conveniently near the chairs I am supposed to sit in and wait patiently. This is probably the first step in my addiction.

These sheets have many interesting things on them. Verrrry interesting things, like lists of classes...that I want to take...that would fill that hole in my junior year...and senior year...and next semester...

Musings like these lead to the fulfillment of my addiction: I walk into my advisor's office and announce, "I want to add another minor!"

I know. I did it again. I am incapable of walking into that office and restraining myself. I've done it for the last three semesters. If I keep doing it, I will be in school forever. As it is, however, I still have a few random holes in my schedule for my senior year, and a reasonable schedule of no more than 18 credits per semester for the rest of my college career.

And a brand, spanking new Religious Studies minor.

(The title stands for Minor Adders Anonymous, by the way.)

a poem for Andrew (don't worry; you won't gag)

2006-11-06T10:01:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow Andrew will sit down to take the GRE
He will pick up his pencil and think of me
No, you dork! You need to focus!
Look at the question: two plus three.

My, this is easy, Andrew will think to himself
“Five” he will confidently write
But as he looks around he realizes that by mistake
He has wandered into Math for El Ed, what an oversight!

He must dodge Mia’s flying projectile
As to his trusty green bike he will race
He will become a blur in the crowd,
A look of grim determination on his face.

A blur of speed, a blur of might, a blur which will
Flatten an innocent pedestrian walking
To her poetry class in a dream world,
Obliviously dreaming and conjugating and rhyming.

To his dismay Andrew will have to stop to scrape her up
When he notices her eyes are blue like skies
That predict a thunderstorm in the near future.
Everything else from Andrew’s brain flies.

“Sara!” he will exclaim with joy
“Andrew!” she will exclaim back
(Only, of course, in a more feminine way)
Melodious chimes will issue from the clock.

“Blimey! I’m late for the GRE!”
Now Andrew’s exclamation lacks luster
As he hops on his bike once more
And rides off with all the strength he can muster.

Into the classroom he will dash
The gears inside his brain will turn
His pencil will fill in little dots
Information and answers and formulas will churn.

The small black dots that speckle his sheet
Will remind him of pupils of eyes
Blue eyes, to be exact, and dreamily he will gaze
Out the window at the somewhat stormy skies.

A squeak of a chair, a scrape of a pencil
Will bring Andrew back to that place,
Hurriedly he will finish the problem
And the GRE he will ace.

Sophomore Says She Had 'One of Those Moments'

2006-11-02T17:58:00.000-05:00

A Purdue student in the College of Liberal Arts said she realized the bliss small events can create while she was waiting for an English class to commence.

"Dude, I totally had one of those moments," said Sara Young, a sophomore. "It started when I was eating an English muffin" in a Heavilon Hall classroom.

Young said she was pleasantly surprised to find that her English muffin, which a roommate had brought her earlier in the day, had been toasted.

"I was already happy because I was thinking how nice it is to have roommates who help you out when you realize you have an extra class today and will starve before you get home," Young said. "And then I made a marvelous discovery [that the muffin had been toasted]."

Young's roommate, Kara Wegener, a senior (!) in the College of Liberal Arts, provided the toasted food.

"I never would have thought of doing that if she had called me begging for an English muffin and cheese," Young said. "It just made my day."

"Then I was randomly flipping through my poetry book and I came across this frickin' awesome poem," Young said.

Young said that although she usually "immensely enjoys" poetry class, the poems discussed in her class today were "tedious." However, she said she entertained herself by writing a rough draft of a blog entry.

Professor Daniel Morris, who taught the class, said he was "mildly shocked to think that anyone could use the word 'tedious'" to describe the class.

"I confess I sometimes ramble," Morris said. "But when that happens I try to stop myself and call on this girl Sara whether or not she has her hand up. She always has interesting insights."

Morris denied playing favorites.

I'm cold

2006-11-01T23:37:00.000-05:00

Nothing is comparable to a fuzzy, warm fleece blanket.

Or a cup of steaming apple cider.

Or the sound that occurs right after you turn the thermostat up two degrees.

Blogger is confusing me...

2006-10-29T23:24:00.000-05:00

So, I wrote the post below Saturday morning, and it told me it wouldn't publish. And now it mysteriously appears. I am rather mystified about that.

I am feeling much more like bed than writing a blog entry. You should check out Kara's blog for some pictures of today, if she's put them up yet. :-)

4:30 pm - 3:00 am

2006-10-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

Getting out of French class early
Yessss!!
Riding home in the rain
Brrrr
Bekah seeing Shingle Paradise for the first time
Aren't we cute?
Putting away groceries
They bought pears!
Half-vegetarian lasagna
Guess which half I ate?
Half of a movie with Morgan Freeman in in
There's a reason it was only half...
Ten minutes of a movie in Swedish
There's a reallllly good reason it was only ten minutes...
A whole movie about museum artifacts
You might have heard of Indiana Jones?
Driving, yes, driving home
Hey! It was raining!
Drinking tea
With honey
Watching what can only be categorized as a chick flick
And what's the matter with that?
Talking on the couch of love til rather late
What can I say...I'm a girl

And how was your Friday night?

being romantic, oddly enough

2006-10-23T20:43:00.000-04:00

I feel like jumping up and down. This is a lovely gem I stumbled upon almost accidentally. It is true that half of the reason I feel like jumping is that it fits perfectly into the journal I am writing for poetry class, but the other half is because it is just so beautiful. Sigh... and I am the least romantic member of Shingle Paradise, too! (This has been proven. Ask for details if you need them.)

Without further ado, let me present poem 20 by Petrarch, translated from Italian by A. S. Kline:

Ashamed sometimes that your beauty,
lady, is still silent in my verses,
I recall that time when I first saw it,
such that nothing else could ever please me.

But I find the weight too great for my shoulder,
a work not to be polished by my skill:
the more my wit exercises its force
the more its whole action grows cold.

Many times my lips have opened to speak,
but my voice is stilled in my chest:
who is he who could climb so high?

Many times I've begun to scribble verses:
but the pen, the hand, and the intellect
fell back defeated at their first attempt.

*wistful dreamy look*

A guy who admits that he can't write poetry about you is very appealing (never mind that he just dashed off fourteen beautiful lines...)

a very blow-by-blow account

2006-10-22T23:02:00.000-04:00

I feel like a little elementary kid writing a "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay but here goes...

What I Did This Weekend
by Sara Young

Friday evening began with a bit less of a bang than I had hoped because Dan had put up his Mustang for the winter and picked me up in some red SUV dealie instead. I swallowed my disappointment and threw my backpack in the backseat. After more wrong turns than either of us feel like discussing, we ended up somewhere near Whitestown (I think...?) at some of Bekah's friends' farm. After admiring their kitten, three pianos and organ and bonfire, Laurie, Bekah, Dan and I took off for Starbucks where we met Ana. We hung out at Starbucks until far past the time they locked the doors. Bekah helped Ana cheat at checkers and I talked on Laurie's phone for her and explained to our mutual friend Dave why I don't want to date him or anyone else he wanted to set me up with. He was very sweet and happy for me.

There were some misadventures involving a red car that someone had tried to render unstealable by disconnecting some coils or something like that and some Ale-8, and then we headed to Bekah's. Bekah, the gracious host, asked if anyone was hungry and Ana proclaimed a desire for broccoli, which Bekah fulfilled by microwaving some that was leftover for dinner. Dan, in awe of Bekah's procurement of the vegetable, expressed a hunger for shrimp alfredo. Bekah said, "We have frozen shrimp in the freezer!" And that is how I ended up making shrimp alfredo at 2 am. It turned out rather well, not to be a braggart.

Getting in bed was accomplished...before 4:30 sometime. Getting out of it was accomplished by 11 am. Bekah's mom made us breakfast and we played around on facebook and stuff until Laurie got off work and came over. The plan was made to go to Starbucks with our respective textbooks and study. Really. You can ask Bekah's mom.

But then....Dave called (same one). He was on his way to Wyoming and half-jokingly told us we could use his unlocked house to throw a party. We asked if we could ride his horses. He told us we were probably too sissy to actually ride them, but go ahead and try. Does that sound like a challenge to you? I've been longing to ride since summer anyway. So, we got out there and caught two horses. Laurie rode a fat furry ball of cantakerousness around in one pasture with a halter and a leadrope. I put a bridle on a mare in the adjacent pasture. I didn't fall off but there were some screaming episodes and a cowboy-hat-flying off incident. When you are in a field of horses, and the horse next to yours comes up cantering and bucking, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what your horse will want to do if she's got any spirit at all. And when you don't have a saddle it is a bit more slippery than normal.

This is getting long. If you got this far, congrats. Keep going.

When we had finished our riding adventure we added our own dear sweet feminine touch to Dave and Ben's house. This included rearranging the furniture in the living room, organizing the junk on the dining room table, and throwing away some nasty moldy food. Moving the nasty food produced a smell so horrific Bekah found a can of air freshener. This may have been a good move had she not sprayed what I am convinced must have been nearly the whole can. If I have respiratory problems later on in life, this will be why. We also created a fake person in Dave's bed using a wig found on his floor. I wish I could see his reaction. But honestly, what do you expect when you leave your house unlocked?

Saturday evening was calm and well, normal. I ate dinner with my parents and then we went to go see Flicka. It was obviously designed to be a sappy girly sort of sentimental film (I told my dad he shouldn't come with us, but he didn't listen.) Horses are not trained the way that movie implies they are. But, it had horses in it, and I was all starry-eyed and happy from having been around them, so it was fun. After we got home I stayed up (too) late writing in my journal, petting my cat and just thinking about stuff.

Sunday morning my dad made waffles and I went to church. He let me drive his black BMW 535is which was simply fabulous. I get to drive it about three times a year. It is very dear and near to his heart. Dr. Sam Chao from China preached and told us lots of stories about things going on in China. The people there thirst for suffering. They see it as a way God strengthens their faith and they think it is a blessing. We in our heated SUVs and 200 cable channels and wireless internet in cozy little West Lafayette apartments just don't get it.

Sunday afternoon I think I took a nap and read Romans 6. I believe that's it. My mom and dad and I drove to Lafayette, went to evening service, talked to some people at church and went out for dinner with Jessica. Italian. Mmm. Maybe I don't mind if Jessica wants to make pasta every night it's her turn to cook after all. Actually, I don't mind at all, but I think she needs to know how to make other things.

This post needs to be over. I need to go to bed. Tomorrow begins a new week, a new chance to live every moment for God, a new opportunity to have adventures to blog about, a new sun to bask in.

interspersed

2006-10-18T23:48:00.000-04:00

study
It has been scientifically proven that
read James
one cannot study for long periods of
study
time and absorb everything; thus periods
fall asleep (oops)
of staring at books and cramming your
study
brain full of facts (or what your professor
take a shower
claims to be facts) must be interspersed
study
with other activities. Furthermore
pick a house
some of these activities must be of the
study
extremely fun variety if more studying
eat chicken and rice and broccoli
than three hours is to be accomplished
study
in one day. Lindy is about as extremely
dance!!
fun as you can get and doing it outside
study
on the Slayter Hill stage for the very
sleep
last time this season is quite enjoyable.

autumn

2006-10-16T00:53:00.000-04:00

The morns are meeker than they were -
The nuts are getting brown -
The berry's cheek is plumper -
The Rose is out of town.
The Maple wears a gayer scarf -
The field a scarlet gown -
Lest I should be old-fashioned
I'll put a trinket on.

Don't tell me you don't like to read poetry, because you just did. Don't tell me you don't like Emily Dickinson, because you just read some of her work, and you enjoyed it, didn't you? Admit it!

Part of my Sunday afternoon was spent reading poetry just for the fun of it. Other portions of it were spent talking to Laurie (who came up to visit! yay!), reading II Corinthians and snoozing gently wrapped up in my sister's fuzzy white blanket.

Tomorrow I have a midterm in Theories of Communication (COM 102). Thus I must go to bed, but first I shall leave you with some insightful knowledge. One quote I recall to have amused me when we were studying Interpersonal Deception Theory (aka "the theory that teaches you to be a good liar") comes from Freud concerning observations of a liar...

"If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore."

glimpses

2006-10-11T20:44:00.000-04:00

If you were to take a look through my eyes this weekend, here are some things you would have seen...

~ a black stretch of pavement ahead reaching into the night. Yes, I got to drive, (my mom's car all the way to Bloomington!) and it was pretty sweet.

~ a smelly goat beneath my fingers getting sheared. (Take note of the "a".) Apparently I am the only repeat goat-shearing visitor to the Wegener's.

~ a certain blonde head that I have been looking forward to getting to meet. See Kara's blog for more details. She was looking forward to meeting this blonde head even more than I was.

~ a rather greenish lake with a mysterious film spread across parts of it. It was perfectly canoe-able lake however. It got more canoe-able when Andrew and I got rid of the loud, complaining cargo in the middle of our canoe. (She decided to climb into Kara and Keith's canoe instead, and thankfully did not tip either canoe in this process.)

~ Ellie, Laurie, and Jessica sitting across from me in the park, eating fast food and talking and talking and just having a good time.

~ The view through the changing trees at Eagle Creek Park, where Laurie and I tried unsuccessfully to get lost hiking. I am so glad we got a day of being outside in before it gets cold, and even gladder that I have great friends like Laurie who will go do random stuff with me.

~ another road, also in the dark, going by slightly slower because Josh was driving, which led me back to Lafayette and back to Shingle Paradise

~ Kara sitting across from me, cross-legged on the carpet with her laptop in her lap, doing the same thing I am: wasting time online when we both know full well that we have stuff to read for anthropology tomorrow...roommates are such good influences!

2006-10-06T09:21:00.000-04:00

The second hand is different than the other hands. It is slender and red as it scurries around its glass cage. My eyes follow my quarry. It is trying to make me dizzy. I will stop its mad, pointless dash. I will brace myself against the wall like a fly as I break the glass cage. I will grasp the slender point with two fists. I will not fall backwards. I will leap nimbly down, point in hand, and I will puncture my forehead with the slender object. I will not bleed. My skin will engulf the second hand and it will be gone. Somewhere it may float in the confines of my mind but I shall never see it again.

What? Don't tell me you don't watch the clock anxiously on Friday afternoons before October break! Don't tell me it doesn't mess with your head!

splurge

2006-10-03T15:10:00.000-04:00

Splurge is one of those delicious words. It's fun to say and fun to do. Yesterday, Kara, Jessica and I took a bike ride to Goodwill in the wonderful summer-like weather and I ended up spending sixteen entire dollars. At Goodwill, that's splurging. However I now possess three great shirts for fall/winter and a skirt that Jessica picked up and said, "Sara! This skirt looks like you!" She was right. It bonded with me instantly as soon as I tried it on.

Dear readers, I am excited to present you with an...

Extra credit opportunity for zealous readers of my blog!!!
If you desire to score some brownie points (not necessarily in the form of physical brownies, at least not until this week is over), read this poem. It is only 32 words. It will take 30 seconds to read and the same amount of time to ponder.
I can't imagine not wanting to enrich my mind. I am loving every minute of it, especially poetry class and finally getting 10/10 on anthropology quizzes.

adventures at Cair Paravel

2006-09-30T00:45:00.000-04:00

Josh is lying on the floor mumbling about how if even he was getting up there in years he would be happy about not being married yet and rejoicing that it's God's will for him. Kara is challenging him. Jessica is curled up in a pink blanket on the couch. Andrew is doing something or other with his cell phone. I am surfing the net on Kara's laptop and exclaiming at all the things on Kara's blog that really shouldn't be there.

Thankfully the subject is now on chili. Andrew is saying my chili is good. Kara is saying in a voice that sounds like she is rolling her eyes, "You have to say that."

Now Kara is deciding to go home. Perhaps we should.

Would you like to know...

2006-09-25T21:45:00.000-04:00

...what happens when Sara has been reading poetry (and writing about it!) for too long? Observe carefully...

First, she will do something like introduce her blog to a Shakespeare sonnet she randomly came across while looking for something else. (She would post the poem she was supposed to read, and what she wrote about it, but it takes a bit more thought and interpretation than this one, and blog readers are not known for sticking around forever to finish lengthy, scholarly posts. In fact, I would not be surprised if some of you do not last through a line or two of Sonnet 116).

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Then she will rejoice because she does not think Shakespeare is in error (this time...don't get her started on "Nor Marble Nor Gilded Monuments"). She will look up I Corinthians 13 and think about the kind of love God wants us to have. Then she will remember the kind of diligence God wants us to have. She will look up diligence on an online dictionary and find that it means "constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind." She will remember her homework. She will find out what diligence is in French. "Assiduité". Interesting. She will remember that she has a French test on Friday. She will bid her dear readers "au revoir" and hit the publish button.

(Did you find out more than you really wanted to know?)

God is good

2006-09-24T23:28:00.000-04:00

I praise God that although the weight of this....

1. One chapter of Organizational Communication theory to read and comprehend fully enough to take a quiz on
2. Ditto for a chapter of Food and Nutrition
3. Two chapters of The Odyssey to enjoy fully, yet remember in enough detail to discuss in an intelligent manner.
4. A French test to study for.
5. A small mountain of online French homework to complete.
6. "Part II" of a novel to read and get grossed out by.
7. An essay to write. Rats. Forgot about that until I started this list....oops.

...weighs heavily on me because I should have done most of it yesterday and some of it tomorrow, I am still rejoicing. Why? Because my God is amazing. One evidence of this is that I am updating my blog from my now-perfectly-working computer. I don't understand why my computer works perfectly tonight. Yesterday it wouldn't even turn on, and I spent an hour talking to tech support (45 minutes of it on hold while reading a thriller/murder mystery for anthropology...) Last night it finally made some noises and stuff when I hit the power button, and today, it's back to normal completely for no reason whatsoever. The Dell people really thought I had totally messed it up.
Wow.
I know that God is not awesome because my computer is fixed. He is wonderful and all-powerful whether or not my technology is behaving the way I would like it to. But I wonder if I would be as thankful if my ENGL 237H midterm were still stuck in the confines of a non-operating hard drive. I would like to think so. I would like to see the world the way Jesus did, as Pastor Long preached tonight. However, the total depravity of man (also explained from the pulpit today) gets in the way and makes us dissatisfied when we can not see tangible proofs of God's unceasing care for us.
This week, I would like to be thankful, praise-ful and rejoicing no matter what happens. I would also like to be diligent and get all my stuff done which is why I am going to bed now.
Good night, friends.

I'm in a computer lab in Beering Hall...

2006-09-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

I was going to update my blog last night. I really was.
But then something horrible happened. Between stirring the Mexican chicken I was preparing for dinner and writing my mom an email, I managed to spill a glass of water on my laptop. Nothing happened at first. I sopped up the water and went on with life. But then a few minutes later I turned back to my computer and the screen was blank. Then it shut off and no amount of cajoling and pushing the power button would induce it to return to its happy previous state.
Currently, my laptop is lying in pieces on the coffee table, thanks to Josh and Andrew who came over with screwdrivers. I'm hoping it will dry out and work fine. However, this means my insightful post on lessons learned from ANTH 379 will just have to wait. It's sort of in my head but not enough that I can spit it out right here, right now, especially since I really need to research some stuff for French class.
Tonight, Liz, Mia, Patrick, Andrew and I are going swing dancing at Fountain Square in Indy!! It should be fantastic!
Advice for the day: Keep anything liquid far, far away from your laptop.

stealing the limelight

2006-09-19T11:06:00.000-04:00

So, my dear sister has embarked upon an ambitious plan to have a blog. Thus far, her writings have been very amusing, but I wonder what she is going to write about when the flurry of excitement dies down. Right now all I have to do is walk in a room where either she or Kara is and they will start madly giggling or grinning ear to ear. Perhaps when events like....

It is sort of late at night, but it feels even later because Sara is sick, she has been up since way too early finishing homework she didn't do over the weekend, and she knows she has to get up to be at work at 6 am the next day. Not to mention she knows her father went out to dinner with a boy, and that boy's roommate (JOSHUA MICHAEL BRIGHT!! AHEM!) is IMing Kara things about the boy shutting himself up in his room with his guitar and such. Sara decides the day is over and goes to bed. Just as she is drifting off to sleep her phone rings. It is located on the floor, and Sara briefly considers yelling really loudly so Jessica will come answer it. Instead, she does the non-lazy thing and jumps out of bed (nearly getting a splinter in the process) and answers it. She isn't quite awake. It's Andrew. He is saying things about getting a milkshake. Sara thinks he is crazy. She's asleep.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the three roommates have caught on to what is going on upstairs (Shingle Paradise feels huge but there isn't much privacy). Sara stumbles downstairs once she has gotten off the phone. The roommates are insane. If they were molecules, they would definitely be in the gaseous state, bouncing off the walls. Sara wakes up. The roommates convince Sara to call Andrew back. She does. He says he will be there in five minutes. Sara yells loudly to the ceiling, "Help, now I have to figure out what to wear!" Kara calls, "Don't worry, I'll help you!" and sprints up the stairs. Jessica, who is IMing Mrs. Wegener on Kara's laptop, shouts, "His mom says he won't care what you wear!" Mia is the only sane one.

Sara throws on some clothes and finds her purse. Andrew arrives. They go to Steak n Shake and have a grand time. Sara even brings back half of her milkshake for her sister, who was whining about ice cream earlier in the evening. When they return Sara gets exactly four hours of sleep (she had to stay up a little later talking to Amber) and goes to work. She is not tired, but she does have class in less than an hour and she is wondering why she is updating her blog instead of doing homework.

...stop happening, Jessica will make her blog be about herself. But for now I suppose I get to steal the limelight.

late afternoon brainramblings

2006-09-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

I want to rise above
Like fizzy bubbles shoot heavenward
In a tall glass of diet Coke

But first I need a nap.

did you know...

2006-09-13T17:17:00.000-04:00

...Odysseus means "hated by the gods"?

...it only takes one minute to make a really good tortilla with melted mozzarella and barbeque sauce in the microwave in Beering's basement?

...even the most suspicious person can only spot a lie 60% of the time?

...Splenda is not metabolized by the body?

..."lesquelles" means "which ones?", feminine, in French?

...my handwriting gets progressively worse throughout the day?

Purdue certainly is providing me with a rich education. All those facts were learned in one measly day. Imagine what wealths of information are in store for me tomorrow!

2006-09-11T21:15:00.000-04:00

Would you like to hear about my weekend? Good, because you're about to. There is another version available at Kara's blog for those unable to stand my random tangents.
It started with a normal enough plan. Go to Bloomington with Kara, Mia, Jessica, Josh, Andrew and Patrick to ride a 35-mile bike ride (65 miles for the guys), stopping on the way at my house to eat some dessert prepared by my mom and pick up some stuff. After missing our exit and accidentally directing Andrew to go the wrong way down a one-way street (yeah, we wondered why that car was beeping at us), we arrived. And stayed a bit later than we perhaps should have, since we didn't get to the Wegeners until around 11:30. Anyway, the next morning we started out on our adventure. Let it be stated right now that I thought riding 35 miles was crazy from the beginning and wasn't sure why I was able to be talked into it. However, after we had gone 14 miles to the point where the two rides separated, I talked myself into something even crazier.
That's right. After the guys left, Kara and I couldn't resist. With happy grins we took off down the road....the 65-mile road, dragging my poor sister along with our lofty plan. By lunch we had actually caught up to the guys. I could leave it at that and let you all praise my excellent biking skills, but the truth is that Andrew had a flat and as a result they were still at the break tent when we panted up. They seemed rather surprised to see us. That should have been a big clue.
The guys took off and we tried not to die under the shade of a lovely tree. Finally we dragged ourselves up and pedalled off slightly faster than we'd arrived. Parts of the route were wonderful. That would be the downhill portions. Parts were quite torturous. That would be the uphill parts, especially the ones designated "The Alps" by some insightful Hoosier Hills people. We didn't make it to "Mt. St. Helens." At 54 miles, as the very last three people on the ride, being followed by the supplies truck, utterly worn out, we surrendered.
The snack station people gave us the three bananas and Powerades they had saved for us and told us we'd done a good job on those clunky mountain bikes. We smiled wearily and gratefully rode up Mt. St. Helens in the back of the truck.
Let's just say that evening I had difficulty getting up off the couch. Yeah, it kinda hurt.
Sunday we attended Church of the Good Shepherd and ate a delicious meal prepared by Mrs. Wegener, who is one of the best hostesses I know. It can't be easy to have six collegiate bikers (and one "Miss Mia") overtake your household for a weekend. Then we started on our way to Lafayette, with detours to the Brights' and to attend Southside Reformed Presbyterian Church's evening service. We arrived at the Long's just in time for Fireside Chat. Laurie came up, which was absolutely fabulous. I miss my Indy gals. The evening ended with a last-ditch attempt to get some online French homework in before midnight.
Now, Kara, Jessica and I are going to go deliver a late-night birthday gift to Patrick Daniel Blue, who is twenty entire years old.

life in the vegetable bin

2006-09-06T00:26:00.000-04:00

I met an onion on the road today. It spoke of pointy things and horses (I remember the horses part as I looked out the window and floated in the trees and lost all interest.) It added prefixes where none belonged. When will my life be post-onion I asked? It gave me a sheet of pink on which was writ the worst quiz grade I have ever received. And then, what joy!, my life became post-onion (at least for today) and I settled comfortably into a chair designated happily for Intro to Short Poetry (honors) where we talk about things that don't make sense, but in a decidedly non-onion way, and where quizzes are not pink nor graded 5 out of 10.

let me introduce you to some poetry...

2006-09-04T21:48:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been reading poetry for a good portion of this evening. I don't think you will doubt me when you are done reading this post, if you even read all of it. After having a grand time jumping on the trampoline, eating stuff, and feebly attempting to do homework, among other things, at the Kesslers with my roommates and other CORPS people, I started reading stuff for a paper I am supposed to write on this sonnet by Shakespeare (wow that's a long sentence):

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lover's eyes.

I think he is being a bit presumptuous here. I agree that poetry is probably a better monument than stone, but he ends up actually praising poetry (and thus indirectly himself) instead of whoever he fleetingly mentions as being the subject of the sonnet. We don't even know who it is or what she's like (most people assume it is a woman). Quite by accident I stumbled upon someone else who feels as I do, Archibald MacLeish. He is harsher than I am (maybe because he's a better writer :-)) but his point is much the same. Here is his poem with the same title:

"Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments"
by Archibald MacLeish
The praisers of women in their proud and beautiful poems,
Naming the grave mouth and the hair and the eyes,
Boasted those they loved should be forever remembered:
These were lies.

The words sound but the face in the Istrian sun is forgotten.
The poet speaks but to her dead ears no more.
The sleek throat is gone -- and the breast that was troubled to listen:
Shadow from door.

Therefore I will not praise your knees nor your fine walking
Telling you men shall remember your name as long
As lips move or breath is spent or the iron of English
Rings from a tongue.

I shall say you were young, and your arms straight, and your mouth scarlett:
I shall say you will die and none will remember you:
Your arms change, and none remember the swish of your garments,
Nor the click of your shoe.

Not with my hand's strength, not with difficult labor
Springing the obstinate words to the bones of your breast
And the stubborn line to your young stride and the breath to your breathing
And the beat to your haste
Shall I prevail on the hearts of unborn men to remember.

(What is a dead girl but a shadowy ghost
Or a dead man's voice but a distant and vain affirmation
Like dream words most)

Therefore I will not speak of the undying glory of women.
I will say you were young and straight and your skin fair
And you stood in the door and the sun was a shadow of leaves on your shoulders
And a leaf on your hair --

I will not speak of the famous beauty of dead women:
I will say the shape of a leaf lay once on your hair.
Till the world ends and the eyes are out and the mouths broken
Look! It is there!

And then there's me, who cares not if you remember me, or whoever praises me in poetry (not that there's been anyone yet!), but that you remember the reason I live: my Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord! Forget Shakespeare. To Christ be the glory forever. Somehow that would not fly with my English professor, though, so I must get back to work.

musings over a bowl of oatmeal

2006-09-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

This morning I came across something cool in Joel chapter 2: "'Yet even now,' declares the Lord, 'Return to Me with all your heart...and rend your heart and not your garments.'"

I love artistic use of language, and when it portrays a message as important as this one, it's even more beautiful. This serves as a reminder that I need to make sure my heart and mind are pure before God, even if everyone thinks I am already "all spiritual." God sees what man can not see.

great achievements

2006-08-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I rode my bike home from campus in high heels, carrying a poster of a beautiful Monet painting, with a backpack full of paraphernalia for all four of the classes I attended that day. By the time I reached my lovely manor I felt like a very accomplished young lady of the sort even Mr. Darcy could admire.

A List of Reasons for Rejoicing

2006-08-23T17:06:00.000-04:00

Am I making a list because I am too lazy to write it all out in nice and interesting paragraphs? Or have I returned to my busy life as a college student (taking 18 credits! woooot!) and don't have time to format beautiful blog posts? Or maybe I actually like lists and can't imagine life without them. Something for you to ponder when you are done rejoicing with me for these reasons....

~ I'm back at Purdue! Our townhouse, Shingle Paradise, is about as sweet as it gets. Unless you count the lack of visual excitement on some walls and the list of "boy chores" we still need to get someone to do for us, wink wink...chores involving hammers and nails. And one chore involving changing a lightbulb that you can reach from the stairs that I am doing myself, thankyouverymuch, no boys needed despite Kara's insistence that we should get them to do it. *Rolls eyes*. I'm not a feminist but that one was pushing it.

~ Internet is finally on!! After numerous calls to Verizon and much anguish.

~ The weather is lovely and I get to ride my bike to class!

~ God is marvelous and I am truly enjoying being back at Lafayette RP. Pastor Olivetti is teaching the Sunday school class for college students on church history and I am verrrrrryy excited about that. (Just ask my sister who had to endure my Yayyyys! after we got home.)

~ Speaking of Jess, tomorrow is her birthday and my parents are coming up and taking us out for dinner! Free food is getting more and more attractive.

Hmmm. That could almost pass for paragraphs. Whatever :-P! Time to go read poems and study and stuff. Toodles!

summer recap

2006-08-17T15:47:00.000-04:00

Here I am back at Purdue, all by my lonesome until the rest of my roomies arrive. I love Purdue. If you have been around me at all in the last year, you've probably heard me say it, but it's true. I was walking around campus earlier today, and I just had a big ol' smile on my face just being there.

That said, I am going to miss my friends in Indy. My gals and I have had the craziest summer. Sara has wild, spontaneous, not-always-smart ideas and drags the rest of her friends into it... Sometimes the crazy ideas are Laurie's though. :-) I don't know if any of y'alls know Laurie, but she is an awesome girl and I have really enjoyed hanging out with her this summer. A few days before I left she and I had a photo shoot. Here are a few takes:

My car makes an excellent prop, although this turned out a bit fuzzy. Hmmmmm...

Yeah, this was uncomfortable. Some photographers and the things they think would look good...;-)

:-D

think about it

2006-08-05T20:52:00.000-04:00

sudden fascinations
eyeballs glued
a tug, a pull
a reminder
mirror shatters
it's only been two seconds

rash decisions
fleeting regret
laughing teeth
it all ends
in a pondering, lonely room
it's only been one evening

quick moments
here and there
they are closer
they are more
a heartstring is tied
it's only been six months

a gentle slope
ways of thinking
ways of doing
unconciously becoming
sometimes stopping
and trying to change
slipping
it's only been a lifetime

The choices you make today will color all the tomorrows you have left...

A Bike Ride

2006-07-31T23:29:00.000-04:00

Thursday after I got off work and before I did...whatever I did that evening (hey, it was a long time ago) I went for a bike ride on some paths I discovered earlier this summer, when I was walking.

It was a fabulous ride. To start it off, I found a new way to get to that part of the canal which involved going through the Indianapolis Museum of Art and under this picturesque stone bridge on the IMA's property. I'm sure I must have seen it sometime before, but I never noticed how gorgeous and peaceful it is. As I was flying under it on my trusty old bike (that has lately decided to have a loose seat that refuses to stay tight...but that is not part of this story) I had two thoughts pop into my mind. Firstly, I thought, "I gotta draw this!" Perhaps I really am an artist at heart after all, even though I haven't drawn in months and months. My second thought was, "Life is beautiful!" And as Mrs. Ragsdale's funeral reminded me on Wednesday, for a Christian, death is also beautiful, even though it's very hard for those left behind to see this truth at times. Please keep Jeremiah and his family in your prayers, by the way.

Then I reached the trail and the joy of the bike ride was in no way diminished. I discovered several things, among them a) there are more trails than I thought (way cool), b) I'm out of shape (wow you don't say...) and c) I am still afraid to go over logs (another huge surprise). Also that, even though I felt like I was miles from anywhere because I had to listen intently to hear cars, I am not alone, seeing as I nearly ran over a jogger on a particularly steep and narrow segment of the trail. Poor guy. I probably scared him nearly as much as I scared myself.

I returned dirty, sweaty and happy, as is how all bike rides should end, and not a bad ending to a blog entry about bike riding, either.

soul goal

2006-07-20T23:29:00.000-04:00

Preparing lesson plans for Bible stories is so fun. I did it for about an hour tonight. Not to say that I have grand aspirations of becoming a kindergarten teacher or anything, but I do like working with the kids, a very good thing indeed considering how much time I have to spend with them.

It's not so simple as it sounds because you have to keep the attention of about twenty kids, and you have to get a specific point across. In the end, I've discovered that they really only pay attention when you relate it directly to one thing: themselves. This phenomonen is not unique to herds of kindergartners. Have you noticed how many people are not past that five-and-six-year-old stage where the only thing worth caring about is themselves?

Sometimes I feel like I am the only one whose sole goal in life is to glorify God. I sit and stare at the sky and wonder if maybe the rest of the world has just not caught on to the fact that God is absolutely vital. I get a disappointed twist in my stomach when people who call themselves Christians go make stupid, selfish decisions again and again. Why doesn't anyone else care what He thinks?? Can't they see what they are doing hurts His image?

But alas, much like a kindergartner, a thought of mine is only for thirty seconds or so. In ironic twists of fate, such deep musings often come when I am supposed to be doing something else for somebody else. I feel bad enough pretending I'm perfect in my head; I feel worse when I'm pretending I'm perfect in my head while my body is clearly not doing whatever task it is currently supposed to be performing.

In other news, Patrick Daniel Blue utterly rocks my socks.

Would you like to be the next sock-rocker mentioned on this blog? It's quite simple. All you have to do is build a loft for my bedroom in Shingle Paradise.

caverns and revelations

2006-07-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

Little kids tell it like it is.

Jordan: I'm gonna be happy when it's time to go home today.
Miss Sara: Oh, really, why's that?
Jordan: I get to play Playstation!
Miss Sara: You wanna know what I'm gonna do when I get home?
Jordan: What?
Miss Sara: Laundry!
Jordan: Man, that sucks!

I rode a horse...

for about eight hours in one day. It was fabulous. Minus the part where I was riding an idiot horse so Amber and I switched.

I rode my bike...

to Goodwill right after it rained so I got covered head to toe in lovely mud. Words cannot express how glad I am that now there is a Goodwill in biking distance of my house. Today Amber and I even got acquainted with an employee who promised to rearrange the store into "cute" and "ugly" clothes for us. (Of course, he was just enchanted by Amber's charms and was probably trying to figure out how to get her number.)

I have decided...

that some graffiti is art. Today I was waiting for a train to go by so I could cross the tracks (someone explain to me why the these thoughts went through my brain: 1) Darn! There's no road parallel to the tracks! 2) Well, it's not a passenger train with bald guys to freak out so I guess it wouldn't be much fun anyway...) Anyway, the cars had graffiti. Some of it looked like vandalism. Some of it was very well done. And those artists I admire.

Random stuff I heard on the radio driving home today...

What hurts the most/is bein so close/having so much to say/and watching you walk away

(very overplayed...but I crank it up every time anyway)

"I don't know why everybody thinks he's so sexy; I think he just looks greasy."
--female dj
"And his wife looks like she'd put cold feet on you at bedtime."
--male dj

I'm haunted by the bluest eyes in Texas

(Hopefully me next year...not that I need to haunt anyone, but the blue eyes in Texas part)

I used to brag about my freedom/how nobody could tie me down/then I met you

thoughts I shared at 7:30 am this morning

2006-07-03T17:35:00.000-04:00

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. This is pure and undefiled religion in the eyes of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
From the amazing, living God (more or less...I memorized this chapter so I typed it out instead of finding a Bible, so a word or two might be wrong ;-))

I used this passage for devotions for the other interns this morning because it reminds us why we're here. Even though the Eastside families aren't usually widows or orphans, we are helping the needy, which is what James is getting at. I like being at camp, but sometimes when things are hectic it's easy to forget that I am here for one Person and one Person alone. In fact, I am here, as in here on earth, for Him alone, too. That's why it is so important to be separate from the world in everything I do. That's why James doesn't only say that we need to be nice to people. We must also show them Jesus by who we are and what we do.

Keeping oneself unstained seems impossible. I slip up so often. I fail to consider others' feelings. I do things without thinking --or fail to do things I should do --and end up hurting people. I am selfish. I think I can handle things and just make a big ol' mess of them. Yes, being unstained is impossible.

That is why Christ died on the cross. I am not the only one that finds the task of perfection unattainable (I even mess that up and get all perfectionist and crazy! Help!). Christ is the bridge between sinful man and holy God.

Questions? Consult the Bible.

In case you're wondering, my life is going fine.

moments of disarray

2006-06-20T17:36:00.000-04:00

I could share some insightful thoughts I've had lately. I could write a well-thought out essay on something deeply meaningful that will help all of you as you walk this life.

Now that I've built up the suspence, I'm getting out my needle to pop the balloon. That's right. No words of wisdom today. Miss Sara has been too busy lately to think on such things and is just trying to get through one day at a time.

And yes, I have started (accidentally) introducing myself as "Miss Sara". It happens when you teach kindergarten day camp five days a week. The tiredness and lack of being able to be witty/smart/profound/remotely interesting can also be chalked up to the little darlings.

Seriously, though, it's not that bad. It is tiring, I admit it, but I have still had time to do some fun things (mostly while living at Laurie's last week!! Wooohoo!!) and work my second job at the country club.

What has God been teaching me lately...that life when you're not connected to Him is not cool at all...it's amazing how skipping reading your Bible or praying for just one or two days has such a direct impact on you. Others might not be able to tell (I hope not!!) but I feel the effect of lack of time spent with God. Thankfully, having realized such things, I am even more motivated to do it every day!

It is now time to go take a shower, eat dinner and go to Bible study. Ecclesiastes--yay!

Yesssss! She finally updated!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-10T23:55:00.000-04:00

In all fairness, I did warn you that my blog would experience a sharp decline in posting when I posted the Certificate of Death (which was really more like a Certificate of Slow and Eventual Decline Until Sara Returns to Purdue and Has Reliable Internet). Alas, my life is busy and full so scrounging around to figure out how to get on the internet has not been my top priority, contrary to the opinions of those who observed my IMing habits during the school year.

The adventures of Sara has a new chapter, or several, depending on how in depth you want to go. Amber and I took a road trip to Texas and I decided to move there. It pretty much looks like my junior year I might not be seeing Purdue at all, if I follow through on my plans which also include Sweden and maybe Italy for a little bit.

I have now seen what my back looks like when all the skin is peeling off it, due to spending a little too much time in the hot Texan sun with Amber (who is also peeling, in case you were wondering, although not as badly because she was smarter and reapplied sunscreen after we went swimming).

I have ridden a horse on the beach. Ahhh bliss. I have also discovered that my true calling is not, as I once thought, to own an Arabian, but might actually be to own an Appendix Quarter Horse. That is a very important, life-changing realization, for those who may have doubted the impact this choice has.

I have completed one week of training at Shepherd Community (a downtown mission to intercity families). The kids arrive at day camp on Monday. Woohoo!

I have ridden my bike up a hill with two lampstands digging into my back through my backpack, while carrying two lamp shades and a colander. Poor college student + apartment to be shared with a sister and two friends = garage sale shopping.

I have experienced the joy of shopping for nine or so hours with my aunt Birgitta (from Sweden!!). I have shopping in my genes; I just know it. All my aunts on both sides love to shop, even though my mom's not terribly fond of it.

That was the Cliff's Notes version of the latest chapters in the life of Sara. It was a bit dry and maybe even (gasp!) boring, but at least you know I'm still alive and still remember how to type.

2006-05-23T13:41:00.000-04:00

Today you are in for a special treat. I wrote something that I wanted to put on here, and I thought I wrote in my journal, but I can't seem to find it. So instead I am just going to put some other random things of interest (to me anyway!) that I found in my journal. Some of them make me laugh...

"I wonder if I'm making a big mistake. If I didn't wonder, would that mean I am doing the right thing?

I wonder if doing nothing would be just that--nothing. Or would that be a mistake as well?

On and on I wonder until my head becomes wrinkled like an old woman's hands, like a raisin, like my hands after a long shower. Slowly the wrinkles fold in on themselves. My brain is contracting, shrinking bit by bit. The wrinkles are now deep lines. My face becomes expressionless and my eyes stare ahead at nothing. Suddenly, my body goes limp and collapses to the waiting floor. My brain wraps itself into a tight little ball and rolls away.

Still, I go on wondering...what if?"
I believe this was meant to reveal to myself how stupid it is to sit around and wonder about stuff instead of getting out there and doing things. I love poking fun at myself. It's so easy and so amusing.

"It is a photo shoot and I am the star model. My dress is red and sparkly, attention-getting. My lips and nails glitter with the same vivacious, living red.

The room is large and brilliant white, against which the photographer and his camera stand out like ink on a wedding gown. The only other objects in the room are large, colorful signs, props that I lean against glamorously. I drape one arm over a sign, letting my wrist show off a diamond bracelet. I perch on another sign, crossing my legs elegantly. I throw my head back and laugh. I turn around and peek over my shoulder at the photographer with a shy, sweet smile that is also sneakingly cunning. All the while, the camera clicks away. Photo after photo after photo...of me. Self-assured, spotlight-stealing me.

A few weeks later, I get the photos. There are dozens of them. My red dress and I are undeniably the center of attention in each shot, but it is the props, the signs, that take my breath away. Each sign boasts an arrow in bold primaries and the word "Blame" in fat black letters. Each arrow points straight to my smiling face.

What have I done?"
A look at the sinful nature of man...there is no denying it. I can't imagine living without God. All those signs would be yelling in my face day after day and there would be No One who could take them away and tell me He has forgiven me...

"God opens doors and God closes doors. Sometimes they look closed, but when you grasp the handle and pull, they aren't locked. That's when God wants you to work a little and not give up. But other times I seem to grasp a very obviously locked door and tug with all my strength. Finally I fall to the floor exhausted, crying, "God, why did this happen to me?" And as tears spill out of my eyes I finally notice the huge sign above the door: "Exit this way," with a big arrow. "But God," I whimper, "I want to go through THIS door! It looks so pretty!" My own words echo in the empty room and I cringe as they return to my ears. This is the point where I should pick myself up and humbly go find the right door."
That one doesn't need much explanation.

everything changes...or does it?

2006-05-20T18:14:00.000-04:00

Staind is right: "everything changes" (good song, by the way).

Here I am folding graduation ceremony programs with my sister. Tomorrow she will be done with high school and in the fall she and I will be living in an apartment in West Lafayette. That will be a big change for both of us.

Last night Ana and I were having fun driving faster than Jacob and cutting him off (hee hee). A year ago I didn't even know either of them, and now they're some of my closest friends. Next weekend I'm going to Bloomington to visit Kara, who I also didn't know a year ago. She is a very good friend too, and I can't wait!!

Everything changes...I'm not who I was. I turn up the country all the way as I zip around town in my mom's car since mine is still sitting...one thing I wish would change! (Of course I also turn up the rock, oldies and sometimes R & B!) I'm getting tired of shopping at Gap and American Eagle, partially because I'm too broke for the mall. Which reminds me I discovered the Salvation Army on 38th Street today...not bad. I've started liking running instead of thinking it was a dirty word. I am getting more consistent in reading my Bible and I'm memorizing more of it. I love Western riding as much as English...how did that happen??!!

But God is right too: "Nothing is new under the sun." I still love horses. I still am deluding myself into thinking my dad is gonna fix my car. I still make mistakes...plenty of them...just different ones. I still am thankful for my wonderful friends, especially the ones who still read my blog as its slow, painful summer death begins.

As everything changes and life whirls around me in a never-ending colorful chaotic mess, with blobs of familiarity mixed in, I stand on a perfectly still island. That island is my God! I shall not step off it.

What do you post about...

2006-05-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

...when you are at the library because your house doesn't have internet and the library is near the bank, in which you need to deposit the $13.00 the government gave you, but obviously you are wasting time on the internet at the library instead?

...when you spent the morning with your friend hauling her two horses to their new home and you want a horse really REALLY badly but you are broke?

...when you went to the mall yesterday and couldn't buy anything because of the aforementioned broke-ness and it's horrendously sad?

...when you haven't seen the amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus for a very long time and you have nothing to post about?

...when you are making that snorty trying-not-to-laugh noise in the library because you are thinking about accusations that you have a crush on Ross due to all the posting about him (sorry, Ross, but ummmm, no)?

In answer to all those questions, I don't know what you write about. Thus I am seeing the end to a rather pointless post...it's coming...it's getting closer....it's here! THE END. :) Cheers!

2006-05-13T17:10:00.000-04:00

Certificate of Death
(kind of like a certificate of marriage, only not)

This is to certify that this ______blog_____ is hereby declared dead, void and null for all practical and otherwise purposes, by the authority and highly esteemed willpower of ____Dr. S. E. Young, M.D.____ from this ___thirteenth__ day of ___May____, in the year of our Lord ___2006___.

Don't worry. I am not going to give up blogging, although it certainly feels like I have! It is very strange to not waste hours each day IMing people and updating my blog and prowling the blogosphere for posts from my friends...I have to find other things to spend hours doing. Lol.

So, I shall randomly update...don't abandon me forever!!!

art and happy feelings

2006-05-04T23:56:00.000-04:00

I'm done with finals.

It feels awfully good.

I'm going home tomorrow. That feels pretty good too.

Amazing Ross Cerbus Receives Free Breakfast, Studying Help

2006-05-03T10:53:00.000-04:00

The amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus was spotted early this morning eating breakfast with two residents of Windsor Residence Halls, an all-girls dorm.

Cerbus said he did not know if his fellow Green Gablians would be jealous of his free breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes and a waffle with ice cream. "I didn't tell them," he said with a signature Cerbus smirk.

Cerbus and the two girls, identified as Kara Wegener, a sophomore, and Sara Young, a freshman, appeared to be going over some type of notes. Sources say Cerbus wore a confused look about half the time.

"I think you skipped that lecture..." Wegener was overheard saying.

"So why did you decide to help me?" Cerbus queried.

Young said the girls felt sorry for Cerbus.

"The poor thing would probably have flunked out of college by now if it weren't for us," she said with a sympathetic smile. "He honestly thinks watching a movie with Katie is studying."

Young retracted her statement when she remembered that her grade and Cerbus's are equal despite vastly different sleeping-in-desk-chairs and class-attending habits. She said Cerbus seemed excited about the possibility of getting a high C on the final and still getting an A in the class.

"Maybe I should start watching more movies..." she mused. "Or maybe it's one of those things only Amazing can get away with."

my day went like this...

2006-05-01T23:48:00.000-04:00

So, this is what finals week is like. You accidently ignore your alarm clock and wake up when your friend knocks on your door for breakfast. You go to breakfast and hang out for longer than usual because you don't have a class to go to. You come back and study til you can't bear it, and then you take a shower. After that you walk to lunch in the rain, but you like rain, so it's all cool. Then you fill out a job application and walk over to deliver it. After that you purpose to study some more, but your friend calls you and you end up talking for an hour and a half. Your roomie laughs at your conversation because you are dork and it's funny. Then you go to dinner with a friend who's turning 19. Then you study until another friend calls you. You finally get back to studying only to have another friend stop by. You end up messing around on facebook, surprise, surprise. You realize you feel like updating your blog, so you do that. Then you return to studying. I hope. You realize the test is in eight hours and frantically hit the "publish" button and HIT THE BOOKS!!!!!!

Pastor OK's Skara From Pulpit Sunday Evening

2006-05-01T00:05:00.000-04:00

Pastor Olivetti is way cool. I've always sort of wondered exactly how far we should go in applying the verse in Proverbs 26 that talks about not deceiving your neighbor and then saying, "I was only joking!" Fun and joking is a large part of my life. I think God has a sense of humor, too, but I'm not always sure if pastors do. So I was very happy to hear this from the pulpit tonight about the Proverbs verse...

"This is not saying don't do practical jokes."

Yes!! The purpose of Skara is pastor-endorsed!!

He went on to explain that this means that we shouldn't use "escape clauses" to get out of things we do. "I hurt your feelings when I said you were ugly? Chill, dude, I was only joking." When you hurt someone, you have to go repent. This means admitting that you did wrong, not trying to explain it away as "OK," and it also means asking for forgiveness.

a boring but peaceful existence

2006-04-30T16:39:00.000-04:00

It is a rainy Sunday afternoon and I can't think of anything to post about. Last night we chased a train and stalked a bald guy. Today I went to church. And got an extremely interesting facebook message. Apparently Kara and I are not the only ones who are capable of hacking into people's profiles. So sad.

Tonight I am going to Fireside Chat. My sister will be there!! Yay!! Then I have five finals in four days. Friday I am going home. :-)

This has been a brief update on the life of Sara...if you have anything more interesting to add, please do so...

A Dissertation on the Quality of Education at Purdue University

2006-04-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

After Thursday night, I was most prepared to write a scathing post on the absolute lack of quality education in the School of Liberal Arts. This would no doubt have made certain engineers very happy.

However, Kara pointed out that I am far too right-brained to be an engineer, preferring drawing or writing (or a combination!) to solving math equations. Sadly, I haven't had time to post on this important topic until now. But now I am in a totally different state of mind. In layman's terms, my brain is fried. I have just finished a paper for my honors communication (Media & Society) class that is worth two point five zillion points and a major portion of our grades. This makes me think that my education is hard enough after all.

In order to more fully explain why I would ever even entertain for a half a second the idea of being an engineer, let me introduce you to a fellow named Jeremy.

Jeremy is a TA in the sociology department. He assists Dr. Steve Hillis in the teaching, if it can be called that, of Sociology 220, Social Problems. Let it suffice to say that I honestly don't know how SOC 100 can exist, because SOC 220 is as dumbed down as you can get.

Besides falling asleep in lecture with the rest of us, Jeremy administers help sessions before exams. On Thursday night's session, he explained that the test would cover the lectures on the War on Drugs from the last two weeks, as well as chapters 15-18. As always, the test is to be open-book and open-notes. After giving us 5 of the questions off the exam, and the answers (with a "don't tell Hillis" admonition), Jeremy proceeded to give us helpful hints on how to study.

"I recommend skimming through these (chapters)," Jeremy told us. "I don't think you really have to read them. Maybe don't even bothering studying (them). Just know your drugs."

Jeremy also had the wisdom to realize that many people skip class and thus did not get the drug information, which is not in the textbook. "You can listen to the lectures, but who wants to do that? Find someone who took notes."

Jeremy is quite right. I didn't really study for either of the last tests, and I have a 102% in the class. All of these realizations hit me as Kara and I left Beering after the help session. A fifth grader could take this class and pass with flying colors. I put that on my review for Dr. Hillis (don't worry; he won't get it until after I get my final grade.) What in the world am I doing here? Why am I not stretching my horizons and expanding my knowledge?

These thoughts were Thursday night. Now it's Saturday and I have spent the day stretching my horizons and expanding my knowledge. I'm learning after all, and now my blogging break is over and I must return to the books.

I joined a gang

2006-04-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

Click here for prospective T-shirt design.

I'm going running. Gang members have to be in good shape to get away from the police and whatnot.

save the last dance for me

2006-04-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

Last night I danced til they turned the music off. When I came home my foot was bleeding...and I didn't even know I had a blister.

All good things must end...

Student Receives Wake-Up Call: 'I'm Not Perfect,' She Says

2006-04-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

This morning an Art History student snoozed gently for a period of about three minutes, several sources say. The amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus said he saw Sara Young, a freshman Liberal Arts student, nod off during A & D 227 at about 10 a.m.

"So are you going to blog about what a hypocrite you are?" Cerbus asked Young.

Young operates a blog which has numerous times poked fun at Cerbus for his lack of class-attending skills. She said this is the first time she has gotten caught sleeping in this class.

Kara Wegener, a sophomore majoring in Classics, wrote "Wake up, Sara" on Young's paper at the insistence of Cerbus. Cerbus said he would have liked to draw "a hundred tally marks" but he couldn't reach Young's paper.

"I suppose I'm not perfect," Young said. "At least I picked the right time to fall asleep."

Young does not believe she missed anything important. She said the same "globs of paint" were still on the slide projection screen when she opened her eyes.

Young said she is not a fan of Helen Frankenthaler, whose paintings were being discussed. (See "Summer Banners" at left.)

Despite the "humiliating experience" of this morning, Young said her nap did not negatively affect the rest of her day.

"I had the most exhilirating run in a long time," she said. "I ran up and down the hills in the woods and it was just awesome."

Young said she then attempted to get skin cancer. "I laid out in the grass and soaked up the sun for a few minutes."

The student's day got even better, she said.

"I shaved my legs and didn't cut myself once! Oh my, are you really going to publish that?"

I dare you

2006-04-25T16:01:00.000-04:00

Have you heard the song "I Dare You" by Shinedown? I really liked it the first time I heard it. It was about 10 p.m. a few weeks ago and I was running up and down the stairs of the parking garage out by Purdue West. Yes, I know I'm crazy. Please don't give me any lectures about girls alone at night. At least I was in a well-lit area and who wants to chase a girl who's sprinting up a staircase, anyway? It gets you kind of out of breath rather quickly.

But to return to the song, the lyrics got stuck in my head and as a result I got thinking about what they mean. Here they are, with my (not so) insightful comments...

Hello, let me introduce you to
The characters in the show
One says yes, one says no
Decide - which voice in your head you can keep alive

Even in madness, I know you still believe
Paint me your canvas so I become
What you could never be

I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

Hello, are you still chasing
The memories in shadows
Some stay young, some grow old
Come alive, there are thoughts unclear
You can never hide

Even in madness, I know you still believe
Paint me your canvas so I become
What you could never be

I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

HelloHello...I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
Brand my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

Hello...Hello...I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

Supposedly there's no good story without a conflict, and this one is evident from the very start: the "voices in your head". Even atheists have consciences. We read a letter to the editor in Sunday school this week that stated that the author believes he has a "moral compass" independent of God. Uh, think again, buddy... To me, the conscience is just one more evidence of God.

The second stanza makes it seem like someone wants his life lived out through the singer ("paint me your canvas so I become what you could never be"). This is responded to with the taunt of "I dare you to tell me to walk through fire"--presumably the singer has no intentions of being something for someone else. I don't either. I'm not perfect, and I have a lot to work on. For a friend, I might become something, but only if it's in line with what God wants. I don't ever want to catch myself changing because I'm trying to impress someone. I hope to catch myself doing LOTS of changing to line myself up with the standards of God's Word.

The third stanza is about the past. First it makes an allusion to remembering the past (chasing memories) and then it reminds us that you can't get away from it ("You can never hide"). The past is one of those things that's tricky to balance. I try to forget it, and sometimes that works, but a lot of times it doesn't. I dwell on it too much, and forget to live in the here and now, and miss what's going on under my nose.

I really don't get exactly what this song is about. I don't think you're supposed to. Like the liar part...what is that about?

true art

2006-04-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

Today in Art History class (which the amazing Ross Cerbus attended) we were treated a lecture on modern architecture, which Kara denounced as "ugly." Yes, some of it is not attractive in the least; for example this rather plainish apartment building by Mies Van Der Rohe lacks any excitement or ravishing beauty. However, when I think of Mies Van Der Rohe I get excited because what comes to mind is lovely chairs such as the following.

This one is called a Barcelona chair and it is quite a classic.

Here is another example in radiant color. Sigh... (The sigh is what happens you gaze at this and then look up to be surrounded by a dorm room that pretty much lacks any aesthetic qualities.)

Last piece of furniture, I promise. I suppose the Barcelona chair is his best and I won't make you look at any more metal and leather concoctions after this:

So why does Professor Parrish feel that he must show pictures of large glass boxes but he omits chairs which very clearly are art of a high order? This might be the first time I am disappointed in this class. No, I was disappointed after some naked-women lectures too, I suppose.

Good night!

2006-04-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

My toes hurt.

That might have something to do with the fact that one of them was spurting blood earlier today.

Saturday

2006-04-22T17:11:00.000-04:00

Today is Saturday. That is wonderful for several reasons including NO CLASS and my sister is up here. I actually got up at a decent hour (8:30!!) which is pretty unusual for a Saturday in general and even more unusual for a Saturday following a Friday that I was out til nearly two.

Friday morning the amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus skipped class yet again. I am highly disappointed in him. At the rally he gave an incredibly lame excuse for his absence.

Me: (glare)
Ross: Umm?
Me: Ahem.
Ross: I had better things to do!!

Yeah right. Nothing is more important than seeing pictures of huge sculptures shaped like clothespins. Don't quote me on that.

So right now I am supposed to be finishing up an article for the Exponent before we go eat...and of course instead I am being struck with the fact that my blog simply MUST be updated.

More insightful comments next time, I promise.

Oh, one more thing...I've thinking about the purpose of my blog. Do you guys want to know what's going on with me? Do you want little funny snipits of life like the amazing Ross examples? What's going on in my head, like the definition of contentment (which was in no way supposed to suggest that you have to be old/poor/anything to be content, David)?

dictionary

2006-04-20T23:56:00.000-04:00

content (adj): Bob and Ginny are a couple in their 60s. They live in a little house nestled between two mountains in South Carolina. Both are retired, although Ginny works every other Saturday in a boutique in town. They have seven grandchildren who visit in the summertime. Bob likes to fish in the lake that borders their backyard, and Ginny delights in growing eight-foot sunflowers in their front yard. They have to be careful with their money and a trip to a local restaurant once a month is their special treat. On cold winter evenings, Ginny makes hot chocolate and they sit in front of the fire. Ginny knits and Bob works New York Times crossword puzzles, although lately he has started doing Sudokus, thanks to one of his grandchildren who introduced him to them. Sometimes when Ginny is cooking Bob will catch her eye across the kitchen. His blue eyes have a twinkle and Ginny remembers the night they met.

So, what's your definition?

the nose knows

2006-04-19T21:44:00.000-04:00

I detest stinky things. I especially have a distaste for certain stinky things discussed during dinner. Discussing the discussion of such things nearly led to a choking-on-a-Skittle episode earlier in the evening. That was not particularly pleasant but it was very humorous. Unfortunately I was laughing too hard at the humorous side of it to stop the choking part of it. But, quite enough about that indeed.

I am not the only one who prefers things to smell good. God does too, I (re)discovered while reading Philipians tonight. "...having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God." In other words, helping each other out smells like Bath and Body Work's Moonlight Path to God. Furthermore, as Christians, we are supposed to scent the entire earth. (II Cor. 2:15: "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those are being saved and among those who are perishing.") And on certain pollutant-filled days, Lafayette sure could use it-whooee!

And that concludes the stuff to sniff over for the day.

No, wait, I can't be done! I haven't discussed the amazing Ross at all! Today Ross nodded off in class while I doodled on his notes. The proportion of doodles by me on Ross's notes is very directly proportionate to the amount of snoozing the amazing Ross accomplishes during the lecture. Today he also managed a very amusing head-bobbing motion that nearly hit me but failed to rouse the amazing Ross from what I am sure were amazing dreams.

Cheerio! Bon soir!

for your entertainment and nothing more

2006-04-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

Random quotes...

"Springtime and frat boys!!" (sung while skipping down Russell St.)
~Kara Anne Wegener

"I don't want to be on your blog."
~A Mysterious Person who declined to be the next Ross Cerbus of the blog

"I like nicotine..." (notices he is talking about the cup of coffee he is holding) "...oh, well, I like nicotine, too, but I like a little caffeine in the morning."
~Professor Steve Hillis
You do not want to know what else he said. I don't either but unfortuantely I do.

"Ummm."
~Josh Johnson, on being asked if his girlfriend knew he went home for the weekend

"Ummm."
~Josh Johnson, on being asked if he knows the date of his girlfriend's birthday

"Ummm."
~Josh Johnson, on being asked if his girlfriend exists

"I've met her!"
~Stephen Paul Roberts, who doesn't want to be blogged about any more (ooops)

Obviously, if I had seen the amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus today, this would not be filled with random quotes but would instead contain a blow-by-blow account of the escapades of the amazing Ross.

things

2006-04-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Thing Number One

Follow the instructions. Yes, it's really that easy.

1. Are you a highschool senior?
~yes: go to question 2
~no: go to question 6

2. Are you doing anything the evening of Sunday, April 30?
~yes: go to question 4
~no: go to question 3

3. Perfect! Come to Fireside Chat for High School Seniors at the Long's after evening service. It's on the 30th at I believe 8:30 p.m. There is food and a Bible lesson and I will be there (exciting, no?). Do you need directions?
~no: I love you
~yes: call someone. That's not me. Or call me to get the number of someone that's not me.

4. Will you die if you don't do this thing?
~yes: What the...? Refer to question 5.
~no: go to question 3

5. This question will introduce you to something known as Priorities. Priorities dictate what you do and when you do it. Your number one Priority should be following God. Number two is probably obeying your parents. Going to parties/basketball games/doing homework on Sunday evenings when you should be at Fireside/etc are not on this list. If you are not violating a Priority by going to Fireside, go to question 3.

6. Are you in high school?
~no: See question 7.
~yes: That's nice. Don't worry, you'll get out soon and then you can come to Purdue!!

7. Are you in college?
~yes: see number 8
~no: good for you. Homework is not cool.

8. Are you at Purdue?
~yes: Very good. Come represent your school to impressionable young high schoolers by going to Fireside Chat on the 30th.
~no: What's wrong with you? Please submit a two-page essay to young16@purdue.edu and I'll decide if your excuse for not attending this school is good enough that I won't poke fun at you constantly.

Thing Number Two
Thing number two is just a recap of my life lately. I went to Kara's for the weekend and had a grand time. We sheared her goats, went on an eleven-mile bike ride involving a few too many Bloomington hills, went to her grandma's, got up early to see the sunrise, went to her church, baked delicious things like challah and granola bars, went to small group for her church for about 20 minutes, drove around in Andrew's new car, tried not to get kissed in the gazebo by an overzealous Bloomingtonian who LOST my ring, went on a hike and did various other things with the plethora of Wegener kids. (Nine total: Andrew and Kara of course, and Kristin, Jonathon, Peter, Amanda, Faith, Paul and Ben who is soooo cute!!! Yessss I remembered all of them!)

Thing Number Three
...is the amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus review!! Today Ross came to class. He said he had had a good weekend. He did not fall asleep that I am aware of, which truly is amazing.

Thing Number Four
...is an exasperated scream as Sara realizes her Comm paper is supposed to be a zillion pages long and she hasn't researched at all yet.

God makes the front page

2006-04-14T15:50:00.000-04:00

I wrote this for a blog for my media & society class. It might be of interest to some of you, too...

Christianity is finding a place in mainstream media, for better or worse. Today’s USA Today had an article on Hollywood and Christianity as its front page headliner.

The article lists box-office hits with a Christian theme, like The Passion of the Christ and Chronicles of Narnia, and it also mentions several more slated for release this year and next, such as Preaching to the Choir and of course The Da Vinci Code. The article says Hollywood is finally catching on to an audience segment that the literary world has been cashing in on “for decades.”

The article mentions that Christians are not being pandered to, but gives no good argument to prove this except a few quotes about how religion is a hot discussion topic right now. Da Vinci director Ron Howard said he is not “catering” to anyone, but is there to make a movie. I have no doubt about that one, since The Da Vinci Code is not something many Christians agree with anyway.

A pastor from Arizona said in the article that churches welcome faith-based films as much as Hollywood welcomes the faith-based money.

But that’s just it: Hollywood is in it for the money. A movie may have a “Christian” world view, but for all you know, the actors’ next roles include frontal nudity and a cuss word every other sentence.

As a Christian, I try to avoid movies that I know contain things I might be offended by, like blatant sex. But I’m also feeling tempted to avoid movies that cater to my beliefs for the sole purpose of lining Hollywood’s pockets just a little more.

Yes, actors are supposed to embrace their roles and be versatile enough to “become” anyone for the duration of a movie. I understand and respect that what I see on the screen is not who that person really is. But I’m not feeling inclined to go to a movie that was produced just to make a buck off my faith.

soccer team loses for the last time

2006-04-14T00:52:00.000-04:00

The Hedgehogs lost their first game in the tournament, which means they are now officially out. Captain Ross Cerbus seems to have nothing to say other than that he is not particularly planning on being at class Friday morning. Presumably this has more to do with the gigantic load of French homework Cerbus claims to have than depression from the 0-3 loss the Hedgehogs endured tonight.

Hedgehogs player Sara Young said although she is disappointed, life will go on.

"This weekend I'm going to Bloomington," Young said. "That should be fun."

Young did not say what she is planning on doing in enemy territory. She did mention her plans for the immediate future, which included a top bunkbed in Windsor Residence Halls and sweet dreams.

the amazing Ross review

2006-04-12T20:31:00.000-04:00

There is a copycat in Blogland. Yes, dear readers, there is another person who finds posting about the amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus as irresistibly fun as I do! Patrick Daniel Blue seems unable to find his own interesting blog fodder and has resorted to his own commentary on the amazing Ross. Nevertheless, here is today's amazing Ross review...

[Kara and Sara are walking along a sidewalk at Indiana's finest university on a lovely spring morning as they discuss various things of interest.]

Kara: Did you see that guy?
Sara: The one with the thing on his nose? I bet he broke it.
Kara: I wonder how he did it! Maybe he was riding his bike and fell off.
Sara: Maybe he was drunk and walked into a wall.
Kara: Oh, yeah, we are on a college campus. Hey, I wonder what Ross will do today that you can blog about.
Sara: Well, if he doesn't do anything, maybe I can ask him to stand on his head in front of the class or something.

[The scene changes to inside EE 170. Sara and Kara are seated beside Bonnie and the amazing Ross Cerbus. Kara is talking to Bonnie. Sara and the amazing Ross are both sort of staring off into space. A girl is walking in the door with her boyfriend. They kiss briefly and he leaves.]

the amazing Ross: Aw!
Sara: (snort, giggle) WHAT? Ross, you are so girly!
Kara: What did he do?
Sara: That couple just kissed and Ross went, "Aw!"
the amazing Ross: That's not girly! Besides, I was being sarcastic.
Sara: That was not a sarcastic "Aw."
Kara: Hey, now you have something to blog about.
the amazing Ross: I'm not girly!

[Life goes on.]

So, do you people prefer a) play scenes like the one above, b) newspaper articles like the one about the Hedgehogs, c) random blabber like what is going on right now or d) a mix of all? (Note that e) Sara shuts up, is not a choice. And if you think that, you shouldn't be reading my blog anyway!)

More Ross updates on Friday, unless I go to Green Gables tomorrow night, which I may do if I am running low on blogging ideas.

2006-04-11T23:41:00.000-04:00

This shall be short and to the point since there is a French paper that needs writing.

This morning I got up early and went to arouse Kara from her sweet slumber. Thankfully she was already awake and searching for shoes or something like that. We rode our bikes out to the bridge between Lafayette and West Lafayette where we stood for about half an hour and watched the sunrise. I can't remember the last time I saw a sunrise, and it was beautiful. The city was just starting to wake up, and cars and buses and an occasional train were scurrying about, but over it all was a huge, peaceful, breath-taking sky. It's like the hand of God--we scurry around and think our actions are so important and God rests quietly above it all. He's in control :-).

an amazing boy and some not so amazing...

2006-04-10T21:21:00.000-04:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is yet one more post about the amazing Ross Eugene Cerbus!!!!

Today Kara and I revealed to the amazing Ross one of the main reasons we find him so amazing. Sadly, instead of taking this compliment in the humble fashion one would expect from such a person, Ross accused us of arrogance. However, since this is only one instance in a long string of amazing Ross actions, I shall forgive him.

The event went something like this...

[Setting: Awaiting commencement of Art History 227, an important conversation is taking place between three of the students who actually bothered to come to lecture...]

Me: Yeah, Ross, we really like that you have a girlfriend.
Ross: (confused look--after all most girls are probably disappointed that the amazing Ross Cerbus is taken) Huh?
Kara: We're really glad that you're going out with Katie.
Me: Yeah, that way you won't fall in love with us!
Ross: Isn't that a bit...(the Cerbus dictionary is searched for the right word) arrogant of you?
Kara: Not if you've been us for the last few weeks!
(Sara and Kara share a knowing look of the type that can only be shared by two girls who have spent far too much of the preceding week or so talking about the confusing actions of boys around them.)

For those of you guys who do not possess the type of amazingness just discussed to be in Ross (i.e. not single), I have some advice. Do not express any desire to date me after quiet hours. I discovered last night that this makes me yell. Loudly. Such an action is immediately followed by a "Hush, Sara! It's quiet hours!" from my roommate. Then of course comes a "Which boy is it now?" See, boys seem to have been producing exasperated yelling from me lately. This yelling is not of the type that the sorority pledges on my floor exhibit ("He asked me out! What should I wear!!!") This type of yelling is something more like, "The entire male population of Indiana is insane!!!"

Honestly. I should get a tattoo on my forehead that says "Please do not talk to this girl if you are a single male, as her lungs are wearing thin." Or perpetually walk around with my nose in I Kissed Dating Good-bye, which I still have not finished. That probably is a much better choice for several reasons, namely a) I am never getting a tattoo in my life, b) I don't have to worry about tattoo artists misspelling anything, and c) when my prince comes along, it can be handily stowed away.

Today is the start of the blogging tournament, so if you feel any inclination to comment, by all means do so. If you don't feel any inclination, I shall take it as a hint and make my next post more interesting. Ciao!

interested?

2006-04-09T22:59:00.000-04:00

Today I did several things of interest for those of you who are interested.

I went to church and afterwards had lunch at the Humphrey's. That was very enjoyable :-). Emily made us a Chinese feast.

Then I rearranged a sentence about five times for my editor (actually, the assistant editor, if you want to get nitpicky). That was fun, believe it or not. It was especially funny when he finally got the meaning of the sentence, which the entire office knew except for him. There was a small laugh at his expense. Probably it was good though, because who knows, there could be some reader out there who would be as confused as he was and now it's all nice and logical.

On the way back to my dorm I nearly beheaded a squirrel with my bike. What does that mean? That means we have too many squirrels.

Then I embarrassed myself in a certain way involving loud yelling at perhaps not the right time. It was hilarious, though, and I still laugh at my ditzy self when I think about it.

This evening I rode my bike to church with Kara, Patrick, Andrew, Mia and Josh. Hills hurt, going up. They are wonderful going down however. The sermon was excellent and well worth the hill climbing we had to endure in order to get there. Pastor Olivetti preached from Proverbs on the importance of working hard and upholding truth. ("Truth and toil"). It was a very inspiring message to begin my school week. I am going to be sad when we get through Proverbs because there are always such good lessons to learn from them, and right when I need them too! (Namely, right before Monday morning.)

Currently, the clock is reading "get in bed" so I think I shall take its advice and head that way.