On the fly

Hey everybody!

I'm just on my way out the door in 8 minutes to yet another class. Tonight is my Functional Assessment and Positive Behavior Supports for Students with Special Needs class in which I am to have a 20 minute presentation for a 20 page paper prepared. YEEHAW. I hope I survive. Is it bad that I'm tired out already and it's only the first day back from "break"?

What I'm Wearing...sloppy clothes with messy hair. Maybe I should do something about that before class. Meh.

How I'm Feeling...can anybody say "pressured"? No, it's not that bad...I just have a ton of work to do.

What's Keeping me Going: The thought that I can buy coffee (ew) during the break in our class tonight, the prospect of the IVCF dance on Friday and a trip to Value Village for clothes--yay for 70s theme!; our bowling shirt shopping trip on Friday for our bowling team that's entered for Saturday's bowlerama, and of course, Saturday's bowlerama. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...God. Where would I be without Him? Oooo! Ooo! I know the answer to this one! I would be wailing like a baby and overwhelmed with all of the work..but alas, HE IS GOOD!

What's Been Making Me Think: The Mormons that came into my house last night. Man they excite me...not in a way that makes me entertain their ideas, but makes me really excited/agitated (not happy excited either...you know what I mean) because it's so clear they flounder for answers. ARGH...45 minutes of talking and at the end I was able to pray with them which was neat, but MAN ALIVE. I took their Book of Mormon: Another Gospel of Jesus Christ to put on my shelf next to The New Translation of the Holy Scriptures (The J.W. Bible) and the book that I'm trying to re-read in my spare time that is SO interesting, The Kingdom of the Cults. AHHH...

Anyway, sometimes I was floundering to refute what they were saying which really made me want to get into the Bible more. Wow. I don't think I will ever know the Bible as well as I should. BUT I AM GOING TO TRY. Keep me accountable! Pray for the Mormons too...

Well I've got to run to class now...wish me luck in my presentation and that I'll be awake enough to make some sense out of it so others will have a chance of understanding what I'm talking about!! haha...

Over and out

I love my friends!!

Well compared to past birthdays, this one was definitely a highlight. Usually all of my friends are gone because my birthday always lands in the middle of break. But in light of an ice cream cake compliments of Steph, Brewsters laughing over watered-down iced tea, bowling and belting out country songs (MIKE :) ), breaking the law and walking around the park at 1:30 in the morning, this birthday was far from eventless. I had a blast.

Alright...I started this blog at about 10:30 am and now it's 10:20 pm...haha...i'm SO tired. Got a lot accomplished today. One word of advice from the desk of Jennifer though--never eat at Buffet Village. EWWW

hahaha...over and out. Thanks again for yesterday's laughs and phone calls, friends and family...I felt special (awwwwww).

I am still stiff and it's getting worse...don't laugh...bowling really IS a sport--especially after 2.5 hours of it! lol...

g'night! sleep tight! and whatever you do, DO NOT let the bedbugs bite. Or if you're Bryan, don't let the monster under your bed bite ;)...haha

~Me

three hours on the phone will do it

So that's about all I did yesterday that was really truly productive (besides the 6 hours I spent reading)--spent 3 hours on the phone with Dell computers trying to get my CD/DVD RW drive back up. It's been "gone" for like a month and a half, so it's good to have it back!

What I've Learned in the Past Three Days:


1. Grass can be icy and dangerous. While playing some frisbee at the ledge on Sunday I slipped and fell TWO TIMES! Whoda thunk you can get grass stains in the winter?!

2. Sleep is a valuable, valuable thing. I've always prided myself on not needing much sleep. So I average about anywhere from 5.5 to 6.5 hours per night. And until Saturday night that was true. Saturday night, though, I made the big mistake (and we have a video to PROVE that was a mistake...YIKES--I don't know if I even like myself when I'm up that late!! haha) of staying up until 4:30. I left Kat and Karen's at 3:30 or so and then came home and went on msn. MAN I'm an idiot! hahahaha...and then I got up and went to church the next morning. Sunday night I could hardly function at 8:30 at night. Since then I've been getting anywhere from eight to ten hours of sleep per night. It is amazing how on top of things I feel! Maybe there is something to be said for this whole sleep thing!

So I met with my prof yesterday (some break this is--lol) to discuss deep philosophical issues that I could talk about in my paper. I went to him with some ideas and I put them out there at the beginning of our meeting and he talked about what I was going to write about for about 15-20 minutes and I made some notes, but the notes I made are chicken-scratch--like I was moving the pen merely to keep myself from falling asleep. I'm afraid there wasn't much of a dialogue, HENCE my desire to get more sleep!

Looking Forward to:
1. Young Adults at Hillsdale tonight, and perhaps some "Extreme Birthday Caking" afterwards(???) hahah...see www.extremeironing.com ...steve and robbie, you're nuts!

2. My eye appointment tomorrow (yes, on my birthday :P), but I'm getting new contacts finally! This is about month 4 for my one-month disposables! Blood-shot eyes and me? We tight :P

Well I'm going to go read (the "story" of my life...hahaha...ha..h...never mind)...AND play a cd on my computer...just because I can now! :)

~Jen

All alone and pumped and primed to work...if I don't fall asleep

Dearerst faithful blog readers.

Well I am EXCITED. It's officially reading week. I can work (yes, I still have to do TONS of homework due to my plethora of lengthy papers due in the few days after I get back to school) at my own leisure...and I'm actually ready to get to work. Funny, isn't it? I don't experience this feeling much. Maybe it's due to the fact that in one of my classes we're done studying one of our many novels in particular and I'm only half done reading it for myself. Oops. I guess it's good that I'm finally getting motivated. Better uh...late than never--haha.

Operating on: 6 hours of sleep. Got home at 1:30-ish but am convinced the clock is playing tricks on me b/c the next time I looked at it the clock read 3:00. How does time slip away SO quickly? Then my mom called me at 9 asking me to go to Grandma's for Dad's famous omelets at 10. Hence the 6 hours of sleep.

Glad, though: When I got to Grandma's Mom and Dad met me at the door and looked really excited and said, "Guess what?" Immediately I knew. Their offer on the house they're really interested in was accepted. MY PARENTS ARE MOVING TO REGINA FOR SURE!!! Possession is March 18th which is AWESOME. Did I mention I can't wait for them to get here? They're swell. And having them around means less expense for me :)

Slowly Going Blind: So when I say "less expense for me," I have a good example. So I'm slowly going blind due to the fact that this is month four for my one-month-disposable contacts and my eyes are frequently a little red or "dull" looking b/c of the grossness that tends to accumulate over 4 months of irresponsible contact-wearing. My dad took one look at me yesterday and said, "What's wrong with your eyes?" I snapped and said, "It's because I can't afford new contacts!" He snapped back and said, "You're ruining your eyes! I'll pay for new contacts. Go order some new ones!" I replied politely, "Thanks. I'll do that!" haha. I love my Dad.

All Alone: Trisha left about 1/2 an hour ago until next Sunday. That's over a week w/o her! And Amie's never around b/c, well, she's getting married. Nuff said. haha.

Left with my Books: So I'm reading Haruki Murakami's Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's a pretty trippy book. It's about a guy named Toru Okada who---well it's a 600 page book, so there's a lot I could say about him. But in general, it's weird but cool b/c there's so much that he experiences in the space of liminality--ex) in his dreams--that other people, when he's awake, have experienced as well. For example, Toru goes to think about life and reality and what it means to him in a well across the back alley from his house in Tokyo. When he's in the well he falls asleep and in his dream, passes through the seemingly gelatinous (sp?) wall of the well into some hotel room where a woman tries to protect him from somebody that's chasing him. Throughout the course of the novel after he's out of the well and is fully awake, Toru meets the woman that was in the hotel room with him and they discuss the happenings as though they actually happened. WEIRD.

Also this week I'm going to be reading another translated book, except this one is translated from Portugese. It's by Jose Saramago and it's called Blindness. It's trippy too. It's about a guy who, for some unexplained reason, wakes up blind one morning. He fumbles to the phone to call people in a panicked state and he goes and feels his way to the doctor's office down the street, etc. to try and get to the bottom of this weird phenomenon. He tries to no avail, and goes home at night to sleep. He wakes up the next morning and he's still blind. Not only is he just blind now, though, but so is everybody else whom he came into contact with the previous day. WOW...I can't wait. Should be good.

I also have to read a book this week for my Shakespeare class: Henry V. I really have to do this one well b/c I have to role-play Henry V in a debate in front of the whole class when I get back to class in a couple of weeks. Eek! My prof begged me to do it and I reluctantly accepted b/c I didn't want to let her down. MAN I'm a pushover.

Not to mention the books I'm reading for "fun." The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Eliot, and The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin (very interesting reading about JWs, Mormons, Eastern Rel'ns, etc.).

LAST NIGHT...was a blast. Lots of screaming, tho...haha...something to do with marshmallows and "Guess That Song"? Do you know anything about that Steph? haha... Got some great pictures of wet bums due to some most excellent glow-frisbee, and "Chug and Crush," the game that Kat has so affectionately named. haha...

Listening to...:The only two songs that I ever listen to these days...tres magnifique: "The Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel, and "All I Need" by Shawn McDonald. AHHH...now that's quality, folks!

Loving: LIFE! GOD! FRIENDS!

SO...I've officially done a REALLY good job of wasting my motivation for homework.

Here's Hoping...that I don't fall asleep in my REALLY comfy reading chair. AND I'm COUNTING ON hanging out with lots of you this week! 525-4284...use it!!! Looking forward to some good karaoke this week, and possibly some DDR at Ruckers or the Golden Mile?? Maybe for my birthday Wednesday? haha....we'll figure it out, ladies.

~Ciao!

Why the church shouldn't embrace homosexuality

After watching a good majority of Paul Martin's legislation speech today, I was clearly disturbed--and actually pretty torn in my opinion because he actually makes some very good points re: freedom restricting freedoms for some minorities is no freedom at all. ahhh...take a listen to his speech:

Click here to hear Paul Martin

So it was really neat--My thoughts were getting muddled (and still somewhat are, because frankly, I think our society started going down the drain a long time ago and that this isn't going to make or break us...but that's no reason to condone it, that's for sure...) but when I was looking at www.christianitytoday.com , the feature article is on WHY churches shouldn't embrace homosexuality. Wow. Take a look.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/012/36.50.html

PRAY! Tomorrow morning (Friday 7 a.m.) the board of directors of URSU are going to a vote b/c Leah Sharpe is putting forward a motion to accept (and consequently promote GBLUR's "mandate," etc.) Paul Martin's legislation of behalf of the WHOLE UNIVERSITY OF REGINA. This would mean handing out hard copies in the halls re: GBLUR's vision, and broadcasting them all over uregina webspace. What is our part? Above all, pray about it, and keep in mind 1 Peter 3:15: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Over and out.

Feeling like doing the cha-cha?

I feel like doing the cha-cha, mark my words!!! Haha, when I said "mark my words" just now I was reminded of when I was a little bookworm at the young age of 7 or 8. I was at home one Saturday afternoon (a rarity in my household growing up!) and I was reading something--if I was in Grade 3 it was probably The Boxcar Children (THEY WERE AWESOME) or The Babysitters Club or something like that. Anywho, I thought I was SO witty when I made a bookmark out of construction paper and markers that said "Well mark my words!" Aha..ha.ha...h...never mind. Bad story. Just a random thought. lol...ANYWAY

The reason why I feel like doing the cha-cha at 1:50 PM in the afternoon on a Thursday is because "Reading week is co-ming! Reading week is co-ming!" (sung to that little song where...ah never mind...MAN, and I wonder why I never get any work done!) Regardless, I am happy b/c I only have three classes left before break! I realize my break will be nothing like a break because of the inhumane amount of homework my profs have decided to make due the day or two after we get back to school. AHHHH...oh well. For now, I'll stick with my "wanting to cha-cha" mood b/c I'm sick of being stressed out. Only one more paper and I'll be laughing (until Saturday when homework needs to start...haha).

What I'm Wearing: No, let me start with what I was wearing last night before bed. So if you've been keeping up with my blogs, you'll remember me lamenting about being able to make popsicles on my pillow b/c of the temperature in here. So last night I was wearing my long underwear, flannel PJ pants, a red microfibre fleece sweater that was going to go under my flannel PJ top, and my slippersocks. I went to say good night to my roommates and they laughed at me. When Amie looked at me she laughed and offered me a space heater for my room that she wasn't using. HAHAHA...what a novel idea that is. I even went so far as to take off my socks last night (which was ABSOLUTELY LOVELY since I HATE wearing socks to bed!!), and even got too warm (believe it or not!) during the night...

What I'm wearing now: green shorts (the daytime is comfortable in this house...go figure), and a long-sleeved, black zip-up shirt, my glasses so I feel extra-academic as I endeavor to attack this last paper of mine that's due tomorrow with a vengeance.

Lunch: Kat, I can relate to you when you talk about lonely popcorn. That was my lunch--leftover popcorn seducing me from the counter of the kitchen, from last night's reading efforts. Maybe I'll get some real food into me yet...??? ya, that's doubtful :)

Things Interesting: www.savetoby.com MAN, am I heartless? I think this is kinda funny. An online psycho (or entrepreneurial genius?) says he's holding a bunny, named Toby, hostage unless charitable animal lovers donate $50,000 to his paypal account. Otherwise, he'll butcher it. So far, he's got $14,000. I'm sorry. One day I might like to have a dog as an OUTDOOR pet, but for now I think I'll stick to my fish.

Songs Inspiring Me All-Day and Everyday Lately: Since I watched Shall We Dance for the second time in the theatre almost two weeks ago I've been obsessed with one of the songs from its soundtrack: "The Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel. Also, I listen to Launch Contemporary Christian music every morning on the internet and LOVE the song they play called "All I Need" by Shawn McDonald. I think you, too, could be inspired / refreshed by listening to these songs. I'll warn you though, prepare to become addicted!

Another Reminiscing Moment: IVCF Halloween "Costume" Games Nightlast year Good times :)...I think I'll give Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore (and who was the third Charlie's Angel?) a run for their money yet! woh woh woh

WELLLL...off to cha-cha by myself for a minute then back to my computer to pound out one last paper before BREAK! ya! alright. have a swell one, everybody.

Keep your heads up and let the Son shine down on you today!!!

So ashamed...

Hey faithful blog readers. So I believe I ended my last blog by commenting (or at least intending to comment) that life isn't too exciting right now. Besides homework and the same stuff that happens week in and week out, as of yesterday I was officially drying up.

So there I was at school for the second time in one day, intending to get lots of homework done because I tend to be the world's best (or worst??) procrastinator at home, so I figured I'd try my hand at an academic environment where people were working all around me inspiring me to do the same. Well no such luck. So there I sat in the...uh...I'm not sure what to call it...it's a sunken working area where Robin's Donuts used to be right when you walk into the Ed building from the Riddell Center. Anyway. It happened that some of my friends (all at different times) came by and decided to sit and chat--one for half an hour, and the other for an hour and a half. At the beginning of each conversation I was my chipper self, but as the conversations went on I got grouchier and grouchier. I love my friends, please don't get me wrong...but I REALLY needed to work yesterday and yet again I didn't get anything accomplished. AHHH...anyway. SO this in addition to some other things bothering me lately (which shall remain nameless for all intensive purposes) I had a bad attitude. The whole homework thing began consuming me and I got pretty cranky. My friend (the last one who came and sat down with me) came with me to get some soup from Common Ground and we ate in a mad rush in order to get to young adults last night at Hillsdale b/c she'd decided to come with me to Hillsdale--which was weird for her b/c it's not her church and she never comes to young adults there...at the end of the night she told me she kinda shocked herself too by wanting to come to Hillsdale and that God must've had a divine plan for her being there. Keep reading.

So there I was sitting in the Hillsdale basement, worrying myself so much about homework, my lack of money, and about various other irritants that crept up on me yesterday, that I was physically making myself ill. I was seconds away from getting up to leave when things were called to order and the "agenda" for the Concert of Prayer we were about to have was announced, hence making it more awkward for me to just get up from where I was sitting and just leave.

We began with some worship and although I was singing loudly enough, I sure wasn't meaning or thinking about any of the words I was singing. After the first set of songs there was an opportunity to meditate on some verses from John that described who we are in Christ and to just pray about those. That was the breaking point I think. Having to face God in His presence with a rotten attitude is humbling, especially when you see others around you humbly seeking Him as well. My attitude started to improve and I began to thank God that I was there--my bad attitude about certain things still remained, but it faded into the background which was marvelous! So after that time of meditation and prayer came the second set of songs. At this time I was starting to really get into what I was singing--I began meaning what I was singing. About halfway through my singing though, I had my eyes closed until I heard a sharp hissing "SHHHHH" just behind me. I opened my eyes and my head shot around to see who was there, and there were empty couches all around me since people had dispersed around the room for their own individual areas to pray in. I immediately felt a little weirded out, and kinda pushed it to the back of my brain b/c I was going to keep worshiping--things were going well finally. The last song of the set was beginning and I began singing sincerely again until the "SHHHHHH!!" happened again, only this time it was louder. If I had chalked it up to somebody's lisp, that theory was annihilated b/c there was NO possible way a lisp of somebody across the room in the middle of a song could be heard that loudly. Again I turned around--nobody.

I began to get a good idea (or so I thought, and am still not sure) of what was going on. The "SHHH" happened most strongly during the third set of songs and I figured that it was one of Satan's ploys to get me to go back into the muddled messes in the corners of my mind, the place I was at at the beginning of the COP. I had made somewhat of a spiritual breakthrough and he was trying to physically distract me from being able to worship.

HOWEVER...after the COP ended and I had moseyed around talking to people and after I'd finished watching "ice bucket curling" (that was cool--haha "cool") in the basement and I was ready to leave, I went and found my friend who had come with me and told her I was leaving if she wanted a ride home. She agreed to the ride and we went upstairs to get our coats on. This is when she told me what had gone on during the COP. Earlier in the evening (just after the COP was done) she was standing holding hands with an Asian woman, which I didn't pay much attention to besides thinking "Oh, that's nice--they must know each other from an ISM potluck). WELL IT TURNS OUT that the reason why this woman was gripping my friend's hand was because during the silent prayer and meditation time, this woman had recognized my friend and wanted her to come talk. So my friend agreed after thinking to herself, "Doesn't this woman understand? This is personal prayer time!" So they went and found a private room to talk in and this woman said to her that before the end of the year she wanted to become a Christian and find out more about baptism. My friend's jaw dropped and she said, "Why wait?" The woman agreed, and my friend prayed with her and the woman was ecstatic. SHE BECAME A CHRISTIAN!!!

When my friend was telling me all of this, I had a number of things running through my head.
1. If that wasn't Satan downstairs trying to annoy me during my worship time, then he was riled up b/c right above me in a little room, a cute Asian lady was sincerely dedicating her LIFE to Christ.
2. SHAME. Shame for not wanting to be there at the beginning. Shame for being irritated at school when my friends sat down and took all my homework time and shame for not seeing that God had my one friend sit down and come to C and C with me for a divine purpose--I was resentful of His divine purpose. Man I'm a schmuck. I especially felt like a schmuck in front of God when I drove my friend home. I'd been lamenting about money issues to her while we were chatting at school b/c things are pretty tight right now. During my chat with my brother the other day we talked about how thankful we are to have vehicles that are reliable, but we agreed how we frequently resent it when people see that we have vehicles and automatically assume that we're made of time and money and live to drive them everywhere. (sorry...I needed that little vent :) SO ANYWAY, while dropping my friend off at her house my bad attitude had been stomped out by God, b/c it was clear He wanted me to drive my friend to and from C and C so she could be used in eternally making a difference in somebody's life--God used me that way! So I was feeling humiliated about that--but you know, God expects us to be practical, too, with the resources He's given. Yes, sometimes we have to step out in faith, but at the same time, He gave us a rational brain for a reason.

So I pulled up to my friend's door and out comes $20 and she shoves it in my face. She told me how over the course of the evening God had told her to give me $20 to help me pay my phone bill. Jennifer, can you say "ASHAMED???" After last night I sure can...

It's amazing how God works despite us, huh? WOW.

Hope you guys see God at work today. Look for it--He's working, and it's our job not to ask Him to join OUR efforts, but to seek Him and ask where we can join the work He's already doing.

Is that limo for ME?!

So yesterday morning I got up lamenting that I had not worn my long underwear to bed underneath my flannel jammies because it gets SO COLD in my room!! But nonetheless I couldn't break habit and go stand over the blasting vent in the bathroom because alas, I had not gone and opened my blinds and done my inspection of the weather outside. I didn't remember it was Valentines Day until I looked outside and saw a shiny, black, stretch limo parked right in front of my rickety little once-white-picket fence!!! Despite my blue toes and fingers I was ready to run right downstairs into the waiting arms of my Richard Gere...oh *ahem*...my love, rather, even in my Pooh PJs. But alas, it pulled away only moments later reminding me that "oh ya...I guess you need to have somebody in your life before they're going to ride up on their Black Beauty and whisk me off into the sunset. hahaha...ah, who needs it?!

So it turned out that yesterday was not romantic but was, to stay true to the name of my blog, yet another frazzled frolic. I managed to get in a few good laughs, but I think "frazzled" better described the day. Apart from my two classes in the afternoon and the 3 hour class at night in which I had a paper due, and the IVCF meeting and meeting my seemingly estranged brother to hang out for the only hour that we could possibly squeeze out of our busily lives for each other, and working on the plethora of projects I have on the go due to the CRAZINESS that the first week back from what they call a "break" is going to have for me. You know, that IS an interesting word: "Break." hm...I wonder if I'll get even just one day to actually "break" away from my frazzled frolic just to simply frolic. HOW WONDERFUL THAT WOULD BE!!

WHAT MADE ME LAUGH YESTERDAY: There were probably a lot of things that made me laugh yesterday, but one of the laughs that I had to suppress (at least I tried to) was just after my night class entitled EPSY 332AA-Functional Assessment and Positive Behavior Supports for Students with Special Needs. So picture this. There we were in class, all seven of us plus the prof who is the only man in the room. Now you really must understand our prof. He's got the "hand flick" thing down PAT (for lack of a better way to describe it), emphasizes his "s's" more than anybody else I know, and is, I'm sure, the biggest possible fan of Cher there is. He's an interesting "man." So after class was done I stood talking to him for awhile because he always asks how class was for me since I'm the youngin' in the class, and the only one without much formal classroom experience since everybody else has taught for a number of years already, or has worked for an extended period of time in a non-educational setting, or at least has done internship in a classroom. ANYWHO, so discussion about class for us always turns into friendly banter and all of a sudden he got this goofy smile on his face, his eyebrows SHOT up until there was scads of white all around his irises, and he almost screamed, "OH GUESS WHAT!!!" Taken aback, I said, "haha...uh...what?" He replied, "I am sssssooo exccccccited! Guesss who'ssss coming to Regina?!" At this point I was wondering who, in fact, really was coming to Regina--some big name in Special Education--Jim Ysseldyke perhaps? Nancy Hutchinson? I didn't know! Upon my look of confusion he answered his own question: "CHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He literally did a little happy dance right there in front me. Well I needed to get outside the classroom PRONTO b/c if I didn't, I might've failed the class b/c I don't think it's too polite to laugh and point at your prof...I don't know though...So after a quick wrap-up of that conversation I left the room almost already in tears from the suppression of laughter...OOH it was funny! My friend was waiting outside of the classroom for me and had heard everything, so together we ran off into the elevator so we could giggle until our cheeks and stomachs hurt. OH good times in EPSY 332 6th floor ed bldg--never ceasing to be amused.

SO after class I still had to develop a thesis and an outline for just one of my papers that is due right after I get back from--oh there's that word again--"break." I shut out the light at 2:00a.m. b/c even though I was done my thesis and outline I started trying to figure out my camera. Looking at the pictures today that I took in the house last night at about 1:30a.m. is good motivation to start getting to bed earlier!! Apparently the 10+ pictures I took of my fish are a good indication that I need more sleep...whodathunk that fish would be that interesting?

ANYWAY, so now that I'm babbling, I'll move onto today's events:

WEATHER: Woke up this a.m. wearing my long underwear, my flannel jammies AND my slipper socks under a pile of blankets on my bed, STILL FREEZING...is there something wrong with me? Maybe there is something to this evolution thing...except maybe I'm some missing link that proves that the whole process can work backwards because I'm turning into some freakishly large cold-blooded "thing"... Wanted to go skating this afternoon but it's kinda chilly with the tupstid wind :P...maybe during break. Any takers? Can't wait to go cross country skiing during break too...don't know where we're going yet, but I'm sure Rob'll let me know!

GOALS FOR THE AFTERNOON: Go back to university after an early supper and try working there...maybe that atmosphere will motivate me to read and/or write...hopefully! I really want to get some of either done before I go to C and C tonight.

WHAT I'M EATING: spicy cinnamon hearts that my friend brought for our hot date in EPSY 332AA last night. Maybe I'll get some real food into me yet today...maybe.

WHY I'M HAPPY: I am SO thankful that I got to see my brother yesterday. I miss him like crazy. Our current plan for bonding is to take the last week-week and a half after my exams are done at the end of April and go down the interstate in the US, going from National Park to National Park or from interesting area to interesting area, camping in my car or in my tent along the way--from Montana/N.D. down to California. I think we should end with a wildly exciting time at Six Flags there. AHHH...it's been too long since I've felt my stomach nudge my brain on one of those rides. But that's the plan...now for the money aspect...does anyone uh...need snow shoveled? lol... Linden and I also got to drive by the "house of the week" that my parents are now interested in since the last one fell through even though they'd bid and offered down-payment and fully approved financing and everything. ARGH...it's exciting though, b/c this means God's got something better in mind for us...IE) like a house behind the Southland Mall perhaps, complete with hottub room, huge basement for me and some roommates? Linden and I drove by that house yesterday and sat outside of it talking and eating our pitas while the car ran. Good times on the go, haha...

But this blog has lasted WAY too long. Sometimes I think I should just buy a dog so I can tell all of my mind's mianderings too instead of taking up valuable internet space ;)...WOW.

Alright,
Jennifer out

Mission: Accomplished!!

Mission: Impossible Accomplished!
I most definitely read a whole book today and am VERY proud of myself. I watched Titus as promised, and also as was promised to me, it was pretty gory...as long as I covered my eyes and muted during the orgies it was alright. EWWWWW...oh well. The whole movie, goriness included, was realllly hard to take seriously even if Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange were the main characters. How can one take people seriously when they're wearing sequined suspenders? Hm? That's what I thought! At the end where everybody on stage dies (sorry I ruined the ending for you) I laughed pretty hard while Amie covered her face and cringed. Am I caloused? Possibly...but who can take a woman who is unknowingly eating her sons in the form of meat pie seriously? I CAN'T!

So it turns out the dance wasn't in the park like I thought...cuz that would've been cool. Instead though, Mom and I went to see a couple of houses and got to chat a little which was good, while Dad went to the Pats game. I'm really excited to have them in the city. The older I get the more I miss them and want to have them around. I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!!! *everybody says awwwwwwww*! hahaha

After that, Mom dropped me off at Wascana Rehab Center and I walked into the Gym Night that HBC was putting on more than an hour late. Last time they didn't play volleyball until the very end so I though I'd be missing floor hockey or basketball, which didn't hurt my feelings much! haha...so anyway, i walked in and asked if they'd played volleyball yet and they said they had already!!! ARGH...o well. I'll just pine for another month until the next gym night comes around. BUT in other sports-related news, I am excited for fastball and slo-pitch season!!! This weather has been putting that spring in my step that, oddly enough, comes with spring. I'm even doing some slo-pitch planning within these next couple of weeks. I think it'd be awesome to get a city-wide church league going 2 nights a week or something. I've got a few ppl together and we're going to be working on it!! YAY!

Then tonight I had Lydia, Kristin and Rebecca over after stopping in at 7-11 for slurpees and now it is yet again 1 a.m. and there's church in the morning, so i'm going to be going now.

Thing that is exciting me: My lil' (alright, not-so-lil') bro, Linden, just got a blog. Be sure to check it out! I hope you realize, though, Linden, the etiquette of the bloggosphere: if you read, you write (aka COMMENT)! That goes for everybody else too ;) No cheating!

Short although paramount lesson for the day: Tasting blood after running is not a good thing. Be active on a regular basis! (JENNIFER!!!!) haha...

Has anyone seen Titus?

Hey everybody!

This'll be a quick one cuz I am feeling strangely (and I say "strangely" because this is a rarity) motivated to do homework. I got a full 6.5 hours of sleep last night and I am pumped and ready to do homework.

What I've Eaten: 2 egg-in-the-holes...yummm...most square meal I've eaten here in awhile...sad but true

What I'm Wearing: Jeans and a t-shirt...not too slobby as to feel lazy and unmotivated, but nice enough to make me feel, well, motivated

Who I Just Talked To: Trisha: "Is there somebody coming into the house with you?" "No, it's just me." "Holly, it's just Jen." "Yep, it's just me." haha...I feel so loved in this house...now i'm currently talking to an AWESOME friend of mine on msn...CYNTHIA--I miss you like crazy!!!

Plan for the Day: 1. Write a case study for my Functional Assessment and Positive Behavior Supports for Students With Special Needs class (nothing like a good long title for a class, huh?) 2. Watch a recently remade (2000?) movie version of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus for one of my English classes...I hear it's pretty racy--I'm bracing myself 3. Mom and Dad are coming into town to look at 18 houses (or so Mom said)...apparently the one right across Ring from the University fell through this morning. Too bad, but I guess God just has something better for us! Maybe I'll venture out to look with them after my motivation to work wears off. 4. I hear there's a dance in Victoria Park tonight--would be SUPER fun. Maybe I'll take that in. Any takers to come with? haha...

Anywho, I'm going to go work now...

Have a GREAT day!!!

What do Raiders of the Lost Ark, JFK, and a machine shop girl have in common? ME!!!

Hey all!

Well what a nutso day already! I'm going to steal Maryanne's format slightly cuz I think it's so gosh-darn cool and truly reflective of how my day has been going. Here goes:

WHAT I'M WEARING: Jeans, a SNAGGED (as of today...grrrr) green and torquoise sweater with a flamboyant torquoise flower pin, torquoise watch, and silver and torquioise earings. Guess I'm feeling torquoise and "flamboyant," aka GAUDY. lol...It's fun to be a little "off" :-)

FLAMBOYANCY EXPLAINED: I just got an acting role in the Tommy Douglas movie! Kate and I went and were expecting to have to read a script or something today, but we just walked into the Multipurpose Room at Univ and he told us we are going to be in a group of about 100 students to whom T Douglas will speak. That's the part being filmed on Saturday, March 5, and then we have another (bigger) role on Sunday, March 6, hence my new name, "Machine Shop Girl #7." On Sunday we're going to be a part of a small group of women standing in a machine shop listening to people talk about our hubbies who are off at war. Pretty cool, huh? The guy who was doing casting was HILARIOUS. He said, and I quote, "Being part of the movies is a great experience if you've never been a part of it before--well great for the first two days...until you're bored, old, and washed up like me." Man he was a good recruiter. HA. I don't care about HIM though, b/c I'm gonna be a star!!! This is my big break! Who wants to be an English teacher anyway, right Kate? teehee

WHAT I'VE EATEN: A no-meat (it was $2 more for meat!!) Taco salad at the Owl. They have really good food. Of course I ate a reallllly spicy taco salad complete with hot salsa and jalepenos RIGHT before we went for casting...maybe the guy just gave me my part so I'd get out of there quickly without making a fuss so he didn't have to smell my fire-breathing breath any longer than he had to...hmmm...but in other news, I hope I never stop being able to tolerate spicy food. THAT would be tragic!!!!!!

PROJECT PROCRASTINATION: I have just finished watching the 30 Hour Famine video that I got in the mail today. I'm pretty excited about it. Now I'm going to get into shorts and a hoodie and get cozy and read in my underused reading chair in my room before I have to get dressed tonight and go back to yet another class--OH BOTHER...that's one thing about joining the bloggosphere...i could waste a whole day just sitting here typing and responding to others' blogs. WOW.

EMOTIONS (A necessary component to any blog): Absolute Hilarity--just watched a video that I accidentally took of Kate and I at the casting session this afternoon when we were just going to take a picture, but found out the hard way that the setting was on video. HA!! that was hilarious, and NO, KATE, I'm NOT going to delete it! woh woh woh. Immense Relief: So I talked to Steve last night and was VERY relieved to hear that he and the three other guys in the bathroom didn't actually shower! lol...at least that's the story he TOLD me. Confirmation--Vince Lombardi, WAS, in fact, a NFL coach who was incredibly inspirational. That one was stressing me out...haha! Confusion--So yesterday I discovered that JFK and I apparently have a lot in common..YA...ANYWAY. So apparently when I tried finding my "movie equivalent," my personality is that of Indiana Jones' Raiders of the Lost Ark:

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I guess one of my favorite rides at DisneyLand was Indiana Jones--EXCEPT the cobra part. that was terrible. Not as terrible for me as for my mom, but still terrible. I LOVED the part where the ginormous rolling ball is going to run you over in your Jeep.

So I suppose it's safe to say that another one of my emotions right now is anticipation. I feel anticipatory b/c I am apparently adventure-seeking...which I can see. BUT what adventures have i taken lately besides hiding in a closet in an attempt to escape a hypothetical drenching? hmmm...that's a good question. I guess I'll have to get on that one. This warm weather is making me want to be outside and backpacking or something. Maybe Linden and I will have to go somewhere backpacking this summer. What do you say, Lil' Bro? Sleep in the car? Go across the States? That would be FUN!!

I am also feeling anticipation b/c the day is not yet done and EPSY 326 (Consultation, Collaboration and Change for Students with Special Needs) class tonight will be eventful b/c of this guy named Jack who sits behind me and always comes up with the craziest comments...he's going to rock as a teacher. The very first class the prof asked what we would do in a certain situation if a student were to act in the way he had just finished describing. Jack's response? "Club him over the head." Ah, Jack. I would like to see you in action, I really would. When we chat he talks about smoking up and stuff...I just try not to laugh. He's a character and a half.

OK...so now that I've WRITTEN a book vs. READING a book like I'm supposed to be doing, I'll be going.

Thanks for all your hilarious replies! Keep them coming!!!

I am JFK

So I was looking at my good friend Maryanne's blog yesterday and was VERY intrigued by her link to the Famous Leader Personality Quiz that she had taken. Turns out this is what I am:

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

So it turns out that I like increased...well you can read. Who would've thunk? haha...that's just wrong. AHHH...anywho, I got a kick out of it. I can see where the thrill-seeking part comes in as I would LOVE to put myself on the biggest roller-coaster known to man-kind...i think i might draw the line at bungee jumping tho...skydiving would ROCK...hmmm...maybe that'll be my new goal in life--to experience skydiving. eeee!!! i'm kinda excited now!

so life has dramatically improved since my last post. not that life was bad a couple of days ago, but it was just to the point that i was SO tired and overwhelmed with exams and stuff that i just wanted to sleep the week away. but as my trusted roommate Trisha has pointed out, last night was a blast at college and career as always, and then robbie's birthday party was equally as great, except with WAY more laughing. i think we kept amie and the girl who lives downstairs awake since there were people here till about 12:30 or later...Kat, Karen, Trisha, and I for girls, Carlyle, Rob, Steve and Bryan for guys. Good times. See Kat's page or Trisha's page for complete details about socks, fires, birthday popcorn, and...oh ya...FOUR GUYS IN A SHOWER....ahhhh...who condoned that anyway?! what DID go on there? should i ask? maybe not...

MISSION: to read an English translation of Murakami's Japanese novel The Windup Bird Chronicle, have devos, and tinker on my new website. Ya, if you decide to follow that link I'm sorry because I'm having ahref and imgsrc troubles...lol...nothing's working...but if you REALLY had nothing to do you could go look at it. lol...

SOOOO...I think that's it for today...

Over and out,
~JFK...*ahem*...I mean "~Jen"

Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo? I don't know...haven't got that far yet!!

So I've had a pretty amazing few days...or should I say weeks. I won't go over the past weeks, don't worry, cuz I don't have time b/c it's going on 9:30 PM already and I have an English midterm tmo in Shakespeare that I haven't started studying for yet b/c i just got in from class. AHHH! lol...no, life is just weird, u know? lol...

So I've had a revelation. I don't know why it had to be a revelation b/c it is the very essence of the Christian life, but I'm going to tell you what I experienced yesterday regardless!! So there I was sitting at my computer yesterday and all of a sudden two words ran through my head: "fear" and "trembling." I knew it was from one of Paul's letters, so I looked one of the words up in my handy dandy concordance and sure enough, Philippians 2:12 said, "Just as you have always obeyed...continue living out your salvation with fear and trembling." Cool. But why had I thought about THAT verse? I felt God prompt me that it was Him who had put that verse in my head. So I figured I would continue reading. Sure enough, the NEXT VERSE said, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." WOW. Isn't that a relief? It's not us AT ALL!!! God works in SPITE of my own agenda even though His is divine and will ultimately be executed despite of me!!! In light of the past few weeks, this verse encapsulates all I was beginning to really understand. My prayer now, is that I won't lost this insight. It's so easy to NOT surrender our lives--what God has given us in the first place!!--but it's so easy once we have! WOW...if you need more details I'll be happy to letcha know more about what prompted me to reach this conclusion.

Well even though I'm thrilled at the outcome of these past few days because of something a good friend of mine has done (YAY!!!), I feel like crawling into bed and going to sleep and not waking up till the weekend. This week is insane already. I'm just to the point where I have SO much work ahead of me I don't know where to start and when to stop pushing myself! lol...whatta sob-story, I know, but I'm feeling pretty physically drained. I get about 6 hours or less of sleep per night b/c I work until I literally fall asleep over a book or my computer keyboard, then I get up about 5.5-6 hours later only to work all day again!! wow...I think a good cry would do me some good. It's not that I'm sad, just would be yet another good way to procrastinate and release some of those...whatever they are's that make you cry! lol...

Grandpa's still not doing so well. I haven't heard today, but for the first time since he's been in the hospital (December) the nurse called dad's cell yesterday telling him that Grandpa was having the roughest day yet. We weren't called in or anything, but I guess my prayer now is that he won't be in pain. ahhhh...life's rough sometimes...I complain about being so busy with school and stuff, and often wonder where my priorities are--should I be in seeing Grandpa even if visitors are stressing him out physically? Or am I just using that as an excuse to sit in my room at my computer working on a paper that has no eternal significance at all? Wow. Active minds never let a person be bored, that's for sure!!!

ANYWAY, Romeo and Richard III are calling as I have a midterm in the morning as previously mentioned. Sorry this email is not so uplifting. Don't get me wrong, I'm really really really happy, but am kinda overwhelmed with some things God is doing in my life, not to mention the literal MOUNDS of homework piled around me. Now I am going to read about the suicide of 2 young lovers and about the murder of a power-hungry murderer. Wow. What have I gotten myself into?! lol...

Ciao for now!

PS---KATE!!! here's your chance to reply and vent!! lol...go hard!

Well, you DO learn something new every day!

So do you know that the brown part of the coconut is called the "husk"? I was having a deep conversation with Steve H. tonight about coconuts and I took a stab in the dark and said it was called a husk, but whodathunk I'd be right?! lol...

Went and looked at houses with mom and dad this afternoon. we went to an open house and the house, although GORGEOUSLY remodeled, was basically crumbling. EW. They had a plasma screen TV though and stainless steel appliances, and, and, and...it was beautiful, but i guess the trip was fruitless. ah well. they're going to go look at one place in particular here in regina tmo for the second time...i think they're pretty interested in it. would be good to get them in here.

saw the movie Shall We Dance for my second time tonight. ahhhh...made me cry again! the first half makes me really mad when he's (GORGEOUS, although old, richard gere) entertaining the idea of an affair kinda...BUT all's well at the end when he comes to his senses and converses with his wife: "dance with me?" "i don't know how!" "yes you do. we've been dancing for 19 years." AHHHH...someday, jennifer, someday :)...kidding (kinda)...lol...i'm in no hurry. i've got to get through this mountain of books awaiting me before any of that happens (kate, you're going to have to lend me your "stay single" shirt for the time being at least!!)...haha....so here i go. 12:30 a.m. and once again i'm doing homework. on a saturday night nonetheless...YUCK

have a good and God-filled Sunday tomorrow!!

~Jen (and steve, that tilde was for you...haha)

Can it be 1 a.m. already?!

Hey all...

Had a great day but yet again, not long enough! ahhhh....I have SO much homework to do and I think I'm still going to do some tonight...or read an interesting book Steve H. lent me--"The Ketchup Book" as we like to refer to it, or in actuality, The Tipping Point. Don't ask...but regardless, the book really sounds interesting. I have a lot of books that "sound interesting" right now...I think that's part of this whole procrastination problem.

Hey today with a little help (okay, a lot) I got my webpage up and running. True, there's no color and no pictures are working, but those are merely details, right? right? Well too bad, I don't care what you think, PICKY.

Wow. I need some serious sleep I think. I'm talking to...uh...who AM I talking to?!

Tomorrow I'm going to be doing a TON of homework b/c I'm really far behind AGAIN in my reading, and then hopefully hanging out with mom and dad a little bit. They're coming in again tomorrow to look at houses to buy and are staying overnight and will hopefully come to church with me Sunday. They're pretty excited about one house in particular and are especially excited to just get into the city. They're feeling kinda anxious right now re: moving b/c they don't know how Grandpa is from one day to the next. He's still in ICU in Moose Jaw. We'll see...keep praying!!!

Tonight at IVCF we had a coffeehouse and it was a lot of fun, but once again, even after taking very careful measures this time to ensure we weren't going to set the alarm off when leaving Luther, we got in trouble YET AGAIN from the security guard. I don't know about anybody else, but I sure had the strong sense of deja vu. What IS deja vu anyway? I believe this topic came up at supper but nobody seemed to have the answer.

Yep, it's confirmed. I'm going to bed. I'm talking to myself and asking philosophical questions that nobody can answer. I'm scared to see what could happen if I don't go to bed!!

On that note (and it's a fading one!!),
Over and out, good buddies!
~Jen

Day One...Can You say Procrastination?

Hey!

This is my first time trying this out, so here it goes! Just wanted a place to post some stuff about me...I figure that I'm lousy at keeping in touch with people and often don't have the email addresses and/or phone numbers necessary to do so, so spread the word! You will no longer need to be wondering what I'm up to.

University's going awesomely. I kinda wish I didn't have class because it's just so fun without it. The homework and (practically) literal mountain of books I always have staring me in the face intimidates and just forces me to be on the computer so I can procrastinate from reading them. Think of all the things I could be doing if I didn't have all this "reading"! lol...

This weekend's going to be a busy one. I have a paper for my ENGL 251 Expository and Persuasive Writing class (ew) due Monday that I WAS working on this morning until I thought I'd try to figure this out again. Tuesday I have my last midterm (YAY!) in, you guessed it, yet another English class--302, Shakespeare Histories and Tragedies. Maybe I'll rent the movies over the weekend so I have a clue what's going on. lol...no, it's not that bad, I just feel like I'm always a step behind lately. How does one hope to maintain any sort of social life without falling behind in absolutely every subject, and how does one be studious without becoming a hermit in her own house? Speaking of going into hiding, I CAN'T WAIT until The Phantom of the Opera comes out in theatre. I AM SO THERE...it isn't out yet, is it? hmmmm...I don't know...if it is, wow. I'm pumped about that.

Yep, I'm pretty much loving life right now. I'm having a blast at home with Trisha, soap fights, and The Weakest Link over supper and all. You're a blast, pooky (inside joke from that Swiffer commercial where the woman is preparing her office for a corporate meeting, making sure everything's just perfect. Her husband is on the speaker phone while the people she's about to have this big meeting with are standing in the doorway. The husband is hooked on the Swiffer at the house and is explaining step by step what he's cleaning, and the wife is like, "That's good, honey. That's nice," completely disinterested/preoccupied. Then the husband says over the phone, "And do you know what I'm going to clean next? The bedroom, mu little pooky smooky dooky..." and all conversation happening amongst the woman's corporate stop their conversation immediately and the wife practically dives on the phone to shut off speaker phone...it's hilarious)!

Ya, another reason why life is good is because GOD IS! Ever since IVCF retreat He's really been working in my life in a number of ways and it's really exciting to see what the future, including today, has in store for me! He's shifting my ideology re: what my future should include, and although tough, He's there guiding me every step of the way. Lately I've been learning that if we just tell Him that we're absolutely NOTHING without Him, He'll take the things (talents, abilities, etc.) that He gave us in the first place, and use it for His glory. I really feel like He's been using me lately and if there's anything more humbling, it's that. I am nothing without Him! My prayer is that of the apostle John's: "He must become greater; I must become less." (Jn. 3:30). It's easy to say, but I think I'll be spending a lifetime trying to achieve that one!! Devotions are SO critical to my life right now. I feel like a day is a waste if I don't finish it off right. I have to do devos at night, regardless of whether it's 2:00a.m. (which it has been for the last few weeks b/c I always get my second wind at about midnight). What I'm trying to work on during devos is reading through the NT and actually listen God when I pray too. I started in Romans (don't ask why I didn't start at the beginning) and am in 1 Corinthians now. After Bible School it was like I subconsciously believed that I had had enough Bible study for awhile. That's really hurt me these last couple of years b/c I'm having to work now at memorization and stuff now. It's coming back to me, but if I hope to be any sort of missionary for God here at University, I NEED TO KNOW MY STUFF! Being a Christian is quite the responsibility! I honestly feel privileged though!!!

Alright, enough ramble, I should stop procrastinating and go work on my paper some more.
Feel free to comment!!

~Jen