Today in philosophy class, our professor told us about a few opportunities for us to study abroad in Mexico. The trips themselves sound amazing; however, their motives provoke a loud eschatological “hmm…”
Apparently, it is becoming a sort of trend in higher education to make one’s student into what they refer to as “global citizens.”
Hmm…
Monday, April 30, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Housing Hell or Wonderful Opportunity?
Shockingly, this is not a post about my life in the dorms.
Before last week, I had plans to live with a wonderful young lady next school year. This week, the young lady, who is still wonderful, informed me that she has decided to live alone next year. The picture above describes where this leaves me. Paddle-less.
This would not be so bad if it were not so late in the year. All of my friends, plus everyone else that I have spoken with so far, already have their housing plans for the coming school year. This leaves me more or less on my own.
I have been hunting up and down, but so far, nothing looks promising. The only studio/one bedroom apartments in the area are on or dangerously close to Troost, and since rape and murder are not on my experiential “to do” list, I think that I’ll pass on those. Currently, my only opportunity is a two-bedroom duplex that I would have to start paying rent on in June. Rent in $750 a month. This means that I would pay $1500 just for the two months that I don’t live in it during the summer, being that I don’t (and, chances are, won’t) have a roommate.
These being the circumstances, the most economic thing to do (at least as far as I can see), is as follows: take the $1500 that I would have used for rent over the summer and buy a used car that gets good gas mileage, and that I will, God willing, use for far more than two months (hopefully several years). I would then use this car to commute from school to my home at IHOP, just twenty minutes away, where the rent is so much cheaper that it will make up for the extra expense of gas and insurance.
I must admit that this thought is a little romanticized by the idea of being so close to the Prayer Room. Having spent last night with Char and Jesse, I was in the Prayer Room both last night and this morning, and it was truly refreshing. Plus, there would be the possibility of being able to pick up a couple of shifts a week at the bookstore if I beg well enough. After all, it is the most wonderful job that I could imagine myself having right now (that was both sincere and begging).
If anyone else has an idea that they feel is superior to the one above, I should hope that they would feel free to express it. I’m confident that God will take care of me, and direct me in the way that I should go, but as for now, either I am hard of hearing or He is not speaking about it at the moment. If you think of it, please throw up a few prayers for my situation, so that my living situation next year doesn’t look like the picture blow.
OK, so that is overly dramatic, but that seems to be a theme here at the blog…
Saturday, April 21, 2007
A Little Story from when I was Little
Since there really isn’t anything very interesting going on in my life right now that I could share with you, here is a little something from years gone past. Not only is it cute, but is also speaks to my current vocation. I hope that you enjoy it.
So, I was somewhere between ages seven and nine, when I was obsessed with building blocks. Having just come out of my Lincoln Log period, I loved to build towers, as high as I could make them, with elaborate bases for imaginary people to enter through.
It so happened that I was home alone. My father was at work, and the rest of the family was off grocery shopping or something else like that, while I was hard at play in the living room, making what I hoped to be my largest tower yet. I realized that this would require a large base, and after building that, I came to the halting realization that our home suffered from a terrible shortage of wooden building blocks.
I sat there, distressed over my half-built tower and wondering what to do, when my gaze was turned to the entertainment center, packed full of VHS movies. It did not take me long to understand that a VHS is nothing more than a plastic building block.
Quickly, I was at work again. I had unsheathed every single movie in our collection and placed them, one on top of the other, until it was, indeed, the largest tower my home had ever known. I was quite in raptures by the sight of it and could not wait for my mother to come home so that she could also know this joy as well.
Shortly, my mother was there, and when she saw the tower, surely her emotions were as at least as strong as mine were, but not of the same nature. I evaded a swat on the butt, however, I was ordered to immediately disassemble the tower and place all of the videos back into there proper cases. It was a sad disassemble-age, but I still carry the pride form that tower of innovation. My only wish is that I would have documented that work.
So, I was somewhere between ages seven and nine, when I was obsessed with building blocks. Having just come out of my Lincoln Log period, I loved to build towers, as high as I could make them, with elaborate bases for imaginary people to enter through.
It so happened that I was home alone. My father was at work, and the rest of the family was off grocery shopping or something else like that, while I was hard at play in the living room, making what I hoped to be my largest tower yet. I realized that this would require a large base, and after building that, I came to the halting realization that our home suffered from a terrible shortage of wooden building blocks.
I sat there, distressed over my half-built tower and wondering what to do, when my gaze was turned to the entertainment center, packed full of VHS movies. It did not take me long to understand that a VHS is nothing more than a plastic building block.
Quickly, I was at work again. I had unsheathed every single movie in our collection and placed them, one on top of the other, until it was, indeed, the largest tower my home had ever known. I was quite in raptures by the sight of it and could not wait for my mother to come home so that she could also know this joy as well.
Shortly, my mother was there, and when she saw the tower, surely her emotions were as at least as strong as mine were, but not of the same nature. I evaded a swat on the butt, however, I was ordered to immediately disassemble the tower and place all of the videos back into there proper cases. It was a sad disassemble-age, but I still carry the pride form that tower of innovation. My only wish is that I would have documented that work.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Forgive me...
I am sorry that I have not blogged in about a month. Things have been crazy on my side of things, and it seemed like everything was changing so fast that it wasn't worth my time to record any of it, and I must say that, for the most part, I was right. Non of the news I have for you now is the same as it would have been when it first happened.
As for now, the one settled thing that I have to tell you about is that I bought myself flowers. I was shopping at Wild Oats yesterday, and they had a sizable bouquet of flowers for six dollars. I bought them thinking that I would give them to my sister to celebrate her return form Inner Healing Camp, but when I put them in a water pitcher that my high school ceramics teacher made to keep them fresh, I decided to keep them because they make me happy. Maybe after a little while, I will give them away, because it also makes me happy to invest in someone else's happiness.
As for now, the one settled thing that I have to tell you about is that I bought myself flowers. I was shopping at Wild Oats yesterday, and they had a sizable bouquet of flowers for six dollars. I bought them thinking that I would give them to my sister to celebrate her return form Inner Healing Camp, but when I put them in a water pitcher that my high school ceramics teacher made to keep them fresh, I decided to keep them because they make me happy. Maybe after a little while, I will give them away, because it also makes me happy to invest in someone else's happiness.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Sculpture it is!
I have finally decided: I will major in Sculpture. Reaching this conclusion was a long and tedious battle between ceramics and sculpture, but the department visits which I participated in today made it final.
I can hardly wait to enter this department, but I know that it will not be easy. An example of the difficulty of this major is made clear in the Sophomore Program Syllabus which I received today. In the class called “Materials and Processes,” taken in the fall semester, the first assignment is to re-invent the wheel. No joke.
True, this will be a lot of work, but it will also be a lot of fun, and I will come out of it with some mad skills. By the end of my sophomore year, I will be able to cold and hot cast, and use materials ranging from latex to bronze.
The only problem that I can see between the department and I, is that the sculpture building is made of brick and cement, so it gets cold in the winter, really cold. But, hey, if it gets to be a bit too much, then I’ll just have to do a hot cast or oxy welding or some other really cool thing that sculptors do with fire.
I can hardly wait to enter this department, but I know that it will not be easy. An example of the difficulty of this major is made clear in the Sophomore Program Syllabus which I received today. In the class called “Materials and Processes,” taken in the fall semester, the first assignment is to re-invent the wheel. No joke.
True, this will be a lot of work, but it will also be a lot of fun, and I will come out of it with some mad skills. By the end of my sophomore year, I will be able to cold and hot cast, and use materials ranging from latex to bronze.
The only problem that I can see between the department and I, is that the sculpture building is made of brick and cement, so it gets cold in the winter, really cold. But, hey, if it gets to be a bit too much, then I’ll just have to do a hot cast or oxy welding or some other really cool thing that sculptors do with fire.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
My Bookshelf
These are things on my bookshelf from left to right:
-“Spectacular Ireland” (a photography book of the Emerald Isle)
-“Gardner’s Art through the Ages” Twelfth Edition
-“The Yale Shakespeare, The Complete Works” (this book, when combined with the above title, equals my entire body weight)
-“Two Thousand and Two Cambridge Middle School Yearbook” I don’t know why I still have this.
-“The American Heritage College Dictionary”
-“The Elements of Style”
-“A Short Guide to Writing about Art”
-“Ways of Seeing”
-“Ascent of Mount Carmel”
-“The Song of the Bride”
-“The Passion of the Christ”
-“Holy Bible” NIV This was the Bible I used for most of my life. The one I use know is an ESV that I keep in my purse.
-“Bridal Intersession”
-“Deep Unto Deep”
-“Generation Esther”
-“Endurance, Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage”
-“The Hidden Power of a Surrendered Life”
-“The Warrior’s Heart”
-“Come to Papa”
-“Dealing with the Rejection and Praise of Man” I got this one for free because it is missing a few pages. I love the defective bin at the bookstore.
-“The Unabridged Mark Twain” I barrowed this one from my aunt when I was sixteen…I don’t really plan on returning it.
-“Revolution in World Missions”
-“Experiencing the Depths if Jesus Christ” This copy was given to me as a graduation present from a dear friend, Natasha Lee
-“All Quiet on the Western Front” A must for all who are mature enough, and more specifically a gift from my AP European History teacher for writing such a kick butt essay on it.
-“The Knowledge of the Holy”
-“The Picture of Dorian Gray” A birthday present from another dear friend, Kristen Anderson
-“Pride and Prejudice” Yet another gift, from Matthias Bryson in celebration of my entering art school
-“Experiencing the Depth of Jesus Christ” I had bought this copy before my friend gave me the other one.
-“Do You Think I’m Beautiful?” Another defective bin special.
-“Tell No One”
-An old spiral bound journal
-“The Life of St. Teresa of Avila by Herself”
-A book end made of petrified wood
Now, how many of these titles do you think I have read, partially read, and not read at all?
-“Spectacular Ireland” (a photography book of the Emerald Isle)
-“Gardner’s Art through the Ages” Twelfth Edition
-“The Yale Shakespeare, The Complete Works” (this book, when combined with the above title, equals my entire body weight)
-“Two Thousand and Two Cambridge Middle School Yearbook” I don’t know why I still have this.
-“The American Heritage College Dictionary”
-“The Elements of Style”
-“A Short Guide to Writing about Art”
-“Ways of Seeing”
-“Ascent of Mount Carmel”
-“The Song of the Bride”
-“The Passion of the Christ”
-“Holy Bible” NIV This was the Bible I used for most of my life. The one I use know is an ESV that I keep in my purse.
-“Bridal Intersession”
-“Deep Unto Deep”
-“Generation Esther”
-“Endurance, Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage”
-“The Hidden Power of a Surrendered Life”
-“The Warrior’s Heart”
-“Come to Papa”
-“Dealing with the Rejection and Praise of Man” I got this one for free because it is missing a few pages. I love the defective bin at the bookstore.
-“The Unabridged Mark Twain” I barrowed this one from my aunt when I was sixteen…I don’t really plan on returning it.
-“Revolution in World Missions”
-“Experiencing the Depths if Jesus Christ” This copy was given to me as a graduation present from a dear friend, Natasha Lee
-“All Quiet on the Western Front” A must for all who are mature enough, and more specifically a gift from my AP European History teacher for writing such a kick butt essay on it.
-“The Knowledge of the Holy”
-“The Picture of Dorian Gray” A birthday present from another dear friend, Kristen Anderson
-“Pride and Prejudice” Yet another gift, from Matthias Bryson in celebration of my entering art school
-“Experiencing the Depth of Jesus Christ” I had bought this copy before my friend gave me the other one.
-“Do You Think I’m Beautiful?” Another defective bin special.
-“Tell No One”
-An old spiral bound journal
-“The Life of St. Teresa of Avila by Herself”
-A book end made of petrified wood
Now, how many of these titles do you think I have read, partially read, and not read at all?
Friday, March 23, 2007
St. Louis
I just returned from a road trip to St. Louis. It is spring break here at KCAI, and Supper K and I decided to take this time to and visit many a friend and tourist attraction in this gateway city. It was a lovely time, so here is an over view with a few choice quotes:
Monday:
-Arrived in St. Louis
-Cooked dinner for Lottie (the friend that we stayed with) and her family
-Left to pick up Ernie and go to a MeWithoutYou and Sparta show at Pops
Note: Pops was an extremely oppressive place in the spirit, however, MeWithoutYou shifted the atmosphere and the Holy Spirit showed up so that there were points in the show where I was simply worshiping (that also had to do with the fact that the crowd sucked and refused to dance. They even looked at Supper K funny when she started to sing along).
Tuesday:
-Woke up early and went to City Museum, which is a magical place of caves, slides, and climbing. We (being five college students from KCAI) absolutely exhausted ourselves by playing in the tunnels, which could be risky business, as they were built for people about half our size and are very dark. That being said, here are some quotes from City Museum:
“There’s something squishy over here.”
“I am so sorry guys.” (Insert farting noise)
“Supper K, are you alright?”
“I got out of it, but I’m wet, naked, and screaming.”
“What part of the whale did we just crawl through?”
“Is this up to code?”
-Went to a local café on Clair’s recommendation, which turned out to be run by hateful, extreme left-winged lesbians for coffee (I got the WWJJD)
-Went to Justin’s house (Lottie’s boyfriend) to watch Star Wars
-Ate dinner at Lottie’s, and sooner after, fell asleep
Wednesday:
-Went to the Contemporary Art museum, where they were having an Andy Warhol and Jim Hodges exhibition called “I Remember Heaven.” I can now say that I have stood in front of a canvas soaked in Warhol’s urine.
-Went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant where we simultaneously watched soap operas (it was a highlight).
-Went to the St. Louis Science Center, which is kind of a disappointment, but it was free.
-Next, we went to The Loop, where we entered many random stores, drank coffee, and I bought the most amazing book 'Yes, You are a Revolutionary! Plus Seven Other Books by Sparrow.' One of these seven other books is a compendium of Dinosaur Haikus (don’t be jealous).
-Again, had dinner at Lottie’s, but instead of falling asleep, had a killer round of “Truth or Dare” and watched “The Lake House.”
Thursday:
-Slept till noon
-Went to the Botanical Gardens, where I bought a photo book for my younger sister Anna to give her on her birthday, just as my older sister, Charleen, gave me a photo book for my birthday the first year she was in school (I expect this to be new family tradition).
-Ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant
-Came back to KC, at which point I gave Alison a can of mystery paint that I bought at City Museum, Chelsea a Crazy Cat Lady action figure (another City Museum purchase), and Phil a neck tie (two guesses to figure out were it came from).
Monday:
-Arrived in St. Louis
-Cooked dinner for Lottie (the friend that we stayed with) and her family
-Left to pick up Ernie and go to a MeWithoutYou and Sparta show at Pops
Note: Pops was an extremely oppressive place in the spirit, however, MeWithoutYou shifted the atmosphere and the Holy Spirit showed up so that there were points in the show where I was simply worshiping (that also had to do with the fact that the crowd sucked and refused to dance. They even looked at Supper K funny when she started to sing along).
Tuesday:
-Woke up early and went to City Museum, which is a magical place of caves, slides, and climbing. We (being five college students from KCAI) absolutely exhausted ourselves by playing in the tunnels, which could be risky business, as they were built for people about half our size and are very dark. That being said, here are some quotes from City Museum:
“There’s something squishy over here.”
“I am so sorry guys.” (Insert farting noise)
“Supper K, are you alright?”
“I got out of it, but I’m wet, naked, and screaming.”
“What part of the whale did we just crawl through?”
“Is this up to code?”
-Went to a local café on Clair’s recommendation, which turned out to be run by hateful, extreme left-winged lesbians for coffee (I got the WWJJD)
-Went to Justin’s house (Lottie’s boyfriend) to watch Star Wars
-Ate dinner at Lottie’s, and sooner after, fell asleep
Wednesday:
-Went to the Contemporary Art museum, where they were having an Andy Warhol and Jim Hodges exhibition called “I Remember Heaven.” I can now say that I have stood in front of a canvas soaked in Warhol’s urine.
-Went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant where we simultaneously watched soap operas (it was a highlight).
-Went to the St. Louis Science Center, which is kind of a disappointment, but it was free.
-Next, we went to The Loop, where we entered many random stores, drank coffee, and I bought the most amazing book 'Yes, You are a Revolutionary! Plus Seven Other Books by Sparrow.' One of these seven other books is a compendium of Dinosaur Haikus (don’t be jealous).
-Again, had dinner at Lottie’s, but instead of falling asleep, had a killer round of “Truth or Dare” and watched “The Lake House.”
Thursday:
-Slept till noon
-Went to the Botanical Gardens, where I bought a photo book for my younger sister Anna to give her on her birthday, just as my older sister, Charleen, gave me a photo book for my birthday the first year she was in school (I expect this to be new family tradition).
-Ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant
-Came back to KC, at which point I gave Alison a can of mystery paint that I bought at City Museum, Chelsea a Crazy Cat Lady action figure (another City Museum purchase), and Phil a neck tie (two guesses to figure out were it came from).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)