Movin' On

I got a phone call from the admissions counselor at MoBap today. She told me that they had received my application and in order for me to be put on probational acceptance, they needed my official transcript from UWL. I told her that I had had it sent out last week. She then told me if I have any questions, to contact the transfer counselor. :] Looks like plans are moving forward!

I went to dinner with Hui tonight. The good news is that she is going to be a great friend! She makes me laugh alot, and it is completely good-hearted laughter, not forced at all. The sad news is that even though she wants to come home with me for Christmas, she already has plans to meet her uncle in Florida. Lucky ducky! Florida during the winter? Sign me up! She might be able to come with me during spring break, so I am looking forward to that! -sigh- Hui is such a cool girl. :)

Phew. After tomorrow, I can relax a little. I have my presentation on first generation emmigration & the American Dream...and I sign up for classes...and pay for registration. Phew! Please pray for me.

Thank you all for your love and support.
Praise God!
Xiao Ke Ai

Coming Home!

Heyo! I am alive!! :)

I have been super busy this past week with tests, homework, studying, preparing for projects, and papers. I just finished my sociology paper, my anthropology lab, and my laundry! Yay me! :) Tomorrow before I leave for *home* I need to pack and do my dishes. Oh the dreariness of daily chores. However, if all goes well, I shall be home sometimes around 8 or 9 tomorrow evening!

Thursday I will go over to Aime-chan's house for dinner with the family and of course, her family too! I will then probably go over to Kati-san's house for perhaps another meal, and of course lots of time with the best friend! Friday I am planning on doing Christmas shopping. That is so overrated, I know, but truly it is one of the only times I have to do it! Saturday I will probably hang out with Adam-kun and Kati-san. Sunday I am going to go to Sunday school and church!!! Then I am going to get in the car and head back to school. :P

Alright, I am going to go shower and then hit the sheets. See you all in a few hours!!

I Wish I Could Spell

Heyo! I apologize for not writing for a while. I have become busy studying, writing papers, studying, planning, and studying. Yesterday I took my lab exam in which we had to identify all the bones of the body focusing on the bones, sutures, and features of the skull. I am happy to say that I believe I only got 2 wrong. In the portion where the professor passed around bones and we had to identify which bone it was and from what side of the body, I believe I accidentally said a bone was a radius when it indeed was not. I do not remember what it looked like, however, so I cannot even look it up to make sure I was wrong. I am so strange.

Tomorrow morning at 8:50 I have a test on Jewish and American Indian peoples. Whoo! : Thursday I have a paper due on what Tim O'Brien is saying about society though his book The Things They Carried. Of course, I still have to go to Crossroads tomorrow after classes and do regular homework and bible study and CRU and English Corner...phew. I am hoping this weekend will be a relaxing one, and not filled with hours of homework!

Well, that is what I have been up to lately, basically. Studying, eating, sleeping, repeating. ;) I talked to Jason-kun last night, and he got me excited to come home! I mean, I was anxious to see Ta-chan, but talking to Jason-kun made me realize how much I have missed him and all my other friends!

Lots of people just walked into the computer lab, and I do need to finish studying for this test. So, I shall bid you adieu.

Goodnight and God bless!

Homework, Stir Fry, and Confrontation

Lovelies -
I have a quick post for you this evening. I took a stiry fry class this evening! One of the R.A's came by last week before I got sick and asked if I would like to stir fry. Well of course, I love stir fry so I said yes! Tonight our group got to go to the kitchens of Whitney and make our own stir fry on chef quality pans! It was super fun! I have officially fallen in love with fresh ground ginger. (Mom, we ARE getting some!) It made my stir fry taste super tasty - I had zuccini, yellow zuccini, broccoli, onion, carrot, tofu, rice, and soy sauce as well as a little bit of salt and pepper and ginger. YUM!

I also wrote a three page paper for my Lit class on what Tim O'Brien is saying about society through his book The Things They Carried. I then rushed to bible study where we talked about prayer (what it is, how you do it, why you do it, etc.) Then I talked to Aimee about a taboo subject (God!) and now here I am, typing to you. Kati-san, I need to talk to you about the talking to Aimee thing. Mmk?

Tasha-chan, I want to take the time right now to let you know that I miss you alot. I think about you everyday and wish that we could spend some time together. I heard that you had fun with Aimee on Halloween. I am glad that you got to spend some time with her! Remember that Jesus (and I) love you!

There are so many people to pray for. Please keep Mom, Dad, Scott & Cindy, Tiana, Joe, Tasha, Katie, Mom 2, Jason, Gaby, John, FBCF, S., D., Adrienne, Alyssa & Chad, Amanda, Courtney, Beverly, Veronica, and so many more in your thoughts and prayers.

Philipians 4:4
Goodnight and God bless!

Slow and Steady

Welcome back! :)

Slowly I am getting more energy and less of a cough. The flu, unfortunately, did nothing good for my asthma and actually increased it. Yes, Kati-san, I have 2 bruised ribs and do the comedy routine of laugh --> clutch rib --> gasp --> exclaim, "OW!". Everytime it happens, I think of you, my friend! The cold air of course does nothing good for my breathing, either, but we are surviving.

I just completed a paper for my sociology class on the treaty rights controversy in the case of both Washington state Indians and the Wisconsin Chippewa. It is a very interesting subject and only further highlights why I want to move from this country of ours. We are, in general, very hypocritical people.

I am taking a break by writing this before starting on a response paper for my environmental studies class. It should be pretty easy - it is a very controversial topic after all. My professor wants us to discuss the possibility of Christians being the biggest culprits of pollution, etc. as they have the believe that God will save/destroy the world anyway. Of course, you already know my opinion on the subject, but it should be fun to express my views on paper, I think.

I am back into listening to Jack's Mannequin as it is very calming music, although it has wonderful instrumentals!

Please keep S. in your thoughts and prayers. Although she was a day behind me in the flu, she seems to have a sinus infection or something of the sort as she is completely down and out again.
Goodnight and God bless!

Walks, Talks, and Homework

D. came back today after a weekend at home. She arrived to a stuffy dorm room that smelled "sick". S. and I both have... H1N1. Yay. For me, the worst part was the coughing and not being able to breathe. Because of my asthma, my coughing was unbelievable. Even now as I am on the road to recovery, it is still 10x worse than S.'s has ever gotten. For S. I think it was the fact that she had no alternative to getting sick other than sleeping outside in the cold - which she was not going to do.

The plus side to it all - I have come to realize how much I value being able to go outside and talk to whom I please. Most of all, I enjoy being able to take a shower without worrying about if someone is going to walk into the bathroom and catch my germs. I also have gotten my lab done. :) Yay! My neighbor Devon-san and D. took me out for a walk around the surrounding neighborhoods and then we got a sub and brought it back to the room. The excercise was invigorating and just taxing enough that I am ready for a nap. It definately was good preparation for tomorrow's rigorous class schedule! ;)

After my nap I am going to work on a few pages for my Lit paper and then hopefully eat dinner (if I am hungry, which I probably will not be) and do a Bible study before an early bed time. I am aiming to get into bed by 9:30. Whew!

Please keep S. in your thoughts and prayers. She has 5 classes tomorrow, and she still has a fever. Pray that when she goes to the health center they will give her leave of absence from her classes and notify her professors. :)

Good(day) and God bless!

Oh Sick Days

This is my first post in nearly a week. I apologize. I have been pretty busy with homework and sleeping whenever I can. I had a midterm yesterday..sounds harsh, right? We sat around in a circle for an hour and a half, eating snacks and drinking homemade blackberry juice, talking about environmental issues. We each had to bring in an article on environmental news. All of this added up to 100 easy points. :) Yay!

I have come down with something, although I am not sure what it is. I have a nasty cough which sounds (and feels) like my lungs are shaking loose. Haha. Hopefully this will clear up by Monday.

White Collar just came on, so I will bid you good night. It is a new episode - check it out!

Goodnight and God bless.

Does Your Hair Make You Giggle?

Today... well, today consisted of lots of homework completion. I finished a lab, a paper, and 6 thesis statements. I have a presentation to create for Tuesday, but other than that I am all caught up. Yay! :]

I am going to make an early night of it.

Please keep Kelly in your thoughts and prayers. She is having some tough times right now, and could definately use some help.
Goodnight and God bless!

Good Day, Good Friends

Some of you may have seen my Facebook status last night which basically stated that I felt like I have friends here, but I miss the warmth and complete friendship of my friend back home. I just want a hug. :) Haha. I got alot of comments on this, so I thought that relating my evening tonight would put many of you at ease.

Both of my roommates left for Madison this afternoon. S. left to visit her grandmother while D. left to spend the weekend with her friends and see a concert. So, I have the room to myself for the next few days. I was afraid that I would retreat into the silence as I am always surrounded by people now. I went next door and asked my neighbors if they would be up to going for dinner. They then invited me to go to the bingo night hosted by my hall. I agreed, and went back to my room to do a few hours of studying. Around 6:30, Hana-chan came by and we went to the sub shop. I then watched some t.v. and we then headed over to Cartwright to play some bingo! We met up with Dav-san and had a few hours of fun playing bingo (and not winning a single round). I accidentally overheard two guys talking about CRU and the Fall Retreat and their bible studies and I got so excited! Before everyone packed up to leave, I went to the one remaining guy and introduced myself, told him why I was interested in talking to him, and asked if I could give him a hug. He was really nice about my odd request and it looks like I made another friend! :)

Hana-chan, Paul-san, and I then walked back to our dorms (Paul-san lives in the dorm next to ours), and then Hana-chan and her roommate and I hung out for a while. We got to the stage of tiredness where we were loopy and slaphappy and laughed at everything. Hana-chan started on her laundry and Devon-san and I got ready for bed. It was a great night and I truly feel like I have a group of friends that I can call my own. :]

I am thinking of signing up to become a tour guide for school tours next year. What do you think?

Goodnight and God bless.

Funk: Arashi

Good evening!

Today the weather has been moody; covering the earth with grey clouds and sprinkling and then going into jagged outbursts of downpouring rain which quickly lighten up back into the sprinkles. My poor, poor bike. I woke up this morning and on my way to class, I noticed that my nice new bike seat was slightly damp. I decided I would grab a plastic bag and cover once I was out of class. Of course, an hour later when I was done with class, it was steadily raining. Ahh. :[

Last night I made the chocolate pie that my mother prodded me into buying this past weekend. It turned out pretty well in light of the fact that I used handpowered beaters rather than the directed electric beaters. It took half an hour longer and more messes on the carpet than normal, but I finally got the job done! Here is the final outcome:

I also just found some pictures from this weekend! I am putting my favorite up as the header for the blog. Thank you Sari-chan!

God has been very good to me, blessing me with wonderful friends and people who have been there for me, supporting me, lifting me up... I want to thank you. I feel blessed to know you - even more blessed to count you among my family and friends. Even non-Christians, I think, are used by God in ways that they know nothing about to lift people up and help them reaffirm thoughts and emotions that have been swirling around in the other person. That came out disjointed - I cannot think of a way to clarify it at the moment. Please ask if you want me to clarify!

Philipians 4:4-6
Goodnight and God bless!

Monday...Welcome Back to Reality

It is Monday, and with that comes a cold dose of reality. Getting snapped at by my hall director early this morning for knocking on her window because I got locked out of my dorm was not a great way to start the day off, but way till you hear the ending. I was studying for my anthropology test when I decided I would check out my grades for my labs. I noticed that Lab 4 was graded while Lab 3 was not. I then checked the dropbox (where you turn in the work) and it said that I had not turned anything in. I started panicking, but I checked my e-mail for a receipt that said I had turned it in - only to find that I had not. I clearly remember submitting Lab 3 to D2L, so I e-mailed my professor letting him know that I have a copy of the finished Lab on my computer, so I was not lazy and did not do the work. I know that at this point (3 weeks later) I will not get credit for the work...but I did it! I spent 4+ hours on that lab! It is so frustrating how a technological error keeps me from getting any points at all! :/

I miss my family and friends so much! I am in desperate need of an Adam-kun hug... I also need to sleep in my own bed. I think this is because I am so stressed and upset, that I want the comforting feel of my big comfy bed.

I am off in search of warm comfort food. Oooh! I will go make that No Bake Jello Pie thinger. Thanks Mom for prodding me into buying it! I love you!

Goodnight and God bless.

Iowa!

I had thought of a clever intro for this during class, but now I forgot! So, welcome back - buckle up and get ready for some tales. :)

This weekend was fantastic - I am 100% glad that I went to the retreat. Even though I only really knew one or two people who went, I really felt welcome and at home. At first the worship and studies were kind of light and fluffy (I mean, they were on some deep topics, but the way they were presented were...cotton candy-like.) The messages were good though, and the discussion groups that we had after every message were thought-provoking and interesting. It was nice to hear others ideas on the presented topics, and receive and give support to the members. The second day (Saturday) evening was really when things got into deeper waters and really opened us up. After the last message, our discussion group met for the last time. We continued talking and answering questions about walking the path of Christ and getting lost and finding your way back to the path. (Basically). Then we started talking about love and how we are supposed to love everyone because Jesus did. This then led into talking about living with the sadness and fear of a love one not becoming/being a believer. It was such a good discussion!! Of course, this was merely a prelude to an incredible night. =) At 11:30, we began extended worship, which essentially is a few hours of singing and praising God, and just a time to pray and talk to God, listen to what He is saying, and just really sort things out. Let me just say that this was my personal favorite part of the retreat - I listened and confessed to God everything that I have been holding back. The tiniest, most trivial things that have been building up, I let loose. I told Him my fears, my joys, my dreams, my hopes, my worries...and even though He knows, it was the communicating of them that opened me up to Him. What relationship can prosper without communication? Prayer is communication with God, and even though I have been praying, I really was not saying what I needed to say. So now I feel refreshed and ready to do what God would have me do. Still scared - needless to say, that will always be there - but I feel like I can do it, with God guiding me.

Now onto the relationship aspect of the retreat! I met great people there! If you have ever been to my campus, you know that almost anyone you smile at will smile back at you. At Fall Retreat, EVERYONE smiled at you, even if you did not smile at them. They were friendly and loving. If they saw you by yourself, they would come up to you, introduce themselves and start a conversation. It truly was a great experience. I met a fellow vegetarian and food snob, as she likes to call herself, and it was interesting to see how much we had in common. I also met two girls from Taiwan and one from Japan. :) The Taiwanese girls have agreed to help me practice my Chinese (definately just typed English and did not notice!) and they are impressed that I even know of Taiwan - and that I want to learn Chinese! Hehe. I met some impressive Christians this week who are very strong in their faith; I felt incredibly comfortable around them. One of these seems to be willing to meet with me for bible study - she gave me her number and said to call her anytime. That did not come out the way I wanted it to, yet I cannot think of another way to phrase it. It was not quite so impersonal...hmm. Well, it looks like I made quite a few Christian friends this weekend, which is fantabulous!

This weekend I also learned about English Corner, which is every Thursday in Cartwright an hour before CRU. A bunch of international students and some English-speaking students come together and just chat, which helps the internationals practice their English. It is sometimes hard for them as some people do not like to talk to them because of their lack of knowledge of the language or their accents. I am excited!! I want to learn Chinese, but I would love to help them learn another language. ;)

I was trying to do a lab in the basement with Soni-chan today while my laundry was running, but we ended up getting into a philosophical discussion. It all came up because I was talking about how we (children) can never really comprehend the sacrifice a parent gives/goes through for their child. It was such a perfect opening, I had to take it. I just had to ask her if she knew the sacrifice Jesus gave for her. Well, that opened a floodgate of questions. =D We shall see. I truly pray that her unique perspectives will bring her about to accepting Jesus' love... her thinking process is very one of a kind. [Mom - before you freak out, she has been "soul-searching" as she calls it, and has been attending Crossroad's weekly meeting.]

Thank you for all of your support and love!! I pray that you will keep Adam in your prayers - he truly needs support right now. Mom - remember that roommate who bit me at SEMO band camp? I think there is just something about roommates at SEMO... Also please keep Soni-chan in your prayers.

Praise God!

Fantastic Weekend? I Think So!

Start gearing up for a lack of posts from your one and only, ladies and gents - this chicklet is going on Fall Retreat with CRU! This means that at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon, I will be leaving in a car with other Christians to some place in Iowa for the next two days. Yay!! I am told that it is a wonderful experience! I have also been told that it is going to be cold - it is expected to snow!! Therefore, I am packing not only my comforter, but all my little throw blankets, some of my roommates blankets, my peacoat, my sweats and hoodies, and of course, my parka. Hehe. Can you tell I am from Missoui? ^.^ I am getting very excited for this weekend - who would not? I think this will be my last post for the week, so enjoy it! ;)

I have a test in approximately 9 hours - I am nervous! It is my first test of the semester, so I really do not have a clue how it is going to go. Please pray for me. I also would like to request prayer for Barb, Jason, Katie, Kelsey, Mom, Tasha, Tiana, , Dad, Scott & Cindy, Joe, FBCF, Crossroads Campus Ministry, the Lutheran Campus Ministry, and all of the CRU members going on the retreat this weekend. Please keep them in your prayers.

I have praise! Adam is in a better mood - thank you all for your prayers. Let us keep lifting him in prayer. =)

If I think of anything else, I will definately come back and update this post. Dad - I took some more pictures of the trees for you today. I know that you probably have not noticed, but I added the last batch onto the slideshow. Once I upload the new pictures, I will create an entirely new slideshow solely for your pictures of the trees. :)

Goodnight and God bless!

My Way or the Highway to Hell

Hummus and apples and mint toothpaste do not mix well. Yuck.

Hullo all! It is good to sit down once again and chat with you. I found out a few days ago that my bible study was planning a night bluff hike tonight to do our bible study! Yikes! I was going to go, but I decided to be studious and did my homework instead. I will be going to CRU tomorrow, as well as, perhaps, going to bagpipe lessons. That is right: BAGPIPE lessons. FREE bagpipe lessons, might I add! I am also going to be studying my brains out, so I might have to nix the bagpipe lessons for this week. I have a test on Friday morning as well as a test next Wednesday, I believe. I need to do some major studying for these classes which I am not quite sure what the tests are about..!

I got my computer fixed! I took my baby to the ITS tonight for my appointment, and the tech guy got me online again, and installed a different kind of anti-virus program (the kind that the ITS center does not support) until they figure out a solution to the Symantic problem. Once they do, they will call me back in and will re-install Symantic onto my computer and we will be as good as new! But for now, it is nice to be able to go online in my room!

I should probably get to bed - I want to get up a little bit early to start studying. :)

Please keep Barb-san in your prayers! She has both the flu and bronchitis right now, and she is an asthmatic. :( Please pray for her swift recovery and a good day back at work on Friday.
Goodnight and God bless!

A Pain...In The Butt

Today, I literally had a 'pain in my butt'. Or as the doctor put it, in my 'buttocks'. =D What happened was this: I have had a low-grade migraine for the past week. It was small enough that it caused me some pain when exposed to bright lights and loud sounds, but nothing some sleep, a hot shower, and a few Alleve could not handle. Yesterday and last night, however, I do not know if it was because of a lack of sleep from the previous night, but around 5:30 I got fuzzy and could not focus on anything going around me. The lights and sounds twirled together in a slightly pretty fog, and everything I did hurt. Pressing on my head hurt, touching my eyes hurt, talking hurt, listening...etc. So I hopped in the shower which helped a bit, and then tucked myself into bed. I drifted off, and hoped I would wake refreshed in the morning. No go. I woke up a few hours later (could have been as little as 3 or 4 as when I awoke my roommates were still up) and the very pressure from lying my head on the pillow made the pain in my head hurt worse. I tried out different positions on the pillow to no avail, but somehow I drifted back to sleep. I then awoke some more time later with the same problem, only this time I could not sleep again. I got out of bed, downed a tablet of Maxalt, then stumbled back into bed. I fell asleep and then woke up a few more times throughout the night. When my alarm went off at 8, I was instantly wide awake and in the same crippling pain. I knew I couldn't go to class, so I started getting ready to go to the health center. I had to wait an hour as it did not open till 9, but once I got there, everything happened quickly. I saw a nurse practitioner who had seen me before (and remembered me, strangely enough) who prescribed that I get a pain shot called Toradol. She led me to a quiet, dark room (man, I love those!) and had a nurse come in a give me the shot...in my 'buttocks'. The nurse ripped out the needle and made me bleed, and then wiped the stab wound with an alcohol wipe. It stung for a bit, let me tell you! ;) Then they had me lay down for about 40 minutes (they wanted me to start to fall asleep) and then came in and checked on me. When I first went in, the pain was about an 8, and when they checked on me, about a 1.5. It was fantastic. The nurse practitioner thought that I had a combination of a migraine and an inflammation headache due to the week of migraines. She therefore had me take a dose of Alleve with my dinner meal. They then said I could stay there to sleep, or go back to my room, but they did not want me to go to classes at all. :/ I had to make do by doing all the reading and homework I could.

That was really the most exciting part of my day, and I was pretty out of my mind with pain during the whole thing. It really feels like a dream, actually... I did finish up most of my lab, though. I only have three paragraphs left to write on the genetic makeup of persons with Downs Syndrome, Turners Syndrome, and Klinefelter's Syndrome and their phenotypes. Should be simple enough. :)

Well, I am going to turn in. Before I do though, here is a link to the Silver Falcon Marching Band's performance this past weekend at Washington. Check it out, you will not be disappointed! Try to find Tasha! ;) Where's Tasha?

Goodnight and God bless!

Discoveries

I have discovered in my attempt to try new things, that I like chipotle sauce/dressing. I discovered that I also like falafal on pita with cucumber sauce, and that the best sub at the sub shop is a toasted cheese trio on wheat with lettuce, pickles, onions, a scant line of ranch dressing and chipotle dressing. YUM!

Today I have been pretty out of it. I had a few hours (4-5ish) of sleep last night, and I am just not used to it anymore! My head is pounding, I am spacy, and the simplest concepts take ages to process and make sense in my mind. I am thankful the lab we did today I had done in AP Bio, otherwise I would have no idea what we were doing. I am going to go shower and then go to sleep.

There is a Packer vs. Viking game on t.v. tonight, though, so the hall is going to be fairly loud. Thank goodness for headphones!

Goodnight and God bless.

The Fall Foliage: For Papi

Stereotypical College Student Day

Today was stereotypical to the extreme in that both my roommate and I slept till the indecent hour of 2pm, stayed in our pajama pants all day, had pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, have done nothing but watched t.v. and movies and talked to people online. Here is a snapshot of our room: two pizza boxes scattered about, one on a desk, the other on a bed. S. lounging on a bed of cushions on the floor glued to her laptop in front of the television which is playing, "My Neighbor Toroto," me sitting cross-legged on my bed with my laptop watching, "The Magicians of Love," updating my website, and playing games on Facebook.
We cracked up for probably about 5 minutes about how stereotypical we were today. Us, who try so hard to be ourself and not follow the norm. It was just amusing.

So, I repayed S. today by buying her a pizza from Little Ceasar's. I straightened my hair today, because it has gotten to that longish-shortish stage where it looks awful wavy/curly. Unfortunately, it was misting when we went outside to walk to Kwik Trip (to get some floss, seeing as I ran out this week.) I did not find any floss, so I am going to have to go to the C-store to see if they can sell me some exorbantly priced floss. -sigh- We then continued on to Little Ceasar's and came back to the room. That was our outside experience for the entire day. NUTS!

My ride to church went home for the weekend, and I have not been able to contact a girl I know from last year to see if I can get a ride with her. So, I have a morning planned out to sit in front of the t.v. with my Bible, notebook, blankets and pillows and hoodie, and several weeks worth of Pastor's sermons. I am excited - it is going to be a good morning!! Then I have to fit in a few hours of homework before I venture out into the gloom (it has been rather wet and gloomy lately - which means that my mood has never been higher!) to Gospel Choir. We are learning new songs this week, I think! Here is a link to one of the songs that we are singing.

It was so good to hear from you, Jason-kun! And Kati-san, I am super pumped to see you! And Sari-chan! And Mom! I want to share my life here with you!! I had a moment tonight that I just know that you would share in with me!! I was watching "The Magicians of Love," and for some reason the subbers had not edited out a section of advertisements. I was dying of glee!! The ads were not subbed, so I got to listen to Mandarin and watch Asians and it was fantastic!! There was a McDonald's commercial, a Johnson & Johnson commercial, and some kind of shampoo commercial...oh man. Excitement! :)

I just found my favorite (I think) Taiwanese commercial. If you have ever seen "Meteor Garden," then you will know who these guys are. They are a band, called "F4", and they are advertising tourism to Taiwan. Check it out! Click here.
And Kati-san, this one is for Silvana-senpai.

I do not think I have much more to say. So I shall say farewell for now.

Please keep Adam-kun in your thoughts and prayers. He is having a rough time at school, much like I did my first year. If you know what I went through, just add having relationship issues to that, and you have Adam-kun's problems. Lift him in prayer!
Goodnight and God bless!

Rainy Thursday

Heyo. How are you all on this lovely rainy day?

Last night after I posted, I ventured to the Drake Hall bible study. I am so glad I did! I spent an hour with other Christians learning from the Bible, discussing issues we were dealing with, and really trying to learn everything we could about what the Bible teaches on forgiveness. It was fantastic! I then stayed for another hour talking to two of the study's leaders (one of which was my neighbor last year). I was bouncing up and down with excitement and could not stop smiling and laughing! I am incredibly happy to have Christian friends who understand my joy and love and devotion to God, who understand how difficult the path with Jesus is, but how oh so rewarding it is as well!!

Kati-san, I am going to be teaching my bible study on how to maintain a Christian walk while in college (how to deal with peer pressure, financial stresses, how to fit in and find people with whom you are comfortable with, who believe in your beliefs, how to come to Christ, how to discuss your faith with others, etc.) Because the Campus Ministry is devoted to teaching the students, I basically want it to be a place where they can come, be accepted as Christians, bring up their problems/worries and look to the Bible for answers. We decided this would be better than an indepth study in a certain book as not everyone has time to come to study and they would miss stuff that is important. What do you think? I think that I will be able to do this, and I *hope* that it is helpful to the students!

My head, sadly, is pounding once again. Why am I typing this blog? My roommate had a friend come over and they started watching, "Batman". It was loud, and I did not want them to not have fun on my account, so I came downstairs to avoid the noise. I am tired and want to sleep, yet it is only 8. I took a nap this morning before the environmental studies field trip for about an hour and a half, but it seems to have had no effect.

The field trip! It was fun; we learned how the power plant creates its power and how they are environmentally friendly. I could not stop thinking of Mom the entire time - it was something she would have loved. (In fact, she drilled me on the information afterwards. Hehe.)

I think I am going to go find a quiet [dark] place to go crash.

Please keep Kati-san and her family, Soni-chan and her mother, my family, Sari-chan, Aimi-san, and FBCF in your prayers.
Goodnight and God bless.

Weird Wednesday

Hey all.

This is my post for the evening: today has been weird. I do not mean that in Halloween scary stories, things going bump in the night, and people popping out of nowhere and shouting, "BOO!" I mean that things have happened today that I could not have predicted yesterday, and have all added up to be plain WEIRD. An example of this is that last night I felt fine, great in fact, and today my stomach is roiling and churning and making me nauseated (see Mom? I learned) and I am uber sleepy. My internet, also, was fine last night and today it decided that my antivirus system was out of date, but would not let me update it. Therefore, I tried uninstalling it and then re-installing the system. To no avail - the campus internet system sensed that my antivirus program was nonexistant and would not let me back on the internet. So now I have to take my computer to ITS tomorrow, and pray that they do not think I am stupid. Oh the fun I sense ahead.

However, I would like to talk to you about one thing. Today, I decided that I would work on planning the bible study. I woke up early to do it, sat staring at my bible for over 20 minutes, and then chickened out. I was prepared to tell the campus minister today at lunch that I could not do it, I did not have enough time, I was not ready, etc. when he offered to help in anyway. We talked about topics that I could cover and came up with decent ideas, too. I also have received prayer from a few members of my home church family, as well as support and offers of help. I am so grateful to you all, and I thank God that He has provided you as friends, supporters, and my family in Christ. :] Thank you!

I am in the computer lab typing this up, now. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day!

Goodnight (early) and God bless!

Automatisch

Hi! Happy Wednesday! ;)

As it is midnight, I shall be brief. I turned in my anthropology lab yesterday, which means that I am ahead of the game for a week. I found out in Environment today that we have a field trip planned for this Thursday to a trash-burning facility. (I believe that is what he said..)

I got an update on Soni-chan's mother: she made it out of surgery just fine and seems to be recooperating normally, so far. Please keep her and Soni-chan in your prayers!

I received a letter from a member of my church family. It was so good to read about the activities going on in the church! As well, she sent me a Family Circus comic, which was fun to read.

I talked to Aimi-san on Skype tonight! We kept getting disconnected as her university's internet is not the greatest, but it was great to see and chat with her. :]

Tomorrow (technically today) I go to Crossroads to help out with the fellowship meal. I am going to prepare a bible study topic tomorrow morning before class, so please pray for the work and teaching that I will be doing!

My new favorite song is "Automatisch" from Tokio Hotel. I like the German version of the song much more than I do the English. Although, in reality, that is how it has been with all of their songs. I wish Cinema Bizarre would put out albums in German, too... I have also been on a Miyavi kick lately, having found some new songs of his I had never heard before. I recently discovered: Fire EX (Fire Extinguisher), Within Temptation, Versailles, and SMZB. They are (with the exception of Within Temptation) Asian bands. Check them out - they are not half bad. :) And of course I have been listening to Children 18:3, Kamelot, Wang Lee Hom, and Huang YiDa.

I wish you a good day!

Goodnight and God bless!

Oh Monday Monday

I cannot believe I have to re-write this whole post... The internet connection has been wonky lately, so it poohed out on me, and when I was finished, too!

I officially have one follower on my blog! Kati-san so generously added me as a friend, so now she follows my blog! Yah!

I took some pictures of the changing foilage outside the academic building today. I am not sure how well the pictures turned out as the sun was shining, but we shall see. I took the pictures on my phone, so tomorrow I will upload them to my computer and post them for you to see.

I started playing Kingdom Hearts today. (It is a videogame). It is my roommates copy - she finished it yesterday which now allows me to play. Do not worry, I completed my homework first! D. and S. get so engrossed in their anime/manga/games that some conversations go straight over my head and all I understand are the connecting words. "OMIGOSH! I love so-and-so!" or "When I played... but then...who...where do I...is...and...oh....or this...." etc. They talked so much of this game and the characters that I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

I got a letter from Shiny today!! Actually, I think it was from Saturday as I do not check the mailbox Saturday or Sunday. If the mailbox is empty, it is depressing to travel two flights of stairs to receive nothing. Haha.

Well, I have anthropology lecture in the morning, so I shall bid you adieu.

Please keep Soni-chan in your prayers -her mother went through a surgery this morning.

Goodnight and God bless!

More Wedding Pictures

Internment Day: 2

Today has consisted of: sleeping till 1, watching Shrek 3, talking to mom on the phone, watching the Sound of Music, and hanging out with friends. Overall, it has been a good (albeit very boring) day.

To be honest with you, I am incredibly bored and wanting to go outside and ride my bike (before it is too cold to do so!) I will be leaving my room tomorrow morning for church, and then again in the evening for Gospel Choir, so I know that my cabin fever will be reduced in a few hours. :] I made scrambled eggs with soysauce today, and mixed it in with my warmed-up lo mein. It was good!

Soni-chan came over on the pretext of studying anthropology with me - in reality, she was trying to get away from her house which is about a block from a bar. She just showed us a YouTube film entitled "The Bloody Olive". It was amusing - I think that any of my friends would like it. Therefore, I am going to post it here; just click on the link and it will take you to see it!

D.'s friend, Emily came over for a rugby match. She goes to E.C. for school. It has been amusing (and mood lightening) to have her here. It really is surprising how well our roommate situation has been going, though.

My older brother Chris married his fiancee Emily today. Here is the picture I received from the ceremony. :] I wish like mad that I had been able to be there and celebrate with them, but this will have to do. I am happy for them...please keep them in your prayers!

They are definately a very cute couple, no?

Mathew 4:17 - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Goodnight and God bless!

Internment Day: 1

And so begins the first day of internment begins. Oktoberfest started today, in all of its drunken glory. S. and D. and I got Chinese food for dinner, so I have some left overs to get me through this weekend. I also have two sack lunches and of course, scrambled eggs and rice. =D

We watched "Meet the Robinsons" which was a really cute movie! I suggest it for everyone. Right now, we are watching "Holes" because I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to remember seeing the movie with Tash and with Joe.

Sunday I have to venture out of my cozy little room to go to church. Thankfully, the church is too far away from downtown, so there will not be [many] drunks around. I also will be going to GOSPEL CHOIR!!! I am actually very excited to be in gospel choir - I get to mix my two favorite things: singing and praising God. :)

Goodnight and God bless!

A Bit of Yesterday and Today

Last night I was too tired to post anything, so I saved it all up for today. :)

Right as I was getting ready to hop into my bed, the RA's came around to say hi. One of them was Dan-kun, who I met my first weekend here. He remembered me - because my sister was asleep when he came to my room for the first time. ;) We got to talking about languages as S. was studying for her French test. He found out that I am studying Chinese, and he got really interested. He then told me that 9-10 of his residents are from China and one is from Taiwan! *yay* He pulled out a notebook that he had with him, where his residents had been showing him the basics of Chinese pronunciation and grammar. It was cool to read. He then invited me to hang out with him and his guys anytime. I got his phone number, so one of these days I will have to text/call him and see if I can come chill with them. They are looking to learn English better, too, so maybe...! I was so excited about this last night that I could not sleep. Lame, hmm?

D. and I ate lunch yesterday at Chars with Sar-chan. It was definately a good time. :]

That is all for now - I might pull out my camera later and take some pictures. There is really only one place on campus that I have found that has had an distinctive fall coloring. We shall see!

Goodnight and God bless.

A New Day and a New Friend

Way! I have some exciting news this evening!

I made a new friend!! Her name is the same as Sari-chan's, therefore I am going to distinguish her as "Sar-chan" from now on. D. and S. had run out to Wal*Mart to pick up some vital items (aka - cookies and a computer game). While they were out, I had the door open (more on that in the next paragraph) and was sitting at my desk when I heard a knock on the door. I called out and the knocker entered - she wanted to know who had posted the Bleach picture on our door. I told her that our collage was a group effort, so she would have to ask the other individuals. We started talking and it turns out that we have a lot in common. We are even adopted!! She was adopted from Korea with her sister. :D I am definately very excited!! We already have plans to go out to get sushi together sometime. Yay for having more friends - especially friends who are in my cube!

My R.A. came up with a contest for all of us. As we are trying to be a social cube where all of our cubemates know each other and make friends, we are trying to get all of the rooms to keep their doors open whenever they are inside. This encourages people from other rooms to come meet the room's inhabitants, and therefore strike up a commodary in the cube. Each room was given a yellow circle on the wall right outside their door. Each day our R.A goes around the cube and sees who's doors are open. If your door is open at the [random] time she goes around, you get a petal to put on your flower base (the yellow circle). We so far have two petals, and the contest started yesterday. :] D. and S. and I figure we have slightly better chances at getting the first place prize (pizza and soda - haha!) than the other rooms because we have three members, so one of us is usually in at all times. That is, unless we are all out at class or eating together. I will keep you updated!

I am going to go take a quick shower and get ready for bed. Have a great night!

Psalms 61:2 “When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.”
Please continue to keep Kati-san, Jason-kun, Gabi-chan, and Mom2 in your prayers.

Goodnight and God bless!

Fall Is Here - Winter Is Sure To Follow

Greetings!!

Today was a very good day. :) I woke up this morning, went to class in which we had a discussion about reverse discrimination and the practicality of affirmative action. It was interesting.

Then I came back to the dorm and found that I had mail! I had two sermons from FBCF in my mailbox, one of which I listened to while eating lunch. I felt very strange eating while listening to a sermon, yet it was the only way I could fit in into my schedule.

Then I traversed to Cowley for my geography class. We are talking about Europe - yawn. After class was over, I walked over to the bookstore with D. to return my book. (I had gotten the wrong book for my anthropology class.) We meandered through the poster sale, and then I went on my way to lab. We had an entire lab about genetics and I (finally!) have gotten meiosis and mitosis down!!

Soni-chan then came over to my room to finish the lab with me, and then D. and I went to dinner at the Cellar while S. went to Anime Club. I talked to both Kati-san and Sari-chan tonight!! It is looking like they BOTH might come see me next month along with Mom. :] Right now, Sari-chan is just a possibility, while Kati-san is a definate factor. Yay!!

The trees have started shedding their summer covering, and setting up shop for winter. The wind is already becoming increasingly cold, and we have turned off one fan in the room. (That should tell you alot.) I shall take pictures tomorrow (or the following days) and post them for you. I am interested to watch the difference between the seasons layed out before me in documents.

All my homework is completed, my facebooking is done, and now I am ready for bed.

Jeremiah 32:41
Please pray for Kati-san, Jason-kun, Gabi-chan, and Mom2.

Goodnight and God bless!

Saturday Night - Friend or Foe?

My goal for tonight is to complete the reading for my lit class Tuesday. It looks like it is going to be tough going. I started reading the first chapter, and I can see why my professor suggested writing a list of all the characters and the things they carried - it is incredibly complex. As well, as it is a war book, there are pages of weapons listings and poundages etc. which is completely above my head. I do not know one type of gun from another, so it seems like extra details to skim over. Wish me luck.

I watched a few episodes of Family X (also known as The X Family) and I got to a part where I thought I could stop for the night. It is a good show - it has 50-something episodes, though - but it is amusing and dramatic and most of all, Taiwanese. :]

My roommates are currently MIA. They were here for a few hours, just hanging out and playing around on the computer. Then all of S.'s friends came flooding in the room wanting to steal her away for birthday cake for her friend. D. decided to go with and they invited me, but I do not feel comfortable with all her friends. They are loud and obnoxious, crude and in your face, and very perverted. I just cannot hang around people like that anymore. I declined, needless to say. Then S. and D. came back and I thought they would resume their tenure in the room, only to find that one of the guys had come back with them and then they magically disappeared again, saying nothing to me. I feel a bit abandoned and quite a bit lost. D. seems to get along so well with them, as does S. I just, am not loud enough, quick-thinking enough, or brash enough to fit in. I feel so lonely!! :(

To be honest with you, I am so scared of all that I have to do. Leading a bible study - I can't do that! I don't even know enough to ask the right questions. I try to be like a child and be inquisitive in my questions, but I feel like I got ripped away from the only place I can find the answers I so desperately need. D. and S. get along so well, that alot of the times I get ignored and sometimes forgotten about until minutes and sometimes an hour later. It is alright, I suppose. They are going to be here next year and I am not, but I still feel sometimes like they think I am too annoying.

The only thing to do is pray - and become stronger. I went to Walgreens today and got my superdrug. My sinus infection seems to have cleared up, only S. gave me her cold. It is not even winter yet, and I have a cold. Other than that, everything is fine, health-wise. I am praying that I will meet someone new, someone who will shake me out of this funk I am in.

Please pray for me.

Goodnight and God bless.

First Up: A Platter of Embarrassment

Hola!

This morning D. and I made scrambled eggs in my rice cooker! Over the summer I fell in love with the rice cooker for its cuteness and for allowing me to create my favorite dish while at school - rice!! Then I found out, though, that you can boil water, warm up pre-made soups and frozen foods, make macaroni and cheese and other types of pasta, and now even scrambled eggs! You can even steam veggies. It is officially my favorite device EVER! This is a picture of the final outcome. When I looked up the recipe online, it said that cooking one egg takes approximately 15 minutes. We cooked three eggs and it took about 6 minutes. Maybe the other cook had an older rice cooker? Either way, we were very satisfied with the results! D. has some spices such as chives and rosemary and thyme and pepper. It made for a very satisfying breakfast. S. was supposed to eat it with us...but she did not get us up early enough for her early class. So D. and I made it around 10 before she had class.

Today has been a very relaxed day - I have been mostly hanging out in my room and walking a bit around campus. I tried to go to the bookstore to cash a check today, only to find that with the new company running the bookstore, they no longer cash checks! I guess I am very glad that I am getting a debit card and that in the interm, most major grocery stores take checks!

I am also glad that I am taking a literature class, this semester. This means that I get to read books for once during a school year and not feel guilty about it. :] Although, I did read a book today merely for my own pleasure. The first book we are reading in lit is entitled, "The Things They Carried," which is apparently a book about war. So, it should be interesting at least in the historical aspect.

Tonight the roomies wanted to go get candy bars while I was attempting to make popcorn. I had put the kernals and oil into the popper, only to find that our microwave is too small to hold the popper. :( So I went to the basement with them and detoured to the kitchen to make the popcorn. We were walking back to our room when we encountered a closed door. Being the brilliant person I was, I tried to open the door with the hot, steaming, full popcorn popper in my hands.... It all spilled on the floor. As I was cleaning it up with a broom and dustpan I had gotten from the front desk, two of the RA's Mar-kun and Mik-kun, ran into us on their rounds. It was embarassing because S. and D. kept laughing and making fun of me. :/ But it was also funny just to prove how silly I was being and just how much of a klutz I really am. AND - Mar-kun and Mik-kun recognized that freshly popped popcorn is much better than bag popcorn. :)

All in all, it has been a good day. I LOVE hummus! It is a good thing that S. brought three jars of it and that we can get it anytime at Whitney or the sub shop or in back lunches, because otherwise, I really have no clue what we would eat.

John 1:23

Goodnight and God bless!

Good Times

I do not know how it was for you, but this morning it was hard for us to wake up. It took my an hour of constant alarms going off for me to finally drag myself out of bed. Even then, I was dead-set on packing up my pillow and blanket and trudging down to the study to sleep for a few more hours. As I was about to walk out the door, though, my conscience goaded me and I traded my pillow for my laptop and my recreational book for my class notes. -sigh- Darn my rational thinking. D. also had an incredibly hard time waking up. So hard, in fact, that she decided to miss class in favor of some z time.

Once I was in class, the professor turned of all the lights and showed a movie for about 1/2 an hour! It was an interesting movie, though, so I did not fall asleep. :] The only part I nearly fell asleep during (but did not) was when we started irriterating natural selection and genetics and blah blah blah. Everything we have been talking about for the past week or so.

I went to lunch with D. at Whitney today. We were perusing the menu before we walked inside the doors and my eye was caught by "Vegetarian Lo Mein". I turned excitedly to D. and exclaimed, "Veggie Lo Mein!! It is a good day!" On the 'good day' part, she chimed in. Now I know why we are friends...we are so similar. ;)

In Environmental Studies, I found out that we were supposed to be signing up for presentations. Seeing as I was not there for Tuesdays class, I was completely bewildered. Presentations on what?? I asked my professor after class and he just smiled. He then said that I could come a few minutes early to the next class and he would tell me. So mysterious! We had a guest speaker in ENV today. He is a leader of "Smart Growth" in the Wisconsin area. We had to go around the room and introduce ourself (our names, where we are from) and then tell of an issue in our hometowns. I.E - I spoke of Stream Team and the polluted water we find from farms and factories and chemical plants. It was really interesting finding out about where people lived and what they noticed around them.

Similar story happened in Lit. I had my homework ready to go over and turn in, and then the professor informed us that she was changing the reading schedule to reduce the number of pages we had to read for each class (80ish changed to 50ish because so many people complained.) She then asked how we wanted to deal with the group discussions that we had signed up for (what group discussion??) and when we wanted to do them. I talked to her after class to, and she got me all filled in. Basically, during one part of any of the books that we are reading this semester, we have to prepare questions/activities to get a group discussion going about the book. Should be ok!

S. and D. and I went to the Cellar for dinner tonight at around 6:30. We got there and we heard live music - it is Thursday, so there was some live entertainment for us! The Cellar, as usual, was pretty crowded, but that was ok. I have gotten into the habit of trying something new at least once a week, if not twice a week. So, in keeping with this spirit, I tried a "Holy Frijoles" which consisted of whole black beans, corn, cheddar cheese, and some spices on flatbread. It was really good! I definately recommend it if you ever go there. Another recommendation would be the Veg-Out (also called the veggie melt) which comes with cucumbers, lettuce, onion, tomato, peppers, and a slice of pepper cheese. It is all held together with a little bit of ranch dressing (just a touch) - it is very yummy!!

Us roommies have been having such grand times together. There is not a day that goes by where we do not burst out in laughter at something or other. This morning S. woke up with a cold so she was feeling pretty icky - but she was so out of it that she was hilarious! She laughed at absolutely nothing - I felt funny. :]

The fire alarm went off again today (it went off yesterday, too, right before I went to geography) and there were four poor souls who had to stand outside in towels for a little while. We got bored waiting outside, so we wandered to the dorm behind ours and visited a friend. I was given the nickname "Pasta!" last year and it has followed me till this year. I found out tonight that Do-san (our friend) cannot remember my real name, and only remembers "Pasta!" *sigh* Anyway, we hung out with Do-san for a little bit and then headed back to our room. I did some homework (decided to put off reading of "The Things They Carried" until Saturday and my anthropology reading till Monday evening so I remember it for the quiz on Tuesday) and then I did some general maintenance around my room. I still have to go put my name on the list for the janitor to fix my wardrobe, but it looks like it IS fixable!!

Well ladies and dragons, it is my bedtime. How eagerly I have been awaiting this time!!

Mathew 4:4

Goodnight and God bless!

New Things!

After much nagging by Mama, I have finally started taking pictures! My lovely roommates, however, do not like pictures, so I have been left finding inanimate objects that I like to take pictures of. I have a few for you here.

The first is a picture of my new aloe plant!! Crossroads gave out free plants at the Involvement Fest (I think I mentioned this in my last post). :]

The second is a picture of my new cactus, also from Crossroads. They had a bunch left over, so they keep giving them away whenever people come over. Luckily, my plants will be fairly easy to keep alive. Or so I am told.

The third is a picture of our (D. and S. and my) pepper plant that we got yesterday at the Involvement Fest. Oh how I love free things!! I cannot wait for Christmas so I can post my Christmas list! ;) Most of you will find it to be full of strange things such as AAA batteries or headphones or devotional books, etc. Oh how the life of a college students works!

I found out yesterday that the girl who ran the bible study in my dorm last year is living in my hall this year. I ran into her today and she informed me that she is holding another bible study this year, right outside of my hall. That is where I am off to as soon as I finish this post! I figured that after the study I would probably be wiped, so I wanted to publish this before I am toast!

Cinema Bizarre came out with a new CD last month, which I want! There songs on this album are definately more...hmm. They suggest alot of things, I guess is a good way to put it. Although, they definately have some good songs too. Also, Tokio Hotel is coming out with a new CD in the US called, "BANG!" which I kind of want. (Although, I have heard that it is a mix CD of their previous releases. Is this true?) Either way, I definately want the new CD from TH and CB when they come out. (The TH one I would prefer to have new songs.)

I just talked to my sister Tia-chan on Facebook. She is getting frustrated with the family again. She says that she feels blamed for all of the things going on with my mom and dad and sister Ta-chan. I remember that feeling, although I did not feel like I was blamed for everything, just most things. I also remember feeling like I wasn't good enough, or worth anything, or important because everything was about Ta-chan. Hmm. I feel badly for her - she is loosing her faith and having to go through all of the same drama. I really wish she would talk to me, so that maybe I could help somehow. I pray everyday that she will reconcile her disillusionment with her faith.

Maru-chan and her family also need prayer. They are going through some tough economic challenges right now, mostly focusing around jobs. Mom2 needs a second job but no one wants to hire her because she already has a full-time job. Maru-chan needs a job to pay for this semester of school. I feel like I should be doing something to help them, but aside from praying, what can I do?

My older brother C. and his fiance E. are getting married in 9 days. I just met them a year and a half ago - I barely know them. I kind of feel like with E. always around, I will never get to have a deep conversation and get to know C. without E. interrupting or sending me "no duh" glances. I don't know. I am happy for them - they are great together. I just feel like a chapter of my life is ending and there is not a sequel in sight. Weird, huh? After their marriage, I think C. is going to be going back into the service (probably in October or November). So many sad and melencholy feelings swirling around me these past few days. I am worried and hopeful, thoughtful and sad, and most of all, praying that everything turns out all right.

Today was actually not the greatest day. This morning I woke up headache-free, only to find out that my class was NOT at 9:25 like I thought, it was at 8:50. I woke up at 8:45!! >.< I then was pulling out grapes from the refrigerator (you know, trying to be healthy and all that) when I smoked my head against S.'s bed post. Ouchies! It has been such a long day, I am just ready for bed!

With that said,
Goodnight and God bless.

The International Dorm is the Best!

"I think only my mom reads my blog." This is a quote from Julie&Julia and sadly, I think it is true. Not that I do not like my mom reading my blog, I just wish I was not writing to a silent audience. ;)

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and I suppose "they" (whoever this mysterious 'they' is) are correct in a way. I woke up this morning with the beginnings of a migraine - i.e. my head hurt whenever I moved my eyes. I pushed through my anthropology lecture and I was exhausted. I went to the Involvement Fest, though, trying to keep it together. D. and I went to eat lunch and I knew that I could not get through 3 more hours of class. I e-mailed my professors and went to the clinic. I saw a doctor I visited last time I had a sinus infection (she is actually a migraine specialist). She was not quite sure I had a sinus infection, but she gave me some antibiotics and told me that if I did not feel better in a few days to come back to see her. She also gave me another prescription for the "superdrug"! I now have two prescriptions for it - one for an immediate free sample and the other is for the actual prescription - but she gave me a coupon to get $20 off of the copay. So, seeing as the drug itself is roughly $35-40, I am excited! I started the antiobiotics today, so hopefully within this week everything will clear up.

After I left the clinic, I took a nap. I am not real clear on how long I slept, but it was a good couple of hours. When I woke up, the headache was less. Not gone, but less painful. I then started on my homework. D. interrupted about an hour later and wanted to go to the Ice Cream Sundae Hunt. (The RA's of the hall have different ingredients in their rooms and you go around the hall finding all the toppings and meeting the different RA's.) A few of the RA's remembered me, only one of them remembered my name. Hehe. We went to the basement to say hello to our RA (she had cherries - ick) and ended up playing pool with two Asians from China. :) It was pretty awkward because one of them did not speak much English and the other one seemed slightly shy. But it was still cool and they acted Asian, too, giving us thumb-ups and clapping and cheering whenever we got a ball in a pocket. (They especially did this for me, as they could see how embarassed I was at how badly I played. It was really cute!) Anyway, that was my picker-uper for the day and made me feel better. I also got an e-mail back from my environment prof. basically saying, "Don't worry about missing class. Just feel better and I hope to see you on Thursday!" So that also made me feel better. :)

I have my homework done, so now it is time for a shower, I think. *sniff sniff* Yes, it is definately time for a shower!

Goodnight and God bless!

Really Quickly

Today was basically just another school day. :) About the greatest thing to note was I had my first anthropology lab. It was really simple - something we did in AP Bio. It was on the topic of natural selection. It was..interesting. I have finished almost all of the lab write up, which is not due till next Monday. All I have left is the graph and putting all of my information into Word.

Seeing as I have about 2 hours till bedtime, I am going to go watch some "Family X", a Taiwanese drama with superpowers!! It is fun. Tomorrow is the Involvement Fest (which is where all the clubs and organizations on campus have tables and try to get you to come to their organization/club). Crossroads is giving away free plants! D. and I are going to get a plant for our room while S. works the Anime Club table. I would be working the Crossroads table, except for the fact that I have class and then an Archaeology Club meeting. I will only be able to dash in for 1/2 an hour or so. Even so, tomorrow should be a good day!

Goodnight and God bless.

Japanese Humor Makes Me Laugh

As I begin writing this, D. is currently doing shots - of water. *rolls eyes* Around this time of night, D. and S. both get pretty loopy. I had forgotten this fact until, well, right now, actually. I was forewarned last year when we had a sleepover in my room, and I am not quite sure how I managed to forget this vital fact. They really do not bother me too much, though, as this is the time I start wrapping up operations and get ready for bed. So far, they are great roommates! I have a feeling that next year when I am gone, they are going to room together. Either in the dorms or in an apartment (which is more likely). I am happy I was able to introduce the two of them - lasting friendships and all that jazz. ;)

As I finished all my homework on Friday evening, today was mostly a day for lazing about. I woke up at 9, took a quick shower (only lost a few streaks of pink!), dressed, and ran outside to walk over to A.'s dorm. I suppose my brain was still in "sleep" mode as I walked all the way over to the tech building before I realized I did not remember where I was going. I called A. and got directions and finally met her outside her dorm. We drove downtown and picked up A.'s friend and then headed off to church! I was so very excited, you have no notion. Twenty minutes later we arrived at the church, and a few minutes later service began. I am not going to go into detail on the service, although I will say this: they were teaching on a subject supporting it with scripture rather than reading from scripture and teaching what it says. I suppose it still works, but it was quite a change for me.

After church, I hung out with D. and S. and played online for the rest of the day. It was so nice to be able to spend some time answering e-mails and facebook messages! Normally, I have half an hour to do everything right before I go to bed, so I luxuriated in not being rushed to complete everything.

I have now reverted back to listening to Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese singers/bands/songs. I forgot how much I love listening to the language! (Japanese, I just like some of the songs.) I also have been reliving some of my favorite moments in the Japanese comedies I have watched. I love Asian humor! It is one of the only senses of humor that can really tickle my funny bone and make me crack up. Of course, K. can do that do, but she is not 100% Asian...

We are now down to one loaf of chocolate chip banana bread in the room... I talked to K. for roughly 2 hours tonight. It was so nice! Skype was not working (it kept dropping our calls), so we called each other on the phone and chatted. I told her about the banana bread, and right then Mom2 walked in and told K. that she was making banana bread. Irony!

Goodnight and God bless.

Repo

What a busy day!

I caught up on some sleep this morning by sleeping in till 11!! S. and D. and I got a bit of a late start, but we grabbed a sub and then were on our way to the Indochinese store. When we first walked in, I could barely take a breath. It smelled strongly of herbs and spices which all combined to smell like ginger and an ape house. Strange, I know. But after I got away from the fresh vegetables, it was more tolerable, and after awhile, I did not even notice the smell anymore. I found a place where I can get packs of somen noodles (yes, somen, not soba!) for a really cheap price. (About $1.50 I think). S. then led the way to the candy aisle, as that was the reason we were there in the first place. She needed to get some rice candy as a birthday present for one of her friends. She did not find any rice candy at the Indochinese store, but we did find "Hello Panda" cookies, vegetarian jello in little cups that have interesting flavors, Pocky sticks, and dried mango. :] I almost got coconut milk cookies to try for Mom to see if I could get them for her for Christmas, but they were over $2 whereas the panda cookies were $0.99 per box.

We then walked back to campus and hopped in D.'s car and traversed to Wal*Mart. It was my first time ever in the Wal*Mart here! haha. I was supposed to pick up some color-treated hair shampoo, but I forgot. :/ So, I think my pink hair is going to keep fading. I believe I am going to ask my mom to send me my hair dye so I can touch it up. The roots are still shockingly pink, but the tips are a strange mixture of bleach blonde and faded pink. At Wal*Mart, we picked up ingredients for banana bread. We found a little package of flour - it was so cute! We then picked up free cookies at the Subway and headed home. We rented some pans at the front desk and then entered the kitchen and began our banana bread making endeavor. While at the store, we had spotted chocolate chips and decided to make chocolate chip banana bread. It actually turned out really well. I wish we had made one that was only banana bread, though. :/

I made macaroni and cheese in my rice cooker tonight, though. You can boil water in the rice cooker, and then mix everything in the pot. It was awesome! I now have 2 meals in leftovers in the refridgerator. D.'s friend from the tech school then came over, and we are all now watching "Repo the Genetics Musical". It is pretty gory and strange - I have only been half-paying attention. Anywho, A. called tonight to make sure I was going to church with her. I am to meet her in her dorm tomorrow at 9:50. I am so excited!!

I feel strange going to bed while there is a strange male in the room, but I really do need to be getting up early.

Goodnight and God bless.

Busted Out

Relative freedom for the next 48 hours is now mine. My last class let out at 1 at which time I walked back to my room with two classmates who also live in my dorm. (One of whom I met last night by accidentally running into him outside of the laundry room. He made me laugh in the 30 seconds that we spoke, so I clearly remembered him today when he stopped me in class.) My roommates and I then walked over to Valhalla for the part-time job fair. Well, it was a flat disappointment. I might be able to get a position working at a retirement home as a personal caregiver. They have some flexible part-time positions that are right on the busline, so we shall see. I also am going to apply at the Best Buy which is also along the bus route. I will let you know as developments, well, develop.

I then left the job fair and walked downstairs to the Cellar and ate lunch with some friends I have not seen all summer. We had some good laughs and shared some great information on churches and bible studies. I shall be going to church with A. this Sunday. :]

D. and I then did our laundry while S. played on her computer. The weather was gorgeous today, if not a little bit too warm. My new brown skirt looks great with the purple tank. Thanks for the tip, Mom! Ahh. After classes and meetings with friends, I began relaxing a bit until I decided to complete all my homework. It is now, I am happy to say, all complete and up-to-date so I can enjoy my weekend with no worries! D. and S. and I are planning a trip to the Pearl (an ice cream and candy shop) tomorrow as well as a stop by the Indonesian Food store. We shall find many interesting things, I am sure! S. says that I have to try rice candy as it is the best thing around. I am sure I will be able to let you know my opinion on that tomorrow!

Other than that, we have been sitting around our room playing video games and chatting. The laughter is rich and drawing all the RA's to us. Haha. M. and the bassoon player stopped by our room and marveled at our Kingdom Hearts playing skills. Well, really, our lack thereof. :D

Just a few quick notes: I would like to give props to the guys at the bicycle shop in downtown Fenton. Last year, my bike had a few quirks that I just had to grin and bear because it was my bike. This year it is riding like new (and no one can hear me coming due to grinding gears!!). I love it. Also, I love my rice cooker! I pop in the rice right before I shower or start laundry or anything really and in 15 minutes it is ready to eat. Cleaning up is really simple, too. Great for college!! The final thing is that I am thinking about making a run out to Walgreens or buying some more yakisoba or something off ebay/amazon. I have eaten two yakisoba (out of 9) and I feel guilty for eating it. I want to save my foodstuffs for the winter months when I will not be as likely to want to go outside to grab a bite to eat. But still, I have found that my most nutrition comes from my own food. Anyway.

Now that I finally have some time to myself, which is NOT devoted to studying, I think I shall sit down with a good book.

Goodnight and God bless.