Where are Your Feet?

I have rock climbed in various forms since 7th grade.  It started with weekly classes in middle school, when I broke my arm I took a really long break before getting back into it later in high school.  This past summer my friend Allason and I would go climbing together.  Usually in the morning before she had to go to work.  We would take turns on a few top rope climbs before she had to go, then I would bolder until I was sore.

One week this summer I showed her a boldering problem I was having a lot of trouble with.  I explained to her where my hands were, what point I was stuck on, and what I had been trying to do.

Then she asked the critical question.  Where were my feet?

Too far down was the answer in that situation.

But it got me thinking.  How often do we reach for something that is just out of reach?  We stretch so hard to try and grab something that we want to be ours, all in vain because it's just a bit too far.  What if our problem is not that what we're reaching for is too far, but that our feet aren't in the right spot?  The problem can easily be solved by adjusting our feet so that we can reach new heights.  Could it really be that easy?

To Worship You I Come

In speech bubble: We are the Children of the King

Under speech bubble:

more than anything

we are his.  Light of the world

City on a hill, and this city is the

city waiting to be changed.

Under eye:

And the Rythem of the Night echos in my 

head with the beat of the drum following a thum-

thum-thum.  I believe and I know you

are Kind of all.  King of me at least.

In my InterVasity chapter we talk a lot about how we can use our art as worship in some way.  This is what I came up with when I was given the space to do just that.  Both the eye and the crown have been re-occurring themes whenever I draw these days.  It gives me the idea that God is watching over me.  The crown reminds me that I am an heir to the throne of heaven, just because I am a child of the King.

My Way of Measuring a Relationship

A friend of mine had just entered a new relationship, and I called her to ask how it was going.  She chatted happily for a few minutes, but before long I got to ask her something.  "Is he Rob to your Laura?" I asked.  She laughed.  And laughed.  And then quieted.  She thought about it for a while, but said she would have to get back to me on that one.

Rob and Laura are television characters.  Specifically they are the husband and wife on the Dick Van Dyke Show, which my friend and I were practically obsessed with at the time of this conversation.  If you've never seen the show then you should, but for the sake of this post I'll summarize their relationship in two words: absolutely adorable.  They are quite possibly my favorite TV couple ever (which is saying something).

The more I think about it though, the more I realize that this is how I measure relationships.  I compare a real life relationship, weather it be mine or someone else's, to a fictional one.  Josh and Donna.  Angel and Buffy (or Spike and Buffy later).  Chuck and Sarah.  These people are fictional.  It is completely unfair to compare them to people who I know and care about, but I do anyway.  How can a fiction relationship -- where any nuance can be answered away in a short scene and then never mentioned again -- compare to a real relationship where brokenness and hurt feelings linger for days, weeks or even years?  The answer: it can't.  But we do it anyway.

Some people are destined for each other.  Like Ross and Rachel.  But Ross and Rachel had a team of writers behind them making sure that everything worked out perfectly.  In real life it doesn't work like that, no matter how much you believe in destiny.

What is my "destiny"?  What is your's?  I believe that we create our own destiny.  It's impossible to tell how our lives will turn out in the end.  All we can do it make the best choices we can, and trust that God will provide.  He always does.

Only You: Bananagrams Poetry

Only You
The Antwerp replies
Can fully interpret April's cries

These pictures a quite old, but the meaning is still there.  I was bored, there were Banangrams tiles.  This is what came of it.  I hope very much that this can start happening more often as it was truly a jump start to my inspiration.

Under layers of beauty and laughter and rain
Comes finding the lovely in pleasure and pain

Rain makes the sun shine brighter

Paris and Rome have nothing on my San Francisco

20 Before 20: A Disappointing Wrap-Up

As many of you know it was a goal of mine to attempt 20 new things before my 20th birthday.  Sadly my birthday has come and gone, and half the list goes undone.  I hold out hope for next year though as I am putting the finishing touches on the 21 Before 21 list, and putting in place plans to actually go do the things on the list.  Yeah.  Anywho, here goes; the list of 20 things that were done or not done by my 20th birthday.


1.  Have a fancy tea party.  Not done, but I threw one for my old roommate's birthday which was immediately after mine.  Counts?
2.  Try out a crown braid.  DONE.  Has become a near-staple.
3.  Knit a hat. Not done, learning this winter from Elspeth.
4.  Bake a pie.  DONE.
5.  Read the whole bible.  Not done, on the list for next year and already working on it.
6.  Sew a pair of pants.  DONE.  Sort of, shorts count.
7.  Grow a herb garden.  Not done.
8.  Go on a hike.  DONE
9.  Go to a real concert.  DONE
10.Learn to navigate by bike  DONE
11.Send a care package.  Not done.
12.Organize a clothing swap.  Not done.
13.Learn to apply make-up.  Not done.
14.Be in a performance.  DONE  Sort of.
15.Go to a Critical Mass ride.  Not done.
16.Teach myself to play a song on the piano.  Not done
17.Post poetry online.  DONE
18.Skip class and go out to breakfast.  Not done.
19.Try yoga.  DONE
20.Go camping.  Not done.


Total things done: 9
Total things not done: 11
Things from this year on next years list: 7


Next week look for my new list of 21 Before 21.

Around Town: Austin

So, in keeping with tradition, I will do a post on my weekend trip out to the Austin neighborhood for my InterVarsiy chapter's retreat.  I feel like I should put a disclaimer here that this isn't a normal "Around Town / Around the World" post in that I didn't go to Austin for a vacation like the other places I've written about so far.  Also, I am notoriously bad at remembering to take pictures, and since the weekend was so short I have no pictures whatsoever.

Now that all is out of the way let's get down to it.  I went to the Austin neighborhood with a handful of other members of my school's InterVarsity chapter.  We meet up with a handful of students from DePaul University's InterVarsity chapter as well.  On Friday night we spent time getting to know each other, eating way too much cheep, off-brand candy, and talking about what God is doing in Austin.

And God is doing so much.  Austin is a neighborhood that was radically changed in the 60's with white flight and is now a heavily black neighborhood where a significant percentage (I don't remember the number) of the population is living under the poverty line.  I struggle sometimes with how I should be dealing with race in my daily life and this retreat was occationally uncomfortable in that I was usually the only white chick there.

Being the minority is a switch for me as in most other places I am the majority.  I was a good experience for me to be the one that looks out of place.  My school is big on diversity and is always bragging about our amount of diversity, but I find that it isn't mentioned much outside of the admissions process and the office of Multi-Cultural Affairs.  The thing is though, that we are all broken people.  "Black", "white", "red", "brown", "yellow", what-have-you, we are all broken somehow by the pain and hardships that come with living.

The amazing thing is the community that grows when people are in such tough situations.  On Saturday I went with a small team to a local church and we helped them with cleaning their sanctuary; sweeping, mopping, cleaning bathrooms and polishing pews.  I learned that the church building is nearly a hundred years old and was built as a catholic church.  The current owners of the building are a Baptist church, and they've been there for 18 years.  The church congregation has been meeting in some fashion for nearly 50 years in the same neighborhood.

Saturday night we went out for Soul food (am I spelling that right?), and debriefed with each other talking about what we'd done in the afternoon.  Once again we ate too much food.  This time it was more nutritious than candy.  That night I sang hymns because I freaking love hymns.  Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.  Apparently this is abnormal for a person my age.  I don't even care.  I could also talk for a very long time about stained glass windows, but I'll spare you.  For now.  I feel like there will be a post about one or both of these subjects at some point in the future*.

My love of hymns was actualized even more so when we sang a few in church Sunday morning.  I was in awe of the love and peace that surrounded the church.  The sermon talked about a lot of things, but the part that especially stuck with me was the mention of tithing.  I needed that reminder and still do as I figure out my finances for the rest of the school year half based on the atypical month of September.  Which is now October and feels to be very officially fall.

The chill in the air followed me back all the way to the Loop as the whole lot of us took the green line home again, home again.  Beginning again with "normal" life was a bit of a strange experience.  There was homework to be done, dishes to be put away, and Doctor Who to watch (Umm, guys?  Doctor Who? Anybody?).  Good-bye Austin.  You've taught me much, and I wait to see what else I have to learn.  Thank you for letting me stay, and bringing me back.

*But I also promised a post on farmers market meals and an "Around the World" post for my Denver / Boulder.

Discoveries: September 2011

I want to start a series I'm going to call Discoveries.  On the last Friday of each month I will post a short list of things that I have discovered (or perhaps re-discovered) throughout the month that have made me smile.  To some of you, these will be old news, but perhaps you will discover something along the way.

Peanut-butter honey sandwiches.  Pretty simple -- bread, peanut butter, honey, done -- but so amazingly wonderful.

Reading.  This one is a re-discovery.  I feel like I rediscover reading every few months and it's better every time.  Right now I'm about a quarter way through a collection of travel essays.  Awesome.

New TV Shows to watch.  I'm loving the premieres these past few weeks.  My new favorites are New Girl, Up All Night, and Pan Am.  I just want new episodes of these to be on at all times even though I know that would result in me getting absolutely no work done.

Beauty in the Broken: Waldorf

I often find the things that are the most broken and beat up the most beautiful as well.  Anything can be beautiful, you just have to look hard enough to find the beauty in it.  Sometimes it's hard.  Sometimes it's buried underneath layers and layers of history and pain.  Sometimes the ache has instead brought the beauty to the surface in a way that wouldn't be possible otherwise.  

The fact that this former mining town is called Waldorf is not lost on me.  I wonder what the name comes from.  I know only the connotations it holds for me, not the history of the name in this place.  We had a bumpy ride up through a dry creek bed and we went in the complete wrong direction, but eventually we found Waldorf.  Gold flecks glimmered in the dirt piles as we ate lunchmeat sandwiches made that morning.  The place felt familiar.  Like an old friend.  Perhaps it was the shared name with my school.  Perhaps the quiet.  Perhaps more.  I think most of all it was the silence.  The thought that no one had lived here, truly lived here, in decades.

It was beautiful.

Hello?

I'm hoping that my guest post over at Taylor Yves blog Greater Things will kickstart me back into blogging more regularly.  Especially since I've been doing so many cool things since school started.  Click HERE to read my guest post listing all the things I love about Fall.

Today We Remember

This is no way to convey my want for a moment of silence in words.  No thought of how to say what I'm feeling without tripping over my speech.  I will never fail to recognize this day in some small way.












I have no picture for today.  Not even an image could create what I want to say.

Muffins and Tea

The calm before the storm this week is.  Or maybe the storm before the calm depending on how the next few weeks turn out.  Next week I start my second year of college.  I feel like the time has flown by at lightning speed and I don't even know what to expect out of this year.  For now I'll just sit at my little IKEA table, eat my muffin, and drink my tea like a normal girl.  I have no idea what comes next, but I couldn't be more excited for the unknown.

Bring it on.

Home Sweet Home

Home from Denver today.  I had a great time doing a bunch of crazy stuff, but more on that later.  The more exciting part about coming home is getting the apartment ready for my new kitty!  I got a call from my Uncle just before I left that some friends of ours were looking for a kitty-home while they go off on a crazy trip of their own.

No pictures yet (we're a little bit camera shy), but my roommate and I are now the proud owners of our own grey and white, middle-aged, slightly chubby, borrowed cat.  I'm very excited as I was considering adopting a cat before and one came around looking for a home.  I think this is going to be an interesting semester.

Before and After: Haircut

Okay, so this before and after isn't so much my own work as the last one (well, actually the before kind of is).  But I wanted to show off my new haircut because it's fun.  Not a massive change, but a fun story anyway.

Ever since I found a coupon last semester for a $10 haircut at the Sassoon Academy here in Chicago, I've waiting for a chance to use it.  This week seemed like my chance.  I made an appointment and walked to the salon.  When I checked in the receptionist had me sign a wavier.  Basically saying that I was going to get my hair cut by a student and I couldn't sue them if it flopped.  Scary.  Even scarier was waiting in their cafe while people bustled around the salon, also looking nervous.

A man came through and talked to each of the 6 or 7 of us who were wearing those hideous black gown things (and I put thought into that outfit), asking what we wanted done today.  He almost immediately looped back to me and asked if I would be his model for the class today.  Umm, okay, why not?

A few minutes later he brought me into a room with a dozen or so chairs and about half that amount of students.  He asked me to repeat what I had wanted and then explained (to them) what he was going to do.  When I came back from shampoo, he was drawing on the white board and telling a story.

Through the whole haircut, he explained the theory behind how he was cutting my hair.  Everything from the direction he was cutting to the angle he was holding the scissors.  I can tell you a lot about how my hair is.  My favorite was the bangs as he explained how it was all different lengths and he called it fringe.  I felt quite silly for calling it bangs after that.  Also, I'm not allowed to cut them anymore.

In the end my hair is nearly the same length, but the ends are a thousand times cleaner and it looks a lot more professional.  I guess we'll see how it looks after the first wash, but I love it so far.  And the best part was that it was completely free.  I stopped by the receptionist and she was all, "It looks great, hopefully we'll see you in a few months."  I went out and walked a block before I realized that I hadn't paid.  When I went back she said that August is their free month.  What's better than a $10 professional haircut?  A FREE professional haircut.  Awesome.

Before and After: "Wit Beyond Measure"

The before picture.  Or the first picture I remembered to take because I had kind of wanted a before picture.

Before and after pictures of the bookcase that I was working nearly two weeks ago now.  My whole living room was a disaster area for a week and a half, but I'm really happy with the results.  I got the two bookcases for free.  I had been working on a project where they were set pieces and asked if I could have them.  It was a fun project to fix them up.  I scraped all the hardware foam off one of the cases, and off the removable shelves of the other, then painted the case and shelves to coordinate nicely with my room.

I painted an inscription on one of the sides, and still want to do the other as well.  The first says "Wit Beyond Measure is Man's Greatest Treasure," from Rowena Ravenclaw out of Harry Potter.  I haven't quite decided what I want the other side to say.  At first I wanted to pick something from Doctor Who, but I think the poster (see below) covers that obsession.  Now I'm thinking I may put something out of Firefly.  If I do it will most likely be "Burn the land / Boil the sea / You can't take the sky from me." out of the theme song.

Mostly clean

Taking a break.  My feet are covered in sparkles and pink paint.

Painting

The finished product

Next to my massive Doctor Who poster

Inscription says, "Wit beyond Measure is Man's Greatest Treasure"  a quote from Rowena Ravenclaw out of Harry Potter.  What can I say, my nerdom knows no bounds.

Around Town: Rocks and Stuff also: Denver

On my way to Denver today.  Going to visit my Uncle and do some rock climbing.  I'm pretty excited for this trip even though it is pretty short.  It will get me out of town before school starts which will be nice, and it will also give me a chance to go rock climbing outside.  I've only ever been indoor climbing, and I'm kind of addicted.  So today, a few pictures of my bestie Allason and I climbing in good old San Francisco.

While I'm gone I have a few posts lined up.  A few before and after projects that I've been super excited to show off.  Catch you on the flip side.

This chica is about to embark on a crazy awesome trip to Uganda and the Congo for a few months.  I'm so excited for her and I'm praying for her so much!  I'm going to miss her like mad, but I think after all is said and done she will be coming to spend some time in my bathtub (sorry, inside joke).

Can't Take the Sky From Me

This past Saturday I, in a display of complete nerdom, went to an event called Can't Stop the Serenity.  It was a charity event supporting a charity called Equality Now, supporting women's rights around the world.  For me, it was more of an opportunity to see Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and Serenity on a really big screen than anything else, but that it benefits charity is an extra plus.

There was an auction, and a costume contest, and a friend of mine that come into town to come see it with me.  So much fun.  Next year I want to enter the costume contest.  So much.  I'd never been to something like that before and it was really fun to be around a bunch of other people who also loved something as much as I do.  It was hysterical to see "Fandom" used as a legitimate word in conversation.  And by hysterical I mean awesome.

As a bonus, yesterday my roommate and I went to Borders to check out the reduced price duds for their going out of business sale.  I snagged a few seasons worth of TV including.... Firefly!  I've seen it all before, but it will be nice to have it legally in a hard copy and to see the special features.  An in-depth consideration of all things Joss Wedon is inevitable, I'm sure.  I just have to see some Dollhouse so that it can be a bit more well rounded.

Tell Me a Story

I have always been addicted to storytelling.

As a child I was happy just creating a story and a character in my head.  Imagining for a moment what it would be like to be someone else.  Someone older or younger or louder or prettier or meaner.  Someone from a different time period or someone from a different world.  Whatever it was, I would rather be lost in the world of the story than living in reality.  I was constantly consuming new stories, new ideas, and new worlds.

When I was a pre-teen I discovered a new kind of storytelling.  I found a whole slew of new worlds lived right inside of my TV.  I was drawn in by the characters that these worlds presented.  It didn't matter to me that there was murder and gore in CSI.  The graphic nature of House didn't phase me.  I focused instead on the characters, the relationships.  I watched Booth and Bones squabble, Ducky of NCIS talk to corpses, and Margret scream at people on M*A*S*H (I like to think that even as a middle schooler I had good taste in television).

In high school it only got worse as I discovered The West Wing and following 30 Rock.  I longed to create my own characters, but couldn't figure out how to make them realistic.  I took Creative Writing, and I had my first stab at NaNoWriMo (and failed miserably).  I learned that anything could be interesting if I took the time to find the story that was in it.

Now I'm learning even more about how to create drama, and how to make characters seem real.  I'm looking forward to a day when someone will be able to connect with what I've written and believe in what I'm saying. This year I'm thinking about trying NaNo again.  I want to get into a habit of writing more often and between school and this blog I hope to be overflowing with ideas.  Can't wait.

Coming Soon

I've been working on a project recently that I'm excited to show off. For now let's just say that my feet and nearly my entire apartment has been covered with glitter lately. That part I'll be happy to be done with soon.  Meanwhile I'm putting the finishing touches on a bookcase I'm redoing and I should have pictures for you guys soon.

This Moment

Today I walked down to the library to try and get a book for a mini-book club a friend and I are starting, and was struck by the amazingness of Chicago and of how far I've come. My family as a whole is from here, but my imediate family spent so much time moving around that I didn't know where to call home. I would come to visit, but never to stay.

Two years ago I was passing though. Quite literally, my mom and I were on a road trip from our former house in New Jersey, bringing the car to our new home of San Francisco. I toured my school for the first time on that visit. And I got a chance to see my crazy Uncle who was, at the time, home from working in Bagdad. I was so happy to see him, and so excited to be in the city. Expectant and nervous about the future. Uncle John told me that I would be back, and he presented as if I didn't have a choice in the matter. I laughed, but the funny thing is that I'm not so sure that I did have a choice in the matter.

Last year I was back again, preparing for moving here, attending college orientation. I was here, but also still competely invested in my life in San Francisco. To some extent I still am. I was a little scared, but putting on a brave front of not minding.

And now. Now I am here for the long haul. I have an apartment in a location I love. I have a growing support system here in Chicago that includes not only family, but classmates, friends, and members of my church as well. I am excited as ever to continue to explore the city and learn even more through school, church, and life in general. I'm excited to be able to share it all with this here blog as well. I don't know how many people are reading, but I'm glad to be able to put these thoughts into the world. I'm sorry if I seem to be waxing poeticly positive nonssence quite a bit recently, but I'm very excited about living right now and I hope it's not too over the top.

Also, how do you like my hat?  I just got it the other day and I'm wearing it everywhere!  Can't get enough.

20 Before 20: Learn to Navigate by Bike

I set out at the begining of the summer with this as my goal. What I lreaned: there's really not much to it. I already knew how to ride a bike, and since I have a drivers license (in two states even), I know the rules of the road. Really all it took to navigate by bike was combining the two together. There were some things that I did learn over this summer of spuratic bike riding though in San Francisco, Montreal, and Chicago. These are the rules I try to follow when I ride.

1. Comunicate. This is sort of a blanket rule that I think a lot of things can be squished in to. Motion to drivers when you're going to be going into their lane. Shout that you're about to pass another biker. Make eye contact with drivers, pedestrians, anyone who's path you may cross who you want to make sure they know you're there, try to make eye contact. Smile and say hello to people who can hear you. Just for fun.
2. Lock it up. Properly. Get a big old hefty U-lock. Find either a bike rack or a tall pole to tie your bike to. If you choose to lock it to a parking meter then the more power to you, but be sure that your lock dosen't allow the bike to be lifted over the meter (learned that one the hard way. When you lock up the bike you want to make sure that both the frame of the bike and the front tire are included with the lock. If you know how, then for extra protection you can pop the front tire off the bike and then lock that, the back tire and the bike frame to the rack/pole. I've found that back wheels are much more difficult to take off and are less prone to being stolen.
3. Put your phone/keys/other things likely to fall out of your pocket in your bag. There's nothing worse than your phone falling out of your pocket while you're riding down a busy street. I've had it happen to me a few times, and while nothing's broken yet, it's still very inconvenient. Backtracking means you loose momentum and time. No one wants that.
4. Know where you're going. I think this may be the most important thing of all. You do not want to be stopping in the middle of traffic to try and figure out if you're supposed to turn or go straight. You don't want to find out at the last second that you were supposed to be turning left up here, and should have gotten in the turn lane half a block back. If I'm going someplace I've never been I study the map carefully and then draw my route on a post it and stick it to the handlebar for reference. Works every time.

Those are the rules I go by though I'm sure there are others. I've also just gotten a bike check up which has helped my bike emencely. My new favorite thing, now that I'm riding fairly regularly in Chicago, is riding under the El. When I come to a stop light I use the El support beams for balance so that I don't even have to put my feet on the ground. It's like a game for me. Riding over the Chicago River is fun too. A lot of the bridges have only grates as the street over the river so you can look straight down into the water.