Honestly, it bugs me that not all Christmas services have a shit ton of singing. For the second year in a row I've allowed myself to be dragged to the church that K's family attends. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind going to church. I just prefer song based services. In fact, I haven't been to a service outside of that church that isn't song based. And for someone who is rather openly agnostic, I've been to a good handful of churches. Almost 10.
But CHRISTMAS services? Those had damn well better be song based and you better be singing the songs the people who go once a year know otherwise you'll have a service where only the choir sings. And at K's small church where the choir is only 4 people...you don't want that. I understand there are some songs that only the choir sings, and that's cool and they're rather fun to listen to. But cater to the people who only go once a year otherwise they won't go anymore!
I think it's probably b/c K's church isn't Methodist or some other rather lax/chill church (as far as Christian churches go - like you'll really find a variety of religions out here. sects yes, religions no). Yeah, I should have gone with my Dad and brother to church. Or to just some really really big one.
Meh, just some late night ramblings when I really should be sleeping. Cheers.
12.25.2009
12.23.2009
Winter Update
I don't really know what else to call this besides winter update. I guess it really should be winter break update, but I'm too lazy to change it. I'm almost too lazy to go back and correct myself if I don't capitalize or miss an apostrophe or something right now. Or change the phrasing. That should have been "right now i'm almost too lazy to..."
And I just got too lazy. Expect this post to be error ridden. I'm too tired to care.
K's family met my family today. I had very very low expectations and they were exceeded so that was nice. K had higher expectations so he spent the rest of the night kind of upset. Almost forgot I don't use names here. Whoops. Had to go back and correct that. Darn it.
Spent the weekend bouncing back and forth between my family and K's extended family - party after party. I got presents though, which was really cool and unexpected. I probably haven't said this here, and probably shouldn't, but i love his extended family. Kinda don't care about his immediate family. That's really mean, but it;s true. It's ok though I think. I excuse it saying he doesn't care too much for his family too. I think he just hides it like I do. I don't give a crap about my family until someone starts "attacking" it. Then I get all P.O.'ed (*cough*Jknows*cough*). K gets that way too. If i say something that's kinda out of line, he gets all quiet with me and his replies are shorter. It;s weird.
I think all my errors are ; instead of ' and not capitalizing my i's. meh.
OH, I got a Canon point and shoot. Very happy with it so far. Powershot, some lengthy model number that I don't care about. It's black and slim and lightweight and performs better than the Sony Cybershot which was really the only other competitor b/c everything else was too thick. It's a point and shoot. I don't expect much. Oh, and its not a touchscreen back which makes me happy b/c I worry about messing up settings. Though they make them really idiot proof these days. Though there was a lady who got talked into buying a Canon with a huge zoom (and almost got talked into getting a DSLR) when all she really wanted was a Sony for the style. She had a Coach bag, some designer coat, and a very current Blackberry. Yeah. Damn Carmelite housewives. Making me wait almost 20 minutes so I could get my hands on the Cybershot to compare. Then the guy working cameras didn't even pay attention to me. Lucky for me, K used to work there (Best Buy) so got one of his sales friends to help me. Probably would have left if I didn't have so dang many gift cards to use there.
I'm rambling. Sorry. It's late and I don't really have any point to this post, I just feel guilty for not updating since before finals.
OH. I passed my Japanese class. And I still got above a 3.0. I can't explain how afraid I was of those two things not happening.
And K and I are taking a cruise + mini vacation. He goes to interview with Garmin the 29th in Kansas City (pretty cool, let's just be upfront about that) and then we drive to his aunt's in Georgia the 31st and then to Ft. Lauderdale the 2nd to leave that afternoon on a Caribbean cruise. Not looking forward to the sunburn, am looking forward to be somewhere warm and exploring new sights. Then back to Purdue the 10th so K can be at school the 11th. I'll probably hit up Ball State the following week to bother the advisors who aren't giving me the info I want. =) And my battery is almost dead and i don't feel like plugging in my computer so thats all for tonight. It's enough info to keep you all in the loop.
God my camera's sexy. It's black and has as many megapixels as my Nikon, did you know? Amazing little sucker. =3
And I just got too lazy. Expect this post to be error ridden. I'm too tired to care.
K's family met my family today. I had very very low expectations and they were exceeded so that was nice. K had higher expectations so he spent the rest of the night kind of upset. Almost forgot I don't use names here. Whoops. Had to go back and correct that. Darn it.
Spent the weekend bouncing back and forth between my family and K's extended family - party after party. I got presents though, which was really cool and unexpected. I probably haven't said this here, and probably shouldn't, but i love his extended family. Kinda don't care about his immediate family. That's really mean, but it;s true. It's ok though I think. I excuse it saying he doesn't care too much for his family too. I think he just hides it like I do. I don't give a crap about my family until someone starts "attacking" it. Then I get all P.O.'ed (*cough*Jknows*cough*). K gets that way too. If i say something that's kinda out of line, he gets all quiet with me and his replies are shorter. It;s weird.
I think all my errors are ; instead of ' and not capitalizing my i's. meh.
OH, I got a Canon point and shoot. Very happy with it so far. Powershot, some lengthy model number that I don't care about. It's black and slim and lightweight and performs better than the Sony Cybershot which was really the only other competitor b/c everything else was too thick. It's a point and shoot. I don't expect much. Oh, and its not a touchscreen back which makes me happy b/c I worry about messing up settings. Though they make them really idiot proof these days. Though there was a lady who got talked into buying a Canon with a huge zoom (and almost got talked into getting a DSLR) when all she really wanted was a Sony for the style. She had a Coach bag, some designer coat, and a very current Blackberry. Yeah. Damn Carmelite housewives. Making me wait almost 20 minutes so I could get my hands on the Cybershot to compare. Then the guy working cameras didn't even pay attention to me. Lucky for me, K used to work there (Best Buy) so got one of his sales friends to help me. Probably would have left if I didn't have so dang many gift cards to use there.
I'm rambling. Sorry. It's late and I don't really have any point to this post, I just feel guilty for not updating since before finals.
OH. I passed my Japanese class. And I still got above a 3.0. I can't explain how afraid I was of those two things not happening.
And K and I are taking a cruise + mini vacation. He goes to interview with Garmin the 29th in Kansas City (pretty cool, let's just be upfront about that) and then we drive to his aunt's in Georgia the 31st and then to Ft. Lauderdale the 2nd to leave that afternoon on a Caribbean cruise. Not looking forward to the sunburn, am looking forward to be somewhere warm and exploring new sights. Then back to Purdue the 10th so K can be at school the 11th. I'll probably hit up Ball State the following week to bother the advisors who aren't giving me the info I want. =) And my battery is almost dead and i don't feel like plugging in my computer so thats all for tonight. It's enough info to keep you all in the loop.
God my camera's sexy. It's black and has as many megapixels as my Nikon, did you know? Amazing little sucker. =3
12.12.2009
Happy Happy Happy Joy Joy Day
I couldn't have been more than 8 years old when I met my dad's good college friend's kids. Family was the same as ours, just a year later. Married a year later, had kids a year later, had kids in the same order. The young boy taught me that little chant that is today's title.
People expect me to be happy. Not L-standard happy (similar to Z-standard happy, if some of you can remember way back to those days), but to be reasonably happy no matter what. But that's not always how I feel. And I'm trying to wear my emotions on my sleeve these days. I used to hide them all the time, but that's really not too healthy. So I'm being more transparent. But it seems to be bothering a few people close to me. They aren't really used to me being down sometimes. They're used to me being the cheerleader, not the one needing the cheerleader. I used to bother other people for that.
Not every day in my life can be a happy joy day. But the people who are learning that are taking it rather well and I think they'll be there for me in the future. It's not a happy joy day today, but there will be some soon.
People expect me to be happy. Not L-standard happy (similar to Z-standard happy, if some of you can remember way back to those days), but to be reasonably happy no matter what. But that's not always how I feel. And I'm trying to wear my emotions on my sleeve these days. I used to hide them all the time, but that's really not too healthy. So I'm being more transparent. But it seems to be bothering a few people close to me. They aren't really used to me being down sometimes. They're used to me being the cheerleader, not the one needing the cheerleader. I used to bother other people for that.
Not every day in my life can be a happy joy day. But the people who are learning that are taking it rather well and I think they'll be there for me in the future. It's not a happy joy day today, but there will be some soon.
12.09.2009
Make Me Happy!
Just really quickly, let me get this out.
If I say I want information about the program before I decide to transfer do NOT email me back saying to contact you after I have transferred. I want help making the decision, I want information about what I should do to prepare to transfer into your program and I want this before I'm there. There aren't any legal issues surrounding advising me and really, if there were, I'm someone who is interested. Very much so. There's a bit of gray area so you should be fine. Make me happy!
That's just one of three so hopefully the others will be...kinder. Not pleased right now.
If I say I want information about the program before I decide to transfer do NOT email me back saying to contact you after I have transferred. I want help making the decision, I want information about what I should do to prepare to transfer into your program and I want this before I'm there. There aren't any legal issues surrounding advising me and really, if there were, I'm someone who is interested. Very much so. There's a bit of gray area so you should be fine. Make me happy!
That's just one of three so hopefully the others will be...kinder. Not pleased right now.
12.07.2009
(Ab)Normal Sports
I know I don't look or act like it, but I've been an athlete for the majority of my life. But most people don't consider the sports I participated in to be real or normal sports. Which is usually fine to me. Until tonight. But let me give you an overview first.
I started ice skating at 3 years old. By the time I was 9, I had worked my way through half of the Freestyle levels. Though I am in no way associated with this rink, their site gives a decent enough explanation of the levels: http://www.chaleticerinks.com/skilllevels.htm. I had completed Freestyle 4 and was working on 5. Dance step sequence is just footwork, so ignore that. I couldn't get the Lutz. I had mastered the Axel (I can still do it too, though I do the Flip more often) and was close to getting the Camel - I didn't have quite enough flexibility, but was working on that. At 9 years old. I was at the point where I would have to choose if I wanted to seriously pursue ice skating as a career or just be content where I was.
I chose racing instead. So began my trek through a completely male dominated, aggressive sport so unlike its feminine predecessor. I started out racing quarter midgets when I was 10 years old. When I was 13 I placed 2nd in my class, nationally. I was the only girl in the top 10. The guy I lost to now holds the record for most national championships in quarter midgets. I am not ashamed. Plus, the trophy is still taller than I am. Oh, and I beat my brother. Yeah. That rocked. The next year my brother and I moved into micros, called mini sprints in some parts of the country. Like Indiana where we moved when I was 16 so my brother could pursue racing. Micros race on dirt and are fun, but it's definitely a stepping stone level. Since I was 16 I could race a kind of car called a Kenyon midget. It's on asphalt. After racing on dirt for 3 years, I really liked it a lot more than racing on asphalt. I did about 10 races before deciding to leave that car in the shop for my brother to take over when he turned 16. I went back to racing micros until we sold my car summer after I turned 17. Next year would be my senior year of high school and I had decided to focus on newspaper and yearbook. Turned out pretty well...have a few awards b/c of it.
Anyway, that started my two year period of not having a sport. I wanted to join a skiing club at college, but after a bit of research I realized they really only planned one trip a year to Colorado during winter break and that's just boring. What would I do? Go to meetings with a copy of Skiing magazine and fangirl over the pictures? Oh, and I'll book ski trip on my own, thanks. That's what I did, actually, with my boyfriend. We took a trip to CA over winter break and spent half of it skiing. And almost went to CO on the way back to ski. Almost. I think we just should have stayed in Park City, Utah where we stopped for dinner, but hey, past is past.
This year some issues with the student run newspaper photo editor led me to search for an activity to get me out of the house. I saw a rugby booth. I'm now on the back line for the rugby team and I won't bore you with a recap of that b/c you all should have been reading my rugby updates.
As for the story, I went to a friend's study group tonight. She and I hadn't spent much time together this semester and I needed to get out of the apartment. She worked on math while I reviewed for my Journo final. A guy started talking about how he only likes normal sports like football and basketball and volleyball and soccer and baseball. He says ultimate frisbee is stupid. This makes my friend a bit mad as she played in HS and her first year of college. She asks about other sports, like rugby. I look up and raise my eyebrows. The guy says that rugby players are fatasses. I scoff and say, "Excuse me?" "Well all the rugby players at my high school were fat losers." "And all the women were lesbians." (This from a different girl.) I stand up and look down at my shirt. "Well, I don't think I'm a fatass, though I'm far from perfect shape. I'm also fairly certain I'm not lesbian since I've been in a committed long distance relationship for over two years with a man. And though not 'normal,' rugby players make football players look like pansies." "Don't compare rugby players to football players, just don't." That came from my friend. I about lost it there. "How would you know what rugby players are like? You didn't come to a single one of my games, though I invited you to each one." "Yeah, well I can't drive on account of being blind and all." "Chris said he'd drive you. So did my dad." "Well I was busy that time." I said nothing more and left less than 5 minutes later.
My sports might not be normal, but they deserve respect. Every sport deserves some sort of respect. Ice skating and gymnastics and cheerleading take grace and dedication and repetition. Racing and bowling and ping pong take arm strength and hand-eye coordination. Rugby and soccer and ultimate frisbee take overall strength and running ability and teamwork. Some are normal. Some aren't. But they're still sports. The players are still athletes.
OH! By the freaking way. Rugby is an Olympic sport again. Football fanatics can stick that in their respective pipes and smoke it.
I started ice skating at 3 years old. By the time I was 9, I had worked my way through half of the Freestyle levels. Though I am in no way associated with this rink, their site gives a decent enough explanation of the levels: http://www.chaleticerinks.com/skilllevels.htm. I had completed Freestyle 4 and was working on 5. Dance step sequence is just footwork, so ignore that. I couldn't get the Lutz. I had mastered the Axel (I can still do it too, though I do the Flip more often) and was close to getting the Camel - I didn't have quite enough flexibility, but was working on that. At 9 years old. I was at the point where I would have to choose if I wanted to seriously pursue ice skating as a career or just be content where I was.
I chose racing instead. So began my trek through a completely male dominated, aggressive sport so unlike its feminine predecessor. I started out racing quarter midgets when I was 10 years old. When I was 13 I placed 2nd in my class, nationally. I was the only girl in the top 10. The guy I lost to now holds the record for most national championships in quarter midgets. I am not ashamed. Plus, the trophy is still taller than I am. Oh, and I beat my brother. Yeah. That rocked. The next year my brother and I moved into micros, called mini sprints in some parts of the country. Like Indiana where we moved when I was 16 so my brother could pursue racing. Micros race on dirt and are fun, but it's definitely a stepping stone level. Since I was 16 I could race a kind of car called a Kenyon midget. It's on asphalt. After racing on dirt for 3 years, I really liked it a lot more than racing on asphalt. I did about 10 races before deciding to leave that car in the shop for my brother to take over when he turned 16. I went back to racing micros until we sold my car summer after I turned 17. Next year would be my senior year of high school and I had decided to focus on newspaper and yearbook. Turned out pretty well...have a few awards b/c of it.
Anyway, that started my two year period of not having a sport. I wanted to join a skiing club at college, but after a bit of research I realized they really only planned one trip a year to Colorado during winter break and that's just boring. What would I do? Go to meetings with a copy of Skiing magazine and fangirl over the pictures? Oh, and I'll book ski trip on my own, thanks. That's what I did, actually, with my boyfriend. We took a trip to CA over winter break and spent half of it skiing. And almost went to CO on the way back to ski. Almost. I think we just should have stayed in Park City, Utah where we stopped for dinner, but hey, past is past.
This year some issues with the student run newspaper photo editor led me to search for an activity to get me out of the house. I saw a rugby booth. I'm now on the back line for the rugby team and I won't bore you with a recap of that b/c you all should have been reading my rugby updates.
As for the story, I went to a friend's study group tonight. She and I hadn't spent much time together this semester and I needed to get out of the apartment. She worked on math while I reviewed for my Journo final. A guy started talking about how he only likes normal sports like football and basketball and volleyball and soccer and baseball. He says ultimate frisbee is stupid. This makes my friend a bit mad as she played in HS and her first year of college. She asks about other sports, like rugby. I look up and raise my eyebrows. The guy says that rugby players are fatasses. I scoff and say, "Excuse me?" "Well all the rugby players at my high school were fat losers." "And all the women were lesbians." (This from a different girl.) I stand up and look down at my shirt. "Well, I don't think I'm a fatass, though I'm far from perfect shape. I'm also fairly certain I'm not lesbian since I've been in a committed long distance relationship for over two years with a man. And though not 'normal,' rugby players make football players look like pansies." "Don't compare rugby players to football players, just don't." That came from my friend. I about lost it there. "How would you know what rugby players are like? You didn't come to a single one of my games, though I invited you to each one." "Yeah, well I can't drive on account of being blind and all." "Chris said he'd drive you. So did my dad." "Well I was busy that time." I said nothing more and left less than 5 minutes later.
My sports might not be normal, but they deserve respect. Every sport deserves some sort of respect. Ice skating and gymnastics and cheerleading take grace and dedication and repetition. Racing and bowling and ping pong take arm strength and hand-eye coordination. Rugby and soccer and ultimate frisbee take overall strength and running ability and teamwork. Some are normal. Some aren't. But they're still sports. The players are still athletes.
OH! By the freaking way. Rugby is an Olympic sport again. Football fanatics can stick that in their respective pipes and smoke it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)