Finals Week!

Finals week is boss. I will now list some reasons for why I am happy to be done with this semester.
1.I will be able to burn all my pointless handouts from EDMT and forget everything I ever learned. To those of you who haven’t taken this computer class run by an evil taskmaster, who enjoys humiliating and belittling her students, feel very thankful.
2.I will never have to play the recorder again or listen to my teacher (who I am certain takes uppers) laugh at her own lame jokes about the staff and eigth notes.
3.I will finally be able to relax and enjoy myself instead of thinking about everything else I should be doing.
4. I can have a social life.
5.I will be in California very soon.
Speaking of California, apart from being a nanny for my adorable baby cousin, I have big plans. I will probably meet Robert Pattinson on the street outside of a small coffee shop and bump into him, spilling his frappachino, or whatever he drinks. Then I will ask him if I can buy him a new one and pretend that I have no idea who he is. We will casually talk about our lives over coffee and he will find me refreshing because I don’t stalk him or worship him because he plays Edward from Twilight. Then we will fall in love and I will laugh at all the people who said it would never happen. I will be on his arm at the premiers of all his movies, while millions of pre-pubescent girls ask him to sign their retainers and scream, “bite me!”
Ok, so that will probably never happen, which is fine because Robert Pattinson appearantly doesn’t shower and is on drugs???
This is off topic, but very funny. I was sitting in the campus mall the other day enjoying lunch with my friend Steph when, from a distance, I heard someone call my name. I looked to see that it was my friend Jacob. I waved and then he shouted, “has your rash cleared up yet?” About twelve people stopped eating their lunch and stared at me, while Jacob roared with laughter. I thought it would be humorous to elaborate on the rash rumor, but then I remembered that people were eating and might have thought Jacob was serious. So, I finished my lunch and laughed at my own jokes.

and that’s pretty much it…

I wish I could say that I have recently been too deeply involved in my social life to post on this blog, but it is untrue. I pretty much finished my last project for school a week ago and I have one final to study for. It’s strange to drastically alter lifestyles from being overwhelmingly busy to playing text twist online for hours to pass the time. I suppose I could’ve been doing more productive things, but I find it so much easier to stare at the television and eat handfuls of special k cereal (I’m trying to eat healthier).

I am proud to say that I have worked out every day for the past two weeks. I have found that it eases stress and helps me sleep better at night. I have also found that my heart rate breaches 200 beats/min when I am on the elliptical machine…is that bad? I have always preferred running outside on a trail somewhere to sweating bullets in a gym and being surrounded by others who can hear my painfully heavy breathing. I hate running on treadmills; I feel incredibly unaccomplished after not really going anywhere and unsuccessfully trying to distract myself with a book or magazine only to note that a minute has passed on the digital control panel. Anyways…it’s been really nice outside lately so I decided to take a jog to Carson Park. I get terrible shin splints from running on the cement so I decided to run alongside the sidewalk on the grass. I don’t do this anymore. On my way to Carson Park I twisted my ankle in a pothole covered by leaves. I fell on my face in front of a lovely Victorian home that was fortunately unoccupied. I quickly picked myself up and limped away. I tried running again after a few blocks, but I ended up walking home in shame.

On a completely unrelated note, I went with a group of students to South Carolina over spring break to work in a middle school and we had to present our findings at the Diversity Expo on Thursday. There was a vast array of projects from other classes, so it was encouraged to look at other group’s research. I wandered past the endless rows of poster boards pretending to be interested, when I stopped to see that some girl had brought her pet to school. Hanging from her pointer finger by its tail was a small flying squirrel. His eyes bulged out of his head as he scurried up her arm and into her flannel purse. She explained that the purse is flannel so that he can easily claw his way in and out, and so that he can smell her through the fabric to know he’s safe. She added that she was picking up his sister that weekend...I suppose she’ll need a bigger purse. She asked me if I wanted to pet him and I couldn’t help but laugh. First of all, I would never touch a squirrel because they are gross and have sharp claws. Second of all, I think squirrels should live in trees, not purses. She also said that she has an 8X5 ft. metal cage in her apartment that allows her furry friend to glide freely. I don’t even think my room is that big! Imagine how terrifying and annoying it would be to hear tiny squeaks followed by metal clanging all night long, as winged rodents soar beside your bed. Three things went through my mind as I headed for the refreshments table…
1.Why would you ever want a flying squirrel as a pet?
2.Why would you ever bring your pet flying squirrel to a University research presentation?
3.Why would you keep your pet flying squirrel in a flannel purse when people are constantly pushing through narrow, crowded rows of tables and could accidentally squash your hidden rodent?
Long story short, keep your squirrels at home, and preferably nowhere near me.

And that’s pretty much it…

Gross!

I think there are more concerning things in this world than the dreaded Swine flu. It will probably blow over like SARS or Avian Flu.
My sister recently told me of something much more disturbing. For those of you who don't attend the lovely UWEC, there is a small normally forgotten dorm on the edge of campus called Murray. I have never actually been inside Murray, and now there is no way I ever will. There was a bad case of Scabies (Skay-bees) that infested the beds of Murray. Appearantly, Scabies is a type of bed bug that burrows into your skin and causes itchy rashes! G-R-O-S-S! Not only is Scabies possibly the most disgusting word ever, but I would much rather have the flu than tiny bugs eating through my skin.

and that's pretty much it...

Plans and Pirates

Metacognatively speaking, I think that I think too much about the future. I have always been a worry wart and a planner. Worry wart is a gross term. Anyways, there have been numberous times in my life where I thought something was going to happen a certain way and it ended up being a complete disaster. For example, when I was six my family and I moved to Appleton, WI where I started first grade. I thought it would be a good idea for me to go to school dressed as a pirate. I swept my hair back into a tight ponytail like a man, slipped on my billowy white shirt with ruffled sleeves, and pulled on my black pants and boots. I was ready. In my first grade mind I thought three things.
1. I look cool in this outfit.
2. People will think my outfit is cool.
3. I love pirates.
Unfortunately, I didn't plan to miss the bus and have to run in my clunky boots to the next stop. I didn't plan to cry at reading time when no one wanted to sit next to the pirate. I didn't plan to walk around the playground by myself for recess and watch the other kids make friends. I didn't plan to have the worst day of my life (up to that day anyways).
I didn't plan any of those things and because my plans didn't work out, I was dissappointed. I felt cheated and hurt. I couldn't understand why I didn't have the most perfect first day of school ever. Sometimes things don't go the way we plan and we don't understand why.
This happens to me quite often, not getting teased for wearing pirate outfits, but getting dissappointed and having my plans not work out. This has been a difficult thing for me to surrender to the Lord because I always want to figure everything out. I have learned that sometimes you don't see the reason behind what happened until much later, which is also maddening becasue I'm extremely impatient. It's so hard for me to daily surrender my life, my plans, and my dreams to the Lord. I think it's partially becasue I want to believe I have some control over my life and also because I'm scared that what I want isn't what He wants for me.
I have wanted to be a mom since I was 5. I have trouble giving this over to the Lord becasue I'm afraid He doesn't have this in His plan for me. I know it's silly to fear the plans of God because they are ultimately way more incredible than anything I could possibly dream up. My feeble mind can't possibly comprehend how amazing God is and how intricately his plan fits together. My life is like a single thread in God's tapestry. All I see are the knots, twists, and complicated stitches underneath, while God sees the grand design; perfectly woven together in an extraordinary masterpiece.
These verses are always encouraging to me:
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." 3:5-6
"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
It's good to have dreams and plans and desires, but we must trust that God's plan is best and that He is in control.

and that's pretty much it...