Feeling a bit sheepish ...

I know February's a short month ... but ... how is it over already?!

We had to make new bulletin boards for our residential floors. For some reason, I was really grooving on the idea of creating a bulletin board with sheep from Ireland. Because it's March, Ireland is my connection to St. Patrick's Day. What about the significance of the sheep? Well ... umm ... when I went to Ireland last summer for a choir tour, we saw MANY sheep. (I loved the ones whose hinds were spray-painted in pastel colors to signify the herd to which they belong!) They were EVERYWHERE! Climbing over the burren, the mountains, in the road, in the fields ... everywhere!

When I went home this weekend, I was overloaded with craft goodies for my bulletin board because we basically have a warehouse of cool and unusual craft materials. My mom, who loves making crafts, sent me back to MySchool with tons of materials: crepe paper, fake "grass" (I guess it's used to line an Easter basket or for use inside a gift bag), cellophane, cotton balls, toothpicks ...

On the upper half of the board, the little white things outlined in the darker green paper are facts about sheep- in Ireland and in general.

^^^ A close-up of the sheep!

The proverbial black sheep ^^^^ (That's what his little card says too)

I tried to zoom in on the little black sheep ... and he ended up looking like he was on fire.
I thought that was a nifty side-effect ...

OK ... enough procrastinating ... must go write that paper for my one of my core subject courses ... and do some more planning for Italia!

Thoughts on Time

My microwave clock does not keep normal time. In fact, it's pretty much my ideal clock because it slows down time. I'm actually a little jealous. I always seem to be wishing that I could squeeze more into my day and that time should go slower because there's always too much to be done in not enough time!

Well, because the time was already very inaccurate when Daylight Savings time occurred last autumn, I decided it wasn't worth resetting the time. Within the last week or two, I discovered something very exciting had occurred! My microwave was telling accurate time because it had finally slowed down enough to make up for the extra hour we gained during Daylight Savings time.

Today, sadly, I discovered it is now 6 minutes slow. I don't think I'll reset it until Daylight Savings time occurs again (in April?) ...

~*~*~*~

Another musician once told me that time passes for us differently than it does for normal people. Our concept of time is based from one big event to the next ... It's difficult to focus on the present moment when you're always looking ahead to and preparing for the next performance.

I've found this to be true for other areas of my life. For example, right now, I'm stuck in another week of classes. My mind is already focused much more on Italy than my classes. In fact, this entire semester, I've had trouble focusing and staying motivated. Why? Graduation! Each day, I get closer to being out in the Real World and having a real job and real grown-up responsibilities. My mind is working diligently, trying to prepare me for that and it doesn't have much excess energy to focus on the core classes my university requires me to take before graduating.

~*~*~*~

Time causes me stress. For example, I have an hour and a half before I have my one elective class immediately followed by a music course. I have to complete a take-home test for the elective and I've got to write a piece for orchestra (!) for the other class. In less than 90 minutes.

I guess, to be honest, it's not the time causing my stress ... it's the choices I made of how to spend my time in the past week when I was choosing NOT to do this homework then ... *sigh* Better get to work!

Ten Weird Things About Me

This is the first time I've ever been tagged for a meme with this blog. Thanks post-doc! :-)

1. I have a piece of gravel lodged in my knee. When I was five, my babysitter let me take her dog for a walk. I was so excited! We didn't have any pets at that time, and I'd been asking for what seemed like forever if I could walk the dog. We went out into the neighborhood and everything was fine, until the dog smelled something and started running. I couldn't restrain her and I didn't want to get in trouble for letting the dog get away, so I held on to the leash. I ended up falling down, and the dog dragged me for a little while on the rough part of the pavement, and some of the gravel stuck in my knee.

2. I collect things- bicentennial quarters, wheat pennies, $2 bills, bookmarks, keychains, charms and postcards. I still get a keychain, postcard, and charm from every new place I visit.

3. I adore unicorns. I've been fascinated with them ever since I was a child. To this day when people ask me my favorite animal, I always tell them, "A unicorn."

4. I don't own normal socks (with the exception of a few pairs of plain black socks) ... The rest of my socks all have fun designs on them- musical notes, animals, etc. Some are special holiday-themed socks: Halloween, Valentine's Day, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, etc. I believe I have about a dozen different pairs of Christmas socks. :-)

5. On my torso, I have moles which form the exact shape of the constellation the Big Dipper.

6. I can be easily distracted. Sometimes, in the middle of what I'm saying, I realize that I'm starting to think about something else, I lose focus, and I completely forget what I'm in the process of saying.

7. People tend to assume by my neat and proper appearance, demeanor, and productivity that I'm an incredibly organized individual. Not so. The pictures in the last entry show a little of this, but I (purposely) didn't share pictures of the really chaotic areas of my room.

8. I sucked my thumb (while sleeping) until I was 10 or 11 years old.

9. My middle finger on my right hand is slightly deformed because it was crushed in a door when I was two. It has never inhibited my ability to play any instrument, type, etc. It's just a little shorter than my left middle finger.

10. I stick my tongue out slightly when I'm concentrating. I blame it on a holiday special my sister and I watched on TV when I was about 8 years old. It was a Family Circus special - maybe Easter-themed? The father stuck his tongue out while concentrating and my sister and I laughed at that. One day, when when we went over to our parents' friends' house, we played video games with their son and I stuck out my tongue while concentrating because I thought I looked like I was concentrating harder. (I thought he was cute and I was trying to impress him with my video game ability.) My dad told me later that he'd heard from his friends that their son thought I was cute. I don't know if that's what ingrained the habit? :-)


TAGGING: Since I think I have one regular reader and she's the one who tagged me, I'll simply invite anyone who hasn't been tagged to complete this meme! :-)

Crush-gushing :-)

I got tagged for a meme, but I'll be filling that out (and writing about the rest of my weekend) later because I just have to gush about the latest update with my CuteGuyFromChurch crush!

Normally, I walk to my church from MySchool. It's about a 20-minute walk in downtown CoolCity, and I enjoy getting the exercise. When the temperatures dropped earlier this month, a kind lady from my church started giving me a ride to the church so I wouldn't have to walk in the below-freezing temperatures. She was in a car accident last week (and is fine, but please pray for her anyway as she deals with the resulting stress and anxiety). So ... she was unable to give me a ride today. I walked to church in the light rain, and when another girl heard that, she offered to give me a ride back.

(After the choir rehearsed, I talked with one of the ladies in choir. Her husband is in seminary with CGFC and she had jokingly offered last Fall to set up CGFC with another girl in choir or me. Today, I asked her if she knew if CGFC was dating anyone, and she said she'd find that out for me and she'd also find out his age and she'd email me about it. :-)

Fast-forward to after the service. I was in the dining hall, enjoying a cookie when I spied CGFC. We ended up exiting the room around the same time, and I asked if he had seen the girl who had offered to give me a ride. She was on a special committee which decorates the church before the service and which takes down decorations afterwards. CGFC took me to where she was. As we were there, the lady (who's going to do me the favor) passed us as she was leaving the church and wished me happy and safe travels. I explained to CGFC that I'm going to Italy next week over Spring Break. He asked where in Italy I was going, and I told him. That launched a lovely conversation about what to do and see, as he had been to all three cities.

When we reached a bit of a lull in the conversation, I asked the girl who'd offered to give me a ride earlier if she would still be able to take me back to school. She had forgotten she'd offered, but she was still willing to give me a ride ... but I'd have to wait awhile longer before she was finished with de-decorating the sanctuary. She said, "Maybe CGFC could take you back?" He assured me he could, and after a few more moments, we were on our way. I wish the drive was not so short! We had a lovely conversation (about our families, my being an RA, and some more about Italy) ... and I do believe I'll remain on Cloud 9 for the rest of the day! :-)

My fear of the gym and technology

I didn't walk until I was about a year and a half old. I suppose I just didn't feel like it. Years later, I received the equivalent of a "C" in first grade gym class because I couldn't skip. I didn't learn how to jump rope until I was 9 years old, the same year that I took off my training wheels. So ... I've always been a little slow when it comes to physical activity.

Compared with most of my peers, I'm also slow with technology. From birth until mid-elementary school, we listened to records in our house. Not cassette tapes (even though I'm a child of the mid-80's). I was hesitant to switch over to CDs from cassette tapes because my entire Mariah Carey album collection was on cassette tapes. (I own them all except for the most recent because I gave that to my sister; I'm not a fan of her newer material.) I didn't get a cell phone until my second semester in college. (I think my overnight stay in the airport before Thanskgiving break might have had something to do with it.) I still use that cell phone today, even though my friends make fun of the "old school" green screen.

I used a regular camera for years, until it broke on the last day of our Ireland trip last summer. My parents agreed that I could order a digital camera for my birthday present the following month. So ... I waited and waited, using disposable cameras as I procrastinated. I finally got a digital camera on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

This weekend, I finally opened the packaging and taught myself how to use the silly thing! This evening, I decided I would share some glimpses into my life: pictures of my room.

^^ This is the top of my dresser and desk. Note the lovely Ireland map, the treasure map floor program announcement from Talk Like a Pirate Day back in September, the TV which cracked when it was dropped back during my move-in freshman year, and other various silly things (Italy for Dummies, and a Little Mermaid pen which BestFriend gave me for Valentine's Day)

These were my grandmother's pillows. ^^^ Her entire apartment had been decorated in red, black, and white with butterflies and oriental designs. I asked my parents to bring the pillows to me when they cleared out her apartment last year. My mom made the cute fleece blanket. :-)

And below is the lovely bulletin board I made for this month. If you can't read it, it says, "A kindhearted woman gains respect. {Proverbs 11:16}" Sweet and not overly Valentine's Day-esque, so that the few single girls on my floor wouldn't feel overwhelmed by the holiday.

Last post for the morning, really

I love my advisor. I emailed Advisor at 9:30ish this evening because I realized I'd somehow overlooked the inclusion of some vital (relevant) experience on my résumé. How could this be? Where should it go in the document?! I've been meeting with Advisor every other week this semester as I'm polishing my job search materials. I attached a copy of my résumé to the email. I expected to hear back tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Instead, I received a reply about an hour later with a detailed response and some additional revisions made on my résumé. I knew already that Advisor is a great person, but the thoughtfulness and consideration shown in this simple action boost Adviser even higher up on my List of Awesome People.

OK, now I really better go to bed. If I sleep, perhaps my next entry will make more sense. :-)

Silly Saga (aka Crushes) Continues

So ... Cute Guy from Church (CGFC) is studying to be a pastor, and today he gave the sermon. I thought I would melt. Like any female, my hormones react to physically attractive men ... but my heart responds to men who love God. After the service, I was in a rush to get back to campus, and I didn't see him until I was leaving. I sweetly put a hand on his arm and thanked him for the sermon as I was walking out. He started to say something, but I didn't catch it because I was in such a hurry. Next Sunday, I will have time to meander ... so I hope that maybe I (and he!) will get to say more ... :-) I think I'll also ask one of the women in choir, whose husband is in seminary with CGFC, if she knows whether or not he's seeing anyone. Last Fall, when I was still dating Ex-Boyfriend, this woman chatted with both another girl in the choir and me and offered to set us up with him ... Maybe I'll remind her of that offer ... what have I got to lose?

Other mini-crush (not as intense, the guy from Bible Study) did not come to this evening's service event ... but I saw him yesterday as he exited/I entered the elevator ... and I was stuffing my face with icecream. Very attractive, I know. :-) I won't even be at Bible Study this week because I'll be home by then! In terms of personality, I think CGFC is a much better match ... but ... the likelihood of anything happening is more realistic with this guy (who is also awesome) ...

Another interesting Sunday ...

This morning, a friend drove me to church (in the city) so that I wouldn't have to walk in the cold. Because she had a meeting before our rehearsal, I brought along some homework to do while I waited. I decided to go into the dining room of the church, and as I entered the room, I smiled and greeted an older homeless man who was sitting at the table. He took this as an invitation to start a conversation.

For the next 30-40 minutes, I had a fascinating talk with this man, Benny. He claims he's 67 but was born in 1945. Because he grew up on a farm (with 13 siblings!), he dropped out of school after 8th Grade. He has fathered 12 children. He quoted Scripture verses as he told me about his faith and his life philosophies.

"Your choices make you who you are. It's choices that bring you where you end up."

I responded, "But things happen that we don't choose. Bad things can happen even if you make good choices."

"But if you make bad choices, like hanging out with the wrong people, being in the wrong places, and doing drugs, you ain't gonna end up with good things. I know. I've done that."

It was a really powerful conversation. As time went on, more homeless people came into the room. When it was time for me to leave, I told my new friend and the man sitting nearest us that I needed to go to choir rehearsal. Benny asked me what my voice part was, and I told him. Then he and the other man asked if I'd sing for them. "Just two words," they begged.

Benny's friend (didn't catch his name) said something about how we've been given our gifts to use for God. He told us that he'd been given the gift of poetry, and Benny assured me this was true. In order to distract them from their request for my singing, I asked about this man's poetry. For the next two minutes, he recited original poems about his faith - humbly describing his brokenness and the amazing grace that is God's love. Wow.
~*~*~*~
This evening, I returned to the MySchool group which distributes food and clothing to the homeless. Because it was so cold outside, we decided to drop off the items at a nearby shelter. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it, but we asked a cop for directions to another local shelter. We got there with our gifts, and we were told that they weren't accepting donations. The nearest shelter which would accept donations was a good 20 minute walk away in far-below-freezing temperatures. It wasn't safe or healthy for us to go that far. We sadly trudged back to MySchool and had to throw out the food we had prepared.

Confessions and Ramblings

Another Friday night and I'm on duty again.

Next Friday, I'll be home ... my one weekend home this entire semester. I'm starting to feel guilty because I'll be home for less than 48 hours ... and I'm wondering if I ought to try to stay longer ... See, I'm driving home after my last class on Thursday (my mom's birthday) so the earliest I'll get home will be around 9pm. Friday night, my parents are taking me out with family friends to see a live performance of a performing group they enjoy. Saturday ... I was planning on staying home until early afternoon and then driving back to school (because I have to be back for church on Sunday) ... but then I found out that a major conference in my field will be held that weekend, an hour from home. This conference would be a great chance for me to network for possible job opportunities for next year. The student rate to attend the conference is only $10, and my younger brother is going to be in that area that weekend for a performing group he's in. I'm already going to miss the following two weeks at my church job because of my traveling over Spring Break. That would be 3 weeks in a row if I extended my stay at home an extra day (3 weeks of not seeing Cute Guy at Church, see last entry). But ... home ... and my only chance to be home in the next 3 months .... I'm just torn right now ...

I saw Bible Study guy tonight ... the one I gave a Valentine to ... :-) Actually, I saw him twice unexpectedly: once in the cafeteria at dinner (but I didn't say hello because I was too shy to go over) and then at an on-campus movie this evening. (I was allowed to go while I was on duty because it was in my building.) We chatted briefly before the movie began; he had come with a group of friends- all girls. Then they left halfway through the movie. I learned later they had gone to a musical event on campus (which I would have loved to attend had I not been on duty).

Not sure why my mind is focused on guys more than usual right now ... I haven't been able to focus on things that matter ... like schoolwork ... or planning for Spring Break in two weeks ... Shouldn't I be more excited about planning a trip to ITALY?! It's not like I have an overwhelming workload or anything ... it's just that my priorities and my time are just not being spent well ... I think a large part of the problem is that I spend too much time online. And ... not student-teaching has allowed me to be more social (i.e. amazing dinner and lots of GirlTime with BestFriend and FormerRoommate last night). The social stuff is not a negative thing. I'm certainly not going that in excess ... but I just need to not waste my own time as much with silly things ... and I ought to be more proactive in doing things on a good deadline ... and practicing ... and going to bed at a decent hour ... and actually waking up and getting ready when I intend to ... Maybe I should come up with some resolutions for myself in regards to all these things ... *will think about it*

Spoony Thoughts

On Monday night, I had a floor program for my girls: Creating cards for Valentine's Day or Singles' Awareness Day! I made several cards ... partly because I enjoyed spending the time with my residents ... and partly because I was putting off writing a paper for one of my classes due the next day. I ended up making a card for the grad student from Bible Study (who also is part of the group that brings food to the homeless- see last entry). I shyly admitted to my girls that it's not that I have a crush on him ... but he is cute and a nice kid too ... so I figured, "Why not?"

Yesterday ~ three people showed up to my first class. The professor didn't show. The grad assistant told us to go home. Then we learned that MySchool classes were cancelled for the rest of the day, due to inclement weather. Yay!

Today ~ classes were cancelled for the ENTIRE DAY. Apparently this is only the third time in 20 years that a full day of classes were cancelled. Instead of doing work for tomorrow's classes (or other work due in the future), I played in the snow, watched a chick flick with some friends, and played DDR with my residents.

Oh, and the Valentine for that guy? Well ... my residents kept harassing me about it, saying, "You better give that to him," and making threats against my life if I didn't follow through. :-) I was debating on whether or not I really should give it to him. He might think I'm totally crazy ... or maybe that I must have a huge crush on him (which I don't) and it'll be awkward every time I see him now ... Then I thought some more. The worst that could happen is that he avoids me. The best that could happen? Maybe I'll actually have a date before I graduate in 3 months. Plus ... I'm only 21 once. Why not?

So ... last night (maybe around midnight?), I taped it to his door with a silly little message inside. Imagine my delight this afternoon when I discovered he had messaged me on Facebook at 2:30am, telling me it was "very thoughtful and the highlight of his evening" !!!!!!!!
~*~*~*~
I haven't forgotten about the cute guy from church ... I'm still harboring hope there too. I became hopelessly giddy (only on the inside; I controlled my outward reaction) after he came over and shook my hand for Passing of the Peace (eye contact, grin ... swoon) ... and when we shared a moment during Communion. (I was next in line to be served, he was serving ... but when I looked up at him, he told me he'd let the other person on our side take care of me while he served the people on the other side of the altar. Probably a good thing because I might not have focused on God as much while receiving Communion had he served me)

No Place Like Home

Every Sunday morning, the choir stands at the church's side entrance while the pastor shares announcements. During the opening hymn, we walk along the side of the church to the rear of the sanctuary before processing up to the altar. As we were standing along the side while the pastor read the news, I detected an unpleasant odor. I glanced over to the side pew to see its sole occupant- a homeless man.

Immediately, my heart went to this man. I glanced furtively at his disheveled appearance: unkempt hair, long fingernails, unshaven ... probably hadn't bathed recently. Because my church is in downtown CoolCity, the homeless frequently come to the church for food and warmth. The man coughed. My hand went to my robe pocket- did I have a cough drop that I could offer this man? Unfortunately no- just a cough drop wrapper and an old tissue. When the pastor announced our opening hymn, the man took out the hymnal and thumbed through it until he came to the correct song.

When the choir began singing, we began our processional, away from this man ... but my thoughts stayed with him. Would anyone approach him for the Passing of the Peace? I considered it, but realized I might hold up the choral anthem following the peace if I were to go all the way over to the other side of the church. Still, I thought about him through the service ...

~*~*~*~

At dinner this evening, one of my friends mentioned something about her plans with CO, an organization on campus which meets on Sunday nights to prepare and distribute food to the homeless downtown. I asked her shyly if I could join her tonight, and I explained how the man at church this morning had really made an impact on me. She assured me it was open to anyone who wanted to help, and I was more than welcome to come.

At 7pm, I headed over to one of the few buildings on campus which I had never entered before. This is where they prepared the food - sandwiches made from the campus cafeteria's leftovers. When I got there, I was pleased to see my friend from dinner ... and some other people I knew: a cute guy from Bible Study and another RA in my building (and later- another girl from my old building). I made one sandwich but then ended up putting sandwiches made by others into plastic baggies. We joked around and chatted as we worked.

Once we had packaged everything and organized it into a cart, we took the food and a few bags of clothing and toiletries and left. We walked downtown and only met three [homeless] men before we ended up dropping off our remaining food and supplies at a shelter where we encountered several more who were homeless. I enjoyed talking with the people, and I was humbled by their humility and the humor they shared. I also liked serving these people alongside the small group of my peers. I felt like I was doing what God wanted me to be doing at that moment.

When we got back to campus, we dropped off the extra supplies and our cart. Then we headed over to the coffee place for a few minutes to warm up and relax. All in all, a well-spent evening.

~*~*~*~

(Now: sleep before I get up early to do all the homework I put off all weekend...)

Laughter = Vitamin C for the soul

When I realized my cold wasn't going to go away within a day, I went to the store on campus and bought two large (16oz) bottles of orange juice. Yesterday morning, before I headed off to my observation at a local school, I tried to open one of the bottles. I struggled and was unsuccessful. So I tried the other bottle. Couldn't get the second one open either.

Lucky for me, I still had some orange juiceboxes from when I student-taught last semester. (I always brought a bag lunch.) Two of those worked fine for breakfast, but I was frustrated that I had been unable to open the bottles!

This afternoon, a brilliant idea struck me. When my craving for orange juice kicked in, I took the bottle over to the other side of the floor where the football players live. Voila! After the one kid laughed at me, he easily opened the bottle for me. Problem solved!

. . .

A few minutes ago, the boys were getting ready to go out. Like usual, they're playing music loudly, yelling back and forth down their hallway, and slamming doors. I innocently went over in my satiny modest (long-sleeved, long pants) pajamas with another bottle of orange juice.

One of the boys saw me and said, "Oh hey Estrella. Are we being too loud?" (They're used to me going over there and asking them to be quiet and more considerate. In fact, last semester, they called me The Undertaker because of the stern looks I gave them. Since then, we've warmed up to one another and one of the kids even leaves sweet notes on the message board on my door.)

I said, "Actually, I was wondering ... can you open this for me?" The other boys were going in and out of their rooms, and some of them greeted me too. They laughed at me in my silly pajamas while the one guy opened the orange juice for me. The other guys hadn't heard me asking him to do that, so they teased me about that too.

"Well ... I heard you guys getting ready ... and I figured I should ask you now since you're not gonna be up and around the floor when I wake up tomorrow," I tried to explain, laughing along with them.

Ah ... the joys of being in college ... hard to believe it's gonna change in less than 3 months!

Open Book

I love blank books. I've loved them ever since I was a little girl. There's something exciting about opening up a brand new book which is waiting to be filled! I wrote my diaries in these beloved blank books until I began my first "online journal" (I'd never heard of the word "blog" until several years after I had actually begun blogging, 2 host websites ago) ... A part of me has the secret desire to write down my blog entries into the remaining blank books I still have at home ... but now I've written several hundred entries over the years ... and that's just not looking like a real possibility anymore.

So ... back to extolling the excellent qualities of blank books ... I always get super-excited when I finally "finish" one ~ in diary form, a travel journal, or a prayer journal. The inspiration for this post? I finally filled out another prayer journal. I always get excited about finishing a prayer journal because I go through periods of being "really good" about maintaining it ... and long periods of "forgetting" to write in it. I began this particular journal almost a year and a half ago ... and it's both strange and amazing at the same time when I think about how much I've experienced since then.

So ... now I get to pick a blank book (I believe I have two with me here at school) for the next prayer journal ... and I need to go shopping within the next 3 weeks for another blank book to serve as my travel journal for Spring Break 2007: Italian Adventure!

Shivering

Yesterday was the first day I'd ever experienced temperatures below freezing. Friends of mine who are currently student-teaching had the day off from school, but I was not so lucky. After bundling up in a long-sleeved dressy casual shirt, the "Winter White" Old Navy fleece I received for Christmas (which earned me several compliments), my huge periwinkle fluffy coat, a scarf, and gloves, I was good to go! Today, it's colder. Student-teaching friends still have no school. Alas, I was again unlucky. (I did enjoy my classes both days ... strong/interesting content/material and passionate/enthusiastic professors ... so ... I can't really complain.)


Other news in the life of Estrella:
*We had a special visitor on our residential floor last night ... a cockroach! We tried attacking the vermin with a vacuum but he got away. It caused quite a bit of commotion.

*There's going to be a lucrative job opening in my home area (about an hour away) for next school year. I intend to apply! :-)

*Still tweaking the resume ... and I have a meeting with the chair of my department tomorrow. Two reference letters are in, a third and fourth are on the way, and I still have two more people to ask for letters. Pretty soon I'll get to officially start my job search! Yay!

a love letter

Dear Residents (on another floor),

I'm not sure which one of you came up with the brilliant idea to smoke an illegal substance in your floor's bathroom on Saturday night. Yes, I know it was cold outside. Maybe you were afraid that the wind and snow would prevent you from lighting up. Maybe the brain cells killed by the illegal substance contained your thinking and reasoning abilities. Perhaps you just didn't want to freeze your charming little hides off. Either way, I did not appreciate that your stupidity caused the smoke alarm to go off in the building, requiring the evacuation of over one thousand people. (Yes, I know that many people chose not to evacuate because of the cold, but that's another matter entirely!)

And ... this happened not only once but TWICE. If you did it just to see your favorite RA's smiling face at 2am and 4am in the morning, please note that I wasn't smiling. Don't let it happen again.

Love,
Estrella

P.S. I blame you for my sniffles and sore throat. Single-digit temperatures and lack of sleep don't work well for me.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Early this morning, BestFriend and I left MySchool's campus and traveled to one of the country's locations of a weather-predicting Groundhog. (I learned this week that the famous one in PA is not the only groundhog who prognosticates; there are actually several around the country.) We enjoyed the festivities, saw/heard the prediction, bought some silly souvenirs, ate a lovely brunch and drove back to campus. :-)

I wasn't able to fall asleep last night until much later than I had hoped, and I ended up getting only 3 hours of sleep. So ... when we arrived back early this afternoon, I planned to take a nap. I knew my time would be limited because I offered to drive one of my residents to the airport around 4pm after she told me she was planning on taking the bus.

I had a terrifying experience trying to catch the bus to the airport my freshman year and ended up spending the night in the airport alone (with only my luggage, a book, and two bottles of Code Red Mountain Dew to keep me company). After waiting for 90 minutes for the bus which never came (7:15-8:45pm), I called a cab. The cab didn't show up until 50 minutes later(9:35pm), and I arrived at the airport 10 minutes after the airline counter closed for the evening(10:10pm) which was 20 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave (10:30pm). I had to pay $400 for a one-way ticket to fly home the following morning at 6:45am. Did I mention that this, Thanksgiving break, was the first chance I'd had to go home my entire first semester of college, which was also the longest I'd ever been away from home? Thus, I couldn't let my resident rely on the bus! :-)

So anyway, today after I returned from the Groundhog Adventure, I had distractions until nearly 2pm, and I had just laid down to take my nap when my phone rang. A friend asked if I'd be willing to cover her boyfriend's piano students' lessons tomorrow afternoon. I happened to be free so I happily accepted the offer. (Yay! Little kids! And ... yay! Spending money!)

Another phone call just woke me up ... and I was informed that one of my residents will be leaving my floor this weekend and moving up to another floor. Back to 22 residents (out of 38 available spaces).

I've heard that if you're really tired, it's better to get a full two hours nap ... or just not nap at all ... so ... I think I've found my excuse to watch the online streaming episode of last night's Grey's Anatomy. :-)

Romantic at Heart

I love, love, love the books of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Elizabeth Gaskell. I love, love, love the music of the Romantic Era and the following Impressionistic Era. Hugo Wolf (my favorite!), Debussy (2nd!), Brahms, Schumann ... all of them make me sigh with delight. I'm not as familiar with visual artists, but from what I have seen, Monet is my favorite. :-)

For Christmas, I got the soundtrack to the newest remake of Pride and Prejudice (the version with Keira Knightley). This music is so soothing and relaxing ... It makes me want to clean my bathtub so that I can take a long, luxurious bath while listening to this music and reading (or re-reading) a lovely novel. I've just listened to the full album twice in a row, and I could keep listening if I weren't leaving for Bible Study in a moment...

(As an aside: the movie itself was beautiful, although I still prefer the 5+ hours BBC version with Colin Firth) :-)

A late night in the music school

Tonight, I was in the music school's computer lab working on a class project. When I removed my headphones, I heard bizarre ritualistic chanting, "Ta ... Ki ... Da ... Ta-Di Ta-Di!" The voices, both male and female, were in unison. After I'd saved my work, I went out to the lounge to investigate the source of the chanting.

Aha! The poor sophomores were practicing their rhythms for their musicianship skills hearing. I had conveniently (and blissfully) forgotten all about the musicianship department's "TaKaDiMi" counting system since the Gordon "Du-ta-de-ta" syllables had taken over our music ed methods courses.

When I walked into the lounge, I burst out laughing at the sight of them- 6 of them reading aloud the rhythms and conducting the meter, while a metronome indignantly kept time. Surprisingly, my laughter did not disrupt their concentration in the slightest. When they had finished the exercise, I laughingly greeted them.

One of the guys said, "Hey Estrella, I want to talk with you for a moment," as he took my arm and led me down the hallway. Two weeks ago, he and I had spent a few hours hanging out in the music school because he was hoping to encounter and talk with a certain girl he likes. He hadn't gotten to talk with her that day and he lamented over that the entire time we were together. Today, he was more successful. They had a coffee date and they now have plans to go out this weekend. I congratulated him.

(I also told him how I'd finally spoken with the Cute Guy From Church on Sunday- the one studying to be a pastor! It was a simple conversation, but I was on Cloud 9 for the rest of the day! My only mistake was that I had to leave with the other choristers for lunch and I didn't think to invite him. *hits head* Maybe next time? :-) Oh ... and he read the Scripture for the service ... with that smooth, expressive voice of his ... and because of his expression while reading, I was led to interpret the passage in a new way, different from when I'd read the same passage a few weeks ago on my own. I hope I get to talk with him again... )

After our secret-sharing session, this friend took me down to the computer lab because he wanted to play something for me. He turned on iTunes and began playing along with a Billy Joel album (on the piano keyboard at the same computer dock)-- he'd figured out and memorized the piano part by listening to the album over and over. He played me several songs ... and I found myself thinking, This is going to be something I will miss next year.

Then as I was getting ready to leave, I saw BestFriend at her locker. She gushed about her wedding veil and tiara (and rushed me again into the computer lab to show me what she had ordered), and we chatted about our plans for this weekend: We're going on an adventure on Friday morning (or should I say, LATE Thursday night) because this may be the last time we're up in this area for the right time of year. Let's just say it involves a four hour roundtrip drive to an undisclosed location for an absurd ritual. :-)