Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Hello Readers,

  Well, I had my first celebrity citing of my time here at Santa Barbara.  Coming to Westmont, I believed that I would be seeing famous people all over the place; after all, we have Ellen DeGeneres living on the street next to us!  This, however, is not the case.  Montecito is full of college students, middle-aged balding men, and moms driving huge shiny suburbans; this is contrary to my expectations of Santa Barbara before coming to Westmont.  Ironically, it wasn't even in SB that I saw him, but after church at a little cafe called Jack's Bagels.  I was standing in line, trying to decide what type of bagel I would like my eggs on, and all of my friends start going crazy.  This went unnoticed by me for a while, as I was very wrapped up in the choice of my breakfast.  Finally, my friend Vicki was kind enough to let me know that Jack Johnson was only a couple feet away from me.  It was really cool seeing him, and even more awesome to come back and let everyone know that I had seen him in person.  haha

The Sweetness of Friendship

Hello Readers,

  I baked the most delicious chocolate chip cookies this past Sunday.  Rich, soft, buttery little treats, they were filled with not only chocolate chips but also butterscotch ones.  Taking a huge bag back to college with me, I planned to ration them out, hiding half of them for myself while letting only a few choice friends share in the joy with me.  My sentiments quickly changed however, when the word got out that I had some in my room.  The amount in the bag quickly dropped, and many people expressed their thanks and praise.

  

  Throughout this process, I realized something; although the cookies would have given me a temporary joy that only chocolate can give, this would have quickly died into feelings of regret.  By giving the cookies away, I was able not only to lift other's people's spirits, but also my own.  There is something irresistibly pleasing about seeing someone else enjoy a treat that you have given them.  I ended up not only letting everyone take my cookies, but even went around with the bag, giving them to random people to lift up their day.  Now, with a bag full of crumbs, I feel satisfied in the fact that everyone that matters to me here at Westmont got a homemade cookie, baked with love and given with joy.

The Ecstasy of Accomplishment

Hello Readers,

  I must first start out this entry with an apology, mostly to you my dear readers.  In the hectic and sometimes stress-fraught schedule which I happen to call my life, I sometimes tend to get behind schedule on things.  This past week was one of those times, when the work keeps on piling up, even though you are speeding your way through Romeo and Juliet while doing your chemistry homework.  This is a period in everyone's life where the left and right lobes of the brain work together, pulling their weight often at the same time.  And, dear readers, it is in this time that I could not tear myself away from all of the piles of homework that clutter up my desk to write you, my beloved friends.  I hope that my apology is warmly taken.

  Now, on to my accomplishment.  It really was quite a feat, and because of this I am extremely proud of myself for the fact that I am finished.  Let me explain myself.  My major American authors class is taught by one of the best profs at Westmont.  This is her last semester here, which is why I am in the class at the moment.  The two hours every TTH that I have spent have been some of the most rich and fulfilling times in my life, the discussion and lectures are absolutely riveting.  At the present we are finishing up Walden, and while this has been a struggle to read, the real test of our knowledge comes with our first big paper.  That's right, 5-7 pages of carefully chosen words, thought-invoking ideas, and tedious editing.  This paper has been said to equal a normal 10-12 page research paper in the amount of work that we should be putting into it.  And guess what......I'm done!  I just finished, and let me tell you, it is a masterpiece.  I have explored every crevice of the chapter on Solitude, teased out the meanings of different words and ideas, dug deep into the rich soil that Thoreau planted his seeds of genius on.  And I'm going to celebrate now by finishing up my other homework, which consists of the whole of Frankenstein and yet another short story by Edgar Allen Poe.  But, before I did this, I decided to write you, my dear readers, because you matter to me.  And I wanted a break from the work.

Busy Bees

Hello Readers,

  As you read this post, you may be thinking to yourselves, "why has there been a considerable gap of time in which there was no posting"?  To answer this question, dear reader, I will describe the frenzied events of the past week, and maybe then you will be able to sympathize with my procrastination.

  Being a sophomore in college, naturally my weeks are filled with an abundance of classes, tests, papers, and reading, which take up a considerable amount of my time.  In addition to these regular appointments, I have other extracurriculars which eat up even more of my time.  One of these was the chapel band recording session that happened on Monday.  We just did the recording for our upcoming CD (I sing on 3 of the songs!), which took from 6 to 11 at night.  I also have several juvenile hall meetings that go on throughout the week, whether is leading the worship at the Bible study that is on Monday nights, praying for the kids on Tuesday, or going there to play games with the kids on Fridays.  On top of all these activities, I have been rushing around trying to get papers written and forms signed for my application to the Oregon Extension, which has been difficult.

  So, you see dear reader, even though I love to keep you updated on the numerous thoughts running through my head, some things take priority.  But, I will let you know, it does feel good to be back on the computer, releasing some of my thoughts for the first time all week.  Right now I am feeling pretty lonely because all of my friends are attending a musical (Into the Woods) that I saw last week, so I am all by myself doing homework.  Kind of sad, but at least I'm getting it done.  I did have a pretty good week, even though it was busy.  I was getting sick last Sunday (sick to stomach, runny nose, cough) but I got over it by Wednesday, which is a true miracle!  yay!  I also have been trying the whole week to get in touch with both Erik and Julie, both of who will not return my calls!  Grrrrrrr.

  In closing, I want to let all of you who actually read my blog that I really do appreciate you checking up on me and taking the time to read my thoughts.  It means a lot to me.

PS, In response to my previous post, entitled Joy by Surprise, I am willing to address several complaints that I have gotten.  I will not revoke the statements that I put out in that blog, though I must point out that they were not directed at any one in particular.  I also must say that I have enjoyed the care packages that I had received so far.  My point was mainly to inspire relatives to be a little more spontaneous (one way would be to send me a care package!).