i have spent so much time by myself in the last week that by the time everyone gets back and classes start i will be starved for contact--and will be a crazy socialite. or at least i'll like going to class because there will be people there.

have i mentioned that no one is around this week?

in case you're ever bored, you can sit around and watch webcams from various places in Scotland....Loch Ness, Buchanan Street in Glasgow, Oban, Edinburgh Castle, etc...
yeah. have fun with that.

has anyone ever had to babysit a printer?
through a 300-page print job?
double sided? (aka 600 pages in real life)
it's not exciting.
this is not a recommended activity.

State of the Union:
cutting taxes but raising spending.
continued redirection of attention from Osama bin Laden and the terrorists to Sadaam Hussein, not the terrorist that attacked america.
a "promise" to help 2 million of Africa's AIDS victims...out of the 40 million that there are...TODAY.
a nice gloss of the "gifts" america gives in food aid and whatnot, conveniently ignoring the fact that "gift" apparently means "we'll give it to you if you do what we want and if you'll pay us back with interest."

state of Decatur, GA:
raining.

well well well. day ... something ... of the internet free experience. so far, so good. I check my email about twice a day, and I've read some really interesting stuff in actual books and magazines from the church so far. i've also cleaned my room and when i get back over there i plan to wash my dishes! can you believe it? i'm not completely out of dishes yet, and i'm washing them. granted, it's close, and i don't have any more bowls, but really--i only have four bowls to begin with. so that's pretty good! once school starts i will maybe use the time to do homework! i've also discovered time for working out, which is great. i feel better already, and hopefully will be able to keep that up. :-)

i'm supposed to write my job description of my work study job, by thursday. does this sound fun? no. any suggestions for slick ways to make my job description sound either/and 1) more fun/interesting than it really is, 2) more work than it really is, or 3) somehow very bizarre? remember that i work in the spirituality office and the chapel. hmm...i really just need one sentence or so that i can slip in somewhere that will make people smile. anything, anything?

who here thinks of the ark (as in Noah's ark) as a "safe place" or a "refuge" for the victims of the world's wickedness? this was a main point in today's sermon in chapel. i think it's a little shady as far as the biblical text goes. i mean, really, God is the victim here and is taking action against the perpetrators of evil--people--and conveniently decides to keep a few. God doesn't hide out in the ark, though! and it wasn't really an option for people to take refuge in the ark--unlike in the church, to which the preacher likened the ark--because it was by invite only that people got in. in the church, though, people may choose to go there for a safe place. hmm. anyway, the sermon was quite good, but the best part was when she made the point that you can't stay in the safe place--you have to go back out into creation and work for God's kingdom in the world, you can't just stay in your safe place--in your church, in your Montreat, in your Iona Abbey....yeah. that was good. but the church as ark, i'm not so sure about. whatever. i'm done now...and i'm going back to work on my job description and my dishes. maybe i'll even read a book or something this afternoon--now that all my boxes from home are here, i have classics available for rereading! woohoo! i also have new books from Christmas to read, and i could always write letters or something to people who have written me...................
yeah.
i wish it was pub quiz night, but it isn't. sad. there's no 24 on tonight either. grr. what will i do with my evening?
ideas freely accepted. :-)

the internet in my room is now gone. hopefully i will become a better steward of my time if i have to go somewhere else to check my email! it also means i have an "extra" 21.95 a month that isn't going to MSN. so...yeah. bye bye internet access! Hello 24 hour computer lab!

so i am home..
it was a long drive, but we did it FAST and without stopping, really. thankfully.
I have much unpacking and cleaning up to do.
and much relaxing.
and maybe, just maybe, i'll write my paper for this class NOW so that I don't forget all about it when it comes due in three weeks.
or maybe i'll read the new edition of cosmo, delivered right to my mailbox.

we'll see....
heheheheh.

btw: mapquest maps show this place as "Louisville Presbyterian Cemetary". hehehe!
seminary...yes. not a place for dead people.
or is it?
huh.

In Louisville. Nice town...we found our way to church this morning (only just barely..) and we went to lunch afterward--at the same restaurant where the pastor went out to lunch. can you believe this? he bought our lunch. how bizarre is that? we were so shocked....
anyway, not really doing anything, but getting ready to play a rousing round of Bible Trivial Pursuit.
good times.
see y'all later...

Leaving for Louisville in 40 minutes. must finish packing, etc...

if you don't hear from me ever again, check I-65.
hehehe.
or send me an email--i maybe just don't have time to blog this week because of a full schedule. after all, this five days is an entire semester credit hour.

this is the most brilliant plan/scheme EVER.

happy weekend all. we're going on a road trip.

good news:
back in Atlanta, safely. nice flights, smooth, sunny, and early. :-)

bad news:
Special Session of general assembly will be called because crazy man got the signatures he needed. UGH.

people who need your prayers and good vibes:
Fourth Church group travelling to Honduras, leaving at 6am Central Time on Thursday for ten days of mission, work, etc...

i need to pick up all my crap off the floor now. my method of unpacking is this:
step 1. dump everything from suitcases onto floor.
step 2. pick it all up--otherwise you will be annoyed at all the crap on the floor.
step 3. there is no step three. everything's put away already.

time to get on step 2 now...

going to Seattle. spending the night. going to the airport. flying back to atlanta. see y'all then. ta.

why am i not blogging more?
top two reasons.

2. Nothing even remotely interesting has happened here since i arrived. (i leave on tuesday, so don't worry, it will get better.)


1. teenage brother. enough said.

ta.

heheehehhe
personal ads from a snobby intellectual british paper. this might have to go on the links--it is too amusing to ignore.
ha!

i must be crazy.

who ever decided that a good place for a retirement home was next door to (overlooking, even!) a cemetary?

that cannot be a good idea.

and what, exactly, is the "suburban cook county tuberculosis sanitarium"??

it's near the end of the train line, and is next door to the Park Forest Public Library.

again, i say, i must be crazy.

tomorrow i begin the testing process that will make my psycho.

oh, wait, it's supposed to evaluate whether i'm already psycho.

or maybe it's supposed to determine if i'm psycho enough to be allowed into the ministry.

in any case, it's three days, 6 hours a day (not including a one hour lunch break...so it's really 7 hours). "psychological evaluation" is what it should be called. however, at the place where the presbytery of chicago sends us, it's called "candidate assessment". which essentially means that before we can become candidates, they determine how crazy we are and then use that information to decide whether we are worthy to be considered for the ministry. yippee.

so, the new poll is going up and is very week-oriented. you don't have a lot of time to vote, so hurry up. after this is all over i'll be putting up a new poll based on suggestions from y'all. which means that y'all need to give suggestions.

go.

i'm going to bed so they don't call me crazy when really i'm just sleep deprived.

ok, people, i need a new poll. give me some ideas.
thank you in advance. this will be retracted (along with any love you've received from me) if ideas are not presented.
go.
:-)

good times.

much reading to be done. laundry to retrieve. trading spaces to watch. friends to play with.

by the way, i deserved that wispa bar. i worked out hard today. and yesterday. so there.

the view is in fact miles better. :-)

the gym is calling my name...but so is that chocolate bar over there. mmm..wispa...i love them...
i must get my priorities in order.

clearly the Wispa bar first. after all, one needs energy to workout, right?

yes...

mmmmm....wispa....

to the tune of "Singing in the Rain"

I'm Shopping in the snow, just shopping in the snow....
bare shelves at FAO, oh wouldn't you know...
the store, it's closing, oh me, oh my,
must go to Borders, and it's snowing outside...

yes. i did much shopping today. FAO is closing and everything is 75% off! very cute things, purchased by me. then a trek to a few other stores, all in that obnoxious snow-globe type snow. you know, little balls, falling from the sky. UGH. thankfully, by the time i was ready to walk home it had stopped...but i'd already walked a good mile or so in the snow between stores. good times!

right, have to pack now...moving to a different apartment for the next week. when you next hear from me, the view will be better. ta!

happy new year!

just a side note, there is an extremely distressing banging sound coming from near one of the radiators...it is even shaking the floors in other rooms (close ones, but other rooms nonetheless) of the apartment. should i be concerned? is the place going to blow up? i hope not, because i have a feeling that would disturb my sleep time...

which is what it now is. goodnight...and may the new year be full of blessings. :-)

peace