Between September and November

With October making its grand entrance into 2008 tomorrow, I feel like my dear old friend Fall is finally here. The last couple of weeks we have had such hot weather (or at least for my taste) and I was beginning to feel down that I might miss the brisk air that usually accompanies this season. But my little heart did flips in its four-chambered form when I felt the breeze whip my hair around as I walked to class feeling quite light indeed.

October is my favoritest month (yes, favoritest!) of all time and I just know it is going to be magical this year. I was bored at work today when I should have been studying for a huge midterm next week, so of course I spent my time wisely by reading a book and journaling. I made a list of Octoberish things I'm looking forward to:

1. Changing colors of leaves-- a beautiful array of red, orange and golden tones
2. Honey crisp apples (Seriously the BEST type of apple around-- expensive, yes-- but sooooo much worth it and you can only find them in stores in October; they get kind of sparse the rest of the year.)
3. Fall Break
4. Carving pumpkins
5. Apple Festival
6. Candy corn
7. HALLOWEEN!
8. Frosted butterscotch cookies
9. Hot apple cider
10. Gary's Berries and corn maze
11. Ghost stories
12. Haunted house tour
13. Cemeteries
14. Sweaters, scarves and hats
15. The Lumberjacket
16. Full moon
17. Vampire and werewolf tales


P.S. I still do not have an idea for what I'm going to be for Halloween! I can't believe it. One kinda crazy idea came to mind last night, but I'm not sure if this one will work...

Oh, and I also wrote my very first vampire poem at work, but it needs a little tweaking, so maybe once Halloween comes a little closer I will post it. ;)

Make haste, make haste!

Today I saw a line of girls riding their scooters at a fast pace. However, one girl was not so fortunate as to own this scooter and was forced to run alongside the other girls. I laughed out loud. I wish I had gotten a picture of this.

Kellis explains it all

I have this professor for Human Impact on the Environment and his name is Kellis Bayless, but on the first day of class he told us that he prefers that his students call him Kellis-- first name basis already.

However, Kellis and I go way back. I took Intro. to Bio. from him my sophomore year and although I'm definitely not a science person, I enjoyed the class mainly because of Kellis's little quirks. Let me expand on this a bit-- let's have an interjectory "Kellis' little quirks"-- the KLQ's, if you will:

1. When Kellis gets going and really feels passionate about something he's talking about in his lecture, he blinks excessively to the point where he can barely keep his eyes open.

2. I can't believe I didn't start with this one and I'm not sure if you can tell by the oh-so-sneaky picture I took on my cell phone on my desk, but! Kellis has long, straight hair that hangs down his back-- most of the time, he keeps it contained in a pony, but some days he will leave it down and it's glorious (as all hair must be). He hides his stickly frame, cloaking himself in Mom jeans, tennis shoes, and the common hippie's tye-dye t-shirt or button down shirt, always in earth tones. Kellis doesn't like to be flashy.

3. I've saved the best KLQ for last: the words that come out of his mouth. Sometimes the things he says make me furrow my brow and mentally ask, "WTH?" Some of the most random things or nerdiest things I've heard, I've heard from Kellis. And of course, wanting to forever remember them, they instantly become quotes, written in the margins of my notes.

I will be posting an occasional entry that I will call "Kellis Quotes" in which you will get to live vicariously through my experiences with the Bayless. I'll leave you with this little treasure:

[stopping mid-lecture and plopping himself down in his chair] "Maybe I'm foolish... But I like to eat pudding. I really like chocolate pudding. You can buy those single serving pudding cups, but those really piss me off because you can eat them in like two bites. I've stopped buying and eating pudding because I don't have an oven."

Tonight:

I taught my mom how to text. Prepare, world, efficiency has just gone to a new level. Those baby boomers never stop, do they? Their technichal knowledge just keeps growing exponentially!

Want some... apple?

The Apple Festival is next Sunday in the Old Prairie Town at Ward Meade Park.

"Demonstrations of pioneer skills, blacksmiths, quilters, musicians, craftsmen, and culinary artists make this a must-see fall activity. Everything from Bierocks to Barbeque - from sarsaparilla to Green Rivers, and, of course, apples - in caramel, in pie, in fritters, in cider!"
-City of Topeka website

It sounds like a cheese ball 'o' fun! I think it would be fun to go and take pictures of the pioneer people and of course, sample the FRITTERS! Who wants to go with me?

Friday night's alright for fighting

I finally went to see the doctor today and whatever's going on with my body might be two things:

1. I have a really nasty cold/flu

or

2. I might have walking pneumonia.

At this point, I have had a fever and night sweats every night this week since Monday, where I have only gotten a few hours of sleep per night. Last night I even made it a point to drink lots of Benadryl and go to sleep early. I lay in my bed for HOURS and I was so hot, wearing only a t-shirt and shorts at that. I took my temperature and it was 100.5. Ahhhh, all I want to do is SLEEP and I can't! That is probably the most frustrating thing of all... I finally cried about it today. What an awful week.

The doctor said that if the fever and cough (which began today) continue, I may have walking pneumonia. And she did give me a prescription for an antibiotic if that's the case. I'm sick of taking antibiotics! And because of my lack of appetite, I've lost three pounds just since Monday.

I got some DVD's from the library to keep me company tonight, so it can't be all bad. AND I found a book that I LOVED reading when I was 10.

Being sick = sucky

When you're sick, who else do you have to complain to besides your blog? Here's my pity party: (you can totally ignore this post if you want, but I figured since it's my blog no one's making you read this)

I didn't get to celebrate the first official day of Fall because I was lying in my bed hoping I wouldn't puke. When I got up yesterday morning at 7, I had planned to go to the rec and workout but I knew that was not going to happen. I just felt achy and like I might faint. I had a test in Spanish so I knew that I should just go and get it over with so I wouldn't have to make it up later. After my classes I was just walking back to my car and just felt really really hot. Got back home and lay down for a while, drinking tea and popping an Advil into my mouth like it was candy. I thought it even tasted sweet.

I had a paper due today, which I'd written about half of it so I stayed up for a while trying to get it done so that I could turn it in today. I went to bed around midnight shivering, even though I had two sweatshirts on, long pants, socks, and two blankets hugging my body. I lay in bed for hours and hours and never went to sleep. I think I had slept a little though because my eyes were super red. I stumbled up the stairs, hoping I could go to school today (really, who hopes that?) and when I was explaining to my mom how I felt I was overcome with an intense feeling that I might lose all the crackers I had ingested yesterday. And then I was overwhelmed with an intense heat, coursing through my body and I could not stop sweating.

Okay, I'll stop with the details. Today I've done nothing but sleep and watch movies and I still feel awful. I'm hoping I can get to sleep tonight and shake this nasty bug.

I was looking at facebook just now and it seems like a lot of people are sick, too. So beware, drink your orange juice and sleep! This is a nasty flu.

More Yearbook Fright

A journey through the decades... Elena--the time traveler:

1966

1976

1984

1994

El Hombre Del Cielo

Here's a little factoid (Is that not the funnest word? Yes, I said funnest. But how do you distinguish between a fact versus a factoid?) about myself that you may not have known: I am a doodler. This comes in various forms, whether it's in class notes-- namely, Human Impact on the Environment--, my journal, sketchpad, etc. I love to trace lines, create interesting logos, or just sketch the infinite possiblities of the cosmos:

Preservation

On Sunday I went out to this abandoned house that I'd gone to several times before and when I came back this last time I found it burned to the ground, with of course, the chimney being the only thing left standing. I discovered this house two years ago on my way back from Salina and it's been the source of inspiration for many a photo shoot. I even went here for a Drawing project for one of my classes, where we had to place a pair of eyes we had drawn into an unlikely environment.

For my birthday last summer, we sisters put together a LOST scavenger hunt around town and I found one of the clues at this house on the top shelf in a closet. So awesome. Here's the before and after shot of the house:

It just makes me sad when beautiful buildings are burned down or destroyed. People just don't make the effort to preserve beauty. However, I still think there can be beauty in the ashes.

Beautiful

Call me crazy... (or maybe you already have)

But I really enjoy coming into work! Maybe because it's that I get to sit at a desk after class for hours, staring at art or working on homework. For those of you who don't know, I work at the art museum on campus. Delight!

I work on the second floor galley most of the time and it's prrrrretty quiet up there, so I've really taken to bringing my laptop with me, listening to my iTunes while I work on homework. I'm a productive little worker bee. I am Jack's hard work ethic. I am Jack's developing brain. I am Jack's sarcastic comment. Five points for you if you can reference that movie!

Right now I can't stop listening to the new Joshua Radin album.

The only bad thing is that I cannot get a good signal up there for wireless, but maybe that IS a good thing! Anyhow, I had Casino Night of season two of the Office on my iTunes so I totally watched that. I had to pause it and put the sound on mute when I heard the elevator ding, though. Sooooo sneaky!

Upstairs, my desk is across from a wall of three Salvador Dali prints. I stare at them a LOT.

I don't get to meet a lot of the other people who work there, since it's a pretty solitary job, but I mainly converse with Jan. She's in her mid-forties and is the official receptionist. I occassionally see Carol who's the Curator and she works downstairs, but sometimes I see her pass by in her dress-length apron. Carol seems to enjoy her job.

Dream a little dream

When you're at the library studying, what else can you do but think about other things you'd rather be doing? Lord willing, a year from today I will be here:


Next fall, I am planning to study abroad in where else but Italy!! I have always said I wanted to go here and I think college is the perfect time to go, because I don't just want to go for a couple weeks. I want to live there and experience life with Italians in the Tuscan countryside. I want to see firsthand just what I have been studying for the past two years in my textbooks: Michelangelo's David, Brunelleschi's Dome, Hellenistic sculptures, Raphael's School of Athens... I could go on and on. I would get to experience Christmas in Florence!

I've got a cousin who lives in Germany with her husband, so I could probably even stay with her over the holidays and go gallavanting around Europe! My little heart is beating wildly with excitement!!

Update 2

Thank you all so much for praying for my dad and my family! He got to come home from the hospital on Thursday night and we're still waiting to hear back from the doc about his test results. My dad says he feels pretty much fully recovered, but he thinks he may never remember what happened in those few hours when he was unconscious. He's doing really great. Actually, he's been a lot more affectionate and expressive and it's pretty precious. I'm just glad to have him home again-- I was pretty scared for a few days that he wouldn't come out of this, but he seems to be doing loads better.

Update

It is amazing how much your life can change in just a couple of days.

On Tuesday afternoon, my dad was admitted to the hospital. He had been at a job site and suddenly he was sitting in his truck, calling my mom-- totally unaware of what he had previously been doing. He just knew something was wrong. My mom took him to the hospital and he's been there ever since.

The doctors have done all kinds of tests and they don't know what's going on with him. They do know now that he didn't fall or hit his head or anything like that-- they think it's something in his brain. A neurologist came and saw him this morning--Dr. Swanson, actually-- and he thinks my dad might have had a seizure. Given that my dad doesn't have any kind of medical history with something like that, it's seems kinda impossible, but the doctor said that happens sometimes.

I was at the hospital for about six hours yesterday, visiting my dad and observing him and he seems like a totally different person. He remembers things that happened before Tuesday, but nothing really seems to stick afterwards. He remembered that I visited him yesterday, but he doesn't remember me crying and holding his hand. He's been saying really strange things, too-- almost like he's more vulnerable and all guards are down.

It's been a really hard last couple of days for my family and I, just not even knowing what's going on with my dad. He never gets sick and he's never been like this before-- he's the strong one.

But I really think he's going to be okay. Part of me fears that he's not going to come out of this fog, but I know fear is not from the Lord. I know that God is using this for a purpose and I'm trusting in that. I'm choosing to trust in Jesus with this. My dad might even be able to come home today.

Free write-- today's details

Ammonia nitrogen source. Phone call from Minnesota. Nutella toast. Hot Coffee. Fall. Hail. Rain. Brisk. Wonderful. Jacket. Yarmouth Clam Festival t-shirt. Tennis shoes. Gold hoop earrings. Hot Pink. Early morning confidante. Save the spotted owl. Tree-hugging Rainbow. Trust. Naive. El Cortometraje. 79.5. Failed return. Eric from California. Just say no. Day of the chocolate chip cookies. Clark Kent. H20. 64 oz. Small bladder. Fountain reflections. Vampires. Summer's farewell. New. Changes. Attendant. Mirror images. High heels. Surveillance. Locked doors. Wedding fudge. Sunset. Procrastination. Princess tales. The Sisterhood. Growth. Opportunities. Goals. Evening phone call. Driving. Paper writing. Procrastination. Reward system.

Rachel's Wedding

So here are just a few pics from the elegant event, perhaps more to come later-- or just check out my Facebook in a couple days for more. ;) Melissa and Hannah did all our hair 1940's style and a girl came from Estee Lauder to do our makeup. I must say she did an excellent job. We felt like ladies truly out of another era.

We danced the night away at the reception with some swinging action, including being flipped more than one time. Good thing I wore shorts underneath my very flowy dress! The reception was a blast!

Mel and me

Mel, Spiro and Tricia dancin' it up Newsies-style, post-reception.

Word Musings

I've been reading in Jeremiah lately, and it really is a fascinating book. He was the prophet who continually warned the people of Judah about their sin-- that they would eventually come to destruction if they continued to ignore the Lord.

One verse in particular stuck out to me the other day, and I can't stop pondering it, even now:

"Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
-Jeremiah 29:13, Amplified Version

How often do I choose to not seek out the Lord? And what exactly does it mean to seek Him? To seek... to look for without failing until you find what you are looking for. Yes. And that's who I want to be-- a seeker!

I want to be a woman who goes after the Lord, because He is the only thing, only being in the whole world that's ever going to mean anything! Everything else just does not satisfy like my beautiful Jesus.

Search my heart and know me, Father. Help me to be an intentional seeker of Truth...

Autumn Allegory

Whoa. The past couple of days here have been absolutely lovely. When I got to work yesterday, I looked like a drowned rat, because I walked across campus in the wet rain and got completely soaked. And after I completed my shift, I walked outside and it felt like FALL. I quickly went home to change into my red hooded sweater, jeans, and my favorite scarf.

The brisk air reminded me of my dear old friend-- Autumn. Autumn and I go way back and I can always rely on her for a grand old time. She brings a huge smile to my face when I think of her vibrant reds, yellows, and gorgeous oranges that permeate my surroundings. I breathe her in and instantly I feel happy! Visions of mystery and Hallows Eve dance in my head. I can almost taste the memory of a hot cup of caramel apple cider.

Yes, Autumn is a good friend. She moves away too quickly and then I eagerly anticipate her arrival the following year. With her, I always feel hopeful. I believe things can change when she's around. I look at her rosy red cheeks, throw back my head and let out a squeal of utter delight!

Snow Pond

This collage-creating business is FUN!

This next set is from Tricia and I's roadtrip to Maine. This collection of photos is from Snow Pond, the family camp by the lake in Oakland. We spent two nights and three days here and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was truly restful. The following excerpt is taken my from my real journal during these days spent at Snow Pond:

"...Words cannot describe how lobster tastes. It is full and meaty, yet so tender. This was my first lobster taste and it was perfection. After lunch, we swam out to the anchored dock, where I laid out for a couple hours, sunbathing and reading the Great Gatsby. How perfect, I thought, to be reading Great Gatsby in this place-- how sad it must have been for Gatsby to have held onto a dream for so long and only to realize he had let his past consume him. I hope I never have to face that-- or even if I have been guilty of letting the past rule my life, I want to start in a new direction..."

The addiction remains strong...

So, as I metioned before, I am terribly addicted to Smallville right now. It has gotten so bad that I got up early today to write a paper for English due today. I didn't work on it last night, because I WAS WATCHING SMALLVILLE! And I hurried to finish my paper, so that I could watch part of an episode before I left for school. Thus has been the case so often these days!

Here's the sad part: Right now I am waiting around on campus because I got out of class at 3, and I work at 4. So it's not exactly enough time to come home, because it would just be a waste driving the seven minutes it takes to get to my house and then leaving twenty minutes before 4, just so I can scour the parking lots attempting to find a spot. This morning I looked for a spot for twenty minutes, before I resorted to stalking someone to their car just so I could park there! So anyhow, I am stuck on campus and I want to watch Smallville right now. I'm thinking about how busy this week is, and that tonight I will probably be only to finish the episode I started this morning. Tomorrow I have a Spanish test I have not even started studying for.

My addiction is so bad! I'm not sure how to cure it, and a huge part of me doesn't want to. Why is it that I love having little obsessions? Does it just give me a little something to look forward to?

Here's my question(s) to you. What are your obsessions? Why are you obsessed? What started these addictions?

My Hair Journey

I started coloring my hair last spring with just some simple caramel highlights from my natural mousy brown/sometimes looks light brown/with reddish warm tones. Those warm tones in my hair really throw things off a bit. Since then, I have done the following in the last year: blonde highlights, auburn red, dark brown, light brown and then finally to my hair state as of yesterday:

I like to call it bronde-- because it doesn't quite look blonde, but I'm not sure if you could call it blonde. However, when I got my new driver's license back, I was amazed that my hair actually looked blonde! It's been fun having a little lighter, I must say. I can't remember the last time it's been that light-- except may since I was three.

My hair reacts pretty strongly to hair dye. It always turns out darker than it looks in the picture on the box. But after about a week or so, it almost aways reverts back to those warm tones and gets lighter. I'm not sure how to fix this, but I must say it's quite fun getting to change it up a bit now and then. :) Here's the color I dyed it last night-- Brazilian brown. Even though I know it will soon lighten, I'm loving the dark cherry tone!

Katie and I saw a movie poster for Twilight and I was standing in front of it and she shouts, "You're Bella!!" I think I can live with being called that, if I get to be next to Edward. *Sigh*

Blueberry Paradise

I have tried to make collages on Picasa so many times, and I never really knew what I was doing, so I finally admitted I needed help and looked it up. Turns out, it's relatively easy! So here's my first collage, in honor of a blueberry-filled delightful afternoon in Maine.

Tricia and I were in this cute little coastal town (I think we called all of them that, hehe) called Belgrade. We ate lunch at a little cafe and we were talking to the owner before we left. She told us about this spot down the road (actually quite a bit down the road-- we weren't sure if it actually existed) where wild blueberries grew. We explored Bluberry Hill, picking blueberries, feeling like characters in a Jane Austen novel in our sundresses.

As we were heading back to Snow Pond, taking the back roads, Tricia spotted an old cemetary off the side of the road. Glowing in the sunlight, it was situated on top of a hill and spoke of old tales of another age.