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.