habitat habits

funny how habits can persist despite location.

i went to throw a napkin away, so i walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard beneath the sink to toss it in the trash can. nope, not there. i looked, feeling very perplexed and thinking to myself, who moved it? i found the trash can in the corner across the kitchen, still wondering why i had this feeling like it wasn't in its usual place. well, that would be because at my house in michigan, we believe in the dutch trash storage place beneath the sink.

even the operation of the microwave got me--why isn't it resuming when I close the door? ah, again, different. tap water? different. but it's been hilarious playing with my puppies and seeing the ol' sights of bellflower.

and how about those CBS commercials/PSAs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkuI4oU250s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4jbmAJ44Po

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fun9s4lsPI8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjLsQ4r5mbc&feature=related

don't think that's what i want for christmas (or want to give for christmas).

christmas will be here and gone before you know it--i hope all is well with all.

speakerphone.

exams are done, and even better, the semester is done. finally. it was a long and tedious semester. with no homework assignments hanging over my head, it's time to restart my mind and enjoy the little bit of nothingness ahead of me.

i'm at the airport now. i always have a hard time leaving GR, even if it's just for 10 days like the trip i am headed on now. nonetheless, i love airports. more so than that, i love people in airports. for example, the lady flight attendant sitting 30 yards away for me. She finds it socially acceptable to check her messages and make phone calls on speaker phone. is it that hard to hold a phone to your ear? "to hear your messages, press 1." well, "to have your face punched in, keep using speakerphone." it just doesn't make any sense. seriously--speakerphone; for the past 30 minutes--and for the past 20, it's just been her checking flights through an automated system. i'm not exaggerating.

at the grand rapids airport, it doesn't take long at all to get through security... especially when you have a flight at a B gate, as i did today. i was the only one around as i went through security. the guy helping at the xray pulled out my guitar (that i'm bringing it home for my mother) and began to play it. he then told me about his gig last night. he's 76 years old. true story.

one more... there's this guy who's sitting across from me. he's reading--pretty normal. but instead of his eye's moving to scan the text, he moves his entire head back and forth. you know when a cartoon character eats corn like a typewriter? ya, like that, only it's a human reading. i can almost hear the "ding" before he heads back to the beginning of the next line. and by the looks of it, he's a fast reader.

i'd like to give a little shout-out to someone who represents 1/3rd of my readership. roomie--there is a lady wearing a bedazzled space boot. no joke. you should try that.

Catching On

I see that people are catching on. In honor of that, I will let y'all in on the studying adventures as of late.

Last night, Lindsey and I went to a coffee shop in GR called Wired. With lots of studying/cramming to do, Wired had what we needed: food and caffeine, available 24-hours a day. We ended up staying there until 2AM... and to let you in on the experience, here are a series of text messages that I received from Lindsey (who was sitting 10 feet away, supposedly studying) describing the other people in the coffee shop at such an absurd hour:

"I think those three women are wiccans... the black clothes and hats and being up freakishly late. Mostly i think it's the hats."

"And why in the world is this couple awake? My theory... he wanted to get freaky and she said 'no! lets go do something.' That's how it always happens."

"The guy by the window had to get some fresh air. The mold from his mom's basement is really affecting his respiratory system."

"And the lone man in the middle of the shop... he is attempting to complete an assignment for an online class. He hopes that if he can get a better job, he can start wearing some age-appropriate shoes."

For the record, Lindsey--who is very sensitive to caffeine--was on her second caffeinated drink of the day. And of course, I had to do my best to keep my chuckles to myself. Needless to say, studying was accomplished to a certain extent and the exams we were studying for are done and over with.

No Cups.

One of the reasons i stopped posting was the overwhelming feeling that I had nothing to talk about--i got sick of writing about what was going on. It didn't feel like anything too exciting was happening, therefore there wasn't anything to exciting to write about.

But this new internship that I've been a part of for a few weeks now--this is an exciting experience. I've been thrown in to the cubicle culture. As an intern at Grand Rapids Magazine, I go in twice a week. Cubicles and business dress are the newest things for me. It might just be me, but I think the cubicle walls are extraordinarily high. I have no idea who my neighbors are. I know they have voices... voices and fingers, cause i hear their fingers typing away--in fact, I made a game out of trying to guess male or female based on what the typing sounded like. I still haven't seen my neighbors, so i can't say how accurate I am. Other than voices and fingers, my neighbors have no other known characteristics; maybe they have faces? Bodies?
And it's so quiet on the main floor that I'm afraid to move let alone sniffle or cough. This mentality made my having hiccups last tuesday rather stressful.
I tend to stay in my cubicle--but in my second week, I made the trek to the water cooler. What a proud moment as I turned the corner and had the cooler in sight--though it was rather anticlimactic because nobody was standing around the cooler chatting up some company gossip. Even more disappointing was the realization that there were no cups; back to the cubicle. As pointless as the trip was, it was still a thrill. Next time I'll bring a cup with me.

it's baaaaack.

if you are reading this, you have probably figured out the hint that i am getting back on blogger.

i don't know why i decided to take such a long break from it. part of it was the fact that i wanted to actually write stuff down rather than type it out. another part of it was that i was just plain old lazy.

either way, i apologize for those of you who actually read my stuff. i've missed it a bit, and hopefully i can get back in the swing of things pretty quickly. let us begin with a little post.

blizzard conditions outside right now. all this snow is great--i made my first snow man, though it was more of a snow woman, what with the snow bosoms and all. classes are finally done for me, and i am preparing for exam week. actually, in all honesty, i am taking a few days off--exam preparation will start on saturday or sunday.
living off-campus is great. all grown-up, doing chores, paying bills, fixing stuff... that's life right now. i'm in one of those spots again where i can't help but grin when i realize where i am. for that, i am thankful.
a little more leisure will be mixed in to that once interim rolls around. ice skating and sledding are top on my list of fun stuff to do that i've never really done or haven't done so in a while.

i hope all is well with everyone.

the bike's big day out

though i risk being cliche, i feel it is acceptable to start this way:

one old 1974 schwinn twinn deluxe tandem bicycle in need of repair, found on craigslist: $100
two bolts, two washers: $3
a day of cleaning and spiffing up: 4 hours
seat clamp, brake assembly, pedal synchronization, and full tune-up: $50
the bike's first big ride to reed's lake: absolutely priceless

this past friday, May 1, my schwinn twinn deluxe tandem bicycle, built in 1974, came home from the bike shop, ready to ride. a few short trips around the dorm with a few of my friends showed just how awesome this bike was going to be. but saturday was the big day--we were all going to ride our bikes around reed's lake and to jersey junction ice cream, and my roomie and i were going to ride in style on the tandem.

i tell ya, the moment we get this bike going, the fun begins. getting the bike going takes a bit of time and communication--that was a big reason that once we started, we really didn't like to stop... so we would slow down and risk falling over in order to not stop. the potholes (which, some of you may know) are numerous this time of year... those weren't too kind on our ride. this bike is great, though. with me in the front seat and my roommate in the back, it was non-stop laughter all the way. ya, we may have needed a quarter-mile warning for when we would need to stop in order to be able to brake in time, but that just added to the fun. we had a hard time keeping up with the other road bikes, but one of our friends, andrew, stayed back and enjoyed the scenic ride with us. it was a BEAUTIFUL day... perfect for a bike ride... perfect for a tandem bike ride.
we started to feel like pros on this bike (who is yet to be named), so we dared to change gears (yes! this thing has multiple gears!). that's where trouble kicked in. i reached in front of me to try changing to a lower gear... that's when a series of loud noises, me laughing and screaming, my roommate screaming and laughing and then... "stop!" andrew was telling us to stop... so we started braking, and then a minute later finally came to a stop. we looked down, and there lay the bike chain, dangling from the gear. a link had snapped, and our chain was broken!!!
our first big ride, and we're going to have to walk the bike? no way! so we sat there and checked out the damage. it was nothing we could fix. my cycling-friend carolyn came back to where we were to see what was up. so the four of us sat there, tinkering with the chain. luckily we still had the link, it just was impossible to connect... until...
a silver honda cr-v pulled up next to us to see what was up. turns out, he lived right down the street and was this cycling guy... he had tools that could fix it! so he ran home to get his stuff, came back, and put our chain back together!!!
it was amazing. so after a little break, we hopped on the blue tandem once again to finish up the ride to jersey junction.
the ride went smoothly (figuratively speaking... remember, potholes) and we got a lot of fun looks and smiles... especially because my roomie realized there was no need for her hands to be on the handle bars... hence she could do many things while we biked along--put a sweatshirt on, wave to people, eat ice cream, take pictures, fly, sing... yes, many possiblities as the back rider of a tandem.

so, yes... good times on the bike... and i'm looking forward to many more... many many more.

dorm banquet and fiesta

yo
check out the new pics!!! just click on the pics/link to the left and it should take you to the new gallery.
these are pics from our dorm banquet and a little fiesta we had the next day (some friends and i made burritos).
i hope all is well!

surprise!

whoa... a new post???
what ever could the special occasion be???

nothing. i just finally got my lazy facebook distracted self over to blogger, signed in, and writing a new post.

i am at the GRR airport currently. i love airports.

so what's been going on lately?
honestly, a whole lot of craziness has been going on. before spring break, which was this past week, there were papers and tests galore, stress up the wazoo, and that familiar frustrating phrase was back again: "what now?"
what do i mean by "what now?" it's the phrase that pops up when i find myself uselessly unmotivated with school work, curious about the future, and down-right ready to explode. i think everyone was ready to explode before spring break... which is why i welcomed spring break with open arms. it helped that i was going to sunny california for spring break though.
while i was in california, i received many questions, and i feel like that may have been a direct result from my lack of posting lately... so here it goes... i am going to answer the top 5 questions i heard this past week.
1) how's the weather in michigan? hardy har har... you want me to say cold and gloomy, don't ya? while that may be the case currently, the week before sprung forth a few glorious spring days.... tshirts, shorts, flip-flops and frisbees... hopefully we'll be seeing more of that in the next couple of weeks.
2) how are your classes? argumentation class sucks (cause the professor is just not the teaching type... he's the knowing type. he knows everything. he just can't pass it on to his class.) intercultural communications (an anthropology type class) and rhetorical criticism are my two favorite classes... they are about fascinating things, my profs are really good, and i think they are the most relative to what i intend to do with my life. performance studies and meteorology... two classes that just don't do much for me. particularly performance studies... as i tell my friends, every time i am in that class, i want to take my head off and throw it at my prof in hopes that he will stop talking and that i'll have an excuse to leave class.
3) *preceeded by a wink or elbow nudge* any boys? no.
4) what are you doing for the summer? i will be staying out here in grand rapids for the summer... we've got our super sweet duplex, and so we will move in to that a week or so after classes are done. the plan is to get a summer job so that i can make some money while i am out here... and maybe that job will overlap in to the school year... but we'll see. i am thinking barnes&noble or something right now... just NOTHING in the food service. i've paid my dues with food service (for example. chik-fil-a).
5) have you been doing anything fun lately? i climb at our school's wall everyday except for sunday... and i don't rest on sunday in order to practice sabbath... calvin forces that habit onto us by not opening the gym on sundays... i mean, i completely support that. so climbing everyday and all that college fun-ness that happens randomly every night have been keeping me busy when i am not oh-so-studiously working on homework or studying for exams.

i think that's about it.
when i was in california for spring break, i think i did quite a bit. i saw a ton of people, and i got to see how oober big lucy has gotten... and how well tippy plays with her!!! they are cuter than ever and i can't believe how hyper lucy is. i think tippy gets tired from all of lucy's 24/7 excitement. but it's cute to watch them play together... i never thought i would see that day come.

things you need to see on youtube:
"kittens inspired by kittens"
"star-wars according to a 6 year old"
"kick my ask"
"dimitri martin"
"bizkit the sleepwalking dog"
"flip-flop prank"

that should keep you busy for now. trust me. your life is not complete if you do not see these. and the dimitri martin one... watch the whole thing. i know it's long. but it's worth it.

check it out... sem pond jump 09. if you look carefully, you'll see me and my pals.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=105819

where have i been, you ask?

my oh my.
my blogging frequency hasn't been this low since i first started this whole thing. i apologize to those who faithfully check this and have been repeatedly let down by the lack of new reading material.
michigan went through a slight warm spell... then it got cold again. like, oober cold. but the lack of sun hasn't bothered my roomie and i... two words: fake bake. never thought i would get in to that sort of thing... but let me tell you... a warm 20 minute nap after classes a couple of days a week does wonders. not only do i defeat seasonal affect disorder, but i also get tan. wonderful stuff.
the climbing wall has been awesome... i'm there everyday, climbing away. i've even swam in the super sweet olympic-sized pool a few times.
homework has been crazier than ever, but i have managed to keep up on things in a way that's not too stressful.
life has been ever changing, and i myself am having a hard time keeping up with all that's been going on. nonetheless, days come and go, and they are filled with tons of fun and new things left and right.
i forgot to mention... i also play ping pong every night now... i would say its a good break from homework... but i think "break" implies that i've already started my homework by the time i play ping pong. not always true for me. either way, it's good fun, and i must say, i've got some killer shots goin' on :)
oh!
i also played tennis for the first time since this past summer.... AH! i know, how did i manage to go that long?
anyway, a friend of mine got a few of us in to the new tennis facility because of his connections... so i played on calvin's brand new indoor courts! they are beautiful... but SLOW as clay on a foggy day. the strokes came back fairly quickly, and the serve is still there (but not as affective on this surface). good times.
calvin won it's first men's basketball game against hope in the new arena... woot woot. they won by one point! craziness.
well, i think that about catches y'all up on the happening in grand rapids, MI for now.
ta ta.

feb you weary

the first week of classes for the second semester is done... and it already feels like we've been going at it for a while. my classes are as follows: advocation & argumentation; rhetorical criticism; intercultural communications (i have this one with my roomie); performance studies; meteorology.
good bunch of classes, eh? i love them... and i love that i love them.
the weather has been refreshingly cold. working at the climbing wall (and climbing at the climbing wall EVERYday) has been sweet. i went to the gym and ran on the treadmill for the first time today... our gym is SWEET. the swimming pool is even sweeter... i went swimming the other day, and i must say that this pool facility is very impressive. it is so cool to have access to such a sweet athletic facility. very fortunate to have this.
yup. sorry for the boring post. but i have been busy. story of my life.
hopefully i can sit down and actually write some stuff down for y'all one of these days.
but for now, that's it.
tootles

back to civilization

I'm back!
Sitting rather contentedly on my futon in GRap, I'm finally getting a new post up.
Interim was amazing... went to new places, learned new things, saw sweet stuff, made new friends, and spent a lot of time in the most wonderful outdoors. I took a ton of pictures... up until the point that my camera fizzled out on me... a bump, crack, and a splash of water took it down. hopefully it's fixable, but at the moment, it ain't lookin' so hot.
I wish i could write about everything that happened, but writing about three weeks of incredible stuff just seems a bit overwhelming right now. so, with that said, i encourage you to see the photographic story of my interim starting in JTree and ending in the Grand Canyon. to do so, click on the "latest pics" link to the left and go to the Interim 2009 album.
enjoy.

i get by with a little help from my friends

welcome to 2009.
2008 was pretty crazy. I must say, new years last year was a lot different than new years this year.
on the morning of january 4th 2008, i found myself sitting in LAX at my gate, waiting to depart and make my way back to grand rapids, mi. As i sat at that gate, i felt lost... the first semester of calvin was good, and i had grown enough that being back in los angeles didn't feel the same... didn't feel right. but i hadn't exactly been the most social person during my first semester, so i didn't have a community to return to in grand rapids.
i wasn't sad about leaving los angeles, but i wasn't exactly ecstatic about returning to grand rapids either. in fact, i was rather indifferent.
i looked at all the other gates around me and their various destinations they fostered: atlanta, chicago, seattle, boston. i could have been sitting at any of those gates and felt just the same as i waited to board a plane bound for grand rapids. what was keeping me from closing my eyes and randomly pointing to a new destination?

fast forward to january 28, 2009, when i'll be sitting at a gate, bound for grand rapids, michigan. take a look and you won't find a speck of indifference there.

here's a brief 2008 recap that'll show what has changed my indifference to excitement and longing while waiting for flights bound back to the midwest.

they say that your friends in college become a kind of family. for me, last year was when i decided to finally start taking risks socially, and what i gained was a family.
i don't know how to use words in order to sufficiently describe the sense of community i feel with these people. they are beyond awesome, and i don't know what i'd do without them.
so it comes as no surprise that a lot of last year's highlights are populated with my new family.
before i move on, i want to put names to faces:
tina in the blue shirt, lindsey (roomie) in the gray, carolyn in the red, and sarah in the dark blue. oh, and this isn't how they normally look... i promise. if you had to make a list of 100 people to meet in your lifetime, erase whoever you have for 2-6, and put these ladies on there instead (can't erase #1... #1 is always jesus, and you can't erase jesus).
...
so as a year of learning and growing ends, another one that'll likely contain even more of that begins.
i'm kicking the year off with a january term (3 week class) in joshua tree/the grand canyon, climbing, backpacking, and learning wilderness first aid. it's going to be a good time, and i'll make sure to fill you in on all of it when i get back...
january 27th, be prepared for tons of pics and a quick rundown of how the trip went. until then, find yourself some other reading material. may i recommend something?
have you ever read "the very hungry caterpillar?"
i love it. but it makes me hungry everytime i read it.
so have snacks ready when you eat it.

farewell for now friends.