february

a new semester, first publications, and a nephew--february was a fairly filled month. funny how that works out, what with it having the fewest days of all the months.

ray andrew galatioto, my nephew, was born today. actually, he was born in japan on february 27 (which was feb 26 here), so we kind of get to celebrate his birthday again tomorrow. he's the first of the next generation in my family, the start of another branch on the family tree. i can't wait to begin fulfilling the new role of aunt.

the march issue of grand rapids magazine went out this week, and it was the first issue my work showed up in. i have heard mixed stories about people's "first publishing" experiences. a week ago my supervisor had actually came to my desk and handed me the issue--she could tell I was fairly excited. my first publishing experience was definitely memorable. seeing my name in glossy print (a few times in this issue) made that spot right below my sternum well up with a kind of thrill. at the same time though, i experienced something i've heard in nearly every other "first publishing" story. looking at my articles, all i could think of was, "i want to do it again, and i want to do it better."

i like the periodical publishing industry--a lot. time to step it up.

writer's block

An honest pen is hard to come by. A block often wedges itself between mind and pen. It catches the raw and revealing insight mustered from the core of our being. Until I find a way through it, I am incapable of writing.

No, I am not at a loss for words. Moreover, a million words are wrestling in my conscience at any given moment. I think it’s more a matter of my words being lost—lost, or perhaps cowering in some obscure corner of my thoughts. Clearly, it’s a case of page fright. My reputation—my very identity—is being held up at ballpoint. No words want to be forged under such pressure.

Yet it is a writing exercise like this that reminds me there is no reason to be pun-shy—where there is a quill, there is a way.

Huzzah! I’ve found the gap in the block. It is time to write.

[live] animal sighting

When the coyote trotted up, all I could manage was a wide-eyed stare. It heard her. “Lindsey. Lindsey. Lindsey, look!” My roommate, who had jokingly howled not but ten minutes earlier, was still in the tent while I melted some snow for hot chocolate. I must have startled it as much as it me—he darted back the way he came. Part of me had wanted to lure him over for a game of fetch; another part of me wanted to run screaming into the tent for cover. Though the coyote was gone, I resorted to the latter, but with more a squeal of delight in the wild I just witnessed.

dinner time

After 8 o’clock, dinner options dwindle. The pot roast requires too much time, ratatouille takes too much work, and ordering yet another pizza costs too much money. Peanut butter and jelly is a quick fix; however, why have for dinner what was for breakfast and lunch? Most give up by now. Indecision will undoubtedly lead to starvation. That’s when the desperate raiding of the fridge happens; if it can be microwaved in a minute or less, it’s dinner.

bowling

Rolling thunder, spontaneous crashing, a heavy fog of smoke... and have you ever noticed that it is impossible to feel like you are in any other decade but the 80s when you go bowling? It's not just because of the unimaginably old and colored carpet with stars on it or the dinosaurs of televisions hanging above each lane--there are still the cliched bowling leagues where the people still have mullets, the shirts are still tucked in to whitewashed jeans, and the alcohol flows between frames.

there is no such thing as a modern bowling alley. and that's part of what makes the bowling experience so great.

This week I went bowling for the first time since the summer before freshman year of college. Long time. Very long time. My first two games sucked horribly, and to be honest, I wasn't the happiest camper. I'm not a big fan of not being good at something (competitive much?), and I'm definitely not a fan of having a first-generation color TV tell me I'm not good at something. I think color TV might be stretching it... is there such thing as a blue-and-white TV?

The third game made up for my frustrating scores of 63 and 54... I bowled 5 strikes in a row. My competitive tendencies want to brag. But I will leave it at that.

The lane next to us was occupied by a couple of parents who brought four children to bowl. Have you ever watched children bowl? Generally speaking, there are three techniques children employ when bowling.

#1) The Demolisher: This is the kid who, despite the disproportion between the mass of child and that of the bowling ball, manages to run full speed and launch the ball in the direction of the pins--the child remains fixated on the ball (however slow it may be travelling), and awaits the glorious moment of impact the the child thrives on.

#2) The Hit and Run-er: This is the kid that approaches timidly, drops the ball at their feet (with hardly any forward momentum) and then runs away to hide behind mommy, not even interested in the end result. For them, the fun is in carrying a heavy object and then releasing it--who cares about knocking pins over.

#3) The Second-Thinker: Upon releasing the bowling ball, the child regrets the decision and chases the ball down the lane, learning the painful lesson of traction-less bowling lanes. This is usually a brief phase, and the kid will generally resort to one of the first two techniques mentioned after learning the startling lesson of traction (or lack thereof).

Adults approach bowling much differently. I will only go into one type, though. This is the type that believes there is still some shred of control over the bowling ball after release and display such belief through leaning left, kicking their leg out right, turning the head, crouching down, waving the hands... yes, somehow leaning to the left will make the ball go left.

It's rather ridiculous, yet a lot of people (including myself) do this. Absurd, really. I control the release with a specific target in mind, dislike the path the ball is taking, and then flail my body about as if I can somehow control it and change the course.

on the list

I went to open the door. It was locked. I waited for the lady standing on the other side of the door to open it.

She opened the door and looked at me, waiting for me to identify myself.

"I'm with Grand Rapids Magazine."

She looked down at her clipboard. Looked up. "And your name?"

"Cristina Stavro."

She looked down at her clipboard and then smiled as she highlighted my name, "Welcome Ms. Stavro." And with that, she led me through a second set of locked doors where I found myself in the company of three cameramen from local TV stations (and their respective anchorwomen), a reporter and photographer from Grand Rapids Press, and a handful of other people pulling together this Press Junket.

A large sign reading "Welcome Media!" stood next to a table where I was asked to pick up my badge. It was my Front of the House Press Pass, and my name was on it.

Matt Giraud, a singer who placed fifth on American Idol last season, was performing a concert later that night but was holding a Press Junket at 2:30 first. He's somewhat of a local guy (from Kalamazoo--hour away).

To be honest, I know nothing about American Idol... I've even stopped watching those first episodes you watch just to see the sucky people. What season are they on anyway... tenth? Twelfth? Anyway, never heard of this guy, but I still felt like this was a big deal.

And it was.

So he performed two songs for just the press, and then we all had time to sit with Matt and interview him.

I was pretty nervous for the interview. The three TV stations and the GR Press went before me, so I got to watch and listen in on what their interviews were like.

Something that caught my attention was the technology present at this junket. There were photographers and camera guys using their ipods to record snippets of the performance and interviews... snippets that would go on TV. There were the usual large video cameras, but I just couldn't get over this one guy using his ipod for one of the stations.

The interview went well, and this Matt guy was really nice, so that made it a bit easier.

I loved being on that list. It was sweet. And it was even cooler to have a badge and be able to say, "I'm so and so with blah blah blah." Cool stuff.

http://www.fox17online.com/news/

go here, scroll down to the video of the guy on the piano (its really big). watch it. i was right next to them when they were interviewing, and the shots of him playing for the piano in the jacket was his performance for us.

i personally thought they would edit out that lipstick part... but i guess they didn't.

small request

ever have the need to feel really small?

feeling surrounded in a really big hug, craning your neck at the foot of a mountain, experiencing the vertigo at the edge of a cliff, standing in a crowd of people you don't know in a place you've never been...

they are humbling moments, and i don't think they happen enough.

adventures outside the cubicle

the phone rang. it was the first time ever. i let it ring again. "operator" appeared on the phone screen. i picked it up mid third ring.

"this is cristina."

according to the voice on the other end, i had an audria on the line for me.

that's when it hit me. what do i say to that? what do i say to the operator? Do I say, "okay," or, "patch her through," or, "that's nice."

so I said "ya."

my phone rang a second time that day. this time i responded to the operator with a simple, "thank you."

I'm a seasoned pro at the telephone at work now. I've made plenty of outgoing phonecalls.

* * *

The same day of my first incoming calls, I made 4 ventures: 2 to the water cooler and 2 to the vending machine.

The water cooler was no problem--i had my cup, filled it up, walked back to my desk, and downed it.

Vending machine. That was a whole other beast. I was very self conscious about getting some good ol' fashioned candy out of the vending machine. I felt it would age me--oh look at her, she's just a young intern, her and her vending machine m&ms.

once the courage was mustered up, i quietly walked the 20 or so paces to the vending machine.

the dollar went in. then it was spit out. i jumped at how noisy the rejection was. i tried again. failed again. try. fail. the sound of the repeated fails at the vending machine was attracting to much attention so i hastily grabbed the dollar and shamefully walked back to my desk.

20 minutes later, the same exact thing happened.

interesting interim

back in GR and it's been a delight.

I had the house to myself when I got back, but couldn't handle being here alone at night--so I drove to Ohio and spent a couple of days with the roomie. I went skiing for the first time in forever, and it was AWESOME. I'm kind of in love with it. For those in California, skiing in the midwest may be a strange concept. After all, it is fairly flat out here, is it not? Well you know those stone quarries or refineries or whatever some of those things are that you can see off the freeways sometimes? Imagine those covered in snow, lined with a few ski lifts, and peppered with a couple hundred people. Not having grown up skiing in mountains like Mammoth or Mountain High, I don't really care. I rather enjoy the midwestern slopes.

I got the hang of it pretty fast... I ate it in the first 10 feet of my first run but skied successfully (not necessarily gracefully) the rest of the time. Apparently I stick my butt out when I ski, but it's something I can work on. Lindsey is little miss ski bunny. And her brother does tricks. They are my ski heroes.

. . .

The reason I say "interesting interim" is because I have found myself in somewhat of a different class than I thought I would be in. Children's literature--never had a desire to write it or pursue a career in, but I'll be studying it for the next three weeks. It should be interesting, and if anything improve writing skills.

. . .

The new year is upon us. 2010. I attended the Grand Rapids New Year's Eve bash downtown--concerts, food, contests, and our very own New York-esque ball drop. That final countdown--it's always interesting. There's all this hype leading up to midnight, but for me, the final minutes always seem to be the most depressing ones. I can never manage to focus on the positive stuff in those last moments of the year--and when midnight hits, I wince at the beginning of something I wasn't prepared to start.

There's no moment between the years, no time that lacks an ascribed year value. 2009 stops the moment 2010 begins, yet I don't feel any different. That's the worst part--everyone, including me, looks forward to starting something new (hence resolutions that last an average of 5 days). The new year means a new beginning, except at the moment just past midnight, everything feels exactly the same as two minutes before. Nothing changes except those last two digits when I write the date.

2009 was good to me, don't get me wrong. And I know someday New Years will be a lot more meaningful to me... just not yet. I hope yours weren't as anticlimactic as mine, and I hope you are looking forward to a fresh new year. Do something with it... I know I plan to.

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.

farewell 2008

still some hours yet in the final day of 2008 for us here in california.
a gnarly amount of sinus/all around head pressure has kept me from doing too much (at least from doing too much with any enthusiasm or excitement). i did make it to the super market with jenny though, and then there was a quick trip to manhattan beach. it's been a while since i was there, so it was a nice visit. i'll be going back on saturday too.... because there is a USED GEAR SALE! exciting.
there's a little get together with some friends from high school tonight, so i'll head to that for a bit... but honestly, i'll be very surprised if i make it to midnight. i made it to japan's midnight... isn't that enough?
oy ve. so long til midnight.
i'll do the traditional new years/2008 in review tomorrow.
but til then, i hope you have had a most wonderful christmas and i hope your new years celebration is one of much joy.

quick note: i truly apologize for being a slacker this year and not producing my annual christmas movie. consequently, no xmas cards went out either. the holiday season kind of snuck up on me rather fast, so i didn't manage to pull anything together at the last second (something i am usually all to good at).

it's a been quite the year, 2008... and i hope it finishes out just peachy for y'all.

that's all from this year... tootles.

halfway around the world

14 hours ahead of the midwest and 17 hours ahead of the west coast... that's where i currently find myself. after a super long flight, i was welcomed to japan by being held back at customs. my passport doesn't show any evidence of me leaving japan on my last trip. why is that a major problem? i have no idea. but it was. nearly an hour of over-emphasised hand motions,
a few days have passed now... the wedding is done, we've ventured here and there, and i'm sure i've already violated multiple cultural customs. for instance: wearing "toilet slippers" to the lobby for breakfast. i was denied access to breakfast until i went up and put real shoes on.
my bad.

the wedding was a blast... i understood more than i ate, but nonetheless, it was a sweet thing to be able to be there for my brother's wedding... especially one as cultural and unique as this. there were three receptions, and for someone like me (very nap-dependent and very jet-lagged), that is a very tiring ordeal. i got to meet a lot of steven's co-workers and friends--most of whom just couldn't stop raving about how cool of a person steven is. and it was hilarious to see steven speaking so much japanese, cracking jokes left and right in japanese... very impressive.

no crazy adventures have gone down yet... mostly hanging around nagoya and making a trip to the local courthouse with steven and naomi for them to sign their marriage license. no matter the trip, though, picture opportunities galore... hence more than 200 pictures in less than two days. these pictures are available in my photo gallery under "japan trip 2008"... so just click on the left and it should take you there.

i find it fascinating that being in a foreign country has left me thinking more visually than orally... meaning, certian images catch my eye and come to mind more than certain thoughts are provoked and nourished. this leaves me with tons of pictures and few words. in a place where i can only comprehend things visually, i guess it makes sense. for one, i don't over hear conversations (at least over hear AND comprehend) that spark a line of thought... for another, it's the essence, the sights, of the culture that i experience. i would compare it to the difference between a novel and a picture book. the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" isn't a cliche for a reason... it gets used a ton... and it do so because it works. i'm just dieing to put a couple of those words down on paper... so hopefully i'll gather up a couple of words to share soon... but for now, enjoy the pictures.

one more thing... i love the fact that despite thousands of miles and multiple hours of time difference, communication is just as easy as it would be withing earshot of eachother. i've skyped and chatted on-line with friends back in the states. it still amazes me that i can have a face to face conversation on-line for free any time i want from any place that has internet access. impressive.

well, it is nap time for me. i don't know what time zone my body is stuck in...but it has left me perpetually exhausted.

more to come soon. i promise.

guest post

i've been busy with exams... studying at panera, iHop (which contrary to what the name suggests, isn't owned by Apple), my room, the basement, johnny's, and everywhere in between.

but because i've been so busy, i've gained my roommates permission to post something that she wrote. this is a paper she wrote for her history final and got to be a little creative with it. i must say, i am pretty proud of my roomie. quality entertainment. the "jolly music" is my favorite part.
enjoy.

As much as I wanted the classroom clock to be visible during class, when the day came, the change was absolutely unbearable. My peers and I could not peel our eyes off the simple machine that dictates our everyday lives. Words about the Protestant Reformation and the colonization of America seemed meaningless because I was focused on the here and now. The only thing that registered within my mind was the gradual clockwise movement of the minute hand—time seemed oddly slower than usual. When only ten minutes had passed in the last half an hour, I discredited the clock’s ability to tell time correctly and went back to scribbling down my notes.

To my surprise, my next glance at the clock proved to be the reality of every student’s nightmare—the clock was indeed moving backwards! It began by taking a few steps back; a minute here and there, but the hand soon gained speed and at a constant pace began to rewind time. The clock must have had a boost of adrenaline because the hand was moving backward so fast that I could not longer see the hand circling the blurry numbers that were the only evidence I still had that the circle attached to the cinder-block wall was indeed still a clock. Wow! I need to start getting more sleep. I must be hallucinating from sleep deprivation—why else would the classroom have begun to spin around my stationary chair?

Much like the spinning teacups in Disney World, I spun quite some time to jolly music that was supposed to take my mind off the current state of my stomach. Luckily, the spinning came to a gradual stop before my breakfast had covered my history notes spread across my desk. Once I regained my sense of balance, I assessed the damage. My history notes were everywhere—floating through the air, crumpled on the floor, sprawled across my lap. It was going to take such a long time to collect the pages and pages of notes I had taken during class, and putting them in order was going to be a difficult task.

When I noticed my surroundings, I realized my notes were the least of my problems. Time had literally reversed. In front of what should have been the projector screen was an elaborate pulpit and a table with several candles lit. The light in the room flickered as if the electricity connection was failing, but either the sconces were actual candles or designed to look exactly like them. By the burn on my finger, I came to the conclusion that they were indeed real candles. I took a candle off the wall to light the corridor I planned to venture into, and as the shadows danced across the cold marble walls, I followed the slight noises coming from the opposite side of what looked like an ancient castle.

A murmur of a whisper drew me into a large sitting room with the rows and rows of shelves filled with leather-bound books. My attempt to walk across the room was brought to an abrupt stop when a young lady quickly stood up from her seat facing the roaring fire. Not only did the mere presence of another individual frighten me, but I jumped even higher when I looked more closely at the girl—it was like looking into a crystal-clear mirror. The shock caused our eyes to expand to the same maximum diameter, and our mouths seemed to drop at the exact same time. How could we look so similar while she was clearly from a different time period than I?

From the terrified look I wore on my face, she could tell that I was not from a neighboring kingdom. I felt underdressed in my jeans and sweatshirt so I continued to try to reach the exit, but the girl called out and asked me to wait. I slowed my pace down and cautiously turned to her. The young lady introduced herself as Adalheidis Jetter.

The feeling of shock resurfaced as I realized there must be a reason that we look so similar—somehow we were related; having the same last name was not just a coincidence. After I regained my ability to speak, I introduced myself and asked where I was. I was in one of the many German states during the seventeenth century. My history class had transformed into actual history.

Trying to explain my life to Adalheidis proved to be almost impossible. I did not even know where to start, but I began with trying to describe the United States. Of course, she did not know that there was a new world yet to be discovered and colonized. I then thought we had found some common ground with the topic of education, but when Adalheidis expressed her interest in learning, it mostly consisted of traditional tasks an upper middle class female would learn in the 1600s. After she showed me her needlepoint and drawings, I told her about the equal opportunities that females now have in education. The idea of colleges and universities was foreign yet exciting, and she begged me to tell her more about my pursuit of higher education.

Adalheidis lit up as she drank in information about the future. I described my major, my friends and things we do for fun, and my family as she listened intently. The difference in time was especially apparent in her reaction when I mentioned what college I was attending. She immediately recognized the connection between Calvin College and the reformer, John Calvin. She herself had heard many of the reformed ideas that were reshaping the concept of religion and the church for the past century. As excited she was about the changes, she also feared that the Catholic Church would use their power to eliminate the Protestant ideas that were taking hold in many communities. We continued discussing the spread of the Protestant Reformation, and I assured her that many of her descendants will be following the same teachings hundreds of years later.

Out of habit, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket to check the time, which was irrelevant in my situation but led to a string of questions from Adalheidis. Amazed by the everyday modern conveniences, she wanted to know every detail about the so-called “technology.” I found myself unable to answer many of her questions because in today’s society, technology is taken for granted. I soon realized that I could not describe the Internet without explaining the computer, cell phones without clarifying the concept of a landline, lights without the explanation of electricity, and cars without the understanding of engines and gasoline.

Although our societies were completely different, Adalheidis was fascinated with technology, and she wished she could experience the society I was describing. I must have talked too highly of technology because Adalheidis was led to believe that all technological advancements had positive effects on society. I knew I could not mislead her, and I began to tell her of the unfortunate events that were results of technology. I explained to her that although technology has saved lives and made them quite easier, it has also caused terror and chaos within society. Wars are fought with machines that have been perfected to kill. Privacy is a rarity, and much of the uniqueness that was once present in every culture has been lost in the complex process of globalization.

Even though Adalheidis and I saw each other’s lives as living in completely different worlds, we bonded over the commonality found within the shared desire to improve our respective worlds. Adalheidis was already brainstorming ideas to make advancements that would eventually transform her society into my society. Right as she picked up my cell phone to examine it closer, the digital clock on the screen began blinking rapidly, and I knew that my time with Adalheidis was up.

exams and moon rings

it is easiest to win an argument at 2am.
for example:
it's 2 in the morning, and my roommate vocalizes her craving for a milk shake.
i say, alright, lets go to steak and shake and get one.
she points to her shorts, saying no because she is improperly dressed.
i tell her to just put pants on then.
she didn't need much more convincing.
at that, we were off and on our way to steak and shake... the 24-hour place to get your burger, fries, or milkshake. it is a wonderful place.
it also helped that exams started today... a milkshake at 2am is something you can't pass up when you know you've got an exam the next day.

something really cool. we were walking back from my car after steak and shake, and i looked up to see this wicked awesome perfectly circular ring around the moon, looking like this:
isn't that amazing? we couldn't stop looking at it... just walking in the icy snow with our heads tilted straight up at the brilliantly bright moon, completely amazing by this luminous ring around the moon. fascinating stuff.

the temperature has gone up a degree or two... making the precipitation that falls not fluffy flakes of snow but sharp shards of ice that bite into your face. it hurts.

well, i best be back to my studies... but be sure to check out the music i added to the player thing... ray lamontagne... awesome music... great kick-back and study music. highly highly highly recommend any of his albums!

have a good night.

just keep swimming

Sorry about that. Exams are coming up, and life has been downright busy.
The snow keeps piling up and the temperature keeps going down.
Classes are ending, exams are beginning.
I cannot believe that this first semester is practically done. Crazy!
With the end of the semester comes Christmas break… which means I am headed back to japan in less than two weeks to see my brother get married.
It’s a long flight… I know. So if you have any movie recommendations or book recommendations for the flight, PLEASE… do tell. Otherwise, I am just bringing a couple of seasons of shows with me… and am going to watch all of them. I feel like this trip will be a lot different than my first trip out there. Yes, my brother getting married will be quite the difference from last time, but I feel like I’ll be looking through a different set of lenses than when I did my sophomore year of high school.
I hope that the break brings some relaxation… it’s going to be go-go-go in Japan… it’s just the culture out there (and, in my opinion, in most places in this country). Then after a few days back in the states upon our return from Japan, I am off to my Interim trip. The trip includes 5 days of climbing in Joshua Tree National Park, 10 days doing a Wilderness First Responder curse in Flagstaff, then 6 days backpacking in the Grand Canyon. This is an outdoor educator interim trip through Calvin… so instead of being in Michigan for the month of January, I will be climbing and hiking around the deserts of the country.
After that, it is back to Calvin and the start of second semester… which holds spring break! And hopefully this year we’ll be in California for spring break. Since when do I get excited about going to California? Since I get to bring my friends with me and show them my home. Keep your fingers crossed for good airfares.
Speaking of cheap airfares…
There was a roundtrip flight from Detroit to LAX for $18. Yes, eighteen. Unfortunately the fare was only good through January… but $18??? I just don’t get it… that’s insanity.

Boy. I am tired.
I saw this quote on someone’s site. I liked it… a good reminder to keep going through life with a raised chin and hoping heart.

Someday everything will all make perfect sense. so for now laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.

rock and ice

snow snow snow... here are some pics of the campus covered in snow. my favorite is the headless snow man. then the last two pics are pictures of our new climbing wall!!!!!! the rec staff got to go inside the fieldhouse (which isn't open yet... still a lot of construction to go yet) and learn how to set routes. it is awesome!!! 40 feet high and enough room to set 16 ropes. that's massive. more on that to come.

fall on me

i woke up to a bright white morning... a thick layer of snow was sticking to nearly everything (or not sticking in the case of the clumps of snow that grew too heavy for its resting place on high tree branches, falling on unsuspecting pedestrians below--an occurrence i have experienced 4 times in the last 24 hours.
the snow on the ground is just as big a threat as the snow in the trees.
my first class of the day got canceled... always a bonus, especially on mondays. on the way to my second (and last) class of the day, i was admiring the enormous amounts of fresh snow when i heard the scuffling of panicking feet struggling to find some traction on the icy ground. that's when i felt a hand grab my hood and yank down out of the desperate need for stabilization. luckily, i was fairly balanced and didn't go down with this individual that was a complete stranger to me.

you know the song "lean on me?" great song... i love it.
but looking at the song for a loose metaphor to describe a true and strong friendship--i think it falls short. i think "falling" is a more appropriate term.
i mean, "leaning" works, but i'd argue that only a true friend would say, "go ahead, fall on me." and honestly, think about it...
where does leaning occur in our lives?

we lean on walls casually to look cool, lean on trees when answering natures call in the woods, lean on invisible tables (well, mimes do), and lean back in our chair in 5th grade while the teacher isn't looking.
leaning only surrenders to partial dependency. "un-leaning" is fairly easy. yes, like i said, it's a good metaphor... i just think there is more to it.

think about those leaning examples again.

what if, while in the act of leaning, all of your muscles just suddenly stopped working and you lost all capability to hold yourself up (which is, in essence, what falling is considered)? where would you be? you'd be on the ground at the foot of the wall, sitting in your own "stuff" at the base of the tree in the woods, sprawled out on the floor in the middle of an open space looking like an idiot for falling for no apparent (to the non-mime eye) reason, or on the classroom floor with your head split open and your teacher giving you detention.

leaning can only do so much for us. what is supposed to support us when our muscles stop working, when we just can't manage to support ourselves? what about when we can't grab hold of anything and start to fall? who are you willing to completely depend on? fall on?

i think there is a two-fold answer to that.

the first is the obvious one, the sunday school answer: God. in fact, i'd say that God asks us to fall in his arms. Using God as a balance-keeping crutch rather than a personal piggy-back transport reveals a life that isn't completely dependent on Him.
But what about when, for one reason or another, we don't see God as an option?

That's where your true friends, your community, come in to the picture. they are the ones with the hoods that we can grab when we slip and start to fall. they are the stable ice skaters in your group that will skate next to you as you give ice skating a try... they will stay by you, knowing full well that you will begin to fall and grab hold of their arm... you know that you can reach out for their arm when you start to fall... and you know that they'll keep you up because they are so solid. sure, sometimes both fall, but even so... if they do go down with you, they'll help you up.

like i said--God is ready and willing to be that support. i think that the support sometimes comes in the form of the friends and community that He puts in our lives because He knows that we'll need that.

*side note* i was looking at how the things in life i like a lot are communicating and community... so i was about to say, i think i am just very fond of anything that has the root "communi" in it... but then i realized that there was this one word: communism. ya, not so supportive of that one. communion is pretty cool though.
anyway.

so, ya. just some stuff i feel pretty strongly about. i am so thankful for those people in my life that i can "fall on," and i can only hope that i can be someone that they can "fall on." life would be ridiculously tough if that kind of support didn't exist.

dessert, state-lines, and snow

well well well. i must say--i had a fantastic thanksgiving. i have never eaten so much dessert in my life. pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll... it was all amazing.
the jetter fam adopted me for the weekend, allowing me to join them for thanksgiving and some other fun stuff--cutting down a christmas tree, for example.
my roomie and i left calvin wednesday afternoon and got to ohio later that day, stayed around for a bit, and then jumped in a different car with the rest of the fam (including their two dogs, molly (bigger dog) and mia (littler dog).) that night we made it to west virginia. i have never been to west virginia before... so another state marked off for me. i didn't get a picture of the "welcome to west virginia" sign though, so i'll just have to go back sometime. but i like the state-line between ohio and west virginia... it's over the river, and it's a sweet bridge. cool stuff.
after two nights in west virginia, we made our way back to ohio on black friday. did any of y'all go shopping? i didn't... i slept... maybe the fact that my roommate and i stayed up 'til 4am had something to do with the lack of desire for an early morning shopping spree.... maybe.
saturday was christmas tree day... and i was excited. you see, in california, we go to ralphs or something and "get a christmas tree." in ohio with the jetter fam, we went "hunting for a christmas tree." we basically walked through a farm of christmas trees, found "the one", grabbed a saw, and cut it down. soooooo cool. and this tree was massive. i got to take a few tries at the saw, but i tired quickly.
then, after my roommate and i made our traditional trip to wal*mart, i made pasta for dinner. i made the family sauce recipe... it was the least i could do for their generosity in having me over.
sunday--today--woke up early for church, packed up, and went to birt's... a general store that sells candy in bulk. this place is sweet (no pun intended). you walk in, grab a few white paper bags, a metal scooper, and start scooping up the candy you want. good times. this is also a tradition for them, so i was glad to be able to get to do that.
we were finally on our way back up to calvin... where there was a ton of snow going on. there was so much snow on the road!!! but it was so BEAUTIFUL. the trees, covered in snow... the snow had the same effect on trees as white chocolate does on those prezels we got at birt's. down-right amazing scenary.
we had driven lindsey's car, so when we got back, i saw my car all by its lonesome self, covered in and surrounded by snow... lots of snow. it was snowing so hard tonight that flights in and out of grand rapids were cancelled... hard core. i will put some more snow pics up soon.