Sadness

Sadness is when plans to do fun stuff don't work out. Sadness is having an unopened pack of burritos stolen out of your room fridge. Sadness is having to lock your door and not trust people anymore. Sadness is having your computer act up and randomly die. Sadness is when your brother tries to save your files and only manages to get a fourth of your original documents before the entire hardrive burns out. Sadness is knowing that your password files, school papers, pictures from Germany, and all your music is gone. Sadness is when you told yourself you should back everything up just before the dang computer died. Sadness is when you just want to curl up in your bed and forget the world but you can't. Sad day.

Adventure

I really love having adventures. Tonight, as I was sitting outside watching the clouds and listening to one of my friends playing a quirky song he's writing about Hobbes' Leviathan, I decided that I wanted to go on an adventure. I dropped my books off in my room and started on my quest. I couldn't decide whether I should go to the park or go to main street, so I just went through the park to get to main street. Nothing amazingly exciting happened like I had hoped, but while I walked by I did get to pray for a lot of people who were hanging out in the park. It was enough.
Last night I stayed up until four talking with another one of my friends. We talked about a variety of subjects, some of them very bizarre (I blame it on the late hour) and some pretty serious. At one point in time, we talked about life being an adventure.
I want live in an adventure. I want go teach overseas. I want to learn to ride camels, wrap sarongs, use chopsticks as easily as a fork, and speak a new language. I want to go rock climbing and scuba diving and kayaking. I want see many different places and do exciting things. Those are all things I would love to do, but ultimately, those will not be fulfilling.
What would be the greatest adventure? To really live for Christ everyday. I am so excited about that. Just think, isn't that an amazing thought? Would it not be amazingly exciting to be totally in tune with God's voice and follow his direction in everything? To buy lunch for a homeless man or volunteer to help troubled teens? To give someone a place to crash for a few nights when they need a place to stay? To give some of your possessions to others when you feel led? To get to know people who are often overlooked? To develop relationships with people wherever you go in order to show God's love? To invite lonely people over for dinner and show real hospitality? To open up your home and your time whenever needed? To be totally open to following any command God gives you and living unselfishly for others? To me, that would be totally exciting!
That is what I want. No matter where I end up or what I do, I want to live for God everyday. I want to be focused on him every moment, attentive to his commands. I want to be a servant to others. That would be an amazing adventure and I'm seriously about it excited guys! It's a quest I'd like to start on right now.

Burma

There are so many bad things happening in the world, and here is yet another. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the bad and don't want to think about it anymore. Sometimes I give in to the temptation to just ignore any problems occurring outside my own little world. Then I realize what I'm doing. I'm ignoring injustice. I'm not standing up for the poor, the orphans and the widows, I'm just standing aside to let the wicked trample all over them. As one who calls myself a follower of Christ, should I not follow his lead? In the days of television and internet, I have no excuse to be uninformed and silent.
If you have not heard about what is going on in Burma, please find time to read this article.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2545351.ece

Storms

It started raining yesterday afternoon. I love rain. The only thing I don't like about rain is how it can get my books wet. I don't have a backpack or messenger bag, and though I'm thinking of ordering a Project 86 messenger bag online, I don't have it now when it rains. I usually just shove my books under my hoodie. That probably looks quite ridiculous, but it is effective nonetheless.
Last night I was very cold when I went to bed, as seems to be the case every night. I don't think my inner heater is working very well. It isn't even very cold when I go to bed, usually the upper sixties, yet I'm always chilly. I'm using all of my blankets already, so I don't know what I'll do when the weather gets colder. I suppose I could always use my beach towel and bedroll.
I had dozed off last night only to be awakened in the early morning. At first I didn't know what had awakened me, or even that it was morning. My room was pitch-black, which was my first clue that something was wrong. Usually a lightpost right outside my window keeps the room from becoming too dark, so the blackness confused me. Then I heard a sickeningly loud clap of thunder. It was so loud that I jumped in my bed. The next crack shook my whole room. For the next few minutes, I just lay curled up in bed waiting for the lightening to strike me.
Gradually though, it quieted down until silence reigned. Suddenly my fridge, printer, and the light outside turn on at once. It was almost six. I stretched out and tried to go back to sleep as I waited for my alarm to go off.

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is the most solemn, holy day in the entire Jewish year. It is the day of atonement. Yom Kippur started at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday. During that time, we could not eat, drink, wash anything except our hands and eyes, or wear leather shoes. Just like Ninevah in the story of Jonah, we tried to humble ourselves and ask for God's forgiveness for our wrongdoings.
For traditional Jews, this is the day that their sins are forgiven for the year. It is the day that the Book of Life is closed, and they pray that their name is written in it. For Messianic Jews and Christians, we know that our names are already in the Book of Life. We use this holiday to thank God for saving us and ask his forgiveness for hurting him after all he has done for us.
After sundown we broke our fast with a "feast." Kendra, my friend who was in charge of Yom Kippur, bought all the ingredients so we made rice, kreplachs (Jewish dumplings/raviolis that are filled with beef, boiled, and fried), and an amazing layered apple cake. We broke our fast with water (yes!) and then had a great time eating together. After dinner, we had a short service of confession and prayer. After that, we basically hung out and drank tea. It was an amazing day.
What's really exciting, is that Sukkot is in five days. Sukkot is a holiday that celebrates God's goodness to his people. I love how we have a holiday of fasting to ask his forgiveness, and it is immediately followed by a holiday to thank him for his forgiveness and faithfulness. It's amazing.

Days of Awe

These days, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are known as the High Holy Days, or as I prefer, the Days of Awe and Penitence. The ten days between these holidays are supposed to be times of reflection. We're supposed to be evaluating our actions, our lives, and our relationships with God to see what we need to change in the coming year.

I have to admit, I haven't been as contemplative as I had planned on being. I haven't spent enough time with God and blamed it on classes and commitments. Even the time that I had planned to get up early to pray, I just hit the snooze alarm. Pretty much, I failed.

I think it's great how God can work in my life despite me. Even though I have not been faithful, he has. I really wanted to see what parts of my life need changing, but apparently I don't want it enough to put in the effort. Despite my laziness, God has totally used different circumstances to convict me of things that I hadn't even been on my mind.

It's kind of frustrating to see how I've fallen back into the same sins that I thought I had beaten so long ago. Yet, God has shown me that the cancer is still there, and will continue being there unless I rely on him to take it away. He has also shown me other ideas that I've been subconsciously holding that really aren't true at all.

On Friday evening at sundown, Yom Kippur begins. Yom Kippur is the day of atonement where we fast, confess our sins, and stand in awe of Jesus' sacrifice. I am thankful that God is helping me to prepare for that day, even if I am quick to forget.

The Guid Scots Tongue

For Advanced English Grammar, a class which just so happens to be kicking my butt right now, we are required to watch a video series and write short papers on the videos. I actually don't mind the assignment, as the series is quite interesting. The video series is called The Story of English, and each part covers a segment of the languages development.

Today, I watched a video entitled The Guid Scots Tongue. It discussed Scottish English and its influence on American English. When the Anglo-Saxons first invaded England, some went on into Scotland. More of them migrated there after the Normans conquered England in 1066 (a date every English major should commit to memory). So the Scots spoke Anglo-Saxon just like the English, but as the years went by the two languages began to differ more and more.

The Scots would've always spoke a very different language if it weren't for King James. King James of Scotland was offered the English throne after Elizabeth's death, so he became the ruler of both countries. After that, the English form of the language took over the island. King James encouraged many of the Scots to set up shop in Ireland, even giving them land that he confiscated from Irish nobles. The Irish Catholics hated the invading Scottish Protestants, so they began fighting each other. Remember the IRA? Well this is where it all started.

The Highlanders are a different story. When we say Scotland, we generally think of the Highlands. The Highlands is where Gaelic is actually spoken. They are highly persecuted by the Lowlanders, who make fun of their Gaelic and thick brogue. The funny thing I think is that many of the things commonly associated with Scotland (bagpipes, Gaelic, kilts, etc.), they all came from the Irish! I certainly didn't know that.

When Scots came to the states (most of them were actually the Scots Irish from Ireland), most of them decided to become pioneers and push west. Many of them settled in the Appalachian mountains. Appalachian "hick" accents all come from the Scottish brogue, as did the tamed down country accent. Isn't that fascinating? Almost all country accents came from Scottish accents! That explains why when I try to speak in a Scottish accent and mess up, it comes out country.
Anyway, you might not care about any of this (although I expect at least you to read all of this, Kerri), but I thought it was pretty sweet.

Rosh Hashanah

On Wednesday night at sundown, Rosh Hashanah began. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, also thought to be the birthday of the world. Rosh Hashanah is a day of repentance and reconciliation, a day to make yourself right before God and man.
Some of my friends and I have decided to celebrate the Jewish holidays this year in order to more fully understand our "heritage." Rosh Hashanah is the first holiday of the season. We won't be doing everything kosher, but we want a taste. Most of all, we want to grow closer to God by celebrating the holiday He laid out in the Bible.
On Thursday night, eight of us dressed in white (the girls wearing head coverings) and walked to a nearby park. We read blessings and psalms, sang several songs, ate bread and apples dipped in honey (to signify a sweet new year), and then threw bread crumbs into the stream to symbolize God taking away our sins.
We did receive a few questioning looks and a policeman did drive slowly past us a few times, but other than that it went very well. It was very good. L'shanah tova tikatevu (may you be inscribed for a good year), my friends.

Eggs and Korean Food

Yesterday for lunch I was hungry and it was too late to go to the cafeteria, so I decided to make lunch for myself. Unfortunately, I did not have any rice, so I could not make my usual fried rice dish. Instead, I decided to put a little twist on your traditional scrambled eggs. Anyone who knows me very well at all knows that I absolutely love soy sauce. So what did I put in these scrambled eggs? That's right, soy sauce. And cheese, garlic salt, and a little Italian seasoning that was lying around. Of course, Italian seasoning isn't normally used in your conventional egg dishes, but I thought I should try it. It wasn't bad, but I think it doesn't complement the soy sauce as much as I would like. I did like the Italian seasoning with the eggs though, I'll just have to figure out how to best combine their flavors.
Tonight, I was invited (with a bunch of Koreans) to a Korean family's house to eat Korean food. It was amazingly delicious, and I am subsequently full and satisfied. While I only understood a word every five minutes or so, they did compliment me on my use of chopsticks. It was a good night.

Dream House

Ever since I was a little girl I loved to design houses. Of course, when I was six my "designs" weren't all that complex. They mainly consisted of several boxes drawn together with the words "kitchen" and "bedroom" scrawled in the center of a few. Never-the-less, I've never outgrew my fascination with amazing houses. So here's my idea of what the perfect house would be.
I would have a large covered porch with rocking chairs and seats so that people could sit outside on a lovely evening, drink some tea, and watch the sunset/rain. The front door would be a huge wooden affair, preferably with carvings and a lion-head door knocker. The entryway would be two-stories tall with a great staircase leading upstairs. More carved wooden lions would grace the railings.
My living room would have lots of windows, including a bay window. It would be the perfect place to have tea. The den would comfy and homey, a place to kick back and relax. I would also want to have a recreation room with Foosball, pool, ping-pong, and things of that nature.
There would be many guest rooms for anyone who would need to stay with me, as well as family who drops by.
My kitchen would be quite spacious, with a large island in the center. There would be double ovens, triple sinks, and all other sorts of cooking lovelies. There would be plenty of room for people to cook together, as well as stools for little cooks. My pantry would be walk-in, and I'd have hooks for hanging up all my lovely aprons. I would also have shallow shelving around the walls to house my bottle collection. It would be glorious.
In the dining room, I'd have a huge oak table that would fit a ton of family and friends around it. I'd also have a smaller breakfast nook for smaller crowds. Again, I'd have lots of windows in both rooms.
I'd have an artist studio where I could draw, paint, write, sew, and generally have a good time. There would also be (on the other side of the house) a music room with a huge grand piano as well as instruments from all over the world.
The most wonderful thing would be my library. It would be a two-story Beauty and the Beast library complete with the staircase and rolling ladders. There would be comfy chairs and couches scattered throughout the room for reading. I'd also like a fireplace and a nearby kitchenette for making snacks.
I'd love to have a miniature theater where we can put on plays and little kids can have fun. I'd love to make fun costumes for the backstage.
Of course, I'd like to have an attic, full of trunks and boxes and old things for kids to explore on rainy days.
The other thing my dream house would have is a secret room. For some reason, I have always wanted a secret room or tunnel in my house.
Throughout the house, I'd like to have plants, artwork from myself and my friends, and beautiful things from all over the world. With that, what more could I want?
Outside, I would a large yard to play on, a vegetable garden, an herb garden, and one or two English flower gardens. I would want benches and fountains and statues scattered throughout. With that, my dream house would be complete.

Rain

It was raining tonight. I was walking back to my room from another dorm and saw students rushing to get inside. I was tempted to join them, but decided that it was too beautiful to leave. I took off my shoes and sloshed through the puddles. Everywhere trees were dripping, and I could see the lovely rain in the light of the streetlamp.
I love the way rain feels. It's like tears are coursing down my face, yet it leaves me feeling peaceful and content.
Tonight I was talking to God. As the raindrops washed over me, I asked that he would take away my selfishness, take away my pride, take away the things I put before him. I want to feel as clean before him as I feel after I come in from the rain.
I felt so glad because I knew that he answered. I was sad that I had waited so long.
It was raining tonight, and I'm glad that I stayed outside.

Horsa and Hengest

In Medieval Literature, we are learning about the history of Britain. Horsa and Hengest (their names mean "horse men") were Saxon Mercenaries from Saxony (Germany) who were hired by the Celts to keep the Welsh in order. When they got to England, they decided they liked it so much that they got together all of their family and friends, came over on boats, and kicked the Celts out of England! Horsa and Hengest were considered the "fathers" of the Anglo-Saxon. One of our founding fathers (I think Thomas Jefferson) even wanted to put a picture of them on one of our coins. He saw them as part of our heritage, especially since they were immigrants to England.

I told my Lit class that if I have twin boys I'll name them Horsa and Hengest. They just asked me if I wanted them to hate me. If I have a girl, I'll name her Hilda after the great female Abbess who presided over the Synod of Whitby (a meeting between the Celtic and Roman Christians to decide which calendar and monk haircut they were going to use). She was pretty cool.

Birthday Dinner

I made my brother dinner for his birthday. He wasn't being helpful in the least when I asked him what he wanted. All he would say is that he likes food. So I decided to make parmesan chicken minus the parmesan. Since I do not have a ton of pantry space in my dorm room, I didn't want to have to buy the flour or breadcrumbs and all the other stuff that parmesan chicken involves.
Instead, I just cooked the chicken in a skillet and removed them to a pan. I then simmered stewed tomatoes, a little olive oil, and Italian seasoning in the same skillet. Then I poured it over the chicken, added mozzarella cheese, and broiled it in the oven.
I also had green beans and garlic bread to round off the meal.
I was afraid that the chicken would be too tough, but it wasn't at all! I was very relieved. Anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Tortillas and Other Lovely Things.

I ate a delicious Latin American meal tonight. It was really quite lovely. A friend of mine from Honduras (and some of his friends) made a traditional Latin dinner and invited some people over to enjoy it. The food was "muy delicioso." There was a special chicken recipe that his mother had e-mailed him, fried rice with corn, beans, tomatoes, and of course wonderful homeade tortillas.
I really would like to learn how to make homeade tortillas. Another Latin who was there assured me that it was really easy. I think I will try it sometime. Then I can make my burritos even better!
Even though the food was delicious, I would have to say that the crowning event of the meal was the orchatas! They were pretty much amazing. If you have never had an orchata (a sweet rice drink) then you are missing out. Get in your car (or on your bike or just walk) and go to the nearest Mexican restaurant and order an orchata. They are truly an amazing thing. Just do it.