Kilroy Was Here

Ron Paul

I carved a pumpkin for the first time on Friday. It was so much fun! I made a Kilroy pumpkin. There is a bar in town called Kilroys, but I did not do it because of the bar. I like the historical, WWII graffiti aspect of it. I thought it might not turn out, but it turned out ok for a first time. There were five of us who went to my friend's farm and carved pumpkins. We invited everyone from Sunday school, but only the five of us came, which was nice, as I like smaller groups. We were rather unprepared, as we ran off without the s'mores, and I brought hot chocolate and water but no cups or anything to heat it up in. :-) We did bring knives, but no spoon to scoop the guts. Oh well. I had a blast!

I am not very good at waiting, and there are so many things in life that require waiting. I do not like the whole tenor of instance gratification in our society, but it is easy to get caught up in it. We're used to having what we want when we want it, or at least the possibility to obtain it soon. But, sometimes I have to wait. And that's a good thing. Wait for outside decisions. Wait for the Lord to work. Waiting can be good, but it is hard.

Stormy Day

We really need the rain.

I went camping on Friday with people from Bible study. I haven't been camping in several years, and it was fun. I felt rather unprepared, in regards to not bringing a cup or eating/cooking utensils, but there were a few "die hard" campers who were prepared. I slept fairly well, and it was a good time just hanging out and talking by the campfire. The campground was really full, but we were off in a tent area, so we were separated a little from the RVs. I also discovered that a pancake with bacon is quite delicious.

On Saturday I went to a "librarian" party with people from the program. I went as a hippie librarian. :-) It was ok, but we didn't stay long.

Yesterday, I went and heard Ron Paul speak. It was good; I agreed with about half of what he said. I really agree with the "we need better economic policy" and "we need to get back to the Constitution." I'm not so much into his foreign policy and legalizing drugs (hard drugs, that is). I was disappointed with the Q and A after the speech. They had a few questions on cards that they read off, and the questions were really lame. There wasn't any opportunity for the audience to ask questions. I didn't know that they had question cards. I wanted to ask him how liberty and individual freedom can work if people do not know how to govern themselves, especially with our current entitlement society and reliance upon government to make decisions for us. I think I was spoiled at the 'dale.

On Friday, I'm going to a friend's farm with people from Sunday school to carve pumpkins and maybe have a bonfire. The bonfire is contingent upon the lifting of the burn ban, so we'll see.

Well, I need to do some work.

TTFN

Rawness and Big Questions

I just finished reading The True Story of Hansel and Gretel. It's a retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale set in WWII Poland. It was very good, but very raw. It is accurate with what I know of Poland during that time, as well as what I know of the Nazis. The author showed both the children and the parents story, which was really cool. The father and stepmother have to abandon the children when they are being chased by the Nazis, and the parents join the partisans in the forest. I haven't read a book in awhile. I'll start one but then not be able to get into it, or I'll read it very slowly. But, I was able to really get into this one. It was very well written, and I am interested in learning about what happened in Poland during WWII. Poland really got the brunt of the Nazis, and they knew that their "saviors," the Russians, weren't much better. I recommend the book, but it is very raw and vivid with disturbing content. It's war and the author portrays that.

This book also made me think of some of the bigger, deeper questions. I've been wondering lately how God can do it all. I know that He is much bigger than I and that I cannot fathom Him, but it's just so big. How can he know everyone. And not just know everyone, but know them intimately and care about their issues and work with them. And make us feel that we have His attention. When I talk with God, it's just me and God, but I know He's taking care of millions of people at the same time. I don't understand. But that's ok. I'll hopefully understand more fully someday.

In a lighter note, I watched The Secret of Moonacre tonight. It's a British film, and I expected it to be cheesy and funny, but it was rather well done. It's kind of a Beauty and the Beast story, and the main character was beautiful, and the costume design stunning, except for the bad guys, one of whom especially looked like the guy from A Clockwork Orange. He also wore a collar studded with pheasant feathers. It also has Ioan Gruffudd in it, which was funny. I'm not a big fan of his, but it made me think of my friends who really like him. I'm more partial to Jamie Bamber, myself, though he was sadly not in the film.

Doings

Well, God took away my contingency plan. I applied for another position in the library where I work, but I did not get it. It is a blessing in that I don't have to pull a crazy schedule this semester, but I am a bit worried about having a job after December. Everything will work out though.

I have wasted my day today. Ugh, I need to be productive.

I am looking forward to a visit from Angy! It will be good to see her again.

I'm leading Sunday school on Sunday, and I need to prepare tonight, as I will not get anything "productive" done tomorrow. I do have a lot planned tomorrow, just not homework. :-)

I am not good at multi-tasking. Hence the fragmented post. TV, conversation, and trying to write a blog post don't really mix.

TTFN

Not much to say. I'm starting to collect resources for my evaluation project. I like the searching/collecting/research part of a project the best. Hence, library school.

The weekend was characterized by good food. I had a party with my old co-workers from the public library on Friday, and then I made breakfast Saturday morning for church friends who are training for a half marathon. And on Sunday, we had a 20 somethings potluck.

I wish I could major in "life." It keeps me busy enough without all this school stuff. Though I really can't complain, as my work load is not bad this semester. At least so far.

Oops, I Did It Again

Sorry to quote Britney Spears, but the quote is appropriate. I was really tired after work today, as I was up early to be water girl for my friends who are training for a 1/2 marathon. I then had to work from 8:30-5. So, after I got home, I went to sleep. For 4 hours. Bad idea. Who knows when I'll go to bed. I seem to do this a little too frequently.

I had a great time with other alums from the dale last night. I decided that I wanted to have a get together, so I coordinated a potluck for other alums in the area. There are quite a few of us, and we even met an alum who graduated in '95, which was cool. It was so nice to be able to talk and share stories and be myself. I didn't have to worry that I'd say something wrong or offend someone regarding my faith and politics. I was also told, that for H-dale standards, I'm normal. :-) It was also one of the best potlucks I've been to foodwise. Nothing was store bought. One guy brought homemade bread, another brought an apple pie! I was unfortunately too full to have any pie. I brought lasagna, which was a big hit. Only about 2 pieces left. Which I should eat tonight as I haven't eaten yet.

I can finally go to Bible study this week! I don't have to work on Tuesday for a few weeks now. I am also looking forward to Sunday school. We had a long meeting regarding Sunday school last Tuesday. The jury is still out on how productive it was. I do enjoy the camaraderie with some of the other people in the group. I have friends! :-)

To do this week: Do my cataloging homework. Work really hard on my evaluation project, specifically the IRB. Ugh. Ethical paperwork.