if it weren't for the snow, I'd probably still be skipping

So I gave my English colloquium on Wednesday. I was horribly nervous for the hour before hand, but once I actually began speaking, I was okay. It seemed to go really fast, too. And it helped that so many friendly faces showed up to support me. Thanks, guys! Even the question time didn't freak me out, and it was what I had been most worried about. I'm not always very good at expressing myself when put on the spot, but most of the questions people asked were things I have already thought a great deal about, such as the relation of Christianity and the fantasy literature that I read and write so much of. Dr. Bangsund is pretty much my hero for letting me explain that more, because I really wanted to. But more than anything, I was just glad to be done with it.

To celebrate being done, I spent the afternoon with Sherwin, climbing a tree. It was a gorgeous day, and I guess it's a good thing we took advantage of it, since now it's snowing again.

Anyway, yesterday I got my grade. You know I'm not one to brag, but I will say that when I read Cole's comments I was too excited not to share them with the next several people I saw. Ask me sometime if you'd like to read them for yourself. We'll just say that I'm feeling pretty darn edified right now.

And more good news. Simmons College has room for me in their on-campus housing! It certainly isn't the cheapest place in town to live, but it will be simple and make the transition to graduate school much smoother. I can move to a cheaper place in the spring if it seems like a good idea, but for now I'm thinking this is the best idea. It's much easier to think about going out there as really happening now that I know I'll have a place to live. I still need to find a way to pay for it, but, one step at a time, right?

Then it decided to snow today, which rather puts a damper on my happy dance. Seriously, we're almost done with April, and it's snowing. I can't help but think there is something very wrong about this. At least the snow has squashed my urge to play outside, which was rather getting in the way of my writing a paper that needs to get done.

And now I need to head to Fame rehearsal. We open in less than a week, and we just might be ready by then.

-Kim

frustrations

I'm getting a little creeped out/annoyed by facebook. The way they make money is by selling ad space on their pages, and they have some sort of a system that looks at what info you've put on your profile about interests and such so that they show you ads for things you might actually care about. Case in point, after my interim trip I added "sailing" to my interests, and now I get all sorts of ads about boat rentals. Fine. No big deal. Some of the others bother me, though, specifically the ones sent to you on the basis of your relationship status. If you've marked "single" or choose not to display it at all, you get ads for personals and the like. I got so sick of seeing ads for Woome.com. Now that Sherwin and I have been in a "facebook official" relationship for a week, I'm getting ads for wedding photographers. Something's wrong with this. Shouldn't you be showing those ads to people whose status is "engaged"? Seriously...

This weekend the choir went on tour to Iowa. It actually wasn't that bad of a trip. I had a great homestay family, and I really enjoyed the church we sang in on Sunday morning. The traditional service reminded me of First B in Brookings. It was rather refreshing to sing hymns again. Actually, I liked pretty much everything about that church. Until we left, that is. Stopping for lunch at a mall before getting on the road, several of us discovered that our cash had been stolen. It apparently happened during the church service, while all our bags were in a storage room. Personally, I only lost $7, but several other choir members lost a lot more, and the total among us all was at least $300. More than anything, it's the very idea that someone would steal from us inside a church that bothers me.

Aside from that, the stress level of my life is rising as I realize how little time I have left to complete everything. My English colloquium is in two days. I completed my portfolio last week and turned it in, which left me elated for about a day. My visual aids are finally about ready--I just need Cole to make copies for me and I'll be good to go. And I almost know what I'm going to say, so that's a plus. Now if I can just keep myself from freaking out about it on the day of...

Then there's my research paper for Senior Sem that needs to be done in just over a week. Let's just say that I need a lot of prayer on that front. I know I can still get this done, but it's going to be painful.

Oh, and tomorrow night the pit begins rehearsing with the cast for Fame! I got more music this afternoon so that I can play a couple random violin solos. It's gonna be a crazy lot of fun, emphasis on the crazy.

-Kim

some enchanted evening

So, a serenade from the Su Fu Du drumline was not the way I wanted to be woken up the morning after my final spring formal. Seriously, isn't there somewhere else they could practice at 9:00 on a Saturday morning? Dianna was to the point of yelling out our window at them, when someone came out of Stewie and told them to go somewhere else. I actually found it somewhat entertaining, except that it took me about an hour to get back to any actual sleeping afterward. Hey, I'm allowed to miss the entire morning after going to bed at...wait...I have no idea what time it actually was when I went to bed. But it sure wasn't early.

Anyway, even though this morning was less than ideal, last night was amazing. I got to wear my amazing green dress one more time, and Mandy spent about an hour doing my hair. Even she isn't entirely sure what she did, and could probably never do it again, but it looked pretty darn sweet. A whole group of us--Me, Dianna, Mandy, Brittany, Meriah, Sherwin, Clay, Liessman and Dustin--went out to dinner before hand at Spezia's. I don't know how to pronounce or even spell the dish I had, but it was good. And the best part was that they have paper and crayons on the tables. We decorated our end of the table pretty well with trees and rainbows and Oregon Trail. (Sherwin got dysentery and Clay died) Also, it seemed to be the USF restaurant of the night, because another group of students were there, as well as Dennis Thum and Karen Sumner. Oh, and Sherwin's parents were at the table right next to us. Seriously, how does that happen?

The dance totally rocked as well. For once, good songs outnumbered the bad, and I don't think I was ever completely bored. This is a marked improvement from previous dances, and I'm glad we got to go out with a good one. It's weird to think that last night was probably the last time I'll see Haley dance to "Thriller" or laugh at how many people I know actually like to dance to the song I refer to as the hip-hop square dance. I may not have any awkward/silly slow dances with my girlfriends. And I certainly hope I will never again hear a dance ended with "Happy Trails." That part was weird. But, minor oddities aside, it was a great night, and an amazing way to begin saying goodbye to USF and the traditions we've had here.

Yes, an amazing night.

-Kim

Good Times

Life is good today. My terrifying Senior Sem. test is behind me, and I feel pretty good about it. Also, I got a letter from Berty, which makes me smile. I can't wait until she comes back to us.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the contest on Randomshirts is done now. I got beat out by the "Acordian Hero" shirt, but I did well enough that I now have a $100 gift card to the online store. So soon I will have even more shirts I don't need, but they will be free and amazing.

Last night was the last orchestra concert I will participate in for a very long time. It was amazing, and I'm so glad I found the time this year to finally participate. Playing in a real orchestra is so much better than simply taking lessons on my own. When I play surrounded by others who are at least as good as or better than I am, I learn on the fly and pick up more in one good reading than might get across in a whole hour of a lesson. And the music we make is glorious! Not from the start, certainly, but by the concert we were sounding phenomenal, even with the expected small mistakes. Wherever I end up after grad school, I hope they have a community orchestra I can be a part of. I never intended to make my life about music, but I think that something will definitely be missing if I never again rehearse and perform after I graduate.

That being said, the next two years may pass by without it. I'm going to grad school in Boston, no cheap place to live, and will probably be working and studying too much to find out if there is an orchestra at my level in town. Then again, there may be a chance, but I won't count on it.

And for now I turn my attention back to what I came here for in the first place: my English degree. I have to turn in my portfolio in a week and a day. Until this morning I still had no idea how to write my introduction, what sort of theme my portfolio might even have. After talking through a few ideas with Cole, I think I'm better off and may be able to put something together, so that's a plus. Oh, and I almost missed that meeting with him this morning. My alarm didn't go off, and I'm just lucky Dianna was getting up before 9:00. This is the second time this semester this has happened, and both times on days that I had a senior sem test. Go figure. On the bright side, it gave me less time to worry about things.

Well, I suppose I had better go get some dinner before my shift at the writing center. If it's quiet I can perhaps get a bit of work done on that introduction.

-Kim

Fortune Cookie Say:

"Your fastidious nature has much more fun this year!"

Well, let's hope so.


I'd just like to say that this weekend has been pretty much amazing. Friday night I ran home to Brookings and picked up my new glasses, which absolutely rock. They also came with a sweet case which looks more like it should hold ancient scrolls than glasses, which just makes me smile. And my parents took me out for Chinese, which is always good.

I got back to SuFu Friday night in time for the waffle party and to watch Enchanted. Plus Corinne was on campus for the first time in ages, and we hung out for a while.

Then came Saturday, when Adam randomly showed up and invited us out to lunch at Famous Dave's. He even offered to pay for the four of us. And Bobby from my sailing trip works there, so I got to talk to him a bit. Oh, and they gave us free bottles of BBQ sauce, so I now have one in my fridge. I really don't know when I'll use it...

After lunch we wasted time at the mall. Seriously wasted. We had a whole pile of Younkers coupons and couldn't find a single thing there that worked. Frustration ensued. My good mood was restored, however, when I found a bracelet of black wooden beads with various religious icons on it. It made me smile, and so had to be purchased.

I even had time in the afternoon to practice violin, something I never do often enough. Then we had dinner at Jimmy John's, and I think I've discovered my new favorite cold sandwich. I know it sounds lame, but it was cool at the time. Then the day ended with a random trip to Wal-Mart with Clay and Sherwin. Good times.

Sunday included choir performances at a random Lutheran church in town. We sang at both services, and so heard the message twice. Ironically, the message was about how God works in surprising ways, and that we should be open to recognize his movement in unexpected places. And we heard this twice. Think about it.

The afternoon is a bit of a blur, but it involved a nap and Lord of the Rings on TNT.
Then there was the dress rehearsal for tomorrow's orchestra concert. I know a three hour rehearsal doesn't sound like fun to most people, but hearing and producing amazing orchestral music is good for the soul, even if not for my back. I'll be a little disappointed when this concert is over and I no longer have an orchestra to play with. Someday I'll find one again.

And yes, mother, there was homework sprinkled in there amidst the fun, it's just not worth documenting.

Sorry this post is kind of lame, I'm just trying to get back into the habit of posting again.

-Kim