new year, new life

Hello all. I realize it's been a really long time since I posted anything here, but I'm not going to apologize for it or anything. Even the summary will be short. I survived finals, I had a great break, and now I'm back for interim. There. You get nothing else on the past. Unless I change my mind later. Anyway.

I've done something different for interim each year, but I'm still going to go with the idea that this is my strangest J-term yet. My roommate has left the country, for one thing. Check out her blog to read cool things about England. I'm not gonna lie--the first few nights with the room all to myself were a little weird. But now I'm loving having the space to myself. The best part might be that I can actually turn on the lights while getting ready in the morning. Well, the solitude for writing is probably the real best thing, but I thought I'd mention the other reasons too. And don't worry, I'm not turning into a recluse. Last night I had a bunch of people in the room playing Apples to Apples, which was great. Corinne and Mandy came over and random other people showed up as we went along. I also went ice skating last night with Corinne and Brittany. When we got to the park we discovered that skate rentals were free for the night, so that was pretty much amazing. Yes, I do have a class this interim, but it doesn't start until today at noon. I'm really excited for it, actually. Of course, we won't be doing the fun part--the week-long canoe trip in the Boundary Waters--until May, but discussion this week should be good too.

And now to the really important bit. I have more free time right now than I have had since I started grade school. Having used the first couple free days to relax, rearrange my room and see some people, it's time to get to work. I want a career as a writer, so this month is my chance to practice living that life. My mom has suggested I try to work a 40 hour week writing my book, so right now I'm trying that. Today it's looking like all my hours will be coming after lunch. This writing doesn't count as work, though it does sort of work to "prime the pump" and get me in a writing mindset. Yesterday I spent four hours working and wrote about half a chapter. I was also bouncing around doing bits of editing, which would explain why it took so long for me to get through only two pages of new text, but I think that's okay. Once I get used to this whole writing all day lifestyle I should be able to produce more at once. The best part of all this is that I should be able to finish the draft of my novel by the end of the month. That would be absolutely amazing, since it's been half finished for the last couple of years. My writing group is meeting again this Sunday, so I'm hoping to have finished the last couple chapters of the current section before I see them. It shouldn't be a problem, since I only have maybe four new scenes to write. Wow. It's actually hard for me to believe that I'm that close. I wonder if I'll know what to do with myself once I finish things. Well, I know that I'll have to do a huge ammount of editing and then write a plot summary and cover letter and start sending it out to publishers, but emotionally I'll be a little lost. I mean, I've been working on this one story for as long as I've really been serious about writing. I guess it's a good thing I already have an idea ready for the sequel so I won't have to leave the world completely. I'm getting ahead of myself now, but it is something I've been thinking about. You know, I'm even more glad to have found my group when I stop and realize that I have no idea how to go about getting myself published. But my new friends do--at least some of them. None of them are published yet, but they have experience in how to submit work, who to send it to and all that. Their help seems proof to me that now is the time for me to finish my book. Well, that plus encouragement from so many other sources and this sudden gift of free time to write. All these blessings coming at the same time seems like God giving me the nod, telling me that yes, this is what I want you to do, so go ahead and get it done. It's a great feeling.

-Kim

That long?

Has it really been since before Thanksgiving that I posted anything for you to read? I'm terribly sorry. I guess I'll have to catch you up a bit on life before I begin my musings. I have three papers left to finish before finals, which seem to have snuck up on me. Can it really be only two weeks from today that I will be finishing my grammar course? Wow. That class has actually been a lot more interesting than I thought it ever could, but I'll still be glad when I no longer have to diagram sentences.

We're halfway done with Madrigals now. Last week's preparations were pretty stressful, but now that everything is rolling we're all okay. We've had a couple good shows, and I can't wait for my family to come see it next weekend. Oh, and there's been a bit of dispute over my costume. Yes, I am actually wearing pink again, but that's not the issue. While most people see fit to just tell us that we all look great, a couple of the guys decided to go a bit further. David told me I looked like a field girl, by which I think he meant shepherdess or something. Steve and Clint, on the other hand, decided that I look like a German bar maid, and have taken to calling me the beer wench. What will those Ferducci's think of next?

Yesterday was Christmas chapel. The only part I feel is worth mention was "O Holy Night," which was performed as a dance. Liberty played piano, I played violin and Jeff played oboe. The whole thing was just gorgeous, and I was so glad to be a part of it. I admit that I was nervous before--the room was so cold it could have put my instrument out of tune--but once I started playing, the experience was one of pure joy. I rarely get to play with other musicians, and to do so with such talented musicians and as an act of worship was indescribably great.

On a related note, Maria said the sweetest thing the other day. As I was leaving my lesson she got all motherly and made sure I zipped my coat and put on my gloves. She told me that the gloves were important because my hands are "precious." Of course she's right--without them how could I play the violin and make music? But it was the way she said it that made me smile. And this was at the end of a lesson that had already gone very well. She kept pushing the metronome up so that I would play my solo piece faster, and it was actually getting better as I got faster, to a certain point. Sometimes we just need to be pushed past where we're comfortable in order to make things even better.

And that's probably all for today, since I do have papers to write and novels to read.

-Kim

reap what you sow

So, I'm feeling pretty good today. On Wednesday I slept all morning, and last night I went to bed early. I'm still a bit tired, but I have a lot more energy than I usually do on a Friday!

Yesterday was great fun. After my violin lesson I stopped at the bank, where I ran into Marie for the first time in ages. I met Marie last January on choir tour (she was traveling with her sister, a choir member) and we hit it off right away. I don't see her much because she graduated my freshman year (I think), but we always have a lot to say to each other. She was excited to hear I'd found a writing group, and now she wants to read my story. When I finish my current editing of the first portion, I'll have to drop it by the bank for her. Yes, she works at the bank, and we were having this conversation over the teller counter.

I even got to see Audrey yesterday, though she was at work too. I stopped into Barnes and Noble and chatted with her over the counter there. When your friends are extremely busy, you sometimes just have to go and find them where they are. Of course, I also had something to pick up at the store, but that's beside the point.

What I was picking up was a CD by the daKAH hip hop orchestra. The new band director played part of it for us toward the beginning of the semester, so I've been wanting to hear more for a while now. It's definitely not my usual musical preference, but the first movement is really good.

And right now I am so glad that we have a working record player at home. The library had a big box out marked "free," so I had to check it out. What I found were record albums of works of literature. I picked up the complete plays of Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar and the Merchant of Venice, as well as Death of a Salesman, The Cocktail Party by T. S. Eliott, Everyman, Aesop's Fables, Faustus (in German), and two albums of famous British poetry. Call me a dork, but I can't wait to listen to some of them.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'd just like to say again how much I'm looking forward to having free time and my own space this January. I know I can get my book finished if I just make the time and devote myself to it, and this is my opportunity. I'm thrilled for Dianna, that she gets to have the experience of a lifetime in England, but that's her dream. Mine can come true at the same time, here in South Dakota. And if all goes well, it won't be the experience of a lifetime, but the start of my life. It's time to move from dreaming to planning, and that starts with finish what I began so many years ago with a short story about a little green bear named Peridot.

-Kim

purple flowers from God

I went to Wal-Mart the other day. Coming back out to my car I found the most amazing artificial flowers lying in the empty spot next to my car. They're huge and ugly and I love them! Since they came out of nowhere, I like to think of them as flowers from God. Hey, a girl likes to get flowers now and again, and who better to get them from?

On a somewhat related note, I've been reading a great book lately. It's called "If Singleness is a Gift, What's the Return Policy?" (Now, don't laugh. If you're just going to laugh, then don't even bother reading the rest.) It's actually a really good book written by two single, Christian women. And no, it's not about how to find a guy to marry. It's about how to take advantage of our single years and not waste them. I'm only about halfway through the book right now, but already I'm seeing things a bit differently. I mean, I've been slowly moving in this direction over the past year or so, but now I can finally understand why. And explain why, since I know some people are going to have questions.

Here's what I've realized: it is such a blessing to be single! Right now I have so many things going on in my life--schoolwork, music, writing, deepening my relationship with Christ--that I, quite literally, don't even have time for a boyfriend. Or if we turn that statement around then, because I'm not wasting my time chasing guys, I can put more of myself into what really matters in life. Even though there are times I find it hard to spend time in the Word, I've been learning more from God in the past year than ever before. And I'm finally getting serious about my writing. Writing stories is what God has gifted me for, and I've been foolish to let that go by the wayside for so long. (I've been talking to Kirby lately, and he's been reminding me to relax and focus on the things that really matter in life.)

Frankly, at this point I'm prepared to remain single for quite a long time. I at least intend to stay this way until I finish my schooling, which is an undetermined ammount of time at this point. I still have no idea what career path God has picked out for me, but that should become clearer as I continue to walk with him day by day. Who knows? Maybe the writing thing will take off. Maybe I really will become a librarian. My life is a story that hasn't been finished yet. The Author only lets me live it page by page, so I just trust that what he has coming later is more than I could ever imagine.

And before anybody asks, this is not a reaction to my brother's engagement. As I said, I've been thinking this way for quite a while now, though it has given me more food for thought. I am thrilled for Kevin, even though I still don't claim to understand his thought processes. Besides, its not like I'm vowing to never get married. I'm just not gonna even think about it for the next couple of years. No, I won't get lonely. How could I, whith all the amazing friends I have to support me, both here at USF and at home. Besides, the King of kings is passionately pursuing my heart every day. And he gives me flowers. What more could a girl ask for?

-Kim

drowning in notecards

Well, here I am again, taking a quick break from homework that threatens to deaden my mind instead of enlightening. I hate that it's my Genesis homework that pains me. I mean, I really enjoy what I've been reading, and I care about the topic. But I don't think I'll do the topic justice. I keep reading pieces of these sources, and never getting the full picture, so my notes are piecemental and don't quite fit together. (I blame Thea Holton and the stupid loon essay for this--why on earth did they make us do that two years in a row in elementary school?) How do I make something coherent of this plethora of facts, snippets and quotes? And where does the text fit in? Apparently I'm supposed to be exegeting along with presenting my research. I have nothing to do this weekend but this paper, and I just might go insane before I reach page 12.

I'm supposed to be playing recorder for Madrigals this year. So far we've not even figured out fingerings let alone read a piece of music. It's going to be interesting for sure if we get this to work.

You know, I really wish that it were still fall break. That was a good time. I mean, I ate pizza with my family and caught up on my sleep. I got to see great friends I hadn't seen in quite a while. I met with my writing group again and received the greatest encouragement. But then I got sick and didn't get as much research done as I had intended, which is why I am only discovering now that my notes are so disjointed. Maybe I would feel better after a good sleep...

I went to Crossroads today and found the most amazing things. I went in for the new Newsboys album, and then I found the newest VeggieTales CD, Boyz in the Sink Live in Paducah. Well of course I had to get that--it has the belly button song! It's great, because there is an actual crowd in the tracks, and the veggies work the crowd like it's a live show. I love it. Anyway, they've apparently developed a veggie DDR. You plug the dance pad into your computer instead of a game system, but it's pretty much like original DDR except for the fact that you'd be "dancing" to veggie songs. But it made me wonder what sort of a visual they put on the screen for a tutorial. The veggies don't have feet. I almost want to get it, but that's too much money to spend on pure whimsy. Besides, the dance pad is probably sized for chidren. Oh well, I'll just have a one-man dance party to the Boyz in the Sink!

-Kim