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

I think my closet is bulemic

No, seriously. These past weekends I’ve had a slight shopping binge (not a bad time of year for it, what with the sales and all) and the result has been that things don’t fit in closet quite as well as I would like. The only way to fix this is to purge the closet of whatever I can. It’s almost time to pack the sweaters away, but since my hair froze as I walked out to the car Monday morning, I don’t think it’s quite time for that yet.

So what can I do but pull out those shirts that have not been worn in two years, since before the infamous metaphor class or the last time I spent the summer in Brookings. (Mom, you can tell Dad I’m giving him back his fatigue-green jacket that I borrowed freshman year)

I suppose I should teach my closet to have a better body image and not react to changes in season to dramatically, but I think it will survive this ordeal. After all, occasionally a good purge can be necessary.

I’m speaking metaphorically, of course. Sometimes life gets cluttered, muddled with unnecessary business and activities. Now, the problem with a straightforward purge is that it eliminates everything. That’s not good. When we clear out our lives, we need to be careful that we don’t eliminate the good with the bad. Don’t give up all social activities, just learn to say “no” when your plate is already full.

Too bad I can't follow my own advice--extra choir events are not optional, so I have to live with the consequences of spending an evening in Beresford when I would rather be in my room reading my homework assignments. On the bright side, I now have hilarious pictures of me, Clay and Erin Kaiser in a photo booth at CiCi's Pizza.

-Kim

I have achieved greatness!

Well, of a sort. The guys at Randomshirts.com have decided to use my t-shirt idea in the next people's choice contest! You can vote for it by purchasing it for only $16.95. I bought my own as soon as I found out, and it should be here in a few days. There is a slight chance of winning cash money or at least credit at the ransomshirts store, but I've got some pretty stiff competition--you chould check it out.

The shirt is actually a spin-off of a shirt they designed themselves, which Dianna owns. Do you all remember the Calvinist/Arminian shirt? Good. Now imagine what the shirt for Agnosticism might say. That's right: this shirt *might* exist. And with their spooky powers of genius, the guys at randomshirts even made it green. Amazing!

So now I can rest contented. I may not have a book published, but my idea was made into a t-shirt that ten, maybe even thirty people will buy and proudly wear!

-Kim