The Return

Strange faces, spitting teachers, insanely simple assignments that take three hours to complete, due dates, note-copying classmates, frightened faces, Asian invasion.
Once again I face all these things on a daily basis, for Rachel is back in College. I have moved up a step in the academic world: I am now attending a university. One of four model schools in the teaching field, listed on that one place's list of America's top 100 colleges, this university is complete with difficult classes, exciting sports (like soccer!), outrageous entertainment options (fencing? who does that?), and a large and diverse student population.
Yes, I suppose my first impressions of this city and this college haven't all been pleasent. Any adjustment is difficult. I can see many little things that, though they are small and overpowered by the negatives now, have the potential to blossom into some unforgettable awesome experiences.
Like the overabundance of runners. Morning, noon, night, anytime, anywhere, there's always joggers or runners or waddlers out in sweats and headbands. Running is so much more fun when I know I'm not being watched. While I can't ever be certain, it is pleasant to know there's a million other joggers for people to watch. Sometimes its nice to be part of the crowd.
And like all the rain. Living in a desert makes you appreciate water.
That brings us to the next plus. There's a little river barely fifteen minutes from my front porch. Incredible? I think it is.
It rained at the football game this Saturday. This is the very first time in my life I've been in a school that had a football team.
There's a lot of intelligent people in my classes. Sometimes the discussion goes way over my head. Never been there before this. Its a pretty pleasant place.
My teachers are full of character and amusing.
To top it all off, I'm seeing famous people. A visiting writer came to one of my classes today.
Yes, its not the funnest thing now, but check back in about a month when I've got some friends and you'll find a party that should have never started.

Done

I finished out my last semester at the community college about two weeks ago. I'm proud to say I finished strong, though for a little while in there I wasn't entirely sure I was going to finish alive. I made it through finals, packed up my stuff, and headed home.
I've been doing absolutely nothing inbetween then and now.
However, tomorrow morning vacation will be over. More on that later.
For now, I just thought my reading world should know I'd survived.

To Write Love on Her Arm

So it was some stupid facebook event thing that happened today. I think it was about saving the sucidial teenagers. I'm sure you'll get plenty of info if you Google this post's title. Me, I never pass up a chance to draw on myself. After I finished it, it was pointed out to me that its kinda symbolic of Christ's love for us. The saving blood is the connecting factor, I think. I like that thought. Think we'll stick with it for now. Maybe I'll add a crown of thorns or a cross or something if I'm feeling artistic tomorrow.

Return of the Hermit Crab

I recently discovered my responsibility level has decreased significantly since high school. What prompted this discovery?
Ahm.
Er.
You remember that hermit crab I was quite proud of acquiring? Yes. His food rotted. I put him in the back room and successfully forgot about him for about three weeks. No food. No water. No attention (not that hermits like attention, but still a sign of neglect). I assumed he was dead, and was pretty ashamed of my irresponsibility when I rediscovered his terrarium. For about a week I was too embarrassed to dig through the sand in the bottom and resurrect his dead body.
On Monday I was sitting on my bed doing homework and he crawled across the floor in front of me.
Fully alive, fully mobile, as nonchalant as a hermit crab can be, he sauntered in front of me.
I'm glad he's back, glad I didn't kill him, and glad for a second chance at being a good hermit crab owner.
It makes a pretty funny story to tell, too.

The Green Mile--plus a few rabbit chases

.....Yes, another movie. Again, over three hours long. Very deep. And yes, I had homework to do that night. But it was worth it. Every moment I spend with my buddies here is worth it. I won't be here much longer (graduation: yay!).
....This movie was very intense. Ask my skittles. I got up and ran out of the room more than once. Yeah, well, I'm kinda a baby when it comes to scary movies. Its not so much the prevalence of death. Its the drama associated with it, the way they emphasized it and made me think about it. Troy was the first R rated movie I'd ever finished (I started to watch "the Reaping" with my skittles last fall, but I fell asleep after about the first ten minutes. Mostly all I remember about it is this image of a girl in the dark and screaming), and this was the second. It probably wasn't the best initiation into the world of graphic violence. I don't like electrocution.
.....But I loved the story. It was refreshing to see something obviously fantastical handled in such a serious manner. I love fantasy, magic, "miracle" stories. I think they can answer real life's problems a whole lot better than anything factual ever can. There wasn't one moment of doubt from any of the actors in this movie. No slightly shamed grins, no hidden mocking faces. All the characters in this film completely believed John Coffey, and none of them asked for an explanation. That's an important step for an audience to make if they're ever to enjoy a story: belief without explanation. Aparently this was a fairly widely viewed movie. Perhaps America is not as dumb as I thought.

Close-up: My Life's Blood

Ok, so, maybe coffee isn't exactly necessary for my survival. It's high on the list, however. (you know, like food/water, shelter, coffee, love, knowledge, ect., ect.)

I'm pretty much in love.

Close-up: the List

The list of all the homework I had to do. Seriously, there are no doodles, rhymes, or half stories. Every line at that page is a homework assignment. There's several check marks on there now. Hopefully this list will be history by Friday night.