To my knowledge, I have nothing meaningful to say in this post. I only seek to vent my rage.
The windows in our not-so-new apartment leak bugs. Mainly fruit flies. They mostly mingle in and around the garbage can. When you open the lid to dispose of some foul thing, it's like spontaneous generation was never disproved. But on Saturday, after a moist encounter with emptying the trash -- the details are not worth going into -- I discovered that fruit flies don't stay in the garbage if there is no waste in there.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Friday, August 12, 2011
West Virginia trip
This is just the e-mail I sent out to those who asked for a daily update throughout the week, and I thought I'd share for those who just wanted to know how things went :)
Dear Friends,
First, an apology is in order, both for my West Virginia team, and for myself. We fully expected to send out daily e-mails about how our trip was going, but once we got there, our team leader was a little overwhelmed and found out that there was not enough time in the days to report to our church secretary every day to share our news. So, as you well know, we got in contact with church once the whole week. A sad excuse for e-mail updates! Sorry from my team!
Also, a sorry from myself, because I kept meaning to write a follow-up e-mail and thank you to all those who supported me with money and showered me with prayers about this trip. It has sadly taken me almost two weeks of being home to sit down and write to share with you all the wonderful things that went on during our trip to West Virginia.
I’ll give a basic overview of the week, some fun stories and a few little tidbits that I learned, all while trying to be brief… We’ll see how this goes!
We arrived Saturday after about 11 hours of driving. Apparently there were awful floods in Chicago, which we were graced with safe travel through. I was asleep, so didn’t see any of the wreckage, but from what I heard, we just missed the really bad rains by about an hour! Praise God!
Sunday we went to meet with Etta and the other home owners. All 19 of us squeezed into Etta’s living room. It was a beautiful reunion for those of us who knew her before, and those who hadn’t were so excited to share in meeting our wonderful friend! Her daughter and granddaughter, Tammi and Taya, were there as well! Taya had been to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House, and she showed us the commemorative egg she got there. I was SO jealous. My idol, Dolly Madison, was the one who started the Egg Roll, and I have always wanted to be a part of the tradition. So, the closest I got was holding the fake egg.
Monday, we started working. I learned a little about plumbing. I helped install a new sink vanity set in Thelma Brown’s house. We took the box it came in and made “Spaceship Cheese” with Octavian, Thelma’s great-grandson, one of many! He’s five, and he is quite a hoot!
Tuesday, more work. I painted in one of the bedrooms in Thelma’s house.
Wednesday, we had the afternoon off. In the morning, I finished up painting in the bedroom. Marie, whose roof we repaired, made us the most beautiful meal of all time! Fried chicken and ribs, with hand-made rolls that could put Texas Road House to shame! Then we spent the afternoon at Valley Worlds of Fun, which is where Tammi works. It’s like a small Chuck E. Cheese’s or Fun World with outdoor rides and activities as well. They had bumper boats – the best thing for relief from the heat! They also had a really cool mini-golf course where each hole was another country. We golfed – or sort of golfed, since I don’t really play by golf rules – with Taya. She spends a lot of time there since her mom works there, and so she’d say, “I know which country comes next. It’s got a BIG population!” She is just too precious!
Thursday, we rented a carpet shampooer for the bedroom I had painted, because the granddaughter who had lived in it had spilled and carelessly left everything to stain. We would have felt awful leaving it as dirty as she had, so we did our best to clean it up a bit. Many of the big stains came out!
Friday, there was not much work left to do, so after we finished up the few remaining loose ends, we spent the day with Etta, watching soap operas. A few of us ladies went with her to look for a couch. She had been wanting a new one for some time. It was fun to go looking with her. Then, we all went to this cute little restaurant called the Poky Dot. It’s a 50’s style diner. Their ice cream is pretty cheap and comes in colossal proportions! That night there was a dinner for all the hosts whose houses we had worked at. It was nice to eat a meal with Etta, Tammi, Taya, Marie, Nicki (her granddaughter), and Cedric (Nicki’s son).
All week, Pastor Adam Powers spoke to us about Jonah back at the camp. It was very refreshing to have God’s Word spoken each day. We also met some teens from a church in Sparta, Illinois. It was really great to bond with God’s people from all over. But one of my favorite parts of the trip, both this time and last, was growing in relationship with those from Cornerstone itself. I have found it so valuable to know the people you attend church with every Sunday. I even got to know people from church who I had only met in passing.
Thank you again for all your prayers throughout the weeks surrounding my trip. Thank you for your patience with not receiving updates. I would love to talk more in depth about the trip if any of you have questions!
In Christ’s Love,
Audrey Moore
Dear Friends,
First, an apology is in order, both for my West Virginia team, and for myself. We fully expected to send out daily e-mails about how our trip was going, but once we got there, our team leader was a little overwhelmed and found out that there was not enough time in the days to report to our church secretary every day to share our news. So, as you well know, we got in contact with church once the whole week. A sad excuse for e-mail updates! Sorry from my team!
Also, a sorry from myself, because I kept meaning to write a follow-up e-mail and thank you to all those who supported me with money and showered me with prayers about this trip. It has sadly taken me almost two weeks of being home to sit down and write to share with you all the wonderful things that went on during our trip to West Virginia.
I’ll give a basic overview of the week, some fun stories and a few little tidbits that I learned, all while trying to be brief… We’ll see how this goes!
We arrived Saturday after about 11 hours of driving. Apparently there were awful floods in Chicago, which we were graced with safe travel through. I was asleep, so didn’t see any of the wreckage, but from what I heard, we just missed the really bad rains by about an hour! Praise God!
Sunday we went to meet with Etta and the other home owners. All 19 of us squeezed into Etta’s living room. It was a beautiful reunion for those of us who knew her before, and those who hadn’t were so excited to share in meeting our wonderful friend! Her daughter and granddaughter, Tammi and Taya, were there as well! Taya had been to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House, and she showed us the commemorative egg she got there. I was SO jealous. My idol, Dolly Madison, was the one who started the Egg Roll, and I have always wanted to be a part of the tradition. So, the closest I got was holding the fake egg.
Monday, we started working. I learned a little about plumbing. I helped install a new sink vanity set in Thelma Brown’s house. We took the box it came in and made “Spaceship Cheese” with Octavian, Thelma’s great-grandson, one of many! He’s five, and he is quite a hoot!
Tuesday, more work. I painted in one of the bedrooms in Thelma’s house.
Wednesday, we had the afternoon off. In the morning, I finished up painting in the bedroom. Marie, whose roof we repaired, made us the most beautiful meal of all time! Fried chicken and ribs, with hand-made rolls that could put Texas Road House to shame! Then we spent the afternoon at Valley Worlds of Fun, which is where Tammi works. It’s like a small Chuck E. Cheese’s or Fun World with outdoor rides and activities as well. They had bumper boats – the best thing for relief from the heat! They also had a really cool mini-golf course where each hole was another country. We golfed – or sort of golfed, since I don’t really play by golf rules – with Taya. She spends a lot of time there since her mom works there, and so she’d say, “I know which country comes next. It’s got a BIG population!” She is just too precious!
Thursday, we rented a carpet shampooer for the bedroom I had painted, because the granddaughter who had lived in it had spilled and carelessly left everything to stain. We would have felt awful leaving it as dirty as she had, so we did our best to clean it up a bit. Many of the big stains came out!
Friday, there was not much work left to do, so after we finished up the few remaining loose ends, we spent the day with Etta, watching soap operas. A few of us ladies went with her to look for a couch. She had been wanting a new one for some time. It was fun to go looking with her. Then, we all went to this cute little restaurant called the Poky Dot. It’s a 50’s style diner. Their ice cream is pretty cheap and comes in colossal proportions! That night there was a dinner for all the hosts whose houses we had worked at. It was nice to eat a meal with Etta, Tammi, Taya, Marie, Nicki (her granddaughter), and Cedric (Nicki’s son).
All week, Pastor Adam Powers spoke to us about Jonah back at the camp. It was very refreshing to have God’s Word spoken each day. We also met some teens from a church in Sparta, Illinois. It was really great to bond with God’s people from all over. But one of my favorite parts of the trip, both this time and last, was growing in relationship with those from Cornerstone itself. I have found it so valuable to know the people you attend church with every Sunday. I even got to know people from church who I had only met in passing.
Thank you again for all your prayers throughout the weeks surrounding my trip. Thank you for your patience with not receiving updates. I would love to talk more in depth about the trip if any of you have questions!
In Christ’s Love,
Audrey Moore
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Lithuania
Next semester, I am going to Lithuania to study abroad! I started a new blog to write about it:
http://2touchthestars.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
http://2touchthestars.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Almost Home!
SO...
I have one more week of classes, a week of exams, then there's no place like home! Before I go, I'd like to take some time to make a final comparison between home and school -- this is for you, Kaia!
At school, I have the mentality that I have to take care of myself, so I'm good at it.
At home, I become rather dependent on my mom ... it's almost embarrasing.
At school, I have to call home if I want to talk to my family.
At home, they're there!
At school, I miss Kaia.
At home, I miss Kaia.
At school, I feel the need to set aside time to clean my room.
At home, I just don't.
At school, I recognize that I am learning and absorbing at every moment.
At home, I hope to remember that.
At school, I have no car.
At home, I have to wait for someone to get home with a car or for it to be finished at the shop.
At school, I have no place that will deliver pizza at one in the morning! What?!
At home, I have my toppers.
At school, I have a tiny fridge with hardly enough space to fit a half-gallon of milk.
At home, I can sneak down in the middle of the night for a glass of chocolate milk which is in a gallon jug which is next to a gallon of skim and two-percent.
At school, I miss home.
At home, I miss school.
At school, I eat easy mac late at night.
At home, I do not miss easly mac.
At school, I learned a lot of things that I pray I remember to incorporate
at home.
I learned that family is more important than friends. I learned I didn't believe that before I went to school. I learned that it's ok to take some time to make your living space look nice. I learned that I HATE dorms. I learned that I CAN knit a hat. I learned that I CAN be self-sufficient. I learned that my brothers are not conversational on the phone. Maybe I already knew that.
I have one more week of classes, a week of exams, then there's no place like home! Before I go, I'd like to take some time to make a final comparison between home and school -- this is for you, Kaia!
At school, I have the mentality that I have to take care of myself, so I'm good at it.
At home, I become rather dependent on my mom ... it's almost embarrasing.
At school, I have to call home if I want to talk to my family.
At home, they're there!
At school, I miss Kaia.
At home, I miss Kaia.
At school, I feel the need to set aside time to clean my room.
At home, I just don't.
At school, I recognize that I am learning and absorbing at every moment.
At home, I hope to remember that.
At school, I have no car.
At home, I have to wait for someone to get home with a car or for it to be finished at the shop.
At school, I have no place that will deliver pizza at one in the morning! What?!
At home, I have my toppers.
At school, I have a tiny fridge with hardly enough space to fit a half-gallon of milk.
At home, I can sneak down in the middle of the night for a glass of chocolate milk which is in a gallon jug which is next to a gallon of skim and two-percent.
At school, I miss home.
At home, I miss school.
At school, I eat easy mac late at night.
At home, I do not miss easly mac.
At school, I learned a lot of things that I pray I remember to incorporate
at home.
I learned that family is more important than friends. I learned I didn't believe that before I went to school. I learned that it's ok to take some time to make your living space look nice. I learned that I HATE dorms. I learned that I CAN knit a hat. I learned that I CAN be self-sufficient. I learned that my brothers are not conversational on the phone. Maybe I already knew that.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Bird watching
One really stupid thing about my school is the library windows. I don't know why we don't fix them. There is nothing wrong with them, per se, except that birds always run into them. It's a rather distracting phenomenon. We have this nice little cove with couches and chairs and tables surrounding a very realistic looking tree. Some other fake greenery finishes off the circle. The cove is surrounded on two sides by periodicles and our music selection -- including albums, which resound with the memories of my childhood. Then the other two sides are these windows. It's very aesthetically pleasing, until you heark chclunk!
chclunk!
chclunk!
And you look up from your book or your blog and realize that a bird has been ramming its little beak into the reflective window.
This is not a seasonal phenomenon. This does not depend on the time of day -- some of our windows on campus change tint from day to night (you can see out during the day and in during the night). But not our library windows.
I've gotten used to the blackbirds and the robins attacking the windows while I'm studying, but recently something disturbing has happened --
With the event of spring sortof coming (One day it is 60 degrees, the next it snows -- literally), cardinals have begun to show up. Growing up, my mom always told me that seeing cardinals meant it was spring. This enigma they presented gave me the feeling that cardinals are important. They have this elegance that other birds don't. Their unique color sets them apart from other birds. They always look alert and beautiful.
But cardinals will also smash into the library windows.
I get annoyed and a little sad at seeing a robin or a blackbird run into a window, but there is something truly despairing about seeing a cardinal run into a window continuously. These beautiful beacons of spring just prove their hidden stupidity and it kindof discredits them as beautiful creatures. I used to that that because they were so much more lovely than the other birds, they had some elevated state of mind -- I guess this disproves gnosticism!
chclunk!
chclunk!
And you look up from your book or your blog and realize that a bird has been ramming its little beak into the reflective window.
This is not a seasonal phenomenon. This does not depend on the time of day -- some of our windows on campus change tint from day to night (you can see out during the day and in during the night). But not our library windows.
I've gotten used to the blackbirds and the robins attacking the windows while I'm studying, but recently something disturbing has happened --
With the event of spring sortof coming (One day it is 60 degrees, the next it snows -- literally), cardinals have begun to show up. Growing up, my mom always told me that seeing cardinals meant it was spring. This enigma they presented gave me the feeling that cardinals are important. They have this elegance that other birds don't. Their unique color sets them apart from other birds. They always look alert and beautiful.
But cardinals will also smash into the library windows.
I get annoyed and a little sad at seeing a robin or a blackbird run into a window, but there is something truly despairing about seeing a cardinal run into a window continuously. These beautiful beacons of spring just prove their hidden stupidity and it kindof discredits them as beautiful creatures. I used to that that because they were so much more lovely than the other birds, they had some elevated state of mind -- I guess this disproves gnosticism!
Friday, February 25, 2011
death to life.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
From the get-go, something had to die in order to maintain life. You might say -- wait! Not true! Nothing died until after the fall when God killed the lamb to set the example of a perfect sacrifice and to clothe adam and eve in order to hide their shame. Not so! In Genesis one, God gives man all "seed-bearing plants" for food. haven't we discovered that plants have life too? So adam and eve required something to die in order for them to maintain health.
This has a lot of implications which, in my life, have been discussed over family dinners as well as my philosophy class. Does that mean that death is not inherently or directly a result of sin? If plants could die, could humans die in the "perfect" earth, but pass straight to heaven?
Here's what's great -- it doesn't matter! That wasn't the plan. When i connected the dots of this semi-obvious revelation, at first my worldview was temporarily and utterly shattered! There was death before the fall! Even if it was a much smaller scale than human death, it was death nonetheless. But after a moment or two's thought, I said to myself -- God knew all along that man would reject him, but before he could, God called him at his own game. Even before we could reject God, he reclaimed us. He prematurely gave us food as a symbol that death sustains life. Something has to be sacrificed in order for us to live.
By no means would I condone Hinduism, but some aspects of it can teach us more about Christianity. They have this system where they theoretically could eat anything (but mostly Hindus are vegitarian), but everything you eat has some life-valule (karma) and when you eat, you rack up karma. a food's karma is dependant on "how alive" it was before you ate it. For example, a carrot has less karma, or guilt, than a pig because it was less alive. and a pig has less karma than a horse, and a horse than a human.
But despite the engaging tangent, the idea to take away (at least for the purpose of this post) is that when we eat we are taking a life to keep our own. this is not to make us feel guilty the way the Hindus do, but rather to make us grateful. granted, the food didn't have much say in the matter, but it gives its life still.
So, ever since this discussion arose at my dinner table, i've kinda been thinking about death and its relationship to life.
I got bamboo this summer, and it's pretty easy to care for. I just keep mine in a vase with water and it grows slowly and stays healthy. I switch the water often enough. But, when I got back from break, I found one of my three bamboo stalks dead. utterly killed. Not thinking about it on any sort of philosophical level, i thought to myself -- well, i guess i'll throw that one out and let the other two live the natural courses of their lives. but luckily, my dear and lovely friend Lydia was near and she said -- it's kinda poetic...
And i thought -- yea it is! so now i have a daily reminder of a number of poetic images and implications and philosophies of death dragging down full encompasing of life; or death allowing life to continue; or whatever else it is my bamboo tells me on any given day!
THEN! today, exciting story.
For valentine's day, my favorite person in the world thoughtfully gave me 2 daffodils (to reference one of our fav movies -- big fish) in a cute little pot. Made my day. Just like everyday. I was very diligent about watering them twice a day, but they started to look sad. I repotted them into more soil that I had in a bigger pot, but i think there just isn't enough light in my room. I had also had to carry them all the way across campus in the cold, and maybe they just never recovered. who knows. but they were looking dreary. I kinda gave up on watering them. I was unbelievably bummed.
But tonight, I got home, and even though I had lost hope in their life, a new blossom had sprouted between them! this was perhaps the most exciting thing that had happened to me all week, and I've had a pretty eventful week. Something about it was just moving.
What is it that moves me so? I don't know specifically. I have a lot of ideas of why it's so great, and they're all good and true, but the best is just beauty and joy inexplicable.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Homecoming.
Returning Home from College for Christmas Break my Freshman Year:
a comparisson of family vs. friends
When I first got home, I was constantly aware of the fact that I was not at school. I kept thinking, ok, don't talk too much about your new friends that no one here knows, they'll just get sick of you. I probably failed at that, but I did better than I could have. My mom kept reminding my sister and I of the normal sleep patterns that people have. Ironically enough, I ate worse at home than at school. I think at school I feel the responsibility to take care of myself, whereas at home I think, eh, mom will take care of how I eat.
So I was always thinking, at school, i eat like this, or, at school, i sleep with noise, or, at school this and at school that.
also, at school i don't have a little brother to fight with all the time.
As the weeks past, I got used to being at home. I ate without thinking about a cafeteria. I slept without thinking of the obscene songs that my roomies play while I try to sleep. I got used to asking for permission to go out and use the car.
But just today, I looked at a picture on facebook of a day my friends and I dressed up like our teacher (yes, our Bib Herm prof) and I remembered other things about that day, and other things my friends liked to do and 2am Mr. Pizza. Now I'm starting to resort back into the, at school I... mentality. I'm so excited to go back! I can't wait!
a comparisson of family vs. friends
When I first got home, I was constantly aware of the fact that I was not at school. I kept thinking, ok, don't talk too much about your new friends that no one here knows, they'll just get sick of you. I probably failed at that, but I did better than I could have. My mom kept reminding my sister and I of the normal sleep patterns that people have. Ironically enough, I ate worse at home than at school. I think at school I feel the responsibility to take care of myself, whereas at home I think, eh, mom will take care of how I eat.
So I was always thinking, at school, i eat like this, or, at school, i sleep with noise, or, at school this and at school that.
also, at school i don't have a little brother to fight with all the time.
As the weeks past, I got used to being at home. I ate without thinking about a cafeteria. I slept without thinking of the obscene songs that my roomies play while I try to sleep. I got used to asking for permission to go out and use the car.
But just today, I looked at a picture on facebook of a day my friends and I dressed up like our teacher (yes, our Bib Herm prof) and I remembered other things about that day, and other things my friends liked to do and 2am Mr. Pizza. Now I'm starting to resort back into the, at school I... mentality. I'm so excited to go back! I can't wait!
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