Flutter

I'm keeping track of my semester on a xanga, so check it out:

www.xanga.com/citysavvyaim

I'll still be using lj as well. Don't worry. :)

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Ben Folds

Well, I'm going to attempt to keep track of my thoughts and observations this semester, so here goes. I'm spending these four months in San Francisco on the Urban program. It's been a whirlwind week, but I'll try to touch on the highlights.

The House

It's fantastic - it's a big green Victorian that used to be a bed and breakfast, so each room is different, and we all have our own bathrooms. Allegra and I are getting settled in. We put black sheers behind the existing lace curtains to give our room a little more personality, and we strung Christmas lights behind them. We've hung a few posters, too.

The Estrogen Overload

The other Urbanites are all really awesome. We have 19 females and ONE male, but he seems to be taking it very well. We're all from Westmont except for two consortium students from Wheaton and Gordon.

The Placement Search

Part of the program is the practicum - everyone gets an internship - so we've all been scrambling this week to perfect resumes, set up interviews, hear from a panel of supervisors, and so on. I had an interviewe at Telegragh Hill Community Center this morning (a non-profit), and I have an interview at Jossey-Bass Publishers at 4.

The Retreat

We took a retreat as a house yesterday to St. Anthony Foundation, an organization in the Tenderloin district that has several different social service programs (free medical clinic, free dining room). I worked with a team for the Salvation Army's Meals that Heal, and we brought food to some seniors' apartments. I've never seen such low end housing as these residential hotels. The rooms were tiny, and many of them smelled badly. One of the seniors, Selma, was a character. From the moment we opened the door to the moment we left, she never stopped talking; she was so happy to have someone to talk to for even a few minutes. I was more saddened by what I saw on the streets. As we passed by a man, he said, "Excuse me, ladies," and I realized he was urinating on a trash can. We had the rare opportunity to eat in the free dining room with the people St. Anthony Foundation serves, including waiting in line with them and sitting among them. One of the men standing behind us in line was coughing up blood. I talked to a man at lunch who had worked with computers and cassette tapes for Memorex; so many of these people have great educations and have held estimable positions. For this or that reason, they've fallen through the cracks of society and now live in poverty or homelessness. It was a very real experience.

The Revelry

So we're in the city, right? Gotta have a little fun. The "21 Club" went out on Monday night, and then on Wednesday night a bunch of us went to a Sri Lankan Tsunami Victim benefit at Club Cocomo that was organized by one of the Urban staff. The event raised $10,000 that all went straight to aid the victims. It was pretty fun, but no one was dancing. It was pretty dead after the raffle. But I had a cosmopolitan, and it was really good. Tonight we're going to Bubba Gump for some shrimp (yum), and then we're heading to The X, an 18 + club; that should be fun.

Well, I'm off to the rest of my day. More to come.

So I'm feeling a little creeped out right now. My mom and I went to La Madeleine for dinner, and when we got to the cash register, she headed off in search of a table while I paid the guy. I handed him my credit card, and after a pause he said, "It's nice to see you...again." I was a little confused, and I think it showed on my face. He said, "I mean, you've been here before, right?" I told him that I hadn't been there in a long time, but yes, I had been there before. He told me I looked familiar, and as I took my receipt, he said, "It's been my pleasure." I kind of laughed nervously and thanked him, and he stopped me, looked right into my eyes and said, "No, really. Believe me. It's been my pleasure."

I don't know what kind of acid trip this guy is on, but he definitely freaked me out a little bit. He's this older, French-sounding man with a moustache (or should I say molestache?), and I do not recall ever seeing him before. I wish now that I had asked him what exactly he meant by that, but oh well.

Other than creepy Frenchman, life's pretty good. It's nice to be home and relax; I'm reading a good book, I get my fill of trashy daytime TV, and I check my myspace a few times a day. Ah, laziness. I'm also doing a bunch of Christmas shopping, which is fun and not fun all at the same time. I have heard more screaming children (and screaming mothers) in the past three days than I have in a long time. I'm greatly looking forward to those family and child-rearing days, but I'm glad they're tucked away somewhere in my future (like hopefully ten-ish years away). Got to meet me a man first.

My mom has her own house now, which is great...slash weird. I feel like my family as I've known it is rapidly changing, and we all know I don't deal well with change. Good times. It's very her, though, and I'm excited for her.

Well, must run. Jeff and I are finally hanging out!

3 days until Christmas eve!!!

Current Mood: weird
Current Music: brit rock on accuradio...so good

Well folks, my most gruesome final (which wasn't really gruesome at all) is finished. That's right, I survived Reconciliation, a most fantastic class that will stick with me for some time, I imagine. Now the rest of my week will be filled with packing, packing, hopefully a lot of good fun, and of course packing. I have to pack up everything since I'm going to San Francisco next semester. It's weird. All my friends who were off campus will be back next semester, and I've made all these new friends, and now I'm taking off. But I am SO excited about what the semester holds. I can't wait to experience the city and get an internship and get to know GHobba (I mean really, who wouldn't?). GHobba is our nickname for the only guy going on Urban. Poor guy has to live in a house with 17 women. Good times.

Man, it seems like life is so complicated nowadays. Friends can't just be friends, unrequited love rears its ugly head for some while everyone else seems to be falling in love, there are more questions than answers, and time moves so quickly! What am I going to do after Westmont? My dad and I had the grad school talk a few nights ago; I'm feeling more clueless than ever. All in due time I suppose.

Well, I had a fantastic (if unproductive) weekend. Friday was Andrea's birthday, so we all rolled over to Kaci and Heather's house, where we had homemade chili, salad and TWO birthday cakes. We then headed down to Paseo Nuevo and caught Ocean's 12, which was really cool and much different from the first. Then, yesterday, as my gift to her, Allegra, Megan, Claire and I took her to see the Nutcracker, which she had never seen before. It was a pretty good performance; the orchestra was fantastic, and there were some beautiful dancers. After the show, we headed to Stella Mare's for dinner b/c Andrea has always wanted to go there. Man, was it good. I had salmon with mashed potatoes and these little delicious vegetables. Since it's her 21st, Andrea ordered a glass of Chardonnay, and I got a glass of Merlot so she'd have a buddy. I like red wine; it's pretty good. My mom let me have a glass at Lynn's dinner party over Thanksgiving, too.

Well, must run. Not really, but I'm contemplating naptime/showertime/empty-the-recycling-bin time, etc. :o)

To God be the glory.

Current Mood: fulfilled

My weekend has been most satisfactory. I haven't really accomplished much, but it's been nice anyway. On Saturday night, Gospel Choir ensemble sang at Hope Community Church, which was fun, and I got to direct a song. Directing is quite a rush; I enjoy it a lot. We all went out for pizza afterward, which was excellente, seeing as the ensemble doesn't get to hang out often enough and we're a whole bunch of really cool people. Then I strung popcorn for our dorm Christmas tree and watched Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty with some fellow dormmates. Does it get any better than Disney and popcorn? Seriously. This morning, we sang at the same church again, in two services, and it was great, but I'm a little drained. Afterward, we had a pretty long leadership meeting. I was so impressed with the guys, though. We had the meeting at Matt's apartment, and he and his roommates are quite the hosts--they had veggie trays out when we arrived, and they made us hot apple cider and potato soup. Pretty good stuff.

Anyway, just wanted to tell you why life is good. Wanna know why else life is good? WEEDA IS COMING BACK ON WEDNESDAY!!! Andrea and I made a paper countdown chain (shut up), and it's so excellent that there are only four circles left.

Well, friends, here concludes my entry. Have a joyous week.

So Ryan and I broke up last night. It was time, and we were definitely on the same page, which is always nice. We had a good talk--he's a great guy, and we're totally still friends. I'm really thankful for the time we had together, but I feel good about our decision. God has been really clear with me that Ryan isn't the man for me. I realized a week or so ago that I haven't spent 21 years figuring out exactly what I want to justify being with someone who isn't. So anyway. Things are good. God is good.

Andrea and I were discussing my "track record"--I now have two ex-boyfriends here, which is just weird to me. I didn't foresee that for myself. But hey, I'm still good friends with both of them, which is great.

I'm so ready to go home for Thanksgiving. I miss my family so incredibly much. Wow.

Sorry for the scatter-brained flavor of this entry. Gotta run to ensemble, so catch ya later!

Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: Rescue - Go Tell it On the Mountain (ensemble practice CD)

My latest obsession is Barnum & Bailey animal crackers. Yes please. I'm going through an emotional stage--I think it's all the hormones from my meds. Good times. Today was interesting. It's not over yet.

I am definitely in it right now.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, please refer to Zach Braff's masterpiece before we speak next.

Current Mood: distressed

Did they forget to teach people how to spell "definitely" between, say, 1989 and 2002?

It's actually raining in Santa Barbara! Amazing. I love it. It's one of those poetic gray days. I'm just sitting here looking out the window, sipping caramel apple cider and listening to Norah Jones. These types of days make me want to cuddle. I'll have to see what I can do about that. ;o) He should be on his way over here anyway b/c I picked up some coffee for him.

Right, back to updating. I had a midterm today; I think it went pretty well. Life is good. Gospel Choir is taking up more and more of my time, but it's fantastic. I got to direct a song the other day, which was awesome, and we led sectionals last night to teach the parts to one of the songs we're doing. I LOVE GOSPEL CHOIR! I probably devote 6-7 hours a week to it.

Well, I'm off to finish up my Urban application. Should I apply to be an RA next year? Decisions... Kaci's having a dinner party of sorts tonight, and then I'm on duty in the RA office (b/c I'm the secretary). And so the night goes.



i like ryan :)

Current Mood: peaceful
Current Music: Dido - Here With Me

Boys = good times. Ryan is so great. We had our first kiss on Thursday! Woohoo! It was so sweet-he's very gentlemanly. But in other news, school is going well. This semester isn't as demanding academically as my other semesters have been, so it's interesting. I'm trying to balance my apparent "free time" with all the other demands in my life right now. Gospel Choir is taking up more and more of my time, which is great, but it's taking some figuring out. Work is great, but it's also another time commitment. I think there's a lot of pressure to spend time with friends, too, b/c times are changing...We're all realizing the short amount of time together we have left, and a lot of us are going on off campus programs at some point or another. Ooh--so great, though--a lot of my friends are coming for New Year's! I couldn't be happier. I didn't expect my Westmont friends to make it to Dallas; plane tickets aren't cheap. What a blessing! It will especially be good to spend some time with Alexis and Ryan--they're on Spain and Europe semester, respectively, and since I'm going on the Urban program next semester, I won't really see them until senior year... Well, this week is actually a little heavier on the academic load, so I'm off to finish a paper before ensemble.

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: John Williams

What a fantastic day. My youth pastor from home came to visit today. His brother lives in L.A., so he, his wife and their precious daughters were out here this week visiting them, so they hung out with Jon (Liesal's fiancee) this morning and then with me this afternoon. It was so nice of them to drive up. I gave them a tour of campus, then we went out to eat and hit the beach for a bit. I miss home and family and friends so much...seeing them today pulled on something deep inside. Texas will always be home, you know?

So the boy...things are good...very good. We're "dating" according to quite a few people (though we have not yet defined it ourselves). We're having fun getting to know each other.

Well, homework calls. And we're having a girls' night tonight! So great. Virgin margaritas. Crazy good times. Oh yes please.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Deb's Christmas music (early much?) :o)

This guy is so amazing. Remember when I said I was falling in like? Yeah... this guy Ryan and I are dating now. We haven't had an official DTR ("defining the relationship," for those of you who don't go to psychotic Christian colleges), but we haven't felt the need. We're just going with the flow, having fun getting to know each other. Turns out we're dating, though, as three people have defined it as such for us. :o) Not that I have a problem with that! We went on a NCTO to Universal Citywalk, and afterward, Ryan and I were holding hands. One of our friends, Evan, noticed and was like, "So, Amy, when was the first time you were attracted to Ryan?" Then he directed the question to Ryan. Then he asked us if we were officially dating. We kind of made a joke out of it and didn't really answer the question. Then, last night at the volleyball game, Megan told Patti that we were dating, so Patti came over and said, "Hi, I'm Patti. I figured I need to meet this guy that Amy is dating. Are you treating her right? Do you love the Lord? Do you go to church?" It was hilarious. The best part is that after the game, she turned to me and said, "Amy, I hope that earlier I didn't completely intimidate the guy you're dating." Unfortunately, she didn't see that he was standing just on the other side of her. She was really embarrassed. It was great. But back to Ryan. He's great. We're just taking things casually. I'll keep you posted. Well, onto the rest of my Sunday afternoon. Plenty to do!

Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: Garden State soundtrack

Wow....

Current Mood: content

So....life is fantastic. My friends are amazing; what a 21st birthday celebration! They took me completely by surprise with a downtown scavenger hunt the day before my birthday. At each stop were a few more friends with flowers, candy, and the next clue. The stops were (in order): beach, carousel, Victoria's Secret, candy store, the courthouse, the Mission. When we got to the Mission, everyone was there, and we had a picnic in the rose garden. It was awesome.

I also have one of those things they call a crush...Man, this guy is so flipping awesome. We've been hanging out a lot, but I can't tell how he feels about me. No matter; I'm loving getting to know him as a friend (I'm just going insane b/c I'm a stupid girl).

Wow...I just read Liesal's away message...she and Jon got engaged! WOOHOO! So fun.

So...I'm gonna go...I think I'm going to watch this week's episode of Scrubs before I have to give my speech in Public Speaking! Woohoo!

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Ben Folds Ultimate Collection

So...long time no update (relatively speaking). Lots to tell, too! I may not have time to get around to everything in this entry, so look forward to more.... Here's the short version:

**Took a job as a dorm secretary
**Decided to apply for RA next year
**Enjoying my classes
**Falling in like with this awesome guy

More to come on ALL these points!

MUAH!

Current Mood: giddy
Current Music: Let Go - Frou Frou (Garden State sndtrk)

So I just noticed that the black partitions in the bathroom stalls are flecked with white. Why would they do that? I think they're trying to make it look fancy, like it's made of marble.

If you squint, it looks like the night sky. Otherwise it just looks like someone sneezed milk all over a chalkboard.

Current Music: Yo Yo Ma...Brazilian cello music

First day of school! I had Design this morning, which will be cool I think. Then I had Comm Research with the mysterious Malleus. Remember him? Yeah. Turns out he's a visiting professor from Zimbabwe. He has this cool British accent.

What else is going on? Deb and I are getting settled into our room. It looks really great in here. Lots of space. This semester is going to be really different, but I'm excited about it. A lot of friends off-campus, a lot of RA friends. I feel different this year, too. Maybe more sure of me, you know? :o)

Well, must run. I have to keep working on my online driving course to clear the dreaded speeding ticket I received this summer. I think we're heading over to Kaci and Heather's apartment later for some pizza and catching up.

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: Ben Folds - Still Fighting It

I'm back in sunny California. I don't know why I even pretend that I'm going to have a smooth flight anymore; something always seems to go wrong, and yesterday was no exception. One of the flight attendants called in sick, and because America West has no standby flight attendants in the area, they cancelled our entire flight and sent us to the ticket counter to rebook. This was nothing short of mass chaos. Well, not really...it was more like a two-hour line of disgruntled passengers. Luckily, I was able to get on a later flight.

This is kind of cool. I started reading the book that Jordan gave me called Fast Facts on False Teachings and was about to take a nap when the man next to me asked if he could look at my book. I handed it over, and we began the deepest and longest discussion of Christianity and other philosophies that I've ever had with a stranger. For two hours we shared our views and talked through different things and different perspectives. He was raised in the Baptist church, but is now very anti-fundamentalism, choosing instead to follow Yogic principles (also covered in my book). Anyway, it was great. I can only have faith that anything I said made an impact on him.

It's so great to be back, but it feels different this year. It feels like I've been gone longer or something, I dunno. It is going to be different--half my friends are RAs or studying abroad--but I'm excited for what this semester holds.

I've almost got my room set up. Then I'll have to unpack my car when it comes, of course, but that won't be until later this week. I can't wait for my new roomie to get here! She's in Hawaii right now (!).

Have a fantastic day.

I miss my Dallas people already!!!

Current Mood: rested

So I just got back from seeing Garden State. Fantastic. To me, it has the flavor of Lost in Translation in that the film is an oasis in the midst of a monotonous life, a flash of brilliance for a few days that changes the character's entire outlook and sense of self.

But it's more than that. It's beautiful, it's honest, it's funny. It reminds me of the way we constantly forget the greater plan; even when we don't understand why things happen the way they do, it all fits together. Andrew tells Sam that it's funny how a quarter-inch piece of plastic determined so much of his life.

My brother didn't like it; he complained that it was too sentimental, a love story. That's not even what I took from the film; it is, of course, a love story, but I saw it more as an important piece of his journey in which she is the one who opens him up. While it becomes about them, it is mainly about him.

Now that we're on the subject of the love story, I was very impressed with the way they illustrated their connection. I found myself increasingly proud of Braff for not "satisfying" us with a kiss at the moments we expect it--the pool, the fireplace, any of the number of wonderful little times we find them alone. And when they did finally kiss, it was perfect. They knew, and we knew, and there was no hesitation, no dancing around what was going to happen.

So there you have it. I really enjoyed the movie, and I encourage you to go see it.

Good luck exploring the infinite abyss.

Current Mood: pleased