Happy for a "hyphen" and other notes

I checked my grades for the Fall semester online a few days ago and got one lovely A and one A with a "hyphen." Honestly, I was quite thrilled to see it. I could have done much worse, and since I am trying to get into another graduate program at the university, I was well pleased to see that so far I have no B grades (or, heaven forbid, worse, although I still have one more class to complete). At a time when I needed tangible proof that I am actually capable of doing graduate level work, this was most welcome.
I have the opportunity to make dinner tonight. I am looking forward to it :). I might just have to make dessert, too (not that we need it - the Christmas season always provides a dearth of junk food, but making some specially from scratch is so much more interesting). Tonight will provide another opportunity for me - spending the evening with my grandmother. This is certainly according to my philosophy which I failed to follow yesterday and also an act of good conscience. Her husband needs to be away for a few hours tonight and she cannot go with him, and I do not think that she should be left alone. Recent years have not been the most gracious to her mind and I hope that I may be gracious in my response to the same questions asked multiple times. I wish I could say that my attitude is positive going into this, but it really is not. I highly doubt that I will regret spending a few hours this way, however. This, too, shall pass, and I will be better off for it, I am sure.
I finally added some links to my sidebar today. Rather than a running commentary on the difference in the weather between my homes in CA and NY, they're linked on the side for those who actually care about such things. Despair.com is a site of demotivational posters - I love it! Just remember, "There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots." Engrish.com is a great website full of butchered English. There's some pretty funny stuff on there. Puzzle Pirates! You, too, can enjoy countless hours of pillaging fun and you can play for free! Yarrr!

Monday Evening Post

I watched the Chronicles of Narnia instead of Harry Potter the other day. I thought it quite well done and know why people loved it. I also can see why there are some who were not completely enraptured by it. It's a story for children. I like stories for children (anyone who has seen my ever-growing VeggieTales collection can testify to that), so I liked it. I enjoyed the talking children in the theater (and there were many), as they added the wonder and innocence the audience should have. I still have every intention of seeing Harry Potter, however, and may disagree with those who said Narnia was better just because I like the Harry Potter books much more than the Narnia books (heresy, I know!).
I also went to see the Wallace & Grommit movie at a dollar theater (and managed to get in for free!) and have to say that it disappointed me. I love their three original episodes, so I was expecting great things. It had its moments, certainly, but there were things in there that were rather "suggestive." That ruined whatever genius it had for me. (I didn't find the story all that great, either.)
I had a stupid moment today. It was one of those moments where my great philosophy which ought to guide my actions faltered in the face of my own selfishness. The philosophy is that we ought to live as though today is the last day we may ever spend with those we love that we might not regret the past. It is a fine idea, but it did not occur to me to apply it until the time had passed. My dad asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast this morning. I said no and gave some lousy excuse for my answer and went back to bed. Breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day and I can take it or leave it for the most part. My dad, however, is a big fan of breakfast and enjoys going out. Though it may not be my first choice of how to spend my time, it would have been nice for him. That is time that I lost to my selfishness that I can never regain. Now may be the only time that I have, but I must get out of the now and think about how each "now" will be accounted for and how I can never go back and fix the misused "nows" of my past; they live on in my memory, and some old "nows" are haunting...
While I am here in CA on my break I need to start writing my personal statement for the teaching program I will apply for soon. I need to write 4-5 pages on why I want to teach what I want to teach. History is experienced as nothing but multitudinous dates, details and dead men for far too many students. It should be something far more interesting than that! They want 4-5 pages? I may find that rather constricting!

Thawing out

I arrived in Los Angeles late Tuesday night, exhausted and sore from my attempts at sleeping while occupying the center seat on an airplane yet still so very glad I came. In my two days home I've gone to choir practice, wrapped some presents, watched several DVDs (that's what break is all about!), improved my pirate's online statistics (she's got pretty good ones overall these days), spent lots of quality time with my beloved dog, went to lunch with a friend and shopping afterward (Market City Cafe and Ann Taylor Loft - it had been too long!), visited my former place of work and went to dinner for my grandmother's husband's birthday. Today I'm going to In-N-Out and to see the Harry Potter movie, at long last! At this rate I think my three weeks will go by all too quickly! I will be back in New York before I know it, but after I've gotten used to the weather out here again. I posted some weather information a week before coming out here. The night I posted it, the temperature got down to six degrees below zero. Wednesday was in the upper 70s here. Small difference... I just hope I don't freeze upon my return! There's a lot of Southern California life for me to live today, so I must be off.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!

Time flies!

I have been in New York for over four months now. The time has passed by so quickly. I can't say that it has all been fun, but as I look back on this time I am so glad that I came. Things are not as I imagined them to be in many ways, but I am not disappointed by any differences. Finding a church was easy for me, and I don't feel like I had to settle on one. I have friends who are becoming more and more dear to me with every passing day. My apartment has given me so interesting trials, but even there I will chalk up those trials as life experience that may come in handy later in life. If nothing else, I can look back at this place in the future and tell stories about life in my first apartment. I have seen God's hand in my life and know that He is watching out for me, guiding my path when all seems dark around me, lifting me when my countenance is low and blessing me beyond my expectations. I will be on an airplane in 48 hours, heading home for Christmas. I am definitely excited to see my family and friends again, especially to have my whole family together to celebrate Christmas. That will be the best part of my visit. I miss the people I left in California, and I think that being away for this long has made me realize just how much I love them. They are what makes going home going home. (As I was writing this, my phone rang. My parents were calling me and I have my cell phone programmed to play "Homeward Bound" when they call me - quite appropriate, given the topic of this post.) Yet when I board the airplane in Los Angeles in January, it will be to come back home. This is where I have chosen to live, so this, too, is home. I have a bit of a "home" identity crisis at this point in my life, but that is good for me because it helps me to recognize that there is no real home for me on earth. My home is in heaven.

"All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." ~ Hebrews 11:13-16

"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." ~ John 14:1-3

Reflections upon Christmas

I wrote this well over a year ago, but as Christmas draws nigh I thought it would be appropriate to post it here.

There is a story of love stronger and deeper than any love recorded by the great novelists of the world. The sweetest romance pales in comparison to the love that God showed the world when He sent His Son. This love story is so often told that we lose sight of how truly amazing it is. The stage is set outside the church building, under a tree and on the front of a greeting card. We think of the angels and shepherds, the magi from the east and the loving young mother, all worshipping the newborn king. It is a quaint picture in our minds as we bustle to and fro in the midst of the holiday rush. As we purchase gifts in anticipation of the joy on the faces of our loved ones do we miss the joy on the face of the Father when He gave His Son to His loved ones? If all we see is the manger, we have missed the greatness of Christmas.

Let us step back to look at the scene in Heaven prior to that first Christmas. We enter a temple filled with smoke, and there in the temple we see the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, seated on a throne and He is wearing a robe so grand that its train fills the whole temple. The ground beneath our feet trembles at the sound of the Seraphim calling out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” We see that even the Seraphim, creatures made to worship at the throne of God, cover their eyes and their feet in the presence of the overwhelming glory and holiness of Christ Jesus. This picture was painted by Isaiah, and in it we see the rightful place of our Savior. He sat on the throne surrounded by praise and had every right to stay there, but love compelled Him to lay it aside for a time to become a servant.

Isaiah picks up the story of Christ several chapters later, and the man we see there is ordinary at best. “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (Isaiah 53:2). What about the throne? He left it to rest instead in a manger, yet that manger was only a stop on the road to the cross. Along the way He would meet with rejection, grief and hate. The Seraphim hid their faces at the sight of His glory, but now men will hide their faces at the sight of His affliction. How then do I say that there was joy of the face of His Father when He came to earth? “The Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10) because He knew that this was the only way to bring reconciliation with mankind. You and I mean so much to God that He would be pleased to send His own holy Son away from His rightful place on Heaven’s throne to become a despised man who suffered for sins He never committed. When you look at the manger, consider what Jesus left behind and what He chose to face on our behalf. The greatness of Christmas is not in the lights and bells of our decorations, rather the greatness of Christmas lies in the sacrifice of the King of the universe who traded His throne for a cross and the praises of the angels for the curses of men. Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Current conditions according to weather.com: 2°F, feels like -9°
Forecast for today: Mostly sunny. Very cold. High 16°F.

Current conditions back home in CA: 49°, feels like 49°
Forecast for today: A few clouds this morning, but generally sunny. High 66°F.

Forecasted high for the next week here: 33°
Forecasted low/high for my first night/day back in CA: 46°/68°

It is amazing just how warm 46° sounds to me right now! I think that the warmer temperatures at home will probably make up for the fact that my parents replaced my wonderfully comfortable bed with a different one (my bedroom is now the guest room and is completely different from how I left it). One of the best things about going home while I was away in college was sleeping in my bed again. It was a sad day for me when I realized that my mental image of the room (and bed) I was going back to for three weeks was completely inaccurate. Oh, well. It still comes with a special bed warmer for some part of the night that will potentially keep up to 15 inches of one part of your body warm! The only problem with the bed warmer is that you don't determine where it goes - it does, and it likes putting itself in such places that it is next to impossible to roll over in bed without great acrobatic feats. It also likes to move around a lot, which tends to wake up the person it is warming. I miss that bed warmer and look forward to having it wake me up at 5 AM like it did almost every day when I lived back at home. Dogs, gotta love 'em!

7 days...

Finding the perfect source

I am currently working on a project that looks at a historical debate and analyzes it. I had to briefly present the debate and my analysis on Thursday night and the final paper is due this Thursday. Over the weekend I finally got my hands on a source that I knew I needed to at least look over briefly before completing the project. It is absolutely perfect - it begins with 17 glorious pages that cover the exact part of the debate upon which I have chosen to focus. I only wish I had this before Thursday night! There is only one page of the 17 that does not have at least one passage marked to address (or at least seriously consider addressing) in the paper. Today I meet with the professor to go over the rough draft (which was not particularly impressive, I must confess) and the project as presented in class before I complete the paper. Then I spend the next few days finishing the project before moving on to the third and final paper I have the opportunity to write this semester. I am getting very anxious to get all of my work done. Home beckons to me; I will be there in eight days!

11/16 days...

This is what I am going home to in just 11 days. I am getting very excited about that! (Yes, I am also looking forward to seeing my family and friends, it's just more fun to talk about seeing the dog.) The days are flying by quickly as I finish out the semester. I turned in one paper yesterday and did a presentation on a project for another class and have two more papers to finish (I actually have about half of one done already) before going home.

We got more snow last night - I would say maybe three or four inches (it's a little bit hard for me to tell after it's been plowed and shoveled). That's the most snow we've gotten so far, regardless. For all of you out there who love snow, I will confess that I have come to appreciate it a lot more (I still don't want to drive in it, though). I like to watch it falling, but even better is seeing freshly fallen snow on the Christmas decorations up around the "downtown" areas. Flocking doesn't even come close to the effect. It is quite charming and adds something special to the season. In 16 days I may be dreaming of a white Christmas. As I sit here and listen to "I'll Be Home for Christmas" I know that it doesn't matter to me what the weather is like. I do look forward so much to being home again. It will, however, be interesting to discover what kind of reaction I have being removed from the snow for three weeks and then brought back to it!

If you see me and I am a bald, 400 lb woman...

I had forgotten how much I like to munch when I write papers and how much I feel like pulling my hair out at the same time. Wait, the second part is not true, I am far too vain about my hair to seriously consider pulling it out. But I am getting sick of the hours spent doing neck exercises: down at the book, up at the computer screen, down at the book, up at the computer screen...

I bought a few books recently:
The Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer - I purchased this as a compliment to The All New Joy of Cooking, since the newer version has more recipes but leaves out a lot of the basic cooking stuff the original had in it. Like a Kitchen-Aid mixer and a crock pot, no kitchen would be complete without them. I've got the cookbooks, now I just need to get the other things...
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen - This was recommended by a friend who said it influenced her toward teaching high school history. I plan to use this as my airplane reading when I go home for Christmas in 13 days (not counting down or anything).
Desiring God's Will: Aligning Our Hearts with the Heart of God, by David G. Benner - This was something I found online while looking for another of his books to give to a friend for Christmas. It's a short book about cultivating discernment and the desire to do the things we know God wants us to do. I'm inclined to like it already, since I opened the book and read the following paragraph:

"An elderly man in our church when I was growing up was recognized by us kids as someone who didn't like children. (Kids can just tell that sort of thing!) One Sunday he turned around in the midst of the service and blasted my brother and me for inadvertently kicking his seat. It would have been bad enough if he had done so discreetly. But being almost deaf, he spoke so loudly that the whole service was interrupted. I recall wishing the ground would open up and swallow me then and there. But it didn't."

Alas, I must return to my homework. The world will never know just how racist Thomas Dixon was unless I tell them!

More quizzes to lighten things up

The time has come to post more quiz results! I feel like my blog has been so serious for a little bit too long now, so a good quiz or two ought to break that monotony!

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

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This next quiz is great. The picture is absolutely perfect, since it shows what my kissing experience really was - a kiss on the cheek. I've been an absolute prude ever since!

Your Kissing Purity Score: 91% Pure

You've hardly ever been kissed But the kisses you've given are very missed

Kissing Purity Test

Two weeks left

The semester ends in two weeks. Two weeks and I will have survived the first semester is how I feel now. I have a lot of work to do, but at least right now I am feeling motivated for the first time in several weeks to get my work done. Perhaps it is because I've done my pilates for ten sessions and, as they promised, I feel better. While, yes, I do feel better, somehow I don't think that is why. I think it is because I have regained a sense of direction. I spent a lot of this first semester floundering, wondering where I was going and whether this is what I really want out of life. I have decided that it is not really what I want, but closely related, and certainly not a waste of time nor of energy. I have a new goal and a new direction in mind that I think suits me better: secondary education. I want to teach at some level. This is no new thing, but I am realizing that I prefer the "innocence" of high school and undergraduate history to the analytical history of graduate school. I want to help students enjoy learning about history through creative interaction with the material, not to sit holed up in an archive for months at a time. I had a wonderful history teacher in high school who taught me to love history and to want to teach it, and I think I need to deflate my ego and dreams of glory and return to that first love of my youth, the love of a subject and desire to help others learn to love it as well. I have spent the last 6+ years of my life glad that I was out of high school, but I think I realize now that what I really need is to go back.