blog, i apologize. i'm all caught up with this rat race called college. i'm trying to big-picture it, not get so caught up and stressed out, enjoy myself. (ha). so...i can't guarantee the pace of my posts. but i'm still alive.

what have i been doing lately?
tried to dance away my cares last night.
had dinner with my potential future housemates on friday.

brad doing double desserts at kava

sipping strawberry italian soda

also
making national geographic paper crane mobiles
created a resume
doing outrageous amounts of history reading
bought 5 books for $6 at an used books sale. don't know when i'll get to them.

ran across this test today. don't know how credible this method is, or how badly we can rationalize ourselves into believing these things, but it seemed pretty accurate.

so many of these things i am not

^10-31 A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
and brings back exotic surprises.
She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She's quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn't worry about her family when it snows;
their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:
"Many women have done wonderful things,
but you've outclassed them all!"
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!

-Proverbs 31:10-31

a magical, fantastic fleet foxes video.
brightened my evening
my evening of...
blogging
talking to a high school friend
writing
making garlands for my room out of old national geographics
generally just doing anything but homework.

no deep thoughts for today

recycled science journals put to good use

obesity and speed spring collection
...

i am finally able to relax color (besides black, white, gray, and purple) back into my wardrobe, beginning with a thrifted teal pullover. perfectly worn and fraying and textured- i have lived in it this weekend.

jethro cave by hedi slimane.
incredible, as usual.
see more here

last night i ate many many pancakes and laughed a lot.
this morning is not welcome.
...

"how vain it is to sit down and write when you have not stood up to live." -henry david thoreau
...

oh my goodness check out these babies

it has been so gloriously warm here these past few days! 50 degrees- a heat wave in michigan. but now it is raining cold...

i picked up this book for 50 cents at the thrift store this weekend, Are You Running With Me, Jesus? by Malcolm Boyd. it's an unusual book of prayers written by this streetwise priest in the 1960's. as i understand it, the book was relatively controversial but very well-received because Malcolm attacks issues of the day, the nitty-gritty of all the suffering he was witessing, and he did it in everyday laymen's terms. i am almost finished with it, and definitely recommend it.
here are a few of my favorites:

You said there is perfect freedom in your service, Lord. You're over there where I'm keeping you, outside my real life. How can I go on being such a lousy hypocrite? Come over here, where I don;t want You to come. Let me quit playing this blasphemous game of religion with You. Jesus, help me to let You be Yourself in my life- so that I can be myself.

And, Lord, please keep us human and capable of weathering such minor- and major- disasters. Don't let us turn ourselves into machines, no matter how hard we seem to be trying.

I know we can't pass over this situation, yet we are somehow supposed to live with the outrage of doing exactly that. I see the beauty of your creation, and I am grateful, but then I see in my mind's eye the very real possibility of its destruction. How can I stand this, Jesus? What is prayer supposed to mean if I am passively accepting a peril which it is sinful to accept? I don;t want to misuse prayer to lull me about this crisis, Lord. I want to accept my responsibility of cooperating with you in the continuing and present act of creation. How can I do it?

just two photos I really like, from facehunter and the sartorialist.

well, i have many subjects i would like to write about, but my mind is jumbled with to-do lists. i will start here: this semester the cultural discerners are reading Everyday Apocalyspe by David Dark. Here are some parts from the first chapter that I found significant:

Confusing redemption for escape, real injustice- political and personal- goes mostly unengaged, and the actual, everyday world gets left behind...
Genuine apocalyptic expression is a radical declaration...Its job is to reflect...the tensions and paradoxes that constitute our understanding of reality...
Given our tendency to see and hear what we want to see and hear while disregarding the rest, we need whatever we can get in the way of an awakening...
We were made for something better than what we're getting and whatever it is we're settling for...
the media is crippling people's sould, setting up barriers between man and the crucial questions of his existence, his consciousness of himself and a spiritual being...

"I am interested in making up a good case for distortion, as I am coming to believe it is the only way to make people see"
- Flannery O'Connor

isn't that the truth?

"And now I'm back and the old rhythm must resume its pace. This January I remembered that learning can be a joy. This first week, that memory feels like a butterfly gripped in my hand; I can't grip it or it will be crushed, but if I do not concentrate on it, it will fly away again...the classroom may not always be inspiring, refreshing, and enlivening...but I'll know when I get my diploma that I have thrived because of and despite my classroom education. Forgive my moment of intellectual pride, but that's an accomplishment...So, professors, forgive me if my eyes occasionally glaze over or I let out a wistful sigh as I stare toward the window. I'm grasping at memories and searching for joy."

-From the Editor of the Chimes paper, Bethany Duemler, Feb. 5 2009. Bethany was my roommate during my interim in New England last month, and summs up many of our thoughts very well in this piece.
-postcard from postsecret.