servant's heart

I really wish I had a servant's heart.
But I'm sitting here with a bad attitude. My boss just asked me to make some hot water for the staff meeting. This irritates me for two reasons: she was just in the kitchen when she asked me and I was in my office, and I'm the only one out of the four staff who go to the meeting who doesn't use the hot water. It could also be that I have a history of frustration with this woman, or it could be that I don't like when bosses ask me to do things like that when they are perfectly capable of doing it themselves? (Family - Remember how I lost my job at the law firm when I was 16 or 17?)
But I wish I lovingly served others. I wish I could look on anyone's face and see God's beautiful creation.

you're getting very sleepy

Andy and I both feel spent. We're moving, trying to find a rent-house, trying to keep up in our classes, and everything that goes along with all that. At least we have the school question answered. I know tons of you were praying for Andy's GRE, and look how that turned out -- wonderfully! So pray for me too, please! I have my exit exam in one month and I'm barely keeping up in my classes. I feel like my brain is melting away and seeping through my ears when I sleep. Every morning I have a hard time waking up and facing yet another day of work work work. And I feel dumber, probably because of the aforementioned brain leakage.

This is our last week in our beautiful home. I'm going to miss it so much! I know that I won't be living in such a lovely place for at least four years. Oklahoma has a different kind of beauty. I'm glad that Andy, Audrey, and I hiked a trail in the Ozarks last week, because I don't know when we'll get to again. We'll definitely make trips back to Arkansas and everyone is welcome to join us!

new news

We're going to OSU www.okstate.edu
which is in Stillwater, which puts us 1/3 closer to you Dallas folk, and a LOT closer to you Tulsa folk.
I'm excited for the following reasons:
1. Q'doba
2. Panera
3. Old Navy
4. Chili's
5. Theaters that don't smell like a combo of pickles and urine.
Need I say more?

Now all we need is a home with a fence and a job for me.
Everyone get prepared to visit!

feels like Monday

Update: My perm turned out well, it's a tighter curl than I wanted but it looks cute. Andy said I looked like Hurley. Even though Hurley is my favorite character on my favorite TV show, I don't necessarily want my looks to be compared to his. Kate has curly brown hair; why didn't he say that I looked like Kate? Oh well, I got a good laugh out of it. I'd never want to be as scrawny as Kate anyway.
This is more newsworthy: Andy scored extremely well on his GRE scores -- over two hundred points higher than he was expecting. (Now I hope he's starting to realize that he is as smart as everyone thinks he is.) Thank you to all who prayed! We're going to Stillwater Wednesday night to meet with a professor at OSU Thursday morning. Right now it seems like OSU is where we're headed - but Andy scored high enough to go to schools like Virginia Tech, so we're still not sure on the final decision yet. I feel good about visiting OSU though, it feels like that's where we're going.
My sister came to visit this weekend and we had a nice time. We hiked the pedestal rock trails, we played tennis, we shopped and we had lunch at the Marketplace. It was a grrrreat time. I really like having her in the house - it was a little boring after I dropped her off at the airport.
Well, that's all for today. Have a good day folks.

oh no!

I'm out of sugar free candy! I'm fiend-ing.
(Wouldn't it be interesting to study the history of that slang term? A fiend can mean someone who is an addict or who is interested in something. So if I'm fiending for something - I'm missing the thing to which I'm addicted.)


I'm getting a perm today. Yes, folks, a perm. I'm a little scared. You can imagine I'm sure. I don't want to be a bad perm statistic. But I'm going to go for it anyway. The only male at the salon (I trust male hairstylists b/c I figure that they wouldn't be in such an effeminante business if they weren't good at it and didn't enjoy it.) told me that I needed a body wave, a soft perm. I need it? I don't need it but if it changes my flat hair into not-so-flat hair, I'll be pleased. If it changes my flat hair into big Napoleon Dynamite hair, I'll not be pleased. You'll hear all about it if it's bad.

Right now I'm reading "Absalom, Absalom!" by Faulkner for my master's exam, "Great Expectations" by Dickens for my class and "The Mists of Avalon" by Bradley for fun. It's getting a little confusing, but I have different levels of focus for each one. The reading difficulty decreases as you go down my list. Does anyone know why Faulkner refuses to use commas in lists? Or why he's so ridiculously difficult? Kudos to anyone who reads his novels for fun. It's a worthy task but not a fun one.

Audrey is coming to visit tomorrow; I'm very excited! Andy'll be taking the GRE exam in less than 48 hours. Yes, he's freaking out a bit -- not as much as I expected, though.

nostalgia and the not so silent "t"

Why, out of all the SAT words we were made to memorize, do most people remember what nostalgic means? Perhaps, it is because it has a nice sound or perhaps because we all feel a little nostalgic about something in our past.
Frankly, I can't stand who I used to be overall. . . implying that I had at least few good points, I think, one of those being my love of music. So, while I may not be nostalgic about my past, I am nostalgic about particular bands and songs. You should know, dear reader, that I think the reason Andy persisted in pursuing me -- even after he wrongly assumed that I liked other guys -- is because we both loved music so much. Almost all of our early dates were going to go see bands, especially Waterdeep. And, of course, it gave us a subject to talk about.
All of that babbling was simply to tell you that I had a nice day listening to music (because no one else was at work with me today) and to impress upon you how nice it was to enjoy music, which is very nice. Nice, nice, nice.

Guess what. The "t" in often is silent! I had no idea! Apparently, Peter Jennings or some other newscaster in the early 80's said "off-ten" instead of the proper "offen" and now tons of people, including me, say "off-ten." (It became so popular that the modern dictionaries give both pronunciations.) Well, no more. Since I enjoy being such a stickler, I'm going to try to say "offen" just for the fun of being a snob. (If you don't believe me, add an "s" to often and see if "t" stays or not.)

shorty

I remembered last night that I told someone that everyone has blindspots concerning their own behavior. And I know that everyone -- everyone -- has a social mask. So I'm not facade free, but I do try to be very honest.

I saw a funny t-shirt today that had "I don't care about your blog" written on the front.

I'm trying to clean out the freezer since we're moving so Andy and I have eaten venison for several days now and soon we're going to eat the Elk that Myrriah gave us before they moved. I normally don't prefer chicken, but I'm starting to miss it.

That's all I've got today folks. I decided I'm not going to be so lazy with school this semester so I've to do some homework. Remember: Andy's GRE examination is this Sat --> please pray for him.

In Support of Squirrels

Squirrel hunting season opened today. In honor of the hundreds of squirrels now being peppered while sitting in a tree by shotgun-toting rednecks, I have posted these links. I hope you enjoy them.


Link to the best Squirrel Song on the internet (I hope it plays for you, it was having some trouble today): http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/Squirrels_Song/

These links are only for those who are extremely bored:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fictional_squirrels

http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/movies/mamba/

http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/movies/dduck/

Facade free - I hope

I'm sorry my few faithful readers, if I haven't been blogging enough. I haven't had anything funny or interesting to say lately. The only thing I've thought of today is how much I dislike my job, and that will get old to read about - and I can't tell you the funniest things about my job. At least, not here. . . I'll tell you in person. My long lost friend Justin recommends The Office. I've seen the BBC version and I hope to watch the US one as well because I know I can relate. Everyone who works at the museum is very different from everyone else who works at the museum. Out of my coworkers, my friend Faith knows me the best. She understands that when my face seems to frown it is only because that is how my face looks when I'm at work. Today I replied to something she said, which prompted her to reply, "Okay -- Oh, Voice of Reason." That's hilarious. Very hilarious. One other coworker constantly asks me if I'm alright. YES, I'M FINE. He means well; he's a very conscientious soul.

I'm sorry people but I just can't hide my emotions. I had a high compliment from a recently acquired friend - a thirty-something radio DJ named Jason. We're very different from each other, but he told me that he liked me anyway because he thinks I'm genuine. That's the best compliment! Out of all the things I would want a person to say - that's top on the list. (The list is completely different for you Andy - so don't worry.) I don't make a lot of friends, but I realized last night that many of the students (who have been in classes with me for three years and haven't initiated conversation to me until this point) actually like me. How can this be? Especially when I've met so many who obviously dislike me - like the raspberry woman and some of my professors. Well, at least I know they didn't like me for me b/c I don't allow them to be mistaken about who I am or what I think. Because I'm genuine and I'm a genuine loud-mouth.

Apparently my video store now has Lost, but I can't rent it yet because they have to get the art work ready. They just lost my business today - I can't wait any longer! Just knowing I'm that much closer to watching it drives me crazy so I'm going to Hastings to rent it. yipee!

foggy-brain day

I just had two people visit the Museum. If that weren't strange enough, they were French, but they live in Israel, and are now vacationing in Arkansas. What? They made me nervous. Probably because I haven't spoken more than ten words to anyone (besides Andy) today and the rare occasion of having visitors in the Museum requires that I speak to other humans. Those other humans are normally either strange or strangers.

My brain is in a cloud. This is usually a self induced state (not with drugs, but with daydreams and novels) but today I think it's that evil stress again. I'm worried about where we're going to be, where we're going to live, what we're going to be able to afford, where I'm going to work, what I'm going to do (kids or more school? kids or more school?) and if we're going to have enough money. This is silly, you say. Well, of course it is. I know that. Everything has always worked out -- just as my foggy brain is now reminding me -- "in all things, God works for the good of those who love him" (Bible, Romans 8:28). I know that. I have personal experience examples of that caretaker characteristic of God's, but I'm still stressed.

Neither of these paragraphs state what is foremost in my mind today. The second season of Lost became available for purchase yesterday. So why doesn't my video store have it for me to rent yet? WHY? I'm so excited! I think I'll call them again to ask if it has arrived. Just so you know, the check-out people at the video store know my full name b/c of how often I was in their store to rent Lost previously.