Monday, October 31, 2005

fall break pictures


little hans...

visiting jon and marla...

colette and anna at the espn zone

anna, me, becca (in a costume), and colette

Sunday, October 30, 2005

happy and crappy 35

this week's happy...yay for:
  • FALL BREAK!
  • take home quizzes
  • sunsets
  • friends
  • jogs
  • homemade cookies
  • smiling so much my face hurts :)
  • shopping therapy
  • the atl
  • vaughn coming back to alias....whaaaat???

this week's crappy...nay for:

  • a disappointing outcome to a big game
  • traffic jams
  • my quilt refusing to stay up on the wall
  • frustration
  • tummy aches

Friday, October 28, 2005

bigger

two squeaky honks sounded from behind me. the honks weren't much different from the sound a clown's nose would make if you pinched it. i shifted my jog a little further to the right to allow an old couple on a golf cart to pass (golf carts somewhat resemble clown cars, you know). yes indeed...i was home. i was home running on the same paths my little feet pitter-pattered on heading to elementary school.

i like running because i get to think. taking a run down memory lane made me realize how different life was back then. a pang of nostalgia crept in. everything is so much bigger now. obviously, i'm bigger. my responsibilities are bigger...my decisions are bigger. i've got bigger things to cry about than my dalmatian toy being placed in the june box and bigger things to get excited about than picking out which lisa frank eraser i want.

those days were good while they lasted. but onto bigger and better things. on that same path i had very different thoughts. rather than begging my parents to give me a puppy, i'm praying to God to give me wisdom. it was a nice, long run.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

this sunset is just screaming God's glory.

i mean, do i really have to say it? my heart beat a little faster as i tried to capture the perfect moment of this everchanging sunset. after three days filled with emotional exhaustion, this was just what we all needed to see...a reminder that the Lord of all Creation is carrying out His will.

i've got a thing for sunsets lately....

sun peeking through the clouds

october sunset...

Sunday, October 23, 2005

dah

we waited two hours for this thing...
what is this for?

top car: anna and eric, bottom car: jamie and jordan

me and jamie

amy, katrina, and kristen

view from the top...

i got us all in!

almost sunset

pretty clouds

clouds over stadium...

whew...shouldn't have been that close. we win, 23-20

happy and crappy 34

this week's happy...yay for:
  • classes possibly getting easier
  • meeting new people
  • the week going by fast
  • good conversations :)
  • ultimate frisbee
  • ferris wheels
  • girls' nights
  • chick flicks
  • encouragement
  • seeing people you haven't seen in awhile
  • the olive garden

this week's crappy...nay for:

  • not being able to register for the classes i want
  • not sleeping well
  • not getting homework done
  • long lines
  • switchfoot concert being sold out :(
  • my room being a mess
  • the poorly played game against arkansas
  • shockley being out for the florida game
  • tears

Thursday, October 20, 2005

we're worth more...

i dragged myself to my art history class this morning, despite only having about five hours of sleep. i was sitting there quietly in blank-stare mode when a classmate's copy of "the red & black" grabbed my attention. the bold headline stood out on a purple page: " how to pole-dance like a pro!"

wait. i could have sworn that was the red & black they just pulled out. and yes. it was.

simply appalled, i decided that i would not pick up a copy today. but then, i really wanted to vent on here about it and i can't shred it to pieces if i don't even know what i'm shredding.

the article is titled: "my first trip to a strip club." a picture of the writer is directly below; aviator sunglasses sit atop of a smirk, his left hand sits on his hip as he holds up a wad of bills in his right. i can already tell i'm not going to like what he has to say. and i don't: "even though i have a girlfriend and am usually rational enough not to pay for what i can get for free, it was my idea in the first place since i had never been before, was curious and thought it would make an interesting story." there are so many things wrong with that statement. he is neither a virtuous boyfriend, nor a true friend. he goes on to narrate his "maiden voyage," explaining how it was an "uphill battle" to get his eight friends to go with him. for the sake of what he claims to be "an interesting story," he drags his friends down with him.

there is a diagram to the left of this article, mapping out different features of a female figure's body posing on a pole. the subtitle is "helpful tips and tricks" and each numbered arrow gives "advice." its so vulgar. for instance, the first arrow points to her face (and the 5 other arrows follow suite): "if used correctly, the face can be a devastating force capapble of rending cash from your victims. make the poor sap you're grinding on feel 'special:' a sexy wink, an equally sexy nod and holding back stares of disgust are all useful tactics."

so basically, a face is nothing but a tool to get into the "victim's" wallet. they claim that its primary purpose is to manipulate others...if this elicits unwanted attention, bite the bullet. they couldn't be more wrong. this is not at all what our faces were created for...or our bodies, for that matter. we were made in God's image to glorify Him in everything we do (1 Corinthians 10:31). objectifying ourselves in order to gain money and immoral attention takes away the very existence of our own humanity and, at the same time, both condones and even promotes the mistreatment of women. this is not only devaluing our own self-worth, but devaluing God's image. we are worth so much more than a few dollars that someone tips for a "sexy wink." God has given us His Son...we were bought at a price and need to honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).

so for some reason, "the red & black" has tried to become a sort of cosmo. next thing you know, our student newspapers will be wrapped in plastic with little flyers blocking the front page and you'll have to show your i.d. to prove you're 18 to pick one up.

the article...

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

confetti

i don't know if you can seriously call my econ professor a professor.

if you recall, at the beginning of the semester, i didn't know whether he was going to be a professor who doesn't teach and makes his exams possibly hard...or just a laid back guy who throws out a's like they're confetti. well, i was right. check to all the fore mentioned. except he does teach every so often.

on the first day of class, he reads over the syllabus. its straight forward. two tests, a paper, and five quizzes, drop the lowest quiz. sounds like a typical class. well, the first quiz comes around...its 35 stinking questions long and takes the entire 1 hour and 15 minute class to finish. the grades are bad and we all complain. second quiz, four questions long. it still takes at least an hour. grades are still bad, so we all complain. he now resolves to let us drop two quiz grades. but wait. it gets better.

today we got our midterms back (it was out of 16 possible points, but it 25% of our grade). like always, we spend the class after a quiz/test going over the questions and talking about things not related to economics. then, he decides to work on the calendar, with college students helping him. a professor who doesn't want to teach collaborating with 20 students who don't want to learn does not make a very academically challenging class. i doubt his superiors would appreciate that.

so, the end result: in the second half of the semester, we have 13 classes left. therefore, “in a continuing effort to make sure people get the grades they want" he decides to cram the remaining six chapters and two quizzes into the next 7 classes, move our final exam to november 17, and count the paper as a quiz that can be dropped...using the remaining three weeks as "work on paper" time . also known as, "no class". and i am in no way complaining.

now just watch the confetti fly.

Monday, October 17, 2005

working with different color schemes

okay. i know i've posted a ton of pictures today, but i wanted to throw these up here. and technically, its monday. anyway, these paintings were what we worked on in class all last week. they each were intended to be completed in two hours (but i spent just a tad bit of extra time on them outside of class) and sketch-like.


analogous color scheme (the pitcher was really weird...and i don't like it)

split complimentary color scheme

triadic color scheme...i'm having issues with the vase

Sunday, October 16, 2005

happy and crappy 33

this week's happy...yay for:
  • finally finishing tests and papers!
  • classes being cancelled (even if i showed up to them)
  • ordering digital pictures online
  • cool afternoon runs
  • hugs
  • home
  • the botanical gardens :)

this week's crappy...nay for:

  • ugly weather
  • my quilt not wanting to remain hanging from the wall
  • midterms
  • unpleasant nervousness that leads to feeling sick (because of midterms)
  • missing out on frisbee three weekends in a row

home-again-home-again

my family has a lot of quirky phrases..."home-again-home-again" just happens to be one of them. every time we walked in the door from a trip, someone was sure to spout this one out. considering i'd been gone at school for two months to the day, it was very appropriate.

its refreshing, going home. after two weeks jam packed with things to study for, things to do, things to write, i was ready for it.

on top of school, things have been kind of haywire for the past month with my family. a day at the botanical gardens is just what we needed...and saturday was the perfect day for it.

it was rainy and cloudy for a week straight. on thursday, i was disappointed to find that the weather man's forecasted "clear skies around 80 degrees" was wrong. where was my sunshine i was promised? finally, the good weather came just in time for the weekend and the botanical gardens.

the special display they had was "locomotion." the train trestles and buildings were all made completely out of sticks, seeds, leaves, and the like. we then strolled through the different greenhouses...there were some really pretty flowers.

anyway, the pictures do a better job at summarizing the day, so i'll leave you with thousands of words...

mom, becca, and dad relaxing

me and mom

mom and becca checking out the bog monster

becca, mom, and dad checking out the flying crow scarecrow

recognize this lady? hint: alfred hitchcock

yellow pages scarecrow

the trains...

the atlanta skyline...

the fabulous fox

the state capitol

turner field

train crosses bridge...

a lighthouse island...

weird things

inspiration for japanese writing?

an orchid

artwork by some guy name chiolie?

reflecting pool below

strings...

cool lily

creepy looking lily pads...

creepy lily pads with white flower

lily flower in big pool

pink flower

cluster of lily pads

yellow orchids of some sort

waterfall reflection

lily pad flower from above

lily pads...

Friday, October 14, 2005

puss in ugg boots...

facebook provides some great entertainment...especially when people use random pictures for their profile. take puss in boots here, for example.
no. this isn't my cat, but i about died laughing when i first saw it...he looks a little perturbed.