point tally...

okay - so a while back, i posted a bunch of quotes - points up for grabs... but i felt like updating the tally, so i get the points now... which knocks me into 3rd place...

the old post is here and then there was another quote... "i'm busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kickin' contest" -

well, the answers are:
5. Quantum Leap
9. Identity
17. Princess Diaries
21. The Truth about Cats and Dogs

other quote: Straight Talk

which gives me 2500 points...

so... the tally is:

amy: 12,700
chad: 5100
robyn: 3000
marie: 1600
stacey: 1000
mom: 500
jeremy: 500

there are currently no quotes available for points... but i may add one in the next entry...

something better than fridays...

fridays before holiday weekends...

joy fills my soul... and then some... to top it all off... i'm heading to seattle this weekend... i get to hang out with my friend emily... we don't talk a whole lot but when we get to - and when we get to hang out, we have fun... emily is from arkansas, too... she went to high school with some guys that i went to college with - and we moved out here at the same time... so we have mutual friends and we've known each other for a few years, but we've never lived in the same place... it's a cool friendship, though... she's so cool...

i've been to seattle several times, but i always love going - and the weather is beautiful here and according to weather.com - it looks perfect in seattle for the whole weekend... this week has been one of the those weeks when i find myself thinking, "i love living in the northwest" - especially the last 2 mornings when i've driven to work with great views of mt. st. helens and mt. hood... (it's sad - when my mom and aunt were here it was so rainy and cloudy... we couldn't see them at all... this week has been lovely...)

this entry probably doesn't make sense... so i guess at that, i'll stop... i'm having late lunch with bethany and then i'll come back to work, but will probably take off early, because i've gotten most of the stuff done on my list already... so i'll just do web stuff this afternoon for about an hour, probably and then i'm going to try and sneak off early...

happy holiday weekend!!!

this is a picture of my mom and me after graduation... 

one of the few pictures i actually like from graduation - me, april, bobbie, matt and keith...  

happy birthday mom... and other random tidbits...

*today is my mom's birthday - happy birthday mom... don't worry... i won't tell anyone how old you are...

*today is also the day my mom and my great aunt left vancouver to go home after graduation... 2 years in a row that i got to see my mom on her birthday - pretty fun considering we live 2258.1 miles away from each other... it was kind of a sad departure... in part, partially, i think because i'm not sure when i'll see her again... i don't have any trips scheduled to arkansas and maybe using my 2 weeks of vacation for camps this summer...

*today life sort of moved into normalcy (i just like that word a lot) - now that i'm done with school, my schedule will be a little more normal... i'll still be busy - but work will strictly be mon-fri, 8:30-4:30 - with minor variations...

*today has seemingly lasted forever... but i take comfort in knowing that it's 4:00 and i could probably sneak out at 4:15 with so few people in the office today... about half of the staff is gone to a retreat and will be out of the office today, tomorrow and wednesday... exciting!! one cool thing is that even though the day has gone on FOREVER... it hasn't seemed like monday... i typically hate mondays - and even though i'm a little tired and ready to go home, i'm not hating the day - maybe because it's sunny today and it hasn't been sunny all day here in a few weeks...

*saturday was graduation (see last post) - but that's not all... i acted courageously (sort of) in one area of my life on saturday... i told the guy - the guy from school... i told him that i had been interested in him for a while... it's a pretty fun story - so if you want to hear it, leave a comment and let me know - those who actually read my blog probably already know the story... i couldn't believe i did it, but i did... and now i'm in the waiting process... which turns out to be no fun...

*friday was an important day - my car became an official resident of washington... she has the identifying marks of a true washingtonian (?) - a northwesterner - we'll leave it at that... all that's left to do is for me to get a washington driver's license and i'm all set... i'll officially be a resident of the state of washington... oh - and while i'm at it, i should register to vote and get a library card - because that really says that you live somewhere - when you have a library card...

*i got some cool stuff this weekend - 1) a vcr... woo hoo - now i don't have to worry about missing a show... and i can watch vhs tapes that i have... it makes me happy... 2) a cool new weekly-planner-note-pad-mouse-pad, which i'm totally excited about... it has a bunch of lines for each day of the week - i can pretty much write all over it and then tear off that page and start over each week... right now i write everything on my desk calendar and it gets confusing... so this will be a cool addition to my desk... 3) a "beach hobo" purse... i think it might be like amy's... but since target.com won't put a picture of it on their site, i can't be sure... it's so cute - reversible... one side is white and the other is rainbow stripes... it makes me happy - because it makes me think of spring and summer - and i've been wanting one for a while... 4) a slip cover for my couch - it was gross.. but now it looks better - it's just a khaki colored cover - but it looks so much better... and it only cost $40 - which is really good for a slip cover... now i just need to get some boards to go under the cushions and maybe some foam rubber to make it more comfortable... for now it looks better so that's one small step in making my apartment look more me... next up... the walls!!!

*i got my first byline this month - which is kind of exciting... i had written some other small articles, but this one was the first one that was credited to me - but i got to layout the whole page - it was pretty cool - big sense of accomplishment which is fun...

*okay - i'm sure there are a ton of other things i could write about this afternoon, but it's 4:15 and i am going to sneak out of here... only 4 more days in the work week and then i'm off to seattle for the weekend - and i'm so excited that it's a holiday weekend coming up - i'm excited about the extra day off... scary that it's almost june, though!!!

thoughts on graduating...

today i'm graduating from seminary... it's a big step and i think it's the end of my educational journey - within a structured academic institution, that is... i hope i don't ever quit learning - but i hope that from now on, the learning insights won't have to be typed, double-spaced in turabian form...

one of the girls i'm graduating with spoke at our graduate luncheon a few weeks ago... she said, "i don't think any of us thought we'd ever graduate..." - and i think she hit the nail on the head... i think i've been going and not really thinking about the finish line... i didn't know i was going to graduate until the end of last semester - that's when i switched degree programs and figured out that i'd be done now... so it kind of sprang up on me and i think it sprang up on others as well...

but today's the day - for 11 of us from my campus and 49 from the contextualized learning development (i think that's what cld stands for, anyway) students who have been going to a campus in portland... they're getting a diploma in christian ministries or something like that... so 60 of us, altogether, will walk across a stage, get a degree, turn the tassle and take another huge step in our lives...

i didn't really care about my college graduation, but at my high school graduation, i sat next to this guy named geoff... geoff was smart - he was m.i.t.-bound and had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of scholarships... he had been my lab partner in 10th grade biology - and was a really nice guy - kind of a geeky science type - but one of the friendliest people i knew... as we stood in line waiting to go in, i was questioning everything - why do we have to wear square caps - does that make us look smart? if this day makes us grown ups, why do we have to act like adults with all this formal stuff? why don't we go out and play in the playground and get it all out... an opportunity to play one last time..." geoff looked at me and said, "you're so smart..." i really don't think i'll ever forget that... he was cool...

as i've been thinking about graduating this time, i want to start humming the song - and the first song that pops in my head is not pomp and circumstance - and when i hear that tune i think of this silly song that i learned in jr. high - something about reindeer and bathtubs and cats and dogs and mary and old mcdonald - i know... weird...

today's the day - g-day...and now i need to go get ready...

this is today's song...

here's what's been stuck in my head today - it fits my mood, i think... it's been a rainy northwest day... with little spots of sun poking through the clouds every now and then... but i heard thunder today and i love it when i hear thunder...

i think it's gonna rain today:

Broken windows and empty hallways,
a pale dead moon in a sky streaked with grey.
Human kindness is overflowing,
and I think it's gonna rain today.

Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles,
the frozen smiles to chase love away.
Human kindness is overflowing,
and I think it's gonna rain today.

Lonely, lonely.
Tin can at my feet,
I think I'll kick it down the street.
That's the way to treat a friend.

Bright before me the signs implore me:
Help the needy and show them the way.
Human kindness is overflowing,
and I think it's gonna rain today.

Lonely, so lonely.
Tin can at my feet,
I think I'll kick it down the street.
That's the way to treat a friend.

Bright before me the signs implore me:
Help the needy and show them the way.
Human kindness is overflowing,
and I think it's gonna rain today.