G
uess I need some shoes still...but then won't I look stunning?
Too bad you can't see the detailing on this dress. I love it. I'm also pretty sure I could wear it forever. It is the bridesmaid dress for my old friend's wedding a few weeks ago. Soooo comfy!
And this is my school. Ugly building that it is. The arboretum behidn it is very lovely, though.
I've been absent for good reason.
Dinners out of the house with friends last week.
Tour of a new house to which I will move very soon - beautiful.
Roommate dinners with a multitude of friends at the house (big thanks to Bertie for the gooseberry pie - delish!).
A Mom-visit for days with shopping, dining out, much laughter, unending photo-ops, more shopping, walking 15 miles, ice cream, and a campus tour. It was more fun than I could have imagined, and there will be pictures for posting as soon as they are sent to me.
I have recently realized that a) I adore my roommates and am excited for this last month o' fun; b) my family is phenomenal and I miss them; c) I survive best under a layer of stress, which I place on myself; d) I cannot believe where I might be this next year...wow.
Email if you want the story on that.
Finally, today I recovered from my winter slump.
Yeah, it's June 23rd and it's just happening. Better today than a month from now, or in August, however.
Just how did I figure out that today was "Recovery Day," as I've now dubbed it?
When I ran, it felt natural. Thank God! I thought it'd never happen again.
This is my dad. He's absolutely adorable and has the bluest eyes ever.
Happy day to you, Dad. For being so wonderful!
Even better, here are 3 generations of Gottschalk guys - Evan (my brother), David (Dad's brother), Bob (my grandpa), and Steve-o (my dad). Keep smiling guys! Where did Evan get his height?
of my favorite class ever. We discussed intellectual freedom and the rights each person has to information, both access and expression, twice a week for six weeks.
Fascinating topic, let me tell you.
Today, we were discussing ethics and how they relate to libraries. We covered schools of ethics, like the utilitarian, deontological, and social contract approaches.
Universalist ethics came up, and I found myself wondering if there really are such overarching ethical standards. One of my fellow students stated his belief that one such standard is no one has the right to take another human life under any circumstances - not war, not self-defense, not to alleviate pain and/or suffering, not to save another. Thou shalt not kill. It's universal.
Do you think, that as a Christian, I am supposed to believe in universal ethics? To state in another way, does the fact that I am a Christian mean that I automatically accept certain universal ethics?
If I don't believe that, how can I justify my seemingly disjointed and nontraditional ethical views and choices?
Comments welcome.
Why librarians kill more trees than most other professionals.
In library school, I have printed off more sheets of paper than I care to admit, in the thousands in just over three semesters. In fact, our school allows MLS and MIS (that would be Master of Library Science and Master of Information Science) students a larger printing quota than regular graduate students.
I remember thinking, last year when I worked in a small academic library, that the librarians printed an inordinate amount of things that could be easily noted on a piece of paper or documented in a Word document for later consumption and digestion via the computer monitor. But things were always printed.
Here at school, the trend continues. My total print quota per semester is 2500 sheets. They say most students don't even get close, but think about the number of trees that encompasses.
In Ireland, Elaine introduced me to some of the best music I've ever heard. Over and over she would share a song with me, and I felt like I was slowly coming alive. Perhaps it was because, in reality, I was beginning to emerge from the years of depression that blacked out my past, but ever since I've felt that many of these songs define me in certain ways.
Here are the lyrics to one of the best songs from that era - Fall 2003.The Postal Service - "Nothing Better" Will someone please call a surgeon
Who can crack my ribs and repair this broken heart
That you're deserting for better company
I can't accept that it's over...
And I will block the door like a goalie tending the net
In the third quarter of a tied-game rivalry
So just say how to make it right
And I swear I'll do my best to comply
Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better
Than making you my bride and slowly growing old together?
I feel i must interject here...
You've getting carried away feeling sorry for yourself
With these revisions and gaps in history
So let me help you remember.
I've made charts and graphs that should finally make it clear.
I've prepared a lecture on why I have to leave
So please back away and let me go
(**This verse is by far my very favorite**)
I can't my darling I love you so...
But oh, oh...
Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better
Than making you my bride and slowly growing old together?
Don't you feed me lies about some idealistic future
Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures
I know that I have made mistakes and I swear
I'll never wrong you again
You've got allure I can't deny,
But you've had your chance so say goodbye
Say goodbye
The other night a friend of mine challenged me a a few rounds of Speed.
Not the drug.
This card game is one that Elizabeth and I used to play incessantly in the seventh and eighth grades. Though, at first, I was a bit rusty on the rules, and despite the various wines and vodka we'd shared earlier that evening, I managed to win 5 out of 5 games.
Seems I've found a game I can win, therefore, I like it!
Blackberry wine + Kahlua cake = tastebud euphoria
Mike and I were driving back from a lovely afternoon of browsing through the Emporium, the Caveat Emptor used book store, and dinner at my favorite downtown Italian place (where I, in a very suave move, dumped, flipped or otherwise rendered marinara sauce on my shirt). The sun was scorching us through the car windows, but we were in good spirits.
One a side street, we passed by a pedestrian talking on his cell phone, which would not have mattered were in not for the attire of said gentleman.
Silver, shiny, silky pajamas. The kind one might wear in the dead of winter, and then, only in the safety and privacy of one's own room would one don this outfit.
Sunglasses, cell phone, and strut combined with silver, shiny, silky pajamas (and not just the pants - it was the whole matchy-matchy outfit).
He was either incredibly brave or incredibly stoned.
I feel that the Lotus Elise, which I fell in love with at an England train station about four years ago, may have just taken over. Here's why. Hot Car!
To be fair, here's the Chevy Corvette page where you can see a 360 degree rotating view of the 2007 Vette. Beautiful. There's also a photo gallery that's worth your time, if you're interested.
Here's to me and my random hobbies!
~ neat
~ dummy and/or dumb
~ stupid(ness)
~ idiot(ic)
~ weird(ness)
and
~ racial slurs
Is this too much to ask?
Walking home from the bus, I was nearly accosted by a dive-bombing blue jay. I hadn't registered its erradic--seemingly drunken--flight until it was almost too close for me to jump out of the way.
When it landed in a nearby bush, it began making this horrible squawking noise. Now, I've grown up around lots of birds, and I know what sounds blue jay's make...this was different. It was desperate and lonely. The bird was flapping and bobbling in the bush, and curiosity compelled me to take a closer look.
At two feet from the bird, I saw it's downy feathers, it's suprisingly small stature for a blue jay, and realized it was a baby, probably taking its first flight.
I gasped upon this realization, and in response, the frightened bird turned its head around, now staring me in the eyes, and continued its pained screeching. I said a couple of words to it, and (I'm not making this up) it would be quiet until I finished, and then answer me, all the while begging me for help with its eyes.
Had I not been taught as a child that a mother bird can smell human on her baby, if you touch it, and may, therefore, reject that baby; had I not learned that early on in my life, I would have comforted this little bird.
Instead, I wished it well and moved on, hearing his cries all the way to my front door. And no mother to be found anywhere! I had half expected her to dive-bomb my head while I was standing so close to the baby in the bush.
I do love wildlife and think that I will miss the birds, deer, foxes, groundhogs, and rabbits that are everywhere when I move to Arizona.
Heard in class today:
"libs"
She was reading a children's story, and I think she meant "ribs," but she definitely said, "libs".
I almost laughed at her.
But why, you ask, it's just a mis-pronunciation...oh, but it's so much more.
The perfect summer thunderstorm has caught my attention today for a number of reasons. First of all, it was raining lightly when I woke up, and though I couldn't see the rain because of the dark curtain over my window, I could hear it - that perfect Bambi-esque rain "drip, drip, drop little April shower..." It made me so happy even before I got out of bed.The sun was shining by the time I left for the bus stop, but in the three-minute walk from my house to the stop, the rain came again. I stood under a tree until the bus showed up.By the time I got to campus, it was pouring. I was all dressed up for a presentation, and the eight-minute walk to the library left me dripping - literally, rain was running in rivulets down my face and the back of my neck, my hair was sopping, and my pin-striped pants were dragging. Even then, I was happy. It's the perfect summer rainstorm - I only wish I was on a porch on which I could relax, reading or simply watching the rain, fully appreciating the sights and smells of summer rain.
This is Cat. She's one of my dearest friends in the world, and if you keep up with my blog, you know that she has the voice of an angel.
Here she is in all her gradeur, just after her voice recital in April.
Bagpiper was piping away again, this time in the middle of an empty high school parking lot.
I like to pretend that he's a leprechaun, missing Ireland so much that he must invoke it with his airy music.
I miss it, too.
Slept for two hours this afternoon.
Couldn't remember what day it was when I woke up. Now that's some good sleep.
Prior to my weekend o' weddings, I have the most wonderful concert experience with Liz. I don't know if it's Bloomington or if it's Liz, but somehow, we've managed to catch the best performances in this city this year.
This time we saw HEM and Over the Rhine, both of which put on a stunning performance.
The venue-The Buskirk-Chumley Theater-near the downtown square, was perfect for both groups and I reveled in the aesthetic beauty of it all.
Liz and I always discuss how good music affirms our belief in God. It's a combination of something so beautiful and so personal with a thirst for something greater...
*Sigh. I'm sure I'll never be able to verbalize precisely what I mean.
If only every weekend could start as this one did. My life would be richer.
How many bridesmaids can say they wore their dresses for 13 hours and loved every minute of it?
I wished I didn't have to take it off, but, alas, I must go to sleep soon.
I hope to have a picture posted soon, unfortunately, my life without a digital camera mostly relegates my blog to words.
Both weddings that I witnessed today were beautiful, each in their own way, perfect for their respective brides.
Congratulations to Amanda and Davy Gruss and Myra and Clint Witte!
