Going to the Chapel! -245

Today, I went to a wedding shower for Megan Hillmann. Her wedding is in October, and then she is moving to Iowa! I met Megan at almost the exact same time that I met my first roommate. Alex had previewed with Megan before coming to LeTourneau, so when Alex moved onto G1, Megan was excited and super loud in our room. I had had a rough day, and I was not happy to have so many loud people in my room, but after that day, I got to experience a quieter side of Megan. We have made tons of memories since then! I will be sad to see her move, but I am glad for her to start her new life with Hawk.

This isn't the first wedding shower of the year. In fact, I have been to four weddings this summer (Dana, Audrey, Kate, and Dani). In my whole time at LeTourneau, I've been to even more! First, I was a bridesmaid in Summer's wedding in December. I remember when her dad asked me where I was from. Thinking he was from East Texas, I said Dallas. When he asked where in Dallas, I said actually northwest of Fort Worth. He asked what city and I told him Decatur. He said that's not Dallas! I said yeah, but not everyone knows where New Fairview is. He replied that it is right where 407 crosses 2264. My jaw dropped! I couldn't believe he knew exactly where I lived! Mr. Brown was from Dallas proper and made fun of me all week for saying I was from Dallas. How was I supposed to know that he wasn't a redneck and that he had made weekly deliveries to my neighborhood?! That was the most memorable thing from her wedding besides the wedding itself.

The next wedding was my roommate, Alex's wedding. I couldn't believe that she was going to leave me for a guy! I had to get a new roommate! I was again asked to be a bridesmaid. Do you know what all is involved in that?! It differs from bride to bride and can be very complex, but thankfully, Alex wasn't too hard on us. Lisa and I planned and had a shower for her, stood through the whole wedding smiling, and later, I held Alex's dress up so she could use the restroom. That was what made me feel official! It was a beautiful wedding and I was very happy for the two of them!

The last notable wedding was my RA, Natalie's. I wasn't really invited to the bachelorette party, but the wedding was in Abilene and my ride was going early so I went along with it. *PG-13 Material* We played a game loosely based on pin the tail on the donkey. It was awkward to say the least. We also watched the movie Bridesmaids. The wedding was very nice and I'm happy there are together!




DISCLAIMER: If you read this and I went to your wedding during college, I am sorry if I didn't mention it. I am having trouble remembering right now.

What's the matter? Are you chicken?! -246

After working at Facility Services this morning, Teddy and Danny took Beverly and me out to lunch. We went to El Pollo Cachuchon over on Green Street. I don't know how familiar you are with South Longview, but it is kind of the hood/ ghetto/ totes sketch. I had never eaten there before today because it looks like the type of place that gets shut down by the Health Inspector quite often. There are a lot of places on the "South Side" that I probably will never go unless someone takes me. I trust that someone who drags me to a sketchy place loved the food enough to visit again and again, and seeing as how they didn't die from food poisoning, it can't be that bad, right?

My chicken quesadilla was pretty delicious! The salsa was really good too! Plus, they make their own chips, which were tasty. I think I will be going back there! It freaked me out momentarily when the woman touched my tortilla to see what was inside and make sure it was mine, but I realized the pointlessness of asking her to get me one that had not been touched. I also ate chips after holding hands with Danny and Teddy to pray. That was kind of a stretch for me.

Three years ago, or even one year ago, I would never have done that. I don't know why I doubted my immune system so much, but I was quite the germaphobe! Some things are gross and unacceptable, but other things you just try to forget and hope for the best. That's one of two reasons I pray: to thank God for my food and to ask His blessing on it.

On the topic of food, let us flash back to sometime before Walle graduated. Back in the day, I would take naps from the time class ended until dinner. Unfortunately, when I first wake up, my filters, sensors, etc. take a long time to boot. One day, I went to dinner half-asleep. After sitting down in the seat directly across from Walle, I began to eat. I found a particularly curly curly fry that I wanted to keep until the end of my meal. I set that fry on the back side of my plate, close to Walle. Thinking I didn't want it, he grabbed my special curly fry! I began to pout and hit his hand. (Remember, my filter about what is socially acceptable was not yet turned on at this point.) So when someone at the table shouted to stab his hand and passed me a fork, I did. Unlike when God told Abraham not to kill his son Isaac, my hand made contact before I realized what I had done. As soon as the fork touched him, those filters kicked in! I immediately began to apologize! He had four little red dots on the back of his hand. But I'll tell you what, he never stole food off my plate after that..... Consider yourselves warned! I don't like when people take my food!

Sharing is Caring -247

It's biblical to share. Somewhere in the New Testament it said that the church gave to anyone in need. I am not really big on sharing though. I have had many things broken or never returned/repaid and have learned to stop sharing.

Even in dorm-life, I asked people to ask me before taking my stuff when everyone else was like, "mi Casa es su Casa!" I like to give people things, but sharing my stuff is difficult. In the new house, I am learning to share though. I have let go of my control because I know I can't stop them, there is no reason to stop them, and dishes aren't that important in light of eternity.

What's more, I shared a book with almost a complete stranger. I leant it to him late last night and he returned it still intact today in class. While I was a bit hesitant, it was still voluntary sharing. He didn't ask for it, but I knew he needed it for a homework assignment. (The bookstore has been very backed up) 

My other huge sharing experience of the day was when I handed Ryan the keys to my truck. His truck is experiencing technical difficulties, and he needs transportation. I never used to let anyone drive my truck, not even my dad! So it was a big deal to let him take the truck so easily.

I know God is working in my life, and I can see myself changing for the better! Sharing is letting go of control and it is being vulnerable. I am learning to accept that I can't control everything, and I am learning to trust others. "Innocent until proven guilty. Not the other way around!"

Sunrise, Sunset -248

It wasn't really from Sunrise to Sunset, it was longer than that. I had work at 7:45am, a 15 minute break, a meeting at 11:00am, a 50 minute lunch break, class at 12:50pm, a 15 minute break, work at 2:00pm, a 30 minute dinner break, work at 5:30pm, and got off at midnight. I'm going to give you a summary: 12.5 hours of work, 80 minutes allowed for eating/socializing, 55 minutes of class, 30 minutes of break, and only one cup of coffee. Needless to say, I had a long day! I am happy that this only happens once a week.

The nice thing about working at the library is that you have lots of study time when there aren't major projects to be done. The bad thing about working at the library is dealing with public patrons. I remember working at the library my freshman year. Most students can't get a job there the first year because most of the time slots are already filled, but because of my experience at Decatur Public Library in high school, Mrs. Specian hired me. I remember working with Elizabeth and all the fun we had! I also remember when I asked a woman to see her library card and she accused me of being racist. I had never been accused of that before. LeTourneau is situated right in the middle of a mostly black neighborhood, so it is not uncommon for our patrons to be black. I only stopped her because she didn't appear to be younger than 25, and thus did not fit my understanding of a traditional student. I tried, unsuccessfully, to explain that it was a new policy we had adopted for our patrons safety and to reduce our liability.  After a medical emergency and a lack of identification coincided, we required everyone to show ID. Unfortunately for me, I was the first person to ask this woman to show me her card.  She wanted to write me up in the newspaper for being racist and refusing to allow her to use the computers. I tried to assure her that I was not racist and that I was only following orders, but she would not listen. I ended up getting my supervisor and letting her deal with the situation. This woman was practically yelling at me in the library with another patron behind her. After the ordeal was over, the second woman came up to sign in and apologized for the other woman's behavior. I was encouraged by her response to the policy. I guess that is an example of being persecuted for doing the right thing.

A good story from tonight at the library: I played 3-D 3 person Tic-Tac-Toe with T. C. and Ryan 3 times and I won thrice! Then we discussed the Prisoner's Dilemma and how the two relate. It was interesting to be sure!

Bite Me! -249

Reviewing the day in reverse, I shall start with dinner. Ryan and I went to T. Blanco's (Mexican restaurant) for dinner tonight. There was a large group of loud people celebrating their friend's birthday. I asked to move outside to get away from the noise. Unfortunately, the next 30 minutes included me getting bit over 27 times by mosquitoes. Needless to say, we moved back indoors and dealt with the now quieter crowd. It's amazing how quiet people get once they have food stuffed in their faces.

Skylar was so nice to loan me a book I discovered I need for my Romans class, and before I went to Romans, she let me take a nap in her room. After having 3 - 1 1/2 classes, I was wiped out. The first class, FCAS, was good! Granted, it was the first day, and the first class is hardly ever bad. Unless it is Calculus III with Anderson. By the end of that first class period, I was already feeling behind! I am so glad I don't have to take calculus again!

Wednesday homework is still not done...but FCAS is! I took the quiz and did the homework for that before even thinking about the other classes. My goal is all A's, which is what I always hope for. I don't know what will happen, but I am praying a lot for God's strength & wisdom, and I trust that no matter what, life WILL go on!

We are about to discuss the expected level of cleanliness for our house, so I should go! I don't like having a dirty house. Messy isn't too bad, but dirty grosses me out!

Only 249 days left! (Soon, I will count the number of class periods for this semester...soon)

The Last First Day -250

Today was my Last First Day! 

Let the countdown begin!

Depending on how you count, you can get different results. I tried multiple ways of counting and decided to start this as Day -250.

I still remember when I came to college! There was the time that I cried sitting in my truck at James and Cecilia's house because I didn't want to leave. Then there was the time that all my stuff got rained on as I was moving into the dorm. Oh, and remember that time the tree fell on my truck?! That is something I will never forget! Some things were fun and exciting, like intramurals! Other memories weren't so fun, like getting bruises from intramurals... But all of the experiences I have had have really shaped me into the person I am today!

Looking back on the last three years, I have always been surrounded by friends and family who have helped me through life. Whether it was Anna calming me down when the tree limb came crashing down, Elise encouraging me to walk closer with God, James convincing me to stay in school, Zach sitting quietly with me when I got a letter saying no one wanted to hire me, or all the coffee dates and miles I've walked around the loop with friends, God has blessed me with many wonderful connections.

Some of you reading this may have known me for a long time, but some of you only met me in college; some of you may have simply stumbled upon my blog. No matter, I can assure you, whether or not you know it, I am a very different person than I was 3 years ago, and I'm a very different person than I will be a year from now!

I want to resume my blog because I don't want to forget anything about this year! So many things are different. I live off campus now with 5 awesome girls that I'm looking forward to getting to know better. I'm taking 18 hours of courses, including FCAS (Foundational Concepts of Aviation Studies). Not to mention working 27.5 hours on campus at the Library and Facilities Services! Somehow I will have to squeeze in sleep, homework, and cooking/cleaning for myself, but I know I can do it because I'm not a freshman, I know what is required, and no matter what, life goes on! Bring it on Senior Year!!!!

Join me in this journey to the end of the tunnel! I can't see the light, but I trust that it is there and I will keep moving forward. I don't know what my future holds, but God will reveal it to me in his time!