Summit

Well, I was at Chad's house and we needed a bit of a reading break so we jumped into Ted and made our way to Summit. My good friend from King's, Neysa, is attending that Bible school so I thought, because of it's close proximity to my own educational institute, that I would pop on over and surprise her. So, Chad and I embarked on our endeavor and safely made it to Summit. Having never been there before and having absolutely no idea where I would find my long lost friend, we walked through a couple buildings before entering one that appeared to be the residence. We followed some people down to the dining hall only to find that she wasn't there. I saw this man in an office and asked where I might find Neysa. He told me her room number, but before he could finish his sentence the lady herself walked through the door and we jumped into each others arms. It was so much fun! I didn't stay for long.... like 5 minutes because I had to get back for my own dinner... but it was good to see her and we are planning on seeing more of each other.
That is my exciting, yay I saw Neysa story. Hurray!

Good News, Better News... and GREAT News!

Good News:
Yesterday was my Oma's 80th birthday and so we had a nice little party for her. I went after dinner and had great difficulty finding the place as my brother gave me the wrong street... I made it though. My little cousins were doing a fashion show of all my Oma's old clothes and they somehow managed to convince me to model off some of the outfits... it was really quite hilarious actually. I love seeing the family!
When I walked in my brother-in-law was all shocked that I was there and he came and gave me a big hug and kiss. He asked what I was doing there... He apparently though I was living in Edmonton and going to King's again. Needless to say my entire family was laughing at him.

Better News:
I went to physiotherapy here and the man was a miracle worker! My ankle has been screwed up since I sprained it last November so my coach here at CBC brought me to the physio here. The guy was massaging my foot and after only a few minutes he informed me that my talas was stuck up in the talar joint... between my tibia and fibula. He told me he was going to pull it out and so he massaged some more and then proceeded to yank on my ankle and it pop it out. It didn't feel too good, but it moved a whole lot better and it now feels alright. All I have to do is these calf exercises, put three pieces of tape on it, and practice balancing and it should get better. He told me that if it goes in again then I just have to come back and he'll pull it out. At practice I could jump a whole 5 inches higher or so that day so I was quite happy about that.

Great News:
I'M COMING TO EDMONTON!!!!!
My volleyball team is coming to Edmonton for the Grant MacEwan tournament on thanksgiving weekend. We are driving up the Thursday and I'll be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday. AKA Let's hang out! I've already informed my coach that I want to hang out with you guys so it's all good. I will have a curfew... but I get to see you! Hurray!!!! I'll give more details when I have them!!

A Week in...

Well... I'm a week into my time here at Columbia Bible College. I'm not gonna lie... it's a thousand times different than King's. The first, and probably the most difficult difference to overcome, is that my dorm room is pretty much iny. Well... the room is a decent size, but I have no drawers and only half a closet that doesn't have any shelving in it. I guess it's alright though as clothes are way too over-rated. The thing is... it's not really the clothing that I was worried about. It's all the little miscellaneous objects that you really do need, but don't really have a place for.
We'll move on though because I would like to save you all from a death due to boredom. Another difference is that dorms are 100% not co-ed in the slightest. The exception is Sundays. Girls are allowed in boys dorms and boys are allowed in girls dorms on alternating Sundays between 2 and 8. I don't mind this, but I kinda liked being able to walk into Mikey's room whenever I wanted to hang out and talk and such. I am aware that Mikey isn't here with me, but I think you can understand what I mean.
The cafeteria only serves hot breakfasts on Monday and Thursday... that means I don't get to have my bacon and eggs every morning... :(

I've actually been having a lot of fun. The girls in residence have been a bit more difficult to get to know, but that may be due to the fact that our doors don't stay open but automatically close. This kind of puts a damper on building relationships, but people have now started to put their chairs in the door to keep it open.

In terms of highlights thus far:

- We had a Chai Tea party in the Residence Directors room in the Guy's dorm one night. Sheldon and Stewart decided to treat about 10 of us to some fantastic Chai Tea. It was definitely a good time.
- Ultimate Frisbee in the back field and beach volleyball.
- The Amazing Race (my team definitely did not win by any stretch of the imagination, but it was so much fun).
- Meeting tons of new people every single day.
- The co-ed 4's beach volleyball tournament that we had yesterday. I'm pretty sure that my team won. It was such a beautiful day and all the teams were a lot of fun to play against. We were just out there to enjoy ourselves, and enjoy ourselves we did.
- Dale shaving the top of his head and leaving his beard and lower head hair area sort so that he looked like a friar.... sketchy, but so amazing.
- Matt making a bunch of us dinner last night. It's been a week and I'm sick of cafeteria food already... uh oh.

Well... I'm hanging out at my brother's church so I should probably go.

Packing

So... I'm packing up my stuff and moving off again. This time it's only to Abbotsford though so it's a bit easier because of the close proximity to home. And by easier I mean that iI don't really have to worry about forgetting things at home. This is a blessing and a curse, however as my motivation to pack is relatively non-existant. It's good because I can come and pick things up or drop things off later and I don't have to worry about space and things like that. It's not so good though because it makes me not really care to pack and to organize my stuff. This whole packing thing has taken far too long this time around and I'm still not nearly done.

I was reading Laura's blog and she was talking about all the girls moving into the apartment in Edmonton. It makes me sad because I want to be with them! I don't think I'll ever miss the location of Edmonton, but those girls stole my heart. They are the biggest sweethearts and I miss them quite terribly. Laura, you guys have to send me pictures on a regularly!!!

I was cleaning out my closet today - not Eminem style - and I found my bridesmaid dress from Lindsey's wedding. I was quite intrigued to see if it would still fit me so I bravely took it out and tried it on. Now, for those of you who don't know, this wedding was just after grade 9... I was 15 years old... that was 4 years ago!!! I'm pretty sure, but I can't guarantee it... but the dress was still just as loose on me as it had been back in the day. The skirt sits a little higher than it used to, but only I would be able to tell that. I guess that can't be avoided after one year eating cafeteria food. I didn't know if I should be disappointed or excited. It's a bit discouraging to know that my body hasn't become more womanly or voluptuous since then, but I guess I don't really have much to complain about.

I should recommence packing though. See ya.

Living in the Present

"To live in the past and future is easy. To live in the present is like threading a needle."

Walker Percy

I read this quote yesterday and it really made me think. It is easy to live in the past and the future. It's safe. You can appreciate and enjoy thae things that have happened. There is no real vulnerability in recalling events and evoking memories. Things have already happened and although there may be regrets, nothing unexpected happens in things you've already done. It is likewise easy to live in the future. You can dream and hope and make plans that you never really intend to keep. There is no harm in thinking of the future. Your dreams can be as large and idealistic as can be. You can plan things way in advance and perfect your goals for your life. There is nothing overly frightening about living in the future and living in your dreams.

Living now, living in the present, is much more difficult. There is an uncertainty in the immediate consequences and repercussions of our current actions. We are living out our dreams and hopes and plans. We risk failing because we are actually putting our plans into actions and trying to make them a reality. Our current lives actually affect us. This is exciting and mysterious, but also extremely frightening. We have plans, but you can never plan for the unexpected and the unexpected may cause us to drastically change the dreams of our future. The present is active and dynamic. Now, in the present, we simultaneously strive for our future and create our past.

I'm used to things happening the way I want them to. I'm used to preparing for things in advance and being certain of what the outcome will be. I'm used to my parents making the decisions for me. I'm used to biology questions and factual examinations. I'm used to things happening as they are expected to. I haven't had too many curve balls in my life, but this summer I was waitlisted on all the nursing schools I applied to except Prince George. Who wants to live in Prince George for four years?? Not me.

Up until... well yesterday actually. Yesterday I sent in my confirmation deposit to Columbia Bible College. Up until then I wasn't sure of what I was going to do next year. I decided not to go to Prince George because their program is non-transferable and so I had three weeks to decide what I wanted to do this year. Let me tell you, I could do anything... well except what I'd planned on doing. I have so many dreams and there are so many things that I would love to do and that I would be fully capable of making into realities. I didn't know what was best for me or for my future and my parents couldn't tell me. I still don't know what would be best for me and my future and my enjoyment, but I have decided to go to Columbia Bible College for the year and I am looking into an internship in a hospital in Africa for 2-3 months this summer. Both of those would be beneficial in helping me attain my goal of becoming a missionary nurse in either Africa or South America. So that's kind of what I'm currently planning on doing. We'll see if it actually happens. I could go more into the reasoning behind the decisions I made, but that would be way too much writing. I'm sure I'll talk about it sometime later on.

In other news: Today was my last day of work. It was so sad. I love the people there. I'll have to write an ode to Schneiders.