the life of a nomad

in a few weeks i will be moving...again. it will be my 3rd place to live since january...pretty ridiculous if you ask me...especially considering how much i despise the moving process. i feel like i move all the time and it must be because its true. heres some fun facts.
*since my freshman year of college and counting the place i will be moving into in nov, i will have lived in 10 different places.
*within those 10 places i have lived in 4 apartments, 1 fourplex, 1 townhouse, 3 houses, and 1 condominium.
*my rent has ranged from $180 to $450 a month.
*i have lived on first floors, second floors, and a third floor.
*ive lived on streets, drives, parkways, avenues, and lanes.
*here's the best one though...i have had 18 different roommates!!!

so yeah, in a few weeks ill move into place 3 of the year. luckily ill be there till sept. of 06 - 10 whole months!!! i might actually feel settled for once. that would be a neat feeling. so in a few weeks ill start the packing process which will inevitably make my cranky and ill end up throwing out half of my possessions bc i wont want to move them. one new thing about this move is that im going to hire movers. yeah, ill have to fork out some cash but i think being able to just point at things and tell them where to go is really going to be the most incredible thing ever. that will probably relieve a large part of the stress factor.

well its friday and im really just writing this pretty uneventful post to pass the minutes. so thanks for bearing thru it and allowing me to only have an hour and 26 minutes left of work, but whos counting?

kids are the funniest people on earth

you've gotta read THIS if you have a chance.

my favorites:

"dear God, thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy" joyce

"dear God, if we come back as something please don't let me be jennifer horton because i hate her" denise

this is the real world...austin.

two blogs in one day? yes, its true...but the fact that i took off a half day at work might have something to do with that. why? well, when the weather is this great you cant sit inside an office. well, you might be able to, but i cant. so out on my balcony is where i am - it beats that office chair anyday.

so lets talk about the real world. and no, im not talking about the reality show on mtv where 7 strangers are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped. im talking about this real world that you supposedly enter once youve graduated college. for some it looks like moving back with the parents bc rent is free and responsibilities are low. for others it looks like getting that first 'real' job that doesnt involve working in a college town with your peers and highschoolers combined.

for me it looks like this..and im not going to talk about my 9-5 job - youve heard enough about that. and getting that 9-5 job wasnt what became real to me - ive done the job thing since high school - ive learned the responsibilities that come with it. granted this job is a lot different than heb so new challenges and experiences have definitely surfaced but in the end, its still just
another job.

whats real is the sudden amount of freedom and independence i have (and im not talking about today, but since january). i dont have a computer generated schedule that tells me what room i should be in, and how long i should stay there. i dont have roommates that are my best friends that have a direct effect on my decisions. and those best friends have started making new friends in new towns and stories that once had everyone on a first name basis have turned into stories where everyones names are accompanied by the location in which the two met - 'john from work,' 'amy from church,' 'matt my roommates friend.' suddenly you arent connected by the people you know, but instead by what you know of each other. and thats not a bad thing. i have the freedom to quit my job at any point and face the possibility of falling flat on my face with no one to pick me up. i have the freedom to live with complete strangers that dont know me from adam and dont know what i do 90% of the time. i have the responsibility of managing my money in a mature way bc when and if i were to squander it away recklessly, mommy and daddy arent going to throw more money at me. not that they would let me live on the streets, but you know. this is whats real. being able to, or having to, depending on which way you look at it, really decide what you want to do with your life.

and in this journey called life i think ive realized that its the people in the world that make it all worthwhile. in college, or moreso in a conservative atmosphere called aggieland, a difference in opinion can be offensive or just 'wrong.' now, disconnected from that environment, ive found a difference in opinion to be normal, refreshing, challenging, and needed. for once you have to think on your own and decide what exactly you believe. your thrown into groups where theres an age span of 15 years and 8 out of 10 peoples story isnt "well, i grew up in a christian home and accepted christ as a kid..." you have a discussion about a certain topic and find out theres five different sides to it, not one. it forces you to mature in a way...in your thinking i guess. i find myself quiet in a lot of discussions...not because i dont have anything to say, but because im so intrigued by what everyone else is saying. people are so interesting and so different but we dont truly appreciate it bc we either are too busy wanting to talk about ourselves all the time or because we've allowed ourselves to believe that different is bad. its not bad, its just...different.

and on a slightly different note, ive learned a lot about friendships lately. maybe bc ive been on the hunt for some more seeing as how everyone i know decided to live anywhere but austin after they graduated. its caused me to evaluate the friendships i have, friendships ive had, and friendships im making. ive learned that some friends care about you more than you think...and some care about you less. some friends dont forgive and forget...luckily most do. and some friends need and want new friends just as much as you do. but most importantly, new friends dont replace old ones. and no matter how many miles may separate you from old ones, if theyre good ones, then theyll always be good ones....always.

as the sun has gone down and the temp has dropped significantly and i cant really feel my toes anymore...the time has come for me to stop enjoying the great day bc in fact im now freezing and thats all i can think about. but those are some recent thoughts on life...i realize there might be some incoherent babbling mixed in here or there, but if it were any different then it wouldnt really be me right?

kayaking and kiddos

what a beautiful weekend huh? and then we get a cold front and suddenly it feels like winter. what a great fall season...all two days of it. i made the most of it, as i usually do when any hint of good weather comes through. sunday i went kayaking! me and some friends decided to check it out on town lake and it was great - a good workout too! plus i think it was the windiest day of 2005 making it a bit challenging. my kayak insisted on always being 90 degrees off so while the others were going straight...i headed left or right. eventually i just let it go - if you cant beat 'em, join 'em right? the current eventually led me into some low trees that i had to manuever around as to not gouge my eyes out by the low branches. at one point when my kayak and i were fighting, it turned completely around heading the opposite direction. at first i wanted to protest and get back going the right way but i looked up to see some swans playing follow the leader. there were actually two more right behind these in the picture but in the few seconds i had to turn my camera on and take the picture, i was only able to get two. even so, just a small example of how beautiful it was out on the lake.
the day before, on saturday, i took on the role of aunt kate the great. i took my neice and nephew to mcd's and then to the park for a good 2 1/2 hours! in that 3 hours or so i decided im not ready to be a mother of two kids both under the age of 5 and a half. but at the end of the day - no matter how exhausted you are - you forget about how ellie refused to eat any of her happy meal and almost broke into a tantrum or how long you spent running all around the park to see all five million of berkeley's 'favorite places.' somehow that kinda fades and you remember how cute they looked when they were feeding the ducks and how such simple things such as swinging on the swings are as thrilling as going to disneyworld. they teach you to find joy in the little things and make you realize that time spent with them is the most valuable thing you can give them in the world.

reading makes you smart

when i was a kid i loved reading. going to the public library was as fun as...well..something really fun at that age. my parents were and still big readers so they definitely encouraged the hobby. and did anyone ever do book-it in elementary school? it was that reading program where you read a certain amount of books and got star stickers to put on a button and when the button was filled you got a personal pan pizza from pizza hut. now that was a great idea..i hope they still have that for kids. nothing is better incentive for reading than pizza. then high school came around and my enthusiasm for reading started to dwindle. maybe bc youre forced to read books on the 'recommended reading lists' for the year...some of which really suck. of course if i read them again now i might appreciate some of them more. but anyways, it probably wasnt until college sometime that i started to read again because i actually wanted to. and post college ive started reading a lot more. maybe bc i have more spare time..maybe bc i dont have piles of school books that i have to read out of every week...but regardless of the reason, i would say that it has become a hobby of mine yet again. recently time magazine put together a list of the 'all time 100 novels' from 1923 to present. i looked over the list...i have read 5. not a real huge percentage. so maybe ill try to knock out a few more on the list when i have time..we'll see.

Time Magazine - All-Time 100 Novels

did someone say starbucks?

i dont have time to post right now but i thought this article was interesting so read it if you wanna.

when will it stop?

im a little late in posting about ths but didn't want the topic to go unrecognized. the south asia earthquake that hit on saturday, oct. 8th has left as many as 3 million people homeless and the death toll has already surpassed 20,000 and keeps on rising. most reports estimate the end number will be over 40,000 and one article i read predicted it as high as 80,000. you can only hope and pray that they will be proved wrong. regardless, these are numbers i cant even really process. to have that many people killed instantly is just unimaginable and utterly devastating. and ive said before how its easy to disconnect yourself from the problem when its on the other side of the world and not directly affecting you. but no matter how far away i hope that you keep these people in your prayers. these people might not be americans and they might not be coming into our cities for shelter and food but they're still people...with families...and homes...and lives that have been turned upside down and we shouldnt forget that.

the cs

what a great weekend! great friends, great kids, great weather, great footba..oh, wait...not for us. it had been forever since i had made my way back to good ole cs...too long maybe. although the number of people i go back to see is definitely dwindling and is in the single digits...unless you count all my adorable mission kids that i would go back every weekend to see if i could. i mean, look at these pics - who wouldnt love these kids?!!? oh, and then there's jeff with his beeryamid. why so sad you ask? maybe bc the ags just didnt play like we anticipated. at first the deal was a beer every time we score. however we didnt really come out to play so we didnt so much score a whole lot, much less even get the football. so then the celebratory beers became 'ease the misery beers.' its just not our year like everyone hoped for...has it ever been our year though? maybe i should just start pretending i went to ut...did i say that outloud?

so lets not talk about the game anymore, its just too embarrassing to think about how baylor is um...better than us. on a brighter note, i got to hang with kristen and jeff who acted like it was a sacrifice for me to hang with them when really it was a privilege. with as much as theyre outta town i was just lucky to catch them on a weekend that they actually stayed in cs. oh and did i mention i got to eat some gumbys pizza rolls? oh yes, they were quite terrific. and yeah, i can get them in austin too but theres just a certain sentiment attached to the cs with them. tuesdays...50 cent pizza rolls and 24...oh the memories.

the best part of the weekend was probably seeing my old mission kids. i stopped at j loop and saw my old boys - quay, jacob, and esau. yes, jacob and esau are twins and those are their names...gotta love it. i love them dearly and it had been way too long since i had seen them. kita here is getting so old - shes nine and ive known her since she was six! crazy to think about. shes such a beautiful girl though - i have loved seeing her grow up. i really miss youth impact...

so thats that...and now for some shout outs: kris and jeff - again, great to see yall...yall are going to be the funnest parents ever. jaclyn - thanks for being the greatest host ever - i had so much fun staying with you and playing with our girls. bryan roper - what a great surprise to see you. you make me laugh lots...and why didnt you show up for lunch ;) lydia - congrats again! im so glad we got to see each other! ali and joshy - thanks for a delicious lunch...glad you could squeeze in time for me amidst all your outta town guests. we shouldnt go so long without seeing each other.

so yeah...cs was great. i am glad to be outta there though...only bc i dont think i could handle being in the same town as '08ers...yikes...

been doin some thinkin...

been thinkin about a lot of stuff lately...maybe a little too much even - overanalyzing if you will. one topic thats kept my mind busy lately is that age old question of, 'what are you doing with your life?' it was expected yet still got old when i was approaching graduation and everyone asked...it was depressing once i had graduated and still didnt have an answer...and its annoying now that im out in the 'real world' and feel more lost than ever. what i think could be spurring on my frustration is the fact that my 'real world' experience is less than satisfying or fullfilling. more specifically my job has slowly climbed the ladder of unsatisfaction and hit what i would describe as the peak a week ago or so. enough that i almost put in my two weeks notice last week...twice. but...for some reason, i ended up not going thru with it. why, im not quite sure but then i had all weekend to think about it. and up until that point the battle in my head had been as follows: a) just put in the two weeks notice, be spontaneous, go out on a limb, take a leap of faith, trust that the Lord will provide something etc. or b) be responsible, keep looking for a new job and dont quit w/o having another job first. so yeah, choice 'a' seems more fun..kinda..and definitely would make me trust the Lord a lot however there's a difference b/w trusting the Lord and His plan for your life and making irresponsible decisions and using the 'trusting the Lord' card as a cop out excuse.

so with that said...after a lot of thinking, praying, discussing with others, i feel like the Lord gave me a peace about the situation without having to clearly map out what my life was going to look like for the next 'x' amount of days. first off...i was focusing wayyy to much on the negative and inviting everyone to my pity party which no one wanted to come to. understandably so though...pity parties bite - who wants to go to one of those? but yeah...all this woe is me crap and my job sucks and blah blah blah...complaining never gets you anywhere. second, and way more importantly...God is sovereign which is a fancy Christian word that i would more simply explain as, God knows what He's doing...all the time...and His timing is perfect. He knows that my job is far from glorious and I'm pretty sure that He knows I'm way more capable of a few hours of work per day and that I could be used in such better and effective ways somewhere else. But for some reason, this is the job He has called me to right now and there's a reason for that and it's my responsibility to make the most of it and not dwell on the negative b/c that's only going to make things a LOT worse.

so does that mean that I'm just going to kick back and wait for a great new job to present itself to me on a silver platter? um, no. the world doesn't work that way. however, I do trust that something better is coming my way, I honestly do. But it's also my responsibility to be listening for opportunities, seeking them out, and acting on them when presented to me and not overanalzying whether or not it's 'part of God's will.' now, don't get me wrong...im not saying to not pray about things and to just jump at the first thing that comes your way. i do however think that sometimes Christians get into this mindset of worrying soo hard of whether or not something is 'part of God's will' that the opportunity passes by and something potentially great is missed.

oh, and about the pic above. graffiti always intrigues me when i see it bc you never really know where it came from; who was the author or illustrator behind it. sometimes it's artistic..sometimes it's derogatory..sometimes it's inspiring. i run at town lake a lot and pass by this a lot and it wasnt until recently that i stopped to think about it. and the way people read it is the same...but the way it means to that person can be different. for me though...this moment IS reality. the life we're living, we're living today. we cant change the past and we arent promised a future. God knows our lives better than anyone else, even ourselves. He knows our past, our present, and even our future. Trust Him. Stop worrying so much about yesterday or tomorrow - what you do with today is what counts.

free stuff always tastes and sounds better...

this was the weekend of 'free.' saturday was family day. i live about 30 minutes from my parents and my sister's family and i dont see them nearly enough. and everytime i make it out there, i regret not going out there more. and my parents joke that i only see them when i need to use them for something...which might be somewhat true, but not completely. yeah i use their washer and dryer and eat their food but im also spending quality time with them in the meanwhile so i just see it as killing two birds with one stone. so on saturday i went over there to take advantage of their cable tv to watch the aggies play the bears who we like to play in OT evidently...but at least we one this time, right? at the same time i got some lunch and did a whole lot of laundry. so maybe i killed 4 birds..
i found out that my little mollie dog has congestive heart failure which was sad to hear. so now she has to take heart pills twice a day...i guess she is getting kinda old but she still acts like a puppy and is only like 10 lbs so she still seems very puppy-ish to me. but enough about that. i also got to hang out with my neice and nephew who get cuter every day and are now in the stage where both of them must have equal attention paid to them otherwise the other gets real jealous. ellie's in a phase right now where she tells you about every 5 minutes that she loves you so thats just real cute.

now onto what all these pics are from. sunday, 10-2 was the anniversary of when lance armstrong was diagnosed with cancer. and so as a thank you to austin, he threw a big free 'party' for all his longtime fans and supporters. although originally from plano, he moved to austin 15 years ago and proudly calls austin 'home.' and although i dont completely agree with lance's personal beliefs, i do think that what he is doing in support of cancer is remarkable. the celebration started with a show by another austin local, bob schneider. his show was great - a good mix of his newer stuff and older stuff from lonelyland. he ended the show with a great cover of 'drift away.' then they showed a video recapping the last 9 years or so of lance's life highlighting the 7 tour de france victories, of course. lance came out and said some words, introduced some of the current tour of hope riders, and then gave austin mayor, will wynn, a plaque basically proclaiming austin as 'the greatest city on the planet' and one of the famous yellow winning jerseys. then his fiance, sheryl crow, came out and ended the celebration with a great show. she played a few songs from her recently released album 'wildflower' and then all of her older well known stuff too. the show was pretty laid back and lance's kids and other random neices and nephews i suppose kept running out on stage but the band didnt mind and would dance around with them and allow them their 15 seconds of fame.

so yeah...it was a great time. and back to my original point - whether its a football game, laundry, a meal, or a concert - free things are always better.

you can see more pics from the 10-2 party here.