Hi everyone....
So basically I realize I am not the most consistent blogger. It's been BUSY (!!!), what can I say, I had no idea how much reading and studying would be neccessary for 16 college credits.
A lot has happened in the last month, I can barely remember it all... it's kind of a blur. Some of you have heard about it on facebook, the phone, IM, or letters, so I don't think I'll attempt to go back and recount everything that's happened. I'll just say my classes are going pretty good so far (as I know), I enjoy most of them, I think OT survey and history are my favourite classes though. I had my first exam last week but I have no idea how it went and probably won't find out for a few weeks yet. I'm doing lots of volunteer work too and with a few social events on weekends added to that, I basically have NO free time whatsoever... you know, where you're like "what do I feel like doing right now? Hmm I think I'll watch TV/read a book/go for a leisurely walk/take a nap... fill in the blank." Looking forward to the all-college retreat next weekend which will be a nice break, although it will leave us all killing ourselves with studying and reading on monday.
So since my memory isn't serving me that well, I'll just go back in time to yesterday... which was when about 20 of us from school went hiking up Mt. Baldy, which is a 10,000 ft mountain about 1/2 hour away from school. I kid you not, it was the toughtest physical thing I've ever done. I had no idea it would be so hard when I signed up, or I probably would have been too wimpy to do it, so I'm kind of glad I didn't know. Because seriously, how many people can say they've climbed a mountain?
It was a gorgeous day yesterday, a little hot, but the sky was so blue out there away from all the smog... and the trail was lovely, if you looked over your shoulder the view took your breath away every time. I started out hiking for about the first hour with Tim, Josh, and Michelle... the four of us got pretty far ahead of everyone. But they I started getting really tired, they weren't resting very often and were moving really fast, so I decided to take a break and they went on ahead... then a girl named Annika who I hadn't really talked to that much before caught up, so we went on together up to the ski hut which was half-way to the top where we were all supposed to wait until everyone caught up - anyway she was really nice... and we basically were able to go at the same pace pretty much, so it worked out well. The five of us were up at the hut for a while eating snacks and resting before other groups of two or three began to arrive, and it was about an hour before everyone was there and we could get started again. The five of us from before started together and were together for maybe the first half hour before Josh and Tim and Michelle started to get too fast for us again. Annika and I got to the summit only about five minutes after them, but we just couldn't quite keep up. It took about 3 1/2 hours to get to the top... the last hour or so was kind of brutal, my calves were killing me and there was a seemingly never-ending super-steep section. We kept passing people on their way down who would say "you're 1/2 an hour from the top" "You're 5 minutes away from getting there"... and then of course it would still be another 15. The air is so thin that high up that it is really difficult to breath, you have to stop every two minutes or so so rest and let your heart rate go down and give your legs a break so you can start moving them again. Anyway, it was amazing being up there, seeing the view - mountains for miles and the valley in the distance.
It's so awe-inspiring to know that those mountains are the merest fraction of God's might, that something so big is tiny and frail to Him - and that He imagined and brought into being that kind of beauty. What a mighty God we serve!
So, we were really starving by that time; we each found a comfortable pile of rocks to settle down on and enjoy (and I mean ENJOY) our lunches. Seriously, food never tasted so good. Everyone was saying things like "this is the best sandwich I have ever eaten"... lol.
After about 1/2 an hour the next two people made it up, it was interesting because all the first seven people to summit were ones who ran regularly, I guess it makes a big difference.
(I've been running 2-3 times a week since I got here, whenever I'm studying a night and my brain stops functioning I go out for a run to refresh it and wake myself up.) We were up there for about 2 hours total, because again we had to wait for everyone to get up before we could start back down. Group pictures and all that jazz. Some people took naps, explored, threw snowballs, chatted... it was basically amazing up there. One of the coolest things about the hike was getting to know people better. When you conquer something like that you feel bonded to the people you do it with, is all I can say.
We started down the mountain at 4; again everyone went at very different paces - I was with an upperclassman named Kevin for about an hour and we chatted a lot (it was easier to talk on the way down because it wasn't so hard to breath), and then we waited at the cabin again until everyone caught up. The last half of the mountain going down was actually kind of tough because by that point we were so tired that our legs were shaking, and all we want to do was get to the bottom and sleep so it felt long. The steep parts were tricky to get down, some people fell often. But the evening, when the sun was setting and the air was all hazy, was one of the most beautiful parts of the hike. When we got down we tried to do one of our "jumping" pictures, but nobody had enough energy to get off the ground.
Anyway, it was a pretty sweet thing to say I've done, I'm glad I did it but pretty much don't think I'll ever do it again... it was too hard.
And then I came home and slept for 10 hours.
So monday I pretty much am going to kill myself studying because I have 2 exams and a paper due next week! Pray for me!
If you want to see some amazing pictures from the hike, they're on my facebook.
Love ya'll, keep in touch!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Epic no. II
Well I've been here for a week now! I can't believe it, it seems as if it's gone by very quickly and yet I also feel like I've been here for so long!
Okay... so Friday night was the first freshman thing at the college - a dinner and president speech thing. I was suddenly scared to death which I didn't expect. But it turned out to be okay except for when I fell asleep during the slide show of past college years because I still wasn't adjusted to the time change. :P
Saturday I was at the school all day to and I started to get to know some people.. we did some games and we had a sessions about school policies, study habits, that kind of thing... we had to write a 2 page placement essay which was all right but not exactly fun. And the freshmen went and painted a newly-opened homeless shelter thing which was cool, because, you know, who doesn't have fun getting paint all over themselves and everything.
Sunday I went to church and then just hung out all afternoon, went swimming with my uncle and aunt (who totally don't seem like an uncle and aunt)... my uncle is a sherriff and he wears a scary uniform everyday but he is really nice and goofy so I can hardly picture him being all intimidating with the prisoners he has to transport back and forth to the court room everyday. But apparently he's good at it... and my Aunt is awesome fun - I'm going to her house tomorrow and we're going to watch CSI and eat and she's cutting my hair (I will finally be rid of that paint from the first week of August that's on the ends).
Anyway then monday was the freshman reatreat which totally rocked. We drove up big bear mountain to a really rustic cabin up at 6,000 or so feet - it wasn't way out in the middle of nowhere, there was kind of a little town around, but it still felt like getting away. The first day we went kyacking (sp? - yes, I go to college!), which turned into swimming when some of the guys tipped our kyacks... and then onto these alpine slides where you ride down a course on this funny flat roller thing... can't really describe it but yeah it was hardcore. I was a little too wimpy to go full-throttle after one guy did and scraped the skin off his elbow and knee. That evening we played cranium which was of course a ton of laughs... then the guys left and all the girls watched 'the wedding planner'... which I hadn't watched in about 5 years and it made me cry. :'I So cute.
I woke up about 2 hours before anyone else the next morning (thanks to the time change) at 7 am and went out on the porch to do my devotions. It's amazing because in a place like that it is so easy to be fully focused on God and worship Him - the scenery is incredible and it's just so peaceful and perfect. Then I went jogging along the lake and by the time I came back other people were starting to wake up, so we ate a huge fattening breakfast and then went hiking to work it all off. And I mean hiking. It was a mile up, practically vertical. The altitude was thinning pretty quickly so people had a hard time breathing - we all sounded like Darth Vadars. ;) The guy who was leading the hike (our Dean of student life, Mr. K) kept getting off track so we'd have to go part of the way back down and then up some other way and it was super-tiring. But after an hour and a half we finally made it to the top - we had to scramble up some steep scary boulder formations then and there was this little pine tree growing right out of the rocks (which was determined of it) and there the climb was all worth it because you could see so far - the gorgeous clear blue lake, the other mountains, mile upon mile of trees.
Thankfully the way back down was slightly easier - it only took about 1/2 an hour. We were all gross but we had to hurry and eat lunch and then pack for the ride home. Which was an event in itself...
I was riding in a car with four other people and after about 30 minutes of driving down the mountain, suddenly things started to smell funny and the next thing we knew our brakes were gone! But we pulled over with the emergency brake and the hood was pouring smoke... I thought it was going to catch on fire and explode (yeah, I really know a lot about cars, eh?) but anyway we had to call the people ahead of us and they waited for us further down because there was nowhere to turn around. So we had to sit by the side of the road for about 20 minutes in the boiling sunshine waiting for the brake thinggummy to cool down so we could make it to the other car. Which was a crowded ride back to the school.
People here tease me about saying 'eh' and 'washroom' (instead of restroom)... it's fun though. There's student from all over the states so there's all different accents going on - it's pretty cool.
We had a dinner with the upperclassmen last night, and I met and rode home with the guy I'll be commuting with all year (Nathanial) and he was really nice. It's a long drive back and forth though - I'll be going about a 1/2 hour each way.
And today (wednesday) we had more sessions and orientation junk and registering and filling out forms and signing things without reading them carefully and I am kinda tired!
We have another dinner thing tonight - the president's dinner. And then tomorrow afternoon is my first class. I don't know whether to look forward to it or not, the upperclassmen have gotten me a little scared with their stories of how hard the work can be and what mistakes they made and all that.
Pray for me :)
And email me guys, tell me about what's going on back home, send prayer requests, photos of you, all that jazz.
And if you're wondering about photos, I've got some up on my facebook now so that's the only site I really know how to download them onto.
Okay... so Friday night was the first freshman thing at the college - a dinner and president speech thing. I was suddenly scared to death which I didn't expect. But it turned out to be okay except for when I fell asleep during the slide show of past college years because I still wasn't adjusted to the time change. :P
Saturday I was at the school all day to and I started to get to know some people.. we did some games and we had a sessions about school policies, study habits, that kind of thing... we had to write a 2 page placement essay which was all right but not exactly fun. And the freshmen went and painted a newly-opened homeless shelter thing which was cool, because, you know, who doesn't have fun getting paint all over themselves and everything.
Sunday I went to church and then just hung out all afternoon, went swimming with my uncle and aunt (who totally don't seem like an uncle and aunt)... my uncle is a sherriff and he wears a scary uniform everyday but he is really nice and goofy so I can hardly picture him being all intimidating with the prisoners he has to transport back and forth to the court room everyday. But apparently he's good at it... and my Aunt is awesome fun - I'm going to her house tomorrow and we're going to watch CSI and eat and she's cutting my hair (I will finally be rid of that paint from the first week of August that's on the ends).
Anyway then monday was the freshman reatreat which totally rocked. We drove up big bear mountain to a really rustic cabin up at 6,000 or so feet - it wasn't way out in the middle of nowhere, there was kind of a little town around, but it still felt like getting away. The first day we went kyacking (sp? - yes, I go to college!), which turned into swimming when some of the guys tipped our kyacks... and then onto these alpine slides where you ride down a course on this funny flat roller thing... can't really describe it but yeah it was hardcore. I was a little too wimpy to go full-throttle after one guy did and scraped the skin off his elbow and knee. That evening we played cranium which was of course a ton of laughs... then the guys left and all the girls watched 'the wedding planner'... which I hadn't watched in about 5 years and it made me cry. :'I So cute.
I woke up about 2 hours before anyone else the next morning (thanks to the time change) at 7 am and went out on the porch to do my devotions. It's amazing because in a place like that it is so easy to be fully focused on God and worship Him - the scenery is incredible and it's just so peaceful and perfect. Then I went jogging along the lake and by the time I came back other people were starting to wake up, so we ate a huge fattening breakfast and then went hiking to work it all off. And I mean hiking. It was a mile up, practically vertical. The altitude was thinning pretty quickly so people had a hard time breathing - we all sounded like Darth Vadars. ;) The guy who was leading the hike (our Dean of student life, Mr. K) kept getting off track so we'd have to go part of the way back down and then up some other way and it was super-tiring. But after an hour and a half we finally made it to the top - we had to scramble up some steep scary boulder formations then and there was this little pine tree growing right out of the rocks (which was determined of it) and there the climb was all worth it because you could see so far - the gorgeous clear blue lake, the other mountains, mile upon mile of trees.
Thankfully the way back down was slightly easier - it only took about 1/2 an hour. We were all gross but we had to hurry and eat lunch and then pack for the ride home. Which was an event in itself...
I was riding in a car with four other people and after about 30 minutes of driving down the mountain, suddenly things started to smell funny and the next thing we knew our brakes were gone! But we pulled over with the emergency brake and the hood was pouring smoke... I thought it was going to catch on fire and explode (yeah, I really know a lot about cars, eh?) but anyway we had to call the people ahead of us and they waited for us further down because there was nowhere to turn around. So we had to sit by the side of the road for about 20 minutes in the boiling sunshine waiting for the brake thinggummy to cool down so we could make it to the other car. Which was a crowded ride back to the school.
People here tease me about saying 'eh' and 'washroom' (instead of restroom)... it's fun though. There's student from all over the states so there's all different accents going on - it's pretty cool.
We had a dinner with the upperclassmen last night, and I met and rode home with the guy I'll be commuting with all year (Nathanial) and he was really nice. It's a long drive back and forth though - I'll be going about a 1/2 hour each way.
And today (wednesday) we had more sessions and orientation junk and registering and filling out forms and signing things without reading them carefully and I am kinda tired!
We have another dinner thing tonight - the president's dinner. And then tomorrow afternoon is my first class. I don't know whether to look forward to it or not, the upperclassmen have gotten me a little scared with their stories of how hard the work can be and what mistakes they made and all that.
Pray for me :)
And email me guys, tell me about what's going on back home, send prayer requests, photos of you, all that jazz.
And if you're wondering about photos, I've got some up on my facebook now so that's the only site I really know how to download them onto.
Friday, August 24, 2007
-Getting There-
*Big Sigh*
I AM HERE. Hard to believe, but I'm actually doing the thing I've been dreaming of since I was 12.
(Possibly even harder to believe, I am starting a blog in honour of this occasion. Wish me luck. And I wish you luck wading through all these details - if you don't want to know them, skim read.)
About an hour before leaving for the airport, it hit me - I was leaving all I'd known for the past 19 years and waltzing straight into the unknown. Yes, I'm aware, people do this all the time, but not ME people. And so I started the waterworks, (an outlet for the anxiety that was suddenly shooting out my fingertips) beginning with wishing Avery good-bye, since she opted drum lessons over going to the airport to see me off.
-- you've been the best sister anyone could ask for, and I wish you were here with me so we could stress about college together! --
The rest of the family came all the way to customs with me... my baggage was almost all up to the max - one suitcase was a half pound to heavy but they let it slide. Maybe I looked as forlorn as I felt and they took pity on me. Anyway, dragging 150 lbs of luggage around an airport is no fun, take it from me. And everytime I let go of it to fish passports etc out of my pockets, it would all fall over. Passers-by seemed to find this a funny sight, and my subsequent frustration even funnier.
But, I got onto the plane with little other mishap. I was in the very back, window seat, and the middle seat of the bench was empty, which was cool since I got lots of room to curl up or stretch or whatever the heck I wanted to do. The lady in the aisle seat basically ignored me (all good with me... I'm not really a fan of the "make pleasant and constant conversation with strangers" type). The take-off was cool, I haven't flown enough that the thrill's worn off yet. Ate some over-priced food, watched pointless movie (Fractured - don't rent it.), listened to iPod, fiddled around trying to figure out new camera and taking pictures out the window. High point: sunset from above the clouds - stunning. They turned into a sea of rose and gold. Okay, I'll shut up about that before I start going poet on you. We landed in LA at around 11:15 pm our time (8:15 in California), and I, being in the back, was the last bloody person off the plane. I didn't even get out of my seat in the whole 5 1/2 hours I was on that plane (I have some weird complex about using the washroom while airborn). Anyway, talk about leg cramps!
Made my way to the baggage check, collected baggage off a carousel moving at warped speed, and injured hand in the process. Then sat for about 1/2 an hour until everyone else was long gone waiting for my granddaddy... who was unbeknownst to me waiting at the end of the ramp and we had somehow missed seeing each other. Asked random group of airport guys who were lounging around nearby if any of them had change since I only had american bills and needed to use the payphone (I realized how dependant I am on my cellphone - hope you're enjoying it Aves! Now I have to learn how to use the new one. Woot.)... and one of them gave me his cell phone on which I made two long distance calls and he wouldn't let me pay him, but insisted on getting a cart for my luggage which was once more tumbling all over the place whenever I released my grip on it for a moment.
Well, finally Granddaddy and Aunt Nicky (she baked cookies for me, bless her soul!) found me and brought me to my new home where I was warmly greeted by all... I think. It was all rather dazed due to late hours.
I slept in until 11 our time this morning, but it was 8 a.m. here when I got up, so I had pretty much a long day to unpack in. I started off with a lovely swim in the pool, unpacked a little in my cute new room, went out to lunch with grandmommy to Panera Bread (where I got the most absolutely delicious sandwhich ever) and shopped for a few little things I still needed... and OMG I am so tired it is 1:47 a.m. right now in Canada. *steels self for further acclimatization*
... and returned for more swimming, tanning, unpacking, putting up posters and pictures (I've got little things to remind me of everyone stickie-tacked all over my walls!)... and I'm pretty much exhausted by now!
I go to the school tomorrow afternoon for some sort of laptop set up and I'll be there all day on Saturday too. Forgive me the overkill of details here I'm not so good with the "saying things and them coming out... good thing".
It's pretty much hot here and the air is really dry there's no humidity or anything which makes me constantly thirsty, I think I've drunk (dranken? drinked?) about half a dozen bottles of water today. No joke.
I've taken quite a few pictures already but I can't figure out how to get them onto the computer... that is, I imported them but now I can't find them anywhere in this blasted machine. Technology always did treat me with nasty contempt. So I'll get them posted somewhere as soon as I can.
Speaking of pictures, if anyone has good-bye party pics, please email them to me!
Love you all muchly but so excited to be here!
xox and go get tim horten's for me.
I AM HERE. Hard to believe, but I'm actually doing the thing I've been dreaming of since I was 12.
(Possibly even harder to believe, I am starting a blog in honour of this occasion. Wish me luck. And I wish you luck wading through all these details - if you don't want to know them, skim read.)
About an hour before leaving for the airport, it hit me - I was leaving all I'd known for the past 19 years and waltzing straight into the unknown. Yes, I'm aware, people do this all the time, but not ME people. And so I started the waterworks, (an outlet for the anxiety that was suddenly shooting out my fingertips) beginning with wishing Avery good-bye, since she opted drum lessons over going to the airport to see me off.
-- you've been the best sister anyone could ask for, and I wish you were here with me so we could stress about college together! --
The rest of the family came all the way to customs with me... my baggage was almost all up to the max - one suitcase was a half pound to heavy but they let it slide. Maybe I looked as forlorn as I felt and they took pity on me. Anyway, dragging 150 lbs of luggage around an airport is no fun, take it from me. And everytime I let go of it to fish passports etc out of my pockets, it would all fall over. Passers-by seemed to find this a funny sight, and my subsequent frustration even funnier.
But, I got onto the plane with little other mishap. I was in the very back, window seat, and the middle seat of the bench was empty, which was cool since I got lots of room to curl up or stretch or whatever the heck I wanted to do. The lady in the aisle seat basically ignored me (all good with me... I'm not really a fan of the "make pleasant and constant conversation with strangers" type). The take-off was cool, I haven't flown enough that the thrill's worn off yet. Ate some over-priced food, watched pointless movie (Fractured - don't rent it.), listened to iPod, fiddled around trying to figure out new camera and taking pictures out the window. High point: sunset from above the clouds - stunning. They turned into a sea of rose and gold. Okay, I'll shut up about that before I start going poet on you. We landed in LA at around 11:15 pm our time (8:15 in California), and I, being in the back, was the last bloody person off the plane. I didn't even get out of my seat in the whole 5 1/2 hours I was on that plane (I have some weird complex about using the washroom while airborn). Anyway, talk about leg cramps!
Made my way to the baggage check, collected baggage off a carousel moving at warped speed, and injured hand in the process. Then sat for about 1/2 an hour until everyone else was long gone waiting for my granddaddy... who was unbeknownst to me waiting at the end of the ramp and we had somehow missed seeing each other. Asked random group of airport guys who were lounging around nearby if any of them had change since I only had american bills and needed to use the payphone (I realized how dependant I am on my cellphone - hope you're enjoying it Aves! Now I have to learn how to use the new one. Woot.)... and one of them gave me his cell phone on which I made two long distance calls and he wouldn't let me pay him, but insisted on getting a cart for my luggage which was once more tumbling all over the place whenever I released my grip on it for a moment.
Well, finally Granddaddy and Aunt Nicky (she baked cookies for me, bless her soul!) found me and brought me to my new home where I was warmly greeted by all... I think. It was all rather dazed due to late hours.
I slept in until 11 our time this morning, but it was 8 a.m. here when I got up, so I had pretty much a long day to unpack in. I started off with a lovely swim in the pool, unpacked a little in my cute new room, went out to lunch with grandmommy to Panera Bread (where I got the most absolutely delicious sandwhich ever) and shopped for a few little things I still needed... and OMG I am so tired it is 1:47 a.m. right now in Canada. *steels self for further acclimatization*
... and returned for more swimming, tanning, unpacking, putting up posters and pictures (I've got little things to remind me of everyone stickie-tacked all over my walls!)... and I'm pretty much exhausted by now!
I go to the school tomorrow afternoon for some sort of laptop set up and I'll be there all day on Saturday too. Forgive me the overkill of details here I'm not so good with the "saying things and them coming out... good thing".
It's pretty much hot here and the air is really dry there's no humidity or anything which makes me constantly thirsty, I think I've drunk (dranken? drinked?) about half a dozen bottles of water today. No joke.
I've taken quite a few pictures already but I can't figure out how to get them onto the computer... that is, I imported them but now I can't find them anywhere in this blasted machine. Technology always did treat me with nasty contempt. So I'll get them posted somewhere as soon as I can.
Speaking of pictures, if anyone has good-bye party pics, please email them to me!
Love you all muchly but so excited to be here!
xox and go get tim horten's for me.
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