heavy weights

well, i’m not exactly sure what to write tonight.  i am not sure how capable i am of conveying with words where my head is tonight.  but here we go.  i’ll try to be brief, as well.

i’m glad i was at emmaus tonight.  i think dave’s message was what i needed to hear.  it was definitely more important than what i’d have heard had i stayed home.  now if i can just work on implementing new practices in my life.

speaking of, i am definitely in need of some honesty, meaning i need to be more honest and receive some honest feedback.  it’s easier to dream up in my head than it is to actually do in real life, however.

i think katherine and i are just like oddly connected sometimes.  like i was thinking about her tonight, and when i got home she’d left me a long message.  yeah, we’re far apart and don’t get to hang out nearly enough, but i feel like we’re still able to be close.  i love that.

i’m tired.  i should probably go get some sleep.

singing all the parts

oops.  i have seriously been neglecting this blog lately.  not sure why.  but i have a few minutes right now, so here we go.

i had a really busy weekend.  friday night was a surprise birthday party for amy at nikki and jen’s house.  we really did surprise amy, and i had a fun time hanging out with people.  and then a bunch of us all went to laser tag.  i hadn’t played laser tag since i was probably 17!  this place was huge with lots of places to hide or run around, and we played where it was every man for himself, which made it pretty crazy.  i didn’t do too well, but i knew that was going to happen.  still, i had a blast.  oh, and i got to play some air hockey and foosball, which was also cool.  all in all, it was a fun night out.

saturday, i headed out to a barbeque at annajoy’s way out in the mountains.  the drive out to her (very isolated) community, was absolutely gorgeous.  stunning and slow and tedious and amazing.  and it was just a really relaxed evening hanging out with some new friends.  there was barbequeing, puppies, and little kids.  it was just lovely and simple and wonderful.  oh, and my chocolate chip cookies were a hit. :)

on sunday, marke, chris, mallory, theresa, and i all met up at disneyland for a (hot) day of fun!  while it seemed a little crowded, we got to do lots and lots of rides and just hang out.  it was a good time.

by monday morning, i was pretty exhausted.  i’ve been trying to catch up with myself over the past few days, but i’ve also managed to do some fun things, too.

last night, i went to go see “the sisterhood of the traveling pants 2.”  free popcorn on tuesday nights is awesome, and i’d been meaning to see this for a while.  i loved all four books and the first movie.  i didn’t know they were skipping to book 4 (mostly) for this movie, but i guess i should have known they weren’t going to make 4 movies.  anyway, i did really enjoy it and only cried a little, so it was fun.  i just love those characters, so it’s great to meet up with them in a book or on the big screen. :)

tonight, i went out with lauren.  we went up to newport and picked up cupcakes at sprinkles.  she’d never been there before, so that was cool!  and then we drove down through newport into laguna for dinner at gina’s.  we got to sit outside and see the sunset and enjoy some great italian food.  and then cupcakes!  it was just a really lovely evening all the way around.  and i desperately needed a girls’ night, i think. :)

sarah’s going to be in town to visit me for the long weekend, which i’m excited about.  i cleaned the apartment tonight for her and everything!  haha!  anyway, i’m not sure what we’ll be up to besides some eating and some shopping, but i’m sure we’ll keep ourselves busy.  i’m excited to see her! :)

and so that’s the story from here for tonight.  more soon.

best when i’m out of my mind

just a short note tonight…

i love my friends.  seriously.  they’re pretty awesome.  i spent time talking (or texting or IMing) with several of them in the past two days, and it’s just been nice.  i like feeling connected to them, whether they’re nearby or not.  and they make me laugh.  :)

that is all.

airsick bag

oops.  i never meant to go so long between writing.  again.  but i promise i’ve been super busy lately and not just lazy about writing.  so here’s another big update for you…

1) olympics.  i’m obsessed.  it’s true.  it’s pretty much always true when the olympic games roll around.  and i love swimming.  so, in case you’ve been living on mars, it’s been a fabulous olympics to watch for me.  the swimming, especially the men, has been astounding.  i’ve loved watching phelps, piersol, and the rest just rock the pool.  and michael phelps.  i have no words.  i still can’t stop watching him.

2) a walk and dinner.  last week, marke, lauren and i took a long walk around san clemente, through the town and around the beach, after work.  and we stopped in a small thai restaurant for dinner.  it was a nice evening.  san clemente is a great place for wandering.

3) game night.  friday night was movie/game night, which was cool.  marke, roderick, amy, dana, and i went to see “tropic thunder.”  we all thought it was funny and laughed throughout the movie.  the rest of the (very full) movie theatre was silent.  weird.  but still, glad we got to enjoy it.  oh, and the popcorn was especially delicious for whatever reason. :)  and after the movie, marke, roderick, amy, and i all came back here to play pictionary.  i hadn’t played that in ages, but it was really fun and marke and i were kicking some butt. :)  and then nikki and michael came over and all of us played scattergories, which was also fun.  it was a super casual game, though, and we didn’t really keep score.  still, it was nice to have people over to the apartment and just hang out and have fun on a friday night.

4) spring awakening in san diego.  i had heard really great things about this new(ish) musical “spring awakening,” and it is in san diego right now before it launches on a national tour.  after finding a great deal on tickets, i decided to go see it and invited some friends along.  so yesterday, makre, lauren, and i drove down to san diego and met up with elizbath and lauren’s friend stephen.  we had terrible seats in the small, gorgeous balboa theatre.  and i really enjoyed the show, though it’s pretty different.  it’s certainly not for everyone.  anyway, after the show, we all went to the yard house for dinner, which was delicious.  i’m really glad i got to hang out with marke and liz a bit.  it was good. :)

and so i plan to work a little less hard this week because i’ve been going like 100mph there lately.  but still, i’ll be plenty busy.  so i need to get to bed and get some rest.  more soon.

knock, knock

alright.  wow.  it seems like it has been ages since i’ve last updated you on what’s been going on with me.  i think it seems like so long because i’ve been up to so much, which has been lovely.  really.  but i have some time on my hands right about now.  i find myself sitting in the airport in san jose at one of these really nice tables they have made especially for people with their laptops.  they have lots of outlets and free wi-fi here, though i admit that i cannot get the wifi working and it seems like the people around me are having the same problem, so i’ll just save this post and send it once i get home.  anyway, now i’m really just rambling on.  i’m going to attempt to keep this orderly for you…

1) rabbit and rogue.
i’d heard a few weeks ago that famous film/tv composer danny elfman had written his very first ballet and that twyla tharp choreographed it.  awesome.  not that relevant to my normal life.  until i realized that it’d be coming through the orange county performing arts center.  still, it’d been a very, very long time since i’d last been at a ballet and ballet tickets are sort of expensive.  so i didn’t think about it much.  and then i saw an ad in a magazine for this show and it made me look to see if the tickets were on goldstar (if you’re not a member, do ask about this amazing site).  and they were!  half-price ballet tickets suddenly made this all more attainable.  and really, i figured i’d just buy a single ticket and go.  i don’t know many people i’d drag to the ballet with me.  however, i was chatting with marke online and decided to just ask him what he thought about going just because.  he said he was interested.  so i also invited chris and lauren, and suddenly there was a group of 4 of us all really excited about going to a ballet and not knowing much about what we were getting ourselves into.

so wednesday night, the four of us headed up to costa mesa together.  we had a quick but delicious dinner at the corner bakery and then went to the ocpac.  the american ballet theater was dancing this ballet.  but first, they danced another ballet, etudes, which was really fun and a good intro to ballet.  basically, it’s lots of dancers showing different ballet moves from basic to the most difficult.  i think it was a great place for us to start since some of us hadn’t been to the ballet in forever and the rest hadn’t ever been.  after this, everyone was already impressed and having a good time.  then there was the danny elfman ballet, rabbit and rogue.  it.  was.  spectacular.  we loved it so, so much that none of us were ready for it to end.  it was just stunningly beautiful and the music, of course, was really great and did feel very cinematic.  anyway, we all agreed that we will go to a ballet again soon, and probably more dance events.  :)

2) jesus and burgers
thursday night, i was back at emmaus with the friends i’m making there.  the message was really good.  it almost made me cry because of a story about a father and son so distant it hurt.  i’m so thankful for the really close relationship i have with my dad.  anyway, after church, a bunch of us went to hang out at in-n-out, which was cool.  i was hungry, and i had a really good time hanging out with marke, lauren, and others.

3) working for a living
work’s got me going crazy.  i mean, there’s just a lot to do there right now, and i know i’m not getting a break this week.  in fact, i haven’t had a break in a while.  we had so much going on in july that it ran into august and we never got that end-of-month lull that i usually like to take full advantage of.  so yeah, that’s been keeping me going all the time.  i love it, even if it makes me crazy.

4) open the door
friday after work, i raced up to john wayne to catch a flight home (my other home) to san jose.  meg picked me up and brought me home.  i knocked on the door and my mom came to answer it.  she started at me, so confused, through the glass in the door.  i had to actually instruct her to open the door for me.  she was, of course, so confused because i hadn’t told her i’d be coming home this weekend.  i just showed up.  surprise!  it’s dad’s birthday today, and i came home to surprise him and spend the weekend hanging out with him.  and part of the reason i kept it a surprise to them is that i wanted to keep it quiet from most people.  i love seeing lots of people when i’m at home, but it also means that the last two times i’ve been here, i’ve barely seen my parents at all.  so when i showed up, i had no plans but to hang out with them.  and it was excellent.  :)  we watched lots of olympics and hung out and did barely anything.  yesterday, i did have lunch with megs to thank her for picking me up at the airport and because we hadn’t seen each other or really gotten to talk in a long time.  and last night, auntie lily, uncle ken, and auntie nancy came over for a really simple dinner and more olympics watching.  and today we just hung around.  it was lazy and quiet and awesome.  and dad told me it was the best birthday present ever, which i figured he would. :)  it was awesome!  so that’s why i’m about to get on a plane back home (my other home).

so there you have it.  life’s been amazing, and i’m so grateful for the blessings i’ve been afforded.  more soon.  i’ll try to be better about updating. :)

in your hands

well, well.  things are looking good. :)  i figure that’s a good enough reason to write a little update, even if nothing huge has happened.

i had a really nice weekend.  a lot of the time was spent just hanging out relaxing, working out, or taking care of little chores or errands.  but it was just quiet and nice.  oh, and i read lots.  it was just good.

saturday night, i somehow ended up hanging out at denny’s late at night with marke and roderick.  it was just really mellow and really fun.  those guys are pretty cool company.  sitting there at denny’s, i felt like i was just comfortable.  it really reminded me of something my (hometown) friends and i would do if we were all just bored on a saturday night in san carlos.  i like that.

sunday, i went to a very crowded mass at st. edwards before going up to the mall for a little lunch and shopping.  it was nice to just sort of wander around.  and i even found a few great things. :)  of course.  haha!

today was full of work.  lots and lots of work.  i hadn’t realized i was going to be quite so busy today, but i think i worked through everything that had to get by me today, so i’m pleased with that.  and as i was wrapping things up, scott came in to inform me that we were the only two left in the office.  and then he started talking.  and we chatted and all of a sudden it was an hour later.  oops!  scott’s a talker.  so i was in the office for, like, ever, but i feel great about the day.

i’m reading “slaughterhouse-five.”  i read a huge portion of it tonight.  i’m really, really enjoying it.  more than i thought i would.

and one more thing tonight.  happy 25th birthday to my best friend, katherine!!!  it’s sad we’re not together today, but i talked to her on the phone for a while, and i hope i’ll see her in person soon. :)

the rest of the week is also very, very busy.  i’m excited, if also a bit overwhelmed. :)

late-night wandering

i am blogging in the middle of the night because i have too much spinning around inside my head at the moment that it doesn’t even matter that i’m completely exhausted and desperately need some sleep.  i’m awake.  i need to sort some things out in my mind.  i’m sorry if this turns out to be really disjointed.  i don’t know the order in which i should chronicle these bits of information.

i went to emmaus last night (thursday night).  it was pretty good, but i was so tired.  and i kept feeling like i was really stretching to find someone to talk to.  i didn’t hang around too long after it was over like i usually want to do.  still, it was good to go.

i’ve been up late the past three nights chatting.  i never mean to be up that late just im-ing, but it happens.  it seems like there’s a lot going on lately.  a lot to talk about and discuss and sort through.  really, a lot of it isn’t my life, but i take a real interest in the lives of my friends, so it’s still important to me.  plus, we form closer relationships through sharing ourselves with others.  it’s been good and worth the lost sleep, i’d say.  even if the topics of discussion are contributing to me doing the thinking that’s keeping me up tonight.  it’s good to feel like a friend.

i went to a … what do i call this …?  i went to an event that’s like the real world version of coffeehouse at pepperdine.  of course, it was held at a coffeehouse.  a few people sang (they were awesome), and a few people read poetry (some of them were really good).  most of the people doign their thing were from emmaus, and lots of emmaus people were there.  it was pretty fun, and i’m glad marke talked me into joining him and lauren there.

i want to have a trip planned in my relatively near future.  ideas?  anyone want to go somewhere?

i need to go to bed.  g’night.