Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Autumn in Virginia

1/2 of the Martin Family (plus me)

View from the Martin's Front Yard
Marrissa Martin - the dearest friend in the world!
Bald Eagle in the front yard:Afternoon Walk with my favorite Siberian Husky: Glacier.





Bonfire with friends:
Courage does not always roar, sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day, saying... "I will try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher

Only as high as I reach can I grow
Only as far as I seek can I go
Only as deep as I look can I see
Only as much as I dream can I be
-Karen Ravn

Sunday, October 19, 2008

you and your suitcase

i felt sorry for you then
an awkward sorry
you and your suitcase
too big for the time

it was old
as you rumbled down that path
dusted with fallen leaves
and my unvoiced pity

i wanted to protect you
but you weren't worried
you had bigger thoughts
than to be embarrassed
by that old suitcase

i thought i had learned
from you and your suitcase
to respectfully ignore
the standards of those around

i tried to push it away
but there it sat, nagging

and so here i write
5 years later
about you and your suitcase

...a memory

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Psalm 32:3, 4

When I kept silent {about my sin,} my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away {as} with the fever heat of summer.

Friday, October 03, 2008

10.03.88-10.03.08

After working this morning from 4-8 at the front desk, I was faced with a whole day to do what I wanted. (I don't usually have classes on Friday.) Returning to my room, I decided that, since it was my birthday, I deserved to get a few extra hours of sleep. This prospect pleased me greatly. Closing the blinds, I hopped back on the top bunk and was asleep in a matter of seconds (literally).

Three hours later, without the help of an alarm clock, I awoke- fully awake and refreshed. Opening the blinds to let the sunlight stream in, I sat at my desk and contemplated the day before me. What did I want to do on my birthday? The possibilities were endless! I was now twenty years old, after all, with a car at my disposal and only time to kill.

I composed a list:
play guitar outside on lawn
read Sanctified life and write in journal
go look for leather belt at thrift store
go to barnes & noble to find Kite Runner, a book for my southern scholars class
eat lunch at Fresh To Go- a new restaurant I've been wanting to try
run errands (Bank, music building, Brock)
Orchestra rehearsal at 3
Ultimate Frisbee at 5:30

Oooh was I excited! This was going to be a great day!

After finishing my errands around campus, I headed off to the first thrift store. No satisfactory leather belt was found but I did make another quite exciting purchase. That's the problem with me and thrift stores- I just can't walk out empty handed! I decided to try another thrift store my roommate had told me about. No good belts there either BUT I got a few other items!!

Oh dear! Three o'clock is fast approaching. Which items shall I omit?

Reasoning that my paper on the Kite Runner isn't due for a another week (plus the fact that I had read my last book the day before class and wrote the paper that night), I decided to continue on to Fresth2Order. And boy oh boy, did I make the right decision! My Vegetable Panini was, as my Grammy would say, absolutely "delish-nutrish"! I even tipped the waiter who brought me my to-go order. I bounced back to my car with a smile on my face and a skip in my step.

Next, I did something I rarely do. I went to a Starbucks and ordered something that I really had no clue what it was. It was something I've heard my friend order so I decided I couldn't go too wrong repeating the same order. So I tried to make the words "Tall Skinny Iced Mocha Latte" flow off my tongue like I did this every day. It didn't really come out right but I think the guy taking my order got the general idea. Tall was the size (tall equals small in Starbucks terms), Skinny (I think) means non-fat, Iced means on ice instead of hot, and Mocha Latte was the flavor. I was quite happy with what I received and felt quite "20-year-old" for having successfully ordered from Starbucks without having to stand in front of the menu for 20 minutes deciphering the jargon.

With my sandwich in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, I started to make my way back towards Southern. Passing by a roadside fruit stand, I decided that I was already late to Orchestra so a few minutes more wouldn't hurt anything. I had always wanted to stop and get some fruit there so I turned around and found a parking spot. And as I type, I am enjoying the fruits (haha) of my decision. A ripe, juicy peach. Yes, walking into Orchestra a few extra minutes late was definitely worth it.

Orchestra was absolutely joyous! I coudn't keep the smile off my face. It was just such a good day! And it didn't hurt things that the music we're playing is lots of fun!

After Orchestra, I took my guitar and sat underneath a tree near the ultimate frisbee field. It was lovely to play my guitar as the sun warmed my skin and the breeze rustled the leaves. Guitar was followed by a rowsing game of Ultimate Frisbee. Man that grass is itchy!

InTents tonight was awesome. I'll probably post my favorite points later.

And just recently, (as in I was interrupted when writing this) a group of friends threw me a surprise party with cake, ICE CREAM, balloons, and everything! :)

All in all, it was a great day only dampered by the fact that I MISSED A CALL FROM MY DEAREST BROTHER WHO IS IN ETHIOPIA! Silly me, I had decided to go without my cell phone while I was in the store and it just happened to be the hour my brother called.

Here's to your next birthday being as great as mine was!



in other news....

I decided that twenty years was long enough to be without a twin: