Of late
Things have gone up and down since my last post, but now things are well. We actually had a winter for about 4 days - cold cold temperatures and snow/ice. This was fun, until I realized it was making me really sick again. Not good. I hate going to the doctor because the only place I can go is Goddard.
After getting very little sleep Sunday night because of not being able to breathe (and consecutively waking up from choking on my tonsils), I decided I should call and get an appt. I had the morning shift, making things worse, but at least I was able to get an appt. Then it was time for the Air Pollution test. Should have been a breeze, but due to my lack of sleep, I got frustrated MUCH faster than normal and couldn't figure out what the dry adiabatic lapse rate was in Kelvin per kilometer (duuuh). So that really set a bad pace for the day.
I skipped German because I didn't want to have to walk across campus with being sick already. A few hours later, it was time for the doctor. Same person I saw a year ago about a sinus infection. The nurse that led me back to the exam room was a little off and made me worried. Without going through all the gory (or not so gory) details, strep test came back negative (duh) and she prescribed me Tylenol with Codeine. I thought that was odd...
Later that evening, it was time for ballroom. Too much spinning. But it tired me out a little more. Being in the horrible mood I was in, it was nice to go home and sleep.
Tuesday was much better. I had a meeting with my Air Pollution group and we talked a little about our project. I talked with Petra afterwards and she really likes the topic that I want to do for my capstone. She said that she and Evgeni could co-mentor me. Exciting times. Then I got a lot of stuff done at work and then we went to Red Lobster (mmm). Great day.
Wednesday was busy, but good. Not much happened out of the ordinary.
Today was great because I got 5 loads of laundry done :-D and I got a package containing two books from my aunt. Definitely very good. I only had German this morning and I haven't stepped into Sarkey's once! Nice and relaxing. Now it is time to study for my german exam tomorrow and clean some more. Yippee!
As an ending thought,
Only in conflict is the best poetry wrought.
For it is not the fact that the parrot squawks
that makes it a nuisance, but the silliness
that everyone that listens thinks it can speak words of its own.
Drei
Wow... Three years at OCS already. I can't believe it. I wonder if I will be around for a ten year anniversary... I wonder what I'd be doing...
My friend Michelle had her Junior Flute Recital tonight. Truly amazing! I think it is so neat that someone can make a piece of metal sound like that! One of my friends from high school was her accompanying Bassoonist, so it was really nice to see her play too. Everytime I go to a performance like that, it makes me miss being in front of a crowd. Most people wouldn't think of me as someone that loves to perform because of my personality, but I get such a thrill out of it. I would really like to get into University Choir or perform in Pauls Valley's Arts council shows, but everything seems to conflict. Oh well... someday.
"You're not sick, you're thirsty"
Last night at RUF, we had a guest speaker, so the talk wasn't about Isaiah like normal. This talk was over John 4 - Jesus and the woman at the well. I've always looked at this story as being a little silly, but our speaker opened my eyes to something amazing that lies within this passage.
He started off with an analogy - You're thirsty, so you want to drink something. Soda tastes better than water (to most), but will leave you more dehydrated in the end than when you began. As a result, your body thirsts for it more and the cycle continues without any hopes of becoming hydrated again. We know we should drink water, but we go for what pleases us more than what is best. (Just go with the analogy...it's pretty fitting)
So in this passage, we have not only a physical well, but also symbolic wells. We can go to wells of relationships, religion, money, etc. and get so trapped in them that those things are all that pleases us. What we need is the Living Water... Jesus. We flee to these wells in our lives in search of what comforts us. God is all we truly need.
Another good point was that for most of us, attending church events can be considered a well. We participate for the same reasons that unbelievers run to sin (not that believers don't, but you should know what I mean) which is for the rewards or the feel-good feeling. We cannot go for those reasons!! We must go for grace. We must understand our need for grace.
I think the most amazing thing that I realized with this passage wasn't exactly related to the content - it is the way Jesus used every possible instance to present the gospel. I never really understood why Jesus used parables so much, and honestly a little annoyed by them. But now... I have so much more appreciation. You always hear that you're supposed to "live the word of God" and stuff like that... Jesus was definitely the perfect example of this (obviously). He was able to evangelize in a way that wouldn't be considered "bible-thumping." And this is how so many people came to believe in Him!
Dilemma...
Ahhh!!! May 13th suddenly turned into turmoil. Both Meteorology convocation AND Rachel's wedding are on the same day!!! Rachel's wedding is in Missouri (at least 6 hours away) so attending both is out of the question. She is one of the best friends I've ever had, but there are so many of my good friends here that are graduating. I really wish I could celebrate both :-(
Maybe I'll get lucky and a tornado will take out Catlett on May 12th....
Hi C -- not just a fruity drink
Hillary Clinton.
I think she is getting too revved up about the upcoming presidential election in 2008. The only thing I ever hear about her in the news is her complaining about something Bush has done. It's fine that she has her own opinion and she has her right to it, but she has a lot of power. It seems that she is adding fuel to the fire of everyone being against him and focusing them on her. It is a smart move politically - making sure everyone knows what she thinks is wrong and how she would do it - but it doesn't seem fair to Bush. This just helps rip the country apart even more.
When she first started out as a senator, I really thought she would be a great president. I liked her husband's administration as well. I would just like to see a little more action from her than words. And I would really like to know why she seems to have such a grudge against this man.
Past few weeks
It's been a bit since I last updated. Since then, I have flown to Atlanta, reunited with my AMS buds, been to the Georgia Aquarium, listened to some really awesome talks at AMS, taken about 800 pictures, became very sick, flew back to Norman, visited the "doctor", and worked on German for hours on end to catch up. I've detemined Atlanta is out to get me. I always end up with a really bad sinus infection after leaving that city. Maybe its just a coincidence, but who knows. I'm FINALLY starting to get better (I think), which is very very good.
My grandma is in the rehab facility. I know she's still in a lot of pain, but I'm sure she is more frustrated than anything. She's pretty stubborn (as I am) and likes to do things on her own, and she can't even walk at all. Please keep her, as well as the rest of my family, in your prayers as they work through this.
I am really looking forward to RUF tomorrow night. I haven't been to a church function in a couple weeks because of either being out of town or sick. Really sad :-/ It's really hard to keep God at the center of things when you're not in constant fellowship with believers. That's one thing I've definitely come to realize lately. Plus, I could find out there is another Not-A-Date next week (there's normally another one around Valentine's Day.) We'll see, I suppose. I wonder who I'd get....
