The Surreal Life

I remember last semester when a group of 8 girls stood outside Campus Life after a meeting with Wayne Barnard and Mike Spell. We were brainstorming ideas of what we would do if we actually recharted TKG, one of which was getting new jerseys and wearing them in Chapel. I couldn't believe it was we all sat in Section H of Moody today while heads turned and people pointed, all wondering what we were doing. Courtney summed it up when she called it surreal. It's been a good week and getting the jerseys was exciting. It just felt very unifying. This semester is bringing a lot of transition for the club, but I know that things will work out.

Also this week I received the latest copy of ACU Today with my article in it. That was exciting as well and I felt pretty proud. I was reading an interview with the Alumnus of the Year, David Leeson, pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist and JMC alum, and appreciated what he had to say. He mentioned Comm Law and how hard it was but also how necessary, and I liked that I am tied with him somehow through the JMC department and the classes we take. I like how it ends and wanted to post it here.

"We all have a mission in life; we can all make a difference. You don't have to have a camera around your neck to make a difference in life. Ultimately, your personal life is a reflection of the evidence of God within you, or the lack thereof.

"I tell people all the time: It's a wonderful thing to be 47 years old and be able to say, 'I was used by God. It was not what I wanted to do but what He wanted to do.'

"And don't think for a minute that a Christian education doesn't help establish that fundamental concept in your life."

Hooray for fun jerseys. 

I can see down her throat. Our jerseys came in! 

"The Russian Revolution cries: Workers of the World! Awake! Rise! Put down your enemy and mine!"

So, this guy who wrote into the Optimist about me said my column (although he called it an article, which it isn't, dumbass) was unoriginal and a poor excuse for an opinion piece. He suggested I maintain higher standards for the Optimist instead of "parroting half-baked liberal media biases." Two other people wrote me telling me I am biased, especially for citing CNN and The New York Times.

OK. I will no longer ever make an opinion in my opinion columns. I apologize for polarizing everyone who doesn't completely agree with me. It is my fault you misunderstand me.

:)

shoulda been a cowboy

With weeks in between each post, I always have too much to write about. I shall try and recap.

Hooray for the Fort Worth Stockshow and Rodeo and a fun weekend with Robyn. I think I need me a cowboy. He'll come in handy in case there is heavy lifting to be done, or if a calf gets in the road they can tackle it and tie its legs together. Or maybe if there is a stray bull they can ride it.

The King family took care of me and fed me well. I was in a constant state of being full. They know me as the 'Sarah who looks like Courtney,' even though we look nothing alike. Her dad called me Stacy at one point though, and then her mom introduced me as Susan later on. I went with them to a family reunion in celebration of an aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. Robyn then introduced me to her relatives as various other S-names, such as Stephanie and Samantha. She also told her ex-Marine grandfather that I am enlisting in the Marines and know the Marine hymn by heart. He then asked me to sing "From the Halls of Montezuma..." Those Kings are kidders.

You should look at my way-cool Rodeo pictures here. You know my e-mail, and my username is sahee628.

Last week, as I was driving back to school from HEB, I got turned around on a side street and ended up in the "ghetto" of Abilene. Amidst square houses with chipped paint and cars on cement blocks in the yard, I saw a small animal hobbling down the middle of the street. I slowed down and pulled over to see a three-legged chihuahua coming my way. I think it was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

Most recent purchase off iTunes: Kelly Clarkson, Breakaway. Don't be ashamed, Justin, it's a great song and it's freaking catchy. I think if I listed off all the songs I have purchased on iTunes, most of you would decide not to be my friend. But hey, they make me happy.

Current reading: Terrify No More by Gary Haugen.

When I went into the Optimist office today, Jaci asked me about my weekend, trying to get a feel for my mood. Apparently, I can be scary sometimes and it is easier on everyone if I'm in a good mood and not stressed out. Funny and true. I will try and not scare you anymore, Jaci. I promise.

I think I have underappreciated my awesome roommate. Last night we had a good talk and I was reminded of what a strong person she is, as well as an amazing resource when I need to talk about life and spirituality. I have also been reminded of what a good friend Justin is. Last week was hell, and when I was practically in tears from stress and lack of sleep, he was there to give me a big hug and talk. I like my friends.

my life is a sitcom

Last week was probably one of the most stressful first weeks of a semester I've ever experienced. Hopefully, the rest of the year will be different but the beginning did not bode well.

I hectically tried to get internship applications together, spending several hours on Wednesday running around campus and bugging professors for recommendation letters. I mailed the applications second-day mail, costing about $30. I was in such a frenzied state that after I mailed them, I got confused about whether I mailed the right letters from my professors to the right organization. After already harassing the people in the mailing center about prices and delivery dates, I went back and had them open up my package so I could make sure the correct letter was in it. It was. I had left most of my Arts page to be written until that night, which is not a smart idea. That is why the page isn't very good. But while I was working on all my Optimist stuff I ran home to try and tape West Wing, only to discover that I couldn't. My VCR is hooked up with my cable, so in order to tape something using my rabbit ears, I would have to rewire everything. I was not happy. Being in the office until 1:30 in the morning 3 days into the schoolyear is not my idea of a good time. I'll just keep telling myself that things will get better.

I went and saw In Good Company this afternoon with Jaci and need to get a start on my page so I don't end up going crazy and producing crap like last week. At the theater, I was again reminded why I hate Abilene: since it was a holiday, Century Theatres, which already does not provide student ticket prices, stops the matinee price for movies at 2 p.m. I was pissed. I only had $6 and had to use my laundry quarters. I told the lady behind the glass this. She didn't care. Jaci was nice enough to give me extra quarters so I can wash my jeans and socks. However, the bureaucratic bastards at Century must be stopped! First not giving us discounts even though we're poor college students and then making us pay more on holidays? Death to them all!

On a completely different topic and note, please keep the families at Highland affected by the car accident yesterday in your prayers. You can read about it here, and post a comment of encouragement on Mike Cope's blog here. These children are so young.

Hygiene is important

I went to the store today and returned a tube of toothpaste. I had bought Crest Fresh Mint on accident. I don't like the way it tastes. So I went and exchanged it for Cool Mint. Does this mean I have issues?

It's the first day of the semester and I am already slightly overwhelmed and stressed. I would have time to fit everything in if only I didn't have to go to class.

Dreaming about Spring Break will get me through...

What's so wrong with elitism?

I bought an $8 rabbit-ear antennae tonight and was able to watch The West Wing. That was $8 well spent, my friend.

The heat is broken in my apartment. It's 30 degrees outside and the thermostat is reading it's about 55 degrees or so in here. It is a wee bit chilly, my friend.

After making quite a journey to get a new tire for Jeff's car yesterday when he had a flat, ultimately opting to purchase a used one from a certain Jesus Moreno in a tire junk yard off Treadaway, the new-to-Jeff tire went flat this morning. While using an old jack to lift the car this afternoon in the WPAC parking lot, a cowboy type stopped by to offer a hand. I later found out he had stopped to help me out of chivalry. I had been standing watching Jeff try and use the jack, and the guy thought Jeff was helping me with my car. Face it, Jeff; I'm cuter than you. Jeff went along with this charade in order to get the guy's help. I had walked away from the car to talk to my aunt on the way to her car, and the guy left before I could thank him. He probably thought I was rude for not talking to him in the first place, him thinking it was my car and my tire, and me thinking since it wasn't my car to stay out of the mess. He was nice and kind of cute and obviously handy with automobiles. Oh well. Maybe I will see him again and can thank him.

Exasperated was the word for the day. Listening to inane conversations about the movie Chocolat, which I happen to both own and like, nearly led me and Jeff to either kill ourselves or our classmates. I am now convinced I have a civic duty as Arts Editor to help people think about movies differently and definitely more critically. I do not think the movie is entirely about indulgence versus abstinence but more about judgment, measuring what good really is and learning to take the plank out of your own eye. I also don't like trying to find theological meaning in everything, analyzing it to death and deciding if it fits into our Christian principles. I don't think that is healthy or fair to you, the art or the artist.

I am going to bury myself under blankets and hope I don't freeze to death in the night.

Substitutiary Locomotion

I'm surviving my short course Arts and Culture: A Christian Aesthetic, despite the fact that my teacher is a little scatterbrained and half of the people in the class are not the brightest crayons in the box. I kept having the feeling today, as we talked about what good and evil are in life as well as in the arts, that Dr. Aquino would have started crying if he had heard some of these people's answers. I also seemed to be surrounded by people who are not huge First Amendment fans, or maybe don't appreciate it as I do, me being one of those crazy liberals in the media. Seeing a painting or exhibit that is different or controversial, they decide it offends them, is insulting and therefore should not have been made or maybe even considered art. It seemed like not many felt the artist behind the work "Piss Christ," where a crucifix is inside a vile of urine, was entitled to his own opinions. Some aren't sure if art is really useful. They're also the kind of people who would rather watch the movie than read the book. Sad times, my friend. Oh well, what can you do?

Even though he's scatterbrained, my teacher, Jeff Berryman, is interesting. He read an excerpt from The Divine Conspiracy (Adam, I though of you. "We always live in a larger context of activities we do not see." Impressed?) He also quoted Wordsworth and asked if any of us were familiar with the poem, to which I raised my hand. I think one other person might have raised their hand also, but Jeff wrote "Nerd" on his notebook paper and pointed at me. I was also the only one who knew who Mandy Patinkin is and might have been the only one who knew who G.K. Chesterton is. Alright, no more criticizing the people in my class for not being as awesome as I am.

I watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks last night with Courtney and Jeff, hence the title of this post, and let me tell you it was interesting. We were fascinated at how we didn't question any of it when we were 8-year-olds. Angela Lansbury and three children with cockney-mouthed children using a bed to fly through, psychedelically, the air to random destinations, such as underwater with cartoon fish? Sure. A spell that brought armor to life, going to battle and defeating the Nazis and sending them packing? Of course. Ah, to be young again.

Most recent purchase off iTunes: Kanye West's Jesus Walks. Give it a listen, kids, it's enjoyable.

Current reading: Girl With a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

I'm also very upset that Cox Communications is fighting with KRBC and is therefore not showing NBC. I think I will be forced to buy an antennae so I might watch The West Wing tomorrow night. Priorities.

Other than that, it's nice to be back in A-Town. Merry 2005, everyone.