Christmas lights

I wish that you understand what I mean by Christmas lights in San Juan. I want you to glimps the lights that I think of, and I want you to know that Christmas season can be warm and without snow. Here are pictures from 2005. Only three years ago, but it seems like more.

Two Years

I remember when I was in highschool facing my last two years, and thinking, if I went on a short term mission trip for two years (like an older friend of mine had done), then I would want to really live those two years, so I should try to really live my last two years of highschool. ("Really live" as in valuing the time and opportunities given to you at that time.) Quite ironic, really. Since then, I have lived life in two-year segments (more or less), sometimes trying to really live those years, sometimes having attitude problems, sometimes struggling with both. Sometimes we are where we want to be. Sometimes not. Sometimes we are preparing to go where we want to go. Sometimes not. But are we really living where we are?

What happened to Just Trusting?

Yesterday, I wrote something for my blog, but when I tried to post it, the main message disappeared. So maybe today I'll actually post something.

But what about?

Seeking God. It seems to be a pretty good solution. Not the kind that takes away the problem. And not the kind that's easy and almost thoughtless. I mean really seeking God. But that requires effort.

Percentages. This percentage of Such-and-such group of people are likely to fall into That group, but of the Such-and-such group, if they also meet another condition, than a new percentage is likely to fall into That group. I've been researching; I'm not just making it up. But why all the numbers and math and trying to make sense of it? Can I change the percent chance? If so, maybe it's worth something. But if in the future I conclude that I can't influence the percentage, then why do I want to know? Why reduce some life-impacting issue into numbers and probability? Does it make me feel more "in control" or less? What does "being prepared" really mean and perhaps is it better not to be? What happened to just trusting? (How much have I ever in my life really fully completely just trusted God?) I'm not implying being stupid, though I suppose trust could sometimes look that way; I'm talking about the trust that appears more difficult (at first, at least) (for me, at least) than worrying.

An almost holiday!

Today there are no classes before 4:00. I don't have any after 4:00. So I am not going in to school today. That is very nice. But I am scheduled to work later today...

This picture is of huckleberries! I'm thinking we picked them the last day that I had off of school. Which was the Monday after school started. Which, I think, was Labor Day. My dad and one brother and I went hiking. I think it was just one brother... ? But it was a while ago.

A picture from the hiking trip.

One of my month birthdays. My brothers helped me get a good picture. I took the cake to college group (I had signed up to bring the snack that day), and then, when I brought it home, I ate some remaining crumbs - there were no pieces left :)

Yes, I finished the last Spanish paper in time. No, I did not get 100%. And yes, I have another one due Monday. Oh, the priviledge of being in a Spanish class where we are supposed to know enough to write. (At least it can be short.)

update and my latest pirate story

So, I would like to update my blog. Instead of doing homework right now. I have an essey to write in Spanish for Spanish class. And I should make sure that all the nouns and modifiers agree with each other (after I write the paper). And then all should be pretty okay on the homework front. Meaning, I have more I could do, but that is what will be visable to a teacher by Thursday.

Today is a sun-shiney day.

Rumor has it I can buy gas today for 30 cents less per gallon than what I paid last Friday (which was ten or 20 cents less than what I paid on Wednesday or whatever day I bought gas earlier that week). So that means that I will probably pay 40 or 50 cents less today per gallon on gas than I did about a week ago. That is amazing.

ONCE UPON A TIME (i.e. it never happened), there was a dragon. This dragon lived on an island with lots of treasure. The problem is, there were lots of mosquitos there. In fact, there were sooo many mosquitos and they made such an awful noise together, that the dragon decided to leave the island. So he patched up the old wrecked ship that had decorated the beach for 38 years. He loaded all (well, almost all) of his treasure onto the old ship. And he set sail.

After three days of sailing, he realized he had three shortcomings in his character. 1. He had too little patience for mosquitos. 2. He couldn't mend ships very well. And 3. He could not sail a ship. After 5 days, he was throwing his heaviest treasure overboard and dreaming he could hear mosquitos, but he couldn't.

Then a pirate ship came. The dragon disregarded his faint fealing of forboding at the sight of a pirate flag. The dragon begged for help. The pirate was an intelligent man, and he and the dragon began moving the treasure from the old sinking ship to the sturdy pirate ship. As the dragon moved the last item onto the pirate ship, he declaired (for he was a dragon with good manners), "Thank you Mr. Pirate. Thank you SO MUCH for saving me."

The Pirate grinned delightedly. "The treasure is mine!" he said.

Today was See You At the Pole. So I got up about an hour early. The positive aspects to that were 1. seeing the pretty sunrise colors with the mountain. (Yes, I took two pictures. No, I don't have my camera with me as I right this.) and 2. getting to pray with other Christians at my school. There weren't many people there, but there were some, and it was nice. I think most of the Christians forgot or didn't know it was today or had a class at 7:00. Or they were like me last year and wanted to sleep. But the moral of the story is, I'm about an hour extra tired, so that by my third class at 11 I tried making a colorful design to stay in a reasonable state for absorbing lecture. Then I had a piece of peppermint gum, which worked quite well. Maybe I was mostly hungry. For my fourth class, following my lunch hour, I felt hyper. For my fifth class (directly following my fourth)...

That's what I especially wanted to write about. My fifth class is interpreted. I feel like I shouldn't watch it - like watching it is unfair to the interpreters. But sometimes I do watch. Today, I could see the interpreter well most of the time, and I didn't want to just sit listening to the lecture (not interesting enough or I was restless?). So I watched. The problem is, the interpreters can see me. And I'm pretty sure they can know I am watching and understanding. Eye contact and communication. Being part and yet not a part of this other world. But for a moment, or moments, I was understanding, and I'm pretty sure the eye contact was there. I miss being understood in sign language and listening in sign language.

Before long, I was walking through campus, looking at one of the impressive (for my part of the world) buildings with college students in front and thinking, "Who would go there? I wouldn't." And then remembering that I ACTUALLY was going to that college. So much for that idea. Apparently I would.