Summer's here, hear the yell, done with school, no more bells!

Well, well. So this is what it feels like to relax!

Yes, summer has arrived. And with it has come a beautiful, much-needed reprive from the constant scurrying from place to place I've been doing all semester. It's really quite odd how everything slowed down at once, as if all my activity were a swarm of bees traveling together and finally passed through and onward. I did manage to get a job, but they are only giving me three days a week of work, so I have had a great deal of down time so far.

I know I've said this before, but I'm a knucklehead and will make the same realizations a thousand times before I actually slow down and start living by them. But what I've again come to understand is that you really have to slow down before you can appreciate your life to the fullest. This semester, I was running from class to work to frisbee practice to the point where I would, at worst, be in 5 different places in the span of a few hours. I did everything because I liked them all individually, but when squashed all together, I was miserable because I didn't have sufficient time for any one thing, not to mention the individual people in my life.

Summertime thus far has given me the gift of time. I've had time every evening since I've been back to sit down and eat dinner with, or cook dinner with, friends, Chris, or Chris and friends. The last time I had sat down and played my guitar for the simple joy of it was much longer than I wished for, and in the past week I've been able to at least three times. My bathroom is finally decently clean again as well! Oh lovely, lovely, lovely.

But here's the thing: it's really hard to realize you miss having free time when the things you can fill your time with seem like so much fun. I suppose the fact that I haven't been working as much as I'd like truly is a blessing.

Even when I do work more, though, I don't think that it will measure up to the craziness of a college schedule. Having a job, you're in one place, and then you go home...

I'm ready for the "real world," I think. Or maybe I just need to choose to make the "real world" that I'm in right now, college or no college, slow down a little so that I may enjoy life that much more.

I took a walk and observed a beautiful sunset sky tonight...

It's going to be a good summer.

Oh, to breathe.

Yesterday I listened to a sermon at church called "serenity in a drive through world." And I may have heard and read and been talked to about this matter of the over-busyness and over-stimulation of our culture, but never have I felt it more applicable to my life than right now. Kevin asked the congregation: do you ever feel exhausted before you even get out of bed? Being tired. Busy. On-the-go, constantly thinking about your next move, or your next 27 moves... that seems to be not only my life right now, but most of the people around me. I've read friends' blogs lamenting the same things, seen it in action, asked people how they are doing and heard the responses "tired," or "busy" far more times than I'd like to.

Why?! I literally woke up this morning and began going through a list of everything I needed to to today, and even tomorrow. I feel like I've run a marathon before I've even done anything.

Oh, but then I am reminded in some small way that life is not about pressing the fast-forward button. As is my habit, I grabbed a cup of coffee and signed onto my email and facebook to check on any updates. My roommate Jen was leaving the house, and as she was leaving, I promised her I would check out her photo blog.

Whew. There's the breath I'd had yet to take today. Her blog, which is a class assignment, is comprised of a picture each day of something that matters to her, or something that inspires her. Almost every one of her pictures was of someone important in her life, and her having a wonderful time with them. To me, it was a reminder that life is not about getting as much done as I can in a span of 24 hours minus 6-8 for sleeping... but it's the people and relationships in your life that matter. What does it mean if I get everything done but do not even hug my roommates, or tell my boyfriend that I love him, or even smile at a random passerby on the street? Bah. Breathing, breathing.

Thank you, pastor Kevin, for delivering the message that I needed to hear. Thank you Jen, for being you and reminding me to breathe and laugh. Oh, and I teared up a little at your pictures this morning, ask Tali. ;)

To my random blog-readers: do yourself a favor and walk a few laps of that marathon you're probably running in your head. And maybe stop for tea with a friend along the way. You might not come in first, but at least you'll come in smiling.

Love!


Oh, to be here again... (i did... not take this. haha)

Just Life.

Having a blog, I feel so much pressure to come up with something deep or inspired to write on here... because why would someone want to read about my boring ol' life? Is it arrogant to think that anyone would have any interest in reading about my life? I suppose that if I am to blog, it's just got to be for the sake of writing, or for the sake of those who really care about me. Let's be honest here- my life is nothing spectacular.

But that's the thing... who am I to judge whose life is spectacular and whose is not? This semester, I'm getting weekly counseling sessions from a grad student in exchange for one unit. Although I didn't go into it with the intent of working out a deep issue that I have, every session I am able to talk... and talk... and talk... about my life. She always thanks me for sharing my "experience of life" with her. And I realize: she is not the same person as me, she has different experiences with people, different feelings, different things she loves, different places she goes and different activities she partakes in. Everyone's experience of life is so different... which is why even I occasionally get sucked into random person's blogs and reading about the most mundane-seeming things in their lives. Creepy? Maybe. But I'm a psychology student. People and their diverse personalities and life experiences fascinate me.

Anyway. I suppose the point of this blog was me working out my own thoughts as to why I shouldn't, in fact, feel pressured to come up with something inspired. Maybe it won't be particularly grabbing to everyone who reads it, but this is my life, and it's not the same as yours!

"Just life" is inspired enough...

My life today... consisted of:

waking up very late
chomping some plain yogurt and natural pb smothered on whole wheat toast
laughing at Days of Our Lives with my roommates
laughing at my roommates for being totally sucked into it
running outside
pondering the extent of my transformation to hippie status as I strolled through oliver's market
making a green smoothie
making dinner
playing frisbee in the rain
drinking tea with frisbee team after being soaked outside
riding home on my bike in the rain
taking the most magnificent shower... ever (warm!!)
wearing sweatpants
eating dinner made earlier
falling off of tali's bed
exchanging texts with carissa about doing beadmaking soon
excessive amounts of blogging.

C'est la vie!! You bored yet? That was probably boring...

I'm obsessed with blogging again! Bahhhh!

Modern Day Vagabond?

Here I am, sitting outside on the lovely porch of the home in which I currently reside, hearing the soft sound of one neighbor's windchimes to my left, and the soothing tinkle of another neighbor's water fountains on my right. It's that time of afternoon where the wind is beginning to pick up and leave me feeling chilly in spurts between sunshine and cold air. I love this backyard.

But yet! For the past couple of hours I have been combing online ads for a new place that my six roommates and I shall live next year. A long, tedious, process it is. I love this place, but just as I have been fond of each of the three places I have lived over the past three years, I am sure that the next place that we move our beds to will be charming in some new way of its own. I feel like a modern day vagabond, as a college student... moving from one place to the next, never unpacking all the way because I know that the place I lay my head this month is only temporary. Do I like this? I do not know... All I know right now is the peace that I feel sitting here typing this ramble-ous (word?) bit, and I hope that I can continue to find beauty and peace in the midst of this vagabond-ish lifestyle of mine...

Until next time, dear readers.

the sweet essence of winter break.

Gloomy rainy day, plus excess amount of lemons, plus hungry stomach, plus excess time on hands = delicious lemon scones that made me :)

Do yourself a favor... bake something today!

good day, bad ending

I love longtime friends. Being away at college most of the time and having made a lot of new wonderful friends, I think I take old friends very much for granted. This is slightly cheeze- but remember the old Girl Scout song, "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold?" Now I know what that means. New friends are wonderful, but there is a certain comfort in spending time with people that you've grown up with and share a common background with. I spent time with Misha and Kristen today, whom I've known since 3rd and 7th grade, resepectively. Wonderful!

Kristen and I went on a spontaneous hike up and around the ridge in the morning. Another thing I've come to appreciate since moving away- Pleasanton beauty. I grew up in a beautiful valley surrounded by foothills that are often brown, but are amazing during the rainy season when they are green. Especially when you hike up to a place on the ridge where you can see beyond the actual city of Pleasanton and to all the surrounding, empty land. Green, beautiful... bahhh I love it! And we came across some friendly cows, too. Cow-tipping would have been real easy for how close they were to us...

So, where's the bad ending, you may ask? Let me tell you. I just ate the most disappointing golden delicious apple I've eaten in quite some time. Golden delicious my left foot!! Try golden tasteless-and-bitter!! Bummer. Maybe this is what Barbara Kingsolver is talkking about in her tirade against supermarket out-of-season fruits and veggies. Ah, well, at least the texture was good.

Fin!

C'est la vie... la vie parfait

Can I just document the perfection of this moment, please? I am lying on the couch, wearing a snuggie, sipping coffee leftover and reheated from this morning, and listening to my favorite songs on iTunes. I bought a new book called Loving God with All Your Mind, and it is sitting to my left... I shall delve into it soon as I've finished this little post.

My, my... la vie est tres bon.