... life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. I guess I stopped for awhile and that's why I haven't been blogging. Truth of the matter is, life came to a screatching halt back in October when I had my MCA. MCA? What is that you ask... well, it stands for mid-course assessment, which is basically Columbia's way of making sure you come out a shining star. They told me that they would not let me graduate at this time and told me to take a year off... not an optional year off, but a mandatory year off. And that was the end of Columbia...
In other news, Ted's is going well and I moved into an apartment over the weekend with my friend Staci, whom (that's for Ter) I met at Ted's. It's a pretty sweet apartment. I like it...
Well, I would love to say more at the moment, but I must work on stupid exams for my stupid classes at this stupid school...
13 December 2005
09 September 2005
fall is in the air
This past week has been the most beautiful week of the last two years of my life- weather wise. Fall is creeping up on us! The humidty has been low which has made it not seem so hot, so I've been driving with the windows down... I LOVE IT!!! I love fall. I have decided it. It's time for wearing sweaters and boots and looking uber cute! I'm totally jazzed!
In other news... school starts on Monday. Well, techinically, it started yesterday, but since I only have classes on Monday and Wednesday, I'll start on Monday. I finally nailed down my schedule- Ethics from 11:30 to 1, Reformed Theology from 1 to 2:30, a break, Rodger's long-name class from 4 to 5:30, and then on Mondays only, Church Administration from 6:30 to 9:30. I'm hoping I can work in some work study time at the library. I need 6 hours a week. I should be able to pull that out! I haven't blogged since I found out that I may not be able to graduate in May. Because of Pastoral Care (see Feb - May 2004 posts), I need 10 classes to graduate, and they will only let me take 9 because my GPA will not be high enough (even if I make straight A's) to be allowed to overload in the Spring. I'm working on alternatives. But I'm still pretty peeved about the whole thing! More to follow later...
Additionally (I am full of news today!) I got another job yesterday. I'll be working as a server at Ted's Montana Grill in East Cobb (store #42). They open on September 19, and I've got training from now til then (basically). I'll still be working at the law office as my schedule permits. I'm poor... I need two jobs! So, we'll see how that goes. We had orientation last night and it seems like it's going to be a great place to work for. Ted Turner is one of the co-founders and he's so environmentally conscious and it's spilled into the concept... I love it! And there's always the possibility that Ted will show up... which is a bonus. The good thing is that there's a ton of room for growth in the company (a lot of the managers and training staff there yesterday have been with the company less than 2 years) which opens the door of possibilities for what to do while I wait to get a job at a church (who knows when that will be). So, that's that.
Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Hope things are going well with you! :)
In other news... school starts on Monday. Well, techinically, it started yesterday, but since I only have classes on Monday and Wednesday, I'll start on Monday. I finally nailed down my schedule- Ethics from 11:30 to 1, Reformed Theology from 1 to 2:30, a break, Rodger's long-name class from 4 to 5:30, and then on Mondays only, Church Administration from 6:30 to 9:30. I'm hoping I can work in some work study time at the library. I need 6 hours a week. I should be able to pull that out! I haven't blogged since I found out that I may not be able to graduate in May. Because of Pastoral Care (see Feb - May 2004 posts), I need 10 classes to graduate, and they will only let me take 9 because my GPA will not be high enough (even if I make straight A's) to be allowed to overload in the Spring. I'm working on alternatives. But I'm still pretty peeved about the whole thing! More to follow later...
Additionally (I am full of news today!) I got another job yesterday. I'll be working as a server at Ted's Montana Grill in East Cobb (store #42). They open on September 19, and I've got training from now til then (basically). I'll still be working at the law office as my schedule permits. I'm poor... I need two jobs! So, we'll see how that goes. We had orientation last night and it seems like it's going to be a great place to work for. Ted Turner is one of the co-founders and he's so environmentally conscious and it's spilled into the concept... I love it! And there's always the possibility that Ted will show up... which is a bonus. The good thing is that there's a ton of room for growth in the company (a lot of the managers and training staff there yesterday have been with the company less than 2 years) which opens the door of possibilities for what to do while I wait to get a job at a church (who knows when that will be). So, that's that.
Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Hope things are going well with you! :)
25 August 2005
hmmm...
I was going to blog about the frustration of pulling together my school schedule... but since no one can make comments to my blog... it's useless!
So, I guess I really don't have anything to blog about....
later tater
So, I guess I really don't have anything to blog about....
later tater
23 August 2005
what makes a date, a date?
so, I'm just wondering, what classifies an outing with someone as a date? comments would be greatly appreciated... too bad I still can't get the comments to work on my blog. stupid blog.
in other news... oh wait, there is no other news, really.
school starts in three weeks. i'm ready to get back to it, but a little frustrated with the process. being a commuter student is apparently taboo at columbia. the school is definately set up for on campus students. there are no conveinent (how do you spell that word) times to do anything if you have a job from 9-5 M-F. I tried emailing people and apparently they are either too busy to respond, or too busy to actually acquiesce to a request and simply have time to reply with "we don't have time to reply to this." seriously people, what are you so busy doing?! I mean, I work, I know what it's like, but I also know that many times throughout the day I have time to do stuff like this... and other things that aren't necessarily "work" related. But the things I am requesting are "work" related for these people and yet the ignore me. How hard is it to post syllabi on the web? I mean, is that really a difficult request for a school with a web page? I mean, I know we still haven't quite made it to 2005 in the whole computer realm, but we do have a web page... that's a decent start! And there are people on campus (few, but enough in important places) that realize not everyone who attends the school lives on campus and want to help, but the other people (the "Man" for example) think that we should drop everything and live on their time because we are students of said establishment.
Anyway... enough ranting about that subject.
Maggie is planning on moving out soon and really wants me to move with her. The problem is that she really only wants me to live with her until Decmeber- when Jamie moves back up from Florida. Not really keen on that idea. And besides... if Maggie moves out- I want her room! It's bigger and so is the bathroom (and the closet)! But we'll see. The free housing thing didn't work out and considering the pay rate and the job where I'm working (and will probably continue working instead of seeking other emplyment), there's no way I could afford to move out and pay all the other bills I have (yeah, for my car... boo for gas). So, I guess mom will have to suck it up a little longer.
Guess that's all for now. Hope all is well with you. :)
in other news... oh wait, there is no other news, really.
school starts in three weeks. i'm ready to get back to it, but a little frustrated with the process. being a commuter student is apparently taboo at columbia. the school is definately set up for on campus students. there are no conveinent (how do you spell that word) times to do anything if you have a job from 9-5 M-F. I tried emailing people and apparently they are either too busy to respond, or too busy to actually acquiesce to a request and simply have time to reply with "we don't have time to reply to this." seriously people, what are you so busy doing?! I mean, I work, I know what it's like, but I also know that many times throughout the day I have time to do stuff like this... and other things that aren't necessarily "work" related. But the things I am requesting are "work" related for these people and yet the ignore me. How hard is it to post syllabi on the web? I mean, is that really a difficult request for a school with a web page? I mean, I know we still haven't quite made it to 2005 in the whole computer realm, but we do have a web page... that's a decent start! And there are people on campus (few, but enough in important places) that realize not everyone who attends the school lives on campus and want to help, but the other people (the "Man" for example) think that we should drop everything and live on their time because we are students of said establishment.
Anyway... enough ranting about that subject.
Maggie is planning on moving out soon and really wants me to move with her. The problem is that she really only wants me to live with her until Decmeber- when Jamie moves back up from Florida. Not really keen on that idea. And besides... if Maggie moves out- I want her room! It's bigger and so is the bathroom (and the closet)! But we'll see. The free housing thing didn't work out and considering the pay rate and the job where I'm working (and will probably continue working instead of seeking other emplyment), there's no way I could afford to move out and pay all the other bills I have (yeah, for my car... boo for gas). So, I guess mom will have to suck it up a little longer.
Guess that's all for now. Hope all is well with you. :)
13 August 2005
whoever said 9 to 5 was the way to go?
After two weeks of this job thing, I have learned something very important about myself. I am NOT a 9 to 5 girl. While I know that I have to get some job to pay the bills, I've realized that this is not my favorite way to do that. I'll keep with it for now, but I'm definately looking for something else and also wondering if it's possible to be a youth minister outside the realm of 9 to 5. That's my latest thought on that.
On another note, I am sitting here with the cutest little puppy. She's a husky and I wish I could keep her, but she's just visiting. She's too cute!
That's about all for now... nothing new. Hope all is well with you.
On another note, I am sitting here with the cutest little puppy. She's a husky and I wish I could keep her, but she's just visiting. She's too cute!
That's about all for now... nothing new. Hope all is well with you.
08 August 2005
monotony
Well, folks, I finally did it. I got me one of them job things. It's temporary, but not sure how long. It's a friend from church. He is a lawyer. I'm just the lowly secretary. But it's a job. But having been at it for a week, I sort of realized that I hate the idea of a "job." Anything where someone expects you to be somewhere at a particular time to do who knows what for 8 hours is ridiculous! So, not thinking I really want one of these. Not sure what that says about church jobs... we'll see.
School starts in a month. Still haven't really figured out the whole schedule thing, but once school starts it will be easier to take care of.
Other than that, everything is pretty much the same. Oh, the monotony of it all!
School starts in a month. Still haven't really figured out the whole schedule thing, but once school starts it will be easier to take care of.
Other than that, everything is pretty much the same. Oh, the monotony of it all!
27 July 2005
how to fit 10 pegs into 9 holes!
I hate math. I really always have, so don't ask me why I ever was interested in a subject that required heavy amounts of advanced calculus! The other day I was doing some seminary related math- that's the kind of math you do to figure out how the **** you are going to graduate. I do that kind of math on a regular basis- have been since my first week at Furman. Well, I apparently messed up my math somewhere, because I now realize that I have to take 10 classes this year and they only allow you to take 9. Well, let me rephrase that. They'll allow you to take 5 in a semester, if and only if (another math reference) you have a 3.3 GPA (or it might be a 3.5- she couldn't find the right information). Well, I currently have a 2.99 (I remember being in this sort of situation before). It would be better and I wouldn't be in this dilema if satan wasn't working amongst the faculty here. That's all I have to say about that.
Still trying to get a job. I am now down to a few hundered dollars in my savings account, which won't cover all the bills in August, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! I have tried, I really have, to get a job since I got home, but it's just not going my way. I'm sure that's God's way of directing me towards the right path, but as I told Richard- I'd really appreciate a neon sign telling me where to go. No more of this hunting in the dark crap. And whatever job I get, it needs to be something I can do during school.
Well, it's about time for chapel, so I am going to sign off and join the mass enjoying "mass." Hope all is well with you out in the "real world."
Still trying to get a job. I am now down to a few hundered dollars in my savings account, which won't cover all the bills in August, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! I have tried, I really have, to get a job since I got home, but it's just not going my way. I'm sure that's God's way of directing me towards the right path, but as I told Richard- I'd really appreciate a neon sign telling me where to go. No more of this hunting in the dark crap. And whatever job I get, it needs to be something I can do during school.
Well, it's about time for chapel, so I am going to sign off and join the mass enjoying "mass." Hope all is well with you out in the "real world."
24 May 2005
Surgery
Apparently, I haven't said anything about my surgery. So here it is. On Saturday, after the Easter Egg Hunt (back in March) my back starting hurting. I started thinking I had just strained a muscle, so I got a massage on Tuesday. Still hurt. Knew that where it was hurting could indicate internal problems, so I went to the doctor on Wednesday. He ran a battery of tests (x-ray, CT, ultrasound) and discovered that I had gallstones, which until this point I had no idea we had a family history of. This was in Florida. (By the way, trying to find a doctor down there that I could visit with my insurance was a pain in the butt!) The doctor wanted me to go into the hospital immediately and have surgery in the morning, to remove my gallbladder (which is another one of those useless appendages inside our bodies). I was freaking out. I decided to wait, came in on Thursday morning for more blood work (oh yeah, they did that too). Turns out the surgeon that he was going to recommend me to was not covered under my insurance and trying to find one down there was a pain. I ended up going home to try to find a surgeon and finally decided that I would call my doctor in Atlanta and get a referal from him for a surgeon in Atlanta. That night I was on a plane to Atlanta to meet with the surgeon on Friday morning. Dr. Luke (the Atlanta surgeon) did not see the need to rush into surgery, so he scheduled the procedure for Monday afternoon.
Christy took me to the hospital and Louis came to visit before I went in. The hooked my up to the IV and all the monitors, and put me to sleep- that stuff was powerful. I don't even remember them having to ask me to count. All they said was, "ready to go to sleep?" and then I was out! Next thing I rememeber was waking up in recovery- "Katie... Katie..." and I was thinking "alright. I'm alive." I stayed for awhile, waiting to eat and check off the things required to leave. By 9pm I was home in bed. They managed to do the surgery laproscopically, which means that I have four small incisions in various places on by abdomen, instead of a giant gash from one side to the other. So, I am now gallbladder free and a couple scars more. It wasn't bad, and having conquered that makes it a little easier to look at having blood work done again! (I hate needles, by the way)
I also had an endoscopy a couple weeks ago for my acid reflux. More anesthesia, but not as heavy. The procedure took like 10 minutes, I swear. He stuck the little camera down my throat (I was completely out of it when he did), looked around, took a biopsy and was out. Everything is ok, but I'm on new medication which is helping a lot. The only annoying thing is that one of them is the kind you have to take 30 minutes before a meal. I hate that! But it helps, so I have to make sure to have them on hand at all times!
I think I'm ready to have that test for hypoglycemia now!
Alrighty... that's the medical news! peace :)
Christy took me to the hospital and Louis came to visit before I went in. The hooked my up to the IV and all the monitors, and put me to sleep- that stuff was powerful. I don't even remember them having to ask me to count. All they said was, "ready to go to sleep?" and then I was out! Next thing I rememeber was waking up in recovery- "Katie... Katie..." and I was thinking "alright. I'm alive." I stayed for awhile, waiting to eat and check off the things required to leave. By 9pm I was home in bed. They managed to do the surgery laproscopically, which means that I have four small incisions in various places on by abdomen, instead of a giant gash from one side to the other. So, I am now gallbladder free and a couple scars more. It wasn't bad, and having conquered that makes it a little easier to look at having blood work done again! (I hate needles, by the way)
I also had an endoscopy a couple weeks ago for my acid reflux. More anesthesia, but not as heavy. The procedure took like 10 minutes, I swear. He stuck the little camera down my throat (I was completely out of it when he did), looked around, took a biopsy and was out. Everything is ok, but I'm on new medication which is helping a lot. The only annoying thing is that one of them is the kind you have to take 30 minutes before a meal. I hate that! But it helps, so I have to make sure to have them on hand at all times!
I think I'm ready to have that test for hypoglycemia now!
Alrighty... that's the medical news! peace :)
The Greek skinny...
ok, kids, here's what you've been waiting for: Greece! Enjoy. Pictures are up on Yahoo!Photos. Email me if you want the link :)
Hello friends,
Katie Preston reporting live from Athens, Greece at 6:41pm, local time on Tuesday, April 19, 2005. So far we have taken 92 digital pictures, which according to Yahoo!Photos.com will take approximately 7 hours to upload. I am going to start uploading them now, before we leave for dinner, and check on them when I get back. Once they are uploaded, I will send you the link to check them out on Yahoo!Photos. We have been having a really great time here exploring Greece. Here's the update thus far:
Thursday, April 14- 12noon depart RPC for the Atlanta Airport. Board Lufthansa at 4:05pm and arrive in Frankfurt at 6:05am (local time, which is 6 hours ahead of Atlanta).
Friday, April 15- 9:05am (Frankfurt time) depart Frankfurt for Athens, Greece. Arrive in Athens at 12:05pm (local time, which is now 7 hours ahead of Atlanta). Supposed to transfer to an Aegean Airlines flight to Thessoliniki but tour company messed up reservations, so we get on a bus and instead of a one hour flight have a six and a half hour bus ride to Thessoliniki. Dine at 10:00pm in Thessoliniki at Elektra Palace Hotel. Go to bed around 11:30pm.
Saturday, April 16- wake up for 9:00am departure to Philip of Macedon's tomb, about an hour's drive from hotel. Katie not feeling well, and misses out on the rest of the day. Group visits tomb before heading to lunch in local taverna. Back on bus and head to Berea, where a monument to St. Paul stands. Return to hotel to rest before dinner at 7:00pm, at the hotel. Bedtime around 11.
Sunday, April 17- wake up for 8:00am departure to Phillipi. Three hour bus drive! Arrive at first tour site where Lydia, the seller of purple cloth, was baptized- first Christian convert in Europe. Then visit the lower and upper Phillipi ruins, which include Roman ruins and the jail where Paul was held (the earthquake that could have set him free occurred here). Lunch in Kavala, which in biblical times was known as Neopolis, the site where Paul first landed in Europe. Returned to hotel. On our own for dinner- went to a seafood place on the water (Aegean Sea, I think) called Crystal. Katie had jacket potato with cheese and some grilled vegetables. Melissa had three shrimp- heads still on. John had three scallops. All very good! Returned to hotel to pack for transfer to Athens.
Monday, April 18- wake up for 8:15am departure to Athens. First stop is 20 minutes away at the Thessoliniki Archeological Museum. Saw many interesting artifacts that were from before Christ (as our tour guide puts it... I know it is politically incorrect to say so in the US nowadays, but who cares!). After zipping through the museum, left Thessoliniki for the drive to Athens. New route takes us past Delphi (where the Oracle is), which makes the trip a little longer. Stop in Delphi to tour the ruins. Apparently Delphi is the driest city in Greece, but you'd never know it from our visit (in other words, it rained). Climbed to the top of the site, where the stadium was (quite a hike!), also saw the theatre, a temple to Apollo and the Athenian Treasury. Great view from high up in the mountains. Rain finally stopped as we were on our way back down. Left Delphi and continued to Athens. Arrived at hotel a little after 8:00pm. Checked in, dropped off stuff in rooms, and went down for dinner. By the way, Greek meals are huge. Many courses of rich foods. And we're not supposed to be eating things washed in Greek water or drinking Greek tap water (who really knows why) so they are giving us things we shouldn't be eating, wasting them! But anyway... After dinner headed to roof to see the view... wait for the pictures for that one!
Tuesday, April 19- wake up for 8:30am departure for Athens city tour. Drive around Athens, stop at the Panathenike Stadium, which was a marble stadium built for the first modern Olympic games in 1896 (refurbished for last years games). Quite impressive. Thought we were going to get to see some people run in the stadium, but they were just passing through. On to the building of Parliament, the President's house, the Prime Minister's house, the Hilton (don't ask), and many other interesting museums, buildings and monuments before dropping us off at the Acropolis. Climbed the Acropolis, saw the Parthenon, the theatre where Yanni played (Live at the Acropolis), the Greek Agora at the base of the Acropolis, a temple to Athena, Mars Hill (where Paul spoke in Athens about the unknown God he had seen displayed on the Altar Way in the Agora). Walked a long way from the agora to lunch in the Plaka, the historic district in Athens. Again, lunch was too much food, but they brought us ice cream at the end, and there's always room for ice cream! After lunch we walked around the Plaka and did some shopping. Found some great Olympic merchandise for 50% off! Mom bought some jewelry. She has also decided she wants to take pictures of doors (not sure why), so we have a lot of shots of doors on our other camera. Only one will be included with this set of pictures. Funny story about hunting for doors- she had seen one on the way to lunch, and afterwards we went back to take a picture of it. Well, it turns out someone very important must live behind this door, because as we gathered in front of it, a "guard" came out and told us we couldn't take a picture- of a door! One of the members of our group noticed a security camera, so there was definitely something special about that door. And we had walked a long way back to try to get a picture of it! Oh well... Now we are resting before heading off to dinner and a show.
More to come later. Hope you are all having fun in Atlanta! See you soon!
Katie :)
Tuesday, April 19- well, dinner and the show were interesting. It was way out in the middle of nowhere, at a place called The Old Stables. As we got off the bus they handed us a shot of Ouzo (the local licorice liqueur) and took a picture with the colorful local. Then they gave us hot dog like things on a stick to go grill on the fire pit/grill. After we were all done with that, we were escorted inside a large room with many long tables, where we were seated. There was a stage with a band set up on it to my right. For a while we were the only people in the whole place but it turns out we were just early. Our menu was much like lunch, so I didn’t try everything, but it was all pretty good (the stuff I ate, anyway). Finally the show got underway. The band played for a while and reminded me of the period of statues Olga was telling us about where everyone had a sour look on their faces because of the wars. (In other words, they didn’t look too happy to be there) The dancers came out and did traditional dances of Athens, Northern Greece, the Peloponnesian area, and some of the Greek islands. In the end they all started to look the same. We got pretty tired, especially knowing how early we had to get up the next morning and soon everyone was itching to leave. We were finally in bed around 12:30.
Wednesday, April 20- wake up at 6:00am for a 7:45am departure (have to miss that Athenian traffic) for trip to Corinth and Mycenae. On the drive, we stopped at the Corinthian canal, which is way deep (too deep for me to be interested in walking on the bridge to get a picture). Then on to Corinth. On the top of the hill was where there was a brothel that housed 1000 prostitutes- male and female- which were referred to as Princesses (and I assume Princes) of Athena. Interesting to note this when reading Corinthians. We walked around the ruins and saw the museum for about an hour. We saw the supposed place where Paul spoke- which could have been on the Altar of Zeus. This was the place where people could stand if they had been accused of something and be protected from their accuser. On to Mycenae, where we saw the beehive tomb, the supposed tomb of Agamemnon, and the Lion’s Gate, which was the gate to the city of Mycenaeans. Lunch at a wonderful restaurant with marble floors and where Dan Quail once stopped. Returned to Athens around 6. Went out to dinner with the Bowden’s, the Armstrongs, and the Robertson’s to Hard Rock Café (stomach needed some good ‘ole American food!). Tons of kids down in the shop when we tried to shop. Walked back through the Plaka- Minnie and Joan and I were out shopping until midnight! Got some great souvenirs, including a beautiful cross I had eyed at lunch the other day. Bedtime- 12:45am.
Thursday, April 21- wake up at 8:30am for free day around Athens. This was the first day on our own, so it was nice to sleep in a little and do what we wanted. Cruised around with the Brennans, the Turners, and the Aldermans. John Brennan served as our tour guide for the day. Our first stop was Lycabbeatus hill, where the Cathedral of St. George sits. We got a 24 hour Metro pass and hopped on a train over there, and then took quite a few steps up to get on the cable car. Man were we disappointed when we got on the cable car. Someone misunderstood that it would be 23 minutes to the top- turned out to be 2 to 3 minutes to the top. It was the shortest cable car anywhere, and it was inside! What a disappointment! But the view from the top was amazing! Took some great pictures. Stopped inside the Cathedral which was also amazing, with ornate scenes depicted on every available inch of the interior. What a sight! Then we strolled down the hill (after the quick return cable car trip) to Athenas street for a little shopping. Went through the Central Market where Katie had to cover her eyes the entire time and be led by Melissa because of the sickening meat hanging for sale. Enjoyed gyros (sort of gyros) at a quaint restaurant in Monastiraki Square, before heading out to the Olympic Stadium. Unfortunately, the Greeks do not wish to make any more money off the Olympic sites at this time, because everything we saw was fenced off and military guards were posted around to make sure no one tried to jump the fence. Katie was quite disappointed in this, because seeing the Olympic venues was going to be the highlight of her adventure to Greece (sorry Edith!). Back on the train to Monastiraki for a little shopping in the Flea Market (not what we would think of as a flea market) before some returned to the hotel for a rest before dinner. The Prestons ventured out on the Tram trying to find the Heraklion Olympic venue and the yacht club with no luck before returning in time to freshen up before dinner. The group headed out again at 7:30 for dinner at a great little pizza place. Quick run through the Plaka for ice cream before returning to the hotel. Bedtime around 12:00 midnight.
Friday, April 22- wake up at 7:30am for 9:00am departure to cruise aboard Aegean I through Aegean Sea. Arrive at port around 10:15. The check in line took FOREVER!! We finally got on the boat and got underway around 11:30. Everyone was on deck to watch the ship leave the port, and then we went down for lunch- buffet. The food was good. After lunch, everyone dropped by their cabins to get the necessities for sitting on the deck for the trip to Mycanos- arrival at 6:00pm. Played a little sequence- fun card game! Read a little. Soaked up a little sun. Arrived in Mykanos around 6 and disembarked. Some rode the bus, others of us (Bowdens, Krissy, Brennans and Prestons) ventured the walk to town. Did some shopping. Saw the windmills and gathered together for a beautiful sunset (with beverages) before heading back to the ship. Reboarded around 9 and grabbed some dinner at the BBQ. Apparently, once you get out of the South, ain’t no one know what bbq is! Dinner was on the deck, and it was chilly, but nice. Some people went to the show after dinner, but I had to go to bed. Bedtime at 11:45pm.
Saturday, April 23- wake up at 6:00am for 6:45am departure to Ephesus. Quick note of interest- Ephesus is in modern-day Turkey. (check off another country- and continent- on your list!) Rode a bus to Ephesus- about 5km from the port of Kusadasi. The tour was amazing but we barely had enough time to enjoy the sites. Our guide was a secular Muslim, and I wondered how she could study all the biblical stuff for guide school, be around this historic place all the time, and not understand the power of the Christ. After being hounded by quite a few shopkeepers as we left the site, we headed back into town and into the local Turkish carpet “store.” We had a demonstration of the technique of hand-making Turkish carpets and all the various styles of carpets available. Then mom, dad and I, after deciding we wanted to take advantage of the Turkish government’s generous offer to pay shipping, taxes, duty, blah, blah, blah on our carpet purchase, we were escorted to our own showroom were men ran up and down the stairs searching for the carpet colors we wanted in the size we wanted in the price range we wanted and throwing them down on the floor in front of us until we finally stole a run from them! It was quite a sight! As we were leaving, they escorted us into a jewelry store and it took 30 minutes to get out- Katie was seriously shopping for a pretty birthday gift, but couldn’t find one in the right price range. Not enough time to shop for a pashmina shawl before departure time, so off to the ship. Depart Turkey and head off to Patmos- arrive at 3:30pm. Disembark for tour of Monastery of the Revelation and the Monastery of St. John. Patmos is the island where John wrote Revelation, and many locals believe the cave at the Monastery of the Revelation is the cave John received his revelation in. Very interesting tour of Patmos. Quick look around shops before getting back on the boat. Greek dinner at about 8, after drinks on deck and in the bar. After a long day, mom and I needed an early evening, so we left dinner early and headed back to our cabins. Bedtime at 9:45pm.
Sunday, April 24- wake up at 6:30am for 7:15am departure to Crete. Mom is sick, so she stays on the boat. Difficult time trying to explain to the crew that I wanted a ginger ale taken to her but I couldn’t do it because I had to get off the boat for my excursion. Off to the Palace of Knosos- the home of King Minos, and the earliest known civilization. The Palace was pretty impressive in it’s days- some sections were thought to be 5 stories high. The oldest paved road in the world runs from the main palace to the Little Palace, where the prince lived. I napped on the bus while the rest of the group toured around Heraklion, the port city of Crete. They stopped at the Cathedral of St. Titus just as Palm Sunday Mass was ending and were able to get some of the beautiful palm crosses that we saw in Patmos- not sure if they will be able to take them home or not. We shall see. Reboarded around 11:30 and departed for Santorini. Lunch, buffet style again, and then worship with communion at 2 in the Panoramic “Room.” Wonderful service, remembering the journey Paul had taken which we had retraced and celebrating the sacrament (with individual wine glasses because of the amount of sickness going around) in a beautiful setting. Some time for a nap before getting off on tenders (over some rough waters) to head to Santorini around 4. Desperately attempted to find the picturesque blue-domed church to no avail. Enjoyed touring the city atop the mountain. Stopped at a little café over looking the city sitting on the edge of the cliff- beautiful view! Enjoyed crepes and drinks. I had a Volcano crepe, which had chocolate, coconut and banana on it. Nancy had a Santa Irini (which is who the island is named after, in case you’re wondering), which had apple, walnuts and chocolate on it. They were both mighty good and very large- enough for everyone to enjoy! Decided to take the 587 steps down the mountain- bad idea! Lots of donkey poo and the steps were sloped, which made for lots of pain in the knees. Bands back on for the rough ride back to the ship for the return journey to Piraeus. Farewell dinner at 8:30- everyone got dressed up, it was quite an event. Special cake and musical serenade for Pat and Alan Robertson, who were celebrating their 34th anniversary. Back to the room to pack up and get ready for the final disembarkation in the morning. Bedtime around 10:30pm.
Monday, April 25- wake up at 6:15am for 7:00am departure from ship. Meet Costos in the terminal to board the bus back to the hotel. Somehow he gets lost after taking us to the bus- we were all loaded up and ready to go (even the driver) and Costos had disappeared, so we sat in the parking lot for about 20 minutes. Finally got going and got back to the hotel around 8:30. Of course our rooms were not available at that time, but we were told they would be available around 12-12:30. So mom, dad and I headed out to the Yacht Club to get a burgee. Another 24 hour pass for the metro and we hopped on the train out to Piraeus. Not the station we wanted to get to the harbor- back on train to Faliro station and walked along the water to the club. No trouble getting the burgee, though it isn’t embroidered like the ones at home (guess they only sell those to “real” members). Walked back to tram and jumped off at Starbucks for a coffee break. Back on the tram and over to the metro to stop in and check the situation at the hotel. 12:10pm, still no rooms. Waited around for a little bit- checked email and looked up Sunsail spots in Mediterranean- but still no action, so we headed out with Marsha to lunch. Stopped at a little café for some pizza, cheese pie, and a sausage sandwich. Back to the hotel- still no rooms. Apparently there was some miscommunication between the hotel and the tour company. We decided to head back out (just the Prestons) to the Plaka. I headed up to the Theatre of Dionysus (on the Acropolis) while mom and dad headed through the Plaka. Also stopped at a view other photo ops before meeting up again at 2:30 in the Plaka. A little more shopping before heading back to the hotel- 3:30, finally rooms are available. Quick change and then back out on the town. This time we headed over to the Temple of Zeus- which closed at 3:00, and then to Parliament to see the guards and the tomb of the unknown soldier, off to the President’s Mansion to see the guards stretching their legs (interesting march), over to Panethiniko for a photo op, then on the tram to get to the train to get to the Roman Agora, where the Temple to Athena was. Arrived at 5:48pm- they are supposed to close at 6:00pm, but apparently they are already closed. Back on the train and then back to the hotel to freshen up before 7:00 dinner in the hotel. Enjoyed a great dinner with good friends before heading up to the room to figure out how to get all the stuff I bought into my suitcase and repacked for the journey home tomorrow. Quick hop up to the roof to get a shot of the Parthenon at night (in my pj’s- luckily the only people up there were people from our group!), then back down to finish getting ready for bed. Finally got in bed around 10:45pm.
Tuesday, April 26- wake up at 2:15am for 3:00am departure to Athens Airport. Flight departs at 6:00am to Frankfurt. Arrives at 8:00am, local time (one hour behind Athens time). Sleep in airport until 10:15am departure on Lufthansa to Atlanta. Sleep a little on plane- wake up for movie: Bridget Jones- The Edge of Reason. Arrive in Atlanta 2:05pm, local time (seven hours behind Athens). Time for bed! Bedtime- 6:15pm.
Enjoyed the trip!
Hello friends,
Katie Preston reporting live from Athens, Greece at 6:41pm, local time on Tuesday, April 19, 2005. So far we have taken 92 digital pictures, which according to Yahoo!Photos.com will take approximately 7 hours to upload. I am going to start uploading them now, before we leave for dinner, and check on them when I get back. Once they are uploaded, I will send you the link to check them out on Yahoo!Photos. We have been having a really great time here exploring Greece. Here's the update thus far:
Thursday, April 14- 12noon depart RPC for the Atlanta Airport. Board Lufthansa at 4:05pm and arrive in Frankfurt at 6:05am (local time, which is 6 hours ahead of Atlanta).
Friday, April 15- 9:05am (Frankfurt time) depart Frankfurt for Athens, Greece. Arrive in Athens at 12:05pm (local time, which is now 7 hours ahead of Atlanta). Supposed to transfer to an Aegean Airlines flight to Thessoliniki but tour company messed up reservations, so we get on a bus and instead of a one hour flight have a six and a half hour bus ride to Thessoliniki. Dine at 10:00pm in Thessoliniki at Elektra Palace Hotel. Go to bed around 11:30pm.
Saturday, April 16- wake up for 9:00am departure to Philip of Macedon's tomb, about an hour's drive from hotel. Katie not feeling well, and misses out on the rest of the day. Group visits tomb before heading to lunch in local taverna. Back on bus and head to Berea, where a monument to St. Paul stands. Return to hotel to rest before dinner at 7:00pm, at the hotel. Bedtime around 11.
Sunday, April 17- wake up for 8:00am departure to Phillipi. Three hour bus drive! Arrive at first tour site where Lydia, the seller of purple cloth, was baptized- first Christian convert in Europe. Then visit the lower and upper Phillipi ruins, which include Roman ruins and the jail where Paul was held (the earthquake that could have set him free occurred here). Lunch in Kavala, which in biblical times was known as Neopolis, the site where Paul first landed in Europe. Returned to hotel. On our own for dinner- went to a seafood place on the water (Aegean Sea, I think) called Crystal. Katie had jacket potato with cheese and some grilled vegetables. Melissa had three shrimp- heads still on. John had three scallops. All very good! Returned to hotel to pack for transfer to Athens.
Monday, April 18- wake up for 8:15am departure to Athens. First stop is 20 minutes away at the Thessoliniki Archeological Museum. Saw many interesting artifacts that were from before Christ (as our tour guide puts it... I know it is politically incorrect to say so in the US nowadays, but who cares!). After zipping through the museum, left Thessoliniki for the drive to Athens. New route takes us past Delphi (where the Oracle is), which makes the trip a little longer. Stop in Delphi to tour the ruins. Apparently Delphi is the driest city in Greece, but you'd never know it from our visit (in other words, it rained). Climbed to the top of the site, where the stadium was (quite a hike!), also saw the theatre, a temple to Apollo and the Athenian Treasury. Great view from high up in the mountains. Rain finally stopped as we were on our way back down. Left Delphi and continued to Athens. Arrived at hotel a little after 8:00pm. Checked in, dropped off stuff in rooms, and went down for dinner. By the way, Greek meals are huge. Many courses of rich foods. And we're not supposed to be eating things washed in Greek water or drinking Greek tap water (who really knows why) so they are giving us things we shouldn't be eating, wasting them! But anyway... After dinner headed to roof to see the view... wait for the pictures for that one!
Tuesday, April 19- wake up for 8:30am departure for Athens city tour. Drive around Athens, stop at the Panathenike Stadium, which was a marble stadium built for the first modern Olympic games in 1896 (refurbished for last years games). Quite impressive. Thought we were going to get to see some people run in the stadium, but they were just passing through. On to the building of Parliament, the President's house, the Prime Minister's house, the Hilton (don't ask), and many other interesting museums, buildings and monuments before dropping us off at the Acropolis. Climbed the Acropolis, saw the Parthenon, the theatre where Yanni played (Live at the Acropolis), the Greek Agora at the base of the Acropolis, a temple to Athena, Mars Hill (where Paul spoke in Athens about the unknown God he had seen displayed on the Altar Way in the Agora). Walked a long way from the agora to lunch in the Plaka, the historic district in Athens. Again, lunch was too much food, but they brought us ice cream at the end, and there's always room for ice cream! After lunch we walked around the Plaka and did some shopping. Found some great Olympic merchandise for 50% off! Mom bought some jewelry. She has also decided she wants to take pictures of doors (not sure why), so we have a lot of shots of doors on our other camera. Only one will be included with this set of pictures. Funny story about hunting for doors- she had seen one on the way to lunch, and afterwards we went back to take a picture of it. Well, it turns out someone very important must live behind this door, because as we gathered in front of it, a "guard" came out and told us we couldn't take a picture- of a door! One of the members of our group noticed a security camera, so there was definitely something special about that door. And we had walked a long way back to try to get a picture of it! Oh well... Now we are resting before heading off to dinner and a show.
More to come later. Hope you are all having fun in Atlanta! See you soon!
Katie :)
Tuesday, April 19- well, dinner and the show were interesting. It was way out in the middle of nowhere, at a place called The Old Stables. As we got off the bus they handed us a shot of Ouzo (the local licorice liqueur) and took a picture with the colorful local. Then they gave us hot dog like things on a stick to go grill on the fire pit/grill. After we were all done with that, we were escorted inside a large room with many long tables, where we were seated. There was a stage with a band set up on it to my right. For a while we were the only people in the whole place but it turns out we were just early. Our menu was much like lunch, so I didn’t try everything, but it was all pretty good (the stuff I ate, anyway). Finally the show got underway. The band played for a while and reminded me of the period of statues Olga was telling us about where everyone had a sour look on their faces because of the wars. (In other words, they didn’t look too happy to be there) The dancers came out and did traditional dances of Athens, Northern Greece, the Peloponnesian area, and some of the Greek islands. In the end they all started to look the same. We got pretty tired, especially knowing how early we had to get up the next morning and soon everyone was itching to leave. We were finally in bed around 12:30.
Wednesday, April 20- wake up at 6:00am for a 7:45am departure (have to miss that Athenian traffic) for trip to Corinth and Mycenae. On the drive, we stopped at the Corinthian canal, which is way deep (too deep for me to be interested in walking on the bridge to get a picture). Then on to Corinth. On the top of the hill was where there was a brothel that housed 1000 prostitutes- male and female- which were referred to as Princesses (and I assume Princes) of Athena. Interesting to note this when reading Corinthians. We walked around the ruins and saw the museum for about an hour. We saw the supposed place where Paul spoke- which could have been on the Altar of Zeus. This was the place where people could stand if they had been accused of something and be protected from their accuser. On to Mycenae, where we saw the beehive tomb, the supposed tomb of Agamemnon, and the Lion’s Gate, which was the gate to the city of Mycenaeans. Lunch at a wonderful restaurant with marble floors and where Dan Quail once stopped. Returned to Athens around 6. Went out to dinner with the Bowden’s, the Armstrongs, and the Robertson’s to Hard Rock Café (stomach needed some good ‘ole American food!). Tons of kids down in the shop when we tried to shop. Walked back through the Plaka- Minnie and Joan and I were out shopping until midnight! Got some great souvenirs, including a beautiful cross I had eyed at lunch the other day. Bedtime- 12:45am.
Thursday, April 21- wake up at 8:30am for free day around Athens. This was the first day on our own, so it was nice to sleep in a little and do what we wanted. Cruised around with the Brennans, the Turners, and the Aldermans. John Brennan served as our tour guide for the day. Our first stop was Lycabbeatus hill, where the Cathedral of St. George sits. We got a 24 hour Metro pass and hopped on a train over there, and then took quite a few steps up to get on the cable car. Man were we disappointed when we got on the cable car. Someone misunderstood that it would be 23 minutes to the top- turned out to be 2 to 3 minutes to the top. It was the shortest cable car anywhere, and it was inside! What a disappointment! But the view from the top was amazing! Took some great pictures. Stopped inside the Cathedral which was also amazing, with ornate scenes depicted on every available inch of the interior. What a sight! Then we strolled down the hill (after the quick return cable car trip) to Athenas street for a little shopping. Went through the Central Market where Katie had to cover her eyes the entire time and be led by Melissa because of the sickening meat hanging for sale. Enjoyed gyros (sort of gyros) at a quaint restaurant in Monastiraki Square, before heading out to the Olympic Stadium. Unfortunately, the Greeks do not wish to make any more money off the Olympic sites at this time, because everything we saw was fenced off and military guards were posted around to make sure no one tried to jump the fence. Katie was quite disappointed in this, because seeing the Olympic venues was going to be the highlight of her adventure to Greece (sorry Edith!). Back on the train to Monastiraki for a little shopping in the Flea Market (not what we would think of as a flea market) before some returned to the hotel for a rest before dinner. The Prestons ventured out on the Tram trying to find the Heraklion Olympic venue and the yacht club with no luck before returning in time to freshen up before dinner. The group headed out again at 7:30 for dinner at a great little pizza place. Quick run through the Plaka for ice cream before returning to the hotel. Bedtime around 12:00 midnight.
Friday, April 22- wake up at 7:30am for 9:00am departure to cruise aboard Aegean I through Aegean Sea. Arrive at port around 10:15. The check in line took FOREVER!! We finally got on the boat and got underway around 11:30. Everyone was on deck to watch the ship leave the port, and then we went down for lunch- buffet. The food was good. After lunch, everyone dropped by their cabins to get the necessities for sitting on the deck for the trip to Mycanos- arrival at 6:00pm. Played a little sequence- fun card game! Read a little. Soaked up a little sun. Arrived in Mykanos around 6 and disembarked. Some rode the bus, others of us (Bowdens, Krissy, Brennans and Prestons) ventured the walk to town. Did some shopping. Saw the windmills and gathered together for a beautiful sunset (with beverages) before heading back to the ship. Reboarded around 9 and grabbed some dinner at the BBQ. Apparently, once you get out of the South, ain’t no one know what bbq is! Dinner was on the deck, and it was chilly, but nice. Some people went to the show after dinner, but I had to go to bed. Bedtime at 11:45pm.
Saturday, April 23- wake up at 6:00am for 6:45am departure to Ephesus. Quick note of interest- Ephesus is in modern-day Turkey. (check off another country- and continent- on your list!) Rode a bus to Ephesus- about 5km from the port of Kusadasi. The tour was amazing but we barely had enough time to enjoy the sites. Our guide was a secular Muslim, and I wondered how she could study all the biblical stuff for guide school, be around this historic place all the time, and not understand the power of the Christ. After being hounded by quite a few shopkeepers as we left the site, we headed back into town and into the local Turkish carpet “store.” We had a demonstration of the technique of hand-making Turkish carpets and all the various styles of carpets available. Then mom, dad and I, after deciding we wanted to take advantage of the Turkish government’s generous offer to pay shipping, taxes, duty, blah, blah, blah on our carpet purchase, we were escorted to our own showroom were men ran up and down the stairs searching for the carpet colors we wanted in the size we wanted in the price range we wanted and throwing them down on the floor in front of us until we finally stole a run from them! It was quite a sight! As we were leaving, they escorted us into a jewelry store and it took 30 minutes to get out- Katie was seriously shopping for a pretty birthday gift, but couldn’t find one in the right price range. Not enough time to shop for a pashmina shawl before departure time, so off to the ship. Depart Turkey and head off to Patmos- arrive at 3:30pm. Disembark for tour of Monastery of the Revelation and the Monastery of St. John. Patmos is the island where John wrote Revelation, and many locals believe the cave at the Monastery of the Revelation is the cave John received his revelation in. Very interesting tour of Patmos. Quick look around shops before getting back on the boat. Greek dinner at about 8, after drinks on deck and in the bar. After a long day, mom and I needed an early evening, so we left dinner early and headed back to our cabins. Bedtime at 9:45pm.
Sunday, April 24- wake up at 6:30am for 7:15am departure to Crete. Mom is sick, so she stays on the boat. Difficult time trying to explain to the crew that I wanted a ginger ale taken to her but I couldn’t do it because I had to get off the boat for my excursion. Off to the Palace of Knosos- the home of King Minos, and the earliest known civilization. The Palace was pretty impressive in it’s days- some sections were thought to be 5 stories high. The oldest paved road in the world runs from the main palace to the Little Palace, where the prince lived. I napped on the bus while the rest of the group toured around Heraklion, the port city of Crete. They stopped at the Cathedral of St. Titus just as Palm Sunday Mass was ending and were able to get some of the beautiful palm crosses that we saw in Patmos- not sure if they will be able to take them home or not. We shall see. Reboarded around 11:30 and departed for Santorini. Lunch, buffet style again, and then worship with communion at 2 in the Panoramic “Room.” Wonderful service, remembering the journey Paul had taken which we had retraced and celebrating the sacrament (with individual wine glasses because of the amount of sickness going around) in a beautiful setting. Some time for a nap before getting off on tenders (over some rough waters) to head to Santorini around 4. Desperately attempted to find the picturesque blue-domed church to no avail. Enjoyed touring the city atop the mountain. Stopped at a little café over looking the city sitting on the edge of the cliff- beautiful view! Enjoyed crepes and drinks. I had a Volcano crepe, which had chocolate, coconut and banana on it. Nancy had a Santa Irini (which is who the island is named after, in case you’re wondering), which had apple, walnuts and chocolate on it. They were both mighty good and very large- enough for everyone to enjoy! Decided to take the 587 steps down the mountain- bad idea! Lots of donkey poo and the steps were sloped, which made for lots of pain in the knees. Bands back on for the rough ride back to the ship for the return journey to Piraeus. Farewell dinner at 8:30- everyone got dressed up, it was quite an event. Special cake and musical serenade for Pat and Alan Robertson, who were celebrating their 34th anniversary. Back to the room to pack up and get ready for the final disembarkation in the morning. Bedtime around 10:30pm.
Monday, April 25- wake up at 6:15am for 7:00am departure from ship. Meet Costos in the terminal to board the bus back to the hotel. Somehow he gets lost after taking us to the bus- we were all loaded up and ready to go (even the driver) and Costos had disappeared, so we sat in the parking lot for about 20 minutes. Finally got going and got back to the hotel around 8:30. Of course our rooms were not available at that time, but we were told they would be available around 12-12:30. So mom, dad and I headed out to the Yacht Club to get a burgee. Another 24 hour pass for the metro and we hopped on the train out to Piraeus. Not the station we wanted to get to the harbor- back on train to Faliro station and walked along the water to the club. No trouble getting the burgee, though it isn’t embroidered like the ones at home (guess they only sell those to “real” members). Walked back to tram and jumped off at Starbucks for a coffee break. Back on the tram and over to the metro to stop in and check the situation at the hotel. 12:10pm, still no rooms. Waited around for a little bit- checked email and looked up Sunsail spots in Mediterranean- but still no action, so we headed out with Marsha to lunch. Stopped at a little café for some pizza, cheese pie, and a sausage sandwich. Back to the hotel- still no rooms. Apparently there was some miscommunication between the hotel and the tour company. We decided to head back out (just the Prestons) to the Plaka. I headed up to the Theatre of Dionysus (on the Acropolis) while mom and dad headed through the Plaka. Also stopped at a view other photo ops before meeting up again at 2:30 in the Plaka. A little more shopping before heading back to the hotel- 3:30, finally rooms are available. Quick change and then back out on the town. This time we headed over to the Temple of Zeus- which closed at 3:00, and then to Parliament to see the guards and the tomb of the unknown soldier, off to the President’s Mansion to see the guards stretching their legs (interesting march), over to Panethiniko for a photo op, then on the tram to get to the train to get to the Roman Agora, where the Temple to Athena was. Arrived at 5:48pm- they are supposed to close at 6:00pm, but apparently they are already closed. Back on the train and then back to the hotel to freshen up before 7:00 dinner in the hotel. Enjoyed a great dinner with good friends before heading up to the room to figure out how to get all the stuff I bought into my suitcase and repacked for the journey home tomorrow. Quick hop up to the roof to get a shot of the Parthenon at night (in my pj’s- luckily the only people up there were people from our group!), then back down to finish getting ready for bed. Finally got in bed around 10:45pm.
Tuesday, April 26- wake up at 2:15am for 3:00am departure to Athens Airport. Flight departs at 6:00am to Frankfurt. Arrives at 8:00am, local time (one hour behind Athens time). Sleep in airport until 10:15am departure on Lufthansa to Atlanta. Sleep a little on plane- wake up for movie: Bridget Jones- The Edge of Reason. Arrive in Atlanta 2:05pm, local time (seven hours behind Athens). Time for bed! Bedtime- 6:15pm.
Enjoyed the trip!
August is a busy month!
So, today is my friend Marilyn's birthday, the twelfth or so birthday of someone I know this month. I guess August is a good time to get busy! Anyway...
So much since my last post. I guess I should have posted my Greece stuff on here. Oh well... I'm upload it in another post (immediately following).
Since I've been back from Greece, I've just kind of been sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing, which isn't making my mother happy. I'm looking for a job, I promise, but no one is biting! I think I may have to resort to the back-ups: retail and restaurants. Bleh- no fun at all.
Been hanging out with people I haven't seen in awhile. Friends from high school like CJ, Michael, Chitra and Steve and Dave. Friends from college like David, Ziggy, and Jeff. Friends from church like Valerie. And of course, my seminary peeps- Ames, Terbear, Noellie, Alan, the list goes on for awhile... It's been awesome to see these people again. I kinda wish I hadn't gone away. Oh well... moving into the future.
Right now I'm dog/housesitting at Christy and David's house. It's in Acworth. Libby was very sad the first day or so, but she's made the adjustment to hanging out with "Aunt" Katie. We're having a good time. I think I'm going to head to the Johnson's house later today to stay closer to home, with some other things that are going on this week. Lunch tomorrow with mom and Charlotte, who is like my third grandmother. She and her husband, Bob, are moving next week to Indiana. I am sad, but happy at the same time because they will be closer to their family. They will be missed! On Friday I am having lunch with Sue from school. She just graduated! And maybe on Thursday I'm doing something with Valerie. Oh yeah... and this weekend is Dixie at the lake, which means back to Acworth on Friday night to hang out with lake peeps, family, and friends. And Sunday is the 2nd annual Lott Memorial Day BBQ. And I'm sort of in charge since CJ and David are out of town this week (lucky kids on a cruise!). It will be fun!
Oh yeah... I joined the gym last week. Graham and Maggie are both members and we're going to take a spinning class today! It should be interesting- and probably a little painful. But as Diana used to say, no pain, no pleasure (her version of no pain, no gain).
Oh well, that's all for this one. Going to work on the Greece post now. later dudes :)
So much since my last post. I guess I should have posted my Greece stuff on here. Oh well... I'm upload it in another post (immediately following).
Since I've been back from Greece, I've just kind of been sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing, which isn't making my mother happy. I'm looking for a job, I promise, but no one is biting! I think I may have to resort to the back-ups: retail and restaurants. Bleh- no fun at all.
Been hanging out with people I haven't seen in awhile. Friends from high school like CJ, Michael, Chitra and Steve and Dave. Friends from college like David, Ziggy, and Jeff. Friends from church like Valerie. And of course, my seminary peeps- Ames, Terbear, Noellie, Alan, the list goes on for awhile... It's been awesome to see these people again. I kinda wish I hadn't gone away. Oh well... moving into the future.
Right now I'm dog/housesitting at Christy and David's house. It's in Acworth. Libby was very sad the first day or so, but she's made the adjustment to hanging out with "Aunt" Katie. We're having a good time. I think I'm going to head to the Johnson's house later today to stay closer to home, with some other things that are going on this week. Lunch tomorrow with mom and Charlotte, who is like my third grandmother. She and her husband, Bob, are moving next week to Indiana. I am sad, but happy at the same time because they will be closer to their family. They will be missed! On Friday I am having lunch with Sue from school. She just graduated! And maybe on Thursday I'm doing something with Valerie. Oh yeah... and this weekend is Dixie at the lake, which means back to Acworth on Friday night to hang out with lake peeps, family, and friends. And Sunday is the 2nd annual Lott Memorial Day BBQ. And I'm sort of in charge since CJ and David are out of town this week (lucky kids on a cruise!). It will be fun!
Oh yeah... I joined the gym last week. Graham and Maggie are both members and we're going to take a spinning class today! It should be interesting- and probably a little painful. But as Diana used to say, no pain, no pleasure (her version of no pain, no gain).
Oh well, that's all for this one. Going to work on the Greece post now. later dudes :)
18 May 2005
the air has returned!
our air conditioner was broken for about a week, but it is finally fixed! whooohoo. it's getting too hot out here (I'm at Panera, outside, since we still only have dial-up at home) to type a lengthy blog, so I will try hard to get on sometime soon (inside) and post an update.
hope everyone is having fun!
hope everyone is having fun!
04 May 2005
the things that can happen in a little over a month!
including: surgery and a trip to Greece!
details to follow.
details to follow.
26 March 2005
nytol please
I need some zzz's
for the past few days... really all this week... I've had the worst time trying to fall asleep. It seems to take forever... last night I know it took me over two hours... though I did get my sermon for the 10th done while tossing!... and once I finally fall asleep, I feel like I sleep in short bursts, wake up, look at the clock, and go back to sleep because it's entirely too early to get up (cause it's like 3:00am and I don't work the morning shift at Starbucks ;))
tonight is another one of those nights and since I now have a wireless connection in my apartment, I thought, what the hey, let's go grab the computer and blog and play around until I finally fall asleep (or the computer dies... whichever comes first!) Of course I'm violating one of the primary laws in restless nights- doing something in my bed other than sleeping and sex, but oh well. I'm not getting much of one or any of the other done, so why not get something accomplished in bed! A few things are new this week- pillows, started drinking tea (sleepytime, though) before bed again, reading right before bed- but it seems like none of them are the real culprit. Although these aren't the best pillows (I have the worst time with pillows because I'm a back and side sleeper which really requires two separate qualities in a pillow, but oh well... I need a tempur pedic, really- mattress and pillow- and then I'd sleep!) and the tea makes me have to pee a lot... and I'm reading the Story of B which I really enjoy but at the same time is a whacked out book with lots of far reaching ideas that keep my brain racing until the wee hours of the morning. Last night I didn't have any tea and we see where that got me. I guess I could try a different pillow. Already read tonight. Any suggestions? Wish I could get the comments to work so that if you had suggestions I could actually get them!
on to new things...
last night was our Maundy Thursday service. It was in the form of a Tennebrae service, but it was a little different. I thought it was ok. I would probably give it a B+. We had the communion first, sang a lot of hymns appropriate for the service, seven readings (one of which was mine) which could have been better espeically the part where we were supposed to put out a candle after we read (half of us almost forgot) and the lights were supposed to dim (which Dan completely forgot until the end), and a solo by a man who really shouldn't be singing solo but apparently thinks that since it is something that occurs in his church up north "weekly" it should be something that occurs down here more often. And as a musician, it really hurts my ears to have to listen to bad singing or bad bell ringing, or bad accompanying, or bad organ playing or any sort of bad music that I have had to put up with in my life! (Though I must say that today's bells were fabulous!) Apparently "NO" is not a word spoken at VPC- ever. It seems very strange to me. Like today, for what has to be close to the millionth time, the organist's phone went off in the service. How hard is it to just take the damn thing out of your pocket and leave it in your desk drawer?!?! In staff meeting- he answers it! Some people really think that because you have a cell phone, it must be with you at all times and you must answer it whenever it rings. Other people wasted money on the thing because it sits at home all the time! PEOPLE- learn the happy medium! Anyway... back to the service... I did appreciate that the service ended in darkness and everyone did a good job with the "please leave in silence" thing. (which is more that I can say for the prompts I put in the bulletin for the youth service on sunday about being silent!) So, yeah, B+.
Today we had a Good Friday service with two other local churches. it was hosted at VPC (would've been nice to see some other churches) with three of our preachers offering pieces of the seven last words of Christ. RPC has been doing this for their mid-week Lenten meditiation series. We crammed it all into an hour and a half, which really isn't that bad. The sermons were outstanding... each one had a great insight to share (at least with me). The combined choirs were phenomenal. As I mentioned, the bells (VPC) were fabulous- the best I've heard them sound all year. I just thought it was a great service. The only thing I had an issue with was that we sang Lift High the Cross at the end and had a benediction and postlude. I guess I feel like Good Friday should also end on a solemn note, because even though we know what happens on Sunday, we need to take the time to meditate on the power of Friday and Saturday before we get there. It was like the music sunday a couple weeks ago when they sang "allelulia"- there are supposed to be no allelulias during lent. But it was like- it's music sunday and this is a great piece, so screw the rules. Today it seemed like- we need to make a good impression to the local community after all the bad press we've been getting for the last five months, so let's end this on a high note. I dunno. Only because of that does it receive an A-. But I am planning on picking up a tape of the service next week (I'll just edit out the end ;))
Tomorrow is the Easter Egg Hunt. Some people are projecting close to 300 people for the pancake breakfast before the hunt. If that happens, so be it, but good luck finding an open chair! This church really outgrew it's facilities like 10 years ago! We set up the fellowship hall this afternoon for the breakfast and the crafts. Tomorrow morning we'll rope off the age-appropriate sections and hide the eggs. Hopefully the weather cooperates- at about 4 today some nasty fog rolled in. It was kinda eerie...
Luckily on Sunday I am only participating in the 11:15 service. It should be a good service- the choir is singing the Hallelujah Chorus- they better not maim it! If they do, at least I have the Atlanta symphony and choir on cd!
Monday the office is closed. I'm tempted to take Tuesday off since I'm working tomorrow. We'll see. I'm definately taking Friday off next week to have my moving sale. I just have to figure out what time to put on my posters. And if it's going to be Friday and Saturday or just Friday (I don't have that much to sell). Get a little packing done here and there. Turn off the cable (which means no internet at home for a little bit, but there's panera). Check with the leasing office about whether or not someone's leased my apartment yet. Talk to Chris about giving me $2000 to cover breaking the lease and moving expenses. Talk to Chris about the worship service on the 10th (which by the way is going to kick some ass). Get Jack to dig up my headphones (or $20 to replace them... I don't remember saying they weren't mine- he never even showed them to me... he has really let me down over the last few months) and other missing items. Hmmm... what else? Oh yeah... have my last Saturday at Nativity (sad).
I'm sure there's a lot more that will hit me in the next two weeks. I also have to figure out what I'm going to pack for Greece- it's a lot cooler there than I was expecting it to be, which totally throws off my original packing scheme. Oh well- if anyone feels like lending a hand, you know where to find me!
Peace out
for the past few days... really all this week... I've had the worst time trying to fall asleep. It seems to take forever... last night I know it took me over two hours... though I did get my sermon for the 10th done while tossing!... and once I finally fall asleep, I feel like I sleep in short bursts, wake up, look at the clock, and go back to sleep because it's entirely too early to get up (cause it's like 3:00am and I don't work the morning shift at Starbucks ;))
tonight is another one of those nights and since I now have a wireless connection in my apartment, I thought, what the hey, let's go grab the computer and blog and play around until I finally fall asleep (or the computer dies... whichever comes first!) Of course I'm violating one of the primary laws in restless nights- doing something in my bed other than sleeping and sex, but oh well. I'm not getting much of one or any of the other done, so why not get something accomplished in bed! A few things are new this week- pillows, started drinking tea (sleepytime, though) before bed again, reading right before bed- but it seems like none of them are the real culprit. Although these aren't the best pillows (I have the worst time with pillows because I'm a back and side sleeper which really requires two separate qualities in a pillow, but oh well... I need a tempur pedic, really- mattress and pillow- and then I'd sleep!) and the tea makes me have to pee a lot... and I'm reading the Story of B which I really enjoy but at the same time is a whacked out book with lots of far reaching ideas that keep my brain racing until the wee hours of the morning. Last night I didn't have any tea and we see where that got me. I guess I could try a different pillow. Already read tonight. Any suggestions? Wish I could get the comments to work so that if you had suggestions I could actually get them!
on to new things...
last night was our Maundy Thursday service. It was in the form of a Tennebrae service, but it was a little different. I thought it was ok. I would probably give it a B+. We had the communion first, sang a lot of hymns appropriate for the service, seven readings (one of which was mine) which could have been better espeically the part where we were supposed to put out a candle after we read (half of us almost forgot) and the lights were supposed to dim (which Dan completely forgot until the end), and a solo by a man who really shouldn't be singing solo but apparently thinks that since it is something that occurs in his church up north "weekly" it should be something that occurs down here more often. And as a musician, it really hurts my ears to have to listen to bad singing or bad bell ringing, or bad accompanying, or bad organ playing or any sort of bad music that I have had to put up with in my life! (Though I must say that today's bells were fabulous!) Apparently "NO" is not a word spoken at VPC- ever. It seems very strange to me. Like today, for what has to be close to the millionth time, the organist's phone went off in the service. How hard is it to just take the damn thing out of your pocket and leave it in your desk drawer?!?! In staff meeting- he answers it! Some people really think that because you have a cell phone, it must be with you at all times and you must answer it whenever it rings. Other people wasted money on the thing because it sits at home all the time! PEOPLE- learn the happy medium! Anyway... back to the service... I did appreciate that the service ended in darkness and everyone did a good job with the "please leave in silence" thing. (which is more that I can say for the prompts I put in the bulletin for the youth service on sunday about being silent!) So, yeah, B+.
Today we had a Good Friday service with two other local churches. it was hosted at VPC (would've been nice to see some other churches) with three of our preachers offering pieces of the seven last words of Christ. RPC has been doing this for their mid-week Lenten meditiation series. We crammed it all into an hour and a half, which really isn't that bad. The sermons were outstanding... each one had a great insight to share (at least with me). The combined choirs were phenomenal. As I mentioned, the bells (VPC) were fabulous- the best I've heard them sound all year. I just thought it was a great service. The only thing I had an issue with was that we sang Lift High the Cross at the end and had a benediction and postlude. I guess I feel like Good Friday should also end on a solemn note, because even though we know what happens on Sunday, we need to take the time to meditate on the power of Friday and Saturday before we get there. It was like the music sunday a couple weeks ago when they sang "allelulia"- there are supposed to be no allelulias during lent. But it was like- it's music sunday and this is a great piece, so screw the rules. Today it seemed like- we need to make a good impression to the local community after all the bad press we've been getting for the last five months, so let's end this on a high note. I dunno. Only because of that does it receive an A-. But I am planning on picking up a tape of the service next week (I'll just edit out the end ;))
Tomorrow is the Easter Egg Hunt. Some people are projecting close to 300 people for the pancake breakfast before the hunt. If that happens, so be it, but good luck finding an open chair! This church really outgrew it's facilities like 10 years ago! We set up the fellowship hall this afternoon for the breakfast and the crafts. Tomorrow morning we'll rope off the age-appropriate sections and hide the eggs. Hopefully the weather cooperates- at about 4 today some nasty fog rolled in. It was kinda eerie...
Luckily on Sunday I am only participating in the 11:15 service. It should be a good service- the choir is singing the Hallelujah Chorus- they better not maim it! If they do, at least I have the Atlanta symphony and choir on cd!
Monday the office is closed. I'm tempted to take Tuesday off since I'm working tomorrow. We'll see. I'm definately taking Friday off next week to have my moving sale. I just have to figure out what time to put on my posters. And if it's going to be Friday and Saturday or just Friday (I don't have that much to sell). Get a little packing done here and there. Turn off the cable (which means no internet at home for a little bit, but there's panera). Check with the leasing office about whether or not someone's leased my apartment yet. Talk to Chris about giving me $2000 to cover breaking the lease and moving expenses. Talk to Chris about the worship service on the 10th (which by the way is going to kick some ass). Get Jack to dig up my headphones (or $20 to replace them... I don't remember saying they weren't mine- he never even showed them to me... he has really let me down over the last few months) and other missing items. Hmmm... what else? Oh yeah... have my last Saturday at Nativity (sad).
I'm sure there's a lot more that will hit me in the next two weeks. I also have to figure out what I'm going to pack for Greece- it's a lot cooler there than I was expecting it to be, which totally throws off my original packing scheme. Oh well- if anyone feels like lending a hand, you know where to find me!
Peace out
21 March 2005
Spring Cleaning
So, today my intention was to clean the apartment, but what ended up happening was a complete re-arrangement of 67% of my apartment as I prepare to move. I moved all the office furniture out into the living room and dining room, and all the living room/dining room furniture into the office. The main reason I did all of this was to prepare for the "garage" sale I decided to have. I posted a sign about "furniture for sale" but then realized I had so much more stuff that I wanted to get rid of. So, I decided it would be easier to have everything I want to get rid of out there in that open room instead of trying to gather it all in the office. I also have everything marked at this point with prices. So, now all I have to do is make posters for it. But I can't really have the sale this week because it would be too crazy with all the Holy Week stuff going on. So, I guess I'll have it later.
Oh yeah, I also finally went wireless in this here apartment. It's nice to be able to sit here in my chair and type on the computer and not be attached to anything! Whoa... I just automatically hit ctrl-s and it tried to publish my post! It is just so automatic for me to hit that when I have a pause in my thoughts. It's a good thing that the stop button worked!
So, I guess that's all for now. Tomorrow I have staff at 11am :( which means I should probably go to bed pretty soon. Oh well... oh yeah, last night I did a worship service for the youth and it rocked... I kicked a**! If you are interested in learning more about my wonderful worship service, let me know!
Alrighty... I'm outta here. Peace :)
Oh yeah, I also finally went wireless in this here apartment. It's nice to be able to sit here in my chair and type on the computer and not be attached to anything! Whoa... I just automatically hit ctrl-s and it tried to publish my post! It is just so automatic for me to hit that when I have a pause in my thoughts. It's a good thing that the stop button worked!
So, I guess that's all for now. Tomorrow I have staff at 11am :( which means I should probably go to bed pretty soon. Oh well... oh yeah, last night I did a worship service for the youth and it rocked... I kicked a**! If you are interested in learning more about my wonderful worship service, let me know!
Alrighty... I'm outta here. Peace :)
18 March 2005
St. Patty isn't Irish?!!?!?!
In preparing for Children's Chapel for today (which I actually didn't make it to...) I found out that St. Patrick wasn't Irish. There were some other things in there, like the fact that he was enslaved, but I didn't have enough patience after a 17+ hour day to read the rest.
Sunday morning my grandfather had a mini-stroke, and so after flying back through Tampa in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, I was heading to Ft. Myers to get back on a plane to Atlanta to see him. I was home for about 56 hours before getting back on a plane in the wee hours of the morning yesterday to come back. It has been quite a long week!! The good news is that he is doing fine and will be released from the hospital tomorrow. The bad news is that I am exhausted and will probably get an earful tomorrow about missing Children's Chapel this morning. I really wish that wasn't part of my "responsibilities" but at this point it doesn't really matter because I only have to do it one more time before I leave.
Which, by the way, is in a little over three weeks. I am excited, especially after being home and spending time with the posse and the peeps and the gang, but I am also totally stressed because there is still a lot to do before then.
Sunday night I am leading a worship service for the youth that walks us through the last week of Jesus' life. I finally broke through the writers block and got a lot of the liturgy written tonight before our three hour session meeting, but still have to put all the rambling thoughts for my sermon into something cohesive. And round out the rest of the service, put together the bulletin and meet with the person who is "allowed" to preside over the communion and convince him to do things my way!
Next week is Holy Week, which, when you work at a church, is really the most hectic week in your life. Sunday morning I have to organize the children for the palm processional (Palm Sunday, people... Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem...) and make sure that I have some palms left over for my evening worship service. Thursday we are having a Maundy Thursday service, Friday we are having a Good Friday service (which I still don't know if I'm expected to prepare a sermon for, based on the seven last words of Christ- don't ask me what they are, look them up yourself), the Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday which is mainly on my shoulders- I have to make sure we order enough supplies for the pancake breakfast, get the youth to show up to serve the breakfast, plan an Easter story presentation for the many "unchurched" people that usually attend the Easter Egg Hunt, worry about stuffing the eggs with candy (don't have to worry about hiding them because I have an excellent, reliable person in charge of that part), and pull together all the crafts. And then there's Easter morning, where we're having three services (who knows how many of them I will be expected to participate in) and then I AM CRASHING!!! It may not seem like a lot but amid the rest of the staff scurrying about preparing for everything, I will feel like I've just finished a decathlon!
I think once I make it through this week I might be able to make it. That is, of course, if Jack really is willing to put in a lot of time to pull off the "youth emphasis" Sunday that will be my last Sunday at VPC. Oh yeah, I have to prepare a sermon for that Sunday as well. And if we pull this youth thing off that Sunday, I have a lot more work to do for that besides just write a sermon.
And on top of all that, I have to pack up my apartment! Will someone PLEASE commit to coming down here and helping me?!?!?! I just need someone with strong arms...
Well, that is all the pleading, whining and complaining for now (oh yeah, there was some hoorah-ing in there too). I should go to bed to try to stop the vicious cycle of late nights, early mornings and days of crashing due to lack of sleep and over-exertion. Hope you have a wonderful Friday!
Sunday morning my grandfather had a mini-stroke, and so after flying back through Tampa in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, I was heading to Ft. Myers to get back on a plane to Atlanta to see him. I was home for about 56 hours before getting back on a plane in the wee hours of the morning yesterday to come back. It has been quite a long week!! The good news is that he is doing fine and will be released from the hospital tomorrow. The bad news is that I am exhausted and will probably get an earful tomorrow about missing Children's Chapel this morning. I really wish that wasn't part of my "responsibilities" but at this point it doesn't really matter because I only have to do it one more time before I leave.
Which, by the way, is in a little over three weeks. I am excited, especially after being home and spending time with the posse and the peeps and the gang, but I am also totally stressed because there is still a lot to do before then.
Sunday night I am leading a worship service for the youth that walks us through the last week of Jesus' life. I finally broke through the writers block and got a lot of the liturgy written tonight before our three hour session meeting, but still have to put all the rambling thoughts for my sermon into something cohesive. And round out the rest of the service, put together the bulletin and meet with the person who is "allowed" to preside over the communion and convince him to do things my way!
Next week is Holy Week, which, when you work at a church, is really the most hectic week in your life. Sunday morning I have to organize the children for the palm processional (Palm Sunday, people... Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem...) and make sure that I have some palms left over for my evening worship service. Thursday we are having a Maundy Thursday service, Friday we are having a Good Friday service (which I still don't know if I'm expected to prepare a sermon for, based on the seven last words of Christ- don't ask me what they are, look them up yourself), the Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday which is mainly on my shoulders- I have to make sure we order enough supplies for the pancake breakfast, get the youth to show up to serve the breakfast, plan an Easter story presentation for the many "unchurched" people that usually attend the Easter Egg Hunt, worry about stuffing the eggs with candy (don't have to worry about hiding them because I have an excellent, reliable person in charge of that part), and pull together all the crafts. And then there's Easter morning, where we're having three services (who knows how many of them I will be expected to participate in) and then I AM CRASHING!!! It may not seem like a lot but amid the rest of the staff scurrying about preparing for everything, I will feel like I've just finished a decathlon!
I think once I make it through this week I might be able to make it. That is, of course, if Jack really is willing to put in a lot of time to pull off the "youth emphasis" Sunday that will be my last Sunday at VPC. Oh yeah, I have to prepare a sermon for that Sunday as well. And if we pull this youth thing off that Sunday, I have a lot more work to do for that besides just write a sermon.
And on top of all that, I have to pack up my apartment! Will someone PLEASE commit to coming down here and helping me?!?!?! I just need someone with strong arms...
Well, that is all the pleading, whining and complaining for now (oh yeah, there was some hoorah-ing in there too). I should go to bed to try to stop the vicious cycle of late nights, early mornings and days of crashing due to lack of sleep and over-exertion. Hope you have a wonderful Friday!
13 March 2005
ah.... home :)
I just got back from Atlanta. It was so nice to be home and see the peeps. Had dinner with my bro and sis, hung out with my pal CJ and the posse, and got to see some of the Columbia crew. It was a wonderful escape. Too bad I had to come back. Oh well... four more weeks!! I will blog more about my fun times in A-T-L but now I have to get to bed because I have to work tomorrow :(
**night**
**night**
08 March 2005
Packing... plh
why is packing always so dreadful! I decided to start packing today. I got almost everything in the office packed. It's just so complicated to make everything fit well. I feel like the boxes should be tightly packed instead of having all the extra space that they have because my stuff doesn't fit into them better. But at least I've gotten started. And as I've gotten started it becomes an overwhelming thought as to how many boxes I will have to pack to get all my crap into them. I have starting cleaning out some stuff and getting rid of junk that I've been holding on to for awhile. Just lots of useless stuff that as a pack rat I felt it was necessary to hold on to. But I don't want to be that person anymore. So, I threw it away. Well... most of it anyway ;)
I put up an add by the mailboxes about some furniture I'm selling and today a lady came by to look at some of it. After she left I realized how much more stuff should be on that list or at least will end up at Goodwill. Lamps, rugs, luggage, vacuum cleaner, golf clubs.... I feel like I should have a "garage" sale! And I didn't even realize I had this stuff cause it was hiding in closets I rarely go into!
Well, I think that's all for now. Catch ya later :)
I put up an add by the mailboxes about some furniture I'm selling and today a lady came by to look at some of it. After she left I realized how much more stuff should be on that list or at least will end up at Goodwill. Lamps, rugs, luggage, vacuum cleaner, golf clubs.... I feel like I should have a "garage" sale! And I didn't even realize I had this stuff cause it was hiding in closets I rarely go into!
Well, I think that's all for now. Catch ya later :)
14 February 2005
Blinded by the light!
Well, it's official. My last day at VPC is April 10. While part of me is excited to be able to get out of this town of people three times as old as I am (and no one in between), part of me is sad, because of the friendships that I have made here/there that I will miss. I guess right now I'm still soaking it in...
10 February 2005
PST vs. EST
It's so much easiergoing west than coming back east. I had no trouble getting adjusted to Pacific time, but let me tell you... I've been home for, what, four days, and still I'm having trouble with this whole Eastern Standard junk! The last few days it hasn't been too bad because I haven't needed to be at work early, but this morning I had to be there by 9:30 and it just sucked! But I was totally tickled later in the day when Matthew Long walked by (he's like, 5) and said "hi, Reverend Katie." I was like... huh? "What did you call me" "Reverend Katie..." and I just giggled. Mr. Ed was there... he's the custodian (for lack of a more awesome description of the wonderful things he does around the church)... and he just said "he knows." It was... indescribable!
Well, think that's all for now... I really want to go to bed, but I have to help Mags with another paper. One day I will teach her the importance of not being a procrastinator. Later gator :)
Well, think that's all for now... I really want to go to bed, but I have to help Mags with another paper. One day I will teach her the importance of not being a procrastinator. Later gator :)
02 February 2005
I can dig it.
That's right folks. I think I could live here in Vancouver. It's a little chilly, but no ice storms... skiing isn't too far away. The mountains are beautiful. And did I mention an idiot isn't in charge :)
The conference just started today. So far it's getting a B-. Nothing too spectacular. Presbyterians really need to break out of the mold. I'm looking forward to workshops tomorrow. I think they will be good and worth the trip. Well, the fact that I'm in Vancouver is really worth the trip, so who cares how the conference goes! Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to this conference and what's in stor. And, I get to check in with Rodger, which will be helpful. Okay... time for dinner. Check with you on Friday!
Peace
The conference just started today. So far it's getting a B-. Nothing too spectacular. Presbyterians really need to break out of the mold. I'm looking forward to workshops tomorrow. I think they will be good and worth the trip. Well, the fact that I'm in Vancouver is really worth the trip, so who cares how the conference goes! Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to this conference and what's in stor. And, I get to check in with Rodger, which will be helpful. Okay... time for dinner. Check with you on Friday!
Peace
01 February 2005
Canada, eh?
I'm in Canada... and it was no piece of cake getting in here, let me tell you! Let's just say I spent more time in customs than I ever have in my entire life... and that's combined all the other customs trips! It was NUTTY! But I'm here.... not so sure where my mom is, but apparently she'll get here.
I'm going to look for food now! I will post more later!
I'm going to look for food now! I will post more later!
27 January 2005
I see the light!
No! Not the one at the end of the death tunnel, but the one at the end of what you thought was an extraordinarily long tunnel that would never end, and yet, there is the light, shining in my face! I don't want to get into the specifics right now, because nothing official has occured, but there are people that will read this and know what I am talking about.
on another note... let's talk about how difficult it is to teach your sister how to write a college english paper via aim! she is freaking out because her first paper is due at midnight and she thinks it sucks. What I'm trying to get her to realize is that the teacher understands this is the first college paper and it doesn't have to be brilliant. In fact, it's sometimes better if it sucks big time, because then by the time you get to the end of the semseter and you're writing half-decent papers, it looks like you've made a lot of progress and it looks like it's all because of the brilliance of your college english professor!
and apparently, she also needs to be taught the techniques of "drag and drop" and email attachments! what are we going to do with this one?!!
I think I'm going to go to bed pretty soon... it's been a long day, that began with a very long meeting. g'night
on another note... let's talk about how difficult it is to teach your sister how to write a college english paper via aim! she is freaking out because her first paper is due at midnight and she thinks it sucks. What I'm trying to get her to realize is that the teacher understands this is the first college paper and it doesn't have to be brilliant. In fact, it's sometimes better if it sucks big time, because then by the time you get to the end of the semseter and you're writing half-decent papers, it looks like you've made a lot of progress and it looks like it's all because of the brilliance of your college english professor!
and apparently, she also needs to be taught the techniques of "drag and drop" and email attachments! what are we going to do with this one?!!
I think I'm going to go to bed pretty soon... it's been a long day, that began with a very long meeting. g'night
22 January 2005
If they're called prayers of the people...
...why aren't the people the one who are praying? It has come to that time again when I have to write the prayers of the people and I am stumped. I just can't figure out the "formula" for writing a "good" prayer for this particular part of the service. I like that at the Episcopal church, they are the same everyweek, pre-written in the lovely "Book of Common Prayer" and there is a time of silence for members of the congregation to state their personal prayers. Stupid Presbyterian way of doing things! So, here I am, at 9:30 on a Saturday night, attempting to come up with the prayers of the people. And did I mention they are making me attend the 8:30 AND 11:00 services? They are mean, mean people. Grrr...
On a lighter note, I cooked dinner for myself tonight and you'll never guess what I cooked... fish! That's right, kiddos, I made fish for dinner and it was scrum-diddly-uptious! Along with my pecan-crusted tilapia, I had lima beans and mashed potatoes. And of course, can't forget dessert... chocolate pudding! Yippie!
Oh well, I guess I will try to come up with something for this silly prayer... night :)
On a lighter note, I cooked dinner for myself tonight and you'll never guess what I cooked... fish! That's right, kiddos, I made fish for dinner and it was scrum-diddly-uptious! Along with my pecan-crusted tilapia, I had lima beans and mashed potatoes. And of course, can't forget dessert... chocolate pudding! Yippie!
Oh well, I guess I will try to come up with something for this silly prayer... night :)
16 January 2005
uber long day!
it just seems utterly eternal because I only got like three hours of sleep last night and I only spent 5 minutes at home between church and youth group because I went shopping for a tv (for the youth room) and then had to put everything together before youth group started. I think we may have made a break-through! (with the youth group that is)
well, I'm going to bed now, at the end of this never-ending day! have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow ;)
well, I'm going to bed now, at the end of this never-ending day! have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow ;)
13 January 2005
Exhaustion finally sets in...
...and yet I am not compelled to go to bed. What is wrong with me? Just a thought I felt like sharing...
11 January 2005
And I thought it was going to be a load of crap!...
I just watched the Biggest Loser finale. I somehow got into it last week. I remember seeing previews for it in the fall and thinking it was going to be the worst reality show on tv and thinking how degrading it was to work towards being "The Biggest Loser." And then I saw what these people had done, and I cried! The 12 contestants lost over 750 pounds!! The three finalists looked amazing from where they had come from. Kelly, the only girl, started at 242 and lost 79 pounds! Her final weight was 173 and she looked amazing! Gary, the oldest guy, started at 227 and was actually the lightest finalist, weighing in at 156. He also looked amazing. The final guy, the one crowned "The Biggest Loser" was Ryan. He started at 330 pounds and lost 122 pounds ending at 208!! They also factored in total body fat lost, as well as comparing percentage of weight lost, so it is just a coincidence that the guy who won lost the most amount of weight. It was a complete change! And I think the reason it made me cry was to see the dramatic change in these peoples lives (over a 6 month period) and thinking "why can't I get up the motivation to do that?" I don't want as drastic a change, but I want to be healthier and here I am looking at what I ate today and it's crap... all crap. I noticed over the weekend that when I got Checkers my acid reflux really flared up. So the root of that issue is the food I eat! I really need to avoid fast food not only for my health, but also for my wallet. I want to be healthier. I want to be the kind of person that is motivated to get up in the morning and work out. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, as well as a swift kick in the pants to get me going. Thanks for listening to me rant. That's all for now... night :)
09 January 2005
Happy 2005!
Well, we've made it to the new year. I had bronchitis which made for quite a lame new year's eve. We'll make up for it at some point ;)
I'm back in Florida with six months down and eight more to go. Lots of planning happens in January for the rest of the year, especially for big summer events. This has thus far been quite a learning experience.
I can't think of anything else to tell you right now. The weather is insane... it's like 80 degrees today! I miss the colder temperatures, but it's also quite nice. Well, I guess I'm off to youth group. Have an awesome week!
I'm back in Florida with six months down and eight more to go. Lots of planning happens in January for the rest of the year, especially for big summer events. This has thus far been quite a learning experience.
I can't think of anything else to tell you right now. The weather is insane... it's like 80 degrees today! I miss the colder temperatures, but it's also quite nice. Well, I guess I'm off to youth group. Have an awesome week!
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