100 Things: 26-50.

26. I was baptized a year ago today, February 24, 2007.
27. United Artists used to attach their animated UA logo with some music at the beginning or end of their movies. This severely creeped me out as a kid.
28. Including states I have passed through, I have to been to Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Seattle, California and of course, Texas. (California was a layover but I’d love to spend some time there.)
29. I’m convinced I could eat pineapple with every meal ’til kingdom come.
30. I would like to screen print posters and t-shirts as an extra source of income and fun.
31. As a senior in high school, my UIL spelling and vocabulary team made it all the way to state. We didn’t place there though.
32. Part of me wonders if I could be a nurse or doctor, be good at it, and enjoy it.
33. January 10, 2001 was when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at a high school church service in Plainview, Texas.
34. People think I’m from California because of my personality and accent. I’m not sure what that means and if that’s a good thing.
35. I really like apple cider (Hornsby or Ace) with fish and chips.
36. I was voted high school band sweetheart during my senior year alongside my best friend at the time, Clay, who was voted band beau.
37. My parents enrolled me in piano lessons when I was four and kept me going ’til I left for college.
38. I was against church membership until I discovered The Village Church. I am now a member.
39. I use Crest Whitestrips about once a year or so.
40. As a kid, I used to hide food I didn’t want to eat in the plants behind the dinner table. My mom eventually watered the plants and found out.
41. I’m not a dog person. While working for the Geek Squad as an in-home technician, some dog owners were convinced I was a dog lover because I had a way with dogs. They were deceived.
42. I’ve only had my fingernails painted once and I think it was Megan Cherry that sweet talked me into letting her do it.
43. After one very crazy night, I let my friends dye my hair for the first time. They dyed it blonde in attempts to lighten it, then red. It remained a strange shade of orange until the day before graduation. I paid for a professional to dye it back to black before my parents got into town.
44. Without a doubt, I am a night owl.
45. I don’t like mac and cheese as much as like Velveeta shells and cheese.
46. I also really like this soup my mom used to make me that was basically shells and chicken broth.
47. I have successfully gone a year without changing my vehicle registration.
48. I check facebook, myspace, iGoogle, and cnn.com an obsessively amount of times daily.
49. I wish I didn’t live alone so I didn’t have to pay all my bills, figure out how to cook for one person, and sadly look at my unloved Wii.
50. People who tan so much I can see their tanning goggle lines are kind of gross to me.

100 Things: 1-25.

I think it’s a combination of the coffee I drank earlier today and the stimulating conversations I’ve had all day because I can’t sleep. Instead, here’s a list inspired by my dear friend Ann.

1. There are 13 letters in my last name. I think the first time I said it, I was under the table eating a carrot that had accidentally fallen on the floor and had been there for quite some time. When my parents found me, I felt like I was going to get in trouble so I said my last name. That’s how I remember it.
2. I don’t wear makeup because it takes extra time out of my day.
3. I am addicted to Chapstick.
4. I am slightly irritated when people misuse its/it’s, your/you’re, and there/their/they’re.
5. Rainy and overcast weather tends to make me tired and sad.
6. I’ve thought about moving to the northeast before, but the previous statement conflicts with this thought.
7. The real reason why I don’t wear makeup now is because I don’t have any and if I did, I wouldn’t know how to apply it correctly.
8. I can’t swim although yesterday, my dad claimed I could.
9. My dad has also sworn there are 51 stars on the U.S. flag.
10. I think I am outgrowing chocolate candies.
11. Including layovers, I have been to Thailand, The Philippines, Japan, China, and Hong Kong.
12. Redheaded females tend to intimidate me, especially if they are tall.
13. As of today, iTunes says I have 3991 items (not all music, some are sermons and the New Testament audiobook). They are almost all rated and labeled with my special genre listing so not only can I find songs I really like, but they can fit my mood better.
14. It drives me nuts to see other people’s iTunes library when they have mislabeled or untitled songs.
15. I have a tendency to straighten up the aisles when I go to video stores like Blockbuster.
16. This tendency landed me a job as an assistant manager at a Hastings in Lubbock. I worked there for only a month in addition to my job at Best Buy. I only quit because Best Buy promoted me. I still tell people working at Hastings was one of the funnest jobs I’ve had.
17. The worse jobs I’ve had is a close tie between helpdesk support at Texas Tech (742-HELP, holla!) and sales associate at Family Christian Stores. True story.
18. When Michael Jackson was huge in the 80s, I would moonwalk across the coffee table.
19. I don’t remember how to play many songs on the piano with the exception of the intro to “Beauty and the Beast” and “Maple Leaf Rag.”
20. However, I can sightread extremely well. So well that my piano teacher often thought I practiced way more than I actually did, ha ha.
21. I still use the first e-mail address I’ve ever had, but mostly to register for sites.
22. People say I’m a good listener. What most of them don’t realize is that it’s just a defense mechanism so I don’t have to talk about myself.
23. I like to read things aloud randomly when people are around. It is common for there to be no reason at all and I won’t realize it.
24. I often fear that I am like the guy that was given one talent and buried it in the ground (Matthew 25). Except I feel like I have ten talents and they are all buried.
25. Sliced apples always remind me of my mom. She would peel and slice apples for me and my brother (we did not like the peels) before she would leave for work at 6:30pm.

201.

My previous post hit the 200 mark, both for number of posts and comments. I celebrated by eating a Pop Tart.

Life has been a little busier and looks to keep me busy throughout the month of February. Notably, I had a few awesome days this past week.

Wednesday, February 13: My small group leader, Amber, had e-mailed us earlier in the week to let us know she was cooking dinner for all of us while we discussed “love.” I decided to break out of my mold and show up early, to catch up and help out. I’m useless in the kitchen, so she suggested I start a fire in the fireplace. I had never done so, but assured me that the starter log was simple and walked me through the movements. Easy enough, right?

Five minutes later, I peek my head out the kitchen and notice smoke filling up the living room. I asked Amber if that was normal. Apparently, it is not. And apparently, she forgot to tell me to open the flue (I had to google that later). The little fire I started grew into a big, healthy fire with nowhere to go but in the living room. Things got fun because two girls showed up just in time to see us running amuck. Amber kept her cool, found a flowerpot, and put the fire out. I spent a good fifteen minutes cleaning up the smoky mantel. Moral of the story? DON’T FORGET THE FLUE!

Thursday, February 14: No, I didn’t have a Valentine, but had a few opportunities to love on others. My good pal Jody has a heart for the United Cerebral Palsy organization and invited me to participate in their Valentine’s Day party. He told his buddies that he’d bring chicks. I was the chick. I had only been to UCP Dallas once and didn’t really interact with anyone. I couldn’t even tell you what cerebral palsy is really, but I knew that its victims suffered in different ways. I was totally unprepared.

I got to spend a little over two hours with these guys that Jody and UCP Dallas has taken care of and loved on. I’ll admit, I was hesitant with everything because each guy was different. I guess the biggest obstacle I had to overcome was trying to communicate with them. I’m big on communication, so it was definitely an eye opening experience to see how these guys communicate and just live their lives. I helped them make Valentine’s Day cards and candy bags which was pretty fun - one of the guys had a nurse as his sweetheart, he had such a smile. I fed them cupcakes and Kool-Aid which started to break down the barriers between us. I mean, I love cupcakes and Kool-Aid too!

Finally, I assisted two guys while we played Bingo. I think Bingo is as universal as cupcakes and Kool-Aid. One of my guys understood numbers completely and would make sure I dotted the numbers that came up. He would also yell BOO! when someone else one, ha ha. The other guy (with the sweet smile) would yell BINGO! as often as possible because I’d laugh every single time. It was finally good to get out the house and volunteer which is something I said I’d do with all this free time I have. Moral of the story? It’s easy to help others you want to help, but that shouldn’t stop you from helping everyone.

Since it was WIT night (Whee! It’s Thursday), I swung by Jenna’s school and ended up helping her prepare her classroom for the next day. We made a mini road trip to pick up Rosa’s and enjoyed our usual TV shows. We did make chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels since I never had before and thought it was appropriate. To ’round up the night, I helped her make all these posters for her big Jump Rope for Heart day. We stayed up late, but it was just good to be able to help out. I think I miss working.

Saturday, February 16: The big test to see how good of a Maid of Honor I can be came as it was Mandy’s bachelorette party day. Mandy hosted it at her new house and I finally got to meet a lot of her other friends. The party consisted of one large and detailed cake (!!!), kissing old teenage crushes, and a video Q&A I put together to see if Mandy could match up with her fiancee’s answers. It also consisted of fun gifts, some of which I even got to try out (!!!)

We combined the bachelor and bachelorette parties at On the Border for dinner. Man, they have good grilled chicken tacos. We finished up the night at Main Event. I definitely got a workout at laser tag and bowling. My bowling game remains average, but I think I had more strikes than gutterballs. (Insert self-high five here.) We laughed a whole lot and things went without much of a hitch. Success! Moral of the story? First-time Maid of Honor? Google, google, google, and make sure you talk to your friends who are bridal party pros! (Thanks Magen and Kelly!)

Alright, time to get stuff done.

Vote or die.

Remember that campaign slogan backed by P.Diddy?

Pastor Josh Patterson once said that to keep himself in check, to remind him that the world is broken and in need of a savior, he reads the news. This was around the time I went to Asia, so I thought this was an excellent idea.

But man, it is crazy to try and comprehend what is going on in the world.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is politics. I’ve never voted and have never cared to vote until I started to keep up with the international news.

First, the craziness in Pakistan. Months ago, I was aware of the unrest concerning the upcoming presidential elections and the state of emergency. And then Bhutto (a female politician in a Muslim state, a presidential candidate and previous prime minister) was assassinated??? Then more crazy riots?

And tonight, I finally read up on Kenya and the craziness there. Corrupt presidential elections causing the whole country to riot as well? The opposition party not willing to back off, fueling fights between two tribes represented by each party? Several hundreds of people killed because of an election?

I remember the 2000 elections when W. barely won over Gore. Something about Florida being dumb and Gore fighting back a little. But I don’t remember riots. I don’t remember assassinations or hundreds of people dying.

I don’t remember 70% of the country voting either.

It’s easy to chalk up the violence to something happening far away, maybe that these countries are uneducated and primitive. But they are not. At least Kenya isn’t. Apparently, it had been the most stable country in Africa, boasting a healthy economy. And their citizens knew this election would be important. Important enough for about 70% of the country to vote. And that was without any catchy P.Diddy slogans.

What is it about politics and government in these countries? Where do these citizens get this passion from? And where is mine? I don’t even know if I’m registered to vote… that’s how apathetic I’ve been.

So, while I ponder on the craziness of the world outside of Dallas, Texas, I’ve started to pay attention our own elections coming up. After all, the U.S. government not only affects me, but the countries I read about as well. CNN has an excellent summary of all the candidates - how they are doing in the race, what stance they have on key issues, etc. - and I realized tonight that maybe I find it hard to be passionate about our own government because we have so many candidates. And these candidates handle issues their own ways and some are even a bit “wishy-washy” about where they stand. On some of the hottest topics, it’s not uncommon for a candidate to oppose the issue, but wouldn’t mind letting the states take care of it. Almost like some kind of “I wash my hands of that whole deal” thing. Convenient.

In the midst of all this thinking, I did happen to watch a rerun of South Park’s 100th episode, aired back in 2003. The town was split between protesting against and for the war. Cartman time travels back to 1776 where he witnesses Ben Franklin saying “he believes they could become a country that could go to war, but at the same time also make it appear like we don’t want to go to war by allowing people to protest. ‘…an entire nation founded on saying one thing, and doing another.’”

Anyway, that’s the most I’ve ever said about politics and government. We’ll see if I figure out how to vote yet.

2007 moments.

I’ve been at my parents’ home (the land of dial-up) so I haven’t had a chance to update. For now, here’s my favorite memories of 2007 in chronological order.

Baptism - My mom had me baptized before I knew what that meant as part of the Catholic tradition. I became a believer in 2001 and thought, “once baptized, always baptized.” Something always nagged at me that maybe I should look into getting baptized again, so I did. Actually, I wanted to become a member of The Village and had to complete that as a requirement. I took the mandatory baptism class which made the experience richer. I had my good friend Courtney baptize me as I stood in front of the congregation and my friends and declared my faith. We also had Palio’s pizza beforehand so it was a pretty good day.

The Band - My friend Megan and I always talk about music and our rockstar dreams. She found two other girls with similar passions and we rocked out for a month or so. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I realized the drummer, Z, was amazing and Megan and the singer, Steph, were passionate about getting this thing going. We had a date set for Memorial Day to play a gig and practiced a lot, getting a few cover songs down. We goofed off a lot, but we also had fun piddling around and even hitting up church together. It was an unlikely combination, but it worked. Sadly, the party did not happen so we did not play, and when I came back from Asia, half the band started their real world jobs. We haven’t played since, but I’d be up for it again anytime.

Week before Asia - The week before my Asia trip was a hectic one. All the packing, planning, working, and my birthday was squeezed in there. All the encouragement I received from friends, family, and strangers was God sent and totally helped me get through the preparations and last minute hesitations. As a birthday gift, my friends helped me out big $$$ time and my bandmates put together a care package, complete with compact toilet paper and hand sanitizers. These gifts and the time spent made my heart happy.

Last night in Asia - I spent almost two weeks in east Asia and met some amazing people. During our last week, we dedicated our time to two of our new friends - seeing the sights, eating new food, and just getting to know one another. For our last full day together, we went to see the incredible fountain night show (while eating KFC!) then just sat outside and talked. I had a crazy moment of peace sitting out there, staring at the neon lights of the city and smiling at the entire experience. I want to go back.

Afternoon in Portland’s Living Room - After reading Don Miller’s books and falling in love with Oregon, I finally spent a week in Portland with my friend Megan. We hit up some hotspots like Powell’s Books and even went north to visit Mars Hill Church in Seattle. But hands down, my favorite moment was sitting in Pioneer Courthouse Square. We bought some lunch from some food carts (I think I ate a Philly Cheesesteak) and popped a squat on the steps. There were loads of people just sitting and chatting and the sense of community was welcomed. Megan and I engaged in some great conversation which topped off the moment. Dallas needs one of these.

Chantanapummas + Wii - I bought a used Wii for a fantastic price just in time for my holiday trip to Stephenville. My brother has been encouraging me to buy one, thinking the whole family would join in perfect harmony to play together. Well, he was right! After all those times my brother and I would play Guitar Hero on my PS2 while my mom danced, we finally had something all four of us could play. I have never seen my mom laugh so hard in my life. She ended up kicking our butts at bowling and laughed every single time she hit a strike (which was almost every time!) Even my dad ended up trying it out and determined to beat my mom at bowling (which he did at 3am once my mom was tired!) It’s my first game console since the PS2 I bought in 2001 and it has already earned its keep. I can’t wait ’til the next family get together and am contemplating buying one just for my parents!

Bring it on, 2008.