See the World Hanging Upside Down

Working working, always working.  I miss traveling and school, but the world is not a place where such things are free.  

While I can't travel too far off the beaten path, for Thanksgiving, Peter and I escaped to Belvedere -- the proverbial Eden of my childhood.  

Located close to Ellicottville, NY, Belvedere is a quiet patch of land owned by my grandparents.  For as long as I can remember, Belvedere has been at the forefront of my list of favourite places in the world. 

Belvedere's beautiful pond

Going up the ski hill!

The breath-taking view

We found awesome hats!

As for schooling, while my formal education is taking a hiatus, I am not missing out on my favourite type of education; books that change your life.  My top three picks of the books I read this past month are as follows:

3. Girl With Curious Hair (David Foster Wallace)

On the stripped bed- neatly littered with papers and cards, my notecards, a decade of stenography to Lyndon- lay my lover, curled stiff on his side, a frozen skeleton X ray, impossibly thin, fuzzily bearded, his hand outstretched with dulled nails to cover, partly, the white face attached to the long form below the tight clean sheets, motionless, the bed flanked by two Servicemen who slumped, tired, red, green.

2. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami) 

 Is it possible, in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another? We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person's essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?

1.  The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)

  The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body.The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?

Living Off the Alcohol

My life seems to consist solely of vices lately.

Wake up before the sun has risen, chase with coffee.
Have a few cigarettes on the drive to work.
After picking up the work van, have a few smokes and another coffee with the yard boys.
Drive to Mac farm and work ten hours.
Cigarette and coffee, cigarette and lunch, cigarette and coca-cola.
Drive to the yard, drop off the van, chase with a Red Bull.
Have a few smokes on the drive home.
Beers and cigarettes until the night has become the morning.
Sleep an hour or two, get up, repeat.

Luckily, I am not alone in this cycle.  Thanks to Bestfriend for living off our vices with me.

Is the Hole You Dig Deep Enough at All?

I like people who smoke, drink and curse.  I like coffee addicts and pill-takers.  I like those who can't fit in and gave up trying.  These people wear their vices on their sleeves; what you see is truly what you get.  There is never any disillusionment when you encounter the "real them".  I like the rejects of society; the strange groups of people who roll their own cigarettes, brew their own drinks, write their own songs and learn from their own mistakes.

Change For You

I'm going to attempt to do the impossible here.  I'm going to try and sum up my most recent backpacking adventure; Easter in Eastern-Central Europe.

The outskirts of Dresden, Germany.

My adventure began in Germany.  I have been through Germany several times now, and I can honestly say it is my favourite country that I've visited. The highlights of my passage through Germany include my single-serving friends Paula and John and hitch-hiking along the gorge from Dresden to Deciv (Czech Republic).

Hiking along in Deciv

A rarely seen view of Prague

After my epic adventure, I eventually arrived in Prague.  I adored this city because of its incredible views and sights.  I felt very welcomed by the Czech people, even though I can't say a bloody thing in their language, and I received smiles everywhere I went.  The currency currently used in the Czech Republic, the Czech Crown, is 1/26th of a Euro, and I didn't make a single purchase that was more than 100 Kc.  Not to mention that some really excellent beers have come out of this country, and that they are sold in a grocery store for 15-20 Kc per bottle (which is a half-litre).  Absolutely fantastic!
 
I next headed to Slovakia.  When I told people I was going there, most of them just asked "why??", and I started to regret the idea of going there.  But Bratislava was awesome! 

Bratislava -- the view from the top

I met some of the coolest people there, enjoyed the small-town feel (imagine finding that in a capital city!), and found myself partying with locals instead of with other tourists.

 

The city and the Danube

Rémi and I atop the mountain in Budapest

After Slovakia, I took a train into Hungary's nearby capital, Budapest, on the advice of a classmate, Christina.  Besides being constantly confused by the exchange rate, I loved Budapest through and through.  I met up with Rémi (a travel buddy from Bratislava) again, and we took it slowly in this city.  We enjoyed long breakfasts, taking our time in cafés, reading Baudelaire in the parks and seeing the many lovely buildings on both sides of this geographically-divided city.   On my last night in the city, we met up with an American girl, Kara, who was on vacation from her studies in Spain.  Together we went out on the town, stumbled across a karaoke bar, and spent the evening singing every ridiculous song we could in both English and Hungarian.

The famous Chain Bridge sparkling at night

Aidan, Liam and I in Vienna

My last stop this time around was Austria.  I was pretty worn out and not looking forward to the awkward process of making friends again, but I really lucked out in Vienna.  I met some of the most interesting and unique people possible, two of whom are officially my favourite single-serving friends to date.  If you ever have the chance to travel with these boys do it.  Together we took on the city of Vienna, seeing the "sights", frightening tourists, officiating a marriage ceremony and generally causing a ruckus.

One of Vienna's many "sights"

After an uneventful train ride back to Paris, I've fallen back into my normal routine of coffee-thesis-coffee-thesis.

Beer for Breakfast

I am, in fact, Canadian, and therefore have a love affair with beer. Last summer there was little that I enjoyed more than sitting on Adrian's porch late into the summer evening, fighting off the mosquitoes and polishing off the last of a two-four. Or celebrating with Amber after a long week of pruning and weed-whacking. Or bringing case after case out of the cars upon our arrival for camping.

In Canada, it is not hard for me to list my favourite beer; it has been the same one since high school and likely won't change.

Mill Street Organic. Locally brewed, in Toronto, and the smoothest, most refreshing summer taste known to man. And, in the words of best-friend-Jess: “You would drink an organic beer”.

However, my time in Europe has convinced me that there are even more awesome beers out there. And whether you're a close friend of mine awaiting our trip down to Chester's to find these beers, or a stranger heading out on a trip around Europe, these are the beers you should check out, the ten best of my Euro-trip:

1. Kronenberg – France. I will truly miss this beer when I return. It's very similar to Mill Street Organic in taste, and smooth enough that my friends who don't like beer also enjoyed it! Santé!
2. Grolsch – Netherlands. You will note that Heineken didn't make the list. I don't like Heineken. I did, however, really enjoy Grolsch. It has a fresher taste than Heineken, and I saw more Dutch people drinking it and less tourists. Best kept secret perhaps? Gezondheid!
3. Beck's – Germany. I enjoyed this beer so much that I raced to write it down. It was introduced to me by the two Australian boys I met in Berlin, who had purchased a case the night before. It's a crisp-tasting and mellow pilsner, and would be best consumed in the middle of the summer. Prost!
4. Struis – Netherlands. The darkest beer to appear on my list, this is a 9% brew that I tried in Amsterdam. Although I usually prefer lighter beers, I would drink this one over and over again. As hearty as a dish of stamppot, and as dark as I take my coffee.  And it's not pronounced the way you're thinking, I assure you, so good luck ordering it! Proost!
5. Krušovice – Czech Republic. There's no surprise that a Czech beer made my list, since they are the biggest beer consumers in the world. Most tourists head to Prague and seek out a Pilsner Urquell, but I really recommend this one instead. It's a 5% beer with a pretty dry taste and only feels mildly carbonated. Na zdraví!
6. Krombacher – Germany. I don't think I'm alone in proclaiming the greatness of this beer. I had it on my hitch-hiking adventure from Dresden to Dečiv (Czech), offered to me by a fellow traveler out of his backpack. For me, this beer will always taste like mountains, rivers, adventures and fun, but if you want something more specific, I would say it's quite bitter and spicy with a very dry taste and an aftertaste that lasts forever. Prost!
7. Grottenbier – Belgium. I tried this beer on second time passing through Brussels. It tastes like Springtime. At 7%, it's lighter-tasting than you would expect. The taste is hard to describe, besides employing the word 'unique'. I'll try: the taste is fairly dry, but there are unexpected flavours of dark fruits and herbs and the aftertaste is very sweet. Op uw gezondheid!
8. Mahou – Spain. Purchased for me at a nightclub, I tasted this little guy and immediately called it an atrocidad. But then I went to a tiny Casa de Tapas and tried it there, and I want to formally defend the reputation of this poor beer. It's light, it's soft, it's sweet and it has no aftertaste. Sounds horrible? Try it with food instead of at a nightclub. The best complimenting beer I've ever tasted! Salud!
9. Zlatý Bažant – Slovakia. My number one tip here is to not try to keep up with the Slovaks, who drink like they don't want to live. But if you have the chance to go to Bratislava, go out on a Friday and drink as many pints of this beer as you can handle. I was told by one Slovak that the beer was 5%, and by another that it was 12%. Judging by the taste, I'd guess 5%, but judging by our Friday night in Bratislava, I'd guess 12%. It has a pretty full taste, no bitterness to mention (but no fruitiness either) and no real aftertaste. Na zdravie!
10. Brauhaus Nussdorf – Austria. A local brew, and I'm told it's found only at certain bars. My advice is to seek it out! It's quite pure tasting, and had very little aftertaste. It wasn't bitter, but it wasn't sweet either. It was a crsip, clean “beer” taste all the way through. Zum Wohl!

Enjoy!

Can I Hold You?

You know how sometimes you try to use the Wi-Fi and it just isn't working, but if you plug in it works fine?  I'm really hoping going home is like plugging in.


But if you handed me a plane ticket home right now I wouldn't take it.  I have no reason to.

Here in these deep city lights
Girl could get lost tonight
I'm finding every reason to be gone
-- Sara Bareilles

This trip started out with so much pain and separation and isolation.  I had to look for the upsides to everything and it was such a struggle.  Traveling was my greatest upside.

My bike and I having a picnic in Amsterdam

The more I set out with my bike, backpack and tickets, the more I realize I can't go home.  Traveling has changed me.  Seeing other sides of my friends has changed me.  Realizing what friendship is has changed me.  Discovering has changed me.

Le mode bouge, le monde change [...] et si bien qu'il semble que nous cessons d'être ce que nous étions, qu'au vrai nous ne sommes plus ce que nous étions, et que déjà nous n'étions plus exactement nous-mêmes dans le moment où ces prodiges s'accomplissaient sous nos yeux.
-- Camara Layé

I miss people.  Some more than others, and some so much that it aches.  But this year has changed a lot.  Many of my jadis friends are no longer.  Many of my friends and I have simply fallen out of contact.  Many of my friends' lives are changing and I am not there for the change.  When I return, I'm likely to not fit the way I used to in this group.  There are new significant others, there are marriages and there are break-ups between lovers and friends alike.

I don't keep many friendships for long.  Give someone enough time, and everyone gives you a reason to hate them.  That's why traveling is so appealing; you are friends for only a day, a weekend, a week.  It's a brief encounter to take away the sting of loneliness.  Drop me back into my previous life and I may not even have those brief enounters.

I don't want to go home, but I don't want to be here.  I want to run away, hide, get lost, disappear.

That's what's on my mind.

True confession:  I sing and dance in the shower.

Sometimes You Just Have to Walk Away

I have 100 days left in this adventure of mine.

I have extremely mixed emotions on the subject.

Ah! Seigneur!  Donnez-moi la force et le courage de contempler mon coeur.
-- Charles Baudelaire

- Ah! Seigneur! donnez-moi la force et le courage - De contempler mon coeur et mon corps sans dégoût!

Source : Citations de Charles Baudelaire - Dicocitations ™ - citation

- Ah! Seigneur! donnez-moi la force et le courage - De contempler mon coeur et mon corps sans dégoût!

Source : Citations de Charles Baudelaire - Dicocitations ™ - citation

Ah! Seigneur! donnez-moi la force et le courage - De contempler mon coeur et mon corps sans dégoût!

Source : Citations de Charles Baudelaire - Dicocitations ™ - citation

Firstly, I want to return.  I miss my friends and my family.  I miss having a kitchen and a bathroom of my own, and I miss the big, beautifully vast space that is Canada.

Secondly, I don't want to return.  I have made some amazing friends here and I can neither imagine leaving them -- some of them forever -- nor imagine living far away from them all.

Thirdly, I want to return.  I want to return to the way things used to be between my friends and I.  I want to be there for the joys and the sorrows.  I want to be able to chat mindlessly on summer evenings, have someone to cry with in the spring, be able to fight for what I believe is right in the winter, and return to my coffee dates for autumn.

Fourthly, I don't want to return.  Larissa and I were discussing it this weekend; on one hand, going home is like going back in time.  Your friends are all together, listening to the same music, dealing with the same problems, wearing the same clothes.  But on the other hand, it's like flying back in time and ending up in the wrong place.  Because while things are all the same for your friends, for the last year they have all walked together along a path on which you haven't been present. And they have all grown together and you have diverged.

There is nothing like returning to place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
-- Nelson Mandela

And lastly, I no longer know what is 'home'.  Am I returning home, or leaving another home?

If All We Are is Dust ...

Last night I went out with my class.  Best night ever!  I tried hard not to make friends and get attached here; it happened regardless.  Also, everything good happens after 2am.

The other Redeemer girls arrived today.  Lynette and I showed them around our quartier.  It's so bizarre that they are here!  We've been talking about 'when the girls come' for so long, I find it strange to know that our time here is now halfway over.

I leave Saturday for Germany and then Italy.  I have no real itinerary and most of the trip isn't even booked yet.  It is terrifying, but it's going to help me discover a lot about myself and about the world.  Likely it will raise more questions than answer, but what's life without questioning?

I Only Wanted To Begin

Our gift exchange this year.

My estimated total amount travel this holiday was 13840 km.

There are too many awesome things about being home for me to even begin to write them

I had a fantastic time.  It's a Christmas holiday that I will never, ever forget.  There are a million highlights,  but a few of them involved knocking things off of my life list:  Watching a lunar eclipse (Dec. 20-21 with Amanda and Meredeth) and watching a sunset and subsequent sunrise (Dec 31-Jan 1 with Adrian).

The moon, fully eclipsed.

But there was more than just an awesome Christmas!

Ringing in the New Year has always been my favourite part of the year.  I love the way it feels when the buzz about resolutions start, and then when party invites get sent out... all the way up to that countdown to which no one can ever sync up properly, I love New Years.  This one was my best one yet.

Toasting in 2011 with Champagne

3...2...1...Happy New Year!

Having started the year as well as I could have ever hoped, I then had to hop on the plane and come back here to France.  Even still, I am looking forward to this year a lot.  I think it's going to be pretty good. 

As always, here are my resolutions this time around:
1.  The name of my year is the Year of Discovery.  (If this makes no sense to you, email me and ask).
2. I will maintain a flexitarian diet, maintain a healthy sleeping schedule and be able to run 5k non-stop by the end of the year.
3. As I am discovering 'myself', I will work on expressing 'myself' by means of art, music, writing, photography and meditation.
4.  I will make a conscious effort to develop a healthy self-esteem and self-image.
5.  I am committed to 10 specific friendships with my whole being and will work on them all year. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

That secret that you know.

Every year I set New Years Resolutions. I know that many people don't believe in them, but I think that having annual goals is a really good idea. This year, my fifth resolution was this:

“My understanding of 'love' and 'guilt' and how they impact my daily life will become a part of who I am in a positive light” (January 1).

I thought it would be interesting, now that the year is wrapping up, to look back through my journal from this year (resolution number two!) and see how I've worked to develop an understanding of love. I've pulled a few quotes from the year and I am surprised at how my understanding really did grow over this year.

“For Christians, the single command is to love. The Bible says there is nothing without love and that we are nothing without love. The Bible says that we are not lovers of God if we are not lovers of man. [...] Love isn't the main thing God calls people to do, it is the only thing” (January 23).

I think one of my strongest pulls towards love at the beginning of this journey was knowing that I was called to it. I had no desire to be labeled as 'loving'; I knew I was supposed to. And I really struggled with it!

“How do I show love when I don't always feel so loving?” (February 5).

Another deep struggle of mine this year was developing a healthy self-image and learning to love myself.

“If I don't love myself, how am I supposed to love anyone else?” (March 14).

One of the best mediums through which I learned about love this year was my friendships. Living at West House and spending my time with people I truly loved and felt loved by was an amazing experience. 

“I've never loved any group of people as much as I love this 'family'” (May 1).

In the summer, I began to wrestle through the inherent weaknesses in love.  It really struck me how closely related love and guilt were, and it took a lot of deep conversations with my friends to work through this.

“Love is both mankind's most desirable strength and our greatest downfall and weakness. On one hand, we would be nothing without it. On the other, it makes us weak, vulnerable and predictable. Yet our only purpose is to love: our created longing is to attain our strongest and weakest trait” (June 7).

As my trip approached, I began to develop an unshakable anxiety.  I was afraid to lose the grip I had developed on love and was anxious that my friendships wouldn't last.

“Is Ben Gibbard right when he says 'love is watching someone die'? Who will be with me, I wonder?” (July 12).

After leaving, loneliness and I became fully acquainted.  I then realized how much loneliness and love have in common. 

“Loneliness is the strongest force which drives my philosophy of self, home and love” (September 30).

As I had more time to reflect, I came to understand that love is not essential 'because God says so'; it is essential because our souls demand it.  We were created to be beings in relation with one another.  Love is something you cannot exist without.

“I need to love and be loved” (October 9).

The longer I spent away from my new-found sources of love, the more I came to understand the glory of love.  The other revelations I had had regarding love still stood, but there was something more in my understanding now.  Love is scary, but it is worth it.

“Love and desire are tough. They can hurt and ruin and burn. But they are good and they can be absolutely amazing if you work hard at them” (November 4).

Finally, the lesson on love that I learned this month brought everything together.  This month, I learned that I am loved.

“I wish I knew how to show as much love as I've been shown. I truly have the best friends on earth. If there was ever a year to try and understand love, this has certainly been the one” (Dec 7).

All I Want For Christmas is Vous

For the past three days, it has been snowing in Paris.  Presumably, if you are reading my blog, you know me well enough to know that I detest the snow.   I absolutely abhor the cold.  I generally hibernate during the winter season.  But for some strange reason, this year, there is a warm glow in my heart when I think about Christmas...

For the last few years, my Christmases have been less than joyful.  The birth of my Saviour is overrun with lights and commercialism, and it breaks my heart.  For the past few years have also found myself in a season of loneliness.  Add the cold on top of that, and you nearly always get one miserable girl.

So what makes this year different?

My friends -- the best friends anyone could have ever hoped for -- have decided that they want me to be with them for Christmas.  And they have gone far beyond simply stating that desire.  They have actually decided to go in together and get me home.  That's right: that ridiculously overpriced holiday ticket from Paris to Toronto?  That is my present this year. 

And that is why I was overjoyed to see snow in Paris this week.  And that is why I am watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas right now.  And that is why I  have had an unshakable smile for the last week!

Carpe Diem

Ripe -- Ben Lee

The moon sheds light across the end of the bed.
You made me wait but now I'm touching your leg.
And i remember all the little things you said,
"quesadillas, made with cheese" and "a rock band who were Japanese."
So for once in my life, I saw what I wanted and took a bite.
I picked the fruit from the tree and it was ripe.

Your love got big, your jokes got worse each afternoon.
Like bacon at a bah mitzvah, like a lead balloon.
And who's to say what really happened in that room each day?
I was looking for a bride, you were looking for a groom.
So for once in your life, you saw what you wanted and you took a bite.
You picked the fruit from the tree and it was ripe.

And all you people are the heroes I've known.
We're staring off the edge into the unknown.
We are not there yet but we cannot go home.
So we cry, and we sing.
Yeah, I remember everything.
For once in our lives, we saw what we wanted and took a bite.
We picked the fruit from the tree.
And it was ripe.


Carpe diem. Seize the day. Live your life to it's full potential.
It's certainly getting me through.
It takes on a different shape each time.
Sometimes it entails going for a run and getting horribly lost in my own arrondissement.
Sometimes it entails hopping on a plane for a weekend in Madrid.
Sometimes it's having the balls to take up an offer for a date.
Regardless, it makes living life feel good.
And best of all, it keeps me from missing these people too much.

Paris Holds the Key

Paris in point form:
1) Jet-lag sucks. Especially 6 hours. It scares me to return home. Also, I will have lost parts of my life because I lost 6 coming here on a 7 hour flight (pretend it's a 13 hour flight) and will gain six coming back on an 8 hour flight (pretend it's a 2 hour flight). I find it strange.
2) Everyone wants your money for everything. Fees are hiding EVERYWHERE!
3) The have CHERRY COKE here. CHERRY COKE! I was so excited the guy at the Subway we found actually called me Cherry Coke (sounds like a horrible stripper name! Yikes!) when we left.
4) Everyone here smokes, looks amazing (except a lot of people in the Metro... must be the lighting), smells good, and shows a lot of physical affection.
5) No one here drinks coffee on the go, showers for a long time, uses electricity if it can be avoided (I have to run down the hall at night because the light's on a timer and we're at the end and I'm afraid of monsters or armed robbers)or smiles at you in the road.
5) People like Canada, but not America. Also, people are surprised at my French. I guess they haven't heard Canada is bilingual.
6) The Eiffel Tower is lame. I hope Versailles has more to offer.
7) The coffee here is AMAZING.
8) Booze is everywhere. I like it.
9) I dress conspicuously North American. And I'm proud of it!
10) I really REALLY have the best friends on earth. I miss them more than words can say, and wish they were all here to experience this with me. But reading the things they wrote to me in my journal (Thanks Mandar!) and the emails/letters keep me from missing them enough to drop out and fly home.

Chelsea and Aaron Get Married!

Yesterday, one of the most beautiful and caring women I know, Chelsea Watterworth (well, Eygenraam now, I suppose!) married one of the most dedicated and passionate men I know, Aaron Eygenraam. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a blast! Congrats to the lovebirds!

Here is Chelsea posing briefly with me during the reception.

This is my wonderful group of friends from what seems like a lifetime ago. We used to all attend youth with Chelsea. All in all, the day was full of nostalgia, fun and love!

Congrats to one of my oldest and dearest friends, and her super-lucky guy.
Best wishes for the future to Chelsea and Aaron!

Redeemer University College

Yes, it costs a lot. Yes, I will have worked too hard for the degrees I will be getting. Yes, I will have a less well-known name on my certificate. However, I am glad to be a student at Redeemer.

Firstly, I'm glad I go to school. If I had gone straight to the workplace I would be forever unhappy. I would have a lot of unused brain power and I would always wonder what could have been. I also have seen many people who've gone straight into the workplace being so unhappy with their lives and compensating in stupid ways.

Secondly, I'm glad I go to this school. I'm glad I am somewhere where not everyone feels the need to go out drinking simply for "the college experience". I'm glad I am somewhere where we can openly discuss faith and issues without worrying about sounding closed-minded. I'm glad I am somewhere that doesn't make me feel the need to be "hot" or "cool" or anything that isn't simply me.

Lastly, I'm glad I'm in the crowd that I am in. It took a while, but I am now surrounded by honest and caring people. They expect nothing from me besides my love, and the same is returned. Grateful doesn't begin to describe it.

Naked as We Came.

I am so grateful for being blessed with the diverse group of awesome that I can call my best friends.

This song is incredible.

Your humor makes me, makes me nauseous.

"Whoa, when I take off my glasses you all got smaller."
-intense laughter-
"Who knew the number one mood killer is taking off your glasses? Dear Erica: note to self -- get contacts!"
(The summary of why I shouldn't speak around my friends... Lol).

Not going to lie, I'm pretty sick of seeing plaid. And big glasses that serve no real purpose. Not that I'm sad that the hippie trend has moved on to the hipster trend, just that I'm sad that the vast majority of people I know still follow trends. I feel like we're old enough to have self-defined by now, without the use of trends and fads.

Someone mentioned to me a few weeks ago that my group of friends and I are more like a family than friends. I think that's true. We do have a frame in our living room that says 'our family' full of pictures of us. I am very grateful for these friends. Even more than that, I'm grateful for how real and deep they all are. It's a huge blessing.

I've also come to realize this week how much my three best friends from high school mean to me. It's tough for us to all be moving on, but I feel that if I devote enough time and effort, I can hold on to these friendships forever.

Lately I've been enjoying foreign films and independent films. I hope everyone who reads this checks out a few in their lifetime. Here is a small, 20-minute film that may have changed my life last night.

Be a part of an institution, lead the way in a revoloution.

I realized yesterday that I am going to need a year off after school just to swallow and process all the information I will have absorbed during my 5-year long adventure in Bachelor of Arts with an Honours French Major, Psychology Minor and Bachelor of Education.

I love my house. I live with some of the best guys around; Richard, Kevin, Corey, Chad and Nathan, as well as my stellar roomie Amanda. Two weeks ago at devos, we spent all night making jokes about Richard making porn and Corey being a pedophile. This week at devos we spent almost two hours discussing whether Deedz was doing God’s work or not. Just based on the fact that we can be laughing in both of those discussions means that I have found a crowd I can fit into, have fun with, grow with and learn from. I think that is as good as it gets.

One of my goals for this school year is to have 100 coffee dates. So far I have managed to squeeze in 5. I'm so excited for all of these coffee dates. So many people here are so amazing and have a lot of wisdom to offer.

Apparently many people from my school no longer believe in short-term missions. Anyone who doesn’t believe in short-term missions needs to move past “numbers” and “results” and look up God’s commandment to take care of the widow and the orphan. I’m pretty sure He didn’t specify how long we had to spend with them to ‘take care’ of them. And I’m also pretty sure He didn’t tell us to ensure “results”. And how can we measure efficiency, change or worth? Certainly not the way He measures efficiency, change or worth.

Everyone who thinks choral music is lame should listen to Crucifixus by Lotti and O Magnum Mysterium by Lauridsen.

Today was “Random Act of Chocolate Day”, in the world of my I.T. Boss. Score!