Subbing for English at my old high school has been fun. I've had the opportunity to help students on their papers and talk about Englishy things. Today one of the 10th grade guys tried to wrap me in toilet paper (apparently the school is "too ghetto to buy tissues" as the students see it). So I had to try to keep from laughing while capturing the toilet paper. Ah, the adventures of teaching!

Well it's been a while, so I might as well update anyone still checking this about my fun weekend. Friday...oh wow, that's a long way back to remember...hmm, Friday I...what did I do? Oh, after subbing at CCS, the Wymans came over for the evening. A great family--lots of fun to be with. Saturday was the Jr Prom for Merrimack, so I spent about 5 straight hours doing hair for Jamie, her friend Steph, and Cassie. The girls looked absolutely beautiful! Saturday night I went to see Down with Love with my parents. An interesting movie, though it got weird at the end. Not sure if I liked it or not. Had to say goodbye to Samantha & the girls in church Sunday. It's been fun spending time with them and playing with Alexis. After church I stopped by Lauren's house for her birthday/graduation from hair dressing school party. I saw Dan & Ben and some other old CCS friends, which was nice. Then down to Methuen to see the Matrix Reloaded with Jay. Very good movie though intellectual as expected. After we had a fun dinner at TGI Fridays. All in all a great day. Today I spent the afternoon at the Cloutier's house. I hung out with Dani & Jared for a while, then watched some movies with Dani & Lorry. Considering it was pouring rain all day, it was a pretty good way to spend the day. It was nice to just relax. And I'm going to need it. I'm subbing English again all this week, so that means getting up at 5:30 every morning. Not cool. But English is cool, so ya. Well I think that sums up everything in a nutshell. Not too detailed, but I need sleep! Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Is there anything more wonderful than driving by blooming lilac bushes with your windows rolled down? I didn't think so.

Quotes of the day from Emily:
"Ok, so you know how some people have road rage? Well I have cafeteria rage."
"This is my favorite joke! A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says, 'A beer please and one for the road.' "

In other news, Skippy & I have been collecting pennies in her "beer money" piggy bank she won back around my birthday. We now have $2.75, which I'm sure wouldn't buy much alcohol. But we've decided to put it towards a much more appropriate cause: ice cream at the Gee!

As the year draws to a close, the sentimental self-reflective poet in me comes out. I'm already halfway done college--so sad! I have a lot of friends graduating this year...moving on to the adult world where they have to get a real job (just remember, Starbucks gives benefits to part-timers) and the little joys of life (like daily 4 o'clock napes) just can't happen anymore. Despite these drawbacks, they're really excited to go and I can't wait to hear all about their adventures of life. For me, this year has been amazing. God has taught me so much about who I am and who He is. I am excited to see where He'll take me next. I have a great group of friends and I don't know where I'd be without them. They keep me silly, serious, focused, insane, and yet grounded. But alas, I can't pine away all day. Time to get these finals over with so I can pack and go home! Three months of no classes, some wonderful friends, a great summer reading list, and probably work in there somewhere too. Have a wonderful summer everyone!

highlights from my Am Lit reading this semester:

"Nothing is more perplexing to man than the mental process of a woman who reasons her emotions."
~from Souls Belated by Edith Wharton

"Was she simply a pretty girl from New York State--were they all like that, the pretty girls who had a good deal of gentelmen's society? Or was she also a designing, an audacious, an unscrupulous young person?"
(or as Dr. Potter more eloquently put it, Daisy Miller: innocent flirt or brazen hussy?)
~from Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James

"If I am going to be drowned--if I am going to be drowned--if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?"
~from The Open Boat by Stephen Crane

"'Good fences make good neighbors.'
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? ...
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense."
~from "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost

"(Husband) 'Home is the place where, when you have to go there,
They have to take you in.'
(Wife) 'I should have called it
Something you somehow haven't to deserve.'"
~from "The Death of the Hired Man" by Robert Frost

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
~from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

"One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."
~from "Birches" by Robert Frost

"In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo. ...
Time for you and time for me,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea, ...
Do I dare
Disturb the universe? ...
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; ...
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid."
~from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot

"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."
~from "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot

Well I'm halfway through my college career. I finished my last class as a Sophomore ("wise fool") yesterday. Today is Study Day and Finals start tomorrow. I have given up keeping track of what day it is...I know the next week is going to be one endless day of studying anyways. My body has given up on me and my brain is on full strike. I am in desperate need of a summer vacation! I will return to the outside world and posting once I have made it to the other end of this deep dark tunnel known as finals. Until then, good luck with studying everyone!

i am understood? by Relient K
sometimes it's embarrassing to talk to you
to hold a conversation with the only one who sees right through
this version of myself i try to hide behind
i'll bury my face because my disgrace will leave me terrified

and sometimes i'm so thankful for your loyalty
your love regardless of the mistakes i make will spoil me
my confidence is, in a sense, a gift you've given me
and i'm satisfied to realize you're all i'll ever need

you looked into my life and never stopped
and you're thinking all my thoughts
are so simple but so beautiful
and you recite my words right back to me
before i even speak
you let me know, i am understood

and sometimes i spend my time just trying to escape
i work so hard, so desperately, in an attempt to create space
cause i want distance from the utmost important thing i know
i see your love, then turn my back, and beg for you to go

you looked into my life and never stopped
and you're thinking all my thoughts
are so simple but so beautiful
and you recite my words right back to me
before i even speak
you let me know, i am understood

you're the only one who understands
completely
you're the only one who knows me yet still loves (me) completely

and sometimes the place i'm at is at a lost for words
if i think of something worthy, i know that it's already yours
and through the times i've faded and you've outlined me again
you've just patiently waited, to bring me back and then

you looked into my life and never stopped
and you're thinking all my thoughts
are so simple but so beautiful
and you recite my words right back to me
before i even speak
you let me know, i am understood

the noise has broken my defense
let me embrace salvation
your voice has broken my defense
let me embrace salvation

I am so thankful for my friends here. They are the best! So Tuesday was my 21st birthday and after the elaborate scavenger hunt they planned for me last year, I was intrigued to see what they'd come up with this year. I got back from my shower that morning to find balloons, streamers, and signs decorating my door. There was a mysterious note telling me to reserve my Friday evening since Tuesdays were so busy. I later discovered this was (an effective) decoy to rid me of suspicions for the day. So I went to my typical 7 hours of classes (Tuesdays are just a nightmare!). Lots of people wished me a happy birthday and for once my mailbox wasn't anorexic! An added bonus was discovering that Five Iron Frenzy would be coming HERE!!! in October on their farewell tour! Woohooo!!!! So my last class got out at 5 and I was kinda frustrated because I was going to be late for small group dinner. Well Emily & Malinda had different plans. Upon exiting the classroom, I was promptly stopped, blindfolded, and donned with one of those cone-shaped birthday hats. So here I am with a giant LL Bean bag full of 4 classes worth of books, notebooks, and my laptop; I'm blindfolded; and I have a party hat on. I'm sure it was a great sight to see! They led me down the stairs in HAL and out past the IM fields to Siberia (the parking lot) to Emily's car. I must say, if you ever want to be kidnapped, Emily & Malinda are just the people to hire. They're very good guides. I got a lot of happy birthdays from random people we passed and some guys playing baseball. After a 40 minute blindfolded car ride they took me out and finally removed the blindfold. We had ended up in Hermatige at the nearest Panera Bread (which they know is one of my favorite places to eat). After a wonderful meal, I opened some presents. CDs from my parents, including some Caedmon's Call and the new (and awesome) Relient K CD. Malinda gave me an adorable picture frame with a picture we took while she was visiting. Emily gave me some Blues Clues bubble bath soap and a family of rubber duckies. My friends are so creative! Well, I thought the day was over after that. I talked to my Nana on the phone and then headed off for IV large group. Of course, at the end all 30ish people there sang happy birthday to me (in true IV off-key tradition). Then I was informed that there was another surprise waiting for me in Ketler Rec! Malinda had baked a cake (and skipped Physics for it...I'm so proud of her!) and Emily made jello in some ice cube trays. So lots of random friends from IV and my freshman hall and stuff came out for one last celebration of my old age. =) All in all, it was another wonderful birthday. Thanks to all my friends...you guys are beyond awesome!