BK

Anyone...Anyone...

2012-01-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

I realize this video has already gone viral (so much so, that the Hamilton Spectator tweeted about it earlier today), but I can't help but post it.

I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and this Honda commercial is unbelievably clever. Creative respect goes out to the mind who came up with this one.

Oh, how I enjoy superbowl season commercials.

Word of the Day: ennounciate

Quote of the Day: "I will not be eaten!" Rachael

That Patchwork Quilt

2012-01-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

I wish I had discovered earlier in my life that I enjoy sewing.

The quilt is coming along, though it doesn't often feel like I've even cracked the surface of that pile of squares... I spent a good chunk of last night putting more rows on the face.

Those pictures are basically the extent of what I did with the rest of my day. The fun part is going to come later when I actually need to do the quilting part of the quilt... since that will all be done by hand too.

I wish I had discovered earlier in life that I enjoyed sewing. I have already started looking at patterns for the next quilt I want to make. I think it is going to be an Irish Chain quilt. Specifically, I like the look of this patchwork Irish Chain quilt.

From: Crazycreekquilts.com

I think I will, however attempt this with bigger squares (I may have learned my lesson), and I'm sure my Mom will make sure I buy my own rotary cutter and rulers so that she doesn't have to spend afternoons cutting fabric again (not that it wasn't one of the most enjoyable days of my Christmas break). The trick is going to be amending a pattern for the Irish Chain that I'm happy with. Investing in graph paper might be a good idea. I'm also, very probably, going to need to buy more pins.

It's silly, but I maintain that after 4 years of university, Redeemer finally domesticated me. I'm sure its proud.

Word of the Day: linearity

Quote of the Day: "Love and truth, that's the vital connection, love and truth." Julian Barnes, The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters

Hamilton Thrifting

2012-01-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

I've recently taken to the thrifting realm of Hamilton, and in the last several months I've managed a few impressive finds. I've collected a few classy H&M tunic dresses, an adorable assortment of cardigans, a fitted black jacket, and a floral sweater that my mother just despises (she thinks it makes me look like an old woman... I however, love it).

I've found several fantastic pairs of boots for friends, including a barely worn, leather (worth upwards of $250.00 new) Guess Cowboy boots ($24.99, Talize), and a pair of Aldo leather mini-boots, buckled in all the right places, also bairly worn (again, retail price over $150.00 here) for less than $15. I'm starting to find a knack for these unique finds.

However, my favourite find thus far came to me today. They are a pair of vintage, black, mid-calf, 80s, leather boots. And they cost me less than $15.

Now, quite frankly, this photo does not to them justice. They are absolutely gorgeous. The inside is lined with cotton-wool, the stitching is tight, they were made in Canada. The best part, however, is the smell. These boots smell of old leather, and this might be the best part.

Over the Christmas break, I was encouraged to watch a YouTube video entitled "The Story of Stuff." It's about a 20 minute video outlining the wastefulness of our culture. After viewing it, horrified at my own wastefulness, I tried to figure out a way I could lighten my ecological footprint. Since God instructs we take care of the earth, I figured it was about time I started taking that mandate a little more seriously.

Fashion is an extensive industry. On the one hand it has provided a creative outlet for designers to paint the human body in decorative colours and fabrics that are simply beautiful. On the other, the mass production of our cardigans, American Eagle jeans and campus wear have been synthesized by the labour force in third world countries - and that's something that I no longer feel comforable partaking in.

Thus, I am divorcing myself from the mall (with the exception of underwear and bras, and restoking my panty-hoes or leggings). And, let's be realistic, thrift shopping is more fun.

It will be difficult, but I have no doubt it will be worth it. Many of my favourite wardrobe pieces have come from Talize or Value Village, and they are items that are name-brand (Gap, Tommy Hilfigure, Roots, a 90s Harvard sweatshirt...). And, let's be realistic. In the end, it's going to save me a LOT of money.

Here are a few of my other finds from today:

Fun printed Majora dress; $6.99. Belt; Ardene; $4.00

Leather Boots; Talize; $14.99. Belt; see above. Dress; (originally H&M) Talize; $6.99.
Cardigan; Smart Set; $12.99.

I'm also currently re-hemming another cute summer dress that I got for less than $6. I noticed when I got it home that the hem had come out, but luckily my new-found quilting skills have prepared me for a various amount of other sewing projects. And, I'm proud to say, in the spirit of keeping a good ecological footprint (along with the fact I would have no idea how to use a sewing-machine), I'm doing all of this by hand.

Word of the Day: Thrift

Quote of the Day: "Jesus sing over me... you're everything I need." Mercyme

Western University what?

2012-01-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't heard about this...

UWO changed its name.

Read more about it here.

What are your thoughts on this? Because, I have to admit, I'm a little confused.

Word of the Day: confusion

Quote of the Day: "Your love is strong..." Jon Foreman

Chrysanthemum Girl

2012-01-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

I only write poetry when I feel inspired.

I was inspired over Christmas. This one I wrote for Simon, who wanted to put beautiful music to it.

Somewhere between the mountains

And the bed that I have made

I have found a place to lay my head

And forget the comfort of your shade

Where the children with the chalk

Draw your eyes into my dream

Where I cannot walk

Where I cannot scream.

It is where the sidewalk ends

and the cold winds advise,

And the children with the chalk

Scratch life into our eyes.

Dusty hope and vertigo lend

Our petrified gazes to lock:

See our astonished reflections,

See your petals in the rock.

They drew your face on hardened earth

Green and gold and rose transcend

To flowers of an afterthought

And inside my soul suspends.

A crooked grin and aspirations

To have you and to hold.

And to be satisfied with what you cannot give

And with what I cannot behold.

Somewhere between the mountains

And the bed that I have made

I have found a place to lay my head

And forget the comfort of your shade

Where the children with the chalk

Draw your eyes into my dream

Where I cannot walk

Where I cannot scream.

Forgetting that I need you

The pride resigned by grief

The storm comes forth and raises

Reality against belief.

Blink back the glassy tears

that erode apart your soul.

Until the rain washes you away

My Chrysanthemum Girl.

Chrysanthemums are important to me. They were on the coffin of my grandfather when he passed away several years ago. I remember them being in the garden. I remember autumn mums in our own garden. I always knew the seasons were changing when the autumn mums started popping up in our gardens - beautiful fiery red and golden petals that mimicked maples.

Word of the Day: Counter-productive

Quote of the Day: Awake my soul.

New Friends.

2012-01-22T21:20:00.000-08:00

Thems my new dorm. Well, some of them are mine... actually, only two of these people actually are part of the dorm. The rest are honourary members. And the one frowning perfusely... that's Jordan Bokma. He's my digital editor for The Crown.

Word of the Day: Sing

Quote of the Day: "Do a face that's like, what the crap!" Courtney

Dusk

2012-01-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

The sun is beginning to sink in the afternoon sky, and it will soon be evening. The skeleton trees out my window seem to want spring to come, and given the chance, they would bud presumptuously. But I fear winter will come with a vengence.

But none of this matters because, snow, rain, sunshine, daylight and nighttime are going to be consumed by words, and these words are not my own.

Currently, there is over 18 hours of LOTR soundtrack music quened on my Grooveshark playlist. My hope is to make literary criticism read with an epic air.

The skeletons' skin darken with the sky, and the Willow Tree Angels guarding my window sing the soft songs of the quiet, deep, clear, night.

Word of the Day: Overwhelmed

Quote of the Day: (Context: Wolverine is walking down the stairs in XMen 2). "Everyone is trying to seduce him. Rogue's trying to seduce him, Storm's trying to seduce him, the wooden floor is trying to seduce him." Kudzai

1000 Gratitudes, January who?

2012-01-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to doubt the absolute arrival of winter. He seems to be denying us the grace of his presence this season. And since we all know how I feel about snow, you can understand my disappointment with the weather situation. I am sure, however, that drivers are loving it.

New year, new gratitudes.

27. Fallons who assist my move into a new dorm.
28. Vanilla flavoured coffee.
29. Room to keep all my shoes.
30. Professors who share my faith, and the gift of learning in an institution which teaches in a Christian context.
31. New words to learn and understand.
32. The gift of sponsorship.
33. Amazing dorm devotions.
34. My bed, which is really, very comfortable and warm.
35. Midnight walks in the fog.
36. Agendas - I don't know what I would do without these.
37. Classes that are interesting and will be challenging. My schedule is shaping up to being quite the doozy.
38. The gift of journalism God has given me, and my desire to cultivate that gift further.
39. Professors who care, and make hilarious Green Day references in class.
40. Chicken-broccoli Casserole.
41. Spending a wonderful Christmas break with my family.
42. Knowing that God loves me. No matter what.

Word of the Day: Cacophony

Quote of the Day: Kristen and Erica: "We'll pray for you." Me: "Oh, no need for that. Coffee first. We'll call on God if the coffee doesn't work. No need to trouble Him with something that can be solved with a little caffiene."

726 "Squares"

2012-01-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well, this afternoon Mom helped me cut the rectangles for my quilt. By help, I mean to say that she cut every single one of them with her rotary cutter.

Mom cut a lot of fabric today. But thankfully, that's the end of it to finish the face of the quilt.

While I'm grateful that she cut all of the fabric, the edges are now even, instead of, well, cut by scissors like I had done previously. So now, one part of the quilt will clearly be entirely hand-done, and the other will have edges that are a little cleaner. I'll just put my stuff in the middle and everything else around it, so it doesn't look entirely ridiculous.

Before we began this crazy endeavour, we had to find the rotary cutter. Mom was looking all through her fabric bins and an old dresser in the basement (where she came across cross-stitch patterns she had apparently gotten rid of years ago). The rotary cutter was in her blue sewing basket. Now, if we return to the above photos, I would like to direct your attention to the YELLOW sewing basket in the second picture. That yellow sewing basket was the blue sewing basket we were looking for. Typical.

Cutting the fabric took about 6 hours, because we had to stop for dinner, and to say goodbye to Kristen, who was heading back to school. Then we had to open some windows ('cause apparently it was a beautiful day outside...so beautiful, in fact, that my beloved snow melted away), and then find more blue fabric. Eventually we got it all cut - and by we, I mean Mom, since she did all the hard work and I only counted...poorly.

726 squares. Un-freakin'-believable.

Word of the Day: Fabric

Quote of the Day: "The basic American tourist has the IQ of a newt." Glenn Close, on Jay Leno

Ah-wim-bo-wae

2012-01-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Kristen and I watched The Lion King. I had purchased the newly re-released DVD sometime around Thanksgiving, and had brought it (along with about 10 other Disney movies) home for Christmas break.

This is my favourite part:

Although, knowing that The Lion King is loosely based off of Shakespeare's Hamlet makes me a little more inclined to laugh at the idiocracy of Timon and Pumba. Their characters are just so perfectly written.

Still, I can't help but laugh when I see youtube clips like this:

"They basically blamed him for winter!"

Ah well, it makes me laugh.

Word of the Day: Seriously? (I think Mom said this about 20 times yesterday)

Quote of the Day: "Awake my soul. You were made to meet your maker." Mumford and Sons

Conversations at 2am

2012-01-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Cheers to coherency.

Word of the Day: Astonished

Quote of the Day: "Can I battle wits with your demon computer?" Dan K

Ghosts of Christmas Past

2011-12-30T12:36:00.000-08:00

The Kroll cousins have done a lot of these candidly terrible Christmas photos. This one is from family Christmas 2011, and features [left to right] myself, Katelyn, and Kristen.

Here are a few of my other favourites:

2009 - Kristen, Steven, myself

2007- Wes, Steven, Kristen, Me, Katelyn

My favourite thing about this picture is what happened afterwards. Everyone was pretty wet, as is usually the case when you release 5 teenagers into the snow. However, Steven and Wes had been wearing jeans and didn't have extra snow stuff on. When they returned inside, they both took their pants off, Wes (Katelyn's now fiancee) wore a pair of Grandpa's jeans, and Steve covered himself up with a bright pink towel while Grandma put the wet clothes in her dryer.

I think this was 2006.

As you can see, we've had some pretty good photos done in the last five years. It's a tradition I am sure we will keep up, as it just produces the funniest pictures.

And don't worry, being the good generational dutch family we are, there are many more cousins on that side of the family. See?

Word of the Day: Rain

Quote of the Day: "I am grammatically appalled."

Joy.

2011-12-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

Unspeakable joy.

Merry Christmas.

Surprise!

2011-12-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

All the way from Germany...

That's one big Christmas Kinder Surprise! Thanks Micha!

Word of the Day: Oma

Quote of the Day: "You know what's not funny, male pattern baldness!" Chandler, from Friends

Nice one, Google.

2011-12-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

No, I guess one doesn't, does one...

Word of the Day: Ptolemy

Quote of the Day: "The internet is composed of 80% porn, 15% cat videos, and 5% everything else." Jon Macdonald

Yep, its a snow sky.

2011-12-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

Today I watched Hairspray because I didn't feel like studying. All the while, keeping an eye on the greying sky hovering over Ancaster.

Hairspray is one of those movies that will make me laugh everytime I watch it. It's just so hilarious, and its cast is excellent. You can't get much better than Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelley, Michelle Pfiffer, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, James Marsden (insert little heart here) and John Travolta. It's no Christmas classic, but it'll do, pig, it'll do.

One of my favourite Christmas movie moments, though, comes to us from ELF.

Aha, I know how much my mother just *loves* Will Ferrell. But I think this movie is adorable.

Actually, now that I think about it, Christmas specials, movie moments, and Holiday cheer should be recognized. Here are some of my other favourites:

The Santa Clause with Tim Allen

Home Alone with Macauley Culkin

The Polar Express with Tom Hanks

The Sound of Music with Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews
(you're going to need to click the here to get the video)
It has always been a Christmas watch at our house.

The Nativity Story with Keisha Castle-Hughes

What are your Christmas favourites?

Word of the Day: relaxation

Quote of the Day: "Yep, it's a snow-sky." Abigail

Freud and Milton

2011-12-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

They should never again be used in the same sentence. I can now completely understand why no one has ever bothered to put these two together in an academic paper before.

So, thought I, no secondary research means I get to have some creative liberties.

However, no secondary research means that I have been reading Freud's "Interpretation of Dreams" today, and NOT loving every minute of it. I'm not a psych student, so I don't entirely know what he is talking about some of the time.

Oh well, Academia, I love thee.

Word of the Day: Dreams...

Quote of the Day: "Desdemona was too sexy and too virtuous for her own good; better to be an alto and be both sexy and promiscuous, so that there is no question of the matter because everyone (read: men) wants an alto - soproanos are only ever good when they're on top; altos are more flexible." - Emily, Joel, and Maria.

Nativity Scene Fail

2011-12-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Reubin for pointing this out to me:

Can you figure out what is wrong with this picture?

Hint: Think 600 A.D.

Word of the Day: Milkshake

Quote of the Day: "Now that shit is reader response!"

The Luther Story

2011-12-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

Luther is my new Betta. He was purchased in September, just before school began. Dan had Northrop for the summer, which was all snowfalls and roses until Northrop died. I have a hard time without a fish, now (emotional attachment issues), and I have a harder time remembering that Luther's name is Luther and not Northrop (I call him Northrop at least 4 times a week, and Amanda scoffs at me, every single time).

Well, seeing as I've been having camera problems (site earlier blog entry where I recounted my camera falling to the bottom of the lake), I decided just to pull off a photo of a blue betta fish (since Luther is blue), that resembled Luther most.

iStock photo. Borrowed from a website that had a lovely article about fish
and their habits. Thanks guys!

It actually very closely resembles Luther. He has the cool red fins close to his head. But his head is black, not light blue.

Now. Northrop was a wonderful fish. He truly was. He never complained, he was always exuded patience in the morning while waiting to be fed. He transfered well, and loved minding his own business.

Luther, on the other hand is a little rat. He loves Amanda's music, basically gives himself a concussion every morning while waiting for food, and doesn't have a strange hate of highlighters like Northrop did (which is good, I think). He has, however, a nasty habit of rearranging the bowl. I'm not kidding. He tends to get angry at the small aquarium marbles I have on the bottom, and often slaps them around the tank. He's even pushed one of the bigger rocks around, simply because it was blocking his favourite water-vine. He doesn't scare easily, and he hasn't been sick yet (I've changed the water once since I got him...)

It's humourous, really. I wrote a paper at my desk the other day and Luther decided to put on a show. I think he wanted attention, but he gave me a show. Luther bolted across the bowl, miscalculated depth perception, faceplanted into the glass, jolted back in surprise (I don't know what he was expecting), got caught in the reeds, wiggled himself out, and repeated the whole thing several (and by several, I mean at least 15) times.

He's entertaining though. Peppy. I like peppy.

Word of the Day: Mock

Quote of the Day: "Congratulations, Amanda!" (There's a story here)

So many good things...

2011-12-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

So many good things happen when it snows.

- My first (real) kiss.
- Christmas
- A sparkling world.
- Entering Narnia
- Snow-ball fights
- Hot Chocolate with friends.
- Pretty walks.
- Icicles.
- It snowed on my first birthday.

I came out of my Classical History class and the ground was covered. And I stood there in the snow and let it fall on my face. Just stood there for about ten minutes in the middle of Redeemer's academic building parkinglot, face to the sky, letting the flakes fall on my face. In fact, I'm fairly sure I looked a little something like this:

In my imagination, I'm fairly sure that is what the night looked like.

The night ended with a parking-lot wide snowball fight sometime around midnight, pelting our friend from Zimbabwe (who had never seen snow), with the wettest, most amazing first-snow snowballs.

Now, we are entering into our weeks of exams. I am 3 exams, one issue of The Crown, and 2 final papers away from Christmas break. Then I have an unreasonable amount of novels to read for my second semester courses.

Word of the Day: Coffee

Quote of the Day: "Tonight's the night the world begins again." Googoo Dolls, Better Days

Soundtracks for Papers.

2011-12-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

My weekend:

wake up. write paper. repeat.

This has been one of the worst weeks I have ever had in terms of homework and life stuff. The life-stuff I can't really get into, but it sufficiently affected the time frame I had to work on my papers.

Monday marks the end of the hellish week. On Monday, I will be handing 3 papers (one comparing The Fiddlehead and the Malahat, both of which are Canadian Literary Journals released quarterly, one about the relationship between the Lady of Shalott, and Tennyson's Elaine the Lily Maid, and the last about censorship in Charles I's England.. the latter two are both upwards of 2500 words). I will also be presenting two theses for my finals in my fourth year seminar courses.

Soundtracks of the weekend? Every Michael W Smith Christmas song I could get my hands on, MercyMe Christmas, Sting Christmas, Point of Grace Christmas, and the new Jingle Bell Rock by the Newsboys. Brilliant.

My brain is exhausted.

Word of the Day: Effectively (I have probably overused it in my papers)

Quote of the Day: Nothing. I have been staring at a computer screen all day...

1000 Gratitudes, Late November Days.

2011-11-29T21:52:00.000-08:00

It is essay season for me.
I have (had) 9 papers due before next Friday.
Then exams.

So, 1000 Gratitudes. I need to remember to be thankful.

14. Blaring Jesus Culture music as I write papers.
15. Luther: he's such a good fish.
16. Dorm dinners with boys who cook fancy(ish) meals.
17. Knowing that I love writing papers.
18. Jordan Bokma, the brownie man (and also our digital editor).
19. Post-its. I actually legitimately love these things.
20. Puddles and warmth in November.
21. Advent Sunday number one. LOVE having 30 days to prepare for the coming of my Saviour.
22. Christmas tree lights, and the coziness they bring to a dorm.
23. Green headphones.
24. The smell of fresh baking.
25. Amanda's laugh. I think I'm always thankful for this.
26. Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Word of the Day: Protrudant(ent?)

Quote of the Day: Sean: So, which of my two boys would you like to see mud-wrestle?
Abigail: Can I choose you?
Ha, Awesome.

Miniver Sail: A new sound

2011-11-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

These guys are a new and very talented group of musicians coming out Redeemer's halls. They call themselves Miniver Sail.

I know them as Chrisy Hurn, Simon Fallon and Cory Hoogsteen. You should know them too.

Word of the Day: Rejoice

Quote of the Day: "Leeks and Rubbing Alcohol excite me!" Abigail

Sunday sounds

2011-11-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

New music obsession: SHEL.

They are a group of sisters who have incredible talents. I hope you enjoyed.

Word of the Day: Propagate

Quote of the Day: Amanda's Laugh.

1000 Gratitudes

2011-11-10T17:33:00.001-08:00

A blogging friend of mine has, for as long as we've been blog friends (and that's quite a while, since I'm working on my fourth year of blogging), keeping a list of 1000 gratitudes. I think that it derived from a book, and it's a great idea. Write down 1000 things, over the course of a long while, that you are thankful for.

Another friend of mine posted a quick thought to her Facebook account. It read, "What if you were left with tomorrow the things you thanked God for today?" I guess I wouldn't be left with much.

Here it goes, I suppose.

1. Toilet paper (it seems weird, but really, I am very, very thankful for toilet paper).
2. Cool fall days.
3. My beautiful roommate, Amanda.
4. Laughing at jokes with friends.
5. The Crown and its staff.
6. Being able to read books, and own them, and enjoy them. It's such a wonderful blessing to experience share in the conversation of literature.
7. On the topic of books, curling up in my old, delapitated gold chair reading Charles Dickens or Douglas Adams.
8. The smell of coffee.
9. Waking up and finding sunlight streaming through the windows.
10. Driving lessons and beer conversations with Nick.
11. Starbucks and Chapters
12. The aroma of simmering bacon to start my day.
13. Strangely, I'm thankful for Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Vlogs, Youtube and all this other nonsensical social media we have today.

Now, a few photos to add. Most of them apply to the 77 Things list.

30 Items of Clothing to Donate.

Quilt!

Word of the Day: Gratitude

Quote of the Day: "If you have an accent, by definition, you're supposed to be interesting!"

Bartering Bills and eReaders

2011-11-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

Nick, my dear friend who is teaching me the ways of the road, typically gets paid by beer. We go driving for an hour or more, and then we go get beer.

But recently, we have taken to arguing stupid things over said beers. The result, bets over who is right and therefore who will be paying the following week's bill.

Last week the standoff was whether or not Nick was taller than George Clooney. This week, it pertained to whether the wolf or pigs won in the original Three Little Pigs fairy tale. If the wolf won, I'm paying, if the pigs won, he's paying. However, if the story of The Three Little Pigs was not, as we presumed, to be a Grimm's Fairy Tale, we'd split the bill like nice friends and continue with a new bet next week.

Yeah, we definitely signed that. It was on a Crabby Joe's napkin.

Also, stopped at Chapters yesterday to pick up a gift for a friend. They had their new Kobo Colour Touch eReader. Happy. I might have found love in books. (Christmas, perhaps?) I can even get a pretty leather cover that is magnetic and makes it look like a real book. I might have crossed over to the darkside of reading's future...

Still, my bookshelf will never be neglected. I like turning pages. eBooks don't have smells and feels, just words.

In potential future endeavors, it might be a useful thing to have. And it's pretty.

Word of the Day: Spaghetti Squash

Quote of the Day: "There is copulation everywhere!" Papa-Fabes.

Bird Watching: Tweet Tweet

2011-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, somehow, I decided that joining Twitter was worth my time.

Interested?

@BrittanyKnapper

You can also follow The Crown @Crown_RUC

Feeling a bit like a bird.
Which, really, is a great analogy for social networking.

Also, I want this.

Word of the Day: Chaos

Quote(s) of the Day: Faber on Paradise Lost: "They play music to distract themselves from the Lake of Fire." Aaron: "Yeah, except they'd be playing Lady Gaga all day."

Nail Polish: Week 4.

2011-10-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

It's called 'Hot Blooded' and it makes me feel devious. Also, I realize I neglected to post last week's nail colour. It was a hot pink called 'Lavender Cream' by Sally Hansen.

Currently, I am working on a paper for my Studies in Milton class. I'm writing about his view of Education as presented in his prose treatise. Milton is an interesting character in English Literature, living in the post-reformation, Stuart England. I'm also in a course on Tudor-Stuart England, and I find it helpful to have the background information leading up to Milton's time. I'm hoping to be able to use the two classes to come up with some pretty interesting final paper topics.

And reading break can't come soon enough. I am incredibly behind.

Thanks to my wonderful editorial staff, this month's issue of The Crown was pulled together without hinge. We had a few layout glitches, and the website wasn't working until the night of publication, but we managed to publish breaking news (Gadhafi's death), which, for a paper that publishes once per month, almost never happens.

You can find the newest issue of The Crown here.

Word of the Day: Milton

Quote of the Day: "That banana is bruised, you abuse bananas." Kudzai

My greatest weakness is landscaping!

2011-10-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday Youtube video for everyone. This is Tim Hawkins, Christian Comedian.

Funny story: when we were in RA/HA training for this year, we took a night and did a Hamilton service trip with Houston Street, and we wrapped up the night with a prayer for all the RAs and HAs. The pastor prayed for a 'hedge of protection' over Redeemer, and I definitely started laughing in the middle of the prayer. Thank you, Tim Hawkins.

Word of the Day: Tudor

Quote of the Day: "Use your road rage if you have to!" Tim Hawkins

Back to the Future

2011-10-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

One night.
All three Back to the Future movies.
Eating Chocolate Sprinkles by the spoonful. Yum.

Love that part.

Word of the Day: Dreamboat

Quote of the Day: "Great Scot!" Doc Brown.

Thought.

2011-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have the pleasure of introducing Canadian Council Poet, Lorna Crozier, to Redeemer next Thursday. I've been listening to interviews done with her this evening, and I've come across some interesting things.

In her 2007 interview with Ian Ferrier, she says,
"I don't think anyone has to go to school to be a writer...but if you want to be a writer, you need to be an avid, avid reader."

Wise words.

Word of the Day: Carrots

Quote of the Day: "But what about the Hemlock!?! Hemlock doesn't just disappear like that!" David

Nail Polish: Week 2.

2011-10-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

Because we had Family Thanksgiving today, and knowing how much Grandpa loves it when I have my nails painted funny colours (not), I decided to repaint my nails last night instead of tonight. I got a pretty raspberry purple from Walmart for about $2, and decided to try it out.

I like it. It's a good toe colour for the summer, and with this weather, I might get a chance to show it off with sandals yet!

On a side note, I love that I've been at University so long that seeing my younger cousins twice a year doesn't constitute them remembering a) I'm their cousin and b) my name.

Word of the Day: Food

Quote of the Day: Psalm 8

Number 23: Beginnings

2011-10-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

So, this is me and my "quilt".

I'm going to make the entire thing by hand: no sewing machines. Ambitious, eh. My goal is to colour code each row of squares. I'll have all cool colours, all reds, all yellows/whites, alternating. So the next row will look more like this:

And hopefully when it is finished, I will have a twin-sized quilt. I would also like to note that most of these parts were sewn today while I watched 'Far and Away.'

Word of the Day: Fabric

Quote of the Day: "You're a corker y'are, Shannon." Joseph Connelly in Far and Away.

Why I love Redeemer

2011-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

That right there is why I love Redeemer. What other university gives you encouragements on your coffee lids? See, I knew I had an addiction for a reason.

In other news, here is the first installment of my nail-polish challenge. Coincidently, none of the colours on my nails are my own. All of them belong to my dormmate, Jess.

The colours of the polka dots are orange, light green, and purple. The base is black, two coats (because it looked bad with just one).

Word of the Day: Drive

Quote of the Day: "Seriously."

Decade Dance, First Years and A Bucket List

2011-10-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

"Seventy-Seven Things is a yearlong bucket-list. For those who play along, I promise no cosmic kick-backs or special blessings... but you might become a happier person with a little less stress. It's about being silly, accomplishing dreams, making new memories and ruffling your own feathers a bit."

Several of my friends had posted this little blurb on Facebook. I think it is cool. A bucket list of sorts for a year. Not only that, but it could make for a very interesting year of blogging. So, I'm going to up the requirements for this challenge. Not only do I need to complete everything on this list, but I need to blog about it, with pictures (preferably). This should get my creative juices flowing. Who knows, I might even get some good ideas for Editorials.

1. Watch all three Back To The Future movies in one sitting (pee breaks allowed).

2. Read the Dirk Bently Omnibus by Douglas Adams

3. Get my full Driver's License (finally).

4. Apply to work in another country.

5. Play The Game of Life with my little sister. The right way, with Junior Monopoly peices and 18 different cars.

6. Memorize a poem, at least 12 lines long.

7. Create Calvin and Hobbes style snowmen.

8. Play poohsticks.

9. Have date-night each month with Cousin Kristin.

10. Read all of Paradise Lost by John Milton

11. Send an encouragement letter to someone I don't know.

12. Pull an all-nighter (even if it's homework related).

13. Bake oreo-peanut butter brownies and give all of them away.

14. See my best friend from childhood.

15. Prank another dorm.

16. Do a photoshoot with Laura D.

17. Love someone I've never been able to connect with.

18. Paint my nails a different colour each week (52 different colours in all).

19. Finish writing that story I started 2 years ago.

20. See downtown Hamilton in the wintertime, before Christmas.

21. Visit Mr. Steffler, my grade 12 English teacher, and thank him for teaching me.

22. Pray with a complete stranger.

23. Make a quilt.

24. Bake each first year dorm something yummy.

25. Visit Brock one weekend and give my sister a big hug.

26. Learn a magic trick.

27. Read all the books Natalie Campbell suggests to me.

28. Spend a month replying (in written form) in poetry.
29. Find "Erkle-O's" and eat a bowl (major bonus points for this one).
30. Buy something from Avon.
31. Learn to play "Never Underestimate my Jesus" on guitar.
32. Grow a flower from a seed.
33. Dry fall leaves in books.
34. Cook something new each month.
35. Go for a walk in the first snow of the season.
36. Die my hair.
37. Spend a Saturday in Toronto doing nothing of any importance.
38. Keep a prayer journal.
39. Run.
40. Make a gingerbread house with my girls.
41. Climb a tall tree.
42. Go sledding.
43. Sleep under the stars.
44. Go fishing.
45. Go to the Irish Pub. Take Keeley.
46. Take Laura D. out for her 19th birthday (as specified in brownie-making afternoon on Oct 2, 2011).
47. Climb the Dome (or let Colin, Derek and Craig do it).
48. Sleep in a hammock.
49. Go puddlejumping in my rainboots.
50. Make a very elaborate cake.
51. Create a home-made kite.
52. Fly it.
53. Go to Strathroy's Turkey Festival.
54. Make a Jack-O-Lantern.
55. Read the entire Bible.
56. Make Christmas cookies not around Christmas.
57. Do a crazy Hamilton bus trip tour using my student card.
58. Learn to juggle.
59. Read every Charles Dickens novel (except Tale of Two Cities since I've read that already).
60. Sit on a statue.
61. Watch a sunrise with a friend.
62. Donate 30 items of clothing.
63. Make a list (progressively) of 1000 Gratitudes.
64. Incorporate a new word into my vocabulary.
65. Graduate with my (hard-earned) B.A.
66. Play cards with Uncle Joe at Christmas (like old times).
67. See Melissa Greenfield. Some way, some how.
68. Go skating on an outdoor pond with Maria.
69. Go somewhere interesting during Reading Break, even if it is just for a couple hours.
70. Trip to Niagara Falls, just because I think this should be done at least once a year.
71. Have a garage sale.
72. Knit/crochet an afghan.
73. On the topic of knitting, learn how to make Grandma slippers.
74. Make jam.
75. Become an organ donor.
76. Road-trip with Becky Kinsman (to nowhere in particular).
77. Do a handstand.

Word of the Day: Brilliant

Quote of the Day: "It's not a health kick, it's more like a add a few more years onto my life kinda thing...uh...kick." Amanda

Amanda and I in our second year RAing. I am so thankful for her.

Our dorm. Beautiful girls.

Oh, September

2011-09-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Semester starts full-speed ahead.

This week we publish our first issue of The Crown, which is kind of exciting. It's also a little scary. This is my first issue as Editor-in-Chief and I hope it is a good issue. The Crown has gained so much momentum in the three years I've worked for it. It's exciting to see just how much it has grown, and changed and developed. It's humbling to be a part of under 30 people who have been The Crown's EIC since it began in 1983.

Although that entire paragraph had multiple grammatical errors, I don't really mind. This blog isn't meant to adequately reflect my intellect.

Anyways, on to homework.

Word of the Day: Phenomenological

Quote of the Day: "Put on Hansen! See what that does to him!" - Amanda

Fourth Year

2011-09-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it. Final year of Redeemer.
Where has the time gone?

Word of the Day: Home

Quote of the Day: Your love never fails. - Jesus Culture

Luther: Christendom's Superhero

2011-08-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else find this as funny as I do?

It was a book in the Kid's section of MBC's bookstore. Awesome.

Word of the Day: Gumptuous (not even a word).

Quote of the Day: "I need more sleep than normal people my age because I have like 18 children inside of me." Katie Henderson

90s Nostalgia Summer-End Party

2011-08-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

Party was a success.

I also, finally, got my G1. I am almost 22 years old. I'm just going to pass it off and say I have an irrational fear of multiple choice tests. That seems to get the most laughs.

And I cut my hair.

That is all. This time next week, I will be at Redeemer, with my roommate. I love her.

Word of the Day: Fetish

Quote of the Day: "I hate thunderstoms." - Kristy

More Camp Fotos

2011-08-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

Good news is this:

I figured out how to work my iPhoto editor. I'm thrilled. It's become much more fun to take pictures (especially since my camera is now the miracle camera which survived a 15ft drop to the bottom of Mary Lake).

Behold: my week (sort of).

(I drew and painted both Waldo and Spinelli)

Word of the Day: Speed

Quote of the Day: "Aww, that's cute. You're like the foster kids of the Dining Hall staff!" Stephanie

What a wonderful world...

2011-08-15T16:23:00.001-07:00

A little bit of photo editing and fun summer photos.
What a wonderful world.

Word of the Day: Youth

Quote of the Day (weekend, really) : 'When people buy fish to put on the back of the car they say one of two things: "Hi, I was intelligently created by God" or, "Hi, I came from pond scum."' Calvin Smith, Creation Ministries

2 Books in 2 Days

2011-08-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

I realized this week that I have been working my way through several books since [probably] January, and I decided it was about time I should finish them.

Also, for those avid followers of mine, namely Suggernuggets, who have wondered in silence where the Marineland Commercial Count went, do not worry for it remains. In fact, my surprise is simply that I actually managed some Marineland commercials this summer - all the way up in the Muskokas.

MCC: 3 (includes Radio and TV)

Word of the Day: Pink

Quote of the Day: "Remember spring crew..."

A Day in the Life of...

2011-08-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Me!

My newest CL project.

This poster is advertising the 90's summer party night we shall be having for the Stepping Stones staff.

Word of the Day: Blip

Quote of the Day: "Don't use the word prom!" Dan Henderson

The Love Epidemic

2011-07-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverence; and to perseverence, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ."
- 2 Peter 1:5-8

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the LORD forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."
- Colossians 3:12-15

These two sets of verses tell us how to live.

Which is fine.

Except that, the most common question I get here at MBC is this:

how do i care about other people if i don't care about myself?

That, at it's very core, is a question of this struggling generation. This generation of teenagers have not been taught two things:
1) Self worth.
2) Discipline.

In essence, what they ask is directly in line with a commandment of Jesus.

love your neighbour as yourself.

This implies you must love yourself. But this begs two other questions.
1) What is love?
2) What happens when an entire generation of teenagers aren't being taught how to love themselves?

And be wary. I don't for a second suggest that this love is something superficial. In fact, the Bible points to love that is selfless. See 1 Corinthians 13.

But those two passages demand we put on love. We must love.

how do we love if we haven't been taught what love is?

Food for thought, I guess.
This is what this generation of teenagers is facing.

Word of the Day: Love

Quote of the Day: "Love is most perfectly fulfilled when we bear the hurts and sufferings of others." Richard J. Foster

Mid-Summer Miss You's

2011-07-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

I miss this girl.

Word of the Day: Frazzle

Quote of the Day: Stephanie: "This shirt makes me look pregnant!" Me: "What HAVE you and Zack been doing?!"

Abundant Praise for my Awesome God!

2011-07-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Last night, after a two and a half hour conversation, one of the staff have his life to Christ and asked God to break him.

I don't know if any of you have heard the song "Our God" by Chris Tomlin. If you haven't, I suggest getting on the Youtube and look it up.

Our God is Greater.
Our God is Stronger.
God, You are higher than any other.
God you are healer,
Awesome in Power
Our God, Our God.

This song rings so true for me today. And not just today. During O-week here at MBC, we sang 'How He Love Us', the version done by David Crowder. How is is that the God of the Universe loves us?!

And if our God is for us then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?

I find it strange. There have been so many times here that I haven't understood anything, and so many times where I feel like everything I've ever experienced has led me up to this summer, this job, and this experience.

Last week I needed perspective. Last week I was tired and grumpy, and I honestly wondered what this life of mine was for. I forgot about my life outside of MBC. I felt consumed. I felt like I had nothing outside of this place and all my friends didn't exist. All my problems and ambitions that I had at the end of this year at Redeemer were lost in the mumble and jumble of a new life.

But this life is good. This life is one where I have no choice but to serve. And I have felt God speak through me. Last night, I don't remember everything, but I do remember feeling the presence of God and He was there. He was real. And he took a hold of that young man's life and is going to change it.

Oh, how he loves us so,
Oh how he loves us
How he loves us so.

Have you ever been in a place were you felt completely embraced by God? Have you ever disappeared in place of God's glory? Have you ever let God ruin you? Break you? Have you let him put the peices back together?

I don't know all of you. Some of you are people who are familiar to me, some of you are passers-by in the cyberspace roads and cities. But most of you are people whom I do not have a functioning relationship with. But my bet is that you've dropped in either not knowing God, or refusing to know Him.

There is no logic to explain God. He is real. He loves us. But we need to let him break us.

I want to share a story with you. I'm going to pour my heart out in cyberspace. It might not be pretty.

The week before I came to MBC, I was a person going through motions. I was emotionally involved with a guy friend who wasn't emotionally involved with me. I was dealing with receiving grades that didn't reflect what I learned in courses. In fact, these grades are non-redemable, and may prevent me from going to Grad school. I had a tumultous year. I was taking credit for things that weren't in my hands, but God's. I treated some people with complete disrespect. I couldn't turn to God. Devotions were dry. My roommate's life was under fire because of some personal things that were going on with her. I felt far from God.

Then, that week, home by myself, he broke me.

I spent a lot of time watching Grey's Anatomy. I know this seems illogical. How on earth does Grey's Anatomy break you? Well, here's how.

Slowly, I began to realize how alike these characters I was. And I realized how self-dependent I was, and that I was making an idol of myself. I wasn't letting God do his job. I couldn't trust him to provide for me, and lead me. I had my own ideas. Then, God called out to me in the darkness of the basement. And I cried. Three nights in a row I cried myself to sleep because I was broken and I wanted to be with God again. Me, the girl who was an RA, organized a mission trip to Mexico, became EIC for The Crown. I was broken down, and shattered, and ruined. And when I got to MBC, I wasn't excited or sure, and I definitely didn't think I had what it took to be Community Life (ie. Mentor, Friend, RA) for 94 summer, high-school and college aged students. I was like Jonah. I was in the belly of the whale telling God not to send me.

And then, God used me anyways. He told me to grow up. He got a hold of me, forced me to read his Word, discover that I'm called to love him, and love others, and change my life accordingly.

It's a strange feeling when you realize it isn't about you. It's a refreshing feeling when you realize it isn't about you. It's even better when you realize that every person in the Bible felt like this when God called them.

I serve the God of the universe. He gave all of himself on the cross. I have to give him all of me.

Have you?

Word of the Day: Redemption

Quote of the Day: "I always wanted to be a knight and have everyone look up to me and be all awesome." "Knights serve the King."

Long time, no post...

2011-06-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Well hey there everyone! I realized this morning that its been nearly two months since my last entry.

Here's how life has been.

Busy.

I finished third year, whirlwinded (is that a word?) through exams. Then I spent a week at home blitzing through 2 seasons of Grey's Anatomy (insert judgement here). Two seasons in one week. I find myself a little pathetic. Not one of the most...well, let's just say I could have used my time a little wiser.

Then, I came to camp.

This summer I am the Community Life Director for the Stepping Stones discipleship program and Muskoka Bible Centre just outside of Huntsville, ON. Let me tell you, this may be one of the most incredible places I've ever been too. I may love it more than Redeemer, which is saying something since Redeemer has become my home.

I have the privilege of being 'Dorm Mom' to about 80 students between the ages of 15-25 this summer. It's quite the ride. I spent most of May preparing Bible Studies and plotting the MBC Amazing Race for Orientation weekend on May Long Weekend. I've developed friendships with so many of the staff here, used First Aid (which I hoped I'd never have to do) and prayed with more than half of the Spring Crew staff here. It's incredible. My job is to turn the Stepping Stones staff into a family and make the dormatories home. I hope I am doing alright.

This job was truly provided for my by God. I have no other logical explanation for what I do, and how much I enjoy it. The students have opened up to me, some have even shared their testimonies with me... a privilege I never expected to have. I have enormous amounts of respect for my co-workers, and I'm learning so much about God, and Love and perhaps, maybe, that I should really stop worrying about what I have to do with my life.

That is all I have time for at this moment. I will [try] and update with photos soon.

Word of the Day: Sarcastical

Quote of the Day: Colossians 3:1-17. Go read it.

Exam Study Material

2011-04-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

For the avid procrastinator...

This may be the best video I've seen in a while.
And yes, it does beat out Rebecca Black's 'Friday' (somehow not surprisingly).

Also, the final issue of The Crown is out. You can read up on it here.

Word of the Day: Panic

Quote of the Day: Yeah, so today's Quote of the Day is a bit of a let-down. It's a let-down because, well, after the last Quote of the Day I feel like nothing could be as good. So instead, I'm just going to pretend like this is a worthwhile installment (which you all read, and know you did), and just accept failure. ....
....
....
....
...
..
.
Yep. That about does it. =)

Paper Rush

2011-04-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

It's like jumping out of a plane. Well, okay, maybe not. I've never jumped out of a plane so I wouldn't know that for sure, or really ever. The prospect of jumping from a plane is terrifying.

Yeah, okay, so that was a pretty bad analogy of paper season. But it does go by pretty fast, and you feel like you're going to fall flat and die, until your parachute comes out and you soar down and land on your feet.

Except that seasonal allergies are kicking in.
And I have 3 papers due this week (one handed in already).
And tomorrow is already Wednesday.

I need Hermione's little time redoer thing. There are not enough hours in a day.

And in case you were wondering. I got a job for the summer. Muskoka Bible Centre. Community Life Director.

No more cleaning dorms. Ever. Again.

Word of the Day: Exhausted

Quote of the Day: "What if they decided to close Facebook tomorrow? Facebook users would be roaming the streets in tears, shoving photos of themselves in people's faces, and screaming, "DO YOU LIKE THIS?! DO YOU!?" - Keeley Weese

A story and a message

2011-03-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much.

He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake.

Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years,

no one could really say they knew him very well.

Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning.

The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII.

Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.

When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.

He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened.

He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him.

Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked,

"Would you like a drink from the hose?"

The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little smile.

As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down.

As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.

Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg.

He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him.

Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't get there fast enough to stop it.

"Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet.

Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.

"Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday."

His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose.

He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water.

Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?"

"I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," came the calm reply.

Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel.

Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged.

Carl again offered them a drink from his hose.

This time they didn't rob him.

They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water.

When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.

Carl just watched them.

Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.

The summer was quickly fading into fall Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him.

He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches.

As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.

"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time."

The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.

"What's this?"

Carl asked. "It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back.

Even the money in your wallet." "I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"

The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you we picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate." ;

He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back."

He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.

Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather.

In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.

The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life.

In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."

The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person needed to care for Carl's garden."

The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door.

Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said.

The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl.

He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."

The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done.

During that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.

One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday."

"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?"

"Carl," he replied.

That's the whole gospel message simply stated.

Unfortunately, this isn't the gospel message simply stated.

The gospel message is that Christ died on the cross and rose again the third day, conquering sin and death and making a way for us to once again be in full communion with God.

It's a beautiful story.

Yes, we are told to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

But the gospel message is that God loves us and we can now live.

Just a thought...

Word of the Day: Confusedly

Quote of the Day: *Shattering glass*

Ten days later

2011-03-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

This whole publishing a post every ten days thing really needs to stop.

Life in a nutshell:
- Homework
- Classes
- Eating
- Pooping
- Sleeping

The reality that I will be finished my third year of University in one month is a little scary. I loathe the idea of having to pack everything up again... and to find the room for it all...

This weekend, Cousin Steven will be joining life at Redeemer. Hopefully I will get some laundry done before that happens.

I know it's short, but at least you know I'm still alive.

Word of the Day: Latinly

Quote of the Day: "But as I raved and grew more fierce and wild/ At every word/ Methoughts I heard one calling "Child!"/ And I replied, "my Lord." - George Herbert, The Collar. (1633)

Interviews

2011-03-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

My apologies for a very quiet couple of weeks on the blog-front. It has been pushed back on my priority list to the point of complete neglect. Sorry, readers. I'll try to do better.

I made some difficult decisions this weekend involving the future of The Crown (Oh, I am now officially the 2011/12 Editor in Chief - hurrah -). I've been interviewing students for various positions, and tonight I made some decision regarding staffing. Let's pray they were the right ones.

I hope all is well with you, readers. I'll try and keep up on your blogs too.

Word of the Day: Amalgamate

Quote of the Day: "That blasted comma splice!" Peter

Upon Return

2011-03-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

It takes a bit of time to come back from a trip like the Mexico Missions one that I took on Reading Break. I don't know about the rest of the team, but I felt incredibly complacent. Coming back to Redeemer is usually exciting (and it was at 6am last Sunday morning when I finally made it to my bed), this week has been a week of going through the motions.

I have been to Juarez/El Paso before. Many, many time before. It was wonderful to see some of the people down there that I have missed (it had been nearly 3 years since I'd been down), and it was wonderful to see the communities growing and projects expanding. It was heart breaking that LCI had lost many staff members due to the threat of violence. It was heartbreaking to hear stories of people taking refuge in the USA after being shot by the cartel, or after having family members shot.

I realized, this trip, that the problem is on both sides of the border, something I had never really paid attention to before. I've always done a trip like this on the Mexico side, staying in compounds in one community or another, but always in Juarez. I had never had the opportunity to really experience the shelters or people in El Paso. I had never heard the cries of people on that side of the border. It made me wonder: Which side of that border is God calling me to?

So, as I process the stories people have told me regarding their situations, as I continue to do research on the political construction of this area, and continue to see the hope of the next generation that Juarez may be a God-glorifying city, I come back and struggle with myself and my ambitions.

I had my interview yesterday for Editor-in-Chief of The Crown, and it went well. Assuming Senate approves my name, I'll be the EIC for the 2011/12 year. I also wrote two midterms this week and completed an art project for my History of Mathematics course. But this whole week, I have been asking myself, "What's the point?"

I was talking with one of my friends today, expressing my frustrations. I know that God wants me down there. I know that it is where I feel most at home. It is the place where I truly saw Christ for the first time. It is the place where God is leading me. So, why, I asked her, why am I here? It's a questions we've all been asking. She made me recall that my first year here, I felt like I needed to be. She reminded me that God has a plan for me here, too. She reminded me that He has put ambitions and goals in my heart to be educated, because He is preparing me. She reminded me that, as pointless as it seems right now, God has a reason for it.

But I still don't understand, when there are people who simply need to be loved, why I am here. All I can do is offer everything I am to my God, and trust that I'm still at Redeemer for a reason. And know that next year, my calling is to make The Crown a student newspaper glorifying to Him.

So, here are some pictures from various cameras on the trip. I don't think any of these were actually taken by me.

Word of the Day: Pretense

Quote of the Day: "I wonder if that dog understands English, or just Spanish." Kory

S'a Crazy Saturday

2011-02-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

I tried really hard to find a nice video of something or other to put up here, but I really couldn't find anything to fit the mood. Today has been an emotional rollercoaster. I think it is because everything that needs to get done is getting done slower than I had hoped, which is putting me a little bit behind schedule. I mean, I don't think I have done a solid amount of homework in about a week.

Yet, in all of this, I can't believe how amazing God is, or how He has everything in control. Trusting is always the hard part.

Word of the Day: Mounted

Quote of the Day: "I need someone to mount my shoulders...Oh wait, someone is literally mounting my shoulders!" - Andrew

One Week Away

2011-02-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

We will be keeping a blog for family and friends, prayer partners and Redeemer community to access during and after the trip. It can be found here.

May you have a blessed weekend.

Word of the Day: Basically

Quote of the Day: "And then the scissors came out." Krisbo

What are they teaching us?

2011-02-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Redeemer is under investigation by the CAUT. The article may be found here.

As a student who attends this University, I feel as though this is unfair and entirely uncalled for. What would the reaction be if CAUT was investigating a Muslim-based or Jewish-based University? What is the point of investigating Redeemer for abusing academic freedom? What do they consider academic freedom?

So, what are they teaching us here? Do I consider my school abusive of academic freedoms? Redeemer is open about the fact that their professors are required to sign a statement of faith that coincides with the school's Christian beliefs. This seems to make sense. Why on earth would we have an atheist professor teaching at a school that incorporates a Christian worldview into all classes? After all, isn't the idea of a Christian liberal arts university to educate under the assumption that God created the world, and we should, therefore learn about it (wholly), in order that we may be good stewards of the earth? Are they aware that post-secondary education is an institution developed by the Christian world?

I am just confused on their basis for this investigation. I support Dr. Krygsman, and I pray that God will guide him through this time. May CAUT see that they are being irrational, and may my education still be recognized as legitimate. I don't see why it shouldn't.

I commend the other University professors (from both Christian and non-Christian Universities) who have signed a petition against these investigations, recognizing that it isn't Freedom from Religion, but Freedom of Religion. Shame on you, CAUT.

It's an interesting conversation to have, considering that on Sunday, I attended West Highland Baptist Church. They had a guest speaker whose focus was on Christians being involved in the educational process, and that the classroom is one of the largest untapped mission fields.

Food for thought, I guess.

Word of the Day: Cude

Quote of the Day: "I shouldn't say that, I'd get it so much trouble." Dr. Loney

Ministry?

2011-02-02T21:57:00.000-08:00

If you are a reader who knows me personally, you know that I have been planning a service trip to Juarez, Mexico. Well, in 17 days, myself and 22 other Redeemer students will be flying down to El Paso, Texas for a week of learning, serving, and trusting. The planning process has been incredible. I have seen God's hand move in ways I never could have imagined.

The idea popped into my head after a devotion with my dorm last January or February. I ignored it for a while, but it kept coming back. So finally, I prayed, long and hard, trying to make out what God wanted. It was pretty clear. Mexico.

It seems to be a place that keeps popping up in my life. In fact, some of my most profound moments with God have happened in the desert city of Juarez.

I am excited to see what this trip will bring. I am encouraged by the incredible group of students going down. They remind me daily that my trust is in the Lord; creator of heaven and earth, and that He loves me, and will protect me.

So, readers, I ask for your prayers. As the final few weeks before the trip, I ask that you pray that everything continues to fall into place. And I ask that you pray for us as we go down. For safety, for protection from the devil, and most of all, that we may love all people. For I continue to realize, day after day, that I am called to love and serve.

Here I am, Lord. Send me.

Word of the Day: faith

Quote of the Day: "If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world." C. S. Lewis

Get your adverbs here!

2011-01-27T18:52:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering...

Word of the Day: pompous [ly]

Quote of the Day: "That's what men did in the 19th Century. They dueled, they waxed, and they sniffed flowers." Dr. Jacobs

Because it's been too long...

2011-01-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Crown is out.

I have done rather extensive amounts of sleeping since I have returned from my adventures to Montreal. Kristen was up this weekend. She slept on the floor.

Thank you to Erica for eagerly awaiting my next blog entry.

I wrote the editorial for this month's Crown (not to mention redesigned the layout).

I watched only the good songs from Hairspray.

Ambition to get anything done would be strongly appreciated. So if anyone has any to spare, I could use it.

Sorry that this is uninteresting.

Word of the Day: Polemical

Quote of the Day: "The one time I wanted to get screwed!" Meghan

Montreal to Remember

2011-01-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

I realize I promised to post while I was on the train. My apologies (though, I don't think anyone was eagerly waiting, really). The last few days have been incredibly busy, and incredibly informative.

I have learned a few things about the Canadian University Press that were slightly overwhelming. I mean, The Crown is a fairly small paper, we publish less issues, and less copies of said issues than any other paper in the CUP. We represent one of goodness knows how many Canadian University papers/magazines that are a part of the organization. I couldn't believe just how big CUP was and how much they actually do to promote University Press.

I've had the privilege to sit and listen to some of the most interesting speakers on everything from defamation and the media, to undercover journalism, to the most effective way in which to use web advertisements. I have to admit, I was surprised by some of the other papers. I've been able to pick some of them up, and browse about their pages, to really get an idea of what Student Journalism looks like. My goal next year is very much going to involve re-designing the Crown and cleaning up the writing. I hope to have the website improved to support ads, and perhaps qualify for CUP awards next year.

I'm impressed by how much I learned. I'm impressed by the culture shock I experienced. I think I have forgotten what it is like to be a part of a secular institution. In many ways, I believe that I take my life here at Redeemer for granted. For instance, in our welcome packages, we received condoms. I can't say that was something I expected. For me, it is unnecessary. It is also a rather potent reminder that not everyone shares the values I have been brought up to hold, not to mention respect in regards to Redeemer's policy.

Who knows, I may write an article about it.

Word of the Day: Pretentious

Quote of the Day: "There is greasy lubricant on my table." A ten year old kid to his mother on the train between Montreal and Toronto

Off to Montreal!

2011-01-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for Montreal. I have the privilege of representing The Crown and Redeemer at the Canadian University Press Conference. Needless to say, I am both excited and nervous.

Excited because:
- I have the opportunity to meet and connect with hundreds of other students involved in journalism.
- I get to be a witness of a Christian journalist, and Christian paper at a conference where the vast majority of the papers are secular and sometimes questionable in some of their printed material.
- I get to listen to some of the most prominent names in journalism speak during sessions of the week!
- I get to have a tour of Montreal by my cousin Ryan (whom I see, once a year, at Knapper Christmas)

Nervous because:
- It's snowing really hard, we are taking the train in the morning, and I'm a little nervous for travel.
- Suddenly, I am a little fish in a big pond. The Crown gives me a little bit of authority in the Redeemer world, but also responsibility. I'm nervous that I will be completely overwhelmed and not be able to adapt to the 'big pond', or have any idea as to what other papers are talking about
- Voting at Plenary is a little scary. I have the Crown's vote at CUP/NASH, involving things that don't actually affect our tiny little paper all that much, but may have a huge impact in the grand scheme of things!

On a completely different note, I would like to give you a glimpse into a conversation that occurred between myself and Meredeth (and also Joel Sjaarda, who was there at the time, but is more of a bystander, rather than an actual participant). It goes something like this:

BK: I strongly dislike you right now!
Mer: No, Brittany. You simply dislike the fact that you cannot access the extensive vocabulary which you are expected to have, given you are an English Major, which is causing you to lack any sort of legitimate response to my teasing you.

Oiy!

I'll post photos later this week. And I'm hoping to sneak a post in tomorrow while I am on the train. VIArail has become quite considerate, offering free WiFi on their trains!

Word of the Day: Incredulity

Quote of the Day: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God." Philipians 1: 9-11

Sadie Hawkins Dance

2011-01-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

As a jump start to a semester (and to provide a fun celebration of the return of the schoolyear) Amanda's RA group decided to host a Sadie Hawkins Dance. A Sadie Hawkins Dance is one of those old school dances where the girls ask the guys. This particular dance was also Semi-Formal. I've included a few photos.

My good friend Jer was my date!

My lovely dorm! (Left to right: Becca, Emily, Meghan, Me, Meredeth, Christine. Front: Amanda, Jenny)

I wore Erica's dress that she left behind when she went to France. She told me it would come in handy for something! :D

My girls are just beautiful. We started dance preparations (something which Meghan refers to as the 'boyfriend routine') around 3pm. This was the nail polish part of the prep process. We sat sprawled out on the living room floor with bottles of nail polish. Mine are now painted a rather bright blue. In fact, I have a cardigan that is nearly the same colour.

This was followed by the modelling period of the day, where all the girls tried to decided what dresses to wear... all the girls except for Meredeth, who was still quite determined that she was not going to come. That changed at about 6:30pm. But I'll get there.

4pm marked makeup time. Emily did all of our makeup. Our eyes looked incredible! She received a really amazing set of eyeshadows and blush and toner. She had every colour you can imagine, and she did an awesome job! I wish we had taken photos of everyone's eyes up close, because she matched colours to dresses and skin tone.. awesome.

At the end of the make-up time, we finally coaxed Meredeth into coming. Meghan straightened Becca's hair, my hair and Emily's hair. I did my own hair, twisting it into this cute knot thing. I did Mer's hair at about 7:15pm. After everyone had decided what shoes to wear (Christine came out with two different shoes on, trying to decide which ones she liked better), Becca decided she was going to wear one of my dresses, Mer also decided she was going to wear one of my dresses, and I decided I was going to wear Erica's dress.

At 7:45 (Dance started at 8) the boys showed up. Here are some snapshots!

Josh and Meghan

Chad and Amanda

(Left to Right) Emily, Mer, Mitch, Andrew, Christine, and Becca

Everyone had a great time. Meredeth was the last one to come home. She enjoyed it more than she thought she would.

Today was spent nursing sore feet and watching Big Bang Theory in the afternoon.

Word of the Day: Bazinga

Quote of the Day: "It's okay, you can always come in for the last Bang!" Meredeth

Back at School

2011-01-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

So.
I'm back.

And being back means six classes, a trip to Montreal, a trip to Juarez, Mexico, and 4 more issues of the Crown.

Pray for me.
Please.

Word of the Day: dreary

Quote of the Day: "When you read, you take someone else's consciousness into your mind." - Dr. Jacobs

Am I a Bookworm?

2011-01-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

I don't really need an answer to this question, because I already know that the answer is yes. The question is, to what extent am I a bookworm?

Let's examine the situation, shall we?

1) When I moved into my dorm this September, my bookcase was bulging at the seams. I had accumulated so many books over the course of my first two years that tupperware containers and Redeemer bookshelves just weren't doing the job anymore. So, I asked Mom to donate the downstairs bookshelf (a 6 shelf wall length synthetic wood shelf) to my cause. She did. It is now a vital part of my dorm, housing both my books and about 15 pairs of shoes.

2) I carry anywhere between 2-8 books with me at all times. I usually have a book in my purse. If I am going to be away from my bookshelf for longer that 2 days, I tend to bring half of it with me. This Christmas, I brought home 7 books. (Lost in a Good Book and The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinback. The Portrait of the Artist by James Joyce. Mere Disciple by Jeff Strong.) I've finished one, and nearly finished another. Two of them I have been working on for quite sometime. One of them I was going to read, as my roommate and I use it as a devotional...

3) I have a very difficult time parting with textbooks. Even those pesky little (and overpriced) coursepacks...those stay on my shelf. With those, my logic is simple... the information might come in handy someday! (I've yet to reopen a coursepack).

4) I have never left a bookstore without purchasing a book. My favourite are the used bookstores with books that have that old and musty smell to them. It is actually the best place to pick up Classics - especially Classics with pretty covers and interesting insciptions. I really enjoy opening a book's cover and seeing all the people who have previously owned it - kind of like, when I was in elementary and high school, the first thing I did when I recieved my textbooks (my goodness do we ever take FREE textbooks for granted) was look at who used the textbook the year before. It was always a fun surprise...all the better if the person who used it previously was a cute boy!

I suppose I could go on, but I think I have made my point.

Word of the Day: placid

Quote of the Day: "Cork in the hole. That'd be a good drinking game, I should patent that!" Uncle Ken

A New Year and Shakespeare

2010-12-31T23:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it [the title] almost rhymes.

In my cyberspace travels, I came across a nice little questionnaire about the past year. I figured that since I have always, in some form or another, recounted the past year in written form, a questionnaire would be a sufficient manner in which to do this. I mean, it's no heartfelt diary entry (see former self and many old diaries), but it'll do.

So, I present, 2010 in review.

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
This past year has been filled with many blessings, many trials, many good books. The best thing that has happened? Oh goodness, this is a tough one. I think that the single best thing is a part of a greater best thing. The greater best thing is Redeemer University College, and the life I have made there. The single best thing would be my wonderful group of first year girls and the relationships I have been able to build with them, and the things they have taught me about Christ's love and what it means to be a servant and a leader.

2. What is the single most challenging thing that has happened this past year?
The single most challenging thing that happened this year was, with no exceptions, working at Redeemer over the summer. It was a terrible job, for horrible pay. In reality, the only good thing about the job was that it taught me that I never want to get into the hotel/service industry. Bleh. It took a lot of self-convincing to get myself up every morning to go to a job which I absolutely despised. And I mean despised. It was a decision I resent, but it was an experience. It is, after all, through challenging experiences that we grow and change. I learned that I hated making beds.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Getting to know Jon MacDonald. One of my favourite things about the terrible job were those times when I didn't work, but spent time at Jon's, eating pizza, and watching anything from Galaxy Quest to the Police Academy series. He even taught me how to play Guitar Hero. Now, I sucked, but at least now I know!

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
Moving four times in four months was a little annoying. But that wasn't really unexpected...

5. Pick 3 words to describe 2010.
Growth. Laughter. God-breathed.

6. What were the best books you read this past year?
I really enjoyed FINALLY reading all of the Hitchhiker's series. But my favourite books were The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel, and A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence. The best, creatively speaking, was The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde. The best, politically and socially speaking, would be Beatrice and Virgil.

7. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
My roommate, Amanda. Joel, Maria, Emily. And the beautiful girls I have had the opportunity to live with in the past year - including Kait, Keeley, Lauren and Yana. These girls are the best. Also, one of my most valuable relationships this year has been with Jer. He is one of my best friends at Redeemer, and he and I have been through a lot together. We have grown together, and I am incredibly grateful for the support system and brother I have in him.

8. What was the single-biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Uh, Facebook. That's a no brainer. However, I also worked through the entire series of Gilmore Girls this past summer. That was a huge waste of time.

9. What was the best way in which you used your time this past year?
Learning to pray and spending time in prayer. I have always struggled with prayer in my relationship with God. I think I struggle with it because prayer is a conversation, and, in many ways, a recognized dependence. I don't like not being in control [thankfully, that means I am human]. One of the girls I live with, Meredeth (see the side for her blog), started a Wednesday morning prayer group. Getting up at 7am for prayer, mid-week, has been, hands down, one of the best ways I have spent time in the past year.

10. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?
I learned to read Shakespeare properly, which I must say, is a very exciting accomplishment. I learned time management. I learned how to be a good student, not just a student, after I realized that God called me to be a student (for now), and so He demands my all. That was a pretty cool thing to learn.

So, what are my goals for 2011?

I would like to be able to finally finish reading Henry James' Portrait of a Lady.
I hope to lead, by the grace of God, a missions team to Juarez, Mexico, in February 2011.
I hope to open myself up to what God is teaching me, and follow Him.

And, to finish this post off, something funny to watch for the New Year. Tonight, Mom, Dad and I were watching The Cosby Show, where Theo and Cockroach had been studying Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. This was their rendition:

Pretty funny, eh?!

I suppose that if Shakespeare was taught like this, students might actually enjoy his work.

Happy 2011!

Word of the Day: celebrate

Quote of the Day: Girl from The Waltons: "You left Floyd and Me." [Baby cries]. Me: "Poor kid, he just realized that his name is Floyd."

Last Book of 2010

2010-12-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

Well, as this year draws to a close, I have decided that I need to finish at least one more book before 2011 rings in.

That book is 'Lost in a Good Book' by Jasper Fforde.

I really enjoy Jasper Fforde, though I'm finding he has a way of including references to more Charles Dickens novels than anything else. This particular novel also has a few references to Alice in Wonderland, Franz Kafka and Thomas Hardy (and that's nice to see).

So far, I give this book my approval. Though, if you are going to read it, I suggest reading 'The Eyre Affair', 'Jane Eyre', and a few Dickens novels (Mystery of Edwin Drood, Great Expectations, etc). Give yourself a good foundation. I don't know how you could understand these books without a solid knowledge of Classical literature.

Side note: What are the 6 most boring novels in Classic literature? Apparently Spencer's 'Faerie Queene' isn't one of them...

Word of the Day: sleep

Quote of the Day: "Can I get in your snowpants?" -Me to Mom

Celebration. God is with us!

2010-12-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

Emmanuel, God has come!

So, celebrate.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come! The earth recieve her King! Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing!

Word of the Day: Rejoice

Quote of the Day: "For unto us a child is born."

Advent Praise

2010-12-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons [and daughters] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will -- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One who loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things on heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in oder that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of his glory.
- Ephesians 1: 2-14

Word of the Day: honour

Quote of the Day: "Is the internet finite or infinite? (pause) What! It's been a long time since I have had a ridiculous intellectual discussion!" Erica Akers

Let Hope Rise

2010-12-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

Praise.

Erica comes home from France for Christmas.

Christmas is coming.

Let Hope Rise. Let Darkness Tremble.

Happy Weekend.

Word of the Day: Predictable

Quote of the Day: :You drive on the other side of the road in Alberta?!" Corey Van Huizen

Snowmagedon (The Sequel)

2010-12-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

I wonder if London's snowstorm was the calm...

The full story of the snow storm that has hit SouthWestern Ontario can be found here. And I encourage you to watch some of the footage. The woman speaking on the phone is Wilma Zondag, a wonderful person who has the gift of organization and leadership. East Christian Reformed Church was my home church for 8 years.

What people do not understand about the snowstorm is that the 402 between London and Sarnia is the only major road connecting those cities. Strathroy, my hometown, is the only town between them with 2 Tim Hortons' and more than 3 stop lights (We have about 8, and that officially make us the coolest!). So, when the news says people are stranded between London and Sarnia, in Strathroy, they aren't kidding. The stretch between Strathroy and Sarnia is farm country, completely open for blowing wind and terrible driving conditions. The 402 is a vital highway simply for the transportation of goods that come from the Sarnia/Port Huron border. So, if something like Snowmagedon hits, they aren't kidding when they say it is bad.

You can see the photos too!

Yet, I have a response to all the people who are wondering why they cannot just have the choppers that the army sent out working at a faster rate...

The weather is still bad enough, that it is dangerous for them to fly. Snowplows can't get out because there is too much snow for them to operate. Sometimes it happens that the only way to find people is to put on your snowshoes, get in your snowmobile, and go. Welcome to my neck of the woods.

The following photo was sent to me from my friend, Craig DeBoer. He lives in Wyoming, ON, which is halfway between Strathroy and Sarnia. This is what his farm looked like yesterday:

I love winter. I really do.

But I also love it when people are able to travel safely. My dad, who left for work yesterday morning, is stuck out in the snow, he's staying at someone's house near Wyoming. If it wasn't for kind strangers who were willing to take in those who managed to get out before complete disaster, the Can Forces would have a lot more work on their hands.

Word of the Day: Preposterous

Quote of the Day: "The little girl found Narnia behind a Walmart Photocentre Cashier Desk!" -Me, waiting to get a new passport photo taken

Ancaster has Snow!

2010-12-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

I never thought this day would happen. I think that, in one snowfall, we have more snow here now than we did during last year's winter. Crazy stuff!

Campus last night was excited, to put it mildly.

I sat on the porch with a blanket, watching the snow fall against streetlights. And then I watched 70% of Redeemer students bundle up in their winter stuff and have a campus-wide snowball fight. Amazing.

Word of the Day: Defeat

Quote of the Day: "Oh come Emmanuel."

Exam Time

2010-12-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

This year it doesn't feel like classes should be over. It doesn't feel like it is time for final exams.

I have my first final in about 3 hours. It sounds daunting, but I cannot imagine that it is. Here is the thing with studying.

I don't like studying. I don't actually find it to be at all productive. Sure, for things like Math, Science, and Religion, it is a very good method. But English? Shakespeare? The best it is going to do is remind me of the evil in Richard III, or tragedy of Lear, or Prospero's genius in The Tempest. I actually have a really hard time studying for English classes. The key is reading everything the first time. After that, it is just a matter of running through notes.

Word of the Day: Clandestine

Quote of the Day: "I am the trophy wife of dictators." Meghan

Snowmagedon

2010-12-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

If you know anything about South-Western Ontario, you know that in the winter it gets snow like no where else in Canada.

If you have been an avid reader of my blog since the beginning, you know that Hamilton/Ancaster hasn't seen a good snow in about a two years. I refer to my neck of the universe as 'the tropics', which really isn't true, because it gets awfully cold, it just doesn't snow.

Well, recently London, ON, has experienced a phenomenon that my friend Megan Cowan has affectionately dubbed as Snowmagedon.

This is what London ON looks like (I may or may not have, with the first being the more likely of the two, stolen this from my best friend, Kelsey Kalverda):

Ancaster looks like this:

As you can see, we are quite lacking on the snow. In fact, for us students, knowing that the University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College have been shut down for a few days, are actually hoping the opposite. We don't want a Snowmagedon here. We want to write our exams and go home for Christmas.

Word of the Day: aforementioned (Amanda used it in an essay)

Quote of the Day: "Bloody...DIARRHEA! What? I didn't want to insult the British!" Ben Lootens

The Canadian University Press

2010-12-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here is some exciting news!

In the new year I have the priviledge of attending the Canadian University Press conference (affectionately known as NASH) in Montreal, Quebec. I get to go to some fun seminars, stay at the Hyatt Regency hotel, meet a whole bunch of journalists from all across Canada, and have an amazing time... Oh, and did I mention that the CUP (Canadian University Press) is paying for me to come, be there, and go home again?

Yep.

Word of the Day: virescent

Quote of the Day: "Art lives upon discussion." Henry James, American novelist, 1884.

The Northrop Story

2010-12-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Last night I was terrified that Northrop was going to die.

He had been rather lethargic the last few days. He wasn't eating, and he didn't get excited when anyone came into the room. In my former years, way back before I 1) kept a blog and 2) was in University, I had a couple goldfish. I got them from a GEMS dinner when I was about 13. Lipstick, a white and gold one with a black mouth died within a few days. Gill, the gold and black spotted one stayed alive for years. He lived in the worst living conditions a fish could imagine. I think I cleaned his bowl once a month, fed him once every couple of weeks, and just neglected him. I was an irresponsible teenager. Ironically, the thing that killed Gill was a water change in the spring of 2006. I was 17 years old. I was laughing so hard, I was crying, and poking the darn thing to try and get it to live. The whole incident, though tragic, was highly entertaining.

So, this summer I decided I wanted to buy a guitar. Instead, Dan Kikkert took me to PetSmart, and I got Northrop (it took a couple hours to come by that name). He was the most energetic of all the fish. He would swim around in a circle with excitement when I got close to the container he was in, he didn't try to eat any of the other fish. He was sweet, and energetic, and happy. So, I bought him.

For about a month, Northrop lived in a vase with some purple beads that didn't stay on the bottom. He liked pushing them around and diving at them, and trying to get them to sink or float. He always greeted me at the glass when it was time to be fed. He was such a happy fish. Then, I moved him into a fishbowl which I had bought from Pet Smart. I had picked up and dried and then boiled and then redried some rocks from a beach, and then purchased some cheap vines. Northrop was tranfered into the bowl somewhere near the end of July. He had culture shock at first. He didn't move around much, he wouldn't eat, he didn't greet me. I think he just didn't know what to make of all the room there was in which to swim.

Northrop then came with me to Redeemer. He lived on the coffee table for a couple days until I cleaned his bowl and moved him upstairs to the shelf. He then has had a happy life, getting irritated at Natalie's orange hair, getting irritated at orange and pink highlighters, greeting me every morning when I feed him, and just being a generally happy fish. And I mean happy. Bettas are, apparently usually very boring and unattentive fish. They usually sleep a lot. Not Northrop. He was always an energetic fish.
(The fish below is not Northrop, but a fish that looks like Northrop)

Until, that is, a few days ago. Over the weekend I noticed that he wasn't eating as much as he usually does, and he was spending a lot of time wedged in between the weeds close to the surface. Tuesday, I noticed that he hadn't eaten anything, and was just laying around lethargically. For Northrop, this was strange. I looked up some information on Bettas last night and discovered that lethargy and lack of appetite in a Betta fish means one of three things:

1) The bowl needs to be cleaned because there are high levels of nitrate and ammonia which are apparently really bad for their respiratory systems,

2) The water is too cold; Betta's need warmer temperatures, in the cold, they move less in order to reserve energy.

3) Northrop is sick. Apparently, not eating is one of the sure signs that one has a sick Betta.

So, I ran down my checklist. The windows had been open in our room that weekend because it was a little warm in the house, and you know, Amanda and I give off a lot of body heat when we...study. So that was likely a contributing factor, but that didn't explain why he wasn't eating. Next, cleaning the bowl... it had been over a month since I had last done that. I mean, he is one fish in a 1.5 gallon bowl. He doesn't eat THAT much, and there were a substantial amount of rocks on the bottom of the bowl to keep the water from getting too poluted. I cleaned the bowl anyways.

It was almost instantaneous. I brought him downstairs and did my cleaning ritual. My girls cheered (mostly because they wanted to see Northrop live too). Suddenly, this fish, who had been a living floating device for the last few days came back to life. He was swimming around and exploring his clean bowl (probably because he could see in it again). He was diving down and around, and swimming through the reeds and rocks, and just having a grand ole time. So, I took him back upstairs and sat him back on the shelf. Within half an hour, he was getting lethargic again, and using the reeds near the surface for support.

Oh, dear, I couldn't help but think. Another fish is going to die because I changed his water.

So I looked up everything I could about Betta fish. Their eating habits, habitats, appropriate water temperatures, etc. I looked up diseases, cures, and everything in between. But there was poor Northrop, just doing... nothing.

The only thing I could do was leave him for the night and hope that he would be alive in the morning.

When I woke up this morning, I hobbled across the room and peered towards Northrop's bowl. I couldn't seem to figure out where he was. I didn't see him in the spot I left him in last night. He wasn't hiding in his usual spot in the reeds, and he wasn't swimming around. Instantly, I started looking around the bowl. I have heard of other fish who have jumped out of their bowls, so I checked thoroughly. No sign of Northrop. So, I started to make noise. Suddenly, a little purple thing wiggles its way out of the bottom of the fish bowl, where he had been hiding under rocks, and swam right up to the glass and looked at me. Then, he veered head first into the glass about 8 times, before he swam and hid behind the reeds.

So, I did the next logical thing - I tried to feed him. I took about 5 pellets and dropped them at the top of the bowl. Within seconds, Northrop made a beeline for the pellets. I have never seen anything eat so quickly.

I still don't know what was wrong with him. Maybe it was just that he needed a water change, and some heat from my lamp. But this morning his colour was back to normal, and he was happy and excited to be alive. Strange fish.

On a completely different note: The weather cannot decide whether or not it wants to snow. There is a flake every couple minutes. I hope it just snows.

Word of the Day: Water

Quote of the Day: "I'm looking down at you, and all I can see is your face and your boobs, and I'm not sure which to look at! " Nathan Wensink

The Tempest

2010-11-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

Oh, Shakespeare! How I dote upon your genius!

Recently, in fact, for today, I have had to re-read The Tempest. It is by far one of my favourites of Shakespeare's works. It is his last written play, and the epilogue of the play is Shakespeare's own farewell to the theatre.

Now my charms are all o'erthrown
And what strength I have 's mine own,
Which is most faint. Now, 'tis true
I must be here confined by you
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardoned the deceiver dwell
In this bare island by your spell,
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands.
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardoned be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

Wonderful words. "Let your indulgence set me free." Shakespeare's epilogues call the audience to clap, as the play aims to please. In Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck's ending soliloquy calls the audience to forgive the faults, and count the play as nothing more than a dream. Here, Shakespeare is asking us to put our hands together, and release him from the theatre. He bids the audience goodbye, one last time. Clever, isn't it.

Could Shakespeare ever truly be free from his scripts? Is asking for our indulgence, as the audience, really going to 'set him free?'

Perhaps not.

December 10, 2010. From the Director of 'Across the Universe', comes The Tempest.

I know what I'm going to be doing in a few weeks!

Word of the Day: Spirit

Quote of the Day: "Well, that's just maddening the unhelpful!" Johnny Depp, as Captain Jack Sparrow

Have you Heard the Bells?

2010-11-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

I can't decide which version of this song I like better.

You don't really need to pay attention to the clips in the second one. I'm interested in the song, not the pictures, persay.

The first version is by Casting Crowns, the second by MercyMe. They are very different. Yet they are both awesome!

Also, a poem I have written. It snowed in Ancaster. I hold to the hope that the weather is making up for last year.

The days be bitter and the nights be cold

As flakes fall softly on the streets alight

And window’s corner be they new or old

Bid fog and frost in panes’ winter delight.

There, ministry seeks frost’s cold design

Of stained glass mirrors and candle’s light show

The frozen tears and journey thus here shine

Against warm breath or eyes with golden glow.

For in the flakes a grace it doth now fall

To mittens, rosy cheeks and childish faith

Where peace be yours and goodwill to all,

Chime voices sweetly, the world to bathe,

And the street suns bid the white guided down

Upon grasses green and cement walks brown.

Word of the Day: Scrupulous

Quote of the Day: "Advent means coming to understand what it is to be in expectation of the Life of Jesus, and living thus." Pastor John

F Sharp

2010-11-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

F Sharp isn't a particularly nice sounding note. I never liked playing it on Flute because it always had this awkward sound which screamed "I don't belong here!" On Piano, it just gets caught up in the nice sounding Bb major, or F major keys. And if the finger accidently hits it, the F Sharp just sounds all wonky and uncalled for, thus screwing up an entire song, and causing an over-all annoyance to all listeners.

See what I mean? It's just a terrible note. It sounds awful. All I want to do is have it diminished into an F. Especially on the last note. I just want it to be a good sounding note.

Word of the Day: Soup

Quote of the Day: "I'm always waiting on Dorm 17!" Amanda, quoting God.

Life Lessons: Proper Underwear Identification

2010-11-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

With Andrew Hoover

That was crazy when that man became pregnant, eh? Oh, hello perfect segway into undergarment identification. Everyone knows that November is underwear identification awareness month, therefore I must provide my expertise on the matter. There comes a time in everyone's life when they find themselves rummaging through a ghetto washing machine, humming the mission impossible theme song, and coming to the realization that nothing in the washing machine is yours. Your mind goes blank, your hands start to shake, a single tear rolls down your anger stricken face! You then make the assumption that some crazy, deranged man has stolen all of your laundry! But then you see it. A white, ragged, "ghetto fab" pair of Toronto Maple Leafs underwear! SCORE! The clothing thief has left a pair of your underwear. You then start racking your mind as to why he has left this particular pair of underwear! You pull it of the washing machine, extremely angered, and start flailing it around in the air. You will then look at the holey underwear and decide that you must throw them away. With rage you throw the underwear into the trash can, fall to your knees, and break down crying. As you pull yourself together you will stand up, and open the next washing machine. Surprise! You find out that you actually use the washing machine beside the one you just opened. Then you learn that the clothing thief has the exact same pair of torn up, "ghetto fab", Toronto Maple Leaf underwear as you do.

As underwear idetification month comes to a close, I encourage you to double check the washing machines. Lets make undergarment identification month every month. Lake this world a happier place, safe from undergarment thieves.

"Ode to the Undergarment"

Undergarment, undergarment, how I love the.
100% cotton, as cozy as can be.
When I put you on, I feel so rad,
When you rip in the butt I feel so sad.
I love my undies so much I have a shrine.
Yo yo underwear you're so cool, yo so fine.
I'd rather have underwear than a sharp knife.
Oh sweet undergarment stay in my life!

Stay classy introweb.
Remember, there are crazy underwear robbers.
And they will steal your underwear.
Beware.

Word of the Day: Intonations

Quote of the Day: "Don't blame Nietzsche's disciples for what his theories have become. Blame Freud." Dr. Faber

The City Harmonic

2010-11-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Nice sounding name, isn't it.

Well, this is an introduction for The City Harmonic. The band is made up of a bunch of guys. The drummer is a friend of mine, Josh VanderLaan. So, because I think they are pretty fantastic, I'm asking you all to watch this video.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Word of the Day: Clandestine

Quote of the Day: "Nice socks!"

I Wish I had Funny Stories to Tell Too!

2010-11-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm considering making 'Life Lessons with Andrew Hoover' a weekly thing.

Thoughts?

Word of the Day: Sunrise

Quote of the Day: "I hid under your porch because I love you." Dug (from Disney's UP)

Words from Andrew Hoover

2010-11-18T22:23:00.000-08:00

Hello readers (and Mom),

Today you have the special priviledge of reading the random thoughts of Mr. Andrew Hoover, the comic relief of Dorm 24. I cannot be held responsible for anything he says. And the worst part is, I now have to make him coffee.

Here it goes:

Good morning readers, I come to you from a black hole. Well I'm not really, but that remids me of a poem I wrote in grade 4. It went a little like this.

Dear life you are falling down a black hole.

Thats as far as I got on the poem because I didn't know what a black hole was. I also didn't have life. As I sit here in a orangey-brown chair that reminds me of the last time I vommited (I'm not complaining, it was a rather enjoyable experience) thoughts of the thug life cross my mind. Back in my thug life days I had many dangerous encounters. I once microwaved a grilled cheese sandwitch, peeled it apart, and threw it at a window. It did not stick. I was upset. I was so upset. I was very very upset. I will now share a few lyrics from my hit rap group "No Breaks". . .

I love all my dogs
I love to bark with them
I love all my dogs but I hate the system.

I will now introduce my latest segment entitled "Life lessons with Andrew Hoover".
There comes a time in everyone's life when they find themselves standing beside a water bed with a sharp pencil. Now, there comes that time in everyone's life when they need to make that tought decision as whether to drop the pencil or PENETRATE THE TIP OF THE PENCIL DIRECTLY INTO THE HEART OF THE WATER BED LEAVING THE WATER SPEWING FROM THE CENTER. Stab the water bed. Don't look back, don't take a second look, stab that bed. You do not want to look back and think to yourself "I should have stabbed that bed". I've been fortunate enough to have experienced this before. I stabbed the bed. No regrets. I still drool over the thought of the water spewing out of that bed. Stab the bed. Do it.

I leave you with this thought to rattle in your brains! If you could only eat lucky charms or cheerios for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Think of the consistancy. Think of the children. Think of John F. Kennedy.

My name is Andrew James Hoover,
and I approve this message,
Aliens exist,
Trust me, I worked at a shoe store.

Word of the Day: The

Quote of the Day: "Fisher Price is Apollonian." Aaron Vedder

How to Act

2010-11-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Word of the Day: Paraprosdokian

Quote of the Day: *There actually isn't anything to put here today, Dr. Loney and Dr. Faber weren't all that funny. It could just be because I am tired and couldn't pay a lot of attention in class. Oh! Wait! I have one!*
"My face is perfect, mathematically speaking." Emily Groot

Blessings, Prayers, and Papers

2010-11-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in the Crown office, currently, mucking my way through a paper on John 13:1-17. This is the story where Jesus washes the disciples' feet. I'm a little overwhelmed, and slightly antsy, and I really just don't want to be writing this paper right now. That is slightly problematic.

This morning I was on the Student Life panel for Campus Visit Day. It was pretty cool. I got to answer some questions about Student Life at Redeemer within the dorms. Myself and another guy were the representatives of the RAs. Students seemed really receptive. But the most fun was watching the parents' expressions as they listened to everyone ask questions and then listen to members of STLife try to answer them. I remember my Campus Visit Day. Oh goodness, do I ever remember NOT wanting my parents there. I remember not paying attention to much until I got to experience one of the classes. It was English 222 with Dr. VanRys. I remember being really excited because they were talking about a Leonard Cohen song against 'The Lady of Shallot.' Right then, I knew. This was my school. I think I even took notes in that class.

Looking back, I'm glad my parents came along. I would not have listened enough to the information sessions. I don't think I paid too much attention to the session on Financial Aid, or Dorm Life, or any of that. But regardless, 3 years later, I am sitting in an office in the school, writing a paper, after encouraging other prospective students to come here.

I'm sure the right choices will be made. There is a difference in Campus Life this year. I cannot really explain it, except to say that God is moving in the hearts of those here at Redeemer. Last night, I was watching a movie with a friend of mine, and the five people who were sitting at the kitchen table, suddenly got up (2 guys from Chad and Nathan's dorm and 3 girls from my and Amanda's dorm) went downstairs and closed the evening in prayer. Emily came back upstairs and I asked her what had happened, and she told me this: "We decided that before someone leaves at the end of every night, we're just going to go downstairs and pray, thank God for the day, and be in fellowship."

WOW.

It's been an honour and a pleasure to be with these people this year. I feel like God has blessed Amanda and I with a wonderful group of girls, and an extended family in Chad and Nate's dorm, where we have the most incredible brothers and sisters in Christ. Amazing.

Word of the Day: Hermeneutics

Quote of the Day: "I want to start the class off thinking about Bottom." Dr. Loney

Before the Advent season

2010-11-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

I have started listening to Christmas music.

I know that it is only the 14th of November. I know that it isn't cold enough for snow. I know that it is too early to put up the Christmas tree (though, I will likely do that this week, too). I know that black Friday doesn't happen until after the American Thanksgiving. I know that Remembrance Day was only 3 days ago.

I know that the Advent season has not started yet.

But what is wrong with being excited about the birth of my Saviour?

Christmas isn't some secularized tradition to me. It isn't about presents, or finishing exams, or snow, or Christmas trees (although, these are fun parts of the holiday season). It is about the fact that in a little over 40 days, I get to celebrate with my family and friends the fact that my God became human in order that He should die for my sins. He died so that I can have life.

My playlist is not filled with songs about Santa Claus. I get tired of the songs about snow and sleigh-rides (though, the romantic - and romance in the literary sense, here - idea of it all, is fun, and does add to the joy of the season). I'm not concerned with Frosty the Snowman, or the Grinch who stole Christmas, mostly because these things don't define Christmas.

Yet, as I look ahead to the Advent season, I can't help but be excited. Excited for lighting candles, for reading through Isaiah in preparation. For seeing family. For finishing exams (goodness, those are coming up quickly). For seeing houses lighted up. For seeing God's creation asleep under a blanket of snow. I'm excited to be a part of the body of Christ as it celebrates the coming of Jesus. He is the greatest gift there is.

That aside, I love snow, and wouldn't mind if Ancaster got some of that this year.

Word of the Day: discourse

Quote of the Day: "God created woman, and placed her in front of Adam, and he said, 'Wo! Man!' " Pastor John

Remember, Remember.

2010-11-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

These words were written to honour the men and women who died in order that we may have freedom. They were written in order that we should remember.

This year, I also think of the men and women who have given their time to be part of the American and Canadian Armed Forces. I have had several friends who have joined the Navy, the Army, and Search and Rescue squads since I began University. I thank God that they are willing to be trained so that if the need should arise, they will step up to the call and serve.

But Remembrance Day takes a special meaning on for Christians. This day honours those who gave their lives in order that we may life in freedom. Sounds an awful lot like Christ, doesn't it.

I thank my God and Saviour that I may life in a country that allows me to worship freely, to pray freely, and to live in freedom.

Today I was at Walmart with a friend. At 11am, the speakers started playing The Last Stand. The entire store paused for a moment of silence. Every man, woman, child stopped and stood in meditation, in respect for those who had died. For those who had died and so that we may live.

Christ died also that we may live. Honour him.

Word of the Day: Exegesis

Quote of the Day: "Why doesn't anyone ever say four sixths? It's such a good fraction!" Jenny Guild

Heaven-song By Phil Wickham

2010-11-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

This video was shown to me by Jenny, one of my lovely girls. Listen to the lyrics. Revel in God's glory and power.

Word of the Day: propellant

Quote of the Day: "I want you to tell me who decided that blue was the boy colour and pink was the girl colour!" Ezra Branderhorst

The World Wide Web (among other delightful things)

2010-11-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered something really exciting about Blogger. They have added a Stats button on the top of the page that allows you to view information about your blog. I've always been curious to know where my teeny-tiny neck of cyberspace has made it to, that this button actually intrigued me.

And I learned a few interesting things about my readers.

1) My most avid reader is my mother.
2) Sugarnuggets comments on my blog most often.
3) The two websites that direct readers into my blog most frequently are: My Facebook Profile, and Erica Akers.
4) Someone in China read my blog. I thought that was cool, and then I wondered how they would be able to read it.
5) My blog gets average of 10 hits a day. And the most commonly read entry? The Big Bug With Lots of Legs.

Really, very useless information to you all, however I found it quite interesting.

Also useless, is this painting. I typed in 'a funky painting' in google images. It's called 'a funky tree'. It was the first one that came up. Useless.

Word of the Day: moue (a pouting grimace)

Quote of the Day: "I'm a woman, therefore I'm manipulative by nature."

The Lame Shall Walk

2010-11-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

God really does make the lame able to walk again.

Amanda's roommate of last year has been in France. Her mother has had MS for 25 years. Recently, she has undergone surgery in Costa Rica, and has, since, slowly been able to regain use of her muscles. Her story can be found here.

Praise God.

Word of the Day: sturdy

Quote of the Day: "I feel like I am in a parallel universe!" Emily Groot

Education

2010-11-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a video that I find very interesting. He has a very good speech on Modern Education.

Happy Friday!

Word of the Day: Identicle (yes, one of my teachers spelt identical that way.)

Quote of the Day: These things are so needy, emotionally. If you don't bring them flowers every day, they turn off on you." Dr. Loney on overhead projectors.

The Point of No Return

2010-10-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

I truly believe that one of the most interesting phenomena involved in essay season is the point of no return. It hits people in different ways.

Some people get stressed, lock themselves in their rooms, and refuse to dress themselves or shower for days. For a shower becomes the reward for every correctly placed comma, period and citation.

Some avoid the work. They dance and laugh and scream about campus because life with friends is better than life with essays. The problem with that logic is that if life is exclusively with friends, the essays come back to haunt (failing grades included).

Some work weeks ahead of time in order to perfect every word, sentence and paragraph. They spend hours with books, dictionaries, thesauruses, headphones and library cards. They note-take, highlight, sticky note, and organize every bit of information they come across.

Or some, like me, procrastinate. They don't procrastinate in the name of friendships or fun, movies or entertainment. No, they procrastinate because it is what they have learned to do. Consequently, this procrastination stems into a flower of caffiene, late nights and excellent papers. Don't ask me how, but these people (myself included) get worse marks when they have done weeks of preparation, than when they have written the paper the night before it is due.

Further, I am the type of the person who reads and takes notes during the process. So, my procrastination, paired with the strict attention to detail, causes me to, well, look depressingly at my daunting stack of books.

Sometimes I get essay topics I like (example: current paper being written on the history of literary criticism regarding Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glasss by Lewis Carroll). They stem into sub-topics (Freudian interpretation, Feminist interpretation, theory of text interpreted as political/cultural allegory), or sub-sub-topics (cultural and historical surroundings of text and how they relate to previously mentioned sub-topics). Sometimes I get essay topics I do not like (an article review on something pertaining to the History of Africa), and everything that can go wrong, will (the missing 'Pocket Guide to Writing in History' which is necessary for the article review, since it outlines how the professor would like it written and cited). Other times, the essay topics cause conflict with normal class work (reading 76 pages of 'The Ode Less Travelled' by Stephen Fry, completing a '5 senses' poem, reading Midsommer Night's Dream, 3 chapters of African History). Still other times, surprise work comes (an email from a professor, informing me that, in order to remain enrolled in a 400 level creative writing course - I am the only 3rd year registered for it - I must have a 15 page portfolio handed in by Wednesday) and complicates an already disgusting life of work even further. Other times still, extra curriculars call, and offices need to be cleaned.

This is the point of no return for me. Normally, students will hit that point back at the second essay. I may have also hit that point at the second essay, but luckily for me, insanity is a very large part of my life, off-setting the realization that I'm in over my head.

I have 4 VERY solid days of homework coming up.

I also discovered that, in order to graduate with a double honours major and a minor, I will need to stay at Redeemer for an extra year, as I have 21 courses (and 4 semesters...5 courses a semester...yes, that's the right math) that I still need to take. It is a very good thing that I LOVE school.

Word of the Day: brain-dead

Quote of the Day: "England would be merely a free-floating political aggregate held together by nothing more glorious than money or self interest, devoid of its once cherished cultural and spiritual landmarks - a godless place not unlike the chaotic underground into which Alice falls i her first adventure, or the 'backwards' world she discovers just beyond the comforting bourgeios looking-glass." - Donald Rackin

Songs of Praise

2010-10-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

May these songs be a blessing to you during this rainy autumn day.

Word of the Day: Christmas

Quote of the Day: "Everything's a declaration for you, isn't it." Ben Lootens

It's Out!

2010-10-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

There are a few exciting things happening in my life. God is Good.

1) The Crown has published its second issue. It can be found here.

2) By God's Grace, I have been working on organizing a trip to Juarez, Mexico. For those of you who have followed by blog for a while, you may know that I love the city of Juarez. My experiences there, in a large part, have shaped me into who I have become. Last April, God put it on my heart to get a Redeemer team to go down and serve the people of Juarez. I would like to keep you, the readers, updated on how things progress. I ask for one thing: prayer. Please pray that God blesses the preparations and planning of the trip. Please also pray that God leads the right group of people to take part in this trip. If you have any questions, leave me a comment.

God Bless.

Word of the Day: intrinsic

Quote of the Day: "Good, now that everyone's here, I can take off my pants." -Amanda Fraleigh

A Prayer

2010-10-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

One of the girls in my dorm have started a morning prayer group.

This morning at 7am several students gathered in the prayer room and spent an hour praying for the school. It was awesome.

In my first year, a group of RAs got together and started early morning prayer, but after they graduated last year, that group sort of died off. One of my girls realized that there is a strong need for prayer for Redeemer. She saw a need for active prayer. And she made it happen.

This morning was the first meeting. 7am, in the cold, when it was still dark, we went to the school. Six students gathered and we prayed. The hour went by so quickly, and seeing God's faithfulness throughout the day was incredible.

This morning, there was also Chapel, and we were asked to write down burdens on a peice of paper and leave them at the altar. This was a great idea, except that...I was so at peace from the morning prayer that I couldn't write anything down. My day was just held in the hands of my Saviour, and I could really feel it. Everything I did, I was just at peace. It was such a great feeling.

I pray that God will bless Redeemer. I pray that Redeemer will be a light to Hamilton. I pray that the students will see and feel God move. That the staff anf faculty will reflect a Christ attitude in all they do. And I pray for peace.

Word of the Day: thenst

Quote of the Day: "You know what I'm talking about. That love at first sight. You are at a party, and your eyes meet, and something goes BOING!" -Dr. Loney

Life in Dorm 17

2010-09-25T13:14:00.001-07:00

The following are a collection of photographs from the last 3 weeks. (I did promise they would come!)

Frog Olympics. Black Team came in 2nd Place!

Niagara Falls. Six of Eight sitting on the really big chair.

Beth and I thought we were pretty cool, being all Royal Mountie and Moose-like.

The next two photographs were done by Maryanne Farrow. She is a Redeemer Alumnist and good friends with Amanda. Paired with fun outfits and sunshine, they turned out quite lovely.

These girls are wonderful, beautiful; created in the image of God.

Word of the Day: apparition

Quote of the Day: Today's quote is the sound of the raindrops, finally.

Public Service Announcements

2010-09-21T17:24:00.001-07:00

Introducing something new.

Or, someone new.

Someones new?

I think. Can someone be made plural?

Hmm,

Anyways.

Two of the girls in my dorm have started a blog! I feel compelled to announce them over my own blog, and so, I send you their way! Take a glance, stay awhile. They are friendly people, I guarantee it! (They also smell pretty good, but that really isn't relevant to their writing, thoughts, and posts.)

Introducing Meredeth!

and

Introducing Emily!

In other news,

The first Crown Issue of the season has made it to stands! I encourage passers-by to click on over to The Crown's website for a look into what made headlines this month. The Crown has had a change over of staff; a new EIC, Managing Editor, Digital Editor and Copy Editor. It is an exciting year. Volume 28 has sit 'news-stands' now!

I also picked up a cold. I haven't been sick all summer, but now, the first day of Autumn, and low and behold - Headcold!

Erica has made it safely to France; she got her Student Visa the day she was supposed to leave. So, she has made it safe and sound. Her musings can be found here.

I will post photographs later. There are many of those to come!

Word of the Day: Advil

Quote of the Day: "Every time I turn around, I'm afraid someone is going to throw a spitball at me." Dr. Bertone

The Socrates and Plato Predicament

2010-09-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Warning: There is an excellent chance you won't understand what this blog post is about, and if you don't, that is because my brain functions oddly, not because you are unintelligent.

Except you, Craig.

: )

This is Socrates. Socrates is the first known philosopher. He is a man of great intelligence. In my mind, until today, he was a real person, a human being who lived, breathed, thought, and had his philosophy written down by Plato. I accepted this, I didn't question it...

Last year I had a really bad philosophy professor. I would have appreciated coming out of that class with a mid understanding of what different philophers talk about. I mean, I paid him money to teach me, and he didn't. Capitalism in education failed me... anyways...

Then, today, Dr Faber, my English Prof who is teaching the course on Literary Theory, started the course off with two writings of Plato. For those of you who are not familiar with Plato, The Republic (one of his most well known works) is a dialogue between Socrates (who was Plato's teacher) and other various characters. The Republic is an analogy of the perfect society. Plato talks about many things. Mostly just ideals about how his republic would be (or Socrates' republic... it gets muddled there in my head.) including how he feels about poets. To Plato, the poet is an imitator, and the imitator takes the focus away from the Forms, because we humans are dumb and don't understand anything. And, because we humans are not philosopher-kings, we don't have a direct link to the Forms and therefore can't be trusted with imitations because we're just that stupid.

And then it occurred to me.

What if Socrates is nothing more than a figment of Plato's imagination? He was a character in an analogical writing to make a point.. After all, we don't have any writings that are specifically Socrates'. All his ideas are portrayed through other philosophers of later times, and his cause of death was this: he was killed because he was accused of corrupting the youth with ideas...

However, the most evidence we have on his life is through Plato...

And another thing, Socrates (through Plato) was super against written word (not to mention mass production) because we mere humans would focus on the word, therefore being corrupted and led far away from the Forms. Which would likely mean that, and I'm just throwing this out there, that Socrates would not have appreciated Plato publishing his thoughts and ideas about Life, the Universe, and Everything.

And if that's not enough, Rene Magritte taunts you with his 'pipe'.

Yay literary theory!

And for your viewing enjoyment...

Word of the Day: encomium (means speech or writing that praises someone formally)

Quote of the Day: "I'm reading Plato! That used to be, 'I'm eating Playdo!' " -Aaron Vedder

The Beginning and the Looming Sleep Cloud

2010-09-10T10:51:00.001-07:00

Remember how I complained that I was bored?

Remember when I said that I was looking forward to my brain having something useful to think about?

Well, school started.

Last week was RA/HA training. This is one of the most intense weeks of the year. It is when all the RAs and HAs get fed with mountains of information on how to save lives, invest in the dorm spiritually, use a fire extinguisher, and deal with any up and coming problems that may arise during the year. Its all fine and dandy, until you are so overwhelmed by seeing all your friends that you have missed so much over the course of the summer, that it cuts so far into your hours of sleep that you suffer near exhaustion by the end of the week.

And then you move the girls in and realize that you have become old and incapable of keeping up with 18 year olds and their fast paced, witty, conversations.

And then you start with the classes, and the homework starts to pile on. And then you realize that there is no way to have sleep come back to you, even though you wish for it so dearly, and it hangs above you like a looming storm cloud that only wants to lightening but never rain.

Okay, its a bit of an exaggeration.

But seriously, I have done over 40 pages of reading this morning, and I have another 300 pages to do before tonight is over.

The semester begins.

OH! The final Marineland commerical count was 95.

Word of the Day: Cabbage

Quote of the Day: "My initials are MVP...I think that pretty much makes me awesome!" Meghan VanPelt

Yesterdays and Tomorrows

2010-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

This summer, I worked the worst job I may ever have.

Housekeeping at Redeemer is no picnic. I have experienced one of the darkest sides of the school, and it is a side which I never hope to see the likes of again. If it has been nothing else, this summer has been a learning experience. It has been a summer of firsts.

First time paying rent.

First time paying utilties.

First time (in about 6 years) going to the Canada Day fireworks.

First time working a Sunday.

First time legitimately living on my own.

First time being angry at Redeemer.

First time letting boys sleep in the basement.

First time sending a package through the post office.

First time doing MY OWN groceries.

First time hating a job.

Ranting about Redeemer's Campus Services and the awful experiences I have had with the administrative side of the school could be worth a blog post - it could also be worth a Crown article. This entry will, however, be more of a reflection on my summer; a summer I didn't do a great job of documenting.

I have learned a lot this summer. I have learned that I do not like working behind the scenes. I like to be in charge, and I tend to be vocal when I don't agree with my supervisor's actions (ie. we work hard, and the supervisor watches shows on the computer...last time I checked, being a manager doesn't give you the trip to work less, but harder...) I have come to measure my own sanity in the number of dorms I can clean, or the days I can go without doing dishes...

I have also been preparing for one of the most incredible experiences of my life - to be a Residence Advisor for six first year girls. I have been praying for them, and preparing myself for the responsibility, and getting excited about everything that is to come. I have stressed about a disagreement between myself and my Co-RA, and also been completely thrilled when her and I have agreed on basically all the big stuff. I am learning to step back and not be in complete control...and to take one day at a time.

This summer has been busy. It has been full of fun times and frustrating ones. It involved movie nights and pizza, girls nights with Kait, a trip to Webster's Falls, a hypothetical trip to the Toronto Zoo, many hours vacuuming, scrubbing showers, making beds. It has been a summer of weddings, professions of faith, baptisms, and Friends.

One of my favourite things to do this summer was to walk to church on Sunday morning in the sunshine, with my shoes off, down the sidewalk. I loved coming into the church which was lit by the sun, and letting the entire week fall at the door. I loved worshipping, listening, learning. God has been good.

This summer has brought some goodbyes, some hellos, and some see you laters. I said goodbye to one of my best friends at Redeemer as he travels to Halifax to do his Masters at Dalhousie. I said hello to all the girls I worked with this summer. And the see you laters, I hope, are for all the people whom have become such a vital part of my life this summer, but will probably never see me once essay season starts...

The upcoming year is going to be a challenging one. It will stretch every part of me. The girls will teach me, and I will teach them. My classes will challenge me, and the Crown will knock off any remaining energy I have. I will be sleep deprived, I will be crazy, and I will be hanging on by my faith in God.

So, yesterdays lead in to tomorrows.

A change of seasons.

MCC: 91

Word of the Day: Initiation

Quote of the Day: "It's the leaning tower of Cheese-a!" Emily Williams

Weddings.

2010-08-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's weird when your best friends start getting married. Sharing their day with them is wonderful.

Charlene and David Westerveld, August 20, 2010

Lauren and Hilbert Koersen, August 14, 2010

Best Wishes to both couples.. (sadly, we couldn't find Hilbert for the second photo)

MCC: 78

Word of the Day: Packing

Quote of the Day: "Meals go bad when they are put in the fridge without cover." Geo Roome