sub-culture vrs. pop culture

lately I’ve been reading a few blogs from a few other people who also go to the same school as I do (and some who used to but don’t anymore), people I know of but don’t really know. People I see in the hallways every day, and have sometimes talked to, but don’t really have a friendship with. I’m sure there are many more school webloggers that I haven’t found.

It’s interesting to read other people’s writing and perspectives. But sometimes I think it’s weird when they read mine… like they’re getting too close to my mind and delving into my brain. But then again, I’m doing the same thing to them.

But I can’t stop them. My blog is pretty easy to find. I don’t really write anything I don’t want people to know.

Some of these school bloggers are pretty interesting. They write deep thoughts, and funny thoughts. Some of them are disturbing. Finding out one of your old classmates is a practicing gay man is pretty alarming. But reading the struggles of someone striving to stay close to God is encouraging and uplifting.

There’s a guy on the computer next to me, I don’t know who he is, but he’s been reading a bunch of blogs for the past half hour. And there’s this guy on the computer behind me typing an entry for his.

Remember when blogging was less know? Remember when blogging was avant garde? When not quite so many people blogged? When it was more of a distinct sub-culture and not pop culture?

pour out

"carry me, Your love is wider than my need could ever be."

- jars of clay, river constantine, from the album if i left the zoo

"we're survivors, we can make it"

tonight was the first full run-through of the christmas musical, and i think it went fairly well. we have performances tomorrow night, twice on saturday, and once on sunday. it's going to be a long weekend!

this afternoon i got the last pages done for this yearbook submission (the one that has to be at the publishers on monday!), and so 12 more pages done. yippee. we have a whole bunch more still to go, but we'll make it.

today was american thanksgiving, so happy thanksgiving to the majority of you who read this! i had pizza for supper, what did you have? :)

my friend joanne got a job selling meat by phone. how weird is that? not the best job in the world, and i'm not sure how long she will end up doing it for, but it's better than nothing! :)

my friend amanda is home for the week from liberty university, and that means it's free to call her after 6pm and on weekends (as she's in canada), so yay i can phone her saturday morning. i haven't talked to her in a very long time.

but now i must run. the library is closing.

and i need to get some sleep.

Christmas Musical

last night was our first dress rehersal for the Christmas musical, winter's heart. we only did the first act, i think tonight we're doing the second act and then thursday the whole thing. then friday, saturday, sunday we have four performances. it's a long week for me!

my friend erin is coming on saturday from calgary to see it, so hopefully i get to see her, even if only for a little while. we lived in dorm together a few years ago and i haven't seen her since last Christmas.

this afternoon i have plans to work on my MRRP proposal and maybe do some crafts. i need to make a few postcards. :)

hmm... this isn't very interesting, and sorry for that, but i'm exhausted.

i have an "item" in my mailbox (i.e. a parcel or a larger envelope) that i need to go and pick up before the post office closes for lunch. i have no idea what it is. this is exciting.

bethany hamilton

bethany hamilton is a 13 year old surfer was attacked by a shark at the end of october and lost her left arm.

i think we are going to see a lot of her in the future.

"Please keep Bethany in your prayers. She is doing well & believes this life changing event will allow her to tell the world about God's love."

link via shiny things.

i get the feeling

that holly wants a scarf for some reason.

and that my roomdawg, jodi, is paying her for public pleas as well.

:)

through the glass

i have to have my MRRP proposal in by december 1st. like, they just told me today. like I have time this week for this. like i'm going to graduate.

aahhhhhhh.................

but after a conversation i had the other day, i did decide sometime between falling asleep last night and waking up this morning that i'm probably staying here in january to finish it.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. "
- Hebrews 12:1, 2

accomplishment

i just finished reading a bit from every single blog on my blog roll. in one day. i've never done that before.

there are too many to keep up with.

quote

"Of all the strange things men and women do I will never, ever understand The Cold Shoulder. A man meets a woman, he enjoys her company, he begins to pursue her romantically, she responds to his pursuit, and then, as if it were all meaningless to begin with, he changes his mind and ignores her. She attempts to reconcile things with him - was it something she did? Said? - and he assures her it had nothing to do with her, he just changed his mind. My male friends refer to this as a guy simply freaking himself out at the prospect of having a relationship with someone; my female friends refer to this as being (edited out) over.

The Cold Shoulder solves nothing, if that is the intention behind it. It doesn't resolve the problem of romantic feelings, and it surely doesn't make those feelings go away. Maybe the guy's feelings can go away that easily, but somehow, I just can't believe that they do. Can they? Is it just women who drown themselves in memories of what a guy wore three months ago the last time she saw him? Is it just women who have what turn out to be insignificant relationships with guys and just can't seem to shake them even though there is no hope? Am I alone in this, is this a sure sign of my neurosis? Am I crazy?"
- from sarahhatter.com

the friday five

i don't usually do the friday five, and it's not even friday, but i liked the questions this week.

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.

okay, nothing profound, but here goes:

a) figure out what i'm doing in january. (ha ha).
b) finish making Christmas gifts for my family.
c) finish all my course assignments from my last two classes.
d) start my MRRP research.
e) have a happy holiday.

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.

hmm.... good question.
a) levana, a good friend from kindergarten to grade 5. i think she lives in saskatoon.
b) sharlie drieger, a good friend of mine from grades 8-12. i haven't talked to her since december 1996. i heard she got married. i hope she's doing well.
c) melanie gall. she was a friend of mine i met at the students commission national youth conference in ottawa in 1993 and saw her again in 1994. we found each other on the internet in 1997 and then i went to visit her while i was in edmonton that Christmas. i think we emailed a few times after that but i haven't heard from her in a long time.
d) justin friesen. he was a friend of mine from grades 5-12. i still hear what he's up to through my friend jessica, but i haven't seen or talked to him since grad... june 1996.
e) my second cousin once removed from australia. i talked to her once online on icq in 2000. i've never met her. she's my age though. when i was a kid i always thought she'd be super cool. well, i still think she'd be super cool, golly, she's related to me after all. ;) her name is jill provins.

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.

a) make lithographs. i have done linocuts, they're cool, but i think lithographs would be cooler.
b) parallel park. this i have learned before, and i sort of know the logistics, but i need to learn it again.
c) fly. i might be too wimpy to actually accomplish this one though.
d) run a marathon. i was thinking this the other day actually, it would be cool to run one. to have the stamina to run for that long. i think however, it might take more discipline than learning, more physical training than knowledge. so does that actually count as an answer?
e) knit mitts. i think that homemade mittens are the coolest. i really really want to learn how to make them. i can knit scarves like crazy, knit cable patterns, etc., but i haven't got a clue how to knit mitts. and i think i could make money off of them, people love mitts. well, here in the barren cold winter they do. i don't know about my new zealand readers though. ;)

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).

a) pay of my student loans. and the student loans of my sisters.
b) build my parents a new house. but on their land because they like it there. and i'd furnish it too if they wanted.
c) sponsor a bunch of missionaries i know who do not have enough financial support, give money to missions in general.
d) i would go on a random vacation somewhere. i want to do this even if i don't win the lottery. i've never been on a vacation.
e) umm... go shopping and get some new clothes and shoes. i could really use some new shoes. have you seen my shoes lately?

5. List five things you do that help you relax.

a) drink tea.
b) lie in bed in the morning for longer than is neccessary.
c) paint. i don't do this very often any more though.
d) make cards for people.
e) go for a walk.

general germiness

so... i am going to discuss some things i think i wouldn't normally discuss, but these are pressing issues.

toilet seat covers in canada aren't too common. i like toilet seat covers. i think they're fabulous. i think every public washroom should offer them. they're more sanitary. i don't want to sit or hover over other people's bum germs.

why are american washrooms more likely to offer toilet seat covers than canadian washrooms?

do those of the male gender wonder about such issues as much as females do? i mean, they don't have to sit down every time they use the facilities. i wonder if they know about "hovering" and "lining the seat" (with tp when no covers are available).

my roommate jodi has this theory with which i agree... we assume Christian bums are cleaner than the average non-Christian/mainstream bum. ask girls at a Bible college if they sit on a Bible college toilet with nothing between them and the toilet seat. they'll probably say yes. but ask them if they would do the same thing on the average public potty, and they'd say "NO WAY!" they'd hover or line or use a toilet seat cover (if available). but really, are Christian bums any cleaner?

this post was inspired by sarah drake who is on my sidebar... and upon whose blog i every once in awhile read....

project mail-a-thon results #4

i think it's #4, but i could be wrong.

if you're a new reader, you may need to read the original post for project mail-a-thon.

but anyways, i digress... i got a super duper package the other day, actually two packages over two days, from the lovely neely including the following:

* a disney princess mirror ("whenever you're down and out just take a look at this and you'll see a princess in God's eyes")
* two snowmen erasers and a snowflake eraser (because the colours reminded her of mikao's world
* simpsons candy sticks (she loves the simpsons, and figured if i didn't i would still get candy sticks out of the deal :)
* cinnamon gum with "boys are stupid, throw rocks at them" written on the package! ("pretty self explanatory! i think it's great how it's made by David & Goliath too - the whole stone throwing thing!") i thought it was hilarious.
* movie clapboard keychain (she has the same one because she's hoping to go into film, but also came up with the spiritual explanation of how God gives us so many "takes" in life.
* a "just bummin" around postcard with cowboys on it.
* a Calgary sticker postcard, very neat-o
* and a cute little ballerinas card with a nice letter inside.

definitely a very fun package! i loved it, thank you soooo much neely! :)

this has been a very fun experiment in internet connectedness... it's fun to have this "tangible" contact with people i have come to know only virutually up until now.

i hope i get to meet some of you in real life some day. :)

knitting

i thought knitting scarves for my family for Christmas would be a good idea, except none of them want them, they already have scarves! rats. now i need to think of something else to make. i'm doing all homemade gifts this year.

hopefully it doesn't take me forever.

upcoming

i have a job inteview via phone with this company december 10th in the morning.

disappointed love

you know that feeling when you open your email inbox hoping for a really really really really really good email... and you don't get one?

yeah, i hate that feeling.

the commenting scoop

my enetation comments weren't working... and they were driving me nuts. i could see the comments when i would log in to enetation, but otherwise i couldn't see them (and i don't think you could see them), and they were giving wacky counter numbers.

so i'm trying out haloscan for now... and i might get rid of enetation if it doesn't start working again.

but for now, comment with the comments on the right. thanks. you're super. :)

confessions of a procrastinator

so, this is the third time i've been to the computer lab today with the express purpose of editing my resume to send to various places... i did, however, fill out one of those online form thingies for a job with cruise ships. i have, however, not edited my resume.

my sister wants me to come work up north with her cooking for oil rig personnel. she doesn't have the job yet, but she has an interview the first week of december. it pays pretty well. but you work 21 days straight and then get a week off. and, it's most likely in the middle of nowhere.

my friend joanne sent me a link that had ministry job openings in the perfect town in ontario. but they're accepting applications until next may. and you have to raise your own support.

all the jobs i'm really interested in you have to raise support for. i'm not sure that's the best idea for someone just coming out of school with student loan debt.

i watched reality bites yesterday with my roommate jodi, who had never seen it before. i had seen it once. i watched it with joanne and rachel last year... and now that i just checked my archives for the link, it was exactly one year ago today that i watched it... that's way weird. anyways, what i wanted to say about that movie is that it makes me realize that it's pretty normal not to get that super cool job just out of school... even though we all want it. but, i would like to think that i will get that super cool job. and a cool looking apartment. lelaina's apartment was cool looking even if her job sucked.

and it makes me wish i was more passionate about life. i don't know how that movie exactly makes me wish that, but it does. her life pretty much sucked.

but in the end, she got the guy.

advice column

i've been wanting to post this for a long time... but i haven't because i don't want to sound like a cheeseball, but maybe someone will perhaps learn from it and that would be a good thing.

don't tell someone you like them unless you know what you're going to do about it.

who we are instead/blogosphere coziness

so, i keep thinking i should a) post something meaningful or b) do what i came to the library to do, but i am not doing either. just yet.

but i did however want to tell you that the new jars of clay album is awesome. i love it. definitely well worth the purchase price.

and this washington post article about blogging is interesting.

and i wish blogger supported categories for it's posts.

that is all.

standing beside a rockstar's mother

so the internet was not working on the cruddy public computers around campus this weekend, so i couldn't check my email all weekend... and so i was greeted with 129 spam in my junkbox and 80-something "real" emails (of which it turned out only 2 were real), which took me forever to sort through, but made me feel somewhat important momentarily when i opened my email account at first.

jodi and i went with another girl to regina on saturday (and it was grey cup weekend, and the grey cup was in regina, and so we almost had to eat sitting on the floor in the foodcourt at the cornwall shopping centre because there were so many people downtown for the parade... the grey cup is like the superbowl, but for Canadian football) with the primary purpose of procuring costumes for our parts in the Christmas musical. we are, of course, members of the elite community choir, the choir that anyone can get into by showing up at. but, nonetheless, we are officially in the Christmas musical november 28-30th. we had to find 1920s style outfits... which, is no small feat, in case you've never tried it and don't know. anything remotely 1920s-ish hasn't been in style for the past 70 years. we did somehow manage to wrangle up some real nice outfits, jodi has a *really pretty* blue lace blouse to wear with a black skirt she already owned, and i got a navy blue polyester pleated skirt that goes past my knees, a *lovely* white blouse with embroidery all over the collar and the front, and a white, yellow, and bright green dressy scarf to brighten up the whole deal. we are going to be the prettiest looking gals out of the whole 130-voice choir. or.... maybe not. i am looking forward to dress rehersals next week when we get to see what everybody else ended up with.

today we had our first rehersal with the whole choir and the orchestra. well, not the whole choir or orchestra, lots of people couldn't make it, but it was the first time we practiced with the orchestra and not just the piano, so that was neat.

we have practices every day at lunch now this week. and dress rehersals are next week. and then next weekend we have 4 performances. this is going to be exhausting.

volatile combination

i had a salmon sandwich and 3 fudgee-o cookies this afternoon.

someone said i was eating Nemo.

graduating april 2004

so... i just had my seminary graduation photograph taken, and picked up my application for graduation from the seminary office. and apparently i have to meet with the registrar.

Michelle Johnston, M.A., B.A., A.A. is that the correct order? :)

journey

so, i've pretty much been in the library, on the internet, all afternoon. i did, however, manage to accomplish a few things... like print out a bunch of book titles i need to write my MRRP (read: psuedo-thesis), print some other info for my MRRP, check out some jobs (nothing hopeful), check my email (nothing real, only spam, as usual), surf my blogroll a bit (removed some old inactive ones, and ones i never visit anymore), and wonder in general what i'm doing with the rest of my life and where it's going.

and now, i'm going home to knit a new scarf and further contemplate my life. it's cold outside.

mom

this is somewhat humourous. warning: contains a bit of bad language, but addresses a big fear of a lot of blog writers.

see also what to do if your mom discovers your blog....

links viablogger.

you deserve someone great!

a pop-up just told me that.

thanks, mr. pop-up, but i already knew that. :)

alphabetical update

a) this is the slowest computer ever. well, maybe not ever, but it is slow.

b) i have almost everything crossed off my to do list for today. this is very exciting. i should do this every day.

c) i finished the two papers i had due today and handed them in.

d) i am not moving to the G.T.A. in January, unless something drastic happens to change that. my aforementioned possible roommate does not want to get an apartment any more. so, the official job hunt begins.... right now.

e) my friend mike and his girlfriend are coming over for supper. cool schmoole.

f) i have choir practice tonight and tomorrow night from 8-10pm. these are going to be long nights.

g) we got a couple of yearbook deadlines unexpectedly pushed back... so now we have more time. this is a very very good thing.

h) the girl behind me in the computer lab keeps talking to herself. it's kind of... umm... you know... weird.

i) i framed a bunch of pictures today and submitted them for the art show this friday and saturday. i am excited to see what else is there.

j) my little sister's birthday is on saturday. i sent her a veggietales birthday postcard today. she's turning 22.

k) i am going to purchase the new jars of clay cd "who we are instead" after i finish writing this and return the christmas musical practice cds.

l) it's pretty sunny out today. but it's cold. and there is still lots of snow.

m) i'm making chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole for supper. i'm not a big casserole fan, but this casserole is good.

n) i started knitting a new scarf today, except there was an error in the pattern, and it was a little wider than i wanted it to be, and so i need to re-write the pattern and start again. ugh.

o) i should be getting home. i need to start cooking.

p) 26 points is a lot. i am running out of things to say.

q) i love fluffy puffy pink marshmallow candies, the kind with red sugar on them that you get in the bulk food section. they're yummy.

r) let jodi's SIMS kids, ralphy and eddy, drown in my pool. is that unethical? because rachel was trying to tell me it was. SIMS isn't real life.

s) i like "for better or for worse" cartoons.

t) i would like to just fly somewhere for a short vacation... just a couple of days. that would be fun. if only i had more money. someday though... someday i will. (go on a vacation randomly, not have more money ;) )

u) you are cool. hey, you're reading this, aren't you? ;)

v) value village... shopping extraordinaire.

w) i think it should actually be called a "double-v," not a "double-u."

x) your x-ray vision is powerless against me, i'm wearing tinfoil underpants. just kidding.

y) why? why? what kind of a question is why? because they're cool, that's why.

z) it's pronounced zed

team online

so, i've been looking a bit online for jobs. because a job in january would be a good thing.

i remember way back in the day, way back when i first started at Bible college... that would be fall '98... i thought when i got done college i would be a keener and get a youth pastor job.

except when i finished college i started seminary. and i don't want to be a youth pastor anymore.

i was talking to my professor from my class last week, darrell pearson (he's an associate professor of youth ministry at eastern university in pennsylvania), about women in youth ministry and such, because he was wondering what i am going to do once i am finished seminary. he said he's noticed that not a lot of women he's talked to in his classes want to be the "head guy youth pastor," they get excited however, about team ministry.

which i would have to agree with 100%. when i was looking for an internship to do after my third year of Bible college, the primary reason i decided to take the position i did was because it was to be in a team setting, with a team of interns. i was really looking to get more team ministry experience, i didn't want to fly solo, or be in charge.

but i ended up being the only intern... and working alone most of the time. i didn't like it.

when people ask me what i want to do with my life i usually am faced with the fact that since i am in youth ministry, especially since i'm completing my masters degree, i should be wanting to be a head honcho youth pastor. however, is there not just as much validity as wanting to be a team member?

perhaps part of the problem is that Canada doesn't have many youth ministries with more than one paid staff. i'm not sure if i actually care whether or not i get paid to do ministry. but then again, as of yet, i haven't really worked. i think right now though, i wouldn't mind having another "regular" job and doing ministry part-time or as a volunteer (how many churches would be ecstatic to have a volunteer with a masters in youth ministry?).

i don't know many women who have completed a youth ministry degree. the ones i know didn't end up wanting to be youth pastors. a lot of guys i know never completed their degree and ended up working elsewhere. some finished, and now they're working in youth ministry or other ministry jobs.

i'm not sure if this is a complete thought or not, but i'm getting sleepy and so i'm going to end this post now.

hmmm...

so i really haven't been up to much constructive today... although melissa and i did manage to rearrange the yearbook page ladder (the order the pages go in), which is good. we had to cut 16 pages (so now we're down to 80) because it was going to be too expensive for the amount of books we are selling (525 this year, which is down a lot from other years. there are 800 students, usually more buy them).

but anyways, less pages also means less layout, but less general coolness as well. but, i can definitely appreciate less yearbook work.

answer

in response to jodi's question ("Do you like hugs?") i offer the following response:

generally, no. but it totally depends who the hug is from and under what circumstances.

and three in one day... hmm...

in response

to rachel's question ("How many people were involved in project mail-a-thon and what other stuff did you get?"):

see this post. i got mail from rebecca and jake, and you. i am still expectantly awaiting neely's contribution to the project. :)

but, now that i look back, i forgot to post what i got from you! sorry. i got two neat postcards (one with sheep on it, and one with a photo of new zealand on it i think...), a neat "auckland at night" magnet, a cute homemade card with a note, and a bazillion little glittery confetti stars. was that everything? i am sorry my mind is escaping me at the moment. i especially liked the sheep postcard and the stars that scattered themselves all over my kitchen table. very neat. :) i loved the whole package, very fun.

now to answer neely's question ("Hmm any clues as to when you'll figure out where to live?"):

if i had any idea, i would let you know. :) chuckle chuckle.

as part of the answer though, here's what's going on in my life at the moment... i just finished my last class ever yesterday. and we even had a test in the morning. i've never ever ever had a test in a youth ministry class. i think it's a first in briercrest history. i chuckled. but, i did get to hand it in with a classic michelle line ("that was fun"), which i always said to the teacher or professor after doing every test and every exam for as long as i can remember. so that was kind of neat. i had forgotten about it actually until i had to hand it in yesterday.

now i'm not officially done school, i still have about 6 papers I think to finish for the classes i've taken this semester (Spiritual Formation, Philosophy and Foundation for Ministry and Mission, and Junior High Ministry), and also i need to get cracking and write my MRRP proposal ( a MRRP is a "ministry related research project", it's like a thesis but a tad bit shorter)... and then actaully write my MRRP. my original plan was to get it all done before Christmas. i still could, if i worked at a frantic pace. oh. i still have yearbook to do too. that isn't as important as my schoolwork, but i like doing layout, it's fun (most of the time!) and when i do it i can be confident that it'll look good.

a bazillion people have suggested i should just stay here all next semester. this is appealing for the following reasons:
a) it gives me a place to live
b) i don't have to start a job or anything then
c) my roomdawg jodi is cool
d) it gives me more time to do fun stuff and not have to be rushed
e) i wouldn't have to fret job hunting

this idea however is also unappealing for the following reasons:

a) it costs money to live and i wouldn't be making any
b) i would feel very much like i was just delaying the inevitable
c) i don't really need to stay another whole semester
d) i've been in post-secondary school for six and a half years. that's much too much. i don't want to make it a whole seven.
e) caronport isn't always fun.

i don't know how long it is going to take me to finish these papers, or realistically how long it would take me to do a decent job on my MRRP. i have thought about staying for january. but realistically, how motivated will i be to leave at the end of january? not very, i don't think. it would be much easier to leave, and logical to leave, at Christmas time when everyone else is going home and a few other people leave and don't come back as well.

i'm not very motivated to get on the job hunt and get a cool youth ministry job. i think this is mostly because i don't want to just move anywhere. there are lots of cool youth ministry jobs out there. they just happen to all be in places i don't really know anyone. i am tired of getting jobs in weird places. the past two summers i was really glad to spend in the same place, after working in illinois, the yukon, and maine the few summers before that.

i want to go somewhere familiar. but i don't really have a home. my parents moved after i finished high school, and i've never lived in alberta with them, so going there isn't like going home is for most everyone else, because i only know my family there. and besides, it's northern alberta, there aren't any interesting jobs there. i don't want to work at sammy's pizza.

ideally i'd like to move to the g.t.a. (greater toronto area) and share an apartment with my good chum carolyn that i worked with at camp in 2002, and we have discussed it, just lately i haven't been able to get ahold of her to see if she's actually serious serious about it. it would be near a great deal of my old briercrest friends, plus near the camp i've worked at the past two summers, i'd probably be able to go to church with a lot of camp friends, i wouldn't be too far from a few relatives, and it's toronto so there is neat stuff to do.

and hopefully lots of jobs. i don't really know what kind of job i would get yet, i think i'd just apply for a bunch and see what happened. the thought of a random job (or jobs) for a year or so seems oddly appealing to me after being in concentrated youth ministry studies for the past few years. i started out expecting to go into full-time ministry, but now that i'm almost finished, the though of it is somewhat... i don't know what the proper word would be... i kind of have this weird exhaustion. i don't know how to explain it.

i'd like my january to be given to me on a silver platter with all the kinks worked out for me. but it's not happening that way. so, i'll let you know what happens when it does. as i have said before, God has it all under control, and PTL for that. :)

ask me

a question. what do you want to know?

flew the coop

so my roomdawg jodi went home to montana for the weekend. she just decided to go. she has a car so she can do that. that makes her cool. well, other things make her cool, besides the fact that she can take random road trips.

"I'm home. Safe and sound. The ride was long and uneventful aside from the cattle drive that I encountered while in Saskatchewan. The SK roads were really slick which made me ponder, "if I were to slide into one of these cows that I'm passing by, who would be liable? I mean they are tropping down the highway and all." hmmm...."

i'll have a 2 cheeseburger meal please

my roomdawg jodi is taking me to mcdonald's tonight. she's the greatest. well, maybe not the greatest, but she's pretty high up there on my list. we are also going grocery shopping becuase it's 10% off day at our favourite grocery store, Moose Jaw Garden Market IGA. maybe they'll have taken down the skeletons now that halloween is over. maybe santa will be standing over the deli counter today.

some sort of cruel joke

so, jars of clay has a new album, and in the longstanding tradition, it is of course briercrest reading week when they always seem to release their stuff. except this reading week i just happen to be here and by a Christian bookstore where i can buy it. except they didn't get it in and they don't know why. i think this is ridiculous. :)

but, Who We Are Instead marks a return to the acoustic, soulful sound that launched Jars of Clay’s musical journey nearly 10 years ago. "We were excited to just sit in a room and re-embrace the simple acoustic process that got us started," noted Dan Haseltine, Jars' lead singer. "What has emerged, we hope, is an album that is organic and soulful and an honest expression of the things we believe."
- from http://www.jarsofclay.com

and, i can't get into my email. it keeps giving me error messages. what if i got a really really good email?

who am i kidding? pretty much all i ever get is spam.

bundle of joy

so my friend mary-margaret, who is 20, just had a baby on saturday. she's married. it's her first baby. her husband is 33.

but, she's 20. when she's my age, she'll have a 5 year-old kid. can you imagine me with a 5 year-old kid? can you even imagine me with a baby? i can't imagine maggs with a baby, let alone a 5 year-old in five years.

i'm glad i still have a few more years, at least.

junior high memories

so this week i am taking a class called "junior high ministry," a class that is offered as both a college and seminary elective. there are about 26 people in it i think.

this morning, first thing off, we were asked to fill out these little sheets entitled "What I was Like In Grade 7". They included such tidbits as, you know, favourite teacher, worst teacher, best friend, most embarassing moment. Everyone knows that junior high is pretty much cruddy for everyone.

i was sitting beside this 30 year old lady, who is in the college, and she freaked out when i leaned over to read hers. golly. you don't need to make a scene in class. we don't need any more junior high moments re-lived for anyone.

we then had to get together in small groups of 3-4 and discuss who we were as junior high students. you know, the stuff we wrote on our sheet, and then compare that to junior high students today. miss aforementioned was a little testy and did not want to share anything of her "horrible junior high experience" with anyone.

hmm... i don't know if it's too much to ask that you should have worked through your issues from junior high if you are going to be in a class on ministering to junior high students. you shouldn't still think that you are the only one who had a bad experience at that age. i don't think it's really very healthy at all to still have those issues bottled up inside.

or am i the only one who thinks that?

another

To whom it may concern:
RE: ROOMMATE RECOMMENDATION FOR MICHELLE G. I. JOHNSTON

To anyone and everyone who is considering Michelle as a potential roommate I would just like to provide my insight as I speak from experience as Michelle's current roommate (or as we fondly refer to each other--roomdawg). You see, that is what you can look forward to as Michelle's roomate--she is a loving, caring, affectionate individual whose sole desire is to make you feel loved and accepted in any and every type of living environment.

I also lived in the residence of Lewis Apartments with her when we were just wee little babes as young college girls. This experience molded and shaped my early years of college and truly made me the person I am and who will walk across that stage to receive a diploma in April. You see, she held the position of "spiritual mother" in the LA residence, because she is indeed the exact definition of such a term. A true woman of God whose desire is to care for, protect, and serve the needs of those closest to her. She does this through writing little notes and hanging them on the bathroom mirror, cooking delicious and nutritious meals that provide the sustinance that one needs to make it through the day, she is very tidy although not a big fan of washing dishes (but I assure you if you are willing to wash she would be more than happy to put them away), her personal hygiene is outstanding and there is not a doubt in my mind whether she changes her underwear daily. I have not found her to posses any peculiar odors and she is an avid lotion-user which means her skin won't flake which is also fantastic.

My experience living with Michelle in the 'Plex has been excellent. She is a happy and cheerful person to be around (unless you break one of her precious bowls--then she won't talk to you for a little while, but she gets over it). She's not overly agile when it comes to putting away glasses so I recommend that you use plastic tumblers instead, but she's GREAT at vacuuming--she gets in every nook and crany with that thing--it's really astounding. She's a little psycho about her sheets, but don't call her psycho because it brings back painful memories for her, but as long as you don't touch her sheets with any part of your being there really shouldn't be a problem. And seriously what normal roommate wants to touch someone's sheets? If you are annoying she may kinda complain about you when you're gone, but just don't be annoying and leave the closet doors open and stuff because if you do she will leave a note on them to remind you to shut them.

Michelle is a big photo-taker so be aware! She will take pictures of you at your finest moments, but as long as you are as photogenic as myself it really shouldn't be a problem.

So that about sums it up. Michelle is a supercool roommate and I recommend her to any potential roommates. I believe her to be, in the words of Michael Chowns, "a prize, a diamond in the ruff". Thank you, I believe that about
sums it up.

If you have any questions or need any clarifications, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks and have a great day!

Jodi Lea Chambers
Current roomdawg, former RA

* note from michelle: where do i find these people? or perhaps, rather, i should be asking, how do these people find me? ;)

sparkly

i like it when it's super cold outside and you walk on the snow and it sounds crunchy and the snow sparkles in the light of the streetlights or the moon and you look up at the sky and you can see a bazillion stars...

but only until the cold gets to me and i think i'm crazy for making the trek to the academic building to check my email.

roommate recommendation

so i'm trying to convince one of my really good friends from ontario that we need to get an apartment together in january. so, i thought the most logical thing to do would be to get roommate recommendations from former roommates:

"I have known Michelle G. I. Johnston in the capasities of dormmate and roomdawg and friend for the past 4 years. Michelle is a wonderful person, fun, has an excellent sence of humour, kind, considerate, loving, a good listener and conversationalist, pleasant. She shuts off the lights on when she leaves a room and does not use all the hot water
when she showers, to my knowledge she has not left the toaster oven running, nor the oven, she does not eat stinky food except for bacon, which can be forgiven becuase she shares. Though miss Johnston does not enjoy doing dishes she is a good cook, watch out for the mexican fiesta, its got kick. MGIJ also does not enjoy cleaning the toilet, but she
doesn't leave her gross hair plastered to the side of the shower, she also doesn't accuse her roommate of stealing razors and does not borrow tampons. I do not believe Michelle to be a snorer, nor a drooler, she does not have any unpleasant odors, does laundry frequently, vaccums, does not shed hair on the carpet. She does not have an abundance of shoes and therefore you won't trip on the way in the door. She does not have annoying friends, only really cool ones, one in particular who lives in Kitchener. I would recomend Michelle as a roommate to anyone.

sincerely,
Holly Anne Skelton
Housemate 2002-2003
ps, she makes really good brownies.

***

Michelle is a great roommate.
Stated by Heather Alayne Yoshiki on October 23rd, 2003.

You want more?

Alright. Three years after living with Michelle, I am still greatly affected by the time I have spent with her . . .I am definitely stranger than I was when I met her. Heehee. Just joking. Michelle is so great that I am taking time out of my crazy schedule to write a letter about how great she is.

Michelle will bring a smile, a listening ear and some good advice to your life. She will keep you up late at night talking about whatever you need to talk about, and sometimes she will throw jujubes at you. She will be a voice of reason, a person to chuckle with and a great friend. She will make you care cards. After she moves away, she will send you postcards.

She is super easy to get along with. She is not too messy. Except when she does not clean up the dirt from her knocked over plants.

She will not sit and watch TV all day long, and she will introduce you to some great music. She will make friends with your cat if you have one. Over the years she has provided me with much laughter, pushing closer to God-ness, and many fun, memorable times. You too should live with Michelle and experience this once in a lifetime chance!

Heather
Roommate 2000-2001

***

To Whom It May Concern,

This letter is in regards to the recommendation of Michelle G. I. Johnston as a roommate. Michelle is overall a good roommate. She is not a person of extreme uncleanliness and does her part in the regular upkeep and cleaning of a home. She is not a person given to extremes in temperament and was often the source of a lot of fun. Her skills with numbers and computers were invaluable as she kept track of the house finances in terms of who owed how much and why. Like I said, this was very much appreciated.

Michelle is a good cook as well and therefore is capable of contributing to the making of meals when required. I quite enjoyed living with Michelle and would do so again given the opportunity.

Sincerely,
Tamara
Housemate 2002-2003

***

Michelle G. I. was an exceptional roommate. Although we had some problems beginning our wonderful relationship (we didn't talk for the first few months) things went well under way. Michelle enjoys listening to music, especially Caedman's Call and Corey Doak. She has night time selections she likes to listen to when she goes to bed. She is freaky about her sheets being clean and gets quite upset if you sit on them. Michelle loves cats and frequently gets presents and letters from her cat at home. She is an exceptional cook and is always ready for a good laugh. Michelle is one of the greatest roommates of all time!

Leanne
Roommate 2001-2002

walking in a winter wonderland

we have a lot of snow. my sister was stranded in saskatchewan from wednesday until yesterday when she finally decided to brave the drive back to alberta... and still ended up in the ditch anyway! but, she's safe and sound and back home now.

yesterday was the funeral of mrs. ingrid hildebrand, one of the founders of Briercrest. my roommates and i went and stood in the honour guard after the funeral, which is when the citizens of a town stand along the road that the funeral procession makes to the cemetery. it was neat to see so many people there.

in other news, mike yaconelli died. if you are in the youth ministry world, or have read any of his books, then you will know who he is.

last night i went to regina to see "bruce almighty" with my housemate rachel and a couple of other girls. we also went to chapters, a big book store. i love chapters. you can look at all the books and usually they don't bug you. the only bad thing is when you want to buy a book it's all dirty because bazillions of other people have pawed through it with their dirty starbucks hands. anyway, i spent my time purusing kids' room decorating books (no, i do not have any children, nor do i ssee any in my immediate future, i just happen to think that kids' room decorating books are way more fun than regular decorating books. why are people afraid to use vibrant colours in regular rooms anyways?) and in the kids' book section (because, well, kids books are cool too. the illustrations are waay fun. and i looked at all the art books i wanted to look at last time i was at chapters, which is usually the aisle i go to first).

today i haven't done much of anything. i have class this next week. "junior high ministry." should be good. it's my last class ever, and it's done on friday. friday is my last day of class ever.

that is all.