Sarah in Proximity

Have I mentioned that I love my Psychology professor?

2005-11-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well, in case I haven't, and I'm pretty sure I haven't, I love him. He just saved his entire psych class, which includes me, from failing miserably.

So, the way I understand it is this: we all did so badly that he didn't know what else to do. Let's put it this way, I think I'm a reasonably smart person, and I figured out that my score would have been a 69 had he not done something... There were 65 questions, and I got 20 wrong.

What he did was this: we originally had 65 questions. He decided to make the test out of 50 instead of 65, but it wasn't a specific 50, it was just the number of questions you got right. Then, he threw out nine of his questions because so few people answered it correctly, making it really out of 41.

In the end, anyone who got more than 41 right received extra credit. So, on my test that would have been a 69, a D, I now have a 104.

Go figure... :) I'm okay with that.

This Weekend

2005-11-13T14:19:00.001-08:00

My sister and my mom came out this weekend for my orchestra concert, which went wonderfully, by the way. I just had such a great time. We went out to dinner with my mom's friends, the Bebees, before the concert, and my friend Sarah J. went with us. We also visited JoAnn's, where I bought enough yarn to make scarves for all the people of a small country. My sister slept in the dorm with me after watching Sleeping Beauty and hanging out with some of my friends.

Sunday we went to church at Pearce on campus, then walked to a diner down the street for breakfast. Then, this afternoon we went to the mall, where my mom bought me a cute red skirt that ended up costing only $4! We mall walked a lot, and had fun, and then we came back and knitted for a while.

They just left, and I'm missing them already, but I had a wonderful time! :) And, only 9 days till Thanksgiving break!

So... does that mean Aural Skills is over?

2005-11-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

I was in Aural Skills today at noon, and around 12:30 there was absolutely the loudest pop - sounded like a gunshot right outside the building, only louder, and the building shook - that I have ever heard. There was also a really bright flash of light, and one of the lights in our room went out. Needless to say, everyone in the building screamed really loudly, and we left the room and went into the hall. We called security and they called the fire department - Cox Hall, the music building, had been struck by lightning.

So, now there is a good-sized hole in the cupola where it hit and there are shingles and roof missing. Also, two girls who were walking to lunch with umbrellas when it happened got a good shock, but they're ok, though they were taken to the hospital as a precautionary step. I was really scared, and ran to my next class without using my umbrella. I was wet and cranky, and spent the next twenty minutes calming myself down.

So, that was fun. I'm not ready to do it again any time soon.

God Answers Prayer

2005-11-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

In a lot of ways...

1) I've been experiencing pain in my left hip and in the tendons on the outside of my elbows for various reasons. I went to bed the other night in a lot of pain and said "God, you have just got to take away this pain, because I really don't want to hobble around tomorrow and I really want to be able to keep knitting". The next morning? Pain completely gone, none left. I was so excited! My elbows hurt a little now but they are so much better!

2) I've been preparing for my trombone final for a couple of weeks, and have been getting progressively worse as time goes on. I was having trouble getting out notes that had been really easy for me previously, and I was really worried about my final. Well, I prayed right before I went in to play, and I played as I have never played before! When doing my scales, I had to play a high D. I have never hit a high D before, and I never think I will again, but I was able to do it in my final. I got an A on my final, and I told my professor as I left that it was definitely a God thing. He thought that was cool, and I was so happy!

3) I worked at Phonathon tonight, and I got a lot of pledges, which was wonderful. As I was ending, I was about to call one more person. I prayed as I dialed, "God, please put it on Brenda's heart to answer the phone and donate $25 to the Scholar Sharing Fund." Guess who answered the phone and donated $25 to the Scholar Sharing Fund? Yeah, that would be Brenda. It was pretty cool. :)

You'd be Cranky too...

2005-10-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

A fire alarm is something one never wants to hear. However, when one does not get oneself into bed until one in the morning, one especially does not want to hear a fire alarm go off at 3:30am. I was thoroughly annoyed, as were all of us, but once we got outside and security came by, we found out that this was not a drill. This mostly just made us more irritated because it meant more time not in bed and outside in the cold. Rather than doing that, we went over to the other half of the quads and huddled in their lounge, which was much warmer than outside.

Once we were in the other lounge, we looked through the windows across to ours, to see it filled with smoke. Naturally, this was a bit distressing... The fire department came, checked stuff out, apparently fixed whatever it was, and let us back in an hour later. One girl, when she came outside, apparently freaked out and collapsed, so they also had her put on an oxygen tube thing for a while. It was a very eventful night.

Needless to say, I was way too tired and cranky in the morning to go to my nine-o-clock class. I was almost late for my ten-o-clock. I was just moving really slowly, I was so exhausted. I found out later today that either students from another college, or possibly drunk students from ours, egged and pumpkined the quads and Davison dorms (across campus). The reason the fire alarm went off was because they also pushed an air conditioner through the window of the guest apartment (which is off of the lounge) onto the floor, and sprayed a fire extinguisher into the room. Ironic... They also did this to Davison, but apparently it didn't set the alarm off.

I'm a bit ticked at whoever did it, but I have no idea who it was. I just really hope they never do it again...

Guys and Dolls

2005-10-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had our first rehearsal tonight. It was interesting... we did a bunch of activities because the director wanted us to get to know each other, but we didn't. We also didn't do a read through, but we started blocking the first scene. It's going to be interesting, as I previously mentioned.

Also, I forgot that Martha isn't the one who has lines, it's Agatha. So, I have become the other mute, as opposed to the first mute that I played in high school. Oh well, I still get to sing, and I still have a name. :)

It's Been a Battle

2005-10-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Tuesday night, Pedro's Valient Army lost, and it was a sad event. We did win one game in the match, but it was best out of seven.

However, tonight is a momentus occasion, for PEDRO'S VALIENT ARMY HAS PREVAILED! We won, and I even caught a ball when we really needed it, so I contributed. :)

Our next game is next Monday, but I can't make it. This slightly important thing called orchestra... but next Tuesday at 9pm you can say a prayer that we will prevail once more!

YAY!!!!!!!

Scarring Childhood Memories

2005-10-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, despite them, I have joined a dodgeball intramural team. I'm not sure this is a good idea, :) but I'm giving it a shot, and it's with a bunch of people I would like to get to know better, so I don't really see the downside. I just hope I play better than I did in first grade, or my team won't like me very much. So, when you think of it, say a cheer for PEDRO'S VALIENT ARMY!!!! :)

Please Pray

2005-10-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

I am currently really not liking it here. I am so bored, I have spent the entire day (excluding when I went to church for an hour) in my room, and I miss everyone so much. I just want to be home, I don't want to be here. Everyone I have called today is busy so I don't want to bother them, but the people I hang out with here are out of town or busy for the weekend, and I am just so upset because I miss home so much. I just want to be there... I don't want to be here anymore. I at least wish I had a car, because then I could go somewhere, but I really would just want to go home, and stay there. I'm tired of feeling sad. :(

Old Testament

2005-10-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

For anyone who cares to know, and BOY I DO, I got a 58 out of 60 on my Old Testament test!!!! Yay for Sarah!!! That's really exciting, cause it was hard, and I'm really proud of myself. Just wanted to let you know. :)

Do You Ever Just Feel Like an Idiot??

2005-10-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

I do... :) My roommate left me a post-it with a message reading:

Rob Nolton
RWC Theatre
Call back
2moro 10:30am

Fri. 1:52pm

I, therefore, assumed that Rob Nolton had called today at 1:52pm from RWC Theatre, and that he would call me back tomorrow morning at 10:30 am. For those of you who don't know, and that would be everyone off campus but Josh, I auditioned for "Guys and Dolls" yesterday. :) They loved my singing, they thought my acting was pretty good, (though I think they liked me better when I read Adelaide), and my dancing was okay, though I'd like to put in that they fit me in early cause I had to leave for work training, so they taught me a bunch of steps really quickly... I think it would have been better if I had had more time.

Anyway, so the callbacks are tomorrow morning at 10am, so I wondered why he would call me at 10:30 after they started... I called the productions manager, whose wife happens to be my theory teacher, to try to find this Rob person's number, so that I wouldn't have to wait till tomorrow morning to hear from him.

It wasn't until after I hung up that I realized how stupid I was... :) Duh... I have a callback tomorrow morning at 10:30, my roommate just put a space between call and back...

*sigh* Just more proof that I'm not ready to be off on my own yet... ;P

(You all can pray for me tomorrow morning while I'm auditioning, by the way)

Weird...

2005-10-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

So my blog has decided to put the previous three posts in opposite order no matter what I do... anyway, so I'm not crazy, it's the computer's fault that they're backwards. :)

Weddings = lots of driving...

2005-10-12T15:38:00.001-07:00

Saturday, spent a total of five hours driving to and from the Catskills for Michelle and Paul's wedding. I am so happy for them, and she looked so beautiful. :) It was a nice though different wedding, and it was very funny when Kailyn caught the bouquet, because she then glared at the best man when he went to put the garter on her.

Sunday, spent about 10 hours in the car to and from Massachusetts for Frank and Katie's wedding. It was beautiful... :) I sang "All Creatures of our God and King" and Bob played guitar, and I was just so happy to talk to Katie and Frank later because they said they enjoyed it. Katie's eyes never left Frank, and she was just so beautiful, it was like there was love just radiating from her, she was glowing. :)

However, due to spending so much time in the car with a sick person and just breathing their air (that would be Josh), I am now sick... with a cold, sore throat, sinus pain, the works. I think it actually started out when I tried on sweaters at Thrify Shopper Monday afternoon, I started sneezing and didn't stop for a while. But I'm blaming him. :)

It's Been a While...

2005-10-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

...and I was really busy last week packing to go home for the weekend (yay!) Thursday night was the GBT concert, which was wonderful, and I got to see Andrew, Noah, Josh, and Kailyn, along with Mrs. V, Grandma H., and Dave Yerton. (It's so funny how I call them by those names, but I blame Kailyn) :)

Anyway, Friday I took the Old Testament "quiz" which in layman's terms means MIDTERM. It was pretty draining, but I think I did pretty well, and I'll find out this Friday. Spent two hours in the car on the way home, but was talking with my parents, and I happen to like them :) so it was ok. Spent Friday afternoon with my mom, Kailyn, Sara, and Abby shopping for an outfit for me to wear to sing at Katie and Frank's wedding on Sunday, then spent awhile with the family. Went contradancing for the first time since forever, Contraprom actually, then got picked up by Josh, went to the Annex, then home to watch 24 with my parents, a TV show on which I am now hooked. :)

The Last Few Days, and Frustration With Trains

2005-10-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Monday morning my family and the Wrights got together for breakfast, then we (minus Cara) went apple picking. I had so much fun, and brought back a bunch of apples to tide me over. I love apples. :) We bought a nativity scene at the store there that I am really excited about, :) and then we went home. Then came Thrify Shopper with my mom, and that evening we ate beef stew and apple crisp with the Wrights (minus Cara and Kailyn). I made two apple pies, one of which I sent home with Libby (which made her a little happy) :) and the other of which I mainly made for my father, although I would like to mention that I never did get around to eating that half a piece of berry pie that he was saving for me... oh well.

Finally, Tuesday I rode the bus to school with Sara, which was fun, and visited a few teachers. Mr. Campbell reminded me of a scholarship I won last spring and that I need to send in a letter for various reasons to actually receive the money. This was definitely a God thing because I had no idea how I was going to pay for next semester's books, but now I know! There were also two fire drills first period, which was annoying. Then I went to breakfast with Josh, which I thoroughly enjoyed because I have not been able to in a really long time. After, he dropped me off at my house and I went on errands with my mom, and to Target and JoAnn's where I restocked my yarn supply. :) I also went on errands with Cara, saw Kailyn one more time, cleaned my room and packed, went to Tae-Kwon-Do, had dinner with my family and Josh, and then it was time to leave.

For future reference, call the train station before you leave to make sure that your train is on time. Mine was way over an hour late... We wandered around Carousel for a while, then waited around the train station for a while, and it finally came about the time I should have been arriving in Rochester. I didn't get back until after midnight, but then, when I talked to Beth, Steph, and Chris who were coming to get me, they were lost... I got picked up about ten of 1, then we had to stop at Timmy Horton's because they were hungry, and I finally got to bed around two...

Needless to say, I'm not feeling any better due to staying up so late, but that was my weekend, and I was really glad to be home. :) Next home weekend for Sarah: November 4-6, mark your calendars! :)

Just a Reminder

2005-10-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

October sixth is fast approaching. I fully expect everyone back home who likes me at all :) to arrange for transportation to and from the GREAT BEAR TRIO CONCERT on THURSDAY, OCTOBER SIXTH at SEVEN THIRTY PM in the SHEWAN RECITAL HALL!!! (I can show you where it is). Besides seeing me (yay! :) ), you'll get to hear Andrew and Noah play. (Not like that should be the primary reason or anything...) :) Oh, and by the way, it's FREE!!!

October 22nd

2005-10-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

...is my choir concert. I think it's at 7:30pm, in Hale Auditorium (on-campus). It's a Saturday, so if you like Brahms, or German, or me :), you should come see me!

Shema OR "Hear"

2005-10-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Friday in Old Testament we were asked the question, "If you were to pick one passage of scripture to sum up the Bible, what would it be?"

Eventually, we got to this answer: Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Why? In Jewish tradition, these verses are called the "Shema" which means "to hear". Jewish people recited (and many still do) recite them before going to bed and when getting up in the morning. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he referred to this passage.

"How appropriate, that Jesus would quote the scripture that he recited himself twice a day." -Dr. Dwyer.

I'm going to memorize it, and while I may not remember to say it every morning and night, I'm going to try.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. ⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. ⁸Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, ⁹and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Awkward

2005-09-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I never thought I would say this... so here goes... *deep breath* I have a modeling job.

It's only a temporary thing, Tuesdays and Thursdays in November. I am "modeling" for an art class on campus, and getting paid, yay! Yes, for anyone who is wondering, OF COURSE IT'S CLOTHED!!! You're sick, really... Anyway, some of the classes I may have to wear a tankini, which is the awkward part, but because we're a Christian college, they don't do nude drawings (and if they did, they wouldn't be hiring college students!) So, a little awkward, but the teacher wants the students to be able to pay attention to body detail, like you would for nude drawings, so at a Christian college the closest they come is a bathing suit. Which is fine with me.

So basically, I'm getting paid to sit around in a bathing suit for almost six hours a week for a month. Go figure.

Memories

2005-09-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

So, when I was really little, probably until about age five, my favorite book at my grandparent's house was "Woody Woodpecker Shoots the Works". In the story, Woody Woodpecker invites his friend to visit him while he is at work, where he is a night watchmen. When his friend gets there, Woody accidentally lights a box on fire when a lantern tips over. He didn't know (until then) that he was working for a firework company, but when they all start shooting off overhead, he figures it out pretty quick. Anyway, by the end, lots of popcorn has also been popped and covers the whole floor, and while Woody knows he is going to be in trouble, he has made his friend very happy because it was his birthday and he thinks it is a wonderful surprise.

My grandma would read me this book almost every time I came over, and so when we went through my grandparent's house I wanted to find it. I suppose since it was so badly torn up it got thrown away at some point, and I was sad because I really wanted a copy of it for my kids someday. So, I looked on the wonderful place called Ebay, and look what I found for 4 dollars! (including shipping).

Creepy Sims

2005-09-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, I was looking in one of the Sim neighborhoods, (Veronaville, if you really want to know), and looking at all the pre-created families that you can start off with if you don't want to create your own. There was one called the Case family, but what was really weird was this:
-there were five of them
-the dad had dark brown hair and was balding in a strangely familiar way...
-the oldest daughter had dark brown hair
-the son had longish, shaggy, dirty blonde hair
-the youngest daughter had blonde hair and blue eyes

The only thing that didn't fit was that the mom had blonde hair, but that wouldn't be too hard to fix...

Creepy, huh?

Church

2005-09-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

So today I visited Pearce Memorial Church, which is the one on campus, and I really liked it. It's a lot like our 10-o-clock service, and everyone was really friendly. To top it off, they did one special during the sermon, and one during the offering. The first one was "As For Me and My House" that ten-o-clock does, which I love, and the second was "He Reigns"! Needless to say, I enjoyed myself. There's still a couple of churches that I want to visit, but now I know that if I don't find anything in the next few weeks, there's one right here that I wouldn't mind making my home. I think I'm going to go to their Newcomer's dinner on Wednesday (anything is better than Garlock! ) ;) Wow, I haven't been a newcomer in a really long time... :) it's weird.

Chandeliers

2005-09-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

So, somehow over the course of a dinner conversation, Beth, Chris, Stephanie, and I got to talking about the embarrassing PDA and remarks of our parents. You know, how they would kiss in front of us to gross us out, and that kind of thing. :) Anyway, Stephanie definitely beat us all.

She was talking about when her stepfather gave her the purity talk... hehehe... and he said, of course, that if he found out that she was being, *ahem* permiscuous in any way, he'd kill her. What was hysterical was when he followed that by saying:

"Once you're married, I don't care if you swing from the chandelier!"

Which I think is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. :)

I'm SO excited... :)

2005-09-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

Book the Twelth in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is expected in bookstores everywhere on October 18th. But with only 30 days to go before it's too late, we still have no word from Lemony Snicket, we still do not know the title of the book, and we still have no idea whether the shouting mob that has formed outside our building is friendly.

Tens of thousands of investigators from around the world have joined the search for the truth at www.TheNamelessNovel.com where new clues, codes, and challenges are surfacing daily. Diligent volunteers continue to piece together what appears to be a page of text and several suspicious illustrations. Indeed, their investigation has revealed a substantial amount about the content of Mr. Snicket's next book, including the mysterious involvement of taxis, elevators, birds, disguises, and Indian food.

For better or worse, many investigators at the website are now turning their attention to the greatest mystery of all. We fervently hope their efforts will yield the book's title and Mr. Snicket's safe return at last.

We will continue to monitor developments leading up to the release of Mr. Snicket's latest book, unless we are forced to run and hide before then.

With all due respect,

Harper Collins Publishers

p.s. - You can invite your friends to join the investigation, but you can also pretend we never mentioned if it upsets you too much.

I can't wait! I've been visiting the website every now and then, (ok, almost every day), playing the silly games, and answering the questions. They pieced together a page of the book (with important words blacked out, of course), some of the illustrations, and now we are putting together the actual cover, which I'm sure won't be solved until October 17th or 18th. The next puzzle is the 21st, and I am so there! (Oh, just leave me to my dorky bliss, all of you rational people...) :)

October Sixth...

2005-09-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

...is fast approaching. I fully expect everyone back home who likes me at all :) to arrange for transportation to and from the GREAT BEAR TRIO CONCERT on THURSDAY, OCTOBER SIXTH at SEVEN THIRTY PM in the SHEWAN RECITAL HALL!!! (I can show you where it is). Besides seeing me (yay! :) ), you'll get to hear Andrew and Noah play. (Not like that should be the primary reason or anything...) :) Oh, and by the way, it's FREE!!!

Ex Libris (is the "s" silent?)

2005-09-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today, I found a wonderful website. It is called Ex Libris Anonymous. They take old books (that are usually falling apart) from various "shelves of life" and make journals out of them. They usually leave the title page and table of contents in the beginning, and add journal pages. The books are, at least for the most part, spiral bound. They are all eleven dollars, and there's no shipping in the US. I think they are exciting, and if I journaled, (not online), I would probably buy one. :)

Church

2005-09-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

So, again about Sunday, I visited an Episcopalian church. It was a very nice service, and everyone was extremely friendly, but very different from what I am used to. They did almost everything out of the prayer book and hymnal, and it felt much more like a production than at EHBC. The priest was also a woman, who spoke very well, but again something I'm not used to. Something that Josh laughed at - I had my first communion with real wine. :) I mean, it didn't surprise me, I knew it was going to be wine, but it was the first time I had ever had communion with wine instead of grape juice. And to receive it, I went up to the front with everyone else and kneeled at the rail and everything. One weird thing though - they used white wine. I didn't think that made sense, but maybe I missed something.
After the service, we went to their reception thing. I guess they have a breakfast every Sunday morning, and the leftovers are for afterwards. Lots of people came up to say hello and ask where we were from, the general unspoken response seemed to be something like, "People under fifty! Attack with kindness at will!!!" :) But they were really nice. So I kind of feel bad that I won't be going back, but it just didn't at all feel like home.

Mmmm...

2005-09-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that even though everyone complains about Garlock food it really isn't that bad. Kind of boring sometimes, but not bad. Anyway, yesterday for lunch I had an amazing chicken caesar salad. I asked for half the dressing, so I got probably a tablespoon or two, with lettuce, croutons, and warm grilled chicken. I had it with some cranberry grape juice. It was delicious, and I thorougly enjoyed myself. :)

Cute kids!

2005-09-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the Honors service project. Every first year seminar class has to do one, so we got ours out of the way early to avoid busy schedules, etc. We manned all the booths for the family fun night on the campus' church, Pearce Memorial. I started out at the "Plinko" booth, which takes no skill, simply dropping a ball into a thing with a bunch of pegs sticking out of it and waiting to see which slot it drops into. Each slot is worth a different amount of points, so I guess it would be kind of exciting... but we weren't even handing out prizes, just tickets so they could get a prize later. And it didn't matter what number points you got, you still only got one ticket. It was a pretty stupid game...
Anyway, I decided that this was going to be really boring, so to try to make it a tiny itsy bitsy bit more interesting, I asked kids questions before handing them each ball. Granted, the questions were things like, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "What's your favorite ice cream flavor?" and "What is your favorite thing to do on the playground?" so it's not like you could get the wrong answer, but the kids really seemed to enjoy it. The two-year-olds just got to put the balls into the slot, but everyone else had to answer the questions, including the poor sixteen-year-olds who decided to come bug me.
Funniest question of the day that I got: "This is my second time. Can I ask you the questions?" <-- from a smart alec twelve-year-old, of course, but I thought it was the funniest thing I heard all day. :) Also, as you can imagine, I did not want to leave, but the third time the supervisors came around, they made me go eat dinner... which was really tasty! Then I helped with the moonwalk for a while, then jumped in the moonwalk, :) then went home after helping tear down a bit.
It made me miss VBS, but I loved doing it. And it made me happy to know that as long as I'm surrounded by children, I don't care where I am, I'll be perfectly content. :)

Honors Retreat

2005-09-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday we all went to Lake Canandaigua, and may I say, that is the most beautiful place I think I have ever seen. The sun just made the lake sparkle, there was a slight breeze, so it wasn't too hot, and the trees and everything was just gorgeous. I spent the day playing cards with people, knitting, and on a motorboat. The first time, I just went for the ride with some people who were going waterskiing. It was sometime on the boat that I wished I had brought my bathing suit. For future reference, I now know a Katie who is exactly my size. :) When we got back, she lent me some shorts and a tank top, and I conquered my fear of wet clothing by going tubing. It was so much fun, and everyone cheered for me for going in my clothes. It was kind of icky when they were in the mid-drying stage, after all, the shorts were denim, but I borrowed a towel to dry off and changed back into my other clothes. After that, I played badminton with five other people. I had so much fun. We spent most of the time insulting each other and laughing hysterically. Scott and Chris would continually insult each other, and Stephanie and I would continually laugh so hard we would fall to the ground. Ask me what "Billy Palmer" means sometime, it's amazing... :) Later that evening we had killer lasagna for dinner and a bonfire. We got back around ten, and I was exhausted. Oh by the way, "sore" today doesn't even begin to cover it... :)

The weekend didn't come a moment too soon...

2005-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

I do not think I would have been able to survive another day of classes. I am so tired. My body seems to think that it cannot fall asleep before 1am, but it also does not like to be dragged out of bed at 7:30. This is a dilemma, as it causes me to be tired... anyway, today I had theory and psych like I do every Friday, but today's chapel was convocation. So, I got to see all the professors and faculty dressed up in funny black gowns with various colors of velvety sash things around their necks, and funny hats. Some looked like graduation caps, but others were hexagonal and looked even funnier. Anyway, so that was fun.
I had OT, and learned tons more great stuff, then went to lunch with my new friend, Chris. He is a nursing major, so while I asked him questions about what he did as a volunteer in the ER I tried hard not to gag over my soup while he talked about wanting to draw his own blood at the blood drive next week. (Which I am very sorry to say I do not think I will be able to handle). So, after getting through lunch and talking about pet koalas (Chris has a strangely wide knowledge of koalas... kind of cool, yet a little creepy... he likes them because they are "cute, and did you know that their babies are the size of jellybeans at birth?") I went back to the dorm and spent some time on homework, then when I nearly fell asleep on my psychology book I pushed it aside and took a short nap.
I was rudely awoken (just kidding!) by my dad, who was calling about the Debbie Downer sketches. I swear I have only seen the Disneyland one, I have never seen any other sketch, so I do not know what he is talking about, but I hope he can find it before the service tomorrow! :) Then more practicing of instruments took place, and my voice is tired. I spent more time on pronunciation today than singing because my throat hurts a little.
So, I came back from practicing in Cox Hall, spent some time on the Sims, then Beth and I went to BT's Cafe (on campus) to get food. Beth is very nice, and very cool. She wishes she had been born in the twenties, she loves the rat pack, she has been a ballet dancer since she was three, and her sense of style reflects her beloved era. She has purple hair, and she waves and smiles at everyone she passes, even though she is kind of shy. So, we are becoming friends, and we went to BT's for something to eat. We bought smoothies, but we insist that they cannot be that bad for us because they are full of fruit and are very refreshing. Besides, we even got multivitamin boosters in them!
Afterwards, our floor met up with us at BT's, because tonight was minigolf night. They had three holes set up in the cafe area, and it was free. (Good thing for three holes). Jamie said that whoever had the lowest score had a smoothie on her. Guess what? I won. :) So I got fries instead, because if you paid attention earlier, I was pretty much smoothied out by now.
Beth and I went back to the dorm, and parted ways. I have spent the rest of the evening surfing, on Sims, and knitting. And now, I am going to sleep, as I have to get up in the earlyish morning. Goodnight! :)

Onto Thursday

2005-09-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday I had music seminar, and it was "Getting to Know Your Music Department Handbook" Day! I was so excited. I had hardly gotten any sleep the night before just thinking about it! Anyway, we spent almost the whole class, about an hour, looking at a questionaire and finding the answers in the handbook. Then we went over the answers. I have to admit, there is a lot of stuff I really do need to know in there, I just thought it was a stupid format... it was also kind of cool that we ended class with a hymn and about fifteen minutes of prayer time. I enjoyed that.
Then I had my voice lesson, which I enjoyed, and first year seminar class. I am in the Honors section, though I'm really not sure if behind all our backs it's not called the "Special section". We are all so ADD, I don't know if we're really supposed to get anything done in the class throughout the year, but so far, it doesn't seem like it. It seems like, "pretend to have a format but really just talk about whatever pops into your head" class. It's ok, though, because we have a good time.
Thursday afternoon I had Women's choir, then a little later I went and practiced trombone, piano, and voice for two hours. That was a bit tiring. Then I had Sirens rehearsal, and while I know that pitch and blending will come with time, I hope that this is the only song that has major rhythm issues. It's pretty much "sing as fast as possible" for the song we're learning, and following the leader, Megan. I just hope in the other songs there is a stronger sense of tempo.
So, I finally got back to the dorm at about ten thirty, did some homework, read a bunch of psychology, then did mindless activities until I went to sleep far later than I should have. :)

Starting with Wednesday...

2005-09-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

So, my father pointed out to me that since I hadn't posted since Tuesday, everyone still thinks I'm incredibly depressed and missing everyone. Well, I'm still missing everyone, but I'm not depressed, just so you know. :)
Wednesday was incredibly exhausting. I had classes/lessons solid from 9am to 5pm. I wouldn't even have had time for lunch, except that God was merciful and chapel was short, so I had time. Also, my piano teacher changed my lesson from Wed to Tues, which means I will always have time for lunch on Wed. This is a good thing, because on Wed she ran my lesson late, and I didn't realize until it was almost one o'clock. Consequently, I had to run back to my dorm to get my OT homework and was late to class. Not very late, only about five minutes, but I felt terrible.
Anyway, so my day was just really long. Then there was a fiasco concerning whether or not I had made the Sirens, (a female a cappella group with a very auspicious name, don't you think?) I checked the wrong email to see if I had gotten into the group, and so I didn't see the email, so I thought I hadn't made it, so I tried to forget about it but got more upset as the day went on. I finally talked to one of the girls who ran the auditions, and she looked surprised and said she was sure that my name had been on the list. So, I checked my other email, and there it was. Needless to say, I felt kinda stupid...
Wed. night I went to a meeting for FOOT, short for "At the Foot of the Cross" RWC's Sunday night worship service. There were, as always, far more singers than instrumentalists, only one drummer, and mostly girls. So, I don't have a team right now, but hope to in the future.

So that was my Wednesday in a nutshell...

Missing You

2005-09-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

So, here's a list of all the people I miss:

-my family (mom, dad, Abby, even Michael... just kidding, I do miss him a lot, too)

-Josh (for obvious reasons)

-my friends (I am not going to list you all because I will inevitably forget someone and then they'll be mad and I'll feel terrible and I just don't really want to go down that road... so you know who you are, and yes I miss you too) :)

-my pets (Jake and Mittens)

Here are the ones I was surprised with, or the ones who I miss more than I thought I would:

-Joe - now that he doesn't have a cell phone I can't call him, and I never got a chance to say goodbye... so if you have his email, and you know he checks it, please tell me!

-Chris - I actually miss him more now than I did when he was in Poland, I don't know why that is... I missed him in Poland but now it's more pronounced.

-Mike Short - Yeah, this is the strange one... Though we argued constantly, and I tried to avoid him on many occasions, I actually miss hearing the "Sarah Case!" shouted through the crowd from the other side of the room, and his exhausting personality... so I hope his email that I have still works

I just miss everyone... and it's getting easier, but I still get tears in my eyes every now and then.

My Schedule

2005-09-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

So... I'm going to try to post my class schedule in a semi-readable way so that if you want to call me, you'll know when I can answer! :)

Monday:

9:00 to 9:50 - Music Theory 1
10:00 to 10:50 - Child and Adolescent Development
11:00 to 11:50 - Chapel
~~~~~~~~~~~LUNCH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1:00 to 1:50 - Old Testament Literature and Philosophy
2:00 to 2:50 - Aural Skills 1
~~~~~~~~~~~BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:00 to 4:50 - Women's Choir

Tuesday:

8:30 to 9:00 - Jazz Improvisation Voice Lesson
9:00 to 11:30 - Working in Housekeeping (but you can call me anyway)
~~~~~~~~~~~LUNCH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:15 to 1:30 - First Year Seminar
1:40 to 2:15 - Functional Piano Lesson
~~~~~~~~~~~BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:30 to 5:20 - Women's Choir

Wednesday:

9:00 to 9:50 - Music Theory 1
10:00 to 10:50 - Child and Adolescent Development
11:00 to 11:50 - Chapel
12:15 to 12:45 - Applied Piano Lesson
1:00 to 1:50 - Old Testament Literature and Philosophy (and Lunch)
2:00 to 2:50 - Aural Skills 1
3:00 to 3:50 - Brass Methods 1

Thursday:

9:25 to 10:40 - Music Seminar Lecture
11:00 to 11:30 - Applied Voice Lesson
~~~~~~~~~~~LUNCH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:15 to 1:30 - First Year Seminar
2:00 to 4:00 - Working in Housekeeping (but you can call me anyway)
4:30 to 5:20 - Women's Choir

Friday:

9:00 to 9:50 - Music Theory 1
10:00 to 10:50 - Child and Adolescent Development
11:00 to 11:50 - Chapel
~~~~~~~~~~~LUNCH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1:00 to 1:50 - Old Testament Literature and Philosophy
2:00 to 4:30 - Working in Housekeeping (but you can call me anyway)

So there it is... just so you know, Women's Choir tends to be let out a little late, ten minutes or so, and I don't know where I'm working for Housekeeping yet, but other than that, there's my Monday through Friday life... not including practicing... :)

Routine is setting in...

2005-09-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well, that's not entirely true, I do still have new things, and I'm adjusting, but I know where everything is, and I'm much more comfortable now. Lets see... I had my first voice lesson today, which was exciting, and I know when almost all of my lessons are now. I find out about jazz improv tomorrow. I've been eating lunch with a similar group of people for the past couple days, which I guess means we like each other's company and wouldn't mind hanging out for a while. :) I cleaned up my room, and I still have lots of reading to do, so I think I'll do some of it. I still don't know where my job will be, I think I'm going to try to hunt the housekeeping people down tomorrow and corner them until they tell me. What else... not a whole lot else. In music seminar today we introduced ourselves and (no joke) stood around in a big circle and did a dance... if was kind of like a line dance, only stupid-er looking. :) (I know stupider isn't really a word...) Choir and first year seminar were fun, though. We introduced our classmates because we had to interview them last class, and somehow VBS came up when I was talking with Rachael, my partner. I unfortunately told her about being Zot, the rollerblading robot, but it was really funny in class and everyone laughed, so I guess it's ok. So yeah, I had a pretty good day, can't believe it's almost Friday, the week is almost over, but I'm looking forward to it, cause I'm tired... :)

Last Day of August...

2005-08-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

...was very busy for me. I had theory at 9, then psychology at 10, followed by chapel at 11. I didn't have anyone to sit with at chapel, but I enjoyed it anyway. :) Then lunch, where I got stuck in a long line, so I ate fast, then went to Old Testament class. It's a really good thing I like that class so much because it's going to be really hard. But the prof is soooo funny!! Ok, it's the first day of actual class, and we studied Genesis chapter 38, verses 1-10. It was a really engaging lesson, I learned a lot, and it's really exciting. I just think it's really funny that anyone would start their class on purpose with a passage with the word "semen" in it... just to get off on the right foot, right? ;) Anyway, then on to Aural skills, which is a really boring class, so I'll skip the description. Then I went to Brass Methods where myself and six other people made fools of themselves on trombones and trumpets. Ok, so that's not entirely true. We're actually doing pretty well for just starting, except for one poor girl who can't really make any sound. But I'll leave her alone now. :) Finally, at 4, I had voice master class. I don't know why it's called that, but it was alright, the prof is nice and funny, I like her so far. So, after a very long day, I came back to the dorm, put my stuff down, and went to dinner with Beth and Stephanie, the two in the room next door to me. I had some pasta fiesta thing that was good, except that they forgot to mention the spicy part. I finished off dinner with some chocolate ice cream (don't worry, not a lot). I actually haven't had very much junk food since I've been here. I have some chocolate of my own, but that's the first time I had dessert with a meal since Saturday, which is saying something for me. :) So, now I'm back, and I'm tired, and I think I left my Sims CD #1 at home (though I have all of the other ones with me...) so maybe I'll take a nap. Or do my homework..... :)

Day 2: Tuesday

2005-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, today is completely different than yesterday... I had so many classes yesterday, and today I only have two. I didn't get up until 9:30, then I showered and went to breakfast. Breakfast was exciting because I sat with some people I knew! Then when someone sat down who I didn't know and introduced himself to me, another guy at the table (who I didn't know knew me, but he's in my theory class) introduced me for me. Which means that he remembered me from class, which means I HAVE POTENTIAL FRIENDS!!!! This is very exciting. So much so, in fact, that I though it was note-worthy and had to write it down for everyone (like, two people) to read. :) So, then I hung out in my room until it was time to go to class. Oh, by the way, I didn't make Chorale. But it's ok, I will eventually. :) So anyway, I went to our first-year seminar, and the prof (Dr. Mrs.) is a bit eclectic, but I'm sure I'll like her once I get to know her better. Also by the way, she looks like Mrs. Holmes, the english teacher. Anyway, after class I actually went to lunch with people and had a good time. Josh told me on Saturday that I was guaranteed to make friends, I just had to make the decision of whether or not I was going to enjoy the process. I think he was right, and I think I'm starting to not mind as much.

Me at a soccer game?

2005-08-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

...but that's where I found myself at 7pm last night. It counts as a floor activity (for the dorms) so I pretty much had to go. We lost 2 to 1, but there were fireworks afterward that were kind of pretty. It was a pretty dampened mood, though, and not just because we lost. You guys all need to pray for a guy named Mark. He's one of the soccer players, and I don't know if he was elbowed or punched or kicked or what, but partway through the first half, he was hit somehow and collapsed on the field. He kept trying to roll over to get up, but the pain was so bad that he finally couldn't move. I think he went unconscious at some point. About half an hour later, there were still a bunch of people - his coach, family, police, etc. - around him, when the ambulance showed up. I guess he's going to be ok, but they said he has a couple of broken ribs, and he didn't look so good when they loaded him into the ambulance. So pray for healing, and for strength for his family. Also, pray for the soccer team, that they don't lose heart. It was really cool to see them all gather together and pray for Mark while the game was stopped.

Classes

2005-08-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

So, my first day of classes is over with. It wasn't that bad, actually. I had theory 1 at 9, and while that will not only be a lecture but easy, at least it's easy though boring. The prof is nice, too, so I'll try to not give her a hard time. Then on to Child and Adolescent Development Psychology, with Dr. Altman. He has a kinda dry sense of humor, which I like, and while there's lots of reading for the class, there's very little homework. Yay!! At 11 we have chapel M W F, but we don't start till this Wed., so I had a longer break in my day. Had lunch, then went to Old Testament Lit. and Theology. The prof is very funny. He spent almost the whole class on roll call, because he asked each person a random unrelated question. Mine was, "What grade do you think you'll get in this class?" I said I didn't know, but other questions ranged from "what grade would you give our president" to "who is the greatest American who has ever lived?" to "if you went on a date with any woman/man, who would it be?" Then we went over the syllabus, and it's a really good thing I like the prof, because it's going to be a hard class... At 2 I had Aural Skills, that is, listening and sight singing. It's going to be easy, though I do have to get used to using Sol Feg again... Hehehehehe, then came 3pm. On to Brass Methods. hehehehehehe... it's just really funny. I'M GOING TO LEARN TO PLAY TROMBONE!!!! Can you imagine it? Not without doubling over laughing. Halfway through the semester, I switch to trumpet, which is slightly less funny looking, but we'll see how it goes. The other exciting info about this class is that the prof, (who is also very funny), split up the class so that vocal majors (like me) only have to come on Wed.! This takes a class out of my very busy Monday schedule, so I'm happy. Finally, at 4 I have women's choir, but it was cancelled yesterday because there were Chorale tryouts. I have yet to find out if I made it. I think my tryout went well, but it's kind of doubtful for freshman girls. So there was my academic day... at least they're not all this busy, or I'd be in trouble. :)

Coffee and Chess

2005-08-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Josh and I visited Jitters yesterday. Jitters is the token coffeehouse in the area, and I have the feeling that I will be spending much more time than is necessary there! It's like the Annex in that they roast their own coffee and have a very down-to-earth and casual feel, but I like the decor better, it's bigger, and while it doesn't have couches it has really cute little tables and chairs. We sat at one table that had a chess board painted on it, with a very nice painted background landscape. We, of course, had to play chess, and I, of course, was not doing well. However, I would like to say that at the end of the game Josh made a very stupid move, and I took advantage of it. I beat Josh in chess!!!!! ...making my weekend a much better one. :)

Andrew could have warned me...

2005-08-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

So yesterday (Saturday) Josh visited me, and I showed him around the grounds. We also went into some of the buildings, such as Cox Hall, where I will be spending most of my time. (It's the music building). While we were there, I pointed out Dr. Landrum's office, because he was Mrs. VanNorstrand's teacher and the point person for their gig in October. Now, I had never met Dr. Landrum, I only knew of him from Kim, Andrew, and Noah. However, as we passed by who but Dr. Landrum should walk out of his office. Since none of the V's have been able to tell me for certain what their gig date is, we decided to ask him. So, the first embarrassing thing that happened was that we were halfway up the stairs when we asked him, and when I turned around to follow him back downstairs, I fell... they're narrow stairs, ok?! But then, the weird thing was that after he came back out and told us (the gig is October 6th by the way) he asked me if I were Sarah. Surprised, I replied yes, and he said that Andrew had emailed him telling him about me and that I was attending college there. A bit of awkwardness took place, because I felt bad that I didn't know who he was. So thanks, Andrew, for not telling me... :)

Here I am

2005-08-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

So, here I am at Roberts. It's Sunday, my second full day here, and I'm beginning to feel better. I would have posted yesterday except that I forgot my username and got frustrated with guessing. So, I have almost all my books, I know where all my classes are, but I'm not excited yet. I guess once life here gets rolling I'll get used to it and I'll make friends, but right now I'm just worried and lonesome and trying to get by. I have about 50 (no joke) pictures on my walls of friends and family that are making me feel better. Everyone has to come see me! I won't pay for you, but I will show you the best coffeehouse in the area, possibly better than anything back home... (but don't tell). I also have happy sunflowers in my room that Josh bought for me, and I'm pretty much settled in. Oh, and chocolate. I have bought a lot of chocolate. :)

here goes...

2005-08-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

I have created a blog. I am not promising anything, but check back every once in a while and I will try to write with some sense of regularity.