Monday, November 29, 2004

balthasar says...

sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more
men were decievers ever,
one foot in sea and one on shore,
to one thing constant never:

then sigh not so, but let them go,
and be you blithe and bonny,
converting all your sounds of woe
into 'hey nonny, nonny.'

sing no more ditties, sing no more,
of dumps so dull and heavy;
the fraud of men was ever so,
since summer first was leafy:

then sigh not so, but let them go,
and be you blithe and bonny,
converting all your sounds of woe
into 'hey nonny, nonny.'

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

"the world is just...different"

"Soon we'll just be a memory. In fact, someone, some foolish person will probably think it's a tribute to this city, the way it keeps changing on you, the way you can never count on it, or something. I know, because that's the sort of thing I'm always saying. But the truth is, I'm heartbroken. I feel as if part of me has died..."

The Shop Around the Corner? Yeah. It was called Bibo Juice. It was "a lone reed, standing tall, waving boldly in the corrupt sands of commerce."

There was no Fox Books. There was only this real world. And sometimes, no matter how hard you work, things just don't work out the way you want them to...

There will be no Acai when Emily goes home for Christmas. No jokes about crazy managers and eye rolls in the direction of that horrible ever-posessed yogurt machine. No Whistlers, Astorias, or wheatgrass. No more nutella or mad experimental Americana crepes.


Just three empty spaces in Portland; three colorful monuments to good times and good food.

[So, go ahead and call me a raging sentimentalist. I am.]

Bibo was my transition into adulthood. It was my first job and my first experience with the real world. The world of responsibility: paying taxes, knowing the alarm code, balancing the till, staying late and getting up early.

A sheltered little homeschooled girl got a controlled taste of the depravity of man and the endless searching of broken people. I learned that tatoos, piercings, a tough exterior, islam, or homosexuality do not make a person untouchable or immune to the need of God's saving grace.


I learned a lot about working with people: even if she is a jerk, she's still your manager, and so you still have to respect her. I learned that getting a smile from the head of the company makes it a lot easier to work hard for the rest of the day. I learned my boss sounds really funny at 7 am on a Saturday morning when you call him to ask how to fix the stupid computer.

I learned that ice cream needs to look pretty, that "the nasty" makes great worm food, and there are crazy environmentalists who think license plate covers are causing the depletion of the ozone. I discovered that sometime singing and dancing makes the mopping go faster and that if the yogurt machine explodes while you have 20 customers [one of them being Becky], it's okay to run to the walk-in and scream, because it's sound proof. I learned that if you treat someone like royalty, they'll thank you and be your best customer for life. I learned that people in crappy service jobs deserve some slack [occasionally].


I learned that making friends with the coffee people is your best bet for survival, that lemonade is the best wheatgrass chaser, and that ninjas are cool. I learned how to make kick-butt custard, that cleaning mats isn't as awful as they make it sound, and that people [david] have really great stories if you just listen. I learned how to make the veggie display beautiful, the crepes round and not too crispy, and the smoothies actually smooth.

We philosophized about society ala high school kids, scoffed at mall food and poor Bibo substitutes, and ate a lot of ice cream. We created theories about personality types and their smoothie counterparts. We dressed up, talked, laughed, had parties and meetings-that-always-turned-out-to-be-parties, scavenger hunted, and took a lot of crazy pictures.

So many people come to mind from my years with Bibo:
David and Cheri
Millicent
the Garfields
Jenn
Skylarr
Adam
Ire
Lalita
Kate
Kisha
Beth
Jonathan
Alyssa
Evie
Larissa
Chad
the Market People
the Torre gang
the Flower girls
the Cheshire crowd
the Fish Market and Annie
Schmizza
the happy Sunshine guy
customers like: Steve, Becky, Lynn, Rosie, Peter, Pete, Mandy, Rod, Super ATT man, Todd, Greg, the Grant kids, Audrey and Nicholas, and so many others. [i can see their faces, but i can't remember their names.]

Thank you for the good times and the lessons, all.

Portland has truly lost a treasure.

rest in peace, bibo.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

i'm missing you...

To truly be missed is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Especially when you've only been gone two days...

It is a powerful and wonderful thing to place yourself into the hands of the Living God.

I was made aware of this fact when I was abruptly woken from the most beautiful of sleeps by a crash. And the shaking of the large windows above my bed. I could feel the noise. Now, my rational functions are not very coherent early in the morning at the best of times and being in a strange [though vaguely familiar] place did not help. A thousand possibilites [one of them involving terrorists] bounced around in my head, and it took a flash of light to realize what it was that had crashed my slumber party. Not terrorists, Em. Storm. Thunderstorm. Complete with rain, howling wind blowing the palm trees violently, and, what do you know... thunder. Oh. Well, that's alright. I love thunderstorms.


They are, however, meant to be shared and having a king size bed and most of the house to myself was...not unnerving. Just...disappointing. A thunderstorm of such lovely magnitude had not been felt since I was spectator to a tornado-spawning storm in northern Alabama. [now that was the coolest thing ever.]

It was loneliness, not fear that made me bury my head underneath the covers. I wished for my sisters, my suitemates, my girl friends, anyone to share this spectacular display of God's power. But I was alone. So I lay there enjoying the flashes and corresponding sonic waves, said a prayer and felt very greatful for the protection of a strong house and lots of covers, and then fell asleep listening to the hard rain on the roof.

The next time I awoke, I wondered if I had imagined it all. The sun was shining on a nearly spotless sky, the palm trees out my window were swaying gently to the music of the breeze, and I could hear the roar of the excited soccer fans at the nearby school. Only a few stray puddles left on the sidewalk convinced me that it had been real.

Lord, renew me as You use the rain to renew the Earth. Strengthen me as You strengthen the walls of this house. Shape me as You cause the trees to bend with the wind, not break under pressure. And use me like You use the sun to clear away the darkness in the lives of those around me.

please, come home soon.

Friday, November 19, 2004

the secret of life is...

A boarding pass with your name on it.
Heading to San Diego.
In 17 hours.

If only you could get this paper finished...

Monday, November 15, 2004

seeing face to face...

Psalm 16:9,11
therefore my heart is glad,
and my glory rejoices;
my flesh also will rest in hope.
You will show me the path of life;
in Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 17:15
as for me, i will see Your face in righteousness;
i shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

Psalm 27:4
one thing i have desired of the Lord,
that i will seek:
that i may dwell in the house of the Lord
all my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in His temple.

Psalm 36:7-9
how precious is Your lovingkindness O God!
therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Your wings
they are abundantly satisfied with
the fullness of Your house,
and You give them drink from
the river of Your pleasures.
for with You is the foundation of life;
in Your light we see light.

Karissa Edwards
September 1984-November 2004

awakening in His presence
beholding His beauty
drinking from the river of His pleasures
dwelling in His house

now seeing her Savior face to face

please pray for the Edwards family.

Psalm 30:4
sing praise to the Lord,
you saints of His,
and give thanks at the remembrance
of His holy name.

theatre 200 or psych?

This question has set up residence in the mind of Emelina because of a discussion in Understanding Theatre class. We've been talking about The Misanthrope, by Moliere.

Do you think it is better to pretend to be friends with someone and pretend to care about them when really you're thinking "shut up, i don't care" when you talk to them? Is it better that someone thinks they have friends and that they're interesting, even if they're not? Or is it better to always tell the truth, even if it means hurting people's feelings?

I think I can identify more with Alceste - he thinks that you should always be truthful, even if it hurts someones feelings. It is excrutiating to find out later [which in real life eventually happens] that someone really didn't care when you had thought that they did. I prefer honesty. If you have an issue with me, just tell me. I'll get over it a lot faster than if you pretend like nothing is wrong and then I have to find out later or from someone else. Alceste is a lot more devastated when he finds out Celimene's true feelings than I think he would have been if they had been told at the beginning. [of course, then there would be no drama]

However, like Celimene, I find it extremely difficult to live out this principle - it's hard to tell someone that you don't care. Maybe you don't want to bring it up because you think you're probably wrong, and you're trying to start caring. Or maybe you mildly enjoy playing people. I think for Celimene, it is a combination of both. I can understand her thinking, though. In our sinful obsession for attention from other people, sometimes we'd rather accept the later hurt in order to live a lie for a while.

It's an interesting thing to have Theatre turn into Psychology...

What do you think?

dress for a day week...

In honor of the last few days of class [torture?] before Thanksgiving break, we are celebrating the first annual "dress for a day" week!

Please spread the word, and join in as much as possible, ladies! (gents, you'll have to come up with your own fun...)

horario

monday - athlete
tuesday - around the world
wednesday - secret agent hottie
thursday - preppy
friday - girl next door

In other news, thanks to the Weavers, I had a tremendous, inspiring, and even slightly productive weekend. Much love!

highlights

"where did we leave the car?"
"doesn't she sound like natalie from the dixie chicks?" "um, love, this is the dixie chicks."
"we eat play-doh and play with jello."
"much giggling."
"that would look hot on...not you."
"perfect in every way, but..."
"fajitas."
"um, that will be...20 dollars."
"i've never met a guy who would so readily admit to being lost!"
"my boyfriend is going to buy me that sweater for christmas." "you need to get a boyfriend."
"i'm going to get my boyfriend an ann taylor loft gift card!"
"what if he has...nose hairs?"
"and, if you keep your hand in your pocket, it looks like you're carrying a gun."
"is he cute? is he godly?" "um, mom, shouldn't godly be your first question?"
"will you marry me?" "no, you're too old."
"if you don't buy that, i'll buy it for you."
"God says you can buy those shoes." "thanks, God!"
"we look way too hot."
"it would be really sad for a guy to be rejected by a whole family of girls."
"my dad only makes 4 million a year."
"wow. i just ripped my skirt, didn't i."
"if anyone asks, we're shopping for our...trashy second cousins. or something."
"road rage."
"are all your friends that cute?"
"my nail beds suck."
"you're completely falling apart."
"ouch, my ear!"
"lucky."
"ohmygoodness, we almost killed a possum!"

"um, where did we leave the car?"
"um, next time we rob a bank, let's pick one that your dad doesn't own."

Saturday, November 13, 2004

she sings in riddles...

It was that sort of day.

The kind of day you read about in stories. The kind of day on which things happen. Except, surprisingly, it was a perfectly average [and even quite mundane] day. Nothing had changed from the night before. Conditions had not improved, yet her spirits had.

Even though this day promised to be busy and mildly overwhelming, [as usual] she had a spring in her step. [whatever that means] Whatever this strange [and indiscribable] emotion was, it kept appearing as a wry half smile, unable to be supressed for any long period of time. There was no reason on which she could blame this sudden joy; it had simply appeared with the dawn. [which had arrived at least three hours too early for her taste, but shockingly, this too seemed only a slight matter] This feeling of [invincibility?] happiness at ‘just life’ was very unusual. [and fleeting, she knew]For once, however, she chose to enjoy the moment, and not dread the future absence of such blissful optimism.

you're the lucky one
so i've been told
free as the wind
blowing down the road

look at the world with smiling eyes
and laugh at the devil
as the train rolls by

Perhaps it was the weather; the sun was shining like a spotlight on a perfectly tinted deep blue backdrop, and it was surprisingly warm for November. It was the perfect temperature to wear a jacket and a scarf for the sake of fall fashion, and not necessarily for needed warmth. The breeze consistantly blew her dark brown bangs into her eyes. It was typically a mild annoyance, but today…today, it added to the simple pleasure of being alive.

Perhaps it was her choice of apparel; a sensible pair of brown oxfords, old jeans, a comfortable long-sleeved t-shirt [complimentary pink, naturally], a colorful scarf and a fleece jacket. The substitution of glasses for the usual contacts added the perfect touch. Why was such an ordinary outfit so perfectly satisfying?

It was the perfect type of day to be in love, yet surprisingly as perfectly suited for being completely and totally independent. [which she was] Usually such days demand someone with which to share them, but not this day. This day, the fat squirrels enjoying one last gorging before a long rest were more then enough company for her tastes.

She had eaten a dinner of milk and cookies like a true collegian. [but, being from the yuppie nw, it was molasses cookies and soymilk] The lack of access to consistently decent food did not even faze her today. The world was a beautiful place, turning on its axis in complete harmony. [at least in hillsdale]

What made today so special? Perhaps an outside observer could best answer the question that she could not.

It was the perfect day to spend an evening pretending to be a superior intellectual [hottie], studying late into the night at a coffee shop, enjoying Dante, a caramel latte, excellent music and the best of company.

It was Friday.


Wednesday, November 10, 2004

leaving on a jet plane...

Surprise! Who knew that no matter what she said, Emily couldn't survive without being on a plane at least every 3 months!

This is an official announcement that while I still won't be going home for Thanksgiving, I'll be in the next best place...San Diego!

My grandma, who is amazing and incredibly generous, has offered to host myself and my darling "sound-alike" sister, who is currently the reigning Miss Galloway 318, in California for Thanksgiving. I will be getting out of this place as fast as I can on Friday the 19th, and not arriving back until Saturday the 27th. A whole 8 days outside of Michigan, guys.

This just goes to show you: I have a very short location attention span. I rely too much on being entertained by my surroundings. This trip probably isn't going to cure any of those problems, but hey...it'll keep me on track for my whole "live in a city for a year, then move on" life plan.

Painting rocks is very theraputic. I recommend it to everyone. Just get a piece of paper, some paint, and make a mosaic!

Monday, November 08, 2004

monday of the day...

high point of the day: gap with the girls, and just hanging out tonight. i love you, esther, jessica and kristina!

food of the day: popcorn. as usual.

color of the day: pink. how could it possibly be anything else?

activity of the day: sleep. that's all i ever want to do.

embarassing action of the day: crying. i really need to stop.


opinion of the day: boys are annoying. in general. most of them.

sound of the day: fellowship of the ring soundtrack. good stuff.

laugh of the day: bryce calling and pretending to be...well, someone else. *wink*


occupation of the day: hermit. as it has been for the past week.

rant of the day: don't assume one phone call with an invitation to hang out in a group means i want to date you. don't be a flirt yourself, and then make the above assumption about me. it causes a conflict of character which could be damaging to your soul and your health. and my sanity. operation ego crush is on!

good advice of the day: don't let a socially inept male kill your chances for interation with the human race. - m. benavidez.

ganbatte...

translation: fight the good fight. atta girl. er, whatever. - A.

I'm doing all I can. Let's just say it's been a difficult week. Therefore, my blog has been lacking anything of quality. Creative genius is difficult to pull off when all your energy is being funneled into 'not-crying.' Yeah, I know that some say extremes produce genius. Well, not with me. At least, not with this extreme.

5 more weeks, kids. 5 more weeks.

in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. - 1 peter 1:6-7

He is incredibly faithful when I am faithless.

He knows my needs and my desires.

You won't give me something that
gives me more pleasure than You

*On Friday, my history class was cancelled, which gave me exactly the amount of time I needed to finish my cca paper and english homework.

*Instead of playing like usual, all Gabriel wanted to do was cuddle. If you're having a bad day [week], try having a two-year old angel fall asleep in your arms, and just snuggle and sing to him for two hours. two hours. of cuddling. from a little guy who is usually running wild.

*Random friends (new and old) showed up at my door at 11 pm on Saturday, just to hang out. There was much mimicking and arb-entering and scattering. And Lissa's ghost even made an appearance.

*this one will have to wait. let's just say it hopefully involves getting the bleep out of here as fast as i can. but not eloping.

*I managed to have several lovely catchup conversations with some of my dearest buddies. Much love. And for those of you that I didn't talk to this weekend...you know my number.

*Two words: Northern. Lights. It's not every weekend that a lifelong dream is fulfilled. Honestly, I hadn't expected them to be so...well...energetic. Mostly white light, no real colors. But it's jumping and twirling across the sky like nothing I've [you've] ever seen before.

I long for a different pace, different faces, and a different place, but until then...

may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. - psalm 19:14

pressing on.

Thursday, November 04, 2004

um, what was i talking about?

In homage to Bryce "Jonah" Melvin, I forgot. Er, I am forgetting.

I keep dreaming up these lovely blogposts to write, and I write them in my head as I'm falling asleep, and the next morning, I can't remember them. Or worse, I thought I wrote them down, but I really didn't. So I'm surprised when I don't have any new comments.

WAKE UP EMILY!

I think the squirrels are on to something with this whole "hibernate all winter" thing, you know? I could handle that. Work in the spring and fall, play all summer, and sleep all winter. Yeah, I could handle that.

Anyway, hopefully I will eventually post several of my latest rants on:
*home
*friends
*my complete and utter depravity
*how much i love the new alison krauss music
*time
*words

Unless, of course, I forget them...

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

it's official...

my roommate is perfect. but we knew that already.

Anyway, on with life. Much to my disappointment, this edition will not have anything witty or philosophical to add to your life. It will not entertain or amaze even the 'oh-so-easily-amused-by-herself' me. It's just a schedule.

I am incredibly delighted that I got my entire next semester schedule exactly the way I want it. (Except ballet wouldn't fit in this semester. darn.)

El Schedule de la Spring reads as follows:

Monday
9. Freshman Rhetoric/Great Books II (Freeh)
10. Elementary Greek II (Garnjobst)
11. American Heritage (Stewart)
4. Roaring Twenties (Stewart)

Tuesday
10. Greek
1. Understanding Music (Rathmell)

Wednesday
9. English
10. Greek
11. History

Thursday
1. Understanding Music

Friday
9. English
10. Greek
11. History

CCA
War on Film

Total Credits: 15

thanks, arn and dan...

We can always count on Arnold to put it like it is...[this quote is definitely dedicated to mr. hero himself, the big G, on his birthday!]

When the people flex their muscles,
the state gets much stronger.
Now, let's party!

credit to reuters

I think my other favorite part of last evening was a tired and very depressed looking Dan Rather looking into the camera and telling his [46] viewers that the reason he hadn't called Ohio for Bush, even though all the other networks had, was because he wanted CBS to be "keep being known for complete accuracy."

Thanks, Dan. You're priceless.

those three little words...

let's hear it, folks...

FOUR MORE YEARS!!