best of 2007...

I love this time of year. I love looking back through the past year of blogging [or lack of. seriously, only one post in july?] and thinking about how my life has changed. I blogged less frequently this year than ever before, but I feel like it's because I had more interaction off my computer. Some adventures and lessons you just can't put into words. Some happen in such quick succession that I barely had time to process, let alone describe. It's been a year of contemplation. It's been a good year.

[2007]
best planet: Venus
best airline: British Airways
best way to travel: Train
best short-term roomies: Lily and Danielle
best birthday: A Quiet 22
best new title: Barista
best book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
best book besides HP7: The Road [cormac mccarthy]
best series: Thursday Next [jasper fforde]
best grad: Joel's Grad
best city visited: Glasgow
best website: Pandora
best apartment: My Little Above-Garage Suite at the Mounts
best summer flick: HP5
best other flick: Enchanted
best tv: Scrubs
best guilty pleasure tv: ANTM reruns [season 7 is the best]
best espresso: Illy
best shoes: Wellies
best lost tradition: Bluegrass Night at the Wake
best betsy: Betsy Maynard
best band attempt: The Pardons
best waste of time: Music Hopping on Myspace
best suite: 344
best workout: Aqua-jogging
best hat: The Brown Slouchy Hat
best new talent: Extreme Apartment Makeover
best eats: Fall Break
best singing: Harmony
best activity: Collage
best purchase: Tickets to the Farewell for Now Tour
best house: The Notting Hill House
best hair: Holly
best boss: Cherrie
best park: Regents Park
best cd: Combinations [Eisley]
best friends: You
best foreign food: Halo Thai
best new career given up: Rock Star
best way: Hemingway
best beverage: Sweet Tea
best jeans: Skinny Jeans
best band: Nickel Creek
best roadtrip: The Coast Weekend with Cassandra
best pod: ipod Nano 3rd Generation
best ring: The Spoon Ring
best cards: Home Made Cards
best museum: Churchill War Rooms
best class: The Modern Novel with Somerville
best history: Modern Art History with Bushey
best ave: North Mississippi Ave
best card game: Bang!
best friend-date: President's Ball
best stress relief: Painting Walls
best vegetable: Beets
best thursday: Last Thursday
best starbucks: Fayetteville
best stamp: A Passport Stamp
best vehicle: A Golf Cart
best break: Breaking the Bed while Remodeling
best blog: Alisa
best parties: Senior Parties
best surrealist: Remedios Varo
best loss: The Birthday Settlers Game with the Garveys
best skirt: The All Purpose Khaki Skirt
best nash: Kate Nash
best modern art movement: Abstract Expressionism
best soup: Cherrie's Lentil Veggie Soup
best highlights: Auburn Highlights
best concert: Alison Krauss and Union Station
best children: Garvey Children
best most genius person alive: Victor Davis Hanson
best car: The VW Convertible
best funny music: Wizard Rock
best poet: Robert Frost
best engagement: Allison and Josh! Yay!
best word to sum up the year: Centering
best reunion: The Summer Intern Mini

reduction...

In case you'd like to see me in four letters...

gallery que...

I'm trying to be economical and love people with art this Christmas. I've spent most of the evening landlocked by paper and cardstock. I guess you could say I'm a collage fiend. I enjoy it for so many reason: it's surprising, redemptive, tactile, hilarious, free, and definite [explanations on request].

Here are the front-runners in the upcoming Favorite Card Primary:

"This pic is so Emo"

"Pin Me Girl"

If I have your address, one of these may be coming to a mailbox near you!

home sweet...

You know you're back in Portland when you walk past someone and get a huge whiff of coffee.
You know you're from Portland when you can tell what roast it is. [it was definitely starbucks espresso]

accidental art...

It's been a strange afternoon. One minute I was packing, and suddenly there was a huge mess and I was sitting in the middle of it working on a collage. Funny how that happens when you find sweet stuff in various envelopes. I think this is the start of my "travel collage" phase. I'll be happy when all my art supplies are in one state, though. It's difficult to remember what clothes/shoes/found objects I have at school and home.

I've been doing various things with this canvas for a while, frequently scrapping everything [ha ha, pun] and starting over. I guess all I needed was to find that envelope full of UK travel memories from last March. I'm going to hang it over my bed.

Now all I want to do is go back to Scotland. I guess that would require packing, though, so maybe not...

and some green...

I feel like I needed a contrasting color for the red in the last post. I have one final left and I'm currently avoiding writing the short take home essay about Duchamp's Fountain. At this point in my life, it's far more entertaining to play with my [cleaning out the fridge] dinner and turn up Kate Nash really loud.

darling, christmas is coming...

I went red for the season! [okay, so, i played with the saturation on this. it's not actually this red, but i had to add a little something to my ghostly michigan skin. it's for the best, trust me]

A finals box from my fam, with Cranberry Drop Cookie ingredients, good chocolate, and a Starbucks Christmas cd!

study habits...

[blame this posting frenzy on my attempts to ignore finals studying and catch up to my very low yearly posting average]

In case you were wondering, research has shown that, while very stress-relieving, kittens are not very conducive to studying. They have a tendency to attack your toes, freestyle climb up your jeans, and generally be way more fun to study than review notes.

stranger than fiction...

I'm sitting on the floor of my quiet living room studying for Art History, but really I'm wondering if, like Harold, I sit absolutely still, the story will still move me forward.

As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true.

why i like modern fiction...

Pilon complained, “It is not a good story. There are too many meanings and too many lessons in it. Some of those lessons are opposite. There is not a story to take into your head. It proves nothing.”
“I like it,” said Pablo. “I like it because it hasn’t any meaning you can see, and still it does seem to mean something. I can’t tell what.”
[tortilla flat - john steinbeck]

now i'm all emo...

As I sit in Kendall 231 writing a short paper for my art final and listening obsessively to my new Kate Nash cd, my mind wanders over my day. Within one day, there is so much history and depth and connection. Conversations and considerations, public and private. I think too much [like a puppy, right hol?], but I can't help it.

Art, music, fiction, truth, having, abstraction, worship creativity, friendship, patience, love, contentment, moving, sin, learning, disappointment, dreams, losing, grace, strength, weakness, waiting, color, knowledge, humor, evangelism, heart, tradition, subtlety, sculpture, wonder... Words have far more meaning than we realize.

God created me with this mind and put an eternal question mark on my heart. I don't have to have all the answers, but I have to feed these questions.

All these puzzle pieces fit together, but I have no idea what the picture actually looks like. The more I know, the more I want to learn.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. [phil 3:14]

I am satisfied in the Pursuit.

i.s.o.t.d...

Interesting Sound of the Day: Running over leaves on the sidewalk [with my new pink and grey nike shoes] which have been snowed on, melted, and then refrozen.
The leaves, instead of crunching like normal fall leaves, shatter like glass potato chips.
Lays, I think.

thanksgiving leftovers...

Out of control

The first one was actually the best, Hol.

Holly, Abbie, Emily. [too bad you don't have a y in your name, abbie...]

why i am awesome, part 1...

I might not have gotten a ton of studying done this break, but I have been working on a new talent for my resume. Mostly I'm just grateful to be around people who love me no matter what I spend time doing.

p.s. I can do this over and over again!

thanksgiving break...

[hannah and hp]

'tis the season...

Things I've Done This Afternoon Rather than Work on My Two Papers Due Friday:
-Pilates
-Shower
-Grilled Cheese Sandwich Dinner
-Throw Away Old Papers
-Make Popcorn for my Suitemates
-Work on My Art History Collage
-Watch ANTM
-Clean the Bathroom
-Clean the Mirrors
-Do All the Dishes
-Bake Brownies
-Think about Packing
-Picking out Books to Leave at Home After Thanksgiving
-Blog

from the brink of a ba, to those who are not...

The type of mind that can understand good fiction is not necessarily the educated mind, but it is at all times the kind of mind that is willing to have its sense of mystery deepened by contact with reality, and its sense of reality deepened by contact with mystery.
[flannery o'connor - the nature and aim of fiction]

Let's read a book together.

sunday thoughts for the rest of the week...

The creative action of the Christian's life is to prepare his death in Christ.
It is a continuous action in which this worlds' goods are utilized to the fullest, both positive gifts and what Pere Tielhard de Chardin calls "passive diminishments."
[flannery o'connor - introduction to a memoir of mary ann]

viva varo...

I love my Modern Art History class. We just finished up Dada and Surrealism movements. Hold on... don't judge an art movement by the fact that most of it is insane and Freudian. [cause it's insanely awesome] Or at least, don't judge it until you spend a semester studying it. The more Art History I study, the more I realize that Art [the uppercase one] often relates to the conversations it inspires. Simply because we argue about whether or not it is Good Art has some bearing on whether it is Art. And like it or not, History says this is. You don't have to put it on your wall, but give it a chance.

And before you throw out Surrealism with the bathwater, study it enough to know why the colors are interesting, the figures amusing, and the composition flawless. Learn to laugh at it all. I'm so amazed at the limitless possibilities of art and the passionate discussions of style throughout the ages. No matter what part of the crazy psyche these come from, you have got to appreciate the creativity of these people!

Where else but Surrealism would you find a shadow trading places with the "real" man?

A woman draped in the forest floor and playing sunbeams like a cello?

A hilarious piece titled "Vampiros Vegetarianos" [complete with rooster-dogs, naturally]

Or the most active still life you've ever met? [this one is going on my dining room wall someday]

Find something new and crazy to love and study and share. These delightful and interesting paintings are all by my new favorite Surrealist, Remedios Varo. Viva!

freak out...

Oh my gosh, what does one actually do with a Liberal Arts education? And why does everyone who is anyone at Hillsdale act like that's a blasphemous question and then smile and say "oh, you can get any job." What can one actually do with a BA in English?
Help!
I don't want much, really. I just want a job that I don't hate that maybe is working as the office manager/organizer/hard worker/occasional creative input girl for a small business in the portland area where I can read books over lunch and go home in the evenings to a little bedroom and stove and maybe a cat or a friend and make just enough money not to have to live on my mom's couch from now til grad school.
Somehow, Monster.com isn't really computing that into any viable options.

the life during, the life after...

Job hunting is a really good but pretty much depressing distraction from homework. It's difficult to think about translating everything I get excited about [words, paper, words on paper, color, good design, learning, cooking, creating, helping, finishing projects, organizing, etc] into something I'll do 40 hours a week. And it's even more difficult to think of something that includes the first elements, I have the resume for, and will make enough money not to have to sleep on my family's couch for the next two years.
I'm solidly into The Thinking Period [cf. ford, richard. "the permanent period," the lay of the land. percy, walker. "the search," the last gentleman, the moviegoer.]. Or maybe I should call it The Possibility Period [cf. percy, walker. "endless possibility is really bad," the last gentleman] Maybe so much thinking will translate into more frequent blogging. I try to use this think to record significant parts of life I'd like to remember [with fondness,without embarrassment] at some later date.
Ultimately I know that who[se] I am, not what I do, defines me. But let's be honest, what I do is still pretty important.

mostly for milicent...

I took a few shots when Xt and I were walking around Ann Arbor. Sadly, we didn't arrive in time to do much roaming before the show, but more trips are always being planned with various friends. It truly is invigorating to be in a city again. I have come to enjoy the quiet community of a small town/campus, but I get this crazy rush when I hit AA, Lansing, Toledo...I know, not exactly the top on your list of inspiring American cities, but pretty good after Hillsdale. I like that AA is really artsy and college-y. It makes me wonder what type of person I would be if I had gone to a funky huge public university rather than a preppy private school. I don't think I would have developed like this or been able to appreciate weird art as much if I was around it all the time. I've learned to appreciate both worlds. But anyway, here are a few shots from the center of AA, just off the U of Michigan campus.

The Maynard parking garage. Somehow, I never get a discount, though.

Giant ants on the wall of an alley.

I'm so sad that this place was closed. It looks sweet. And it's all about my favorite color.

Wheatgrass = art. I'm a fan.

two girls and a show...

Christine and I sold our souls for a little pre-fall-breaking and tickets to see Nickel Creek in Ann Arbor.

Holding the golden tickets. We were tenth row, center stage.

Oh, the first band I discovered and loved. You play a pretty good show, chaps. [and by pretty good i mean freaking amazing, except for the weird people sitting all around us who smelled like gin and stale popcorn]

I'll give you three guesses on the name of this theater.

Relaxing after the show at Ashley's.

somewhere north...

You and me

Like a boat out of water...

Yes, I spent Fall Break with three blondes!

You don't even want to know how many takes it took to get this.

somewhere north...

We made pretzels and played a lot of Mexican Train and 13 Solitaire. I lost pretty much all weekend.

We took walks in the woods.

And ate Gelato in Petoskey. It was windy. I tried Ginger Gelato. It had an awesome bite. Also, we spent a lot of time at this sweet little independent bookstore. It was not as overwhelming as Powell's and the salespeople had time to talk about mutually loved books.

Hannah, Amy, Christine, and I

somewhere north...

Fall Break in northern Michigan with Amy, Christine, and Hannah.

Amazing colors

Lake Louise

It was stormy Thursday and Friday, so we stayed inside huddled up by the fire, playing games and reading. Oh, and eating a ton of good food, of course.

Home sweet Log Cabin

a new title for my resume...

After two months of waiting, Jitters finally has a new espresso machine. As of today, I am officially a Barista. The quest for perfect latte foam begins. I made myself a double tall latte, and if you come visit, I can make you one too!

Speaking of resumes...I'm already job-searching for post school. It's closer than you [i, we] think! So far, I have options for the summer [om again, teaching english abroad, assistant to my neighbor's travel-journalist daughter, being a nanny in europe, missions somewhere, a part time job and lots of books/grad school prep, etc] and then will probably be back in Portland after that.

So, what should I be when I grow up? Or at least for the years between now and grad school?

exciting news...

Nickel freaking Creek!
I thought I was going to have to miss out on their Farewell for Now tour, but it looks like I'm actually headed to my fifth Nickel Creek Show in Ann Arbor on October 16th!

Alison, Eisley, and Nickel Creek? This has been such a good music year...

artsy monday...

The rain makes funny patterns as it collects on my screen. I can remember playing with water on screens when I was younger.

Sometimes when I look out my window I can almost pretend I'm in an entirely different place.

That and the rain and Quartetto Gelato make me want to collage. Artistic days make artistic projects happen.

for stephanie...

These boots are made for wearing.

addition by subtraction...

I am alive and well and thriving. The trees are changing color, but the days are still beautiful. It's just over two weeks til Fall Break in Northern MI. I'm down to one class on MWF and two on TTh, so I have plenty of time to work and read and enjoy people and watch foreign movies and work out. But, apparently, I don't have enough time to blog. Basically, I'm just sick of the Internet right now.

I think about a lot of things, but I'd rather talk about them with people in real life. I'm especially into Flannery O'Connor and the importance of Incarnation and Art. I love where I live [and who i live with], where I go to church [and what we're studying], and I love The Office [episodes are now on nbc.com]. Hillsdale is challenging. Education is amazing. Life is good. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing after school, but I have a lot of ideas. It's kind of fun and a little scary to have my future this wide open, but I know that ultimately, someone much more capable holds my future in His hands.

I'm also happy to announce a new addition to my life:

My 20gb 4th generation ipod ceased to function sometime last winter. But now, thanks to key bank, I have a brand new 4gb 3rd generation video ipod nano. In keeping with the Greek theme, I've named her Iphigenia. Naturally, she's going by Ginny. Iphigenia was the daughter Agamemnon sacrificed to Artemis on the way to Troy. Like a good personality test, I'm not exactly sure what it means, but I'm sure it's something. Plus, I am still pretty into HP and "Ginny the Mini ipod" had a nice ring to it. And no, I don't bring her to the pool.

the non-human parts of my life...

I bought Wellies! They are amazing. I've always dreamed of being like Ramona. Now I'm just praying for rain [but not during the garden party tomorrow night...]!

My new curtains, which [un]fortunantly allow me to sleep past 7:15am. My windows face east and northeast. Please note everything important on my desk: nalgene, phone, sunglasses, cd, sewing kit, lamp from joel, letter to my mom...

My class schedule this semester: Steinbeck Independent Study, History of Christian Thought I, The War on Terror, Flannery O'Connor/Walker Percy and the Modern Predicament, and History of Modern Art.

down with authenticity...

au·then·tic (ô-thěn'tĭk) adj.
Conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief. Having a claimed and verifiable origin or authorship; not counterfeit or copied. The quality of being real. Undisputed credibility.

trans·form [trans-fawrm] verb (used with object)
To change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose. To change in condition, nature, or character; convert. To change into another substance; transmute.

In a world [nation, school, community] where appearances reign supreme, I've often been frustrated by the lack of authenticity among my peers. In my own attempts to be honest and straightforward, I've recieved mixed results. Frankly, a lot of people just aren't willing to be genuine about what matters, who they really are, etc.

After discovering five minutes before I had to leave for church that all my expected rides actually had gone home this weekend, I decided to pull up an old podcast from Imago Dei. Since Countryside, my church here in Michigan is starting Romans today, I listened to the first part of Rick McKinley's Romans series. I appreciate that he is hardcore about the gospel, doesn't ignore historical/biblical/theological truth, but will still say "butt" from the pulpit. Something he said early on stuck in my head for the rest of the message: Christianity isn't about authenticity, it's about transformation.

And he's right. Too often my focus has been on being authentic rather than being transformed by [as derek webb puts it] "this rare relentless grace." Frankly, authenticity is self-focused. Being who I am is actually lame, because without Christ, it doesn't matter how genuine I am. I genuinely suck. If that's all that I am to people, the real sinful me, I'd be repulsed too! Self-discovery isn't the end all.

Unlike authenticity, transformation has to be Jesus-focused. You have to concentrate on the thing you want to become like. A caterpillar doesn't focus on being a credible worm [at least i don't think he does. i'm an english major, not a biologist]. Authenticity is a limited, immediate state of being. Transformation is an active, continual process of grace. Authenticity is about me. Transformation is about Jesus.

Perhaps it's just one stop on the road. You have to begin by being real about who you are without Christ. But after that, it should no longer be your focus. Being yourself isn't the point. Jesus is. Being like Him is who you were really meant to be. Transformation is your most authentic state of being.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. [galations 2:20]

i'm baaaaaaack...

Being a Senior is ridiculously amazing. It's more so because it obviously wasn't very important in high school. I love more than just being at the top of the food chain: the opportunity to interact with some fantastic fellow students [student fed representative], faculty [senior class officers], and professors [dr victor david hanson, dr reist, etc]. I love being in the groove of leadership and responsibility. I have come to love this campus and my education so dearly; it's wonderful to understand a little better and give a little back. I'm reminded once again that my education is priceless and something far more important than the $100,000 piece of paper I'll be handed in May. I'm more involved and busy than ever, but I love it.

looking acrosss the front quad towards kendall [we've mostly had constant crazy storms, but managed to get in a couple of beautiful august days]

my other halves, hannah and christine [library constuction]

making history at the senior party: amy, emily, and christine [please note our amazing senior t-shirts]

partying like rock stars with my suitemate maria and my [american?] idol natalie. they sing opera and make everyone laugh with ridiculous stories

i'm so hollow, baby...

i am at the airport, after saying goodbye to these people:

at the beach, i taught my family to play "Bang," my new favorite game.

my dad dropped his gross hat on my head.

"andrea, everybody wants to be us."

providing entertainment for amtrack riders at the train station.