Busy-body

I tend to dread classes where the professor announces on the first day that the class is a "discussion class." Which automatically either means, (A) Random Fire questions are used to spur on discussion or(B) the teacher waits for people to raise their hands...which leaves it up to certain group of "constant hand-raisers" to dominate where the discussions lead. Either way, maybe its because I am really bad at impromptu speaking or the fact I am just not that eager to spread my opinions around...I hate both ways of conducting discussions.

Anyway yesterday while we were discussing a film on female workers in Mexico, I took a few notes on the members of this group of "constant hand-raisers." All of them are very distinct, each with there own unique characteristics and tactics in making their points.

(1)The Loud-Pregnant Chick who sits in the front-
I have two classes with her, and yet in my Women's Studies class she is exceedingly boisterous. She always speaks just a few decibels higher than anyone else in the class. She blurts out anything and everything she thinks, until someone cuts her off or our Professor turns the conversation away from what she is yelling about.

(2) The 40 year old feminist who is taking the class for fun-
There is a lady who sits in the far right of the classroom and talks to the Prof all the time. She is a wealth of information on the economy, and unions. She boldly blurts out that women should be able to work construction and any other "male oriented" job they so please, in fact SHE HAS. She worked construction for years; her and her boots, or sandals with socks loved it. She is pretty legit, although secretly I'm pretty sure she is just dying to teach the class. Just one time.

(3) The captain obvious students-
These kids rarely talk during discussion time. But when they do...the class is left thinking "what, are you serious?" For instance in class we are discussing the injustices imposed upon workers, by the factories who are operating in the free trade zones in Mexico.Women are the primary workers, therefore they are the primary victims. However, even though this fact has been discussed repeatedly over and over again, there is always that one person that raises their hand to passionately blurt out "Well women are the ones suffering!" like this is some novel idea. The whole class is stifling a "duh!"

(4) The know-it-all in the back of the class-
There is this one Indian guy who sits in the back of the class, he sits with his girlfriend(who always looks embarrassed when he takes the floor). He always starts out dove-tailing on what someone else just said, he starts with "That may be true, but..." or "Here's the thing about that...". When he does this, he sounds like he is going to make some sense. Then he just goes on and on about the same thing, usually using circular reasoning that only confuses the class and leaves a "Where the heck are you going with this" look on the Proffessor's face. The bad thing is, he is completely oblivious to visual signs. Blank stares, other people raising their hands trying to be heard...he ignores them all. Further hammering out his pointless point. Completely cocky about it the entire time.

(5) The one worth hearing out-
There is this one girl in my class who is so brilliant, I'm convinced, and yet you would never know it. She is calm, and actually raises her hand versus blurting out her points. She links things together in ways that totally make sense, and yet offer a completely new outlook on the topic. She is one really worth listening to. I like her, I wish I could eloquently make my points without being boring or like any of the people above.

Anyway...

Cheers to the "Constant Hand-raisers" of the American Classroom.

Surreal.

I was on my bed chatting with my Mom and my Brother, when my brother pushes the dog off the bed and she freaks out. She starts barking and my brother being the pain in the butt that he is: starts yelling "who's here Lola? Go get 'em!"
She flips out and runs out of my room, then the door bell rings. I jokingly yell "there's my boyfriend!" and start running with the dog to get the door. Then I look down my stairs and see a guy at my front door. My brother yells "They're trying to open our door!" I look closer and the man at my door starts shining in his flashlight and pounding on the door. I back up and yell for my Dad. He goes down to open the door to the out of control Police officer, that is pounding on our door at ten o'clock at night. My Dad opens the door and the officer looks in and is like "Do I have the wrong house? What number is this?" We tell him our number and he talks into the dispatch receiver on his uniform. The person on the other end corrects him, by saying the disturbance is at number 63. He runs across the street and starts pounding on #63's door, then another police car pulls up. Along with a fire engine. Our patio overlooks number 63's patio and we witnessed the whole thing.

The man who lived just across the grassy island that separates the houses, had a heart attack and died. Just like that. Right on his patio, the same place he sat every morning and every night.

From our patio we could see his wife crying on their bed, and the officer trying to console her. It was the saddest picture, I can't even imagine that feeling. Utter despair, fear, knowing you've lost someone you love and thought you couldn't live with out. As I write this, I can hear her crying across the way.

Please pray for this woman. That God will bring peace and comfort to her and her family. And ultimately, that he would reveal himself to her through this terrible time.

Speechless.

2 Corinthians 1: 3&4

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

Rick, Rick, Rick

Remember that Rick?!
To all my fellow Kaitlin Lovers...

The original: (Excuse the commercials, none the less: totally worth the wait)




And here's a good one, but the embedding feature was disabled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOHOqCvb-T0

Death by Computer Science

Last month, while choosing my classes and gearing up for the beginning of school my sister suggested that because I need a science, I should do an easy course. Such as: COMPUTER SCIENCE. "I like computers" I thought-- and my dear sister said her class was a piece of cake. Taking her words of wisdom, I decided to enroll. The first couple of weeks I LOVED it...then, as of late, things have taken a turn for the worse.

I signed up for the free software (upon my thick-accented teacher's request) so I can finish our in-class projects at home. Unfortunately once it finished downloading, I thought that I had wasted all that time downloading the wrong software...then I realized I just needed to burn the software onto a disc. Okay, I could do that. Then I realize I don't have any blank CD's. Shoot. So I go to class with out my project and realize that we have a quiz...which consists of basically a sheet of paper and we have to build a program to produce the content as its output. Great. I finally finish it, and give it to my prof...then he writes -4 on it. I ask him why he did that and he is like "You asked me 2 questions". Apparently questions asked on quizzes are worth two points each, which are taken off your over-all grade.He never stated this. Nice.

Then I miss my Thursday class due to traffic + NO PARKING. Now today I try to burn the program on the blank CD I stole from the church (Thanks Carrie;) and it does not have enough memory to retain all the information. GREAT. So I was resolved to just print the three problems I had already completed and call it a night, then I go to get it out of my email... and the email containing the project has magically disappeared.

Great, awesome.
Crista...thanks for the great advice.
Remind me to thank you for it when I see you!

Waaaaaaaaaa

November Rain

Late Last month My darlings packed their bags and headed(Via Train--yah, they're THAT cool) to Seattle, Washington. They set out in search of a new environment and an uplifting, spiritually enriched atmosphere. The answer to their search came by way of dove...the Calvary Dove to be exact (God usually uses doves, as you may know). They are now attending Calvary Chapel Bible College In Seattle, and LOVIN' it! However, since the last night I saw them--I have missed them dearly. Sometimes I'll get out of class early and think, "Oh, I'll see if B wants to go for a bike ride" or "Maybe Tita wants to come hang out while I clean my room" or "We should all go to the Coffee Klatch." (Oh, how I miss those late night chats over Chai)




Thankfully...




Come November 14th, I'll get to see these party animals once again!
AWOOOOOO




Can't Wait to see you Ladies!





P.S.
Thanks to Carrie for letting me tag along on her trip...
And I was kiddin' about the Dove, occasionally God uses donkeys and snakes.

The Cure

I am going to cure myself of awkwardness...
You watch. I'll do it.
By NOT acknowledging awkward moments, it is my intention to see them magically disappear.

Step #1: Delete blog that is dedicated solely to awkward moments in life.

Fiercy Piercy

Last night a group of us headed up to the Hollywood bowl to see radiohead. Carrie, Stefanie, Pierce and myself were in the furthest possible seats from the stage. Fourth bench from the back of the amphitheater. If you've been to the Bowl, you know that the air may or may not be thinner up there. One girl was trying to find her seat and remarked that her " nose was bleeding", seemingly due to the altitude. Alright, I'm exaggerating...but they were pretty bad seats. The show was still amazing, bringing me near tears at times. Even though I have been repeatedly criticized for not being the biggest fan of radiohead. However, things took a turn for the better when we decided to stick around in our seats to wait for the crowds to disperse. That delay allowed us to find ourselves in front of the "Artist Entrance" just as a small crowd began to gather. Rumors of the band's possible exit through the mentioned door, began to circulate through the small cluster of fans. Soon Phil the drummer was gracefully making his rounds up and down the guard rail, signing shirts/tickets anything sign-able and taking pictures.

Our foursome decided that the only way to prove that this miraculous event took place, was to snap a picture with Phil. He graciously consented and we all gathered in, my head blocking his view of the camera and Pierce mistakingly clutching Phil's shoulder instead of Stef's. Someone offers to take it for us, but around the time the camera SHOULD have been flashing: the lens recedes back into its place and the camera shuts off. Someone else steps in and heroically attempts to fix the camera and take the picture. After what seemed like an eternity, the camera still was not working. Finally, some random kid is like "Here I'll take it!" and FINALLY we get a picture. (Carrie, if you're reading this: Email him!). Anyway, super awkward moment. Everyone staring at us, waiting to get their stuff signed and pictures taken. And us, holding this stupid pose for seriously at least two minutes.



Then, the security guards announce that Thom is coming out...we all have our tickets, albums, ipods/iphones out and ready to be signed. At that moment, the realization hits: Thom Yorke is coming out through the door directly in front of us. After several false alarms, he walks out, black velvet in hand (A drink Bono introduced him to: Champagne and Guinness) and graciously makes his way to the crowd. Everyone of us, are in awe. Completely silent. However, leave it to Pierce to say what he thinks. He remarks, rather loudly, "Wow, he's a little guy." Every head turns in our direction. I am not sure if Thom heard, but...needless to say: awkward moment number two.



This is Pierce. Pierce is probably one of the most enjoyable people to be around, simply because Piece is: awkward. Entertainingly so. He is one of the founding fathers of the wolf-pack, former barista to the stars, and the guy you hope makes your non-fat vanilla latte every morning...just so you can hear his stories. Beloved Pierce managed to make something so amazing into a comically awkward situation.

Anyway...awkwardness at a radiohead concert: dedicated to Pierce.