Oh my gosh, is it really almost 2005?

I think perhaps I'll copy the blogging technique of Will the Huggable (a.k.a. Average Bear), only writing about once a month, but writing such witty and unique stuff that everyone forgives him for his irregularity. While I am seriously lacking Will's wit, this may have to be the approach I take. We'll see if I ever get back to my more regular blogging. Anyway, I've started to wonder if anyone reads blogs anymore, or if they have passed away into fad history and been replaced by the sudden emergence of the "Facebook". I'm still forming my opinion about Facebook and, thus, not yet on it. Which is OK. I doubt I'd have enough time to keep up with that when I can't even seem to keep up with my blog.

Christmas
Christmas has come and gone, as it always seems to, too quickly. Just when I realized it was the Christmas season and I was getting into that whole joy of the season thing, it was all over. In a few quiet days at my grandparents house in the mountains, suddenly I'm back and it's almost 2005. Yikes. All in all, though, Christmas was good. I missed my friends in the outside world (yes, that probably means you) but it was good to be able to relax with family. I even managed to keep my nose clean, not getting into any major political arguments with my conservative family members. For this, I feel I deserve a ticker tape parade, but I'll settle for a slice of my grandmother's lemon meringue pie. Mmmm.

Church Architecture
So, does anybody besides me sometimes wonder about the architecture of churches? All of them have some sort of tall structure, either a bell tower or a steeple, that seems to be a giant sign saying "God, this way!" Or perhaps these structures are like those kids in elementary school who always have their hands up waving in the air, screaming silently, "Oooh, pick me, I know the answer!!!" Maybe it's that the churches are really trying to act out that ladder of good works to heaven analogy people are always going on about. I find it strange. Then there are the stained glass windows. They are very pretty, but I never really got the point of the pictures. After all this crazy fighting (and the split between the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church) over iconography, everybody has the crazy stained glass windows with *gasp* ICONS!!! The artists could have put the crazy pictures on the walls but instead put the pictures in the windows. I think there's a secret message: PAY ATTENTION. They're a really decorative way of preventing all those fidgety kids (myself included) from looking out the window. You can only stare at a stained glass window for so long before it gets boring and you have to turn your attention to something else like, oh, I don't know, the sermon. Sneaky isn't it? But I love churches anyway. I think it's the secret passageways and organ pipes and mysterious nature.

FS2004
Well, everyone survived fall semester 2004. After all that panicking, I still managed to get decent grades. Not up to my standards, of course, but decent. I even got through Greek, which was a cause of much celebration. Now on to planning for FS2005: South Africa. If I can get all of my paperwork done on time, arrange my capstone, and get flights and stuff, I'll be going to RSA for four months. I'm so excited I could scream. I just hope all of the paperwork gets in on time. Now I know how Allison felt with all of her mad paperwork and phone calls. I know she'll have a great time in Greece, though.

New Years
I can't really fathom that tomorrow is 2005. It seems like every year passes more quickly than the previous year, so I think by the time I'm eighty, every year will only last a day in my mind. No wonder the elderly get confused all the time! Anyway, as usual, I have a few resolutions (which, of course, will never last past February, but I try...). My plan this year is to lose 10 pounds (duh...) and to set aside more time each day for personal devotional stuff. Wish me luck!

I hope your holidays were spectacular and have a wonderful and safe New Year!!!

Trudging Through

I have not written in nearly a month. I realize that this makes me a terrible person, but I have been insanely busy studying, then I took a week off from everything for Thanksgiving, and now I'm back to school. I spent the last month studying like a madwoman in an attempt to do well this semester. I came to the realization today, however, that this is getting me nowhere. It doesn't matter that I've studied harder this semester than I have any other time in my 16 years of schooling. It doesn't matter that I've officially been stressed for 3.5 months. Because I'm still going to do poorly in my classes. I'm watching my excellent GPA disappear down the drain in the toilet: spinning, spinning, gone.

On a happier note, there are only 3 more weeks until Christmas Break, one of my favorite times of the year. Christmas break is wonderful because there isn't the stress of homework (gotta love semesters!) and the break is pretty long, but not long enough to really find a job. It's three weeks to just relax, eat, enjoy time with family, read FUN books, and generally sit on your butt. I can't wait.

KJ said something really cool today that blew my mind. "She's cool, but her friends are... *nasty face* normal." I sat their for a second, then burst out laughing. I remember in junior high I thought that the best possible thing was to be "normal". The cool kids were "normal" and I thought I was a freak. But things have changed. The people I know now have no urge to be "cool" or "normal", we like being strange and quirky and fun. Suddenly "normal" is a bad thing. Hooray for eccentricity. Celebrate variation. Cheer for creativity and individuality.

Well, I'm off to write yet another paper for yet another class that is just going to kill my GPA even though I work really hard at it. G'night, all!