INTERNET

INTERNET!!! I am typing to you from my own computer. In my own home. After six months, I am finally connected. Through my cell phone onto my laptop. Isn't technology a beautiful thing?!

Loving Labor

Loving Labor...(or labour)

Another Labor Day in the service industry under my belt. I ran my feet off Sunday afternoon on the patio and yesterday. I served breakfast and lunch, then my boss asked for a volunteer to stay through the dinner rush. I made good money. Not great percentage-wise, but Heather told me to expect that on monday. All the campers are out of money and stiff you.

I'm sitting at my folks' house waiting for my insurance company to deliver my new phone. Mine took a spin in the delicate cycle. I'm reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I have to complete an essay on it by the 15th for a scholarship I'm applying for. I've asked the church for help, but no one's told me if they want me to come talk to a committe. Kurt said to type up my letter again and he'll make sure the right people see it again. I'm hoping to start the CS Lewis class within the next few weeks. Hurrah for scholarship. Steven thinks I should forget theology and go back to school as a Lit major and become a foremost Lewis scholar. Hmmm.... appealing.

Another financial report. I'm planning for working through the fall. Right now I'm making enough in tips to live on, and able to divert entire paychecks into debt payoff. If I can contine that through Christmas, I'll have reduced my debt in half again by January 1st. Here's hoping. I'd rather have it over and done with, but I'm doing my best!

The Scobells sent me volumes one and two of the collected letters of C.S. Lewis. I'm pouring through them at night. He was a bit of a twit as a kid, but obviously brilliant. It's really exciting seeing him discover for the first time things that will become life themes for him. Recently he's discovered Chivalry in Mallory. His textbook was on the development of Chivalry in medievil times. In another passage, he discusses a book he's just read, loving the evocative names and the creatures that existed with 'sons of men but loved them not.' I caught myself thinking, "Oh Lewis! You would have loved Tolkien!" Which of course he did.

I'm off to do laundry and read. I'm 32 pages into Ayn Rand, and I hope to have a good chunk done by dinner.

The joy of washing

Worked 20 hours in the last two days. 12 Saturday, 9 today. Drove my Dad's truck to work to pick up my new (to me) washing machine! Hurrah!

Went to Target to buy some detergent, and am off to home to see how my roommates are doing with the move-in, and to wash some clothes.

A dryer soon to follow.

Not typing from my real computer

Well, I'm not blogging from my new computers...but I do have them. Both of them. New-to-me desktop and laptop sitting in my car and I'm going to go home immediately and set them up, connect my printers, etc. Hurrah!

Teri will be in Yakima tonight, I think, and I'm calling her as soon as I get off work tomorrow. Hurrah!

Tightwad Bank in Tightwad Missouri has opened up online checking, so I can set up a direct transfer from my main checking to my contingency fund online. Hurrah again!

And I made $160 last night and $195 today. Treated myself to China Buffet carry out since I worked very hard the last two days and was very tired today. Two hour nap after dinner.

Little Miss Sunshine

Of course it isn't coming to Yakima, but I got to see it last night in a little theater in Seattle. Hands down the best movie I've seen since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Hey guys

Hey guys

I'm very busy and working very hard and am too tired after work to go find a computer. I have new roommates moving in soon and we're going in for internet together. I'm going to go pick up my new computer this week.

Byeee

Parachute Band

Parachute Band

I'm sitting in the church office trying to cram several songs worth of Parachute Band music into my head before they call me into practice. I'm supposed to fill in on every song, wherever I feel like it....

Scholarship productivity

Attempts at ScholarshipI filled out a scholarship application for the OP Loftbed contest. I answered four questions, 120 words or less: What would you do on your last day on earth (visit my sponsor kids), What is your favorite season (summer), what is the best practical joke you've ever played (see Wycliffe tour notest), and how would your life change with an OP Loftbed (my cats would sleep up there and I could have my bed back).

I also wrote a letter to my church, that has a fund for theological studies for laypeople. Maybe I can get enough support to take my first class at least.

Dealings with Mono

Dealings with Mono

I am so tired of this illness. It was novel for a while, being careful and getting lots of sleep, and always having an excuse not to go out if I didn't feel like it, but now I'm just everlastingly sapped. Every day after work I come home and sleep for several hours. And since I have to be in bed by 10:30 or so to be up again at 5:45, I only have an hour or two to get anything done. My house needs cleaning desperatly. My kitchen has spilled ice tea under the microwave and cheery juice on the floor. Which I've mopped twice but is still sticky. There are four hairballs on my bedroom floor, my bathroom is half torn to shreds, and I lack the energy to finish, and my fridge looks like a bomb went off. And the worst of it is my GM told me not to tell anyone at work, so I have to keep up an energetic face while sucking down the emergenC's so as not to alert anyone. My hypochondriatic friend is convinced that I have anemia.

I went to Spokane Wednesday, overnight, to visit a friend who just moved there. We walked around downtown and went to Nordstrom, hurrah! I bought two pair of seamed stockings.

And I was told last night at worship team practice that the group touring through on the 30th needs a keyboard player and they've said I'll do it. So I will be highlighting as a member of the Parachute Band for two services and a concert.

Ending things

What a week

Only a quick update. Sorry for the long absences. I likely have a new roommate coming in, and if that pans out we'll be getting internet, so I'll have a computer close by instead of trying to find time to drive to my parents'.

The mono has been giving me a hard time this last week. I was feeling pretty well, but then got overconfident and added a couple more things than I should have, and spent the last week sleeping whenever I'm not at work.

I ended things with someone I've been on again off again with for some time. I'd needed to do it for a while, but couldn't. Sunday I did. I've eaten a lot of ice cream the last few days.

Yesterday was a very busy day at work. The tips were good, too, except for one table of demanding cross toting people who came in after 15 people walked off a tour bus, and watched another group of 30 get seated, and still demanded fresh coffee as soon as they'd sucked down another cup. They left a 60-cent tip on a $58 bill. Good thing I'm already a Christian or my opinion of christiandom would have been sent down the drain (though, admittedly, my opinion of christiandom hasn't been very high lately anyway). Another group of loudly missions oriented people (they had an Indian couple with them) tipped very well and were quite nice about things.

My roses are looking very pretty. I've got a black thumb most of the time, but roses I'll go out of my way for. I'm also tearing out a bathroom, and have picked a color for my living room. Those projects are mosly on hold until I'm less tired.

And Teri will be in the country soon!