The Intuitive Reasonings of Jessica

Cookies

2010-02-18T13:42:00.003-05:00

PSNAEA (the Purdue Student National Art Education Association) decorated cookies like famous paintings in one of our recent club meetings. These are two that I made:

Race Day

2009-10-17T23:30:00.002-05:00

We finished our marathon relay in 4 hours and 3 seconds. We hadn't talked about a goal before starting, but throughout the race, we all kept comparing ourselves to the "4:00 or bust" group. (The Indianapolis Marathon had asked for volunteers to be pace-setters for different time goals for the race, and the 4 hour group's leader was holding a sign that said "4:00 or bust".)

As seasoned runners (we all ran the Zoo Run Run in July, and already having a race under our belts makes us quite experienced runners), we all knew that wearing something new on race day was unwise. However, Charity and I held out as long as we could, hoping the weather would be warm enough for us to wear the same things we'd been running in for weeks. Unfortunately, the forecasted temperature for race day was 41 degrees, so the night before, all four of us went to Target so Charity and I could buy some warm running clothes. She got a long-sleeve shirt, and I got leggings.

As we were leaving Target and heading to the YMCA to pick up our packets, Nina suddenly remembered that she'd forgotten her postcard with her registration number on it, which prompted me to remember that I'd forgotten Charity's and my postcards, and Zachary to remember that he'd forgotten his postcard along with some things he'd planned to drop off at his grandpa's house that evening.

The GPS told us that we could make it back to my parents' house (where we were spending the night) and get our things and still make it to the Y in time, so we rushed off, only to be deterred by multiple traffic lights acting against us.

We made it to the YMCA two minutes past 9:00, but by the grace of God they stayed open a little late, and we were all able to get our packets!

On our way to the YMCA, Charity had called her grandpa to see if he could meet us somewhere since we were running late in delivering the things from Zachary. He kindly agreed, so we headed to a gas station where we had planned to make the rendezvous.

Then, Charity realized that she was no longer wearing the jacket that she had been wearing when we went to Target. She apparently had left it in the fitting room when she and I had tried on the running clothes that we had bought.

After meeting Grandpa Blackwood and giving him the things we were supposed to, we made it back to Target before they closed at 10:00, and Charity was reunited with her jacket.

Then we returned to my parents' house where we all slept peacefully.

On race day morning, we left the house a few minutes early (just in case) to arrive at the park by 8:00 since the race started at 8:30. Unfortunately, hundreds of other people were also on their way to the race, and we spent nearly an hour in slow and stopped traffic. At about 8:25, I finally had to jump out of the car and jog to the starting point, and thankfully I made it in time, and even found the Sturms (who ran the half marathon) and Esther (who was doing the relay with her roommates).

I ran faster than I'd ever ran before (keeping below a 10 minute mile for most of it), and then Nina did a great job (as always) and passed the "4:00 or bust" group. Charity kept a good pace after Nina, and then Zachary finished strong and crossed the finish line 4 hours and 3 seconds after I had crossed the start line.

As at most races, the people-watching was quite entertaining. My favorite unique sight to see was a man who ran the full marathon barefoot. His shirt said something like "Feel the run...run barefoot!" I heard him tell some of the other runners that he'd done it before in other marathons.

After our team and all of our friends had finished, we had a lunch of hamburgers, brats, pizza, coleslaw and baked beans. It was very cold outside once we had quit running, but we enjoyed sitting in the grass eating our lunch anyway. Then we took lots of pictures of us wearing our medals, and then we headed back to West Lafayette. And so ended a wonderful race day, which just might happen again next year.

Our next race is the Sleigh Bell 5K on December 5th.

Living in Union with Christ

2009-09-12T11:07:00.003-05:00

This Wednesday, my WIT group started meeting again. For our whole group, WIT has been a great time of spiritual growth, growth in our friendship and love for each other, and growth in our love for the lost. Meeting with other Christian girls once a week for Bible study has always been a blessing for me, especially with the accountability. However, WIT is special because not only do we have each other, but we also get to hear from Jenny and her wealth of wisdom that she has accrued over the years.

This week in WIT, Jenny asked all of us how we had been doing in having a daily time alone with God. Some of us had been more faithful than others, but we were all making Christ the priority in our lives. Jenny told us that reading Scripture and praying every day is important, but that being a Christian is not a checklist. We don't check off going to church, praying, evangelizing, and all the other actions that set Christians apart each day. If we miss reading God's Word one day, we are not going to hell!

Instead, we are living in union with Christ. If we run off to class one morning without first spending time with God, it doesn't mean that the rest of our day is going to go wrong. That's superstition! Jenny said that because we are living in union with Christ, we filter everything we do, say, see or hear through the Bible all day long.

After WIT, I went to my first class of the day, Anthropology 205. It's an enjoyable class, partly fiction and partly fact. My professor has an animated way of telling stories, so I rather enjoy hearing his tall tales about prehistoric men millions of years ago. He weaves fictional tidbits into truthful stories, and throws facts into some of his tall tales. Because he doesn't really make any distinction between what is true and what isn't, I have to decipher things myself (I only put true things in my notes--I think the tall tales are just to embellish the facts).

Thus, on Wednesday morning right after WIT, I was listening to my professor describe the evolution of humans. I knew that that part was fiction, so I didn't write anything down. Then, he went on to mention that through natural selection, humans with larger teeth had developed in areas where food was hard to eat. For example, some areas have corn with small, hard kernels instead of large, soft kernels. He mentioned that even today, people in some areas of the world have larger teeth, and that really benefits them because of the foods available to them. I put that last part in my notes, prefaced with the phrase, "in God's providence...."

As I was writing that in my notes, I remembered what Jenny had said about living in union with Christ. Christianity isn't just a few things I do each day, it's how I live my whole life! Filtering what my professor said through the Bible is just one small example of how Christ is at the very center of my life.

Being Green

2009-08-21T14:53:00.005-05:00

Last weekend, I went to the Indianapolis Goodwill to see what new exciting things they had accumulated since I had last visited. To my delight, I immediately found several items I desperately needed. However, as I kept shopping, my delight waned as I realized that I wouldn't be able to bring home everything I wanted. I finally decided to purchase four shirts. One of them was an olive green T-shirt with a splotchy, artistic recycling symbol on it. I originally debated whether or not I should buy a shirt promoting recycling when I throw all of my Gatorade™ bottles in the trash after consuming the delicious beverage within. However, upon returning home, I realized that the simple act of purchasing a shirt at Goodwill instead of the mall was actually recycling! I now wear my recycling shirt with pride, happy to be green and wear recycled clothing as I continue to fill our dumpster with tin cans and plastic bottles.

Living for Christ

2009-08-12T23:58:00.006-05:00

As a Christian, my sole goal in life is to bring glory to God. I truly believe that God has a plan for my life, and that even now He is using me to further His kingdom.

I am currently reading through Paul's letter to the Philippians, and I was impressed by Paul's selfless attitude about living for Christ. Philippians 1:21-24 says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake."

In those verses, Paul says that he truly desires to go to Heaven to be with Christ, but that he is staying on to labor for God. I wish I had an attitude more like that! Paul was living his life for Christ alone. I must admit that I am living my life not only for Christ, but also for all the pleasures God has blessed me with, like ice cream and spending time with my friends. Paul didn't say, "I don't want to go just yet because I want to have one more bowl of ice cream and another chat with my best friend." He said, "I don't want to go just yet because 'to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake' (Philippians 1:24)." What a wonderful example for the rest of us!

Puzzle for Blondes

2009-08-04T14:29:00.002-05:00

It's been raining all day, so I decided to pass the time by going through my things in my parents' attic. I found this tiny puzzle that I had gotten years ago at the State Fair. My sister and I had gone to the pioneer village, and had been fascinated by a wood carver. He asked me what my name was, and then handed me this little puzzle on which he had written "puzzle for blondes, ISF 2005, Jessica". At the time I was rather insulted (as I was sure that my blonde locks covered a highly intelligent head), but I now find it rather amusing :-). I mean, people really only pick on blondes because they're jealous. Everyone knows that we have above average intelligence.

Running

2009-07-16T10:26:00.004-05:00

"If I knew running was this easy, I would have started a long time ago," Zachary said a few days ago when a group of us were running. I agreed.

Last month, a lot of my friends ran the Hog Jog, which is a six mile run that benefits hog farmers. I decided not to sign up because I was scheduled to work that day, and I wasn't sure if I could make it 6 miles. I ran on the track in the Co-Rec a few days a week, but rarely ran over 2 miles.

Then, a few days ago, Nina mentioned a 5K (3.1 miles) at Columbian Park this weekend. It's called the Zoo Run Run, and it benefits Columbian Park Zoo. I'd never run that far before, so one night, Zachary, Nina, Caroline, and I went running to see if I could survive 3.1 miles. I was surprised at how easy it is with friends by my side!

So, Zachary, Charity, Nina, and I are all signed up for the Zoo Run Run this Saturday. We've been running as a group almost every evening, and every time it seems easier and easier! It's amazing how much easier it is with friends by your side.

Running is a lot like life. After the group of us had been running 3.1 miles or more every evening, I decided to run by myself one night that everyone else was busy. I knew in my head that I could survive the distance because I'd done it with my friends for several days in a row. Yet, without anyone by my side, I couldn't quite make it and broke down into a walk halfway through.

When running in a group, if I'd start to lag behind, Nina and Zachary would always encourage me to keep going and to pick up my pace.

Can you imagine living as a Christian without other believers by your side? What a blessing it is to have a whole church of people to encourage you! We weren't meant to run the race alone.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

The Pun Contest

2009-06-07T12:58:00.003-05:00

Last semester, Purdue's newspaper, the Exponent, had a pun contest. Students could submit up to ten puns each. Sara thought that she was pretty good at writing puns, so she entered ten in hopes that at least one of them would win. But, no pun in ten did.

A Weekend at the Lake

2009-05-23T21:22:00.003-05:00

This weekend, a group of us went to Lake Manitou. About 15 girls and guys from Purdue stayed in one small condo and spent two days boating, jet skiing, swimming, tubing, water skiing, and fishing. If one of my friends from school had told me about this fun trip, I would immediately have imagined a weekend full of drunkenness and fornication. But, when one of my friends from church invited us all out the lake for the weekend, such things were the exact opposite of what I expected. I knew that as a group of Christians whose biggest desire is to glorify God in all that we do, our weekend at the lake would include God-centered conversations, Christian love, good clean fun, and separate sleeping arrangements for boys and girls.

Of course I was right. We have done this before. But, I just began to think about how the things that we do (Thursday night parties, weekends at the lake, etc.) are not that different from what other Purdue students do. But, whatever we do, we do for God. We are trying to build each other up, instead of bringing each other down into further sin, as many so-called friends do to each other.

I really am blessed to be a part of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Through church, I have made so many wonderful friends who I can always count on to put God first in whatever we do. There are so many people out there who do not have a strong church family and are not experiencing the love and support that we have every day! Praise God for giving me this wonderful loving church!

How to Toast a Pop-Tart on a Stick

2009-05-20T15:08:00.004-05:00

For the past few days, Rachel, Sara and I have been having a grand adventure cooking all of our food on a stick over a campfire in the dunes of Lake Michigan. Some things were quite easy, such as the marshmallows and hot dogs, but other things required a great deal of skill. Here is how to toast a Pop-Tart on a stick:

First, you must select a forked stick.

Next, you put the Pop-Tart on the stick and toast it over the fire:

When it's as done as you like, you flip it over and toast the other side:

And the result is a delicious toasted hot Pop-Tart!

Functional Art

2009-04-25T12:41:00.003-05:00

This is a paper that I wrote for school, but I kind of like it anyway, so I decided to post it here. Professors tend to squash my creativity, but I don't think this essay is as squashed as most things I turn in are.

What is art? That is a question I had often asked myself throughout my own educational experiences. As a young child, I thought that art was something flat that could be framed and hung on the wall. At that time, my art schema only included drawings and paintings. However, as I encountered sculpture at the art museum, I accommodated my art schema to include three-dimensional objects as well.

Everybody’s mind organizes information into schemas—groups of concepts and actions that can be revised by new information. When I went to the art museum as a child, I encountered many paintings and drawings that I had never seen before. I assimilated that new information into my existing schema for “art”. By assimilation, new information is put in an existing schema. However, when I encountered sculpture, I had two choices. I could either accommodate my existing schema for “art” and make it include three-dimensional art as well, or I could create a new schema for “sculpture” and not include it as “art”. Accommodation is when an existing schema is modified to include new information, or a new schema is created for the new information.

When new information is introduced that does not fit into a person’s existing schema, one is forced into a state of cognitive disequilibrium. As a young child at the art museum, being in a state of cognitive disequilibrium enabled me to learn new concepts about art. As a future teacher, I want to give my students as many opportunities as possible to learn new information. In Block 1, I had an exciting opportunity to teach 10th grade ceramics students a lesson about anything I wanted. Hoping to challenge them as much as possible, I decided to introduce functional art, and consequently create cognitive disequilibrium in some of the students.

I taught the 16 high school students in the ceramics class how to make mugs. Most of them had a schema for art that included things like painting and sculpture, as well as anything made in art class. However, most of them did not include the contents of their kitchen cabinets in their schema for art. As the students began to work, I could tell by their conversations that I had successfully created cognitive disequilibrium in their young minds. Many of them were accommodating their “art” schemas to include cups, plates, and even silverware. Some decided that these functional objects were only art if they were handmade, thereby only slightly modifying their schemas. Others did not see the mug that they were making as something that they would ever use. Those students assimilated their handmade mug into their existing schema for art, which included only handmade objects created solely for aesthetics.

As a future art teacher, I believe that it is important to constantly present students with opportunities for cognitive disequilibrium. Those situations offer students ample opportunities to learn. Teachers can successfully create such situations by placing an object, such as a mug, in a situation, such as art class, where it doesn’t seem to belong. As a result, students are pushed to ask questions, to accommodate their schemas, to think things through, and most importantly, to learn.

God's Providence

2009-04-24T13:20:00.003-05:00

In WIT a few weeks ago, Jenny asked us if there was anything we were really trusting God for. I said that I was trusting God for a summer job, but that I didn't feel like I was trusting Him enough because I wanted a really awesome job, but I was losing hope and starting to think I would settle for just about anything. However, I knew that God had a plan for my summer, and that He would provide me with the perfect job.

I have since filled out a half dozen more applications, and emailed student coordinators at other Purdue dining courts (since Ford is closed this summer). Earlier this week, the student coordinator at Windsor Dining Court had emailed me, asking what my availability was. That sounded hopeful, so I immediately responded that my availability was unchecked, save for Sundays, on which my availability was naught. The coordinator responded that I should come in to fill out an application, so I proceeded to do so the next day.

As I walked into Windsor, I saw people wearing uniforms indicating that they were student cooks, student supervisors, administrators, and other such personages of whom I was accustomed to seeing at Ford. Oddly enough, I felt immediately at home on the grounds of Ford's rival. I proceeded to the office, where I encountered the student coordinator I had been emailing. Upon introducing myself to him, I found that he remembered me. He handed me an application, and I filled it out and returned it. Then, he asked me to step behind his desk so I could see my tentative schedule on his computer. I was pleased to see big black boxes covering up every Sunday.

"So, does this mean I'm hired?" I asked.

"Yes," said he. "I just needed you to fill out an application for our records."

"Praise God!" said I on the inside. "Excellent! I'm looking forward to working with you guys," said I on the outside.

I spent the rest of the day floating around on cloud nine. Less than 24 hours later, I received a call from Hilltop Apartments, who had received my application and wanted to interview me. I politely informed them that I had already accepted another position, and would not be able to join their cleaning crew in mopping floors, scrubbing toilets, and whatever else they intended to do this summer. (Praise God!)

The only glitch in my happy story is that my job at Windsor does not start until June 8th. However, upon reviewing my finances, it looks like I will be able to pull through until then, since I will be working a few extra shifts at Ford during finals week.

Now, I have all of May free for roadtrips, visits to my parents' abode, and some painting. I've been meaning to paint my own interpretation of Apollo and Daphne for some time now, and it looks like the month of May just might give me the time slot I've been looking for.

Ceramics

2009-03-25T17:00:00.009-05:00

In A&D 242 (Ceramics I) two semesters ago, our final project was to make an art historical piece. Being a big fan of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, I decided to base my piece off of his work. He was a 16th century Dutch painter who painted mostly peasant scenes. I based my ceramic piece off of his painting "The Peasant Wedding". Below is my piece as it appeared in the 2009 Undergraduate Exhibit at Purdue.

Mission Trip

2009-03-23T14:31:00.005-05:00

We returned from Phoenix on Saturday night, and what an amazing trip it was! I have so many wonderful stories to tell, and if I try to share them all here, this will be a very long post. So, I will just mention a few highlights, and those of you who are interested can ask me about the rest.

We spent two days evangelizing on the campus of ASU. It was a really wonderful experience, and we had some great conversations with a few people. We gave out pamphlets on First RPC to interested people, so please pray that some of them will go to church.

We also got a lot of work done on the church building. The boys planted some trees in the front yard, and we organized all of Pastor Jon's books. We also stripped, buffed, and waxed the floor in the sanctuary, and it looks amazing now!

On Friday we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon and hiked down part of it. The beauty and the size of it were astounding.

It was wonderful getting to know the church family. We made several new friends, and Charity and I are hoping to road trip out there this summer to visit them again. The congregation is small, probably between 20 and 30 people, so when the six of us came to a prayer meeting on Thursday night, someone was excited to have enough people for all the parts, and suggested that we sing Psalm 119X.

Before we left, all of us bought ASU T-shirts, and we wore them on Saturday when we flew home. Everyone assumed that we were ASU students, and when we boarded our last flight, one of the stewardesses leaned toward me and said, "Watch out! There are a lot of Purdue students on this flight!"

Spring Break

2009-03-06T13:41:00.001-05:00

Spring break is only a week away! This year I will be going on a mission trip to Phoenix, AZ over break. Zachary Blackwood, Charity Blackwood, Kathryn Held, Matthew Murray, Pat Hart and I will all be flying out of the Indianapolis airport on Friday, March 13. The six of us are excited about serving First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Phoenix. The congregation is small, and we hope to encourage them by participating in their midweek Bible studies, as well as worshipping with them on Sunday. We will be doing evangelism work in the community, and hope to make people aware of the church, and interest them in visiting the church. Please pray that God would give us boldness as we present the Gospel, and that He would prepare the hearts of the people we meet. Please also pray that we would successfully raise the funds needed to pay for the trip. We are all excited about this wonderful opportunity to share the Good News with the people of Phoenix, and we hope to be in your prayers!

Photography

2009-02-27T14:16:00.013-05:00

This is my final portfolio from Photography I, which I took last semester. This semester I am taking Painting I, and if I borrow a camera, I might post some exciting stuff from it eventually. Next semester I will be taking Jewelry and Metalwork I as well as Ceramics II, which will most assuredly be a blast.

Yet Another Wonderful Weekend

2009-02-10T22:07:00.009-05:00

This weekend, Zachary, Aaron, Rachel and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend First RP (Grand Rapids)'s second annual conference on practical theology. For only ten dollars, the conference was quite a steal. Pastor Barry York was the speaker, and he led three excellent sessions on the topic "The War for Poverty". The title, which at first seems to be a mistake (similar to the people who proudly say that they support breast cancer), deliberately uses the word "for" instead of the word "against", in the sense that the church should be reclaiming the ministry to the poor from the government.

We all learned a great deal, and were challenged by Barry's talks. However, most of us don't encounter much poverty on Purdue's campus, and therefore find it difficult to truly apply some of the things that Barry discussed. However, despite the fact that none of our classmates are homeless or starving (in the sense of true poverty), I have found the principles of mercy ministry easy to apply. Barry emphasized meeting people's needs, rather than simply doling out money, and people on campus have plenty of needs. If you look around, someone in your class might need to borrow a pencil or a sheet of paper. In painting class last week, one of my classmates had accidentally purchased tubes of watercolor instead of oils, so I gave him a squirt of my paint. Situations like that are ubiquitous wherever there are people, and as Christians, we should be the first to step up and help.

On Saturday evening after the conference, some of the Grand Rapids people gave us a tour of the city. I was surprised at how beautiful it was. I had biked through part of it on the way to Calvin, but we had taken the non-scenic route to avoid traffic, and had only seen ordinary looking banks and gas stations. (I only remember the bank because that is where we congregated prior to our triumphant parade onto campus). However, downtown Grand Rapids is quite an extraordinary city indeed! The architecture was exceptionally beautiful, and fine dining, one-of-a-kind coffee shops, and luxurious hotels lined the streets. I was impressed by how supportive of the arts the city seemed to be. The art museum was quite impressive, although we were not able to go inside because it had already closed for the day. Peeping in through the windows, we were able to just barely descry magnificent works by Frank Stella.

Another impressive sight to see in Grand Rapids is a magnificent sculpture by Alexander Calder. Large and solid-colored in a vibrant red, it struck me of typical of Calder's work. If I remember correctly what the GR people said, I believe Calder donated the fine structure to the city.

A third point of interest in Grand Rapids is an immense tire swing. Surrounded on every side by government buildings and all the surveillance cameras that come with them, the tire swing is purportedly the safest spot in downtown. Due to its palatial size, we were able to fit six or eight of us on at a time.

~All images have been pirated without permission from Mark Jurries II's Facebook album "Conference Day 2009"~

Jessica's Shocking Locker Incident

2009-02-03T23:14:00.003-05:00

Most of my coworkers at Ford Dining Court are students just like me, and many of us come straight from class to work, or head straight to class after work. Thus, our ever benevolent Ford offers us lockers to place our belongings in while we are working. Sadly, there have been several thefts out of the lockers, so our bosses requested that everyone get a lock. I bought a lock early last semester, and have been using it ever since. My book bag full of over-priced text books has felt very safe ever since. However, when I removed my lock and opened my locker today, I was shocked to find my locker completely empty, devoid even of my pink rain boots that I have to take off when I get to work because Doug claims that they don't fit in the category of "work boots or sneakers" which (according to Doug) describes permissible footwear at work. Thankfully, once my heart stopped pounding enough for me to think clearly, I found all of my belongings in the locker beside the one that had my lock on it. What was I thinking when I put my lock on locker #11 instead of locker #8? Good thing it didn't have anybody else's stuff in it.

Experience

2009-01-30T11:59:00.003-05:00

Through the 2 3/5 years that I have been attending Purdue University, I have found, through much experience, that the popular myth "when in doubt choose C" is false. A is at least as common as C. I say this with confidence, as my data comes from professors spanning diverse fields including sciences, liberal arts, foreign language, history, mathematics, and education. Furthermore, my data spans multiple states and universities. I collected 12 years of data from Bob Jones University's textbooks for homeschoolers. (That was not a pleasant experience, but us data-collectors go through a lot to present the most accurate and reliable information to the public).

The Sabbath

2009-01-26T01:27:00.003-05:00

is a gift from God. Some people accept this gift, and some don't. The ones who reject the gift think that they're free, unconstrained, and having a better time, but more and more, I am seeing what a blessing the Sabbath really is.

God commands us to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). He also tells us that the Sabbath is made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

When I was about 8, I told my sister that Sunday was my favorite day of the week. Sunday meant waking up to the smell of waffles and the sound of the Beatles. It meant reading the Sunday funnies in my pajamas, and doing nothing all day. Sara told me that she liked Saturday better, because everything's closed on Sunday, and on Sunday, you have Monday looming right around the corner, which, of course, meant school.

Every once in a while, Sunday was different. Sometimes, my dad would find a church, and he would go. Sara almost always went with him, if he gave enough advance notice. If the church was good, it would happen the next week too, and I would go too.

When I was 15, I started working at the Riviera Club. I held many positions there, including front desk attendant, life guard, and waitress. During the school year, I worked in the dining room, collecting money from people who came to our buffet dinners.

One day, while I was out, my boss called my home phone, and my mom answered. He asked if I could work Sunday brunch. My mother said yes, and informed me when I got home. When she told me, the first thing that ran through my head was that very confusing verse in Exodus 20 about honoring the Sabbath day. However, I quickly justified my conflicting thoughts with that other verse in Exodus 20 about honoring your mother and father. Clearly my mother wanted me to work on Sunday, so doing so honored her.

When I was 17, I moved out and went to college. Thus began a new weekly routine which included church every Sunday. I also began telling my employers that I was unavailable on Sundays.

However, I still wondered about things. The verse that commands us to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy is probably one of the most crystal clear verse to some people, but to me it was very confusing. I wondered if it was ok to do homework on the Sabbath in a post on my blog.

Later on, I began to wonder if it was wrong to go shopping on Sunday. Exodus 20 goes on to command us not to allow our servants, children, or sojourners staying with us to work on the Sabbath either. If I was going shopping, was the cashier in a way my servant? Or, did the verse simply mean that we should do all we can to prevent others from breaking the Sabbath? Either way, shopping on Sunday didn't seem like a good option. I wondered about that on another blog post.

Since then (both of those posts were from my freshman year), I have quit shopping on Sunday, and I have quit doing homework on Sunday. But, the Sabbath is still a topic of discussion. Some of my friends don't watch secular movies or read secular books on Sunday, and others do. I generally don't, but there is a point where restricting Sunday activities makes you serve the Sabbath, instead of the Sabbath serving you.

Changes

2009-01-19T17:10:00.002-05:00

Last semester (Fall 2008), I began my junior year at Purdue with a brand new major. Switching from Graphic Design to Art Education wasn't too big of a change because I already had all of the core art classes done. However, I will have one or two extra semesters at Purdue.

When I switched my major, I wasn't sure how God would work things out. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, not someone who sits behind a desk at a computer all day. My Block 1 experiences at Jefferson High School confirmed that. I really enjoyed building relationships with the students, and I know that God will be able to use me to witness to my future students.

However, my dad had offered to pay for 4 years of my tuition, and switching my major so late in my college career required at least one extra semester of classes. In the back of my mind, I always remembered that I had paid for my freshman year myself out of my savings account. However, I wasn't sure if my dad would count that as one of my four years because he had bailed me out when I had been unable to pay rent that spring.

Over winter break, my dad told me that he would indeed pay for my "super senior" year. I know that God is working things out for me, and it is such a comfort to know that he is in control!

A few months ago, my sister found out about an opportunity to have an internship at the State House. It was a great offer, and after several interviews, she was offered the position. However, if she accepted, Eleni and I would be left without a third roommate this semester.

After much deliberation, Sara accepted the job, and moved out of our apartment over winter break. Shortly afterwards, Charity called Sara from Australia, saying that she wanted to move in to our apartment for the spring semester. By the grace of God, we now have a third roommate! She is in the process of moving in right now.

Currently, I am struggling a little bit financially. I am taking Painting 1 as a studio art course this semester, and I will have to purchase hundreds of dollars of oil paints. After the first week of classes, I had spent an average of $100 per class on text books, and received an electric bill for over $100. On Friday, I had no choice but to return a few books. However, the education program at Purdue has an extra copy of two of the books (the ones I returned), so I think that I will be able to manage without them if I can get my homework done during business hours when I will be able to use the extra copies. I know that God is in control, and I am learning to trust more.

Stereotypes

2009-01-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

happen because they’re right. Last semester I had a class called “Multiculturalism in the classroom,” and we basically spent the whole semester learning about how stereotypes are wrong and we should ignore them. I fully agree that when you meet someone, you should try to get to know them as an individual and not assume that they’re here illegally because they’re Mexican, or that they like fried chicken because they’re black, or that they’re bad at math because they’re a girl. Everyone knows someone in each category who breaks the mold. Nonetheless, these stereotypes happen because they are more often right than wrong.

Last semester, I was in the DLC working on a class project. I ran into some issues, and looked to the help desk. Noticing only a female lab assistant, I decided to wait until someone else was available to solve my problem. Suddenly I thought of my TA for “Multiculturalism in the classroom.” He would be disappointed in me for assuming that this girl was incompetent simply because she was a girl. I got up and went to the desk and told her what issues I had run into. She called one of the boys in the back to help me, and he solved my problem quickly and skillfully. I remembered why I had stereotyped the girl in the first place. Every other time that I had asked a girl for help in the DLC, she had also asked a boy to solve my problems. My stereotype only existed because it was an accurate portrayal of all of my previous experiences with female lab assistants.

Another stereotype that exists is that girls are not good at chess. Every time I play chess with a girl, I (sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously) think to myself that it will be an easy win because my opponent is a girl. However, this is a stereotype that I do not like. I know it’s true almost all the time, but I try to break it. To make up for all the other girls out there, I want to be the best. If all the other girls out there are worse than boys, it’ll be alright as long as the best of everybody is a girl. That’s why winning matters a lot to me. I win over 90% of my games, but with every loss, I feel like I am letting all the girls down.

I’m not a feminist. In fact, I am very much in favor of women staying home to care for their children, being submissive to their husbands, and letting boys carry their heavy loads. However, I don’t want any men out there to think that women are less smart than them. And that’s why I thoroughly enjoy outsmarting boys, whether in the classroom, in everyday life, or in a game of chess. However, due to the predominance of stereotypes, I will probably be seen as the exception rather than the rule. If one of the girls in the DLC proved to be an expert in solving computer glitches, I know that I would view her as an exception. However, if a whole slew of competent girls began working down there, my opinion would change. So girls, let’s all sharpen our chess skills and change things together.

December 31, 2008

2008-12-31T17:56:00.001-05:00

Well, folks, it's been real and it's been fun, but it ain't been real fun. See ya'll in 2009.

Chicago

2008-12-29T15:01:00.009-05:00

My family's annual trip to Chicago this year included an enthralling visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. I was deeply disappointed to learn that the modern wing was closed for renovations, because seeing Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" in person never ceases to astound me.

However, the European galleries, which include remarkable works by artists such as Titian, Monet, and El Greco, made the visit worth it. I also thoroughly enjoyed the American galleries, where "American Gothic" by Grant Wood can be seen. Seeing "American Gothic" in real life was the highlight of my Chicago visit this year. The painting is so well-known, so often parodied, and so ubiquitous in poster form that it is easy to overlook its aesthetic qualities. However, seeing it in real life will impress even an amateur art connoisseur.

As my family was leaving the Art Institute on Saturday afternoon, my mother remarked that she had read the plaque beside "American Gothic" and learned a great deal about it. As we discussed the artist's concept and the painting's background, I discovered that neither of my parents knew much about this iconic image of American life. Thus, I can presume that most of my readers would also benefit from learning more about one of America's most important paintings of all time.

During a visit to Eldon, Iowa in 1930, artist Grant Wood noticed a small house (shown below) in the Carpenter Gothic architectural style. He imagined the type of people who would live in it, and proceeded to paint a representation of his idea of 19th century American life. Wood asked his sister and his dentist to pose for the painting. According to the plaque at the Art Institute (and most modern interpretations of the painting), the figures represent a farmer and his spinster daughter. However, according to Wikipedia, Wood's sister was embarrassed to be portrayed as married to a man twice her age, and spread the idea that the painting depicted a man and daughter, instead of a man and wife. Wikipedia claims that Wood remained silent on the topic.

"American Gothic" contains several symbols to further develop the representation of American life. The houseplants behind the woman symbolize her domestic duties, as does the apron she is wearing. The pitchfork held by the man alludes to his masculine role. The overalls that he is wearing also indicate his position.

The well-developed concepts within "American Gothic" are enhanced by several elements of design. The elongated shape of the Gothic window behind the figures is echoed by the stretched out shape of the figures' faces. Wood deliberately lengthened the face of his sister, who is shown below with Wood's dentist. Furthermore, the structure of the window is echoed by the structure of the man's face, the pitchfork, the pocket on the overalls, and design on the man's shirt.

Upon completing the highly detailed painting, Wood entered it in an art contest at the Art Institute of Chicago. He was awarded $300 for placing third. The painting was shown in newspapers across the country, and gained instant fame. The Art Institute purchased the painting, and it has remained there ever since.

Green won

2008-12-15T20:01:00.004-05:00

The T-shirt company calls this color "kiwi green". I hope you all like it.

CYA WC 2009 T-shirt!

2008-11-12T23:53:00.014-05:00

For the past few weeks I have been working on a design for the 2009 Winter Conference shirt. This is what I have so far, though it might change. If any of you have any brilliant suggestions for improvement, please let me know!

This is also your chance to weigh in on the color. You can vote for your favorite color (not restricted to the colors shown) by commenting on this post. Please only vote once, and please sign your name on your comment if you do not have a Blogger profile. Also, if you think that there is less than a 50% chance that you will purchase a T-shirt, please refrain from voting.

Here are my color ideas:

Brown is nice and neutral:

Dark red might be too reminiscent of the Geneva shirts that everyone has:

Going green is pretty popular these days:

Here's a brighter green:

Gray might be too boring for some people:

Navy is nice, but we've already done blue:

Cerulean is pretty spiffy too, but like I said...:

So, vote now! Which do you like best? Or do you have any better ideas?

Ode to the Spell Checker

2008-10-23T00:05:00.001-05:00

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
It's letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me so.

A Correspondence Between Sisters

2008-10-16T23:01:00.003-05:00

Dear English Major,

How do you pluralize the term "still life"? Still lives? Still lifes? Or do you just not pluralize it?

Sincerely,
Art Education Major

* * *

Dear Art Education Major,

"Still life" is actually short for "still life painting" (or drawing, or what have you--the point is, it's a descriptive phrase for a noun). To pluralize, you must then pluralize the noun. If you're talking about multiple media, you may want to use a broad term like "works". For example...

"Picasso made many still life works that mimic the tumultuous emotions following his traumatic break up with Andy Warhol's wife."

or

"Van Gogh's still life paintings leave many art connoisseurs scratching their bald heads in bewilderment, wondering what universal truth they're missing."

Of course, if you're writing more quizzes for your small children you may want to use less complex ideas and sentences.

Sincerely,
Communication Major

Churches with gyms

2008-09-27T11:34:00.003-05:00

have been around for a long time too. I tend to think of churches with sports centers to be a new-fangled worldly thing, but in Art History class this week I learned that the new-fangled part of my assumption was incorrect. Our study of archaic Greek architecture brought us to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, which is now mostly ruins:
This place of worship came complete with a theater and a stadium to glorify Apollo, the god of the arts (also the god of the sun, medicine and healing, truth and prophecy, archery, and more). As we looked at slides of these ruins in class, I couldn't help but think of how many mega-churches are copying this ancient heathen church in the building of new Christian churches. Does it really glorify God to bring worldly things into his house? Shouldn't we be building our churches in the manner of early Christian churches, not early heathen temples?

Flip-flop politicians

2008-09-16T22:30:00.002-05:00

have been around for a long time. 1858 presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln said to a northern Illinois audience:

"Let us discard all this quibbling about this man or the other man, this race and that race and the other race being inferior, and therefore they must be placed in an inferior position. Let us discard all these things, and unite as one people throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal."

To a southern Illinois audience, Lincoln said:

"I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races (applause); that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people. . . . And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."

Why America is Fat

2008-07-11T22:08:00.004-05:00

For our 4th of July picnic, I made jello with Coca Cola in it. The recipe called for a 12 oz. can, so when my dear mother and I went to the grocery store, I looked for cans of Coke. Lo and behold, there were no 12 oz. cans in the pop isle, or even in the pop machine outside! Apparently, the 20 oz. plastic bottle has become the new standard size. Not wanting to give up so soon, I decided to try the drug store on the way home. They too only sold 20 oz. or larger bottles of Coke. I finally gave in and bought the 20 oz. bottle. Sadly, some of it went to waste because I couldn't quite bring myself to drink it all. The stuff is so sickly sweet. Neither of my parents could down very much either.

After our 4th of July picnic, where Coke-flavored jello was enjoyed by all, my parents and I went sight-seeing for a while. We visited one of the oldest privately-owned mills that still runs, and inside they sold an eclectic collection of random items, among them vintage Coke bottles. I happened to notice that the original size of the little glass bottles is only 8 oz.--nearly a third of the current size! And that, my dear readers, is the reason why America is fat. It's all Coke's fault.

Graffiti on a Box

2008-02-28T16:36:00.004-05:00

In a stairwell in Stanley Coulter Hall, there is a cardboard box. On it is taped a piece of paper. On the paper is printed, "This is a doorstop. Please do not remove." However, someone apparently felt the need to clarify the statement, and wrote in large letters with a Sharpie, "a box being used as", so the paper reads "This is a box being used as a doorstop. Please do not remove." Another benevolent soul further clarified the statement for us dense Purdue students, making the paper read, "This is a sign indicating a box being used as a doorstop. Please do not remove." The final modification on the paper is scrawled in pencil, "These are the words on a sign indicating a box being used as a doorstop. Please do not remove." If the box ever gets removed now, its owner can be assured that it is probably not due to lack of clarity.

The Bliss of Being an Art Student

2008-01-28T10:55:00.000-05:00

While conversing with a friend about school recently, I mentioned that I had nine hours straight of classes on Mondays. He commented that he was glad he was not in my shoes. “It’s not really so bad,” I informed him. “My 11:30-2:30 class is really fun (A&D 242!), so all through my 8:30-11:30, I can look forward to going to ceramics. And through my next three classes, I have the satisfaction of having been to ceramics class.” While my friend’s look of being-glad-he’s-not-in-my-shoes did not dissipate, I could tell that he secretly regretted not having picked a more exciting major.

The Invaluable Things I Learn at School

2007-11-27T17:43:00.000-05:00

Today I worked with a Spanish guy who spoke little English. This was not much of a problem, as we were able to work out a sort of sign language to convey when we needed more meatballs, or how many minutes the broccoli should be steamed for, or that we were out of pasta. However, when he pointed to the imaginary watch on his wrist to ask me what time I get off, he was unable to comprehend when I said "two-thirty." I couldn't think of any way to communicate the time non-verbally, and he confusedly asked "Three?"

Suddenly, I remembered all of Professora Assad's lessons from Spanish 101, and said "dos y media", and he understood immediately. All the people who think education is a waste for a future Cracker Barrel waitress are eminently mistaken, as I will no doubt encounter many more Spanish speakers at that fine restaurant. And, my dear readers, this is only one example as to why my education is exceedingly useful. I have also learned many invaluable lessons in Psychology 120, not to mention my many art classes. In fact, it was in A&D 105 that I learned the difference between supper and dinner, a fact that has been immensely useful. (Supper is that last meal of the day, whereas dinner is the largest meal of the day). And Ingrid Shults taught me to love drawing in A&D 113. The next semester, Professor Mahorney taught me to hate drawing in A&D 114. And Professor Parrish taught me all about chiaroscuro in A&D 227. Yes, my dear readers, education can be quite useful. Can you imagine going to an art gallery and not being able to put a name to Rembrandt's technique?

Dear readers, do you have any indispensable lessons you gleaned from your years in college that you would like to share?

"The Old Guitarist"

2007-11-19T14:12:00.000-05:00

My dear, dear, beloved readers,

I have noticed a slight decrease in your numbers. On several of my posts from last year, such as the one on Picasso's "Weeping Woman", I received ten or eleven comments! Now, I am lucky to get two. Upon careful comparison of my old posts and my more recent posts, I noticed one glaring difference: I have not posted a Picasso masterpiece for months! My dear readers, I am sorry to have neglected you. I realize that the main reason many people read blogs is to enjoy intellectually stimulating visual art. Therefore, I present unto you...

dum, dum, dum...

"The Old Guitarist"!Feast your eyes, dear readers! As many of you know, this very famous painting was created during Picasso's "blue period". The paintings from Picasso's blue period are not only blue in color, but also in mood. During this time, Picasso's subject matter focused mostly on beggars, prostitutes, and drunks. This dark period in Picasso's art was triggered by the suicide of a close friend of the artist. In our hero's own words, "I started painting in blue when I learned of Casagemas's death."

One interesting thing about this astounding masterpiece is the faint image of a woman beneath the painting. It seems that Picasso, like many other artists, reused the canvas of an old painting he was dissatisfied with. I encourage you all, dear readers, to explore this magnificent painting on your own at the Chicago Institute of art.

Here is a glimpse of the mysterious woman visible under the painting, so you will all know exactly what to look for should you ever encounter this gem in real life:In other news, tomorrow I am going to skip class for a non-righteous reason for the first time in my life! Applaud me, fellow slackers! Yes, my dear readers, yours truly is skipping her 4:30 power hour on Tuesday afternoon in order to start Thanksgiving break three hours earlier.

A Reply

2007-11-17T15:13:00.000-05:00

Dear Ms. Young,

Thank you for your letter regarding your purchase of EDY’S Slow Churned® Cookie Dough Grand Light Ice Cream. We are committed to producing the highest quality products and direct feedback from our customers is very important in maintaining our standards.

In our manufacturing process, added ingredients are mixed into the product using a special feeder. Unfortunately, we are occasionally the victims of human and/or mechanical error. In this case, it appears that the cookie dough feeder was not operating properly; therefore, an insufficient amount was mixed into the product. I am truly sorry that this incident occurred and marred your enjoyment of our product.

Please accept the enclosed flavor list, coupons, and a gift certificate for one carton of any EDY’S ice Cream with our sincere apologies. I appreciate you calling this matter to our attention and hope that your next EDY’S experience will restore your confidence in the quality of our product.

Sincerely,
Tiffany Trexler
Consumer Response Representative

Satan

2007-11-16T14:02:00.000-05:00

Also known as "Gossip", this is an interesting optical illusion we looked at in Psych 120 yesterday.

P.S. Still no free ice cream. How long will it take? Maybe my customer satisfaction isn't high on their list of priorities right now since I'm still buying their ice cream. Oh dear...

OY

2007-11-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

was stupendous! All of you who didn't come sure missed out. It was a great time of fellowship with young adults from northern Indiana and Michigan congregations, including the newly-RP Grand Rapids church. I enjoyed getting to know new people, and spending time with friends from other congregations.

On the way there, Aaron, Allen, Eleni, Sara, Rachel and I stopped at a farmers' market in what Aaron claims is the largest Amish-built barn ever. It's not hard to believe, as there were three accessible levels, plus at least one more that was blocked off. The interior was beautiful, with huge wooden beams holding everything together. We got lunch from some of the many little booths, many of which were operated by Amish people.

We spent close to two hours at the farmers market, and consequently were a little late to OY. Nonetheless, we all had an awesome time. To all of you who missed out, there might be another OY conference in March! Be there!

In other news, I have not yet received any coupon from Edy's for free ice cream in the mail. How long do you think it takes them to process complaints?

A Complaint

2007-10-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Edy’s,
I am a college student living in a tiny one-room apartment with my sister. As we both work part-time and attend college full-time, our budget is tight. We buy generic brands of most foods, but with ice-cream we will not settle for inferior quality. I have sampled many different brands of ice-cream, and I have decided that Edy’s is the richest, creamiest, and most delicious. I am often pleasantly surprised when I try new flavors. However, I was recently disappointed when I purchased a carton of Cookie Dough. There were hardly any lumps of cookie dough in it! I got about two lumps in each scoop of ice-cream, which is significantly less that the picture on the carton suggests. Even discount brands put more cookie dough lumps in their ice-cream. If the contents of the carton are improved to more closely match the enticing picture, I will once again be a satisfied customer.

Sincerely,
Jessica A. Young

Cold

2007-10-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

October break was wonderful. Somehow, it seemed more like spring break, with highs in the mid-80's. My family went camping on Lake Michigan on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and it was so warm out that I went swimming in the lake. I hadn't expected it to be so warm out, considering that it is October and that we went north. I hadn't even brought a swimsuit, so I jumped in the lake in jeans and a T-shirt. The first day, I just waded in, getting my pants half-soaked, but the second day, I dived all the way under and it felt so good.

Now I am back in West Lafayette, and it's cold out. The weather forecast for the next five days looks depressing, with no highs reaching 70. I was sad to have to wear a sweatshirt to school today, but slightly less sad to wear my boots instead of flip flops, as I am rather fond of my boots. I guess every cloud has a silver lining :-).

Psych

2007-10-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

My favorite class this semester is Psych 120. It's one of those huge lectures with about 400 students. The kind of class where you only raise your hand if you have something really insightful to say, or a really pertinent question. Thus, the whole class erupted in laughter today when a guy raised his hand and asked the professor if it was okay if he went to the bathroom.

Reality

2007-09-18T23:44:00.000-05:00

Many freshmen enter Purdue University thinking that they are guaranteed a career after studying for four years. I am sorry to admit I was one of them. I have since come to realize that a college degree (especially one in Liberal Arts) is by no means a free ticket to a good salary. The ultimate blow came several weeks ago at work. I was at the pizza station, and the head pizza man was making small talk with me to pass the time. He asked me what I was studying, and I said graphic design. "Oh, that's what I studied when I was in college!" he smiled. I had trouble returning his smile. Is this what I am headed for in three years?

But, after some more thought, he seems happy. He spends his days dreaming up new kinds of pizza (like chicken broccoli cheddar, which he contrived the day that I worked with him) and his nights doing things I disapprove of.

I wouldn't mind working in the food industry after I graduate. In fact, I would rather enjoy being a waitress at Cracker Barrel. That's what I've wanted to do since I was quite young, in fact. Furthermore, working in an office in the city has always been unappealing to me.

So, am I wasting time and money here? I like being here--I love the Lafayette RPC, I love our close-knit CORPS community, and I love how it only takes 20 minutes to bike out to the country. I love how it's free to ride the bus. I love showing my college ID for discounts at Goodwill. I love how when I take weekend road trips, my biggest worry is who's going to feed Charlie when I'm gone. Overall, being a college student is a fairly happy experience. But is it worth it?

Kitten Update

2007-09-04T20:18:00.000-05:00

So, I decided, quite sadly, to let Brandon's little sisters keep my kitten. He was already at their house by the time I wrote the last post, and I don't know what I would do with him once school's out for summer if I move back to Indy. Also, my sister thinks it would be mean to keep a kitten in our tiny studio.

Instead, I got a new Betta fish. His name is Charlie and he's blue. He eats a lot more than Zeta ever did. I would put pictures up if I had a camera, but I don't. Instead, you will all have to come over to see him for yourself. You will not be disappointed. At least not if you ever got the pleasure of getting to know Zeta before his tragic death, as Charlie is much more lively and has a much healthier appetite than he did.

I still don't understand how Zeta lived as long as he did. I never saw him eat once. Charlie, on the other hand, immediately devours every piece of food I drop in his bowl. The care instructions that came with him said to "feed sparingly once a day" but it's such a pleasure to see him eat that I usually feed him about four times a day. It can't hurt. He seems quite fine.

Kitten

2007-08-28T12:28:00.001-05:00

Several weeks ago, David gave me this adorable little kitten:

Sara and I took him home to my parents' house the week before school started (That's where these pictures are from). Unfortunately, the parents weren't as bowled over by his unrivalled adorableness as one would expect. So, sadly, my little kitten went back to Ben and David's house, where he hopefully remains to this day (I say hopefully because Brandon keeps trying to claim the kittens for his little sisters. I am not sure if he has made off with them yet.).

Last week I talked to the people in the office at Ananda about their pet policy. They said they charge $25 per pet per month. I mentioned that charging the same fee for people in itty bitty little studios as in town homes seems a bit steep, but unfortunately I was unable to persuade them to charge me less. So I am now faced with a dilemma: can I afford $25 a month for my little baby? I am getting a job at Ford Dining Court, so hopefully the answer will be "yes". I hope to take the kitten home over Labor Day weekend.

I am also faced with another dilemma: What to name the kitten? I really wanted to name her Ginger, but I have since found out that she is a he, and that name sounds a little feminine. Sara and I have been calling him Pumpkin, but I am open to cuter suggestions if anyone has any.

Camp Lunch

2007-08-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

Most of you, my dear readers, know that I am working as a lifeguard at the Riviera Club this summer. While my job mostly consists of sitting in a chair watching the pool, I occasionally get more interesting tasks. One of my favorite jobs is camp lunch. Every day, two lifeguards get to have lunch with the camp kids so the camp counselors can take a much needed break. Today, I was one of the two privileged guards.

I was thoroughly enjoying conversing with the children on interesting topics, such as what I should name my seven children, when one of my favorite little girls asked what day it was. I said that it was the first day of August, which is very exciting because my birthday is in August. We then began discussing what I should do for my birthday. It was fairly unanimous that I should have a pajama party. Allie, a little girl who draws me a picture every day, told me that if I invited her to my birthday party, she would buy me a vacuum cleaner. I guess that's what little girls think that grown-ups want. I told her that I would love to have a vacuum cleaner, but that vacuum cleaners cost a lot of money. She wasn't fazed. "I know, but I have a lot of dollars and quarters in my piggy bank," she explained. I just wanted to hug her. I knew that if she could, she would take every one of her dollars and quarters and buy me a vacuum cleaner. I'm going to miss these kids so much when school starts.

Italian Boys!

2007-07-15T21:54:00.000-05:00

Fishing

2007-06-30T17:40:00.000-05:00

isn't one of my hobbies. In fact, I've never even tried it. Therefore, it came as quite a surprise yesterday when I received a membership kit in the mail from the BASS Club, a club devoted to bass fishing. Upon opening the large envelope, I found several decals and stickers with the BASS logo, my membership card, and a couple of other things. As I began reading the enclosed letter, I quickly decided that it was scam. The letter began by thanking me for my payment (I had certainly not sent them any money!) and suggested that I extend my membership by another year for only $12. However, as I continued reading, BASS assured me that even if I didn't extend my membership now, I would receive full membership benefits for the upcoming year, including a subscription to their monthly magazine, Bassmaster. Suddenly I remembered that Bassmaster was one of the magazines that I had purchased with my frequent flier miles (as explained in a previous post). However, I had been expecting it to be about playing bass guitar. Of course the idea that the magazine was about fish had briefly occupied my mind, but I honestly didn't expect anyone to publish a whole magazine about bass fishing. Guess I was wrong. :-S

My Exciting Weekend

2007-06-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

took off with a bang when Mia picked me up at approximately 3:45 on Friday afternoon. The excitement heightened about an hour later when we pulled to the side of the road just outside of Bloomington to switch drivers. The next five miles were immensely enjoyable. The excitement continued to escalate as we arrived at our destination--the Wegener home. Three adorable children were playing outside upon our arrival, but several more spilled out of the house as our presence was announced by almost-nine-year-old Faith. The rest of the day was a blur of exciting adventures, beginning with a tour of Kara's beautiful yurt

and ending with Uncle David's exciting 50th birthday party.

The following day we awoke to the delectable scent of pancakes--a sure sign that it would indeed be an exciting day. And exciting it was! The first adventure of the day was driving Kris to the church office in Kara's beautiful car
so we could see her and Mr. Hobbs (and a bunch of people I didn't know) off on an exciting high school youth group mission trip to Mississippi. Next, we went to an exciting hardware store to buy rabbit food. Much to our elation, the store gave out free popcorn! Next, we purchased a rabbit, which we promptly brought home to surprise Faith, who was quite stoked by the furry birthday gift. Her stokedness continued into the evening, when she was presented with an ice cream cake and more presents. We also played an exciting game of pin the tail on the bunny using cotton balls and a sketch I had drawn of Faith's rabbit.

Sunday also proved to be a day full of excitement. It began with a trip to CGS, where Pastor Stephen Baker preached a thought-provoking sermon on "Salvation from God's Perspective". Following the service, I came to realize that my beloved phone was still in Kara's room. It remains there till this day, and likely will continue to reside there until Saturday (when Kara is coming to visit me :-D) so if any of you dear readers wish to call me this week, please kindly use my land line number.

Well, back to my exciting weekend: Directly after church, we paid a visit to Ben and Kyla's immaculate home. From there we traveled to Kyla's parents' beautiful home, where we enjoyed a delightful pitch-in cook out all afternoon. The final adventure of the day took place in a parking lot, where I discovered that driving a stick is quite difficult. Shortly thereafter, the adventure was over and I found myself back in the city where not only can one see one's neighbors' houses from one's bedroom window, but one can also see right into the neighbors' bedrooms since the houses are only a few feet away. How sad.

Oh, well, next weekend shall be another grand adventure! Stay tuned, my dear readers!

Daisy

2007-06-08T12:07:00.000-05:00

Last night, Laurie and I went over to Ben and Dave's house, and I rode the pregnant mare bareback (and barefoot). It was great fun until I fell off and twisted my ankle. Right now I can barely walk.

So what's the lesson to be learned here? Jessica should not ride bareback and barefoot at night? Or, Jessica needs a lot more practice riding so she won't fall off again? I would have to vote for option two. ;-)

So I spent the rest of the evening on Ben and Dave's couch with ice on my ankle, thinking of names for the colt. I decided on Daisy for a girl, but I couldn't think of a boy name. I wasn't too worried though, because Ben assured me that she wouldn't give birth for at least another three weeks. Consequently, it came as quite a surprise this morning, when Dave texted me that the mare had had a girl this morning! I was quite stoked, as I am sure my dear readers can imagine.

I can't wait to go see Daisy dear for myself this evening! Perhaps I shall post pictures if I can borrow my father's camera. However, my most allegiant readers probably know not to get their hopes up for pictures from me, as I have not yet put up the pics of the Italian boys. They're coming guys, I promise!*

*If my aunt, cousin, or sister ever emails them to me.

At work today...

2007-06-05T23:40:00.001-05:00

...a little girl asked me "why did you just blow your whistle?" I responded "because that boy over there was just running. You're not allowed to run at the pool. You have to walk." "Oh. I didn't know that," replied the little girl. She then went running back to her mother and said excitedly, "Mommy, did you know that you're not allowed to run at the pool?"

Oh, well.

Magazines

2007-05-30T16:48:00.001-05:00

When we got home from Scotland, I had a big pile of mail waiting for me. Among the junk mail I found a notice from the airlines that I have frequent flier miles with. Apparently my frequent flier miles were expiring, and, being an infrequent flier, I didn't have enough miles to get any free tickets. Instead, they offered me my choice of up to ten subscriptions to magazines and newspapers. So, very soon I shall be receiving free issues of The Wall Street Journal, Jane, Vibe, and several other publications. Dude, I dig free stuff :-).

In other news, I finally started my garden this weekend. With this rather late start I was unable to grow any early crops such as peas, so I am only growing tomatoes and peppers this year.

Scotland

2007-05-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hello, my dear readers! I have returned from my grand Scotland adventure. And quite an adventure it was, including visits to castles, a flat tire out in the country, my sister getting kissed by two Italian boys (at the same time! pictures coming soon), trips to the art museums, visits to the local pubs and bars, and lots of shopping. As most of these adventures are fairly self-explanatory, I shall only expand upon the art museums. In all, I visited four museums in Edinburg: the National Gallery, the Dean Gallery, the Gallery of Modern Art, and the Portrait Gallery.

The National Gallery boasted works from artists such as Rubens, Van Gogh, Monet, Botticelli, Bernini, Rembrandt, Titian, and (gasp!) Vermeer! Seeing a real genuine Vermeer was quite an experience. The painting that they had is believed to be his earliest piece still in existence. Being an early work, it was not as refined as, for example, The Milkmaid or Girl with a Pearl Earring.

I was also quite happily surprised to see Titian's Venus Anadyomene in real life! One can easily appreciate the painting on the big screen in Professor Parrish's classroom, but seeing it in real life is a whole other experience.

The next museum I visited in Edinburgh was the Gallery of Modern Art, which really blew me away. They had a fantastic collection of art from the 20th and 21st centuries, by artists ranging from Picasso to many present day up-and-coming artists. My sister and I were especially impressed by the work of an artist (I sadly forget to make note of his name) who did a design on the floor using colored vinyl tape. I plan to emmulate his work in our bathroom once Sara and I move into #47.

The next museum I went to was the Portrait Gallery. I regret that I was unable to spend much time there; however, I did see many impressive busts and paintings during my short visit. One painting especially impressed me, but I forgot to make note of the artist or the title, so I am unable to share it with you dear readers.

On our last full day in Scotland, I visited the Dean's Gallery, which had an impressive array of 20th century art including works by Picasso, Paolozzi, Lichenstein, and Dalí. My favorite exhibit was a room that had been refurbished into a reproduction of Paolozzi's studio. The walls were lined with shelves containing inspirational objects, supplies, and numerous finished and unfinished pieces that had been donated by Paolozzi himself. The center on the room was his working area, and the the left, there was a tall loft bed. Under the bed was a large cabinet for drawing paper.

As you can see, I was able to see quite a lot of exciting things in Scotland. My only regret is that we did not go to the RP church in Glasgow. I was unable to persuade my parents to go, so instead we spent Sunday touring beautiful Stirling Castle and driving around the countryside.

In closing, please do not feel hurt, rejected, let down, forgotten, or unloved because I did not send you a postcard. I didn't send any postcards (not even to my fiancée!) as I didn't bring an address book. I think my sister sent some, though, so if you received one from her feel free to feel loved and remembered.

Oh, and one more thing. As I said earlier, I only decided to give details about my art museum adventures in order to keep this post at a decent length, so if you have any questions about the rest of my trip such as "which castle was your favorite?" or "were Sara's Italian boys good-looking?" please comment, and I would love to tell you all about it. Or you can call me. If you have Cingular.

~Zeta Eta Beta, 2006-2007~

2007-05-09T18:32:00.000-05:00

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of our dear friend and beloved fish, Zeta Eta Beta. He passed away peacefully in his fish bowl early Sunday afternoon. Zeta will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. Thank you in advance for all of your well-meant condolences, flowers, and cards.

Today, I was slightly naughty

2007-04-24T17:14:00.000-05:00

When I got out of Spanish class this afternoon at 2:15, I was met by warm, happy sunshine. "What a perfect day to go to the Fort!" thought I. But alas, I had art class from 2:30 to 5:30, so my hopes were dashed. Somewhat dejectedly, I made my way to the Forestry Products Building and climbed the stairs to the art studio.

As class began, my professor announced that he had forgotten to bring slides today, so we would just have a work day. This was very disappointing to me because I had not brought my current project to class. All the sorority girls raised their hands simultaneously and asked in unison, "can we work outside today?" The professor obliged, and they all grabbed their art pads and boxes of colored pencils or pastels and skipped outside happily.

Left in the room were two girls, two guys, myself, and the professor. I considered doing some work in my sketchbook. After flipping through it once or twice and feeling very uninspired by the dull studio, I asked the professor when he would like us back inside if we worked out of doors. "Five," he replied. I looked at the clock. It was only 3:00. I smiled and walked out of the studio.

Very soon, I was biking away from campus on State Street. The Lafayette air began to be camouflaged by the sweet smells of flowers, fresh air, and cow manure, and the scenery of brick buildings gave way to corn fields and wild flowers. Several miles on the beautiful country road finally led me to the Fort. Once my bike was locked securely to a tree, I was wading in the icy cold Wabash with muddy feet. The river was so beautiful in the warm sunshine even though it was as brown as ever.

This is the first time that I have skipped class for an unnoble reason, but every minute was worth it.

Johannes Vermeer

2007-04-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

So, Vermeer is my new hero. I still very much admire the amazing Pablo Picasso, but lately, my inspiration has been coming from Vermeer. His use of light is beyond compare. Take this painting for instance:

The Kitchenmaid, 1658

The shadows on the wall to the left of the maid are photographic in quality. Also of note is the stronger light on the items on the table, as they are directly under the light source. The chiaroscuro on the woman is also outstanding. But what really astounds me is the nail above and left of the maid's head. (Double click on the image to enlarge it.) Only someone as brilliant as Vermeer would have thought to include it. You probably didn't even notice it until I mentioned it, but it really adds character to the wall. It gives it a sense of reality. The brass bucket hanging by the window (behind the basket) also shows Vermeer's unrivaled ability to paint light as it really is. In fact, Vermeer spent most of his career studying light. The vast majority of his paintings have a layout similar to the one above, with light streaming in from a window on the left. Much rarer are his outdoor paintings:

The Little Street, 1658

The detail on this painting is absolutely amazing. Every brick is different--there is no stylizing here. The next painting also has an astounding attention to detail:

View of Delft, 1660-61

Here, all of the buildings are executed with a high degree of precision. The play of light is remarkable as well. Even if he had not included the cloudy skies hinting at a storm, we could easily guess because of the lighting on the buildings and the water.

However, Vermeer's most famous painting is probably this one:

Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665-66

While this painting has become well-known recently because of the movie of the same name, its aesthetic qualities should not be overlooked. The face is very delicately crafted--we can immediately discern that she has soft smooth skin, moist lips and shining eyes. The cloth is also well-done. The fabric wrapped around her head seems to be stiff--the creases are harsher than those on her dress. The light on the shiny pearl is similar to that on the brass bucket in The Kitchenmaid. However, this painting is different from most of Vermeer's other works in that the background is solid black. In most of Vermeer's interior scenes, he takes great care to make the background fit the subject, such as in The Kitchenmaid. Here is another painting that Vermeer makes great use of the background:

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, 1662-63

In this painting, an expectant mother is reading a letter by a window. We can assume that the letter is from her husband--the father of her child. The map on the wall suggests that her husband has traveled abroad.

I hope you all now have a great appreciation of this fine artist.

Invertía en el stock markito

2007-03-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

In Spanish class today, we had to finish the sentence "Con un millón de dolares yo..." (If I had a million dollars, I...), and one of the guys said he would invest in the "stock markito". My TA, slightly exasperated at the young man's ignorance (the correct word is "la bolsa"), said "Why does everyone think they can put -ito at the end of a word to make it Spanish?" We all laughed knowingly because everyone who has ever taken Spanish (and some people who haven't) are guilty of speaking "Spanglish". And, making up words is fun :-). Then my TA told us that is Spanish-speaking countries, they make words "American" by adding -tion to the end. Isn't that interesting? We don't have that many -tion words, but it is an ending that is unique to English. (I think. Does anyone know of any other countries that use that suffix?)

Update

2007-03-19T13:36:00.000-05:00

So, this is kind of an update just for the sake of updating. Pathetic, I know, but I don't really have much to say. I had been planning on writing about all of my exciting spring break adventures, but, unfortunately, spring break wasn't all that exciting.

Chicago was fun, though. My group went to the Lego store, walked around downtown, went to Navy Pier, and then met everyone else at the pizza place for dinner. After dinner, we met the people we were staying with. I spent the night at Naomi's house. She was awesome. She had baked cookies and pies for us, and she was really fun to talk to.

After church on Sunday morning, we headed back to W. Laf. Josh kindly drove Sara and me to our parents' house in Indy, where I spent the rest of break, which was disappointing because I had planned to spend the last weekend at the Wegeners'. I had been looking forward to playing Sorry! and Candy Land with Faith and Amanda, and reading exciting books with Paul and Ben, and jumping on the trampoline with all of them, and sheering Kara's lovely goats, but, alas, I had to work on Saturday. And that foiled my exciting plans.

But at least I made some $$$.

And when Kara returned to Paradise on Sunday night, she brought a lovely loaf of delicious bread baked by none other than Mrs. Johnson. We were all quite stoked upon its arrival. Oh, and we were pretty stoked to see Kara too.

And, to make up for this boring post, here is... (dum dum dum) a statue by Picasso!!! This lovely piece stands at E Washington St and S Dearborn St in Chicago. (Dang, we could have seen it!)

Interestingly, the great Picasso never set foot in Chicago. This statue, which stands at a magnificant 50+ feet, was built from a 42 inch model.
So, what is it, folks? A horse? A lion? An ex-girlfriend (my personal guess)?

Kara's successor

2007-03-03T17:19:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to PurdueCORPS, and a bunch of high school kids from Gethsemane Challenge were there. Pastor Johnson from 2nd RP in Indy was there too. After the rally (which was really good, btw), I talked to Pastor Johnson briefly. He asked me how school was going, and I replied that it was frickin' awesome (in more sedate terms, of course). He then asked me what year in school I was, and I replied that I was but a freshman. He seemed mildly surprised, and mentioned that I looked older than that. As I don't generally receive such comments, I was rendered speechless and merely shrugged my shoulders. However, I later realized that he must have thought that I was one of the Gethsemane Challenge kids and that I meant that I was a high school freshman =). Lol. I guess someone has to replace Kara as "the youngest-looking co-ed on campus" since she's graduating.

Jessica's Happy Day

2007-03-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

Today, my dear readers, I have decided to give you a glimpse into the happy life of a Purdue freshman art student. This post is especially geared towards high school seniors who have not yet made a commitment to the happiest school in the state, and to students at other schools who are unaware of why they are unhappy (because you're at the wrong school, doofus!) and finally, to my many depressed friends who are not in a happy art major.

Jessica awoke to the happy sound of her alarm clock. This sound would have been unhappy anywhere else, but alas, to our heroine, it beckoned the arrival of a new day full of happy classes at a happy school.

Jessica arose happily, and wrote a short paper for English 106. Upon its completion, Jessica noticed that she was short on time and packed breakfast instead of taking the time to eat something before rushing out the door.

After turning in her brief paper to her TA, Jessica went to the Purdue Memorial Union, where she combined what she had packed for breakfast: a jar of honey nut cheerios and a jar of milk. During the happy meal, Jessica talked to her dear mother on the phone. Mrs. Young sounded slightly bummed that she had not studied art in her own college days, but was comforted by Jessica's assurance that she would get to see our heroine over spring break.

After breakfast, Jessica went to a computer lab, where she filled out a survey on SSINFO about how awesome her school was. Jessica was happy to click "5" (on a 1 to 5 scale) on most categories. Had she been a student anywhere else, fate might not have handed her that happy opportunity.

Shortly thereafter, Jessica went to EE and sat through Professor Parrish's exciting art history lecture. During the delightful lecture, Jessica was thankful that she had the opportunity to learn so much from such an amazing professor. Amazing professors flock to amazing schools.

After the lecture, our heroine headed home. On a normal Friday, she would have gone to A&D 106 (the most EXCITING class she has ever taken!!) but her TA had cancelled class this Friday. While slightly bummed to miss out on the exciting class, our heroine was glad to go home and have a happy lunch with her happy sister.

Jessica and her sister biked back to school together after their happy meal. They were sad to part at Grant and Sylvia (Sara's class was in Heavilon, whereas our heroine's class was in Stanley Coulter), but their bummedness was lessened at the happy prospects of class.

After Jessica's exciting class, she checked her facebook and email in a computer lab. She was stoked that Purdue has such awesome computer labs, some of which are open 24 hours a day. If she attended a lesser school, she would not be so privileged. However, she shall not name any of the 'lesser schools' because she has a strong conviction against slander.

Then, Jessica biked home while the Bell Tower chimed happily.

Now, Jessica is at home in her happy kitchen with her happy roommates. Life couldn't be happier.

Now, to those of you not currently at Purdue, my life might sound unfathomably awesome. However, this day was in no way extraordinary. In fact, it was actually a less fun day than the average day of a Purdue art student. However, I didn't want to bowl you over with jealousy or cause you to quit on your own school midsemester because Purdue is so much more awesome, so therefore I decided to post about one of my least amazing days. Also, for the young high school students who read this post, I didn't want you to get dissatisfied and restless with your own situations and allow your grades to drop. I'm sure you all know you need to study hard and get good grades so you can get into Purdue!

Moral of the story: Study hard and get good grades so you can come here and share in the bliss!

"Weeping Woman" 1937

2007-02-21T09:10:00.000-05:00

What feeling this painting evokes! Doesn't it just make you want to cry? Look at the agony in her eyes! The emotional intensity is heightened by the acid green and purple. Painted just months after Guernica, one of the most emotionally stirring murals in history, this painting excellently portrays the grief Picasso was going through at the time.

Inamorato and the Mashed Potatoes

2007-02-15T19:17:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time there was a princess named Sultana. Sultana lived in a beautiful castle on a hill. At the foot of the hill was a moat infested with vicious crocodiles. Because of these dreadful crocodiles, no handsome knight dared to cross over the moat to propose to lovely Sultana.

Or so Sultana thought. She was actually quite disillusioned. The true reason no man dared ever to propose to her was because of her hideous face. Thankfully, Sultana owned no mirror. Therefore, she never had the displeasure of gazing upon her own harrowing countenance.

One day, Sultana received a heart-wrenching telegraph announcing that her parents had both died tragically in a game of spoons. Sultana went into mourning and cried without ceasing until she received another startling telegraph.

This telegraph was from her dear aunt Eunice. It read, "I accidentally left a pair of socks at your parents' castle when I last visited them. If you would be so kind as to ship them to me when the estate is settled, I would be much obliged. They are orange with pink polka dots. Much affection, Aunt Eunice."

This telegraph caused poor Sultana a great shock. It was several minutes before she could breathe normally.

"It's addressed to--to--Queen Sultana!" Sultana finally stammered, revealing the cause of her shock. "I'm queen!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, a handsome, respectable knight was being very punctilious in his life calling, which was slaying dragons. His name was Inamorato.

"Blimey, there's another one!" cried Inamorato upon noticing a dragon peering in through his kitchen window. Girding himself with his trusty rusty sword, Inamorato exited his castle, sad to leave his warm mashed potatoes, but glad to fulfill his life calling.

Once the dragon was dead, Inamorato returned to his dinner which was sadly quite cold. (The dragon had been rather disagreeable about dying.)

"Blimey, my dinner's cold," said Inamorato as he poked his cold mashed potatoes. "And these aren't even real mashed potatoes--they're from a mix! This dinner frickin' sucks!"

Just then, a chick knocked on Inamorato's door. He got up to answer it.

"Why hello, Floosie," Inamorato said, recognizing his female neighbor. He was in no mood to see visitors due to his sudden realization that he had been eating crap for the past 14 years (His parents had tragically died in a bumper car accident when he was four, and he had been forced to cook for himself ever since.) However, being the epitome of "gentleman", Inamorato held his tongue.

"You look rather disheartened," Floosie commented as she invited herself inside. She sat down at Inamorato's kitchen table. "Blimey, what have you been eating? Plain mashed potatoes from a mix?"

"Why, yes. How observant of you," Inamorato commented icily.

"What you need is a wife," Floosie commented. "Then you would come home from dragon slaying every night, and a warm made-from-scratch dinner would be waiting for you."

"By golly, you're right!" Inamorato exclaimed.

"Oh, Inamorato, I never thought the day would finally come that you would see!" Floosie exclaimed, looking quite enamored. "Kiss me, baby!"

But Inamorato was not listening. Quickly, he donned his cape and grabbed his trusty rusty sword and set out in search of a wife. He brushed passed Floosie and rushed from his home.

Inamorato ran and ran and ran until he tragically bumped into a helpless looking little old man with a 4 foot long white beard.

"Golly, I'm sorry!" Inamorato stammered. "Who the heck are you?"

"I'm the wise old man on the mountain. What can I help you with?" replied the little old man.

"Mountain? No wonder my legs are so sore!" Inamorato exclaimed as he looked over the railing of the scenic overlook. "Well, since you offered, I'd really dig some advice. I'm looking for a wife, but not just any wife. She has to be able to make mashed potatoes from scratch. So where do I find her?"

"Golly, that's a tough one," the wise old man replied. "Try the other side of the planet."

"Alright. Thank you kindly," Inamorato replied while slaying the wise old man's pet dragon. Once the creature was liquidated, he set out on a long journey, all the while slaying dragons.

One evening, Inamorato was resting from his travels in a friendly little tavern. "What's your vocation?" one of the regulars asked.

"I slay dragons," Inamorato replied. "I haven't seen any for months, however. What's with these parts?"

"Dragons? What are dragons?" asked the regulars, crowding around the lone traveler.

"You know, those big scaly creatures," replied Inamorato. His audience murmured among themselves, confused.

"Don't tell me there aren't dragons in these parts!" Inamorato exclaimed. "They're big, and green-"

"Ah, you mean crocodiles!" one of the regulars finally exclaimed.

"So you people have your own word for dragons," Inamorato laughed. "But please do tell me where I can find some, er, 'crocodiles'. I haven't slain one for nearly four months!"

"There's a moat that's full of them just 3 miles south of here," one of the men offered. "Let's have another round!"

Another round was had.

The following morning, Inamorato rose early to fulfill his life calling. He trudged all the way to the moat, all the while whistling and swinging his trusty rusty sword.

“Blimey, those are some funny-looking dragons,” Inamorato thought to himself as he began to slay them.

Meanwhile, Sultana was peering from her window. “Oh! He’s come to marry me!” she swooned with delight.

“Blimey, these are some funny-acting dragons!” Inamorato began to panic. “What large teeth they have!”

Just then, one of the crocodiles lunged for Inamorato’s head and made off with both his eyeballs.

“Blimey! I think I’ll switch vocation!” Inamorato decided as he blindly thrust his trusty rusty sword in the side of the last crocodile.

“Oh, darling, you’ve come at last!” Sultana exclaimed with delight as she cradled Inamorato’s wounded head in her arm. "Come up to our home, and have something to eat!”

“Mashed… potatoes…” Inamorato whispered before fainting from lack of blood. When he awoke, there was a plate of freshly mashed potatoes in front of him and a king’s crown on his head.

“Sweet deal,” he decided. “It’s a bummer I can’t gaze upon your beauteous countenance.”

“You poor dear,” replied Sultana. “Have some more mashed potatoes.”

They lived happily ever after.

I got a rose from someone special

2007-02-14T21:24:00.000-05:00

My Awesome Weekend

2007-02-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I had a time that cannot be more eloquently described with any word other than "awesome". It all started at about 4 am when I had a very enlightening conversation with someone sleeping in my sister's bed. Because the person was sleeping in my sister's bed, I naturally assumed that she was my sister. Had I been more awake at the time, I would quickly have realized that she was not my sister, because, while my sister talks in her sleep, she always wakes up immediately if one replies to her odd questions. This person, on the other hand, was more loquacious than any other sleeping person I have ever conversed with.

I did not realize that the person was not my sister until I went downstairs and found her sleeping on our couch. At that point I determined that the insightful dialogue of the wee hours of the morning had been but a dream.

I then went upstairs and turned the lights on in my darkened bedroom, and began loudly playing on my sister's computer while packing for an exciting trip I was about to embark upon (I excel at multi-tasking; right now, for instance, I am drinking chocolate milk and typing on Mia's computer at the same time). I heard some heavy breathing from my sister's loft bed above my head. I again discarded the notion as absurd. However, once the person rolled over, I got up from the computer to investigate. Lo and behold, there was a chick in my sister's bed who shall remain anonymous because I am uncertain as to whether she would like to have her sleeping habits posted on the internet.

At 8 am, the truly awesome part of my weekend began with a loud knock on my door by none other than N "N" A himself! Kara, Mia, and yours truly all entered Nathan's vehicle, and we set out for Cary Quad, where Josh Johnson joined the excitement. Time passed quickly as we discussed baby names and other intriguing topics.

Before we knew it, we were at the Johnsons' house. Josh exited the vehicle and entered his beautiful abode. This stop on our exciting adventure seemed unmonumental at the time, perhaps not even worth mentioning on The Blog. However, we later discovered that within the Johnson house, Mrs. Johnson bakes amazing food. You would have to taste it to understand, but just take my word for it.

The rest of us went to Kara's uncle's house, where Amanda, Faith and Mrs. Wegener were. Kara, Mia, and yours truly entered the lovely house, as N "N" A roared off to who knows where.

Mrs. Wegener drove us to the beautiful Wegener home, where time passed very quickly. I read the children several books, including an encyclopedia article entitled "Picasso, Pablo". Unfortunately, that story bored dear Ben, so we moved on to a Dr. Seuss book that he enjoyed much more. I was deeply disappointed that he didn't enjoy the encyclopedia article very much, because I had done my very best to use tonal fluctuations to make the story more interesting. I even paused to describe the term "Cubism" to him.

We played several deeply entertaining games of "Sorry!" Unfortunately, through the game, we discovered that dear Paul is a tad fickle. Once he decided that Amanda's team was going to beat the team that Faith and I were on, he promptly left us and joined her team. I have since gotten over the pain. The fact that Faith and I beat Amanda and Paul helped slightly.

On Sunday morning, we went to church, and Pastor Bailey decided that it was my turn to make dinner this Sunday. I should never have agreed to that bet, but who would have thought that he really uses the word "Adam" in every sermon? I shall never doubt Kara again. At least not when Sunday dinner is at stake.

After church, we went home to a delectable meal cooked by Mrs. Wegener. It was absolutely scrumptious. Following the meal, we were able to play with the adorable children for several more hours before it was time to go home. We were all exceedingly bummed to leave.

On the way home, we listened to several enlightening Beatles CD's because we hitched a ride with Andrew instead of N "N" A.

We stopped by the Johnson's house on the way home to regain Josh. It was at that point that we got a glimpse of the house's awesomeness. As we pulled into the driveway, Mrs. Johnson came out with a box of amazing food for us! We were so stoked. The heavenly loaf of wheat bread got us all the way home (except for a quick stop at Arby's which the others insisted on). And I just now discovered the cinnamon swirl bread. In fact, I am eating it right now (those awesome multi-tasking skills!).

We then returned to Paradise. Andrew was very stoked to see my sister, because he had not seen her for almost 24 hours. She was very stoked to see all of us because she was lonely due to our absence. I guess the person who slept in her bed didn't stay for very long.

After we had unpacked Andrew's trunk, we discovered an exciting box that had arrived the day before. It was adressed to "Jessica Young". Stokedly, I opened it. I had a surmise as to its contents because I recognized the handwriting on the front of the box. As soon as I caught a glimpse of its contents, my stokedness increased exponentionally. Swedish cinnamon rolls, cookies, and muffins from my mother all for me!!!!! After I read the note, I discovered that they were not all for me and that I was to share with my roommates. However, my stokedness did not decline.

A Fairy Tale

2007-02-05T21:06:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, there were three brothers. They were princes. The eldest was Guy, the crown prince. The middle brother was named Player. The youngest of the three was Dude. All three of the brothers were expected to marry well-bred princesses from any of the surrounding kingdoms. However, no one really cared about who Player or Dude married because she would not become queen.

Guy, being an obedient son, promptly married a crowd-pleasing princess when he became of age.

Player didn’t settle down.

No one noticed when Dude gave his heart away to a sweet little commoner named Chick. He didn’t intend to do anything wrong; however, he was attracted to her innocence and lack of the pompous manner associated with most princesses.

Every afternoon, Dude and Chick would go walking in the fields of purple flowers surrounding the palace. He knew he loved her and that the feeling was mutual. However, marrying her would be rebelling against his father and disrespecting the whole kingdom. Still, he would walk with her everyday, hoping the carefree days would never end.

One day, he accidentally let his tongue slip, and three little words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Ditto!” Chick exclaimed with such devotion, that Dude felt his heart melt.

That night, after he walked her home to the little mud hut she lived in, Dude knew he had to confess to his father that he was in love with a commoner.

“My son, you can’t shame the kingdom by marrying her,” was the king’s verdict. “We both know that Guy will be king after me and not you, but marrying her will give our whole kingdom a bad name. I won’t force you to stop loving her, but you can never marry her.”

“Yes, Father,” Dude replied obediently.

Meanwhile, in a far away kingdom, a king named Darth was plotting with his daughter Dart. “My dear, if you marry Player, I will personally put a bullet through Guy’s head. Then the kingdom will be ours!”

Dart was every bit as evil as her father. She promptly set out to woo Player. That was no problem; he loved her immediately. However, he did not love only her. Dart wrote home to her father of this impediment. Darth immediately sent forth an army to kill off Player’s other lovers.

“It must be an omen that every one you’ve loved except me has been killed,” Dart hinted to Player. However, he was rather dense, so she hinted farther: “I really dig your dead mother’s engagement rock.”

Finally, Player married Dart.

At the wedding, Guy was tragically killed by a pot of boiling water accidentally dropped on him by a newly hired maid who came from the land that Darth ruled.

Meanwhile, another newly hired maid from the same land was recklessly sharpening a butcher knife in the presence of the king. Suddenly, the blade slipped from her hand, and would have pierced the king in the heart had it not been for a sweet little commoner named Chick, who pulled the king to safety once she discerned what was happening.

Both maids were immediately locked in prison towers.

That night, fate intervened and Player fell tragically ill with a serious case of hives. He died at 2 a.m.

“My son, you are now the crown prince” the rather dense king announced to Dude what he had already figured out on his own.

“You got it,” Dude replied.

“So, who do you intend to marry?” the king asked Dude.

“You know very well, father,” he replied coldly. “But apparently I will have to marry some snobbish princess of your choosing.”

“Son, you are blinded by love! Do you not see that the reputation of our entire kingdom is at stake?” the king bellowed.

“Yes, Father,” Dude regained his submissive disposition. “I’ll dump her in the morning.” However, Dude did not intend to see the morning.

He took a quick swig of something marked “biohazard” that he found in the dungeon and promptly went to bed.

Meanwhile, the tale of Chick saving the king’s life was spreading like wildfire across the kingdom.

The following morning, the king awoke to the thunderous roar of thousands of voices. He walked out onto his balcony and saw throngs of people. “We want Chick! We want Chick!” they chanted. Some were holding picket signs with slogans such as “Let the people pick their queen!”

The king promptly died of a heart attack.

The following morning, Dude woke up. His first thought was “blimey, I’m alive!” His second thought was “blimey, I’m king!” (Dude took the time to walk over to his window and see his dead father’s body on the balcony between the two thoughts.)

“Well, I guess I ought to please the people and marry the chick of their choosing,” he decided, feeling much happier about being submissive than he had the night before.

“Blimey, some of the 24-hour poison is missing!” Dude heard one of the maids exclaim from the dungeon.

“What exactly is 24-hour poison?” Dude queried.

“It kills you exactly 24 hours after you drink it,” the maid replied.

Dude excused himself and went and puked in the bathroom. Then, he donned his favorite Pink Spiders T-shirt and went to go propose to his true love.

He found her home deserted.

Word quickly spread that Chick had disappeared. The people went into mourning. (Some were already slightly bummed over the death of their king; however, now they went all-out and even dressed in black mourning clothes.)

The royal army was immediately commanded to set out in search of Chick. Dude also set out on his most trusty steed, vowing not return without his beloved.

Meanwhile, Chick was biding her time away locked in a tower in a faraway kingdom. Darth, in a fit of anger, had kidnapped her in revenge of Player’s death (which he was sure was no accident.) Her long beautiful hair grew and grew and her sweet countenance grew sadder and sadder.

One day, Darth was sitting in his lawn reading a fairy tale by the name of “Rapunzel”. Upon glancing up, he happened to catch sight of Chick’s long beautiful hair hanging from the tower. Immediately, he sent a maid to go hack it off.

Chick cried a river.

Dude traveled far and wide in search of his true love. One fair day, nearly a year after Chick’s initial disappearance, he heard a faint sweet sound. It was the sound of his beloved singing their favorite Pink Spiders song!

Dude rode in the direction of the sound as swiftly as he could. It was dusk by the time he found her.

“My darling,” he whispered.

“Dude!” Chick exclaimed.

“Sshh,” Dude warned. He pondered how to get up to Chick. The walls of the castle were too smooth to permit climbing.

“Blimey, when did you last cut your hair?” Chick asked in a hushed whisper.

“A year or two ago. I haven’t had time to cut it in my earnest search for you!” Dude replied. Suddenly he got a brilliant idea. He threw up the end of his hair to Chick, who tied it to the lone bar dividing her window. Swiftly, Dude climbed up to Chick. She wrapped her arms around him, and he climbed back down with Chick on his back. Pulling out his dagger, he chopped off his hair.

“I never liked crew cuts,” Chick stated. “Good thing I already dig you!”

“It’ll grow back, sweetie,” Dude reassured her as he swung her up onto his horse. They rode back in triumph and were greeted by hoards of adoring people once they returned to the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Darth was lying on his lawn reading “Beauty and the Beast” when he noticed some long hair tied to his prison tower blowing freely in the wind.

“Bloody heck!” he exclaimed in a thunderous growl. He leapt onto his trustiest horse to set out to regain Chick; however, in his haste, he accidentally led his horse off a cliff and promptly died.

Chick and Dude got married and lived happily ever after.

My Evil Twin Sister and Me Conniving

2007-02-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

my boring day and SOME EXCITING ART!!!

2007-01-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

I was recently conversing with a roommate about blogs. She shared her opinion of mine, which was that it needed updating in a form other than a post about art. To please my dear roommate, I shall bore you dear readers with an account of my day before sharing a visual treat I recently discovered.

I woke up. I took a shower. I studies for a history test. I whined about how much I hate history to my sister (while we ate breakfast), and shared my supposition, which is that art students should not have to take tests. After all, we are expected to have a great ability to draw, paint, sculpt, etc., not to be great intellectuals who somehow manage to remember useless facts about Soninke people who lived 700 years ago and have no pertinence to my life. I don't believe they even had any memorable effect on art, or else my professor would no doubt have told us all about it and shown us slides of their work.

Anyway, back to our story: I finished breakfast. I studied some more. I borrowed a pair of my sister's socks since I have not yet done laundry this month. Now, some of you might consider borrowing without asking to be stealing; however, I fully intend to replace them before she notices their absence and I even plan to wash them.

Then, I went to the math building and took a very unenjoyable test. I did not enjoy the unenjoyable test. Then I came home and decided to update my blog.

Well, that was a rather dull day. I'll give you some highlights of yesterday as well:

The very best part of yesterday was my A&D 106 class. That class is the most fun class I have ever taken. It is exactly the way classes should be: lots of art projects and no tests.

The second best part of yesterday was making dinner. Pealing potatoes and listening to REM is quite enjoyable. I should do it more often. Unfortunately, when I opened the oven to put the meatloaf in, the handle came off of the oven door. That was quite unfortunate. I instant messaged my sister's boyfriend to ask him to come and put it back on; however, he thought that I was my sister. That is most likely because of one or more of these facts:

a) I called him "sweetie"

b) I was using my sister's screen name

c) I asked him if he wanted to walk to school with me the next day and hold hands

d) I asked him if he wanted to sit in on my interior design lecture (I believe he is aware that Sara is the only one of us who is taking interior design)

Well well, enough of my boring life. I shall now excite you dear readers with the visual treat I promised earlier. It is called "Three Musicians" and is by none other than Pablo Picasso himself. Enjoy!

Album Art

2007-01-24T08:44:00.000-05:00

After learning that the career I am pursuing is that of an album artist, many people have asked me what album art I like. Therefore, I have decided to make a post about my favorite album covers. Feast your eyes.

My very favorite is Jet's debut album, Get Born:

I really like how the artist mixed a drawing with photographs, and I think that the design is very visually appealing.

Another album cover that I think is very well done is James Blunt's latest, Back to Bedlam. I don't really dig his music, but every time I am at a music store, I am drawn to the cover of this album. I think the color scheme is highly effective.

Another album with an amazing cover is the Beatles' Yellow Submarine:

The very effective use of space may not be very apparent to many of you until you see how bad the stretched out DVD version looks:

I also really like the cover of the movie soundtrack:

It is a very simple design, but what makes it memorable is the iconic image of the Yellow Submarine. It is effective because of the aesthetically pleasing split complementary color scheme.

"Skull and Pitcher" by Pablo Picasso

2007-01-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

Isn't it beautiful?

Snickerdoodles

2007-01-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

Today I was absent-mindedly making snickerdoodles in my kitchen, when I accidentally mixed 3 T of cinnamon with my 3 T of sugar, instead of 3 t of cinnamon. At first, I was mildly bummed at my erratum; however, after adding several more tablespoons of sugar, I realized how incredibly useful it will be to have a great big jar of cinnamon-sugar in the cupboard. Now I can pull it out whenever I get the (frequent) urge to make snickerdoodles. How incredibly handy.

On another note, if any of you dear readers are snickerdoodle aficionados, come to CYA Winter Conference tonight, where all 70 of my sapid cookies are going.

P.S. If they're slightly hard, try the other plate; I overcooked one sheet of cookies.

Back to School

2007-01-08T18:10:00.000-05:00

This morning I got up bright and early for my first class of the semester--a 7:30 English Composition class (ENGL 106). My TA is a literature major. He began talking about how much he digs literature, and then expressed a desire to find out what kind of literature his students enjoy. He passed around notecards and asked us to write down our names and our favorite authors. I wrote "Nathan Alberson". I wonder what he will find if he tries to google my favorite author.

Catch Me If You Can

2007-01-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

To alleviate winter break boredom, I have been reading a lot of books. Well, not exactly a lot, but significantly more than I did at school, where the literature I encountered was mostly of the text book variety.

One of these books, as you have probably guessed by now, is Catch Me If You Can. I saw the movie a few years erstwhile; however, the book is far more commoving in my opinion. Frank Abagnale is sheer genius. He spent 11 months working as a real doctor, somehow managing to get the nurses and interns to do all the work since he had no medical training whatsoever. He also worked as a lawyer for several months. To pull that off, he forged a transcript from Harvard and took the bar exam (passing on his third try).

My favorite escapade of his took place at an airport (where Frank spent a great deal of time--his favorite of his numerous identities was that of Frank Williams, co-pilot for Pan-Am. (He had no clue how to actually fly a plane). One night, he noticed that when the airport stores closed, the clerks all deposited the day's profits in a bank vault in the airport. The following evening, the clerks found Frank by the vault dressed as a security guard next to a sign that read "Night deposit vault out of order. Please make deposits with security officer." No one suspected foul play. The policemen even helped carry the stolen money to Frank's car. He made $62,800 that night. And, being the considerate crook he was, he called the airport the next morning to let them know where everything he didn't want (checks, receipts, coins) was (in the bathtub of the hotel room he had just checked out of).

The amazing thing is that it is all true. It's not "based on a true story" as Hollywood tends to be. (Although, in this case, I think the movie was fairly accurate.)

So, those of you who still have a couple more days of break, read this book! It's a pretty quick read--I started yesterday, and I'm already 2/3 the way through it.

Pennsylvania was awesome!

2007-01-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

On Thursday morning, Kara, Emily, Gandalf and I all piled into the Wegener's little car and set out on a grand adventure. Our first stop (excluding lunch, gas, and dinner) was Emily's aunt's and uncle's house just outside of Lancaster. They are old order Mennonites, and we spent the night with them. The next morning we drove around beautiful Lancaster and went to the market because Friday is market day.

Then, we drove to Kim's house in Hazleton, where we left Gandalf. He was coming to surprise her, and she was very surprised!

Next, we set out for Camp Susque, where all of the Knowldens were, except Carrie, but she isn't a Knowlden anymore anyway. We had an awesome time. Mr. Knowlden was the speaker, and we enjoyed him immensely.

The following day, Saturday, we went on a hike up a mountain with Keith and Katie. The view was beautiful when we got to the top. Then, Keith, Kara, Emily, and I all drove to Hazleton. On the way, we stopped at Keith's grandparents' farm, which was very picturesque. They had the most gorgeous barn which had been built in the late 1800's. Keith's grandpa took us on a tour of the farm on his four wheeler. The three of us girls piled on the back, and Keith sat on the front. The farm was beautiful.

Then, we went back into the farmhouse and were presented with a delightful supply of homemade doughnuts. After saying goodbye to aunts, uncles, and grandparents, we continued on our way. After visiting the school that Keith teaches at (which had the most awesome floor), we bought a pizza and brought it back to Keith's happy little trailer, where we ate it and watched Hoodwinked.

We spent the night at Kim's house. They have a beautiful home with lots of pine inside. It reminded me of a cabin.

On Sunday morning, we went to church. It was smaller than both Kara and I had expected, but very awesome. Keith made dinner for Gandalf, Kim, Kara, Emily, and me at his parent's house. Watching boys cook is amusing.

After evening service, we went to a New Year's party at the house of some people who go to the church. I never figured out whose house it was, except that they had an adorable little daughter named Naomi. I suppose I should have asked Naomi who her parents were.

Anyway, the house was AWESOME! it had a hobbit door upstairs that led out to a little balcony. It also had a gorgeous tower with a rotating top for a telescope which was not yet in place.

After counting down to midnight, we left the party because we intended to leave early the next morning. We ended up not leaving until about 8:30, but we still made it back to Indy in time for a delectable dinner of lasagna, broccoli, salad, French bread with a dessert of warm apple crisp and cold ice cream provided by mother. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Coconuts

2006-12-25T23:12:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, my mother sent Shingle Paradise a care package for finals week. It contained lots of delectable treats, including some fresh fruit. Most of it got eaten quite quickly. The very last thing to go was a coconut. None of us had ever had a real one before, and therefore we were a little unsure of what to do with it.

Finally, the day after the Jet concert, we carried it over to Cair Paravel, where Andrew was. We debated how to open it for a few minutes. Then I called Green Gable in quest of a saw. They had none. I then suggested to Andrew that he drill a hole in it so we could drink the milk. He did so, but, unfortunately, coconuts do not contain sweet coconut-flavored milk. I could have sworn they did. But alas, all the liquid inside was a little bit of nasty tasting oil.

Once we had emptied the coconut of the miniscule amount of liquid it contained, Sara and Andrew went outside to drop it on the sidewalk. I updated Andrew's to-do list while they were out. They came back in with fragments of coconut bark and delicious-looking white coconut meat. I eagerly sank my teeth into the white stuff. Once my taste buds registered the flavor, I was equally eager to dispel my teeth from it.

The simple fact is: real coconuts are disgusting. Who would ever have guessed? It smelled like the yummy dried stuff you can buy in a grocery store, but it tasted like soap.

Day Two in the Castle

2006-12-14T15:17:00.000-05:00

Thursday afternoon found beautiful princess #1 and beautiful princess #2 in similar positions as the day before. There were subtle differences, however. Beautiful princess #1, having exhausted the royal supply of dark chocolate, as well as beautiful princess #3's boyfriend's gift from the night before, was now munching on milk chocolate. Beautiful princess #2 was lying on the couch connivingly eyeing a pile of sex books.

"So how'd you do on your sex final this morning?" beautiful princess #1 asked between bites.

"I think it went OK," replied beautiful princess #2. "How would you like to go to that guy who brought the chocolate last night's house and burn some books with me?"

"I don't know, I've got a couple of more Hershey's bars to get through..." murmured beautiful princess #1, pondering how burning books could be any more fun than burning CD's.

"Well, I'll be back in about half an hour, then," said beautiful princess #2. She rose from the couch and flicked a lighter. With her other hand, she scooped up the pile of books she had grown to disdain.

"Actually, I would dig going with you!" beautiful princess #1 dropped a half eaten Twix bar and donned her royal cape. The two princesses exited the castle.

After they crossed the moat, the princesses trekked through the woods for a short while. Soon, they found beautiful princess #3's boyfriend's home. There, they had a grand adventure, complete with a pleasant fire.

And they all lived happily ever after.

My Sister is in an Oblivious State

2006-12-13T14:38:00.000-05:00

Today a beautiful princess came home from school, and found two other beautiful princesses at home. One was lying on the couch reading about homosexuality, and the other one was oblivious to the outside world due to noise-canceling headphones.

"I just found out that I aced A&D 105," said beautiful princess #1.

"Did you expect anything else?" asked beautiful princess #2.

The oblivious princess remained silent, no doubt due to her oblivious state.

Beautiful princess #1 sat down in the living room and began eating massive amounts of chocolate to celebrate being done with her freshman semester. Beautiful princess #2 resumed studying because, while she also was done with her freshman semester, this was not her freshman semester. Beautiful princess #3 remained oblivious.

"Well, since I have no homework, I might as well update my blog," said beautiful princess #1.

"I have so many papers to write," moaned beautiful princess #2 as she resumed reading Homosexuality in Ancient Greece.

Beautiful princess #3 readjusted her noise-canceling headphones, oblivious that she was becoming a character in a fairy tale.

Beautiful princess #1 updated her blog. "Perhaps I'll go out and do something fun now, since I have no homework," she mused. Beautiful princess #2 gave her a slightly jealous look. Beautiful princess #1 thought that she also detected a hint of jealousy on the oblivious princess's countenance. However, she had probably imagined it because it is physically impossible to be jealous of someone you are oblivious to.

Suddenly, beautiful princess #3 ripped off her noise-canceling headphones and exited her state of oblivion. "Finals time!" she shrieked and grabbed her orange backpack. After receiving good luck wishes from the other two princesses, she exited the castle.

"What to do without homework?" mused beautiful princess #1. Beautiful princess #2 scowled and buried her nose in Homosexuality in Ancient Greece.

Presently, beautiful princess #1 parted her lips and enunciated the word "blimey."

"What?" asked beautiful princess #2. "You can't possibly have any problems as great as mine," she said while bitterly eyeing a huge stack of sex books.

"Of course not," beautiful princess #1 agreed. "It's just... I suck at ending fairy tales!"

"Honey, everyone knows that fairy tales end in 'and they all lived happily ever after'," said beautiful princess #2, wishing that her problems were as minuscule as beautiful princess #1's.

"And that's not even all!" beautiful princess #1 continued. "I have another problem. We're almost out of dark chocolate!"

Just then, beautiful princess #3's boyfriend showed up.

And they all lived happily ever after.

A&D 105

2006-12-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

This was a fun class.

This one is made out of cut black paper. As you can hopefully tell, it is five lines that convey movement.

This one is also made out of cut black paper. As you hopefully noticed, it is negative/positive shape reversal.

This one is made out of cut black paper and India ink. (The line is India ink). This assignment was to create two shapes and a line with a complex edge somewhere in the composition.

This assignment was to make two geometric shapes and two implied organic shapes. It is drawn entirely with India ink.

This is two contrasting organic shapes cut out of black paper.

This is a photomontage made out of magazine pictures.

Musings from within Jessica's brain

2006-12-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I went to Von's to return a movie that was so FRICKIN' AWESOME that the boys at Cair Paravel are going to buy it for us. Since I was out anyway, I decided to go across the street to get a kneaded rubber eraser at Follet's.

At both stores, I felt bad for the cashiers who had to work on the Sabbath. Then, I wondered why they had to work on Sunday anyway. I came to the conclusion that it was because of people like me who shopped on the Sabbath, because, if no one bought anything on Sunday, the managers wouldn't waste the money to keep the stores open on Sunday. Then, I wondered if maybe I shouldn't shop on Sundays. But then I figured that the cashiers who were Christians (if there were any) probably didn't have to work on the Lord's Day because they'd probably told their managers that they can't work on Sundays.

So, my dear beloved readers, what is your opinion on the subject?

Tonight

2006-11-30T00:47:00.000-05:00

So tonight I was in my bedroom working on art projects as I usually do on Thursday nights. The only odd thing was that tonight was not a Thursday night. I (being quite assiduous) was getting a head start on my art because this project is especially complex and time-consuming.

So, as I was carefully drawing a fine line with my black pen, I heard a THUD. It sounded like a bird hitting the window; however, no bird would have hit my window because my blinds were drawn. I thought nothing of it, until the second THUD occurred. At this point, I determined that my often drunk neighbors were throwing objects at the building and would soon stop. By the third THUD, I got up to investigate. Lo and behold, there was a boy below my window. He wanted my sister. I obliged and returned to my artwork.

Another Ambitious Undertaking

2006-11-20T10:46:00.000-05:00

I have embarked upon yet another ambitious undertaking. This one is even more operose: I have decided to do a double major. As much as I enjoy graphic design, I want to do more drawing and painting. Therefore, I have resolved to get a major in fine arts in addition to my current major of VCD. This will result in a rather difficile workload, however. This spring, I will be taking 19 credit hours, which shall be a declivitous increase from this semester's 15 credit hours.

Cubism

2006-11-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite Cubism pieces. For those of you dear readers who are not especially well-versed in art, Cubism is based on the idea that "the essence of objects can only be captured by showing it from multiple points of view simultaneously," according to the ever-useful internet. Because this is my blog, and not a paper for school, I shall not bother with the mundane work of properly citing the website.

Notice the expertly placed directional lines that draw the eye into the composition. According to my favorite TA, Nien Hsieh, good compositions draw the eye in and keep it there, whereas bad compositions draw you in for a second or two, and then you go out to have a beer and never come back.

Also, notice the color scheme of this beautiful work of art. Brown, black, grey, and white. Due to these all being rather subfusc colors, it is surprising that the artist was able to create such an aesthetically pleasing work that is not at all dull. Of course this is due in part to the brown being of a very warm hue.

I hope you all now have a deeper appreciation for this work of art. And I apologize for sounding so much like a lecturer. I felt the need to properly eulogize this amazing work of art after discovering that some people I live with do not fully appreciate its aesthetic qualities.

A Problem

2006-11-06T13:28:00.000-05:00

Every week college students across the nation bust their brains out Monday through Friday studying and doing homework. The natural corollary of this soporific cycle is a universal day of slumbering come Saturday. The archetypical student is seldom out of bed before noon on Saturday.

Sleeping in on Saturdays in itself is innocuous; however it can have detrimental effects on the subsequent day of the week. According to Deuteronomy 5:13-14, the Sabbath is a day of rest. God commands us to work for six days and rest of the seventh. However, with Saturday preceding Sunday, this is exigent for college students to accomplish. By the time Sunday evening comes about, most of us inadvertently end up doing homework. This is a deplorable way to end the Sabbath.

My initial solution to this quandary was simply to switch Saturday and Sunday on the calendar. A quick call to all the calendar manufacturers, as well as the makers of the Mortar Board™ would easily restore the Sabbath to its original intent.

However, on second thought, I found this to be slightly unfeasible. It could also result in widespread befuddlement. Due to this possibility, I shall now present a better solution. All universities who have any respect for God's apodictic will should move class days from Monday through Friday to Tuesday through Saturday. This will allow students to rest on the Sabbath and still manage to complete all assignments as the weekend draws to a close on Monday night. My dear readers, write to your university's president today and initiate some changes for the glory of God!

This is A Very Long Post

2006-11-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up (at about eleven) from a nice long twelve-hour sleep on the couch downstairs. Then I had pancakes that Kara had made while Kara told me about all the things I had missed while sleeping:

The rest of the movie Pride and Prejudice
Sara coming home from dancing and watching the movie with us. (I don't see how I could have missed this, but I don't recall it whatsoever)
Andrew coming over
Christie leaving
The girls all telling me to go upstairs to bed. Supposedly, I replied something along the lines of "I will," but I have no recollection of the conversation whatsoever.
All the residents of Shingle Paradise (besides me) going to bed
Supposedly, Kara playing load music this morning. However, I didn't wake up, so I'm not entirely certain that this one actually happened
Mia leaving for work at nine.

I did manage to wake up when Sara left for more dancing this morning. However, that only lasted for about five minutes. I fell asleep again as soon as she left and did not wake up again until Kara made pancakes at eleven.

As my disclaimer, I do not usually sleep this much. I was merely recovering from two almost-all-nighters in a row.

After eating my pancakes, I started writing a blog entry. Then Kara read it and said "You should write stories about your all-nighters instead of your all-sleepers. Those are funnier."

I said nothing, but I thought, "but I just spent twenty minutes typing this up!"

Kara did not reply, so then I thought, "well, I guess I could add more to the bottom of this post..."

Kara still voiced no opinion (I guess her mind reading abilities don't go beyond being able to tell my facial expressions across AIM).

Then I thought, "well, someone please tell me if this post is getting too long!"

Then Kara smiled and went down to the basement to sing and play the guitar, obviously unaware that I was thinking at her.

Then I thought, "well, I'll post about my all-nighters as well, and then my dear readers can comment about whether all-nighters or all-sleepers are more fun to read about and whether this post is too long or not."

I then concluded my conversation with myself and began to type the following:

On Wednesday night, I went into the studio after Bible study to work on my 113 object study, which was of my lovely punk rocker boot portrayed on the Shingle Paradise post about footwear. I know this totally gives the answer away, but I think everyone has already guessed. After working for some time, I went down to the first floor of Pao to get food from the vending machine. As I was conteplating whether to get Reese's cups or something other than Reese's cups, someone said "Jessica". I then turned around to see the Amazing Ross Cerbus, who was also getting a midnight snack. He asked me what I was working on tonight, so I told him I was working on the 113 object study and asked him what he was working on. Ross replied that he was working on a 106 project and took me to his studio to show me. It was really cool. (For you non-art majors, 106 is 3D design.) I then went back up to my studio to finish my object study. A little past two, Ross came up and said he was leaving. Shortly after he left, I did the same because I had forgotten my cutting mat (which I needed for my mixed media piece). After a wonderful three hours of sleep, I went back into the studio where I remained until class at 2:30 (besides a one-hour break for stat 113 lecture and another one hour break for Span 101 computer lab). I finished the last of my three pictures exactly twenty minutes before class. I used those twenty minutes to go get a snack, which quite sadly was the first thing that I had eaten since my midnight snack the night before because I had been too pressed for time to eat that morning. I shall post pictures of my object study when I get them back from my TA. In the mean time, if anyone would like to see them, they are on the wall on the third floor. To make them easier to find, one is purple, one is orange and yellow, and the last one is blue. (Actually, the blue one goes first; they put them up in the wrong order.) If anyone actually ventures over to Pao, I would give you an Official Commendation of Awesomeness, except only Nathan is entitled to give those out, so instead you are invited over for a delectable dinner of... PASTA!!!! Mmmmmmmm!

Another Emphatically Awesome Weekend

2006-10-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

Last Friday West Lafayette was cold and rainy and therefore I (being in West Lafayette) was cold and wet. Under normal circumstances, coldness and wetness would have added together to a lousy start to the weekend. However, these were no normal circumstances. I was quite happy because after my last class of the day, Laurie whisked me off to a warm sunny place called Turkey Hill in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri for a church conference. It was not warm and sunny when we arrived due to it being 12:00 am, but the sky was clear and starry and the air was quite warm for it being night.

After a lovely night's sleep in our cabin, Laurie and I awoke to a delectable breakfast of pancakes and bacon. We then attended chapel, where Laurie's uncle was speaking. He is a good speaker and he is very enthusiastic about the gospel.

After lunch, Laurie and I skipped the afternoon session to go pick up her friend Micah in Rolla, the town where Laurie was born and grew up. It is a beautiful little town in the mountains. The orange, red and yellow trees made the scenery even more breathtaking.

Laurie, Micah and I returned to Turkey Hill in time for the second half of the football games. A girls' game and a boys' game of tackle football were going on simultaneously in a muddy field. Laurie and I sat on the hill and watched. I was glad we didn't join in the game because the girls are notorious for being more aggressive than the boys.

Saturday evening, Laurie's friend David attempted to teach me to play volleyball. However, due to my lack of proficiency in sports, my team suffered. Nevertheless, I managed to hit the ball over the net a total of four times. Sadly, the number of times in which I missed the ball entirely was much greater.

Near midnight, Laurie, one of her friends and I lay down on the concrete and gazed at the stars. God's creation sure is beautiful. We could see so many stars that are imperceptible through Lafayette factory smog.

The next morning, Laurie's uncle preached for the church service. He spoke on Jonah and I really enjoyed it.

Lunch was directly after the service, and we left for the long trek back to Indy right after lunch. When we arrived back at Shingle Paradise, I was happy to learn that the lovely Missouri sunshine had followed us. The warmth didn’t quite make it, however; I was bummed to have to wear a sweatshirt to school this morning.

Art

2006-10-26T08:31:00.000-05:00

Now that midterm has come and gone and I have received all of my art from A&D 113 back from my TA, I have decided to post some of my favorite pieces. First, is the ink wash still life. The assignment was to draw a still life that was set up in the studio using ink, and then complete the picture with hatching and cross-hatching on top of the wash.

The next picture I am posting is the positive/negative space. The assignment was to draw panels on our paper (most people drew boxes; I chose to draw abstract shapes with zig-zag edges) and then draw a different thumbnail in each panel using negative space. The still life was set up in the studio and we just got to pick which angles to draw from and what to include in our thumbnails. This was the first picture that we had the option to experiment with color in, and I was very happy do so. Finally, I am posting my landscape. We were allowed to draw anywhere we wanted, so I chose to draw in the graveyard on Salisbury Street.

~Thanks to Andrew Wegener for taking the pictures~

An Ambitious Undertaking

2006-10-17T21:29:00.000-05:00

I have embarked upon an ambitious undertaking to read a long book Kara has recommended by the title of The Fellowship of the Ring. This book is probably quite familiar to most of you, even if solely by association with the movie of the same name. However, unlike most of you, I am an anomaly in that I have never seen the movie (with the exception of the first twenty minutes of it which I viewed at the Wegeners' lovely abode some weeks ago). Therefore, the plot and characters are all quite new to me. Nonetheless, I am ascertaining it to be rather enjoyable and well-written.

I personally find it rather agreeable to read a book before seeing the movie based upon it. This allows the reader to discover the characters on his own without his understanding of the story being marred by possibly incompetent actors who may misrepresent the story. (Not having seen the film The Fellowship of the Ring, I am in no way criticizing it.) After having seen a movie, it is often impossible for one to completely free oneself from the movie director's interpretation of the story and approach the actual book with an open mind so as to understand it just as the author intended it to be understood. For example, in the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, I understood the character "Mary" to be a plain girl. However, in the five-hour version of the movie, she is portrayed as exceptionally ugly (no offense to the actress; I’m sure those zits were fake). Those who saw the movie before reading the book would probably overlook the fact that the book merely describes her as "plain" because they had already been ingrained that Mary is downright ugly. I also don't recall any reference to Mary having ill singing skills in the book, but I am hesitant to say so as I read it rather cursorily in high school and may be mistaken.

Another problem with seeing a movie before reading the book is that often the story is "Hollywood-ized". For example, in the film A Walk to Remember several details are changed from the original book (which I consider to be far superior) to make a better movie. Someone who sees the movie and then reads the book might consider the book to be in error simply because he had first heard the story a different way, when in reality the movie was the one at fault.

Once again, for those of you who missed it the first time I said it, I am in no way criticizing the film The Fellowship of the Ring AND I have not yet seen it (except for the very beginning). However, I would like to say that despite still being in the first chapter of the book, I have already ascertained that it is a book that would be exceedingly difficult to make a film out of, even with a Hollywood budget. Therefore, any decent attempt at creating a movie about the book would be quite commendable although I doubt that the movie holds true to the book in every respect as that would be near impossible.

Repulsive Decorations and Two Useful Lessons

2006-10-14T12:06:00.001-05:00

Inflated holiday decorations in people's yards are the ugliest, tackiest, most distasteful, most revolting things I have laid my eyes on this season. I know they have existed in previous years as well, but this year they have stood out with uninhibited squalor. What nauseated me the most was seeing huge inflated Halloween decorations contaminating the beautiful landscapes of southern Indiana. Imagine rolling hills, dilapidated barns, grazing cows, trees of red, orange and yellow... and huge inflated ghosts popping out of huge inflated pumpkins! I'm sure you can imagine my repugnance.

In other news, half of Shingle Paradise is no longer single. The two extraordinarily lucky men have been being exemplary examples of gentlemen of late. For the benefit of my male readers, I have decided to share some highly useful lessons both men have successfully utilized in the past week. I am sure these two tips will prove to be indispensible to you someday as they have been to the two aforementioned gentlemen.

Handy dandy tip #1: Chicks dig ice cream
Handy dandy tip #2: Chicks dig chocolate

In conclusion, I have an inquiry for my dear readers. I fervently advise you all to reply, as your answers are imperative to my decision regarding the future of this blog. The question is this: Do you prefer posts containing intuitive arguments against such things as A&F and inflated holiday decorations, or do you prefer the exhilarating updates on my roommates' love lives? Or, perhaps you think that I have already achieved a delightful balance of the two. (This post, for example. is an anomaly in that it contains both.)

An Emphatically Awesome Weekend

2006-10-09T11:20:00.000-05:00

Dilapidated barns, trees in changing autumn colors, and grazing cows. All of that on top of beautiful Bloomington hills made me want to pull out my watercolors and do a landscape. But alas, I didn't have any with me, much less enough time between goat shearing, canoeing, hiking, and all of the other fun things we did. Nonetheless, it was an emphatically awesome weekend.

A Lovely Visit

2006-10-01T19:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Kara and I rode our bikes to her friend Tom's house. He lives on an enchanting farm outside of Otterbein. It was roughly 20 miles away, and it took us 2 hours to get there, but the ride was strikingly picturesque. (It didn't quite compare to the Hoosier Hills bike tour, however.) Tom is a fascinating person with a lovely vocabulary. He is an anomaly in that he is a Luddite (a machine hater) and his vocation is the "Macintosh geek" of Purdue University. He would make a great professor. Unfortunately, that doesn't really suit his fancy.

Tom has a beautiful dog and two beautiful cats. Kara and I wanted to kidnap the dog, Washu, who is part Samoyed. She is white, fluffy and adoring, and would make a perfect pet. The only drawback is that she is accustomed to living on a 75 acre farm, and might not adjust well to life in Shingle Paradise. While we were slightly disapointed in this (and that Tom didn't want to part with his dog) we shall enjoy going out to visit her frequently next year in training for Hoosier Hills. There are few hills on the way there; however, the distance will augment our endurance.

Exciting News!

2006-09-27T18:34:00.000-05:00

There is a new VERY EXCITING blog here. Visiting it VERY SOON is HIGHLY recommended. Otherwise, you might be very, very bummed out.

Boycott A&F!

2006-09-26T16:51:00.000-05:00

Most of you, my dear readers (the female ones, anyway) are probably well aware that the clothing conglomerate Abercrombie and Fitch is racist, prejudiced, and bigoted. They only hire non-ugly, non-overweight, white people who look roughly between the ages of 18 and 24. Disabled persons do not fit the mold. Neither do Goths. People of non-American ethnic origin are overlooked. Persons with shaved heads due to cancer are ignored. Only young, physically fit, white, “pretty” men and women are chosen.

I am bringing this serious issue to your attention because today, as I was sitting under a tree with a friend from my art class, two A & F “employment recruiters” approached me and had the audacity to offer me employment while blatantly ignoring my friend. She has thick black hair and is quite pretty. However, she did not fit the “beautiful All-American” mold.

If you were previously unaware of this somber issue, it is not too late. Donate all your A&F clothing to Goodwill, and vow to never again purchase anything from the reprehensible corporation. If you were already conscious of this appalling truth and have never bought anything from Abercrombie and Fitch, I solemnly commend you.

14 Hours

2006-09-23T21:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen... last night I got 14 hours of sleep. Quite an improvenment from the night before! When I woke up and my clock said "11:50" I thought it was broken. But alas, it was not.

Soon after getting up, I discovered that my sister was sound asleep on the couch downstairs. Suddenly I felt very good about getting up before noon. However, upon her waking up, I soon dicovered that she was not just sleeping off her BIG DATE from the night before-- she had worked this morning at 6:00 am!

I don't know if any of you care, but I got another picture on the wall and I'm so STOKED!!! During dinner tonight, after mentioning how many hours I spent on it, Kara said "when I was in 113, I hated people like you. They raise the standard." I've been thinking about that, and I wonder if maybe I shouldn't spend so much time in the studio. While leaving after dinner to go back to the studio tonight, I told Kara "I'm going to go mail a letter and... some other stuff" while obviously carrying art supplies. She gave me a knowing smile and told me to be back before two.

I don't really think I spend too much time in the studio, because I like it. I really enjoy drawing in the studio at night (or during the day too, I guess). I definitely think that spending too much time doing homework isn't a good idea, but because art is something I enjoy doing in my leisure time as well, I don't feel that I am being absorbed by homework and becoming a workaholic. Besides, if I was a workaholic, I would also spend a lot of time on my homework for Stat, Spanish, and Com. I can tell you right now that I defintely don't study enough for Spanish.

A Productive Night

2006-09-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

I stayed up most of last night completing my four negative/positive space reversal pictures for A&D 105. I finally went to bed at 7:00 am, only to get up at 8:15 to get ready for class. Oddly enough, I didn't feel that tired. Very satisfied with my pictures, I biked to class with a backpack full off books, my art kit hanging from my handlebars, and my box of papers and artwork balanced precariously on my handlebars. My awesome TA, Nien, liked all my pictures, which made my sleepless night worthwhile. After critiquing all our pictures, Nien gave us back our line drawings from last week. Only the best two got graded, and on my best two, she gave me a 95 and a 93. I almost hugged her. I got both of them on the wall. If any of you want to see them, they are in the basement of the VPA building. Mine are the top left one and the bottom second-from-the-left one.

Nien let us out of class early (she's awesome like that) and I headed straight for Stanley Coulter to do my Stat 113 homework. I usually do it on Thursday nights, but last night I was otherwise occupied with artwork. It took three hours, and I am just now done with it. And I still am not tired. I might fall asleep in the middle of Navs tonight... who knows.

In conclusion, I have vowed to never again waste pumpkin pie ingredients.

Unawesomeness

2006-09-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

Well, the pumpkin soup was not palatable. Mia almost puked.

The reason Sara and Kara are assigning weird meals to me is that they want to mold me into the perfect wife for my future husband. Perfect wives apparently have the innate ability to cook anything imaginable. Sara and Kara were rather concerned when they discovered that my cooking skills are mostly limited to pizza and pasta dishes. Upon their initial (unfavorable) reaction, I tried to enlighten them to the fact that I can make an amazing plethora of pasta dishes, including spaghetti, fetucci, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, linguini with chicken, tomatoes, and broccoli (my personal favorite) and many many more. However, Sara and Kara were unimpressed. Nonetheless, I still think any man in his right mind would prefer a delectable bowl of pasta to a undelectable bowl of pumpkin soup any day. If any men in their right minds read this post, please comment your opinion on this subject.

Awesomeness

2006-09-20T14:34:00.000-05:00

Today I had an awesome day. It started out with A&D 105, which was awesome because I got two line drawings on the wall!

Then, the awesomeness continued as I entered the Spanish 101 classroom. Our new TA (actually, she might be a professor because she refers to herself as Professora Laura) announced that instead of doing menial exercizes from the book as usual, we were going to have a scavenger hunt. All the clues were in Spanish. It took up the entire hour-long class period, mostly because we had to look up all the words in the clues.

Surprisingly, the awesomeness persisted even to Comm 114 class. I was quite exultant over this fact, because I hadn't been expecting a good class, due to it being my turn to speak. However, my speech went quite well.

Tonight, the awesomeness might abate slightly, owing to our having pumpkin soup for dinner. I have never before tasted the stuff, but my roommates assigned me to cook it. However, in the event that it is palatable, I suppose today will go down in history as "awesome". Otherwise... well, you can't have it all.

Smiles and Drawings

2006-09-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

Since this morning, I have received conclusive evidence that my hypothesis is indeed true. I am now near certain that our dear Sara was smiling as she awoke this morning. For her version of the happy tale, you can visit her blog (see links to the left). Kara also has an expounding analysis of the evening on her blog.

Today, my A&D 113 class was incredibly fun. We did myriads of gesture drawings, taking turns posing as the model. Then, we did a subtractive drawing in which we colored or paper black with charcoal, and then drew with our erasers. It was challenging but very fun.

Ecstatic Happiness Continues

2006-09-19T08:55:00.000-05:00

In continuation of our exciting tale, our dear Sara returned at 12:30 am with a big smile on her face and a delicious Steak 'n' Shake milkshake in her hand. (I say delicious because I was the one so priviledged as to finish it for Sara) Once it was in my hands, the small amount of the shake that was left disappeared quite quickly. On the contrary, the smile lingered long into the night, and has not yet disappeared to my knowledge. However, my information is somewhat debatable because it is hard to determine if one is smiling while getting up at 5:15 am to go to work, as it is still dark out at that time of the morning. But from what I could see (which wasn't much, I admit) Sara was still grinning from ear to ear.

If I receive any credible evidence that my observations were faulty, you, my dear readers, will be the first to know. Thank you.

We are ecstatically happy

2006-09-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

We have had a very exciting evening here at Shingle Paradise. My sister is currently out and about despite having to work at 6 am tomorrow. The rest of this exciting tale will be conveyed to you upon her return.