This produces good character, right?

It is going to be so hard to get up tomorrow and go to my class and 7:45.

And it will probably be even harder to go to my biology lab after, where we're going to be dissecting a fetal pig.


But as soon as that's over, I'm outta here.
:)

Okay...

...I'm ready for winter to be over now.

I have come to find...

...that, surprisingly, the rudest calls I get at the Help Desk are from Spring Arbor staff. I actually had someone hang up on me on Friday. She was angry because she couldn't send e-mails. I told her that one of our servers wasn't working properly, and we were doing emergency repairs at noon (it was probably around 11 when this happened). She was very short with me and told me that she was in contact with such and such and needed to send e-mails. I told her that everyone using a Spring Arbor e-mail was having this problem, and we were going to do repairs at noon. She got ruder, so said, "We're doing repairs at noon, but I will check to see if there is anything else I can do." I put her on hold, and just waited for a few seconds. I had just asked my supervisor about the problem, because the person before her had called with the same thing. He was on a call, and I knew there was nothing he could do, so I got back on the line, and said, "I'm sorry, we're going to be doing repairs at noon, and that will fix the problem." She didn't say anything for about 5 seconds, and then I heard her say, "Yes, can you connect me to *name*?" She was calling someone else while she was on the phone with me! Then she said, "Well I'm getting in contact with our person here because I need my e-mail (she wasn't on the main campus)." I started to say, "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," but she hung up while I was talking.

I wanted to call her back and tell her that her inside man couldn't do anything, because the server on main campus was down, and she would have to wait, just like the guy before her who called and was nice about it, and that being rude to me didn't get her anywhere with her problem, but that I did include it in the problem ticket.


A close second for rude people is adult students.



I've never had a bad call with a younger student, they're really nice about everything.

Poop and Sunshine

One morning at camp, a bird pooped on my face.

Now, this was a literal event, but we all kind of feel as if we've been pooped on sometimes, don't we? Sometimes we're standing under a tree in the beautiful morning light, minding our own business, when someone drops something unexpected on us. It's not our fault, but we do have a choice about what to do with it. We can let it ruin our day, crying to everyone who will listen about the mess that we've been left to deal with, hiding our face in embarrassment, or we can walk to the bathroom, wash it off (making sure to use lots and LOTS of soap), and move on. Nobody wants to be pooped on, but sometimes it’s beyond our control. You can choose not to stand under trees just like you can carefully choose the crowd you hang out with, but birds don’t just poop while they’re sitting in trees. You could choose to never go outside again, or always have an umbrella above your head, but what kind of life is that?

Ultimately, you’re probably going to get pooped on at some point (maybe not literally, but figuratively). And when that happens, you’ll have a choice. I challenge you to go wash it off, and go on with your day. And even if more bad things happen, like you twist your ankle or the battery in your watch dies, it’s not the end of the world. Next time you go down those stairs, watch out for the step that got you last time, and go get a new battery for your watch. Even when more and more things seem to be piling up, it won’t stay that way forever. Take it one step at a time and keep on living your life. Don’t be afraid to go outside because of the bird poop; don’t hold an umbrella over your head all the time: you’ll never feel the warmth of the sun on your face.

I challenge you to throw open your front door and go outside. Don’t be afraid of what could happen, live for what is happening and let the sun shine on you.


Just make sure that you’ve got some sunscreen handy, and lots of soap, just in case.




-jodi

Define: Epic

Last time one of our goldfish died (Mittens, to be specific), we borrowed a trumpet and I played the most pathetic Taps you've ever heard when we flushed her. Him? I don't think we ever decided.

In any case, we decided that the next time, we should actually bury the fish.



And we did not have to wait long, unfortunately.


Eustace has passed on (Victoria did too, but I've been sick and we just flushed her), and today we shall bury him outside of Casey Mellinger's window whilst belting out My Heart Will Go On.




It will be epic.

Happy day a la birth, Vati!

It's my dad's birthday.

I made him these:




And in them will go these:




Okay, story behind the "Uhh..." frame:
For my sister's wedding, we had to walk down the aisle with the groomsmen holding our wrist/elbow in this weird way, and it didn't work the same way on the way out. Plus, my brother stuck his arm out funny for me, so I didn't know what to do. We tried for a second, then I made a ridiculous confused face, and everyone started laughing. Someone managed to catch it on camera, and it's on Facebook, albeit a little blurry. We recreated the moment later, which is the picture I'm putting in frame.



Aww, I wish they weren't all weird and chopped off...
If you click on them you can see the whole picture.

"Are you sure you can't be pregnant?" "Well, I did hold hands with a boy yesterday..."

Today, for the first time in a long time, a medical person believed me when I told them that there was no way I could be pregnant.


When someone doesn't believe me and keeps asking, it typically really bothers me that they think I'm lying and that I am running around having wild and crazy unprotected sex. But then after I get over it, it strikes me as being really sad that they can't believe me. How often do they have patients lie to them and tell them that they can't be pregnant, only to find out later that they are?

We're living in a time where that has to be common, probably even normal, and that breaks my heart.


I would love to do a ministry working with young/teen girls where they are just loved and sincerely told that they are beautiful. I want to find a way to tell girls that they don't have to show 90% of their skin to be attractive; that they don't have to sleep with a guy to get love; that they can do something with their lives.

I think that our culture has got it all wrong, and the young ones are paying for it.