Day one hundred and eighteen.

Today I listened to Radiolab's new episode called Desperately Seeking Symmetry.

A New Radiolab Video: Symmetry

Which reminds me of an experiement I did with the halves of my face 3 years ago.

Two right sides--Two left sides--Left and right

All of them look fairly scary. They say our smiles are more pronounced on the left side of the face than the right. And how we see ourselves in the mirror is very different than how the world sees us. Interesting!

Day one hundred and seventeen.

Wednesday nights I help lead the early elementary kids at an after school-type program. We usually play a game of Guess Who, or Connect Four, or basketball if the weather's decent. I like basketball because the hoop is 5', and I can make the shots..paha.
Kids are so high energy, it's great.

Day one hundred and sixteen.

I'm not a big TV-watcher, but I like to rent documentaries and things from the public library.

Out of curiosity I picked up this workout video--Pilates with Kathy Smith. Boy, it's difficult. I can hardly touch my toes!

--

The weather hasn't felt much like Spring lately, but maybe the sun will come out tomorrow. I'm eagerly awaiting May 13th--the last day of finals week. This means Summer! which will include: trips with the fam., seeing relatives, volunteering at Camp Courageous, and visiting wonderful people in different states.

Day one hundred and fifteen.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Rain on the window sill + The Weepies was a good mix for Monday afternoon.

Day one hundred and fourteen.

Bells bells!

I believe Jesus was a real human who walked on earth long ago.
He loved everyone, even those who killed him in the end.
So today we celebrate Easter, that day Jesus rose again.
H a l l e l u j a

Day one hundred and thirteen.

Chasady and I met at 6:00 am this morning to watch the sun rise over Konza.

We walked to the top of the hill while it was still dark and looked at the sky for a while. It was very chilly & windy--but well worth it.

Day one hundred and twelve.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Celebrating 41st EARTH DAY . þ

SEA's giant dino puppet roamed around campus in the drizzle while Students for Environmental Action trailed behind with instruments & hooola hoops. The rain was needed, even though it had us move everything indoors. Ah well, I'd say it was a great turn out!

Day one hundred and eleven.

Thursday, April 21, 2011
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a prime rib served in hate. -Proverbs

Still eating variations of rice & beans with fruits and vegetables for meals (during the month of April, excluding Easter). I've had no strong desire to eat meat, but I'm surprised I've lasted this long without cereal, bread, chocolate, and peanut butter.

Sometimes it feels like I'm enduring this challenge on my own (which can been a tricky thing), but in reality I know many people around the world have no choice but to eat simple rice & beans at each meal.

This month has also opened my ears to how much people care & complain about food.

Rice & beans are very healthy, inexpensive and tasty. I'll cook you a meal! For some variety I've made chickpea & lentil soup, roasted red beans, kidney bean patties, and fried plantains.

Day one hundred and ten.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver." -Martin Luther

Day one hundred and nine.

I found this dandy ticket here on the windshield of my car this afternoon. Parking in a H/C space with an expired pass= $175 fine. Lesson learned.

Good news is: I have wonderful family & friends, a job to pay for such citations, no need for handicapped passes, and a college education. Woo.

Day one hundred and eight.

I found this little guy on my way to Astronomy. At first I jumped out of the way because I thought it was a snake. But no! it has legs. I showed my friend the picture and she said it was a Skink.

Day one hundred and seven.

Today I attended my wonderful friend's bridal shower (my first one!) It included lots of giggly laughter, games, and fancy undergarment gifts.

Day one hundred and six.

Saturday, April 15, 2011
When I came home in the evening I went on a run- which is always refreshing after a long work weekend. Today was the day my mom and I were going to run the Oz Marathon in Olathe, KS. However, plans were delayed in November when I slipped on a plastic bag and fell down my stairs, thereby fracturing my fibula.
I've been getting back into running with minimal pain! And sometimes I have chuckle to myself when I think of my bones healing back together in a matter of months. Amazing.

Saturday night my family and I watched home videos on dusty VHS tapes. So fun, and hilarious.

Day one hundred and five.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Today's picture isn't the most interesting. Here's a 'still life' I set up in my room, which I am about to draw in charcoal. The object of this assignment is to capture chiaroscuro--strong contrasts between light and dark. Maybe I'll post the finished product at some point.

---
April 21.
(Items were adjusted around a bit since the picture)

E' finito!

Day one hundred and four.

Today's weather advisory: "Be alert for severe thunderstorms; very large hail, high winds and possible tornadoes cannot be ruled out. This is a potentially dangerous weather situation."

I was worried when the storm came in, but it soon passed. I love storms when they're not wild and destructive. Listening to the thunder & rain, watching the evening sky turn from dark dray to strange yellow, then to clarity. I'm amazed by nature, and I'm thankful today's storms weren't as violent as we thought they'd be.

Day one hundred and three.

Wednesday, March 13, 2011

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies;
for the love which from our birth,
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.

It was an eerie day with a series of tragic events around Manhattan. I found out that my wonderful photo teacher from high school died from a prolonged illness. She was a hoot, and I know students loved her very much. There was also a mysterious murder/suicide up the street from my house, another fatal highway accident, and the murder of a young boy-still in high school.

So much grief and suffering. You might wonder how one could call God good. It shows that sin & evil are indeed alive. The devil prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
I'm saddened and angered by these things, but I look back to Ehrmann's Desiderata, introduced to me by my senior English teacher before graduation.
It concludes: With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

And one of my favorites by George Santayana,
"The world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, confused, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, the spirit blooms timidly, and struggles to the light amid the thorns."

Whether or not folks read this, blogspot is sometimes my outlet.
May you also find some sense of peace in your soul.

Day one hundred and two.

My drawing studio had class outside today. We set up a still life on the grass and enjoyed the sunshine for a few hours. This squirrel watched us for quite a while.

Day one hundred and one.

Monday, April 11, 2011

My current 2-D design assignment in the works. We had to combine a number of different patterns on bristol board, then paint it using low key (dark), high key (light), and mid-tone colors.

Day one-hundred.

It was a b-e-a-u-tiful 100th day of the year! The perfect weather for Spring.

I love my friends, I do. But I can't help feeling like an odd duck around them sometimes. It makes me realize we're all so different, yet very much the same. Today a friend I met at a training for work reminded me that every person is equal. Even if this notion doesn't seem true around the world, it can be a comforting thought.
We were all formed from some mud of the earth and given the precious gift of life.

Day ninety-nine.

I helped sew & paint things at a giant puppet making workshop. SEA is constructing something special for Earth Day, and I'm pretty excited about it. --Miss Rebecca, you would've loved this.

I had the special privilege of meeting David Solnit--artist, activist, and giant puppet maker from San Francisco. He's in Manhattan for a few days speaking with school groups and community organizations. David led the workshop and helped us build our own giant puppet. Highlight of my week.

Day ninety-eight.

Friday, April 8, 2011
KSTC's Party with a Purpose was tonight. Laura Wetzel of Manhattan gave us some acoustics while students wrote letters to rehabilitating victims of human & sex trafficking. Although the event was short, it was neat to see people mingling & writing words of encouragement for women they do not know.


About 100 letters were written, and these will go to Hagar International--an organization helping women recover from broken backgrounds.

Day ninety-seven.

My sister and I skyped for a bit, even though we live together. She wanted to test out her new account. If you're wondering what sort of contraption she's wearing below her neck, that's a heart monitor. She says it measures each heart beat--just to make sure everything's running smoothly.

Day ninety-six.

April 6, 2011

The Stop Slavery Summit is going on this week. Tonight The Wrecking gave a musical performance in the ballroom. Not too many people showed, but I thought they were pretty good.

Day ninety-five.

Students for Environmental Action: Painting tin cans to make decorative flower pots for this year's Earth Day festival at K-State. There will be a plant giveaway--among many other things.

Day ninety-four.

Monday, April 5, 2011
The month of April is crazy. I've been swamped with school assignments, activities, and event preparations. Ahhh.
Good news is, my peas are growinnnnggg!

Day ninety-three.

Beautiful Spring weather we had today! So warm--it even reached the 90's.

There was also a mini hail storm to end the day. In Kansas you never quite know what to expect.

Day ninety-two.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Maybe the scariest photo I've ever been in? I'm not sure why we decided to act like vampires.

(Katie's friend, Dave & his family came over Saturday night. They were a hoot.)

Day ninety-one.

Friday, April 1, 2011

I'm trying to eat only rice & beans for a while, no April Fools. The month of March, Rice & Beans month sparked my motivation.

(Next I plan on giving up my showers.)

The cool thing is:

1. Wherever you are, whether it's a simple meal of bread & wine, rice & beans, or a feast of meat & potatoes--gathering together and eating food with people is somehow very magical.

2. Today I ate only white rice & black beans, no salt or butter. With a glass of water. This makes me look forward to dashing some salt on my food, or adding a few vegetables to tomorrow's meal. Simple pleasures.

Just kidding about showering, I plan on still doing that.