Happenings

Oh what a week it's been since I last posted! The semester has wrapped up (sort of), and the staff has dispersed (some of them), and I am alone at home (kind of, some of the time). How's that for vague?

Last Wednesday, we had our annual Navs Christmas party to end out the semester. Every year, it is the task of the freshmen to come up with a theme and put the whole thing together. We've had a Cowboy Christmas, Gilligan's Island/Lost/Deserted Island Christmas, and Revenge of the Nerds Christmas, which have all been amazing. However, I think this year the freshmen outdid themselves. We had the Navs Christmas Ho-Ho-Hoedown, held at the Tucson Square Dance center, complete with a pulled pork and cornbread dinner, hay bales, and even a real live square dance caller. It was a blast.

Here are some of the beautiful women from my junior Bible study:

Ariel and Ryan mastered the promenade:

Some of the guys in full hoedown garb:

And, Robin and me, freckles, ribbons, and all (Do you think it's grammatically incorrect to have that many "ands" in one sentence?):

With the hoedown came the official end of our on-campus duties as staff, and so within three days Dustin, Lori, Robin and Diana all went back to their homes on the cold, cold east coast. I was thinking that I would have a lot of alone time, due to the fact that I'm the only one left in the Strudel. While I have gotten a fair amount of good introvert time, there hasn't been much of a chance for me to feel the need for people - I've been spending a lot of time with students and friends here in Tucson, and have even had them over to the house quite a bit. My dear friend Ariel came to spend the night, the sophomore girls came over for a soup dinner and delightful conversation, and about ten students came over to watch the first half of the 5-hour version of Pride and Prejudice. I have to say, it gives me great joy that four of those students were men, and one of those men was the one to initiate the viewing. They're so cultured!

When I haven't been entertaining people at home, I've been spending time out with friends. Yesterday I got to reconnect with my dear friend and personal trainer, Mikhail, and take her out for her birthday. I'd like to take a moment to say: I so enjoy her. Okay, moment over. I then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the company of my grandparents who love me so well. It's always refreshing just to be in their presence. Some of that time was spent helping my grandma learn to do things with pictures on her computer. I've spent time with people from her generation who have no desire to learn how to use the computer, not having grown up on one, and they just get frustrated with it. I love that Grandma Cynthia wants to not only learn the basics, but she gets excited about all the things that a computer can do, and wants to learn to use it in such a way that it will help her continue to minister to people. I hope that I will be a lifelong learner like her. Anyway, I had a wonderful time with them, and cherished every minute of it.

One other thing I've done this week was go to see August Rush with some of the junior women. I'd seen it before, but this is one I think I could and would see again and again. Freddie Highmore is an amazing young actor, and he's won my heart in every movie in which I've ever seen him. His sweet sincerity and innocence in this film could melt even the most hardened hearts. If his performance wasn't enough, the movie is worth seeing for the soundtrack alone. I'm actually listening to it right now, and it's incredible. There's a combination of moving orchestral compositions, intricate guitar pieces, and even a few rock songs performed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers himself. (If you don't know who that is, he's an Irish actor who plays Freddie's dad in the movie. He was the soccer coach in Bend it Like Beckham.) Anyway, it's a movie worth seeing. And, if my recommendation just isn't enough, here's the trailer:

So, that's what I've been up to. Well, not totally. I wouldn't want it to seem like I'm just playing and playing. I've been productive as well. I've cleaned my house (a couple times), made Christmas cookies for gifts, worked on admin, run a bajillion errands, and gone Christmas shopping. Yes, bajillion is a word. Okay, it's not a word. But, I use it enough for it to be a word. And, anyway, it gets the point across.