The Dreams You Get When You Visit A Cemetery...

Group entering Calvary Cemetery on Veteran's Day

For the second time, we ventured forth to the cemetery on foot. It was a lovely walk; the place beautiful in the daylight. Andrew found a grave that was from 1800. I believe it was that of a three-year-old's. I found one that was of a three-month-old's. So, though the creepiness was gone, it was replaced by a sobering thud in our guts.

Within the first couple minutes of standing about, soaking in the strange sunlight reflected off of marble stones and flower wrappers, my memory cracked open and I remembered a dream I had the night before, which involved me burying a friend alive, thinking he was dead. Only to dig him out of the grave again.

Field Trip to Calvary Cemetery On A Cold, Creepy Night

The thing we do in the name of Geology

The project was assigned last Friday. We are to go to a cemetery and look at the tombstones, searching for new and old rocks to observe and document. For some reason, my group (consisting of Don and Andrew), thought going late in the afternoon would work. It didn't. We realized this after walking there for 20-25 minutes, clutching our jackets for warmth against the cold win and rain, and realizing that it had gotten too dark too quickly as to make it impossible to see...anything!

I was not afraid, only creeped out, and there is a difference. Andrew agreed with my suggestion to return to the cemetery come Wednesday (when we will be off a day from school due to the holiday). We hurried on out of there and observed in hushed tones the lone, all-black-outfitted runner apparently circling the cemetery.

Autumn Painter At The Quad, You Are Awesome

I felt unreasonably shy and failed to approach this guy to inspect his work closer

The days are growing shorter, colder, rainier. I remarked to Esther this morning that I didn't feel like getting up from bed - ever.

Esther, "Yeah, that's winter for you!"

Me, "...It's not winter yet, Esther"

Esther, "You know what I mean"

There hasn't been any reason for me to cross the Quad lately, since my classes are all located in the buildings before or around it. Today, though, I was coming from Lowe Hall by a round-about route and was literally taken aback when I saw the orange trees and the green grass in the Quad. So beautiful! To make things even better, there was a man painting the scene and a crowd of two or three passersby had gathered around him.

Fidalgo Island Field Trip With Geology Class

I collected 9 rocks on this beach!

The field trip turned out less dreary once I found out Josh was in the group. We ended up riding together in one of the four UW vans used to transport 60-something Geology students. There were four destinations where we stopped at, listened to the grad student give us a preview, looked at the rocks, and shivered in the cold. For some reason I had debated whether to wear high heeled boots or tennis shoes that morning. So glad the tennis shoes-me won. I would have fallen off the cliffs on our third stop and died a very painful death.

Besides the cold wind, there was rain, too. Looking outside the nature-y scenes flashing through the van, I understood why the Twilight series is set in Washington. It's a beautiful state, gloomy, pretty much a perfect setting, I suppose, for werewolves, vampires and pale-faced girls to reside in.

Oh, and I learned that I know nothing about rocks. Sigh...

My Help Comes From God Alone

My new desktop downloaded from the Puyallup Foursquare website

In the past five weeks - or so - I have stared at all my weaknesses straight in the face: issues with forgiveness, trust, jealousy, self-discipline, anger, lust. And those are just the "major" ones. I noticed that the more hopeless I feel (aka, the farther away I feel from God), the more dejected, empty and lost my soul becomes, leading me to languish in the unhappy and unsatisfactory comforts (if you can be so hardened as to call it that) of the aforementioned faults above.

Thankfully, even in these moments where I'm clearly hiding from God, He sees me and knows exactly what I need, knows what must be done to reel me back in. I have my family back home listening to me cry over the phone at night and praying for me seemingly endlessly. And the friends who are with me now are a source of comfort (because they allow me to be human and honest), encouragement and accountability.

Despite all their awesomeness, I realize God should be number one on my speed dial (number two if number one is voicemail by default). Talk to God first. Read the Bible. Meditate on it! Of course, it's not easy to do any one of these things; they are neither first nor second nature to me. But my prayer remains the same. My help comes from God alone.

Esther Brings Home A New Roommate

Pebbles perched on my bed as I study

Apparently I am to be Pebble's caretaker for this weekend, since both Esther and Jessica (the more responsible and maternal ones) are going home. Eck. She is currently the cutest thing in the Allegro, but she's growing so fast I can't help but sense her cuteness diminishing each day.

Hmmm...I'm not very good with pets. Her tiny-ness reminds me of Oreo. O, beloved dog. I've had to pull off some strange dance moves in the kitchen and bathroom in my effort to avoid stepping and squashing her with my feet altogether. Last night I felt her scrambling on top of my blankets. There was a moment of freaking out, before I realized I was at the Allegro and it was just the kitten and not the Philippines and rats. I had to pick her up three times and whisk her off my bed. Poor cat. I am probably the cruelest of her masters, though I don't mean to be.

I just feel so anxious around tiny things, breakable things, etc.

Every Leaf Is Changing, Every Little Path Has Fallen Leaves

Weaving around campus reawakens appreciation in me

God is still in charge. Nothing happens in the universe, in nature, in my life without his consent.