flowers and "fake" cherries

she has a laugh that is unmistakable, and can distort her face in a way that is unimaginable. her joy is so pure.

youd never know.

and yet today, THE day, she happily exclaimed that she would surly have a blessing to count cause the flowers and fake cherries made her day.

youd never know.

its weird

instead of doing homework when i got out of class early this morning, i went to Wandas, got an iced coffee and sat in a nice, big, blue comfy chair.

Fox news was on a t.v. above me and they were showing footage of katrina victims. after a few minutes, they did a split sreen, and while still showing the footage of the wreckage and the people picking up all of the trash, they showed footage of Ashton and Demi, the happy newlyweds. did you know that they had a lovely wedding this weekend in a lovely home?

it has been four weeks. almost four weeks ago i was sitting in a hotel room in california watching the weatherman talk about the dangers and damage of the hurricane. In the mean time i have been going to the beach, walking to class, going to work, eating out on a patio with friends and talking to my mom every day.

its devestating and eerie and just plain weird how oblivious we are... i am.

Capital G, Capital O, Capital D

Typical sunday, church, delicious brunch on the patio, pathetic attempts at homework and some chill time.
But tonight, we did praise and worship on the front lawn. Most of us were slightly off tune or didnt know all the words, but it was cool to know that God thought it was beautiful. One guy shared his favorite passage from the Bible, which is Ps 24, and he explained how he loved how David portrayed God's awesome greatness. He is not some little god, but he is "THE capital G capital O capital D, GOD." just thought that was a pretty good point.

As for yesterday, we didnt play an actual game for football, but we did practice, and i did do a bunch of random exercises after, and i am paying the consequences every time i laugh, sit, stand, bend over, breath or even think about sneezing. Our game tomorrow should be intense though... bowlers watch out!

o and another fabulous part of my evening was getting a call from a wonderful friend who happens to live in New York and who just happened to be sitting in the same room with the Gavin Degraw. i just happened to get to hear him sing as close to live as i am going to get this year. i was stoked. ill admit it.

Party Pooper

so its a friday night and i am posting an online journal that probably 3 people in the world are actually going to read.
i am not at Magic Mountain with almost every other person that lives on this campus; i am not at Daniel's show due to the tension headache i am currently getting over; i am also not at a dance club in a cute brown shirt with sequins on it. But my blah day did a better flip than i could have done on any roller coaster or dance floor.

Conversation is so refreshing. and i dont mean the conversations you have between classes or waiting in line to get in the caf. i mean the conversations with people who know when your day is or isnt good, even if that is the answer you give them out of pure lazy refusal to change the routine answer you gave all day. conversations with the people who are willing to listen to the reasons why your day was or want really good.

I dont care if we talk about the same issues that we dealt with all summer, or if we talk about embarrassing moments and favorite classes, or life at school, or wedding bells or pictures... i just love the genuine interaction.

As for tomorrow, ill be getting a bit more physical interaction... and its not what your thinking. TWIRP week is over. Tomorrow is the first game of Powder Puff Football!!! heh ive never played football.

GO BUS DRIVERS!!!

I second that emotion

i wrote this on monday but didnt post it cause my internet was being crazy. sorry for the disorder.

Emotions… the things that girls never control, that make us cry until we are heaving for breath while watching the notebook, that make us happy when we have thirty two blessings to count for the day, or that can make us homesick during probably one click of a second hand on a clock.

We talk in philosophy about reason, spirit and emotion-- about ones development and personal grasp on them. My prof consistently refers to it as such a “fuzzy” subject. I completely agree!!! I can’t figure mine or other peoples’ out sometimes…

There was a beautiful rainbow tonight, and now it is thundering and lightening outside.

what a romantic sunset...

this is what the sky looked like on monday night before our group left for a mini golf date. unfortuately, playing with metal golf clubs is not recommended when there is lightening, which there was, so we just went for ice cream and got passes to go again when it will be less "dangerous." the storm was so magnificent by around 1:30 in the morning though. it was sprinkling rain and the thunder and lightening were outrageous.
yesterday morning i walked to work, clouds parting and ipod on. it was wonderful. however, it got incredibly muggy by around 9. and yes, i have a job!!! modern languages and literature department, this is julie. they are really flexible and i just do basic office work, so it should be a riot. took ryan from bodfish out to dinner last night and we went to listen to some band. good times and no awkward door step moment.
today unfortunately, i napped for three hours, missed dinner and have hardly done any homework.
whats a girl to do.

bittersweet

so im still getting acquainted with this whole dorm life thing. i love having people around all the time to talk to or steal food, clothes and music from. most saturdays at home, i would wake up, and if i didnt already have tons of plans, i usually didnt make contact with the outside world for a few hours. this morning i woke up and wasnt sure what to do with myself, roommate still sleeping and all. a minute later, i found myself checking in on aimee and erika, who were still asleep as well, in case you were wondering. its wierd to be only accountable for myself... bittersweet if you will. but you do get accustomed to people being right there all the time. unfortuately, i often feel unproductive while in the dorms. on a regular basis, we will watch a lame show, that we have already scene at least twice, instead of doing homework. we stay up late talking and often laugh so hard our stomachs ache, but homework doesnt get done then either. at the end of the day, actually at the wee hours of the morning, cause that is when i am going to bed, the living situation is a blessing and a curse.

subjects that require a similar word description would be break-ups, crushes, friendships, and living in california.

TWIRP

well the school year has officially begun and its a riot. My classes are great for the most part-- most of my teachers are crazy and quarky but they are all very genuine and personal.
the weather is beginning to cool down a bit so it is bearable to go outside. the mornings usually being somewhat overcast and it is pleasantly warm in the afternoon. But meals are my favorite part of the day because we get to eat out on the patio.

went to the beach last weekend and though we were at hunnington where the water is brown and freezing, i had a blast playing volleyball, digging my feet in the sand and making futile/ painful attempts to jump out, and going out to dinner at BJs for wonderful barbecue chicken pizza and a pazookie.

i got my new glasses in the mail and i now have three dates for next week (the two are not related), and dont get too excited cause the women are required to pay. its TWIRP week and they plan a bunch of cheap fun dates where the girls do the asking. mini golf, picnic and concert in the park and a barn dance... there are plenty of good, heathy christian boys around here i figured i had to take advantage of it.

my advice to all is the wink and double guns :)

i even have college ruled paper

can i just say for the record that Andy does not need to wear a girls 8 but more like a 10 or 11. however, the pink pleather pants that he somehow squeezed into for Clash-N-Bowl were definately an 8. too bad they ripped otherwise i could wear them with the bright pink soccer jersey i acquired.

i almost cant handle the heat, but i stuck through it today to watch a belly flop contest and half of a water polo game... i pause in awe of not only the water polo players themselves but the game altogether. i have so much respect for their athleticism.
the movie on the quad was also fun, but the best part was seeing the shooting star at the end, which is ironic considering the number of hours i spend this summer in beautiful, clear-skyed Utah looking for shooting stars and usually ending up seeing none.

tomorrow i start college for reals though. you could feel the excitment in the air as everyone stood in line holding $400 dollars worth of books in their hands. everyone is going to bed a bit earlier tonight, most girls on my hall have their first day outfits picked out for tomorrow, their pencils sharpened, and binders prepared. Erika, who plans on waking up with enough time to get dressed, was mostly impressed that she even had college ruled paper. thats the kind of girl i like, stoked about the little things in life.

all i can say is i have many blessings to count!

the palm trees are beautiful through the smog

well you may not be able to see the stars but tonight at dinner everything cooled down and i ate on the patio with thomas and it was beautiful.

still trying to fit in completely but i definately feel more comfortable. we drapped fabric on the walls and it makes the room much comfy. i played ultimate glow in the dark frisbee in the grass between the boys and girls dorms tonight and we had a worship service after dinner that was really really good.

im super tired though so i am going to bed.

sarah, i love you!!!!!!

its not sooo bad

move in was hectic and the roomate thing worried me a bit so lets just not talk about that right now.
the first real day here was werid and i didnt feel like vacation or home or anything, i cant really describe it. i did feel lonely at times. many many people here are from Cali so they have that in common or they know their best friend or they got the perfect best friend type of roommate. i am from Utah, no i am not Mormon, i only really know one person and my roommate is really cool but we definately have some differences. mostly i felt kind of out of place, and if i really though about it, the lonliness hit.
however, i had some good and much needed God time and talked to a few friends and things went uphill from there.
i have tried to be outgoing and just talk to whomever (hint, dont wear your nametag cause then people dont know your name or where you are from... good conversation starters).
The girls on my hall are all completely different but we had tons of fun today and tonight everyone played a game called BUNKO which requires no skill but enables you to meet zillions of people. sadly i lost more than anyone in the enitre room :)
also i have found friends with cars which is always a plus and a few of the people who know thomas have been really welcoming. his girlfriend and focus partner (who lots of people have asked if i am related to) are especially fun people. going on a date with one of them tomorrow to target. should be a good, knee-slapping time.
but now i am going to bed cause we are doing a service project tomorrow.
o, and though you cant see the stars here at night, the palm trees look beautiful through the smog :)