Nice Day For A Revolution.

2010-09-28T05:42:00.000+05:30

Uncle Tim

2010-09-16T08:26:00.008+05:30

I skipped class this Wednesday morning and went to Grand Rounds at Maine Medical Center. My teachers were in full support, though I would've gone regardless. If it had been Dr. G's physics class that I was missing I still would've gone...

Here's why: Grand Rounds were superbly given by Uncle Tim, and as nearly anyone who knows me is aware, he is one of my all-time heroes. I was so excited and proud to go hear him speak, after knowing Uncle Tim for longer than I can remember I knew that every person in that auditorium was about to hear something more valuable than they imagined. We all know Uncle Tim does not mince words. Right off the bat, opening sentence, he hit the crowd with Ellen White, and when advising on meat preparation that would minimize the presence of advanced glycation end products he suggested those who wanted to eat fish catch one quick and eat it right out of the stream. Even speaking to a crowd of medical professionals, he was clearly the same Uncle Tim who taught us all to carve spoons and study the Bible, who understands that the most important things in life have nothing to do with fancy degrees and high-paying jobs.

The rest of the talk was informative and finely presented, I enjoyed it immensely even without a medical degree with which to better comprehend it. It was inspiring to hear a doctor advising preventative, lifestyle-based changes rather than a list of medications- it made me start plotting how I could weave nutrition into my future career as a teacher/writer/semi-professional knife-thrower/event planner/business consultant/gardener/domestic goddess/evangelist. I look forward to the challenge...

It is an honor to have grown up with heroes such as Uncle Tim, and I know that I will continue to learn an immeasurable amount from them in years to come. God has richly blessed me.

too many to count

2010-09-14T07:29:00.003+05:30

I'm thankful:

-for my down comforter, which I don't even like to store in the summer

-for my adorable and hilarious brother who turned 29 on Sabbath

-to not have any 7 AM classes this semester

-that God knows what I need more than I do and finds ways to patiently get through to me

-for the fresh peach cobbler we ate yesterday

-that the turf war between my teacher and his colleague has ended, making my mornings less stressful

-for JOY

-for an understanding of the wonder of creation amidst classrooms full of evolution

-for a hope and a future in times of global uncertainty, and the ability to share them

-for surprise packages in the mail :-)

-for tomatoes from our own garden

-for all the gorgeous varieties of trees I'm enjoying studying

-for a wise, Godly mother

-for an inability to see the end of this list anywhere in sight...

Don't buy it!

2010-09-08T07:05:00.011+05:30

Today, after a very long hike with my plant ecology class I was thinking how nice it would be to have an ice cream cone. My dear red truck hadn't yet cooled down, and I had forgotten to eat that day, so my musings quickly went from contemplating the delight of one ice cream cone to thinking how much fun it would be to have a periodic summer job advertising for a local ice cream shop. You know the way people look at you when they see you licking an ice cream cone on a hot day? A bit jealously, and as though they would like to know where you got it from. So, if I was hired to walk around town during prime business hours rapturously enjoying an ice cream cone, chances are the shop might get a little bit more business. But the idea died a swift and decided death once I realized that, apart from the fact that in order to stay healthy my other day job would have to be as a mountain bike tester, I just didn't have the conscience to do it. If anyone who looked as though they didn't regularly participate in vigorous exercise tried to enter the shop I would feel obligated to discourage them from ice cream and try interesting them in a carrot. And since that would swiftly get me either fired or squashed [or both], I'd better just stick to a [very occasional] indulgence for myself...accompanied by much strenuous physical activity, of course. :-)

I worked at Banana Republic two years ago, and my foray into the world of retail was as unsatisfactory as it was brief-- i.e. very. Soon after orientation it became clear that a large part of my job there was to get people to buy large amounts of merchandise...whether or not they wanted or needed it. When working in fitting rooms I was expected to praise the articles girls chose to wedge themselves into and suggest many coordinating pieces which they might also enjoy maxing out their credit cards on. Helpful hints such as, "If you don't want to try that in a larger size I can show you a great exercise program I've been trying", or "Don't feel like you need to buy anything you don't really love, there are great second-hand stores in the area that would be easier on your budget", or "You really don't want to date the kind of guys who are going to care for that shirt you're trying on" were generally frowned upon by management and it was impossible to spend all my time folding shirts. So, after a while I asked them to cut my hours back until they just stopped putting me on the schedule at all.

This experience caused me to realize that I wasn't cut out for almost any line of work that involved cajoling the general population into, or even allowing them to buy anything that could harm their bodies, bank accounts, or reputations- thus ruling out almost all restaurants, most clothing stores, and all of those confusing stores for teen girls that encourage them to parade around in postage stamps whose price tags are of comparable size to the actual piece of "clothing".

Ok, back to biochemistry. Let's just hope this science thing retains its popularity, because if it doesn't pan out I think I'm going to have a hard time finding a job...

sick little sis

2010-09-06T18:13:00.003+05:30

My little sis is sick, and she's so far away that I can't do anything about it. I know that she's 18, but she's my baby and I wish I could tend her and tell her funny stories until she gets better. In the end, I had to content myself with skype and let her new roommate get her sugar water.

Get well soon, Lu!

Highlights of Summer 2010

2010-09-06T09:48:00.045+05:30

Barry & Christy's beautiful and touching wedding,
Singing with my dear sisters,
Taking walks with Mum near Metallak island,
A week of natural beauty on the Richardson lakes,
Attempting to slack-line,

Meeting the lovely Kyle sisters at:
my darling Elizabeth's wedding to Claudio,
Camping on Whaleboat,
Rehearsal and performance of Prokofiev's piano concerto No. 1 with Michal at the piano [amazing],
Hanging out with Matthew and his extended family and an unfortunate farewell as he's off to Hartland,
Touring Boston with little sis and our two adopted brothers,
cont.,
Getting to see MIT!
Spending many hours sailing with our able captain, Jonas :-)
Kristina's road trip up to Maine,

The Gelato Fiasco :-),
David & Brittany's emotional wedding AND med school graduation weekend,
Sleeping outside on Maine's wonderful coast,

Getting to talk to rarely-seen friends,
Hanging out at the Howe's house [far too infrequently],

Caring for many lovable and VERY energetic children for 17 weeks,

Getting to see some of the BEST FRIENDS ever after far too long,
Meeting new friends in Colorado,
Getting our exercise each Sabbath afternoon,
cont.,
Playing in the concert!!
Taking a boat tour in Camden,
Meeting so many lovely people who came out to support and play for the concert weekend,
Cont.,

Taking walks in the rain,

Being with my absolute best friends ever... ♥

Happy Sabbath

2010-09-04T05:23:00.003+05:30

I miss Metallak.

Things are peaceful and calm there, the pace is slower. While we were there, we used the minds and hands and voices that God gave us. We sang songs, carved things, took long walks, and spent time contemplating the enormity of God's mercy. This year I was personally challenged and comforted; prayers were directly and perceptibly answered. There were no cell phones or computers, and all the voices around me loved the Lord and only served to further direct my heart towards hearing His voice.

When I left for the island last week my facebook status simply read: "METALLAK". A friend of mine told me that they'd tried googling the word in order to understand what I was talking about but couldn't find anything helpful.

Exactly. It's the anti-google. Isn't that the point?

2010-09-03T08:49:00.000+05:30

Someone asked me on Formspring:

2010-09-03T07:39:00.004+05:30

FUNNY:

James Herriot books,
David Penner,
Uncle Tim,
Witty, dry humor,
Really odd writers like Ogden Nash,
Bill Hader as James Carville,
The last page of Smithsonian Magazine,
Certain commercials [like this one]
My family.

NOT FUNNY:

Movies that are alleged "comedies" but are actually just degrading and inappropriate,
Silliness,
People hurting themselves,
Youtube videos of cats heads getting cut off even if they're fake,
People who act air-headed because they think it's funny,
Sitcom-type humor that preys on the insecurities and dysfunctions of others in order to get a cheap laugh,
People who think they're funny,
Jim Carrey.

melting

2010-09-02T23:02:00.004+05:30

It's so hot here. At least by my standards- which, admittedly, do favor cold weather. And snow. And ice cream. :-)

I have spent far too many hours this week wedged into an over-filled 5th floor biochemistry classroom with no air conditioning or fans watching our teacher merrily walk back and forth in front of us rattling his ice water.

Biochemistry is a lovely class, and I know I will enjoy it greatly- but I'm ready for them to just cancel classes until the weather cools down...

The same goes for biostatistics, which is just about as hot, except that the classroom is on the 3rd floor and slightly less crowded. In that class there is a power struggle going on between my biostats teacher and the professor who teaches directly after him. Neither will yield a single minute of class time, and the other teacher will stand in the hall with his students at the end of our class waiting to get in and declare loudly and sarcastically that they 'shouldn't bother us because we still have 2 whole minutes of class time left.' This makes the already-meager 5 minutes in which I must run down 3 flights, across campus, and up 5 flights even shorter... My enjoyment of this class is not aided by the fact that I can barely understand a single word the professor says. He seems to be a nice man, and frequently sits on his desk and flashes us a knowing smile, but his accent is so thick that I have no idea what he's trying to tell us, he could be quoting poetry in Arabic and we'd be none the wiser... I thought I heard him say a few times [this is pure conjecture] that he's been teaching here for 20 years, but that just makes the current situation even more alarming... :-)

Oh well, life wouldn't be interesting if we were all the same, would it? And at least he doesn't holler at us.

Yet.

miss you.

2010-08-31T17:41:00.005+05:30

My small sis went away to school yesterday-- in CALIFORNIA.

Never anywhere close by...

I missed her before she left.

She, along with two other random crazy kids named Pete and Lauren, is my best friend and I am better just for knowing her.

Maybe you've known someone who has beautiful qualities foreign to your nature, who

inspires you to be more like them--

For me, that's Elissa.

windsurfing

2010-08-31T09:13:00.009+05:30

Windsurfing is something I have always wanted to try, and was unexpectedly given the opportunity to do this last week at Metallak island...

Of course, I didn't do this:

Or this:

I was more like this:

But I had a patient teacher, warm water, and a perfect day- and it was a wonderful first experience. And I say first because I by no means intend for it to be the last... Maybe the only thing that goes flying right now is me, but that's not to say that I couldn't pull a few more interesting moves off someday. :-)

Maybe.

Don't settle

2010-02-06T19:16:00.001+05:30

I saw a greeting card yesterday that pretty much sums up most of what is wrong with the world today, it said:

"I know my prince is out there somewhere, it's just that I've grown so fond of this frog.." -Annie Farnsworth

And the thing is, it doesn't just apply to princes, people are settling for mediocre everything... Academically, spiritually, relationally, in terms of health both mental and physical. So disturbing.

Don't settle for what the world has put in front of you when Christ has offered you the best and brightest of the universe.

Fall construction

2009-10-26T06:49:00.006+05:30

There has been a lot of construction going on around our house during the past few months. I have been very occupied with school, but every time I try to leave for class or a test I encounter a dump truck entering the lane, or a large tractor trying to pull out from the field. Endless piles of dirt, sand, and gravel have been moved from place to place, and a crew of many nice men including my dad and brother have put many hours in putting in a septic system for the barn cottage and laying out the new garden. I'm very excited for all the changes and especially all the peonies which I contributed by choosing and ordering... :-) Greg amidst all the construction is just a bonus...

Almost summer!!!! The air smells lovely...

2008-04-14T22:44:00.003+05:30

Well, it's been a very long time since I've posted anything, (it's really not my talent) but as I am not going to be taking care of little Finn for much longer, we took some pictures together (most pointedly against his will) and I thought I'd put one up here. :-)
It would seem that Finn will be spending his days at an elite dog day-care from now on, as he is like Triki Woo and would do very well for being roughed around a little by the other dogs now and then... Unfortunately, I won't be getting hampers full of anything out of it, as did James, Seigfried and Tristan. :-)
Anyways, I'll miss the little guy, despite his recalcitrance when I tried to take him walking any place he did not expressly desire to go....
That, in short, is what is going on with me.
Oh, and WELCOME spring!!!

p.s. I can't wait until Julie, John, Barry, David, Jonathan, DG and Jenn come back, even if it's for short periods of time. It's just not the same here without you guys. :-)

Clerical Oppressors

2008-01-17T01:40:00.000+05:30

JUST God! and these are they
Who minister at thine altar, God of Right!
Men who their hands with prayer and blessing lay
On Israel's Ark of light!

What! preach, and kidnap men?
Give thanks, and rob thy own afflicted poor?
Talk of thy glorious liberty, and then
Bolt hard the captive's door?

What! servants of thy own
Merciful Son, who came to seek and save
The homeless and the outcast, fettering down
The tasked and plundered slave!

Pilate and Herod, friends!
Chief priests and rulers, as of old, combine!
Just God and holy! is that church, which lends
Strength to the spoiler, thine?

Paid hypocrites, who turn
Judgment aside, and rob the Holy Book
Of those high words of truth which search and burn
In warning and rebuke;

Feed fat, ye locusts, feed!
And, in your tasselled pulpits, thank the Lord
That, from the toiling bondman's utter need,
Ye pile your own full board.

How long, O Lord! how long
Shall such a priesthood barter truth away,
And in Thy name, for robbery and wrong
At Thy own altars pray?

Is not Thy hand stretched forth
Visibly in the heavens, to awe and smite?
Shall not the living God of all the earth,
And heaven above, do right?

Woe, then, to all who grind
Their brethren of a common Father down!
To all who plunder from the immortal mind
Its bright and glorious crown!

Woe to the priesthood! woe
To those whose hire is with the price of blood;
Perverting, darkening, changing, as they go,
The searching truths of God!

Their glory and their might
Shall perish; and their very names shall be
Vile before all the people, in the light
Of a world's liberty.

Oh, speed the moment on
When Wrong shall cease, and Liberty and Love
And Truth and Right throughout the earth be known
As in their home above.

-John Greenleaf Whittier

I happened to open my Whittier book to this poem the other day. It was originally printed in the Charleston, S.C Courier on September 4th, 1835, addressed to all clergy attending the popular pro-slavery meetings going on at the time. But as I read it, without having yet read the context, I thought of the Orthodox priests in Romania who kept the poverty-stricken under their iron thumb, perpetuating the cycle of bitter toil by charging the spiritually uneducated high taxes of money and gifts to "pay" for their sins or keep loved ones out of eternal hell. From there my mind drifted to ministers and clergymen here in the more affluent places of the world who may not exact monetary gain from their flocks, but present to them such a bitter and unforgiving portrait of God as to drive many away. Many who never return. What a horrifying thought that the very men who claim to teach the ways of God to a world desperately in need of Him would so pervert that office, would so blantantly display greed and vice in the name of a Holy God!

But then, I thought to myself, how is my position so very different? I have been charged to be a walking example of what God can do in the life of one of his children, haven't I? And if I, in following my own inclinations, present to others selfishness, unkindness and pride, what is to prevent them from equating those very qualities with the God I supposedly serve?

"Woe, then, to all who grind
Their brethren of a common Father down!
To all who plunder from the immortal mind
Its bright and glorious crown..."

I have as much responsibility as any of those clergy did to present a true picture of our kind, forgiving, and most importantly our life-changing Savior to the world, and I count that an honor.

Christmas time is here!!!

2007-12-04T06:37:00.000+05:30

Great memories!!

2007-11-03T07:51:00.000+05:30

I was looking through the old iphoto library this evening and I was reminded of some memories that I hadn't thought of in a long time... I'm not good at blogging, but I can post pictures at least. Greatest apologies to all my sharp-witted friends who are able to post long, profound and inspiring blogs about all sorts of things- pictures will have to suffice for now. :-)

My lovely little orchestra in Costa Rica. Surprisingly we weren't so bad. Only because of Jorge, certainly.
Someday I'm moving back to C.R.!!! The best place I've lived besides home...
Barefoot violin lessons in C.R.
By the way: that's where I'm moving back to in C.R., our little casita in Aileen and Alex's backyard. :-) Good times.
Someone gave me a present?? I look surprised! haha...
Popham Beach!!! Probably before "the beach" and I developed a mutual dislike... :-)
Christmas program 2004!!!! The stress! I loved it...
The St. John!! With my brother ("Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!") Always an adventure... ;-)
Razvan- he of the VERY deceptively innocent face...
Train ride with Lauren from Switzerland to Romania--- where they stopped us nearly every hour to see our papers.
Sleeping a phone booth in the train station in Brig, because Lauren and I very literally had no place else to go-- Later, it got kinda creepy, especially since it was a clear phonebooth, so we were forced to break into the employee locker room. But you've all heard that story. Probably the coldest night of my life.
Having a blast at the Penner's camp since way back when...
Julie!! Bit we still do this...
Insisting on photopgraphing the Howes before leaving for Romania-
Julie came over and helped me pack and weigh 2 HUGE suitcases before I left to Romania...

Finn!!!! I love this job!!!

2007-10-03T03:30:00.000+05:30

Finn....

2007-09-29T18:21:00.001+05:30

He's pretty smart for a 10-week-old... :-)

I have 2 new jobs, aside from babysitting for the 2 families I already have. One is managing the affairs and patent approvals of 2 inventors who happen to be very good friends of mine. (ask me if you can't guess who they are... haha)
The other is spending an hour 3 times a week playing with Finn so he won't get too lonely while his mother (Dr. Carroll) is at work. Really, it's not so bad. :-)

Elaine's wedding (and I suppose it was Nate's too...) :-)

2007-09-29T17:56:00.000+05:30

The drive up to Jackman was loooong- especially since it was the first time I had done such a thing by myself- about 3 1/2 hours each way. But it was so gorgeous, I really enjoyed it. And- it was perfect wedding weather down by the water...

I may be partial, but I never saw such a beautiful bride as Elaine--

It was a very small service and I was the only person I knew there, except Elaine, but it was the best and by far most spiritual wedding I have ever attended. I was very happy to be there...

Now, they live in Freeport!! Yay! :-)

Update

2007-09-29T05:35:00.000+05:30

we're making some changes to the house.... and grounds.... and the barn.... and driveway....
Even though all the work is unbelievably loud, and there is scarcely room to walk on the driveway amidst crews working on the barn, deck, siding, etc.., (and their cars and trucks and saws and dogs.... and Robín hauling wheelbarrows of huge rocks),
it hasn't been so bad to have all the shouting and laughing for the past few weeks. (Of course, when I'm studying it gets a bit crazy and I often need to visit the library- and I could do without all their smoking, but they are all very nice) When the next door-goats start screaming at 4 PM the crews starting hollering right along, when we're going to start making lunch they offer advice on how best to boil pasta, and when I was cleaning the attic today they were on the scaffold right outside the window having an enthusiastic sing-along. Basically, it's a zoo.... But the house it really looking lovely- and they were right about the pasta....

Stick out your tongue if you can say your colors in English...

2007-03-11T03:12:00.000+05:30

"bloot, breen, shellow, orang, rred, vlack, hite, blink, bage." -courtesy of our English specialist, Kayla Hage
Megawatt, Kayla and Joel. En la gira del Coro Musicalberdi, Septiembre 2006.

Lindos recuerdos...

2007-03-11T03:08:00.000+05:30

Argentina, mi amor.

2007-03-04T03:24:00.000+05:30

Mi Dorisa...

2007-03-03T07:29:00.000+05:30

My (former) roommate Doris, and Hendrie. Que foto más linda, esta...

Frolic, my puppy.

2007-02-22T07:51:00.000+05:30

Two of the cutest things...

2007-02-20T01:54:00.000+05:30