Blaaaerhg.

[to be said in a Strong Bad voice]:

Aw, holy crap! I thought I smelled bacon...

So, apparently I have an inner ear infection thingy called labyrinthitis, or something. Meh. At least I know I'm not a crazy hypochondriac.

I applied for a job at the Union Cafe yesterday, but now I'm having second thoughts. My mom wasn't all that enthusiastic about me adding another factor to my already piling-up schedule next semester, but money is definitely an issue. I think I need to supplement my summer job. I dunno. I guess we'll see if they need me first.

But I definitely have 4 papers due in the next week and a half. So, yeah. Wish me luck!

Dragons within, dragons without. Evil so pervasive that only the poetry of apocalypse can imagine its defeat. And to do that it takes us to the limits of metaphor, of human sense, the limits of imagining and understanding. It pushes us against all our boundaries and suggests that the end of our control--our ideologies, our plans, our competence, our expertise, our professionalism, our power--is the beginning of God's reign. It asks us to believe that only the good remains, at the end, and directs us toward carefully tending it here and now. We will sing a new song. Singing and praise will be all that remains. As a poet, that's a vision, and a promise, I can live with.

--from Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk

Torso takes silver!!

Thanksgiving break was pleasant. I don't know if it can really be construed as an actual "break," though, considering how busy I was. But it was good to be home.

Yesterday, being the Sunday after Thanksgiving, was supposedly the heaviest traveling day of the year. I certainly saw signs of it. I took the regional rail to 30th Street Station, intending to take the 5:00 train to Harrisburg. I bought my ticket and was in line half an hour early and everything, but thanks to Amtrak overbooking the train by about 60 seats, I still didn't get onto the train. So I waited in the station for four and a half hours until the next train rolled in at 9:00. People are crazy, man. I witnessed so much drama, sitting there people-watching. I think I understand where Thomas Hobbes was coming from now when he said that life in the state of nature is "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Of course, that's assuming that the train station is akin to the state of nature. Which it pretty much is.

The trip wasn't all that bad, though. It was just long and I was tired. I got into Harrisburg about 11:20 and took a cab to Messiah. It was my first time riding in a taxi by myself, and it was kind of fun. My driver was a crazy, friendly, middle-aged man with a Latino accent, and I think his mad driving skills got me to the dorm in half the time it would've taken otherwise.

Anyway, I left my house at 3:15 pm yesterday and got to my dorm at 11:45. You do the math.

Today was a pretty normal, relaxed day. I got to sleep in, I suffered through the torpor of my two classes pretty easily, and I just finished putting up christmas twinkly lights in our room. Abby brought 3 mini Christmas trees to decorate the room, and I think our little forced triple is thoroughly bedecked with holiday spirit now. I like it.

The only thing that bothers me is that for the second day in a row I woke up really dizzy and nauseous and unable to function well. After having it a few times in October I thought it had gone away, but apparently it's back, and stronger than ever. It seems like vertigo, but it might just be a dietary deficiency or dehydration or something of the like. I'm going to the health center tomorrow to get it checked out.

Tomorrow is the last day of November. That's wild, yo.

P.S. for those of you who are confused about the title of today's post, check out the 7th Teen Girl Squad episode at www.homestarrunner.com!

Turkey Day

...not tofurkey or turducken day (thank the Lord).

I am thankful for:

My family. My friends from home. My friends from school. A warm home on a cold night. Baths. Bubble Baths. Guitars. Pie. Music. Babies. Yarn. Hugs. Political dicussions. Parents. Singing. My profs who didn't give us work over the break. And, I suppose, my profs who did...but I'm not bitter. Instant messenger. Boys. Pie. That my friends didn't get stabbed to death. Juggling. Jesus (hmm, I should move him up higher on the list). The Holy Spirit! Movies. Other cultures. Cute boys who work at Blockbuster (ow OW!). Sisters. Technology. Grandmothers. Cousins. Beads. Prayer. Pianos. Warm coats. Nephews. Coffee. Pie. Italians. Zapatistas. Trees. Genius dolphins. Phillipino hobbits. Pie. The color green. Being able to go to college. The Bible. Not having to ever go hungry. Lotion. Joy and peace that surpass all understanding. My purple comforter. Stanley. Canada. Get Fuzzy. Vegans. Pajamas. Chiropractors. Mountainous terrain. Pyramids. Joan of Arcadia. Computers. Having a job. Good books. Fire. Mascara. Narwhal whales. French braids. Brains. James Michener. C.S. Lewis. Tolkien. L'Engle. Mexico. Dancing. Really good movies. Pie. Indoor plumbing. Airplanes. People who do random good deeds and restore my faith in humanity. Commercials that I actually don't mind seeing a second time. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Accordians. Stars. Colors. DDR. Toothpaste. The 5 senses. The paintings that speak to me. Time. Being able to grow and mature and get over things. Being able to learn from my mistakes. Being able to learn from the mistakes of others first. Old friends with whom you can always pick up where you left off. Chocolate. Blackberry Turkey Hill soft serve ice cream. Hands. Kisses. The ability to cry. Laughter. Juicy Fruit. Mangoes. Kittens. Narcoleptic puppies. Pie. The security of God's love. Supermarkets. Tree-huggers. Poetry. Driving cars. Singing shamelessly in the shower. Fresh apricots. Musicians. The Slinky. The Simpsons. Northern lights. Snow. Thunderstorms. Bare feet in warm, summer puddles. Umbrellas. France. The Welsh language. Unsolved mysteries. Things too big to comprehend. Simplicity. Pretty things. Sarcasm. Soccer. Yoga. Water ice. Full moons. Trains. Meteor showers. Spiders. Platypi. Things/people that disprove common knowledge. Words like "plethora." Good cologne. Flip flops. Good things. Bad things. How thinking about the immensity of the universe blows my mind. God being good. You, especially if you just read all of those things I'm thankful for.

It's been a good day. I ate lots of good food, I ate lots of good pie, I had lots of good conversations, I played with my nephew, I drank coffee, I got dressed up, I took a bath, and I watched a sad TV show. And all that thankfulness up there isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

Blessings on ye and your kin. Happy Thanksgiving.

pffft.

So, I have this 5-page paper to write about John Locke for History of Poltical thought. No big deal, right? Hmm, not so much.

For some reason, I have had the most difficult time ever focusing today. And I have a pretty bad case of writer's block. It's been a good day, but writing this paper is like pulling every single hair out of my head, one at a time, and then pouring aftershave on my inflamed scalp-pores. Ok, so maybe it's not quite THAT bad. I'm just bored and tired and I've only written a page and a half so far and it's due Tuesday and I really wish I hadn't procrastinated so much. I read the book and everything. Why is this so hard?

I'm really sorry everyone, and I won't do it again soon...

But as much as I like to pretend that I'm above these silly quiz-type thingies, I'm not. So I figure I might as well take a bunch of them all at the same time, rather than subject you to the results slowly over a longer period, prolonging your disinterest. Ok, enough of that. Here goes...


75%! you love hobbits!!! You are more a fan of the
book than the movie, and taking your knowledge
of Tolkien's furry creatures into account, you
could probably write a book of your own! :)

How hobbit-obsessed are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Which Ringwraith are You?
By Lisa

Congratulations! You're a packhorse -- literally!
You magically appear, disappear, and reappear
several times between Bree and Moria, and no
one pays much attention to you. But at least
Sam cries when you leave. Sorta.

Which oft-overlooked LotR character are you?


TOLKIEN CONSERVATIVE:
Traditional, loyal, faithful, and, above all,
reverent defender of Tolkien and his works.
You probably either belong to the Canon Police
or are a sympathizer. Though you have a
tendency to be pompous, supercilious, and
condescending in conversing with fans who fail
to meet your exacting standards for approval,
you won't burn anyone at the stake.

Tolkienology 101: What is Your Tolkien Belief System?


You rule over Lothlorien, the land of the
mysterious elves. You are subtley dominant
andlike it tranquil, and would do anything to
hold onto the things you've got. woohoo.

Which Middle Earth City do you Rule?


You are Elrond!

Lord of the Rings: Which Ringbearer are you?


You are Jack Sparrow! You have done your share of
bad deeds in your life but in the end you're
still good!

What kind of pirate are you? (from Pirates of the Caribbean)

Like, WOAH.

Want to hear something amazing?

I went to the Newsboys/Rebecca St. James/Todd Agnew concert tonight. It was incredible.

The circumstances surrounding my being able to go were pretty crazy as well. Looking back on it, it had to be divine intervention. Last night a sophomore girl I was acquainted with and sort of friends with said that her mom had bought her two tickets to the concert as a gift and that the person who she was going to go with backed out and would I like to go and it's free. I actually tried a few times to turn it down, not feeling like I was in the mood for it... which shows how much of a funk I have been in...I tried to turn down a free Newsboys experience! Luckily, she was persistent, and I agreed to go. I'M SO GLAD I WENT.

Todd Agnew and Rebecca St. James were first, and they were both awesome. Todd Agnew opened and set a really good basis for the rest of the concert, setting the focus onto God and worship. Rebecca St. James impressed me as well. This one song she wrote to her future husband, called "Wait for me" was super-encouraging for my situation right now, and her attitude about her singleness seemed really healthy and spiritually sound. She didn't deny the fact that she longed for a relationship; she just trusted in God that He knows what he's doing.

Then the Newsboys came on and were, as always, amazing. They opened with the song "Joy," and followed that with songs like "Million Pieces," "Entertaining Angels," and "It is You." It was like meeting old friends that had been too long neglected. I felt like the walls that were powering my inability to pray and worship in the last couple weeks were falling down; I felt like I was reconciling something. And as I was standing there worshiping I couldn't help but laugh and dance and lift my hands and praise Him, because it was so obvious to me that I was supposed to be there. God really is working for our good, even at our lowest points. In the middle of the Newsboys concert, Peter Furler, in his amazing wisdom, spoke for a good while about all sorts of things relevant to my life at the moment. I can't put it at all as eloquently as he did, or weave it all together as skillfully as his abilities allow, but I want to outline a few points anyway. As you do so, imagine me at the concert, my level of conviction and amazement rising at each subsequent point:

> He first talked about how God's love is unconditional and there is nothing we can do to make him love us more or less than he does already, but one thing that DOES displease God is our separation from him (ouch, considering I've felt so distant from him lately).

> Next, he moved on to talking about how even though he grew up in the church he never really knew why he believed and had never owned his faith (oh, how well I remember THAT struggle...) but when he finally did decide that he believed in Jesus for sure, it still wasn't all peachy. He knew he had Jesus, but he felt like he had no real sure foundation for his faith. He felt like he heard so many conflicting opinions all around him that he didn't know what to believe about a lot of things, and he'd have discussions of things in his mind and mull things over and have no idea if the thoughts he was having were from God or from the devil or from his own head. (Like, woah. Haven't I just been worrying about all that?! That is basically exactly where I am right now.) And then he told us how he got through it, and it's so simple. He went back to the Bible, and started building his foundation in it. But he said first he had to ask God to give him with a real love and appreciation for His Word, because it didn't necessarily come naturally. Now, that makes a whole lot of sense, especially since I've always struggled with reading the Bible regularly. He said that sometimes God answers prayer in his own sweet time and other times he answers it right away, but two things that God doesn't hold back on when we ask for them are 1) letting Jesus into our hearts, and 2) giving us an appreciation and a love for his word. So, I'm going to put that into practice and see if I can't get a better grip on things.

> Having this foundation in the Bible, we need to meditate on it and put it into practice. Too many Christians don't act any different from other people, and this is bad.

> Worship is a lifestyle, not something to be set aside for 30 minutes of our lives every week. We should worship through our actions, through how we greet others, how we drive, how we do the mundane things. Every situation is an opportunity to praise God and to minister to and love others.

> Think about this: when you meet someone or talk to them, do you leave them better or worse off than they were when you first said, "hello"?

Something that I got out of it in general: It's not about ME. I need to stop being so self-focused; I'm never going to be happy if I look inward all the time.

So I'm not going to worry about yesterday, because that's in the past and I can't change it now. I'm not going to worry about today, because that's pretty much over too. And I'm not going to worry about tomorrow, because God's already there.

Whatever I'm dealing with right now, it's not too big for God. And if I actually spend some time learning his word, maybe the confusion level'll drop off a little.

24/7, You wait for me...

Thank You, thank You, thank You for tonight.

Spring Semester

I just registered for classes, and I am definitely excited about how my schedule for next semester is shaping up. I managed to get in to all but one of the classes I wanted (International Politics), but I'm taking Islam with Issa instead, so...I don't mind! Here's the dilly-o:

MWF...9:10-10:10....Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication
MWF...11:30-12:30..Fundamentals of Spanish II
T/TH...10:45-12:15..Ethnic Politics in America
T/TH...12:25-1:55....French 206
TH......6:00-9:00....Islam

(Plus my Mexico trip over J-term for my Cross-Cultural credit).

Aiee! This is going to rock.

Maybe I just need more sleep.

Arg. I don't think I've ever felt so dead spiritually as I have since coming to college. Irony of ironies: it's a Christian school. Confusion and unsurity are becoming more and more common, and I struggle to live day-to-day instead of worrying about past and future problems. It's not this bad all the time, obviously. Actually, the majority of college so far has been amazing. I just feel like things that were once so clear are turning murky, and I don't know what to think about many aspects of life in general. I find myself second-guessing almost everything (except Jesus, of course). But when the fire is gone even from my spiritual life, then what do I turn to?

School is good, classes are good, grades are good, people are good, life is good.

So why do I feel so down and distressed?

I really can't wait for Thanksgiving break.

P.S. When I post at the time 11:59 it probably means that I'm writing this past midnight but don't want the post to appear on an irrelevant day.

Lambchop's big list of crushes

People I appreciate, from near or afar:

(in no particular order)

• Heather, because she's passionate, articulate, goofy, fun, a fellow Kerry girl, and FYS wouldn't be the same without her
• Nate C., because he is intelligent, mature, amusing, blushes when he receives compliments, and definitely blew all of BR's pretentious crap back into his face today in class
• Issa, because she isn't afraid to speak the truth, has a great taste in music, is the goddess of hottness
• Jana, because she's a caring and fun roommate who keeps me accountable
• Jen, because she's full of God's love & wisdom and has an irrepressible spirit
• Jon, because he is kind, gentle, scruffy, and just freaky enough to be lovable
• Breon, because he's awesome. Simply awesome.
• Sarah, for her wonderful wit and delightful personality
• Sadie, because she is a strong and intelligent woman and has a great fashion sense, even if she doesn't crochet so well...
• Salt, because she's a wicked-awesome accountability partner
• Tanya, because of her wonderful idiosyncrasies and thoughtfulness
• Trish, because she runs around in the rain with me and can quote practically ever Boy Meets World episode ever
• Mike, because his unapologetic sarcasm is refreshing and he calls me muffincake
• Liz, because she's beautiful and honest, and that's a good combination
• Abby, because she lets her emotions get the better of her
• Michelle C, because she isn't afraid to tell you what she thinks, she has a great sense of humor, and she introduced me to Casablanca
• Dan, because he loves Homestar Runner too
• Jenn, Michelle S, Jackie, Maria, & Erin because they are great to pray with and make excellent Pretty Pretty Princesses

And let's not forget the people from back home on whom I have crushes...

• Ashley, because hearing her laughter is so restoring and because she always seems to understand where I'm coming from
• Gem, because her writing still leaves me in awe and I know she'll always give me sound advice
• Jethro, because he's articulate and goofy and wants to minor in "Piracy"
• Kyle, because he always makes me feel better when I talk to him
• Mike, because he's really a softy even though he wants everyone to think that he's cold and unbeatable
• Justin, because he's feisty and cares about things so much
• Emily, because she restored my faith

If you know I have a crush on you too but I didn't mention you here, let me know and I will apologize profusely and put you on the list.

The purpose of this list is to remind myself that there are wonderful people in this world, and that despair is not an option.

contradictions

Yesterday was definitely the high point of last week; things seemed to get much better all of a sudden. I think a lot of that had to do with going to church. I really needed some crazy worship and good preaching to bring my head out of the sand. I went to Christ Community with Jen and Beth, two awesome sophomore girls on my floor who reassure me. After church we drove around and stopped at Beth's house and got subs and drove some more. It's nice to be around people who have a such a vision for our campus and beyond.

I'm still feeling a little confused about things, though. I've never really been in this situation before, so I have no basis for comparison. And, for once, my situation is so different from my sisters' that I can't even draw off of their stories. It's scary having to figure things out for yourself. Well, I mean, I've been figuring things out for myself all this time...just maybe not in this sphere. I never knew I could be so [insert any of the following: frustrated, giddy, annoyed, cold-hearted, warm-and-fuzzy, unimpressed, unrealistic, practical, fickle, infatuated, terrified].

Arg. YOU figure it out.

Today.

I fasted two meals today. I guess I just felt like I needed to give something over to God. I don't know if it really had any effect, though, because it seemed like I never had any time to actually pray or do devotionals.

I came very close to skipping both of my classes this afternoon. I really wanted to go to the farewell lunch for Tanya. The problem was that this lunch had been planned for 1:00-3:00 pm, the two hours in the day when I have class. After some deliberation, my sense of academic responsibility won out and I went to class, even though I felt like a tool because of it.

Today was a damp, dank, cold November day. I would have loved to stay in my PJ's and read for pleasure all day. But the weather seemed appropriate, somehow.

It was difficult saying goodbye to Tanya. She's been a really great friend to me so far--one of my best here. I really hope things work out for her, because she certainly deserves to have things go well. I already miss her!

I went to Dr. P's office after class to pick up my graded paper, and we ended up talking for a longer time than I expected. She asked me how I was doing, and I found I was tired of lying to everyone who asks about it, so I told her the truth. She hypothesized that part of it might be just feeling bad about the election and the war and the state of the Earth in general. And I hadn't thought about it in those terms before, but it definitely makes sense. I mean, it's only part of the reason I've been feeling down, but it definitely provides a sort of negative backdrop to the rest of my life at the moment. I care so much about things, but don't know how to make it better. I think it'll just take some time to get over; this time of year has always sucked a little. I'm not worried too much about it. I'm just a little confused.

Tonight was definitely awesome, though! I hung out with Tanya and Bittner 2nd girls until 6:30, when I went out with Michelle & her boyfriend & her roommate to burger king for dinner. That was fun; it's always great to get off campus, even if it's only to go to burger king. When I got back it was time to go to see the show playing at Messiah right now: The Civil War. It was entertaining, emotional, poignant, and well-done. I enjoyed it immensely. Heather and I went to the union after the play, and I found it really helpful talking to her. It was nice just to vent and laugh and share encouragement and opinions. She's definitely an excellent person.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break.

And I'm so excited to go to Mexico!! Only 51 days...

Best if read with an ingratiating infomercial announcer voice:

"Are you feeling lonely, confused, depressed, and basically downright miserable? Do you wonder if your life really matters and doubt the goodness of humanity? Are you sad to see new friends go? Are you having trouble in relationships with the opposite gender? Then maybe you need to get some of your friends together and go...

BATHING SUIT STREAKING!

Put on your wildest bathing suit, adorn yourself in some clashing apparel, and go running around campus at 12:30 am!

This is a great way to forget your worries, a memorable way to send off a friend, and a pretty sure-fire way to catch pneumonia.

Don't delay; try today!"

"Horror on earth is real and it is every day. It is like a flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained." ~ The Lovely Bones

The last couple of days have been less than awesome, for a wide variety of reasons. I guess I've sort of been in an emotional and relational slump lately, and feeling kind of burnt out with my classes. Add in the all the loveliness going on in Iraq at the moment and the fact that I just found out that a good friend is leaving Messiah tomorrow for really difficult reasons, and you've got one pretty emotionally-stricken lamb chop.

Confusion and sadness seem to be the themes of the week.

Today was problably NOT the ideal day to decide to read The Lovely Bones in its entirity. Good idea, me!

:-D

Even though Messiah sometimes frustrates me with the mixed messages I get from the administration, I have to say that there are few places I would rather be right now. And this is largely because of the amazing people I have met here. I have had so many meaningful conversations recently, and been encouraged and challenged and supported in ways I never expected.

Just in the last day or so (to name a couple examples), there have been a bunch of things:

> doing yoga and hanging out at the Union with Issa
> dinner conversations with Tanya and Jana and Jon
> late night random-ness at the Union with Heather, Sarah, and Amanda
> having lunch today with awesome people from my fys and discussing difficult issues
> talking to Michelle about boys

And this doesn't even scratch the surface. You know who you are, all you guys who make life wonderful.

You people restore my faith in humanity.

Today I am ashamed to be an American

Please read these articles:
> Kofi Annan's letter: Falluja warning
> U.S. Forces Storm Western Fallujah
> Beginning of the end?

I know many of you don't care, though. In America there's this kind of attitude that says it's not our problem--it isn't close enough to us to make any difference, so why should we care?

For example: I was notified about the huge American/Iraqi offensive in Fallujah this morning on the "AIM today" screen that pops up when I open instant messenger. And underneath the heading that told me "U.S. Forces Storm Western Fallujah" was an article entitled "Girl Blows 16-Inch Bubble." American's want to know what's going on, but they also don't want to have to think about it for very long.

Yet I would argue that it IS our problem, and we SHOULD be thinking about it, and praying about it. I think a lot of the time American's live in a mindset that believes that everything we do is right, all of our actions are justified, and that we know best what the rest of the world needs. I'm sorry, but America is not God, and I don't think it's right for us to just blindly support whatever our country does without thinking about both sides of the issue.

Put yourself in the insurgents' shoes. A foreign power invades your nation, imposes its will upon you, and bombs the poo out of your home. Some of your family and friends are among those who are killed. You are left with less than you had before the foreigners came, left without a job because they outsourced the work to rebuild the country to other foreign powers, and every once in a while they drop some bombs on hospitals or schools. They don't seem to distinguish between civilians and insurgents in their killing. They don't seem to really care about the people. They say that everyone will be represented under the new system of democracy they plan to set up, but what happens when your part of a minority? Will it even work?

Doesn't leave you with a very good impression of the foreign power, now, does it? If someone did all of this to America, many of us would take up arms against them, even if we had been living under a pretty nasty dictator. I don't know. We say we're fighting terrorists, but we are the ones who created them with our short-sighted policies.

It makes me sick.

Today of all days, please pray for the people in Fallujah. Or at least take some time to consider what's going on there. If you don't, shame on you, because you're just like the rest of the ignorant and hypocritical American populace.

goodnight

Bob Dylan performed at Messiah tonight. No lie. I couldn't go because I neglected to buy a ticket when they were on sale, mostly because it was $30 (which is still an insanely good deal) and also because I'm not terribly familiar with Dylan's music. Still, I can't help express un peu de regret for not going. The scion of the 60's in America within 5 minutes of my room, and I didn't go.

Tonight was nice, though. I felt like I needed a night just to hang out and have some "me" time. I played piano for a while, lay on the grass and pondered the stars, saw about 7 meteors, watched some TV (which is a rare thing), and crocheted. Later I spent some quality wandering time with Trish, which is always a good thing.

Jennie, Joe, and Jonathan visited today. Man, I miss them.

I think I'm going to stop staying up until 4:00 AM. Tonight's a good night to break the cycle.

Am I a bad, cold-hearted person because I think that Machiavelli is pretty much right-on?

So, moving to Toronto...yeah.

"Take it as motivation, we as individuals have a much more important role in the world as we will have to worry about all the things you know who simply doesn't understand. All we can do now is make ourselves better, smarter, stronger people so that this does not happen ever again." -Mike Olenick, philosopher, truth seeker for our generation

I got that from Kyle's profile. Kyle, you rock.

If Young Frankenstein teaches us anything, it teaches us to accept our failures, as well as our successes, with quiet...dignity...and grace.

Some people on campus are completely insufferable, but that was to be expected.

My faith in America is kind of low right now, but I'm not worried. It's not the end of the world.

...or is it? DUN DUN dun.................................

Canada = the best place ever.

And I wish I was there right now, instead of back in my dingy dorm room. But, whaddaryagonnado?

I just got back from my little vacation/educational experience, and I have to say that the city of Toronto is highly recommendable. I had a fabulous time. I definitely got a glimpse into Canadian politics and culture (which I knew absolutely nothing about before this trip) and bonded with the people I was with. I went with 6 other students and my professor, who I respect a lot more now that I've seen him outside of class (not that I didn't respect him before, just moreso now.)

Simply because I am exhausted and drained, I will recount my trip and it's randomness in the form of an AIM conversation with gem:

flibbertiwhatsit: well, we left saturday morning and got there saturday evening, and Dr. H. basically said, "I'm visiting some friends for dinner, so you guys are on your own. Off you go!" So we wandered around the city of Toronto and ate and saw the nightlife and had a good time. Sunday we went to the McMichael Gallery of Canadian art, where we learned all about the subject of how certain artists tried to make styles of art that were distinctly ''Canadian" and tried to define the Canadian identity. We went shopping and went to Greek restaurants and asked people on the street who they would vote for if they lived in the U.S. (we ARE politics majors, after all) and I participated in some really good discussions with the other students and our professor. Then yesterday we went to the Ontario provincial parliament, and we got to sit in on the chamber and watch Question Time, which was absolutely fantastic! It was total chaos, but in the political sense. It was great. We left and went walking around the city and went to dinner again and I love the people I was with and I have a whole new respect for my professor. I spent 16 hours with him and two other girls driving in the car this weekend. He's really cool. Anyway, the whole trip was just awesome. And I love the Canadian way of things: governmentally, socially, etc. and Toronto is a wonderful city. And I got my ears pierced.

Sorry for the gushing format. It's easier, if less refined.

This trip was a sort of personal growth thing as well, I think. I definitely broke out of my shell (in good ways), and realized that I can be an adult, be on my own a little, and relate to other people without dying. It's a good thing to know.

And depending on the outcome of the election tonight, it might look like a rosy option for a home country in a few years...

I just really hope we will actually KNOW the results of the election soon, unlike the fiasco in 2000. Oy, politics.