hey, don't read the comments for the answers!

i can't remember exactly from where this idea came. maybe elise did it. but, the idea is that i turn on my itunes (or any other comparable music playing device) and put it on shuffle and type the first line of the first ten songs it plays. then you all have to guess what songs they are. fun, huh?!

1. "i am thinking it's a sign that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned"

2. "i was on the outside when you said, you said you needed me"

3. "depth of mercy can there be, mercy still reserved for me"

4. "every time our eyes meet, this feeling inside me is almost more than i can take"

5. "i have a lover, a lover like no other"

6. "we are here because of grace, because of love"

7. "i'm gonna kick off my shoes and run in bare feet where the grass and the dirt and the gravel all meet"
*this wasn't actually the seventh song. the real #7 started with some french words and i had no idea how to spell it!*

8. "oooo, i need your love babe"

9. "just off of the beaten path, a little dot on the state road map, that's where i was born and where i'll die"

10. "from the back of your big brown eyes, i knew you'd be gone as soon as you could and i hoped you would"

i think that is a fairly random and sort of accurate reflection of my itunes selections. a little hint: #'s 2 and 5 are the same artist. i'm not helping with the others just yet. and, hey, no cheating if at all possible! it's more fun to see what you really know!

my quality time with the prez yesterday

i had to work all day yesterday because i had to switch days with my manager. well, i'm going about my normal papery business, not suspecting anything out of the ordinary. when all of a sudden, who should walk in but the very reverend president and professor iain torrance. thinking about a recent post about being 'star struck' when you encounter celebrities/important people, i did mental gymnastics thinking what i should say to him. and i knew i was going to be the one helping him mostly because i wanted to and because my co-workers were otherwise occupied. i just hoped i knew the answers to what he wanted to know and that i would be able to hear him ask his questions!

actually, i did have an inkling as to why he was in my store. our dear president is a collector of mont blanc fine writing instruments and had been in the papery earlier this year to buy one. he also requested that we order some ink for him. he left a return address label with his info ... that's how i knew he was the very reverend. and, when i saw that in january, that's how my co-workers knew that i am a bit in awe of the prez. and quite jealous that i wasn't there when he came in before. even more pressure now, because i finally have my chance! mostly i don't want to look stupid.

so, he comes up to the counter and begins to tell a story about how he was here before and what he wanted. except, i don't think he knew exactly how to explain it and he was kind of fumbling for words. so, i said you were here before to buy a mont blanc pen. and he looks at me with this awed expression. yes! things are going well! then he says, that i have a good memory or something to that effect but he seems a bit perplexed because i'm pretty sure he knew i wasn't the one that helped him before. so now, my turn to fumble with what what to say. i started to say "you're my president" then i thought that wasn't the best phrase and tripped over words until i finally got out "i go to the seminary". ahh, he's interested now. and asks me my name and if he's ever met me before. now, how do i do this tactfully. yes, i have met him before. at least three times with a name introduction. but i don't want him to feel bad so i cover by saying that i think we have but it was quite in passing so it's not a surprise if he didn't remember me.

so now to the real business, he wants his ink that he requested in january. so i go look for it and we don't have it. and i have to ask the other employees and they say it's not here and probably the company ran out and that's why they haven't sent us any. the funniest part of this is that my co-worker laura is now answering the president. and laura is one of the more loud people i know. so to see a conversation between her and dr. torrance is intensely amusing to me.

so, in essence, we tell him no we don't have it and we will call him. then he goes to just peruse the mont blanc case. and i have someone else i should help at the register. but i'm not done wanting to impress the prez. i guess because i go over to him and point out the special edition mont blanc anniversary pens. but i can't get my information out in a coherent way and he says something to the effect that he shall have to tell his wife. and off he goes out of my store. the excitement of my day.

invitation to the feast

come, all you who thirst,
all you who hunger for the bread of life,
all you whose souls cry out for healing;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who are weary,
all you who are bowed down with worry,
all you who ache with the tiredness of living;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you poor,
all you who are without food or refuge,
all you who go hungry in a fat land;
come, come to the feast of life.

come all you who are bitter,
all you whose hopes have tarnished into cynicism,
all you who feel betrayed and cannot forgive;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who grieve,
all you who suffer loss as a fresh knife wound,
all you who curse the God you love;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who are sinners,
all you who have sold the gift that is within you,
all you who toss uneasily in your bed at night;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who are oppressed,
all you who have forgotten the meaning of freedom,
all you whose cries cut to the very heart of God;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who are traitors,
all you who use your wealth and power to crucify God,
all you who cannot help yourselves;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who are sick,
all you whose bodies or minds have failed you,
all you who long above all for healing;
come, come to the feast of life.

come, all you who are lost,
all you who search for meaning but cannot find it,
all you who have no place of belonging;
come, come to the feast of life.

the table of Jesus is your place of gathering;
here you are welcomed, wanted, loved,
here there is a place set for you;
come, come to the feast of life.

-Mike Riddell

check this out

hey my friends! my friend karen found this totally funny site. you should check it out.

this i pray for you

that you

trust even when you doubt

love when you are unsure

and hope when you cannot imagine

hi.

this is a new post.

i hope you like it.

cause i don't have much to say.

the end.

american idol review for tonight

since i put so much effort into my weekly review that i send to other dedicated ai fans, i thought i should share it here as well.

okay, let's just say that i LOVED this night. i adore that kind of music.

chris: i loved it. it gave me goosebumps. i mean, it was excellent. that's a hard song to sing because everyone loves louie so well and i wasn't even comparing it at all. loved. please won't you acknowledge now that he's pretty dang good?!

paris: i would have been surprised if paris didn't excel tonight. i love her singing this music. excellent, just excellent.

taylor: yes, i loved this too. i agree with the judges that the beginning may have been a bit safe/boring but that ending was so so so good.

elliot: you know i love elliot. you must know that. and i was expecting him to do a really great job with this music. and he did well. it's just that he didn't blow me away. i might be a little, tiny bit with simon on this one. but i love elliot!

kellie: uck. i think she started okay but there were some pretty horrible notes in there.

ace: i was a bit surprised. first, i actually hoped he had cut his stupid hair. yes, i think he did very good to begin with but when he went to that falsetto, i hated the rest of the song. i just can't stand it. and the other tones he affected after it were not so hot for me either.

katharine: i love katharine too. and i really expected her to do super well tonight. unfortunately, i did not agree with the judges at all. this definitely wasn't good for me. it could be possible that i'm against her performance because that is one of my most favorite songs ever and i just did not like her version. i didn't like the way she held the notes. i think she could have done it better.

so, i can't exactly figure out my bottom three. i would definitely put kellie there, no question. and i hate to say it, but i think elliot will be there again (i really really don't want him to be but i think that's just how it will be). and you know i'm ready for ace to leave but i don't know if he will after tonight. i would put katharine in the bottom as well but i'll probably be wrong about that because the judges loved her so well. if it was just based on tonight's performances, i would say kellie should go.

wow, that was a long review!

mystery solved

according to my counter stats, my page views have increased significantly. sky rocketed in fact. and i couldn't figure out why. because i haven't become more clever or had really significant posts (although, i'm still a fan of my easter post). in fact, i feel like the cleverness in my posting has actually gone down. so why are there are a ton more page views?

i've finally figured it out. whenever there is a search for 'the sound of music', many people somehow navigate to my page. for some reason, the link i did a while ago to a 'sound of music' picture is bringing a lot of people to my site. and it's not just one search engine that brings people to that picture. oh perplexity of perplexities.

i wonder how many people disappointedly find themselves at my blog when they're really just looking for julie andrews singing on a mountain.

i am amazed

Christ is Risen!

i love how every year i am once again struck and amazed by how much God loves me and how much God did to redeem the world.

this is a song i heard on the radio today and because i like to apply love songs to God and i was already thinking of God's love, i thought this was an appropriate song to sing to our Lord today (with a few minor modifications... i don't generally call God 'baby').

maybe i’m amazed at the way you love me all the time
maybe i’m afraid of the way i love you
maybe i’m amazed at the the way you pulled me out of time
maybe i’m amazed at the way i really need you

maybe i’m a man (read human!)
and maybe i’m a lonely man
who’s in the middle of something
that he dosen’t really understand
i’m a man and maybe you’re the only One
who could ever help me
please won’t you help me to understand

maybe i’m a man
and maybe i’m a lonely man
who’s in the middle of something
that he dosen’t really understand
i’m a man and maybe you’re the only One
who could ever help me
won’t you help me understand

maybe i’m amazed at the way you’re with me all the time
maybe i’m afraid of the way i leave you
i’m amazed at the way you help me sing my song
you right me when i’m wrong
maybe i’m amazed at the way i really need you
-paul mccartney

God's friday

good friday

o my chief good,
how shall i measure out thy bloud?
how shall i count what thee befell,
and each grief tell?

shall i thy woes
number according to thy foes?
or, since one starre show’d thy first breath,
shall all thy death?

or shall each leaf,
which falls in autumn, score a grief?
or can not leaves, but fruit, be signe
of the true vine?

then let each houre
of my whole life one grief devoure;
that thy distresse through all may runne,
and be my sunne.

or rather let
my severall sinnes their sorrows get;
that as each beast his cure doth know,
each sinne may so.

since bloud is fittest, Lord, to write
thy sorrows in, and bloudie fight;
my heart hath store, write there, where in
one box doth lie both ink and sinne:

that when sinne spies so many foes,
thy whips, thy nails, thy wounds, thy woes,
all come to lodge there, sinne may say,
no room for me, and flie away.

sinne being gone, oh fill the place,
and keep possession with thy grace;
lest sinne take courage and return,
and all the writings blot or burn.

from The Temple (1633) by George Herbert

maundy thursday mandate

will you let me be your servant
let me be as Christ to you
pray that i might have the grace to
let you be my servant too

we are pilgrims on a journey
we are trav’lers on the road
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load

i will hold the Christ-light for you
in the night time of your fear
i will hold my hand out to you
speak the peace you long to hear

i will weep when you are weeping
when you laugh i'll laugh with you
i will share your joy and sorrow
till we've seen this journey through

when we sing to God in heaven
we shall find such harmony
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony

will you let me be your servant
let me be as Christ to you
pray that i might have the grace to
let you be my servant too

country roads

take me home
to the place i belong...

oh how i wish it were so

i just sneezed

and it reminded me that yesterday i sneezed so loud in my eucharist class that several people said "bless you", including the teacher. i realized it must have been really loud because someone else sneezed later but more quietly and she got nothing.

my philosophy is to just let it out. it's unhealthy to suppress it. plus, sometimes i think sneezing is fun.

my favorite conversation about u2 today

Ann Elizabeth says:
you need to sing

Ann Elizabeth says:
they are singing original of the species right now

kyledawn says:
nuh uh

kyledawn says:
they're singing bad

Ann Elizabeth says:
what do you mean?

kyledawn says:
the song

Ann Elizabeth says:
who's singing bad?

kyledawn says:
one of your faves

Ann Elizabeth says:
bono can't sing bad, kyle

Ann Elizabeth says:
what?

kyledawn says:
ann!

Ann Elizabeth says:
what are you talkin about?

Ann Elizabeth says:
WHAT????

kyledawn says:
BAD

Ann Elizabeth says:
OH!!!

Ann Elizabeth says:
HAhahahahaha

Ann Elizabeth says:
it's a great song

into the woods my Savior went

into the woods my Master went, clean forspent;
into the woods my Master came, forspent with love and shame.
but the olives, there were not blind to Him,
the little gray leaves were kind to Him,
the thorn tree had a mind to Him,
when into the woods He came.

out of the woods my Master went, and He was well content;
out of the woods my Master came, content with death and shame.
when death and shame would woo Him last,
from under the trees they drew Him last,
'twas on a tree they slew Him last,
when out of the woods He came.

-sidney lanier

some wisdom for you

"as image-bearer of God, man possesses the possibility to create something beautiful and to delight in it"
-abraham kuyper

know what else is neat?!

or at least funny!

of all the people that sent me e-cards today from hallmark, there were only two cards that were chosen for me. so, my friends think i like belly-up fishes and a birthday song sungto the tune of bingo. and, acually, they are correct! i do quite enjoy those cards. i just find it amusing that my friends from all over (high school friends, college friends, pts friends) all sent me the same cards!

you know what i think is kinda neat?!

it snowed on the day i was born and it snowed exactly twenty-four years later ... in april!! although, it did thwart some of the adventures i had contemplated (going to a garden, hiking, beach). i came up with an even more ingenious and pleasant way to spend my time: a secret mission!!

and now, it's sunny again ... two weathery gifts in one day! thanks be to God!

celebrations

now i would like to share about my birthday party last night. i had dinner with lots of friends in the cafeteria (thanks for coming jenny, joanne, ann, emily, larissa and nicole!). i got a wonderful present that was from ten thousand villages. it's a piece of art representing the tree of life made from cut-metal from haiti. love it! i've already decided where i'm going to hang it. then we came back to alex and had some yummy birthday cake and ice cream provided by krista. i also received a beautiful birthday card. the funny thing is that originally nicole wasn't going to be able to sign it ... so she signed ann's arm! my first body art birthday greeting, awww!

my favorite part about my birthday so far is the much confusion generated about when my birthday actually is! this stems partially from the inability to schedule a celebration on my actual bday (which is tomorrow). but, i'll have you know that it reaches far beyond that! the first instances of confusion came from people invited to the party that hadn't ever celebrated with me before so they didn't know the actual date. understandable. then, i further confused my friend rachel because she couldn't come to the party so we were going to go out tonight for a fake bday celebration. but she didn't know when the real one was. but this is my absolute favorite: i got a text message from my friend sarah (who i worked with in maine) that said happy birthday i hope you're having a great day! i thought i was clever in responding that i would keep that in mind for tomorrow. she replied and said "isn't today the fifth?!" haha, i think she sprung ahead a whole day instead of just an hour for daylight savings time. i don't mind this misinterpretation so much. i enjoy all the well wishing:D (not to be greedy or conceited or anything ... it's just nice that people care that i was born).

so, here are my fun plans for tomorrow: class at nine. maybe giving blood (but i don't know if i can because of my tattoo). work (hopefully i've dropped enought hints at work about it being my birthday that they will do something fun or funny for me. not that i expect them to ... i just like them so well and kinda hope they would like to celebrate with me). bell choir. meeting carrie and watching lost in jenny's room. currently, i'm trying to think of an adventure i can do between classtime and giving blood time. any suggestions?

dogsitting

what i love about it:

free laundry (including a new bottle of detergent just for me!)
free home-cooked food made for me in the fridge
t.v. with lots more channels
a fun doggy to play with (who isn't as hyper as she once was)
relaxing time away from princeton
being in the country ... well, as country as new jersey gets
a parking card for the garage by my work
a bathroom just for me
comfy couches and chairs
and so much more!


what is a drawback:

i have to get up earlier to drive to school (at least thirty minutes... maybe more because of rush hour)

so sad...

my almost favorite day of the year has ended. and i didn't even think of a really good prank. the best i did was to call one of my co-workers and ask her where she was and why wasn't she at work yet. i convinced her she was supposed to work at 2 when in fact she was scheduled to come in at 4. she kinda freaked. it was funny. the only other thing i did was the lame "what's that on your shirt" gag to emily. i did have an idea on something to do to ann but it involved her friend elizabeth in colorado and we were never online at the same time so it couldn't be done. ahh, well, there's always next year to start thinking about...

i'm so happy!

i just ate a sandwich! and pretzels!

VICTORY!