hello

Well, here I am again. I have an explanation, Would you like to hear it?

The flurry of comments and the skyrocketing number of subscribers to my site had me overly stressed. My booming fame got the better of me. I buckled under the pressure of your anticipation and then, the paparazzi! Oh my! What could I do but hide away in a remote cabin on the beaches of Washington state, and await the cooling of your fervor.

And now, now that I have been assured you have moved on. Now that the world has turned from blogging to vlogging, I may rest at peace and know that whether I post, or don't post no one will care. I comfort myself in the knowledge that you are not there. Ah, sweet isolation. So please, don't ruin my allusion. Please don't send me back over the edge. PLEASE DON'T COMMENT!!

You may be saving my life. And I thank you greatly.

carsick

In the past eight days, I have put over 1700 miles on my jeep.

Driving by myself

Without airconditioning

At least 400 miles with a broken radio

Nuff said.

Facts of Life

- Your nose and ears never stop growing.

- In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.

- According to suicide statistics - Monday is the favored day for self destruction. (go figure)

- The most common name in the world is Mohammed

- After death your hair will continue to grow for several months

- There are 10 human body parts that are only three letters long. (eye lip hip jaw arm leg ear toe rib gum)

- Every year about 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced (which means only 2% of you is really that old)

- The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 ft

- You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching tv

- The average person spends about 2 years on the phone in a lifetime

- Children grow faster in the springtime

help me please

help me stay awake.
That is the purpose of this blog, because I am working a double, sixteen hours 3:00pm to 7:00am.
Why? some might ask. I will tell you why. I picked up the extra shifts because I'm going out of town soon, and though I have vacation pay, I need the extra hours.
But let me be honest, if it were only about hours I would have already finished a first/second double and be home in bed. But no, not I, I wanted to go for the big shift, Third shift differential and holiday pay. because yes, tech, it is Memorial Day.

While I will look back on this next payday as a solid idea, currently I curse my greedy self seven ways from Wed.
Because it 4:52 and I cannot keep my eyes open.

But typing this, has helped. A little.
So thank you.

my life in blog

here's where I stand:

Working on the backyard - getting close to finished but some stuff to do yet.
Working on vacation - maybe/probably going to Ok soon.
Working in general - a lot. like doubles and overtime and stuff. bleh.

Projects underway include:
-backyard
-refinishing my moms rocking chair
-my first attempt at oil painting
-my jeep

Current favorite artist:
-Relient K

Currently reading:
-The Murder of Roger Ackroyd -Agatha Christie
-A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Rereading:
-Pilgrims Progress - John Bunyan
-The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series - Rick Rordan
-The Disciplined Life - Richard Shelley Taylor

STATUS:
Busily enjoying a relaxing summer at full volume.

a new post

Spring has sprung,
The grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is?
(a poem from a Heathcliff comic)

Spring has indeed sprung, and I find that my time, so previously consumed with school is now consumed with work. However, I must say that having the stress of classwork, the deadlines of homework gone, has been a huge relief. I had contemplated taking summer classes, but am now quite content to do absolutely nothing until August.
I have told my boss that I am willing to pick up extra time at work, I plan on taking at least two long weekends, and making trips to Oklahoma and South&North Carolina. But then again, I also have my usual summer plans, loose weight, read the Odyssey, order all my school books and begin reading them, fix my car, and finish at least one of my many "projects". Since these things have been on the docket for about three summers now, we'll see what gets done.
But I digress, summer is here, I am happy, I spent yesterday digging up flowers, and plan on making my tiny, city, backyard look beautiful. And hope to have a barbecue sometime soon.
All the world is good and agreeable in my eyes,
~ M. Nichole B.

missions retreart discontinued

I have decided to discontinue my retelling of the missions retreat for many reasons.
Firstly, I am bored with it.
Secondly, I sense you are bored with it.
Thirdly, I am endeavoring to create a sense of mystery, that will drive anyone still interested nuts.
Fourthly(?), I have waited so long that the details are hazy (or was that the sugar high from the trip?)
Fifthly, I have bigger better things to blog about.

Fifthly was a lie, unless you count my first city coyote, which I saw last night.
I'm mostly bored, and partially distracted, a pinch petulant, and a dash, uncaring.
In the words of Reliant K, "the half of me's just filled with apathy, and the other half just doesn't care."
Oh how true.

missions trip cont.

Sunday
So on Sunday we woke up at the crack of noon. JK some of us were up at 8:00am had breakfast, enjoyed a little quite time out on the deck, watched the morning fog clear off the mt. and then read a little (stricktly recreational. homework was banned of course.) By this time the rest of the night owl had woken (some needing a little more beauty sleep) and we all gathered for a mornign devotional, lead by Mr Keep. More singing, and I did my best to join in, though I was almost totally mute by now.

The afternoon schedule was pretty clear, so the group broke into factions, some lazing about, some working in the kitchens on lunch, and some hiking up the small trail behind the cabin. Tiff, Lorna, Oliva, and I hung around with the lazer for a bit then seeing the boys coming down from the trail we decided that we too would work up an appitite.

Now for the first rift of the trip. You see ALL of us had decided to hike up the dirt trail barefoot, until Lorna, the Kenyan Princess, decided that her feet were to delicate. Then Tiffany, AKA Benidit Arnold, defected to the shoe side as well. By then it was to late, and I had a full scale pansy mutiny on my hands. They all wore shoes. But Mercy Grace joined us and we stood together. We stood on principle. We stood on two bare feet.(apeice) So we all hicked up the slightly steep trail, made the top, which was more of a middle, but the trail ended, and then Mercy Grace and I persued our way to the true top, for a truely magnifisent view, and yes, we did it barefoot. And yes, our feet were fairly scratched, but thats that.

Lunch was well on its way when we got back, so we all helped to set the tables (which in this case included setting the tables themselves up. sorta) and then opted for a short nap. Unfortunetly the rest of the group seemed to forget about us, and so they began lunch without us. Luckily someone remembered and came to get us so we did not starve.

After lunch most of the group drove out to another hiking place, and the "more focused on relaxing" of us played games and read magazines.

Another nice devotional that evening, and more singing. Dinner and bed. Thus ended Sunday. A day of rest. kinda.

WE'RE BACK!

That's what the last sign I wrote said, as I dangled it in the front window so all the cars in the caravan could see it. But that's another story.

I am back from the Missions Retreat, fully retreated, wholly hiked, entirely too well feed, rested, restored, and renewed. Or something like that. The trip was GREAT! I had a blast. Way more fun than the same trip my freshman year. Freshman . . . They know nothing.

But on an entirely more serious note, Did you miss me?

WHAT! YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE I WAS GONE! WELL THANKS A LOT! WAY TO MAKE ME FEEL GOOD.


I almost feel like not telling you anything simple for that. . . But I guess I should have given you some heads up, so . . . here's the scoop:


SAT: We went to the picnic, late of course (however intentionally late, which is new for me.) Had fun, played around with a new volley ball. (ouch that thing hurt) ate both a hot dog and a hamburger (you sold me on that Brandon Klotz. Thank you very much.)


Picnicking concluded we headed home with Anthony and Diane. Well sorta. You see, we needed to swing by mom and dad's house to finish some errands we ran on Friday, (yet another "another story") and we(Tiffany) didn't know how to cut through so we(I) called dad for directions. Got direction. Called mom for some other stuff. When suddenly, still on the phone with mom, I get shouted at "Which way? Ky or Dayton?" and there was much wild gesturing. I guess I should have given Tiff the directions before getting on the phone because we were now blitzing down the highway headed for a Y in the rd and she didn't know which way to turn. Slightly dazed and confused, I simple nodded in the direction she was most persistently pointing. Toward Ky. (FYI the wrong way.)

This wouldn't have been a problem had the highway planning committee foreseen the need for an immediate turn around. Instead we turned at the next available off ramp. At Perfect North. Needless to say we were late getting back. Which meant we were late finishing packing. Which meant we were late loading and getting to the meeting spot. All in all our trip started late.


However, we did have fun on the way down. We lost the school vans that were suppose to transport our gaggle (herd? murder? shrewdness? pack?), so we ended up traveling in a caravan of seven drivers. The cars ranged from the Glicks full sized van to Melanie's little yellow bug. We . . . well . . . exceeded the expected limitations of the given speed, pretty much the whole way there. Let's just say we made good time. Didn't stop to often for gas, only once to eat, and all in all had a great trip down.


Once we arrived, we unpacked, claimed our territory, and settled in. had a late night devotional, some singing. Some more singing (from the Mexico girls. Bravo!!) some more singing (from the Kenya girls. Brava!) and then a little more singing.


(An aside. I woke up Sat with a sore throat, sang for about six hours in the car, and then at the cabin so by Sat night I completely lost my voice. This would seriously effect my weekend.)


Other things went on Sat, but this particular retreater called it a night shortly thereafter and therefore has no knowledge of what those things may or may not have been.


That pretty much concludes Saturday so I'm gonna call that a post and tell you the rest later.

nothing to blog about

I have nothing to say. Therefore I must articulate it clearly. I am not a one, such as the Walrus, who thinks the time has come to talk of many things. I care not for dialogues of shoe or ships or sealing wax, let alone cabbages and kings.
~
You may think me impertinent to say that I find, at present, all around me . . . How shall I say this? rather boring. This includes you too dear reader. But fear not, it is not in yourself or your actions that I have become uninterested, it is rather the discovery of a new bit of information about myself that renders you so uninteresting.
~
You see, when I awoke cold and bleary eyed this morning, I discovered something. . . my nose itched. I thought little of it at the time, and continued on my way to class, where I discovered something else. . .My eyes itched. As if triggered by this last revelation my nose, still itching, also began to water. Then the insides of my ears itched. My eyes water. In short, I discovered much to my surprise, and annoyance, that I have developed allergies.
~
And so, dear reader, it is not you that has me uninterested. Oh no, it is the allergy medication which I have taken and which has rendered me, rather . . . dull-witted. So you see, it is not you. In fact you could juggle fire, while ridding a unicycle on the back of an elephant right now, and I am afraid I would still find you dull. Which of course you most certainly are not.

MY 100TH POST!!!!!!!

THIS IS MY ONE HUNDRETH POST!!!!
I'M POSTING ABOUT IT.
THIS IS ME POSTING ABOUT MY 100TH POST.
IT'S GONNA BE AN AWESOME POST.
IS'NT THIS GREAT?
I LOVE 100th POST POSTS.
I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR MY 200TH POST POST!!
SWEET!


La Vita a Bella

a picknic in the park . . .

can be as elaborate as:
-a picnic table
-red/white checkered cloth
-chips
-soda
-cups
-plates
-forks
-watter bottles
-napkins
-apples
-hamburgers
-buns
-hot dogs
-more buns
-ketchup
-mayonnaise
-mustard
-cheese
-a grill
-etc

or it can be as simple as:
-3 pizzas
-paper towels
-1 jug of orange juice
-cups
-and a dove chocolate bar split 5 ways for dessert.

While both are fun, Tiffany, Anthony, Ashley, Jocilyn, and Myself enjoyed the latter yesterday.

SPRUMERING (an odd combination of things, about and or not at all about summer and spring.)

*(will stand for positive things)
~(will stand for negative)

**grass
~sunburns
*ducks
*Easter eggs
~rotting Easter eggs
~dog poo everywhere
~higher numbers at the hospital
**rain
*mud
*dirt
*flowers
~people leaving for summer break
*taking a summer break
*worms
*windows open
**bare feet
~100 degree weather
~sweat
*long evenings
*porch swings
**hard top off jeep
*mudding
*no homework
*reading for fun
~still have to work

All in all there's much to love about SPRUMERING and you should get ready to love it all, because its just . . . around . . . the . . . corner!!!!!!

PS. odd isn't that one of the favorite ways to get a sunburn(~) is by laying in the grass(*) and to get there you may step in dog poo everywhere(~) or a duckling (*).

Disclaimer: No Ducklings were harmed during the typing of this post.

Where is our heart?

Today, I spoke with a woman at University Hospital. She was 87 years old, and at first I thought she didn't like me. She was cross, defensive, and grouchy. An independent invalid. After verifying her information, and getting signatures, she softened just a little. For my forced politeness, I received a vague smile and the polite inquiry,
"Where do you go to school?"
Of course proudly, but braced for a lengthy explanation, I replied,
"God's Bible School and College."
and was then happily surprised to see a real smile flash across her face.
"I remember them, they use to be up in Mt Auburn. And every Thanksgiving they had a big meal"
I smiled back and nodded. She went on to tell me how they use to look forward to that time every year. Not only did they get a wonderful meal but she said,
"The students would all come down into the black neighbourhoods and gather up the children and pay for them to ride on the bus. It was the only time we road the bus, with the depression people didn't have money for that. Then they would feed us a big meal and send all the kids home with a bag of candy."
Her eyes glowed with the memories and I could easily imagine this aged lady as a small child eagerly grasping her bag of candy.
"Me and my sister never missed that. Not once, but the kids that did miss, that was all they talked about."
And then she said the thing which in all of this struck me the most.
"But I think they moved over to Price Hill now?"
She looked at me for confirmation. So I sadly shook my head no, and told her, "They're still there in Mt Auburn, but they don't do the Thanksgiving meal any more."

Shortly after I had to excuse myself and continue working, but that sad comment will doubtlessly plague me the rest of the day. How can people who have known about us, who we've helped in the past, who know we exist, not know we exist. How have we hidden on a hill? Why doesn't the community two streets from our school know who we are, where we are, and what we do? Our community service is not helping. Our Christian service is not helping. What has happened to the fervent heart for ministry that use to classify GBS student for this city? Where is our heart?

I leave you to mull this question, as will I, for the remainder of the day. Or the hour. Or the rest of this min. Mull, mull away.

what I'm learning in class (don't laugh I do learn sometimes)

Theology of Christian World Missions.
"Life is war. That's not all it is. But it is always that." -John Pipper

World Religions
Of the total Muslim population worldwide (1.66 billion according to a 2009 census) 93% of these are peaceful Islamics. The other 7% are radical extremist who want to kill you. But hey, that's only a few million people . . . right?

Life of Christ
Sadly it was not a Motel 6 or a Ramada Inn in Bethlehem that had no rooms. It was probably a family house, meaning the guest room was full, possible because pregnant women walk so slowly that they got there late. Changes the Christmas drama a bit in my mind.

Wisdom Lit
1) I will bless the Lord at all times
2) I will ask to see pictures of any potential spouses before I date them.
3) God has Dr Brown's phone number and routinely calls to check in on things.

Current Issues and Methods of Missions
If you are an off campus student you should leave early when there is a blizzard outside.

Doubtlessly after reading my thorough and comprehensive assessment of their classes, my teachers will weep with joy that someone was finally paying attention in class. Here's to all of you who strive so hard to teach me, I will let you be the judge of whether or not its working.

another fad fades

I never got a myspace page. I deleted my facebook within a year of having it. Is this, the end of blogging? The old spark is gone. The excitement of writing something that you hope is profound and witty and spelled correctly, has passed (partially thanks to spell-check) The anticipation of a response, the thrill of a dull comment, the rejection of silence. All these things I once felt, I feel no longer.
I am bored
I am utterly bored with trying to not be bored.
I am busy with school and work, I have friends who I seldom see. I haven't picked up the book I started at Christmas time for nearly a month (AND ITS A MURDER MYSTERY THAT I ONLY HAVE A FEW CHAPTERS LEFT IN!!!!) Basically I function. I interact when I can. I do everything on my list in order of importance and somehow, blogging just seldom gets done. So that's it then. I quit.
Well not entirely. I may continue to post occasionally. But I am so through trying to meet you my imaginary readers, imaginary expectations. SO THERE!

And then,

Lately I have been feeling tired. Tired, and overworked. I feel as if the world is demanding too much of me. Work, school, friends, family, bills, necessities, and all those other "little" things. I just want to go home, go to sleep and for all of it to GO AWAY!
~
And then,
I see pictures of Haiti. I see people was started out poor as dirt(in a more literal sense than we can imagine) and who have somehow managed to loose more.
~
And then,
I listen in chapel to a service on the hundreds of people on our own back doorstep that are so much less fortunate.
~
And then,
I think of the millions of Americans alone, who have no job to complain about.
Those who cannot afford to go to school.
Those who see my necessities as extravagances.
~
And then,
I think, that maybe, "Life" expects so much from me, because God has given so much to me.
~
And then,
I think that I would rather . . .
Be tired than dead.
Overworked than jobless.
Have rent due than be homeless.
Have homework than be illiterate.
Be bugged by family and friends than be alone.
~
~
~
And then,
I thank God.