Just curious...

Does anyone read this anymore? I'm considering a return to the blogging world...but wouldn't want to write words for no one.

Holla back if you're still perusing....

Alias fans unite!!

I discovered today while reading People magazine (did I just actually write that publicly?!) that there is a big chance that Vaughn's character will not be returning to the show this season. I repeat, Vaughn is quite possibly NOT returning to Alias. They killed him off, supposedly.

Do you understand the weight of this??

Are you paying attention??

THIS WOULD BE HUGE. In a terrible way. I can't figure out if ABC or JJ Abrams has a death wish. Or maybe they've been too distracted by the success of Lost to figure out that a show about people lost on an island can only go so far...

I dunno. But I DO know that they are on the verge of losing this fan for sure. But it won't be that easy, because I will be bitter. You can't just take Vaughn from me and except me to take it laying down. I will fight. I will write letters. I will boycott. I will engage in the warfare necessary in these times.

Alias CANNOT survive without Vaughn. Hello, writers, you cannot create one of the greatest characters on the show, and one who has gained such a huge fan base, and then KILL HIM OFF. That's not the way it works.

Sydney's having a baby, for crying out loud. That's enough change for a season, don't ya think?

I'll get off my soapbox for now. But people, if you have any love at all, go to the website above and make your voice heard....

Who knew it would ever come to this??

One more thing...

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Be warned...it's got some pretty graphic stuff, in terms of what people share. But there is something about the vulnerability of this art, the sharing of weakness and sin, that seems like a step in the right direction.

Granted, it is a very small step. But a step is more than nothing.

I have a confession

Apparently it is a cardinal sin to not bow down and worship the game of football, specifically the game played by a certain team here in Georgia known as the Bulldogs. I was reminded of my oddity today as I tiptoed into the world of SEC football, watching little bits of The Game on ESPN and joining in on that thing called Tailgating.

There's definitely nothing wrong with it, with the festivities and fun and free-flowing beer and even the game itself.

I'm just not that into it. Blame it on my childhood, growing up in the formative hands of a Latin teacher mother and a Not-Into-Sports-Except-Baseball-Maybe father. Or on my having spent 4 rather developmental undergrad years at a little school in the Midwest.

Whatever it may be, my football appreciation seems to be, at least for the moment, only as developed as my ability to acknowledge that 'Gee, Athens sure does turn into a crazy town on gamedays'.

Maybe I'll convert over the next 2 years. I'm not sure I have a choice...

(Especially, Carrie, if you have anything to with it.) :)

The culprit...

...is not time, nor school, nor even friends in general. No, the reason for my unintentional yet persistent neglect of this blog over the past few months can be solely attributed to a certain guy named Nate, whom I met in early June and who has proceeded to sweep me off my feet, if I can use such a girly phrase. I mean, I'm not even sure where to start in my attempt at describing him and/or explaining my absence and all that has happened in between my last post and now.


To put it succinctly, he is everything and more than I have hoped and prayed for. Want to know more? Email me and I'll be glad to expound on the wonderful man that God has blessed me with.

Phew, where did the summer go? All I know is that in the midst of working on my assistantship (I work for my advisor on her NIH grant studying preschool stuttering treatment -- have a mentioned that?), taking 2 classes, traveling to weddings, and being in a new relationship, everything is a relative blur. It was a great summer, if only way too short.

And now it's back to the real deal. This semester is my entry into "real" grad school, taking actual upper-level classes and starting my clinical practicum. It is exciting and overwhelming, exciting in that I love what I am getting to study, and the work I am getting to do for my assistantship, but overwhelming in that it would never end if I didn't make time for rest, for life outside of school. I'm remembering a post I wrote while ago, possibly even this time last year, about the balance necessary in life. I am facing that challenge again, and it feels as new and uncomfortable to me as before. I am reminded of the God I love and His faithfulness to me, though, of His unfailing mercy and strength that will forever be only a request away.

It is the request that is often the hardest part for me, as odd as it may seem. Too often I find myself at the end of a 30 minute discussion with a friend, or a tirade of thoughts in my mind, about how completely unmanageable my life is, and oh how will I get everything done, and I just feel so ______ (insert emotion here, i.e. frustrated, tired, annoyed, angry, apathetic)....only to remember that am blessed with everything and every ability I need to do what He has put in my path. I am realizing how quick (and almost subconscious) my tendency is to listen to the Enemy, to seek comfort in the world, to wallow in my circumstances -- to, in essence, forget God.

I don't want to blow this struggle out of proportion or get lost in a game of semantics (which, by the way, is another topic that has been ruminating in my mind recently, begging to make an appearance on this site). But I am acutely aware of this shortcoming at the moment...and I don't like it. I am grateful that His grace is so big, and that I can rest in it as I wrestle with my fallen tendencies.

How's that for jumping back into the blogosphere? ;)

Join the masses....

Twentysomething

That word makes me cringe. Or even worse, quarterlife crisis. Are you kidding me? But at the same time, I feel like there's a little validity to the terms. I glimpsed at an article in the Flagpole today entitled "Twentysomething Can Be The Cruelest Season" and it made me laugh outloud and feel validated at the same time

I mean, think about it. No money. Lots of instability. No money. Only memories of college days. No money. Friendships that are far more "difficult" to maintain and enjoy than before. Did I mention no money?

I could go on, but I feel that you might get my point. It seems that the 20s are the practice room, the kitchen of life, if you will. There's a whole lot going on in these years that is just plain hard. Period. I'm being pushed in ways that aren't fun, and it feels like the dry/lonely/discouraging times far outweigh the fun, glorious days. But that's what happens in the kitchen -- the dirty work gets done here, the food gets prepared, the chefs slave away -- and the guests are oblivious to the toil.

The real deal (or so it seems) is the main course. The fruit of all the labor. And man is it good. At least in terms of food. And it's tempting for me to think of life that way as well.

'Get me outta here!!!!!' is what my mind is wanting me to believe. Give me a real job, or rather a man and a family, and some stability to count on, and a few core friends, and a lot of community to pour into and learn from. And just enough money to feel at ease, nothing more. You know what I mean? I live in my mind, in the 'whatifs' of the future, way too much.

Except the thing is, I don't think that life works like that. As much as I would like to think that this kitchen of life will lead to a fantastic meal of days beyond this twentysomething cycle, I just don't buy it. Life's not that simple. There is no culmination to this beautiful mess of life. That's just what it is, a mess. Money will always seem tight. Friends will always come and go. Stability, does that even exist? And as much as my heart longs for a man and a family, I know deep down that they will inevitably leave me wanting.

And so I'm back to my same song. I have no qualms with stating this over and over, as much for myself as for anyone reading this: God is my portion, and He's the only Thing in this mess that will meet my needs. Regardless of how messy my living space called life is.

So yeah, these years aren't the easiest. But I can't leave out some of the good I was reminded of today: the freedom of life that is just status quo as a student, the gift of knowledge and the ability to be stretched and challenged by learning everyday, the unique paths and people that I come in contact with daily, etc. etc. etc. There is a whole lot of blessing mixed into the strife.

Twentysomething? Yeah, I think it's bunk. What's next, Thirtysomething, Fortysomething, Seventysomething?? When does it stop? It doesn't.

Just live. Is it wrong to question your mess sometimes? Not at all. Is it bad to plan for the future? Never. But just remember to live. With intention. And praise God that He is your Portion, and that for some crazy reason, He is glorifying Himself through your messy, twentysomething (or thirtysomething, etc.) days.

I'm still alive

Though slightly caught up in life at the moment. Sorry for the lapse of silence that has been the past month. It should in no way indicate that I am without thoughts and things to share, cause we all know, I always have things to share. :) It's time that is the real problem.

And now I'm off to get my tan on...I mean, swim laps. More thoughts to come...