Six Degrees of Separation

It's amazing how small the world seems sometimes, how everyone seems to be connected somehow. On Wednesday evening, I was supposed to meet a friend for a walk around Green Lake. She called me that afternoon and said that she wasn't able to meet after all. Her boyfriend's co-worker was in a bicycling accident on her way to work that morning. My friend and her boyfriend were going to go to the hospital to see her. That evening, the biker was declared braindead, and she was taken off life support. She died at the hospital. The following day, Tim called me at work. He had received an email from a guy in his bible study asking anyone if they had heard the news that a friend's wife had been killed in bicycling accident. Turns out that Tim knows the victim's husband from college. Small world.

Butterflies on the inside

There have been a few times in my life when I have felt so nervous that it almost makes me sick. On days of a piano competitions, I had so many butterflies in my stomach that I thought I was going to lose it. A few times my mom even brought a bucket along in the car just incase I needed to get sick. Most of the time when I had to give a presentation, I was so nervous my voice would shake and my hands would shake. I haven't experienced this feeling for a long time. Unfortunately the feeling returned last Friday. It hasn't gone away, and I'm afraid it won't until this week is over. I'm caught in a stressful situation at work, which I can't go into details about. I'm dreading a conversation I have to have, but I'm not sure when it's going to take place, and the unknown is driving me crazy. I'm having trouble sleeping, I can't eat very much, and I want to run and hide until it's over. I'm just not feeling like myself this week. Please say a little prayer for me.

Witness

Back in June of 2005, I witnessed an accident at my morning bus stop. Well, I witnessed part of the accident....I was digging through my purse and when I looked up, there was a car slowing down right in front of me. The car had a cracked winshield and a school-aged girl in the fetal position laying on the hood. I was shocked and started digging through my pusrse again to find my phone to call 911. As soon as I dialed, I looked over at the car and saw the girl on the sidewalk. There were a few people standing around her, so I stayed where I was as I talked to the dispatcher. When the police arrived, I gave my name and number. Then I got on the bus, rode to work, and broke into tears when I stepped into my office. The police did call me soon after the accident to ask me what I saw. After that, I thought I had heard the last. I was wrong. Today a lady called me again asking me what I saw. Turns out the school district is now under investigation for not having safer location for this girl to catch the bus. I thought this accident would have been resolved a long time ago.....

(The girl suffered minor bumps and bruises from the accident. She was not in the hospital very long.)

NKOTB

Remember these guys? This morning at the gym New Kids on the Block song Step by Step came over the loud speaker! Now that's the way to start your morning!

Baby Face

Yesterday there was a package delivered to our office containing 2 bottles of wine. Even though my name wasn't written on the package, the UPS delivery man called me to come out and get it. When I got to the door, he asked for my id (wanting to make sure that I of drinking age). Excuse me, did I just get carded by the UPS man? Yep! That's a first for me!

Mind the Signs

Yesterday morning I was standing at the corner across from my office waiting for the crosswalk sign to change. The sun hadn't come up yet and it was raining. Two guys decided that they didn't walk to wait for the "WALK" sign to appear, so when they determined no cars we coming in that direction, they crossed the street as the crosswalk sign still read "DO NOT WALK". The next thing I know, a police officer is running from behind me yelling at the guys to stop. When they reached the other side, the police officer asked for their identification and wrote them both tickets. What a way to start your Monday morning! I'm glad I waited for the sign to change!

Feeling Irish

Friday night we met some friends at Kells Irish Pub near Pike Place Market for live music. Where else are you going to hear "Whiskey a the John" on a Friday night? I thought the singers, Liam & Bernie, were from Ireland but I later found out that they are Canadian! Could have fooled me! Good beer, good friends, good times and no cover charge!

Colds blow

I have been sick with a cold for the past 5 days. I am tired of it and would really like it to go away! The only bonus is that I have been getting 8+ hours of sleep every night since Sunday. Yesterday I was parrinoid because I had a headache at the back of my head. The only other time I had a heachache like that was the day before I came down with Bell's Palsy. Luckily today I can still blink both of my eye lids and when I smile, both sides of my mouth go up, so I don't look like the picture above! Oh, and I don't have to sport the pirate eyepatch again!

My Favorite Number

Happy 32nd Birthday, Baby!

32 has been my favorite number ever since the 7th grade. The reason it's my favorite isn't so great, but it has stuck none-the-less!

Brew Night lives on!

Tuesday night we gathered at my favorite hang out for *Brew Night. My good friend Erin was in town. Erin and I met in 2001 at the PC USA Young Adult Volunteer Program Orientation in New York. Erin and I shared a love for colorguard (both of us being on the flag line at our respective colleges), N'SYNC, Dave Matthews, Dawson's Creek, and Friends. We knew we'd be friends from then on! (Pictures from Brew Night will come later.....)

*When I first moved to Seattle in 2001, Friday nights became known as "Brew Night". One of my housemates at the time had (and still has) a passion for finding good microbrews, and so every Friday night old friends and new friends would gather at a brew pub for good conversation, laughter, and quality beer. At least two people would always order the "sampler" beers and would rate them on a scale of 1-5 stars (sounds sort of Star Search-ish doesn't it?). Brew Nights sort of fizzled out in the summer of 2002 when my housemates all moved.

love of the game

One of the reasons I love college football.

The Cross

Yesterday after I got home from work, I was so tired and drained that the last thing I wanted to do was go hear a "church" speaker, but that's exactly what we did. The only thing I could think about on the car ride there was how and where can I get a caffiene fix so I could stay awake during his lecture. I never did get my caffiene fix, but that didn't seem to matter because the evening was energizing and moving in itself.

Alistair Begg is a 54-year old pastor of a church in Cleveland. He is originally from Scotland and has a lovely Scottish accent. He travels around quite a bit and even does a radio show. He opened his talk with a George Burns' joke: In order to be a good sermon, you must have a good beginning, a good ending, and keep the two as close together as possible. Alistair Begg went on to speak about the bible and how the cross is the central part of the entire Book. Everything revolves around the cross and what it stands for. Why are we saved? Because Jesus died for our sins on the cross.

Thank you, Jesus.