Happy Birthday...um...maybe not.

Derek and I broke up yesterday. So that was pretty much suck, especially since it was my birthday. But now we're very amicable, and talking more than we actually were last week. Which makes me wonder what the hell happened anyway.

HannaH has a theory that he was trying to be enough of a jerk to where I would break up with him. I think this is highly possible, whether he's aware of it or not. Still, ending things when everything is so friendly makes me feel weird. I mean, I'm not really upset, but at the same time, it's a change and there should be some emotion attached, even if I'm not sure what it should be yet.

Earlier today I was elated--I felt fantastic and free and absolutely in love with the world. That's fading now, though. I'm not exactly upset, but I'm not thrilled, either. Maybe it's just because it's dark. I guess it's another process--sorting out how our relationship works and how I should feel about it. We'll see.

In other news, I got myself Reviving Ophelia for my birthday. I'm about halfway through it and it's absolutely amazing. I'll post a little more on it after I finish, but I just wanted to remind the world how lame I am--I got myself a psychological social commentary for my birthday. Alas.

Wow.

OK, so I have been waiting on pins and needles to hear from the General Board of Global Ministries about this mission intern thing and hadn't heard anything. I was starting to feel a little stressed about this, so I finally e-mailed someone.

I got a response back less than two hours. Apparently, Yahoo, For My Safety, thinks the United Methodist Church is Dangerous Spam. So my lovely e-mail that says, "Hey, come for an interview to work for Jesus in April!" got sucked up in the same junk folder as my last chance to buy a timeshare.

Fantastic! Amazing! I literally started jumping up and down. Happily, no one was home to see me fall on my knees and scream thankyouthankyouthankyou to God, but even if they were I wouldn't have cared. Now the fun part--the last day I would have been able to schedule a plane ticket?

Tomorrow.

Wow.

In short, I'm very glad God poked on me today to e-mail them. But still...couldn't He have shaved at least a week or two off ulcer-inducing stress? Sigh.

Either way...one step down!

Shut-Up, Brain!

Unfortunate new development:

Whenever I lay down to go to sleep, my brain starts lesson planning.

"No! Change your thoughts...you're on a beach, listening to Enya..."

"Ooh, I can teach 5/8 by having them say 'I love Taco Bell!' in rhythm!"

"NO! Enya...think about Enya..."

Sleepfail.

When Brothers Scan Bookshelves

Chris happened to be around visiting earlier this week, which was nice. However, while he was there, he was looking at my bookshelf.

"You read Vonnegut?"

"Um...yeah..."

"Wow, I wouldn't have figured. Steinbeck and 1984, too! Have you actually read these?"

"You sound so surprised."

"I thought you just read fantasy. I didn't realize you read actual literature."

This is the part where Amanda started twitching uncontrollably. Fantasy is not irrelevant. It can tell us every bit as much about human relationships and conditions as the grittiest realistic fiction there is. It creates new connections in our minds as we learn the rules and standards in each new world, learning a language to connect with it. It gives us another way to view the world and another opportunity to understand it.

In other news, it's dumping snow, and school has been canceled for tomorrow. This would be cool, if we didn't have a concert Tuesday after missing class Friday.

Alas.