Sunday, May 29, 2011

Post-"Schrock"

After going to the Hoffman/Schrock wedding, I had a little realization about the style of modern weddings. The mis-matchyness and the faded/friendly colors and the sillyness laced into the traditional... I wonder if the older generation approves? Look at a photo I found when I googled "old traditional wedding"... scary. Disclaimer: Please don't think I'm trying to call traditional weddings symbols of the Nazi regime. Traditional weddings are beautiful.


My friend Jessica posted photos on her blog recently of an UP-inspired wedding. And though I liked UP, I was delighted with some of the fun things these people did. There were picnic blankets and balloons. Click below for more.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Tomorrow, I fly home


Yesterday, we watched the Lion King. Anna, Mary, Anne, and I really got a kick out of it. I can tell we watched it a LOT as children. A LOT.

Monday, May 23, 2011

This is the HMS Whirlwind:


It was a warship in World War II.

If only it were shaped more like Armoral or an oven mitt or a lemon or a comb or a storm cloud or a puzzle sphere... it could embody my day perfectly. Phew.


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I'm a fan of TED talks

It began with a video I liked. I posted it somewhere in cyber space. I said I felt inspired. And I left it to soak. TED talks are about hundreds of different topics and I've realized that, as someone passionate about speech, I've been neglecting things that inspire me in the world of communication. Writers have books. And yeah, that means I have books. But there's something about a monologue that makes words come alive. Organic words. I'm going to keep my eye on these for anything good.

Sometimes creativity can be a cold, calculating, process. And the precision is needed, like a sterile glove on a doctor's hand. But sometimes I forget my doctor's hand should be warm and pulsing with blood. Inspiration is my creativity's lifeblood. Click on the photo below for a little plasma.

Why knock Mondays?

Yesterday was a Monday. The significance of a Monday for a pupil of Dr. Huckins' speech communication class is this: THERE IS A TEST. Which is awesome. Because the test is scantron, it's 100 questions, and it takes an hour to finish. After an hour, you turn in that puppy and you get the heck out of class -- 2 hours early. Bam.

The significance of Monday for a pupil of Coach Tonagel's tennis class is this: 61 degrees and cloudy. Which is gorgeous in comparison to 80 degrees and humid... humidity is evil. I see no innate good in humidity. Save some for the fishes.

The significance of Monday for a human being is this: Anne is back! She was at a wedding and now she is back. (Rabbit trial: EVERYONE is getting married and engaged. Holy cow. I'm going to two weddings this May, Kayla's going to a couple, Anne's going to a couple, Mike's going to four... May is the month to marry, apparently). Anne's presence perked me right up -- and as a team we worked to get Mike out of his Monday funk. We baked cookies, we sang, we played SORRY, we read. It's not possible to stay in a Monday funk after that. :D

The significance of Monday for Kayla's roommate is this: Skype date with Emily Larson. Emlar. Larsily. Emson. She is a bundle of joy, even when she's "trying" to "stay up late" for her "night shift" at the "hospital." Her heart for cancer patient children puddles me. The way she talks just delights me. The way Kayla tries to reach through screens to hug people also delights me.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Today was pie

and so was yesterday. The Berens asked Kayla and I to housesit. So we sat, petted the grimlin-dog, Juniper, read books, talked, and ate a delicious homemade Berens pie.

After Kendra got a thorough surprise from Eric, we went to sleep in the peace of a quiet house. Houses are great. May term has reminded me of that.

This morning, I popped out of bed (off the couch) and handmade some pancakes, which Kayla ate and Mike and Andrea devoured. After some Jacob talking and some Dinah dishing, the chicks spent two hours straight up defeating a 500 piece puzzle. It began with Andrea saying, "This looks like it would be difficult," and it ended with all of our fingers on the same puzzle piece, smiling. Then the warm afternoon passed with book reading, book borrowing, babysitting, card-making, and Noelle-visiting.

Today was pie. Tomorrow is wedding.

(This is one of those blogs that is more of a "log" than a "blog"... it just says what happened. I apologize for the lack of pizazz. There are always a plethora of mini-stories that encapsulate my blogs -- I just got an idea. Okay. I think I'll start doing that. Awesome.)

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Speech class

Isn't the most exciting thing in the world. Because unfortunately it's 85% lecture. I think I would teach a May term speech class differently. Dr. Huckins is a good orator and he gives good examples for each point, but speech requires experience. When kids are afraid of swimming, you just keep playing games in the water until they adapt. Same concept with public speaking.

I sit up against the wall, facing the window, so I saw Mike walk by like 45 minutes ago. How do you get out of class an hour early? How? Dr. Huckins soaks up the time like a sponge.

I was going to give my informative speech on "How to Juggle," but the topic is supposed to be helpful and applicable to my audience. You can't take juggling to the bank.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So long, cum laude

The numbers are official, and my pride has been exploded into pieces. I won't graduate with honors. I've got my academic scholarship and I'm well above requirements for my degree... but I won't be "Bethany Mueller, cum laude." Freshman and sophomore year, I thought I'd graduate with magna cum laude. But this past year kicked me in the butt.

Here I am graduating with honors from high school. As I walked to center-stage and they read my accomplishments, my cap started to fall off. I was a goof, but I was smart.
I've been tested as an achiever -- it's high on my priority list. I like to be credited with what I've done well. And college has been a humbling process (of both failing at things and of not being credited with things). But a really good humbling process. So instead of this cum laude thing being the end of my world, it's just a little jab. Little tender.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

I Heart May Term

The opportunity to sit on my bed-perch, munching a banana, while journalling and idly watching the volleyball game happening in the sunny spot outside my window... is delectable.

I am so, so, so, so, so thankful.

Friday, May 6, 2011

I like history.

Tomorrow, I'm turning in a copy of a historical speech that I'll eventually present. Unfortunately for me, I've only had a couple hours tonight to research. Do you KNOW how many YEARS there are in history? Kagillions. At least thousands.

In those thousands of years, Moses rebuked Pharaoh! Jesus revealed the beatitudes! Hammurabi presented innovative laws! Ghandi explained his fasts! Winston Churchill refused to give up! C.S. Lewis reinvented certain Christian perspectives! Presidents solemnly covered the faces of thousands with blanket statements of apology. George Bailey defended the Building and Loan. Mark Twain refuted his own death.

There are so many words. That perfectionist in me (may she rest in peace) is rolling in her grave, but I've picked something. Something that I don't think I'm happy with... this is too difficult. I wish he would've assigned them. Then I'd just crush whatever he gave me. I'd take it, and I'd crush it.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

today was a firework


-We double checked the fines for every room on Eastside
-We set up for the RAmmys
-We filed all of our residents' paperwork
-Julie sliced her thumb nail making nametags, so I used Zach's scary knife of death
-Eastsides came as 16 members of the Duggar family
-The staffs embraced their musical talents. Some more than others. Some a LOT.
-We did 5,983 closure activities (Kayla warm fuzzies, Danielle's gift, virgin daiquiris, favorite moments, firework presentation, frame signing, feet washing, 3rd floor craziness)

My schedule says I go to class tomorrow. ... So I will. I'll go to breakfast and then go to class.

I'm not an RA anymore. I don't have a unit or a brother staff. I can't identify myself with a title anymore. I'm just Bethany now. Bethany. A senior. ... whew. Here goes nothing.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

wakawaka

I have a couple friends who always say "wakawaka." I don't know why. ESPECIALLY if it's Friday. All of a sudden, "wakawakawaka" becomes a song. ANYways, I stumbled on a sound effects site -- and there was one labeled "wakawaka" -- it was the PacMan sound!! How great is that? I got all nostalgic inside. Click on the image below to find the "wakawaka" sound.


Ben and I used to go over to a friends house. They had 5 kids. So there were 7 of us. And they had PacMan. And we would TAKE. TURNS. There were at least 5 of us, trading the controller. How patient kids used to be back in the day. The Koch kids used to tell us about the "older cousins" who had made it all the way to LEVEL 14... the rumored "raaaaiiinnnboowww level." ... Once, I made it all the way to level 10. But never 14.

I wish fruit wandered around IWU's campus *STOMP STOMP STOMP*... can you imagine? Everyone would be running around like PacMan.

At the bottom of the sound effects grid, there's Legend of Zelda noises. Would it shock you if I said I might already have these on my iTunes? Yes. I'm that person. ... Okay, I'm RELATED to that person. ... I'm not ashamed.

I just googled "Link found treasure" and got this nugget of gold:
Is this a real rug?!?! Nostalgia. Childhood. I'm geeking out.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

"We gotta fit *this* into *this* --

using nothin' but this."

Anne, Mike, and I watched Apollo 13. Great movie to watch -- especially with people who haven't seen it!

The Eastsides are going to make a music video. And it's going to be dramatic. Hopefully funny dramatic. We outlined it all. It took almost 2 and a half hours to figure out. I don't think it'll be too hard to film, but tomorrow will definitely be a full day. We'll see Bobby preach, go to a baby shower, and then film. That, right there, is the whole day. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

I got accordion binders today and I cannot wait to file all the papers I want to keep. I'm genuinely excited. Bizarre, right?

Thank goodness for May. April was a whirlwind of many, many good things. But hopefully May will be less this:

and more this: