Guess who got a scholarship to take summer art classes at the (somewhat) local art and design college? That's right. I did.
I sent in an application online a month and a half ago, along with some photos of some of my latest "work". Sadly, I can't say I got in because they were so impressed with my artistic talent... actually, they apparently never even got my application.
It had been sent to the wrong e-mail address. So how did I end up getting in? Well...
A couple of weeks went by after my teacher had forwarded it to the college, and I saw that someone else I knew on Facebook had posted about getting in. I waited a couple weeks more and as I didn't get anything I assumed that meant I hadn't gotten in. My teacher who had recommended me didn't give up as quickly as I did though, and kept telling me that it would come. Finally, a week ago, when I had nearly forgotten about it, she called and told me to call the school and check on my "enrollment status".
Humoring her, but feeling slightly embaressed, I called in. They checked the system and said that they had never recieved my application. I was put on the phone with the guy in charge of admissions. He double checked and also said that my application wasn't in their system. He then gave me his personal e-mail address and told me to re-send it to him. As kind as I found this, I knew that it was way past the deadline to apply for a scholarship, and that was the only way I could go. (These classes are expensive, man.) I said as much, "So, uh... I'm guessing it's too late to apply for a scholarship?" "No," he said. "Oh," I said surprised and slightly hopeful. "Yeah, no," He continued. "I'm giving you a scholarship."
My jaw dropped. "Are you serious??" I asked him. He said that he was, and told me to send it to him. I thanked him profusely before hanging up and dancing around the living room. When I called my teacher to tell her the news she told me to send it to her along with the e-address and she would forward it again. I did so, and waited for a confirmation e-mail.
One never came.
Finally I called, a couple days later, to double-check. They put me on the line with the same guy as before, and as embarrased as I was, I admitted that I was calling to make sure he had got my application this time. He said that he had, but that I was going to get my response via mail.
It was Friday.
It didn't come Saturday.
Or Monday.
Or Tuesday.
By Wednesday I was tempted to call again, but I didn't/
Thursday, I checked the mailbox, and there it was. A beautiful envelope from Laguna enclosing a welcome letter, a packet for both classes, and a supply sheet. Needless to say I screamed and hopped around.
I have a scholarship to both classes I wanted to take.
Fundamentals of Drawing, Monday-Thursday 9am-12pm
Fundamentals of Figure Drawing, Monday-Thursday 1pm-4pm
It all starts Monday, the 27th.
I am so excited.
This could change the way I do art.
This could direct where I go from here out career-wise.
This.... this is going to be good.
Now I just have to get my supplies. Thank God I got a scholarship, because I don't know how we'd be able to pay for both the classes themselves, and all the art supplies. Luckily these are just drawing classes, so I don't need to buy any expensive paints, colored pencils, or chalks. But there is still plenty to get even with just drawing.
Charcoal sticks, charcoal pencils, carbon pencils, white charcoal pencils, 3 different kinds of paper, kneadable erasers, blending stumps, a pencil extender, bull clips, an art bin, drawing board, and two different kinds of portfolio cases.
Here's hoping they all last the entire length of the class.
I really need to get a job.
This could really change the way I do art.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Writing in my Blog
Every now and then I ask myself, "Why do I write?"
"Because, you're a writer," I'll answer myself.
"Not a very good one," I'll then say.
"Well of course not," I'll remind myself. "Not yet anyway. Now write already."
I often talk to myself aloud, mostly when I think I'm alone. It might help me think, or it might prove that I'm crazy. Either way, here I am writing, just like I told myself to do.
Now, I was given this assignment from Jamie, the wife of the high school group pastor. Jamie asked me to help her write and illustrate something and I agreed to it excited at the opportunity. I started it, and then doubted myself. I sent her what I had started and she expressed that she had great confidence in me and my ability and wanted me to finish it. I don't have a deadline for it. It's just there. In my computer, in my mind. Waiting.
I admit I've been dragging my feet about it. Perhaps I'm afraid that the final result won't be good, and that everyone will pretend like it is. I can't stand the thought of that. Or perhaps I'm just lazy. Either way, it remains, 75% of the written part done, and only general sketches done for the illustration.
I think the illustrating part scares me the most. Not that I have great confidence in myself as a writer, but that I have even less confidence in myself as an artist. I know that art is subjective. Some of the most simply and crudely done pieces have been "Oooh"ed and "Aahh"ed at by the rich and famous and sold for ridiculous amounts of money. The truth is that I could scribble something down and say that it is my illustrations and everyone will gather around and talk about the deeper meaning in it and it's strokes. But I don't want to have crappy work passed as art. I want to be good. Or at least, as good as possible. And I'm afraid of where to begin.
I'm very good at starting writing things. I have this idea in mind, this storyline that I get passionate about and so I take my ideas to pen and paper or the computer... but then I wear out. I simply just stop. I haven't finished a single full story. Short stories, sure. But even those, not many. I think that's what separates aspiring writers from actual writers. Finishing well.
Like I said before, I've actually taken up journaling again. I think that helps my word flow. The fact that I actually finished a journal is a big deal. Now, of course, it's hardly legible. No, seriously. I have awful handwriting. "Neat and complete work," my mom would always tell me, yet I never seemed to grasp that idea. I can write somewhat decently if I focus entirely on it, but I don't usually, And this is my regular handwriting. Don't get me started on cursive. I once heard this saying about cursive which amused me, "Writing in cursive is the equivalent to mumbling." It's very true. You read someone, anyone's cursive, and chances are that you won't be able to read all of it. It doesn't matter how beautiful their penmanship is.
I'm afraid I'm not a very neat person. I was filling out an application to work at Starbucks, and it's survey asked the same question in about ten different ways. It wanted to know if I was a neat worker, and not just some slob who was going to make extravagant coffee and leave a huge mess for everyone else to clean up. I wouldn't go as far to say that that's who I'd be while working there, but I am nowhere near immaculate. I try, especially at other people's homes or buisnesses or with their things, to be extra careful and neat, but my room is never going to be clean. I'd say I'm pretty respectful towards books, especially when they belong to others, but I wouldn't say I'm their best caretaker. One of my favorite things to do while reading is to eat a favorite snack such as something chocolatey, or some sort of chip or popcorn. This mean that I had fingerprints and smudges on certain pages of my own books. I tried being extra careful with library books, and of course, extra extra careful with friend's books, but I can't say they returned in as pristine condition as when they first reached my care.
It would also appear that I've inherited the lack of ability to summarize anything from my family. Whether it be an outline, my thoughts, or especially a story, it is very nearly impossible for me to give you the basic details.
It goes something like this:
The beginning, oh no, really, listen the beginning is quite worth it.....
The middle is just as important, don't leave, just hear me out...
Just wait till you hear the end! I'm almost done, promise.....
I wouldn't say I'm as bad aloud as other members of my family, but I may be the worst as far as rambling writing goes. My literature teacher wanted to know why, when summarizing The Odyssey, I was writing my own translation.
I'm not entirely sure why I decided to tell you all of this right now, except that I think that it might help you understand me a bit more. And hey, the more practice I put in, the better.
"Because, you're a writer," I'll answer myself.
"Not a very good one," I'll then say.
"Well of course not," I'll remind myself. "Not yet anyway. Now write already."
I often talk to myself aloud, mostly when I think I'm alone. It might help me think, or it might prove that I'm crazy. Either way, here I am writing, just like I told myself to do.
Now, I was given this assignment from Jamie, the wife of the high school group pastor. Jamie asked me to help her write and illustrate something and I agreed to it excited at the opportunity. I started it, and then doubted myself. I sent her what I had started and she expressed that she had great confidence in me and my ability and wanted me to finish it. I don't have a deadline for it. It's just there. In my computer, in my mind. Waiting.
I admit I've been dragging my feet about it. Perhaps I'm afraid that the final result won't be good, and that everyone will pretend like it is. I can't stand the thought of that. Or perhaps I'm just lazy. Either way, it remains, 75% of the written part done, and only general sketches done for the illustration.
I think the illustrating part scares me the most. Not that I have great confidence in myself as a writer, but that I have even less confidence in myself as an artist. I know that art is subjective. Some of the most simply and crudely done pieces have been "Oooh"ed and "Aahh"ed at by the rich and famous and sold for ridiculous amounts of money. The truth is that I could scribble something down and say that it is my illustrations and everyone will gather around and talk about the deeper meaning in it and it's strokes. But I don't want to have crappy work passed as art. I want to be good. Or at least, as good as possible. And I'm afraid of where to begin.
I'm very good at starting writing things. I have this idea in mind, this storyline that I get passionate about and so I take my ideas to pen and paper or the computer... but then I wear out. I simply just stop. I haven't finished a single full story. Short stories, sure. But even those, not many. I think that's what separates aspiring writers from actual writers. Finishing well.
Like I said before, I've actually taken up journaling again. I think that helps my word flow. The fact that I actually finished a journal is a big deal. Now, of course, it's hardly legible. No, seriously. I have awful handwriting. "Neat and complete work," my mom would always tell me, yet I never seemed to grasp that idea. I can write somewhat decently if I focus entirely on it, but I don't usually, And this is my regular handwriting. Don't get me started on cursive. I once heard this saying about cursive which amused me, "Writing in cursive is the equivalent to mumbling." It's very true. You read someone, anyone's cursive, and chances are that you won't be able to read all of it. It doesn't matter how beautiful their penmanship is.
I'm afraid I'm not a very neat person. I was filling out an application to work at Starbucks, and it's survey asked the same question in about ten different ways. It wanted to know if I was a neat worker, and not just some slob who was going to make extravagant coffee and leave a huge mess for everyone else to clean up. I wouldn't go as far to say that that's who I'd be while working there, but I am nowhere near immaculate. I try, especially at other people's homes or buisnesses or with their things, to be extra careful and neat, but my room is never going to be clean. I'd say I'm pretty respectful towards books, especially when they belong to others, but I wouldn't say I'm their best caretaker. One of my favorite things to do while reading is to eat a favorite snack such as something chocolatey, or some sort of chip or popcorn. This mean that I had fingerprints and smudges on certain pages of my own books. I tried being extra careful with library books, and of course, extra extra careful with friend's books, but I can't say they returned in as pristine condition as when they first reached my care.
It would also appear that I've inherited the lack of ability to summarize anything from my family. Whether it be an outline, my thoughts, or especially a story, it is very nearly impossible for me to give you the basic details.
It goes something like this:
The beginning, oh no, really, listen the beginning is quite worth it.....
The middle is just as important, don't leave, just hear me out...
Just wait till you hear the end! I'm almost done, promise.....
I wouldn't say I'm as bad aloud as other members of my family, but I may be the worst as far as rambling writing goes. My literature teacher wanted to know why, when summarizing The Odyssey, I was writing my own translation.
I'm not entirely sure why I decided to tell you all of this right now, except that I think that it might help you understand me a bit more. And hey, the more practice I put in, the better.
Monday, June 6, 2011
"*Today is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards..." Bond Part 3
So it's after twelve thirty am as we take off running. I'm exhausted, and figure I'll get caught anyways. Tyler and I were two of the last to dash off and so I call after him, "Wanta go another way?" "Yes!" he says. I tell him to make a right, and we hide in the bushes in front of the free sports stadium by the library. Ty does this so I can rest for a few minutes before we head out again, and from our spot in the bushes we see the cars go down the same street everyone else did, the one we had all taken before. Then we stick to the side of the stadium, behind bushes, as we go this different way. It's considerably longer, but I figured we would still have the upper hand by going an unanticipated route. More cars go by, so we have to duck and hide behind more bushes, signs and tress, uncertain as to whether or not they could be part of the game. We get to a point where we can cross the street so we dash across into the parking lot of some building. There are a bunch of bushes around it so we keep low behind them as a bunch of cars go by. When it's finally clear we go down, Tyler telling me to wait behind a tree as he checks the underpass to see if it's safe. He looks both ways and then runs past it before calling me. I run after him, when suddenly a car starts going our way. Tyler runs up into the bushes of his side of the underpass and I jump into the short weeds and try and wiggle my way into the bushes by my side. As the car gets closer I realize it's a police car, and pale as it goes by. I start to come out when more cars come so I get a better spot, although my shoes are showing. Finally it's safe again, so I get out an we both continue on our way. We're by more residential areas now so we stick to the cars, not wanting to go in front yards unless we have to. When another car goes by we have to hide behind this scanty bush, as a car slows to a stop. We wait, wondering if this is when we're going to get caught, huddled together. Then the car slowly drives around the corner. We realize there's a stop sign where the car had stopped, so we keep going by cars. When a car goes by, I drop, feeling more exhausted than I ever have before. I know that I'm pushing my body past anything I have done and I feel slightly crazy for it. I just keep hoping that I won't faint. Tyler remarks that I dropped next to him like a spy, and I am pleased. He just tells me not to hit my head. I concur.
We're almost to a Denny's parking lot which crosses onto the street that leads to our checkpoint. Tyler and I agreed that if we went straight past, we could cut back through my neighborhood to that wall that was the shortcut to the store parking lot checkpoint. I hid behind a big truck as he ran and pushed the button, and then I came out when it was time to go across. We walked casually across as a police car was at the red light. We knew we were right in the open, that anyone who was looking for us right there would see us, but we also knew they would've had to know where to look. We crossed over, walked past a gas station and when we knew we were out of the police car's line of sight we stuck back to the bushes again until it was time to cross and go into my neighborhood. We took the first, less commonly used one, and walked down until a car turned down and so we dove behind a truck in someone's driveway. The car slows and we freeze. Then it finally drives off and we wait a minute before we get out. "What were you doing in my neighbor's yard?" a voice asks from across the street. We look and see an older annoyed woman, sitting on her porch smoking. "We're playing a game," Tyler explains as we begin to go on our way. "Well, you shouldn't do that," she begins. We both say "sorry" as quickly as possible and run off. Then we turn and we're going down my street. The wall is just ahead. I remind Tyler that this is where the others got caught last time, so we are extra cautious as we get closer. We notice a car parked oddly away from the curb, in the dark. We freeze. "Is it them?" I ask him. "I don't know.." he says. "Why aren't they getting out?" I ask again in a whisper. "They may be waiting for us to get closer," he whispers back. "Let's go a bit farther and prepare to run." We walk slowly closer, my stomach in a knot, and then we see that the car is empty. We quickly then move on to the end of the street, looking both ways, and crossing to the wall. Tyler helps me up onto a littler wall and then I go over the bigger wall, my feet landing onto a propped up cart from neighborhood kids. I'm afraid of it's stability and let him know so, so Tyler, now on the littler wall holds onto my hands and helps me get get down. He then hops the wall with ease and we both run across the grass until we reach the lot. We had made it! And with about five minutes to spare. We walk over and see some guys sitting on a bench who had apparently been tagged with a full car and had to walk back. We told them about our other path and they were impressed. Then everyone arrived, and by now it was one thirty. "So, who's up for one more round?" Nathan asked. I looked at Tyler. He told me he had a 2 am curfew so he was going home. My parents didn't really give me a curfew, they just trusted I was safe with Tyler. He said I could get a ride with him to Nathan's and then he could give me a ride back. We were so close to my house that I said I could just walk home, but then I suddenly had a ton of offers from all of Nathan's friends for rides. Tired and amusingly overwhelmed I said, "Uh, I'll go home with anyone." People laughed, with a couple of snickers from the two guys from earlier. I gave them a look and said evenly, "That's not what I meant." They grinned. So they had me get in the back of a car with Jeff and some others, and Tyler came over patted the car door and said goodbye, and took off back towards Nathan's. I shook my head as we drove off around the corner and into my neighborhood. As we pulled up into my driveway I thanked them for the ride, and they said that it was no problem and that I should come to the next Bond event. "Totally!" I agreed. And I said goodbye to them all as I walked up my driveway and into my house. When I sat down I felt my whole body throb and knew that it was probably a good thing that I didn't play that last round. It took me a while to get to sleep, it was past two, possibly three, when I finally did reach dreamland but it was worth it.
Bond was quite the experience, and my whole body has been sore since. I've been walking like an old lady, and yet Tyler has seemed completely unaffected, swimming and dancing at the jr high and high school grad party Saturday, and jumping up and down at worship at church on Sunday. The jerk. In the jacuzzi on Saturday, Ty did ask me if I honestly had had fun at Bond. And I did. I know three things: One, that I really need to get into shape. Two, that I really enjoy exciting games and can do a lot on adrenaline alone. And three, that it wouldn't have been as fun without having people there with me, especially Tyler.
P.S.
I've had several people including Nathan's sister Leah, Tyler's dad, and some people at church come up to me since the event and go, "I heard you had a good time at Bond" in a knowing way. Just great. Well at least my side of the story is out now. Lauren, secret agent in training, signing out.
We're almost to a Denny's parking lot which crosses onto the street that leads to our checkpoint. Tyler and I agreed that if we went straight past, we could cut back through my neighborhood to that wall that was the shortcut to the store parking lot checkpoint. I hid behind a big truck as he ran and pushed the button, and then I came out when it was time to go across. We walked casually across as a police car was at the red light. We knew we were right in the open, that anyone who was looking for us right there would see us, but we also knew they would've had to know where to look. We crossed over, walked past a gas station and when we knew we were out of the police car's line of sight we stuck back to the bushes again until it was time to cross and go into my neighborhood. We took the first, less commonly used one, and walked down until a car turned down and so we dove behind a truck in someone's driveway. The car slows and we freeze. Then it finally drives off and we wait a minute before we get out. "What were you doing in my neighbor's yard?" a voice asks from across the street. We look and see an older annoyed woman, sitting on her porch smoking. "We're playing a game," Tyler explains as we begin to go on our way. "Well, you shouldn't do that," she begins. We both say "sorry" as quickly as possible and run off. Then we turn and we're going down my street. The wall is just ahead. I remind Tyler that this is where the others got caught last time, so we are extra cautious as we get closer. We notice a car parked oddly away from the curb, in the dark. We freeze. "Is it them?" I ask him. "I don't know.." he says. "Why aren't they getting out?" I ask again in a whisper. "They may be waiting for us to get closer," he whispers back. "Let's go a bit farther and prepare to run." We walk slowly closer, my stomach in a knot, and then we see that the car is empty. We quickly then move on to the end of the street, looking both ways, and crossing to the wall. Tyler helps me up onto a littler wall and then I go over the bigger wall, my feet landing onto a propped up cart from neighborhood kids. I'm afraid of it's stability and let him know so, so Tyler, now on the littler wall holds onto my hands and helps me get get down. He then hops the wall with ease and we both run across the grass until we reach the lot. We had made it! And with about five minutes to spare. We walk over and see some guys sitting on a bench who had apparently been tagged with a full car and had to walk back. We told them about our other path and they were impressed. Then everyone arrived, and by now it was one thirty. "So, who's up for one more round?" Nathan asked. I looked at Tyler. He told me he had a 2 am curfew so he was going home. My parents didn't really give me a curfew, they just trusted I was safe with Tyler. He said I could get a ride with him to Nathan's and then he could give me a ride back. We were so close to my house that I said I could just walk home, but then I suddenly had a ton of offers from all of Nathan's friends for rides. Tired and amusingly overwhelmed I said, "Uh, I'll go home with anyone." People laughed, with a couple of snickers from the two guys from earlier. I gave them a look and said evenly, "That's not what I meant." They grinned. So they had me get in the back of a car with Jeff and some others, and Tyler came over patted the car door and said goodbye, and took off back towards Nathan's. I shook my head as we drove off around the corner and into my neighborhood. As we pulled up into my driveway I thanked them for the ride, and they said that it was no problem and that I should come to the next Bond event. "Totally!" I agreed. And I said goodbye to them all as I walked up my driveway and into my house. When I sat down I felt my whole body throb and knew that it was probably a good thing that I didn't play that last round. It took me a while to get to sleep, it was past two, possibly three, when I finally did reach dreamland but it was worth it.
Bond was quite the experience, and my whole body has been sore since. I've been walking like an old lady, and yet Tyler has seemed completely unaffected, swimming and dancing at the jr high and high school grad party Saturday, and jumping up and down at worship at church on Sunday. The jerk. In the jacuzzi on Saturday, Ty did ask me if I honestly had had fun at Bond. And I did. I know three things: One, that I really need to get into shape. Two, that I really enjoy exciting games and can do a lot on adrenaline alone. And three, that it wouldn't have been as fun without having people there with me, especially Tyler.
P.S.
I've had several people including Nathan's sister Leah, Tyler's dad, and some people at church come up to me since the event and go, "I heard you had a good time at Bond" in a knowing way. Just great. Well at least my side of the story is out now. Lauren, secret agent in training, signing out.
"Seein' Everything, Time is Going, Tickin' On and On, Everybody's Rushin'.. " Bond Part 2
Everybody took off fast again, I couldn't tell who was who anymore, but I saw Jeff up ahead waiting for me. Grinning, we ran together, crossing the street. The thing about this checkpoint was that it's a straight shot down from the store's checkpoint the to the library's one. This meant we had to stick to one side of the street and try and find creative ways to get there. We were on the right side of the street, the same side I use to walk to the library often from my house, as I pushed the walk button. Nearly everyone ran even though it wasn't time to go, including Jeff who looked behind him as he ran realizing I wasn't with him anymore. Tyler stood with me, waiting for the signal to cross and then we did. Tyler was way faster than me so I slowed down to a walk, as I saw everyone turn into the parking lot of a dental office to try and hide behind the building and find another way. I understood, the chasers would be coming now. I sped up a little more as I saw Jeff standing by the office waiting for me. We all stood behind the building for a minute, and then half of the group took off back around it and down the street, leaving Tyler, Jeff and I. Tyler ran over to a wall at the end of the parking lot and hopped over it, and Jeff and I followed. Jeff gave me a boost and I slid over the wall, causing Tyler to remark that I was better at climbing walls than tress. Hardly. I had help. We continued on in this back way, Jeff helping me over any walls we got to. Then we got to a street with a series of apartments. We couldn't go through the apartments so we were going to have to go back out to the main road. Suddenly, a car turned into the street. We all dashed for cover. Five minutes went by. Ten. Finally, Tyler and I came out and realized that Jeff was gone. Had he been caught? Or had he simply taken off again?
We called for him for a bit, and wondered if we were being set up for a trap. Either way we had to move, so we made our way back to the main street. We ran from bush, to building, to empty parking lot, and etc. Tyler now helped me over any walls we got to, including a chain link one. The second chain link fence we crossed had tiny barbs at the top. They were spaced out however, and didn't look too dangerous. Not wanting to chicken out I said I could handle it so Tyler helped boost me up on top. My jacket got caught right away, as did my pants. Figuring the best way to get uncaught would be to make a sudden move over the edge, I did my best to pull away and go over the side. As I pulled away, I felt my pants get uncaught, but my jacket didn't. My feet hung just above the ground on the other side as I held on to the top of the fence. The friction of my turtle neck against the jacket caused the two to be stuck together, and both were pulled up to just below my bra-line. I was held there comically,my midriff showing right in front of a shocked Tyler, who covered his mouth to hide the fact that he was laughing. I'm sure I turned very red as I tried my best to free my jacket from the fence. When I finally did, I dropped to the ground, got up and immediately pulled my shirt and jacket down as Tyler hopped the fence, trying to make me feel better by saying that it was a difficult fence. Indeed.
We continued our way, hiding in bushes and behind buildings whenever we heard a car, until we got to the railroad crossing. There were walls all along the wide sides of the track, so I followed Tyler as we tried to find a sneakier way to get to our destination. The track was on a sort of little hill over here, surrounded by pebbles and rocks that led down into tall grass and weeds. We got down to the bottom of the ditch going in our direction and saw that the wall was much taller than we had anticipated from on top of the little hill. We climbed back up the hill. Tyler ran on the side of it in the shadows, but knowing my clumsiness I stayed on top. Unfortunately, I was directly in the light when we heard a girl yell, "There they are!" Headlights down on the main street were parked, and a girl was getting out of the passenger side. Tyler ran like heck back the way we had just came and I ran down the hill and dove off into the tall wheat-like weeds.
"Were they there?" another female voice asked. "Yeah, but, I don't want to go down there alone," the original one said. I realized that they had nowhere to park, and it was a pretty sketchy place for a girl to go alone. Did this mean that they would leave? Was it a trap? If it was, I figured I should just get out and say that Tyler hopped a wall and that I couldn't follow. At least then he would make it. But I waited. As nervous as I felt there, it was actually kinda beautiful in the grass in it's own way. The lights made it look blue, green, gold and purple. I wished I could paint or take a picture of it. I lost track of time. I wanted to text Tyler but I was afraid he would believe I was tricking him or leading him into a trap. It was probably only around ten-twenty minutes when I heard rustling coming from the direction Tyler had ran off to. He called me in a whisper and asked if I was alone. I said I was and caught up with him. We walked down the track in the direction he had run off to but never found a good spot to hop over. Too many tall walls, security cameras and construction. Defeated, we walked back, knowing we only had about ten minutes left to get to the library. The tracks were pretty close actually, and we dove from bush to bush as we ran to the corner. Tyler told me to hide in the bushes as he pushed the button for the crosswalk. Then the walkman appeared and we both ran across the street, hardly believing we had got that far. We went behind these huge bushes to the right side of the the street leading up to the library parking lot until they to too thick to hide behind. We were now mere feet away. The parking lot was within sight. There was a group of people waiting for us, and a car. We froze. Two people got out of the car along with Jeff. Nathan, the two guys from earlier, and others however were cheering us on. Tyler took off like a bullet and made it, I ran, tiredly, waiting to be tagged, but then the two guys jumped in front of Jeff and the others and played keep away as I crossed the line of the parking lot. Everybody cheered. It was pretty amazing. High fives all around. During that last run to the parking lot I had felt and heard my cell phone fall out of my pocket but had kept going anyway. Laughing, Nathan and a couple others helped me find it, and I put it back together and back in my pocket. Everyone laughed and stood around for a few minutes until Nathan said it was time for the next round. He asked if I wanted to be a passenger. I hesitated. Tyler then said I didn't have to be if I didn't want to since I had been caught so quickly in the first round. Nathan agreed with Tyler and before I knew it, before we had another minute to rest, we were off again.
We called for him for a bit, and wondered if we were being set up for a trap. Either way we had to move, so we made our way back to the main street. We ran from bush, to building, to empty parking lot, and etc. Tyler now helped me over any walls we got to, including a chain link one. The second chain link fence we crossed had tiny barbs at the top. They were spaced out however, and didn't look too dangerous. Not wanting to chicken out I said I could handle it so Tyler helped boost me up on top. My jacket got caught right away, as did my pants. Figuring the best way to get uncaught would be to make a sudden move over the edge, I did my best to pull away and go over the side. As I pulled away, I felt my pants get uncaught, but my jacket didn't. My feet hung just above the ground on the other side as I held on to the top of the fence. The friction of my turtle neck against the jacket caused the two to be stuck together, and both were pulled up to just below my bra-line. I was held there comically,my midriff showing right in front of a shocked Tyler, who covered his mouth to hide the fact that he was laughing. I'm sure I turned very red as I tried my best to free my jacket from the fence. When I finally did, I dropped to the ground, got up and immediately pulled my shirt and jacket down as Tyler hopped the fence, trying to make me feel better by saying that it was a difficult fence. Indeed.
We continued our way, hiding in bushes and behind buildings whenever we heard a car, until we got to the railroad crossing. There were walls all along the wide sides of the track, so I followed Tyler as we tried to find a sneakier way to get to our destination. The track was on a sort of little hill over here, surrounded by pebbles and rocks that led down into tall grass and weeds. We got down to the bottom of the ditch going in our direction and saw that the wall was much taller than we had anticipated from on top of the little hill. We climbed back up the hill. Tyler ran on the side of it in the shadows, but knowing my clumsiness I stayed on top. Unfortunately, I was directly in the light when we heard a girl yell, "There they are!" Headlights down on the main street were parked, and a girl was getting out of the passenger side. Tyler ran like heck back the way we had just came and I ran down the hill and dove off into the tall wheat-like weeds.
"Were they there?" another female voice asked. "Yeah, but, I don't want to go down there alone," the original one said. I realized that they had nowhere to park, and it was a pretty sketchy place for a girl to go alone. Did this mean that they would leave? Was it a trap? If it was, I figured I should just get out and say that Tyler hopped a wall and that I couldn't follow. At least then he would make it. But I waited. As nervous as I felt there, it was actually kinda beautiful in the grass in it's own way. The lights made it look blue, green, gold and purple. I wished I could paint or take a picture of it. I lost track of time. I wanted to text Tyler but I was afraid he would believe I was tricking him or leading him into a trap. It was probably only around ten-twenty minutes when I heard rustling coming from the direction Tyler had ran off to. He called me in a whisper and asked if I was alone. I said I was and caught up with him. We walked down the track in the direction he had run off to but never found a good spot to hop over. Too many tall walls, security cameras and construction. Defeated, we walked back, knowing we only had about ten minutes left to get to the library. The tracks were pretty close actually, and we dove from bush to bush as we ran to the corner. Tyler told me to hide in the bushes as he pushed the button for the crosswalk. Then the walkman appeared and we both ran across the street, hardly believing we had got that far. We went behind these huge bushes to the right side of the the street leading up to the library parking lot until they to too thick to hide behind. We were now mere feet away. The parking lot was within sight. There was a group of people waiting for us, and a car. We froze. Two people got out of the car along with Jeff. Nathan, the two guys from earlier, and others however were cheering us on. Tyler took off like a bullet and made it, I ran, tiredly, waiting to be tagged, but then the two guys jumped in front of Jeff and the others and played keep away as I crossed the line of the parking lot. Everybody cheered. It was pretty amazing. High fives all around. During that last run to the parking lot I had felt and heard my cell phone fall out of my pocket but had kept going anyway. Laughing, Nathan and a couple others helped me find it, and I put it back together and back in my pocket. Everyone laughed and stood around for a few minutes until Nathan said it was time for the next round. He asked if I wanted to be a passenger. I hesitated. Tyler then said I didn't have to be if I didn't want to since I had been caught so quickly in the first round. Nathan agreed with Tyler and before I knew it, before we had another minute to rest, we were off again.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
"Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down On Friday... " Bond Part 1
It's Friday night at ten thirty and about seventeen college-aged kids are standing in a high school parking lot waiting for the game to begin.
I had never played "Bond" before. My best friend upon hearing the general description of the game told me it sounded just like Cops and Robbers, but I had never played that either. I was with my friend Tyler and this kid Jeff I had just met who was mutual friends with a group of my old best friends. We didn't all know eachother, but we were all somehow connected to Nathan, the guy who planned it.
Most of the the people there were wearing jeans and dark colored shirts, jackets and sneakers. I was the only one wearing all black, something Tyler had recommended to me, so I felt a little foolish. I've loved secret agent stuff since I was a kid though so I tried to shrug it off, Ty had said everyone would think I was hardcore anyway. Whatever.
When Nathan was sure that everyone who was going to come was there he climbed onto the concrete base of a lightpost and welcomed us to Bond. He then gave us the layout of the game and it's rules:
First, there were the runners. We had to get from point A to point B without getting caught by chasers. Chasers were in cars, one driver and one passenger in each car. Chasers weren't allowed to get out of the car unless they saw something suspicious. If they did, they were to park, get out and tag any runners they saw. Anyone they tagged was supposed to get in the back of the car and was now a chaser. If more than three runners were tagged by the same chasers, those runners had to walk the rest of the way to the checkpoint without tagging anyone. The runners had to do whatever possible to get to the checkpoint without getting seen or caught. This meant trying to go ways besides the main streets, and a lot of running, ducking and hiding. Nathan then went over the rules the police had given him such as, no hiding under parked cars, speeding, or hopping fences into neighbor's yards.... He said we could do those things, but he wouldn't be responsible for the consequences since he had already warned us against them. Nathan then said he would be a chaser and chose a kid in flipflops to be his passenger. A girl became the other chaser for this round, and Nathan chose Tyler to be her passenger since no one was volunteering. I blanched. I had never played this game before. Tyler was supposed to stick with me, I didn't know what I was doing! "Okay, you guys have 5 minutes. So get the heck out of here!" Nathan said, jovially shouting the last sentence. I was frozen in place as everyone suddenly dashed away in all directions. I looked at Tyler like a deer in the headlights and he said, "I'm so sorry. Go!" and gave me a shove, and with that, I was off.
It wasn't long before I realized how completely out of shape and under qualified for this game I appeared to be. These two guys slowed down for me and let me join them however, as we tried to find our way out of the maze of the neighborhood. They hopped over a wall into a neighbor's backyard when they saw a car coming, and I started to use a palm tree to get up there when Jeff, who I hadn't noticed join us, told me to get down so I hid with him in the bushes. When the car left, Jeff did too, taking off running. The two guys came back over the wall and we continued until another car rounded a corner. We hid behind this big white van, uncertain as to whether or not we had been spotted. One of the guys rolled under the van, and the other one swore and said we should probably run. I looked around and saw that the car had stopped and saw the passenger door opening. Taking a chance, I ran for the backyard of the house we were by, hearing the other guy running behind me. Then someone pushed my shoulders so I stumbled and turned around. It wasn't the other guy, it was Tyler, who upon seeing the shocked look on my face burst out laughing. I got in the car and refused to admit that there were two other guys with me or give away their location, being indignantly and perhaps, stupidly, loyal to the two strangers. I had a pity party in the back of the car as we looked for any other runners, and almost asked if they would take me home since we were close to where I lived by then. Deciding that I didn't want to be both a loser AND a quitter I remained silent instead. We had a stakeout in my neighborhood by a shortcut to the checkpoint. Then three guys did show up, walking around the corner to get to hop the wall to the checkpoint. Tyler and the driver took off after them, and brought back the two guys I had hid with earlier! Apparently Jeff had been with them but had taken off without warning when he saw the chasers, so they had been caught by Tyler unaware same as I had. We drove back to the checkpoint as the two guys filled in for Tyler that they had been hiding under the van when he had got me, and Tyler deduced that that was the reason I had been being so quiet. He himself felt foolish for not checking under the van, but said that he was able to redeem himself by getting them later. The two guys let into Jeff at the checkpoint for ditching them without a warning as we waited. When everyone was gathered again, Nathan chose the drivers and passengers, and this time Tyler was a runner with me. With another five minute head start, we were off.
I had never played "Bond" before. My best friend upon hearing the general description of the game told me it sounded just like Cops and Robbers, but I had never played that either. I was with my friend Tyler and this kid Jeff I had just met who was mutual friends with a group of my old best friends. We didn't all know eachother, but we were all somehow connected to Nathan, the guy who planned it.
Most of the the people there were wearing jeans and dark colored shirts, jackets and sneakers. I was the only one wearing all black, something Tyler had recommended to me, so I felt a little foolish. I've loved secret agent stuff since I was a kid though so I tried to shrug it off, Ty had said everyone would think I was hardcore anyway. Whatever.
When Nathan was sure that everyone who was going to come was there he climbed onto the concrete base of a lightpost and welcomed us to Bond. He then gave us the layout of the game and it's rules:
First, there were the runners. We had to get from point A to point B without getting caught by chasers. Chasers were in cars, one driver and one passenger in each car. Chasers weren't allowed to get out of the car unless they saw something suspicious. If they did, they were to park, get out and tag any runners they saw. Anyone they tagged was supposed to get in the back of the car and was now a chaser. If more than three runners were tagged by the same chasers, those runners had to walk the rest of the way to the checkpoint without tagging anyone. The runners had to do whatever possible to get to the checkpoint without getting seen or caught. This meant trying to go ways besides the main streets, and a lot of running, ducking and hiding. Nathan then went over the rules the police had given him such as, no hiding under parked cars, speeding, or hopping fences into neighbor's yards.... He said we could do those things, but he wouldn't be responsible for the consequences since he had already warned us against them. Nathan then said he would be a chaser and chose a kid in flipflops to be his passenger. A girl became the other chaser for this round, and Nathan chose Tyler to be her passenger since no one was volunteering. I blanched. I had never played this game before. Tyler was supposed to stick with me, I didn't know what I was doing! "Okay, you guys have 5 minutes. So get the heck out of here!" Nathan said, jovially shouting the last sentence. I was frozen in place as everyone suddenly dashed away in all directions. I looked at Tyler like a deer in the headlights and he said, "I'm so sorry. Go!" and gave me a shove, and with that, I was off.
It wasn't long before I realized how completely out of shape and under qualified for this game I appeared to be. These two guys slowed down for me and let me join them however, as we tried to find our way out of the maze of the neighborhood. They hopped over a wall into a neighbor's backyard when they saw a car coming, and I started to use a palm tree to get up there when Jeff, who I hadn't noticed join us, told me to get down so I hid with him in the bushes. When the car left, Jeff did too, taking off running. The two guys came back over the wall and we continued until another car rounded a corner. We hid behind this big white van, uncertain as to whether or not we had been spotted. One of the guys rolled under the van, and the other one swore and said we should probably run. I looked around and saw that the car had stopped and saw the passenger door opening. Taking a chance, I ran for the backyard of the house we were by, hearing the other guy running behind me. Then someone pushed my shoulders so I stumbled and turned around. It wasn't the other guy, it was Tyler, who upon seeing the shocked look on my face burst out laughing. I got in the car and refused to admit that there were two other guys with me or give away their location, being indignantly and perhaps, stupidly, loyal to the two strangers. I had a pity party in the back of the car as we looked for any other runners, and almost asked if they would take me home since we were close to where I lived by then. Deciding that I didn't want to be both a loser AND a quitter I remained silent instead. We had a stakeout in my neighborhood by a shortcut to the checkpoint. Then three guys did show up, walking around the corner to get to hop the wall to the checkpoint. Tyler and the driver took off after them, and brought back the two guys I had hid with earlier! Apparently Jeff had been with them but had taken off without warning when he saw the chasers, so they had been caught by Tyler unaware same as I had. We drove back to the checkpoint as the two guys filled in for Tyler that they had been hiding under the van when he had got me, and Tyler deduced that that was the reason I had been being so quiet. He himself felt foolish for not checking under the van, but said that he was able to redeem himself by getting them later. The two guys let into Jeff at the checkpoint for ditching them without a warning as we waited. When everyone was gathered again, Nathan chose the drivers and passengers, and this time Tyler was a runner with me. With another five minute head start, we were off.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Once Upon a Dream/Vision
It's not unusual for me to have odd dreams, ones that involve confrontation or strange worlds. Sometimes I even have good dreams that are almost romantic. Last night, when laying in the dark and listening to soothing music I drifted between the worlds of waking and dreaming. As I did I saw something pretty incredible.
It started out like a movie. A young couple, a girl in a white patterned dress with puffy short sleeves and a locket and long brown hair, and a boy in trousers and a white t-shirt and short dark hair. They were both in a golden field of wheat, the boy sitting with his right hand holding himself up and his left hand on the back of the girl's head who was perched over him. It zoomed in on this scene and went around them with the sky looking just bright white with the "camera" lens flaring around them due to all the brightness. Then from the side, there came an ocean as dark and as beautiful as sapphires. It brought with it a grayer cloudy sky, and it's wave suddenly crashed over the couple. Then the wave suddenly went back in, like the tide, leaving the girl in the wheat but taking the boy in the water.Somehow both were perfectly dry, and they grabbed hands. In both worlds, one of cool blues and another of bright golds, they both ran. Her over hills in the fields of wheat and him on top of the water and over swells of waves. It was incredibly beautiful and just amazing to behold. It became almost a dance, and he eventually pulled her over into his side and they continued this for a while until they both tumbled back out into the wheat, him landing on his back and her landing on top of him. They panted for a minute as they looked into each-other's eyes and then went back to kissing like they had before.
I'm not entirely sure if that means anything, only that I would love to draw or paint it but I know my abilities will not be able to capture this scene.
I'm also not going to say that they were two random people. It kind of changed as the scene went on. My mind changed who they were throughout the kissing and dancing. But needless to say it was amazing.
It started out like a movie. A young couple, a girl in a white patterned dress with puffy short sleeves and a locket and long brown hair, and a boy in trousers and a white t-shirt and short dark hair. They were both in a golden field of wheat, the boy sitting with his right hand holding himself up and his left hand on the back of the girl's head who was perched over him. It zoomed in on this scene and went around them with the sky looking just bright white with the "camera" lens flaring around them due to all the brightness. Then from the side, there came an ocean as dark and as beautiful as sapphires. It brought with it a grayer cloudy sky, and it's wave suddenly crashed over the couple. Then the wave suddenly went back in, like the tide, leaving the girl in the wheat but taking the boy in the water.Somehow both were perfectly dry, and they grabbed hands. In both worlds, one of cool blues and another of bright golds, they both ran. Her over hills in the fields of wheat and him on top of the water and over swells of waves. It was incredibly beautiful and just amazing to behold. It became almost a dance, and he eventually pulled her over into his side and they continued this for a while until they both tumbled back out into the wheat, him landing on his back and her landing on top of him. They panted for a minute as they looked into each-other's eyes and then went back to kissing like they had before.
I'm not entirely sure if that means anything, only that I would love to draw or paint it but I know my abilities will not be able to capture this scene.
I'm also not going to say that they were two random people. It kind of changed as the scene went on. My mind changed who they were throughout the kissing and dancing. But needless to say it was amazing.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Updating
So let's face it. I'm probably never going to be a good blogger, I just never keep up with it. I think I'd have to feel like I was doing something worth writing about to write here regularly... but past that, I'm proud of myself. Why? Because I only have 3 pages left in the diary I started at the end of January. That's like the first diary I've actually kept up with and filled since... I was like 14 or 15 or something. And okay, so there are doodles in there, and it's not exactly first class writing (in any shape or form) but I am proud regardless. I'm not so proud that the last time I wrote in here was August 2010 and it's almost June 2011, but that just goes back to my lack of blogging skills.
So lets update my life, shall we?
I have stayed in the High School group, now called Intrepid Generation, and I'm now an official leader. We meet at Greg's house we all helped him move into in September. It's perfect for youth groups, it has a big den with couches, a huge tv and the latest game consoles, speakers, mics, amps, and an electric drum kit for a sweet inside band setup.There's also a pool which just got remodeled with black tiles, and an above-ground jacuzzi. And of course there are always lots of snacks on the island in his kitchen we can all gather around before and after group. Last time I wrote I talked about the Summer Retreat in Big Bear, and now just last month we were in Forrest Home for the Winter Retreat! My best friend Alexandra doesn't come anymore, her mom decided that our church wasn't the best fit for their family (and right after The Summer Retreat too), so thats too bad, but I still talk to her a lot and try and hang with her most weekends.
I help with different things once a month at church like greeting, the kids room on Sunday nights, or the preschoolers Sunday morning and I still go to the college group, Relentless, on Tuesday nights which is a lot of fun, so I guess you could say my life revolves a lot around The River, and it does.
As far as school goes, I've had a pretty light schoolyear. I finished up my graduating requirements by taking a Creative Writing class and a Photography class at GWC this fall, as well as taking Mrs. Frassett's Modern History With Art class throughout the year. This spring I've taken that as well as an Applied Digital Arts class (really more of a behind-the-scenes tech class) and Psych 100.
I'm looking forward to having more to do. Now I just have to decide what exactly that is that I intend to do. I have been taking career counseling with a woman from my church, so hopefully that will help me make my decision. I've wanted to travel and do something like YWAM for a while now, so I'm trying to decide if the timing is right to do it this fall or if I should just take a full school schedule at GWC instead and stay. Also, The River is looking into getting it's own building and uniting with another church. That will bring changes, mostly good ones, but I'm afraid that I'll leave and come back with everything different and with everyone having already moved on and that I won't fit there anymore. I know that sounds kinda dumb, but it's not entirely implausible.
As far as the crush I hinted at the last time I wrote, well, that kind of imploded, again. I'm just as single as I was then, that didn't change at all. The thing is, I'm still trying to find myself, so maybe it is better that I'm not dating anyone. Because what if I was, and I found myself, and he didn't like me anymore?
Obviously, confidence is something I need to work on, as per usual. I do believe I've grown in it a lot since I was a shy teen, but I still have a long way to go.
Oh, and here's a collage of a some of the doodles I did in my journal.
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