All by myself

Sometimes, there are unexpected blessings.
I must tell you about a sweet friend I've made in the past few months.
Let's call her B.

She's a junior almost senior.
She has only spoken English for three years.
America is still largely foreign to her.
She's a FANTASTIC cook.
She always has a kind word to say.
Back in her country, she was a volleyball champ.

B has been coming to get help with her homework on Tuesday nights, and since I'm the one with geometry mostly fresh in my mind, she was directed to me for assistance.

I am not a big fan of geometry. Not. At. All.
Not any math, really.
When I saw what subjects she had, I wasn't thrilled. After helping her, I was.
It's fun to help people who appreciate the assistance even if the subject isn't your favorite.

As I've helped her, she's actually taught me more than I have taught her.
(no, this is not going to be hokey hallmark-y-ness)

Today, I went over to her house for lunch/study time.
She's from Nepal, so her cuisine is quite different.

B heaped a huge pile of sticky rice on my plate, gave me several bowls of soups and vegetables, and an omelet-type dish.

Mounds of food were heaped in front of me, and I was thankful that I had decided to skip breakfast this morning.

As we sat down to eat, B quietly said that she was going to eat with her hands.
I heartily agreed, setting down my fork and telling her that I wanted the whole Nepali experience.
She was tickled at my exuberance, and smiled as I attempted to eat with my hands.

Eating with one's hands is a messy affair, I tell you what. I felt like I was two again.
 It was freeing to just scoop up rice with my fingers.
It was also more difficult than I anticipated. You don't realize how ingrained it is in you to use a fork for messier foods (of course I eat chips and burgers with my hands, but not rice with sauce)

B laughingly took a picture of me, saying that she didn't know of any Americans who ate with their hands.
I was able to barely finish my meal, due to the large masses of food, but it was so yummy.
For dessert, there was cucumber and plain yogurt.
I never thought I liked plain yogurt, but it turned out to be quite satisfying after all of the red pepper spices
(Did you know that I like spicy food? B said that was really why we were friends, just for the mutual love of spicy food. haha)

Then we spent a few hours working on geometry problems. It turned out to actually be a fun experience, like some sort of evil puzzle.

Then, I came back and got crack-a-lacking on the packing.
I realized I needed some things from the store.
Wal-mart was close, so I went there.
I really hate that store. Especially if I have to hunt around for something.

Remind me to never go there if I can help it.
I'm a target fangirl, through and through.
I don't mind paying a smidgen more for better service.

Among many other things, the self-checkout accepted the first bit of money I put into it, but it wouldn't accept this one  bill. So I told the cashier. She took my bill and did the same thing I did, twice, trying to insert the money into the machine. THEN she took this 20-dollar bill and carelessly carried it around until she found her manager.
I promise the money was legit. I had just gotten it from my ATM. She was making me nervous.

I was keeping my eyeball on this woman.
She was not a happy worker.

The poor lady. Walmart is nowhere to work if you want to have a good attitude.
She brought me my change, and all was well in the world again.

I love them

Having a support system is incredible. I don't know what I'd do without my parents.
They listen to my problems. They offer solid advice to help steer me in the right direction.

They love me unconditionally.
They understand when I have had a rough day,
...and they sometimes bring me surprises.

I love prizes!!

Last night, as I was stressing about things that I won't post for all the world to see (it's nothing bad, but I'm protecting identities here. Plus, you'd be bored.) my parents did something exceedingly thoughtful.
They brought home sushi.
Huzzah! Sushi is pretty much my favorite food.

I love those people so much!

what makes mornings great.

I woke up much too early this morning.
I'm not much of a morning person.
I have to have time to wake up before I can properly interact with people.
Okay, I can be a morning person. Lately I've been choosing to be a night-owl, which makes me a monster/zombie in the mornings.
I'm not Hannah Montana, so I sadly can't get the best of both worlds.

Do you know what makes mornings better?
COFFEE.
It does! It works wonders. It's liquid sunshine, I tell ya.

Do you know what else makes it better?
Quiet time.
Quiet time with God makes my mornings.
Why?
I get solid truth.
God affirms me, completes me, and gives me the ability to love others.
Human me is not good at loving other people. It's pathetic, really.

But in Him, I can love.

The human Kenzie gets bogged down in the details of day-to-day living. With God, I can remember that the tangible world is exceedingly temporal, and the unseen things are what's important.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles achieve for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  ~2Corinthians 4:16-18 

The idea of service and servant-hearted-ness is tough. Every Christian is called to serve God, which seems relatively simple compared to the thought that we are also called to serve one another. 

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously....
This service you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:6, 12

It's awesomeness.
Also, singing in the car makes my morning better.

day 3

This may sound wimpy, since it's only Wednesday, but I am exhausted. 
Utterly spent.
I need a good long sleep.
Don't get me wrong, camp is amazing, but it really drains my ability to focus on such things as blogging.

Eventually, I'll get into the camp groove, and you'll totally be getting great updates from me.
Blog, I know we'll stay in touch.

But right now...it's just not happening. I'm sorry.

day 2

First day has been completed.

My thoughts?

Awesome.

Exhausting.

Fun.

Encouraging.

I'm still processing it, really. It was like an overload of newness. 

New people, new place, new jobs...

Newness is something that takes people like me a bit of time to get used to. 

My overall impression is that this is going to be a fantastic summer!

Time for day two...

A New Chapter

Today is a new day of adventure for me.
This is a start of a fresh chapter.

Today is the start of camp!
...well, the getting-ready-for-everything-at-camp-before-camp-officially-starts week.

Hopefully I'll have some fantastic stories to tell, pictures to share, thoughts to relate...you know, the typical spiel.

I have a feeling I'm going to be growing quite a bit this summer. I'm stoked.

Ready to join me for this adventure?

I'm going to do my best to still keep up with this blog, but there might be a few days where I'll have to double up on posts. When I made this challenge to post every weekday, I didn't really think about camp...

I am SO EXCITED.
I positively adore camp.
Camp is a place where even the most menial tasks are made fun.

I feel fortunate to have the chance to serve in a job I love so much. This is a totally new venue to me; I feel so excited.

I'll keep you posted.


(also, I should start using a thesaurus...I'm in a rut with some of these words I'm using)

Of nerves and singing

I used to be not big on the whole "get on a stage" thing.
Public speaking? It gave me (and sometimes still gives me) the jitters.

In my thinking, stages were things to be of which to be frightened (just a healthy fear, you know)

If it's a character I'm portraying in a play or skit, let me at it! I love acting on stages. If I'm supposed to be a goofball? I'm sooo good at that.

But if it's me, no facade, up on a stage, I used to have a hard time.
Whenever I do get the chance to be on a stage as myself...well...I'm just not a fan. I'd get jittery and shaky. My hands got cold and my face gets warm.
Usually the chances I've had to be onstage as myself have been in the capacity of singing.

Which so happens to be another thing I'm not very confident in.

How do I go through with it?
The secret is faith.
When I'm relying on God, I find that I actually don't mind it (the singing and the being on stage).

God says he's with me, always, even when I feel like I'm on display for all the world to see. (ESPECIALLY then.)

I find that I can chillax in the realization that it's all for His glory.
No stress in that!
I'm not up there for me. I'm not up there to be judged.
I'm up there because I want to worship God.
When I finally get that fact into my noggin, most of the nerves vanish. I'm all right.
It's pretty much awesome how it works.

The same thing has happened before. At camp last summer, I was asked to lead the worship music.  I agreed, because I had done it before, and I really do like that sort of thing, but it still wigged me out. I was supposed to go up there by myself and lead worship. Before it had been a group.
Oh boy.

I'm not a confident singer when I feel self-conscious.

After a load of prayer and practice, the camp week came.
Then it was time for the opening evening service.
Oh boy.
I got on stage.
I talked to the campers, we had announcements.
We sang songs of worship to God together.
And that was all.
It was that simple.

It was an awesome feeling. Not because I was on a stage, not because I wasn't messing up (oh man, there were some flubs) but because, we were all praising God.

I wasn't thinking about me.


That experience totally built my faith up. If I had been up there in my own ability, I would have been a wreck. But when I trusted that it would be ok because it was for God, it went fantastically smooth.

Sounds a little hokey, but seriously, getting that privilege to lead worship was awesome. It seems like God takes the things that one feels insufficient in, and uses them.
Just so I can't say, "look, I'm really great! I have so much talent, right?"

Rather so I can say, "WOW, look at what God can do if you just trust and rely on him to carry you!"

God has given me God-confidence, and now (so long as I'm keeping it real and not letting my ego explode) I'm not so very frightened of the stage.

And that's all I have to say about that right now.

time time time

Hi Blog,

While I've been out-of-town, I have gotten some FANTASTIC pictures of my ah-dorable little cousins and nature. And cousins + nature too.

Blog, prepare to be inundated soon!
I have many thoughts to be shared, but I don't have the time to articulate...

Today I went to a tea party. A MANLY tea party, since it was with my four boy cousins. It was so very cute. We all talked in english accents (they are, after all, at least 1/4 English. A good heritage. Anywho...)
I shall have to post pictures later. Right now, I'm much too lazy (and preoccupied) to upload them.


Also, God is so awesomely amazing; it's crazy how he is taking care of me and everything seems to be just falling into place. Huzzah!

Until later,
Kenzie

Just the way you is!

this video made me cry

...from laughing.
I've thought the same thing, but she articulates it well!
"why you stuttering? 'Cause you lying!"
"He needs something else to do, a hobby or a J.O.B.  ...when he starts talking about kissing your nails, girl, run away!"
I'm no hopeless romantic...I'm a hope-full romantic.

Don't read.

I'm still semi-sick.
Don't worry, *hack*cough* it's just a cold.
I'm not posting on my blog until this is over. (This post doesn't count except towards my self-dare)
Don't read any further. It's dull.
Maybe I'll just be sick forever.
Oh joy.

...This will be boring. You've been warned.

I did venture out into the world today.
I had a few books overdue from the library *shame on me* and I really didn't want to have a HUGE amount of fees.
Also, I saw that the craft store was having a fantastic sale. I looove crafts.
Also also, my itty bitty coffee maker ran out of filters. (pretty much the end of the world.)

I overcame and drove around town to run my errands.

It was good for me, because I'm just dealing with the cold. It builds character.
Among other things, I made another hemp anklet today (the one pictured is older). I love jewelry-making.

Cohesion? Not Happening.

I cannot write a coherent post.
A Word Of Advice:
If you're feeling even slightly off physically, DO NOT GO FOR A 6 1/2 mile run. Particularly if the last mile of that run is in the spitting rain. Not that I speak from experience or anything... 

I also can't really speak audibly.
When I get sick, I complain about it.
Well, at least to my blog I do. I'm going to be a crotchety old woman, I can tell...


A good post is just not happening. I feel a strange mix of tiredness and pent-up energy. I don't understand it.
I have been so braindead today. You wouldn't believe the number of airheaded things I've done. No, I'm not telling them. But just know that I shouldn't mess with a stove when I don't feel good.


Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better.
In the meantime, I'll keep practicing my guitar. (Crazy On You is going to be mastered. Soon I'll be a rocker, just you wait)

summertime sickness

One thing I dislike about being sick in the summer:
It's not as comfy to cover oneself with blankets, and hot tea isn't as soothing as it is in the winter. Because it's 80 degrees, that's why.

I wish there was some law of nature that made one immune to viruses during the summertime.

At first, I thought this was really bad allergies...so I took one of those pills.
The pink ones.
The pills that make me super loopy tired.
Yes, BENADRYL. You know what it does to me? Look here.
But it's not allergies...and now I'm super loopy. Like, my eyes are glassy and I can't think straight.
I had plans for today. It's going to be hard to carry said plans out.
Grrr.
**Update: Actually, the worst part is not being able to sing. No singing? Double grr.**

blaah

All the world is sad and dreary
Everywhere I go...


The world is a gray, dismal place right now.
The clouds overhead have been threatening to rain all day long.
It's not the best atmosphere to be in. The humidity is almost at 100%, and the atmospheric pressure is giving everyone dull headaches.
My teeth hurt.
To top it off, someone finished the whipped cream without saying anything!

ohh, isn't my life dreadful?
(the answer of course is NOOOOO)
I've got it good, but sometimes I forget.

You know what will cure this?
A nice long run, that's what. A run that gives me the time to count my numerous blessings, and totally helps me to reset my mentality.
Plus those endorphins are something to write home about!

SO, a bit of advice:
Feeling blah?
 This is like a wonder-cure.
PRAY to God & thank Him.
Exercise and dwell on the important things of life.
Oh, and listen to happy music. Music can radically change your mood.

I'ma go do those things now.

A Story About Shooting

Blogger, after some down-time, is baaaack!
Yay!
I thought about starting a wordpress blog, (I do have a wordpress blog, it's empty-ish and sad, so don't go there), buuuuut, well, I'm loyal to blogger still.

>>>>>
Last night I had a fantastic dream.
I dreamt that someone had stolen my camera.
Wow, fannnntastic.
This someone didn't like the fact that I was shooting in the woods. (shooting pictures of course, but my dreams were feeling punny last night)

It was a clear, beautiful day. I was in a secluded forest, happily shooting things.
Someone ran up, snatched my camera from me, and vanished. They yelled, "no more shooting!" and looked at me indignantly before they vanished.
I was distressed.
Utterly bummed that someone could be so heartless.

...what a dream, eh?
It gets better, I promise.
So, I was bemoaning the fact I had my camera stolen, and trying to figure a way to find the camera-snatcher. I wandered about the woods.
As I did, I almost stepped on something.
I looked down, and I saw a long tube. A long black metal tube.
I picked it up.
It was an ultra-zoom lens! Ahhmaazzzing.
I still didn't have a camera, but as I kept walking, I found more and more camera components.
 Eventually I had collected an amazing assortment of pro shooting apparatuses and a fantastical camera.

Kind of a pointless dream, but it made me happy, and I woke up thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I could find those woods again, I could amass some pure awesomeness.
Maybe.

That's me. In the woods. Shooting something.

Musing on Music

I've always had a connection to music. I think I'm a very audio-visual individual. I gravitate towards pretty much any kind of music--I've blogged about it plenty. Song lyrics are like candy for my brain, since I'm usually munching on them and dissecting them. I appreciate talented musicians...as I've said before, music is what feelings sound like.
Music is a basic way for someone to display emotion. It's like getting to know a person, but just from what you hear.
Not all singers/guitar players/other-instrument players should be called musicians.
(EXAMPLE: auto-tuned disney pop stars. Brittany Spears.) But that's best saved for another post.

So, I have a friend who is lending me quite a few CD's.
I'm pretty sure my itunes library is going to be doubled by the end of this process. It's a good prospect.

It's exciting, because I love getting new music, though my computer is being funny--it won't recognize the song titles.
{cue Track 01, Track 02...}
...which is actually turning out to be even more fun for me. This process of listening, guessing, then googling (if I give up), is reminding me of a game my dad and I used to play when we were driving. We'd turn the radio on and play "guess the band"
It would go like this (if such a simple game needs further explaining):
Turn on the classic rock station.
Wait for a song.
"Makenzie, do you know who this is?"
"uhh, do you, Dad?"
"Think about it for a minute..."

there would be lots of finger-snapping and incorrect guesses. If my dad remembered he'd wait for me to guess.

"oooh, uhhh, it's that band...with that guy...he has that funny voice...OOH! ROBERT PLANT! LED ZEPPELIN?"
*nod from Dad*
"YESSS." (okay, admittedly, everyone knows what Robert Plant sounds like, but this is an example, okay? In real life I'm kinda-sorta-ish better at guessing)

We tried to get to where we would guess the song and band before the singer came on (because singers are usually what's associated with the sound of the band. People don't often think about the uniqueness of drum patterns and guitar riffs as much.)
If we didn't get it right before the singer started, we 'lost' and it didn't count.

I love music trivia. I have a lot of trivia from the 1960's - 1980's scene, thanks to my dad.
And now I'm playing "guess the band" with my itunes.
...but I get to cheat by searching google. Shhh. 


ALSO, I have a HUGE MUG OF COFFEE. My happy cells are awake. My typing is getting faster thanks to the coffee. Yay!

Another Embarrassing/Humorous Anecdote.

A post for today (I can do this. I will keep my self-challenge):

A fact about me:

• I love singing though I am not a fan of singing in front of people. 

I'm terribly self-conscious about it. True story.
Today, while I was driving, I lost my sense of self-awareness, and I started belting out a tune. I mean, some songs have got to be SUNG. You feel me?

(My rationale for this loss of awareness is that I feel insulated from the world in a car. ...even if the windows so happen to be rolled down.)

SO, I came to a red light with my tunes turned up.
It was a really long light cycle. I kept on singing. I was in 'the zone'.
As I sat there waiting forever for the green light, the song ended.
I happened to glance around and then, I felt embarrassed.
 A person in the car next to me had been watching my performance. They were chuckling.
I sheepishly looked at them and grinned.
They waved.
I was overcome by shyness, but I gave them a wave ...and turned down the tunes.
Magically, the light changed. I drove on.

At least I provided amusement for someone today.

(CLIFFHANGER: today was supercalifragilistically awesome. Maybe some post later you'll find out why...maybe)

True Beauty

I was strolling through the interwebs, and I came across this poem by Sam Levenson. After all of the junk one might read in a beauty magazine, this is refreshing.  

Fun fact: it was also one of Audrey Hepburn's favorite poems, so you  know it's got to be good. 

[The flower pictures are from my latest romp to capture the spring. 

...I love flowers.]

"For attractive lips,
Speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,
Seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,
Share your food with the hungry.


For beautiful hair,
Let a child run his or her 
fingers through it once a day.

For poise,
Walk with the knowledge
you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, 
revived, reclaimed, and redeemed;
Never throw out anybody.

Remember,
If you ever need a helping hand,
you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older,
you will discover
that you have two hands,
one for helping yourself,
the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman
is not in the clothes she wears,
The figure that she carries,
or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman
must be seen from in her eyes,
because that is the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman
is not in a facial mole, 
but true beauty in a woman 
is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
the passion that she shows,
And the beauty of a woman
with passing years-only grows!"

anti-sunshine

Today, I had every intention of posting something happy.
I was going to post something that would make you smile, laugh even
...but I'm unable to.
I waited too long to write this.
It's much too late for happiness.

Much. Too. Late.
Sorry, but it's true.
If you came here expecting a silly optimistic post, I'm going to disappoint you.
Why? Because I'm in pain.
And I paid for said pain. (well, I didn't, but someone did. Someone with moolah.)
But pain brings out beauty, right? Something like that, or so I've heard.

Well, hopefully, in this case, it does.
This pain brings out straight, beautiful teeth.
MAYBE.

My teeth are aching. I can't be around anyone. I can't even smile....okay, I CAN, but my smile looks like a grimace.
I've taken pain meds, ok?
Maybe if they ever kick in, I'll re-post something cheerful.

But I don't feel optimistic.
Because as we all know, the optimist is the one saying "Well at least no one will wonder what hand I write with now!!" after having his hand bitten off by a lion.
I'm not an optimist.

Gloomy raincloud: that's me. Not little miss sunshine. NOT.

^not me

Okay, maybe this youtube channel will make you laugh. Maybe just a little bit. They made me smile (on the inside)

Here are some of the videos:
You might have seen this one. It's totally gone viral.




...aren't those canadians soooo friendly?

One spell that is hard to break

Dizziness.

It's 3:30 AM, and I just woke up from a deep sleep.
Like, I am AWAKE. I guess my body was letting me know that I wasn't going to always feel dizzy. Thanks, body, that's great and all, but can I sleep now?
...I should say that the sensation of being dizzy is one of the worst feelings. It's utterly debilitating. But now the dizzy spell has been broken!

...since my body is weirdly acting like I've just had a pot of coffee and therefore I can't really get back to sleep, I'll blog.
This post may not make much sense during 'sane hours'...oh well, here we go! (though I apologize for the lack of cohesive thought)

"Kenzie, why were you dizzy?"
(these italicized questions are what you're supposed to be thinking...like a cue card, ok? Just play along, and all will be well. Humor my insanity and lazy writing)

Well, reader, I need to learn how to spin.

"how so?", you ask? Good question. (see? you're totally catching on!)

Let me clarify: I am good at spinning-- my issue is that I'm not always using the proper technique when I spin, and therefore I get dizzy.
Or so I hope it is the technique.

Dizzy = nausea/overall terrible feeling. Strangely, it's not the kind of dizzy where the room spins and you can't walk in a straight line. It's just a sense of nausea. I think it's my inner ear.

"Soo? What's the big deal? What kind of silly goose just spins around? Easy solution: stop spinning!"


I see your point, O mysterious questioner. But this whirling is so fun! It's part of contra dance. (which I've totally blogged about  <-- though that's an embarrassing post)

My theory is that spinning makes one kind of inner ear movement, and car rides make another.
After I'm done spinning, of course I have to ride in a car to get home. It doesn't matter how good the driver is, the movement of the car in general messes with my inner ear.
So, maybe if I didn't have to ride in a car post-spinning, I'd be okay.
MAYBE. 
But, that's not a very logical thing...because these dances are about 60 minutes from my house.
...that's a long walk.

I think that if I were to keep twirling indefinitely, I'd be fine. My body would adjust to the constant movement. But, it's hard to keep on spinning, obviously.
It's the stopping that messes me up. Something with my inner ear's equilibrium totally flips out. The other problem is that I don't know that I'm dizzy until a while later.
...then it hits, and I feel terrible for the next few hours.

I don't understand. How can something I like so much make me feel so crummy?
...it might have to do with the fact that tonight/last night I danced every dance.
For three hours, I danced.
I never felt dizzy during the dances.

Maybe I need to chill out on 'getting my money's worth' or whatever rationale makes me keep dancing ad infinitum.

...because my money wasn't worth that feeling.
So, next time I'll try to take it easy.
Hold me to it, ok?

of movies and annoying other people

When Shrek first came out, I was an immediate fan.

I memorized the whole movie.

Shrek was one of those movies I could watch over and over and over without getting bored.
The fact that I could watch it over and over may have had to do with the fact that I was 8 when the movie came out, and 8 year olds are the masters of repetition.
Case in point, I was good at singing "the song that never ends"
annnnd the worm poem:
"Worms? I hate worms! 
They drive me Crazy!! 
Crazy?
 I was crazy once. 
They locked me up in a padded room and gave me nothing to eat but WORMS. 
Worms? 
I hate worms! 
They drive me Crazy. 
Crazy?
 I was crazy once..."
and so on and so forth. I'd say it until everyone told me to sit in my padded room. Juuuust kidding, you guys.

Anyways, back to the story, my friend and I would pop in the Shrek DVD, put it on mute, and quote the lines verbatim. 

Yes, I was that nerdy. But it was great fun. 

When I watch my favorite movies, especially with friends, I quote them.

Sooo, if you're one of those people who must watch movies without any commentary, I'm sorry.
Even with movies I've never seen, I'm apt to point out the plot holes and make remarks.
But I try to be sensitive to the people around me.
I don't yell at the screen. I'm not quite *that* bad, though I might whisper a snarky comment or two to the person beside me.

What fun is a movie if you can't make fun of it?

And that is my post for today. 

Fairy tales have always been my favorite kind of story--especially witty fairy tales. 

How I became a heretic (in the way of tea)

You should know that I live in the south.
I've lived in the south all of my life.
I have generations of family from the south.
No disputing this.

You may also know that being a southerner has certain connotations.
Nestled among them is the love of iced tea. Specifically, sweet tea. ("What other kind of tea is there?" is often asked)


I used to drink sweet tea.
It used to be my beverage of choice. Always. It was right up there with water.
I never really liked soda, but sweet tea? Wonderful stuff!

A few years ago something happened.
A chain of events led to my discontinuation of ingesting that sugary beverage.
My dad, who used to be the biggest sweet tea drinker I knew, decided to switch over to unsweet tea.
I couldn't understand this radical change in behavior.
When I'd accidentaly grab his unsweet tea pitcher from the fridge and pour myself a glass, I'd gag at the grossness of the flavorless tea.

I still drank sweet tea, despite what my parents were doing.

Then a year or so later, I got a job at a quick-service restaurant that had (and still has) quite the fan club: Chick-fil-a.
If you're from anywhere but the eastern US, you might not know what this restaurant is.
Basically it serves fried chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and the like. It's good stuff (if you didn't eat it to ad nauseum like I did...but every so often the CFA mood hits.)

One of the perks of working there was the infinite drink refills. As a cashier, this was exceedingly helpful, because one has to do a lot of talking to guests... and one's throat gets PARCHED.
I had open access to sweet tea! W00t!

Ok, so part of my duties at this job was manning the sweet tea levels, and making sure that we didn't run out of tea.
Sweet!

...It was then that I realized just how much sugar was in sweet tea.
I'd start the brew cycle, and run back to get the sugar to sweeten the tea. It was a large sugar scoop that held about 6 cups of sugar. The tea machine made about 3 gallons of tea at a time.

TWO CUPS OF SUGAR PER GALLON OF TEA!
WHAT?
That's a lot of sugar.

I was working more frequently, and I had access to sweet tea at any time, like I said. The first week or so, I had a definite sugar buzz.

I decided to cut back on the tea--especially since I am a gulper, if you know what I'm saying. I can easily drink a half-gallon (okay, maybe more like a quart) of liquid in one sitting. I am no sipper of drinks. (unless the drinks are smoothies or milkshakes or something that is supposed to be savored)

...it's helpful to be a "gulper". I'm hydrated, this is for sure.

But as I realized how much sugar I was drinking daily, I started drinking tea that was a 1:1 ratio of sweet and unsweet.
Soon it was a 1:3 ratio.
Before long, I was drinking unsweet tea with a splash of sweet.
Next thing I knew, I was just drinking straight unsweet tea.
People at work started to look at me funny for my odd choice of beverage.
I'm sure they thought "Who, other than diabetics, would drink unsweet tea?
Diabetics even add that fake sugar!"
I usually didn't.
Ok, YANKEES. YANKEES drink unsweet tea. (but I know that yankees are people too. I'm trying to spread this knowledge) I'm by no means a yankee, though I sound like one.

I didn't plan on totally ruling out sweet tea, I just wanted to be healthier and less sugar-buzzed.
As I drank more unsweet, I found that I actually started to prefer it. I liked the flavor of the tea leaves, and the comparable lightness in consistency--while still it gave me a much-needed caffeine boost.

I realized I was totally anti-sweet tea when I accidentally got sweet tea at a restaurant.
The drink was placed in front of me, and being the gulper I am, I took a long draw.

I coughed
                    I sputtered
What was this syrup I was drinking?!?

I tried to go back to being a 'true southerner', I really did. I tried to drink sweet tea again, but I was ruined.

I cannot stand sweet tea anymore.
But give me a large unsweet tea?

I am so set.

creative photography

These are so creative. Ben Heine does a fantastic job with these pictures, and you can see more of his work on his site:

A worthwhile trip

I let myself be a bum this morning,
because I'm celebrating the fact that I AM DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER!! 
I think that's good reason to be a sloth.

After sleeping in until the luxurious hour of 9:40,
I made coffee
(a relationship/addiction that I might just have to break again...See this post or this post or even this post to see what a struggle I've had with that magic bean) and I did other fun/chillaxing stuff.

Enough about that.
Back to what I promised in the past post about local commercials.

So, this weekend I went to a pickle festival, which doesn't sound very appealing, I know. To me, it sounded like it would be an entertaining event.
While I wouldn't normally make a long trip for something so trivial as pickles, my parents were riding in the 'Tour de Pickle', and I wanted to show some support.
Plus, I like road trips.

It was a fun and a unique experience.
If you know me, you might know that I love to observe other cultures. Eastern NC is no exception.

While my parents were riding their bikes, I, armed with my nikon, strolled the festival grounds.
My professional-looking nikon automatically made people assume that I was a serious photographer.
I got the question "Are you a photographer?" many times.
How does one properly answer a question like that?
On one hand, I have a camera and I'm taking pictures. What else would I be other than a photographer?

But, I knew what they meant. Basically, "Hey lady with the camera, am I gonna be on the front page of the paper?"
To me a photographer is someone who takes photographs. Therefore, I am a photographer. Just not the famous/paid kind.

After my parents had finished their bike ride, we swung by McDonald's to get our unsweet tea fix. [sweet tea is just gross syrup. Seriously, ew. ...I'm like an counter-southerner who so happens to be a fifth-generation (at least) southerner]
While we were at the Mcdonald's, I looked around the shopping center.

There was a Yummy Orient:

There was a Super Mercado:

There was a coin laundry and a chinese take-out.

Then, I saw it.

Bobby Denning's.

The one from this clip.




Being the nerd that I am, I HAD to go take a picture in front of the building.

Then we decided to go inside, and check it out. How could we resist? I mean, they had SCOOTERS.

So, we walked in, and perused the inventory.
There were some nice things, but in the bargain center, there were some very unique things.
(In a good way unique.)
Like a room divider with colonial people painted on it, a tv from the 70's, and...

these plates that I bought. They were so groovy, I couldn't resist. I mean, they're made out of glass and leather. ...I'll find a good use for them.

Okay, so when I went to purchase the plates, I told the nice lady at the register that I had seen their youtube video, and I was a fan.

She told me that I could meet the Bobby Denning and Mrs. Denning if I liked. Of course I said yes.

They were really nice people, and after talking for a bit, we took a picture together.

This is the amazing part: Mr. Denning has muscular dystrophy.
He's been in a wheelchair since he was 12, and yet he is running his multifarious business. He can't move his arms or legs, but he's still trucking along.
Talk about inspiring!!

His wife was terribly sweet, and as I was leaving, she said that my visit had made her day. That visit made my day, too.

Before I left, they gave me a ball cap and a yardstick advertising Bobby Denning's. I was a very happy camper.

So, if you need a scooter, or a couch, or pretty much anything, and you happen to be in Mt. Olive, do go to Bobby Denning's.

Also, I saw this in a field, and I'm considering calling them up. I've always wanted to be on the radio...hehe

"WJDS RADIO
1430 AM SINCE 1960
START YOUR PROGRAM
LOW TIME PRICES
CALL ..."

priorities

I have much to share. SO much random blathering to be typed.
I'm sure you're just thrilled.
yay.

So it's a date! I promise a long relatively interesting post soon.

It'll be good.

But, first, I must run.
THEN, I'll blog.

...it's all about priorities, people.

...whatever 'priorities' are...

local commercials

You should watch this. There's a good reason.
I'll let you know what it is soon. I don't have time to delve into it yet...