Moving Day

Soon, I will be moving. In fact, I'm moving in 10 days. Moving sucks. I did it about 6 times last year, so I suppose I should be thankful that I am only doing it once this year (hopefully, fingers crossed!). Instead, I am choosing to dwell on the fact that working 40 hours a week and doing other chores like eating, sleeping and maintaining sanity leave little time for packing. After all, not only do I have to pack, but I have to do all of the following as well:

• Change my address.
• Find someplace to store all my furniture.
• Cancel my cable.
• Cancel my gas and electricity.
• Find boxes to pack my stuff in.
• Wash everything in my house so that it can be properly packed (slip covers, throw rugs, curtains, etc.)
• Physically move everything out of my apartment to the house or the storage facility that is still to be determined.
• Spackle all the holes I put in the walls.
• Eat all the food in my refrigerator. It's really inconvenient to move it all.
• Find the balance between packing things I still need and not having to unpack them again later after I discover that I do actually need them still.
• Go through all the objects in my kitchen, DVD shelf, linen closet, etc. and try to remember what's mine and what's not.
• Clean all the carpets.
• Clean out my closet and dresser so that I don't have to move clothes that I don't intend to wear.
• Take my cat to Paul's house :(.
• Coerce my friends into moving my stuff -- some of it's really heavy, and big.

Anyway, you are now appraised of the severity of my situation. Please take pity on me in these time of trial and tribulation.

My Song of Solomon

As of late, I have been studying Song of Solomon. Though it is to the dismay of many of my friends, I have grown a lot through the quiet times that I have spent in this book. I just recently finished the devotional that was leading me through it. I spent most of my day Saturday going through and making notes, trying to achieve deeper understanding. As a result, I ended up reading the book in its entirety multiple times. Upon the conclusion, I rehashed the contents with a few close friends. The summary went as follows:

Me: "So, it started out with this girl that saw this guy that she really liked. But, she didn't want to say anything to him because she was really insecure about her tan skin. Her stepbrothers made her work out in the sun. Then, they met and their relationship progressed. They got together in a forest, and he told her she had eyes like doves and teeth like unblemished sheep."
Kristin: "I don't think I would take those as compliments."
Me: "But they were. It meant that she had all her teeth. And they were white, and straight. Anyway, then they started dating. And the more they talked, she decided that she thought he was really hot. She kept having dreams about him. She said she wanted to jump him, but he was like 'O Daughters of Zion, don't awaken love'.
Kristin: "Wait, are you summarizing what you read, or did you just memorize The Message translation?"
Me: "Haha. No. So then they started courting, and they were more serious. He called out her name and longed to be near her, and told her all these really nice things. She got the hots for him again. Then he had to remind her 'O Daughters of Zion, don't awaken love'.
Allegra: "Why does he keep saying daughters? Oh yah! Didn't he have like 800 wives and 300 concubines?"
Matt: "No, I think it was 300 wives and 800 concubines."
Me: "You guys are ruining the romance that is this story. Their love was special. Because then when they get married, he has sixty soldiers standing guard to protect his bride. And he built her a carriage out of gold and silver and wood of Lebanon. Then his mom blesses their marriage by giving him the crown. Then, chapter four gets a little hot and heavy. And then in chapter 5 they get in a fight because he comes calling for her and she won't come down. Then he knocks on her door and she doesn't answer. He really wants to get in bed with her, but she totally denies him and is like 'I've already bathed and am in bed. Do you really want me to remove my nightclothes?' Then he gets mad and storms off. After awhile she feels remorseful and goes to chase after him. She asks all the watchmen where he is and they won't tell him."
Kristin: "He went off and told the whole town that his wife wouldn't let him in bed with her!?"
Me: "Yep, and she didn't even get mad. She felt so bad that she finally found him in the garden. Just as she was ready to apologize to him, he stopped her. He repeated all of the wonderful things he had told her while they were dating and on their wedding night. He reminded her of her beauty even though earlier in the evening he had been upset at her. Chapter 7 is kind of a repeat of chapter 4... But in chapter 8 she tells him how much she wants to be around him all the time. It kind of sounds like she wants to be his sister, but she doesn't. She just wants to be close to him in public. And then she asks him to run to her, and he keeps pursuing her forever."

The End

Other funny instances from this weekend:

Kari: You guys, what am I going to share about Ecoch?
Kristin, Laura and Amy: ECOCH!? You mean ENOCH!?
Kari: Oh, yah.
20 minutes later during life group...
Kari: Enoch had faith because...
Laura: Did you mean Enoch? Are you sure you didn't mean something else?
Kari: No, I didn't. But Ecoch had faith because...
*Laughter*

Laura: I really need to find the Magic D8 ball.
Kristin: Why would you look for that when we already consulted the love calculator?
Me: Besides, aren't those things like, Satanic?
Laura: No. This one's pink with glitter.

My First Blog Post

I decided that it would be fitting to first post about my first post. This is a pivotal moment in my life after all. Not to mention the irony with which this entire post will be dripping.

This importance of this blog is multi-fold. First off, I don't tend to journal. That means I will become a more reflective person. That also means all of you will reap the benefits of learning what God is teaching me. You will also be able to follow my each and every action, as I intend to blog minute to minute updates (I'm just kidding, but hopefully that will encourage you to read it more often?). Secondly, I will be able to communicate with you in a one-way manner. In other words, if I say something controversial or argumentative, nobody will be able to disagree with me -- at least not to my knowledge. Also, it will encourage me to be a more interesting person. As of right now, I have nothing to blog about except this blog post. Hopefully something will happen in the near future, or these next few posts will quickly move past ironic to ridiculous and redundant. Lastly, I can be open and honest with people. I don't generally have a problem with that as most of you know. However, it has proven difficult for me to be open and honest with myself. This will serve as an opportunity for me to share with all of you, and in turn, with myself.

Now that you know all of the objectives of this blog, I would like to share with you a resume of sorts. I don't expect you to read my blog until you are assured of my blogging skills and qualifications. They are as follows:

• I am friends with Paul Page. He has instilled in me a wisdom beyond my years. I intend to apply this to each and every post that I author, so as not to damage his name in any way.
• I am a published writer. In the 8th grade, one of my poems was printed in a monthly newsletter for the Kansas State Department of Education. Upon reviewing it this summer, I have decided that I will not share it... yet. Until you all need a good laugh. At me.
• I am not married. While that doesn't automatically relieve my name from an association of boring persons, it greatly diminishes the chances of my name being translated in such a way.
  
• I have blonde hair. This is grounds for many embarrassing comments made by me, but more often towards me. I am more than willing to all share these, so as to tarnish the names of those who have wronged me in this manner.
• My emotions are transient. I tend to be dramatic, and controversy is always interesting. Why else do any of us watch reality television? Or court TV? Or the news? Please refrain from these mundane forms of entertainment and choose to devote your free time to reading all about MY life. Your time is better used in this manner.
• I know all my friends' secrets.
• I am an avid music listener, movie watcher, book reader. I can enlighten you on the latest hits, I can update you on the new releases, AND I can notify you of the most recent blockbusters. I have many talents.

If all of these are not reason enough to continue reading, at least give me a second chance and wait to decide until the second post. After all, Jesus gives second chances, so should you.