The Rangers are going to the World Series!!! Yay yay yay yay!!!!!!! 
I’m so proud of the Rangers!
Texas Rangers WIN!!!!!!
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The wedding is coming!
I can’t believe how soon the big day will be here!! I’m starting to get excited, but I feel like there isn’t enough time left to get every thing done. I know this isn’t true, but I wouldn’t really be me if I didn’t worry at least a little about something! I am surprised at how fast this engagement has flown by! Who knew that a year could pass so quickly? It really does seem like just yesterday that I went to class August 28 after getting engaged the night before–it is pretty hard to concentrate on Shakespeare when you’re thinking about wedding plans! Now, I’ve graduated and am trying to plan the next phase of life. Weird. In a good way, but still, weird. I have enjoyed the time living with my parents again, but I am excited about having my own home (even if it is a small apartment).
I am really loving this fall weather, and I have a feeling that October 9th is going to be a beautiful day! One thing that really lets me know the wedding is super close is this weather. It finally feels like fall, and before too long, when I check the forecast, I’ll see the wedding day, and then the days after–how exciting!. Maybe I’m being a little silly about all this, but that’s okay.
Re:action
Not too long ago, I visited the Dallas Holocaust Museum. This place is a really amazing reminder of the atrocities that humans can commit, and I was really moved by my experiences. While I was there, I saw a small fraction of artifacts from the Warsaw Ghetto, the death camps, and the freedom fighters. The exhibit focused on one day in the history of the Holocaust, and at the end, we were shown a film of real testimony from Dallas-area survivors. I even got to meet a survivor, which was pretty humbling.
This experience really got me thinking of the way that we always say “never again,” although similar circumstances are all around us in other parts of the world. Sure, the global scene is a little different now, and six million Jews are not being systematically murdered. I’ll give you that. But, I ask you to consider the terrible things that happened in Rwanda. Consider the things that are happening even today in Sudan. Consider the newest crisis, the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Kyrgyzstan. Each of these situation is a tragedy, but there is, perhaps, a greater tragedy–these crises are merely the tip of the iceberg. People all over the world are being subjected to terrible things that, as Americans, most of us cannot even fully comprehend.
I do find hope in this world, though. A friend of mine sent out a note asking people to learn more about the situation in Kyrgyzstan. NGO’s around the world are drawing attention to the dilemmas faced by women and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. People are volunteering to go abroad in order to serve the defenseless. I love this. I love that even though not everyone can go work in a refugee camp, there are so many who are willing to do what they can. There is a need today, I think, to know what is going on in the world. To be informed. To do something. This is the key–as long as people aren’t silent about the terrors millions of people face, there is hope.
At the Holocaust museum, the overarching theme was the terrible crime of being a bystander, and the incredible importance of being an upstander. I urge all of you to take action. Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. It’s the least you can do, and I am sure that if they could tell you, they would say that it means more than you could ever know.
Knowledge is Powerful Stuff
One thing that I really regret is not learning more about technology. I’m convinced that we’re never going to go back to the days of my childhood, where the Internet was something that was pretty new as far as general use goes–remember when Jeeves was a part of Ask.com? And remember how you could ask him questions? Yeah, that was THE premier website of my elementary school days. **EDIT: Apparently, Jeeves is still alive and kicking! You can visit him here, if you’re nostalgic.** I know that growing up when I did, I’m pretty basic-level tech savvy, just by experience. Some people not too much older than I am actually have to work at using a lot of technological things that I take for granted–not knocking them, I can’t believe how much they’ve had to adapt (case in point: my parents remember when the VCR came out, while a friend much younger than I am didn’t realize that there was a time before Youtube).
But seriously, I wish that I had spent at least one class out of all my high school classes learning about computer science. You may think that this is a pretty nerdy thing to say, unless you happened to do so, in which case you’re probably thinking that it was an awesome thing to do, as well as a smart choice. Regardless of the real or imagined nerdiness, taking a computer science class in high school would have been really useful right about now. Why, you may ask? Well, aside from the fact that my fiance is seriously in to computers, the real answer is that we’re living in a time of transition, a time where pretty much every job I’m considering for a career would be greatly enhanced by a good dose of computer knowledge. Even books are going digital, and if I want to keep enjoying them, I’ve got to be prepared to do the same! Clearly, this blog is a big step forward, but I need to know more about the tech side of things if I want to be as valuable as I can be in today’s world. As a result of these musings, as well as of my impending graduation, I’ve decided to look into taking some sort of technical know-how class after I get married. I think that this time in my life, between my undergrad and graduate careers, will be best spent investing in the knowledge I ignored in the past. No matter what, it can’t hurt!
So here’s to gaining knowledge after college! I intend to keep learning skills that will be helpful to me, as wel as those around me. I also want to learn things just for fun, so if I come across a community college class that looks awesome, I just might take it! I think I’m becoming more inspired by the moment–so now seems like a good time to get some sleep and dream about coding and making awesome websites (Mark would be so proud!).
Transitions
So life as I’ve known it for the past few years is about to change radically. I’ll be leaving my job of two years in two weeks. I’ll be graduating from college in three weeks, and I’ll be getting married in a little under three months. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been going to school–and I’m really going to miss it. I can’t believe all the really cool classes I can’t take anymore. I eventually want to get my master’s degree, but in what area? I’m not sure. I’ve got to start looking for a real, full time, use my education job. I love my job now, and I’m sad that I can’t work there once I graduate. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a great job (as in something I love to do) before too long. I’m not sure how to go about getting the kinds of jobs I’d love, but I’ll figure it out (if anyone wants to hire a writer/ editor/ all around great employee, I’m here!).
For the next few weeks I’m going to savor all of the things and people in my life. Sure, I can come back and visit them, but it just isn’t the same feeling. That’s life, I suppose. But don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about this new chapter in my life–who knows what kinds of adventures and experiences I’ll have? It’s going to be great! I just feel like all this greatness snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking!
Book or nook?
As you may or may not know, I love books. I love everything about them; the way they look on the shelf, their colorful covers, the smell they put off after a few years, everything. Book stores and libraries are mini-paradises to me, offering more books that I could ever hope to own, more knowledge than I know what to do with. If books were to disappear from the face of the earth, via evaporation, burning, migration, whatever, I’m not quite sure what I would do. Probably hoard them en masse until it was impossible to do so any longer. That being said…
My new favorite book is…well, it’s a nook. There, I said it, please, fellow book lovers, don’t shun me. You see, with my love of books, I have quite a collection built up. A collection that fills bookshelves, that is ever growing and quite diverse. How can this be a bad thing, you may ask? Well, usually, it isn’t. Until moving day comes. On moving day, I have to take all my books, box them up and then carry them (well, not me…they’re pretty heavy) where ever they need to go. This is a problem that will not go away, as long as I’m alive. Enter the nook. Now, in addition to all of my favorite real books (as in physical. I know ebooks aren’t imaginary), I have a collection of ebooks that can travel with me all over the world! If I want to read Jane Eyre in Ireland, I can, without shoving a 400 page plus text into my already overstuffed backpack. If I want to switch to reading something else, I can, without even packing two books. How wonderful! Clearly, the nook is a reading traveler’s best friend.
The nook is helpful in another key way–it saves me money. Tons of money. Why? Because it is nearly impossible for me to walk through a bookstore without buying a book or four. A clearance sale? Well, let me get a basket because we’re not leaving until I find some great deals. The nook allows me to buy ebooks for a fraction of the price of a hardcover, and cheaper, still, than a paperback. In some cases, I can even get ebooks for free! It’s like a library where you get to keep the book forever! This means that I can have more to read, and more money to boot! Now, when I see a 75% off book, I can buy it without an ounce of guilt! Perfect.
Am I turning my back on books forever? Do I support their demise? No, and never. My nook is more like a book substitute–most useful for when I can’t really carry a real book, when I want to save a little cash but still have fresh reading material, and when I want to carry a library in my backpack. What could be better? A $1,000 Barnes and Noble gift card? A house with a room filled with books? Sure, I’ll agree, I’d like those things more–but do I get to keep the nook?
Reading, writing, learning
As you may have noticed, the blog has started looking a little different, changing for the better–and will continue to do so for a little while. Here’s why: This summer is my last semester of college. I wanted to do something fun–for me, that is–since I will probably never take another English class again. I remembered back in the old days, when my parents took my brother and I to the library every summer, how we eagerly signed up for the summer reading program. Back then, reading was pretty much my only hobby, so I really got into the whole thing. This summer, in the absence of assigned literature, I decided to have my own summer reading program. However, there are no prizes in this program–no free books or pizzas or pool passes. No, this time around, I’m reading and reviewing books, and posting the reviews here, under the books tab. Why am I reviewing these books? Well, now I have at least two hobbies–reading and writing–and this little scheme allows me to indulge in both. Another reason is that maybe you’ll check out the books I’m reviewing, find one you like, and read it yourself. If that happens, we both get a little something out of the deal. Great, right?
Another addition is the causes tab. I’m a big believer in good causes, and I’m featuring those organizations that I believe in enough to send my own money to. Now, I’m not saying you have to go out and donate to these causes. If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I’m featuring them because I want you to know about some big issues I support–there are several of them–and I’m hoping that if you don’t know anything about these issues, you’ll learn about them. Knowledge of the problem, after all, is the first step to identifying the solution.
These are the newest changes to the site, but I’m sure they won’t be the only ones. Keep coming back to see what’s new!
Ireland
It’s been a little over a month since I headed out to Ireland, and a little under a month since I got back–crazy how it seems so long ago. The trip was amazing, a complete whirlwind, and exhausting. Our arrival into London was delayed by about an hour, thanks to a late take off from DFW. This late arrival caused us to hurry through Heathrow, stopping only at the request of two rather rude passport agents who, from the way they treated us and people we met on the tour, don’t really like it when non-Brits come through their airport. Aside from them, though, the airport seemed nice, and I have to admit that flying over London made me want to visit England soooo much. This wish was almost granted, thanks to our good friend Eyajafjallajokull. As we were standing in line to board our plane in London, a breaking news update flashed on the TV from the BBC: Dublin’s airport was set to close. I am not exaggerating when I say that I heard a collective murmur go through the crowd, punctuated by random voices wondering if we would make it through the ban.
Fortunately, Aer Lingus was not daunted by the closure, and slipped us in an hour before the airport closed. Note: I was on a constant lookout for any ash in the air, both on the flight over and the flight to Ireland. I didn’t even see a gray cloud. Upon our arrival at Dublin’s airport, we exited the plane–not a noteworthy experience in most airports, but here, we got to come down those fancy stairs, just like we were all the President of the United States or some celebrity from the 1950′s. It may seem mundane to a lot of people, but I got a kick out of it.
After navigating our way through the airport, we finally made it to where the Paddy’s Palace shuttle was waiting to take us to our lovely hostel. If you’ve never stayed at a hostel before, just imagine a college co-ed dorm or a summer camp cabin with communal bathrooms, although all of Paddy’s Palaces were much cleaner than either of those. Hostel living is easy and breezy, and once you get used to it, no problem at all. Courtney, her mom, my mom, and I really enjoyed it.
We looked around Dublin on our own that night, and the next day set off on our grand tour, six days going around the Irish coast on a big green tour bus filled with Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, a Belgian, a Canadian and some Americans (plus our Irish driver, Joe). It was a multi-cultural bonding experience, I’ll tell you that much!
As much as I would love to go into great detail telling you every single thing we did, I’m afraid that I would run out of room. I can tell you that the first night we stayed in Derry, Northern Ireland. Derry was an interesting city, full of history and struggle, although there have been great advances toward peace recently. Not knowing too much about Irish history, I was very interested in all that we learned in Derry.
The next morning, we woke up and headed toward Belfast, stopping on the way to see my favorite thing in all of Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway. I LOVED this place, and would have happily spent days there. Unfortunately, two hours was all we got, but we were rewarded by seeing one of God’s coolest creations, and by some delicious Irish stew at a hotel near the coat that I definitely intend on staying at one day. When we arrived in Belfast, I immediately fell in love with the city. There is a ton of history there, to be sure, which was all outlined on our Black Taxi Tour (ironically, I was in the only red taxi in the group). I wish we could have spent a few days in Belfast, but alas, onward we went toward Galway.
The drive to Galway was amazingly beautiful, and we stopped in County Sligo to see W. B. Yeats‘s grave. After more driving, we made it to Galway, where we had a great time. The next morning, we went to the Cliffs of Moher, which were beautiful and breathtaking. I definitely was amazed at just how tall they are. This was a major tourist spot, with people from all over the world there to admire the splendor.
We spent the night in a small village called Annascaul, right on the Dingle Peninsula. It was a quaint little town, and our night was filled with karaoke fun. Courtney and I submitted our request to sing, but I have to say that I was actually glad that the guy never called us up. However, it was great to see our moms along with our new friends from South Africa sing “Dancing Queen!” The next morning, we got up and headed to Dingle, where we enjoyed a couple of hours of just roaming through the city. I would definitely like to go there again, especially because we came upon a farmers’ market, with a ton of local goodies.
We stayed in Killarney the next night, where we were privileged to be able to visit the national park. The scenery in Killarney is gorgeous. There isn’t really a good word to describe how stunning the mountains and lakes are, our a picture I could either find or take that did it justice. Trust me, you’ll have to visit this place yourself.
Killarney was the perfect tourist town, and we had a great time there. I would like to visit again, but I preferred some of the other cities we stayed in, just because they were a lot less touristy. After Killarney, we visited the biggest tourist trap of them all, the Blarney Stone. Don’t get me wrong, the Castle Blarney was really amazing, and the grounds were pretty, but there were tourists everywhere, and laying on a mat and having some random Irish guy shove me headfirst toward a stone to kiss it isn’t really my idea of fun. But hey, if you like it, go for it.
We ended our tour by visiting the Guinness factory/museum back in Dublin. I’m definitely not into drinking, but it was cool to see the history behind this iconic brew. I did try a taste in the tasting room, and was not really surprised at the crazy-bitter flavor of Guinness. I passed on my free pint, and instead just enjoyed the history.
Instead of staying at the hostel again, the four of us stayed at a nice hotel where we felt like royalty after living in hostels–no bunk beds! Private rooms! A real shower!!–it was awesome. And I have to confess that we definitely enjoyed our fair share of chocolate heaven cake and cheesecake. Mmmmm!
I am so glad that we were able to take this trip, and I cannot wait to go back and spend more time in Ireland. The country is beautiful (and the weather was fabulous when we went), the people are super-friendly, and there is a vibe of relaxing and having fun everywhere we went. And who knows, when I go back, I may even let Mark come.
I know this post was incredibly long, but trust me, I could have added another thousand words easily, that’s how awesome this trip was. If you ever have a chance to take this tour, do it! It was a great introduction to Ireland at a wonderfully low cost. If you have a little more time and or money, try renting a cottage somewhere and just staying put…I promise that you’ll be glad you did, and that is exactly what I want to do next time! Thanks for letting me share my amazing trip!
May already?
This semester is finally drawing to a close, and as it does, I remember thinking about how much easier this semester would be, since I was taking less hours than I ever have in a long semester. Boy, was I wrong! This has been one of my most difficult semesters, and is definitely the one that went by the fastest! I have enjoyed it a lot, despite its challenges, due in part to having some fun scheduled right in, in the form of regular Thursday night hangouts with some of my best friends.
I am kind of sad about this being my last real semester of my undergraduate career. As I sit in my favorite classes, it dawns on me that this chapter of my life is almost over. 
I know I’m a nerd, but I’m sad that when the fall semester schedule comes out, I won’t be looking at it to pick my classes. I’ll be pretty busy in the fall, though, so I guess it’s a good thing I’m graduating in August!
Wedding planning has pretty much stalled, thanks to the whole school thing. I’m looking forward to starting to really get in to it this summer. I have some good ideas for all of that stuff, which is good, since the date is quickly approaching!
Next Sunday is my birthday, and I guess I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll be 21, which is cool, but I’m definitely more excited about my upcoming Ireland trip than I am about my birthday! I can’t wait to explore Ireland with some lovely ladies (Courtney and our moms), but I’m not sure that the Emerald Isle can compare with Texas in the spring time…I do love bluebonnets!
Well, I’m definitely putting off a homework assignment by writing this blog, so I should probably go ahead and do that. I’ll be writing a lot more this summer, though!
Blessings
Sometimes, I feel like life is a real challenge. Then I remember how blessed I am. Even on the days where I’m sick and have to go to the doctor for the third time in two weeks, I realize that I have it so. good. There are people right now in Dallas who only wish they could go to the doctor for their sicknesses. That’s just in Dallas. There are people all over the world who have never been to see the doctor. Who have never imagined the day that they will be healthy. I am blessed.
There are days when I have to take a test after feeling like I’ve learned very little on the subject. On those days, I try to remember that I am getting a college education while there are little girls around the world who would cry tears of joy at being told they are allowed to go to school for the first time in their lives. I am blessed.
There are days when I feel like I don’t want to get up and go to work, when all I want to do is stay at home and read. I am so blessed to have a job I like, much more so to have a job at all.
On days when wedding planning overwhelms me, I realize that I am blessed in getting to have a wedding where I not only know the groom, I love him and he loves me. Many women around the world are denied this pleasure. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams.
I do not claim to know why I am blessed with all of these things and why others are suffering daily, but I do know that I want to help them. Where women, girls, men and boys are denied these blessings, I want to be the one God uses to help them. I know that God created me for this reason–to share his love and blessings with those around me and those across the globe. I can’t save the world, I know. But I can most definitely try to make one little difference. That is my goal. Make a difference.