the book of mormon

the other day i heard a knock on my door . . . i thought to myself yeah! a visitor! to my surprise i met 2 boys on their mission. i always felt bad because i am sure they get enough slack going door to door. and im sure sometimes it hurts, personally.

they vocalized a summary of their beliefs and asked me a couple questions and i answered honestly. here is the kicker: they asked if they could come back, and i said ok. i figured, they would just keep trying and if i were home, id be there and if not, i would catch them later; however, we scheduled a meeting.

they came back two days later. i don't mind talking, discussing beliefs. i am thoroughly interested and frankly, they always get such bad criticism i wanted to form my own opinion. maybe i will call this an "identity moratorium." im exploring . . . no commitments. im not exploring my options for identity sake . . . im exploring my options to form my opinions. i think it is perfectly legitimate.

they were very nice and they were respectful. i had questions, and they answered honestly to all of them (they even said i asked good questions). they've made a commitment in their lives i respect and they deserve to share that. i felt comfortable expressing my own thoughts and i also felt assured they were not there to convert me. i think that is why i agreed to talk with them, i knew it wasn't about conversion, it was an opportunity for them to talk, to have a voice, to be a mode of expression.

i'm a "yes" girl. i say ok and yes to a lot of things. is it good or bad? i don't know. but saying yes has giving me life experiences, given me adventure, given me opportunities, given me joy, given me sadness, given me freedom, and given me conversations that expand my horizons. i call that life. "and God said 'it is good'" and i do believe him.

the end of an era

it's one thing to say you love your parents . . . it's another to say your proud. i must admit, willingly, i am proud of my dad. today is the day his world will cease to revolve around his restaurant. today is the day he is closing the doors and no longer "pounding schnitzel" for those of us eagerly waiting to eat. any guest walks in that place and ponders what to get. should i get schlipkrapfen? always!!!!! should i get mama stiegler, with the incredible, edible vegetable root sauce? well, since it comes with spatzle . . . always!!!!! should i get extra cream spinach? always!!!! should i get tartar? oh man . . . always!!!!!! (that recipe was in the paper by the way . . . one word: special). onto desserts! should i get apfel strudel? with rum sauce? a la mode? always!!!! should i get reisauflauf? what is that? not sure?? can't pronounce it? get it . . . always!!!

blood, sweat, and tears went into that place day in and day out for almost 27 years. it is the end of an era people! and it's brutal for me to think it won't be there.

i used to visit my dad as a kid and to spend time with him i would go to "the restaurant" and help him cook. my main duty: an entire 5 gallon bucket full of apples and me, myself, as a 10, 12, 15 year old had to core and slice them all. i was pretty slow . . . three hours later, my dad would take over and finish with great ease, and quickness, 10 entire loaves of apple strudel. he is my favorite chef and i got to admire his every move, everyday at work with him as a kid.

here's to you papa. please know i am not the only one who absolutely loves and adores your restaurant. it is a very special place for many. and thank you for the reassurance you will still cook for me . . . i am holding you to that promise.

biking time

i forgot how much i liked road biking. today the weather sparked the desire to head to campus via "half and half." for those of you who don't know my road bike is called "half and half" because two springs ago i crushed my old bike by leaving it on top of my car and driving into my garage. Needless to say the fork was bent in enough to require an entire new frame. As a result my new bike is half new and half old which equals, if you do the math correctly "half and half."
to get back to biking, today i ventured on the 5 lane road to campus and it went well. i made it in a mere 15 minutes and it was freeing. i guess all those bike rides in jackson paid off. i can do 15 minutes before class easily and here i thought it would be a work out :) now it is simply an easy mode of transportation. which makes me happy. i forgot to mention my bag held a pharmacology book and my lap top which didn't seem as heavy as it did at first. my plan was to do homework on campus; unfortunately, the school website is down for the entire day due to maintenance and i don't know what the reading is and it is impossible to find out without the school website. so, another lazy day . . . what an excuse ;)

highlighter's

do you know what i forgot about when it comes to school? i forgot how fast highlighters run out of ink. no joke, i bought 4 highlighters: pink, orange, yellow, and green . . . and i only have one left. the orange. i ran out of the green one first of course, because i liked that one the most.

trends in chapel hill . . .

i think the most interesting part about moving to a new area are the trends . . . the differences in clothing, people, habits etc. here are my thoughts:
the first trend i noticed were these moccasin type shoes. i guarantee 1 out 10 women wear these shoes. i couldn't believe it. i'd never seen them before and now i am in another town and everyone seems to know what they are. i didn't think i was that out of it. they are actually pretty cute but i searched online and couldn't find them. im guessing they are not under anything titled moccasins. if you know what these popular shoes are called please let me know :) i asked a girl i have class with and she said she calls them boats . . . i take it she doesn't really like them, especially since they have become such a trend.
second, i can't help but notice how much people munch on food in class. do you know when i noticed this?? the first day. i went to class at 8am and one girl at 8:20 started digging through her plastic bag and munching all throughout the class. i don't mind, but her plastic bag was really loud. i then went to the next class at 10:30 and that same girl was digging through that same plastic bag and munching some more. every two minutes i heard the krinkle of the plastic bag. after that class it was time for lunch, so i did my thing, ate, rehydrated etc. went to class at 1-4 and that same girl was snacking through that same plastic bag. i mean really? what's interesting is everyone is snacking on something by the second class. i see a banana, i hear a wrapper, i see granola bars, i see chips, raisins, cranberries, and drinks, and yadda yadda yadda. i'm not used to it, but today, i did bring snacks and ate them during break :)today, i noticed the first girl i mentioned earlier, she had a plastic bag poking out of her backpack. i wonder what was in it. . .

apartment visitors

do you know what the greatest thing about living in an apartment complex is? girl scouts!!! in my opinion, using apartment complexes is the most efficient way to sell something . . . this "door to door" idea is not such an inconvenient thing. the doors are very close together.
i just bought 2 boxes of thin mints and they are coming soon!! funny thing: the form i filled out looked identical to what i used to use when i sold girl scout cookies :)

Hurdles

i am feeling overwhelmed and ironically school has yet to begin . . . here is the break down:

it took me roughly 2 years to get here. i was taking classes and trying to get into schools (plural) and it felt like i was jumping through hoop after hoop after hoop.

praise the lord, and thankfully, i was accepted to UNC; however, since then the hoops have multiplied and the hurdles have raised several inches. i had to get this done, and have this titer taken, and buy these many thousands of books etc. in addition, once i arrived here i came to the realization my communication with the school was not up to par. living in wyoming and communicating only via email i missed several very very important details that needed to be completed before i matriculated into the program. for instance, hopefully my background check processes immediately otherwise i cannot begin school. secondly, i have to take a class i have already taken. much to my disappointment, humiliation, and additional stress i reviewed the syllabus and it entails almost identically the exact same processes and ideas i have already studied. by the way, the professor is new and has already stated this class is mostly online and we will hardly ever meet. frankly, i took this class online and now i am paying four times as much to do it again.

i guess, i am nervous enough about the rigorous program and i had hoped i felt a little more stable and secure entering into it. i need to gain a rhythm and a schedule so that i may feel successful and on my way to completing this journey and not failing miserably.