Monday, November 15, 2004

Opinions

I am an opinionated person- whether or not that is a good thing- I'm still trying to decide. Below are some of my random opinions, and the opinions of others. As you will soon see- they deal with many different subjects, and come from many different people. The ones with no source are my own- though shared by a great many I'm sure- the rest are ascribed to their true owners.

1. America is the greatest country on earth. (C.E. Blake)
2. No it's not. (L. Yeung)- my dear friend Lavinia disagrees- but she's Australian and therefore biased. . .
3. Chocolate over vanilla any day. . . except in cake- then vanilla's better.
4. All Liberal Arts male students need to take out their earings and get hair cuts.
5. Football is better than basketball.
6. Basketball is the best sport. (Amanda Bosma)
7. Diet coke- world's best beverage.
8. Baptists should have convents for those admirable young ladies who aren't going to be sucked into matrimony.
9. The Republican Party is the best- and our President is AWESOME!!!!!
10. Even if you're a Democrat- you should vote.
11. Flowers and chocolates maybe okay as Valentine's presents- but nice, hard-back notebooks, ball point pens, and classic novels are far superior.
12. The viola is the classiest instrument.
13. Americans work too hard and fast- when do you slow down? (L. Yeung)
14. When happy- sing at the top of your lungs, dance, and let everyone know. Why be happy if it doesn't show?

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Journal

11/19/04: It's one of those days again. I know I shouldn't whine, but I am, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I overslept- carelessly forgot that breakfast appointment that I always have. Tumbled out of bed with ten minutes to get to breakfast- I needed an hour. I know I'm a girl and you think I'm exaggerating, but in all reality, that morning I needed an hour. Usually I can look presentable at the end of 20 minutes- today was not one of those. It was the kind of day in which you could wear a designer dress, have a personal makeup artist, hair stylist, and personal valet- and you still would look like something the cat dragged in. Anyone else have days like that? So, I'm late I look like . . . Well, something really ugly- like Ross Ade Stadium after a football game- big, devoid of life, and trashed. Any way, that was me. Then I couldn't find my student ID. Here at Purdue your ID is your life blood. It's what you use to eat, get in late at night, swiftly access the internet- I have even seen people using it as a toothpick- guys of course. ( I better speed this up, I'm getting monotonous) So can't find my ID, late to breakfast which my good friend has to buy, get swamped by work in biology, find out a horrible math grade, get depressing news, sit through a rather long English class, sleep in the Union because it's raining and I don't want to walk 30 min. back to my dorm, starving (no lunch- because no ID), try to call my mom for the umpteenth time, I think my ID's at church, no response, sit through another very long class, hungry, go to quartet practice where I am the reason the piece doesn't sound good, walk home in the drizzle, eat old Ramen noodles for dinner, nothing on TV, no one on IM, nothing to do but Math, and I DON'T WANT TO!!!! (wow, I don't think I've had such a run-on since before I knew what periods were!) That was my day yesterday and a little of today. Of course I ignored the fact that Lavinia bought be 1/2 a pint of Ben and Jerry's Garcia Cherry ice cream, and that a dear father met me for lunch today and bought me a wonderful meal in the Union. There are silver clouds among the gray- only why do the gray seem to come at once? All well, it's the weekend. Next week there are only 2 days of school. If that doesn't excite you- something's wrong with you- this I firmly believe. (Phil. 4:4)

11/10/04: I became aware of an interesting piece of news today. Did you know that I am a communication specialist? Are you also aware that I do therapy and training to aid in better communication? Apparently I do. The way that I cam across this tidbit of info was rather amusing.
A very distraught, and vague female friend of the family called me yesterday. She was distraught and rather frantic, although her voice was controlled. She wanted to meet with me as soon as possible, and was rather distressed to learn that I was booked for lunch until the following week. She was vague, because she did not mention why she wanted to meet with me. I was puzzled, to say the least. She was not a good enough friend for me to happily accept this as merely a chance to catch up, and she specifically said she needed to talk to me about something, but in her two voice messages, one phone conversation, and two e-mails, she never mentioned what it was she wanted to discuss. Very puzzling, and I began to feel kinda squeamish. You know the feeling that you get whenever you think you might have done something wrong, but you can't remember what? Well, this excellent lady has a son about my age, who I enjoyed a very bantering, sarcastic relationship with- though only every other week in an advanced lit. course in high school. I was hoping that I hadn't scarred him for life- because, after all he started it and encouraged it. Or- the other possibility was that they belonged to the type of religion where the parents initiate the dating/courtship relationships- this was my biggest fear, amusing, I admit, but real nonetheless- they seemed like the type that would do that.
So, I remained in the dark until today, preparing all my defensive, or "I'm not ready for a relationship" speeches, when during a phone conversation to my mother it suddenly occurred to me that she (my mom) would have had to of given my phone number to this rather distraught lady who called me. So, working from a blind chance that perhaps, my dear mom knew the reason for this lunch date- I asked, "Do you have any idea why Mrs. ________ would have called me yesterday" And I received the laugh of the day in her answer.
Apparently this guy- I'm going to term him "Tim"- was having girl problems. A young lady he had met while studying here at Purdue latched on to him, and he- the middle of three boys- had no idea how to relate to her, or let her know that he wasn't interested. Remembering the banter we had had in Lit. Class- his mom decided that I would be the perfect person to teach him how to interact with college age females, why she can't do it, I'm not quite sure- but apparently he needs more practice, and more knowledge of how to deal with those of the opposite gender around him.
So, I am to be a communication therapist and teacher to a girl-illiterate guy who needs to learn what to say and how to say it to his female peers. . . Am I amused? Excessively. Anyone else up for lessons? I can hardly wait. . .

Monday, November 08, 2004

About Me and Chairo

About the Blog: Chairo is ancient Greek for our English word joy. The New Testament, God's final revelation to us was written in this language, and one of my favorite verses (Philippians 4:4) contains this word. The purpose of this website is threefold. One, I like to write, this presents a creative new venue for that expression. Two, I like to amuse people and hopefully that will be accomplished through some of this . . . we'll see . . . Three, (this is trivial) everyone else has one! I want a place where my friends can go to check up on me- since I love to do it with them.
There are several sections to this website, which I will briefly explain. The journal- pretty self-explanatory. Fiction- random ramblings and stories. Opinions- on this page I will post my opinions from best ice cream to greatest moral leader of our country- and everything else in between and beyond. But this section is not just for me- let me know your opinions- and, who knows- you could be "posted!" The next section will be my waterloo- but I'm determined to be a well rounded individual, so here it goes- the poetry section. As you will soon discover- I can't write poetry, so we'll just have to wait and see. The next category is my People category- and we're not talking the trendy, gross magazine. Nope, this is where I get to describe a certain friend of mine- it will basically contain character sketches of my acquaintances. I didn't call it my "Friends" column, because I've observed many interesting people who are not known to me- or who I don't particularly want to know- but they are still interesting people- hence the name. My sixth and final section is my Memories category. You'll find out how much you didn't know about me, my past, where my fears originated, and some of the best memories that I have.
This is a brief idea of what my blog will contain- any questions?

About the Author:
Courtney E. Blake is a freshman in Speech and Audiology Sciences at Purdue University. She currently resides in McCutcheon Residence Hall- more commonly known as "The Ghetto." Pursuits include the usual shopping, reading, etc.- along with an uncanny ability to dodge and procrastinate on work. Though very fond of football, after losing her voice twice, and Purdue losing four times (IN A ROW!!!!) Ms. Blake's fondness for the sport and its participants is waning. An ardent Republican, Courtney waited in line for an hour to vote, and yelled victoriously down her dorm room hall each time another state was colored red- making her a favorite with the many democrats residing there. . . To the question of her relationship status, Ms. Blake queried, "What is a relationship?" This ignorance will be pardoned when we remember that Courtney is in the School of Liberal Arts- a school with relatively few males, and even fewer straight ones . . . Besides, it is generally rumored that Courtney Blake is going to school for eight long years- and is soley interested in her studies at this point- a fact that her father delights in. Although homeschooled her entire elementary and high school career- Ms. Blake was not shocked upon entering a university of 40,000 people- and may even be said to love it passionately ( or at least tolerate it with equanimity). Ms. Blake declined to answer any further questions at this time.