Monday, January 31, 2005

Singing His Song (at the top of my lungs!)

God is really very good to me. Look at all I have!!! Wow! Today is a wonderful day because HE gave it to me! For some reason he wants me alive and breathing on January 31, 2005. The question is not why (because he delights in giving me life!) but rather the question should be, "What am I going to do with this great adventure of living that he has given me?"

I'm thanking you, GOD, from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders. I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song, High God. - Psalm 9:1,2 (The Message)

Thursday, January 27, 2005

AGHHH!!!! BOYS- OR MEN- OR GUYS- UGH. WHATEVER THEY ARE!!!!

Why, why, why, why why!?!?!?! Why do they pop their collars? Why do they remember every detail (right down to the sound effects) of their last episode of Stargate or Satuday's football game, but not the last conversation they had with you? Why do they eat enormous quantities and not get fat? Why is a pick-up game of basketball such a big deal? Why is it not macho to cry in movies? Why is being hairy manly? Why, oh why, oh why must I forget that I don't want to eat dinner with a guy when he asks? Why do I say "yes"?

Yes, the never ending questions that role through my head. It was simple, really. Just a guy who volunteered to be in my biology group. He knew his stuff, he is a good public speaker. Nice guy, very nice. He walks me back towards the dorms. We talk about various things. Very easy to hold a conversation with. That's nice. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue he hits me with the question, "Hey, you wanna have dinner with me?" And, without thinking (knee jerk reaction) "Sure!" So we went our seperate ways to meet again in about 10 minutes.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Yeah, it's just dorm food, yeah, it's no big deal, Courtney. Yeah, so he's not interested in you like that. Heck, it doesn't matter. I am in no way, shape, or form going to eat dinner, one- on- one, with a guy who I hardly know. As in, I just learned his name less than an our before. I've gotten in trouble with that whole "Couple" dinner thing before. I didn't think it meant anything, but the guy... So I don't want to hear any of this crap about girls being the ones that read into things.

So I panicked. I called his phone. "Hey, um, Ryan- yeah, um, well- this is Courtney, and, um, yeah, tonight's not gonna work for dinner. Sorry. Maybe some other time..." (when there are other people coming...) "So, sorry. Um, see you tomorrow in recitation... bye." Yes, that is by far my most eloquent message ever. So yes, Courtney is a paranoid spaz. Yup.

I give up. I'll never, ever be able to relate to the opposite gender with grace and poise. I totally and completely, utterly and irrevocably given up. The end.

Me (aka Ungrateful Wretch)

Why do I place so much of my happiness, or rather my happy feeling, on other people and how they perform? I know that they're fallible, I know that they are finite, I know that man cannot do everything and often falls short. But still, how my fellow man treats me is the primary "feel good" factor of my life. Forget the fact that there is an infinite, all-knowing, loving, merciful, gracious, omnipotent, infallible, Heavenly Father who is watching over me. I want people satisfaction. It's like an athlete saying, "If you please, I'd rather not get first place, or the gold medal. I would really be so much happier just teaching gym class to a bunch of second graders." Or a lady sitting down to a gourmet dinner looking around and questioning, "Where is my junk food? This is insane, you expect me to eat truffles and caviar? All I really want is my spam sandwich and a bag of chips." When given a choice is a girl going to choose a $20 shopping spree to Goodwill, or a $25,000 shopping spree to a designer shop in New York? That's what is like when I say, "God, you can't make me happy. I want so-and-so to do such-and-such, and then I will be happy." Only in this situation the difference is even greater than my shopping spree analogy. God wants so much for me. He has given so much for me- more than I can even imagine, fathom, or know about. But I just keep pushing it all away whining, "No, no- I don't want that!" I pout when something doesn't go my way. Surely God couldn't have meant good to come from this trial, after all- if he really loved me he'd give me everything I want. It's not like he hasn't saved me from eternal damnation, given me a family that loves me continually, a church I can learn and grow in, his word to grow me and encourage me, a school where I can get one of the best educations ever. Surely God isn't behind the ability to walk to class, friends that listen to my ranting, classes that make me excited, a healthy body, enjoyment of music, movies, and books. Surely this doesn't count. I can always think of more, "I want..." But how often do I go, "Please no more! Look at all I have! I'll be writing thank you notes to you for eternity! (and I thought graduation was bad...)" Instead I'm going to cross my arms, shake my head and declare- "Nope, sorry Lord, I prefer Goodwill over Dior any day."

I'll make a list of GOD's gracious dealings, all the things GOD has done that need praising, All the generous bounties of GOD, his great goodness to the family of Israel-- Compassion lavished, love extravagant. Isaiah 63:7

Heaven

Okay, I really couldn't publish something about vegetables without doing a special series on my favorite one- chocolate!!! (Yes, it is a vegetable- a bean that is grown mainly in South America)

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. --Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) Forrest Gump

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! --Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)

Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces --Judith Viorst

Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can.

This guy found a bottle on the ocean, and he opened it and out popped a genie, and he gave him three wishes. The guy wished for a million dollars, and poof! there was a million dollars. Then he wished for a convertible, and poof! there was a convertible. And then, he wished he could be irresistible to all women... poof! he turned into a box of chocolates.

Get Your Daily Veggie Serving!

We here at "Pieces" have become increasingly alarmed at the rate of obesity here in America. In an attempt to help we are rasing "Veggie Awareness"- or in layman's terms- we are encouraging you to get your daily dose of 5 servings from the produce section of your grocery store. (Produce- not the canned, salted, or sugared goods- these must be fresh or frozen.) In order to pique your interest in this much neglected area of the food pyramid we have provided the following entry.

http://www.americanbridge.com/taters.htm (You will need your speakers on for this one.)

"I think," said the sweet potato, "therefore, I yam"

Q: A faucet, lettuce and a tomato were in a race...what happened? A: The faucet was running, the lettuce was ahead, and the tomato was trying to ketchup!

I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.- George Bush, U.S. President, 1990 (Sometimes authority figures don't always set the best example.... :) )

Happy Veggie Day!!!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Once Upon a Time

Habia una vez, en un lugar muy, muy lejano, un chica llamada Courtney...

Okay, so it wasn't in a country far, far away, or once upon a time, but there was (or rather is) a girl named Courtney. I was so excited when I learned the above Spanish phrase that I had to write it some where. There is something so magical about something happening in an obscure time period in a far off land. Have you ever noticed that all fairy tales have a hint of reality. If they didn't I don't believe we would find them as entrancing as we do. They would become mindless drivel and about as dry as a chemistry text-book. (Which, by the way, I went through in highschool as though it was mindless drivel and merely fiction. I wouldn't suggest this approach... Unless you are going to be a liberal arts major! :) )

So today I started my own fairy tale. This hogwash about routine and each day being the same over and over is a bunch of (can I say it again?) drivel. Each day is new, each one is different, and each one is such an adventure. (You feel like you're on an arctic adventure when you walk from class to class.) Today my adventure includes Spanish class and telling a wonderful woman, "No, I cannot teach your daughter violin lessons any longer." I would rather face a dragon. In my Dean's Scholar class we learned about problem solving and were psycho-analyzed concerning our conflict handling skills. If you've never been psycho-analyzed then you're missing.... no, on second thought, you're not missing anything. But after rigorous testing I did discover that I like to avoid problems. (Big surprise there.) So today I will conqueror the dragon of my fear of people. Tonight I get to meet some wonderful ladies for dinner. (Guys- be jealous- it's a ladies only meal.) And hopefully and early bedtime, although I've been saying that I am going to do that for the past two nights....

Tomorrow I get to meet my Prince Charming! (I know what everyone is thinking, but no.) I'm having lunch with my dear, darling father. We will talk about sundry things for as long as he can spare from his hectic schedule and I will imbibe some of his overflowing knowledge. (hopefully) What do girls do who have no "King Dad" to guide them through their adventures?

Well, I must depart. Upon looking back over this entry I have concluded that it is (aha!) drivel. Except for that wonderful bit about my daddy. (Yup, he's still "daddy"- always will be. :) ) Everyone have a splendid day- and embrace it all as a great adventure!

God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. I Corinthians 1:9

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Ta-Da!!!! The new me!!!

Well, what do you think of this new and improved look? I don't know if I'm so crazy about it right now- it doesn't have very vivid colors, but my last one was getting a little too dark for me, and the only thing vivider (or should I say "more vivid?"- I like "vivider" better....) The only thing vivider was pink. I'm not denying I'm a girly-girl, but I'm not quite ready for that step. If I did that I'd feel the need to re-name myself "Elle Woods" and traipse of to Harvard in pursuit of a shallow, unfaithful, sub-standard boyfriend. (Reminiscent of "Legally Blonde" to those of you who are out of touch with our culture.) So here's the new Courtney Blog.

You will notice that the name has changed and along with it so has my purpose. I was intending this site to be much more clever than it has turned out to be. No big suprise- please no sarcastic comments. An analogy that might help to explain this blog to an unimformed outsider is that it is a bunch of puzzle pieces- but not just from one puzzle. It's like someone took several pieces from about 23 different boxes and threw them into this box and said, "Okay, make sense of that." (In reality that's kinda what happens when you're made- but I won't go into genetics here...) I offer no guarantee of what you'll find here. I offer no guarantee that you will like it. It's very difficult to sit down every time to write knowing that there are a whole mass of people out there who think you are funny. What if you aren't funny? What if they don't like it when you're serious? Pressure kills humor like nothing else. There are a very few who thrive under it- and their not usually stand-up comedians (Stand-up is sarcasm, and pressure usually brings that out...). I'm not a stand-up comedian, or even a very funny person. I just say what I think. Apparently that is hilarious. I'm not going to even wonder what that implies about my brain and thought process.

So any way- welcome to the new blog!

Ramblings....

Well, things are starting to get crazy again. (or maybe they've been like that for a while and I've been ignoring them...)

Today was crazy and very unproductive. I am struggling with a cold and lots of reading. Tons of reading. So I spent the majority of time in bed- but I would like it to be noted that I did go to class and I did work out. I'm not a complete slacker....

God tries to teach us in so many different ways. He disciplines, rebukes, and denies requests. But something I've been dicovering is that God also teaches by giving us blessings. (Maybe I'm just slow- I've never really noticed this before.) My heavenly Father has lavished on me such a wide variety of gifts, opportunities, and relationships. I have no reason to ever be depressed or anxious- I have so much. But I honestly believe that God isn't giving all this good stuff without a return from me. I'm not saying I have to pay God back- but rather that he is expecting me to be a good steward of what I have been given. Kinda scary for someone like me- I dodge any kind of responsibility and commitment.

Back to my day- away from my ramblings. I'm off to biology- then I shall spend the next four hours in a library ( I will!) trying to accomplish some work. Hopefully I will accomplish my purpose- but if not- Goodbye until tomorrow. I've set some very high goals this semester and I will meet them! (Oh, and I'm meeting Molly for dinner- that's always fun!)

One more thing- I couldn't end without something more lighthearted after my rambles into my brain- those alway leave me slightly confused, and are probably not extremely intelligible or enjoyable to my readership. So here goes: "An agreement is not an agreement until the parties to the agreement have reached an agreement." - Irish Politician on RTE radio. Profound, huh? Yeah, I thought so.... I was looking for a knock-knock joke, but none of mine had the ring or quality of those I've heard from Zach Eikenberry. I just can't compete with him... All well.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

My life....

Peanuts (the comic strip) has always inspired me....

(Sally sits at her desk and works on the following test.)
Question #1: What is the capital of Cameroun?
Sally (answer): When I grow up I am going to be a hair dresser and hair dressers obviously don't have to know such things.
Question#2: What is the length of the Rio Grande River?
Sally: When I grow up I will also probably be a housewife, and could not care less about the length of the Rio Grande river.
Question #3: What is the name of the largest pyramid?
Sally: When I grow up I will undoubtedly be a member of the smart set. We members of the smart set rarely discuss such things as pyramids.
(She peruses her answers.)
Sally: This is an easy test....

I like Sally.....

Monday, January 17, 2005

Poetry

I would like it to be noted that I have had poetry written about me. I find this highly flattering, and (although the poet has stated that "people can only get free poetry for so long" and has as a result of this sentiment shut down his own site) I have decided to publish this glorious poem I received.


Roses are red,
So is Courtney's hair.
Pillows are soft
Like a teddy bear.

Violets are blue
Blue is real neat.
Courtney's not blue.
She has feet.

Tulips are...yellow?
I don't really know.
Courtney is hot
Even in snow.

Daisies are purple
Or so I think.
I bet that Courtney
Looks good in pink.

Ferns are green
And leafy
Campbell's Chunky Soup
Is really meaty.

That is my poem
I hope you liked it.
Too bad this verse
Doesn't rhyme.
- D.T.H.

Beautiful, huh? I'm sure this gentleman would be more than happy to write poems for any swain out there who cannot think of the words he wants to say to his lovely lady. As you can see, everything is very succinct and (mostly) rhyming. He also addresses important issues in this poem such as food, and plant biology. Truly a deep poem. I am touched, thank you.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

A Pint of Pink Lemonade

Some more random, amusing quotes from people in my life...

"I'm such an agressive jay walker I'll run over myself one of these days." (Lavinia Yeung)

"I don't keep track of how many guys like me." (Me)

"I'm a victim of my hair!" (Mandy Butram)

"You're not in control, but you really don't need to be." (Amy Bankes)

"Guys are like drugs... just say 'no!' " (Me)

After a joke from Courtney- "Okay... (pause) I'm waiting for a punchline..." (David Bankes)

"Yay!!! I'm living on cloud nine!!! Wait.... is there a cloud ten? 'Cause I'm ready to graduate." (Me)

Humor Me...

The Difference Between Men and Women
Let's say a guy named Fred is attracted to a woman named Martha. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly sixmonths?"

And then, there is silence in the car.

To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Fred is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Martha is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily towards, I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Fred is thinking: ...so that means it was...let's see...February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means...lemme check the odometer...Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Martha is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Fred is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Martha is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Fred is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty...scumballs.

And Martha is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Fred is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their...

"Fred," Martha says aloud.

"What?" says Fred, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have...oh dear, I feel so..."(She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Fred.

"I'm such a fool," Martha sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Fred.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Martha says.

"No!" says Fred, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that...it's that I...I need some time," Martha says. (There is a 15-second pause while Fred, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

"Yes," he says. (Martha, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

"Oh, Fred, do you really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Fred.

"That way about time," says Martha.

"Oh," says Fred. "Yes." (Martha turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

"Thank you, Fred," she says.

"Thank you," says Fred.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Fred gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a college basketball game between two South Dakota junior colleges that he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Martha will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification.
They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.

Meanwhile, Fred, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Martha's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: "Norm, did Martha ever own a horse?"

And that's the difference between men and women.


Bangkok, Thailand

A member of the ruling junta who oversees Thai Airways International has ordered the carrier to hire more-attractive stewardesses."We have received a lot of complaints that our air hostesses are not pretty enough, too old and unsmiling," Air Chief Marshal Kaset Rojananil said.

In an interview published in "The Nation", the airline has been hiring too many college-educated women, he said, adding: "Intelligent women tend not to be good looking."


Tuesday, January 11, 2005

"Now, tell me what you are going to do. If you plan to respond with a generous yes, tell me. But if not, tell me plainly so I can figure out what to do next." (Gen. 24:49)

Friday, January 07, 2005

Journal

1/7/05

Well, I hope everyone had a simply marvelous Christmas. Mine was very merry, very fun, very long, and very stretching. I thought break was meant to be a brain break, but my brain has been whirling in circles for days. God has evidently wanted me to learn a lot, and I'm realizing all over again how I am not in control- a lesson I seem a little recalcitrant in learning. But he has been incredibly gracious to me and given me excedingly abundantly above all that I could ask and imagine. I'm rested and ready to use what little I can of my brain in this next semester. (I will focus.) I don't think I've ever been ready to go back to school before... I will attempt, in one hopefully short, entry to record three weeks of my life. (Why, in American English can we not say things like "me life." It sounds so quaint, but I suppose that it's bad grammer even in Ireland.) Let it suffice to say that I love Christmas very, very much.

My big present was a futon, I've never been so emotionally moved by a present. I actually had tears in my eyes. For those of you who have never had to survive a whole semester in a dorm room with no soft place to sit (my bed is lofted and there is barely room for me to lie down let alone sit.) you have no idea the joy that can fill your heart when you receive a piece of furniture. I felt thrilled. And then I felt old. How many young people cry with joy over getting furniture? Obviously college is aging me more rapidly than I would like.

We made all the rounds to all the family, seeing friends I haven't seen in years (did you know that the food at U of I is better than at Purdue. Man, if I had really focused and prioritized my life I could be going there, and majoring in harp performance, with my dear friend Keturah, rather than eating at Purdue and studying ears. Boy did I mess up...)

Break was filled with sleeping in, playing games with the family (did you know that I've run the world's record mile, invented a new energy source, won a Pulitzer Prize, written a best seller, and gotten a Nobel prize twice? I did. That's what I did with my "LIFE." What about you?)

I also had several ice skating adventures. I believe I went a total of three times. The first consisted of maintaining my balance while my dear brother's friends whirled around me. The second was a quieter, but much more fun outing with all the Blake kids, and the Bankes siblings, dragging in a Butram just for good measure. The Blakes, Bankes', and Butrams had a wonderful time, and although it is rumored that a certain Blake behaved rather flippantly, it is supposed that she is forgiven. The third time was with a church group. I wasn't supposed to know anyone, but I wound up knowing two, and as a result had a wonderful girl's night out.

Lavinia, Mandy, and myself went shopping right before Lav left. We went everywhere and did the most absurd things. I ate Arnie's pizza for the very first time and touched the side of a bus in traffic. (I've always been told that you are to keep your hands inside the car when you are in traffic, touching the bus seemed like a dangerous, thrilling thing to do...) We played dress up in Claire's. Did you know that you're not allowed to take pictures in stores in the mall? All well, they were already in my camera. I wasn' going to obligingly delete them. They may come in handy when I plan a heist to clean out Claire's. Now that would be a haul...

Do not these lovely jewels make you want to break in and steal? (We're talking about the crowns- we ladies aren't for sale...) Posted by Hello

Cute? I think not- try GORGEOUS!!! :) Posted by Hello

We three queens of Claire's jewelry store... Posted by Hello

The 2004 APA Awards

Courtney Blake and Company are proud to announce the winner of the 2004 Fall Semester Animal People Awards.

Our female contestants did a marvellous job. Lavinia Yeung collected 4th place with 3 votes, Amanda Bosma was right ahead with 5 votes, scoring her a 3rd place prize. It seems that our two male contestants did the best, which leads the editors of this establishment to conclude that men ressemble animals more closely than females do. Michael Luepke grabbed 2nd place with 6 votes, while David Bankes stole first with 13 votes.

However prizes will not be awarded at this time, for the judges are investigating charges against David Charles Bankes. It is believed that this contestant may have used propaganda to support and promote his name at the polls, leading the judges to question his integrity and worthiness of this award.

If in the end, after our investigation, he proves himself blameless, then the editors will send out a sympathy card. For if that many people really do compare you to a frog...

HAPPY 2005!!!!
We will bring you the Awards in another short five months. (provided the editors don't die in biology 295z...)