crossing the street

This morning I woke up early before breakfast and I went for a run. It was hard to get out of bed...but I did it and I feel better for it. I ran around Philly and soaked in the crisp air that felt more like an early fall morning than an early December morning. I ran for a little under an hour and ran some errands and even stopped into Good Karma on the way home for a small cup of coffee and a friendly good morning from some of my favorite baristas. Holding a cup of coffee, I decided to make this the obvious end to my run. I walked back to my house, coffee in hand, podcast playing when I looked up and saw two small children about a half block in front of me.
I watched them as they started to sprint in front of me. Both about 6 years old. The girl in a bright pink backpack that flopped up and down when she ran, and gigantic purple coat. The boy wore mostly black and navy blue. They ran together, chasing each other and completely unaware of those around them. I watched as they ran one block, then two, never stopping to check the street lights or car patterns, unsupervised and without a care. As they crossed the second street block, without so much as a pause they crossed the next where the light was not red. I audibly screamed, although I was now three blocks away and walking by myself. They were safe across the street and I kept thinking...where are their parents? Why are they walking by themselves? I was upset and angry..but there was nothing I could do, right? It is so hard to feel helpless and yet passionate to help or do something. But again, what do you do? You watch as they cross the street, and then the next with no parents and no one to tell them to stop and look both ways before they take the great sprint across. Sometimes I wonder if this is a beginning pattern for the rest of their lives.

happy thanksgiving

On thanksgiving night at exactly 6:11pm, the US space shuttle flew over our heads in Castle Rock, CO. 8 of us stood outside watching that most amazing sight ever. A dot. There were two simple specks of light moving so extremly fast, but as we looked up we learned from Tom that those specks of light were flying at 17,000 mph...They were as small as stars. It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen.

The next day we saw another extraordinary thing...the mountains :) It was the most glorious day ever..perfect conditions. I love this state so much. It makes me happy to see God in so much here

And the word is.........

Well the time has come folks. Oxford has announced their new word of the year. Every year, the New Oxford Dictionary initiates one new word into the big book of words. This years word is................UNFRIEND. As In, please do not unfriend me. Ironically, there is still that little red line under the word "unfriend" no matter how many times I type it..unfriend unfriend unfriend. all read lined. someone should tell the computers "unfriend" is now a word. One day Quinterpecan will be one too.
http://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/
I kid you not. Today at church, Jared somehow worked it into his sermon and it was awesome.

Colorado tomorrow. I could not be happier or more not yet packed :)

i.am.slowly.losing.my.mind.because.i.strongly.dislike.school.

i know..I'll go to colorado in a week.

done and done.

happy holidays from JACK

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/6RIN2525dOA5Fzkz

sugalumps

I am OBSESSED with flight of the conchords....and this is why.

This weekend i...

..watched babies get baptised and was overwhelmed with emotion
..became an officialy member of Libeti or went "in covenant"
..became Cindy Lauper

..but broke it down like Beyonce


..said HI to Dano

..watched the Phillies lose...twice.
..started hating Johnny Damon (sorry Sarah..)
..and found a new anthem to help them WIN TONIGHT.

the phillie wedding crasher

I know her...how cool is that?!

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=7084581

WINTER STORM ALERT

10.28.09 — A powerful winter storm is hitting Colorado with a winter storm warning in effect through 6pm MDT Thursday — The National Weather Service is forecasting snowfall accumulations from 18-36 inches with up to 4 feet possible in parts of Colorado.

I am so jealous.

also...GO PHILS!

death = 0 / carolyn = 4...good thing i have 9 lives.... beat that gas leak next to my bedroom!!


i just feel like singing...

the power of viagra

this is "clean" but so disturbing i had to share...

we have white pepper for some reason.

this will change your life

if you don't die laughing from this video you are dead to me.

take your flirting somewhere else...

Matt Chandler once said:
"I told the girls that you need to be the godly women that God has called you to be, and you don't need to settle for bums, and if a guy who comes off like he's godly flirts with you without the inten...t of pursuing you, you need to call him on it, and tell him to grow up, and tell him that when he's ready to grow up and be a man, then maybe you can talk. But until then, he can take his flirting somewhere else."

some things to ponder

This afternoon i had some revelations...

when most people start working out to get in shape for bathing suit season around march...i begin to work out now to get in shape for snowboarding season. this is not an exaggeration but actually what i realized during my work out today..

also, i realized today i have not bought shampoo/conditioner since june. i still have some in the shower, but i have not run out. june people. its october.

third revelation to go along with that is...ITS OCTOBER. I cannot believe its fall, i love the fall, but where did summer go?

i need need need to renew my SUMMIT PASS

Wedding week!

Well, it's been a busy week.
Wednesday was work and homework until around 2:20, and I had too much caffeine in me. So Wednesday I didn't really sleep.

On Thursday I helped move Haley into her new home! Since I was blessed with a talent for organizing the unorganized, Haley was a prime candidate for my gifts so I blessed her with them for hours to get her all moved in. I got home and tried to go to bed early, that didn't really happen, but I managed to get there at a decent hour I suppose. At 3:18am, to be exact, I was suddenly awoken by this:


yes, that is my closet, and those are my clothes. But they are not on my hanger, they are definitely on top of my shoes. I was suddenly awoken by what I thought to be Andrea falling through the ceiling. I literally jumped out of bed to see my closet door swing open. I was terrified and shaking for about an hour. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much on Thursday night.


Friday was work early and all day and then the REHEARSAL DINNER!! So excited! Everyone was there, everyone was rehearsing, everyone was eating great mexican food...which in the end, is all that really matters. I got home late around 11:45 only to see my closet was fixed. I couldn't really leave the ridiculous amount of clothes on my floor and chair, so I had to fix them...and I had to fix them until 1:45am apparently, because thats when I finished and went to sleep. On Friday night, I didn't really get much sleep.

But on saturday! I walked outside at around 9:30 to make it to the wedding when I was approached by a woman complimenting my outfit and telling me "GIRL! You should be a model! Look at you! So pretty, oh girl, look at your pretty little toes!" My response, "what a nice thing to say so early in the morning" her response, "Girl...can I get a bus token? Okay, i need three i'm going to doylestown and I am HURT!" She was drunk..therefore the compliment was now void. But thats okay because the day was not about me, it was about jason and haley.
They are married now! Jason and Haley Harmon! SO EXCITING!!! Here are some pictures from the wedding...





It was such a fun block party wedding and I really think everyone had a great time..after the party we all went out for a beer and satyed out way too late. So on Saturday night I didn't sleep much.

On Sunday I helped with the Bethesda Project, a shelter in the city, and it really reminded me how much I am called to serve and be in some sort of service with my life. Even with my delirious sleep deprivation headache, I loved serving and meeting the people where their most basic needs are being met and when they are the most vulnerable. On Sunday night I had another LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) screening at my house...a good turn out of about 15 people showed up...watch whats going on here:


And then I went to bed at 9:30. And I slept. For the first time in about three weeks. I slept for over 12 hours. And it was glorious.
I'm ready for a new week. Here is a little something I woke up to the other day. Hope it makes you smile.

can i start over?

You ever have days when you want to crawl back in to bed and just start over?

Today was that day for me.

It started off at 1am. I got a call from India..so I picked up at 1am in a daze and certainly confused. I told Victor I needed to go to sleep and hung up.

I woke up about a half an hour early to read before my internship, while I was pretty exhausted, I happy with the fact that Iam starting to discipline myself again. It was a really good time in reading and praying and I thought to myself...today is going to be a good day.

And then I walked outside.

As I got to the corner, the light was red, I crossed at people from at least 4 cars watched as I fell, coffee travel mug in hand, I fell on my hands and knees, wearing a dress, coffee went flying, and my knees were all scrapped up. I got up thought about taking a bow, but simply kept walking like nothing had just happened.

I walked two more blocks only to see my bus pull up to the stop as I am about a half block away, I RUN with my bloody knees to catch the bus. I succeed. I get on the bus, winded, bruised, and searching for a bus token. Things are flying and I have to go into my bag to get my wallet to get my ouch with my tokens in a plastic wrapping. I finally put one in the meter when the bus jerks forward. My wallet's coin part was still open. And yes, I think you know what happened next. Coins EVERYWHERE. They flew across the bus landing on the floor, hitting people as they made their way to the back of the bus. Embarrassed and flustered from my morning, I just sat down and giggled. A little boy named Ian got on the bus after this happened. He found SO many coins on the floor that he picked them all up and put them in his pocket. At least someone had a good day.

After all of this, I still managed to get lost under City Hall trying to take the Broad St line.

...but after my internship, I did run into my favorite ladies at Anthropologie, sipped on a pumpkin spice latte and met up with my good friend Liz, who I have not seen in about 2 years...I mean hey, things had to go up from this morning, right?

Do you have a nickel?

I should be taking my quiz for my foundations class right now but I thought about this really beautiful moment I witnessed on the subway this morning, of all places.

I was sitting on the subway on my way to my internship, no one was talking and I was looking straight ahead to avoid all eye contact from all passengers when I heard her voice. "Do you have a nickel?" "Sir? Can I have a nickel?" She had on a purple dress and bedroom slippers that used to be pink but were now brown from the wear and tear of the streets. The dress was lose and missing buttons, so her stomach was uncomfortably exposed for everyone to see. She was, to say the least, down on her luck.

But it was a nickel. Five cents. Pocket change, and yet I kept looking forward averting the glares of the people around me. But we were on a subway, a moving lock box with no escape. There was no where to run or hide and moving or ignoring the only person talking would be rude, right? But I know what everyone was thinking. How rude of her to ask me for a nickel, to bother my "me" time on the train. The calm before the busy day at work. All these thoughts were going through my head when I heard another a voice, a smaller voice.

The young boy, about 7 years old, sitting across from me simply said, "oh, I've got a nickel" The innocence of the child and the selfless giving of someone who has not been ruined by the world. He wrestled to get into hi tight jeans for a while, he was no doubt going through a growth spurt and they no longer fit him. He asked his mom to hold his juice box while he reached in and grabbed the nickel from his pocket. He gave it to the woman and sat down, continuing to drink his juice box.

I was stunned. I had just witnessed one of the most beautiful pictures of love and non judgment I had ever seen. I was moved and judging from the fact that now everyone's gaze was no longer ahead, but instead on this young boy, I could tell others were moved too.

What a good reminder of grace and love.

sometimes i think i am becoming bitter and cynical. sometimes. ...but i simply call it realism.

Not for one second

My day started like any other..at noon. I woke up a little bit behind most of the city...well, maybe not most of the city but some of the city..I needed the rest because I went to bed at 3am last night..we went out to Fado's to celebrate my birthday which led to an dancing, gum on my shoe, UD reunion to the max, irish man trying to show me his hair in a place that is supposed to be hidden (later that night he got in a bar fight for hitting on some guys girlfriend - blood everywhere) and stuffing applesauce and a banana in a mail slot, it was glorious.

But today, today I ventured to New Jersey. I don't often go to NJ for many reasons. One - they wont let me pump my gas. I like pumping my gas, it makes me feel independent and competent. B, the round-abouts. they are pointless. And 3, I had a stalker from NJ once, he was a stalker..enough said. he's probably reading this right now (whats up?) and today I added yet another reason - i drove for almost two hours to get somewhere that should have taken a half an hour. Instead of taking responsibility - I will blame this on New Jersey. The armpit of America, the scapegoat. So screw you NJ for making me late for the Eagle's first football game of the season and for making me miss church later. It's always New Jersey's fault (remember if you are in Colorado blame it on the altitude, if you are on the east coast blame it on New Jersey)

After I got back into the city that I now have grown accustomed to, I met up with some people to go to Nako's play for the Philly fringe festival. I was walking downtown with a large group of people when I flashed Philadelphia. There was a tremendous amount of steam coming from a grate and I was wearing a skirt..when you put two together, you get lots of flashing and screaming and normally a few honks - I'm actually offended I didn't get any honks. But literally my skirt blew up to my face and I was completely exposed. Ahh its just like the days of the high school lock-in and the "sweat pants pantsing with thong" incident..details to follow in a later entry.

The play was phenomenal though. Nako, a friend and the playwright, did a great job about portraying the thought process of Henrik Isben..everyone should watch the second act coming in 2010.

After watching we all went our separate ways. I went home and realized not only do I dislike New Jersey, but I also hate Sunday nights for two reasons: the weekend is over and it is trash night. So I began to take the trash out but when I came back up the stairs he was back. This guy:


he was charging me again...just like he did a week ago when i put that red vase over him but he escaped. So i took off my shoe and I killed him. Thats right, dead on the stair. So I left him there. I thought it would serve as a warning for other critters that the ladies of the JACK house mean business and they shouldn't come around these parts anymore. Unfortunately, I don't think my roommates will be as excited about this theory, but I'm thinking its going to work.

With all the things I mentioned I hated, I must end this post with things that I loved from this weekend as well...rain, sunshine, driving with the windows down, singing at the top of your lungs, dancing and dance parties, good beer, friends, good food, parties, pizza from lazaros, celebrating friends, the theater!, "this american life" the tv show, coffee, laughing, talking through things, music and sleep.

i'm off the bus...

for all your young lifers out there...watch and enjoy some of this summer's program

Community

"Be daring, be difficult, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it safers, the creatures of the common place, the slaves of the ordinary" - Cecil Beaton

I came across this quote when I looked through all the encouraging letters people wrote to me before I left for India. This quote was from my friend Liz Leaver who encourages me to be more daring than she realizes...I read this and reflected on the fundraiser I just had for the orphanage. Most of you don't know, but we raised over $1400 for the Kadesh Children's Happy Home in Bangalore, India....incredible.

After I sent the care package full of clothes and toys, and wired the money I had to go for a bike ride and reflect on the graciousness of God and His people. the spirit of giving was something I shouldn't even be surprised about anymore, but I still am. I see it constantly from those around me and in my community. I saw it before I left for India, I saw it during my time in the homeless shelter, and I see it now in this new community in Philly. It is so beautiful. I want everyone to be a part of it and to experience it..it is something we miss in the hustle and bustle of life in the city, but I think if we stop to look and see the beautiful spirit of those around us, it would change our mentality. It would change the way we lived.

When I grow up....

Well contrary to what girls these days think growing up is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEZrEPDV9k

I think being a grown up is much different than I thought it would be when I was younger. I remember being a freshman in high school and walking down the hall and looking at juniors and seniors as not only gods, but as the older kids. They always seemed so much older than me. When I became a senior, I still felt young. I was open to hanging out with freshman and often times did with Young Life and sports. They did not seem "that much" younger than me. I never felt old.

The other day andrea and I went out to find a 90's inspired outfit for the 90's party that never happened (sorry brucey and dano).

We found these amazing keds at urban.


...as we shopped she was saying she was going to wear them without socks because her mom never let her wear her keds without socks when she was growing up.

As I thought about this conversation an earlier conversation came to mind. I was making cookies for a care package and I had extra dough left over. Andrea started to eat the dough. This is normal. She made a comment that her mom never let her eat dough and it wasn't until high school (most likely at my house) when she discovered cookie dough was edible and delicious! Her Mom always told her it would poison her or something...lies. Parental protection, but lies none-the-less.

The point of these stories is not to make Andrea look sheltered, in fact, my parents did many similar things to me when I was growing up. These stories were told, instead, to point out one simple fact: we are grown ups. When did that happen?

We can eat cookie dough until we throw up, we can wear socks with our sneakers, but if we are feeling crazy then heck! Take off those socks, who will tell you otherwise? No one, because we are grown ups.

If we want to wear mismatched clothes and sleep til noon, we can. If we want to have a beer or glass of wine with dinner, we can. If we want to fall in love or get in fights or quit our jobs, we can. We are adults. We are all growed up.

This reality is humbling. I don't really remember the point when I felt like a true adult. Now my friends are starting to get married and have children, most days this feels normal, but when I really think about it..the days of being told to go to my room do not feel so long ago. We are adults. We make adult decisions and go to grown up jobs. And grown up bars. Some of us make monumental grown up decisions and mistakes. The decisions we make affect us and we must now take responsibility for all of our actions. We are no longer told what to do (by our parents) but now, if you get in to trouble it normally holds much more weight. Because now you are responsible. Soon we will have children of our own to tell what to do and how to wear their socks and comb their hair. I plan on dressing my children up in costumes everyday and taking embarrassing photographs of them all the time. One day. Not any time soon. Because although I am an adult, I do not feel like one just quite yet.

But thats just the thing. I am one. So are you...
We are grown ups. When did that happen?

for now i wont worry about it...i will just listen to regina and sing at the top of the lungs. because i can. because i am a grown up.

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