Twenty-six

I feel pretty old.

The fact that Facebook reminds everyone your birthday is coming up allows for a lot of opportunity to reconnect; I heard from a lot of people that I hadn't in a while and otherwise probably wouldn't have. I didn't really capitalize on it, though.

Hopefully this year I'll make some memories, run a 5k in under twenty minutes, travel, write some songs, and read the Word. If not, I'm sure something else will come along, as something else always seems to do.

For me to remember

My Chemistry and American Lit professors have very Socratic methods of teaching. This means that they ask a lot of questions to direct the conversation toward their lesson, so that their students arrive at the conclusion they have prepared beforehand. It bothers me when noone is speaking up, so I end up talking a lot, even if I have no idea what the answers are. I'll have to remember, if God is someday willing to give me an opportunity to teach, that this can be frustrating.

Chemistry is definitely my favorite class this semester, though, despite me making a fool of myself.

Autumn

I'm up here in the mountains, and it's a beautiful time to be here. The weather is amazing: sunny and breezy with cold nights. The leaves will start changing soon. I've already missed my chance to jump in the waterfalls without getting hypothermia. Apple festivals are coming. It's cool enough for hikes, but not too cold for backpacking. I smell muscadines and scuppernongs alongside Bailey Mill Rd whenever I run. I can run any time of day without roasting. Let's go to Table Rock, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bald Rock, Pretty Place, Caesar's Head, some waterfalls. I might jump in anyway.

North Greenville Missions Week

Various missionaries from around the world have come to the university this week to present their organizations and opportunities. One lady represents a group sending people to Peru to teach ESL and roam the Amazon to look for unreached people groups. These trips cost a good bit of money and last either a semester or summer, but I think they both sound like amazing opportunities. She also kind of sounded like there was a discouraging amount of interest in these bigger trips (as opposed to other trips she promoted that were a week or two long). I'm praying...

Eating

I've been a pesky tarian for about two weeks now. Who knows why really. But I've been close to that all semester (or at least since I broke a bone in my foot). I would still eat the mess out of some hot dogs, especially if they had crunchy peanut butter and Frank's Red Hot.

Where was I before Frank's?? I eat it on popcorn, toast, tuna, pizza, eggs...

Running

August 2 I broke a bone in my left foot contra dancing, and after a week of maintaining normal activity, I finally went to the doctor after a constant sensation like a charlie horse. He gave me a post-op boot to prevent the joints from bending. I finally got rid of the thing a week and a half ago, and I'm very thankful to have built back up to five miles in a single run. I was really dragging my feet and feeling down during the time I wasn't able to run, and I feel a lot better now with all my endorphins swimming as they should.

Other important things

I wish I could fix 'things,' like man-made stuff. I want to learn how to look at a broken machine or appliance and figure out how it works so I could jigger the knob there and put a new screw here to make it work again. It'd be nice to know how cars and houses are built so I can be a service to people in those areas, too. If only there were a semester-long crash course on being a handy-man somewhere, I'd sign up in a heartbeat.