This is my anthem....

Just the thoughts from the mind of a saint with identity troubles....

Monday, March 26, 2007

Decisions...

Six weeks and counting till this semester is done....and already I'm making decisions for next year...agggh.
What classes do I take?
What do I do for the half of my summer left after East Asia?

Annnnd the biggie that is occupying my thoughts right now: what do I commit my extra (ha) time to?

I'm struggling, because serving the Lord in some capacity should be more of a priority even than school...but how would He have me do it? And also, I am doubting that I will honestly be able to commit the time that whichever ministry He calls me to deserves. I just don't know...there are non-ministry related activities I would like to be involved in, but my reasons have to do with my resume or myself....and work owns me. I hate that I have to work while in school...I need the job, but it is a HUGE drain on my time, and whenever I am not working, I seem too exhausted to do anything productive.

Random Ideas:
I love Upstream. The influence it had on my walk with the Lord freshman year means it will always hold a special place in my heart, but could I really handle coordinator? Lots of thoughts there...it would mean some big sacrifices that I don't honestly know that I am ready to make....another ministry? Same thing...

Lord break me and show me the way....

In other news: I am soooo excited for summer!! I am eagerly anticipating seeing what the Lord does!!!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Love Is In The Air....




















Before you get too excited, the title of this post does not refer to me (although I have accumulated several new stalkers in recent months, but what else is new, haha). Yes, the excitement around the apartment as of late is over the fulfillment of our prophetic prediction that Miss Julie Pham would be the first of the roomies to get a boyfriend in college. Here is a photo of the cutest couple ever:








Anyways...soooo, what else...hmmm. Stress mainly. Balancing my life is difficult right now...spring break was waaaay too short...oh yeah. I should talk about spring break. haha. While some people went to Italy, Mexico, California (ahem Michelle) etc., I had an excellent time right here in the great state of TX. It was an interesting spring break, to be sure...I learned a lot about my limits.....and had a lot of my pride over certain things broken down into weakness. That probably doesn't make any sense, but yeah, you can talk to me in person if you want to know....





I am an eternal screw-up, and it continually amazes me that God is still willing to work with me. He's pretty cool like that. Anywhoo, the narrative of Spring Break (complete with photos, which kinda suck...and evidently JP and I were hiding from the camera, cause no one seems to have captured us looking normal....that's ok, haha)










Saturday: Make last-minute decision to call in to work and leave that night rather than on Sunday as planned. First must determine that I will not get fired for doing so...hmmm, how should I figure that out? I head into HEB with JP in tow, and timidly approach the manager's office. Oh good, Stephen is working, not Nichole.










Me: Uhm, hey Stephen, can you tell me what rating I'm on?





Stephen (pulling out book to check): Hmmm. Well, it says you're on a 40, but someone did the books wrong, so you're fine.





Me (inwardly cursing all the missed opportunities to call in): Ohhhh, ok, cool. *awkward pause* Sooooo, if I were to call in to work today...how bad would that be?





Stephen: As a manager, I have to tell you, that doesn't look good. I mean, I realize you're not planning on making a career out of HEB...but yeah, doesn't look good. As a friend, you're fine. You'll make the right choice.










Sooo, outstanding employee that I am....I called in.










Annnd, after a long six hour drive filled with the lovely experience of driving through a bazillion tiny towns (which is fun speed limit wise....70......55.....40.....25????), much playing of rap music, and caffeine, we arrived in Port A. We didn't even get horribly lost, I might add. That's right, we got the mad skills.







Our destination point for our stay in Port A was the ever-so-charming "Sunshine House", so named because of the bright yellow letter which proclaimed it so, hanging from the deck railing. After meeting the crazy West Point boys and some charming Chicagoans (yeah, I don't know what you call them), we were escorted to our sleeping arrangements...in the "basement" so to speak, with two random guys. This led to perhaps one of the funnier moments on the trip....which occured the next morning.




SCENE: The Julies prepare to make an appearance on the beach. ENTER: The lovely Asian and White Julies. The girls scan the room for guys, determine the coast is clear, and proceed to lock the door. In typical style, they begin to converse loudly.




JULIE ASIAN (yelling through the bathroom door, as white Julies stands in the room): WHERE DID I PUT MY PAD? WHERE SHOULD I THROW AWAY MY TRASH? I DON'T WANT THE BOYS TO BE LIKE AWKWARDED OUT!!




JULIE WHITE: Eh, whatever!




JULIE ASIAN: Sooo, I'm really self-conscious about just appearing in my swimsuit.




JULIE WHITE: Yeah, me too...I'm soo white, and I mean, they all have like really amazing hot abs!




JULIE ASIAN: I know!




JULIE WHITE: Especially hot guy. I would jump him in an instant!




JULIE ASIAN: Yeah, totally!




JULIE WHITE: OK, I'm TOTALLY STRIPPING OUT HERE, SO UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE MY THONG, DON'T COME OUT!!




JULIE ASIAN: OK!!




JULIE WHITE: OH MY GOSH MY BATHING SUIT FITS ALL WEIRD!! THIS TOP IS GONNA FALL OFF MY TINY BOOBS!!!




*Julie White pulls her clothing on and walks aimlessly over by the door. It is then that she notices a brown head of hair resting on a pillow, under the covers on the bed near the door. In a moment of horror, she realizes that there is no way this dude is asleep after how loudly they were conversing. She motions wildly for Julie Asian.*




JULIE WHITE: Ohhhh my god, there is a guy in bed right there!!




JULIE ASIAN: Ohhh my god!!




*They run outside*




JULIE ASIAN: Do you think he heard us?




JULIE WHITE (snorts): There is no way he didn't...ohhh my god I was totally stripping too....gossssh.




JULIE ASIAN: Hahaha, he saw you naked!!!




JULIE WHITE *groans* Ohhhh well.







Annnd for the rest of the day, Michael didn't look me in the eye....until he got drunk and disclosed that he was in the room and heard everything. Thanks for alerting us to your prescence. And for telling everyone in the beach house. Hahahaha. "I'm glad you think we have super-toned abs." "Which one of us is the hot one?" "I totally turned my head the other way when you said you were stripping though, honest." (uhmmmm, IF that is true thank you...)



What else, what else....

We dug holes (or rather watched other people dig them and then posed in them)


We went fishing.....
And it was cold (hence I am wearing a very attractive pink beach towel)We had a bonfire on the beach...
Went to South Padre for a bit and crammed about 15 people into 2 hotel rooms....

And witnessed a lot of odd (but hilarious and kinda sweet) West Point boy behaviour.
Somewhere in there was a lot of chilling, a random viewing of the most boring movie ever (23 people...don't waste your five bucks), an unsuccessul night of clubbing (at least some people got Henna tattoos out of the bargain), and a very chummy game of Truth or Dare.
All-in-all, a chillaxin week. Spring Break was too short, and I am pretty much ready to drop out of college and be a beach bum the rest of my life....
And that was a long post...back to the stress of college life....back to the grindstone of HEB....yeehaw.







Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Research Papers, Ciabatta Bread, and Basketball

A Collection of Haikus

#1 The Middle Eastern Politics Paper

Need to start paper,
I have not yet begun it,
It will be so good

#2 Ciabatta Bread
Ate a lot of bread,
So good and light and spongy,
Ate it with tuna

#3 Bikini Shopping
Should not have eaten,
My butt is getting so big,
Still my top falls off.

*side note* I went bikini shopping...yes, I could wear a large on my butt....but a size small bikini top is too big. Oh joy. Good thinking on the female form God...now I wish I had the upper half of the design, not just the lower. Oh well.

#4
If you want a laugh,
Go to my facebook group wall,
Read the hot debate.


Yes, I'm a poet and I know it....I really should be studying history right now. Gosh.
In case the haikus are confusing, here it is summed up: I am procrastinating on my paper, I really love ciabatta bread, I really don't like bikini shopping, but alas I need a bathing suit for the Corpus trip....
Annnnnd if you want to see me get involved in a hardcore sports debate and use my amazzzzing debate skills, you should go on my facebook and look at the group I created.....read the whole wall, you'll probably have to go back a page....it's funny how passionate we get about college basketball....if I could only get that passionate about my middle eastern politics paper...I'd blow Dr. Karisipahi away.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Loopy

Ohhh God makes me smile! For real! Everytime I say I would never or could never do something, it seems that's where He leads me.

Anyways, he threw a bit of a wrench in my plans for summer, but He's God, so He can do that. :)
Sooo....it looks like I will be in East Asia this summer....although I had applied for the other trip, the Focus staff invited me to go on that trip...and after prayer and consideration, I'm going to accept. I trust their wisdom and judgment....so yeah.....just an update on what's going on with me.

Praying about ministry involvement next year.....