That Awkward Moment...

....Oh you know.

Just that awkward moment when you realize that your neighbor is creeping over the fence, staring as you attempt to balance in your pointe shoes on a moss-covered tree trunk.

[All for a shot for the 30 Day Photo Challenge that you've taken way longer than 30 days for, of course.]

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile~

Since I followed a running schedule set by someone else

Since I tried a new recipe

Since I stayed up till midnight, editing and organizing work

Since I let bought a new skein of yarn simply because I loved the color scheme and not because I had a project in mind

Since I found a photo project idea worth sticking with

Since I got this excited over a book on grammar and AP guidelines

Since I made an online order for things I don't really need, just so that I could look forward to getting something in the mail (I. Love. Mail.)

Since I downloaded a new font that makes me love writing again

Since I ate a spoonful of Nutella, just because it sounded like a grand plan






Or, I suppose I should say that It Had been a while since I'd done these things. Things have changed recently--not drastically--but it's the little things in life that bring the encouragement, that restore joy, that make the ordinary enjoyable.

More Fall

It's amazing how much a break from the norm can be needed, even when the norm is theoretically completely non-exhausting. Eating, sleeping, running, writing, studying, applying for jobs--non of these activities are particularly taxing at all. But it's when they become monotonous, the same thing every day. It's not that today's articles are particularly boring to write; in fact, it's almost the opposite--the topics are grand. But I know that they'll be there tomorrow, and the day after that. It's just not a very thrilling thought, this mundane schedule of days.

So you don't write for a day. You don't study. You don't run.

Instead of the usual, you go for a walk in the fog. You find a favorite new song mix. You shoot a few pictures. You write a few letters. You read some articles to get you motivated to do something tomorrow.


But today, today you don't worry about doing anything. Today, today you just be.

Fall Time

Fall=books, pretty leaves, cold weather.

[And rain.]

Current Thoughts:

a. I really wouldn't mind being asleep right now.

b. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then by the time I finally meet my future husband I'm destined to be quite fond of him.

c. Going to college groups to try to meet people after moving back home after graduation can be terribly odd. You throw yourself into the middle of a group of people who've known each other and gone to the same church since middle school and start discussing the 5th chapter of Ephesians. But you don't really want to discuss Ephesians. You don't really want to discuss anything deep. You just want to make new friends and Ephesians isn't exactly ideal friendship-starting material.

d. Escaping on a mini vacation of sorts would be nice.

e. Writing articles about liposuction and tummy tucks really makes you feel like a terrible person. It's like I should be considered guilty of littering.

*Pausing*

....So I've decided to take a quick *pause* on my photography challenge.

Does this mean I'm cheating because I'm not actually completing it in 30 consecutive days? Perhaps.

But things have suddenly sped up around here (as in, applications for schools are starting to be due...and I'm still tossing out job apps), and my camera has become mildly neglected in the process.

And no, this does not make me happy. Hopefully I'll have settled into a better schedule and will able to pick it up again in a week.

For now, here is an [old] photo of how not having time for fun photography makes me feel:

Running

I love the smells that I catch when I'm running. It sounds like an odd thing to admit, but it's entirely true. I'd venture to say that any regular runner blessed with a sensitive sniffer probably could attest to this claim: The odors/fragrances during outdoor runs often tells you about the season, area, or time of day. And I like being informed of all these things through my nasal passageways.

For example, during the end of the summer time on one of my favorite trails, I can be guaranteed that I will smell the tantalizing fragrance of sun-heated ripe blackberries. A different section of the track will smell like BBQ if it's close enough to dinner time. On another trail during the fall, the air is always a cleaner scent than the summer time, but I can catch drifts of the smell of fire place fires (as opposed to forest fires). And the world always smells the same after it has rained.

If I run during the mid afternoon, I'm likely to smell laundry being washed/dried, and if it's dinner time running by certain homes always makes me hungry.

[Happy Fall!]

Gettin' Creative

In an effort to boost my creative juices, I decided to follow the example of a friend and make myself complete a 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Hopefully by the end of it I will be a more creative, photo-shooting fiend.

[Day 2 was "A Photo of what you wore today."]

Finding pictures on your camera's memory that you had long forgotten and never uploaded?

Yes.

[Also, hurray for gobos and other shadows!]

Beauty is...

Lack o' employment leaves me with more time for photography.
[Yes, I've been trying to get myself to focus on the positives lately.]


Also: For a clarification of the picture--Pointe shoes are among the only things in life that I {literally} associate with blood, sweat, and tears. But they're so worth it.

Oh, Applications!

I'm currently quite an applied applicant, at the moment.
This is rather frustrating, but at least I'm filling my time with...something? Right? ...Maybe?
Knowing exactly where I should be applying for jobs, knowing exactly what jobs I should apply to would definitely make things much easier.

But right now, I guess I just need to pray about things, and trust that God will show me what to apply to. Or what not to apply to. Or something of the sorts.

On the happy side of life:
1. I've gotten to read much more lately
2. I cut off 2min from my 2mile time yesterday!!!!!!! [This is one of those rare moments in life that's truly worth exclamation marks. I hadn't timed my 2mile since before summer started, so this was quite a nice surprise.]
3. I've started writing Zee Buk. It's not easy, but sometimes it is. I just need to stick with it and actually finish it.
4. I really want to be in Tulsa for Thanksgiving.

Onwards:

So. I have [an indefinite period of time] until I get to move on to the Next Step of the game plan.

Exciting? Somewhat.
Frustrating? Certainly.
Frightening? Sometimes.

There's just so much that could happen, so much that I could do. I don't want to waste this time. At the same time, it's hard to feel excited about the unsure, the uncertain. As much as I like the spontaneous, I reallyreally like concrete plans.

With all that said, I suppose that I better go ahead and figure out some things for this year--things that really shouldn't depend on where I am or whether I have a job.


I want to
--travel [someplace, fly somewhere]
--get in awesome shape [hot abs? yes.]
--read more [and learn more]
-- study a language [or two, or three]
--take more pictures [as usual]
-- do a 30 day photo challenge [join me?]
--write a book [at least try. why not?]
--pray more [God time=good time]
--give more [to people I know, to people I don't know]
--judge less [.....]
--manage time wisely [such a valuable resource]
--become a morning person [I'm aiming high...ok?]
--blog more [uh huh]

....I suppose I could also become a criminal, or something of the sorts. But that's just so much more of a commitment than "taking more pictures."

awww...shoot.

resumes.
cover letters.

repeat.

Projectsprojectsprojects

new photo projects.
and writing projects.

all of which will hopefully be completed.
someday.

Problem: I spend more time working on ghost writing articles for other blogs than I spend updating my own.

[I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had]

Clearly, I fail at ever updating during the school year, but here's some photos from my past month in Tamale, Ghana.

[and those lyrics should be: I pray for the rains to come in Africa...]