Home Stretch

Let us take a moment to appreciate the incredible presence of my unbridled hope and optimism for the future. This year is going to be a good one.

Currently I am sitting in my fragrant backyard, watching my silly dogs run around, enjoying the perfectly breezy 75 degrees, listening to an awesome new band, and blogging. What a spectacular afternoon. The sadness of dropping my sister off at the airport is stifled by the cautious knowledge that I may get to see her again very soon. My social nerves are calmed by an amazing night with fun friends. My fear over The House has been postponed after meeting Handsome Housemate and his gaggle of hilarious friends. The House isn't ideal, but I think it will be a lot of fun.

Also, I see myself a little more mature, and able to conduct myself in the ways I feel appropriate. You know, like having self respect, and.... standards. My party girl days aren't over...just reinvented. And I can't wait.

I can't wait to be Designer Jeans' friend again. And to hang out with his friends, who are hilarious, and fun, and smart and respectable! People like that exist?

I am excited to be challenged. To push myself to be a smarter, better, more loving person. To serve my society.

I am excited to be surrounded by more than 39 other people my age. To have options.

I am excited to busy. To be running from here to there, studying, working, volunteering, and dancing.

I am excited to be welcomed home.

Seriously though. Listen to Vampire Weekend!

Last Day

Today was my last day at The Job! Hallelujah! My experience wasn't a bad one, I met some nice people and learned a lot about why I am going back to school. I had a lot of freedom and was paid well, so all in all, not a bad summer job. That said: no more retail for a while.

I have started my new job search, and oh how I wish The School would post it's on campus jobs soon! I applied for a few job I found in the database that sound bearable, we will see how it turns out.

I have so far made enough money to pay my parents back entirely, with enough left to last me, oh I don't know, a month's worth of goceries. If that. I am really blessed to have parents who take care of me.

Why I thought I couldn't do Calculus:

thanks xkcd

How much does ambition cost?

Here are a few of the 2008 Rhodes Scholar's:

Benjamin M. Eidelson, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, is a senior at Yale majoring in
philosophy and political science. Elected as a junior to Phi Beta Kappa and winner of Yale’s
Lyman Prize, he won the North American Parliamentary Debate Championship as well as
academic prizes in English, humanities, writing and public health. He has a number of
published articles in legal and medical publications, and interned in the Newark Mayor’s
office. Benjamin plans to do the B.Phil. in philosophy at Oxford.

Clara L. Blättler, Brookline, is a Harvard senior majoring in earth and planetary sciences.
Harvard record-holder and Ivy League champion in the women’s pole vault, violinist in two
Harvard orchestras, and a pianist, Clara has done extensive research and field work in geology and chemical oceanography in South America, Africa and Europe. She has also studied at the Goethe Institute in Berlin. Clara plans to do the M.Sc. by Research in earth sciences at Oxford.

Andrew S. Hammond, Washington, DC, is a 2007 graduate of The University of Chicago in
political science. He is now a fellow at the Center of the Study of Social Policy in
Washington, DC. A Truman Scholar, he wrote his thesis on Youth Policy, and has written
extensively on issues relating to poverty, and children in poverty. He was director of the
student ACLU chapter and editorial editor of his college newspaper. He has also written two
children’s plays that have been performed, and has won an award for his opera singing. He
plans to do the M.Phil. in comparative social policy at Oxford.

Caitlin O'Malley is a senior at University of Portland majoring in History and German with an emphasis on education. She only recently started taking her education seriously and has since been winning all sorts of highly esteemed rewards from her parents. Mostly in the form of clothing. She spends her summers making the general population of Olmpia happier about their purchases, and frequently plunges them further into credit card debt. She once volunteered for her church, in high school. Her artistic strength shines through her obvious other lack of athleticism. She is a respected member of the studio where she has danced her entire life, because of her personality, not talent. She plans on finding a husband at Oxford.

JUST KIDDING! I want to be a rhodes scholar! Hmm, where to start?

I am what your youth group warned you about.

I have no shame in admitting that I am a "cafeteria Catholic." It is an analogy used to dissuade members of the church from simply picking and choosing different theological doctrines, like one would pass up salad for macaroni. But I think that is exactly what one should do. Yes we have a Pope and he knows everything yada yada yada. BUT simply excepting something as important and life giving as what is TRUTH ITSELF solely because it came from Il Papa is, to quote Pride and Prejudice, "positively medieval."

The Church by no means warns against independent thought. In contrast there is actually a built in step for young Catholics called Confirmation where they actually get to decide whether they want to become an adult in the eyes of The Church. I just think that my faith means nothing unless it is all my own. I can, of course, learn from others, but if it doesn't make sense to me after praying about it, and I can't fit it in to my worldview, is it horrible that I just let it go?

I have absolutely no idea why I am blogging about this. Maybe I want to prove to myself that even though I live like the rest of American society, I do really love Jesus, I do pray, and I do try to do good. Maybe my form of good is quietly loving and accepting those around me instead of continually convincing them that their way of life is wrong. I don't think it is. Love another man, what do I care? Just because I want to save myself for my husband (ha! like I will ever get married... I may want to rethink this one) doesn't mean I think sex is bad. I really don't. It sounds fun.

Maybe it's not that my beliefs are so far from the institution's, they really aren't. I just can't seem to give a damn whether other people agree with me.

Here is my conundrum: (I have been having this conundrum ever since Ethics class first semester of last year. Thanks Alexander.) What good is having a moral code if it doesn't apply to others? Don't you live your life in a way you believe is best and shouldn't it logically follow that others live their life in a similar way?

Am I bad at religion because I relate better with those against is? (not this douche bag. He is just plain rude. I don't listen to rude people.) Why do the Catholic blogs I subscribe to make me uncomfortable? I mean I love mass and Jesus and all that jazz, but all your talk about abortion makes me nervous. I am an adult in the Church I love. I just feel like I don't really belong and I can't tell if it's because I need to change, or if it is a non-issue. I still have my rosary and isn't that just as important?

If anyone reads this (besides my sister) and has any shreds of wisdom or can pass the link on to the wise person who blogs that I only imagine exists and have yet to find who can answer all of my questions, that would be very much appreciated.

Obama's Speech in Berlin:

I watched the whole speech on You Tube and this was my train of thought:

ooo nice vague generalizations
uh huh uh huh we love Berlin
what about Berlin BEFORE the cold war?? not necessary to mention?
look at all those people! I wish I got to visit Berlin. Oh well, have to go back! Man I want a Fulbright...
hope freedom democracy tell me something I don't already know
he kinda sounds like Martin Luther King Jr.
maybe this is one of those speeches whose purpose was to be constantly quoted? "ask not what your country... yada yada yada"
hmm this is actually kind of a nice idea
YES!!! nuclear proliferation!
oh. my. god. I am being inspired. So help me God.
Yes I love America too! Oh we do have so much potential!
I want to go back to Austria and speak German. He so should have put some German in there. "Wie Ghets Kurdistan?"

The Other Barista

He is new. We will call him Dreds. Yesterday he gave me a free (rather disgusting) drink, today he complimented my hair and asked me to a movie.

Hmm. This is interesting.

He could have genuinely wanted to go on a date or he could just be looking to make friends in town.

Either way really.

Smile.