Monday, July 28, 2008

I'm in Florida!

So, I'm breaking all the rules of vacation, but I wanted to share this picture with you...

Well, since I've broken the most important rule, how about all my pictures thus far...

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Last Days Are Hard.

Today is my last day at the office, at my apartment, as a Fayetteville resident, and as a non-teacher who has to work during the summer. So many things are ending today, but so many are beginning.

Dad came up yesterday, and we loaded the non-gigantic articles in the trailer for him to go ahead and take to Horseshoe Bend last night. It's really weird being in my apartment now. There are no decorations, no curtains, no dishes, nothing except large pieces of furniture and some clothes. I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed. I'm really glad my mom is here. She came back from Batesville with me on Sunday and has been working diligently in my apartment. I don't think I would be this far along if it wasn't for her. I really do have some amazing parents!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

American Idol Rocks!

I had a blast on my trip to St. Louis to see the American Idol Live Tour this weekend. Kayla and I left Batesville Friday morning and headed north. We took our time and only had one major meltdown, which left me with an amazing bruise on my upper arm (gee, thanks Kayla). We stopped for lunch about an hour outside of St. Louis. We did hit the STL right before rush hour, so I was way excited about that. There was only one missed turn, but thanks to Google maps and a giagantic color copier, we were able to find the Scottrade Center very easily and even got to park right next to the building. The arena was very new and very pretty, but what amazed me more than anything was the average age of the people attending the concert. While we were waiting for the gates to open, I noticed that I didn't see a lot of pre-teen and teenagers. I saw 40+ year old women AND men with no children. The ladies that sat directly behind us were well into their forties and fifties.
Our seats were amazing! We were on the floor on row 22. Our row was the beginning of the second section, so there was a giant space between us and the row in front of us, so we didn't have to worry about large fuzzy heads of hair in every photo. The people sitting around us were fun. I made friends with the mother and daughter pair sitting next to me. The mom was a Jason Castro fan and her daughter liked David Archuletta. They were really cute and very friendly. There was even a lady behind me that gave me her e-mail and asked that I e-mail her a few pictures. She didn't bring hers because the last time she came to a concert at the arena, the security people wouldn't let her bring it in. Well, I'm a nice person and don't want anyone to be without pictures of things, so I told her I would do it.

The concert host, yes concert host, Cory came out into the audience and proceeded to stop directly by us and ushered out the giant Pop Tart. Since the event was sponsored by Pop Tarts, everyone wanted to get their picture taken with him. We didn't even have to try. It was great!




Chekizie was the first Idol to perform. His set was really good. He did a Stevie Wonder song that he sang on the show and rocked it. I totally loved him on the show and in person!


Ramielle was next. She was wearing some amazing five inch stiletto patten leather boots. Her outfit on the other hand looked like someone had gone a little crazy with the bedazzler on the black leggings she was wearing. She sang a few songs, but nothing that blew me away.


Micheal Johns made his entrance with a great rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You." He made his entrance by rising out of the floor at the top of the steps. I even made a quick video of it.

I was really impressed with MJ. He did a great job and was even funny on stage. He joked with us when he sang "Dream On" by Aerosmith, saying he was going to end his set with the song that got him voted off. Anyway, he did a great job.



After the whirlwind that was Micheal Johns came Kristy Lee Cook. Now this poor girl was this season's sympathy vote getter. And when the announcer said her name, the crowd basically groaned out loud and sat down. Even when she sang her standing ovation gimme song, Lee Greenwoods' "God Bless the USA," only half the crowd stood. It was really sad and I started feeling bad for her until she made this comment: "Thank you all for coming to my show." I kid you not, and I quote word for word. There are about 10,000 witnesses if you don't believe me. She even did her KLC leg-cocked-to-the-side-hand-out-rock-back-on-the-other-leg-swing-her-hips pose. On every song. Real annoying.


Carly Smithson was next. Now, she's the girl who had all the potential but good never get it together on the show. I was really looking forward to hearing how she sounded live. She did amazing with her vocals, but her performance was a little lack-luster to me. She really didn't connect with us too much. But she did sing Celine Dion's "Drove All Night," a song she sang on the show, and was AH-MAZING. That girl has got some pipes, that's for sure.


Brooke White was the last person to perform before intermission. She had the second best entrance of the evening so far. She rose out of the floor with a grand piano and sang "Let It Be" for her first song. She surprised me a little. On the show, she always made me nervous to watch her sing, even stopping and starting twice during her time on the show. But she did great.


Before intermission we got the first group sing. The first six performers got to sing a song together and promote the Idol Gives Back Campaign. I'm pretty sure they all hate doing the group sings because they are so cheesey. Anyway, that was the end of the first half.

Concert Host Cory made his appearance on our row again, and Kayla and I took time for a photo op with the Pop Tart. Jason Castro started the second half sitting on a stool with his Ukulele and sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It was really good. He was a good performer, but still needs to work on his overall performance quality.




Sayeshia Mercado was next. She appeared at the top of the steps in an amazing little dress, with all these rhinestones all over it. Her shoes had even more rhinestones and I totally want them! She sang a few songs, but it was her last song that really made an impression on me. She sang Beyonce's "Listen." That girl sang the poop out of that song. She's the only one all night long that gave me goosebumps up my arms. Amazing!

David Archuletta rose out of the floor playing the grand piano to Robbie Williams' "Angels," one of the songs he sang at the finale. He did alright, but he still needs to mature. Let me know when he's about 23 or 24, and then I might appreciate him a little more. Maybe I was just anticipating who was coming next, but I just thought he was a cute kid with a good voice.
And finally. The moment I had been waiting nine weeks for had finally arrived. The announcer made the "And now, your number one, David Cook" announcement and the crowd went crazy! He made the first strum on his guitar and sang the first Hello from his arrangement of Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" and I seriously thought I wouldn't be able to hear for the next two days. He rose out of the floor where the grand piano had been, and started singing. He was decked out in his rocker make-up and totally killed his set. He sang Nickelback's "Hero" and a couple other songs, and made his exit, but the crowd was on its feet the whole time and screamed for more. Okay, it wasn't just the crowd, it was me too. Although I don't think I was the loudest person there. He came back out and the lighting was this one red light behind him. He started his version of "Billie Jean," and proceeded to rock out for another ten minutes. OMG! I cannot wait until his album comes out; I want it now! (TWSS)








The finale was another group sing, this time including all the idols. Kayla said this was the first year they haven't done a lot of the cheesey group sings and duets. I think I actually like that, although I have no frame of reference to judge that.
My overall thoughts were why hadn't I gone to one of the concerts before! I dedicate two to three nights a week for five months of my life to watching this show, why not enjoy a concert with the people I feel like I know. Anyway, if you get a chance go see the show this year, or next year. I'll probably be there next summer! Rock on!


You can see all of my pictures from the concert here.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Whoa, slow down a minute!

I can't believe how fast time has been moving. My trip to St. Louis to see David Cook is tomorrow. I have to have my entire world packed and in boxes by Wednesday. I will be leaving my apartment and moving to the outskirts of civilization, not to mention leaving my job in a week. And I leave for Florida next Friday. What happened to the summer?

I'm getting more and more excited about everything. Mom and Dad have already gotten the keys to my house (yeah!). I know Dad will be happy to have this move completed. I don't think we're going to be able to throw all of my belongings in the back of his little blue truck like we used to though. I didn't realize I had this much stuff. But, after living in this apartment for well over four years, things tend to collect.

Let me tell you about my new house. I don't have any pictures yet because they are all on Mom's camera and she hasn't figured out how to download the pictures yet. Anyway, it's a two bedroom house with a full bath and a half bath in the master bedroom (I have a master bedroom!). The only bad thing about it is all the paneling. Yes, paneling. But, the landlord has said that he doesn't mind if we paint, so bring on the Kilz primer and the roller brushes! I guess there is another bad thing about it. Oliver, my mountain lion of a kitty, will have to live at Diggy and Papaw's (Landon calls Mom Diggy- isn't that cute!). I don't know what Oliver thinks of that, but he's making the journey to Batesville tonight. Maybe he'll become an outside kitty and not use the litter box anymore...
Well, I'm sure Kayla and I will have a ton of pictures to share from our road trip to St. Louis! Wish us luck. Maybe David Cook will sweat on me since our seats are so close!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Daddy We're Down

After my jaunty visit into teacher land, I returned to Fayetteville and proceeded to crash into bed after a full day of travelling, workshops, breaking and entering, and more travelling. Yes, I did say breaking and entering. I guess I probably shouldn't publish that, but since nothing was stolen and no property was damaged, I'm sure I'll be alright telling this story. Mom and I finished our workshops and decided to look at a few rent houses that were available. One was in Horseshoe Bend and kind of in a secluded spot, so I took the opportunity to practice my B&E skills. I actually used a credit card (alright, it was a used up gift card- I don't want to damage anything that still might work!) to pop the lock, and it totally worked! I've never been able to do that before, and that door seriously popped open like I put a key in it. Anyway, the house was really cute and just perfect, so we headed back to Batesville. I didn't leave Mom and Dad's house until after 7:00 PM, so it was almost midnight when I got home. I seriously crashed into the bed, with all my clothes on and everything.


In the morning, I started getting ready for work, and tried to open my closet to pick out my clothes. I did say try. My closet had fallen off the wall for like the third time. Take my advice, don't ever by those vinyl-coated steel shelving units for a closets; they are useless and cannot hold enough clothing to make a closet as big as mine work! I think I've had three hundred screws placed into the walls of my closet to hold this, and it still falls down. Rather than going through the trauma of the repair men having to fix it, I just packed everything into boxes and stacked it in my closet. I kept out enough dress clothes for the next two weeks, and even started packing for Florida. Well, at least until Oliver decided to pee in my suitcase, on my clothes. I spent the next few hours doing laundry and scrubbing out my suitcase. I do not want to smell like the old crazy lady with 300 cats!


Sunday I spent more time packing (all of my pictures and small nick-knacks are safely put into boxes) and watching Anne of Green Gables. I love these stories and the mini-series is one of my favorites. Emily has the first two on DVD, so I borrowed them from her. I even noticed the next installment of the series is on PBS on Sunday afternoon. I'm really looking forward to watching it; I've never seen this part. Anyway, that's what's been going on with me.

Friday, July 11, 2008

My First Official Teaching Act

The last few weeks have been a little crazy in my life. I've travelled all over the Batesville-Melbourne-Horseshoe Bend-Ash Flat area and still have no place to live. Well, yesterday I had my first official professional development. The morning session I attended was really interesting. Since I will be working with high school age kids for the first time, I really wanted to hear how to get parents involved with this age group. It was a really interesting workshop and the presenter had some really good ideas. I was really excited about the afternoon workshop. It was the Arkansas History session for high school, and I really was looking forward to see how I could incorporate AH into my choir classes. Boy was it a let down. The presenter was not a history teacher nor was her focus Arkansas History. She was a literacy expert, and not only did she talk about books the whole time, everything was K-6. It was really annoying, and I became that person who tried to make all of her exercises a joke. Well, as much as a could. At least I entertained the people in my group!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Room

I received this e-mail today with a story of a seventeen year old who died tragically but before his death, he wrote this amazing essay. Well, I have a tendency to be very skeptical over some of the e-mails I receive, so I researched it. I found out the young man plagiarized an article written and published two years before his death. I'm sure the teenager would have loved to have taken another shot at this. (You can read more about the background here). Anyway, I loved the essay, and decided to search for the original author's version. I found it, and luckily, I have permission to share it with you. Be blessed!


THE ROOM

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger," "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.

I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

By Joshua Harris. Originally published in New Attitude Magazine. Copyright New Attitude, 1995. You have permission to reprint this in any form. We only ask that you include the appropriate copyright byline and do not alter the content.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I'm Amazed.

I play the flute, but I've never in my life played it like these two guys. I am completely amazed.

Ahhh, Venice... Beach.

Well, not really, but I looked at my countdown clock and realized I'll be leaving for Florida in just over three weeks. Oh that makes my heart sing and sad all at the same time. I have so much to do in the next 21 days- finish the blasted annual report at work, pack all my belongings into boxes to be ready to move, find a house, meet with my principal... the list goes on and on. Hopefully, I'll still have hair when I'm on the beach!