Free Entertainment

(posted after the fact due to computer disaster)

Thanks to my digital camera and Youtube.  The Vespers: "Railroad Boy" is from Sunday night, all the others are from this morning at CUW. Some I've posted on here before (like "Railroad Boy", but it sounds different than last time), some are new (I'd never heard "Lordy" before yesterday!)















I saved "Lordy" for last because it's my favorite.  I never thought a song could replace "Railroad Boy" in my heart! :)  Check them out if you haven't.  I know I'm persistent, but they really are spectacular.

I am lucky.

(posted after the fact due to computer disaster)

Lucky to go to this school.

Lucky to have the opportunities I do because I go to this school.

Lucky to have friends like Taylor, Callie, Bruno, and Phoebe who teach me new things about myself, life and God with every conversation.

Tonight was beautiful.

I got a tweet from Taylor (thank you Jesus for phone alerts) about 4:00 letting me know they were here and headed to the dining hall, so I grabbed my stuff and headed down to Marshbanks.  Faithe Beam (the campus minister, and I still can't figure out why someone who came from such a religious family has parents who spelled faith unusually) came with them because she was paying for them to get dinner, and out of the blue, as I reached in my purse to grab my ID card (that is swiped as part of my meal plan) and she said, "Oh go on, Mallory, I'm paying for you."  No one would get that kind of treatment at a big public school.  :)

We spent all of dinner talking and catching up, and then went back to D. Rich to hang out till 6:00 when the show was scheduled to start.  D. Rich is one of the classroom buildings in the center of campus that also has a huge auditorium.  The boys were watching football (I think it's awesome that they have a TV hooked up in their van!), and Callie and I were hanging out in the "seminar room" with Bruno's computer.  She was checking Facebook and emails and stuff online because apparently she doesn't have her computer, and we talked about a million things.

But the most meaningful part of the whole conversation was when we started talking about things we had learned from each other.  I told her about how much of a good lesson she and the others had been for me, and how they'd helped show me how to live rooted in the Truth and unashamed of who I am.  How I don't have any strong Christians in my family, and to have not only people I know in person, but people who are from my generation is such a special thing for me to have.  How, even though I know they're still sinners like me, I have learned so much from them that I could never repay them for.

And then, she told me what they've learned from me.  How I've inspired them to find the joy in life even when they're frustrated because I find the joy in life.  How Bruno was practically speechless the day they left back in February because of what I'd told him.  How humbled he was, and how humbled they were when he told them about it.  How grateful they are to have met and know me. 

I was blown away.  It was just another instance of God granting my prayer to understand the reason He's given me the testimony I have.  Again, lucky.

And then, they played for almost an hour and a half.  A few songs I'd never heard live before.  (The next post is gonna be a bunch of videos I took. For your enjoyment.)  And it was just as spectacular as every other time I've heard them.

The last surprise of the night?  We were hanging out in the front hallway of the building where they were meeting all the people who came.  They are so sweet with all of their fans.  Even Taylor, who was visibly exhausted, still answered all the questions and signed all the stuff and took all the pictures he was asked.  I even made sure to get a picture with them.  How could I not? :)

I didn't realize how blonde my hair still is till I looked at this picture!

Then, after most of the people had left, I was looking at their merch table, and I saw they had two new t-shirt designs.  Bruno was standing next to me and asked me which one I liked, and I pointed to one with a cream background and blue writing.  He said "What size? They're a men's cut" just as I added, "But I don't have any money."  He looked over at me, grinned, and said, "You don't need any money."  I was unsure, but he asked me again emphatically, "What size?"  I finally answered him, and said I felt kind of bad taking something for free when performing and selling merch is their only income, and he told me, "You're kind of our most dedicated fan.  I want to do this.  Take it."  So once again, Bruno gave me something free, just because he's that nice.  And when Phoebe saw it, she assured me they all were fine with it, that Bruno never would've done it if he thought any of the others would have a problem with it, and that I deserve it.

Nicest. people. in. the. world.

I'm so lucky to know them.

I bleed red and white.

(posted after the fact due to computer disaster)

We won!!!! WE WON!!!!! 38-24!

The game was amazing.  I don't know if the Central Michigan quarterback was just tired or what, but the poor old sap threw FOUR interceptions!  That coupled with the fact that someone clearly lit a fire under our defense's butts, and it was like I was watching an entirely new team out there on the field.

We spent way too much money there.  A) Mom felt the need to buy me a new State shirt and Blake some State stuff and her a new State shirt and B) sports stadiums are almost as overpriced as movie theatres, it was sweltering hot outside and Mom told me to wear jeans.  She's too good to me sometimes.

Then we went to Ruby Tuesday's and ate some real food (as in not complete crap) and saw Holly because she was bartending tonight.  We ate and sort of talked to her as she ran around like a chicken with her head cut off, but it was nice to see her in action.  I got these quesadillas that I've had a bunch of times at the RT in Jacksonville and love, so I was jumping at the chance to eat them again, but they were way spicier here!  I ate two but had to stop because I was literally sweating.  And I love spicy food!  Mom probably would've cried if she'd eaten them.  Oh well, it wasn't a waste - Holly said she'd eat the other two. :)

Good, good day.  And tomorrow is going to be better!

Success

Quick blood draw.

Good news from my gynecologist.

Quick appointment at the orthodontist.

All successes.

You know what's better, though?

My mother surprising me today with tickets to tomorrow's NC State football game. :D  There is nothing like being in a packed football stadium listening to thousands upon thousands of people screaming around you.  Not to mention, Carter-Finley Stadium was apparently my dad's most favorite place on the planet, so it's very special to me for that reason, too.

GO PACK!

What a journey.

Starting with an AWESOME appointment at Duke

a bypass through good food

a quick stop at picking up Chelsea's gorgeous wedding dress and the MOST AWESOME BRIDESMAID DRESS EVER

and finally reaching the destination of sitting on my mom's bed snuggled up with my crazy, wild, cuter-than-words Blake man.

I call that a good one. :) 

I'm glad to be home, even if it's for 36 hours.

On to tomorrow!

The Sounds of Silence

(posted after the fact due to computer disaster)

You know what's freaky?

Being in a dorm when 98% of the people are gone.  It's Wednesday night, and basically everyone except for international students, athletes, and those who simply live too far away to go home, left hours ago because tonight was the start of Fall Break.

Like seriously, it's practically a ghost town.  The parking lot next to my dorm also serves the two guys' dorms that my dorm is connected to, and there are maybe five cars out there right now, not including Mom's.  It's quiet.  One washer is running.  There's no screaming coming from the lobby. 

It's actually pretty nice, though.  Silence is rather hard to find when you live in a college dorm.  :)

I'm so glad it's Fall Break.  If only because it means I don't have to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow.  9:30 is SO much more appealing.

Mom took me to dinner off campus tonight in the next town over.  It was delicious and cheap, our favorite kind of meal. Haha!

I'm lucky to have a mom who doesn't complain about missing a day of work to take me to Duke.  My grandma could easily take me, but after the disaster that was my last "check-up" appointment, I think she was just as scared for me to go without her as I was.

My mom is awesome.

You know what's also awesome?

Sleep. :)

Thank you, Jesus!

For computer labs, and unattentive computer lab workers. :)

And for the fact that the computer service guy here at school said it just looks like a major virus got on my laptop and they should be able to clean it up! 

I'll have my computer back by Monday at the very latest! :) (And that's only because this weekend is Fall Break.)

Yay for good news!

Computer Jinx

Y'all know Holly got in a car wreck in April and totaled her car.  Then, this summer this new (to her) car started having a bunch of problems, and then, when she and her friend Austin came down to Campbell to help me move in, his car died in the parking lot and Mom had to drive them back to Raleigh.  Holly called herself a "car jinx."

Well, just call me a computer jinx.

Ugh.

So last night, my not-even-four-month-old computer crashed.

Okay, well I don't know if it really completely crashed, all I know is I can't use it right now.

I was reading an article about Sara on some website called The Christian Post when my virus scan popped up and said it had detected a threat.  I clicked "Clean Computer" and it did, but it popped up again a minute later, and when I clicked "Clean Computer" again my computer went completely ballistic, the recycle bin disappeared (which I didn't know it could ever do that), and this box popped up that says I have this ginormous long list of problems with my hard drive.  I have no idea what happened or how it happened.

I immediately called my mom sobbing.  She calmed me down a bit, but I basically had to take a Lorazepam to fall asleep because I was so shaken up that I got in bed at 9:30 and didn't fall asleep till 11:00.

I'm still internally freaking out.  I didn't do anything to this one!  I didn't drop it.  I didn't spill anything on it!  I've done nothing to it!  And I don't have any extra money in my CD money to buy another one, and my mom certainly has no money, and my grandma is so pissed about having to help Mom out that I know she has no money, and I need a laptop!  I have this gigantic Scope & Methods project, plus an English paper.

Ugh.  So yes, this all is basically for me to say that once again, I will not be around for a while.  Thankfully I'm going home this weekend for Fall Break, so please pray that the computer place in town can fix it!  Thank you. 

God is in control...God is in control...God is in control...

We southerners know how to EAT.

Today was good.  Very good.  Long, yes, but still very good.

Hooray for me actually getting up on time, because I certainly did not want to.  I got up at 7:00 and turned my shower on because it takes a ridiculously long time for it to heat up.  I laid back down but didn't really sleep for 15 minutes.  Then, I took a shower, got ready, ate, cleaned a little bit.  Holly arrived approximately 9:20, and to my surprise, her boyfriend, whom I had yet to meet before today, was with her.

Michael is awesome.  He is such a dork, but that's a good thing.  He's full of ridiculously stupid riddles and if he was awake, he had me laughing.  Personality wise, he reminds me a lot of Matt.  We got along great.  Oh and those riddles? Well, uh here's Exhibit A: 
What's black and white, black and white, black and white?
Answer: A penguin rolling down a hill.
What's black and white and laughing?
Answer: The penguin that pushed him.
Stupid? Oh yes.  But this morning, I thought it was hilarious.  Really, though.  He's awesome.  Super polite, good manners, and seems to absolutely adore Holly, as she does him.  All in all, he passed the sister test. :)

I called Mom on the way and found out that Blake is still in tons of pain because he still has two ear infections despite being on antibiotics all week, which meant she couldn't come. So say a prayer that the poor boy gets better soon. :(

We arrived at this freakin' GIGANTIC golf resort convention center right at noon, only to be told  that the party for my Great-Aunt Dinah was actually in the equally gigantic building next door.  My Uncle Ed (Dinah's husband, they're the two that pay for me to go to Campbell) built the entire resort.  No wonder they had the party here! :)  And it's a little crazy to think that this is just one of I-don't-know-how-many resorts he's built.  It's a little surreal to know I'm related to people this rich! :p

It was good to see all the extended family, but it was a bit of a headache to remember which people belonged to each of my Grandma Frances and Aunt Dinah's siblings (and there were a LOT of siblings), and who their kids were, and the spouses and on and on and on.  When do you don't sleep more than once a year, sometimes not even that much, and then you stick 80 of them in a room together, it's a little difficult to remember how you're all related.  Haha!

One good thing about being a part of this family?  We all, rich or poor, know how to throw a party!  The key? Food.  I've never been to a region/country that loves food and knows how to eat well as much as the South.  :)  There was salad, fried chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans, bread, and collard greens.  Your typical good old-fashioned Southern meal.  Let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS.  And then there was cake.  I don't know what was so special about this cake, but it was insane (in a good way), so moist and with awesome chocolate frosting.  Mmm mmm mmmmm.

I managed to get a few pictures today.  They're not very good quality, so I blame Michael, since he took them all. :D  But they're still sweet, and should be documented.

I knew I should've gotten another one with a flash, but Michael insisted it wasn't necessary. Oh well. Yay sisters!



Me, Holly, and our Uncle Mark (Dad's older brother)



us with our Grandma Frances

me with my cousin Emily's (Mark's daughter) daughter Ava. she is such a sweet girl!

And just because I think it's cute, a picture of the two lovebirds :)

Now, I have to go finish reading a chapter for my History quiz tomorrow.  I'm glad I got almost all my homework done yesterday because I am really tired!
Yay for short weeks!  Fall Break is this Thursday and Friday, and that makes me really happy! :D

Nothing exciting happened today.

I slept in till 10:30.

I read.

I read some more.

I watched football.

I did all my laundry.

I read a little more.

I shaved.

And now I'm about to read some more and then go to bed because 7:00 is early.  In case you weren't already aware.

Also, 2011 is now 75% over.  That's crazy.