Please help my friends.

Okay, so I know that in this lovely little blogworld, asking for money is really only deemed "appropriate" if it's for adoptions or medical bills, and sometimes not even then, but my heart is burdened for my friends.  So I'm feeling led to share this.  Feel free to close this if you don't want to read it.

Y'all know how much I love my friends in The Vespers.  They really are some of the kindest, most genuine, hardworking people I have ever met in my entire life.  I've spoken many times of how dear they are to me, so I won't bore you with that again.

Right now, they're in the final stages of making their second record.  It's due out February 21st and it's called The Fourth Wall.  If you've listened to any of the videos I've posted here, then you know I'm telling the truth when I say this is a record that you will want to buy and will be full of absolutely amazing music.

Here's where the problem comes in:  They don't have a label or any famous, well-endowed musicians or companies helping them do this; every bit of work is done by them and the couple of guys helping them with the recording and production.  And in case you didn't know, this is expensive.  Especially for a young band who has only been doing this full-time for a couple years. 

They need money.

Can you please help them?  They're not asking for huge donations.  Every dollar counts.  If you feel you can, you can go to http://www.helpthevespers.com/ and making a pledge is very easy.  There are rewards for donators, varying depending on how much you give, so you'll even get something back in return!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I feel safe in speaking for the band when I say that I know they appreciate any and all help they receive.  They are humble and hardworking, and freely show their gratitude to all of their fans and supporters, no doubt.

And if you can't donate, could you please pray that these four sweet and talented friends of mine make their goal?  Thanks again.

And the answer is...

Today was...interesting, to say the least.

Remember when I told you about how Ryann and Kyle stopped being friends?

Because neither of them told me what went down, I just let it go and kept on being friends with both of them.  I hate losing people, and at the time I really didn't see how them "falling out" was my business, so yeah. I just went on with life.

Well, today Dr. Steegar let us out of class early, so Ryann and I had a bit of time to talk before her next class.  I don't remember exactly what was said before I said what I said, and I was honestly nervous to bring it up, but at one point, I said, "Can I be honest?" She nodded.  "I'm a little surprised you're so...nonchalant about losing your friendship with Kyle."

And that was when she started talking.  About everything that went down.  And I was in shock.  Not just in shock, also raging mad.  It takes a lot to make me that furious, but I was.

It's not my place to talk about all that she said, so I'll just say this:  What he did was scarily similar to how Landon acted when he and Holly first broke up.  I wanted to call him to tell him off and tell him to lose my number because I really don't want to ever speak to him again, but I didn't because she asked me not to.  That guy is very mentally unstable, and if he can do what he did to the girl he claimed was his best friend, I cannot have someone like that in my life out of fear of what he'd do the first time he got mad at me. 

She isn't upset, but I am.  If you asked me the thing that makes me most upset, it'd be having my friends and family attacked and threatened.  And on top of that, he played me and made me think he was upset their friendship ended, but I saw the emails he sent her.  He's not sad.

So that's over.  I'm angry for Ryann, but I'm also relieved to have someone that vindictive and dangerous out of my life before Ryann or I really got hurt.

Now, all I can do is pray for him, I suppose.  I won't can't contact him because my words would not be Christian, so I will just sit and pray.  Pray for his heart, his soul, the other people he will come in contact with.  That's all that is left.

There's a reason I wasn't named Grace.

So tonight, I went to another one of my required concerts.  My sixth.  And you know what that means? I don't have to take my Music Appreciation final exam! :) One less thing for me to worry about in that week.

It was actually really cool.  Absurdly long, but still really cool.  This group called Djembre Fire (the d is silent) came and played African music.  For almost two hours, but that's beside the point.  There was a lot of drums and singing in some African language (I have no idea what, Swahili is the only language I've heard of and have no idea if that was it), some bells, and spastic dancing.  The people were really fun, though.  The audience was engaged and participating in it the whole time. 

Y'all know me.  Y'all know I'm not exactly shy when it doesn't require talking to people.  Well, towards the end of the show, they asked for volunteers to come up on stage.  So I went.  I was sittting in the front row and I figured I might as well enjoy it.

That was a dumb idea.

I am not coordinated in the least.  That's not news.  So WHY I decided to get up on stage in front of like 200 people and attempt to do fast African tribal dancing is beyond me.  I felt like an idiot afterwards because I couldn't keep up, but hey, no one said anything mean, so...whatever.

Today was good.  I am happy.  Let's hope this stays around.
 

Notes

On my whiteboard outside my room. :)

From 2 or 3 weeks ago, right after the incident with the mean guy in class. I have no idea who wrote this - I'm assuming one of the girls who stopped by to make sure I was okay.

From last night.  I have no idea who this girl is, but she leaves really sweet notes often.  :)

They make me smile. I'm glad I got them on my camera before they get erased.

Onward ho!

Every time I use that phrase, my ever-so-witty mother replies, "Don't call me a ho!" :)

Tonight, I feel amazing.  Still.

Because I had so little homework to do, I've had plenty of time to relax.

And because I am relaxed, I feel a thousand times more prepared to face the week.

I have many things to do, but they are small things.  Class, homework, meetings, a concert, soccer game.  All things that will be interesting and certainly not a waste of my time in the least.

When I was a little girl, I broke down crying every single Sunday night.  I don't even remember why.  Separation anxiety is plausible.  Stress.  Fear.  Who knows.  All I know is I am GLAD that phase is over.  I probably drove my mother crazy.  What can I say, stress is not a new concept to me. ;)

But now, the further along I get along in my school life, especially now that I am in college, I feel stronger and more prepared, more competent, more confident.  And I am very grateful for that.  The more confident I am, the less I worry.

I'm not worried about this week.  I'm looking forward to it.

Onward ho!

Fantastic

Oh this weekend is so awesome.

I have done absolutely nothing of importance today except my laundry.  And it felt fantastic.

This is the first weekend in at least a month that I haven't been loaded with homework.

I slept late.  Which also felt fantastic.

I took a nice, long, hot shower. Also fantastic.

A day off. And the homework I have to do tomorrow will be a cake walk.

I'm still on a emotional high from last night, too.  Oh, and interesting fact: that guy that asked me to dance?  I found out today from some Facebook examination that he is a cheerleader and won Homecoming King today.

That fact is a shining example of how God is showing me how my life can be redeemed if I just make a little bit of effort.  How I can't assume everyone is like the people I put up with in high school.  How if I don't become scared and trust, I can meet some pretty amazing people.  How my life is simply different now.

A few years ago, I probably wouldn't have even gone to a dance like this.  If I did, I almost certainly wouldn't dance and be a goofball.  And there's no way in the world I would've had the courage to ask Mr. Popular to dance with me (I asked him the second time).  I used to be terrified of trusting popular people like Drew.  Because the popular kids were always the ones who hurt me.  But with him?  I can just tell he's different.  I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I've met someone pretty special. :)

It may be unfulfilled, it may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered
Is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see, it will not be unredeemed
"Unredeemed" - Selah

Don't stop believing, hold onto that feeling!

I. love. this. school.

Tonight was, hands down, the best college experience I have had.
This school is just amazing.  First off, they made hors d'oeuvres for at least 500 people, maybe 600.  And they weren't just your regular appetizers people.  This is the menu (now imagine this being said in your best British accent): Vichyssoise shooter (a chilled soup from the '10s), braised veal ragout, grilled vegetable display with green goddess dip, Hawaiian chicken and pork skewers with pineapple and red and green bell peppers finished with a Polynesian sauce, deconstruction of fondue-cheese display, assorted crostinis, sous vide cumin-lime marinated mahi-mahi with Thai chile-cucumber salsa over coconut curry rice, and vegetable spring roll with sweet chile dipping sauce and sushi rolls.  That's some fancy stuff!  I didn't even know what half of it was at first! Plus they had orange and black cupcakes and a giant camel cake.

Yes, that's actually a cake.  Here are the other pics I got.  You know you're having a good night when you don't even think about taking pics of it.  You're just too busy living. 

That's me, in the amazing dress I've been telling you about. :)  I felt so pretty tonight.

This is me and Elizabeth.  My "date".  We spent most of the night hanging out...that is, once she actually managed to find me by my easy directions! Hahah :)

This is me and Gaylord (obviously).  Is there really anything cooler than a giant camel wearing a suit?  I think not. ;)

Seriously, though.  It was incredible.  They had a great band and DJ and these practically professional dancers who are Campbell alum who performed all of these dances from throughout the past century. 

I heard everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Elvis to Michael Jackson to Usher.  And let me tell you, standing in the center of an arena floor screaming the words to "Don't Stop Believing" along with 300 other people is a pretty awesome feeling.  I won't be forgetting that. 

Also something I found funny: I knew way more of the "old" songs (i.e. Journey, Michael Jackson, etc.) than I did the modern stuff.  Thank you, Mom.

I came out of my shell tonight.  (Laura A, is that your cheering I hear? :p)  I danced even when I had no one to dance with, I danced even though I knew I looked awkward (trust me, that's not self-deprecating, it's true), I sang my heart out with all of my favorite songs, and wait for it........I was even asked by a guy to dance with him. :)  First time that's ever happened in my life.  And we danced together twice.  He was cute, too. :D

I may not be able to walk or talk tomorrow (I may have slightly overdone it), but I don't even care.  Tonight was something I will remember for a long, long time.

Hindsight is 20/20: the only time I have perfect vision.

I finished the paper.

More importantly, I finished the paper on time without having to try and fight against my medications and stay up half the night.

Y'all were right - I freaked out because I'm a nerd, but I always knew it'd get done.  I'd get it done even if I had to go without sleep.

Freaking out was pointless.  All it did was make my persistent headaches worse.  Though I can say I've learned that now, I'll almost certainly forget that the next time I get myself into a similar situation, but hey.  I gotta enjoy good things while they last, right?

Also, fall has officially arrived.  I forgot to check the weather this morning and by the time my body registered how cold it was outside on the way to French, I didn't have the time to walk back to my dorm and get a hoodie and then get to class.  So I froze on the way there.  Luckily it wasn't bad for the rest of the day, but I will not be making that same mistake again tomorrow.  I do prefer being cold over being hot, but not that cold.  :)

Tomorrow I have class at 9, class at 11, and the required movie at 3.  Then the ball!  Then the weekend!  I'm so excited to not have a packed-with-work weekend like the past few have been.  I'm just tired.  Because even though I've been taking my antibiotics, these bizarre feelings haven't gone away yet.  But it's okay, I'll deal.  I always do.

I need sleep now.

OMG.

So you know the show Dancing with the Stars?  Well, if you watched this season you know that one of the pros, Maksim "Maks" Chmerkovskiy, has a little brother Valentin "Val" who joined the cast.  If not, meet Maks and Val.

I follow both of these fine gentlemen on Twitter, and last night I saw that Val was tweeting back to some of his fans, and some of them were writing almost creepy stuff.  I was in a goofy mood, so I decide to write something ridiculous to see if I'd get his attention.  Well guess what.

It worked!! TWICE! :D

Call me a dork if you must, but I have been on Twitter two and a half years and this is the first time I've ever been tweeted by a celebrity, so like I told Val, it pretty much made night week. :)

One for the recordbooks.

Well, on the upside, I started.

My oh my.  Why is it that time seems to go so much faster when you have so much more to do?  Like, I feel like it was Monday morning, then I blinked and BAM! It's after 8:30 pm on Wednesday night.

This stupid paper is taunting me.  I'm pretty sure I can hear it.

On the plus side, I at least have some words, and past experience tells me that it's always easier once I get going. 

But still.

There's approximately 42 hours until I have to have this complete.  And that makes me nervous.

Thank you God for the fact that I will have NOTHING to do tomorrow night except this paper.  I hope Ryann's not mad that I can't go to her game tomorrow.  It'll be the first home game that I haven't been to, aside from the one that was during Fall Break.  She seemed irritated when I told her I wasn't sure if it was possible, but maybe she was just tired.  I don't know, I don't exactly have a choice here.

I'm excited though because next Saturday is the game the team is playing against the one other team they're competing against for #1 in the conference.  Mom is coming up for it because a) she loves soccer and b) she likes Ryann.  Ryann said afterwards there's this big barbecue cookout tailgate type thing that we're welcome to come to with her.  It's gonna be so much fun.  Mom will probably spend the night in my dorm again just to get a break.  :)

Speaking of Mom, yesterday was her birthday, and I'm so glad to know she had a really good day!  She treated herself to a mani-pedi and even better, which I know is hard to say because few things in life are as awesome a birthday treat as a mani-pedi but it's true, Holly surprised her and went home for the night. :D  I'm thrilled that Holly did that for her.  The least that amazing woman deserves is to have a good birthday.

I'm also really looking forward to the 125th Anniversary Ball on Friday.  Amy's gonna be my date and after I get out of a required-by-my-English-professor viewing of Twelfth Night, she's gonna come over and help me get ready.  I'll be sure to take some pics so y'all can see my amazing dress.  It's gonna be great to have a night to get all dressed up and pretty and go to my first "adult" black-tie event.

Maybe if I close my eyes and just wish really hard, I'll open my eyes and it'll suddenly be Friday night and I won't have to worry about this paper anymore. ;)