Smiling Sting Ray, I choose YOU!

My sister said, "You should write about sting rays!" Ok, I said. Then I told her how they smile, but she didn't believe me. Google Images proved her wrong!

I don't care what anybody says, I think sting rays are cute when they smile. I was in elementary school during the Pokemon craze, and looking at this picture I think Ash Ketchum would have definitely chosen this little guy if Pikachu hadn't gotten in the way. Sigh. You couldn't pay me to watch the last few versions of Pokemon, but golly, the original storyline with Ash, Misty, and Brock was gold. I remember watching the series premier, playing the card game, playing the video game. Correction, catch me on a relapse day and I still play the video game. (FYI, I always started out with Bulbasaur. Best decision ever.)

So, little Sting up there is cute, but you wouldn't want to get stung by one. According to that never-ending well of information, Wikipedia, sting rays don't actively attack humans, but they will if you provoke/tease/step on them them. If you get stung, the bite swells up, you get crampy from the venom, and then it might get infected. So go to the zoo or Google Images instead. : )

A host of different things...

After being sick all through spring break, I'm finally on the mend. The last few days I've been really excited about college this fall, which is weird, because for a long time I was dreading it. There's something about the never ending winter that's made me want to push the fastforward button and be in late August so I can start at Concordia-Moorhead. I found out this week about my financial aid package (not too shabby) and what dorm I'll be in (the one connected to the music building!)

In other news, I'm

*trying to compose more music, trying to sort the good stuff from the crap (which is harder than it sounds), and actually finish something.

*on the lookout for summer jobs nearby. Blah. Figuring out a plan if I need to wing it. (I'm an expert weed puller/yard worker and house sitter)

*Trying to be all Buddha-like and live in the moment. Ha! Let's see how that works.

*Bracing for the ickiness that is the spring thaw. I like spring, just not the melting snow mixed with dog poop and worm smell that lasts for a couple weeks prior.

*Playing Bach's Invention in C minor. Playing anything by Bach is like broccoli--it's good for you and it helps you to be well balanced. The Inventions are super yummy and the C minor is really fun to play, what with the interweaving voices everywhere.

*Thinking about taking violin lessons this summer. I've been teaching myself for 2 years, and I'm at the point where I'm wonderfully average, but I'd like to seek some professional help so I don't hurt myself (literally). I never thought I'd like Bach so much, but the stuff he wrote for violin has been really inspiring me to practice so that one day I can play some great work of his! I don't plan to become the next Joshua Bell, but I'd like to learn enough to play some decent chamber and fiddle music for sure.

*Really wanting to travel. Anywhere. I'm going a little stir-crazy.

be still

Midweek Lenten worship this noon followed a blessed bowl of chicken soup. "Be still and know that I am God..." takes on a different meaning this week. I'm on spring break and I've been still, except for the almost constant coughing over the past twelve days.

After worship we had the option to create a cross from a variety of objects--beads, popsickle sticks, feathers, twigs, shells, stones, wire. I chose from a box of found objects, driftwood and bark, a feather, beads in shades of blue.

The cross, the place where we connect with love. A good place to rest the eyes and be still.

The Week

Mondays are weird for me. After taking the weekend off from things like practicing, using the internet, where I essentially veg in my room listening to NPR from the beginning of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" to the end of "Splendid Table," this routine of laziness makes productivity on Mondays pretty slow goin'. I don't exactly feel like I get the hang of things til Tuesday. Now it's Wednesday, and I got a list of things to do, and they will get done, no matter how many times I try to make excuses! Wish me luck.

Between trips

In the past five years, I've taken six trips to Tanzania. They are major travels, 14 to 16 days in duration. On most of the trips, I've been one of maybe two returning travelers. Each trip requires at least six months of preparation, and often several months worth of follow up work upon our return.

My last trip was in August 2010, my next will be July 2012. For the first time in years, I am not in the middle of pre- or post-travel work. I'm taking a breather.

I really miss the anticipation, the excitement, the wondering of what new experiences I'll have next. I miss my friends in Tanzania. I miss the bananas, the singing, the drumming, the walking, the conversations, the relationships. I miss getting to know a whole new crowd of travelers.

But there are compensations. Time with my kids, time to read, time to reflect. Time for jigsaw puzzles, long baths, short trips closer to home. Time for concerts and plays and dinners out. Time to host a visiting niece or nephew. Time to let my hair grow.