Ok. really short update.

I'm realyl excited that I get to go to PA with my dad in two weeks (if he goes). AND I can't wait till next year when I go with my dad to Japan again!!!!!! The latter I am significantly more excited about. I can't wait to go back to Japan. Now, just so long as he doesn't go when my passport is being sent out for reissue...we'll be fine. expiration dates are no fun...

Anyhow. That's all I really have to say for now.

Oh and one of my favourite Japanese bands is coming to town!!! SWEET!

But yeah... so love ya'll and miss ya'll... and I'm praying for all of you too.

~

Wow. Time Flies...

Basically, a lot has been going on.

To sum it all up for you:  summer classes went well (aced all three!  yeah, baby!), looking for a new job (old boss was not so good with interations with people), catching up a bit with real school classes (not going as well, but I'm getting back into it after all my summer classes. so ...yeah), my dad resigned as pastor (of 17 years) from our church, getting used to having our "play room" turned into a library (my dad's books...), and preparing to moving in most likely one year.

So while that may all be in one paragraph, I assure you that there is WAY more to it than that.

I'm gonna try to be back on here much more often than normal. I seem to be getting much better at keeping the normal online things (e-mail, facebook, self history lessons, ect) to short time periods, so I think i should be able to fit this as another destination to the short list. Now if I could only remember about it...

But seriously, there is so much going on. I'm glad that my summer classes are over, but now I've got to really get cracking on that finding a well-paying, good-fit, close-to-home job. And start up real school classes again at the begining of next month.

Questions are more than welcome... I'm not sure if anyone even has any. But they are welcome, and I will answer to the best of my lowly ability.  : )

Love you all a ton!

~A

Ok. I know. I'm awful. I forgot. I'm sorry. Don't hate me!!!!

But seriously now...(not that I wasn't being serious just there..but oyu know what I mean)

So...yeah. Our house was robbed Tuesday morning at about 5am. We didn't find this out until abour 8:30 am. Very freaky.

Apparently someone got into my dad's car and took the garage door opener..then proceeded to come into the house, open a couple of doors, and not finding what they were looking for in those rooms, came upstairs where they found my dad's wallet, amy mum's wallet, and my mum's backpack. Then they left the way they came, and placed the grage opener back into the car...but in the wrong visor...and not even clipped on.

The cat was meowing and my mum woke up to that..she figured at the time(around 5:15 or so) that I had just forgotten to put it away. But no..that wasn't the case. I made sure the little fur ball was fed and closed up for the night like I always do. But sure enough, he was out. Our Thief let him out apparently unknowingly.

All in all...we're ok. Locks are changed just in case they do have the set of keys that my dad lost last summer (and I would like to note that I was the one who told my parents that they needed to change the locks after he lost those keys so many months ago....sheesh). But yeah. crazy stuff.

Other than that...I would like to recognize the day. Today is "Good Friday."  Because of what this day reps for, it is important to me. Honestly, without this day and the day three days from now(particularly that one..but it couldn't come with out htis one so...), my entire life would be utterly...useless. And that's just the facts. Mourning is what so many do this entire week. But honestly, we should be rejoicing. For goodness' sake, He died. For us. US, of all people! I could go on about this for a long time(I know because I've already done it three official times just today....), but I'll spare you the lengthy stuff and just give it to you plain and simple like I just did. Seriously though, we've lost the meaning of the word "rejoice" in our culture. When we hear the word rejoice, we don't really understand what it truely means, we only maybe recognize the "be happy" part--ya know, the one that comes with the word "joy" in it. I could focus on more than just this, but what happened to the "why" in the joy part of it? Seriously, people need to do their research.  As in to search again; to look up, find out, discover, learn, memorize, remember, understand all these things. Sorry, snow-ball effect in my mind...goes many places..

I'll stop with that for now though, I think ya'll get the picture.

I'm not gonna say much elseother than that I can't wait to get a new job....

And that I'm sad that I won't get to go to my cousin's wedding this summer...

But I'm glad I saw Jason(a different cousin).

And I can't wait till it stops going from 45 degrees to 23 degrees. It's very disappointing. It's spring, so winter please stop trying to stay longer! I like the spring!!!!! I WANT the spring. That's Chicago for ya....

By the way all.... I said it at the begining but I'll say it again. I'm sory I never got to go back and comment again to you all. I really did forget. Keeping in touch is getting difficult, but I want to do it, so that's why I still post here every now and then (really when I actually remember about it....)

Oh yeah! and not only are we having ham, but we're also having.....philly cheese steaks for Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 talk about amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so maybe I'm a little excited about that....

~A

Ok... so I know that I haven't replied to any of you who left comments (or the sad excuse for one...'halfmom'..) or to those of you who just visited shortly without commenting (...sheena..I'm watching you.), but I hope to be able to do that within the next week.

Right now...I just would like to say that if my friend is here this weekend and I don't see him, I will be very upset/disappointed/angry/sad. So he'd better stay till around midnight on saturday if he does come. Which he should. Because I didn't get to go visit him last weekend. And it would be greatly nice to see him. Especially considering that he's my best friend... But yeah, if I had KNOWN that the possibility of his coming was in existence, I never would have agreed to these other plans which are already really difficult to get me to agree to so I wish I could back out, but I can't. SHOOT!!!! So to my friend who will in all likelihood never read this: please either don't come or stick around till you see me!!!!

Alright. that was all. More to follow in weeks to come. Comment if you like (or finish commenting.....that would work too.).

Aiyaiyai! Migraines are awful. Just. So you know.

~A

OK ok. so I'm here. alive. and....yeah

So basically, I'm looking for a second job. And the search...really hasn't taken much effect. But we're getting there. It's a little cold out, and I don't really want to go outside unless I absolutely have to. And while this is a very important thing....I can hold off for another month or two. After all, plans have already failed, so it's not like I"m in a rush to get the extra finances anymore.

I went to a retreat last weekend with a bunch of kids from church. It was really wierd without my best friend. I didn't think it would be so wierd....but it was. Superbly.  I miss him.

Other than missing my best friend, and it being really cold, I had an ok time, I suppose. the last day we were there it rained. All of the paths and roads were just a solid sheet of ice....with puddles of water that looked like the ice.....  In other words, we were all sliding, falling, and soaking, and freezing.  Getting back into town, the wind chill was the most drastic change. Chicago does that. It's good to be home though.

Today I'm happy to say that I don't work. Though I'm not happy for the reason that I don't work, it's nice ot have a day off. 

School is moving on...slowly.  Between..well..among rather, all of the things that have been going on, classes have been put on the back burner even though they really need to get done. At this rate, I'm probably goign to graduate late.... which is not fun. I'm only supposed to have two years left...looks liek it will be more like two and a half....

Migraines are aweful, for those of you who don't know about them. They are awful. and I have one now. It's insane how your body responds to certai nthings though. I mean: INASNE.

But! God is good. And even though life feels like crap many times, and even though I may miss my friends, I still have Him. And thank goodness for that!

One of my friends a couple of weeks ago told me about one of his favourite Psalms. I thought to my self "I don't know have a favourite psalm.... why not? or if I do...which is it?"  After that, I started looking at my many sheets of paper with some of my "remember these" verses on them.  Psalm 18 was  on there. Fifty verses long, and probably not the most popular of the bunch. But I believe that THAT is my favourite...or at least on of them.  The visual that it gives and the effectual impact that it conveys is very... ok fine I just like it.  Fifty verses--all worth it. It doesn't take long to read, and that's coming from a SLOW reader.  So no excuses, people!!!

Another one of my all time favourite verses (well..ok so what I just gave you was a chapter...but whatever, I mean.. this is me we're talking about) is Isaiah 25:1 "Oh Lord You are my God; I will exalt Your name; for You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago with perfect faithfulness."  It always reminds me to praise Him because He IS so great. It always reminds me that He is the One Who's in control. And that HE is perfect and sovreign, in through my faults and failures and disappointments. And He is faithful to carry out His plans.  I love Him so much!

Anyhow...that's all for now. Praise Him, friends! He's still got your back even when you feel alone!

~A (DR...ok..switching over now...)