Merry Christmas!

Here I am in...sunny Florida? Well, it may be a little chilly and cloudy, but it beats the pile of snow they've got up north. We left just in time to miss the snowstorm. It really is nice to see our parents' new life down here, and how they have ministered and led people in such a short time.

Carried on our traditional Christmas eve kindness outreach. We did this one Cincinnati-style, delivering dozens of Krispy Kremes to employees that had to work on Christmas Eve night. Just a little gift to say God loves them, no strings attached. Families from Mom and Gary's church totally got into it, and didn't leave many boxes for us to deliver.

We also started some new traditions: the Christmas Eve Indian food dinner, and opening presents on Christmas Eve, so some of the college students could sleep till afternoon on Christmas Day. Today's been pretty laid back. All this tradition is bringing back some Christmas memories...

2003: Christmas in the ghetto. The ghetto fabulous AmeriCorps Christmas tree, stolen from a nature preserve (it was an invasive) and trimmed with some borrowed loppers. Topped by a snowman made from a dog's cast, bearing 3 different kinds of lights, one popcorn chain that only wrapped around once, and leaving us lovely reminders of Christmas in the form of razor sharp dry needles all over the floor, this tree won't be soon forgotten.

2002: Christmas in Gatlinburg. In our family, ice skating is an extreme sport. One broken elbow and a lot of hours in the Sevierville Hospital created a unique bonding experience.

2001: Christmas in Hamilton! My first experience with the Christmas Shoppe, Living Water's way of providing families with gifts for their children and a day of pampering for parents. Also my first impromptu translation of a Christmas play into Spanish. I think it went well, except in place of the word for "manger", I used the word for "dining room". Lo siento.

1999: Christmas in Costa Rica: My first and only Christmas away from my family. We began the day with a hike to a waterfall, which of course ended in swimming in the ice cold water at the bottom of the waterfall. Then took an exciting bus trip to see Arenal, an active volcano. Still missed my family.

1997-1999: Christmas at MSU. Wasn't actually there for Christmas, but remember the little tree with fiberoptic lights, the gift exchanges, the Charlie's Angels photo (what does that have to do with Christmas?)and the fine tradition of slacking off during finals week?

1980s: Christmas at the side of the road. Determined to see my relatives in Tenn., we set off in the old Toyota minivan, even though it had snowed and the road crews had taken the day off. We ended up doing donuts in the middle of the expressway and giving the guardrail a good smack. A little shaken, and dented, but still ok, we stayed in Cincy that Christmas day.

1983: Christmas as a big sister. I got a little brother for Christmas. I don't remember asking for one. I guess it worked out ok.

woo-hoo

FINALS ARE OVER!!!!!!! Heaz and Jenny, remember how we used to have fun during finals week? Exchange gifts at Christmas, lay in the sun in spring. Have Laura visit when they got done before us? This week was not like that. My last and hardest final was at 5 pm today, and it was hanging over my head all week. Every day was, "I should study chemistry". "I don't want to." "Well.....maybe I really need to do this other thing." The good news is, I worked on my internship applications, applied for a cool part-time job next semester, cleaned my apartment, made chocolate covered pretzels for my math class, bought some "bonus" Christmas gifts, and aced a math exam I didn't need to study for at all. The bad news is, the chemistry final was still horrifying. But hey, this message is called "woo-hoo" not "boo hoo", so yay!!!! I'm done!!!

I can't wait to see you, Florida folks!

snow

I surfaced from a pile of chemistry papers and emerged from my cave (aka apartment) at 3:00 this afternoon, when what to my wondering eyes did appear, but....SNOW! Beautiful, swirling, flurries. Just enough to decorate the air, but not the roads. I didn't even realize I was missing it till it was here. For a few moments, I stopped being Sheela the stressed grad student, and became Sheela the kid who's ready for Christmas. I didn't even mind the wind whipping my cheeks as I walked from the parking lot to turn in my chemistry paper. I didn't mind my friend giving me a ride back to the parking lot, either.

I think I'm still in kid mode. Tonight, I made and decorated cupcakes to give out tomorrow, and wrapped and packed up some presents (all while studying for my 8 am exam, of course), so I'm feeling very elvish.

Fish tales

As of Friday, I've conquered another part of the animal kingdom...a slimy, stinky part I've avoided as long as an aquatic ecologist could... the FISH! We had a big identification exam on Indiana fish in Limnology, and I have to say I'm pretty glad I learned them at last. Now I know why you can "cut down the biggest tree in the forest with a herring" (they have bony scutes on their bellies). If you ever find yourself needing to learn fish, I highly recommend www.fishbase.org. You can even learn them in multiple languages!

On another fishy note, I went to see the Sponge Bob movie with my Bible study. Since my Sponge Bob experience is limited to a 3-D show at Kings Island, I wasn't sure how I'd like it. It was good pre-exam week entertainment. Sometimes clever, sometimes stupid, always over the top. How often do you get to see plankton try to take over the world? If you're only going to see one animated movie this year, I'd still stick with The Incredibles. And by all means, skip The Polar Express. Just read the book. Thanksgiving break allowed me to catch up on my movie-watching.

Classes are over! I'm 4 exams and 2 papers away from vacation and Florida!

Note: I went to Sponge Bob with my bible study because we're a bunch of adults who like cartoons, not because it contains any biblical insights. Then again...maybe there are there are a couple. But it's no Veggie Tales.

What I learned in SPEA

Here are some highlights of what I've learned in my 1st semester in SPEA (School of Public and Environmental Affairs). These are direct quotes from professors. Names are withheld to protect the innocent (mainly me).

Economics: "Deadweight efficiency loss describes my brain cells at 8:00 a.m."

Limnology: "It doesn't get any sexier than a chemoautotroph."
and "It's not always the bigger guys eating the little guys. Sometimes the little guys rise up."

Environmental chemistry: "Oceans: salty, deep, big. Freshwater lakes: far less salty, not as deep, not as big."
and some good news..."You're not doomed simply by the fact that you live in homes."

Applied math: "In Holland, we eat chalk."

Alas, next week I'm going to be tested on some of the less funny and memorable information I've learned this semester. So it's back to work I go...

My First Post

Let's call this a trial run, because I'm not sure I want to resort to a mode of communication that's even less personal than mass e-mails. I guess it's better than not communicating at all. So, hello, friends, family, and very bored strangers. Welcome to my blog.