August 28, 2006
Reasons why I'm glad to be home...
1. I don't have to worry about my bed deflating in the middle of the night.
2. No more fast food!
3. Filling the gas tank once a week rather than 3 times a day
4. I know where the coffee is and how to use the coffee maker here.
5. I can drink Bud Light without getting weird looks.
This picture is courtesy of my brother who is an awesome photographer! We went to the Budweiser factory while he was in town last weekend.
Posted by Claire at 10:32 AM
August 9, 2006
There is no other stream
I heard this excerpt from C.S. Lewis' the Silver Chair on the radio the other day:
"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion. "I am dying of thirst," said Jill. "Then drink," said the Lion. "May I--could I--would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill. The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. "Will you promise not to--do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill. "I make no promise," said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. "Do you eat girls?" she said. "I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it. "I daren't come and drink," said Jill. "Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion. "Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then." "There is no other stream," said the Lion.
There is no other stream? Seriously? Of course I know there is no other stream, but you wouldn't know it from my actions sometimes. When I heard this quote on the radio the other day I cried. Now, granted, I'm a crier. I cry at weddings, graduations, emails, Friends episodes, I am one of the reasons they invented water-proof mascara. But this wasn't one of those "aww...how sweet" cries. It also wasn't really a soul cleansing cry either. It was more the type of mourning crying that occurs when you realize you've been running after the wrong things, and how did you get this far away from the source of your life?
I realized that I'm just like Jill in this passage. I'm afraid that God is going to do something to me if I come nearer. I'm afraid that it will hurt. You know the passage about removing our hearts of stone and replacing them with hearts of flesh, well that just sounds a bit painful. In my head I know that His promises are good and that He is a good and loving Father. But right now there's a bit of a disconnect between my head and my heart. Does anyone have the Chronicles of Narnia books? Maybe I should read on and remember what happens with Jill (it's been since, oh 5th grade since I've read these books). In the end of this passage she does step nearer, she is thirsty and there is no other stream. Maybe that thirst will overwhelm her, and me as well.
Posted by Claire at 2:53 PM | Comments (10)
August 5, 2006
Tagged again, I've got to run faster!
1) What is a movie that changed the way you think and act? Or just got you thinking, if the first question is too intimidating.
I don't know if there is a movie that has affected me that much. We watched "Remember the Titans" several times during our training for teach for america and had a lot of good discussions with our team about that movie.
2) It's a late autumn evening and rainy and cold? What do you have for dinner/snack? What movie do you pop in the DVD player?
Pride and Prejudice (BBC version), or maybe Dirty Dancing (yes, really, it's one of my top five) for snack, probably decaf coffee and some form of chocolate.
3) You are off to wee Himalayan hamlet for a year, your laptop hard drive can hold one film. What will it be?
Pride and Prejudice. My old roomate and I used to just keep it in our VCR and watch it whenever we had free time while we were teaching. I just never get tired of it.
4) What movie made you laugh the hardest? What movie made you cry?
Laugh - Office Space! Dumb and Dumber, Napolean Dynamite, basically anything I've watched with my brother.
Cry - Steele Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, Return to Me, I'm sure I've cried at other movies, but those are the big ones.
5) Favorite actor (female, male)?
Female - Julia Roberts
Male - John Cusak
other than that I don't know cause I never remember names of actors and actresses.
6) What book or story would you like to see made into a film or what book do you love that could never be made into a film?
The Timetraveler's Wife! So Lloyd could go see it whenever he wants.
7) What is a movie that immediately after you watched it, you wish you hadn't?
Flirting with Disaster. Some kid at blockbuster recommended it, bad idea. That's two hours of my life I will never get back.
8) Do you read movie reviews? Before, after, never? Whose reviews do you find the best? Are you an analyzer?
Nope. Not at all.
9) What movie do you think is a must see, but that you can only recommend with caveats?
High Fidelity, okay so there's one sketchy scene that I can remember, but other than that it's just so great! Maybe this one could be the movie that "changed how I think and act"
10) What movie do you most wish to share with your friends?
Coupe de Ville with Patrich Dempsey. I can almost guarantee that no one reading this has seen it. But it's one of my favorites from high school. It's a good rainy day film.
Now tag at least 5 people.
I really think anyone who is reading this has already been tagged. But if not and you're reading this, you're it!
Posted by Claire at 2:54 PM
August 2, 2006
Book List
Well I was tagged by Heather for this "Nerd Tag" as I think Angela called it : ) I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses! I'm already compiling my list of books to read and movies to watch...you know, in 2008 when I finish with school.
1. One book that changed your life:
The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (many many years ago, but I used to read it over and over again), Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I've also read "Goodnight Moon" and "Cars, Trucks and things that Go" more times than any adult ever should : )
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
The Bible, I gotta agree with Laura, maybe I would read more of it :)
4. One book that made you laugh:
I really haven't read anything that made me crack up laughing in a while. Maybe I'll get some suggestions from other people's responses.
5. One book that made you cry:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
6. One book that you wish had been written:
Cliffs Notes for my grad school textbooks.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Several of my college textbooks, and some of the new children's books that either don't make sense or are just plain weird.
8. One book you’re currently reading:
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Desiring God by John Piper, technically I've started reading it, but that was about two years ago.
10. Now tag five people:
Angela
Lindsey Massoud
Lloyd
Jenny B.
Amy L.
Posted by Claire at 10:37 PM | Comments (1)
August 1, 2006
Reasons Why I have a Blog...
Well I was recently informed by a doctor that it's poor blogging ettiquette to recommend someone else's blog if you don't have one yourself. Now granted her specialty isn't in etiquette, but I suppose she has some credibility just by having the letters M.D. at the end of her name! So that's my reason number 1 for starting a blog: I don't want to be known for my poor manners.
reason #2: Everyone else was doing it.
reason #3: It's supposed to be cooler than my space.
reason #4: So you can all be fascinated by the inner workings of my mind.
Stay tuned for more reasons why...
Posted by Claire at 10:32 PM | Comments (9)