One of my best friends of all time got engaged on Saturday night. They had already planned most of their wedding, but she finally got the ring. They are getting married on June 30th.
I also have one friend from high school getting married in May.
As well as two of the former missionaries from Germany, one getting married on April 25th, and the other on June 12th.
One of my FHE brothers is getting married on August 8th also.
And two of the members of my bowling team are getting married (to each other) on April 18th.
The girlfriend of another one of my FHE brothers (Cory) stayed with us this past weekend, and one of my roommates is dating an incredible guy in our ward.
One of the other former missionaries was telling me last night about his progression with this girl, which has been a slow and careful process, but is finally paying off.
I am just filled to the brim with joy seeing these successful, happy relationships bloom and grow. I really am so excited for all of these people in my life and their progression into eternal happiness (and hard work).
I love everything about weddings. I love the planning process, I love the details, I love the individual aspect of each wedding that fits so well with the particular couple.
Mostly I love seeing how people are willing to take that risk, and that they are willing to take a chance on eternal commitment - the kind that fights through the struggles and wins.
Every time I see one of my friends take this step I am filled with an overwhelming sense of awesomeness. Marriage is HUGE! Much too huge for me. But I am thrilled to feel the love that my friends are experiencing, and watch them tackle this gargantuan responsibility. I really admire people who want to take this step.
"You are the brightest star." -Between the Trees "White Lines and Red Lights"
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Parakeets
So I just found this poem I wrote during my senior year of high school. Despite its age, it is still pretty good. I decided to post it so my sisters could read it cause they'll understand it more than anyone else would.
Snow Fall
Singing sweetly with bright black eyes
The white bird sits alone in her cage.
She gains a friend, a blue bird her size
Blue bird is quiet and young in age.
White bird is eating and blue bird screams
Pulls white bird's tail and scares her away
Blue bird haunts white bird's dreams
Away from screeches and shrieks she'll stay.
White bird is becoming hollow;
Blud bird yields to superfluity.
New bird doesn't know which to follow,
White surrounded by blue, heavenly.
White bird, lying on the floor
No movement, barely taking breath.
Pick her up and out the door
To a new cage to escape death.
Death is not escaped.
And thus Angel cannot stop
the Snow fall
from Sky.
Snow falls.
Snow Fall
Singing sweetly with bright black eyes
The white bird sits alone in her cage.
She gains a friend, a blue bird her size
Blue bird is quiet and young in age.
White bird is eating and blue bird screams
Pulls white bird's tail and scares her away
Blue bird haunts white bird's dreams
Away from screeches and shrieks she'll stay.
White bird is becoming hollow;
Blud bird yields to superfluity.
New bird doesn't know which to follow,
White surrounded by blue, heavenly.
White bird, lying on the floor
No movement, barely taking breath.
Pick her up and out the door
To a new cage to escape death.
Death is not escaped.
And thus Angel cannot stop
the Snow fall
from Sky.
Snow falls.
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Curious Case of Cory Caswell
I don't know if it's because we were talking about Abraham Maslow and existentialism and the 60s today in my psychology class...but I just had this breakthrough/epiphany.
I have this FHE brother, Cory. And from day one, he has been blowing all our minds. Honestly, about 55-75% of the conversation in my house is about him. Which is pretty significant, considering we are 20-22-year-old girls, who have been trained to think about and talk about and obsess about quite different things.
The first few times we met Cory, he probably didn't say a word. But he kept coming over to hang out with us with his roommates. His roommates' motives for wanting to hang out with us were obvious. His motives? We figured it couldn't be just to get to know us, cause he never spoke. So what was the deal?
Well, being me, I can't resist an enigma. I am absolutely powerless against them. And his roommates kept talking about how much they love him...so there had to be something redeeming about this twiggy bit of silence. So I started being very straightforward with him. And he responded very well. I was shocked.
After I got over the shock, I continued to ask him whatever came to my mind on whatever subject, directly related to him or not. And he gave me very direct answers. And I discovered what may be the epitome of quirkiness.
Cory owns countless guns. He keeps them in his car and his bedroom. He has only a select few here. The other dozens are at home in California (the Bay area).
Cory listens to, almost exclusively, techno (but not trance), classic rock (mostly the Led), and The Mars Volta. Cory also hates Muse with a fiery passion (fiery, but not burning. Although I am convinced this passion began to exist the moment he discovered my fiery,
burning love for Muse, and it came into existence just to irritate me).
Cory's singular love in his life is his cat, C-go (Cory-go). No woman will ever be able to compete with this cat. Direct quote: "If C-go could have kittens, my heart would melt into my diaphragm from joy."
Cory's primary hobby is paintballing. In addition to real guns, Cory spends hundreds of dollars each year on paintball guns. You can view them all on Myspace.
Cory's secondary hobby is video gaming. His current favorites are "Left for Dead" and "Guitar Hero: World Tour," which he will only play the drums for.
But these habits are only the beginning. These in themselves seem relatively harmless. What is really mind-boggling is his view on life.
Cory loves to destroy things. According to the personality theory of Erich Fromm, Cory would have acute Necrophilia, meaning an obsession with war, destruction, death, and he enjoys inflicting it if he can. Once we went to the store, and Cory bought everything he needed to make a small bomb in a water bottle, then he made it and set it off right outside of his apartment. In fact, Cory's knowledge of weaponry is both impressive and frightening. He can give intimate details about pretty much every explosive I've ever wanted to know about.
On the other hand, nothing brings Cory more joy than fuzzy things (like his cat). Mention kittens or puppies and Cory will melt in your arms. His mom used to breed Cavaliers, in fact, and once we had a battle of who had the cuter cavalier puppy pictures (Stacey won). Cory has a profuse collection of fleece blankets. He also has a kilt, as a side note. And a few Scottish flags. No bagpipes, unfortunately.
Once in Sunday school, the teacher asked us if we had any stories about receiving an immediate answer to prayer. Cory shared a story about his oscillating hedge trimmers, in which he prayed to be able to disobey his father and was then able to do so. It wasn't a serious disobedience (less than the Little Mermaid, anyway) but regardless. It was arbitrary.
Last night Cory almost yelled at me for telling him he was a great guy.
Taking in all of these factors, I believe I have finally figured out what the deal is. Cory is the truest non-conformist of all time. Because he doesn't realize that he is a non-conformist.
I think there are certains mechanisms in human nature that tell us we need to fit into a category. Probably because we naturally categorize everything we perceive into schemas, which includes other human beings. Let's be honest, you can probably stereotype yourself. For example, I love my roommates, and they are all very wonderful and interesting people, but there are definite stereotypes for all of us: Kasey - the athlete, Kristen - the sassy one, Sarah - the quirky one, Katie - the hot dancer one, and me - the English majory way too smart one. I can't even begin to stereotype Cory Caswell.
Because Cory Caswell does what he wants to do.
I have always liked the color purple. Ever since about first grade. But until a few months ago, I never admitted it, I hardly ever wore purple clothes, I never used purple in the scheme of my life. Why? Because it didn't seem to fit in what I felt was who I am, or how I perceived at least. Because purple is a color of luxury and romance. And I am not an advocate of luxury and romance.
Cory Caswell does not even conceive of limitations like that, consciously or unconsciously (probably). He just is and does whatever he likes without even thinking about it.
His roommate put it best. I was walking home with him, telling him I was going home to write a paper that was due in two hours. He replied, "Well, hopefully then Cory isn't at your house corying around."
Cory Caswell: (n) an apotheosis of existentialism; pure humanity
to cory: (v) to distract, tease, and uplift simutaneously
In reality, we are all a little bit of Cory Caswell. We all have quirks and anomalies in our personalities. But we recognize them as that. Cory just has them. May we all become a bit more Cory Caswell.
I have this FHE brother, Cory. And from day one, he has been blowing all our minds. Honestly, about 55-75% of the conversation in my house is about him. Which is pretty significant, considering we are 20-22-year-old girls, who have been trained to think about and talk about and obsess about quite different things.
The first few times we met Cory, he probably didn't say a word. But he kept coming over to hang out with us with his roommates. His roommates' motives for wanting to hang out with us were obvious. His motives? We figured it couldn't be just to get to know us, cause he never spoke. So what was the deal?
Well, being me, I can't resist an enigma. I am absolutely powerless against them. And his roommates kept talking about how much they love him...so there had to be something redeeming about this twiggy bit of silence. So I started being very straightforward with him. And he responded very well. I was shocked.
After I got over the shock, I continued to ask him whatever came to my mind on whatever subject, directly related to him or not. And he gave me very direct answers. And I discovered what may be the epitome of quirkiness.
Cory owns countless guns. He keeps them in his car and his bedroom. He has only a select few here. The other dozens are at home in California (the Bay area).
Cory listens to, almost exclusively, techno (but not trance), classic rock (mostly the Led), and The Mars Volta. Cory also hates Muse with a fiery passion (fiery, but not burning. Although I am convinced this passion began to exist the moment he discovered my fiery,
burning love for Muse, and it came into existence just to irritate me).Cory's singular love in his life is his cat, C-go (Cory-go). No woman will ever be able to compete with this cat. Direct quote: "If C-go could have kittens, my heart would melt into my diaphragm from joy."
Cory's primary hobby is paintballing. In addition to real guns, Cory spends hundreds of dollars each year on paintball guns. You can view them all on Myspace.
Cory's secondary hobby is video gaming. His current favorites are "Left for Dead" and "Guitar Hero: World Tour," which he will only play the drums for.
But these habits are only the beginning. These in themselves seem relatively harmless. What is really mind-boggling is his view on life.
Cory loves to destroy things. According to the personality theory of Erich Fromm, Cory would have acute Necrophilia, meaning an obsession with war, destruction, death, and he enjoys inflicting it if he can. Once we went to the store, and Cory bought everything he needed to make a small bomb in a water bottle, then he made it and set it off right outside of his apartment. In fact, Cory's knowledge of weaponry is both impressive and frightening. He can give intimate details about pretty much every explosive I've ever wanted to know about.
On the other hand, nothing brings Cory more joy than fuzzy things (like his cat). Mention kittens or puppies and Cory will melt in your arms. His mom used to breed Cavaliers, in fact, and once we had a battle of who had the cuter cavalier puppy pictures (Stacey won). Cory has a profuse collection of fleece blankets. He also has a kilt, as a side note. And a few Scottish flags. No bagpipes, unfortunately.
Once in Sunday school, the teacher asked us if we had any stories about receiving an immediate answer to prayer. Cory shared a story about his oscillating hedge trimmers, in which he prayed to be able to disobey his father and was then able to do so. It wasn't a serious disobedience (less than the Little Mermaid, anyway) but regardless. It was arbitrary.
Last night Cory almost yelled at me for telling him he was a great guy.
Taking in all of these factors, I believe I have finally figured out what the deal is. Cory is the truest non-conformist of all time. Because he doesn't realize that he is a non-conformist.
I think there are certains mechanisms in human nature that tell us we need to fit into a category. Probably because we naturally categorize everything we perceive into schemas, which includes other human beings. Let's be honest, you can probably stereotype yourself. For example, I love my roommates, and they are all very wonderful and interesting people, but there are definite stereotypes for all of us: Kasey - the athlete, Kristen - the sassy one, Sarah - the quirky one, Katie - the hot dancer one, and me - the English majory way too smart one. I can't even begin to stereotype Cory Caswell.
Because Cory Caswell does what he wants to do.
I have always liked the color purple. Ever since about first grade. But until a few months ago, I never admitted it, I hardly ever wore purple clothes, I never used purple in the scheme of my life. Why? Because it didn't seem to fit in what I felt was who I am, or how I perceived at least. Because purple is a color of luxury and romance. And I am not an advocate of luxury and romance.
Cory Caswell does not even conceive of limitations like that, consciously or unconsciously (probably). He just is and does whatever he likes without even thinking about it.
His roommate put it best. I was walking home with him, telling him I was going home to write a paper that was due in two hours. He replied, "Well, hopefully then Cory isn't at your house corying around."
Cory Caswell: (n) an apotheosis of existentialism; pure humanity
to cory: (v) to distract, tease, and uplift simutaneously
In reality, we are all a little bit of Cory Caswell. We all have quirks and anomalies in our personalities. But we recognize them as that. Cory just has them. May we all become a bit more Cory Caswell.
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