The End and Whatnot

안녕하세요!

I can't believe it, but finals are almost here. Eep! Time flew this semester. Part of what made it go by so quickly for me was looking forward to Bible study every week (or, as we were recently dubbed, the Exploring Christianity Club). No matter how hard classes & homework were, I just knew that if I could make it to Thursday evening, the worst was over.

It was so great just to be able to fellowship with other believers, & have great dialogue with people of other faiths too. My spirit was refreshed & built up each time we met together. And we were able to develop a relationship with the MSA (Muslim Student Association) during the latter part of this semester, as well. God has truly blessed us in everything that He's allowed us to do - from the opportunities He's given to us to the relationships we've been able to build. It has just been amazing to watch God work this school year.

It all began last semester, a few weeks into the new school year. A group of MC students from a large church in the area decided to start a Bible study at the Germantown campus of the college. Unbeknowst to me at the time, one of the girls in my aerobics class, Libby, was a member of this founding group. I happened to run into her one cool October evening, & as we talked, I found out that she went to the same church as one of my best friends, & she was about to go to a meeting about planning a Bible study on campus. She offered to let me join them, & since I had been looking for a group of believers to meet with, I tagged along.

A little group of us crammed around a table on the bottom level of the High Tech building, discussing what books of the Bible we should read, how to structure the study, activities to plan, the time & duration of the study, people to invite, & nitty gritties like food & the budget. I sat wide eyed & amazed, drinking it all in & thanking God for the "coincidence" of seeing Libby. I took notes furiously, eager to tell my friend Lisa about it. I texted her that evening, ecstatic at the prospects.

Within the very next weeks, we had our first meeting in the cafeteria. Surrounding 3 small tables pushed together, we apprehensively introduced ourselves over warm slices of pizza. Travis, our fearless leader, passed out worksheets he'd designed for the group, & with that, we dug into the Word. I could feel God moving amongst us, & instantly felt a connection to those surrounding me. Week after week, we continued to meet, Bibles in one hand & pizza in the other, full of joy at sharpening one another & seeing the Spirit work. We grew in number, sometimes having to add a 5th table to keep everybody together.

Enveloped in the chaos that is the campus source of foodstuffs, we prayed, talked, & laughed together. We grew closer as the weeks, months flew by. I even began to feel comfortable sharing my heart with my fellow sojourners. Just as we prayed before every session, God opened our hearts & minds to see new things in His word. Passages that we'd read over & over became new again. We all began asking questions that had never before arisen in our minds, & God was faithful to showing us the answers.

I was in awe. I got a thrill every time I thought about Thursdays, & I became more eager to stay in the word during the week. It felt as though Christ was refreshing me again & again, constantly making my spirit anew. Surely, I thought, this is how the early believers felt! Those verses in Acts never seemed more real to me.

Now. Fast forward to today. 2 May - the last meeting of our group until the fall semester begins in August. I was a bit sad when Mike & Travis told me that today was the end...for now. There seemed to be a restlesness in everybody, which might be why we didn't focus as much on Ephesians 4 as we should have. How would we end the semester? I would soon have my answer.

After Matt prayed us out, Travis & Matthias ran to the computer in the room to start a little...karaoke! We laughed & shouted (& danced) our way through the Cupid Shuffle, a lil of the ChaCha Slide, Bopeep (quite possibly my new favorite Kpop song), Dirty Laundry, & others. Matt & Matthias, ever the ones to hide talents, did a little freestyling for us, & Travis sang us his rendition of...a song which I can't remember the title of. It was a memorable way to close out the year, methinks. And it excites me thinking of what God will do next semester, too!

Here is some footage of the hilarity :-)

Annnd video! Mwahaha.

I'm gonna miss these guys *sniffles*

안녕!

In Remembrance of...What?

On the way home from my great aunt's house, I sat in the backseat of the family van, thinking and drinking in the dark silhouettes of houses flitting by. All of a sudden, tears stung my eyes as a face from my not-too-distant past flashed in front of my mind's eye. I remember him well; we met in my first political science class in the spring of 2012 - my last semester of high school. I was ecstatic because it was my first honors module at MC, and I was eager to absorb every bit of knowledge my professor had to offer.

I remember him from the first day - he actually irritated me slightly because he was so well traveled - he went to school in South Korea and had served in the U.S. Air Force - and knew a lot more than I did. He had an answer, comment or insight for nearly every question the professor posed to the class; at first, I only knew him as the guy who constantly had his hand in the air, waiting to be called on. Though we were both in the honors module, I pretty much ignored him for the first month of the semester unless it was absolutely necessary that we speak to each other.

One day in February, however, my perception of him changed. Several of my classmates and I arrived about 15 minutes early for class that morning. One of the guys there, a politician in the making, started a disagreement about transferring to certain colleges, and an argument ensued. I stayed silent, but I watched Mr. Smartypants closely. His tone, at least, was calm. When I heard his short laugh and observed him run his fingers through his onyx locks as the conversation intensified, I knew that he was irritated, if only in the slightest. Still, I was impressed. Many other guys would have lost it. Inside, I smiled. And as the professor entered the room and quelled the disagreement, I found myself more interested in getting to know this classmate of mine.

As the next few class sessions passed, I noted that unlike 98.9% of the student population, I never once heard him utter a single curse word - highly unusual. Over the next few weeks, we got to know each other better. Our professor often spoke with us directly after class to discuss additional requisites that we had to meet. Usually, he or I would turn an assignment discussion into a question about events we'd been researching or had heard about, and the three of us would stand outside the classroom, talking intently about what happened where and when, and its ramifications on other parts of the globe. And it seemed the more we talked, the more I liked him. Our class schedules didn't coincide, so we couldn't both meet with the professor to discuss our research papers, but we occasionally talked about them with each other outside of class. Only one thing nagged at me still: was he a Christian? He dropped little hints here and there like I've noticed believers tend to do when feeling around for others. But I wanted to be more certain. Oddly enough, his name came up in conversation while talking to one of my best friends one day, and I found out that his family attended her church. I felt like I was on cloud 9 - it was like I had confirmation from God that I could like him.

This was not an infatuation-driven crush. This was true like, I was convinced. He was intelligent and had a great sense of humor. I enjoyed being able to talk about a wide range of subjects with him. I loved how awkwardly cute he was around me, because it made me feel better about being nervous around him. My knees quavered whenever that raven head of hair turned in my direction. His eyes lit up when he saw me. He was mature but still had a sweet boyishness about him. He seemed caring, polite and respectful. I felt comfortable around him; he never once said or did anything indecent. And though we never once brought it up in conversation, I believe that we shared the same faith in the same God, something of vital importance to me. It was like that part of the Hallmark movie where the guy and the girl get to know each other, and everything seems perfect. It certainly felt that way. But the cruise soon came to an end.

As the semester progressed, there was one topic of conversation that he continually brought up that made me feel uncomfortable: transfer schools. I was embarrassed to tell him my list; he had applied to Ivies, whereas I, feeling intimidated by the brand name colleges, aimed lower in my applications. He looked at me funny when the deadline question came about; transfer applications are due by 1 March; freshman applications a month or two prior, and even more for priority admittance into honors programs. There was another issue connected to this question of where I'd end up after MC: age. I knew, by piecing bits of conversation together, that he was at least 21; 24 years old at the most. Unbeknownst to him, I was 17 for most of the semester. But I never mentioned my age or my birthday, or that I was still in high school at the time. And for good reason. Every other time the aforementioned subject had come up with other classmates, they stopped talking to me. I didn't like telling people that I was younger than them; it made things awkward. So whenever he mentioned transferring, I'd go along with it - and technically, I was a transfer student. The credits I'd taken would transfer in to any 4 year university.And with as many as I had, I could technically be considered a sophomore at some institutions. So that is how I justified it. Perhaps that is where I went wrong.

We soon talked after nearly every class. I looked forward to it each week. But then came a dreadful day. I knew it would come up sooner or later, but I didn't want to think about it. It arrived, nonetheless. During the last few weeks before final exams, he asked me where I was transferring after the spring as we walked along the hallway on our way out of the humanities building. My warm smile froze. I died on the inside. Earlier that year, I was 100% positive that UMBC was the place for me. I received a scholarship and all. But after praying about it, I just didn't feel ready to go. Everybody wanted me to go away to school, and yet, I felt that there was a nagging little tug from God to stay put. I didn't want to stay home; ever since I was 12, I'd dreamed of going far away from home for university. But I couldn't just up and disobey God, either. So, I broke the news to my parents and closest friends. They were all angry, upset, confused, wanted an explanation - why wouldn't I want to go away for college? What was wrong with me? Didn't I want the true "college experience"? But I stayed solid. I refused the offer at UMBC and chose to accept the offer of admission from the Scholars program at MC. I was happy with my choice, and felt completely positive that it was what God wanted me to do. 

But how would I explain that to him? He didn't know me that well. Would he understand? Fear filled my heart as he waited for my answer, watching me intently, holding his breath. 

"Well, um, I'm actually staying here for a couple more semesters," I mumbled rapidly, violently thrusting my empty plastic water bottle into the large blue recycling bin. He stopped and - was that a wince on his face? - looked at me, seeming unsure of what I had said.

"Why would you stay here?" he inquired, looking baffled. I gathered my inner strength, ready to lose the heart of the one I'd grown to admire over the past two months. I fingered a loose thread on my backpack, trying to be momentarily distracted. I looked up, meeting those warm, dark brown eyes of his and knowing that they hungered for the truth.

"Well," I began, "I'm only 18." There's a start, I thought. I looked at him anxiously, trying to read him. He didn't seem bothered by what I'd said. In the least. Shocked, perhaps, by discovering that I was so much younger than his 22 years, but not in a bad way. I was faintly hopeful.

"But still, why would you stay? You have enough credits to transfer, don't you?" He wondered, furrowing his smooth dark brows. I cringed inwardly.

"Well, actually, I'm...um...stillinhighschoolandIdecidedtodothehonorsprogramhere," I mumbled, almost under my breath. The light in his eyes, which I'd grown so accustomed to seeing when he looked at me, dimmed. His face fell.

"Oh. Well, um, where do you want to go after that?" his now flat voice asked, without interest.

Almost in tears, my voice wavered as I said "I'm not completely sure yet; I still have a couple more years to think about it." He nodded, but we both knew what was unsaid. As he said goodbye and walked off, I let the tears stream down my cheeks as I went to my next class. I felt like I had run him off, and all because of something that I didn't say upfront. All due to the fact that my educational status was two years behind his. I was crushed. I knew right then that he'd probably never speak to me again.

Sobbing at home, I texted my best friends, and they all assured me that I was probably just overreacting; surely, he'd talk to me at the next class. But I knew him too well. I still saw him look longingly at me when he walked in during the next session, but he didn't even say hello. The final blow came when he walked over to the professor, and murmured that he'd been accepted into Columbia. She congratulated him, and I smiled to myself; I knew that he'd get accepted there, as well as to all of the other institutions to which he applied for admission. My stomach knotted as he went to his seat and I looked at him pleadingly with my big brown eyes. Not even a smile passed his lips. I felt like crying all over again. Why wouldn't he talk to me? Why wouldn't he let me explain? I cried all the way home that day. I felt like a fraud and a liar. And I was angry.

Only the second to last week of classes gave me a small ray of hope. While our professor was setting up a documentary for us to watch, one of the other guys in the class made some remark about former President Reagan. Instantly, He Who Would Not Talk to Me snapped back with a smart aleck response. In spite of myself, I laughed out loud. I saw him turn to me in my periphery and give the smallest flicker of a smile.

Over the next few days, my best friends all agreed that he was a shallow jerk, and that I didn't owe him anything - including explanations. I wrote him a note to explain things, but I never gave it to him for fear of the unknown. As the months passed, I was first upset, then angry, and then heartbroken at the turn of events. But as I grew and matured even over such a small pass of time, I realised that I could actually see things from his point of view. I later met his other younger sister in a Bible study on campus, and found out that she was my age. That helped me to comprehend his side even more so.

I do realise now that it was likely ridiculous for me to be so forlorn over a guy that I wasn't - and most likely will never - in an exclusive relationship with. At best, we were acquaintances. But somehow, that realisation didn't lessen the hurt. Now, I realise that I was probably the one putting too much stock in our budding friendship. When I fall for someone, it is with my whole heart. It felt like my heart had been dropped, jumped on top of, stomped on, danced on, driven over, steamrolled, bulldozed, buried, dug up again, and kicked for good measure. But then again, I was the one who had given my heart away. God put it back together, but I noticed that there were a few pieces missing that he had taken with him to Amherst - the college he ended up attending.

However painful it was in the moment, I did learn something from him. And I had a model for what a godly guy should look like. Since parting ways, I have compared nearly every other guy I've met to him, and so many come up short. Guys like him aren't "a dime a dozen," to borrow the colloquialism. 

Now, if you've made it this far in my post, 1) I apologize for glazed over eyes; I tend to be long-winded; 2) why does it matter? I wondered this myself. I sat here typing this wondering what was the point? Why did he randomly come to mind? I haven't thought about him in months. Why am I randomly writing some sob story about it? I didn't know until a light bulb went off in my brain, and I ran to check the date in the spiral bound notebook I kept lecture notes in for political science last school year. It's been almost one year to the date that I first laid eyes on him. 24 January 2012 was the beginning of the spring semester for the 2011-2012 academic year. It was the fourth Tuesday of the month. Yesterday (when I originally wrote this) was 22 January 2013 - not the same date, but it was the fourth Tuesday of the month. I was flabbergasted when I saw the dates. 

The human brain is an amazing and complex feature of God's creation. I had not thought about him since the beginning of the fall semester, and that was long gone. Why would he suddenly come to mind, just out of the blue? Well, nobody knows - at least, I don't. I suppose my subconscious was at work and realized that this day was important. I'll probably never know.

No matter the lack of an answer, however, and no matter why he came to my mind in that instant, I'm forever grateful to him for the godly example of manhood he set before me without even realizing it. And whether he'll ever know it or not he will always carry a piece of my heart.

Have you ever gone through emotionally painful circumstances that you later looked back on and realized that you'd learned something from them? Did they make you stronger as a person?

WnG Day 3 + My New Favorite Oil

Buon giorno, bellas!

My Wash 'n' Go is still going strong...it's day 3 now (or, the 2nd day after styling). Last night I was feeling extra lazy, so I skipped the bobby pins and put my hair into 7 or 8 fat twists (a la Tightly Curly method style from my TWA days). They pretty much stuck straight up all over my head. I didn't take any photos of it because, well - I don't want to be blackmailed later in life. Lol. I didn't want my hair too stretched, so I made sure to twist pretty loosely and not go all the way down to the ends.

This morning, I drizzled some safflower oil on my hands, smoothed it on my twists, and then untwisted, starting from the bottom. The results?

Left front. You can also see how the roots of that wonky wavy-ish section went straight a bit further back. They are straight ratchet -__-

The back

Full front view :-)

Right side - I have no idea why it looks like this. It kind of looks like most of my hair ended up on this side of my head and it doesn't know where to go. I'll know better next time.

Left side - my favorite :-D I also love that little tendril poking up in the back; it looks like a fiddlehead.

The right front. That frizz further back is driving me bonkers. That area of my head frizzes no matter what I do; it's always been like that. Meh.

I'm still loving it! Once it starts to look cray, I'll just spritz, remoisturize, and flat twist both sides and pin them together.

Maybe I'm just a crazy, but for some reason, my hair seems less tangled, more manageable and quicker to do when my hair is loose. In twists, all the shed hair wrapped around my other strands; it was a nightmare to detangle. Even taking down my twists after 2-3 days to finger detangle didn't help much. And I don't touch my hair nearly as much. Humphy. Mayhaps I'll go for another month and see how my hair does. *le sigh* Is it just me, or does it seem like once I have my hair figured out, it switches up on me? I can't be alone in this lol.


In other news, safflower oil has become one of my favorites! I did a bit of research, and found that it's a great oil for the hair. It's a lighter vegetable oil that comes from safflower seeds. There are two varieties: one with high amounts of polyunsaturated fats, which has a low smoke point and goes easily rancid. That type is used mostly in salad dressings. The kind useful for cooking (and hair) has high levels of monounsaturated fats and a high smoke point (which makes me think that it could be a good heat protectant, similar to grapeseed oil).

Though safflower oil lacks vitamin E, there are some companies which produce the oil enriched with this crucial vitamin (mine is vitamin E enriched). Flavorless, this yellow-tinted oil protects and moisturises the hair strands, nourishes the follicles (when applied to the scalp), and stimulates blood circulation to stimulate hair growth. It's great in deep conditioners, moisturizers, as a sealant, prepoo, etc. Additionally, it's great for eating, too - in salads, for stir frying, and much more.

I love how silky safflower oil is; I put it on my ends and the length and roots of my hair, and it instantly made it easier to finger through my hair. It helps to soften the gel cast and adds a nice shine to my hair. It's definitely on my staples list :-D

Have you ever tried safflower oil? What are some of your favorite oils? How do you use them?

Sources: CurlyNikki.com, "7 Fabulous Natural Oils for Natural Hair" 11 May 2011.
LiveStrong.com, "Safflower Oil" n.d.
Buzzle.com, "Safflower Oil for Hair Growth" n.d.

El Cine Según a Kimmie: Das Leben der Anderen [The Lives of Others], 2006

Ciao, bellas! 

If you saw the title of this post, you might be wondering what on earth I'm talking about. Well, I've decided to start a new, occasional segment for "La Vida," appropriately titled "El Cine Según a Kimmie." ("The Cinema According to Kimmie")  I love writing reviews, whether they be for homeschool curriculum, hair products, music books, food, or movies. Now, I'm not a movie junkie, but I do enjoy the occasional film every now and then. I do tend to be slightly nit picky about what I watch, but I will note those movies which have left an impression on me. This first installment is a foreign film, originally released in Germany as Das Leben der Anderen, and shown in 2007 in the United States as The Lives of Others. Enjoy! (Side note: There is one spoiler in this review/final thoughts type thing, but only because it was needed to illustrate a point :-D)

Rating: R

Genre: Thriller, Drama

Cast: Martina Gedeck as Christa-Maria Sieland; Ulrich Mühe as Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler; Sebastian Koch as Georg Dreyman; Ulrich Tukur as Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz; Thomas Thieme as Minister Bruno Hempf; Hans-Uwe Bauer as Paul Hauser; Volkmar Kleinert as Albert Jerska; Matthias Brenner as Karl Wallner; Herbert Knaup as Gregor Hessenstein

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Distributor: Sony Pictures

Release Date: 23 March 2006 (Germany); 9 February 2007 (United States)
(All of the aforementioned information was taken from IMDb.com.)

Plot Summary: East Berlin. 1984. The Stasi ("state security"/secret police) are keeping what appears to be perfect order in the state. Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) has an illustrious career in the government as one of the top interrogators. Because of his sharp instincts and attention to detail, he's selected to begin surveillance on one of the G.D.R.'s (German Democratic Republic's) beloved writers - Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), and his drama-loving girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), a prominent actress. But it is far from a routine wire tapping. Spying on Dreyman proves to be a life changing event for everybody involved - and most especially for the Watcher himself.

My Thoughts: I was introduced to this film indirectly by my Core professors. It was on a list of suggested films to watch over the break. At first I was reluctant to view it; it seemed dull, and I was even more put off by the fact that it was in German (just a personal quibble; I don't particularly like the way German lands on my ears).

I couldn't have been more wrong. This is definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen. It grappled with some heavy ideas - the question of whether people are inherently good or bad, for instance. At the start of the movie, Wiesler is the perfect East German - he holds a position in the government, meticulously notes and reports any and all  suspicious activities and speech, lectures at the university, and regularly rubs elbows with top officials. A good man, by government standards. But he soon realizes that there is more to life. He starts to come to this turning point when he happens to hear Georg play a piece on the piano entitled "Sonata for a Good Man" ("Sonate vom Guten Menschen"), a birthday gift to him from his dear friend Albert Jerska. After playing, Georg turned to Christa and uttered somberly:

"Lenin said that if he continued to listen to Beethoven's 'Apassionata,' he would not be able to finish the revolution. Can any man who has heard this [sonata] - I mean truly heard it - really be a bad person?" Wiesler seems to take this to heart. Little by little, he morphs from a heartless mechanical interrogator into a real man. The transformation was incredible to witness (I won't spoil any more of the movie by giving any examples, though :-D)

[Image Copyright 2006 Sony Pictures, Inc.]

Another aspect of this movie that I enjoyed was in how it showed the imperfections of humanity. When the Stasi and government were first introduced in the beginning for instance, they seemed to run perfectly and without flaws, no matter what happened. The further the story went, though, the more flawed and weakened the Stasi appeared, and the more power Wiesler seemed to wield over it. I thought it was intriguing how he - one insignificant man, by G.D.R. standards - could impact the lives of so many others and affect the innermost workings of the government.

Just a note about the nudity in Das Leben; it is sexually graphic, and I was shocked (to put it mildly) to see those scenes the first time I watched it (I skipped over them the second go). But, in some odd way,  the stark bareness of some of the characters is utilised to help the audience grasp the full nature of the message of this movie. That being said, you know yourself best. If you tend to be a bit prudish when it comes to sexual scenes (like I tend to be), just be prepared.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this movie to college-age audiences and older. The discussions and themes that can be drawn from it seem innumerable; it'd be a great film to watch with a group of friends and discuss after the viewing. 

Side note: During my personal viewings of this film, I had a moment of realisation. At the beginning of last semester, my Core professors passed out a pre-course exam, and one of the questions was "What are the humanities?" My answer was the generic answer that dictionary.com might have provided. Watching this movie, however, made me realise that the humanities are the study of the lives of others - those who do and do not share our cultural and racial similarities, religion or life philosophy,  music, poetry, prose, etc. It felt like a light bulb had finally turned on in my brain. At last, I saw how and why my Core professors connected everything the way that they did, why we studied the topics we did, and why they were important. Hopefully, I'll continue to keep this in mind when we start the second semester in 8 days :-D

[Image Copyright 2006 Sony Pictures, Inc.]

What are some thought-provoking movies that you enjoy watching?

Update + Shout outs

I feel like every other time I post, it's an apology and excuse for why I haven't posted in a while *le sigh* It feels like I've been away from my blog for forever! :-( Here's a few things that have happened since I last posted:

1. My autumn semester went...eh...womp. No further details.

2. I'm still going strong on CG! And loving it :-D

3. I'm still enjoying the GF Pure Clean condish :-)

4. I've decided to keep my YT channel and post videos there and on here #doingtheeabsolutemost.

5. I stopped baggying nightly because (get ready) we ran out of plastic bags and I have no plastic conditioning caps *hangs head in shame* I tried sleeping on a Ziploc bag for a couple nights, but my head is ginormous so I'd get dry patches.

Now, part of the reason why we no longer have plastic bags in the house is because the county I live in (MoCo) has a tax on plastic bags now - 5 cents per bag. It might seem like an insignificant amount, but after buying a cartload of groceries every 2 weeks, it starts to add up. So we just have reusable bags to go shopping with now (it looks ultra tacky in the mall -___-). Sigh. So, I have to find a place that sells plastic conditioning caps. Humph. Any suggestions, curlies? All the ones I've seen in Target and Wal Mart have that foil-type stuff and me no likey. Mayhaps it's time for me to stop being a cheapskate and buy a satin DCing cap? Ugh...who knows?

Anywho...
I have a video (sorry for it being so long, btdubs :-/) telling y'all all about what I'm planning for this year. Lots of new and exciting things!

 In addition to what's mentioned in this video, I'm going to be adding a new contributing author to La Vida - one of my bestest buddies! She's not natural (I can hear the gasps and fainting now), but she has long (almost waist length) texturized hair. Her hair is healthy and burgeoning, and I feel that it'd be beneficial to show that you can have beautiful hair no matter what. She's also big into health and fitness, so there'll be some recipes, fitness tips, etc. to come as well.

Additionally, I've decided to change up my regimen. The way things were just weren't cutting it for me. I timed myself in the shower during my last wash session, and from poo to the last rinse, I was standing in there for almost 2.5 hours! #Ain'tnobodygottimefodat...especially with the semester quickly approaching! Like, really? Humph. I've been obsessed with the magic YT of late, so I checked out videos by Heyfranhey (highly recommend her, btdubs) and MahoganyCurls, and I think that I might know what my new regimen might be. I'm still trying to get my thoughts together on it, though, so I won't give out the deets just yet.

I'm also thinking of exclusively WnGing, but the upkeep..blech. My hair has a weird porosity; if I did it between 7-11 am, it might be 90% dry by the time I hit the sack. It's so irritating. Thus why I've been sticking to twists for so long. But, I've been noticing that with my curls, staying in twists can become a nightmare. My curls get unbelievably tangled after being twisted for 6 days. It's not even funny how messy it can be. So, I wanted to see if my hair just wants to be freed instead. I'll report back once I see how that goes.

And finally...detangling has been getting on my dangnabbit last darned nerves! Don't get me wrong - I love my Denman, I truly do. But standing in the shower for that long trying to get out every single stinking tangle is driving me insane! I detest finger detangling and wide tooth combs, but I might be revisiting them again. I just do NOT have the time and energy to stand in there for so long. I'll let y'all know how this goes, too. Be prepared for some tears and rants. Lol.
 The D3 that I hate to love, and the wide tooth comb that I love to hate. How to find a balance?


Oooh! And I found a YTer who does the TightlyCurly method - AuCurls Naturelle. Check her out; she's doing a series on the TC method, and it is by far the best and most thorough I've seen on the magic YT to date. It's really difficult to find good quality videos on this method, and since I started my natural journey doing TC, it's near and dear to my heart. I was ecstatic to see channel! She has gorgeous curls and such a sweet spirit; I highly recommend her :-)

I think that's about it on my end...what's been up with y'all? Que hay de nuevo?

P.S. Before I forget, I also wanted to shout out Shelly of GlamNaturalLife! I won a giveaway on her blog a week or so ago, and I received a package of sample goodies on Monday. I'll be doing a video on it soon!

P.P.S. I also have to do an update on my OBOT and weight loss/health journey. Ahh! So much to do!

P.P.P.S. And I have a movie review to post, as well as reviews for the books I'm currently reading. Deets later :-)

Inspiration

I was reading a page in A Young Woman's Call to Prayer yesterday morning as I did the prayer part of my devotions.

I had already read a chapter in my Bible, and even though I'd prayed beforehand, I just wasn't "feeling" anything - you know that goosebumpy chill that runs through you when God does something absolutely amazing? Well, it wasn't coming fast enough for my American attention span (lol). I almost quit my reading halfway through, but I pushed through it. I was growing discouraged, though - why wasn't God revealing anything to me (never mind the fact that I hadn't spent any serious amount of time with Him in months; I just wanted my "God fix" smh)?

As I was reading Elizabeth George's book, picking up where I left off, I instantly became encouraged. She was referencing different passages in which God's people prayed in different postures (these are all from the book, btdubs):

Falling on their faces (Numbers 16:22)
Standing (I Samuel 1:12-14)
Kneeling with hands spread (I Kings 8:54)
Fasting and laid on the ground (II Samuel 12:16)

I kept reading down the list until my eyes fell on an unfamiliar passage: Ezra 10:1. My eyebrows furrowed furiously. Ezra? Was that a typo? Where is that located? Major or minor prophet? Before or after Psalms? Is that even a legitimate book?! Did the Protestant church fathers add it as part of the canon? All these questions instantly ran through my head. I'm a PK (preacher's/pastor's kid), and we can be somewhat *cough*arrogant*cough* when it comes to Biblical facts, and in my little self-righteous mind, I decided at that moment that Elizabeth George was wrong - there was no Ezra! Unless I was going crazy and somebody cut the book out from my copy of God's Word (yes, Mrs. George is the crazy one whilst I have these perfectly sane thoughts running through my head...). I went to the Table of Contents to double check, and voila! Ezra magically appeared - before Psalms, as it turns out. I stood greatly humbled and corrected.

So, I flipped to the 10th chapter of this seemingly obscure book and found the first verse. Now, I've listened to enough Adventures in Odyssey episodes to know that you're not just supposed to read the verse listed; you read the one right before and the one directly after so that you aren't taking the verse completely out of context. The verse right before 10:1 was a man talking about how righteous the Lord was, and 10:1 itself was about how Ezra prayed (weeping and bowing down before the house of God). It was the verse right after it that caught my attention. It begins:

2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. 3 Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it."
(Ezra 10:2-4, New King James Version)

 It hit me like nothing ever has before. To think that I came to this realization simply by keeping a verse in context in an historical book (Paul was right - all Scripture is useful for teaching)! I nearly wept. The parts I put in bold stood out to me especially. This is how I rewrote that first phrase on the opposite page to apply to me (a technique I learned doing a Beth Moore study):

"I have trespassed against my God, and turned away from Him and His ways; yet now there is hope in spite of all this."

Oh, how my heart and soul ached to see and hear those words. There is hope. There is hope! For ME. After all I had done, said and thought, there was still hope. After dreading fellowship with other believers, dropping out of the children's ministry, going deeper into depression, being lazy, ignoring God, treating my family like crap - there was still hope! Even after doubting my faith - there. was. still. hope. I'm taking it to heart, believing, speaking it over my life, and claiming it.

"...let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these..."
For myself, I took this to mean that I am making a covenant with my God to put those sins, heartaches, lies...everything behind me. I am rededicating my life to Christ.

Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it."
It is my responsibility to nurture my relationship with Christ! No excuses - it's up to me to spend time with Him, talk with Him, and include Him in my daily decisions and everyday life. The "we are also with you" I interpreted to be the loving family and friends around me. They are there praying, encouraging, rebuking, uplifting, correcting, and guiding me - and cheering me on all the way, even as I must do for them. That last little sentence is like an energy boost. I have to have the guts, and just go out there and DO it already.

God is just amazing. He never fails to fulfill His promises. I asked to see new truths that I hadn't seen before, and He faithfully revealed them to me. It was confirmation that I'm back on the right path. And even if I don't constantly stay on that spiritual high that I so often seek, I will know that God and my brothers and sisters in Christ are there to help me keep on keeping on.

Time, Time, Tickety Time...+ Got Carrots? + Finals Rehash

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm addicted to what my friends and I call "the magic YouTube (YT)." I'm subscribed to more than 50 channels, and I watch almost all of the updates - they vary from world events to the latest Twist 'n' Curl tutorial to homeschool curriculum reviews.

I haven't always had such varied interests on the magic YT. At first, I only came to this wonderland of media for footage of one of my favorite comedians (Tim Hawkins) and the occasional music video. Then, my sister introduced me to the brilliant minds behind BlimeyCow. Once I joined the CN forums, I was turned on to Naptural85, KimmayTube, SimplYounique, iknowlee, FusionofCultures, UsNaturalGirls, nappturality, Spiraled Halo, Waterlily716, Summyr1988, CurlyWavyDiane, BeautifulBrwnBabyDol, Katie Douglass, teaundra, MelsharyA, bishonenrancher, HairCrush, HomeSpaGoddess, MahoganyCurls, MahoganyKnots, peepla7, QuickEasyHairStyles, CuteGirlsHairStyles, TRESemme and more. I checked out Naptural85's second channel, DearNaptural85, and thus my vlogging obsession began, and I was soon subbed to BritPopPrincess, BritPopLife, gflowers02, brittser03, TheNiveNulls, BrittsBreakdown, Jamie Pmelb...

Then I remembered that YT had fitness gurus, as well! WellnessRocksGym, LiveStrongWoman, StudioEast, Blogilates and StudioPilates. I got into Kpop (#don'tjudgeme) and became a subbie of 2NE1, Tae Yang, Se7en, etc. Informal Korean lessons (TenchiJK2), political incorrectness (iamOTHER), homeschool curriculum (HomeSchlMomof3), being a Christian (Tenchijk), life overseas (AbatarTeacher), life advice (DhatAznJ), current events (AlJazeeraEnglish), and countless other channels fill up my subscription tab.

Outside of these genres stands one of my favorite groups of YTers: the life-ers. They do vlogs, album covers, do recipes, computer graphics, introduce you to their SOs and/or friends, create their own music, short films, poetry or art, do parodies, give advice, and do lots of tags. I'm just getting to know this niche among the millions of YTers, but I enjoy them just the same...and oftentimes even moreso because of the variety that they bring to the proverbial table. 

Of this group, StillNotDavid is probably my favorite. More often that not, his videos leave me on the floor gasping for air. I love his sense of humor. His latest update, though (from more than a week ago) was really thought-provoking. It's a short film that he wrote and directed, and I think it's worth watching. Peep the vid (and head over to YT to sub to his channel if you like this :-D )!

What think you?

In other news, I mentioned yesterday that I like to put regular conditioners and masques in my carrot DC. I know some of you were probably like "What the what? Carrots?" Yes, my dear curly friend, carrots. Occasionally, ideas for mixes just pop into my head, and I can't seem to restrain myself from trying them. A few weeks ago, I got the bright idea to try making a DC with carrots. I usually use avocados, but I thought that pureeing carrots would give the same results. So, I Googled it, and came across this recipe on BlackHairPlanet.com:

Ingredients:

•3 carrots

•1 overripe banana

•Honey

•Mayonnaise

•Peppermint

•Water

•Blender

•Container with lid

•Towel

Step

1)Steam or boil 3 washed and chopped carrots in 1 cup of water until tender. Fifteen minutes may be long enough to soften the carrots. If you have the green carrot leaves, we will use them in this recipe as well. You do not have to cook this part of the carrot for the hair conditioner.

Step

2 )

Pour the carrot and water into a blender, and blend until almost smooth. Add fresh or dried peppermint to the blender and blend.

Step

3 )

Add the banana and blend until smooth and creamy. The banana and carrot composition will give the hair conditioner a lot of body.

Step

4 )

Next, add 1 teaspoon of honey and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise to the blender. Blend all ingredients together, making a smooth and creamy hair conditioner.

Step

5)Spoon the mixture into a jar with a lid, and store in the refrigerator until your next shampoo.

Step

6)Add a generous amount after shampooing, making sure to massage the hair conditioner in well. Wrap with a towel and leave in for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Rinse and towel dry.

Now, y'all know me...I tweak everything pretty much. My scalp detests peppermint, so I left that out. And we didn't have real mayonnaise at the time, so I just used conditioner in place of the mayo. I also substituted molasses for honey since we were out of that, as well. I followed all of the other directions pretty much to a "T." It went on smoothly, as you can see:

Post rinsing...my hair felt uber soft, but oh, all the pieces of carrots in my twists!

And, my results after detangling. I do have to mention that removing pieces of carrot seems much easier than removing avocado chunks. My Denman just seems to pick up carrots much more easily.Now, I did have carrot pieces in my twists, but it wasn't too noticeable, methinks.

Ooh! I had some other random pictures and a video from studying for finals at Vicente's house. They're hecka (it sounds weird, I know) late, but better late than never, right? :-)

This was fuel for the weekend...I drank 4 cups of this magical coffee! Andrei taught me how to make cafe "the Southern way." It was frothy y muy delicioso :-D

The ingredients used. He added 1 heaping spoonful of instant coffee, and 2 spoonfuls (minimum 2, maximum 5, optimum 3.5) of sugar to mine. In the background is a pan of penne that Vicente cooked and Stephen's legs lol.

This video was one that I took during one of our study breaks on the second day. In it, you'll see (and hear) Julia, Vicente, Noelle, Andrei, Stephen, Matt, Lola, and moi. The obnoxious laughter close to the mic and female Kermit voice are also mine -______-

Amazon Haul!! (Updated) + My First Recital

Hola, chicas y chicos! I'm pumping out the posts today :-)

Anywho, many of you know that I'm in an honors program at my CC. Well, our professors decided to give us homework over the break *le sigh* C'est la vie. Here are the books and movies we have to have read and watched by the time classes restart on 28 January:

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Printed scholarly work focusing on the 20th century history of the country chosen for biography*
Rabbit-Proof Fence
The Lives of Others
Apocalypse Now

*The last book I listed is part of a second semester project. We all have to write a 20th century biography of a single individual from a country and move them through the historical, economical, and cultural events of most of the 1900s. Everybody chose a country; I selected Korea because I've been intrigued by its culture for some time, and I'd like to know more of its history and background and whatnot. The book I chose as a source was A Concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present by Michael J. Seth, associate professor of East Asian and world history at James Madison University. Other than the book being scholarly, I had no clue as to what criteria to look for when searching for a book to read over the semester break, so here's hoping I chose a good one. Lol.

So, on Saturday, around 8 am, I ordered 9 books from Amazon: The Metamorphosis, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Concise History of Modern Korea, Waiting for Godot (another honors program requirement), Steppenwolf (honors), Night (honors), The Curly Girl Handbook, Eat to Live and Better Than Good Hair (more info on this particular purchase mas tarde :-D) I have an Amazon Prime account, so I get free 2 day shipping on most items. I expected to get my books on Monday. Imagine my surprise when a box was delivered to my front door on Sunday morning! I didn't even know that UPS delivered on Sundays. It was a very pleasant surprise. I even have a little video about it:

Obviously, not everything came, but to have nearly half of my order delivered by the next day is impressive, methinks.

Ooh! I forgot to mention that Sunday (30 December 2012) was the very first piano recital that I've ever held without my piano teacher. Only 3 of my students could come (one was sick), and the recital lasted a total of 13 minutes, but all the parents and grandparents loved it. There were sugary refreshments laid out decoratively on the counter, and everyone bonded over chocolate mint balls and apple juice. I was able to talk to a few new parents, neighbors and classmates of my students, etc. I was a nervous wreck at first, but I felt more comfortable afterwards.

While I was proud of all of my kiddos for performing so well (and having everything committed to memory!), my oldest student nearly brought tears to my eyes. He has two older sisters (one of which is one of my closest friends), and since he's heard them playing different pieces, he can pick things up pretty easily by ear. He goes through his sisters' old music books and finds songs to play and then rewrites them. One such piece was from a book that his sister and I used when we were 12: Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book Level 6. The first piece, "Variations on the Theme from the Celebrated Canon in D," was one that he knew well. It's a 4 page piece, and would have been relatively simple for him to learn. Him being the perfectionist that he is, however, he began to freak out about how he couldn't learn it in a month, it was impossible, etc. I calmed him down, and we set to work, practicing one line at a time. He picked up the first 1.5 pages easily, but we hit snags once the fingering and variations became too difficult for his small hands. So, instead of freaking out (yet again), he did what all great musicians do: he improvised.

From those 4 black and white pages and that brilliant little mind of his, came a 10 year old boy's interpretation of Pachelbel's "Canon in D." It was marvelous, and he added a new element every time he played it. It sounded better at each lesson, so my hopes were high at the recital. Imagine my surprise when he shortened his already condensed Canon into an even more potent piece! It went from 4:30 to 2:00 flat, but in those short 120 seconds, he played with more musicality than I've ever heard him perform with before.  He improvised and added Alberti bass, broke the chords in both treble and bass clefs...things I'd never dreamed he'd do with the Canon. He went to new places, and my, oh my, was it a joy to listen to.

Here's to improvisational music!

Oh! I forgot to ask: have any of y'all ever seen any of the movies I mentioned above? What did you think? Did you like them? Were they thought-provoking?

Core Finals: Day 1 + Mi Pelo + Regrets

Today was the first day of studying for finals! I didn't get there until the afternoon, but only Becca, Daniel and  Andrei were at Vicente's house. It was difficult to focus because we enjoy talking about other things too, but despite the fact that we went off onto many, many tangents, we got a lot accomplished, methinks. We discussed literature a bit, and then when Stephen came, we got more into history. Becca and Daniel left, and then Allen  - our resident philosopher - came. He is probably one of the deepest guys I know, so we got our philosophy on when he arrived. I love that he's so open to learning about other people's beliefs, even when they differ from his own. We can talk about our faiths (he's Muslim and I'm Christian) without the conversation turning into a heated debate, and we end up seeing a lot more of the similarities between our beliefs instead of the differences. I've actually seen that there are many more similarities between Islam and Christianity than there are anything else. Both religions have Abrahamic roots, just like Judaism, so it makes sense. It slips my mind so often, though, that it usually takes a person of another faith to remind me of how much we share. But I digress...

Throughout the afternoon, we went onto rabbit trails about culture, religion, philosophy, science...you wouldn't believe it unless you were there. After everybody else had left. Allen and Andrei even got into this deep discussion about what time really is, the definition of 3 dimensions, time travel, quantum physics, calculus...it was amazing. I thought it was over my head at first, and I remarked how dumb I felt, but they both encouraged me to just think about it in different ways. I did, and I actually comprehended it. It totally changed my attitude and view of physics (not my favorite science) and the practicality and application of mathematics (most especially algebra and calculus). I'm looking forward to math classes now. Or even just learning math on my own. I'll show you some shots of the group - finally, faces to the names I mention so often!

SN: Andrei wanted to know why he wasn't on my blog, too. Lol. So, I wondered about just doing a Scholars Stories series, and do interviews with all of the people in the program - even the professors. What think you? Let me know what you'd think about getting to know my classmates and friends! :-)

So, now, presenting some of my fellow Scholars! (I did let them know that I'd be blogging about them, and they knew about the photos :-D ):

 

From left to right: Daniel, Andrei, and Stephen while we discussed the major points of history that we learned this semester.

Allen (left) and Andrei (right) talking about the finer points of history in the kitchen.

Vicente (left) and Stephen (right) enjoying Allen and Andrei's conversation.

Allen and Andrei deep in a discussion about the effects that religion has on culture.

In the basement: Allen and Andrei's physics and calculus oral dissertation lol. I looked on from the couch, taking in the incense that Vicente (sitting off to the left) burned. Vicente's younger sister came down to listen in, too, and she was also intrigued. Who wouldn't be?

This is a short clip I recorded during their discussion. This was the tip of the iceberg! Sorry for the poor video quality; their voices are more important than the images, though :-)

Andrei used my scrunchy to describe what time is (my mind was blown, btdubs). And speaking of scrunchies, peep the 'do! I went up to the bathroom to take out my twists, and was greeted with this (I did pin back one side with a couple bobby pins I found in my hair):

Not too bad, eh? I think I'll wear my hair out on Fridays again. I'm loving this look, methinks. Oh, and I just mixed up my cleanser for tomorrow morning. I added some Paula's Choice shampoo because of the silicones from the Pantene that are in my hair. Uggh. Ooh, and I'm DCing with Nature's Gate Aloe Vera Moisturizing Conditioner. I'll probably add EVOO, EVCO, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, canola oil, and mayhaps a carrot or two, and some mayonnaise. I'll dish in the AM.

Last but not least: Please, please, please keep those CT families in your thoughts and prayers. The fact that somebody was sick enough to murder so many young, innocent children is troubling to my soul. I was devastated when I heard the news. I work with that age group a lot, and I just cried and cried. What are we coming to?

Tales of Bacon + Gritting my Teeth + Schwarzenberg

For my World Music class this semester, our professor assigned everybody a Fieldwork Project to complete by the end of the semester. We all had to find a person involved in world music (non-Western or folk or non-mainstream), interview them, research about them and what they do, and present a brief (10 minute) presentation to the rest of the class, and submit an 8-10 page research paper.

It sounds daunting, no? Well, I thought so. This week, we're going through all of the presentations and submitting our papers on Thursday.Tuesday, Rory (a musical theatre aficionado and fellow lover of Newsies) presented, and she did her project on this guy who just blew me out of the water! His name? Christylez Bacon (pronounced Chris-styles; his real first name is Chris). He's a progressive hip hop artist - he takes the essentials of hiphop - the beats, beatboxing, rhythms, etc. - and blends them with just about any other musical style you can imagine: classical, jazz, children's songs, classical Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean...the list is endless. Now, before you wrinkle your nose up in disgust, hear me out. I actually dislike hiphop. A lot. It is my least favorite musical genre of all time. But what Chris does is unique. He removes all the vulgarity and ratchet-ness so prevalent in modern rap lyrics and replaces them with words that make you THINK. His beatboxing is on point. He plays dozens of different instruments! Everything about him is just unconventional and unexpected. Here's a couple videos for y'all to check out (one is above): ----------->-->

I presented my project today, too, but it wasn't nearly as interesting as Rory's. I did mine on the guzheng; a Chinese zither first used by members of the literati (upper class of scholars in China in Japan; they wrote beautiful calligraphy, painted, wrote poetry, and were able to afford not working on a farm). There were so many amazing presentations, and it was cool to know that there were so many talented people who lived and worked in MoCo (Montgomery County). Oooh! Even though I had a semi-boring report, here's what the guzheng looks like, and how it sounds being used on a modern piece:

Continuing on this school-related note, I am NOT playing around with finals this year! Last spring I thought I could breeze through everything, which resulted in God rooting some pride out of me...as well as knocking my GPA down a bit. I'm determined to get not a single grade lower than a B this semester; I'm hoping for all As in the spring. So, I actually printed out all of my professors final exam guides to use as study aids. I'm pulling out my highlighters, textbooks, index cards, notebooks, laptop, bookmarks, and loads of water and snacks. Vicente, one of the guys in my program, opened his house to us (Scholars), and so we'll be spending Friday-Sunday with each other just studying and prepping for Tuesday's and Thursday's exams. Pray that we can get through it without driving each other nuts!

No Schwarzenberg Tales today, but I do have a Schwarzism. Before Core started this morning, a few of us  were outside the classroom in the hallway. We were talking about studying, exams, etc. Out of nowhere, Matt says, "I might as well sit at my desk and wear a diaper all weekend; I have so much stuff to do." We  were all dying! He's one of the most quotable Scholars. Lol. I can do a post with pics from our study session tomorrow, and you can see what my classmates look like :-)

Randomness: On Teaching Music + Country

I don't think that I ever divulged this in my earlier posts, but I am an avid music lover, play piano (since I was 9), and I teach piano as well. I taught my first student when I was 12, and have continued ever since. I love the Faber series for teaching beginning students, but I'm always on the prowl for other methods (with differing pedagogic approaches) to incorporate into lessons with all of my students. The following is a re-post from my CN blog when I was contemplating such things and just musing about music materials in general:

All I want for Christmas is money. I have so much to buy! I need textbooks for next semester, I'd like some new clothes/shoes and hair accessories, and I need to buy new books for my students! I'm adding 3-4 more bambinos to my roster next semester, which means more revenue for me, but also more responsibility in how well I prepare my lessons and selecting quality materials to use.

The Faber Piano Adventures series is my favorite, but it's also one of the pricier lines and it has lots of supplements. They recently updated the first 3-4 levels in the series to a newer edition that is an even better version of the first, so now there's teacher's guides (I've never used one to teach piano before; but I think it'd help me get new ideas and techniques), CDs, at least 6 repertoire books, sightreading, flash cards, assignment books, etc. It's slightly overwhelming to say the least.

Recently, I've experimented with different methods of music theory, as well. I tried Level A of the Alfred Basic Piano Library with one of my students, and it's not going well with the music alphabet. So I brought in good ol' trusty Faber to remedy the situation. She's doing fine now, so she just might be getting the second half of Faber next semester. One successful deviation from Faber has been the Hal Leonard series. I started one of my more vivacious students with it, and it teaches in a manner very similar to Faber. I especially like the multi-sensory way that it goes over the music alphabet (utilising a goodly number of learning modalities). She's on Level A, and graciously, it comes with a handy checklist in the front pages, and a CD in the back for listening. A great all-in-one method for beginning students.

One of my most challenging aspects has been deciding which series to use with which students. The success of a particular method of teaching can depend a lot on the student's personality. More math-y students do well with Alfred. Faber is great for anybody, and is strong on theory, sightreading, scales, chords (inversions, progressions...) and whatnot. Hal Leonard is likewise. Bastien is a stuck-in-the-70s version of Alfred. The pictures are distasteful and clownish looking. Ugh.

For every student, I've basically narrowed down what I do to select . I typically give 30 minute lessons, give 5-10 minutes depending on different variables. Within that time frame, it's not possible to use the lesson, theory, performance, and technique books. The attention span and distractability (yes I made that up  ) of 6 year olds just doesn't permit it. So, at minimum, I buy the lesson, theory and performance books for every student. The flashcards I hold off on until they learn some basic terminology (dynamics, note values, music alphabet, grand staff, etc.), and those are easily split apart since they're color coded. I may or may not do technique, depending on the student. The kiddos I have this semester all have very small hands, so I'll be adding in some technique next semester. Besides all that, I ask each child which type of repertoire book s/he wants. One boy wanted the rock 'n roll book because he said that he likes rocks lol. Little kids...

Ooh! I forgot to mention that Alfred actually also updated its entire series to become the Alfred Premier series. I'd like to invest in the complete kit and look it over, but that'd put me out $35 :-/ Maybe they have sample books...

So, there's a peek into my non-hair related life. I think I'll do more posts about music, actually. I love it, and teaching is becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life. Y'all don't mind, right? :-) I love sharing music with others.

I have another bit of non hair-related anecdotes. I shared this with one of my good friends (and fellow DMV curlies), Raven, from the CN forums. It brings me so much joy now:

Remember how I embarrassed myself with that cute camera guy last week (another story for another day)? Well, something similar happened yesterday when Matt (one of my friends from Scholars; we live 10 minutes away from each other and Julia [another D-mas resident], so we carpool a lot) was driving me home on Thursday. He likes country music and I'm not opposed to it, so we listened to it on the way back to the sticks of Damascus. As he turned onto this dark, winding road, there was a bit of a lull in our conversation, and suddenly (Seymour - Little Shop of Horrors, anybody? :-D ), a man's voice came from the speakers and began to melodically pine for the girl that he was sitting next to. Neither of us said anything, but in my head I was like o_O Then, right after that song, another one came on about a man driving some girl home, and how his eyes were on the road but his mind was on her body. Matt and I both have long arms, and we both happened to have had our elbows on the arm rest in the center. I froze, unsure as to whether it would be more awkward to keep my arm against his or quickly bring it back to my side. Hardly had I time to contemplate this decision, when yet another ditty played, sung by some whiny woman wanting her boyfriend back. The level of awkwardness (in my mind, at least) went from a 10 to a 99.999 (on a scale of 1-5). We did start talking by the third song, but I could still hear the lyrics o_O


SN: So many funny things happen with Matt that I've decided to give him a special spot in my blog: Schwarzenberg Tales! I'll likely have installments every week :-D

And there you have it...a glance into my mundane life. More musings to come if y'all don't mind! :-D