Come on in, the coffee's hot

[Soulwings]

Lynne - What books by Toni Morrison have you read? After The Bluest Eye, I have (own) Beloved, Song of Solomon, and Paradise. And of course there are others available at the library. Any suggestions for which one I ought to read next?

Hannah - Wow, you sound a lot like me! Yesterday I spent about half an hour in the bookstacks at our library browsing... I found a lot of good books, and got a couple to read. And then I went to the community library and did the same. What can I say, I'm a bookaholic.... it's horrible but it's true!

Most of my friends aren't really into the partying scene, but they do have their own lives - mostly studying actually - so we the none of us get together very frequently. It's rather sad really. And I never do anything with them on weekends... well, not true, I did have one girl stay over at my house for two nights so she could get some "real, edible food" - the dining hall on campus is horrible if you want to eat healthily - and we did have quite a lot of fun, as we're quite similar. But other than that, I really don't interact much with my peers. :-( My two best friends are just finishing up high school, but thankfully one of them will be coming to my uni next fall! so I will get to see her more than once every five months.

I've gotten rather used to getting most of my socialisation from online. Even though that does sound rather sad, I know ... but I do communicate better via writing rather than talking, generally, unless I'm 100% comfortable with you. And that happens only rarely. My immediate family and my fiance are the only ones with whom I can say anything (almost) without feeling like I'm being a burden or exposing too much of myself. Mostly with my fiance, since he's seen me through the past two and a half years of hell. ♥

I hope that the Julie Andrews thing goes wonderfully! You call this afternoon to get tickets, right?


*snuggles to all* I hope you all are having a wonderful day... and TLB, post when you can - I miss hearing from you!!

 

[HannahBanana]

April ~ Yeah, the library is basically the only place outside of the house that I like to go. Most of the librarians actually know me by name. It's nice...I just wish I lived within walking distance of the library. That's the only reason that I'm not there every day. I do currently have over 30 different books out from my local library. I guess that says a lot about my addiction, huh?

And not all of my friends are partiers. Some are, and others are just too busy with college to make getting together during the semester a possibility. It stinks, but, like you, I've gotten used to just having online friends. Plus, also like you, I communicate much better in writing than I do in person. I tend to stammer and stutter a lot, plus I have about a million different nervous habits that get over-used whenever my social anxiety is in full tilt. Fun.

I hope you have fun having your friend at school in the fall. That's definitely something to look forward to.

And yep, today's the day I call for tickets. Amazingly, though, I'm more nervous than excited, which is odd, since I was super-excited yesterday. I guess I'm just worried about making a total fool of myself in front of the one-and-only Julie...ya know? Plus, I don't want this to be a total letdown. I've been fantasizing about it for weeks now, and I want it to be exactly like what I thought it was going to be like. Oh, well. I'll call in, I'll get a ticket, and I'll go. At least I'll be seeing Julie in person, right? And even if I do make a fool of myself, I'm sure I won't be the only fan who has.

 

[lmarie23]

Lynne - What books by Toni Morrison have you read? After The Bluest Eye, I have (own) Beloved, Song of Solomon, and Paradise. And of course there are others available at the library. Any suggestions for which one I ought to read next?

I think I've read Song of Solomon, Sula, Beloved, and Jazz. but it's been a while so i don't know that i have a recommendation for which one you should read next. i remember vaguely that Jazz wasn't my favorite, Song of Solomon was good, Beloved was good but probably the hardest one to understand, that's probably it.

i spent the morning birdwatching up on Lake Erie with my mom. i hated having to get up at 6:30 (i'm not really a morning person), but the birds were nice. the highlights were a screech owl in plain sight in a tree and a whippoorwill. Whippoorwills are nearly impossible to find, because they're nocturnal and like to lie on the ground during the day, where they're perfectly camouflaged with the leaves. so that was exciting!

Hannah, have fun at the Julie Andrews signing, that's today right?

Lynne

 

[Jo1]

hi everyone again thankyou so much for all your birthday wishes had a lovely day yesterday. Hope you are all ok.
dave my husband finished work early and we went for a walk in the countryside in afternoon as well as going out to cinema watched funny film Mr bean on holiday and had a bite to eat out too. had chocolate cake too.
tired today got up early suppose a bit concerned me coming down after birthday. hope not feel not too bad at moment anyway.
some people forgot which kind of makes me feel down a bit. one lady always gives me a card and present every year didnt.
but ive been so blessed here i really have.
lots of love to you all love Jo

 

[Mask]

Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a good day? I'm doing good. I'm a little tired for running errands since 7:30 this morning but other than that, I'm good! The snow did melt woo hoo!! It's still cold and cloudy but we can handle that. At least it's not so cold for hubby working. Nothing very exciting around here. My daughter is going on a school band trip tomorrow, for 3 days. That's exciting for her. She hasn't even started packing yet!!! That's not good because it will be "mom" who will be running around at the last minute making sure she has everything! Why do I get myself into those things! I should just let her cope with it by herself, but I can't do that .

Jo1..I'm glad to hear you had a nice birthday. It is hard sometimes not have that let down feeling after something fun and exciting. Just think, the way time flies, it won't be long before you will be celebrating your next birthday!!

You guys with all your library and book talk are making me miss reading! Most of my free time is now spent on the computer or watching t.v in the evenings! I used to read a lot too, before I became a Christian. Then I started feeling guilty if I just read for fun, instead of reading the Bible or teaching books, to feed my spirit (I'm not even doing that very much right now either!). Now I'm kinda sick of reading teaching books !!! I think I've only read one book that wasn't a teaching book since I've been a Christian and that was 10 years ago!! Now that I think of it, I didn't even finish it because I felt guilty reading it. It was a Christian romance, nothing smutty but I still felt guilty. Some of the books I used to read, before becoming a Christian, weren't that good so I would not read them now so I wouldn't know what to read! How pathetic!! I've just come to realize I've become a very dull and boring person ! How very sad!! I'm disguested with myself now!

 

[Jo1]

hi everyone well had to post again.
im not too happy.
http://www.christianforums.com/t5285532-im-fed-up.html#post34430311
this explains all.

 

[Mask]

hi everyone well had to post again.
im not too happy.
http://www.christianforums.com/t5285532-im-fed-up.html#post34430311
this explains all.

Hi Jo1...I responded to the other post!

 

[Jo1]

Hi Jo1...I responded to the other post!

thanks mask bless you hope your doing ok.
i understand where youre coming from youre right i can expect nothing from him. thats reality.
thanks for listening.god bless you.love Jo

 

[HannahBanana]

**EDIT: SEE UPDATED POST BELOW!**

Well, I'm not going today. Sorry for disappointing y'all. It turns out that you can't order tickets over the phone, you have to buy them in person. And my mom doesn't want to make two separate trips to Wellesley (one trip to get a ticket and another trip to go to the booksigning), so...there you go.

I think I'm going to lie in bed for the rest of the day. I don't feel like doing much else.

EDIT: Oh, and my mom had the gall to throw in my face the fact that I *could* go, if I had my license. Some mother she is. Guilt-tripping your daughter when she's at her most disappointed. Good job, Ma! *rolls eyes*

 

[Silver-winged Flyer]

Hannah, sorry to hear that you couldn't go after all, it's terrible to be disappointed.

April, thanks for saying that you miss me. That was really encouraging especially after I'd thought I wouldn't post much here because I didn't think I could add anything worthwhile.

I also don't go out much, I only have a few friends and its also difficult for them and me to find the time to get together.
I had a disappointing and frustrating day today.
Disappointing because I've been hoping that I can buy a laptop. It would mean that I'd have to borrow money from my parents which is not ideal but I had a repayment plan sorted out so it wouldn't have been too bad. I priced them today and they are more then double what I thought they'd be I want to get one that will last me a long time and not need upgrading after a year or so. I can't afford to pay back such a big amount at the moment so that was hugely disappointing. My financial situation should improve soon but its so difficult to not be able to afford many extras.
My day was frustrating because I'm trying to get an exemption for a subject that I really don't need to do and its becoming such a long, drawn out task. The subject will teach me how to use Microsoft Office which is crazy since I'm studying to become a software developer. How can I be learning how to programme if I don't even know how to use Office? The cost of the subject is double the cost of the other subjects so it would be a huge waste of money too.

My meds didn't seem to be working today either, I felt a bit depressed, the frustration and disappointment could also have contributed to me feeling down. Usually the meds make me feel so happy so it wasn't so nice to be down. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I think I'll just crawl into a corner and finish my C++ assignment.

 

[HannahBanana]

**EDIT: I just called. The tickets are sold out. There goes that plan.**

It turns out that I might get to go after all. I called the bookshop, and they said that there were only about 40 people lined up for tickets (though that was about an hour ago). There are 150 tickets in all, so my mom is going to drive me to Wellesley at 5:45 PM and I'm going to go in and see if there are any tickets left. I hope hope hope there are!

 

[Mask]

Sorry your plans got screwed up Hannah! Hope you won't be to dissapointed and sad !

Good to hear from you TLB!! Sorry you couldn't get your computer! Bummer!! Hopefully you work things out so you can drop that class you don't need. Everyone feels dissapointed some times. Hope you feel more up tomorrow !

 

[HannahBanana]

Thanks, Mask. I'm trying not to let myself get too depressed, but it's hard. I had been thinking about this for weeks, and then the opportunity was just snatched away from me the day it was supposed to happen. Meh. I'm going to try watching some TV and see if that helps me feel better.

 

[Soulwings]

Hannah - I am so sorry that it didn't work out! *huge hugs* It's horrible have things snatched away/cancelled that you've looked forward to for such a long time. :-( How are you feeling today? Any better?? And wow, that is a lot of books out from the library! I think I only currently have 6 or 8 out, which is a lot for me, since I have so many books at home! I have a wall and a half in my bedroom that are bookshelves........ they're full..... and there are more books on my floor! Something tells me I need to weed out my collection sometime.....

TLB - that sucks about the laptop. They are so expensive if you want to get a really good one, it's insane. And I hope that you're feeling less depressed today as well; it's so hard to manage when things all look dark and gloomy and horrible. And yes, you are missed when you don't post!! No worries about posting anything "worthwhile," that's such a fuzzy term and honestly, I really am not sure what "worthwhile" is, in the context of posts. Whatever worthwhile is, since it's a good thing, then all of our posts are!! Hehe.... *sheepish grin*

Mask - *snuggles* I'm glad that things are going okay for you... and I'm glad that the snow melted! That's ridiculous, snow in May... silly Mother Nature! She does like to pull tricks like that sometimes... And how exciting for your daughter! I hope that she managed to get packed without too much extra help and stress on your part. Does she leave today? And I also know what you mean about feeling like you "shouldn't" read books other than teaching books & the Bible... but that's not true, I don't think, as long as the books you do read don't inspire bad/sinful thoughts on your part. God likes to see us enjoy ourselves in healthy ways, and reading is healthy, since it encourages our minds to grow in ways that they wouldn't otherwise. I hope you manage to settle down sometime this summer, perhaps, with an interesting fun book.

 

[Silver-winged Flyer]

Hey April, I'm doing much better today thanks.

I've found a good laptop that's a lot cheaper and costs round about what I had expected to pay so things are looking up.

When I get my own place, I want one room that has wall to wall bookshelves! I love reading. Second hand bookshops are my favourite shops to go to, you can get some great books at really cheap prices.

 

[Mask]

Hello everybody!

Yah April, my daughter left this morning. There were a few tense moments...looking for gym bags, make-up, clothes, etc but we got through them . It will be weird not having her here for the next few days! She gets back on saturday noonish. I'm kinda sleepy from getting up at 5:50 to get her ready. I have a long evening ahead of me too...worship practise. I'm pretty sure it will go smoothly so hopefully it won't take that long. I like getting home by 9:00 to watch Survivor ! That usually doesn't happen though. I usually have to get the kids to tape it for me so I can watch it when I get home. Does anybody else what it? I love the Amazing Race too!! That's my favorite. It's almost over though!! Then what will I watch all summer? Guess I'll have to read that interesting book !!

Congrats on the laptop TLB!!

Well gotta go fix me some lunch , I'm starving! Have a great day all!!

 

[HannahBanana]

April ~ I'm feeling some better today, thanks. Though I am still super-stressed about all of the papers that I have to get done by next Friday (which is my last day of classes). Ugghh. Plus, I've gotten back into the habit of getting too little sleep, which means that I can't even concentrate on writing my papers...oyfreakinggevalt.

TLB ~ Yay for new laptops! I hope this one works well for you.

Mask ~ I hope your daughter enjoys the band trip. And I hope you enjoy some time to yourself at home. I hope worship practice goes well, and I hope that you get home in time to watch Survivor. (Boy that's a lot of hopes, lol. ) And nope, I don't watch Survivor or Amazing Race. I'm more of a cartoon-and-sitcom type of gal (my favorite shows right now are Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Friends ).

Well, I'd better get crackin' on my homework. Talk to y'all later!

EDIT: Also, I was wondering...would you guys still want to be friends with me if I de-converted? I'm just finding it so hard to embrace even the basic Christian beliefs these days (i.e., I think that all of the world's religions are equally correct, and that not everyone on earth has to be a Christian) and I'm drifting more and more back to my Agnostic beliefs. Let me know. Thanks.

 

[Soulwings]

Hannah - Yes, I would still be friends with you if you de-converted... but I definitely wouldn't agree with you doing that. You might be having trouble embracing the truths that are inherent in Christianity.... but so does everyone at one point or another, and God understands this. He just wants you to stick it out, because in the end, it will be so worth it. Struggles happen. Life sucks. But with God around, there's Someone whom you can call on when you need help, and also Someone who you can worship and praise whenever and wherever you can. Sorry to get all preachy but... I guess that's what happens once in awhile. I hope what I said makes sense. I can't change your mind for you, but I can let you know what my mind is on the topic. Hehe.

Mask - Yep, sounds like you will have time for that fun book this summer! Or maybe.... *gasp* .... bookS?? Hehe. I hope that you have a nice restful few days, and that your daughter enjoys her trip, and that worship practice went well.

TLB - Yey, I'm glad that you found a laptop! That's good news. And I love used bookstores as well, and booksales... those are where I get the majority of my books. Getting a new book for me is a relatively rare occurance.

I'm quite tired..... I didn't sleep well last night either, drat it, and now I'm freezing as well.... BRRRR. But guess what?? I passed my yellowbelt test for kempo karate last night. That's only the first level, but still, it's an accomplishment. And it took quite a lot of work and reviewing techniques and stuff. Oof!

/me snuggles up with lots of blankets and a hoodie and hat and drifts off into dreamland for a little while......

 

[Silver-winged Flyer]

Hey everybody,

April - congrats on passing your karate test.

I'm thinking of taking up some physical activity that will help my concentration and mental focus - martial arts, fencing, something along those lines.

I don't know if I have the time though, I walk once a week, should be twice a week but I have an extra maths lesson on the other day. I'm also studying part time as well as working full time so we shall see. I've emailed somebody to find out more about fencing so I'll see what information I get back.

 

[Jo1]

Hi everyone hope your all ok.
Gods working in all of us. He is me this morning i realised that im far too hard on myself..
I think i got this from when i was younger. My father wasnt there for me emotionally and my mum wasnt on the scene either. I think if i felt that i tried harder a perfectionist approach then perhaps dad would show love to me. but he didnt . i was blessed he was a good dad dont get me wrong. he would always try to buy me the things i wanted as a child even though we were poor. suppose that was love but it wasnt affirmation. i wanted to hear that he loved me, that he was proud of me and his embrace but these things didnt happen. yes he was proud of me and boasted to other people instead! he didnt to me because he didnt want me to be big-headed!!! doesnt make sense eh?
im just trying to work through stuff at moment you know.
anyway god bless all
love Jo