Incandescence

I have now been in Alaska for over a week. I flew up last Friday and spent a couple of days at the Schroeder's in Anchorage. Then, having decided that Hagar their mangy, incorrigible mutt was a little too high-maintenance for me, I made my way to Victory, where I have been holed up ever since. I also got a new phone, and am officially out of what I refer to as my cell phone 'Stone Age'. After four years it was time for an upgrade. So now I spend an inordinate amount of my time on the stupid thing. And while I am not furiously reading through an 800+ page book (read in less than two days) I shovel through two plus feet of snow and take walks in 7 degree weather. I love Alaska. Now it is almost Christmas, so some family traditions ensue--our annual movie night watching It's a Wonderful Life. And I was going to make cinnamon rolls for a Christmas Eve breakfast but couldn't quite find the motivation--I blame it on the cold and dark days. So, instead, I made ...

I'm sure most of you have favorite Christmas movies--one's that you watch every year without fail. There are several movies that I like to watch every year. I'll start with my favorite and go down the list. 1. It's a Wonderful Life This is my all-time favorite Christmas movie. I love that it is in black and with, and it has James Stewart. I provided a link to the trailer. Even if you have seen it, its fun to re-watch it. It's a Wonderful Life Trailer 2. White Christmas White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye with Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. I first saw this movie about five years ago and it is now one of my favorites. White Christmas Trailer 3. The Nativity I actually got to see this one in theaters with my parents. It is an excellent addition to any Christmas movie list. 4. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe While not necessarily a 'Christmas' movie, I still like to watch it around Christmas ti...

I'm still not sure if it is safe to say that winter is here. Sure, we finally got our first snow here on Tuesday. Unfortunately it did not stick and the temperature still has not dipped below 20, even at night. But I'm sure I'll get plenty of that at home! In my Technical Marketing Communication class we have been discussing how to use Social Media properly. Of course, my blog is not representing a company, but I think that some of the things I have learned this semester definitely apply. In the past few years I have taken a few creative writing courses. Since I have no extremely exciting topic to discuss, I thought I would post one of my poems. This one was pretty difficult--its basically three poems in one--you can read the left column as one poem, the right column as one poem, or read across the lines for one whole poem. It is hard to get all the lines so they make sense in all three versions, so here is my attempt. It has no title, just Column Poem, very original, I...

Right now I'm lounging around in my grandparents living room watching me a little Mythbusters. And drinking coffee and eating creamsticks. Yes...life is good. But enough about me. Let's talk about...England!! It is official--once I pay the deposit I am officially going. Speaking of England, I just got an email from the professor I will be taking the photography class with (did I mention its a photography class?)sent a link to this awesome tour we might go on while we are in London. (I just love saying that!)It's called Unseen Tours--here is the link to the site: http://sockmobevents.org.uk/ It's worth checking out. And the video is pretty neat too, you can see a little more of what they are talking about on their site. But, since the title of this post involves the word Thanksgiving, I should probably talk about it...Like how awesome pumpkin pie is. Or how I love cranberry sauce and turkey. I don't think I've met a Thanksgiving dish yet that I don't ...

Apparently it snowed the other day. For about two seconds. And then it went back up to 60 degrees. Gotta love Ohio! But anyway, that's not really that exciting. Friday night Owl City performed here on campus--it was pretty epic! I wish I had listened to more of his music before the concert. I recognized most of them, but I think it would have helped... On another note, I have decided to go around to all of the coffee shops here in town to see who has the best apple cider. So far its Stoney Creek, then Rinnova. I still have to go to Beans and Cream. Anyway, my life has not been terribly interesting the last few days. Classes are getting crazy with the end of the semester looming. It's amazing how quickly it goes!

I am officially a pear tree grower. Yes. I just started my blog post talking about pear trees. But I have to say, the idea that I planted a seed last fall, and now it is a foot tall tree flourishing in the ground is quite awesome. But that is not the only reason life is good. I am applying to go to England in May for an Intro to Photography class. It's been on my 'bucket list' to go back to England, we didn't get to spend enough time there when I went as a freshman in high school. This time, we would be (hopefully) be spending the first week in London, and then going out to Cheltenham for the last two weeks. I started researching Cheltenham, England, and it looks amazing! This photo of Cheltenham is courtesy of TripAdvisor This photo of Cheltenham is courtesy of TripAdvisor This photo of Cheltenham is courtesy of TripAdvisor I'm already excited and I haven't even applied yet...If I don't get accepted for some reason, I may never recover! (I'm...

This week was actually not too busy. Which means I could have posted sooner but I didn't. I blame it on life. Speaking of life and such, this week/weekend we had a conference called the G92 Immigration Conference. I only went to one session, Friday night, and then a movie afterwards called A Better Life. Immigration is one of those topics that I find difficult to be decisive about. There are so many gray areas. And its not even a new issue--this discussion has been around since the founding of our country. Anyway, I should probably talk about something less...political. If you ever have the opportunity to see the movie, A Better Life, do it. It was a good movie. It wasn't the best I have ever seen, but it made me think about immigration in a way that I haven't before. It is nice to watch something occasionally that is not just for entertainment. Speaking of entertainment--right now in my Intro. to Literature class we are reading Hamlet and watching the 1996 version with...

I received my graduation packet today (*jumps up and down in excitement*). It's hard to believe that my college education is already ending. Well. Enough reminiscing. This week at work has been crazy. I work at the Career Services office on campus. Its a job/internship for me. I do a lot of resume editing, answer phones, and do one-on-one resume appointments with students. I've learned a lot. We had a Career Fair this past Wednesday, and the week leading up to it, more and more students posted their resumes on the website to be approved. But wait--there's only three of us and 47 resumes to look at! We have finally whittled the number down into the 20's. The day of the Career Fair, we had students coming in and out all day, and of course, the day we need it most, our copier ran out of ink and we couldn't copy their resumes onto nice paper; instead, we had to put the paper into the printer, have them log onto a computer, and print it that way instead. Gotta love those...

Ok, maybe I won't burst into song. But on rainy days, I sometimes think of the movie Singing in The Rain, I love the main song from that movie, some day I might go out on a rainy night and dance on the street like the character does. Often my first reaction to rain is to moan about how inconvenient it is--its cold, you get wet, everything is darker, more dreary, etc. I'm sure you can think of a few drawbacks of rain too. But here are a few of my favorite things about rain: the fresh, clean smell in the air, bright umbrellas, polka-dotted rainboots, curling up with a good book and a mug of mint tea.

As you might have guessed, this post is about chapel. Again. I guess lately the chapels have been really impacting me. More specifically--today's chapel. Today we were blessed to have Children of the World Choir in chapel. Those fifteen children with their beautiful smiles and winningly childish ways had me in tears through most of the chapel hour. These children (and more) are sponsored, much like Compassion, by people through Worldhelp.net. What makes me feel guilty is watching videos of these children who have (had) practically nothing before being sponsored, and learning about the villages that have tainted drinking water, and feeling compassion for them, but at the same time wondering what the lunch is at the school cafeteria. I take so much for granted. Like being able to scan my ID card and walk into a cafeteria where there are so many choices I should never complain about the food. I take for granted the fresh, cold water that I have access to by just pushing a button or...

I like the fact that I am, in fact, cliche within the title of this post. As you can see, I am trying to resurrect my blog. I decided to take a break from it over the summer, but now that I am back at school I am starting to get some of my motivation back. This time around I'm hoping to do some posts that are a little more interesting than me just updating you about my mundane life. The life of a college senior is not terribly exciting, I'm afraid! We'll see how this goes. I think I'm going to have to think about this a bit before I really begin, see where I want this blog to go, what direction I'm going to take it in. In the past it's been a place where I post different writing pieces, and I'd like to continue to do that. Palmer Chinchen spoke in chapel today. He is the author of True Religion . He's the kind of speaker that challenges you to look beyond yourself and your comfort. How does this play out, you might wonder...well, today on campus we are ...

I figured it was time for another quick update on my blog. The weather has been spectacular the last three days, after some cold, rainy weather. I even got a little sunburn. I went to town last Friday for the first time since May--not really a bad thing, because it keeps me from spending money :) I went with my Aunt, mother, cousin, and cousin's cousin. We meandered around the Friday market in Palmer, where I bought a new ring, and then headed to Wasilla. At Target I paid more for a two pack of Burt's Bee's chapstick than a pair of on-sale jeans--gotta love sales :) This Friday was much more relaxed--I enjoyed the mid-seventy/eighty degree weather while working on my proofreading class, and took a four mile saunter down to the river with my parents and our trusty mutt Moki.

It's been a while since my last post...between two jobs (three if you count one of my classes because I'm getting paid), and two classes (one of them is another job/class) I've been keeping busy. So far, I've worked three weddings, cleaned countless toilets, scrubbed many showers, and polished a lot of sinks and mirrors. I've also been taking care of the greenhouse, and I've only killed two plants so far (herbs, so nothing too serious--no tomato plants or cucumbers or anything like that) :) I'm learning how to proofread, the difference between live and dead copy, and all sorts of things. I even have a schedule for my classes--a chapter a week, and I should get through my textbook by the end of the summer. There's really nothing exciting to write about--my life is fairly monotonous--work, schoolwork, chores. That's about it. I can make a mean vanilla latte :) and a good homemade chai latte too--none of those pre-mixed packages for me.

Last Friday was pretty crazy so I didn't get my blog posted, between a trip to Palmer/Wasilla. My mom and I watched Soul Surfer, which is a really good movie. You should definitely take some time and go see it. And ever since then I've wanted to go to Hawaii, it looks beautiful. After the movie and some shopping, we raced back home to graduation and the after-party, I was busy all day. I seem to attract trouble when I drive--first there was a dog sitting in the middle of the highway (I saw it in plenty of time so I was able to slow down and let it get off the road), then there was a moose, which, again, I saw in time. Then somebody decided to make the highway into a parking lot, but again I was able to slow down in time :) Then the next day, there was a moose. Anyway, I'm going to start one of my classes soon, and work it going to start, so we'll see how this blog writing goes. I might have to take a little break this summer.

I'm a little late, but here are a few pictures from my first week back home. Its not as green as Ohio, but there is still beauty to be found...and porcupines, and swans. There were also a few sheep and rabbits and moose, and we were hoping to see a bear, but no such luck.

Aren't lilacs gorgeous? I think they are quickly becoming one of my favorite flowers. Today was a bittersweet day. It was good because I am done with my junior year of college, but bittersweet because I had to say goodbye to some pretty cool people for the summer. Today was basically spent doing last-minute packing, meeting with one of my teams to celebrate the completion of our project with strawberries, chocolate and croissants, and then loading all of my stuff into my grandparents van and riding back to Sugarcreek. I'm only here for a few days, then I'm off to Alaska!! Things I want to do this summer: 1. Read--my list of books to read is getting pretty long. 2. Hike--there are so many good places around home to go hiking. 3. Play piano--I'm getting a little rusty, its time to brush up on my mad piano skills. :) I don't want to have a bunch of goals, those are the main things. So, we'll see how things go between work, school and life.

This weekend has been kind of...interesting. My roommate got the stomach flu, so Thursday night I slept in the empty room in our hall. Friday one of my classes, in which I am in a group project, turned in a really big project which went to the print shop that morning. Big sigh of relief! I'm soo glad its over--we all are. But I think we all feel a sense of accomplishment, because this project is for a real client. It makes all the hard work seem so much more worth it. Friday night we had our last hall meeting. We kicked all of the awkward couples out of the front lounge and watched Roman Holiday--such a good movie. Audrey Hepburn was such an amazing and talented woman. That is about all I did...Now I just have one final paper and a take-home exam to complete before I am done for the spring semester! Unfortunately, I am taking five credit hours of classes this summer, so I don't really get a break. Speaking of not taking a break--since taking advanced grammar I've begun to a...

As the title suggests--I have been searching for inspiration. I applaud other bloggers who post several times a week. Its not easy.You would think that after just chilling in my room most of the day I would have time to write my blog and post it when its supposed to be. Apparently not. I don't have any exciting things to write about. This is the busiest time of year for me with final projects and papers and exams coming up. The next two weeks are going to be pretty crazy. When I went to Chicago a couple weeks ago, we drove through some pretty cool country. Here are a few pictures--of the many I took--that I thought turned out ok considering they were taken from a moving car.

So, it's been a week since my last post from Oak Parks, Chicago. Since then, I've explored the city of Chicago--at least, bits and pieces of it. On Saturday, our group took the metro into downtown Chicago. We explored a bit of Millennium park--saw the bean--and then we split up into smaller groups. I went with a group down to the Navy Pier where I met up with my good friend--miss Becca Minatra. I got to see her school and hang out with her for the afternoon. Later on that afternoon I met back up with my group and we had dinner at Gino's East for Chicago style pizza. It was very delicious, but after a day of walking, I was exhausted, so I headed back to the Write Inn with a couple of other people. Sadly, we had to head back Sunday morning. But we had beautiful weather for it.

My awesome roomies, Stephanie and Rachel I'm writing you from the big city of Chicago...well, almost. We're in Oak Park. We, a bunch of TPC students and the head of the TPC program, Mrs. Harner, left Cedarville bright and early Thursday morning and made the 6 and a half hour drive up to Oak Park. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant and then wandered down to an ice-cream shop for dessert. Eventually we gathered in Mrs. Harner's room to play Mafia. After two rounds--the Mafia won both--we turned in. This morning we were up bright and early--before eight o'clock. We breakfasted at The Red Hen Bread Bakery right down the street from our hotel, and then drove to Infogix, where we met with a Content Specialist to talk about her job as a Technical Communicator. We were there for three hours, and then headed down to a food court for lunch. We hung out at the hotel for a while, then headed out to go shopping and eat dinner. There seems to be a recurring theme--tonight we ate at S...

Sorry for the short post, but I'll try to update again later in the week...Rabbits is an old family tradition dating back to my parents college years. On the first of every month my family tries to tell each other rabbits before everyone else. Today my roommate wrote 'rabbits' on the mirror.

This week has felt like a marathon--I think its because I know that I only have six weeks of school before summer, and I'm still not really sure what I'm going to be doing. I am trying to find an internship. I've had a few leads, but nothing concrete yet. It's allergy season, and I can definitely tell--I've had a low-grade headache all week. But that is irrelevant, because last night I got to hang out with three really awesome people: Jamie, Kelsey, and Arielle Beachy. My awesome, wacky, cousins. We went to New Phili for a late-night Taco Bell run, and then went to Wal-Mart, because Arielle hadn't been in one for over six months. For once I refrained from spending money. And of course today grandma cooked a feast and we all ate way too much. Anyway, it's been nice to be away for a few days to refresh and prepare for a new week. But the homework never stops. This week my story is being workshopped. I'm looking forward to it. I get all sorts of helpful sug...

It's been a while since I last posted. It seems like the longer I go without posting, the harder it becomes. But, tonight I am breaking that vicious cycle. Spring break was very relaxing. I watched some TV, did a little hiking, wrote a little, and did absolutely no homework. But spring break is over, and I'm backing to looking for internships, and doing homework. And craving Chipotle. So far I'm having a little progress with the internships, a little progress with the homework, :) and sadly, no Chipotle. I have another workshop coming up for my Creative Writing class on Tuesday, the problem is, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to write about. So far its set in Alaska. The main character is a woman. So, I now have to take those bits and pieces and create something worthwhile. Maybe I'll post some of it when I finish it. A-Z Rewrite Advice: D: push the details--people, places, things. Show in quick strokes rather than sentences and paragraphs. Show wh...

I haven't written for the last two Fridays. I could make up all kinds of excuses--Spring Break, behemoth advanced grammar take-home exams, travel. I have no 'pearls of wisdom' today (please forgive the cliche). So, instead of waxing eloquent on nothing in particular, I have looked up a quote by someone who I admire greatly. "Give me the Love that leads the way The Faith that nothing can dismay The Hope no disappointments tire The Passion that'll burn like fire Let me not sink to be a clod Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God" — Amy Carmichael

I didn't post on Friday so I thought today would be a good day to catch up. Weekends always go by way too quickly! My friend and I wanted to borrow a car Friday to go to Chipotle and shop, but couldn't get a car. So Saturday we had the opportunity to go with another friend down to a mall and hang out. There's nothing like spending too much money, walking around for hours in shoes that are definitely not practical, and eating at Chick-fil-A. Here's a poem I wrote last spring for my Introduction to Creative Writing class. MAGNOLIA Small buds, On a gray tree, Stark reminder of spring, Fragrant perfection and beauty, Light pink. Pink and White buds of spring, Coated in drizzling Drops of cool rain filmy with dew Fragrant. Fragrant Saucer petals, Velvet smooth and perfect, Magnolia soulangeana flowering Brightly. A-Z Rewrite Advice: C-answer the following in five words or less: What is my (paper/article) really about?

I wish I had a camera, so I could take my own pictures. So, until I have one, I will have to pillage from websites such as MorgueFiles. :) B) Make someone read the piece out loud to you. Listen for what works and what doesn't.

I'm not drinking a beverage right now. Maybe this should be a food and beverage blog, because I just have to rave about Park Place Pizza in Sugarcreek, OH. I went out to dinner with family and we tried the Cowboy Chicken pizza. It's the best pizza ever. My grandpa, who doesn't really like pizza, loved it. There's barbecue sauce, chicken, bacon and lovely, melted cheese, and warm, soft crust. And if you're really adventurous, it came with a side of buttery garlic dip. I tried a little tiny bit of it on a piece of pizza crust. Sadly, I don't have my A-Z writing tip for today...so here's something I think any writer should remember: show, not tell. Don't just tell the reader, "she was sad", show it in her actions, her words, other characters behavior towards her.

Tonight I'm sipping chai. Not chai tea. Just chai (because as my sister so adamantly reminded me, 'chai' means tea). I guess drinking a beverage while blogging is now my 'thing'. Anyway, this past week has been interesting. Monday in chapel it was brought to our attention that the weather forecasters were calling for freezing rain in the evening. They were right. Tuesday my 8 and 9 o'clock classes were canceled, and then I skated my way to chapel on sidewalks that were coated in at least a half an inch of ice. For a while it looked like things might clear up, but by afternoon the sidewalks, which had been cleared, were being coated yet again with ice. Wednesday they called for a campus-wide closing (this is very unusual, they've only closed campus about 6 or 7 times in the last ten years for bad weather). My roomie and I ventured out for lunch and were amazed at all the broken branches that littered the snowy lawns, and our breath was snatched from us by fin...

It's that time of the week again. Blog time! I'm sitting at my desk sipping a freshly made cup of mocha. There's something unequivocally delicious about chocolate and coffee blended together. Fudge and coffee beans are a good example, chocolate covered coffee beans, I'm sure coffee flavored brownies would be good too. I was thinking about the name of my blog recently. Why did I choose to call it Rachael vs. Rachel? I guess I like the subtle dichotomy of the two spellings. The more traditional spelling and the more 'unusual' way of spelling it. I guess I'm a traditionalist, I like the more plain spelling of Rachel. But Rachael with an 'a' has its merits as well. I guess I'm like Anne of Green Gables, "My name is Anne. With an 'E'". Well, my name is Rachel. With no 'a'. You might be wondering why there is a picture of a car? I guess you could say it's one of those dreams of mine. I have a picture of a red 1964 1/2 Ford...

(Image used with permission from MorgueFile) I think I need a specific day to post, otherwise I forget or put it off. So, Friday is going to be my 'official' blog-posting day. I even wrote it on my calendar, so hopefully the only reason I won't post is if I'm extremely busy with school work, which is a definite possibility this semester. During Christmas break, my mom and I were talking about some property my parents own in Southern Indiana near my grandpa's farm. She mentioned that, while she and my dad were walking, exploring their property one day, they found an old stone fence. They mentioned it to my grandpa, who right away remembered that there used to be an old house back there, the owner's name was Sharkey. In the course of the conversation mom jokingly said I should write a story and call it "The Stone Fence". So, I (sort of) did. I'm taking a Creative Fiction class this semester, so I am working on a short story incorporating the stone fe...

...walking out my door. Do I have my keys? Check. Student ID card? Check. Notebook and pen? Of course. My sanity? Not always.

I would prefer to steer away from the usual "it's a new year create a list of goals that I won't follow through on". And yet, here I am writing an entry for my blog with the goal of actually posting more than once every three months. We'll see. I make no promises. So far this year has been uneventful-I've been hanging out at my grandparents. I just paid way too much money for textbooks. I've become hooked on the show House M.D., they've had House marathons on TV every Wednesday and Sunday. And since I'm on break and have nothing better to do I've been watching it for hours at a time. Literally. Sad and pathetic, but entertaining. I definitely remember now why I'm not interested in a medical career. Books and writing have always been my thing. If you want some new reading material, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a good place to start. It's a series about the future of North America. I started the series over Thanksgiving break a...