Breakfast during the Fast

As we all know I am not and, unfortunately, never will be a morning person. But even though I do not actually like the getting up early part, I've pretty much always enjoyed breakfasting the mornings of the fast. At home it was quite a production - we'd all get up and have a nice cooked meal. Daddy and Mommy would cook, Nathan would be hanging around, in later years Rachel would be up and sooo tired and I would have to laugh. Someone would set the table; someone else would be cutting up grapefruits. Good family time. And of course, we would all pray together afterwards.

Then I went to college and had to do it all by myself. I had to wake myself up (oh yeah, one of my parents would always come get me - and that's a better way to wake up) if I wanted to eat. But I had no access to a kitchen. I had a microwave but not so much as a toaster to cook anything in. And, worst of all - I was alone. Fasting is no fun alone.

But then the next year Gabe came to Maryville - yay Gabe! And he would cross campus on some mornings and we'd cook a small breakfast in the common room kitchen. And the next year was even better - we actually lived in the same building and I had my own kitchen - much more convenient.

This year was even better because Pooneh, Kamran, and Arianna came over quite a few mornings and I cooked for them (Gabe, of course, is studying abroad). I made all sorts of things - scrambled eggs, cinnaman apple toast, ham, pancakes, omelets, bacon, french toast, bannanas and cream - lots of my favorite things. Today was the best of all (even though it definitely also took the longest): I made crepes! Yum. But I switched it up a little - instead of cherries we had blueberries on our crepes (you see, Danielle does not like cherries). Like I said though - it took a long time... I don't have a griddle where I can cook 8 or 10 at a time. Instead, I cooked them two at a time in a smallish skillet and they all turned out looking like steaks (the shape, I mean) because of the curve the skillet and because the eyes on the stove are crooked. But they were still tasty; at least, I thought so.

In other news, I agreed to play a (piano) sonata at the next Maryville College student recital. Why?

I love real Professors

I love professors who are the epitomy of the word "professor." The stereotypical crazy-haired, slightly absent minded, just professors. Like there's nothing else that they could ever be. There are some professors who are just teachers; others, like my instructor for my bollywood class, are almost friends you could talk to about, well, movies (for instance, like I did today - I'd mentioned that I'd seen that movie before - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for anyone who remembers those old times.. the one when they were best friends at college but he loves the other girl who then dies and her daughter finds his old best friend at a summer camp and gets them together in the end - sorry if that's a bit confusing, but it's hard to summarize a 3 hour movie in one coherent sentence. Back to the main topic: good ol' professors.) There are those who make you frantic trying to copy the insane amount of notes down, but then also discuss. Then there are those who can somehow always engage the class completely and who just make the class feel like a college course. I guess, to put it simply, those who make you want to go to class - you don't want to miss the tiny but hysterical comments, or the stories he will tell when he goes off on his little tangents... but that aren't tangents really because he can pull them back and make them fit into anything we were talking about. When you regret not going to class instead of leaving class and wishing you hadn't wasted your time. Oh, I'll miss learning from professors. (ps. look closely, I just described my course schedule... that's my life right now) I'm glad I've had a few professors in my college career.


Actually, here is a picture of the current "Professor" I have. It's a shame he doesn't have the longer and grayer messy hair that he has now - it adds so much to the whole professor thing. Anyways, thanks Dr. Klingensmith (and, of course, to the others I've had over the years).

(I don't know why I came back and added these pictures -- I guess I just thought I needed more pictures)

Traps and Distractions

I have been introduced to the iGoogle home page - and I am now hooked. I have spent hours creating my new home page. You can choose a background - and they've got some really cute ones (mine is a little cartoon tiger and he's in his little home and we can see out into his yard where he has a garden - and, as the day goes on, the scene changes. Last night he took a bath, then went to bed, this morning he was working in his garden and at lunch time he was sitting at the table eating lunch. Cute!) - and you get to choose other features to put on it as well. I've got quotes of the day, a word of the day so as to improve my vocabulary, the weather, news - all sorts of things. So much fun. So, those hours where I should have been writing a paper that's due next week I instead got pulled into designing this new homepage. I started last night and today I have been rearranging things whenever I want a break from homework - which is way too often. Oh well, I'll really enjoy it - and hey, at least my vocabulary will improve, right?

A new talent!

Today I had my first guitar lesson! I think I am really going to enjoy playing. He asked me if I listened to any guitar players and I said yes (doesn't everybody?) then he asked who... and I went blank.. I had no idea who to say - so I said I grew up listening to Eric Clapton. So he took that and ran with it and now I'm learning to play some blues! How exciting. This is not just learning to play the guitar - I'm learning some music theory (which I desperately need) and I'm learning to be a bit creative -- he gave me a set of notes (a pentatonic scale, to be exact) and told me to play around with those. I'm gonna be a rockstar! ok, not really, but I am so happy that I will enjoy these lessons.

p.s. - Thanks to Mom and Nathan for teaching me a few chords - he was totally impressed with how quickly I picked up the chords.. but also I hate you because he skipped the 'easy' F chord and went straight to the bar chord - my biggest fear.

I am going to Costa Rica!!!!

I have been saying for many years that I would be going to Costa Rica for my year of service, but it was always a "hopefully." Today, however, I received an email from Parvis (Mr. Ighani) and it is for sure that I am welcome there!! I am so very excited. I am alone in my appartment at the moment, and it's probably a good thing because I am just bouncing from room to room with a huge grin on my face - you know how I can be. I'm so excited! They want me to come as soon as possible... so it looks like I graduate, travel to Haifa, family reunion in Huntsville, and then Costa Rica!!!

What? I need to go to bed.

I'm back in the land of the living. For the past few weeks I've been reading a fantasy series but this morning I finished the last of the books I have (there is one more out, but I don't have access to it at the moment, plus she is writing another one so I may as well stop here rather than go to the trouble of obtaining the next book, reading it, and yet still be left hanging). It's been glorious and frustrating at the same time (as always) - I love having another world to immerse myself in.. especially fiction because I know it's not real and completely frivolous (somehow the fact that I know it's frivolous makes it less so... my thought process is something like "this is my unproductive act for the day" so, knowing that, the rest of the day is spent attempting to be useful). Now when I read it will almost always be for academics - which is, of course, just as stimulating and actually more interesting - but it's so much harder. When reading fiction I just skip the parts I don't want to read... when the description of the landscape goes on to long I skip to the dialogue... if a battle goes on for pages I skip to the end and just find out who won. When I'm reading about Plato's vision of a functioning political society (of beauty) I cannot skip a word or else I'm floundering in a sea of incomprehensible terminology. Philosophy just takes so much focus! It's easy enough paragraph by paragraph but pages upon pages continuous dense material is certainly challenging Oh well, it's what's good for me - and why I came to college. That's what learning is right? and there's hardly a greater blessing than that opportunity. But just like the above, knowing that this (this meaning learning/scholarship/erudition - gaining not only knowledge but the ability to think... and the second part is the hard part) is important makes it hard. Eh, I'm just complaining - having books to retreat into is beatific (new word learned at least, so that's good) while they last but then the end inevitably comes and you're left wanting it to continue. Luckily (well, mostly luckily) I know it can and will continue in the future, so I know it's not the end. Plus, since I've been constantly reading for a month I'm a bit tired of it (almost 6,000 pages would get anyone right?). And I actually like (well, I think I like) all of my classes and will enjoy, or at least appreciate spending the time studying. Plus all friends are back in place and I need to spend time with them all.

Wow talk about your rambling. I debate actually posting this.. but why not? It's only other people's opinions of me and my craziness that I'm putting on the line right? Let's see if I can find a picture that equals the above strange bundle of words.

Perfect. I have no idea what that is. Yet it's almost calming too. How interesting.

Black Violin

It's late, but I have time for one short post:

Tonight Maryville College hosted a group called Black Violin and they were amazing! They mix their classically trained violinist selves with hip-hop beats and songs. They are awesome - I love seeing truly talented people. Anyways, check out their website (blackviolin.net) so you can see what I'm talking about: greatness. Good-night!