I am writing THE most depressing paper in the history of papers. I need to come up with a way to make it end well so the teacher doesn't cry after he reads it. It's bad.

In other news, I got this super cute tank top at Ross last night for $8. Highly exciting. Sorry about the MySpace vibe going on there with the picture.

That is all.



Leah

Ramblings

Today is going to be THE most gorgeous day ever. 70 degrees and sunny. MMM. I am so happy I get to wear flip-flops today! I can't wear them the rest of the week because I have to wear those stupid stockings. I still say that if Dr. Jones had to wear them it wouldn't be a rule. I might email him and ask him to wear them just one time so he understands the misery the women are in here. Anyway, I'm going to go downtown to the park with some of my friends today and we are going to do homework out in the sunshine. I am so happy about that. Not really the homework part, but the doing it outside part. Pumped.

And! I am going to do something really funny and exciting on Tuesday but I'm not allowed to say what it is until then! So I will try to get someone to take a video for me! It's going to be awesome is all I can say!

Can you tell this weather is making me happy? I write with all exclamation marks :D



Leah

That is just weird.

So I just found out through a friend that my freshman year RA (who was only 2 years older than me) is engaged to the choir director at JMU. Who is like 20 years older than her. First of all, he was HER professor and that is just messed up because apparently they dated while she was in his choir! Yuck! And now they are getting married and he is old enough to be her father! Sick people!

That is all.



Leah

Wanted: Marriage

     A while back I watched (the new version of) Pride and Prejudice. It is seriously one of my favorite movies. I know, typical woman. Deal with it. But at the end of the movie they did this interview with a historian about that time period, and she said something kind of interesting. She said that back then the most culturally acceptable thing for a young woman to do was act like she didn't want a husband at all, when in fact she really did. A LOT. And that got me thinking. It's actually the same way now. It is so not acceptable to act like you want to get married - people will call you "desperate." But didn't God create us to want that? Reread Genesis chapter 2 if you don't think so. So why is acting like we're made the way God really made us "desperate?" And it's worse for women (IMO) because we're not "supposed" to initiate anything, but of course we really want to get married, so what's a girl to do? Especially when men are lying down on the job where leadership is concerned!
     So here's what I think. I think God values marriage. Scratch that, I know God values marriage. I think he roots for us to get together, and sometimes even orchestrates it himself. I think God created men to be the initiators. And I am not going to pretend I don't want to get married in that 1882 kind of way anymore. I do, actually. But I want someone who can lead me. I'm not talking about the super-commanding, always-in-charge, I-am-leader-hear-me-roar type of guy, I just mean someone who knows who he is, knows his God, and is willing to lead our family. And homeschool. And read the KJV. And preferably is taller than me. :)

**side note: I have heard men complain about women "pushing" in relationships. If you guys aren't going to step it up and lead, don't complain when the women do so. I don't condone that, but come on.**

     So enough with the "desperate" accusations already. Marriage is awesome, from what I've heard, so why wouldn't we want it? Let's just be honest. I'll start. How's that?


Leah

Oh physical exertion, how I loathe thee. But thou art scriptural.

     I don't really enjoy exercise. I mean, I love to go hiking, ultimate frisbee is fun, and the occasional Pilates class doesn't bother me, but regular exercise . . . meh. It's ok. I'd just as soon not do it. But it really is unhealthy to not exercise, especially when you do as much sitting as I do for work, classes, and homework. So I'm making myself exercise. I started back this week from . . . well we won't talk about how long it's been. Right now I'm doing 30 minutes of cardio broken up halfway through with some light weights. The real reason it's broken up is I'm too pathetic and out of shape to just get on the stinkin' elliptical for 30 minutes. Unless I put the resistance at 1 which is pointless. So I do two sets, with light weights in between, and then stretch. I'm allowed to use my iPod because I'm staff which makes the time go WAY faster.
     But! You know what I discovered? It's scriptural for girls to exercise! True story! Proverbs 31:17 says "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms." Most people I've heard try to make that some sort of spiritual thing like how she has this "inner strength" that just "shines through" or some silly thing. But if you look at what it actually SAYS, it's not that at all! It says she "girdeth her loins with strength." That means she wraps herself in it. Now I think typically wrapping goes on the outside of something. But I was homeschooled and I'm weird like that. Pardon me while I just believe what the Bible says. *ahem* And then it says "she strengtheneth her arms." The arms are getting strengthened. Not her "inner person." Her arms. So! Exercise is scriptural! Isn't that interesting? And this is in the "virtuous woman" passage, and in another place (also in Proverbs) it says "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband." Meaning! That exercising and staying in shape is part of being a crown to your husband! I love how practical God is.


Leah

Learning to be gracious

Being gracious is not something that comes naturally to me. I'd rather just tell someone to straighten up. Although I think we need more of that these days. But from the men. But anyway, I've been challenged to be more gracious. The Bible says that "A gracious woman retaineth honour." (Prov. 11:16) And God says several times that he is gracious. And somehow I find myself wanting to be like him:) But I feel like the Lord is teaching me to be gracious. My Bible professor is kind of an idiot and doesn't actually believe the Bible, so not calling him a moron in class is an exercise in being gracious. Some of the undergrads cop an attitude when I ask them to change what they're wearing or sit more than half an inch from their BF/GF, and explaining why I'm asking them to do something instead of smacking the little twits is definitely an exercise in being gracious. It's a good thing for me to be learning. What are you learning from the Lord these days?

 

 

Leah

Artist Series

Last night was Artist Series, and the program was a concert by the Philharmonic of Poland. The orchestra was quite good. The conductor wasn't very clear, and I think the orchestra would be absolutely mind-blowing if he would just give a clear ictus and make them stick to it. Like he would give the downbeat and be halfway to his next prep beat before they played. What . . . ? Dr. McCashin would have had a SERIOUS hissy fit if we had ever done that. But I liked them anyway:) They had a solist with them . . . Marta somethingorother with 72 consonants in her last name like any good Slavic person. She was 19. Yes, 19. She played the Wieniawski second violin concerto (I think it's the D minor one) with the orchestra and it was STUNNING. I love that concerto anyway, but she really did play so well. And she's only been playing violin for 12 years! Crazy! Just goes to show what you can do if you've got a great teacher. It was gorgeous. I'll even forgive them for playing Mozart (it was his op. 39 Eb symphony, so it wasn't AS bad as it could have been) in the first half, since they played the Wieniawski in the second half. :)

     This weekend I have quite a lot of homework and studying to do, as usual, and on Monday I'm chaperoning a freshman double date off campus. I'm not sure why I thought that would be a fun thing to do. Oh yeah. I didn't. I'm just doing it because I like these kids. Right. And they can't go if I don't go, and I don't want to make them stay on campus on their first Valentine's Day together. How mean would that be. So we're going. And I get a free dinner out of it, so what's not to love about that? :D 

     My mom always says Valentine's Day is an excuse for unthankful women to guilt-trip their husbands into buying them jewelry. Not cynical at all:) She also always says that she'd rather have a husband she knows is faithful, like my dad, than all the diamonds in the world. I have to agree with her there! What do you think of Valentine's Day?

 

 

Leah