Heat wave, joy.

Today it is suppose to be 98 degrees. Currently at 6 AM it is only 80 degrees. My floor still feels like a sauna, but I am about to head to the pool (I am opening it this morning, not my usual shift) which I believe truly is a sauna. I'll jump in before I start today and I will also be in the water later because I am filling for a teacher during the morning swim lessons.

Also, yesterday was my first day off from working at the pool (some days it was only the early bird opening shift, but still!) and it was rather hot outside so my friend and I decided to go over and cool off. Well, for open swim you are suppose to have two guards and well, one of them just didn't feel the need to show up. So, I ended up guarding for an hour or so. I was not really happy. I am glad that I walked in to help the other guard, but I really am tired of young people on the staff not doing their job.

Philosophical jumble-ness

I was sitting in my friend’s car as we drove back from a Target run this afternoon. We were discussing favorite colors, which carried on into a conversation (mostly me questioning) about if I was content because I had so much color in my life or if the color was a reflection of me being content. I do understand that color is probably not a direct relation to my contentment, but I like the idea of looking around my room and seeing bright happinesses everywhere. I have orange and blue curtains, a bright red robe and other colors floating around. It’s really nice. Okay, my room is a disaster because I have to move again soon to my final resting place for the year, but the colors makes me smile.

This seems to be an overall reflection of my general contentment. I really do love my life right now. Wonderful friends, exciting goals, fun job and only one year left of undergrad classes! Yeah! Oh, and I am looking forward to my classes this fall.

Oh, and that reminds me. I was helping out at my church’s Vacation Bible School and as I walked past the Pastor he looked up and said to the person on the phone, “I’ll be having Julia contact you with more information.” Okay, I’m paraphrasing, but that was the general idea. I walked past at the right moment and now I get to plan the church’s next coffeehouse event. We’ll be having a lead singer from a band coming to play and talk with us. I, along with two friends, will be decorating, planning, advertising, cooking and recruiting help. I think it will be a lot of fun.

One down side of school life.

This morning I was woken up at 6:40am by music coming from the room next to mine. It was good music, but unexpected at this particular time. I don’t have to work until noon today and had planned to sleep in. I waited for a bit, but I finally got up and knocked on her door. No response. But someone was in the shower, so I left a nice note on her door. I really hate having to ask people to be respectful. I have learned to fall asleep to other peoples’ music and the sounds of doors closing and people just being people. But in the morning, especially on a college campus, I try to remember to keep the noise down. It doesn’t help that it is so hot here that once I was awake, it was really difficult to fall back to sleep. I did after a bit sleep eventually, but I’m still thrown off my game.

An Adoration of Academia

Tuesday night I had the privilege of sitting on a blanket on the grass starring at the cloudy sky surrounded by buildings containing classrooms and ideas. Three of my friends and I stayed up until 2am talking, about theology mostly. First of all, I adore my friends. They are smart and encourage me to think a lot about a lot of things, but also because they are fun and make me feel at home here. Second, I can’t help but realize how different the academic’s life is, even on a social level, from that of my previous life as a nanny. I am being forced to think about so many things that I hadn’t even known I should think about. Granted I am not even taking classes right now, but we still find reason to debate issues of the world and our life. I am not even suggesting that my life as a nanny did not have great discussions of theology or politics, because it surely did. But I feel different. I feel as though mentally I am more alive. I question everything, to the frustration of some and delight of others. I want answers and I want to push myself in ways I didn’t think I’d ever desire. I came to this university just so that I could get my Bachelor’s Degree. That’s it. I wanted to go teach English in Japan mostly, but I was open to anything. I just figured whatever I wanted to do next; getting my degree would make it easier. And now, almost a year after moving to Chicagoland I find myself looking at graduate schools because there is still more that I want to learn. I am still shocked at myself for considering this. My friends here not knowing my previous state of mind get frustrated with me for my disbelieve in myself, but I am just getting used to the idea of grad school. Soon I’ll be on my own bandwagon thinking that it’s actually possible that I could get a masters degree.

God knows what you need the most.

This morning I was the lifeguard for the opening shift at the campus pool. It’s generally a quiet shift, people come in to swim laps, and so the cliental tends to be older. The difficulty with this shift is that when you are tired, watching people swim laps will at times makes you more tired. This morning I was wonderfully awake, but after a half an hour of singing to myself (yes, I sing quietly while people swim, it keeps me awake and upbeat) I thought about all of the people in my life facing challenging moments and all of the struggles I was dealing with in my life. It realized that while I was sitting there watching people swim, God had given me a wonderfully quiet moment to pray. It’s amazing how many people you can think of to pray for when you have a lot of time on your hands. Sure, I was still watching people swim, and walking around occasionally, but still; in my heart I was turning over all of my worries to Christ. It is truly a wonderful way to start your day.

I am back.

I am not sure if I should begin with an introduction, but I am now blogging again, on a student friendly (free) site.

Thank you, especially Grampa and all of my great aunts and uncles, for caring enough about my life to demand that I keep you up-t0-date. Your words of wisdom are always welcome.