Good Morning?

Yup,
Good morning! It is 1:43 in the morning on Saturday...the sun isn't quite up yet though, sorry. Well today I went to my econ discussion and realized...i need to study my econ cause it's kinda confusing at the moment. At work I was the runner (I change the hot food when it gets low) and I rocked at it. I'm getting better! It's fun! My math class was only 20 minutes long cause my professor had to catch a flight to Austria at 2:51pm and I have no math classes next week at all...sweet!!!!! After Astronomy I...hmm..what did i do? Oh yeah...I took a shower and then went to dinner with Megan, her new boyfriend, and her roommate. Afterwards I started my calc homework, and it wasn't as difficulat as usual. In fact I finished it alllll...isn't that amazing!!!! I'm amazed at myself for finishing my calculus homework without much difficulty! Then at 10pm I went to Upper Room, which is pretty much singing and a lot of prayer. Erin and Mike told me about Baton Rouge...they were safer than they thought they'd be but I heard some sad and some scary stories. I was thinking...New Orleans is pretty much the most corrupted city in the world...maybe God's purpose was to wipe out the city of sin and evil. I mean...not like a second flood because God promised not to do that...but maybe God wanted to get rid of what was going on in New Orleans...we'll see. God is a big mystery! I reorganized my closet...I didn't like how things were arranged in there. Well I'm gonna go to sleep now I think. Goodnight!

Rach

I Feel Smart!

(this photo is courtesy of my parents)


Hey!
Okay, I'm gonna use a lot of exclamation points for this post!!!!! I slept in til 830am...that was yummy! I worked from 11-1230pm...it was same as usual. I ate a hot dog and chicken tenders for lunch. Usually I eat a turkey sandwich. In Biology of Human Behavior I think my professor wanted to make the class more interesting so he lectured on different kinds of monkeys and showed movie clips of them...and imitated them. I wish I videotaped him acting and walking like a monkey...it was quite priceless...trust me! Then I figured out my really difficult calc homework with a classmate at eSpresso royale (it's not expresso...saying it wrong is Val's pet peeve, hehe). After orchestra I went to Val's apartment, and had dinner with Val and Lauren. It was fun hanging out and just chit chatting. Val's kitten, Princess, is so funny to watch. And now...I'm here...I've finished all my calc homework save one problem, but it's an odd-numbered problem, so it won't be graded therefore I'm not gonna waste 5 more hours trying to solve it. I've tried sooo much to solve it and couldn't so I'll figure it out when the professor show's how it's done. I think I wanna go to bed early tonight. Hmmm...yeah! Welll goodnight...and remember...the conquering lion will break every chain (it's a song).

Rach

The Conquering Lion Shall Break Every Chain.

Hi, y'all.
I'm gonna refrain from using any exclamation points...just for the heck of it (;-D). I have had itunes since the summer, however my online music store for some reason could not connect, and my brother and sister-in-law had given me a wonderful gift card to the itunes store, which I haven't used yet. Well, just for the heck of it, I went to itunes.com and went to the discussion page and posted my dilemma. Someone told me how t fix it...and guess what...it worked. So I've been buying songs today..thanks Jared and Yvonne for the gift card. One of the songs is called "The Conquering Lion," hence the title of this new post. Today was the first day I really didn't pay attention in a lecture, woops, hehe. I was tired, and everything that my professor says in the ECON lecture my TA repeats in a more detailed fashion in my discussion class. Don't worry mom and dad, it won't be a habit. But I did a crossword puzzle in the back of a magazine, and I copied down the notes that were on the overhead...I just didn't...listen. I have been working on my math homework for at least 4 hours straight. I decided not to go out this evening, but to do homework...but I didn't think I'd be doing only math...I thought I'd get to other reading done. I worked out before dinner....and Matt came over this evening just to hang out while I yelled at my math homework...(I almost put an exclamation there). Well I'd really like to go to bed early tonight. Here's a picture...just for your enjoyment...don't ask where I got it from...but it's funny isn't it?





Goodnight!
Rach

I Cannot Lie!

I slept in today!!!! WOOHOO! Then I worked from 11am-1230pm. I had a class at 1pm, and we got out early, at 2pm, when we're supposed to get out at 220pm! I had orchestra from 4pm-6pm! I love the pieces we're playing in orchestra! After dinner, I talked to my violin teacher, Julie, just to give her an update about orchestra and how I'm doing. She encouraged me to look for a violin teacher down in Urbana, I'll have to ask my orchestra professor, and see if I can afford it. Then I had I-teams at 8pm. We talked a lot of the hurricane. Afterwards, Laura, Ty, Matt, Allison, and I went to Expresso Royale for coffee or just something to drink. My chai latte definitely didn't taste as good as the chai latte I got at the "Ahrens Coffee House" in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. We played the "Two Truths and a Lie" game. I cannot lie, i start laughing. It's impossible for me. But Ty is a good liar! I came to eat my frozen yogurt, but it kinda melted, darn. This is definitely a short blog, because I'm sleepy. Here's another picture of the volleyball team from Monday!
Sleep tight!
Rach

Volleyball Tournament!!!!!

Hey everyone!
So this morning I woke up around 9am. I did a bit of homework and got ready for the day. I walked to the Union to get some moolah from the ATM and then got lunch from Subway. At 1pm I headed over to the Illini Grove for the Illini Life volleyball tournament. There are 6 people at least per team...but there were only five of us at the moment. Laura, Allison, Jeff, Clay, and me. Then this kid Ben that we met Friday night practicing volleyball showed up and so did Matt. Ben has a wicked serve and rocks at volleyball. We played in our own pool, we beat the first team with a close score. The next two teams we played we won 15-4. We were dominating. We had the first seed in the 2nd round, because we were undefeated and we had won by so many points. The 2nd round is like playoffs, you're out once you lose. We played the first team we played in round one. Things weren't looking so good we were down 5-9. Then suddenly we totally rallied and won 15-12. We had proven ourselves. We made it to the semifinals but unfortunately lost 8-15. But we got 4th place out of 17 teams! Our team name was "Clobbergobbers," we took a team picture. (From left to right: Matt, Jeff, Laura, Clay, ME, Ben, and Allison).

Afterwards I went home and showered and then went to a barbecue at the outpost. I was pretty early, so a lot of people weren't there. I asked the boys if I could do anything to help. Then I was eyeing their kitchen......it was quite dirty. I couldn't help it. I asked Clay if I could clean the kitchen and he said sure, he wouldn't mind. So I unloaded their dishwasher, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and then cleaned the counters and stove. There was old dried food on the stove, it was so yucky. But I couldn't help it. Their kitchen is definitely improved. Then I chowed down and conversed with Allison, Heather, and Laura. There were bunches of people we didn't know from the graduate student I-team. I decided to leave early, since classes are tomorrow. Right when I got home, Kim and Janice were unloading their car and I got two bags from my parents. One was all my Calculus stuff, and another was a care package of bunches of goodies! It made me sooooooooooo happy! These m'n'm cookies my mother made are spectacular! Well I'm gonna work on some calc work! Oh and there's also a picture of the people who went to Baton Rouge to help clean up the mess. Three of them are from my I-team: The guy in the lime green teeshirt in the middle is Mike and his wife to the right of him in the red shirt is Erin. And Matt is wearing white backwards cap. Those are my I-teamers! Pray for the whole group! If you wanna read about the story of these folks go here: http://www.illinilife.org/ for the story. At the SNG service, we raised $650 towards Hurricane Katrina Relief!
Good night!

Rach

Didn't Get Any Homework Done Yet

Goodmorning,
I forgot to post about yesterday last night. Oops. Yesterday I went to Quest with Matt. I saw Val and Lauren from I-life so I sat by them. There was a baptism during the service, it was cool. After the service, Lindsay, Anne, Matt, and I went to Hoopeston, IL (1 hour away) to go to Mandy Field's (now Sangha) parents farm for a barbecue party. It was nice and relaxing. Angela Sangha was there, which was awesome, it felt like I was home cause I saw her. We talked a lot and caught up on a lot of things. I had steak, mashed potatoes, and absolutely delicious macaroni and cheese. Mandy's family was so welcoming and hospitable, it was so cool. We left around 6pm and sang Disney songs and Christmas carols on the way home. Matt and I went to Matt's house and I worked on homework, and Matt cooked me dinner! He's so thoughtful! Around 9:30pm we went to Adam and Erin's house for a get together. I talked to Allison a lot and talked to Yvonne on the phone. Then Anne, Allison and I were bored so we snuck around the side of the house and hid under a window and Anne made funny goat noises. I don't think anyone heard us, except Adam came outside and we ran away, but he saw us. After that Matt took me home. When we got to Busey we saw these two shady guys standing near the main entrance, as if they wanted to get in. It didn't seem right so I asked Matt to walk me to the door. As we walked to the front door, these guys followed us, they definitely wanted to get inside for some reason. So Matt and I started talking about our plans while these guys waited to get in. Finally they walked away and I slipped inside. Matt and I make a smart team. But that was the first time I didn't feel safe in Urbana. Now I'm really glad they have tight security for Busey, requiring your i-card to get in, and another swipe to get into either the Busey or Evans hall. Well I gotta shower. I'm out

Rach

Supporting Hurricane Katrina Relief

Hey y'all!
So I slept in until 9:30am...that felt nice. I did alllll my laundry and worked on homework while watching "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Ashley, my roommate, left to go home around 2:00pm. So it's just me, alllll alone. hehe, it's okay. I'm fine! So Hurricane Katrina has really been on my mind a lot. I was working out the other day and I saw what it's like down in the area where people are homeless, it's devastating. I can't believe I'm living in luxury while others don't have food or water. I wanted to do something. While watching bits of tv before SNG I saw a Red Cross commercial talking about the hurricane relief, and then I knew exactly what God wanted me to do (which isn't something that's easy to do)....give up money. I was supposed to receive my first paycheck from working in the Busey Dining Hall on wednesday. Suddenly I understood what God wanted me to do. He wanted me to give my first paycheck to the Hurricane Relief efforts. But how? Well...at SNG Dan Herron gave people an opportunity to give money to the Red Cross. What a coincidence that I was actually carrying around quite a lot of cash in my wallet. So I put in about 75% of my first paycheck. Dan also said that the church they were connected with concerning the relief efforts were gathering people to go down to New Orleans to help the cleanup through the Red Cross. So Mike and Erin, Matt, and Jeff are gonna leave today Sunday afternoon at 4pm, arrive there Monday morning at 6am, and start working until Wednesday night. Wow, what a response! After SNG our I-team hung out at the Outpost, and then Erin, Mike, Clay and Matt (different one) went to the Courier at 11pm (I got a peanut butter milkshake) and talked a lot about the hurricane and everything. And now I'm here. What a day! I actually wanna mention one more thing, which has no relation to the Hurricane. I do not believe in evolution. I don't believe that we and this beautiful creation is here by chance. For example, the Rocky Mountains. I believe that God specifically carved each curve and cliff of those mountains for a specific purpose. God purposefully created the "Keyhole" (of Long's Peak) so that one day I could hike to that spot, and see God's amazing work and praise and glorify Him. Wow! I have been wanting to put that into words for a long time. I'm going to bed now.

Rach