A slight crack forms in the ground as the earth begins to rock beneath their tired feet.
The quake grows stronger with each fleeting moment –
people are screaming, buildings tumbling,
And children trying to find a hand to hold, any hand will do.
The people drop to their knees and pray, Bondye mwen, Bondye mwen, poukisa ou lage m ‘ ? * My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?*

A third world country reaches the depths of despair,
their tortured lives gone from worse to impossible in an hour’s time.
Horror sets in as the search for loved ones continue,
As tears and panic run down their sun-kissed faces.

The children, dodging falling rumble, and tripping over the weak,
are in search for a familiar face, desperate cries of “Maman!!”
tear thru the crowded streets of Porta-a-Prince only to be lost,
in the sound of an aftershock that strikes the ground like lightening.

A little girl clings to a teddy bear that she found amongst the ruins,
one last morsel of her old life acts as a shelter for her fear.
A single tear runs down her check as she frantically searches the tear stained faces,
In the hopes of finding her mother, her maman.

But somewhere, thousands of miles away, in a little town
called Nashville, a benefit concert for Haiti takes place in a beautiful, old church.
Musical artists of all genres flock to the stage
to make a plea, a plea for the people and a plea for the children.

A man sings out:
Even when the rain falls, even when the flood starts rising,
Even when the storm comes,
I’ll be washed by the water….

Hope is renewed for those in the room,
Prayers are answered and the time has come to open our eyes
to the world that we only see during times of destruction and say,
Bondye Beni Ayti….Bondye Beni Atyi. * May God Bless Haiti…May God Bless Haiti.*
*language: French creole*

Monday:

So I awoke Monday morning and was glad to know that I didn’t have to be on campus until 11:30am which was really nice for me since I am so not a morning person at all. So I get to the bus stop around 10:15am so that I can catch the 10:21 bus, but did the 10:21 bus show up? Of course it didn’t. So after standing outside in the frozen tundra that is Ohio during the winter, I make the 10 minute trek back to my apartment to figure out what was going on. By this point it was 11am and I was bussless and carless so I accepted the fact that I was going to miss my Theatre class. Luckily the class has about 500 students in it so I knew that I would not be missed too much. Also by this point, my suede boots were soaked which caused wet socks which then caused wet feet. I was not a happy camper. But I made it to my 12:30 class and things were looking up.

The rest of the week went fairly smoothly-even in the frozen tundra. That is-until Thursday came around.

Thursday:

So I finally managed to catch the bus around 10:20 and made it to class with time to spare. My day went pretty well , that is until the snow started falling. Usually I like snow, but when you go to a big university it is not that fun to have to walk 15 minutes to the next class in 4 inches of snowy slush. I am pretty sure I almost wiped out five times.Then there are the genius ‘ who think that it is a brilliant idea to ride their bikes on the treacherous sidewalks. I almost got ran over by about three bikes. This day was slowly taking a turn for the worst.

Then came 3:15pm when I walked out of my last class and headed for the bus stop. At this point there were probably somewhere around 5 inches on the ground and it was still coming down. I made it to the bus stop when I realized that I didn’t have my school id. Great. I dug through my backpack and still could not find it! So I walked all the way back to the library (ten minute walk) and went through my bag again- it was no where to be found and I was freezing and wet and pretty pissed off. Luckily one of my friends leant me some bus money and I made the next bus at 4:20. Or atleast that is when it was supposed to come- it didn’t get there until about 4:50. It is so much fun standing in the snow and grime for thirty minutes-really. Then what should have been a 30 minute bus ride turned into an hour and fifteen which then just added to the mania of the day. It was an adventure to say the least.

Friday:

So it is friday- I have no classes and was planning on a relaxful day of studying at the coffee shop. But guess who else doesn’t have classes today? The local high school and middle school ,meaning that they all flock to the coffee shop that I regularly study at, and I am convinced they come here just to annoy the  crap out of me while I am trying to actually not procrastinate for once. These girls voices hit registers that only dogs can here- I am not exaggerating. Seriously, they are so loud that the poor man sitting near me has EAR PLUGS in while reading his book. That is just sad. So with that-and the end of this entry- I am headed to the local library which has a tad bit more sound control then my lovely little coffee house.

But seriously-the frozen tundra that is Ohio during the winter months is really cramping my style. That and the never ending immaturity of the local teenage population.

Oh what a week….

He was talking about how God gives you joy, that you may be trying to “temporarily” fill with all of these other things. I don’t know- something about this conversation just made me smile. After coming to this coffee shop for months all I have heard are teenagers discussing how hot the vampire from Twilight is, or who is dating who, or what boy band has “like the best sound ever”.  The whole time I was rolling my eyes at this I was making a judgment, but today I heard a friend trying to give another friend a piece of hope and a piece of faith. Just something to get her by today and maybe in the future. But he didn’t just teach his friend something today- he taught me something to.

While I am facing finals and starting to get completely overwhelmed with the workload I have ahead of me this next week, I was reminded today to trust God and that a simple prayer a day can go so far. It was nice to get this little reminder from this person I don’t even know. It’s okay to doubt God, and it is alright to feel burnt out  but that is the good thing about God, He is always there and He is always forgiving. I know this- but it is nice to be reminded sometimes, because isn’t it so easy to forget?

Yesterday, while I sat at my table in the corner, I watched three high schoolers walk in the door and sit at a table nearby. While I was trying to concentrate on a very important assignment these rambunctious teens were trying to figure out who would get frost bite first for wearing mini skirts in the middle of November. Okay fine, they weren’t really talking about that…the above sentence is really just for dramatic effect. But I really did hear the word “sex hair” thrown around a few times- why they would be shouting that in a crowded coffee shop during the middle of the afternoon is beyond my vast knowledge. However, I do have a theory as to why the 15 or so teenagers who ended up sitting at the couch right by my table,yes there really were 15, decided it was necessary for the whole world to know who “biffy was boffing” today ( gilmore girls reference).

But while sitting at my table trying to concentrate it suddenly hit me. I am getting old. Seriously, I am almost 20 and these girls were probably like 14 or 15, so then it hit me that wait, I am not much older then them so can I really judge their bad behavior? Then I decided, yes I absolutely can because I NEVER acted like that in public. And you know why? Because my mother actually taught me how to use my “inside voice”. I feel like parents may not be putting as much emphasis on manners as they used to which would explain why one of the girls glared at me like she was so much cooler than me. I am like 6 years older than them- which may not seem like much but when these little teeny boppers have the nerve to glare at me when they don’t even have a driver’s license ,I felt thatl it was necessary to put them in their place with an equally “bratty” glare.

But this is the problem with America’s youth today- they just have zero respect. Maybe because they aren’t being taught how to be respectful or maybe because they just don’t care. Whatever it is someone needs to fix it- because if I have to sit in the coffee shop one more time and listen to comments like ” Joe Jonas is totally the next Bruce Springsteen!!!” I may just lose my mind.

But really, in all seriousness you better beware because if these girls decided to take over the world the earth would be filled with pink and sparkles and the only form of communication would be through emoticons and exclamation points. Oh what a wonderful world this would be…

It was a Saturday afternoon, I was checking the mail and found a slip from the post office telling us that we had a letter that did not have enough postage on it and we needed to go to the post office to retrieve it. Now my sister, thought this may be the letter she had been long awaiting. So, we get into the car and drive the fifteen minutes to our post office (which is in the middle of nowhere). While standing in line, I am trying to decipher the sender’s name that was written at the top in a poorly written squabble. Finally, it came to me, clear as day. The sender’s name “Kitner”,the last name of my dearest pennny pal. I laughed because I had decided that the mailman had lost the letter and I ,in turn ,had lost all hope of recieving it.  I get to the mail attendent, hand him the slip, pay the $.44 that my silly penny pal didn’t, and he goes into the back. He then hands me the “pinkest” envelope I have seen. It was adorned with colorful drawings and written on the back flap was “Deliver safely to my penny pal, por favor.” As you can imagine, my face turned as pink as the pepdo bismol colored envelope. Once safely back in the car, my penny pal got a very entertaining voicemail from yours truely. Lucky for me, she had just arrived home from fall break and I could endlessly tease her about it in person later that day.

So as you can see, my penny pal is a special one. And by “special” I  mean the “eat the paste” special.  No, no, she is a terribly funny person and her letters always leave me giggling like a little school girl. *an excerpt from said letters will be come soon to a blog near you.* But let me tell you about this lovely girl. At 5’1 she is a homunculus, which our friends Sheldon and Leonard describe as being, “a perfectly formed minature human being.”  She has curly dirty blonde locks, and blue eyes.

New Years Eve: Erin welcoming in 2009

Her name is Erin Kitner and she lives down in Boone near a crick (or two) and likes to frolick in the mud and cattails with her boyfriend, Billy Joe Bob ( who happens to freakishly resemble the university’s mascot). They have a cactus named Papaya II (because Erin managed to “kill” Papaya the first). As you can see, Erin is a unique and very “special” individual.

Billy Joe

I miss her dearly when she is at school partying it up in the wilds of Boone and meeting new friends on the bus. But…lucky for us we have our letters to keep in touch ( as long as Erin remembers the proper postage). She is the best penny pal that I have ever had…well really the only one I have ever had…but still the best! Oh and not to worry my dear penny pal, some pictures of our adventures, shall be up soon.

But really, in all seriousness, fall is my favorite season ever. There are so many great things about fall, like apple picking, pumpkins, corn mazes, free candy, and of course the best of all, the beautiful hues of fall foliage that overtake the great state of Ohio during this time of year. Not only is fall a beautiful time of the year but there is also a sense of excitement in the air. My favorite part of the season is walking outside and it just smells like autumn. You know the smell I am talking about- firewood burning in the distance and the clean, cool, and crisp smell to the air.

There are so many great memories that come with fall. One of my most recent is being able to go to the high school football games with my friends. That was the thing to do on Friday nights in the Fall and I was always excited to do that.

Homecoming 2007

I remember when I was younger I would “help” my mom rake leaves in the yard at home. My helping really consisted of jumping in her perfectly formed piles, with the help of my perky little poodle, Lucy. It would take her hours to rake those leaves and so of course, when I jumped in them, I had to rake up any runaway leaves that happened to scatter away in the wind.

Another memory I have are those nights near the bonfire. One of my childhood friends lived next door to me and I remember going over there every once in awhile for a bonfire in her backyard, roasting marshmellows and discussing whatever it was seven year old girls talked about.

So many of my memories about childhood take place in the fall, it is just a time of year where I feel happy to be alive and would miss it. I am sure I have many memories ahead of me, as I have had my wedding planned to be in October since I can remember.

But this year, I have already had the chance to roast marshmellows over the bonfire, will be attending my first OSU football game this weekend, and I am sure I will get the chance to jump into the piles of leaves that my mother has so diligently raked. Although, I have always believed that she really does just rake the fall foliage for me to jump in- because there is just nothing quite like it.

There is just so much change going on right now and it is really hard to fathom it all. I had to say goodbye to my best friend this week- as she is going to school about three hours away. I know it was more like a “see you later” instead of an actual goodbye but it was still hard. She was there whenever I needed her to be and it will be different not having her be five minutes away.

Basically I am just not inept at dealing with changes in my life. I never thought that I would want to go back to high school but recently I have been feeling like I could deal with it much better now- knowing what I know now. But that is a different topic for another time. Maybe that will be my next post. As for now my randomness is coming to a close. Until next time….

I am going to be a sophomore in college this fall which seems somewhat impossible to me. I have no idea how I got to where I am today and how I managed to grow up so fast. I think that is the hardest part for me to grasp-not being a kid anymore. You really don’t appreciate your childhood until it is not there anymore. I remember that as a little girl I was always wanting to be older. My sister is 4 years older than me so I was always jealous when she got to do  more “grown up” things than me- like go see the movie Titantic in theatres or go riding in cars with boys. These things seemed so “cool” back then and I feel as though I really did not appreciate them until I began to look back and think “those were the easy days”. Now there is so much going on in my life-good and bad- and I am being forced to make decisions that I would never have thought possible. It is frightening and exciting all at the same time.

One of my good friends introduced me to a new musical artist the other day-Sia. She has a song entitled “Playground” that is far more capable of describing my reflections. In fact, I believe it is this song that inspired me to write this first entry.

Come with me to a place of fantasy
I’ll take you on a sea-saw
Come with me to a place that’s by the sea
I’ll take you on a board walk
Take my hand I’ll take you to the sand
You and me will build a castle
Ready set go I’ll race you to the wall
I will win I am the fastest

I don’t wanna grow old
Bring me all the toys you can find
You don’t wanna grow up
You can be my partner in crime

I’ll be sure to write you from the war
Put your guns away it’s tea time
Water bombs and tea towel tired mums
Looking for a little me time
Close your eyes and count to thirty five
You may never ever find me
Close my eyes and then I realise
You are never far behind me

I don’t wanna grow old
Bring me all the toys you can find
You don’t wanna grow up
You can be my partner in crime
I don’t wanna grow old
Bring me all the toys you can find
You don’t wanna grow up
You can be my partner in crime

Let’s have fun, let’s play out under the sun
Will you take me by the hand
Let’s see how far we can run, yeah
Let’s play chase let’s put make up on our face
You can catch me if you can
We can make a secret place