"Sometimes you just have to let a dog be a dog."
Andy forgot that part of "being a dog" is running away. Part of being a person is also running away. Not as in Mogli being raised by wolves type running; rather, running away from our problems. I'll get back to this "running" idea on the next post.

No official Title

I’ve started working at my father’s office, Bernard L. Brink Financials, as a…well there is no official title. I’m pretty important, preparing envelopes to be sent out, making post office runs, and lunch runs, making coffee, entering data and completing bank recs, taking an online class so I can be useful when tax season comes in full swing (next month). Maybe the last couple things are the most important but I think making coffee is my favorite part of this job. There are 7 different flavors of coffee to choose from! Of course I usually ask what Linda or my father wants, but still….7 flavors, and two of them have chocolate in the title. 

Since I’m so important in the office, a little lower on the scale than the file cabinet but higher than the beta fish (aka Mr. Beta). I better get back to work.

Binge

There’s something about the old Star Wars Movies (IV, V, VI) that make me fall asleep. Don’t get me wrong. I love them. They are the best space movies ever!  I think they make me fall asleep because they are calming. A “comfort movie.” Like comfort food. You always feel better when you eat some comfort food. I would be in a seriously comfortable place if I was eating “cheesy noodles” while watching Star Wars. I don’t think of Star Wars as movies that make me fall asleep, so ringing in the New Year by watching the trilogy sounded like a perfect idea. After struggling to stay awake through the death star destruction, and missing Luke’s first battle and hand loss and the infamous line, “Luke I am your father!” “NO! NOOOOoooooooo!” (my favorite part). I gave up.

It has been a long time since I’ve really cared about staying up for new years. Maybe that’s because I never have new years resolutions. The only reason for that is because I’d rather resolve to start something on a different day than everybody else. But this year is different, 2011 I mean. I resolved to make new years resolutions.

2011 New Years Resolutions:

1.     Make New Years resolutions.

So maybe I should take in the last few hours of the year. Party it up. Because isn’t that what New Years Eve is all about? Binging before we give it all up?

2012 New Years Resolutions:

1.     Get used to a normal sleep schedule.

2.     Make up a list of New Years resolutions.

I think I’ll binge on sleep and ring in 2012 with some good ol’ Zzzz…..

Stop Staring

Do you ever have the odd feeling that people are staring at you? Today I had this feeling while I was shopping at Cub Foods. I wasn’t dressed any stranger than usual. My hair wasn’t disheveled any more than is to be expected, and there was nothing on my face that shouldn’t have been there; yet, people were giving me weird looks. It could’ve been my imagination, but I saw them divert their eyes when I noticed them. One man in the meat section even said hello to me even though he was in a conversation with some one else. I just wanted to tell them all, “Why are you staring at me? Why can’t a girl buy 3 pounds of hamburger meat, a cucumber, and a couple apples with out all this attention?” The answer is simple, but I had to answer it myself. They were all bored out of their minds because there was hardly anyone in the store. Watching me was their only form of entertainment to keep them from falling asleep on the cash wrap belts.

10 at 10 and 10 years from now

Recently, someone I’ve known all my life, has come face to face with the monster we call cancer. When I was told the news, I was stunned. I’m always stunned when I hear of horrible things that happen to people I know. And it’s always so sudden. I’m just eating a sandwich and then hear some horrible news. Are you going to finish that sandwich? Well, not now. How could I? (Seems like a good diet plan. Just read the news whenever you get hungry. Something in there will be horrible enough to turn your belly.) Sometimes with things like this, I just get the “commercial news.” Like the commercials for news at 10, “Tune in for more on such and such at 10.” Then at 10 they don’t say anymore than they did in the commercial. Then there’s a half hour about the cat who dialed 911, but what about the dying person? No one knows because they were so enthralled with the cat. So watching the news at 10 turns out to be just a waste of time. Time that I could’ve been doing…something.

So I’m just going to be blunt here, as if I haven’t been already. When people think of cancer they think of people dying from it. When people think of dying “early” (as in before the person dies in their sleep from old age), they always want to bring out the whole live life to the fullest, and bucket list, and other such things. So I think of these too, but if I knew I was going to die in say, the next ten years. I don’t know what I would do differently than I’m already doing… (Now I just thought about being 34 and not dying. It’s kinda freaking me out.) Yet, in my day dreams of being 34, I’m a lot taller… but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to go out and get my legs surgically altered so that I’m a few inches taller. I wouldn’t travel around the world, I wouldn’t try to be famous, I wouldn’t try to do spectacular things. I think I would use the opportunity to tell everyone I know about how I know I’m going to heaven and how they could get there too when their time comes. We’ve all been dealt our cards, but only God knows what cards we have. I don’t even know how to play this card game. So now we have to trust God. Trust him that he knows and has planned what is best for us…even if it hurts right now. (Think of a band-aid being pulled off really slow.) It hurts now but it will make us what we need to be. It’s hard to trust when I just want things to happen. Time goes by so slow. So very slow. And then suddenly…

So tell me, what would you do differently if you knew you would die in the next 10 years?

THE END

Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition #2 of 2011

It’s an exhibition to be proud to be in. This means that I have finished 4 years of college in art and design, followed by a semester long project that is now in this very exhibition. Though I don’t technically graduate until after I find and finish an internship, I’m done! I have been waiting for this for the last 6 years! It’s here! The end!

The Cocoa Pod is a high scale café that sells specialty chocolate drinks, entrees, and desserts. It’s focus is on chocolate history through artwork, text, and food.

Thursday afternoon was the reception for the exhibit. Cheryl brought me some beautiful yellow flowers, so I felt like a star. My parents drove up to see my project that I have been working on for the last 3 months. They took lots of pictures.

Half of them were of me standing in front of different pieces of my work. I don’t think I’ve ever had that many pictures taken of me in 15 minutes since I had my senior pictures taken.

That kid in the background is hilarious here!

 It was a night to remember.

The other BFA exhibitioners-Congratulations!

Afterwards, my parents took me to Olive Garden where we ate, drank, and were merry! Friday was my presentation about my project. Melissa and Rebecca Rosemeier came to see me speak and see my exhibit after. I was thoroughly encouraged by everyone who supported me these last few days. And to top it off, I got Qdoba at the end of the day. Woop! Woop! For baby burritos! (They are “baby” burritos because they are smooth like a baby and they are the size of a baby.) And now I have food baby...

Road Trip

You know that road trip. The one that characters from books and movies have always had the time and money to take right after they finish college. Well, I will take my road trip with google maps.