Yesterday, with time to spare

Memorial Day came with no jumping to do list.  I was able to enjoy the day at my leisure and celebrate the significance of the holiday without excessive stresses and tasks.  In the morning I decided to weed the garden.  Yes, I chose to weed.  Weeding has been something I have been itching to do since we moved into our new apartment, and the day lended itself to that.  From around 10am to noon, lathered in sunscreen and under my wide-brimmed straw hat, I sat, knelt, and got quite dirty trying to deroot nasty-big dandelions from about 1sq yard of land.  Some of the holes I had to dig to get to the bottom of some of those roots were quite deep, well I think so.  I also came across many friendly dirt-creatures, like Rollie Pollies, Earthworms, Ants, and Little-Orange-Beetle-Looking bugs (which I had never seen before).  Quite pleased with myself, and relaxed after a quiet activity outside and in my own little world, I went upstairs to the apartment to shower and get ready for whatever would come next.

At this point Megan and I talked about trying to escape the heat during the afternoon and head to the mall.  That was the next big activity.  Meg wanted to get a few things from Lush, an English soap store, and other than that we window shopped at H&M.  I think that the significance of this trip was mainly the fact that we both had the time to GO to the mall.  Rarely will Meg and I treat ourselves to such an outing independently, so for us to go together was a huge treat!

Our evening hours were spent enjoying a delicious steak and corn dinner with Megan and my good friends Chris and Mackenzie Peters, and we even brought homemade strawberry shortcake!  Our friends just moved into their new apartment and they have a great deck where the grill is set up and we enjoyed looking out into the surrounding trees and watched the sun set while we ate.  When the mosquitoes decided to come out, we moved inside with time for continued partying with more friends, Greg and Steve, and the time spent consisted of looking at pictures, good conversation about the London Tower, and eating dessert.  We also said, "Bon Voyage" to G&S who are leaving for Europe on Wednesday for a backpacking trip through England, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.  The summer is here, and I'm so glad to be surrounded by friends who love me.

Transition and Efficiency

So yesterday was definitely a day of getting things done. Here was my Facebook status:


Out-of-state license transfer, Psych book, car wash, bed and futon loading with Megan Mitchell and Greg Lowther, work, belated birthday dinner with Mackenzie Peters, impromptu evening hangout with Mitchell, Lowther, and Stephen Dagley, a bedframe and desk in my room, completion of Harry Potter Book 6, and prepping for insurance and rmv tomorrow...Oh yeah.


Today followed with getting my car and renter's insurance taken care of and my new MA license plates for my car.  I just need a state inspection done in the next week and my car is all set for the year (and for now...).


Some of the bigger tasks, like all of the car stuff, has been weighing me down for about a month.  Part of that was because the car issues were completely new learning experiences when I, the adult, would have to assume major responsibilities.  I wanted to prolong (some say procrastinate) taking on those challenges for as long as possible.  Other reasons were/are more sentimental like, I'm going to have to submit my CA license and won't get it back...or I won't be on my parents' insurance anymore, am I really taking that next step of separation from them?  I don't know if I can handle that...  


Going through the car responsibilities was definitely a time of growth and transition for me, even if they were common, every day chores.  I was so lucky to have met with kind, helpful people at the RMV and AAA stations, and my friends and family have been supportive in helping me in whatever way I ask.

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In completing the car tasks, as well as other activities (some of which are listed above), I definitely had this sense of efficiency.  Evie commented, "Yeah, I notice that whenever you say, 'I've been efficient," you're usually in a better mood."  I affirmed her in saying that it's true, and progressed thinking aloud...

"I think that's because whenever I get things done, I know that I am being a responsible person, but also because I know that I have less to do.  So it's not just about getting things done, but also that with less to do I have less reason to be stressed.  I think I subconsciously have known this about myself, and that's why I'm so big on being 'Efficient.'"

To me, that makes complete sense.  I've also noticed this year that I am really into visualizing what a circumstance will be like before it happens, mostly because it's my subconscious way of protection from being overly anxious.  I do this to prepare myself to handle social situations, or getting things done on time, etc.


Although I feel like this part of the entry is a bit fuzzy in message, the underlying idea is that I don't like to be stressed or anxious. I'm glad to be learning about myself this year and why my defense mechanisms turn on to help me.  I've been very fortunate during the past week to be surrounded by caring people to help me when the self-defenses do not always kick in when I need them.


Enough, here's to life transitions and efficiency!

Bookshelves

Over the past couple weeks since moving into our new apartment, the bookshelves I have acquired have been waiting to be filled and arranged.  Today I finally became tired of looking at the blatant mess and needed to make it somewhat presentable (this need to organize may have also manifested as a classic case of procrastination for my Art exam).  Well, after a trip to the Dollar Store and a couple of hours in my room, here is the final product for the shelves:

There's still more to be done, but this is a good start...well, I think so.

Geranium

Often when I go to the grocery market I see geraniums out front waiting to be bought by passing customers.  Each time I drive by, I can't help but look at these beautiful blooming flowers with their bold color.  Geraniums are such a rich and lush plant, that I'm sure one of these days while buying milk, I'll leave the market with one of these babies!

So vibrant!

I have never seen blue geraniums before this picture.  I think these are gorgeous!!!

Mentha

Also known as mint. In our backyard growing up in CA, my mom had a mint plant in the backyard.  I loved standing next to it because I could always smell the fresh mint.  Occasionally during the summer, I remember Mom asking me to get mint from the back to put in some iced tea she had just made.  It's definitely an addition I would like to make to my garden.

Azalea

One of my friends for whom I babysit received a beautiful azalea plant for Mother's Day from her husband.  I noticed it when I walked into their house last week, and couldn't stop noticing how beautiful this plant is.  This picture is close to the color she had, but I especially love the shape of the flower and how the color of the petals pop against the color of the leaves.

Night of the Move

Tomorrow Megan and I are moving in to our new residence, where other friend and roommate Evie has already been moving in and making the place comfy. We've been mentally and physically preparing for this for at least the past two weeks.  Slowly but surely we've been dropping off bits of our belongings to the new apartment in hopes of making tomorrow's load a little lighter.

The goal and schedule for tomorrow is loosely as follows:

8:30am Take Katie's car for an early morning drop-off in Peabody
9:15 Meet guy friends to help load and transport couches
10:45 Load another run in Magnolia including bookshelves and larger items
12:30pm Finished with the big stuff and eat pizza!

Although fairly basic and straightforward, Meg and I formulated quite a few possible schedules for tomorrow's move depending on our resources. That's just because we're conscientious planners that we are, we probably spent too much time trying to coordinate the most efficient possibilities for the move, All in all, we are super excited to be able to share this experience with our friends and start a new season with such a great support system.

Flower of the Day

A friend recently asked me what my favorite flower was, and instead of distinguishing between single-stem and cluster, I responded, "Hydrangeas." There are so many flowers that I like, that it's hard for me to pick one exact type, but hydrangeas are definitely a flower that I keep coming back to and I never get tired of, especially the blue-purple colored ones. I don't really know too much about flowers and can hardly ever remember their respective names, but I do love them and want to learn more.

In reflection to this, I think I am going to try to post about once every three days a new flower that I've read up on and particularly like.  This will be a good way for me to learn about such beautiful specimens of God's creation, as well as keep up with my blogging. ;-)

Let's begin the the afore stated: Hydrangea

Yesterday's Icing

Walking out of the library having accomplished an ample amount of work, with a gorgeous sunset ahead and Beauty and the Beast DVD and HP and the Half Blood Prince CD set featuring Jim Dale.  What a wonderful way to end the day. :)

Gordon Symphonic Orchestra Concert, Spring 2011 and Me!

For over a week, I had been thinking about an upcoming concert at Gordon College where many of my friends would be performing, even housemate Melody!  So when the day of the concert finally came I couldn't help but make it the main event of my Saturday.  Megan decided to come as well, and the two of us made an evening of it all!

We spent far too long picking out outfits and jewelry, fixing our hair and makeup, and affirming each other in our final "look," but it was much needed splurge time and affirmation for our psyches.  Megan wore jeans and this very cute top that she recently found at Target.  She had been waiting to find a special occasion for its first showing, and the GSO concert was it.  I was really the culprit of going through too many outfits, but decided on a pair of nice jeans, maroon cami, with Megan's marigold cardigan.  I also wore my very special scarf from dear friend Agey, and Grandy's topaz earrings from Carloforte, Italy (I had been having a weird day, so I needed a few special momentos for the evening).  

Before actually leaving for the concert, Megan and I shared a dessert: crepe with caramelized apples a la mode with tea.

We made it to the concert just in time before the music started.  The music was wonderful.  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to how the strings in particular were so united and moving throughout the entire evening.  I think that the work of the new conductor and individual attention from Dr. Kim has really developed this section of the music department.  Sarah Heltzel and the Gordon College Choir joined by Lyricora also performed that evening.  

One of the main feelings that I had when I left the concert was my craving to perform music like this.  I desire to learn good music and have it practiced and rehearsed and focus on little nuances to make it a piece of art, especially choral music.  While I could just work on repertoire for a solo recital, and probably will, there is something about making music in a chamber setting that is so appealing to me.  It is the opportunity to use my instrument and musicality in conjunction with others thoughts and strengths that will provide not only balance, but also a challenge to work together to achieve the artform's highest quality.

New Obsession