In the last 38 hours I have slept slept a total of 3 hours. I’m going to bed now. I’m not taking any more tests, and hopefully I will wake up for my first class manana. Amen. 
HALLELUJAH! God carried me through this week!
Lullaby and goodnight!
I’m so glad I went home this past weekend! I really just needed some time with my family. I left school Thursday afternoon with a friend, and after dropping her off at her house, I made it home at around 11pm. Even though I missed Friday classes and had to finish and e-mail an essay to my prof. while at home, it was totally worth having that extra day. I wish I could have visited LPC! The trip was just too short, and I needed that time with my family. My Mom is doing alright. She went to a lung cancer specialty center for a 2nd opinion today. They didn’t recommend much else than what she’s doing already. We’re praying that this cycle of chemo and God’s power will stop and wipe out the cancer. That’s that.
I actually had time to watch a few SNL clips and some online TV episodes. I don’t have cable, so it’s either movies or online episodes. I know I’m probably behind on technology, but watching TV online is pretty amazing…not to mention FREE. This is the first time, since being up here, I’ve had time to just sit back and relax. I know it won’t last for long, that’s why I’m savoring it.
Other news: 53 degrees this morning… I wore a jacket and drank hot chocolate w/ marshmallows tonight. Mom said it was chilly at home as well? Winter is a’coming!
Every time I try to chill, evil forces gang up against me and try to steal time from me. Tonight I fought! I had planned to eat and read for a few hours before going to a concert, but for some reason by the time I fixed dinner it was time to shower and go. But it’s all good, because listening to music is usually relaxing. So one of my roommates and I went to the University Symphony Orchestra concert. This is one of 15 concerts I have to attend before the end of the semester. But that’s not why I went…I really enjoy USO’s music-making, mostly because several amazing friends are in it.
Other news… My room is taking on more character. Put up some lights tonight…that was fun. I always enjoy climbing and balancing on top of dressers, chairs, and bed posts (don’t tell my Mom, she’ll freak). Don’t worry, I’m careful. I have so much wall space that I’m a bit overwhelmed. I have a Van Gogh painting and some photographs that I want to put up, but they’re so small that they would be lost….so I’m still working on solving that. But I’m liking the lights and color in here.
Last night I was probably my 1st Top Embarrassing Moment of the semester thus far. I was talking a CFF friend after a conducting recital, when a music friend, whom I know very well, walked up. I went to introduce the two of them, but my brain shut off. Literally, it shut off. ?!?!? I could not think of her name for the life of me. In fact I couldn’t even think of anything. It wasn’t like I having a ditz moment and then suddenly remembering. I knew her name, but it was like a minute until I spit it out of my mouth. I felt HORRIBLE. And the worst part, they couldn’t relate. Neither one had ever experienced that forgetful phenomenon before. Luckily, the girl who’s name I could not spit out, is cool, and got over it. I told my best friend the story today and right away she was like, oh yeah, that’s happened to me before. So now I feel a little less horrible. Moral of the story: When you spot a friend or acquaintance approaching, refresh your memory of their name.
Happy weekend! or Happy homework time!
I’m in the process of writing a more detailed update, but since my simple blogs have been scrutinized for grammatical and spelling instability, I have become self-conscious and am post-poning their debut until I have time to edit them. haha. 
…Actually, I’m just really tired and don’t really have time to sit down and write long entries.
I have been eating rice and beans since Monday for a fundraiser, which my friend named a ”Rice-&-Bean-athon” for the hurricane relief effort in Haiti. [Except for tonight, I ate chicken tenders, and downed them faster than ever before] Pray for the people in Haiti. The relief efforts are still in need of resources. As of last, 800,000 people were in need of emergency assistance in various forms. There are plenty of organizations to partner with or donate to, if you feel led.
Around this time last week I was defrosting lettuce in my microwave. I am here again, to assure you that life does get better. I had a somewhat “normal” salad (if you exclude the spaghetti I threw on top) for dinner and now I’m eating some healthy ice-cream. Yes, healthy ice-cream. Rocky-road chocolately goodness with Extra-loaded fiber cereal. I figure the fiber kind-of cancels out the sugar and chocolate.
I’m going on retreat (Family vacation) this weekend with CCF…and oh wow, am I looking forward to it. I just need to get away from the practice rooms, the library, BOOKS, my book bag, and my cooking. I know I haven’t been up here long, but I just need some chill time. I’ve been working hard this week to get ahead, so that I won’t be stressed, come Sunday. I have a music history test on Monday, which I heard is really scary, but I’m not too worried. I’ll put in alot of time tomorrow, and bring my notes on family vacation just in case I have some time to study.
The last two days have been gorgeous. Bright and sunny with an autumn breeze. Ohhh, it’s so lovely. The trees in autumn are so musical, the leaves rustling in the wind is so peaceful! I promise to eventually take some pictures of trees, the music school, and some other pretty areas around campus for you faithful Miami readers! It will be a tour of FSU and the music school!
Speaking of the music school… In opera workshop class we began working on our scenes. My first coaching was on Monday for the Sextet (Six singers) from Cosi Fan Tutte. I had practiced my part before rehearsal, but I sure didn’t feel prepared at rehearsal. First of all, we knew we’d be running notes and speaking the Italian. So I learned the notes and spoke the dialogue on my own, but I was practicing at a slow-medium tempo. At rehearsal the director wanted it at a tempo (the speed written by the composer which dominates the piece), which happened to be allegro (which is pretty fast). It was our first time singing together, and finding my entrances while zipping through it at the speed of light was not helping. Some people knew their parts perfectly, so it was a bit embarrassing, but tomorrow we rehearse again, and it will be better. Tomorrow we rehearse the next section which is “molto allegro” which means “very fast”. yippie!
I’m really tired. I hope you all are doing well, drop a line and share a story from this week or last week.
Yesterday, I told a friend about Hillsong’s song “Healer”, which Michael Guglielmucci wrote when he was supposedly diagnosed with cancer, and she shared with me her discovery of the song. I saw the video on youtube of him telling his story and performing the song with oxygen tubes. I was quite touched, and wanted to show my Mom the video asap. Turns out the story was a hoax. Guglilmucci was faking that he had cancer. This breaks my heart. How can someone pretend they have such a vicious disease! I was angry when I first heard about this…but I’m calm now, and here’s something that my friend and I talked about relating to this event.
My first response was, ‘well, I don’t want to sing that song again, because it was created with wrong intentions’. Then God put this verse in my head….
Philippians 1:18 – “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” (Go back and check out verses 12-18 to get the whole story).
Then, I said, ‘Okay, God, I’ll get over it, this song can still be used to glorify you.’ Even if this dude was selfish and wanted attention, the song and poetry isn’t about him. I believe God can take the bad and make it good. And he can use people, who don’t have the right intentions, to do the right things. I’m praying that this guy will recognize his disorder, get counseling, and experience God’s healing power, for real.
This really upset me, not only, because it’s just…upsetting, but also because this is the second time I’ve heard of this deception. My roommate last year was very distraught by a family friend who was “sick with cancer”. There were many nights I would console her because not only was she stressed out with school, but she felt the need to go home and visit this young person (who was faking cancer). She found out sometime last semester that she had just been pretending. Of course, a weight was lifting off of her shoulders, but my gosh, what a waste of energy that could have been exerted elsewhere.
*No one from Hillsong nor any of his family knew of his lie.*
Click here to to read the article from an Australian online news site.
I REALLY miss my Mom and Dad’s cooking.
Did I mention that I’m still eating rice, pasta, and PB&J sandwiches… Tonight I was desperate for variety, so I stopped by quiznos and ordered a “tuscan turkey sub”, YUM. I ate that around 5, so that called for a late evening snack. I went to get my lettuce out of the back of the fridge, but it was half frozen!! I tried eating it, but it hurt my teeth. I microwaved the salad a few times, but all that resulted was a pile of warm leaves and some transparent slush. I finally admitted defeat and ate some “”"organic”"”chocolate mint cream cookies (that are cheaper than oreos at publix…”Back to Nature” brand). I didn’t know cookies could be organic…but I guess everyone is going green these days.
So, this is my new mid-week/I-should-be-doing-homework blog style…
- Swam at FSU gym pool for the first time, today. Refreshed and preparing for soreness.
- Wanted to dig a hole out of my music theory classroom to Miami, after being some what humiliated after playing a composition I wrote in the style of Bach [ ach!
]. At least I’m not claiming to be a composer or theorist. That would be the day… - Sounded like a mad person in a practice room today by spitting out consonants while running through my Midsummer Night’s Dream monologue that begins with the line “Oh spite! Oh hell! I see you all are bent”. hahaha.
- I’m still living off of rice and spinach.
- I FINALLY did laundry!!! I was forced, due to not having a clean towel.
- Sorry Kevin, now I’ll add you to the blog. I did see you, which was crazy. I love how, at FSU, you can run into everyone you know even though there are like 40,000 students and alot of campus. Crazy?!
- Thanks for the rice (arroz) correction, Ritz…I need all the help I can get when it comes to Spanish.
- Thanks for the update, Ela, I enjoy your comments. Thanks for asking about my Mom…
- Mom is at home recovering from surgery that took place about 4 weeks ago. She had complications, specifically a stroke. Thankfully she has recovered from most of the symptoms caused by the stroke, the only one that’s giving her some trouble is her vision in one eye. Otherwise, she’s doing better than she was a few weeks ago. Started new kind of chemo last Friday, meanwhile, we’re doing our research and looking at other clinics for second opinions. Thank you to all of you who are praying for my Mom. It gives me so much peace, especially when I’m far away, to know that so many people are asking God for her healing and recovery. Thank you!
I just realized today that I have a tendancy to be brutally honest. I think about what I say, but sometimes I just don’t see how I can help someone unless I tell them exactly what I see. I had a really interesting day… I know, random intro…For a random day. So let’s begin with yesterday…
Yesterday started off with an ambitious plan of going to the gym @ 7am. Well instead I proved college bum-ness by sleeping through my first class which started at 10:30. [ I can't believe I did this...I wanted to punish myself.] Spent the rest of the day practicing, studying, and Publix-ing. Ran into old Homestead friends at Publix…that was really crazy! A friend came over for dinner, so I got to put my new cooking ware and skills to the test. I made extremely small burgers on really big pieces of bread. What a great combination, no? 
Today I ran out the door without my cellphone. Since I don’t own a watch, this proved to be a considerable inconvenience throughout the day. I kinda enjoyed not having to worry about my phone though. I didn’t miss looking at it every 10 minutes to check the time, or using it as entertainment while eating lunch. I think it takes away from opportunities to talk to people. If someone sees that you’re busy tinkling with your phone, they’re most likely not going to bother you. And I kinda want people to bother me…well sometimes. :-P I almost want to forget it again…except it was annoying listening to 7 voicemails and going through 13 missed calls. *Most of those calls were from my parents…they were concerned that I never woke up, considering the previous day*
I had arros con pollo for lunch…which I thought was very Miami-ish of me. (I don’t even know if I spelled arros correctly?) It was very good, because Pollo Tropical made it. They were actually left overs from yesterday…and I’m not sure how wise it is to eat fastfood left-overs, but I’m still alive. The container that it came is really great for lunch meals, so I washed it out and brought it home.
Tonight, the CCF girls had a “Bead Bash”. It was a huge funfest of jewelry making in one of the dormitories. What could be better?! Well, the CCF guys thought they were pretty cool eating their chicken wings and playing football. But whatever, I’m thinking maybe us girls will have our own wing and football night…except…we’ll make it spinach and football! Yeahhh! I have sooooo much spinach in my freezer. Ahhh, I love it, but I’m not sure I’ll ever finish it.
Well here again is Brandon Heath’s song “Give me your eyes”. I just can’t get away from this dude’s music. I really just wanted the music clip on my page, but I don’t know how to do that, so here’s the video.
I really should be doing homework, but I’m way to pumped inside. I actually got ahead, and all I have is some reading anyways…But I just have to write about what God has been doing in my life in the last 3 days…especially today.
So at CCF on Sunday night, Michael bluntly told us that we either needed to jump on board of a vision, find our vision, or go to another ministry. That might sound harsh at first, but within context, it’s reality. God has grown CCF in faith and in numbers this semester that we can’t meet at the CCF house for our large group meetings, if we meet outside we’re still squished, and if we’re in Cawthon Hall we are short about 30 chairs. Isn’t that a great problem?! So now, they’re asking around campus to see if we can meet in an auditorium or somewhere. So back to the message, God is obviously drawing people like crazy to CCF, and there are still many more people who haven’t been reached. 36,000 students at FSU don’t know the Lord. Isn’t that scary? The only way 36,000 people can come to their knees is if those of us who know the Lord run with a vision or run along someone who has a vision. So on Sunday we were challenged to ask God to show us what is our purpose, or who we are supposed to carry out a vision or encouraging someone else.
Today my best friend, Wooly and I met up for our multi-weekly hang out time. Somehow after talking about not alot we got on the subject of the Sunday night message – our vision. Both of us felt like our vision was the music school. What exactly, we weren’t sure. As we talked out our thoughts we ended up figuring out two first steps to take in this vision! It was soooo cool. We kept high-fiving eachother, we were so excited!
Our freshman year two girls had started up a monthly music school prayer meeting. Last year, we had a more committed group that met bi-weekly. This year…who knows! But Wooly had a great idea on how we could utilize the prayer time and group more wisely and productively. And I have some ideas for ways to bring together people who can’t come to the prayer group…like a prayer/worship night to unite the christian musicians and hopefully bring out some people who aren’t saved, but want to help out with the music. There are so many Christians in the COM (college of music…new acronymn for the day), but we can be so passive about living our lives. Are we so consumed with bettering our music and ourselves, that we don’t leave time to make our relationships with God and others better?
This song has popped up like 10x this week…so uh, I think God is telling me something. Here are the lyrics, check out this artist by the way. His name is Brandon Heath. I hadn’t heard of him until this song. I’m guessing he writes the poetry, if so, he’s definitely writing words from God’s thoughts.
Give Me Your Eyes
Brandon Heath
Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touch down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared
Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what’s underneath
There’s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He’s out of work, he’s buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared
Chorus
I’ve been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well, I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way You’ve seen the people all along
