The Package
I recently received a very large package from my mother and grandmother. All week my mom had been telling me that I was going to receive a blessing, and considering my irritability from the dry eye and all I didn't really believe her. I thought she was talking about the blessing of snow. Maybe I set my sights too low... Anyway, on my way from a break of class I saw a huge box addressed to me. With a cup of hot Red Rooibos Tea in my hand I tried to lift the box. A guy named Parker who was in my Scavenger hunt group walked by and saw me trying to lift the box. He asked if he could help. I said no. He insisted. I was irritated. I battled with the feminism within me and conceded to his gesture. Yet when I got back to the room and he set the box down I thanked him and rushed back to class. After class and people constantly asking about my box I opened it to find lots of packing peanuts, and a brand new Lenovo dual processor laptop with touchscreen capability and all the works. It was the brand of my stolen computer, but 10x better. After being extremely excited and jumping up and down for about 10 minutes it was time to go get cupcakes with my roommates!!!!
2 Hardworking Girls
So this morning Shonette and I woke up, had a hearty breakfast of eggs and freshly ground coffee and set off to the Teen Pregnancy Center, (we volunteer there, no need to be worried/we aren't teens anymore anyway)... Yet when we reached the door, we were dismayed to find that they are only open on weekdays. Good thing it was only across the street from the apt. After getting back, my roommate Sarah and I decided that we needed to get cash for our planned day out at the museum. Our friend David tagged along to also get cash. We walked .4 miles along the streets spotted with snow residue to a Bank of America and found out that they closed at 12pm. Sarah got frustrated and I quickly spotted an ATM close by. On our way back there was a non-heated and discussion about church denominations and how complicated they are.
Evolution????
Banding together like a pack of small Christian wolves, 9 of us set out for a day at the museum. After a short metro ride, some chiding about our sense of direction and a few quick jokes about the movies National Treasure and Night at the Museum and we were there. We took a map and set off like kids in a candy store, or kids in a museum??? We saw the wild animal and dinosaur exhibits, and one that especially caused some tension was the display of homo sapiens that discussed evolution. This exhibit literally divided us, as some decided to leave the exhibit and go to the sea animal area instead while others of us (including me) walked straight through and looked at stuff. I figured, ''sheesh" we are at a Smithsonian, and I only got 3 1/2 months, I wanna see it all!!!!
MALTS
After leaving the museum and walking aimlessly trying to find the mall that is in L'Enfant Plaza (which I like to jokingly call the little infant plaza), we were famished. After being told just where the mall is we still couldn't find it for about 10 minutes. Until I made the joke that we were standing on top of it, and we indeed were.... Anyway, there was a small food court that was hooked onto a strip mall in the plaza. There were not lots of food options because almost everything was closed. The only things open were a restaurant called Moe's (its kinda like Chipotle), and a sandwich and salad place called Potbelly's I believe...I could be mistaken... After having a rice and bean bowl from Moe's, I saw the malt sign at Potbelly's and couldn't resist. Especially after my roommate Sarah had brought one to the table that had cookies lining her straw. I didn't realize that my purchase of a coffee flavored malt at this time was not the most fiscally responsible thing to do (even though it was ridiculously delicious) because I just wanted the cookies and not really the malt...
Therefore my week was not only filled with some moments that caused some whining , but also with moments of delight and wonder for the new people, place and good things that God has recently blessed me with.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Oatmeal for Dinner
DISCLAIMER: This post could be a little whiny, and 'woe is me', but to those who know me well, well, you know....
A Small White Blanket
Today I awoke to the sound of clanking metal. Once I found the origin of the sound outside my window I took my fingers and placed them inside our hanging plastic blinds, and opened them to find outside our quite large window a white substance falling from the sky which some call snow. Now, I've never seen snow before and I must admit it is quite delightful. Yet my day did not go as planned, and I'm kind of wondering now why I was so hopeful this morning, seeing as unlike the snow, my week has not been very delightful.
Treacherous Sidewalks
This morning I had a meeting scheduled with my editor at The Baptist Press. I had my reservations about this meeting because of the snow, my often failing sense of direction, and the fact that I had to walk clear across town alone. After I had walked clear outside the apartment wearing my snow boots, that quite frankly seemed unnecessary and a little cumbersome, and my knee-length down feathered gray coat, I walked back in to my apartment forgetting something. A few minutes later after deciding to walk back out I received a phone call and email from my editor, which both entailed the snow covered and treacherous sidewalks of DC; we decided to reschedule. Something the email did not explain to me was that my editor's train had been an hour late, and he had slipped walking among the treacherous, snow laden sidewalks of DC.
Physiological Contact
Considering the fact that my computer has been stolen, TSA is unresponsive, and I have not yet received a replacement or loaner computer, my evenings are quite dull. They consist of actually making eye to eye contact and deep conversation with my fellow human beings in this program; leading to moments of intense awkwardness. These moments happen quite often. When everyone else is done talking they sit, staring at their computer screens typing away, scrolling, Skyping, and I'm left listening to Pandora on my phone, playing with my phone, or making actual phone calls in which I have to talk. Also, on Tuesday after watching an episode of the hit children's show 'Victorious' on my IPhone my headphones caught a concussion. This horrible condition of my headphones left me sitting in various parts of our apartment cuddled with my IPhone holding the headphone cord in about 100 different positions in order to get just one word, melody, or phrase of a show or song out.
Mother Nature
The weather was quite chill this week despite the snow, and with the full force of 12 degree winds I was lucky enough to find myself with a case of dry eye. This condition allowed me to blink so hard it looked like I had a nervous twitch at our first Family Night Dinner. Side note: This dinner consists of good food, mentors, and the families of each person on staff. Yet, gradually the temperature rose this week as I had less and less to do, and or less and less money to spend, leaving me possibly having a small brown bag of Quaker's Instant oatmeal, toast, and water for dinner.
A Small White Blanket
Today I awoke to the sound of clanking metal. Once I found the origin of the sound outside my window I took my fingers and placed them inside our hanging plastic blinds, and opened them to find outside our quite large window a white substance falling from the sky which some call snow. Now, I've never seen snow before and I must admit it is quite delightful. Yet my day did not go as planned, and I'm kind of wondering now why I was so hopeful this morning, seeing as unlike the snow, my week has not been very delightful.
Treacherous Sidewalks
This morning I had a meeting scheduled with my editor at The Baptist Press. I had my reservations about this meeting because of the snow, my often failing sense of direction, and the fact that I had to walk clear across town alone. After I had walked clear outside the apartment wearing my snow boots, that quite frankly seemed unnecessary and a little cumbersome, and my knee-length down feathered gray coat, I walked back in to my apartment forgetting something. A few minutes later after deciding to walk back out I received a phone call and email from my editor, which both entailed the snow covered and treacherous sidewalks of DC; we decided to reschedule. Something the email did not explain to me was that my editor's train had been an hour late, and he had slipped walking among the treacherous, snow laden sidewalks of DC.
Physiological Contact
Considering the fact that my computer has been stolen, TSA is unresponsive, and I have not yet received a replacement or loaner computer, my evenings are quite dull. They consist of actually making eye to eye contact and deep conversation with my fellow human beings in this program; leading to moments of intense awkwardness. These moments happen quite often. When everyone else is done talking they sit, staring at their computer screens typing away, scrolling, Skyping, and I'm left listening to Pandora on my phone, playing with my phone, or making actual phone calls in which I have to talk. Also, on Tuesday after watching an episode of the hit children's show 'Victorious' on my IPhone my headphones caught a concussion. This horrible condition of my headphones left me sitting in various parts of our apartment cuddled with my IPhone holding the headphone cord in about 100 different positions in order to get just one word, melody, or phrase of a show or song out.
Mother Nature
The weather was quite chill this week despite the snow, and with the full force of 12 degree winds I was lucky enough to find myself with a case of dry eye. This condition allowed me to blink so hard it looked like I had a nervous twitch at our first Family Night Dinner. Side note: This dinner consists of good food, mentors, and the families of each person on staff. Yet, gradually the temperature rose this week as I had less and less to do, and or less and less money to spend, leaving me possibly having a small brown bag of Quaker's Instant oatmeal, toast, and water for dinner.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Just the Start of Something New
I... Have... Arrived....
So far I've been in DC for only a hot second now, and I am liking it just fine... Maybe not as much as I wanted to, but thats because everything is expensive (10% tax) and I have almost absolutely no sense of direction as I feared (the metro/the bus...). It also might be for the fact that my laptop was stolen at LAX, the TSA man yelled at my mother on the phone, and its not as cold as I have prepared for yet... Although, all the other WJCers are nice, and its good to have Shonette here (a friend and fellow Biolan/Californian) with me to share this experience.
The Orient
During my jet lag we had about 2 days of intense orientation, and by this I mean sitting listening to people talk and pray for about 5-6 hours. It was helpful, and very informative (no sarcasm intended). This orientation included ways to get around the city, a video on sexual harassment in the workplace, and sporadic moments of prayer, food, and fellowship.
During times of fellowship, I have also encountered some of the most common questions that people ask Californians, such as;
"Do you see famous people/movie stars/actors (insert synonym for California's 1 percent here...)?"
"If you live in California, do you go to the beach a lot?"
"Are you at the beach all day?"
"How far do you live from a beach?"
"Is it hot in California?"
"Do you surf?"
And many others....
Bus Days
The first two weeks here at WJC are really exploration weeks, since its inaguration time. Therefore our homework loads are light and our dreams of eating Georgetown cupcakes, purusing through new grocery stores, and making dinner on our own, can come true.
One of our first homework assignments is a scavenger hunt in groups of 5 (that will last about 3 days total), meaning we are free to roam the city as we please. The only exception is we cant get lost. The hunt demands that we ride the bus and the metro interchangably and get back to WJC at the end of the day. This hunt also includes that we eat Jumbo Pizza in a hipster city, act out a scene from National Treasure, and find and take a picture with Obama (the real person, not a cardboard cut out...).
So far I've been in DC for only a hot second now, and I am liking it just fine... Maybe not as much as I wanted to, but thats because everything is expensive (10% tax) and I have almost absolutely no sense of direction as I feared (the metro/the bus...). It also might be for the fact that my laptop was stolen at LAX, the TSA man yelled at my mother on the phone, and its not as cold as I have prepared for yet... Although, all the other WJCers are nice, and its good to have Shonette here (a friend and fellow Biolan/Californian) with me to share this experience.
The Orient
During my jet lag we had about 2 days of intense orientation, and by this I mean sitting listening to people talk and pray for about 5-6 hours. It was helpful, and very informative (no sarcasm intended). This orientation included ways to get around the city, a video on sexual harassment in the workplace, and sporadic moments of prayer, food, and fellowship.
During times of fellowship, I have also encountered some of the most common questions that people ask Californians, such as;
"Do you see famous people/movie stars/actors (insert synonym for California's 1 percent here...)?"
"If you live in California, do you go to the beach a lot?"
"Are you at the beach all day?"
"How far do you live from a beach?"
"Is it hot in California?"
"Do you surf?"
And many others....
Bus Days
The first two weeks here at WJC are really exploration weeks, since its inaguration time. Therefore our homework loads are light and our dreams of eating Georgetown cupcakes, purusing through new grocery stores, and making dinner on our own, can come true.
One of our first homework assignments is a scavenger hunt in groups of 5 (that will last about 3 days total), meaning we are free to roam the city as we please. The only exception is we cant get lost. The hunt demands that we ride the bus and the metro interchangably and get back to WJC at the end of the day. This hunt also includes that we eat Jumbo Pizza in a hipster city, act out a scene from National Treasure, and find and take a picture with Obama (the real person, not a cardboard cut out...).
Sunday, January 13, 2013
And the Journey Begins...
Rising and Shining
Tomorrow I will be rising at about 3am and shining at about two weeks from now when I finally wake up and find myself adjusted to the climate and time difference of Washington DC.
The Plan
My mother and I will be traveling a day early to Washington DC to spend a little time experiencing the city, shopping and sight-seeing (we will be doing as much sight-seeing you can actually do in one day....) Then my mother will depart the next day after dropping me off in front of the Dellenback Center.
I am a fly swatter
I am extremely excited, and after cramming my bags with things I will hopefully really use and need in Washington I'm also really tired. This past week has flown by me like a miniscule black fly trying to escape a swatter.
Ambitious
Hopefully tomorrow when I arrive in DC, and am standing in the DCA airport in my parka darting my eyes around at the massively diverse amount of people there, I will feel a deep sense of purpose, focus and later on at WJC, belonging.
Tomorrow I will be rising at about 3am and shining at about two weeks from now when I finally wake up and find myself adjusted to the climate and time difference of Washington DC.
The Plan
My mother and I will be traveling a day early to Washington DC to spend a little time experiencing the city, shopping and sight-seeing (we will be doing as much sight-seeing you can actually do in one day....) Then my mother will depart the next day after dropping me off in front of the Dellenback Center.
I am a fly swatter
I am extremely excited, and after cramming my bags with things I will hopefully really use and need in Washington I'm also really tired. This past week has flown by me like a miniscule black fly trying to escape a swatter.
Ambitious
Hopefully tomorrow when I arrive in DC, and am standing in the DCA airport in my parka darting my eyes around at the massively diverse amount of people there, I will feel a deep sense of purpose, focus and later on at WJC, belonging.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Dreaming of the Journey
With a few new clothes purchased, a plane ticket, and my eyes transfixed upon the book 'The Elements of Journalism' the apprehension of entering a new place is slowly settling in. With every minute, and almost every hour of each passing day I dream of the days I will spend studying abroad in Washington DC.
Earlier today I found myself giddy with the news that I had landed an internship at The Baptist Press. After praying and deeply considering it for a few hours, I called my contact there to excitedly confirm my internship position. After flip-flopping online between Gmail, the Baptist Press website, Facebook, and the newly updated FAQs sent from WJC, I found myself a little tired and mostly worried.
The FAQ page was especially troubling.
Bus or Metro?
My fear of public transportation grew a little, and then almost exploded when the first question on the FAQ website was about deciding what type of transportation to take when in DC. While reading, I visualized myself standing in some type of dark and grimy subway station in a parka, alone, confused and with no sense of direction. Although my fear of public transport was rapidly expanding, this was only one of several things that I found may be problematic.
Time is Fleeting
With the mantras; 'live it up while you can', 'get to know the city', and or the newly famous 'YOLO' hovering over my idea of travel to DC, I'm afraid I wont have time to do all that I can. Time can robs us of experiencing things fully, and or being in the moment of visiting a museum, draping your eyes upon a new piece of art and or standing in awe before a monument. I worry that I will not have enough time to do these things fully. The desire to do well at my internship, in class, and getting to know the city have seemed to blend together, making my visions of good time management more and more fuzzy.
The Valley of Hunger
I knew beforehand that while in DC I would be responsible for my own food preparation. Yet when I think of myself cooking I find myself filled with either visions of mountains of fatty fast food, or small hills of cereal, coffee, crackers, and PB&J sandwiches.
Fashion Forward
What in the world is business casual? I am the type of person who loves to shop, yet only seriously goes shopping about twice a year. Knowing that I need to compile a slightly more professional/fashionable wardrobe worries me. I don't really consider myself fashionable, yet I constantly find myself among very fashionable people who are blessed enough to shop whenever they want, and knowledgeable enough about fashion to buy whatever they want. Hopefully my newly purchased suits, and casual separates are enough to carry me through this journey in an at least slightly fashionable manner.
Fly
Flying.Now...now...now... I'm excited to go, yet constantly nervous about flying... I claim that this trip will be safe, and without complications. Good thing that on my journey to Washington DC there is a stop in Chicago, and each flight is only about two hours each.
Abba
Although these things seem as I said; worrisome, troubling, or problematic to me, I am fully trusting that God will carry me through. I know that I will be there to learn and learn a lot quickly. Whenever I feel homesick, confused, scared or even hungry, I know that God is there to listen and always has my best interest in mind. So please if you are reading this pray and continue to pray for my journey to and from Washington DC.
Blessings,
-Tonika
Earlier today I found myself giddy with the news that I had landed an internship at The Baptist Press. After praying and deeply considering it for a few hours, I called my contact there to excitedly confirm my internship position. After flip-flopping online between Gmail, the Baptist Press website, Facebook, and the newly updated FAQs sent from WJC, I found myself a little tired and mostly worried.
The FAQ page was especially troubling.
Bus or Metro?
My fear of public transportation grew a little, and then almost exploded when the first question on the FAQ website was about deciding what type of transportation to take when in DC. While reading, I visualized myself standing in some type of dark and grimy subway station in a parka, alone, confused and with no sense of direction. Although my fear of public transport was rapidly expanding, this was only one of several things that I found may be problematic.
Time is Fleeting
With the mantras; 'live it up while you can', 'get to know the city', and or the newly famous 'YOLO' hovering over my idea of travel to DC, I'm afraid I wont have time to do all that I can. Time can robs us of experiencing things fully, and or being in the moment of visiting a museum, draping your eyes upon a new piece of art and or standing in awe before a monument. I worry that I will not have enough time to do these things fully. The desire to do well at my internship, in class, and getting to know the city have seemed to blend together, making my visions of good time management more and more fuzzy.
The Valley of Hunger
I knew beforehand that while in DC I would be responsible for my own food preparation. Yet when I think of myself cooking I find myself filled with either visions of mountains of fatty fast food, or small hills of cereal, coffee, crackers, and PB&J sandwiches.
Fashion Forward
What in the world is business casual? I am the type of person who loves to shop, yet only seriously goes shopping about twice a year. Knowing that I need to compile a slightly more professional/fashionable wardrobe worries me. I don't really consider myself fashionable, yet I constantly find myself among very fashionable people who are blessed enough to shop whenever they want, and knowledgeable enough about fashion to buy whatever they want. Hopefully my newly purchased suits, and casual separates are enough to carry me through this journey in an at least slightly fashionable manner.
Fly
Flying.Now...now...now... I'm excited to go, yet constantly nervous about flying... I claim that this trip will be safe, and without complications. Good thing that on my journey to Washington DC there is a stop in Chicago, and each flight is only about two hours each.
Abba
Although these things seem as I said; worrisome, troubling, or problematic to me, I am fully trusting that God will carry me through. I know that I will be there to learn and learn a lot quickly. Whenever I feel homesick, confused, scared or even hungry, I know that God is there to listen and always has my best interest in mind. So please if you are reading this pray and continue to pray for my journey to and from Washington DC.
Blessings,
-Tonika
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