Autumn Update

From Seattle, WA, 9:00am

I've been procrastinating this blog post... for the past two weeks I've been trying to come up with a good idea to write about or a neat experience but since nothing significantly amazing has happened I've been having writer's block. So instead, I figured I would do several small updates instead of getting on a soap box for the entirety of the post. 

Update number one: 

Mika is literally in the air right now flying to Seattle. Part of the reason I am finally writing instead of putting it off further is so it gives me something to do to distract me from watching the time (though I've probably glanced at the clock on my computer about 2.3 million times since I started writing this.) Also, I blame any typos on my inability to think straight.

Update number two: A book report.

If you haven't read the book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak you really should. It is a fantastic story of a girl in Nazi Germany living with foster parents who are hiding a German Jew in their basement. She begins to steal books even before she can read but her "papa" (her foster dad) fosters (see what I did there? :) I love puns) a need for more books after teaching her to read and write. The 550 page story is narrated by Death. I thought Death as a narrator would make the book creepy but it is actually a brilliantly pleasant aspect. Death makes jokes, feels sorrow, and is a very eloquent story teller. You'll fly through this book- I'm not sure if I've ever read a 550 page book in my life (I am ashamed to say that means I haven't read classics like the unabridged versions of Le Mis or The Count of Monte Cristo) but I finished this one in under a week. So get yourself a copy, read it, and love it. 

Update number three: Old friends

Early last week I went up to Seattle to spend time with friends and my older sister, Whitney. It was fantastic. I foolishly forget sometimes (even if only for a brief moment at a time) how great the people in my life are. They aren't just people. They are my people. I had lunch on an outdoor patio, visited with a wise Institute teacher, watched a soccer game in the freezing cold (but was rewarded with hot chocolate afterwards), ate Calzones with great people, had an amazing breakfast, and cheered on Mexico in the quarter finals. The common denominator to all of those activities is that I was with the people I love. One of my friends, Eugenia, and I got to talking one of the nights about how we are so grateful that we have such amazing friends. Eugenia, our friend, Sara, and I all met when we were freshmen at UW. We are so blessed that even though we have done things we shouldn't have or said something we shouldn't have we are still close friends. We have never done anything so bad that our friends questioned our character even through our college years trying to figure out who we are and what we want to become-trying to figure out our places in this big world. And I think that says a lot. 

Eugenia, Sara, and I

So yes, this is a shorter blog post than normal. Besides Mika on his way here, finishing a fantastic book (a PR page-wise for me), and getting to spend time cheering Mexican soccer players on with Whitney not a whole lot has been going on. It's been a nice, "normal" few weeks and that's what we all want, right? But "normal" in my life is amazing and I'm such a lucky girl because of it.

Happy Sunday!

P.S. Go watch Bill Gate's favorite TED Talks playlist. You won't be disappointed. (Thanks, Katie for the recommendation!)