Quizzing September 29, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration, smiling is good for you , 2commentsToday was the first quiz meet.
It was exhausting.
It was a lot of fun…
me: “John, are you going to gamble away your team’s roster again?”
John: O_o “huh?”
me: “Remember… Districts… you had Bethany and Kenny on your team?”
John: o_O “Huhhhhh?”
me: “And you bet the roster —”
John: “I do not remember!”
Molly: *sigh* “Look at the way he’s standing so stiffly. Huh? ME?!?“
Tim: *comes over to me* *starts talking about the military show we were all at a few weeks ago*
us: *are going on and on about it*
Mark: (who was on my Districts team, and Tim’s regular team) *gives us look like What are you two quizzing on?“
I guess that it’s just unusual for quizzers from different churches to do things together outside of quizzing. But Tim and I have seen each other at two — count ‘em, TWO, non-quiz related activities in the past summer.
*gasp*
me: *trying to be an encouraging captain* “So, Lizzy, do you specialize in anything?”
Mr. G: (our lovely coach) *begins laughing uncontrollably*
me and Lizzy: *glare*
Mr. G: “I’m sorry –” *laughs*
us: *glare*
Mr. G: “It’s just — her FACE!”
us: *glare*
Mr. G: *laughs*
me: “You’re not very nice.”
Mr. G: “But did you see her face?!? It was SOOOOO funny! She’s just like, what???“
Lizzy: *glare* (she glares quite well) “Mr. G, I think we’re going to fire you as coach.”
Mr. G: *laughs*
Johnny: “Your paint did not help me. I did horribly in the Top Ten quiz!”
me: “Erm… that’s because you put too much on.”
Mr. D: “Emily, I’m sorry. Hugs (the little stuffed buddy) is not holding down his seat. I’m just going to turn his light off.”
*yawn*
More stories to follow, I’m sure…
Goodnight.
One of those kinds of days September 26, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 3commentsYes, Derek Webb has a song about it. One of those kinds of days, when the whole world is on my case… Anyway. Yesterday wasn’t that bad, but it certainly felt like it for a while. It was like this: I was at work (volunteering at a pregnancy crisis center). I went in. Cris looked frazzled. We got a new printer last week (the old one had been printing in purple every third line or so). Well. The new one was being, um, worse. It was only printing on every other page. Most of the time. However, if you got funky and stuck blank sheets in between the pages, it would start printing on every third page. And so forth. Then… hmm. I know it did something else annoying. Oh yes. It began sticking pages together so that it would print an eighth of the information on the first page and the rest on another page. >_< Then, thankfully (!) we ran out of black ink and had to give up on printing anything.
So I was going to make photo copies, right? The photo copier is good. It behaves.
Behaved.
In about 80 or 90 copies, it jammed, for absolutely no apparent reason, twelve times.
Suffice it to say that I am now rather competent at unjamming that copier.
Although, all that junk aside, it wasn’t a bad day. But there were a few minutes (okay, an hour or so) when I felt like pulling out my hair.
*grins*
My subconcious is *weird* September 24, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 2commentsI have a lot of odd dreams. Maybe not quite as, erm, kinesthetic as Abby’s, but way more amusing than most movies, cheap, and they keep me entertained the rest of the day. Sometimes I write them down, or at least try to write down enough so that later I will remember what they were about.
Anyway. Some interesting quotes/scenarios. And unless I say otherwise, these are from dreams. Not real life.
~Joanna: *about her mother and father* “I don’t know, they met in a Sheetz and just randomly started smooching each other.”
~The secret society which gave me peppermint soap and types of magnets to build a transporter with.
~Molly getting killed in guerrilla warfare, due to having drunk too much apple cider.
~me: “I could flip you over.”
Antion: “Let’s see it.”
me: *does so*
Antion: *cries*
~random guy: “Let us all now step inside the Circle of Unity.”
some other guy: “It’s an extension cord.“
first guy: “SHHH! I know that, but it’s the longest thing I could find! We want a big circle, right?”
~The dream in which I apparently was Lawrence of Arabia (care to guess what we had just watched?) and had to cross the desert to get to Districts. Talking to McKenzie before crossing the desert, “I’d far rather have a jumprope than [be?] a king out there, because a jumprope is MUCH more useful.”
~Edison Carter (as in, from Max Headroom) waking up to find two women who were both in love with him in the kitchen of his apartment squabbling over who was going to get to marry him. Edison: *walks into the middle of the fight* “Where’s the jello?”
~Antion telling me that his cabin at camp was “as wet as a moat”. [Side story: I was telling Samwise about this in real life, and he missed hearing that it was a DREAM, and started saying, “The cabins weren’t that bad!” Antion says that he would have been worried, too, and found it amusing. End of real life.]
~Dr. W. forcing all his “Biblical Language” students to learn Punti, as it “comes in useful”. O_o
~Dream about rescuing wounded soldiers. The iffy part of that was the army surgeon insisted that our first priority should be giving them all temporary tattoos. It would cheer them up immensely.
IM convos (my excuse, I suppose, for not having posted) September 22, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 1 comment so far| Griff (9:59:17 PM): | I songwrite. |
| me (9:59:30 PM): | Yes, I know that. |
| Griff (9:59:50 PM): | I won’t endeavor to explain the psychological ramifications of that… |
| Griff (9:59:55 PM): | It speaks for itself. |
| me (10:00:00 PM): | of what, songwriting? |
| Griff (10:00:04 PM): | Yes. |
| me (10:00:12 PM): | Well, I do it too, so… |
| Griff (10:00:27 PM): | hahaha. |
| Griff (10:00:47 PM): | Okay, I will now not endeavor to explain how I mean that solely in my own case in light of other evidence. |
| me (10:00:54 PM): | okay |
| Griff (10:01:28 PM): | Hmmm. |
| me (10:01:29 PM): | Lawyer: “So you were gone until you returned?”I will be gone until I return, just so you’re all clear on that. Unless of course I decide to come back before then. |
| me (10:01:41 PM): | sorry, I will be back in a few minutes |
| Griff (10:01:49 PM): | Cool. DOn’t mind me.~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
|
me (4:37:50 PM): |
*poke* |
| AW (4:37:56 PM): | ow |
| me (4:37:59 PM): | pfui |
| me (4:38:04 PM): | I didn’t poke you that hard |
| AW (4:43:12 PM): | felt different on my end |
| AW (4:43:21 PM): | I think it drew blood |
| me (4:43:30 PM): | sorry… it must have been the distance-magnification factor |
| AW (4:43:34 PM): | what do you cut your fingernails with, a whetstone? |
| me (10:12:19 PM): | *pokes gently* |
| AW (10:12:20 PM): | listening to kingdom of heaven soundtrack while pretending to study |
| AW (10:12:30 PM): | *cuts off finger* |
| me (10:12:40 PM): | *throws you in a well* |
| AW (10:12:57 PM): | *climbs out* |
| AW (10:13:08 PM): | *serves finger in a bowl of chilli* |
| me (10:13:17 PM): | calls you Wendy |
| AW (10:13:29 PM): | oh, Peter! |
| me (10:13:32 PM): | um |
| AW (10:13:33 PM): | I grew up  |
| me (10:13:38 PM): | nevermind |
| AW (10:13:46 PM): | *neverland? |
| me (10:13:52 PM): | sorry, I don’t think that I can continue on that train of thought |
| AW (10:14:06 PM): | aw |
| me (10:14:25 PM): | yeah |
| AW (10:14:26 PM): |
*hands copy of herodotus to keep her busy*
So… um… that is to say, you can see that I’ve been busy lately, right? |
*grinning* September 19, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 2commentsFavorite quote from today…
”You seem to have quite enough expertise to be getting along with.”
^_^
I am so not humble.
Today’s Omnibus assignment September 17, 2007
Posted by Anya in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farEvaluate Biblically the following suggesting that The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gives for eliminating prejudice from your “House of Worship”:
74 Urge your leaders to use the pulpit to condemn all forms of bigotry.
The use of the pulpit is not supposed to be for political purposes. Rather, those who preach are to “preach the Word; to be ready in season and out of season”. (II Tim 4:1) They are to preach the good news, as Paul often spoke of. Part of this good news is that all humans are made in the image of God (Gen 9:6) and should therefore be treated with dignity, but another part is that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father and to salvation. (John 14:6, Acts 4:11-12) Any other claims of ways of salvation are unequivocally false.
75 Encourage friends of other faiths to visit your religious services and share your religious knowledge with them. This is a perfectly sensible suggestion, since we have been commanded to “make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that [Christ] has commanded [us]”. (Matt 28:18-20) We are the ambassadors of God on earth to be used by Him to bring people from death to life, from darkness into light. (Acts 26:16-18.)
76 Invite clergy representing religions different from your own to participate in services and deliver the sermon. Rotten idea. Paul condemns the preaching of any other gospel than the one which he had preached, which God had set forth, in Galatians 1:6-9. Having so strongly declared the condemnation of anyone who preaches a different gospel in his absence, we can logically conclude that God would certainly not countenance inviting unbelievers to preach their lies as truth. This is a hideous example of falsehood masquerading as truth, and that is extremely dangerous. God blazingly condemned false shepherds and promises to care for His people Himself in Jeremiah 23:1-4. 77 Host a tour for elected and appointed city/town officials to learn more about your religion and the programs and activities your religious community offers. That’s an interesting idea… but our purpose as a church is to worship God, not please men (Gal 1:10) by offering “programs and activities”. 78 Ensure that all faiths are represented accurately in existing library materials and religious school curricula This is a good suggestion. If they truly mean this, they must support Christianity since any “faith” other than faith in Christ quickly is proven to be straw and rubble when it is tested. (I Cor 3:11-15) 79 Reach out to diverse religious communities to cosponsor festivals and holiday observances, such as ADL’s Interfaith Seders, that highlight and celebrate our common humanity. This is a bit odd, and I don’t quite understand what the point is, other than to show that all religions are equal. They are not. There are plenty of chances to celebrate “our common humanity”, such as the 4th of July, Arts Festivals, the fair, and so forth. However, to truly celebrate a holiday, we need to know why it is holy. 80 Be respectful of everyone who attends your religious services whether they are members of or visitors to your congregation. This is hardly an original idea. James gives more detail on this practice in James 2:1-13. Christians are to be conformed to Christ, which involves treating people with humanity and respect – but not compromising when they would degrade God. (Matt 23) It is not respectful to allow people to continue in damnable errors. However, it is not always a good idea to be as abrasive as Jesus was, because we do not know exactly what is in a person’s heart, rather, we have been commanded “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (I Peter 3:14-16)
81 Turn one bulletin board into a display space where newspaper/magazine clippings depicting current events related to anti-Semitism and other forms of religious persecution, or human rights violations, can be posted for all to read. This is overlooking the real purpose of the church. We are not a civil rights group.
82 Organize an interfaith retreat for young people to increase understanding of each other’s beliefs and build lasting friendships This is an idea which is potentially dangerous. We are to be in the world, but we aren’t supposed to try to make ourselves part of the world, because we aren’t. As Paul asked in II Corinthians 6:14, “What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” While we are to treat all people with integrity, we cannot have the sort of fellowship with them that we have with others whom Christ has redeemed, and we are not to flirt with other gods. 83 Plan an interfaith youth group trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington, DC. Raise funds to cover travel expenses with a community bake sale, car wash, service auction or other activity. Again, that’s a bit odd, and I really cannot see any good coming out of it; only contention and (at best) hurt feelings. We are not to aspire to be part of the world; rather, the world should see our light and aspire to become like us, and like Christ. (I John 2:15, Matt 5:16) In Philippians 2:14-16, Paul writes, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life”. We shine not because we are so tolerant of other religions, but because we have and hold out what they do not have and cannot hope to have apart from Christ – the Word of life. (John 6:63, 68-69)
So yes… I’m apparently quite intolerant. MercyMe summed it up well…
I’m a one trick pony, if you will
I got a one track mind with a heart that’s real
And don’t forget I’ve got tunnel vision
For something much bigger than superstition
Call me hard headed for the One that changed me
Say what you will, it will not phase me
No need for anything up my sleeve
There’s just one thing that I’ll ever needYou are my One and Only
You are my One and Only
Oh, I’m a one trick ponyIf I hear just one more time
That I should try and be more open-minded
I think I just might scream
The world says this is all there is
Yet I believe the One who says there’s life after this
Now tell me how much more open can my mind be?
Is there such a thing as… too much Star Trek? September 15, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 2commentsLast night I was inclined to say yes. Or at least that Ibey had seen a few episodes too many.
This coming, of course, after he tried giving me a “Vulcan Neck Pinch”.
It failed miserably to knock me out cold.
He was quite utterly shocked. This, however, is due less to his firm belief in the truth of all Trekkie techniques and due more to his unshakable belief that the throat is located in the back of the neck. I have no idea why he thinks this. I have never been able to convince him otherwise. He still screams at me if I hug him too long (not touching his throat or impeding his breathing, you understand) “STOP! I can’t breathe!” and proceeds to pry my arm off — the back of his neck, that is.
So, he was most unable to explain why I did not choke when he kept up with the sustained grasp on the back of my neck. :P Sweet little brother that he is, anyway, to be trying a Vulcan neck pinch on me, anyway, and then to be disappointed that I didn’t choke… iyiyi!
Like I said, I did not choke.
I did have a sore neck.
At least he hasn’t figured out how to put together a functional phaser yet.
And here I thought I was serious… September 14, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 2commentsThe dear Omnibus assignment… I think I got the formatting cleaned up a bit… (and this after I said to A.W. the other night, “since when has silly stopped me?”)
Dear Mother,
We have set out on our grand adventure! Right now we are staying at an inn, but Hamlet is already complaining about sore hooves. What a fussy little porker! Oh well, if he doesn’t want to stick with it, he can always go home, right? I had the opportunity to meet a charming spider today. Love,
Wilbur Dear Mother,
My hooves hurt. I’m tired. It rained all day today. Life stinks. Love,
Hamlet
Dear Mother, The trip is proceeding well, although Hamlet is being his usual melancholy self, and Wilbur is being quite easily distractible. Hopefully I can keep them in line until we find a suitable place to build.
How is everything at home? Well, I need to get to bed so that we’ll be ready to go bright and early tomorrow! Direct letters to the Feeding Trough Inn; we’ll leave a forwarding address for them. Love,
Francis
Dear Wilbur, I was delighted to hear about the charming spider which you met. I’d encourage you to cultivate your opportunities to make new friendships, but show a bit of restraint and keep your mind on your main mission: finding a new home.
No, none of you may come home to live. It is time for you to be out in the wide world. Love,
Mother
Dear Hamlet,
Don’t be so depressed. It will make you lose weight. Go take a nice mud bath, and you will feel much better. Love, Mother
Dear Francis,
Remember that a good attitude works wonders, and that a good dinner works miracles. Your best bet for keeping your brothers in a good frame of mind will be to make sure that they are eating heartily and often. I should know, having raised you three little porkers. Things at home are fine, now that the Christmas season is done and we are safe for a few more months. I’m thinking about going truffle-hunting in a few days. Love, Mother
Dear Mother,
You will never believe what has happened! Hamlet is actually building himself a house! He found a man who was selling straw, and seeing how cheap it was, he decided that it would be the perfect housing material. We helped him get it started and put the frame up. I myself think that it is a bit flimsy, and the sticks which we used for a frame would make a much better house themselves, but once Hamlet sets his mind on something, there’s no changing him. We left him a few days ago to continue on our journey. The road is very dusty.
Your son who needs a bath,Wilbur
Dear Mother,
I believe that Wilbur informed you that Hamlet has decided to strike out on his own and build a straw house. I don’t think it’s a good idea (the chap who sold him the straw looked rather shifty, and had large teeth), but Hamlet can make his own decisions. Wilbur was delighted to make the acquaintance of a nice young pig named Babe. This pig, while seeming quite polite, also suffers under the delusion that he is a sheepdog.
Yours in true pig-dom, Francis
Dear Mother,
Dear Wilbur, Sticks would be sturdier than straw. Tell me more about your new friend Babe; he sounds very interesting.
Hoping that you can get a bath soon, Mother
Dear Francis, Yes, Hamlet is definitely old enough to make decisions for himself. I wouldn’t worry about it, although he has complained to me about odd dreams lately. He’s probably been eating bad scraps, though.
I wouldn’t worry about the pig Babe either. If he wants to think that he is a sheepdog, it doesn’t seem that it would cause any problems. Love, Mother
Dear Hamlet,
It sounds as if your dream involved a wolf. That is why I have always cautioned you to be careful of the sort of company you keep, because wolves are quite nasty to get involved with. May I suggest that you not eat so much before you go to bed? Sleep well, Mother
Dear Mother,
Forget about Babe! I have met the girl of my dreams and will be settling down with her! Her name is Miss Piggy. We are going to build a house out of sticks in a pleasant little spot in the woods. Yours in rapture, Wilbur
Dear Mother, Now I’m all alone. Oh well. I’m planning to travel a bit farther before deciding what sort of house I’d like to build. The world is a very interesting place.
I’m glad that you told me about Hamlet’s disturbing dreams, because I have been hearing rumors about a pig named Hamloaf who has been visited by a wolf threatening to huff and puff and blow down his house. Apparently news of my brother’s dreams travels as quickly as I do. Currently I can be reached at “Oinker Hotel”.
Your contented (but hungry) son, Francis
MOTHER TERRIBLE WOLF AT MY HOUSE STOP HUFF AND PUFF STOP AND BLOW HOUSE DOWN STOP HAMLET
Dear Wilbur, My congratulations on your lovely wife and house.
Have you heard from Hamlet lately? Mother
Dear Francis,
I received a most alarming telegraph from Hamlet. Have you heard from him? I’m glad that you’re enjoying the world, but do watch out for wolves.
Love, Mother
Dear Hamlet, Are you sure it was a wolf? It sounds like a nightmare to me. Your concerned Mother
Dear Mother, I have not heard from Hamlet lately. However, I have begun work on my house. I’m building it out of brick, which I find to be pleasingly sturdy.
Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to get hold of Wilbur either. But I haven’t had much time for writing. Getting back to work, Francis
DEAR MOTHER STOP THE MOST DREADFUL THING HAS HAPPENED STOP HUGE BEAST CAME AND BLEW MY HOUSE OVER STOP MISS PIGGY WAS TERRIBLY FRIGHTENED AND BROKE OFF THE ENGAGEMENT STOP RAN OFF WITH A FROG STOP I’M GOING TO FIND FRANCIS STOP LOVE WILBUR
Dear Mother, I’m writing this and hoping that somehow it finds its way to you. Of course it was a wolf; I know a wolf from a watermelon.
Hamlet
Dear Francis,
Both of your brothers have reported to me that a wolf has blown down (?) their houses. I would advise you to be on your guard. I no longer have addresses for either of them. Love, Mother
Dear Mother,
Well, it is all over and we are all safe at last. Yes, all of us; Wilbur and Hamlet are in the kitchen right now. As it fell out, they arrived at my house only a few hours before the wolf. They told me (rather incoherently) what had befallen them and we took precautions. Sure enough, the wolf came and knocked at my door.
“Little pig, little pig, let me come in,” growled he. Although I was quaking at the sound of his voice, I replied with as much assurance as I could muster, “Not by the hair of my chinney-chin-chin, I won’t let you in!!!”
“Then,” he said, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll BLOW your house down!” At this Wilbur and Hamlet began squealing so loudly that I was afraid he would not be able to hear my reply. “You’ll need more lung power.”
He huffed and he puffed until he turned blue (by the way, my garden is flourishing from the overdose of carbon dioxide!) but it did him no good. Then he decided to climb up the roof and down the chimney. We had a fire waiting for him, though, and Wilbur and Hamlet are currently enjoying Roast Wolf.
Now that we’re settled in cozily, we’d be delighted to have you come visit! Your loving son, Francis
Loopy family September 7, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration , 2commentsTonight snacktime was a bit crazy. ^_^ Maybe my sibs had too much sugar… apparently they had too much something, because they were off the deep end. Conversation touched on Star Trek (we just finished watching Metamorphosis) and which actors were still alive. From there we got onto Shenandoah (actor common to both).
There were quotes from Shenandoah:
*downstairs*
Mr. Anderson: “Do you understand, Sam?”
Sam: “Yessir. Er, well, no sir.”
*upstairs*
Ann: “And I just know when Jacob needs time alone. Do you understand?”
Jennie: “Noooooo!”
Then the conversation took an abrupt turn to the Princess and the Pauper Barbie movie.
“Who disturbs my slimber?”
“Slumber, you bonehead!”
“Ah yes, SLUMBER!!!”
Now, quite aside from the fact that it is sick how much I know about Barbie movies, I find it amusing that we can do that sort of thing, switching back and forth with basically no notice. It’s fun (even if rather crazifying at times!) and it’s something that can be attibuted to how much time we spend together. I cannot imagine if I was not homeschooled — I mean, I wouldn’t know my own sibs! *gasp*
Anyway, just a fun benefit (well, sometimes it is a benefit) of homeschooling.
Of course, sometimes it drives me to learn crazy things like Indonesian, too. Just to keep one step ahead of them. Or to have a secret language to babble in with them.
September 6, 2007
Posted by Anya in : spontaneous degeneration, I won't keep things purposely vague , 1 comment so far“Maharishi [Transcendental Meditation guru] was asked his opinions of Jesus Christ. He had some. He prefaced them with this dependent clause: ‘From what people have told me about Him –’
“Here was a man who had unselfishly spent years of his life in American and northern European hotel rooms, teaching Christians how to save the world. There had to be Gideon Bibles in most of those rooms. Yet, Maharishi had never opened one to find out what Jesus said, exactly.
“Some searching mind.” ~stolen quoted from Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons (Opinions) by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Dum de dum. Having gotten that rather obscure quote liberated, I had to laugh at my own old entry here… although in a way it was NOT funny to read this part, “Oh, and the other good news is that I haven’t heard that any of my friends were in terrible car crashes. ” because Antion did crash less than a week later. That was odd. But, both he and his sister were okay. :) Anyway, it was a funny post.
