In ze library.

I usually spend my mornings in the school library doing whatever I didn't get done the day before. Sometimes, though, between planning out senior pranks or writing about nebulas for physics class, I get caught up with thinking up ideas for my new book.

Here are three questions I'd like you to answer:
1. If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt?
2. If you had an hour to live, what would you do?
3. If you could do anything consequence-free (get away with it), what would you do?

I have really great hopes for this book. It'll be a psychological thriller that will certainly make you think. I've thought about this far too many times, and I think these questions interest everyone. I won't give away the overall theme, but it'll be good.

Because really...we already have a magical world with a boy wizard, a girl-next-door princess, a heartthrob vampire, and a few other books which have been written by other people but any and all of which I myself could've written had someone else not gotten to them first. So right now I'm praying for God to give me an idea that will gain common acceptance and popularity so I can jump-start my writing career. I'll come up with a list of my favorite authors and post it sometime soon.

--E.A.

God likes bikes. Yes, yes He does.

So...just as an update I'd like to say that the Lord blessed me with a selling AND a buying opportunity on the same day.I got an offer for my old bike (the 2003 Trek), and the same day God sent me an answer to my prayers about which bike to buy: someone answered my "wanted" ad from a month ago.

Once I saw the bike they were offering me I knew that it was "the one"--God lovingly provided for me exactly what I needed right when I needed it.The more awesome thing? The bike God provided is a 2006 Trek 1000--a newer (and bigger) version of the bike I was selling, which is exactly what I needed!

Did you ever get the full story? Don't ask how it happened, but I accidentally bought the wrong size bike (craigslist, of course). A 50cm (I'm 5'11...yeah). Right away I began the painstaking search for a new bike, but nothing came along.

At the same time, my chiropractic treatments resumed. I was not supposed to ride until about a month into treatments. Now, as I look back, I realize that I probably would have been riding (and thus messing up my back even more) had I not made the size mistake. So I thank God for this little oops.

Also, God had a way to turn this into a blessing: I was able to sell the "wrong" bike for more than I bought it for. In fact, the amount I got for it ended up being the exact amount the "right" bike cost me! So it's like a swap sandwich with blessings in the middle. All-around good deal that came out of a rather desperate situation. God is great.

Another cool thing? The "wrong" bike sold EXACTLY a month after it was wrongfully bought, and on that same day my new offer arrived. The moment I saw the message in my mailbox I knew it was a sign from God to buy this bike. I didn't hesitate when I saw it, I knew it was the one for me.

THIS BE THE "WRONG" BIKE: 2003 Trek 1000:

HERE BE THE "NEW" BIKE: 2006 Trek 1000: (kindly provided for me by God himself)

I can testify that everything I needed has been caringly provided to me at just the right time. God loves us so much he cares about our bikes. And we all know Jesus'd have been a cyclist if they had bikes back in his day. :)

--E.A.

The extinction of the velociraptor: scheduled within the next 3 weeks.

Yes, it is so.
I do believe the number one thing we'll all (me and my friends) miss from high school is the spontaneous velociraptor attacks.
Spilled your salad at lunch? Blame the the velociraptor.
Tripped? It's the velociraptor.
Totally lost your train of thought in class? The velociraptor.
I tried compiling a list of other things I'll miss, but I haven't been able to come up with many.
For example, we'll miss:
1- Stupid teacher quotes
2- Beep-beep of bells
3- SRT (playing cards, wasting time, and laughing at the people on the SRT show)
4- Ms. Ryser and her bootlegging incidents.
5- Cool teachers (ie. the Berzins, both of 'em)
6- Lunch buddies (ahoy for lunch at home in college)
7- Senioritis!!! We'll no longer have a legitimate reason to slack off and not care about school!
8- Mixed freshman/senior classes (putting 14-18 year olds in the same classroom = disaster)
9- "Kick-a-freshman" days
10- Cookie wrappers stuffed inside lockers
11- Anything pertaining to the concept of lockers, ie. decorating other people's with embarrassing messages, breaking into them, figuring out who keeps theirs open, decorating your own with spongebob coloring pages, etc.
12- Drunk-driving lectures before prom from overly emotional old ladies who had their moms-dads-brothers-sisters-children-inlaws-soulmates-shipmates-acquaintances-cousins twice removed killed in accidents.
13- Pointless school clubs which proclaim that collecting 20 cans for a food drive counts as "doing good work"
14- Robert!
15- The train game
16- People who claim to be "political environmental activists" and yet can't figure out a solution to the lunch tray problem (I should do a separate post on this because seriously: if I am more concerned about your environment than you are (oh you who tell us to "love your Mother earth") then you know something is wrong)
17- People who don't know how to support their opinions (and are thus really entertaining to have debates with)
18- Seeing the special ed kids in the halls every morning and smiling at them just to see how many smiles I can get back
19- Getting free access to research sites/city newspaper
20- Mr. Pizzo (Mr. P if you're reading this right now just know that I'm in B217 and you're welcome to come in for a visit...I know you're watching!!! By the way, I had no printer privileges for over a year thanks to you! Oh yes, and I saw you run into the library door once because your umbrella got caught on the handle. Just thought I'd let you know.)

That's my humble list for now. I'll add more later if I think of something.
Government class is almost over, I have to pretend like I've been doing something productive. An, that's yet another thing I'll miss, because in college you can be unproductive and nobody really cares.

--E.A.

Riding today.

I can't remember exactly what I wanted this post to be about because I lost my train (or trek, with no cycling pun intended) of thought when I went on MapQuest to try figuring out my exact trip distance. Since the bike I am riding right now is listed for sale on eBay (check it out http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=170330475635 ) and Craigslist, I decided not to put on the cyclocompurer which would normally calculate my distance for me.

Funny: I was riding on Rhorer today and they have horses. Since I just scaled a huge hill I was getting a drink from my water bottle, but the horses distracted me so right as I reached to put the bottle back in the cage slip-it-goes onto the road and rolls down into the ditch. Of course I get off my bike (and the horses are watching me, I'm sure they'd be laughing if they knew what was happening) and walk to retreive my bottle. Just then an older cyclist rides past me, laughing, and says, "That's what I call groundwater." I just laughed, too. Apparently he was behind me the whole time (he saw me struggle up that hill, ugh, and saw me totally throw my bottle).

Okay this is a picture of my bike from eBay, and I don't know if it'll still be here when the listing goes down. Please pray that the darn thing would sell already so I can buy a bike that fits me. I'm really tired of having a sore neck from the fact that it's too small and the handlebars are too far down.

--E.A.

Graduations & Weddings.

Out of all the things today which could have made me laugh, IU CREDIT UNION made my day today.
I was having a hard time getting my PayPal accounts to work with my new eBay account (anyone wanna buy a road bike, by the way?) and I was absolutely frustrated and almost ready to cry.
Until I tried setting up security questions for my IUCU account.
Well, apparently on their site they tell you what security questions you have to answer, so my first question was "What year did you graduate from high school?" Even though that's still exactly 3 weeks in my future, I put 2009. It's the correct answer, right? IUCU didn't think so.
I got "Denied!"
So they ask me my next question: "What month is your wedding anniversary? (Enter full name of month)." I honestly didn't know what to say for that one. The answer "Um...what?" only brought me back to the "Please try again" screen and we started all over with the graduation question.

And why is it called a "challenge" question anyways? While you might say that for some it might be challenging to remember their own wedding anniversary, it honestly can't be that hard. After about 10 rounds of battling with the Stupid Question Bot I got a good question I was able to answer: "What city were you born in?" Easy, right?

Well. I entered in my birth city. AND IT GOT DENIED. Seriously!! Does the Stupid Question Bot think it knows where I was born or something? I typed in the right answer about 5 times, after which the automated system logged me out and told me to "contact the administrators". Hm.
I remember answering security questions at the bank, but if they never asked me when my wedding anniversary was, why would they offer that as a security question? That's ridiculous.
Even though I got some laughs I'm still really frustrated.



--E.A.

Your and your smiles are all I live for.

If Christ is all that's good, then there can be nothing good apart from him.
Therefore, when we are apart from Christ, or are under the illusion that we are withdrawn from the presence of Christ, nothing good can exist.
Therefore, nothing good is in us when we are apart from Christ.
Nothing in us is good when Christ is not with us.

That is why I'm so terrified of stepping out of the lines God's created for me: I'm terrified of myself to the point of nightmares. My own person is nothing apart from God. Nothing I do will be good apart from God. All plans I start apart from God will fail.

When I am in God's light I see Jesus in the mirror, because He gave himself for my life and God sees His reflection in my heart when I honestly seek his ways and accept his grace.
When I am out of God's light I see the girl from The Exorcist. If you want nightmares type that into Google. You'll see what I look like. What you look like.

Every day I choose to die to what I want in order to get what I need, which is always graciously and abundantly (as well as undeservedly) provided to me by Christ. Every moment I have to die in order to let Christ live in me. I have to hold myself by the neck with a deathgrip every single day of my life until my last breath. If I let my real nature take the best of me for even one second, I lose it all. Every moment for me is like a moment spent in a pit with lions. Whom I will gladly allow to rip apart my body, knowing that they cannot take my soul.
...etc.

I just want to apologize to everyone I might have hurt today. May I quote our recent scripture?
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do...As it is, it is no longer i myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Please forgive me. I try my best for You (and you, both of yous at the same time for the same purpose). I'm always trying to put You and you above myself, in that order. As much as I say that I would carry Your heaviest cross and take your toughest AP test just so You and you wouldn't have to go through it, that type of self-sacrificial love is only tested by time. Real love, whose path I deviate from oh-so-many times.
On one hand, You know what's in my heart before I think it or write it.
On the other hand, you won't get to read this until much later. Just know that this was here all along.

--E.A.

I am.

In sociology today we did the only productive and fun activity I feel like we'll do the whole trimester. We had to write down 20 qualities that describe our personality and then the teacher read them to the class and we all tried guessing who was who. Here are some of the ones I put down:
1. Christian
2. Russian
3. Writer
4. Conservative
5. Leader
6. Outspoken
7. Likes heavy metal
8. Piano player
9. IU student
10. Reliable
11. Straight-forward
12. Science tutor
13. Supportive
14. Introspective

etc. It's a really lame list. I acknowledge that.
But I want to switch it up for just now. Why don't I think of some things I'm not?
I'm not:
1. A monkey
2. A real writer (sadly I consider that to be as true as #1)
3. Russian by culture (by birth/heritage only)
4. A worm-can picker
5. An overly social person
6. Perfect

That brings me to another important point, something that would put a more of a realistic spin on this post and make it useful (refer to #2 above). All sins are the same in the sight of God. Murder is more than killing. Lies are more than speaking. Because they are all the same God forgives them with equal fervor. However, the Bible does give us a clear description of what we all are:
1. Idolaters
2. Liars
3. Adulterers
4. Murderers
5. Slanderers
6. Thiefs
7. Coveters

And yet how beautiful it is to know that, while we are all those things, God's grace extends to cover every single one with the image of Jesus' perfection.
It is only through God that I am able to be all the things I listed in the very first list.
It is only through God that I can overcome and become more.
And it is only through God that I can be something greater than the passing moment.
Better than the earth I came from.

Etc.

--E.A.

Recycling my thoughts.

I had to go to the recycling center today to pick up “containers with lids” for the mural I'll be painting. I had no idea they had so much random junk at the recycling center! They even have a clothes rack. I really didn’t like being at the recycling center because it felt like I was going through trash, which wasn’t pleasant. And I only found two good containers for paint.
I always thought I had a clear grasp on the conditions of less fortunate people, but I think that we are all doing a lot of wishful thinking there. We are not very understanding at all. I felt like, “ew, recycling center, I don’t want to touch stuff,” all the while I watched two older ladies going through the clothes rack. Maybe I need to get out more. Not “out”, but more like out there, doing something productive with myself. I'm not narrow-minded and I do enjoy serving people, but today it was just interesting to note that my thought pattern on location didn't go with my usual thought pattern.

I never really thought about this so much, but I’ve recently realized that the mental list of “things I’d like to one day see happen” is my list of goals. This is kind of fascinating, and these are in no particular order really, but in my lifetime I want to:
1. Donate $1,000,000 (or more! The more God blesses me the more I’ll bless others!)
2. Travel to Africa with missions
3. Travel to India with missions
4. Write a popular novel series
5. Learn to play the Balalaika
6. Adopt a child
7. Skydive
8. Travel Europe and Asia
9. Help revolutionize Christianity in Russia
10. Get a D.D.S. degree
11. Then have lots of pretty babies (emphasis on the “lots” and the “pretty”)
12. Then be a housewife for a while (this is where the “write a popular novel series” will most likely happen)
13. Then open my practice
14. Then open a boutique (I’ll be overworked, I know)
I just want to do AWESOME STUFF FOR GOD. That sums up my life’s goals. Whatever that takes, really.

Okay I have no idea where this thought is going. I kind of lost it after a while. How this all ties into the recycling center I'm not quite sure.

--E.A.

Pictures that make smile like this ---> :D

--E.A.

CUY?

GUINEA PIGS! (<----Delicious Pictures!)

Ingredients
2 lrg guinea pigs
2 red onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tbl water
2 tbl cooking oil
annatto (for coloring)
Peanut Dipping Sauce

Directions
Mix ingredients well and spread over the inside and outside of the animal. Allow to marinate for up to one day to allow flavors to meld. Before roasting, remove excess marinade to avoid scalding. Insert a steak into the back part of the animal and allow to exit from the jaw. Once on the stick, tie the front and back feet, stretching out the legs. Put on grill, turning manually. Continue to apply lard to the skin to avoid drying out the meat. The cuy is ready when the skin is close to bursting. Serve with boiled potatoes sprinkled with coriander, chilies, and the Peanut sauce. If your community is especially progressive, rice may be substituted for the potatoes.

Bon Appetit!

--E.A.