What a week.

This has been a strange week.  It was supposed to be a 3-party week, and it ended up being a no-party week.  I'm a little bummed in that respect.  Let's go back.

So I started the week on Sunday (that's typically how it goes).  Sunday morning I woke up in Louisville at Charity's apartment and got myself ready to leave very quietly as everyone else was still asleep.  I peeled out of the L around 7:30am in order to make it to Evansville at 8:30 (central time).  My drive was OK, until I missed my exit and had to take the next one.  It wasn't horrible tho.  When I got to church, it was Graduation Breakfast time.  Nom nom nom...

After church was over, I went back to my parents' house, applied for a student loan, potted some plants, had my dad vacuum out my car and change my front brakes, and then left for Bloomington.  That night, I had the worst sleep of my life.  I was woken up several times that night by excruciating pain in my back, neck, shoulder and arm.  I've had plenty of back and joint pain throughout my life, but I've never woken up in the middle of the night because of it.  Especially not multiple times.  Finally around 2:30am, I just couldn't take it anymore.  I got out of bed, nearly crying, rummaged through my medicine drawer and found some Advil PM tablets that came as a bonus one time when I bought real Advil.  I read the box.  Sounded perfect, so I took two and drifted back to sleep.

After a full night's sleep, I woke up,still in pain.  I don't really remember what I did on Monday...  I didn't have to work, I didn't clean my apartment, I didn't look at any of the music for this summer, and I didn't go to the Monday Night Live MK meeting.  Oh yeah.  I got my Mary Kay shipment, packaged up everyone's stuff, went to the bank, the post office, and the party store.  Then it stormed.

I was feeling pretty weak and awkward on Tuesday.  Took my temperature and found that I had a small fever.  That explained all my back pain and my chills and weakness.  I was supposed to have a Mary Kay party at my house on Tuesday, but only 3 people RSVP'd - 2 of which had to leave early, and 1 of which was a maybe.  I canceled that party because I wasn't feeling well, and I knew if would have been unsuccessful.  My Thursday party canceled last week, and my Saturday party canceled on Sunday.  Aside from the fact that I get paid by TCC on Friday, this was a no-money week for me.

Yesterday was a mess.  Have you heard about all the storms in Central Indiana?!  Yeah, that was my life yesterday.  I slept in my closet on the floor listening to my boyfriend and two of his coworkers on the radio tracking the storms, tornadoes, and damages.  At 3:50 this morning I decided that since it wasn't raining, and the IU Alert system texted me an All Clear, it was OK to sleep the rest of the night in my bed.

Today I feel OK.  I didn't have a fever last night, but I didn't check it today.  I feel ok, except now I have this sore spot in my throat.  Also I forgot to mention the ugly poison ivy that I have on my arm.  Why am I falling apart?! lol

Here's hoping for a good weekend and an even better next week.

Things that must happen: Copy music, learn music, memorize music; book parties and call contacts; clean my bedroom.  Somebody please hold me to this.

Almost done!

Well friends, today at 12:30pm EST I'll be taking my German Diction final and will conclude my undergraduate degree.  Whoa.  After that, I'm going to go to Hobby Lobby and get some fab decorations for my mortarboard, then tomorrow is GRADUATION!! Can you believe it?!

I get pretty nostalgic and verklempt when I think about graduating.  I'm such a sissy these days.  Even though I'm not going anywhere (I'm starting grad school here in the fall), graduating is a big deal.  I also like to think about how a bunch of people in my family have graduated from IU, and that makes me feel super connected and almost historic. lol

So much has changed in my life since I moved into my dorm freshman year.  I think the core of who I am is the same, but I'm in a very different place now than I was then.  And I love it.  I love the place I'm at right now, and I wouldn't change any of my life experiences for anything!

Here's to the class of 2011!  Congrats, y'all!  We did it!

Love one another.

I'm just not OK with murder.

I never will be.  Taking the life of another human being, no matter how evil, is unacceptable and a despicable act.  The slain of Osama Bin Laden has been "justified" because he was an evil man with a terrorist agenda.  He was responsible for the murder and death of thousands of Americans after the 9/11 attacks, and he has been a looming threat to our nation's security for the last 10 years.  His death prompted a giant sigh of relief from the lungs of America.

But is killing another human being ever really justified?  Is it our place to play God and determine who lives and who dies?  Is it OK to kill one person in hopes of preventing the murder of others?  I just don't know...

My heart is being pulled about 3 different ways regarding this matter.

1.  I'm trying to be rational.  Human, I guess.  The murder of Osama Bin Laden will potentially save lives.  He was evil and needed to be stopped.  I've heard his murder compared to putting down a rabid animal - not an easy job to do, but one that has to be done for the safety of others.
2.  But, Bin Laden was NOT an animal.  He was a human being.  At one point he was some mother's pride and joy.  He was a child of God and someone whom Jesus loved and died for.  With his death, he has now been sentenced to an eternity of suffering in Hell.  I never wish Hell on anyone.  The world is desensitized to the idea of Hell these days, but Hell is serious.  I cannot rejoice over someone being sentenced to Hell - against his own will.  Had he died on his own that day, Hell would have been his sentence, yes.  But that sentence was given to him based on someone else's agenda.
3.  Maybe this is God's way of justice?  God is love, yet God is also just.  Because God is God, I cannot begin to fathom exactly how He works, nor can I predict his next step.  Perhaps this was God's way of achieving justice.  I just don't know.

Rather than dwelling on what happened, I'm trying to think about how I can respond.  There could be so many possible outcomes from the death of Osama Bin Laden.  I am praying for peace.  I am praying that the people of this world stop playing by the rules of "an eye for an eye" and start playing by the rules of love and brotherhood.

You can't overcome evil with evil, but you can change the world with love.