One Foot of Snow...And Still Accumulating

This morning I woke up in my awesomely orange room once again, but this time the walls were a little brighter that usual. My first glance outside at the luminous, snow-covered woods explained the mysterious glow and reminded me of last Thanksgiving, otherwise known as "Day 6 of 9" in the bloggeroo.

I still feel the same way. The first snow of the year is beautiful...from my heated house, wearing pajamas, with chai in hand. But as soon as I catch a gust of that freezing air, my aestheticism turns to bitterness and I mumble to myself that this is the last Cleveland winter I will EVER experience. God only knows where I'll actually end up, but I sure hope it's somewhere with milder winters.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Libby

Song of the day: "The Shadow Proves The Sunshine" - Switchfoot

XXXX = Four-Bagger

I bowled a 182 this evening, beating my mom, dad and brothers. Six strikes. Although it was undoubtedly a fluke, I enjoyed my moment of glory. Not very often do I beat three men in one athletic contest. Muahahaha...

My other two scores from tonight, however, were...embarrassing. 87 and 112. But it was an evening to remember. I was especially entertained by Joe's ritualistic waddle before every ball and my mom's attempt to impersonate him. My immediate family is composed of five peculiar individuals who, when put together, are exponentially weirder. Needless to say, I love spending time with them.

We need to take advantage of the cheap bowling more often at GCC. Bowling is always fun, and somehow doing awesome just accentuates the pleasure of the ball-rolling experience. I vote for more bowling.

~Lib

Song of the day: "In Christ Alone" - Newsboys

The News You Will Never Hear

How often does the news need to be reported? Maybe once every two or three weeks... But we are constantly inundated with the latest on Brittany Spear's recent cosmetic surgery, the world's biggest hamster dying, and George Clooney's opinion of the presidency. (I'll deal with that one in a minute.) So why are we exposed to this continuous flow of inconsequential "news?" Because of commercials. If the news was only reported weekly or bi-weekly, billions of advertising dollars would be lost. Because reporters and anchormen tell us that what we are about to see/hear is important, many become obsessed with staying "in the know." Let me fill you in on something...most of what you see is not important. And even worse, by watching those news-creations, you are doing exactly what they want you to.

Next, George Clooney. I, for one, don't give a crap about his opinion on politics, or any other celebrity's for that matter. There are thousands of intellectuals (on both ends of the political spectrum) who have spent their lives studying politics, international relations, etc. Talk to them. Surely their opinions are better informed than those of the latest pop stars.

What are pop stars anyway? Who creates celebrities? Once again, the media.

I've heard that President Ford (Nixon's successor) was portrayed by the media to be incompetent. This man probably put in a solid 10-12 hours of work every day. However, the media presented the nation with an image of Ford hitting his head while exiting an airplane onto stairs. (The dude was tall...give him a break.) But the clip was played for weeks. Of course such an incident wasn't representative of his presidency...

I think the media does the same thing with the George Bush. They pigeonhole him as incompentent, and all of the political lemmings echo what they hear on TV. If you don't like his decisions as a president, that is one thing. But denouncing the man because he stuttered a couple times in front of a microphone is quite another. Get a mind of your own.


"Anchors Away" - Five Iron Frenzy

The advertising dollars buy the right to stifle antonyms, to sterilize the truth with fiction so we can sing their corporate hymns. And all of us were cowed and bought it, hardly anybody got it. While mergers made their spires grow taller, what they let you know grew smaller. And we were scared, or too bemused, and so we still turned on the news.

Tune in, tune out, goodbye, goodnight. They're buying you with fear and lies. Turn it off until it's right. That's the news, that's all, goodnight.


~ Libby

Song of the day: "Anchors Away" - Five Iron Frenzy

Golden (Like freedom in spring)
Switchfoot

She's alone tonight with a bitter cup and
She's undone tonight, she's all used up
She's been staring down the demons who've been screaming she's just another so and so,
another so and so

(Chorus)
You are golden, you are golden child
You are golden, don't let go, don't let go tonight

There's a fear that burns like trash inside
And your shame the curse that burns your eyes
You've been hiding in the bedroom hoping this isn't how the story has to go
It's not the way it goes, it's your book now

(Chorus)

You're a lonely soul in the land of broken hearts,
Your far from home is a perfect place to start

So this final verse is a contradiction, and the more we learn, the less we know
We've been talking about a feeling, we both know inside but couldn't find the words
I couldn't write this verse. I've seldom been so sure about anything before

(Chorus)

This world is a dead man down
Every breath is a fading crown we wear like some debilitated king
The earth spins and the moon goes round
The green comes from the frozen ground
And everything will be made new again like freedom in spring
(Like freedom in spring)

A Weighty Decision

I've got nothing against my 3-year-old laptop. It may be obsolete compared to the wireless tablet PC's that are half the size with twice the memory, but that's ok. I'm the same way. As a senior, sometimes I feel obsolete. I look at groups of loud freshmen and smile knowingly: Just yesterday I was in their shoes. It seemed like college would never end. But little do they know, tomorrow they will be seniors with one foot out of the door.

Somehow during that short time, I morphed into an adult who is now responsible for making life-altering decisions. I suppose I've already made many important decisions, but the choices that lie ahead in the next decade will form a blueprint of the rest of my life. Where will I live? What will I do for a living? Will I get married? The future is both frightening and exciting.

Tomorrow I'll be thirty, and next week I'll have grandchildren. So as life flies by, always evaluate what you're living for. There's more to this life than what you see, an intangible truth that is worth seeking.

~Isabel (that was my Spanish name in high school)

Song of the day: "Gone" - Switchfoot