Wednesday, January 16, 2008

busy busy busy

Hi! I promise there's a blog entry coming soon--I've been working on it in my head all week and just haven't had two spare hours to write it. Here's the quick and dirty version of what's been going on:

1) I Finished and turned in one of my major homework assignments due over the break (if you ever want to know anything about the Basel Mission, just ask...). Stayed up until 4:30 am Sunday night/Monday to get it done, but it wasn't so bad. Brian was up late looking at muscle cars on the Internet (trying to convince me to go half on a Duster, in fact), we were listening to "The Battle of New Orleans," ("In 1814 we tooka little trip, along with colonel Jackson down the mighty missassip") and I was wearing my fight club shirt that I got at the Brad Paisley concert last year. It says "pain is just weakness leaving the body" on the back, which I thought was appropriate for an all-nighter on the homework. Sleep is for wimps, right?

2) Why did I have to stay up so late, you might ask!? Well, I deployed a number of procrastination techniques earlier in the week, including but not limited to running, petting my cat, driving 7 miles for a cup of coffee, and not least, watching the 5.5 hour BBC pride and prejudice with Anne and my mom. Such a splendid movie! :)Well-worth staying up all night to make up for it.

3) I might get to help out with a George Fox University juniors abroad trip to South Africa this spring. Paul Otto is co-leading the trip with another guy, and they think it might be good to have a girl leader along too, and of course, I would get credit in my own program for the project since it directly relates to my study area.

4) I bought a new laptop bag, which you will find a picture of below. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it yet, though. It's red, and a faux alligator fabric. I like it, but one can't be too careful when selecting a bag--I have to really be comfortable being seen with it every day in public! So, to help me determine my own feelings on the matter, I am soliciting your input. On the right hand side of the blog, you'll find two polls: one for men, and one for women. The two separate polls will allow me to adjust the results to account for gender confounding. So remember--this is for posterity, so be honest and vote on your own gender's poll.

Brian was kind enough to model the bag:






5) Mom is still feeling good. She hasn't started radiation yet, but she will soon. Thanks for your prayers for her and for us. Pray that she and dad won't be anxious about her radiation, and that she'll have a good sense for how much rest needs (and will actually take time to rest).

6) I'm starting to keep an eye out for a cheaper place to rent in Basel starting either in the summer or the fall. If anyone knows anyone who might like to have a talkative american renter or roommate move in, let me know!!

That's all for now!

9 comments:

  1. This is Janet's sister. When I was first reading this post in my feed reader, I thought it was from Stephan's sister's blog. So I thought it was weird that she would want a red alligator bag. I was going to say definitely no for her, but I suspect for you it's the kind of thing you like. My vote would be "Uhh...It's a bag. A plastic sack would do the trick, but hey! so will this. Keep it if you like it." but then I would be voting in the wrong poll. This is what happens when you have friends of friends in your blog reader...

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  2. ha! sorry for the confusion. And thanks for your input! I thought about making the two polls identical, but what fun is that, right?

    It's nice to hear from you!

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  3. Hehe. You see the love of shopping runs in the family. ;) Sorry, I voted no on the alligator. Actually, it doesn't look to strong in the pictures, but I'm not fond of alligator. However, you did a great job of picking my scarf, so my advice to you is not to listen to my advice.

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  4. Yes, for the record, I'd say it's a very moderate alligator. The thing is my last school bag was a boring soft black brief case, which was exactly what I wanted at the time--when I was 17 and more sensible. But now I think I need to compensate with a little nonsense...maybe I'm having a quarter life crises...

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  5. Well, to compensate for the Wightmans, I've voted twice in favor of the bag. It suits you. I didn't even know they made laptop bags that don't look like laptop bags, but that's the way to go. Now, if it's just an alligator bag that's not specifically made for laptops, I'll retract my votes and vote four times for - oh, whatever comes closest to "If you're gonna carry a laptop, get something that's made to carry a laptop."

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  6. Stephanie-
    Nice job on the John Mayer quote in your last comment:) I like the bag. It's nice to have a little something that's flashy and more about fashion than function, now and then. It's even better when you get fashion and function. I think this bag makes the cut!

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  7. Oh yes! This is specifically intended for a lap top and includes a padded zip case for it that fits inside the purse. Snazzy, huh?! Also has a place for a cell phone, pens, a wallet, etc.

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  8. Definitely a cute bag! It's not too alligator-y and it will definitely go with your smashing red heels. Plus you have the added bonus of having your laptop and your purse and your backpack all in one bag...far better than the purse, book tote, and lunch pail, I cart around school everyday...maybe I should wise up and invest...hmmmmmmm....

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  9. Yep, I would recommend a multipurpose tote. Mine was a Freddie's purchase (do they have fred meyer in S. Cali? I kinda think not...) Sarah got a really cute and professional multipurpose bag at Macy's, so there's another potentially excellent source for purses. :)

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