Spinst 4 Lyf

I am nineteen years old and I have never had a boyfriend.
This statement is usually followed by a whole spectrum of reactions from confusion, to pity, to incredibility, to laughter.  Now, I haven't really been all that torn up about the fact that I haven't met any "special someones" yet, but as I start getting older and older, it's becoming harder and harder to just ignore.  The weird thing is, I don't think I've ever even liked anyone or had a real "crush"(unless you want to count little Juan Pablo in kindergarten which I'm assuming you don't, but now I'm thinking I should have pursued that option while I had the chance).  This, coupled with my forever single status, has recently been making me a little self-concious.  I find myself asking the question "Is there something wrong with me?" several times a day. Ok, ok with my mad dance skills, photo booth filled with pictures of myself posing every way imaginable, and crazy eating habits that could be a possibility, I'll give you that.  But honestly does any one else seem to have a problem like this?  I can't bring myself to believe that I am the only one.  It doesn't help that pratically every one I know is in a relationship, including that stinkin' six year old down the street.
My little sister calls me Spinster, Spinst for short.  She's two years younger than me and currently seeing someone.  I'm starting to think her clever nickname for me might actually be a fairly accurate prophecy.

I should probably invest in this some time soon..

Love to all my single friends,
Spinst 4 Lyf

The Devil's Spirals

Just a little something I wrote for one of my writing classes.  I've been really busy with school and getting situated again, but I hope you enjoy this one.

The life of my family has been a little less than traditional and has in some ways resembled the life of a gypsy.  The longest I have ever lived anywhere was for six years in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.  So, when asked about my childhood home that is where my mind immediately flashes back.  I have a pool of memories from that house, but there is one memory that has remained as vivid as the day it happened.

            My sisters and I were always outside as children.  I can hardly even recall any important events of my childhood ever happening indoors.  One day, my sisters (Ani and Alissa) and I were playing outside as usual.  My dad had set up our new trampoline just a few days before and we happened to have a gigantic blow up ball just hanging out in our garage, I am talking about the size of Jupiter kind of gigantic.  For three, young adventurous girls these two objects just begged to be put together for some unforgettable fun.  Well, it was unforgettable all right and fun for a while at least. 

            The plan was simple enough; jump from the trampoline, onto the ball, which we would then bounce off of onto the ground.  Ani, being the oldest and consequently the bossiest, went first of course.  Alissa and I followed closely behind.  We each had taken multiple turns and were having a blast.  Ani was up again.  She took her normal triple jumps on the trampoline before making her graceful leap to the big ball.  Every trampoline owner can testify to the many dangers the springs (or as I like to call them the Devil’s spirals) on the trampoline pose, and can most likely recall at least one occurrence of slipping through the springs and getting that mini heart attack.   Ani was the perfect example of one of these dangers that day.

            As she was making her leap from the trampoline to the ball, Ani’s foot got caught in between two of those pesky springs.  This incident caused her to fall forward, push the ball of away from her, and fall brutally to the ground with a blood-curdling scream.  You know how people say your life flashes before your eyes in a near death experience?  Well Ani’s life flashed before mine; like the time she was babysitting and made me kiss her feet to get out of my own room, or when we joined gymnastics together and swore to become Olympic gold medalists.  Luckily, her elbow broke her fall, but that scream carried to someone else’s ears as well. 

            My mother had been on the back porch watering her plants when she heard Ani’s scream.  She immediately dropped the pitcher of water she was holding and made her way to the front yard.  The sight of my sister’s elbow being disconnected from the rest of her arm was too much for her to handle.  My mother, being the ever so calm woman that she is, made the wise decision to sprint around the entire house twice screaming, trying to collect her thoughts.  All the while Ani is screaming for someone to call an ambulance because she is dying and Alissa and I simply stand over her with our jaws to the ground.  My father was at work, so it was extremely comforting when the neighbor heard my mother’s panicked screams and came to help.  He convinced my mother that the first thing she should do is get Ani to the hospital, and even helped to get her into the car.  We later found out that she had dislocated her elbow but would in fact live.  I learned something very important from my mother that day.

            I learned to always remain calm.  I realized how important it is to be able to think rationally under pressure and that it is ok to do something crazy like running around the house, if that is what it takes for you to be able to focus.  Although I cannot say that I have or ever will take the steps my mother did to get to a point where she could handle the situation, I have jumped up and down or pinched myself to help me focus.  I love my crazy, unconventional family and the lessons I learn from them.  This day will always be one of my scariest and yet fondest memories.

Why So Serious?

So I think I've failed at being a "blogger".  It has been a week since my last post so I feel this one should be extra good.  Problem -nothing exciting has been going on in my life.  Well nothing I think is really worth your time.  Maybe after living such a crazy life, and finally settling down, my standards are a bit too high. It's like if I'm not witnessing drug addicts jumping from the windows of buses, holding sharp objects, making threats; then I'm just not impressed.  You can see where I'm coming from.
Side note: I guess not all of you know my life story so let's clear up some of the confusion.  I just recently moved to Northern Kentucky to go to school.  Before, I was living in Mexico with my parents working at Campamento Tierralta.  It is an evangelistic camp for the OSY (Out of School Youth) of Mexico City and it is about the greatest thing you could ever be a part of.  I miss it so much more than I ever though I would.  What I mean by this is that I wasn't always..thrilled.. to be there.  We (my family and I) had lived in a different part of Mexico for a few years before making the move to this new area, and to say I was unhappy there would be like saying Harry Potter had a bit of bad luck - Cue the reason for my HP reference!-------------->
It would just be silly. I want to apologize formally to my family for putting up with me and my moody self during those darker days.  I don't completely understand the difference between depression and just being sad, but I'm thinking I was leaning a little more towards the former. And I feel I can now fully comprehend the term relapse.  I just began reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  She describes it perfectly, "Depression and Loneliness track me down... They come upon me all silent and menacing like Pinkerton Dectectives, and they flank me-Depression on my left, Loneliness on my right.  They don't need to show me their badges.  I know these guys very well." After my.. let's just call it "Dark Period", this has been my life.  I won't get into the reasons of this state, because it's just depressing (pun intended).  I have been utterly content for the past few years, but those two fellows still like to make the occasional unexpected visit-which isn't very courteous might I add.
Well that was a little heavier than I intended it to be.  I should make it known though that I would not change one single second of my past.  I thank God for every trial, every "dark period".  And while going through another time like this would not be the most pleasant experience, I would welcome it greatfully because I know there is obviously something I need to learn.  Let me let you in on a little secret, hard times are so much better than good times.  When you think you've hit rock bottom, look on the bright side, you can't get any lower!  On the opposite side, you're feeling on top of the world.. you're gonna have to come down at some time.  So whether you're having the crappiest (sorry for the word choice, Mom) or the greatest day of your life, just be thankful.
I learned a lot during those times and I continue to.

Nice pep talk there huh?  I promise future blogs will not be quite this intense, but I'm glad we got the elephant out of the room..

Isn't that just precious?

Glad to see he found somewhere else to crash.  That's enough for today.  Business class is calling my name, and I will fondly oblige.

Thank you for being so patient,
more frequent, less mopy entries to come!

Possibly Relocating?

Today is Sunday. Sunday is the day of rest.  It seems that my professor's are in desperate need of a reminder of this as each has been so kind as to assign a paper due this week.  Four papers and one project, plus a little reading and a few listening assignments sprinkled in there. It's going to be a long night.

I think that I should also mention that, since the end of October, I seem to be in a state of constant cold.  I can't escape it.  It's like a giant stoney monster that has taken up residence in my body.  My fingers are like 10 chubby little icicles.  I don't think I was made for the cold.  It makes any movement just that more uncomfortable.  I would fail as an Eskimo, although the allure of those igloos is still ever present...

Ah home sweet home. (Please note the satellite dish and polar bear.)  Now tell me that doesn't look appealing.

I think it's time to attempt at at least making a dent in my current work load.  I think it's safe to say that my dreams will be filled with visions of cozying up to a warm, fluffy polar bear in my igloo.  If the Eskimo who currently resides in this beautiful home happens to read this, I wouldn't be opposed to taking up the position of house guest.. For now though, I bid you adieu my sweet, sweet igloo.

Entering Candy Land

Let's get the niceties out of the way.  Hi, I'm Alex. Nice to meet you.
Well that was pleasant enough..
If you were unfortunate enough to stumble across this blog, you may wonder what exactly the point of it is.  I'm not artistically gifted enough to go make a new dress a day and document it or care enough to write reviews.  I don't have a unique talent I want to showcase but, I have thoughts.  I have ideas.  And if I don't write down these thoughts and ideas, they are lost forever in my mind (which coincidentally I imagine looks a lot like a twisted version of Candy Land) or piling up into mountains of sticky, sugary messes.  I have thousands of gumdrop ideas floating around my head at any given moment.  It gets a little crowded in there.  I figure, if I can get it all out, I might be able to enjoy the flavor of each new and individual piece of candy.  (If you couldn't tell by this analogy, I'm currently craving some good old Halloween candy).
And so, this is me.  I hope you can use this to maybe get out of writing that English paper you know you should be but just can't seem to bring yourself to it, or to distract yourself from all those children running around constantly asking to be fed.. on second thought, please take a break and go feed your children I'll be here when you get back, promise. If you can get a few laughs, whether they be as a result of my witty humor (hold laughter here) or if they come at my expense, I'm glad I could oblige.
You're probably dozing off now, or getting distracted by some ad claiming they have the one secret step to a perfect stomach (fyi, it's a dud trust me) and I really have nothing more to say so..
How are you supposed to end a blog post?  Forgive me, I'm new to this concept.  Would a simple see you later be appropriate?  Let's just go with goodbye.

Goodbye