1st Day of School

It was pretty uneventful. I woke up at 6:45... the time I wanted to leave. This time it was my own fault though. I set my alarm for 5:45, but didn't actually turn it on. I seriously have a problem and need to figure out a solution! (Maybe I'll make Jill call me in the morning since she kind of offered before ;) ). Anyway, so much for being cute on the first day of school! I had Psych and Bio today. And both classes seem like they'll be really good actually. The professors are both enthusiastic and very approachable and seem like they really are there to help the students. Always a plus.
I had a few hours between class and work so Katie came over to see my apartment and then we went to lunch at BJ's. Yum! It's the first time I've been able to see Katie since I've been down here, so that was cool.
Hume Lake camp is this weekend! Yah! I'm excited!

Towed

Tonight my old RA bought some of her old residents, Jen, Cerise, Jackie, Sophia and I dinner which we ate over at our place. A little after dinner, some good hanging out and talking everyone starts to leave. Then Sophia comes back because her car is no longer where she parked it. Well turns out she parked it in someone else's spot (each apartment gets one assigned covered marked spot) and her car was towed. Great. So after finding out where her car is everyone except Jen goes to pick it up. Meanwhile it's after hours so we have to call the receptionist somewhere else when we get there to have someone come give Sophia back her car.
At about 10:20 we get there and the lady tells us it will be 20-30 minutes. At 11:00 we call again to make sure they're still coming. They say 10-15 minutes this time. At 11:40 we call again to make sure we weren't forgotten about.
Wait, let me back track a tiny bit... the place we are waiting isn't exactly the safest looking place ever and we are 5 girls in a decently nice car.
Ok, so at the 11:40 call they say the people are coming now from Mission Valley and will be there shortly. So just before 12:00 a guy finally comes and we get all the paperwork taken care of and Sophia pays $150. Suck. Ok, so 12:20ish we finally leave the place... 2 hours later.
Oh yeah. Did I mention I start school tomorrow (or today technically) and have class at 8:00 in the morning? And to make it to my class on time and find a parking spot I need to actually leave by about 6:45?
Great way to start the first day of school!

A Kodak moment...

Babysitting

I made these ads that say "Need A Babysitter?" And wrote some random information about my babysitting experience and about myself and then put them up around the apartment complex. Above all of the mail boxes there's bulletin boards where you can post ads and stuff. Anyway I figured it was a long shot but what the heck. Why not try right? So I posted the ads last night. This morning I got a call from a lady who has an 8 month old and needs someone for some Fridays and Saturdays from 3:30-6. Wow! Do you realize how perfect that is? That's so easy and totally fits with my schedule. So anyway I told her how much I charge and she's going to talk to her husband. So we'll see. But still that's cool.
And then Jen just told me that she already saw 3 of the little tear offs with my name and number gone on one add and 2 on another. So basically it seems like people are at least interested. One thing I've noticed is that there are alot of kids in the complex. It would be awesome to have that little bit of extra money coming in every once in a while...

Listening to the new Relient K CD...

It's so good! Today I pretty much just ran a bunch of errands and got a lot of stuff on my "to do" list done. So I'm feeling accomplished. Then I went to The Flood church. It was the first time I went back from the summer and it was really good to be back! The Message was about God's passion for us. How there are times when we feel down... God is the only one we can rely on. He's there just holding us because he loves us that much. He died for that. Although it's a recurring message, it's always nice to have the idea of God's passionate love for us reinforced.
I had the chance to talk to have really good conversations with a lot of people today. Corrie (but when are we not talking?). Chantal... a girl who was in Corrie's cabin at camp and who just started at PLNU, who I went to Flood with. My mom. My friend Dana (it's her 19th birthday). Anna Ferguson (I just learned her screen name). Matt, a friend from high school. And your mom... just kidding! It's really nice to have so many different ways to communicate and keep in touch with people!

Ok, random picture from Bryce Canyon, Utah.

A Day With Friends

Last night Corrie came down to San Diego to go to a concert with Katie. So I asked her to bring Emma with her so Emma could hang out with me cause she never has a ride to get here!
While Corrie was hanging out with Katie, Emma and I went to get some yummy frozen yogurt at Yogurt Express. Then watched A Lot Like Love... such a cute movie! And played Uno. A little after that Corrie came back to have a sleep over at my apartment. I was bummed Katie couldn't come because she had to work today. We played Clue and then kind of hung out for a while before finally sleeping.
Today Corrie invited 3 teens from the Anaheim District who go to Point Loma to go to lunch. So we went with her and the teens to Adal's (a really yummy mexican place) and then coldstones. Seems like this weekend has been revolving around food! Then some more hanging out and a quick nap before more food for dinner. Then went swimming and hung out in the jacuzzi! Good times. And now I actually have a full day off tomorrow! I have a to do list that keeps getting bigger. I'm hoping to get most of it done tomorrow so that it can be done before school starts!

Something Strange

Cerise mentioned earlier how it's weird because she expected the apartment to be so much more exciting. Hmm... that doesn't sound exactly how it's supposed to. The apartment is awesome and we're having so much fun! But I guess we expected it to be a lot more like WOOHOO NO PARENTS!! THIS IS AWESOME!!
Instead living here feels totally normal. It's fun and we're busy and it feels like we totally belong here. Still exciting... but we're not bouncing off the walls in excitement cause we're not living with our parents anymore. Maybe we were just so ready for the move. And last year in the dorms was a good little preview of this!

Summer's Almost Over

Classes start this coming up Wednesday. I think I'm going to miss hanging out so much. But at the same time I'll admit I'm actually looking forward to classes starting up again. Definitely not looking forward to Biology because I really dislike science in general. But the social ethics philosophy class and the psychology class seem interesting.
Ok, I'm done being boring now!
Tonight I went out with the roomies, a friend Jackie from the dorms (I'm liking all this catching up with people), and Jen's boyfriend Jason and his room mate. Good times. We went to Chevy's (a really good mexican restaurant) and were going to a movie too but it was kind of off timing so ended up renting one instead.
I have both Saturday and Sunday off, so if I want to get in anything more exciting now's the time! Before the stress and busyness and lack of sleep.
I think I'm going to go to bed early since it would be nice to actually catch up on sleep BEFORE school starts.

Hmmm....

I woke up this morning at 8:05. I was supposed to be at work at 8. That's 2 days in a row! So I think after I either throw my alarm against the wall or smash it with a hammer I am going to get another one. I thought that I fixed it last night, but apparently not!
Today was the last day of official training for the rush crew. This morning I was training a girl who kept needing to go to the bathroom. So I asked her if she was ok. She told me that she was fine... she just gets really nauscious on the first day of a new job. Before she even had the chance to make any transactions she had to be sent home. Poor thing! I can't imagine having such anxiety problems! Plus my guess would be she just lost her job. You can't really work if you have to keep throwing up!

What's not a good thing?

How about when your room mate wakes you up at 7:40 because she just woke up and you're both supposed to be at work at 8:00? Yup, definitely not a good thing. Especially when you both should have showered. Which ends up being worse because you ran once you got to work and now smell. Or because it takes at least 20 minutes to drive, park, and walk to work. Yeah. 8:00am classes I can tell are going to be difficult.
Maybe Cerise, Jen and I shouldn't have stayed up so late playing Clue...

One thing i like about my apartment

The fitness center. It's about a minute walk away. So far out of the 2 times I've gone no one else has been there. It has plenty of machines. Awesome.

So much for laying out by the pool and getting tan before school starts!

I'm working 41.5 hours this week! Monday through Friday. I thought it would be nice to lay out by the pool and get some color before school started, but I guess not! It's nice to get all the money right before school starts... but man! That's alot! Hopefully it will not be quite so much once school starts... because I don't think I'll be able to handle it! Right now I don't even have a register. I'm just standing around with the new people answering questions. There's still 2 more days of orientation, meaning 2 more days of initial training! So exciting... or not.

Chili's and friends

Tonight the room mates, Sophia and I went to Chili's for a little reunion and hanging out. It was fun just to get to talk and catch up a little. Right now we're watching I Heart Huckabees. It's the most random pointless movie that I've ever seen. Oh well!

A Random Weekend So Far

I decided this weekend to go home for a day for a couple of reasons. 1 - I had some random things to pick up and get still. And 2 - to see my family one more time before the craziness of school starts (as of right now I probably won't see them again until my cousins wedding in 3 weeks).
I drove down last night after traffic and actually went to a big huge bonfire youth event with many of the Nazarene youth groups. By the time I got there I was only able to really hang out for about 45 minutes before it was time to leave. Still fun anyways. I had the chance to talk to some of the teens I met at camp and then hang out with some of the Norwalk teens as well. Good times. And of course always fun to drive teens home with extra loud music.
Hung out with Corrie a little bit this morning before going to my parents house. (That's what I've decided to call it now by the way... when I talk about "home" I mean San Diego apartment, just in case you get confused). My mom took me shopping and we bought a few more random things. It seems like for the past week the little shopping trips just keep happening. I hope I'm just about done now though because I need to save some money for textbooks and school supplies.
Then I just kind of hung out at home. Nothing much exciting. Watched a movie with my mom and dad. Ate a good home cooked meal.
On my way back to San Diego tonight I stopped over at the Kleker's to drop off a Partylite order. I ended up talking with Jeannie for about 45 minutes or so before I had to go because I was afraid I'd be too tired to make it home. It was good to see her though, I haven't had much of a chance to over the summer which is sad.
When I was about 30 minutes from home I was having a really hard time staying awake. Not really a good thing when you're driving. I texted Corrie to see if she was still awake. She called me and talked to me almost all of the rest of my drive home to keep me awake. Thanks so much yo!
And now I am excited because I have a whole day off tomorrow and no big plans! I want to lay out by the pool, work out at the fitness center, and go to church at night. Enough to keep me busy but alot of relaxation too!
Right now I have no idea where my room mates are. Oh well... Time for bed because the exhaustion is hitting in again.

Training

Today was the first day for the new people at the bookstore. I worked a nice long 9.5 hour shift so that I could help train people. It was actually kind of fun and went really smoothly for the most part. Cool beans. Then just like last night the leads and supervisors stayed to be introduced to even more new people. And Rush begins...

Oh yeah. And I registered for my classes and got all of the ones that I wanted. Yah.

First homecooked meal.

That about explains it all. Chicken salad (cooked the chicken) and instant mashed potatoes. Was it good? Eh, it was ok.

Blogs I Read

I updated the section of "Blogs I Read". Deleted a few... added a few. Check them out. Enjoy!

Serious Bummer

A couple of days ago I figured out the schedule that I want to have of classes. Last night I looked up all of the classes I want / need to take to see if they still have seats in them. Well I figured out that the ONLY time I can take Psychology 101 is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00AM. All of the other times were filled. Ugh! And of course it's the one class I really need to take, and want to take actually. Oh yes, and it happens to be the class that I was GOING to take this summer. Should have just done it and gotten it over with!
The schedule that I am hoping for right now looks like this:
Mon, Wed, Fri 8:00AM - 9:50AM (at least I get out really early! Lots of time to either work or have a life)
Tues. 9:00AM - 4:40PM
Thurs. 9:00AM - 1:45PM

I register tomorrow... so hopefully seats will still be available. What's nice about this schedule is that there aren't breaks in between classes... meaning no waiting around, except for an hour on Tuesday, the long day.

Basically I am being forced to become a morning person. Stink!

Box Builder

I now have something new to add to my resume. Box Builder. That's what I did for 6 of my 8 hours at work today. Built these weird boxes to put text books in. Very mind numbing.

Sort of Getting Settled

Maybe after a few days things will settle down a little more... but for right now it's hard to feel like i'm settling down. Most boxes are already unpacked. Most of everything organized. However I haven't had too much time to just sit and be here and relax. We just got our TV hooked up today so that will be a nice little way to relax. At least until school starts again.
For now working 8 hours everyday and then coming home and shopping or organizing is taking up most of the time. Hopefully next week will be a tad better!
Of course I am still completely enthusiastic and still loving being here! This place is working out better than I could imagine. All of the little things that we were struggling with getting we're getting here. I was a little stresssed out. We did this a little last minute. But it all worked out! God has definitely answered the prayers. We wouldn't have even looked at this place to begin with... but were totally guided here, and I'm so greatful!

Hello from MY apartment!

Woohoo! So I am sitting in my new apartment right now using our new wireless internet! Yah! Yesterday was move in day. I had my parents, sister, Corrie, and one of her teens Saydee all helping me! It was awesome! Actually moving things in took pretty much no time at all. I am still unpacking things and need to go buy many more things, but it is going pretty smooth so far! We pretty much have most of what we need as far as big things go. But still lots of little things to get and do. So I am off to go shopping right now!
Thank you so much to everyone who helped me! You're awesome!
Oh yes... and now my closet is extremely organized... rainbow colored, all the same hangers, all facing the same way. Thanks Corrie.
My mom left teary eyed... She was kind of off yesterday, I think the whole move was difficult for her. Makes sense. Her "baby" just moved out.
I started my first day back at the bookstore today. Cerise and I had a meeting with our manager to catch us up to speed on what we've missed over the summer. And also to tell us that they are making things like being a "lead" cashier more official. Meaning an evaluation and a pay raise. Cool deal. Which also means a few more responsibilities throughout the semester. That's good though.
So off to do some shopping, as far as food goes I have water, fruit loops, milk and ice cream sandwiches. Hmm... not the best way to start out. So going to get some healthy stuff!
Yah for apartment living! It's still a little surreal. I'll post some pictures of our new cute place once it's a little more put together! :)

Random Update

Yesterday I packed for a while with Emma's help. Sadly I haven't seen too much of her this summer. We were only home for the same time for about 3 or 4 weeks with vacations, work, and school ending at different times. It was great to have her help for a little bit though, and just get to chat. It's funny I think sometimes you don't realize how much you miss someone until you see them again. Or why you're such good friends. Anyway good times. We ended the "packing" with our favorite card game called "Egyptian Rat". It's a real card game but I think we made up our own name for it somewhere... always involves lots of shouting and laughter. Ahh I love that girl.
Last night Corrie and I (Emma already had other plans) went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I've heard good and bad reviews of it, but I personally thought it was pretty good. I didn't have too high hopes for it so maybe that helps.
Corrie and I randomly saw Sophia (ex-roomie) and her boyfriend after the movie. Nice to talk to her a bit and catch up.
This morning I went to Norwalk church and hung out/helped out with the youth group. I'm kind of sad that I'm leaving them already. I had the chance to start to build relationships with some of these teens and I'm bummed that I won't be able to continue to build those relationships and get to know them... at least not for now.
I just started to load my car with random stuff to move. Even though I still have a fair amount of more packing. I think it would be easier if I was just completely moving... because then I would pack everything. But since I'm not I have to go through everything and see what I need and try not to forget anything.
So should probably get back to that whole packing thing... the next time I write I should be in San Diego!

Home Sweet Home

Ok, so back in good old Long Beach California again. We got home yesterday after driving for about 12 hours around 6:00. Now after sitting in a car with my parents for 12 hours and spending a week with them you can't blame me for wanting to get away for a bit. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time... but towards the end it was a bit much. So Corrie and I went to Downtown Disney and ate at Rainforest Cafe. Yum! Then just kind of walked around and checked out some fun stores.
There's not too much I can think to say about the rest of my vacation... Bryce Canyon was beautiful as well. Did I write that we cut our Zion trip short a day and drove to Bryce? I can't remember.... But anyway we did and that was beautiful as well.
I took so many pictures! Sorry because I'll probably post way too many!
I've been catching up on blogs and messing around on the internet now for about 2 hours... even though I'm supposed to be packing and getting ready for my move to San Diego on Monday!

Pretty much everything was gorgeous....


The view behind our hotel.


Very friendly squirrels.


Pretty but poisonous moon lily.


Looks like a scene from the Land Before Time or something.


A double rainbow after a thunderstorm.


Family.


Sisters.


Lots of Warning Signs... we went on this hike and it was awesome... not the one I almost fell off a cliff on though.


Cool little waterfall.


Bryce Canyon.


Scary Weather.


Not a manmade whole.


Cool Tree.


Emily and Chip... or Dale.


Me in a stump.


Hoodoos.


Saw some deer.


Me after I almost died. I guess I should elaborate... So we went on this one hike called the "Mystic Cave". At the very end of the hike we saw this cool cave with water running down the walls inside. Well I wanted to get a little closer to it. So I stepped past the boundary post thing onto what seemed like decently stable, although wet, red sand. To the left was a nice steep drop off of a cliff. Well I overestimated the stableness of the sand and my feet slipped out from under me and I fell. Luckily only fell, didn't slide down or anything. Hence "almost" died... because if I would have actually slid a little farther it would have been bye bye Laura off of the cliff. I think my mom almost had a heart attack... See she was around the corner when I actually fell, so I'm sure the scene of me on the ground near the edge of the cliff was great.

Anyway... I tried to only post a few pictures but there were just too many! :)

Zion

So right now I'm still in Zion and sitting at the local library. Our car wouldn't start and so AAA is coming to give us a jump that will hopefully fix it.
I've really been enjoying our vacation so far. Tons of hiking in a beautiful place. The scene right behind our hotel looks like a painted movie set to me. I think I've decided that I love hiking. Yes, my legs are a little sore, but it's still been a blast. Yesterday we went on one hike that was nicknamed the "Stairmaster" because it had constant rocks to climb to get to the top, but was definitely well worth it.
On the way here while I was driving we almost got struck by lightning. It literally struck right next to the car. Then Tuesday night we got stuck in a crazy thunder and lightning storm. It was so cool!
After today I think we're going to head up to Bryce because we've done just about everything there is to do in Zion and Bryce should be fun as well.
Ok, gotta go for now because my time's just about up on this computer! Hope all is well with everyone! I'm having a blast!

Camp

So teen camp was absolutely awesome. I'm supposed to be leaving to go to Utah like right now so I can't talk about everything right now.
The main point is that God is amazing. It was so awesome to see so many lives committed to Jesus Christ for the first time. And many more than that who chose to recommit their lives... to get back on the "path".
So many memorable moments. There was of course tons of laughter and silliness. In one day I had whip cream in the face by Chris Nichols, and then that night Corrie and some of the girls in her cabin put highlighter and nailpolish on my face and foot when I fell asleep. The games were great... a relay with trout, an ultimate frisbee game with chickens, the mud pit where Corrie was pulled in during tug of war.
I truly loved being able to work with the teens. Going to camp I wasn't sure about it because I really didn't have experience working with youth groups or teenagers. But it was awesome getting to know some of the teens and being able to share God's love and pray with them.
Even with all of the fun I'd say a few of the most memorable and impacting moments for me was when I could truly see God working. One night Corrie had to deal with some important staff thing so I was with her teens and lead the cabin wrap up. That night during chapel there were so many teens who stood up to recommit their lives to Christ. Being able to talk to many of them about it and then pray with them afterwards was truly amazing. I felt so blessed to be able to be a part of that experience with the teens.
Another one of the times was when I was a part of the prayer group that prayed throughout one of the services. Every morning and night during chapel 5 or 6 people would be in the back behind the chapel praying for the service, the teens and the speaker, and that God would just enter this place. Truly awesome (I know I need another word, but I just can't think of a better one).
I had goosebumps just being able to witness God work in the teens lives, feeling his presence.

Ok time to leave for Utah, so here's a few pictures for you to enjoy...

3 of the girls from our church... Meaghan, Alyssa, and Joline.


Corrie in the dunk tank.


A really big bug.


No Corrie, I don't want your tongue on my face.


Corrie on the zip line.


Friends!


My new friend Angela.


Corrie's cabin... where I spent all except 2 nights... even though I had my own cabin!


Our theme... Route 66... a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.


What Corrie wrote on my foot after I fell asleep... darn for being a heavy sleeper!


Me and Saydee.


Whip cream faced... notice I don't really look happy about the situation.

Yah for camp!

Woke up

From my nap about an hour and a half ago... ate some food. Finished laundry... going back to bed now. Caught up on blogs right before I'm gone for a week again...

Exhausted!

Camp was absolutely amazing! I am planning on filling in many more details later... but for now I just wanted to let you know I'm back home! And completely exhausted. I think the most sleep I got any one night since last Friday was 5 hours. Last night was a little less than 4. So after I put in a load of laundry so I can pack for leaving on vacation tomorrow I am going to take a nap. Although I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't wake up from this "nap" until tomorrow morning...