Godspell, My Brightest Diamond, and Forty-Two Bananas

Since Kaylee hasn't updated this for over a month, she thought she'd share just a few of the highlights of the past week or two.

First up: Halloween.
October 31st marked not only Halloween and Reformation Day, but also the birthday of Kaylee's good friend Gretchen. Turning 19, Carsten and Kaylee realized there were only two appropriate ways to celebrate: the opera and bananas. Gretchen's older sister was here visiting, so Carsten and Kaylee took them to the Grand Rapids Opera to see Carmen (a most wonderful French opera). Having acquired free tickets to the dress rehearsal via Calvin's music department, they figured they could splurge a little afterwards by treating Gretchen to an after-opera-snack at Steak-n-Shake. The delightful occasion has been documented by a Polaroid picture, currently tacked to Gretchen's wall. Unfortunately... due to lack of an accessible vehicle, Carsten and Kaylee failed to purchase their desired gift for Gretchen in a timely manner. They were forced to wait until the following weekend...
Kaylee and Carsten, after finally finding a car, drove to Meijer (the local grocery) and purchased forty-two lovely bananas. They spent the entire following day coming up with witty, Gretchen-related rhymes to write on each banana. After completing this task with the help of colorful sharpies, the bananas were stealthily hidden in Gretchen's bed. Surprise!


Next: Luke, Carsten and Godspell.
This weekend, Kaylee was ever so fortunate as to have a lovely visit from the wonderful Luke Timothy Johnson. Luke arrived around 3:00, and had a little time to explore the campus before Kaylee got out of class. She hurried out of physics with Gretchen, and went and found Luke at the Library. She brought Luke back to the dorm, and showed him around a bit. He saw her slightly untidy room, and then got to meet Carsten. Then rest of the afternoon was spent in a walking-tour of Calvin's campus, given especially by Kaylee and Carsten. Luke then took the two of them out to a wonderful dinner at Rose's, a lovely restaurant right on the lake. The three of them barely made it back to campus in time to see the Calvin Theatre's production of Godspell. Carsten slept through much of it, and Kaylee and Luke weren't extremely impressed. Godspell doesn't make it on Kaylee's list of favorite musicals.

Finally: My Brightest Diamond.
Last night, Kaylee, Gretchen, Jillie, Carsten, and some other guy squished into Chad's car, and drove down town to the Ladies' Literary Club to see My Brightest Diamond in concert. The opening band was quite annoying, however My Brightest Diamond was amazing, and a very good performer. The performance was enjoyed by all.

The weekend is almost over, and Kaylee has three tests and a quiz to look forward to this week.
That's all for now.

Flying Cows!

SPOKANE, Washington - A cow plunged from a 200-foot (61-metre) cliff onto the hood of a minivan on a highway in central Washington state, according to police.

The car's occupants, Charles and Linda Everson, were not hurt in Sunday's accident, but the cow was euthanized at the scene.

"If the cow had fallen a split second later, the animal would have landed right in their laps," said Jeff Middleton, criminal deputy of the Chelan County Sheriff's Department.

Middleton estimated the animal weighed 600 lbs (272 kilograms), or the average size of a mature cow. It had been missing for two days and wandered 5 miles from home near the popular Lake Chelan tourist area.

I'm beginning to rethink my decision about not going to school in Spokane.

Where are all the Bulgarian Prostitutes Going?

Global Warming: now it hits brothels

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

If people could still do this, they wouldn't want prostitutes. Or something like that.

Brothel owners in Bulgaria are blaming global warming for staff shortages.

They claim their best girls are working in ski resorts because a lack of snow has forced tourists to seek other pleasures.

Petra Nestorova, who runs an escort agency in Sofia, said: 'We have hired students, but they are temps and nothing like our elite girls.'

This is an important issue that's been on my mind for a few days. What do you guys think?

So... it's been quite a while now, since I've posted. Here's a little bit, here and there, of what I've been up to...

hanging out and doing homework with my friends...

Here's my suite mate Debbie (left), and my Physics and Calculus buddy Gretchen. Debbie and I have so much fun, all the time... probably too much of the time. We talk about everything, from the important and deep, to the pointless and illogical. She makes me smile, and always puts me in a good mood. Also... sometimes she makes me get out of bed, so I'll make it to class on time :)
Gretchen too, has been a blessing to me. To have a good friend in my math and science class, is wonderful. Usually it turns out that I help her with calc, and she comes to my rescue when I attempt my physics homework. We make a good team. We met the week before school started, we were in the same orientation group together, so we also have the freshman intro class together once a week.

Writing letters, doing homework, playing cards, and baking...

This is my friend Carsten. His older brother, Dathan, is good friends with Carina, so we knew a lot of the same people when we got to Calvin. Carsten and I hang out often, and usually spend our evenings writing letters to people back home (always coming up with new and creative ways of communicating with people through snail mail), playing cards (Gin, Euchre, and Cribbage are our favorites), or baking over at Dathan's apartment - if we're not studying, that is. So far... we've baked three different banana breads, and a delicious apple pie. As well as pancakes, but that doesn't really count.
We didn't have a cribbage board... so we made one out of an old book we bought from the library. We glued the pages of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography together, then nailed holes in it for the pegs. We left a few pages at the beginning of the book, on which to record our scores...



















Here's a few pictures of my dorm building: Kalsbeek-Huizenga... with Debbie and Carsten.



















I've also been attending some good concerts. I'm going to see the Grand Rapids Symphony again tonight (for the second time), and I've also seen Shapes & Sizes (really good), The Yeasayers (even better), Martin Sexton (really good), and Ryan Montbleau (even better).

Classes are going well. I got my first paper back today, from history class. I got an A!!! That made me pretty happy, so I had a good morning.

Well, I'm off to lunch. I'll try and update this again soon. Love you all,
Kaylee

Some pictures of my Dorm...My room mate, Ana Stutler. Isn't she gorgeous?Our big bathroom, that my room mate and I share with our suitemates. Our awesome building (Kalsbeek Huizenga) has by far, the largest bathrooms on campus!
Ana and I fully equipped our room with a comfy chair, a few nice floor lamps, a large fridge, a television and dvd player, and a telephone!

The view into my room from the door. Beds in the foreground, desks and comfy chair in the background. My bed is on top, resting on our book shelves.


yeah... so that's about it for now. I'll take more pictures, of things more interesting sooner or later.

Tears before the Lord

Having never before been a big fan of poetry, I was surprised as I was moved to tears, moments ago in Chapel.

As I entered the Chapel, I was greeted at the door and given a tasty looking apple. I found a seat in the back, between two friends, and began singing the opening song. After singing, we sat down and the Chaplin, who is new this year, began his first message of the year. He began telling us the story of how he came to Christ...

40 years ago, he set foot on Calvin's campus, not a Christian. He made his way through his first three years still an unbeliever. It was halfway through his senior year, in a literature class, that Paradise Lost, a poem by Jon Milton changed his life. He read to us the portion he had read in class, and as Eve bit into the apple, we all did as well. He told us of how as he took that bite of apple in class, he felt the spirit within him. It was the bite that eventually lead him home. And he's been coming home ever since.

He then prayed the most beautiful prayer, and as I sat there listening, and praying with him, silently, I began to cry. We stood up and sang Amazing Grace, and it was the most passionately I've ever heard it sung before.

Chapel, one in which everyone has chosen to attend and worship, is an amazing experience.

When the Calvin community comes together to worship, the spirit is present, and his power is visible. Every Sunday night, there is a LOFT service (Living Our Faith Together). Last night, the music was good, and the message was even better. Having just discussed the gospel of Ruth the night before with a few guys on my floor, it was great to find that we would be studying the very same book. And many conclusions we drew the night before, were reinforced in the message of the LOFT service. Then as we got ready to leave for the night, everyone held hands. (imagine a circular room, with everyone holding hands...) We sang a song of encouragement to one another, and of praise, with our hands up, in awe, during the chorus.

What an amazing community.

Thanks be to God.

well... looks like my plans for classes I'll be taking this first semester, have slightly changed - and I've had to unwillingly accept it. Neither Choir I got into by audition fits into my schedule, because they conflict with my physics class and my freshman intro class. Nugget! I have decided to join the Gospel Choir though, because I figure I'd rather sing with a not-so-good choir, than not sing at all. Maybe even more saddening, is the fact that I can't take French this term. Apparently, I'm already taking 17 credits, and I can't add French without removing history (which is a core class that I really need to get out of the way). So... after an entire summer of speaking French only to Ginny, I must wait another 5 months before I can possibly be in another French class.

On a happier note:
-I have a new Asian friend named DK!
-I heard a guy in my Quest group (freshman orientation thingy) today say "nice!" with that strange tone I acquired from Anna :)
-My sister's friend Oliver, has offered to give me all his old engineering books, which could easily save me $200.
-I love my room mate.
-Tonight I'm going to a lake with my Quest group...
-I've had a lot of fun staying up late with my floor... but that means I fell asleep during probably 4 different boring presentations to the freshmen today. ooops.

Today I met with an advisor, to finally figure out my schedule. Finally, after months and months of debating in my mind, I've decided to major in Engineering. Once again, I will be surrounded by males. I hope to major in French as well, which leaves me with the daunting idea of taking 5 years to graduate. Hopefully I enjoy school at Calvin! I'm excited for this coming semester, which begins September 4th, but am also slightly nervous, as I realize I'm taking on a hefty load...
Engineering 101
Engineering 106
Calc II
Physics 133
French 215
Campus Choir
Oratorio Choir
and either a History, Writing, or Religion class

On top of that, I'm looking to find an on-campus job as soon as possible, to have a little spending money available. Time for fun and time to study are going to have to fit in there somewhere too!

But the Lord has blessed me with an amazing room mate, and I look forward to the next few months.
Thank you for your prayers.

As I look back on the last few weeks, so many things seem to have begun to change. Leaving Eugene, and all my amazing friends, has been the toughest change of all. Being in a friendly but strange place, seems all the more foreign when I have no one to good game, and when I can no longer say "may I?" with out creeping everyone out. However it's been eye-opening to meet friendly, God-loving people every way I turn. I know that in time, strong friendships will be made. However, nothing can ever compare to the friendships I've made back home. Growing up with Greg, Amy, Collin, Andrew, Ginny, and Mary... creates a bond and lasting memories that can never be replaced. And the wonderful people I've met over the past few years - David, Luke, Amy, Jay, James, Kasey - have made a lasting impact on my heart. Everyone has been so special to me, and I look forward, with eagerness and anticipation, to Christmas break, when we all may once again be reunited.

I love you with all my heart.