...Excel...

Better known as the spawn of Satan.  I hate anything computer lab related...so this lab is not enjoyable at all.  But what makes it worse is we're supposed to remember stuff from last year.  Worse assumption ever.

An Attempt at Focus

Right now I need to be writing a post for my large group blog (found here) but I would much rather dance around in my new adorable underwear. Unfortunately it is far to cold for that :(  But I guess I'm just here to get out some kinks before I write things that other people are going to read.  People that don't know me well and will judge me on my writing skills.

So I was just reading what I had written so far and realized that I started the paragraph with write instead of right.  Ya, getting kinks out here first was a good idea.  

Anyway, like I was saying I'm rather distracted right now, just with life in general.  Focus Rachael, focus!!

Random side note, I don't like Koolaid at all, but everyonce in a while my body gets in these weird moods where I can drink nothing other than Fruit Punch Koolaid.  I somehow manage to drink close to 2 quarts while doing homework. Seriously one of my weirdest phenomena ever.

Ok, I'm going to go try to do this...

October

October comes with its ups and downs.

Ups:
We are over half way through the semester!!
Fall has been exceptionally beautiful this year
It's finally sweater season :)

Downs:
So many political phone calls and commercials...
Sweater season is very rapidly turning into coat season
Wind

I love fall because I get to snuggle up under 4 blankets when I go to sleep but waking up turns into the hardest thing I've ever done.  Getting out of bed has never been such a mental argument.  Bed = warm, World = cold, harsh, and unwelcoming.

Homework also gets hard.  My hands and feet get so cold just sitting at my desk.  So today, I bought adorable gloves, the fingerless kind with the mitten thing that can flip over.  They're perfect for computer work!!  And they are cute, so win win.

And Thanksgiving is in a month, and that is one of my favorite holiday's so I'm getting excited!!

Inertia

Words of wisdom are not something I usually take from Fluids.  Dorgan's random tangents don't relate to me and are generally not very important at all. But class yesterday was different.  In usual Dorgan fashion, he decided to explain a simple concept in detail.  This week that simple concept was inertia.
Inertia is the idea that a body in motion remains in motion and a body at rest remains at rest.  Not a terribly hard concept to grasp, but like I said, Dorgan likes to elaborate.  Dorgan related inertia to a person in a restaurant drinking a beer.  He is far more likely to order another rather than pay and finish the rest of his day.

I've never had trouble making sense of inertia but I've also never related it to my life.  I feel like lately I've been living at rest and am therefore scientifically more likely to remain at rest.  Although I enjoy resting and think it's important, I've been driving myself insane.  I don't being so lazy but the energy to change my inertia is a deterrent to doing work.

I don't know how to change the way I live easily.  It's harding thinking I'll be giving up my laziness but this will prevent me from having a build-up of having to do everything at the same time.

Eventually I would like to get to the point where I have planned time to be spontaneous.  I would love to always be able to say yes when friends want to hang out or if someone needs to talk.  So I'm using this as accountability.  I'll let you know how my changing inertia experiment is going.

Busy Bee!!

Procrastinating does have it's benefits sometimes.  For instance, tonight I was incredibly productive.  I just had a massive amount of stuff to do and didn't really have time for sleep.  Oh well, we'll just add this to my list of all-nighters.  It's not the first and definitely won't be the last!
I've been really lazy lately.  I find every possible thing to do other than homework and studying.  It's really getting to be a problem.  Most of the time I'm doing really good and important things rather than school work and I am fine with devoting more time to people and relationships.  What is starting to bother me is when I procrastinate out of pure laziness.  I have too much on my plate to waste time procrastinating.  So here's to change?  We'll see how productive and motivated I can make myself.

The Hotel Chronicles

This summer I got a new job working the front desk at a hotel.  I work with wonderful people and truly enjoy spending time there.  It's such a blessing to have a job you don't despise.
But sometimes there are stupid people.  And sometimes the crazy comes, usually in a mass amount all at the same time.
Tonight was one of those nights.  It started out with stupid people.  2 different guests couldn't figure out how to get the phones to work in their rooms.  Turns out with cordless phones you need to turn them on first.  I know, pretty mind blowing right?  Then there was 209 who needed to be talked through the process of retrieving a message on his phone...twice.  This process is also written out on a piece of paper, attached to the phone!  And of course there are always the people that have problems connecting to the internet.  Most people are just having problems with their individual computers and love to blame us for inconsistent internet connections which is always enjoyable, but tonight it was a special kind of stupid.  People needed to be walked through the connection process as though they didn't even know wireless internet existed.  Example:
Jessica: Ok sir now do you see a list of networks?
            Ok so now do you see Table Mountain Inn?
            Is it at the bottom?
            So now connect to the network.
            Do you see the button that says connect to the internet?
            etc.
See what I mean, a special kind of stupid.
But stupid people I can deal with.  It's mean people that I have no patience for at all.  Tonight a woman called asking for a manager, always a scary way to start the conversation, and then proceeded to cuss me out because someone charged a debit card that she never gave us.  She literally suggested that someone at the front desk "looked up" her debit card number and has been charging it freely with no regards to her account.  I don't even know how to respond to that.  Luckily my boss is the most amazing person ever.
Anyway, I don't want to focus on this crazy person any longer that I already have, but it makes for some fun stories.  I don't doubt more will come from TMI.

An Apology...

I have blogger's block.  Sorry for the lack of posts.  This will get more exciting once my life does. 

Leaps of Faith

So far, this semester has not been a normal school year.  Yes, I've been busy with classes and hanging out with friends a lot, but things have been different.  I attribute it to God.
At the end of last year I was asked into leadership with Intervarsity.  My initial response was "Are you sure?"  but after lots of talks with people that I respect and love I decided to give it a shot.  My only emotion was fear.  I was so scared to lead a group when I felt like I didn't have a good basis in bible knowledge or prayer.  What if I couldn't answer questions?  What if I looked like an idiot?  These thoughts were constantly in my mind.
I felt a little comforted after leaders retreat and as I became much closer to Daniel, my co-leader.  I began to realize that no one ever has it figured out or has all the answers.  As I grew comfortable with the idea of leading, the thought of gathering people made me shake in my boots.  I am not an outgoing person, at all.  Especially when it comes to religion.  I think I project my assumptions onto those I'm talking to.  I feel as though they'll be insulted that I invited them to bible study or large group.  They're not.
So, I never actually made a conscience decision to stop having these feelings hold me back, but I never thought of them after school started.  Me and Daniel attacked our dorm.  We met so many people in the course of a few days and starting developing really great friendships.  We continued inviting constantly, called people and talked to them all the time; we just didn't stop, and energy came from no other place than God.  It was incredible.
Then I broke.  Turns out you can't spend all your time devoted to a group of people and juggle school not including your normal life and relationships.  It was really hard.  I felt like I let so many people down and I was disappointed in myself.  So I let myself rest, but I didn't stop.
Am I completely exhausted?  Absolutely
Am I emotionally drained?  Constantly
Is it worth it?  Yes.  I have never felt so encouraged, so loved, and so supported in my entire life.  I have been terrified to do every single thing I've done this year but I've decided to push my fear aside and trust and I have never been so rewarded.