more talk, less pictures is the motto of the day. july 4th was this week - happy birthday, america. i celebrated by going to the lake with friends. i haven't been to the lake in 5 years, so i took every opportunity presented. i tried kneeboarding and got into a fight with the kneeboard that resulted in a nice shiner. at this point the swelling has gone down and the eye can't make up it's mind if it wants to be green or yellow. green is winning at this point. yesterday i catered a wedding with my mom. i've never seen so many hungry people in one place. you'd think that people only go to weddings to eat (wait... that's the only reason i go to weddings!). i saw people i went to college with - they all had at least 2 kids and had no idea who i was. more and more i'm realizing the recluse i was during those four years. the other day i was thinking of something that happened during college that was quite upsetting (actually, it was an r.a. but a friend and i got her back by taking a couple hundred helium balloons from a sport's banquet and letting them go in her room. she realized it was me though since i was the only girl on the floor who played sports. oops.) and then it hit me -"lyndee, get over it! that was 5 years ago!!" i'm over it now.
my sister and her husband came back to the house after the wedding. it was the first time i'd seen them since Christmas. they are planning to move to norway in a year to take a creative dts in aalesund, which is pretty exciting if you ask me.
i unexpectedly led a sunday school class today - sharing about norway, my experiences, what God has been teaching me. i never seem to make it through a teaching without crying. in some ways it bothers me, but in others... it's me. tears are only honest. you can't change them and rarely can you control them. it's amazing the power they possess - tears are freeing, comforting, healing, human. i think they possess a clarity that is hardly found in other means of communication. like a good rain shower, everything seems a bit more fresh after a good cry. here's to a good cry.
cheers.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
where am i?!
i just returned from my weekly trek to wal-mart, every american's second home. seriously, i don't even like the place but it just lures me in. it doesn't matter how many times i can go, i always find something that captures my attention. today it was make-up and peanut butter. i went to find facial powder, but there was just too much from which to choose. as for peanut butter... you have your jif, peter pan, great value brands (three main ones). but the selection doesn't end there. you have creamy, crunchy, sugar, no sugar, low carb, low sodium, low sugar, low fat, organic, natural, with chocolate spread, snickers, and to my dismay - jelly. thinking of brian regan, what kind of lazy person needs their peanut butter AND jelly to come in the same jar? i don't understand any of it.
i spent last week in indiana, visiting family and friends. i had the chance to spend a day with a very good friend from college - also single, 26, and a missionary. we haven't seen each other in 3 years because of our schedules and i can't explain how nice it was to sit down - no time restraints - and talk with a friend who is in the same place as life as i. after the day was over (coffee, shopping, thai food, coldstone, barnes and noble, and movie included), i got in my car and just sighed. how refreshing.
i feel i write this quite often - that coming back to the states feels more and more strange each time i return. but i can't tell you how nice it is to just do "normal" stuff. i can mow the lawn, go to sonic and buy a chocolate/banana shake, go to the library, drive my car, watch rerun after rerun of "gilmore girls" and "what not to wear." those simple, mindless things keep me sane at times. i have found myself bamboozled (there's a word for you) when trying to do other simple things like greet people or go to the post. i can't remember which coins have which value or how to sign a check. i'm sure as soon as i remember all these things, i'll be on a plane back to norway.
i spent last week in indiana, visiting family and friends. i had the chance to spend a day with a very good friend from college - also single, 26, and a missionary. we haven't seen each other in 3 years because of our schedules and i can't explain how nice it was to sit down - no time restraints - and talk with a friend who is in the same place as life as i. after the day was over (coffee, shopping, thai food, coldstone, barnes and noble, and movie included), i got in my car and just sighed. how refreshing.
i feel i write this quite often - that coming back to the states feels more and more strange each time i return. but i can't tell you how nice it is to just do "normal" stuff. i can mow the lawn, go to sonic and buy a chocolate/banana shake, go to the library, drive my car, watch rerun after rerun of "gilmore girls" and "what not to wear." those simple, mindless things keep me sane at times. i have found myself bamboozled (there's a word for you) when trying to do other simple things like greet people or go to the post. i can't remember which coins have which value or how to sign a check. i'm sure as soon as i remember all these things, i'll be on a plane back to norway.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
my summer at wicca camp.
i'm sitting here, my body telling me it's almost 4 in the afternoon, i've only slept a few hours, and i spent some time at wicca camp last week. okay... maybe not REALLY, but i could have. i think.
i just returned from my jet-set European lifestyle. i've been to Slovakia, Austria, England, and Norway this past week and before you begin thinking, "wow, Lyndee must be quite well off. isn't she a missionary?" don't. i've felt a bit guilty for travelling (am i really spending my money wisely?), but come on. we flew ryan air, which happens to have the warmest airports in the world, charges you for checking in luggage, and allows stampedes as people run like the bulls in Pamplona to find their unmarked seat on the plane. we also stayed in the "Happy Hostel" ("the happy hostel for happy people," i'm told). so, no reason to feel guilty... i think. what my mom and i did: walked (a lot), sat at cafes (even more so than the former), saw a Mozart concert, went to art museums, saw famous sights, shopped, and my favorite - went to see "The Producers" in London. That was the best. but back to my time at wicca camp...
we travelled from Skien to Vienna with absolutely no problems. it was actually a bit boring because of that. we never got lost, i never left anything anywhere i shouldn't, quite an easy journey. we arrived at the airport in London after our days in Vienna, called the little bed and breakfast where we were staying and they sent over a van to pick us up. we waited outside with the rest of the passengers and as the van pulled up, everyone hopped on. i tried to show my paper reservation to the driver, but he didn't seem to need it. he did ask me for my room number and i thought he was crazy - we hadn't checked in yet. but, we hopped in the van and as i looked around, i thought it was strange that my mom and i were among the oldest people there and as i heard the driver on his walkie, i thought it even more strange that he said there were 7 people in the van. there were 9 of us. so we drove... and we drove... and we kept driving into the English countryside. i didn't recognize any of the scenery from my time before. finally, after 25 minutes we arrived and everyone jumped out of the van. i looked around and saw log cabins and the air smelled like it usually does at summer camp. i hated summer camp. "Welcome to Gateway!" the driver announced. huh?! what happened to The Bushel and Sack? what the heck is Gateway? my honest first thought was "what if we're at wicca camp?" (you know, like megan on "Felicity") to this day i have no idea what "Gateway" really is, but as we were back at the airport the next day, waiting for our shuttle again and someone asked us "Are you going to Gateway?" we could confidently say, "No, we were there last night. We are waiting for our own shuttle."
but, i'm in the States now. i'm quite tired of travelling. i have had my tickets for over a year and as i checked in at Oslo, i found out i had to fly standby and as i checked in at Chicago, i found out my travel agent booked me on a flight home for the day after and i had to pay for a date change. so annoying. but i'm back, feeling like i usually do after coming back. i've heard of many countries having camps for displaced people. maybe i'll check one out.
i just returned from my jet-set European lifestyle. i've been to Slovakia, Austria, England, and Norway this past week and before you begin thinking, "wow, Lyndee must be quite well off. isn't she a missionary?" don't. i've felt a bit guilty for travelling (am i really spending my money wisely?), but come on. we flew ryan air, which happens to have the warmest airports in the world, charges you for checking in luggage, and allows stampedes as people run like the bulls in Pamplona to find their unmarked seat on the plane. we also stayed in the "Happy Hostel" ("the happy hostel for happy people," i'm told). so, no reason to feel guilty... i think. what my mom and i did: walked (a lot), sat at cafes (even more so than the former), saw a Mozart concert, went to art museums, saw famous sights, shopped, and my favorite - went to see "The Producers" in London. That was the best. but back to my time at wicca camp...
we travelled from Skien to Vienna with absolutely no problems. it was actually a bit boring because of that. we never got lost, i never left anything anywhere i shouldn't, quite an easy journey. we arrived at the airport in London after our days in Vienna, called the little bed and breakfast where we were staying and they sent over a van to pick us up. we waited outside with the rest of the passengers and as the van pulled up, everyone hopped on. i tried to show my paper reservation to the driver, but he didn't seem to need it. he did ask me for my room number and i thought he was crazy - we hadn't checked in yet. but, we hopped in the van and as i looked around, i thought it was strange that my mom and i were among the oldest people there and as i heard the driver on his walkie, i thought it even more strange that he said there were 7 people in the van. there were 9 of us. so we drove... and we drove... and we kept driving into the English countryside. i didn't recognize any of the scenery from my time before. finally, after 25 minutes we arrived and everyone jumped out of the van. i looked around and saw log cabins and the air smelled like it usually does at summer camp. i hated summer camp. "Welcome to Gateway!" the driver announced. huh?! what happened to The Bushel and Sack? what the heck is Gateway? my honest first thought was "what if we're at wicca camp?" (you know, like megan on "Felicity") to this day i have no idea what "Gateway" really is, but as we were back at the airport the next day, waiting for our shuttle again and someone asked us "Are you going to Gateway?" we could confidently say, "No, we were there last night. We are waiting for our own shuttle."
but, i'm in the States now. i'm quite tired of travelling. i have had my tickets for over a year and as i checked in at Oslo, i found out i had to fly standby and as i checked in at Chicago, i found out my travel agent booked me on a flight home for the day after and i had to pay for a date change. so annoying. but i'm back, feeling like i usually do after coming back. i've heard of many countries having camps for displaced people. maybe i'll check one out.
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