So I realize that it's far from the start of an actual year on the Julian calendar, and January 1 is a few months away yet...but it's September 28, my first official day being 23 years old.
(Yesterday was the first day in four years that I've woken up at home, in my own room, in my own bed, with no school to think about!) (Yesterday was also a beautiful September day spent in the company of my family and people that I love very much. Thanks also to everyone who was far away but remembered that yesterday was a day of certain importance to me!)
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins this week. I'm not Jewish (but I think my father often wishes that he was more than he will admit...), so I'm not claiming any expertise on the holiday. But what little I do know about has some significance for me.
Rosh Hashanah is for atonement - for making things new. This morning at church, I found out about a particularly beautiful ritual which is observed by some during the holiday. Observers approach a body of moving water and empty their pockets of the contents by turning them inside out, where they are swept away by the water. Some observers come prepared to the waters with bread, if they have nothing else, to cast upon the waters. The tradition is supposed to symbolize sweeping away the old and the burdens of the previous year.
My favorite story book heroine's teacher, Muriel Stacey, (from Anne of Green Gables) always reminded Anne Shirley of this concept: "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." I think this is the same concept with a new year - new beginnings.
When I heard about the ritual this morning, I put my hands in my pockets. Aside from residual lint that escaped our old and trusty dryer's lint catcher, they were empty. Even though my pockets were empty, I thought about how the past year was fraught with much confusion, sadness, and pain - which, if tangible, were more than a thousand pockets could handle. (Yes, November was probably a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder...) I know that there are others who have suffered far worse emotional trauma than I - and that the road ahead is marked with more trials to come.
In spite of all of that, I am thankful. The Christian faith is an enigmatic and a paradoxical one. The last becomes first and the first becomes last. Something must become broken in order to be rendered complete. It is necessary to die to your own desires in order to truly live - to gain life in Christ, who lived a sinless life only to die, for people like me - constantly making mistakes and having to continually turn my pockets inside out, more often than new years celebrations come around.
It's a new year for me, even though I'm not Jewish - and I'm happy that my new year coincides with a holiday where many observe the beauty of starting over. Happy New Year!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Detours
"God is the engineer of our circumstances." For some reason, I've been hearing this non-political catchphrase a lot lately. And rather than just thinking it, I'm starting to believe it more and more as time goes by.
I heard the catchphrase on Sunday, in a sermon given by a guest speaker. He was actually the pastor at the church my family and I started attending when I was in first grade. He left shortly after that, and was replaced by another man - who just resigned in August. I know change is ever eminent and ever present, but it was still surprising to watch someone who had a significant presence in my life leave quietly. Anyway, if he hadn't resigned and left, I wouldn't have heard what I did last Sunday. The first pastor I had known at our church nearly 16 years ago returned as a guest speaker, and talked about the in-between times...how a lot of living happens between points A and B. How you know where you're supposed to be going (point A) and actually getting "there" ("there," being point B). I guess it interspersed the "everything happens for a reason" somewhat cliche/not cliche catchphrase into his message, too. I mention all of that because I've realized that I've always tried to live my life at breakneck speed, and get impatient when things get "off track," videlicet, things aren't going according to schedule or my way.
Today was a beautiful illustration of what should have been a tight schedule gone awry. This morning, I had a dental appointment at 11:50 am, and immediately afterward an eye appointment at 1:30 pm. I missed by dental appointment by half an hour on Tuesday because I'd gotten the times mixed up in my head with another appointment earlier on Tuesday morning (had to do with work stuff. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm moving back to Ann Arbor? I'm moving back to Ann Arbor. That adventure later...) The receptionist graciously rescheduled me for today, since she knew that I'm moving soon. Showed up for my appointment on time today. Five minutes went by. Then 10. I start to get really antsy when I'm idle so I picked up the nearest People magazine, dated August 25, and paged through the whole thing. Twenty minutes had gone by, and I was alone in the waiting room - and dangerously close to missing my eye appointment today (which, I did. But they rescheduled me for 9:00 am Monday morning, ouch!) Found out from the receptionist that there had been three emergencies that needed immediate attention at the office that morning, and that everything in their schedule was backed up.
While waiting, I saw a tiny woman with dark hair emerge from behind the door where the patients' rooms are. A surprised "oh!" escaped from my lips when I realized that it was my Auntie Esther, the wife of my mother's brother. She nodded in my direction to acknowledge my presence, and then hurried past me, saying with a cute and slight Tagalog accent, "batroom!" (in other words, "bathroom"). My aunt doesn't have her driver's license, so she had to call my uncle and wait for him to come pick her up from the dentist's office. Half an hour gone by, still sitting in the waiting room. My aunt was waiting, too, so we sat together and talked until my uncle came. I see my aunt quite often, actually, at numerous family dinners due to the fact that she and my uncle live about a five minute drive from my house. I didn't realize until talking with my aunt today that it's hard to get one-on-one conversation time with people sometimes at our family gatherings sometimes, due to the sheer amount of people present, so I was thankful that we ran into each other. I waited nearly an hour before my dentist actually started working on my teeth.
With my eye appointment canceled, I had a window of time, so I went to wait at my Cousin Christine's (Auntie Esther's daughter) and visited with her, her husband Matt, and baby Emerson. During my hour waiting to pick up Ariele from school, Christine and Emerson fell asleep, passed out cold. Matt and I ended up talking about life, and about me starting this new adventure into working life. He said he remembered where he was when he was almost 23, and has been thinking about how he felt, how I must be feeling now. I appreciated his encouragement, and knew that I wouldn't have been able to spend time holding baby Emerson and indulging in good conversation if my schedule hadn't been a little bit off.
Schedule being off made me late to picking up Ariele, which is usually at 2:50 pm everyday. It ended up working out because we had to pick up a new violin bow for her to try out after 3:00 pm downtown. When I woke up, my day was so set, usually stays set when there's a schedule. The neurotic that I was/am/always have been usually hates detours, but lately I am learning to appreciate them. For example, this "year-off" detour from law school/grad school of any kind. If I'd hopped into school right away, I wouldn't have been able to think about appreciating detours...
Nothing too eventful for today.
I heard the catchphrase on Sunday, in a sermon given by a guest speaker. He was actually the pastor at the church my family and I started attending when I was in first grade. He left shortly after that, and was replaced by another man - who just resigned in August. I know change is ever eminent and ever present, but it was still surprising to watch someone who had a significant presence in my life leave quietly. Anyway, if he hadn't resigned and left, I wouldn't have heard what I did last Sunday. The first pastor I had known at our church nearly 16 years ago returned as a guest speaker, and talked about the in-between times...how a lot of living happens between points A and B. How you know where you're supposed to be going (point A) and actually getting "there" ("there," being point B). I guess it interspersed the "everything happens for a reason" somewhat cliche/not cliche catchphrase into his message, too. I mention all of that because I've realized that I've always tried to live my life at breakneck speed, and get impatient when things get "off track," videlicet, things aren't going according to schedule or my way.
Today was a beautiful illustration of what should have been a tight schedule gone awry. This morning, I had a dental appointment at 11:50 am, and immediately afterward an eye appointment at 1:30 pm. I missed by dental appointment by half an hour on Tuesday because I'd gotten the times mixed up in my head with another appointment earlier on Tuesday morning (had to do with work stuff. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm moving back to Ann Arbor? I'm moving back to Ann Arbor. That adventure later...) The receptionist graciously rescheduled me for today, since she knew that I'm moving soon. Showed up for my appointment on time today. Five minutes went by. Then 10. I start to get really antsy when I'm idle so I picked up the nearest People magazine, dated August 25, and paged through the whole thing. Twenty minutes had gone by, and I was alone in the waiting room - and dangerously close to missing my eye appointment today (which, I did. But they rescheduled me for 9:00 am Monday morning, ouch!) Found out from the receptionist that there had been three emergencies that needed immediate attention at the office that morning, and that everything in their schedule was backed up.
While waiting, I saw a tiny woman with dark hair emerge from behind the door where the patients' rooms are. A surprised "oh!" escaped from my lips when I realized that it was my Auntie Esther, the wife of my mother's brother. She nodded in my direction to acknowledge my presence, and then hurried past me, saying with a cute and slight Tagalog accent, "batroom!" (in other words, "bathroom"). My aunt doesn't have her driver's license, so she had to call my uncle and wait for him to come pick her up from the dentist's office. Half an hour gone by, still sitting in the waiting room. My aunt was waiting, too, so we sat together and talked until my uncle came. I see my aunt quite often, actually, at numerous family dinners due to the fact that she and my uncle live about a five minute drive from my house. I didn't realize until talking with my aunt today that it's hard to get one-on-one conversation time with people sometimes at our family gatherings sometimes, due to the sheer amount of people present, so I was thankful that we ran into each other. I waited nearly an hour before my dentist actually started working on my teeth.
With my eye appointment canceled, I had a window of time, so I went to wait at my Cousin Christine's (Auntie Esther's daughter) and visited with her, her husband Matt, and baby Emerson. During my hour waiting to pick up Ariele from school, Christine and Emerson fell asleep, passed out cold. Matt and I ended up talking about life, and about me starting this new adventure into working life. He said he remembered where he was when he was almost 23, and has been thinking about how he felt, how I must be feeling now. I appreciated his encouragement, and knew that I wouldn't have been able to spend time holding baby Emerson and indulging in good conversation if my schedule hadn't been a little bit off.
Schedule being off made me late to picking up Ariele, which is usually at 2:50 pm everyday. It ended up working out because we had to pick up a new violin bow for her to try out after 3:00 pm downtown. When I woke up, my day was so set, usually stays set when there's a schedule. The neurotic that I was/am/always have been usually hates detours, but lately I am learning to appreciate them. For example, this "year-off" detour from law school/grad school of any kind. If I'd hopped into school right away, I wouldn't have been able to think about appreciating detours...
Nothing too eventful for today.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Here comes the son... (do-do-do-do) it's all right (echo guitar)
He's here, he's here! Little Bear was born yesterday at 2:06 pm at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan to Matt Green and Christine Advincula. I dreamed earlier in the summer that I read in an e-mail that his name was Jason Ryan Green, and in the dream I was distraught about the fact that I found out the news through e-mail. I didn't tell the name from the dream to anyone until yesterday, when I saw the little baby for the first time. And was I (and by I, I mean my subconscious) ever wrong! His name is Emerson (as in Ralph Waldo) Michael Advincula Green. If you haven't read his history (and by his, I mean a snippet of his family history), see the previous post. In the meantime, here are pictures to celebrate his birthday, September 20, 2008
L-R:the new Uncle Jesse!
Look at all of that hair!
"Blue eyes, baby's got blue eyes..." 
If you read the previous post, here is Christine - granddaughter of Librada Advincula - with the little Bear.
Dr. Green and his son, Matt Green
L-R:
Mom, or "Lola Emma"
Auntie Arielethe new grandfather, Lolo Mig
I love this picture of Marmee and baby Bear
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Stories from a somewhat non-typical Saturday
Saturday afternoon. Violin music fills the house as my sister practices, diligently as usual. My father was just sitting at his computer, blasting his favorite smooth jazz - which, I don't hesitate to add, is not a favorite of Ariele's and mine. A Manila native and ever cautious, Dad shows me a slideshow about thievery at ATMs, and follows up with his commentary about how messed up it is that some people can't just make an honest living - his standard warning for us to be "wise as serpents, meek as doves," or in other words vigilant. My mother, the nurse, is at work until this afternoon. From the looks of it, pretty typical for a weekend in the Macadangdang household.
Except it's not! Received a text message from my cousin soon to be Auntie Marie this morning, shortly after Ariele and I got home from her quartet rehearsal. It said something like this: "The bun is finally coming out of the oven slowly! Christine's in labor!"
My cousin Christine notified the family via e-mail sometime in March of this year that she and her husband Matt were pregnant. (I got the news the same day that a certain Miss Lauren Milewski found out that she had gotten the Fulbright to teach English in Hong Kong, and the same day that my sister found out that she had gotten into summer music camp at Northwestern University. A fabulous day!) The baby, still affectionately known to the family as "Bear," (since the parents didn't want to reveal his name until his birth) was due to arrive in this world on September 15, 2008. I am happy to report that Christine went into labor around 5:00 AM today, and hopefully I can post pictures next time heralding Bear's birth. The reason I didn't wait to write and post pictures is because I think that Bear's history, even though he is not quite a citizen of this world just yet, is worth telling. I'm a story teller, so just um...Bear with me (hahaha, I laugh at my own bad jokes).
Once upon a time, about 23 years ago, Librada Advincula decided to visit her children in the United States. So she hopped on a plane and visited her son Mig and his family, and her daughter Emma, and son-in-law Edison Macadangdang in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During her brief time in the United States, Librada suffered a stroke. She was attended to at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo by a Dr. Philip Green. Librada passed away shortly afterwards in her sleep, the same week that Emma found out that she was pregnant -with the author of this post. Years later, Dr. Green's son Matt met Librada's granddaughters, Christine and Marie, in the seventh grade. Christine and Matt (also known as Matt and Christine) fell in love and were a couple for approximately 14 years before tying the knot in July 2005. In March 2007, the husband of Librada's youngest daughter Grace suffered a stroke in the Philippines. Emma, the nurse, kept constant vigilance over her brother-in-law's health, and enlisted the help and advice of the same Dr. Green. In March 2008, Dr. Green's son and Librada's granddaughter announced that they were having a baby. In August 2008, Emma and her family were able to visit her sister Grace, her recovering husband, and family in Saskatchewan. Who could have guessed that twenty-three years after Librada Advincula met Dr. Green at Borgess Hospital that her granddaughter and his son would bring a child into the world at the same hospital?
2:29 pm update: as I finish this post, I am happy to announce that Bear is out! I am excited to find out his name, and will definitely post pictures soon. Inevitably, I don't know all of the details surrounding my grandmother's death, or how everyone was feeling. I'm sure that Christine or Marie could tell the story better because they knew our grandmother. I am sad that I was never able to meet my Lola Librada, but I am amazed at how the pieces of the puzzle called life come together, a beautiful and tangled web. From what I do know, a young doctor helped an elderly woman, unknowingly made contact with his in-laws years before their children met, that the doctor would eventually help the same woman's son-in-law, that their connection later in life would be a little boy known as Bear...
And right now, my sister and my dad are on the phone with Dr. Green's son and Librada's granddaughter, the proud parents, with the little one's lusty cry in the background. Can't wait to meet him!
Except it's not! Received a text message from my cousin soon to be Auntie Marie this morning, shortly after Ariele and I got home from her quartet rehearsal. It said something like this: "The bun is finally coming out of the oven slowly! Christine's in labor!"
My cousin Christine notified the family via e-mail sometime in March of this year that she and her husband Matt were pregnant. (I got the news the same day that a certain Miss Lauren Milewski found out that she had gotten the Fulbright to teach English in Hong Kong, and the same day that my sister found out that she had gotten into summer music camp at Northwestern University. A fabulous day!) The baby, still affectionately known to the family as "Bear," (since the parents didn't want to reveal his name until his birth) was due to arrive in this world on September 15, 2008. I am happy to report that Christine went into labor around 5:00 AM today, and hopefully I can post pictures next time heralding Bear's birth. The reason I didn't wait to write and post pictures is because I think that Bear's history, even though he is not quite a citizen of this world just yet, is worth telling. I'm a story teller, so just um...Bear with me (hahaha, I laugh at my own bad jokes).
Once upon a time, about 23 years ago, Librada Advincula decided to visit her children in the United States. So she hopped on a plane and visited her son Mig and his family, and her daughter Emma, and son-in-law Edison Macadangdang in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During her brief time in the United States, Librada suffered a stroke. She was attended to at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo by a Dr. Philip Green. Librada passed away shortly afterwards in her sleep, the same week that Emma found out that she was pregnant -with the author of this post. Years later, Dr. Green's son Matt met Librada's granddaughters, Christine and Marie, in the seventh grade. Christine and Matt (also known as Matt and Christine) fell in love and were a couple for approximately 14 years before tying the knot in July 2005. In March 2007, the husband of Librada's youngest daughter Grace suffered a stroke in the Philippines. Emma, the nurse, kept constant vigilance over her brother-in-law's health, and enlisted the help and advice of the same Dr. Green. In March 2008, Dr. Green's son and Librada's granddaughter announced that they were having a baby. In August 2008, Emma and her family were able to visit her sister Grace, her recovering husband, and family in Saskatchewan. Who could have guessed that twenty-three years after Librada Advincula met Dr. Green at Borgess Hospital that her granddaughter and his son would bring a child into the world at the same hospital?
2:29 pm update: as I finish this post, I am happy to announce that Bear is out! I am excited to find out his name, and will definitely post pictures soon. Inevitably, I don't know all of the details surrounding my grandmother's death, or how everyone was feeling. I'm sure that Christine or Marie could tell the story better because they knew our grandmother. I am sad that I was never able to meet my Lola Librada, but I am amazed at how the pieces of the puzzle called life come together, a beautiful and tangled web. From what I do know, a young doctor helped an elderly woman, unknowingly made contact with his in-laws years before their children met, that the doctor would eventually help the same woman's son-in-law, that their connection later in life would be a little boy known as Bear...
And right now, my sister and my dad are on the phone with Dr. Green's son and Librada's granddaughter, the proud parents, with the little one's lusty cry in the background. Can't wait to meet him!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, Monday... (and cue music)
(Even though it's Tuesday... I am still going to write about Monday).
My life has finally taken on some sort of schedule: I volunteer at a small non-profit here in Kalamazoo from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm, and then I drive down the street and pick Ariele (baby sister) up from nerd school (also known as KAMSC, or the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. See?). Even though Monday essentially mirrored today in terms of activity, Monday was difficult. And today, much better.
I have found that "work" is great for working on character flaws. Kept finding myself in tight people situations at "work" (affectionately known as volunteering) yesterday and really wanted to just punch somebody in the face. My "boss" started the non-profit in 2001, and in October, their organization will be hosting their 6th annual Minority and Women-Owned Business Expo (I think I have typed/said that phrase at least a million times in the past 48 hours). I actually think the idea is really cool.
On the other hand, what I don't think is cool is when my "detail-oriented" boss pays attention to minute details that border on insanity; for instance, telling me the tag of my sweater is sticking out and should she tuck it in for me? (For real?? There are other worse things to worry about!) I found myself at my wits end at lunch time. "Um..." said she, "we don't eat at our desks..." and proceeded to lecture me about why we don't eat at our desks. I really wanted to throw whatever I was eating at her, but decided that doing so was against my better judgment. So, I retreated into break room to pace.
I knew I had a bad attitude, and that things would only get worse if I didn't do something about it. I prayed something like, "God, I don't even want to have a good attitude...!" and proceeded to ask him to help me throughout the rest of the day. Once I'd calmed myself down, my "boss" walked in a few minutes later (to which I thought, 'wow, Lord, that was quick!') and apologized for not being able to explain everything to me thoroughly, and that it was stressful around the office because of the Expo coming up so quickly. I guess people who said they'd support the Expo or sponsor haven't delivered like they said they would. And for a small non-profit, I can definitely see how that would be stressful.
Monday gave me the opportunity to see the stuff I'm really made of... very humbling, but I'm glad that at least I know more areas that I need to grow in character, more rough spots in my heart that need filing. I won't lie and say that I fixed everything overnight. Actually, by the end of yesterday, I was feeling quite wretched. I will say, however, that an attitude change and a penitent heart make a world of difference (which I will probably write about later...)
In brief, today was better because: "boss" was more gracious today (thank goodness!); connected really well with two of the women who work at the office during lunch time; heard some good news about an internship (but still have to make a decision by Monday); and Ariele passed her road test. In other news, my cousin Christine is "still preggo," in her own words, and I hope to write a post very soon about her little boy...
My life has finally taken on some sort of schedule: I volunteer at a small non-profit here in Kalamazoo from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm, and then I drive down the street and pick Ariele (baby sister) up from nerd school (also known as KAMSC, or the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. See?). Even though Monday essentially mirrored today in terms of activity, Monday was difficult. And today, much better.
I have found that "work" is great for working on character flaws. Kept finding myself in tight people situations at "work" (affectionately known as volunteering) yesterday and really wanted to just punch somebody in the face. My "boss" started the non-profit in 2001, and in October, their organization will be hosting their 6th annual Minority and Women-Owned Business Expo (I think I have typed/said that phrase at least a million times in the past 48 hours). I actually think the idea is really cool.
On the other hand, what I don't think is cool is when my "detail-oriented" boss pays attention to minute details that border on insanity; for instance, telling me the tag of my sweater is sticking out and should she tuck it in for me? (For real?? There are other worse things to worry about!) I found myself at my wits end at lunch time. "Um..." said she, "we don't eat at our desks..." and proceeded to lecture me about why we don't eat at our desks. I really wanted to throw whatever I was eating at her, but decided that doing so was against my better judgment. So, I retreated into break room to pace.
I knew I had a bad attitude, and that things would only get worse if I didn't do something about it. I prayed something like, "God, I don't even want to have a good attitude...!" and proceeded to ask him to help me throughout the rest of the day. Once I'd calmed myself down, my "boss" walked in a few minutes later (to which I thought, 'wow, Lord, that was quick!') and apologized for not being able to explain everything to me thoroughly, and that it was stressful around the office because of the Expo coming up so quickly. I guess people who said they'd support the Expo or sponsor haven't delivered like they said they would. And for a small non-profit, I can definitely see how that would be stressful.
Monday gave me the opportunity to see the stuff I'm really made of... very humbling, but I'm glad that at least I know more areas that I need to grow in character, more rough spots in my heart that need filing. I won't lie and say that I fixed everything overnight. Actually, by the end of yesterday, I was feeling quite wretched. I will say, however, that an attitude change and a penitent heart make a world of difference (which I will probably write about later...)
In brief, today was better because: "boss" was more gracious today (thank goodness!); connected really well with two of the women who work at the office during lunch time; heard some good news about an internship (but still have to make a decision by Monday); and Ariele passed her road test. In other news, my cousin Christine is "still preggo," in her own words, and I hope to write a post very soon about her little boy...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A somewhat lengthy explanation of the bend in the road
(An addendum to my last post...)
Cousin Marie: So what is your goal in writing this blog?
Obvious Answer: Try to take over the world!
Not-so-obvious-Answer: Nothing deep or profound (though goodness knows I try to be both as much as possible, and occasionally succeed...emphasis on occasionally).
Here's my (long-winded) explanation (hem hem, the political science way) for the blog newly christened "a bend in the road."
Fellow Anne Shirley fans will recognize the title of this blog from a conversation that Anne has with Marilla, at the end of the book Anne of Green Gables. For those not so familiar, here's an excerpt from the last chapter, also titled "The Bend in the Road" of the aforementioned book:
"I'm just as ambitious as ever. Only, I've changed the object of my ambitions...I mean to study at home here and take a little college course all by myself. Oh, I've dozens of plans, Marilla...I shall give life here my best, and I believe it will give its best to me in return. When I left Queen's [College], my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. " - Anne of Green Gables
A year ago, my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road: take the LSAT, apply to law school, go straight to law school after undergrad, take the Bar, become a lawyer, get married, have 2.5 children and a nice dog, send them off to their sixteen years of school, retire, travel, and then die. (Sounds morbid, but accurate).
One crisp and cold evening last year, I was walking the perimeter of the Law Quad with my dearest Charlotte Wu. As we circled around and around, she asked me why I wanted to be a lawyer. It seemed that for every reason I gave her, she found some sort of counterargument (which made me think that it should have been her that aspired to be a lawyer, and not me!). It was through those probing questions that I realized that I wasn't so sure about why I wanted to do what I said I wanted to do after all.
Thinking about all of that gave me cold feet, and incidentally, I happen to not be in law school right now. This is my bend in the road. Certainly isn't where I pictured myself after April 26, 2008. Like Anne, I'm hopeful that the best lies out there. I guess while figuring all of that out, this is what this blog is for.
And now Ariele and I are going to play Wii Fit with our cousin Jesse, and visit with his very pregnant sister Christine and her husband Matt. Next post will probably be about Christine and Matt's son, "Bear," who is due to come into the world supposedly tomorrow. (But I am betting on the 17th). Thanks for reading!
Cousin Marie: So what is your goal in writing this blog?
Obvious Answer: Try to take over the world!
Not-so-obvious-Answer: Nothing deep or profound (though goodness knows I try to be both as much as possible, and occasionally succeed...emphasis on occasionally).
Here's my (long-winded) explanation (hem hem, the political science way) for the blog newly christened "a bend in the road."
Fellow Anne Shirley fans will recognize the title of this blog from a conversation that Anne has with Marilla, at the end of the book Anne of Green Gables. For those not so familiar, here's an excerpt from the last chapter, also titled "The Bend in the Road" of the aforementioned book:
"I'm just as ambitious as ever. Only, I've changed the object of my ambitions...I mean to study at home here and take a little college course all by myself. Oh, I've dozens of plans, Marilla...I shall give life here my best, and I believe it will give its best to me in return. When I left Queen's [College], my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. " - Anne of Green Gables
A year ago, my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road: take the LSAT, apply to law school, go straight to law school after undergrad, take the Bar, become a lawyer, get married, have 2.5 children and a nice dog, send them off to their sixteen years of school, retire, travel, and then die. (Sounds morbid, but accurate).
One crisp and cold evening last year, I was walking the perimeter of the Law Quad with my dearest Charlotte Wu. As we circled around and around, she asked me why I wanted to be a lawyer. It seemed that for every reason I gave her, she found some sort of counterargument (which made me think that it should have been her that aspired to be a lawyer, and not me!). It was through those probing questions that I realized that I wasn't so sure about why I wanted to do what I said I wanted to do after all.
Thinking about all of that gave me cold feet, and incidentally, I happen to not be in law school right now. This is my bend in the road. Certainly isn't where I pictured myself after April 26, 2008. Like Anne, I'm hopeful that the best lies out there. I guess while figuring all of that out, this is what this blog is for.
And now Ariele and I are going to play Wii Fit with our cousin Jesse, and visit with his very pregnant sister Christine and her husband Matt. Next post will probably be about Christine and Matt's son, "Bear," who is due to come into the world supposedly tomorrow. (But I am betting on the 17th). Thanks for reading!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Finally.
My last blog-type endeavor was conducted under the auspices of a certain xanga.com. I can't remember the last time that sunshine0927 (that would be me) posted her thoughts online about life.
If anyone ends up reading this inaugural post (I would be surprised, as I haven't told anyone about the creation of this blog), know that my inspiration came from reading the adventures of various important people in my life who are, at present, far away from where I am. (And I do enjoy reading about your lives!)
That said, I am not writing from somewhere on the other side of the world (unless you are, for instance, in Hong Kong reading this - then in your case, I most certainly am!). The "adventures" I will write about will be, at best, prosaic. . .but I suppose my newest adventure will be to find the extraordinary in the mundane. And if you are reading this, I hope to share about that adventure with you.
Thanks for reading!
If anyone ends up reading this inaugural post (I would be surprised, as I haven't told anyone about the creation of this blog), know that my inspiration came from reading the adventures of various important people in my life who are, at present, far away from where I am. (And I do enjoy reading about your lives!)
That said, I am not writing from somewhere on the other side of the world (unless you are, for instance, in Hong Kong reading this - then in your case, I most certainly am!). The "adventures" I will write about will be, at best, prosaic. . .but I suppose my newest adventure will be to find the extraordinary in the mundane. And if you are reading this, I hope to share about that adventure with you.
Thanks for reading!
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