christian music

i really love christian music and artists.

the music because there is a deeper message than most music in the cultural milieu that is overwhelmed by "let's party/do something we shouldn't" (most pop/rock today) or "i lost my wife and my dog and my truck" (how i categorize country or blues) or "#^$*" (rap or metal where i have no idea what they are saying or they have nothing but swearwords)

the artists because once they are off-stage, they revert to normal human beings you could see yourself being friends with.

like this past friday, when luther had several lutheran artists on campus for a "lutheran songs" concert. three hours of amazing music that had meaning. and of course, great times talking with them during intermission or afterwards.

like rachel kurtz who is a lovely, friendly human who would make an awesome friend.

or lost and found, the two who are awkward and yet utterly fun and lovable with their weird sense of humor and profound insights. i really enjoy their antics (which is not limited to telling horrible jokes while finding brilliant names for their cds: this, something, something different, here) as much as their meaning-filled and theological lyrics.

the draft

fyi: drafts are much more exciting when you are not on the list to be drafted

think about it. there you are, sitting and waiting at the whim of the people who pick you...

but if you're on the outside looking in, you can either ignore everything going on (and ignorance is bliss, after all) or you can be involved via empathy/sympathy

we learned about the draft tonight in between eating pizza and cakepops (yummy) and then worshiping together

me and roughly 200 other elca seminarians from seminaries/divinity schools across the country learned yesterday/today where they were assigned in the draft (officially the draft is known as assignment)

i, like a good chunk of my classmates at luther, will be staying in region 3 (minnesota, north dakota, south dakota)

it was interesting to watch reactions as they varied from joy (including one friend who jumped on her chair she was so excited) to acceptance to disappointment.

i personally fell somewhere between acceptance and disappointment. not that i don't love region 3 (cause i do since it's my dear home that i've lived all but a few years in) but deep down i had been hoping to leave my home and experience what the rest of the country has to offer. i was ready to spread my wings and fly away from the "tri-ota" region.

at the same time, i'm excited cause so many of my friends are in my region.

i also won a yo-yo in a raffle tonight. not that it does me any good whatsoever, but i won something

warning: serious posting ahead

okay, folks, here's the deal:

tomorrow is a big day in the life of numerous future pastors. (with a few exceptions)

tomorrow is the day when i will be handed an envelope.

and in the envelope will be a number of a region (1-9) of the united states that i will be assigned to after graduation. for example, region 3 of the elca is what i think of as "tri-ota" since it is north dakota, south dakota and minnesota while region 9 is the entire southeast corner of the country.

next step after assignment: finding out which synod i will be sent to.

the next step after synod placement: finding a congregation that i feel called to and that wants to call me.

but first, tomorrow must arrive.

and tomorrow, i will be texting, facebooking, emailing and blogging about where in the country kara will be going to soon enough

snow day!!!!!!!!

i was trying to remember the last time i had a snow day. i know it was in college.

at least, i think i recall one day where classes were cancelled at augie...

for the first time since i started at luther in 2007, i have a snow day!!!!!!!!!

it was announced last night via email (3 of them sent at 9:48, 9:58 and 10:10 pm) and the luther website. and for those who missed the official notices, it was all over facebook as me and my schoolmates went crazy over the fact that we have no school today...so if anyone didn't know by 11pm, it was not for a lack of news spreading like wildfire

want/need proof that i have no classes today?

money money money

it seems as though so much of life revolves around money: buying/selling things, working (or not working), borrowing, loaning, sitting through hours of learning about the basics of clergy tax law...

i know that money is one of those necessary evils but can be a great aid. in and of itself, money is not good or bad. but when connected with human beings, well...that's an entirely different story...

the bad: greed.

i'm sure there are other things, but i keep thinking that money is the root of all evil. even when not fighting about it, we worry and obsess about whether we have it or not. whether we have enough or not. i mean, taxes are their own form of punishment (no matter how much i may like math, i hate number crunching and figuring out what is tax deductible or taxable). g-ross.

the ambivalent: survival.

survival needs money to purchase what we need since we no longer live on the barter system. (which saddens me cause i think i would prefer to live in a time where i would be given a chicken as payment for a service rendered) can't live with it, can't live without it.

the good: generosity.

generosity is a sign that there is still hope for people. that people still care for and about their neighbors. i find joy in giving (even more so when i give of my time than my checkblanks). or for when i am in need, i am grateful for the generosity of others. those are the times when i find that i am most reminded that i am blessed and am able to share what i have been blessed with.

hassles

not that i'm complaining (well, i really am...) but i was sent the wrong book.

i ordered a book online. i've been tracking its progress across the country and was excited for it to be here. i go to the mailroom to get it, but lo and behold, there is not one but two packages for me!

i gasped and thought, "but i only ordered one? where did this other come from?"

the thought "PRESENT!!!!" grazed through my mind...

then i opened it.

and it wasn't for me.

poor unfortunate susi (not her real name) did not get her order. it was sent to me.

i got mine (yes, the other package was correctly addressed to me since it was for me) but susi did not. because i got hers.

but i get the hassle of having to call barnes and noble to tell them about the mix-up, wait for them to mail me a label (so i don't have to pay shipping to mail it back), then trudge to the post office or somewhere to be relieved of my burden.

oh the trials of being a good person who is not just going to keep a book that isn't theirs...

which might have been more tempting had i not read only the first book in the series (of which this book is #4) since i refuse to read the series out of order...

american idol

never understood the phenomenon.

well, i did watch an entire season of "deutschland sucht den superstar" (germany searches for the superstar)

but that shouldn't count since it was obviously to help me better understand the german culture while living there for the year... ;)

i was just informed that american idol will be watched in my apartment for three hours tonight...and i have to wonder, "REALLY?!? THREE HOURS?"

why three hours? i want the 5 minute synopsis and highlights, not three hours...

thankfully, i have a meeting tonight so will miss most of the show my roomie loves. instead i get to help plan lenten services (which sounds way more exciting to me)

picture upload extravangaza

i finally broke down and bought a micro-sd card adapter so that i could upload photos...so enjoy!

first round: pics from this post plus a couple days later when i went to see the snow sculptures (also associated with winter carnival)
snowshoeing:

  

winter carnival (day 1 - ice with j and m)

  

 

winter carnival (day 2 - snow with k and j)

  

   

  

the bubble popped

epic fail

i hate valentine's day. really, i do. i may love the cute cards (and got some from my family) but being single means that i hate it.

on principle.

because it's a day to celebrate romantic love (single, remember) and because it's so commercial (and i hate being materialistic, no matter that i use shopping as a stress reliever...)

but i wish i found this yesterday to make my day: failblog.org has a collection of valentines fails. and some are amazing

my favorite was an ad (i want a girlfriend really bad to come see me. please call...please girls!!) with a guy wearing a shirt: "single and not loving it"

classy.

new blog

for those of you who don't know (or just have been unobservant), i'm in seminary. i take classes and have assignments. and i started a new blog for one class about ministry and media.

http://karastheology.wordpress.com/

while this one is all about nonsense (with a splash of profound thoughts), the other will be profound thoughts (with a splash of nonsense)

while a majority of the posts will be required for coursework (thoughts on reading and theology as well as seeing "glimpses of grace" in God-moments), i believe that i will continue both blogs to provide balance in my life

hope you enjoy!

stylin'

i'm trying to be more stylish. i've got a long road ahead of me, but i'm hopeful...

for example, i sometimes straighten my hair. i love my curls, but sometimes they just need to be tamed in order to look stylish and sophistamicated (extra syllables always help)

also, my glasses are red or purple. depends on what color i'm wearing.

the other day i bought a long sweater (bargain at jcp for $3). super cute! and ultra cute when worn with skinny jeans (or leggings) and boots that are on the outside of the skinny jeans (or leggings). and i bought a pair of skinny jeans (gasp!) the other day at sears on clearance (cause i'm a bargain shopper) since i'm still not adventurous to wear the leggings i already own...but i did have the boots. two pair, in fact. black and purple. i went with black since the purple boots clashed with the sweater. and with my purple pea coat (also a bargain)...

but i was pretty stoked since i wore not just a stylish outfit today (coat, sweater, jeans, boots) all new and never worn before. altogether cost less than $50. my sister would be so proud...

i laughed

http://www.theonion.com/articles/deer-heads-in-my-trophy-room,19110/

2.11.2011 aka post #150 aka tgif

is it bad that i've been waiting anxiously for today to be february 11, 2011 just so i can see the date in numeral form as the title of my post?

i hope not.

but maybe since i was also really excited for 2.1.2011.

i prefer to think that i am simply enjoying the small things in life.

like seeing 2.11.2011 on the top of my post.

hehehe

i bet you're wondering, does kara have anything profound to share today in the wee hours of the morning?

answer: prolly not.

so here is just a smattering of thoughts i've been having lately:

i really need to clean and organize my room. i've been searching for a missing netflix movie that should be somewhere in the chaos. at least i have some motivation since i really want to return it so i can get the next awesome movie in my queue. which if i remember correctly is about werewolves...

(side note: queue is a ridiculous word. who thought that doubling up "ue" should make a sound? it's kinda like putting a w on either side of a k. oh wait, that's how you spell awkward, which is an awkward word to spell. and if you delete the "rd" it becomes a palindrome. like noon. or hannah.)

i know a lot of people getting married in the next six months. seriously. i know of 10 weddings for family and friends (not that i'm going to all of them).

it's supposed to be above freezing this weekend. yay!

i graduate in less than four months...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i bet you are thinking to yourself, was that a scream of pure excitement or of terror?

answer: yes
(that is a reference to a professor who avoided choosing between two options when both applied)

in less than two weeks i will know what part of the country i will be assigned to...(and hopefully move this summer with a call to be a pastor...)

i love my course schedule for my final semester of classes. that's right, folks. i loves me my days off. (believe it or not, i use correct grammar with spelling and punctuation when i write papers and am actually quite adept at it) currently i have wednesdays and fridays off and only one class on tuesdays. how cool is that?

answer: really cool.

i'm super excited for individual courses within the semester, not just the schedule where i have class three days of the week

for example, i have an education leadership course about ministry and media. there are four assignments: have a facebook profile (where i must post status updates once a week and upload at least one photo...so basically i pass that assignment), have a blog and post two times a week (current dilemma: use this blog or create a new one that will be more ministry and theology-focused...), create a powerpoint presentation (easy peasy lemon sqeezy), and create a movie. the movie will be the most challenging piece, but should be interesting. especially since we have to create our project for a specific intention: educating about minnesota without poverty. that's right. then we'll be giving our projects to the organization to use as they so choose. daunting but it makes it more exciting to be doing something that may actually be useful outside of the seminary walls.

because of this media class, i've been spending a lot of time locating good websites and blogs to link to since that's part of the assignment. pretty sure the blogs i tend to read won't cut it...each blog is supposed to include links that remind us of our readings or else "glimpses of grace" and i'm not sure the prof would necessarily enjoy my warped sense of humor...

my poor google reader is going to be overwhelmed for the next few weeks (or years if i keep this up without deleting blogs from the newsfeed...)

also, i have a course on worship and the lutheran confessions. it sounds scary. but who wouldn't want to learn about luther's theology from a former taize monk? especially since the class starts with worship in the form of evening prayers with taize-style songs?

answer: no one (at least this should be the answer)

those two are the elective courses. of course, i also have required ones like: holy spirit and the triune God, exercises in biblical theology, and ethics. and i'll have another elective later in the semester about the book of revelation.

best. final. semester. ever.

(at least, unless/until i go back for another degree...)

valentines

okay, so i hate the day to celebrate the gushy romance and love.

but i love valentines.

every year i buy some to send to people (even though i may not actually send them...)

and this year i was able to catch a link a friend posted to npr valentines (thanks, jess) which were hysterical.

this was my fave:
http://www.npr.org/valentine/faceforradio.html

i laughed out loud.

true story. my roomie asked what was so funny.

i'm kinda waiting now to see what some of my fave bloggers will come up with for the day...

last year my fave valentines were clear, plastic cards with printed images of animals with awesome sayings. like a penguin that says "you're cool!" i'm not positive that's what the penguin card said, but i'm going to pretend it does. ignorance is bliss, after all...

perhaps i shall upload a pic of one of my awesome valentines purchased last year. which i give out at random times. cause they don't mention valentines or love at all, i figure they are the ultimate, "i was thinking that you need a giggle in your life today"

i suppose that i now confessed they are valentines that means i have to give them as valentines...

2.1.2011

hello february

how are you? i am fine.

i hope that you will be kind to me. you may start with snow and cold, but i hope that you will provide days of warmth and sunshine. i know that you are not march, but i would like the "in like a lion, out like a lamb" to apply for you as well.

please provide chances for fun and fellowship. i want to have mornings where i meet friends at coffee shops, afternoons where i spend hours in the great outdoors, and evenings when i enjoy the fine arts and music.

also, if you could see to it that i get a really great assignment at the senior party night when we are notified of our draft locations, i would really appreciate that my tears to be tears of joy and not of sorrow or disappointment.

sincerely,

kara

ps - i hate valentine's day, so if you could make that day disappear altogether, it would be great.
k thanx bye