Juror #9

I have jury duty this week. I was actually picked for a jury, too. I thought that never really happened. Except my dad was a juror last week. And now I'm a juror this week. And it gets weirder. We are/were both Juror #9. So weird. His case ended Tuesday. And mine began showing evidence today.

It will be a quick trial. We got out way early today so I had time to go for a run in the rain and take a shower. And now I'm off to meet Ms Stacey Boone for an early dinner. (So I was trying to decide if I should put Mrs. But I never call her Mrs. I don't even know why I put the Ms.)

The run was amazing. My thighs were really red from the cold rain hitting them though. It made me really miss soccer. I have been missing that a lot lately. I just want someone who will play with me. Who actually likes it too. And I tried to find a soccer ball the other day. At my house. And I couldn't find one that was of high quality. If you know me and my family, shouldn't this be strange? It is.

Oh! So the judge of the case recognized me as my father's daughter. When they were questioning me he asked if my father was involved with soccer. I said yes. And he said he saw the family resemblance and that he was a good man. And I agreed, of course. My dad's pretty cool. Anyway, I told my dad this and he led me to believe that I would probably get dismissed. However, it didn't. I guess it doesn't matter that the judge knew my dad. Cause really, I don't know him. But he is a nice guy.

I am actually really enjoying this experience. It's making everything I learned in government with Ms. Blythe so real.

Laundry

So I am home for 4 1/2 weeks. I am so excited because I have been waiting for a break since mid-October. That's about when my life started to get extremely crazy.

However, coming home means moving back in. And for me that means laundry. I like starting new and so I decided to bring all my clothes home and wash everything and leave the things that I never wear here at home when I go back to school in January. So I also had the bright idea to wash all my clothes to get that clean-ness feeling in my room.

Now, I'm kind of weird and like to do laundry (and wash dishes, but that's beside the point). In fact, I get paid to do laundry at school. I'm pretty sure I posted about this before. At school we have intense machines that wash and dry the clothes. I'm pretty sure I could fit into the dryer even; that's how intense it is. (Sidenote, when I work late there, sometimes I have the irrational fear that someone is going to sneak up behind me, push me into the dryer and turn it on. Irrational. Yes. I know.) So I guess you can say I'm used to nice machines to work with.

We don't have nice machines. And by nice, I actually don't mean high quality. Because we recently upgraded our machines to new ones that a family friend was getting rid of (because they were moving to Africa not because they didn't work anymore). By not being nice, I mean that they don't always cooperate. By saying that, I guess you can say that I am personifying the machines.

Anyway, in order for the washing machine to start washing the clothes, the door has to be locked. In order for the door to lock, it has to be shut correctly. And for some reason, the door never closes correctly on the first shut. Go figure.

So it takes about two to three times to actually start the machine. And it doesn't say if its correctly locked until after a minute you close it. So you could be waiting for about five minutes before the machine starts to work. And I know, relatively speaking that five minutes is not a long time, but it is when you have other things to get done, like decorating for Christmas or baking cookies.

Luckily today, it has been closing somewhat nicely. I've only wanted to kick it two to three times because of this reason. Yes, this reason. There's more.

As I am writing this, there is still a load in the machine and it has been there since about noon (it's about five now). Why, you ask? Well because now the machine has decided for some reason to not unlock. My clothes are stuck in there. And probably by the time I get them out I will need to send them through the wash again. And I still have more loads that I want to do. It really just needs to start working now before I really do kick it (and because its metal and I'm not, it will probably hurt me more than it succeeds in making it work.)

So you might be wondering why we got rid of the old machines. One of the reasons is because the washing machine was possessed. Here's a video even:

(Excuse the mess. It actually doesn't look like that anymore. Well, for the most part.)

Washing machines are not supposed to make that sound. Unless they always have made that sound. And this washing machine had never before made that sound. I could hear it from my living room. I was home alone the first time I heard it and freaked out.

I'm pretty sure I would rather have these ancient, demon possessed machines then the ones that keep my clothes hostage.

Well, now I'm off to go and try to open the washer. Maybe the 29th time is the charm.

Adventures of Living with Kai

One of my dear roommates is Kai Matsumoto. She was my roommate last year and she is pretty awesome. And pretty entertaining. Tonight she had me laughing so hard that I almost fell on the ground. Here's the story.

Kai is kind of on the short side and to utilize space in this modular they made the shelves pretty high up. Well, sometimes Kai underestimates her shortness. Tonight she tried to reach for this high shelf. She went really fast but completely missed the shelf. Here are some lovely photgraphs.

What's kind of weird is that she let me take these pictures of her being pretty inadequate at life. Not one. But two.

Oh and I'm not done.

A little bit later she was going to call this one person that we were just talking about for some reason. So she goes to her room and we hear from the kitchen "Hi, is Leslie there. Oh." And then she calls out "I just called the wrong number."

What's funny is that she's really smart. And has a lot of common sense and makes a lot of intelligent jokes. But sometimes she is very ridiculous. And a bit spacey. And kind of oblivious.

I just want to post a blog, ok?

So I have kept writing stuff and then erasing it and then writing new stuff and then erasing it. And I can't figure out why I am still trying to write a blog. Obviously I do not feel like I have something too profound to say. And yet I can't bring myself to close this tab and move on with my life; to facebook or looking at plane tickets.

I think I just have an intense desire to post a blog and tell you all about my life even though there is nothing new or excited going on. Its just dead week (I keep hearing that term so I thought I would adopt it and use it as my own) and finals are next week.

There is a lot going on though. Like people leaving and not coming back next semester. This seems to be a common theme, both with friends from R-side and friends from APU. What is it with people leaving? I know that they are going to come back. Well, in the case of APU people, it is quite doubtful I will see peope who are transferring to Oregon state again. But there is always Facebook to keep us connected, albeit electronically.

What else is going on? Ah, yes. My sister is about to give birth. I wasn't able to have a countdown with Elly. Wyatt just decided to come when I was out of the state, so I really couldn't get the right amount of excited about his entrance into the world. But with Ally, its like, can you just hurry up and come already. Because really, the sooner she comes, the sooner both of them can start getting bigger and when they are bigger, the sooner I can start spoiling them.

I am at work right now and it is glorious. I am sure there are lots of homework things I should be working on, but really, I am not feeling it right now. This is what Friday and Saturday are going to be for. Because Sunday is going to be one of the busiest days of my life. Why do I say yes to some things?

First, I have a 5k run in Redlands/Loma Linda area at 7 in the morning. And then I have youth group at 10:45. I might refrain from going but this Sunday is the play and I kind of want to see it. We shall see though. And then my sister is having a shower. And I'm kind supposed to be throwing it and helping with it. This is probably why I won't go to church just so I can help my mom set this thing up. And then afterwards, it is my last OG and we are going to be having some sort of celebration and I really want to be there for that.

But luckily, I don't have classes on Monday. So I am staying in R-side that night and then coming to school in the morning. However, when I am going to school, I will be going to my death. Why, do you ask?

Well, you see, I have an interview that day to get into the Athletic Training Program. My stomach is turning just thinking about it. I know that its not going to affect me getting into the program, but I have this feeling that I could very easily make a fool of myself or just be awkward and weird and not make a good first impression. It shall be interesting.

I can't wait to blog about it. Because that means that it will just be over with.

Okay, well this was a really long random blog.
I'm out.

Running again

Last night or the night before, I forget, I went running at the track again. Its been awhile since I did that. Lately I have been going to the weight room and using the treadmill or just running in the neighborhood. But that night I just felt like going to the track again.

Its funny running at the track. Its funny to see the same people that I saw there when I ran earlier this year. Its funny to have a competition with another runner, but you have no idea how long they have been running or how in shape they are. Its funny when you have a random playlist on and this comes on:

Let down your defences
Use no common sense
If you look you will see
that this world is a beautiful
accident, turibulent, succulent
opulent permanent,
no way I wanna taste it
Don't wanna waste it away

Oh Avril, how I have never listened to your lyrics before.

Lately, the world has been seeming extremely beautiful and I don't know why. It just is. Maybe its the weather. Maybe its the realization that you can't take life too seriously. Maybe its meeting new people and learning new things about yourself. Maybe its new life that has been added to your family.

I don't know.

I realized that I have one week left in this semester. This time next week, I will be sleeping in my bed again until January 9th. I am so excited. Hopefully everything that needs to get done will get done.

Can people change?

I remember watching an episode of One Tree Hill and one character was telling another character that people don't change. That the mistakes that they make follow them around for a while. And that its hard to get rid of them. Or something along those lines.

I personally think people can change. I think that people can change their habits and become entirely different people. This might be a little random, but it bothers me when people accept their bad habits and accept the niche that society has placed them in.

I really want to call out these type of people but I think thats kind of judging of me. However, I believe that if these people changed, their lives would be so much more fulfilled. I can see this pain and emptyness in this one person in my life and I want to help her so bad. But instead I am just annoyed by her and don't talk to her anymore. In fact, I feel like there is unspoken tension between us. And sadly I am okay with this because it means that I don't have to talk to her. Or show interest in anything that she does. Even if I have a close proximity to her; day in and day out.

I want to care but I don't think she really wants to let me in either.

But really, do I have habits that I need to change? Probably yes.

That one saying about when you point your finger, there are three pointing back at you, comes to my mind. So I pause in my judgment of this person and reflect on my own life; and maybe I should work on some of my bad habits before I unleash my superiority complex issues on her.

Well that's it.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the fact that I think that people can change. And change is necessary when you are not happy.