Almost time

8 more days O.O

I'm excited :]

Yet extremely nervous about Monday... I shouldn't be. I love talking about my walkabout. I just need to remember that this has been an amazing experience, and forget the rest. Forget the people. Forget the stupid butterflies. Just breathe... and tell my story.

and everything should be fine c:


[i hope.]

hammocks and thunderstorms

I don't know how I missed it all this time.


Hm... I was going to say something, but can't remember what.
c: oh well. hehe.



Any pointers on how to talk easier in front of a large group of people? I have a lot to say... Really; My words just get away from me when I see all of those eyes pointed in my direction.

Hey, Amy-- any way I can make everyone turn around during my presentation?

Please?


Oh.
And please please please check out the link on the post beneath this.
It won't be a waste of time.
Promise. :]

Free Hugs are the best Hugs.

Sorry I've been slacking at the whole updating thing.
My life has been pretty laid back and uneventful.
[aside from yoga, books, and trying to prepare for my advanced algebra final. Eep.]


http://www.freehugscampaign.org/


This is a truly extraordinary campaign. You should all check it out
and spread the hope and love to strangers.

[I also recommend downloading the e-book. It will make you smile at least 5 times,
I promise. c: ]

i miss you

"Yeah... we took care of him, alright"

This is from last night:

As I was putting together my slide show, and sifting through a shoebox full of little reminders, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by such a huge wave of memories and a feeling of accomplishment. It's like my heart instantly swelled. I know I've said it before, but those people were so amazing; So selfless. I want to be that. I want to do more. I want to go back, and see everyone, and just feel... like I've found my place again. It was like a different world-- a good world. Everyone gave and gave and gave, and asked for nothing in return. Life became simple. Everyone loved everyone else, regardless of who they were or where they came from. All that mattered was that we came together to do this one thing for this one deserving, caring, and beautiful family.

I can't imagine me doing anything else for that walkabout.


It was perfect.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Today was, overall, good.

Hugs are amazing,
I'm horrible at presenting things,

and I'm almost done with Pack Up the Moon [done :) ].

so in the end, the positive outdoes the bad.

Oh. I got a letter, too.

And those can always turn any day around.

c:

"Unbreak my hearrtttt; Say you'll love me againnnnn..."

Sometimes, the only way to stay sane is to dance like a crazy person.


Really.

I'm ridiculous sometimes [all the time]. I was sitting here, kind of getting stressed about tomorrow because I'm stuck on what to say for my practice symposium. I mean-- I have plenty of visuals, I'm just stuck on how to start. So then I decided that talking to an alumni would be fantastic because then I could get a few ideas.... Now where to find an alumni...

Then it hit me that I happen to live in the same house with someone who graduated two years ago.

This America, is your future.

:D

It's sunnyyyyy 8{D

You know that feeling of content-ness that has this random
way of just draping itself over your life when you least expect it?
Making everything look perfect and wonderful?

That's what's happened, and it's making me falling in love
with everything.





Walkabout wise-- Pudding house is going great. I know I don't
talk about it a lot [sorry], but it's pretty much the same.
I'm working on getting some of my 'best' pictures together.
In a way, it's kind of getting me down since I don't have a
wide variety to choose from since everything got deleted
back in November when my computer crashed. But I'm not
going to let that bother me-- I can't change it. So all I can
do is move on and rebuild my portfolio.

And that's exactly what I'm doing.
:]




[any good book recommendations?]

Postsecret.blogspot.com

[the link's

over there

---->]

other than that,

life is grand

c:

For Allison

[tee hee hee]

I've been reading into Americorps lately [http://www.americorps.org/]. I have a real problem with letting fear hold me back; It's something I need to get over. I want to be able to jump without thinking twice. I know sometimes that can be a bad thing, when you do something without thinking about the outcome. But how can something that has to do with helping others be that bad in the end? I was nervous about Habitat in the begining-- working with strangers and such-- but it turned out to be the best thing that ever could have happened.

So what am I afraid of?

[Allison keeps making fart sounds with her armpit... XD ]

Day of Silence

I learned something today--
I really suck at staying silent.


I tried, though... Curse people for including me in
good conversations... >.< [i slipped up three times... that sucks. but i caught myself everytime and didn't even get a whole sentence out.]



anywho--
everything's good. I don't know how... But I'm not arguing with it :]


[i hope this never ends]

not an update

it seems like nothing's happening.

except people are leaving and the world is spinning.

[i just wrote two letters c:]

and i took some pictures for a friend on saturday... [for her grad. invitations] i don't know. i'm happy with the way they came out, i guess. i've just never been a big 'portrait' person.

gene is going to sit down with me tomorrow so we can figure out what i want out of this internship. yay. :) i'll probably be helping allison out a lot this week with getting her gallery up [which is going to be amazing i might add. c: ]

c:

[i'm falling back in love with photography c: ]


i went over to allissonnnnssss, and watched Juno :] hurrah! and now it's 5.03am and i can't sleep. :-\

Enchanted and Sweeney Todd

what a combo. :)

site was kind of uneventful. allison shook pacer until he threw up :],
then we left [gene was sick too] and watched enchanted at her house.

[is it just me, or are the princesses getting more and more ditsy?]


i'm struggling with getting a good self-portrait. i am too awkward in front of the camera. but i'm determined. besides-- i need one for the yearbook/program.

here's one that i'm okay with..




goal: next time don't cover the lower half of my face.

In the circle, the circle of liffeeee

i could definitely use a bazillion more days like
today in my life. c:
but maybe with a little more wind so the kites
will actually fly.








it has hit me that i won't really see any of these people
anymore after graduation. and i know that even though
everyone promises to keep in touch, things happen and friendships
slowly fade.


that makes me sad...
[i don't want to lose you :-( ]

Mmmmm.... opened windows

maybe it's just the fact that my last walkabout was so fast paced,
but i feel lazzzyyyyyy.

hopefully these few extra side projects will help. i just need to get motivated.

kite flying anyone?


-talk to adam about displaying some of my work
-talk to jay about riding around with the fire department for a day
-fly a kite already!
-sew something

- .... build a birdhouse? hehehehe :]





i want to color... and dance.... and laugh.


a lot.

I'm hungry...

and my foot's falling asleep. =\
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

went out picture taking today. :]

we went through yellowsprings, drove around back roads and stopped whenever we felt like it. the windows were down and the music was playing and it was perfect. c:




[i still miss it... ]


i've been thinking about going down the road to the local 'gallery' we have and asking adam [the owner] if he wants to display some of my work.


i'm nervous, but i know it would be a big step for me. regardless of whether or not he says yes, just me getting up the nerve to ask would be enough.


maybemaybemaybe.



we passed by a small, quiet canopy of trees that housed hundreds of daffodils.
it was beautiful.
[ i keep wanting to call them tulips... :-\ oops. hehe]

"All You Need Is Love"

i started at pudding house today.

edited some pictures and laughed a lot. c:
[two of my favorite things]


oh!oh!oh
i got a letter yesterday from some Atlanta Habitat friends.
i can't even begin to describe how amazing that was; overwhelmed by joy that i received mail-- let alone mail from some of the most wonderful people i've ever met-- i spent the rest of the evening dancing and grinning like a fool.

it was nice. :]

and it wasn't only that i got a letter... it was that everyone wrote a little note and it was personal and nice and, and... Gah. Spectacular. then there was the thought that maybe, just maybe, i'm not that forgettable. and all of these things together put me in the best mood of my life.

can i go back now?
please?








i really need to stop breaking into houses. =\

umm...

I keep waiting to blog until I do something of importance.
But nothing's happening.



Must.
Do.
Something.



Here's a piggy bank I colored, and star I made.
My first homemade something.
I was/am proud. :]


[the other side has a sun and rainbow c: ]




I start at Pudding House on Tuesday.
Hopefully.



yay stuff!!!

Everything's changing.

In a way I'm okay with that...
I mean, that is what life's all about right?
Learning, growing, changing...

Although another part of me misses
what used to be; the friends that I've lost
contact with, the way I looked at the world
like all was good, and evil was just a fable.
Not to mention the lack of any major responsibility.


But to be honest... when it comes down to it,
I wouldn't trade this for anything.

back home

it's strange how easy it is to adapt to a different schedule-- a different routine. and how once you leave that routine how hard it is to fall back into the norm. because once you know what it's like to live that different life, you don't want to fully let it go.

it's been a weird past day and a half. everything feels different somehow. i still haven't fully unpacked, except for my clothes..which still aren't put away...

i feel like i have to get back down there and do more. i need to do more. don't get me wrong, though-- i love being home. i get to be around my family, friends and all of the crap i've accumulated in the past 18 years. i got to catch up with people and it's been nice. ...but there's just something different that i can't really place.

....i don't know. maybe it's just the gray skies getting me down.

Tornado hits downtown Atlanta.

and another storm is about to hit within the next hour. they're predicting grapefruit sized hail-- although i'm kind of thinking that's an exaggeration. Last night was crazy. Windows were blown out of tall buildings and billboards were ripped down. That rarely ever happens in a big city-- a tornado, I mean.


Today was Dedication Day. The Mendezes finally have their home. Although there's still some work to do, that's how it always is with builds. But it looks amazing. And they are so incredibly happy.


I got numbers and e-mail addresses and tons of hugs. It was nice. I'm going to miss these people so much.

[pics from wed. and an older one of Free]




i wish i could describe every single feeling
that is rushing through my veins,
but i can't.

sorry.

2

aahhhh...

my mom's driving down here tomorrow, and we're leaving on Sunday =]
i'm exxccciiitttteedddddddd :D



anywho... :-)

I had to work an extra day at the house yesterday so we could catch up. It was snowing and freezing last saturday, so we couldn't get any of the painting done outside. But we're all caught up now and the house looks so great! It seems like we'd need another day, though. =\ We still have a bit to do, or so it seems. i 'unno.

Yesterday was nice. It was 67 degrees and the sun was shining and it was just perfect. I had to get on the roof... which was terrifying. I didn't think it looked that steep. but oh my. I also got to take pictures that looked like they turned out good. but i haven't been on my computer to really look closely at them. [i'll post some later if i like 'em.]

i'm going to the store in twenty minutes for my last day, Friday i need to pack and make sure i have all of my math caught up, saturday is the Last Build =[ and sunday i'm leaving.

good-bye, sir

I can feel myself clawing to hold on to every detail--
every word spoken; every face.

but it's impossible. and it's leaving
this raw, hopeless feeling in my gut.

and i find myself dreading the day i leave
behind all of these incredible people.

i don't want to.

i don't want to forget one single thing,
yet i'm already struggling to remember
that one joke that one guy told that one
day oh-so-long-ago.


not only that, but i know that
i, too, will be forgotten.

and if everybody forgets,
who's left to remember?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[i just realized that all three pictures
are of dogs.... >.> oh well]

Bleck...

I'm tired now.

We went to D.C. this week. That was fun. Some plans fell through, but that's okay. In the end eveything was good and I had an overall great time. We left on Saturday after the build, rushed to the airport, got back last night. i worked the 9-4 shift today, and get to wake up at 6 tomorrow so i can build! Woo! =]
...

Except we're supposed to get flurries and the high is 30. That's our coldest day yet. oh well..

I also saw Free today. He gave me a hug.

Man... I miss hugs =[ I don't get near enough now a days.

And when I do, they're just puny little side hugs... Not full on

let-me-crush-your-lungs hugs.

But only 1 more week ^.^ Hurrah!

I'm ready.

i got 4 letters yesterday =]
they were good letters.

I don't really like that picture...
but the tree was awesome.

Out

Just to give you some background information, Georgia-- and a lot of the south-- has been in a horrible drought for the past 4 years. Obviously, it's gotten worse. The Lake that gives Atlanta its water supply has completely dried up, so we're under a lot of water restrictions. Another big water problem here is that there are quite a few pipes that are leaking. The government is attempting to fix them, why they've waited this long i don't know. but atleast they've started.

turns out, my grandma has a burst pipe. as far as i know it's either just happened or gotten worse, because you could see water bubbling up through the grass at the edge of her yard. we called the plumber, turned the water off and are waiting for him to fix it. [that was yesterday] so we're going to be without water until thursday or friday.

When Atlanta first got put under water restrictions my grandma set up a water system to her gutter, so whenever it does rain, it'll fill up a barrel that's on the side of her house. So we've been using that and bottled water to bathe/cook/clean/etc.

it's been... interesting. hehe

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yesterday we decided to go up to the mountains.

I have never been anywhere so peaceful in all my life. The only sound was the wind rushing through the leaves, and that was it.

silence.

It was amazing. I had brought a notebook with me on the trip, so I sat on top of a picnic table and wrote letters and thoughts and nothing at all.

[that's a view from my picnic table]

I could have stayed forever.

After leaving the top of the mountain, we just drove around. We stopped at Helen, which is an old German village that had gone Commercial about 10 years ago before tourists bailed. Now it's just a sad town with rides and a putt-putt that are abandoned. We decided to stop at a funnel cake place, though. It was so good. =]

We passed old abandoned houses and barns. [you know how I feel about those ^_^ B-e-a-utiful] i didn't go inside, though... =[

it was a good day. :-]

i love letters!

yay building houses!

[it's been raining for the past 2-3 days, so the site was basically a mud pit.]

we painted today =]
well... other people painted. i had to finish

stapling/nailing the sub-flooring down.

but that didn't stop me from leaning against a wall...

smooth.

i also had to fix some boards in the attic... that turned out to be a horrible task. not only were you surrounded by insulation, but you had to balance yourself on 2 2x4's so you wouldn't fall through the ceiling. and while you do this you are holding up scrap 2x4's to nail into open spaces [in the outer walls.... we're still working on those.]

you also had to watch out for nails sticking out of the roof.

i was terrified.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

i love it here.

everybody is amazing, and this whole trip has been

a great experience. i talk to people i don't know; we

laugh and help eachother and talk about nothing.

and i sort of feel like i'm actually making a difference.

or atleast i hope i am.

hahaha-- you're funny

2 new people today.

i got asked by a 20-something year old what i was in for, but of course i'm a good girl and am just volunteering out of the good of my pretty little heart =]
he has to serve 24 hours because he got busted going 99 mph, in a 55 zone.
smart.

i also saw alejandro and his wife at the store :D they were looking for a mirror, and i got to use some spanish again ^_^ that makes me happy.

George told me good work and then i told him about how i'm helping build their house. then he made fun of me some more for skipping and how, apparently, my cheeks get really red for no reason.

Free came in later on when he heard i was volunteering that day. he's such a good person. he'd help you in the drop of a hat, and make you smile if you were feeling down.

i want to be more like him... he's just one of those people who, when you think back to them, it's always with a smile. =]



P.S.
thank you for the letters =] they're making my day

skip

i worked at the restore again today. i switched my days from thursdays and fridays to wednesdays and fridays.

a lot happened, yet not very much at all. the store was slow, since it's a wednesday, and i spent most of my time coloring. [don't worry, it was for the sake of selling some old chairs-- i was making up a banner]

i was also assigned the task of selling a 300-something dollar 32" t.v. set. any takers?
keep in mind i was assigned this task at about 3:45, and the store closes at 4. well, by the time 4 came around, the t.v. was of course still there and that's when George [store manager] announced that i couldn't leave. har har

not cool...

3 more criminals in today.
what nice people...


except for the creepy one.
i don't like him very much. =\ he gives me the heebie jeebies.



i also got made fun of for skipping down the aisle.
yay making a difference!!!

O_o

yay pain!

I got to use Power Tools yesterday ^_^
It was just a staple gun, though... but still!


I felt so.... powerful. hehehe


We also put in the insulation, which was horribly itchy. The shingles are half-way done, as is the siding. And a couple of people were putting up the porch stairs. I think the porch is my favorite part.




I love watching everybody during lunch, and just throughout the day. Everybody's working together, asking eachother for help. And whether you know the person or not, you always drop what you're doing to help them.

I wish that happened more in everyday life.

=\

I like how many letters I've gotten. Some days I just keep thinking about how much I miss home, and that puts me in a depressed sort of state-- which isn't good. But then I get home [well... my home for now] and there's a letter waiting for me and it turns everything around.

Everybody likes getting letters =]

Site was okay today... I was put back on oven duty, and got some cleaner in my glove as i was pulling my hand out of the oven. It burned! I mean.... seriously. It happened so fast. And it kept happening. Now I have burn spots on my arm. It's nothing horrible... it just stung at the time.... heh

I got a chance to talk with George some more. He's a great guy.

Talking to him about college and just the future in general made me antsy, though. I was so sure of what I was going to do, as far as plans for college and stuff like that, but now I just don't know....

But I really need to start figuring it out.