Gaining Skillz

A few weeks back, I organized a Habitat volunteer day for graduate/faculty ministry and it POURED down rain that day.  I don't know if you know this, but apparently Indiana is turning into the set for Jumanji (speaking of, has that ever been a Josharade?  Someone please remind me of how Sperl acted that one out, thanks!).

In any case, I learned a wee bit about vinyl siding, but mostly I primed drywall with mes amis.  This is Jenn, she's a brilliant economist-to-be.  I'm so humbled to spend time with all of these brilliant, inquisitive and Jesus-lovin' folk.

And here's one of me doing some verk...

The woman whose house we were working on from was from Toluca, MX.  And, I don't know if I've mentioned how much I love Mexico and Mexicans, but, Venezuela aside, Mexico is my favorite country, so of course I had to strike up a conversation with her.  She told me she arrived in the states 9 years ago from Toluca to Wisconsin--and I thought DFW to Bloomers was a change!  It was great, she was excited to have a home, and I shared in that with her for a bit.  It's great to step outside of my woes regularly and remind myself that there are many things going on in the world--both good and bad.

Saying my goodbyes to my community and friends of the past two years... (too short!),
MJ

PS - These fotos are not mine... they are courtesy of Sue, my Kenyan public policy friend

Trail 10: Five Boots

Lawry and I went for a hike out at McCormick's Creek Park just a few miles north of Bloomie.  It was a great day for a hike, for the outdoors and for SPRING!

 The bedrock of this park is pretty much all limestone, so there were caves, natural bridges, sinkholes and stuff.  We didn't get to crawl in the caves, perhaps next time.

 It was like bluebonnets... almost...

He looks angelic.

 Love.

 The Old Quarry... we braved elements to see this thing!

 Trail 10: Five Boots for its RUGGEDness.

 So you know how in yoga magazines people are always finding their core in really strange places?  I was CENTERED on this rock.

Post river-fording.  I believe this was the 4th cross we made... out of 5 or 6.  Totally worth it.

Trying to make the most of my time in Hoosier Land,

MJ

"This is part of living with a boy"

Lawry told me learning to skip rocks is part of living with a boy.  So here's a preview of my future life (and an upcoming blog post):

He's really pleased because the rock he threw DEFINITELY broke on one of the larger rocks downstream.  You can even see the TWO splashes to prove it!

In my last two weeks of yankee-dom,
MJ

We so excited

Lawry's coming to Bloomie again!

Less than 24 hours until...

...except much less formal.  But, only 40 some odd days until the formalities :)

Staying dry in April showers,
MJ

Requested items are ready for you

Here's a sample of the email I received from my local library:

Dear MJ,

You put a hold on a HECK OF A LOT of items for your wedding playlist.  They are here.  Please pick them up soon. Maybe drive your car.  There's a lot.

Love,

MCPL

So bloggees, that is why I head to the Monroe County Library to study.  They have a music collection that would put some hipsters to shame.  ASIDE from that, they also have an impressive book collection.  My favorite book I read there was Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide by Immaculée Ilibagiza.  Talk about redemption stories!  Any favorite finds at local libraries?  Or you know, school libraries, those count too!

Getting ready to boogie,

MJ

Puttin' Skill to Use

Do you see that WOUND in my bike tube?  Let me tell you about how I spent 1.5 hours of my afternoon today...

So, I got a flat on the back wheel of my bike (the more annoying of the two, just by the by).  I have no idea what caused it except the general shoddiness of Indiana's roads.  I was biking past a part of the road that has been rocky and torn up, oh probably all year.  I felt my back tire hit something, hoped it was nothing and then heard the eek eek eek of a flat about 50 yards later.  BOO.  So I walked it back home and chatted with Lawry for bit.  Though, I had intended to chat with my friend, Ms. Janice Dion.

So, I went bought a tube and the tools, then studied some at the local library (more on THAT later), and finally went home to quickly change the tube.  I've done it by myself before at the Bloomers Bike Project, but there's always people around there to help you out or put the tire back on for you (the hardest part me thinketh).  Anyway, this was my real first time to do it on my own.  It took me TOO long, but I felt accomplished and I feel like I know my bike a little better.

There's le finished product! Though it's a bit on the flat side of life.  My hand pump just couldn't do it!  The moral of the story is:  YouTube and practice can teach how to do things pretty darn well AND my bike has gone too long without a name.  I'm taking suggestions.  Also, I will teach you how to change a bike tire if you ever need to learn--c'est easy. :)

As of 9:24 pm on April Sixth on the Two Thousand and Eleventh year of the Lord, I finished mi tesis on Mexican female students in 1968.

Deciding its time for me to remember I'm actually Venezuelan,
MJ

PS - Yes, we will play music like this at the wedding, it's also time for me to remember I'm getting murried to the Lawster.

E'er the bleeding heart

So, the undergrad Intervarsity chapter at IU put on this pretty cool series called "Jesus and the End of (insert controversial topic)" last week on campus.  The event was geared for undergradies, but our chapter partnered up with them to provide some gradies to pair up with an undergrad IV-er and then lead discussion group for each of the five topics.  So, they had some speakers come in for each topic, then the follow-up study.  I wasn't really all about donating 1.5 hours for four weeks during the busiest time of the year--but I felt the continual prodding.  I probably would have successfully ignored it if it weren't for some encouragement from some of my fellow grad IV-ers.  Anyway,  I'm helping with the study on "Jesus and the End of Racism."  So, some things:
1.  I really liked the speaker's talk--though there were some things I think needed more "fleshing out."
2.  I'm humbled by people's questions and desire to engage the topic.
3.  My heart really breaks for this issue.  There's so much pain, hurt, and all sorts of negative stuff!
Welp, I'm glad I'm stretching my time a bit to do this.  I'm learning, people are learning, and Jesus is awe-striking.

What issues do you care about a lotty lot lot?

In the home stretch,
MJ

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Winter was like a wounded animal that wouldn't die, but in addition to staying around, it kept loudly bellowing for an extra month before it finally gave way to spring.  This time last week, it was snowing. I was le disappointed in Indiana and I continually tried to make my mother appreciative of the warmth-induced pollen haze she was experiencing.  There is no medicine for COLD.

All of that said, I am in "Goodbye Bloomers!" stage.  Tres weeks left until I return to the glorious state, so I'm trying to take all the spare free time I have and enjoy the people, Bloomie, and the wonders of April up here.  This past weekend I went on a hike at Brown County State Park.  There were lots of buds, but no blooms yet, still it was a glorious!, glorious!  day with friends, food, and nature.

 Not a single jumping picture worked, but I think this one is the funniest of all the attempts

 Our fabulous spread, or as my roomie said, "LET'S TAKE A PICTURE OF ALL THE STUFF WE BOUGHT AT THE STORE!"  It is true.  But those M&M cookies were courtesy of one moi.  And she made excellent punkin bread.

 You might remember this.

So, as you can tell, the sun was setting.  We were still, oh, maybe half a mile to 3/4 of a mile away from the car.  We just BARELY made it out while there was still light.  We had run into these really nice (yet creepy, they were TOO interested in whether or not we had wine with us and if we would drink some later) older ladies when we were at the "lake" (in Indiana they call reservoirs "lakes," but they make very little attempts to make them look anything like a lake) and they warned us of having to crawl out on our hands and knees after the sun went down, so they tried to offer us a ride back in their van.  We've concluded they were going to abduct us, but I think we could have taken them.

Lastly, I was thinking about how all famous bloggers tell their readers how much they le lurve them.  Well, it's true, I lurve the bloggees the best.  I will try to entertain-vouz more often!

8 days to thesis final submission,

MJ