April is coming to a close, and it is getting colder in the city!
Things are pretty complacent around here, everyone’s finishing up some final papers, getting ready for finals week, solidifying summer plans etc. It seems as though there is no reason to look forward to the summer this year, so I have not been acknowledging the fact that I must move away in about two weeks. This semester in Philadelphia has been wonderful, and leaving just as the trees begin to bloom while days grow longer is quite a tease.
May I stay?

(This entry is SO LIVEJOURNAL2006)

So everyone’s talking about the polygamists.
CNN.com has a nice critique of women’s fashion in this myseterious realm.

Regarding the hair- Celebrity stylist and salon owner Ted Gibson thinks it gives off a “homely” impression.
“It says ‘I don’t really care very much. I really don’t have time to worry about the way that I look, because I have 20 children,”‘ Gibson said. “‘He’s going from wife to wife to wife, so why should I look any better than the other ones?”‘ http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/22/polygamy.fashion.ap/index.html”

Today I skipped my history lecture to volunteer with Devin and Amanda at Circle Thrift, run by Circle of Hope church in South Philadelphia.
We walked down the steps, and was met by a nice lady named Rachel. We told her we wanted to volunteer for a bit. It caught her plesantly off guard, and she kindly put us to work. Amanda organized the jewlery case, while Devin and I sorted and tagged clothing donations. As we chatted with Rachel, it was revealed (somewhat unsurprisingly) that she was a Messiah alum. On top of that… she’s an MCPC alum! Ta da! This having been discovered opened a very comfortable and enjoyable dialogue about life in Philly during and after MCPC.
During our 2 hours of volunteering, a very interesting and generous man made three trips down with goods to donate. First, he dropped off a few videocassettes, most of them still in the plastic wrapping. Then, he came down with what looked to be his drycleaning. Actually, it was. Two vibrant shirts (one of silk!) that he had so kindly gotten professionally cleaned before donating. A stark contrast to some of the old undershirts with yellow armpits we had been sorting through at the moment. His last bag of tricks was a bit more unconventional. After taking out a pair of shoes and a furniture slipcover, he began pulling statuettes of rabbits out of his bag.
Ceramic, wooden, colorful, kitchy, tacky rabbits.
Amanda asked if he had a rabbit collection- he said yes.
Devin asked if he was downsizing his collection- he said yes.
I didn’t do much more than coo after each one was revealed, expressing my delight and surprise.
Rachel told us we are the kind of people who would do well working at a thrift store because there are very interesting people who appear on a very consistant basis.
I will be skipping class again on Thursday to volunteer. Devin and Amanda are coming too.

www.circlethrift.com

When I saw signs for the Spring Fling at Temple, I assumed it alluded to the event of the same name that takes place at Messiah every year.
I was wrong.
Spring Fling was held yesterday afternoon, giving every fraternaty, sorority and campus organization the opportunity to host a table on the streets of campus. I didn’t realize why no one was in class that day, until I left and saw what was happening.
It felt like an episode of MTV’s Spring Break, without the beach (there definately were swimsuits walking around.) It was a nice time to note overheard conversations, however inappropriate to pen in this blog. (think alcohol and promiscuity)
A real college experience ; )

Out of frustration from tonight’s debate in Philadelphia, I removed myself from the glare of the television to reflect on what happened last Sunday.
It was the Compassion Forum, held at our school. The two people who happened to be debating this evening also happened to be the subjects of the forum. I also happened to get a golden ticket, allowing me to attend.
As a student at Messiah College, I had a great sense of pride seeing the candidates on campus, and felt as though the faith leaders brought fair and important questions to the forum.
This is a pretty interesting re-cap from Christianity Today:
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2008/aprilweb-only/116-12.0.html

For a full transcript of the event, go here:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/13/se.01.html

Now, let’s discuss what happened before I walked through the airport, I mean security checkpoint to enter the balcony of Brubaker Auditorium.

Some friends and I entered campus from the front entrance, greeted by DividedWeFail.org representatives, and Pro-Life people. (The kind who hold giant posters of dead fetuses, twice as tall as the 2 year old child walking around in front of it.) Once we got past them, I separated myself from my cell phone, and got in line. Soon, a cheer erupted from the students waiting in the “hope for a ticket” line. Was Willy Wonka here to shake hands with us in the cloudy dusk drizzle? No, it was only Kim Phipps as she hurried by with a kind wave. She had to get to her front row seat! (love her.)

All in all, it was truly a strange experience seeing CNN’s “election bus” outside. It was the first time I have ever been to any kind of political event, and I suppose I can say that it is not something I fell in love with.

Last Saturday I learned that people don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s day on St. Patrick’s day, they celebrate the weekend (or entire month) before! I took my bike for a spin through Center City on my way to West Philly last Saturday, and behold, leprechuans were running a race(?) down Market Street. About 50 of them were rushing by, holding up traffic, prespiring profusely and quite red in the face, making it very clear that no training went into effect before this run. I couldn’t figure out why they were doing this, my only guess would be that a pub was behind the matter.
Pubs certainly were behind the matter of the vue de vert en route to West Philly. The main road of Drexel’s campus was teeming with green people (not in the ecologically friendly sense). Groups of five hailing cabs to patrick-knows-where in festive t-shirts and lots of beads!
Even though Saturday was the real celebration, there was a leprechuan and a boy wearing a pin that said “kiss my original blarney stone” on his green shirt* in my Monday morning class. Everyone else, including me, avoided wearing the color of grass that day.
*The boy also slipped in a quick comment when asked how he was doing, “Not good since it’s Saint Patrick’s day and I don’t have a beer in my hand.” (10:40am)
While this is not a holiday I hold in utmost esteem, I recognize that many people really enjoy it. It’s a win-win situation. They have fun being like that, and I have fun trying to figure out why.
To my joy, I’ve realized that this entry is an appropriate time for me to post my favorite video on YouTube. PLEASE WATCH I BEG YOU!

It’s gray today in Philadelphia.
Everyone around campus has a mood to match the weather, but it could be much worse. For instance, the weather could drop below freezing, an even that has occurred approx. 4 or 5 times this winter. I would make a joke like “I love global warming!” but it’s become a bit over done in this oven.

Last week some friends discovered a Philly equivalent to Messiah’s B-Sides Wednesday night concert series. Aside from the show not being free or in a convenient walkable location, the atmosphere at the Tin Angel is classy and “adult” i.e. 21+ (shh)
I was unable to attend the show because I had to write a theology paper. Luckily, Brooke Waggoner (the performer) had an EP available for free download on her website.
Check it out-
http://www.brookewaggonermusic.com

This girl has captured the attention and admiration of me and the people I live with. I highly recommend you download her music.

If you are on main campus and see table tents for Philly campus all over the tables in Lottie and the Union you should pay attention to them, I made them. They were a project I was paid to do (like how I get paid to write this…). Also, you should think about applying to Philly campus, it’s way more fun than Grantham. (I wasn’t paid to say that… well I guess if I wrote it in this I technically am being paid to say it.)

Enjoy B-Sides, wherever you may b.

This afternoon, after my 100 level American history lecture, I went to lunch with my friend Nadia, as we do every Tuesday and Thursday after class.
We walked into the SAC and there was a live jazz band playing where the student DJ is usually set up playing loud hip-pop hits. It was the SAC’s Valentines Day gift to the students. How cute!
Next to the band were a few tables of vendors selling “jewelry” and other “Valentine’s Day” things to throw out, I mean stuffed animals holding hearts. Tis the season!
Anyway, Nadia and I ate our burritos upstairs while listening to a long rendition of “My Favorite Things” (from the Sound of Music). It did not seem holiday appropriate, but it certainly grew on me. That is why I have been singing it (jazz style) out loud all afternoon…

Happy V Day,
D

Tragedy has struck here at MCPC.
All our fish have died.

Our house has a nice quiet lounge and dining area, accompanied by a peaceful fish tank which adds a tranquil dynamic to the room. A family of approximately 30 goldfish kindly swam together for as long as I’ve lived here, always providing me with a wonderful visual while relaxing on the couch. There was also one large algae eating fish that lived on the bottom of the tank, occasionally surfacing and frightening any humans who happened to catch a glimpse of his/her(?) ugly visage.

Yesterday afternoon I was socializing with some friends when I received a phone call. I walked into the quiet lounge to answer the phone, and noticed the fish tank to be very cloudy and very green. As I drew closer the carnage was evident, little fish were floating at the top and bottom of the tank. I screamed and hung up the phone.

My friends came running to their horror and surprise of the fatal tank. Mouths gaping wide, we didn’t know what to do. I ran upstairs to alert my roommate and grab my camera. We needed evidence… just in case this was murder.

In a fit of bravery and “fishitarianism”, Charley Wilkinson found a survivor. She rescued the last living gold fish and put it in a small tub of water, methodically blowing bubbles into the water with a straw to create oxygen. She also knew to massage the gills of the creature, hoping to relieve it from any post traumatic stress.

Once we calmed down a bit we started to wonder… what about the ugly one that lived on the bottom of the tank? The tank was too opaque to see more than a depth of two inches. However, minutes later it appeared!! The disgusting face looked out from the tank at us for 8 seconds and quickly returned to the invisible morbid waters.

From that point, there was nothing we could do except to keep the survivor alive. Charley has thus far succeeded. Regrettably (well…) the large algae eater was last seen floating dead at the top of water.

RIP Fishez.