Doing Something Crazy

I'm doing something crazy. Ever heard of eharmony?
Yes. I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes.
I filled out a profile, AND I subscribed for a seven day free trial.
What on earth am I doing? Have I gone mad? I still can't quite get over the fact that I actually filled a profile out and posted it online. That's what happens when you're all by yourself surfing the internet. Something dangerous is bound to happen. Like going to eharmony.com, just to see what it's all about. Then noticing the sign that says free trial. Then filling out the profile. (It took me over three hours!!!) Then calling your CLOSE girlfriends to tell them that you actually filled the profile out because something like this doesn't happen every day. Oh my goodness. What will people think of me? I'm not desperate. Nor am I feeling lonely. I'm so incredibly happy with my life right now, so why on earth did I do this?

Well... why not?

Going to Charleston

I'm going to Charleston this weekend. Yipee!! :-) I'm so excited. Loren, Paige, and I are going down to visit a friend who is working there for the next couple of weeks. We're leaving Friday right after work and won't be back until Sunday night. Loren is a friend who I met at Newspring a couple of times but haven't really hung out with until recently. She is so much like me... owns her own house, works full-time as a teacher, has a best guy friend, isn't dating anyone at the moment, has a homegroup, and loves Christ. We have so much fun together. :-) It's definitely cool having another girlfriend I can call if I ever need to get out of the house.
Although I'm really excited about going to the beach, I'm going to miss being in Anderson on Sunday. Sundays are my favorite day of the week because it means going to Newspring, working with the children's ministry, and having fun at homegroup on Sunday night (we were going to meet at Wild Wings this week). This Sunday I was also supposed to go to a volunteer's luncheon AND babsit for Nathaniel in the afternoon, but *sniff* I had to call and cancel on both of them. Oh well. Why am I so sad? The beach is going to be awesome! And I can't wait until tomorrow! :-)

Oh, and I'm still running almost every day. The Midnight Flight is only seven days away... I got an email from the director today asking me for my t-shirt size because it was lost when I did my online application. She's going to give me the shirt for FREE because of the mixup. Now I have one more reason to smile. :-D

My First Day of Grad School

I am happy to report that my first day of grad school went extremely well. I found the right building, met my professors, talked with some of my classmates, and received information about all of my assignments for the semester. It was a little overwhelming, but I know that I can do it and I am definitely up for a challenge. One thing in particular that I have to decide is the question of what concentration to pursue. Do I do administration? academic? children's services? public services? young adult? archives? technical services? special libraries? children's media? I have so many options to think about. I would love to work in a public library as an administrator, supervisor, or branch manager, and I would also love to work with children, whether it be children's services, media, or young adult. How on earth am I ever going to decide? Got any suggestions?
Thankfully, I have 6 classes to take before I have to make up my mind. That means I have at least until this time next year to make a decision. :-)

Running a 5K

I signed up for the "Midnight Flight" 5K race today. It's something that I've always wanted to do, but never actually got around to signing up for it. Thanks for being my motivation, Marie! ;-) I'll probably run with Kylie, who is a friend from my homegroup at Newspring. She doesn't run on a regular basis, so there might actually be a chance that I can keep up with her. Last year she had to walk a part of the race and this year her goal is to do the whole thing without slowing down to a walk. My goal is just to finish. Period. I'm so nervous! And I'm so out of shape! I can't even remember the last time I went for a run without being chased by something. So for the next two weeks, I'm going to be running every day for as far as I can go. Maybe, just maybe, by the time September 1st comes around, I'll be able to run 5K. Gulp.
Day One: Wednesday
Ran 1 mile.
Day Two: Thursday
Will Run 1 mile
Day Three: Friday
Will Run 1 mile
Day Four: Saturday
No Time! (In class all day in Columbia)
Day Five: Sunday
Will Run 2 miles
And the strict regime continues...

Can a Guy and a Girl "Just be Friends"

Is it possible for a guy and a girl to "just be friends?"

I have a few guys who I consider good friends. We see each other at church on Sundays, do things within our homegroups, hang out at parties, and I know that if I ever needed help moving anything, they are just a phone call away. These guys are my friends. Nothing more. So is it possible for guys and girls to "just be friends?" Yes. However, when the question is focused on one guy and one girl whose friendship surpasses that of typical "good friends", the answer gets a little more complicated.

I have this really close guy friend who has known me for almost five years now. We've made tons of memories together, been through both good and bad times, and even dated each other for a while. He's the closest guy friend I've ever had, and he knows more about me than most of my girlfriends. We talk almost every night on the phone, sometimes for hours at a time, and I know that whenever I'm feeling down, I can just give him a call and he'll cheer me up. He can always make me smile. We share prayer requests, talk about life, and wonder about the future God has planned for our lives. In the middle of the workday, he'll send me text messages, telling me to have a wonderful day and reminding me that he's thinking about me. We don't see each other much because we live almost two hours apart, but whenever I visit somewhere close by, he'll always meet up with me to hang out, watch a movie, or just talk.

The weird thing about all of this, is that we ARE just friends. It's nice having a guy friend as a best friend because he sees things in a completely different perspective than my girlfriends. When I'm freaking out about something stupid like what to wear on a first date, he's quick to remind me that, "hey, don't worry about what outfit to wear, you would look good to him no matter what." Hearing something like that from a guy friend is just so much more convincing than if one of my girlfriends had said something similar.

Although I know that we're just friends and nothing more, I have to keep reminding myself of that. Sometimes I hate him for it because some days, I wish we could be more. I know that when and if I meet the right guy for me, I'm not going to talk to my friend as much because I'll be spending my time with the person who is interested in me for more than just friendship. And that's okay, because years down the road, when I'm married and completely in love with my husband, I might come across a newsheading or an old photograph of him and think to myself, hey, I used to know that guy. I'll remember our friendship and the good times we had, and then I'll put the photo aside and make a mental note to add him to my Christmas card list.

Harry Burns: You realize of course that we could never be friends. Sally Albright: Why not? Harry Burns: What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way. Sally Albright: That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved. Harry Burns: No you don't. Sally Albright: Yes I do. Harry Burns: No you don't. Sally Albright: Yes I do. Harry Burns: You only think you do. Sally Albright: You say I'm having sex with these men without my knowledge? Harry Burns: No, what I'm saying is they all WANT to have sex with you. Sally Albright: They do not. Harry Burns: Do too. Sally Albright: They do not. Harry Burns: Do too. Sally Albright: How do you know? Harry Burns: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her. Sally Albright: So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive? Harry Burns: No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too. Sally Albright: What if THEY don't want to have sex with YOU? Harry Burns: Doesn't matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story. Sally Albright: Well, I guess we're not going to be friends then. Harry Burns: I guess not. Sally Albright: That's too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York.

Harry Burns: Would you like to have dinner?... Just friends. Sally Albright: I thought you didn't believe men and women could be friends. Harry Burns: When did I say that? Sally Albright: On the ride to New York. Harry Burns: No, no, no, I never said that... Yes, that's right, they can't be friends. Unless both of them are involved with other people, then they can... This is an amendment to the earlier rule. If the two people are in relationships, the pressure of possible involvement is lifted... That doesn't work either, because what happens then is, the person you're involved with can't understand why you need to be friends with the person you're just friends with. Like it means something is missing from the relationship and why do you have to go outside to get it? And when you say "No, no, no it's not true, nothing is missing from the relationship," the person you're involved with then accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you're just friends with, which you probably are. I mean, come on, who the hell are we kidding, let's face it. Which brings us back to the earlier rule before the amendment, which is men and women can't be friends.

Life As An Adult

Sometimes I think I'm living in a dream. In the middle of the day, I'll suddenly have this urge to pinch myself just to make sure that I'm really awake. Work is going really well at the library, and my life outside of work is just as busy as ever. I'm still babysitting some in the evening and helping out with the children's ministry at Newspring. I've also been spending a lot more of my time taking care of the house, doing yardwork, running errands, and paying bills. I know this is going to sound weird, but I actually enjoy paying bills. Every time I pay a bill, it reminds me of how much God has given me. Think about it. Instead of bemoaning the fact that you have less money in your checking account, you can count the blessings that you've already been given. Electricity, water, gas, food, medicine, a house to call home... So what if I don't have anything left over at the end of the month to buy new clothes, go out to eat, or go on a trip. I'm grateful that I don't have to worry about how I'm going to get my next meal or where I'm going to sleep.

I'm so happy right now, and I hope that no matter what happens in life, I can still smile because I know that God is always looking out for me.