Music of the Night

Last night, for the first time in my life, I saw The Phantom of the Opera. Fabulous. Absolutely beautiful sets. They used 2,700 yards of drapery! And the actors, of course, are unbelievably talented. The fact that any human can hit and sustain the notes Christine hits with confidence, clarity, and musicality...amazing. And then to think she does this over and over and over again. The role is so strenuous that basically every group that performs Phantom has two Christines so one doesn't have to do, for example, a matinée and evening performance the same day. And Phantom..gorgeous voice.

Some people went all-out for the show. A couple guys were in suits with canes and top-hats. The best costume, however, sat beside Bekah. Black pinstripe suit, red handkerchief in the pocket, hat, and...mask. He was over the top. His clap was really loud and quick. At the end he stood and yelled, "Bravisimo! Bravisimo!"

Our seats were great...Orchestra (floor), row Q, in the middle. We were just above eye level with the performers. Close enough to see their faces, far enough away to not be distracted by them.

The only thing I regret is that I knew so little about the story. I had purposefully not watched the movie or read much about Phantom. I didn't want anything to "mar" my first viewing. I wanted it to be the real thing. Which is good, and I'm glad I did it that way. But on the other hand, I do think I could have followed the story a little better if I'd known more. But this morning I read a few details that helped, and now I understand a few of the nuances better.

Favorite scene? Masquerade. Gorgeous. So many colors, good music, and I felt like it started to pull the whole thing together at that point.

Here we are before the show. Christy, me, Bekah, Phantom, Laura, Alli.

A Bit of This and a Bit of That

Before I get to the main attraction...

I was just starting to write this post (and now I've started over) when I got distracted. Don't be alarmed, it happens all the time. I clicked over to Bekah's blog to see if she'd written anything today. As it turned out, she had. Today's blog totally cracked me up and made me think, "She's stinkin' hilarious!" Yesterday's blog, on the other hand, just made me think. [Insert long pause here. No really, do it.] And after I thought, I thought, "Whoa. My sister is brilliant."

When I was in college, one thing mom consistently prayed was that God would give me a mentor. I was a business major, and in the world of business (and, really, every career), connections and mentors are very valuable. I never found that mentor, though. The closest thing I had was one professor who was a great Christian man, and I would stop by and visit with him every now and then about his grandkids and how he used to work in upper management of TG&Y and how he knew David Green (Hobby Lobby founder/CEO). I'm so glad I had that kind of relationship with him, but it definitely didn't evolve into a true mentor/mentee situation. But then I graduated, worked in business for a year, and realized that's not where I fit at all. My place was in higher ed. And guess what. That's where my mentors were all along. Not only are they good friends, but they have lots of experience and want to do everything they can to help me succeed. This week I was feeling stressed and frustrated. You know how it can get sometimes. So I shot off an email cry for help to one of those mentors. He actually was the person who told me, while I was in the middle of business classes, that I was going to end up in higher ed. I argued, believe it or not. Back to the story. I'm so thankful for the way God works. He (mentor, not God) IM'd me last night for a few minutes (which is huge...he's only IM'd about twice in his life). And he e-prayed for me. That's what I call it...he typed out a prayer. That alone meant more to me than I can say. And then he called today and we talked for a long time about higher ed, his experiences, my experiences, all that. It's just really good to know that God has given me people who have been there, know what it's like, understand where I have come from, understand where I'm going, understand the system, and can say from experience, "It's going to be OK." Because it really is. It's good to have a mentor say it, though.

I saw a great news story today. The DMV in North Carolina is offering to replace 10,000 license plates for free. Why, you ask? Because the prefix on them is "WTF". For those of you not familiar with texting language, use your imagination and you'll probably get it right. Now, you know I'm not a proponent of profanity. This, however, is hilarious. I mean, can't you picture Wilburn and Mable tootin' down the road on the way to the 11:00 service, completely oblivious to the fact that they're cussing right back at the 16 year old in the hot rod who's stuck in the line of traffic behind them?

Also remarkable in the news was the Supreme Court's decision that the right to bear arms actually means the right to bear arms. I'm sure John will discuss this at length. I, however, only mention it so I can post a pic of one of my all-time favorite t-shirts.

Tonight I watched The Matrix. It's a thinker. I have a memory of when I was a kid. I remember that I was sitting in the bathtub and all of a sudden I thought, "What if all this is a dream? How do I know this is real?" It scared me. If only I'd known I could have been the one to make millions off that thought...

Appears there was no main attraction in this post after all. I got distracted.

Quad Blogs and Being Single

I've been sitting here doing more than my usual lurking. Curiosity turned fascination turned almost addiction. Before I began my own blog, I started reading Steece's Pieces. It's a blog written by the mom, Suz, of quads. Great blog. I, along with literally thousands of other people, got hooked. (Laugh it up, Chelley, laugh it up.) Well, this week, Suz posted about a trip she and her husband took with three other couples who are also quad parents. The moms met online during pregnancy, or soon thereafter, and quickly became good friends. Their husbands secretly planned this trip so they could all meet in person for the first time. So Suz talked about each of those friends and...posted links to their blogs, which are equally great. Aaaaughh!! Not good news for someone who loves a good storyline, is a daydreamer, and easily gets addicted to stuff.

I was thinking about what makes it so attractive to read about these families. Other than the novelty of four babies at one time (whoa), the quality of the blog pages, and a few other obvious things, I think it's really about the fun of a big family. These four families are all Christians, I think, so there is peace and joy in their lives. And there is always something interesting to write about.

I seem to have nothing interesting to consistently write about. In light of what we just discussed, a husband and kids might help with this dilemma. Of course I don't have any, even though that is my heart's desire. Which leads me to the "Being Single" portion of this post.

It stinks. Not always. The end.

(That portion was going to be longer, but I decided against it. Please don't feel like you need to comment and encourage me that "he'll be worth the wait and it will be soon." I appreciate the thought, really I do, but I've heard it so many times that it's become a mantra in my head. :) I get it.)

Maybe I'll start making up stories to tell on here.

(P.S. Lord, I'm not asking for quads. Please be very, very clear on this point.)

Monday and Other Days

Yesterday was sunny and I thought to myself, "Oh, the rain is done. I'm not ready for it to end!" And I was sad. But this morning I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. And I was happy. Ah, poo...I just got home from Wal-Mart and remembered I didn't buy a new umbrella. Also something I didn't get at Wal-Mart was Milka. I really wanted Milka, but they didn't have any. It was a long-shot. For those of you who have not had the great pleasure of eating Milka, it's delicious chocolate from Germany. Mmmmm, Milka. Purple package with a cow on the front, in case you ever want to look.

Guess what I got to do tonight. Hold a 5-hour old baby. My friends Kelly and Joe had their baby today, and little Jackson is so precious. Eight pounds even, 19 inches long. Some babies are red and wrinkly when they are new, but not Jackson. He's beautiful. And appears to have red hair. :)

Friday night we went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I just love that story. What's funny to me, and I just found this out last week, is how many guys like it, too. I mean, I knew that John (brother...I know lots of Johns...from here on out, if I don't specify, it's brother) whistles songs from it, but that's just John. But my friend Jordan loves it. And my friend Tye likes it. Yeah, that's just three, but that's a pretty good number, I thought. Add to that the fact that they're all under 30, and it's a bit surprising. They couldn't go, though, b/c it was a girl trip. We had fun. The weather was absolutely perfect. Right on the verge of chilly, even. The cast wasn't quite what I hoped for this year, but they were still pretty good. Nice voices, for sure. One of the brothers was hilarious. Lesleigh and I sang along with most of the songs, as did a couple other girls in our group. I'd like to go back to see Oklahoma! later this summer. (The exclamation point is there for a reason. Did you know it's actually part of the title? It is. I learned that from George Nigh, who was governor when Oklahoma! was adopted as our state song. Heard him speak once, nope twice, and he explained it to us both times.)

Amy, Steph, Me, Lesleigh, Christy

In six days (Sunday) I get to go see Phantom of the Opera. I'm verrrrry excited about it!!! I've wanted to see it for a long time...Wouldn't let myself watch the movie when it came out b/c I wanted to see the real thing first. Oh, I cant' wait!

Chelley posted a blog from Zambia. They're having a great time. If you're interested, just click on over there.

Did I tell you I got a new mouse for my computer? This one doesn't double-click when I single-click. Quite nice. Good idea. Quite nice. Good idea. Quite nice.

Recommended Reading

Big. Big brown. Big brown bear. Big brown, bear blue bull. Big brown bear, blue bull, beautiful baboon blowing bubbles biking backward...




Mother Bear, put your apron away.
We are going on a picnic today!

Where are we going on our picnic, Dad?
To the very best place in the world, my lad!

He fixes everything...even broken hearts.

Chelley Goes to Africa...written by Joy Lin

Tomorrow morning my good friend Chelley and her husband are leaving for an almost-month-long mission trip to Africa! I'm so excited for them and just a little big jealous.

They, along with Chelley's dad, were originally going with a larger group. The team was to be led by a man and his wife who have spent many years in Africa. However, within the past few days that has all changed. Due to family circumstances, the team leaders cannot go. And then the rest of the team decided they might not actually want to go without him. So that leaves Chris, Chelley, her dad, and Jesus trekking off of Africa. They will be working primarily (I think) at a Christian school in Livingstone, Zambia. The people there will, I'm sure, look after their fair-skinned brothers and sisters well.

Because Chelley's family served as missionaries in the Ukraine off and on for many years, they are used to traveling internationally, acclimating themselves to other cultures, and eating gross food. Still, there are some apprehensions about what gross food, exactly, they will be presented. Bladder has been mentioned. Chelley packed a jar of peanut butter.

So pray for Chris, Chelley, and Chuck over the next few weeks. Pray that 1) they are kept safe, 2) they can minister powerfully and effectively, and 3) they themselves are blessed by the trip.

Four inches

That's how much rain we've gotten in the past 24 hours.

Last night I went to bed around 10:30. Two hours later I was awakened by hail hitting my window. Typically storms don't bother me, and I just sleep right on through them. But last night it kept me in a state of just barely awake for quite some time. And then the electricity couldn't make up it's mind for a bit. So everything in the house went wwhHIIiir...whHIIiirr...whHIIirr...and then it was just off. I decided I needed to set my cell phone alarm so I could wake up this morning, so I got up to do that. About the time I got that done and laid back down, I realized how quiet it is when there is no electricity. So I tried to sleep in the silence and lightening. Maybe dozed off, not really sure.

Then the sirens started going off. I have lived in Claremore almost four years. In that time, I remember hearing the sirens go off two times: once last night and once a couple weeks ago. At this point it was about 1:30. I grabbed my stuff and headed to the bathroom. It's just weird sitting in the bathroom in the middle of the night. Makes you wish you had very thoroughly cleaned it very recently. After the sirens quit (like, one minute later) I called Amy to see if they were OK (and, if I'm being really honest, to hear another person's voice). She had her mom in Chelsea watching the weather and they said, "Uh, we don't know why Claremore's sirens are going off; there is no rotation. But there is flooding." Sirens are tricky. They either mean, "hit the deck the tornado is on top of you," or "hey, everybody, get out of bed because it's raining." They also mean, "great storm, come outside and see."

I would have been fine and just slept through the rest of the night, except for one thing. Amy said there was another storm headed our way with 80 mph winds. That's crazy. So I laid in bed for a while trying to decide what to do. As I was laying there hearing the silence, I also heard a weird dripping noise that turned out to be water coming in my front window. Got towels for that, went back to bed. Heard the storm pick back up, hail hitting my windows again. All I could think about was what if my windows break, what if my windows break, what if my windows break. Why, oh why, don't I have renter's insurance? I wonder how much it would be to add? Lord, put angels in front of my windows. I laid there worrying about it and finally realized that if I was going to be awake, I might as well have some feeling of security (as in, the glass won't hit my face if my windows break). Back to the bathroom. Still weird.

Finally at 2:45 I got to sleep in my bed. 4:45 the electricity came back on. 6:20 time to get up. 7:00 (seconds after I finished drying my hair) electricity went back off.

By the way, my windows didn't break.

Footnotes

Judges 12: 13-14

13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years.

Footnote

12:14 forty sons and thirty grandsons A total of seventy.

Thank you, Zondervan.

If it won't start, what's the point

Guess what I bought today! A new starter for my car and all the labor to go along with it. Thank the Lord for Dave Ramsey who told me to have a car repair section in my savings account so I don't have to stress about it. All that frustration can all be channeled into "Really God? It's pouring rain and my umbrella handle just broke and now it takes three tries to start my car? Really?"

We're in the middle of June Conference at church. It's about Marketplace Ministry, which, to be honest, I was not excited about. Now I want to take tomorrow off to go. We've had two speakers, both amazing. The first was Dennis Peacocke. Interesting, brilliant man. In the '60s he was a Berkeley student and all that implies. Became a Marxist for a while. Was a political theory major. Later he got to know Jesus. Economic analysis was his job for many years. Now he travels around the world building nations. Not companies within nations. Nations.

The second speaker, whose first session was tonight, is equally brilliant. Eric Beck is a logic man, which is pretty interesting. I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone who is really, really good at logic. Fascinating. Anyway, for his job, he is a consultant for businesses. His mission is to take Dennis Peacock's big huge picture and break it down into practical things. (Dennis is his father-in-law, which is convenient.) I'm telling you, we were all hanging on to every single word. First off, he brought his seven year old son up on stage with him. Then he explained that he has four sons and when they hit about six or seven, he starts taking them on business trips. He explained that it is his job to impart what he knows to people. Because his family is his primary responsibility, he brings his sons along so God can impart to them, through him. Then he admonished parents to take their children to work with them. Why? Because kids need to see their parents doing what they're good at, doing that thing that drives them and sparks something inside. Then he put his hand on his son's shoulder and said, "And this is my son, in whom I am well pleased." And that was the beginning of his message to us.

Here's my dad, who had few days at work that I wasn't a part of at some point.

Prince Caspian?

I'm back from watching Prince Caspian and am sad to report severe disappointment. When they say, "Based on book by C.S. Lewis," they mean they took the characters and the bare bones of the story, then did whatever they wanted. I'm fine with some cinematic liberties, but they took it too far this time. And they didn't tell the heart of the story at all...Didn't explain the apple trees, didn't show how Caspian knew the history, didn't explain the Bear, didn't even go into any detail at all regarding Lucy and Aslan, and if you hadn't read the book, you had no idea what the dwarf really meant to the children. Although most of those things are minor separately, together the details give the spirit to the story...They are the things that make the story so good. It's not just about the story, it's about what the story means. And then they added some stuff that pretty much ruined it. I'm very sad. Substance, that's the word I've been looking for. It lacked substance.

Uh-huh, uh-huh

Look at that dog stickin' out his head (uh-huh, uh-huh)
Wakes me in the mornin', gets me out of bed (uh-huh, uh-huh)
That dog taught me everything I know
He's with me every time I cross the road

O-o-o-oh
O-o-o-oh
O-o-o-oh
O-o-o-oh

LOOK AT THAT DOG STICKIN' OUT HIS HEAD!!


When we went to Dallas to the prophetic worship conference last fall, we had the privilege of hearing Jason Upton both lead worship and then speak the next morning. But we also had the privilege of hearing/singing some of his not-so-serious songs. The story behind the song above is that one day Jason and his son were riding their bikes. All of a sudden, his son pointed to a passing car and said, "Dad! Look at that dog sticking out his head!" Jason said, "Yeah! Wouldn't that be a great song?" So he sang the first line. And then he heard his son, in a soft little voice, go, "Uh-huh." And thus a great song was born. Wish I could remember the whole thing.

I haven't watched TV in two weeks. A couple movies, yes, and three episodes of Heroes (usual Monday night ritual), but not actual TV.

For anyone who wants to make trail-mix...Pay the extra 50 cents and buy the good kind of peanuts. The off-brand really aren't the best. Sad.

Tuesday I drove to Edmond for a meeting of FYE/Retention people from other regional universities. (FYE is first-year-experience.) I asked Julie on Monday if I could take her school car. She said yes, but the gas gauge is broken. Uh, never mind, I'll take BJ's. But BJ had students in his office and then he was gone. So Tuesday morning I headed out in Julie's car. First, I had to stop to get gas so I knew I'd have enough to get there and back. Well, I looked in the bag where the key to the gas tank is and...no key. Which happened to me last time I took her car, but I finally found it. Never found it this time. But I did happen to think that maybe it wasn't locked anymore (another story), which was the case. So I filled up and headed west. I got to about 11th street in Tulsa and saw that the engine light had come on. So I pulled off on 21st and called Julie. Finally tracked her down and she said, "Oh, it came on the other day, too, so I guess it has something to do with the gas gauge." I decided that, since it's a Ford and has close to 100,000 miles on it, the engine light will be on from now until eternity no matter if something is wrong or not. If you've never had a Ford, you might not know that this is the case, but it is. So I headed west again. I got to about Sapulpa and thought, "Holy cow, this is a long trip." I used to drive to OKC once, twice, three times a week, and I got used to it. But it's been a while, so I was tired of the trip by the time I got to, oh, Bristow. But it really wasn't too bad. Got to listen to Glenn Beck talk about, among other things, how Courtney Love was upset that the pink teddy bear purse she kept Kurt Cobane's ashes in had been stolen out of her closet. The meeting was good. Oh, and at lunch I had some fried pickles. Sounds gross, right? Yum! It was at this little local burger joint in Edmond that we went to, and they used real pickles (unlike Sonic, as Todd said).

We're supposed to go see Prince Caspian tomorrow night. I'm pretty excited to see it, although I've heard it strays from the book. That's disappointing. I'm nearly done with the last Narnia book. They're so good and are really easy to read. They are, after all, kids books and are illustrated. Think I'll go read right now.