Patience is One of the Best Things I Know

I no longer understand impatience. 

At this moment, I am sitting on a tiny Southwest Airlines flight to New Orleans scheduled to leave at 10:10am. It is now 11:04am and we are still in gate C37 at DIA. I can feel the tension in the small cabin as people around me get irritated and start to complain about the delay. 

Last year, I made a resolution to be more patient. 

Unlike many other past resolutions I have made, this one actually held true. Throughout the past year, every time I got stuck at a long red light or had to wait in a super long line or sat on a delayed flight, I told myself not to worry about it, just enjoy the moment. I took the opportunity to enjoy that song on the car radio, the chance just to sit and think, the opportunity to people watch. 

I realized that getting fidgety or upset over something taking longer than expected wasn't going to make it go any faster. Honestly, the only effect that would come out of my impatience would be stress for myself and stress for those around me. Isn't it better to just accept that it's going to take longer, deal with the inconveniences, and remain calm and happy? 

Next time you're stuck at a light or are waiting in line, try taking a deep breath and enjoying the moment. I think you'll be surprised. 

The Small Smile of Travel

There's something about traveling. 

Yes, of course, as everyone says the destination and seeing new places is always joyously fantastic and that's why people do it and love it. Heck, that's why I love it! But that's not what I'm talking about here. 

I absolutely love traveling. Without a doubt, I just want to travel endlessly and for the rest of my life. But there's something else about travel, and it's not the beginning preparations or the things you do while away, it's the return home. I cannot say that it is my favorite part, but there's something about it that always hits me when I pass that "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign on a road trip or when the flight captain announces our decent into Denver International Airport. It's a small smile inside me that comes through and tells me that this is home. It's hard to find such appreciation for a place you know is home until you've left and come back. 

Maybe one day I will have the blessing to find another place as wonderful as Colorado to call home. Then, that small smile inside me will know more than one joyous secret hidden inside the conclusion of the fun adventure we all love and know as travel. 

What I Seek

What I seek is pure, inexplicable joy.
Undefined.
Understood.
An oxymoron? Yes.
Crazy? No.
Well.... maybe.
"Depends."
She says with a feathered smirk.
Far beyond happiness.
The most genuine of smiles.
See it?
A joy.

Find.
Found.
Felt.
A joy.

Follow Up: Life's Purpose

Sometimes, we just need to simplify. And sometimes, the best way to do this is to take a step back and boil it down to the fewest terms possible. Therefore, this post will be (or try to be) short and sweet. 

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the specific purpose(s) in one's life; mainly concerning the goals and accomplishments of an individual's future. I still stand by and hold the opinion expressed in that post, however I think it is is less complicated that I originally thought. There is still immeasurable depth to the question, but also a very simple, blanket answer depending on what (or whom) you put your faith in. 

According to 1 Corinthians 10:31, all our actions should be for God's glory:

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

 There you go! Purpose? To glorify God. 

But how does one go about this? As a Christian, I feel like there have been hundreds of things that I have been told from tons of people on how to live a "good Christian" life. Don't get me wrong, many of these things are fantastic and are conducive to good citizenship, etc.; however, not all are direct from God and sometimes, I feel like we get too caught up in our "Christian-ese" mindsets. I honestly try to steer clear of setting "rules for life." They are often too objective to function in the real world and often contradict each other. Instead, I personally try to stick to the commandments given to us from God and the scriptures that speak in terms of our behavior - not necessarily our deeds. Again, simply put,

Micah 6:8

"But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously."

If you have read this far in this soap-box-post, snaps for you and thank you for doing so! But at this point you may be thinking, "Ok, cool, Kristina. This is what you believe, but I don't really buy into this kind of stuff." To this, I'd like to touch on what I referred to earlier when I said "to whom or what you put your faith in." Rather than me ranting and talking about all the different angles one could look from, I want to challenge you, dedicated reader, to take a moment and determine what it is you put your faith in. What is it you put stock in? Find security in? Is it humanity? Hard work? Money? School? How about friends? Family? Food? The government? Religion? Relationships? Or is it a faith in God? Is it a faith in yourself? 

Every single one of these things definitely has a beautiful side to it, and each one should have a share in your attention, but if you have your faith in it - your true dependent faith - you are, in essence, glorifying it. 

So what is it you want to glorify in your life? As always, to each his own. But whatever it is you wish to glorify, I hope it brings you the purest form of joy. 

And believe me, when you find this joy, you'll know it instinctively. 

If You Are Ever So Lucky

If you are ever so lucky

To uncover

A glimpse,

A light, 

A joy,

A fire. 

If you are ever so lucky, 

To truly see. 

A phenomenon like any other 

Swift and gentle,

Passionate and jubilant; 

A contagious benevolance. 

This is beyond the earth

And beyond fabrication;

Most natural and genuine of all. 

To muse at such a sight 

A beauty, a light. 

If you are ever so lucky....

A. 

Smile. 

To. 

See.

A Photographer's Opinion

   

I take a lot of pictures. A lot. I am no professional or even consider myself a full-blown photographer. Just a girl with her iPhone and a knack for Instagram.

But despite the arguably unaccredited industry of cell phone photography, I believe my photos are still fairly artistic and eye-catching. 

But I didn't come here to talk about my photos, necessarily. Nor did I want to talk about the photography world. What I wish to encourage perspective and observation. 

A friend of mine once left a comment on the following photo with a comment that was something like "We need to go on a photography adventure sometime!" 

While a "photography adventure" sure sounds fun, truth is, I very rarely go looking for things to photograph (perhaps this is why I haven't invested in a real camera; then I would have to carry it with me everywhere...). 

I was thinking about this this morning while waiting for the bus (I do a lot of thinking on public transportation) and I realized that almost all my photos (with the exception of the pictures from my trip to Asia) come from only a few locations: my house, the mountains, and the University of Colorado - Boulder campus. 

Despite how few locations I usually photograph, I think I have taken about 450 pictures (give or take). I enjoy looking at the same and familiar things in new ways, from new perspectives. Seeing things at a different angle. I believe it allows you to look at objects and scenes you see everyday and view them in ways that brings new appreciation. 

However, it is my belief that this idea doesn't have to apply to just photography; it can be applied to almost anything. If you start looking at things, people, and places in new ways; you may just capture something new and beautiful.

I challenge you, next time you are walking outside, try standing directly under a tree and looking straight up. Take in what you see and absorb the flecks of sunlight that peep through the silhouetted leaves. 

If interested, my Instagram username is: okgokris

Me and the RTD

As I stand here on the corner of Broadway and Baseline, awaiting the 204 to come around and take me down to Pearl Street, I notice within myself a sense of self-confidence and independence. 

I don't know what it is about taking public transportation. Whether it be bus, subway, lightrail, or train, I find myself standing a little taller. 

You would think the opposite, right? Having a car and being able to drive yourself seems like the logical mode of independent transportation, but oddly enough, I don't feel that way. 

Perhaps it is because I've grown up always driving places and this is something new that I get to figure out on my own. Or, perhaps it has something to do with participating as a true citizen of the city. The proud, local status and privilege of being able to say, "I have a local bus pass!" 

I know it's a silly thing to be proud of, but I enjoy it for many reasons other than having that local swagger. I have come to realize and appreciate the beauty of being a passenger. I think we all need that sometimes - being a passenger. When was the last time you just rode in a vehicle? Not with a driver you knew, but with strangers or others you may not talk to? Last took a ride where you could just sit with yourself and your thoughts and just think about life? It's nice. You should try it sometime. Sit back and enjoy the ride. 

Vlogging Taiwan: July 6th: Marketplace, Skit Practice, and the Mall

July 6th, 2013.

All music tracks are from the Motion Picture Soundtrack "Horton Hears a Who" composed by John Powell.
"Horton Suite"
"Into Whoville/Breakfast with the Mayor"
"The Quest (Retrieved from the composer's 8-track Archives)"
"Jungle of Nool"

God's Funny Like That

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know.....Ask and you shall receive. But whatever, right?

Growing up in a Christian home and having gone to church my entire life, I was already pretty familiar with the notion of "God will give you what you ask for (so long as you are faithful in Him)."

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22

I am fairly certain that I have experienced this phenomena before, but on smaller scales and I did not ever really recognize that the granted wish came from God (much less from anywhere - just happened). If I did, it probably was not me who asked and/or received; it was most likely someone else - someone more "faithful/spiritual" than I.

But today I experienced His generosity. As many of you know, I am abroad right now working at a vacation Bible school in Kaohsiung, Taiwan helping teach English in the camp. As of yesterday (the day before the camp was to start), we did not have enough helpers to help manage all 50 kids that we were expecting to attend. It was a real stress for more than one reason. But anyways, we prayed over it and asked God to send us helpers. And I'll be honest, I was not super faithful. It's not that I didn't think that God could do it, but I just didn't think it would happen. I guess subconsciously I felt like this was just going to be one of those situations that everyone goes through that you just have to muscle through and hope it does not crash and burn. But nonetheless, we prayed. And what do ya know?? We came to the VBS today prepared for the worst and we were met with 3 or 4 wonderful ladies who stayed to help look after the children so that we could lead effectively and make things fun for the kids! This truly was a God thing; it had to have been. We later found out that one lady who helped us was basically a stranger (not in a creepy way; she was probably a mom of one of the kids). But she was a serious life-saver. The fact that she stayed to help without feeling obligated or asked to by us was outstanding. God must have laid it on her heart to help us.

This was a nice reminder that God does look out for His children, even when we may not believe He will pull through. I forget this often, but God doesn't. I think he has fun with us like this. I can laugh about it, too. God's funny like that.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths." Proverbs 3:5 HCSB

Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Vlogging Taiwan: July 3-5th: Traveling Part I and Kaohsiung Harbor

After almost 24 hours of traveling, we arrived in Kaohsiung where we will be staying with our grandparents and working at a vacation Bible school helping to teach English in a local church!

Music: "Jerk It Out" by Caesars
"Junebug" by Robert Francis

Divorce is Becoming Disposable

Today I saw an advertisement for a "Do It Yourself Divorce" agency with the tag line "It's inexpensive!"  To me, this is just sad. For one, this sells divorce like its easy, simple, and disposable. Do It Yourself tags make it sound like it's a recycled, trinkety, project for just for kicks and giggles. That's the last thing divorce should be compared with.

And secondly, this ad compares divorce to the sale rack at Macy's. It labels the destruction of a contract between two people and God with a monetary value. It just breaks my heart that something like Do-It-Yourself divorce makes its business off of the destruction of families and the appeal of a cheaper monetary price. 

I understand that sometimes divorce is necessary, but still. It breaks my heart and it aches for everyone I've ever known (and may not have known) who has had to either go through the process of divorce or be a victim of it. 

Shout Out, Shout Out, Shout Out!!! : The New AMC Theater at The Village at Flatirons Crossing

Going to college...Need a Student ID!

Dearest Denver-metro and Boulder area readers,


I write to tell you of a magical place where you can visit new worlds and experience fantastically comfortable accommodations at the same time. No, I am not talking about Narnia, a giant beanbag, a magic carpet ("I can shoooowww you the wooorrrldd..."), or even a combination of the above three. I am talking about the new AMC movie theater at The Village at Flatirons Crossing Mall in Broomfield. 

***WARNING! THIS THEATER WILL RUIN EVERY THEATER EXPERIENCE AT ANY OTHER THEATER AFTERWARDS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!****

It's just that good. 

They had some seats on display in the hall.

This theater has it all. Let's begin with the seats - the most fantastic part about this newly renovated cinaplex. These seats are nicer than first-class airplane seats. Each seat in this theater is about 10 inches wider (gu-estimation) than the average movie seat, plus each one comes with its own built in cup holder and padded arm rests - two of them!!! The entire thing is upholstered with what seems to be red vinyl leather. But get this, the best part???? THEY RECLINE!!!!!! These seats are pretty much like sitting in your own personal loveseat, but instead of watching the movie on a your TV screen at home, you're watching it on the big screen, complete with surround sound.

New seats at AMC Flatirons

Aren't those just the most gorgeous things you've ever seen? Why haven't we been lounging in these things for years? I know what you're thinking, (for the sake of humor, please read the following quote in a high pitched whining voice), "Wooowww, I bet those movie tickets cost a fortune because those seats are just so faaaannnnccccyyyyyyyyy!" Girl, I'll be straight with ya, yes, they do cost more, but that's because a.) you're getting nicer amenities and b.) since these seats are bigger, they can't fit as many seats in each room that a standard seating theater can, so they have to make up that lost revenue somehow. But honestly, it's not much; not like the upcharge they have for 3D movies - that's ridiculous. 

The spiffy coke machines

On top of all this, the theater has been outfitted with those coolio Coke Machines that allow you to create just about any flavor of soda you want! You know, the ones they have at Noodles & Company. And, for you readers that are over 21, they have a full bar inside for movie goers who may like to enjoy a beer or a margarita with their movie. Mind blowing, right? Check it. 

And in case you are wondering, we went to see White House Down. This movie just recently came out and I'll level with ya, I honestly thought that this movie was going to be just your typical action movie full of politics and guns. But it surprised me! I found it to be a very well done with good, clean comedy, and the essential emotional element that I feel many straight up action movies lack. This is the very brief synopsis from IMDB: "While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders."
Straight forward enough, right? Well I personally found the movie to be very engaging and different from the typical, let's-shoot-up-the-government-and-blame-it-on-terrorists scenario. In this movie, it focuses on a terrorist attack on the White House which adds to the emotional impact of the story as it is our home soil and an attack on an icon infrastructure in the heart of our nation's capital. It stars Channing Tatum as the main character who has to save not only his daughter, but also the President of the United States (there's your action). And then, sprinkled throughout are little bits of humor and one-liners that I enjoyed (the tour guide is my favorite).

But overall, one thing that I really appreciated about White House Down was that it wasn't your typical terrorist attack movie and it addressed a staple in history that we have come to accept as a norm going forward. What I mean is in the movie, they depicted President Sawyer as an African American man (played by Jamie Foxx). Note that they created a fictional president instead of making him Obama. What I like about this is that it sets a precedence and an acceptance in our country that the president (other than Obama) can be someone who is of a color other than white - this is not a one time thing. Additionally, I appreciated that in the movie, they created also a fictional - yet believable - terrorist group other than Al Qaeda. I just feel like with all that's been going on in our world the past few years, it was nice to live in a fictional, yet exciting scenario without creating more stereotypes around current events. Overall, I give the movie two thumbs up! Hope you enjoy it, too! 

Taking On the Day Before the Day Takes On Me

There is something about the world before the sun comes up. It's peaceful, cool, and sweetly dark. If you happen to catch me awake before the dawn, I am sometimes most awake. It's a world all its own; a world seen by so few that it's almost a secret. Those late night partiers do not witness or better yet, experience, its serene bliss; and those long, heavy sleepers wouldn't dare awake. Even the average Joe doesn't get up and leave his house at this hour.

It's almost a secret, I say. Almost a secret. 

As we cruise down the interstate towards the Denver skyline, it shimmers, yet settles with a different vibe than the luminous night life. It looks content and beautiful. Colors of orange, white, and purple blend together in the city lights, contrasting against the dark morning sky. 

We venture towards a distant destination in these meek hours of the day, and I appreciate the glowing headlights of the few on the road with us. The truckers with their travels of solitude and the early commuters alike. They are the secret holders and the citizens of the pre-dawn realm. A secret world held by them, the insomniacs, early risers, the graveyard shift workers, and the Alpha alike. And every now and then, I find the excuse to join them. 

The Great Mystery That is Life's Purpose

So today in my church flock (like a small group) which consists of young adults, we were discussing the "the Will of God." We came to the realization that it's not our job to "find the Will of God." His Will is always going to be there; it's not going to go away. If He has a Will for you, He's going to make sure you get there and He's never to leave you hanging. 

People often think that when they're making a decision you have to choose the "right" one, and if you don't choose the right one, you're going to end up not fulfilling your purpose in life or not following the Will of God.

For my generation, right now a lot of us are trying to decide where we want to go to college, or what we want to do with our lives post-high school. It's definitely a stressful process, but people find that they're having a hard time deciding between this school or that school and they're thinking, "If I go here I might miss out on God's Will!" Or, "Maybe I chose wrong! I'm not going to find my purpose in life!"

Whether people admit it or not, each person wants to find the most efficient way - or the most correct way - to get from point A to point B in their life. Detours, especially in American culture, are frowned upon in people's minds and they are not things people really want to have to deal with.

 It used to be that people made a big deal about finding one's "purpose in life." I'm here to say, that there's no need to search for it. 

 

God's Will has always been there and will always be there; there is no possible way for you to escape God's Will. Take for example Jonah in the Bible, he probably  went the furthest out of his way than anyone else in history, to try and avoid God's purpose for him. I mean, he got eaten by a whale for Pete's sake just so he could avoid going to Nineveh where God had called him!!  But did that stop God's plan for him?? No!! God made it so that he would return to what He had called Jonah to do. And even though the journey did have a lot of road bumps and it was probably very uncomfortable for Jonah, God's Will was for him to go to Nineveh, and eventually, he fulfilled that purpose that God had laid out, despite his efforts not to. 

I'm not saying that God is going to make our lives difficult if we happen to make a "wrong" decision or that it's going to be always painful to get back on track (though it may be). Really, my point is that no matter what you do or what decision you make, if God has a Will and purpose for you, He's going to get you there. 

Now, just as a disclaimer, I want to make it clear that this is not an excuse to do whatever the heck you want and think that God's going to fix it for you. You still have to seek wisdom in Him in order to A.) be happy (Proverbs 3:13) and B.) to easily fulfill his Will. Jonah didn't necessarily choose God's original plan, and obviously, it was a tough road back.

Also, don't think that this means that you have to have some grand, monumental purpose in your life; our societal perception of purpose is that it has to be something physically significant, but that's not true. God's Will is so beyond us, you may never even know what exactly you accomplished until you finally meet Him in Heaven! But that's okay! Take Enoch, for example, from Genesis. Enoch is only mentioned in the Bible truly only two times, once in Genesis where it talks about his genealogy and a second time in Hebrews 11:5 where it says that "By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away." What I am saying is since Enoch isn't mentioned in very many other places of the Bible, he must not have done anything significant enough to be mentioned elsewhere in the Bible! Yet, it was by his faith that he was taken into Heaven without dying. Enoch didn't do anything majorly significant to be pleasing to God. Enoch fulfilled his purpose - living as an example of faith- in his life (which happened to be 365 years long!) and  God was extremely pleased with him.  I doubt Enoch knew what his life's purpose was, but it didn't matter to him so long as he walked with God. 

...

Today was Father's Day, and for Father's Day we went down to the 16th St. Mall in Denver to see the new Michelangelo and Leonardo DiVinci museum exhibit. It was very interesting, but one thing that struck me was a quote written by Michelangelo, himself. It read as this: 

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

If we are the blocks of stone, God is our sculptor and the statue is His Will. According to Michelangelo, the block of marble already has the masterpiece within it, it's just his job to remove the excess stone and shape it so that the statue will come through. This is exactly the same as with us. God's Will is there and He will make it happen. 

Wellness and Love

My dad told me that he read an article on ways to improve your life and one of the things you should do to improve your life is to write everyday. It's good for you to write about your day and organize your thoughts before going to sleep. Probably is good for you on a psychological level or something. The article also specifically mentioned writing on a blog. This is because you should be writing as if you have an audience. It's ok to talk about what ever you would like, but just the point of view and writing style should reflect a conversation or a book or an article to some degree. It's interesting. 

It's been a crazy couple of days and there is a lot to talk about as always, but I would rather not reiterate the events because that can get lengthy and boring. Today I'd like to write about a personal response I had to a Facebook posting. Now don't worry and start rolling your eyes because you think that this post is about discussing a controversial topic. Fear not. It's benign. I don't remember the status word for word but it went along the lines as "a little bit of me is in love with a little bit of you," or something like that. And this struck me a little bit. I realized that I have forgotten what it is like to be head over heels for someone or even just "crushing" on someone. We all know that giddy feeling, butterflies in our stomachs; don't try and deny it. 

I'm not saying that I need it or that I am seeking it or think that I should be seeking it; no, not in the least. But I will say I miss it. I have found more joy and a similar feeling recently when I wake up and read my Bible. It's rare that I feel motivated to spend quality time with God , so it's interesting that I am now almost excited to do so. It's a fantastic thing, really. Sadly, I cannot say that I feel as elated as I do about God as I remember being about a crush. Is that a bad thing? I can see it both ways. 

Fact is, I miss it. I miss that experience a little bit, even though it usually causes more drama than it's worth. But because  I am missing something so worldly, perhaps I should be focusing and finding this feeling in God. It's a tough to imagine and quite honestly, in my physical worldly mind, doesn't sound as good. But I know that's a lie, because God is enough. 

This was basically just a rambling post, but helpful in my "analysis" of the needs of our emotional and spiritual desires and even health. 

Mother Falcon Performance

I case you didn't know, I recently had the opportunity to compose my own arrangement of a song with a good friend of mine for our last high school concert ever! I won't go in to a lot of details now, but essentially, we wrote a cover for full symphonic orchestra of a song called "Serpent Tongues" by our absolute favorite band, Mother Falcon. It was a great experience! Now, the recordings are finally online for public listening, so please enjoy :).

Check them out here: https://soundcloud.com/kristina-lu

My own rendition of Mother Falcon's new album cover for You Knew

Oh! And by the way, I also started a concert blog: http://klucoloradoconcerts.blogspot.com/

The swimmers, they churn up the water;

But does it get any softer?

No. 

For a while, yes. 

But forever? No. 

What's the Point?

What's the point of negativity and looking for the worst in something or someone? You can't possibly be enjoying it if your complaining about it? Or is it that you enjoy complaining and that's why you do it? Will it change anything?

Someone please let me know.

The Standing Ovation

As a very involved performing artist, I have seen many musical and theater performance. Additionally, I have also been in many performances. Now, I know everyone has their own opinion and everyone has different tastes, but one thing that slightly bothers me is the phony standing ovation.

Like stated above, I know a thing or two about being on the stage side of a performance and I can remember a few concerts that I have had the privilege of participating in that have been honored with a standing ovation. For example, this past January, I was playing with the district honor band under the direction of Allan McMurray, director of the Director of Bands in the College of Music at the University of Colorado in Boulder. We played "An American Elegy" by Frank Ticheli which is in memorial of the victims and the families and friends of those involved in the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. If you have never heard this piece before, it will change your life. Each note and tone is symbolic and meaningful (listen to this specific performance here). But anyways, that's a whole tangent for another time. My point is that that piece and the performance the band had was something we were proud of and did in fact receive its own individual standing-o. An it's a great feeling knowing that you did your best and and more importantly, that it spoke to and touched the audience.

However, it bothers me that nowadays, or at least at the high school level, that standing ovations are just something given out of courtesy. Don't get me wrong, I am all about giving props to anyone who has put in the time and effort and courage and practice to get up on stage and preform and I will always clap and acknowledge someone's great accomplishment, but I feel like now, a standing ovation follows every performance, even ones that it is clear are mediocre. In contrast to my other example above, I have also been a part of many disappointing performances but still people rise and cheer even though it is clear that it really wasn't anything special. I understand why people stand - to be nice - but when you stand for every thing, it diminishes the significance of the standing ovation when so actually witness something spectacular.

That's just me on my soap box, sorry for the rant.

Congratulations?

In today's world of short-lived marriages, whenever someone tells me how long they've been married I always feel the need to congratulate them. I am most sure if it is our of encouragement or praise or recognition or what, but I always do. However, after doing so I always feel slightly awkward. It's as if in saying that I show doubt towards their marriage or marriage in general. That's not what I intend but I feel that it can come off that way.

It's sad how short marriage seems to last these days. Is it weird or in appropriate to congratulate those couples who have made it 5, 10, 20, 30+ years?

Those Asian Kids, Ep. 1

First Episode of Those Asian Kids!

The De-Articulator 5000 replays your voice back into your ears at a delayed rate making it so you physically cannot talk!

Song we tried to sing: "Five Years Time" by Noah and the Whale

Music: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" by Vampire Weekend

Progressive Dinner

In response to my good friend, Tim and his recent blog post, I shall tell you about the grand adventure of our best and last Progressive Dinner with our youth group.

Once a month, our youth group does an event which we have titled SNL (Sunday Night Live). The high schoolers in the church meet on the first Sunday of the month and we get together and hangout, do a fun activity, etc. This month, we had a progressive dinner. If you do not know what a progressive dinner is, basically, it is a multiple course meal in which you eat each course at a different location. For our dinner, we had four courses and thus traveled around town to four different houses. Usually, these things have a theme and you can come dressed up and make it even more fun than just eating (but let's be real, eating is already pretty fun.....). This time, the theme was "Black and White: Wear as little color as possible." Now, initially, I was just going to wear a black and white dress and call it good, but then Tim called me and was like, "Hey! I'm going to use face paint and make it look like I walked out of an old black and white film, want to join me??" Um, Tim, HECK YES I WOULD!!

So Sunday evening, me and two other of our friends spent an hour painting ourselves grey and channeling our inner 1920s-30s selves to shine through in our new found appearances. Unfortunately  we ended up channeling a little bit of zombie too.....

Needless to say, we turned quite a few heads when we walked up to join the others...

The night was fun and fantastic and now, I know what my Halloween costume will be for next year....

Ode to the Centennial Sate

An ode written for my English class last month.

Ode to the Centennial State
Kristina Lu


O Colorado – The Mile High State - eclectic and relaxed,
Thou soaring mountains are like majestic abstracts;
From the peaks to the plains, a reminder of God;
The subtle browns and soothing greens, there is no greater laud;
A statement of thy culture, a statement of thy beliefs, a statement of thy vitality;
O Colorado, what a home you are to me!

And how art the exuberant colors of your light;
The sunrises, the sunsets: I need not exaggerate;
Each day, a stunning, aurulent greeting;
Each night, a colorfully regal final meeting:
A silhouette of cinnabar and brilliant peach,
The mauve range against a flammeous speech,
Starry night; O what a home you are to me!

We natives are so lucky, proud, and spoiled;
Our state! Our land! A place so beautiful without toil,
Dear bright Colorado, you treat us well:
How healthy are we, a tribute to you;
Kick back, relax, take a hike or two;
The powder’s great and so is the view!
O Colorado, a happy home you are to we!

And yet the world is grand and vast,
A place full of many other scenes to make the past;
Some far more eccentric and others less blessed,
A world worth seeing nonetheless.
But no matter the venture where or when,
There’s a place of returns, the Traveler has an origin;
O, Colorado, you are that place of home to me!

And down-to-Earth, thou art so rad and free!
You embody the power of our canyonous River,
You capture the freedom of a noonday skier;
A leader of Green and an attitude to match,
A spirit of adventure and limitless acts;
Diversity – an encouragement; unity – a fact;
O dear sweet Colorado, what a perfect home you are to me!

Booth Birdies

Since yesterday's post was so long, this one shall be short.

Working in a quick service restaurant, I see all types of people - young, old, moms, dads, babies, teenagers, etc., etc. Some take their food to go, others eat it in; but the best part about those who eat in are the things you subconsciously learn from them. These are the people that have time, or have made time, to slow down and enjoy their meal and spend time together (granted that they are in a party greater than 1) and not rush right out the door and eat in the car. I do not mean to shed any sort of negative light on those that have to take it to go - I am occasionally one of them - but I admire those that slow down a bit despite our rushed, time-conscious culture in America.

With that being said, my favorite stereotype of in-store guests are what I am now affectionately calling "The Booth Birdies." Booth Birdies are those couples who will consciously choose to sit on the same side of the booth together just so that they can be near each other. I see this a lot with elderly couples who have been married for decades, yet they still desire to be near each other even when they are just enjoying a chicken sandwich together. Here, they have plenty of room to spread out and even each have their very own bench! But they still choose to sit side by side.

I'm sorry, but to me, when I see this it is the most adorable thing and symbolizes an act of true love that I hope to one day find. I am in no rush to find the love of my life, but when I meet him, I hope that we can be Booth Birdies together anywhere and everywhere we go.

A Day at Keystone!

Yay! The WiFi is working again which means I can post about my awesome day of snowboarding yesterday - this is going to be a long one!

Spring skiing. It's always a bit of a gamble, but when it's good....it's good. Yesterday was one of those days. My dad and I day-tripped it up to Keystone Mountain Resort in Summit County for a final "hurrah!" before the season comes to a close. We left about 7am and arrived up at the resort somewhere around 9am. Depending on where you're from, two hours may seem like a lot of time or nothing at all, but either way, it was time well spent. I absolutely love spending quality time with my dad. We always have the most interesting conversations about anything and everything. He is one of those people who gets you thinking critically but does so in an engaging and non-aggravating way (unlike those who just like to play devil's advocate just because they can). Others may find our conversations mundane and uninteresting, but they're definitely things I will miss when I move to Boulder for college. Yesterday, we talked about all sorts of things, one of the topics being how we look at the topic of efficiency in our everyday lives and our work lives and how sometimes we can try to do things too efficiently and in turn make them less efficient. Stuff like that. Some of our most memorable and interesting conversations have been about the phenomena of the "tipping point" and the "the economy of free." But anyways, that's another post.

We arrived at the resort and were ready to hit the slopes! The day started off beautiful and sunny and around 37 degrees Fahrenheit and fortunately, the runs were not that slushy! Perfect weather!

 

First, we hit the back side of the mountain in the Outback where there was gorgeous glade skiing and soft but not slushy snow along the main runs; nice base, too. There was virtually no one on the mountain due to the fact that the season is in its last week and the majority of the state had its spring break the week before. We rode those slopes for the majority of the morning before turning in for lunch about noon-ish. About this time, a storm was rolling in and the clouds made the sky so dark!

Nonetheless, we turned in and had a pleasant sack lunch (which I consequently crushed during my shenanigans on the slopes) at the Outpost lodge on I believe the 2nd Mountain. Somehow I managed to use a soda can as a cookie cutter on the side of an apple during one of my epic, unintentional flips when I biffed it hard for no good reason what so ever. But hey! Who cares? The soda didn't burst and I still thoroughly enjoyed my mangled ball of a squished PB&J. I honestly cannot remember what else I ate for lunch, but who really wants to hear about my meals anyways? That's right, very few. But, even the sorely disinterested cannot deny the interest in........wait for it........BAM! Cheesy fries!! No ski trip is complete without an order of fries, cheesed or not. 

No ski trip is complete without fries!

By this time, it had been snowing hard and the outside accumulation had amounted to about 1+ inches in a matter of a half hour. But it was fantastic, for once we got back out there, there was all this fresh new snow on all the runs, ungroomed and begging to be taken on. The sky was terribly cloudy and the snow was falling pretty hard, but there was virtually no wind which made riding through the snow, freakin' fantastic! The only downside was the lack of contour definition in the snow due to the little sunlight that came through. This caused my downfall time and time again throughout the day, but more on that later.

After lunch, we had the pleasure of meeting up with one of my friends from the Springs, Ben, and his buddy Alex. They took me (Dad went back to the car to exchange his sunglasses for goggles) to see this secret fort that a friend of theirs had built earlier in the season. Now, I shall never reveal the location of this fort, but let's just say it is hidden somewhere in the trees and is made out of loads of broken tree branches and pure architectural genius. We spend the remainder of the day riding the front side of the mountain and eating up the fresh snow (figuratively). The snow was not quite powder for it was slightly sticky, but fresh enough to definitely change the dynamic of the day in a positive way.

We soon made our way over to "Area 51" aka, the terrain park. Now, I'll preface this by saying, I suck at jumps and I let my brain take too much control when it comes to boxes and such. Sounds illogical, but seriously, over thinking a jump is like writing your own death sentence. You've just got to go for it. This is a skill I have not yet mastered... Typically, Ben, Alex, and I avoided all of the rails and ramps and doo-ickies that those crazy kids fly off of, and we headed straight for the jumps in our naive aspirations to at least be able to catch some air and effectively land it without killing ourselves (at least this was my mindset). Needless to say, Ben and Alex were much better than me, but we each had our own spills. The first round of jumps, I actually landed mine! I was so surprised and excited! Unfortunately, that was our practice run and we didn't film any from that first time. By the second run, my dad had met up with us and was willing to do the filming in addition the filming I was to do for Ben with his phone (I don't have that footage). I'll just let the video speak for itself (I am the first one, Ben second, Alex third):

Aren't I just the most graceful thing you've ever seen?? Alex was the only one who had a perfect run though on this take; Ben happened to biff it pretty hard after the second or third jump which you can't see on this video. Totally worth it, though.

                                  

                                            Ben on the lift

      

Dad at the summit of the Outback.
That's Breckenridge in the background.

After that, they closed the terrain park lift so we headed for the base (it was almost 4 o'clock by this point). Just before, however, I managed to face plant over small ridge I couldn't see due to the lighting and slammed my head on the ground and slid for a few feet. The fall did disorient me briefly, but I quickly recovered and was fine. I later found, though, that that fall had caused my shirt to rub against my stomach so abrasively that I ended up getting a small "rug burn" on my stomach. I like to describe in terms of using a strip of carpet as a slip-n-slide.... Ok, so it wasn't that bad, but still, I have about three dime-sized burns on my stomach right next to my belly button. That's no bueno for anyone!

By the time we reached the bottom it was past 4:00 and we were forced to retire. During the regular season, Keystone offers night skiing but unfortunately, they were done with that for the season and so our day came to a satisfying end. We said goodbye to Ben and Alex, packed the car and headed for I-70 to take us towards Idaho Springs for some delicious grub. We stopped at Beau Jo's Pizza - Colorado style pizza - and enjoyed a pie together before trekin' it on home!

Colorado style pizza = massive crust meant for honey dousing

That was the end to our perfect day at Keystone and some wonderful father-daughter time, doing one of the greatest things Colorado has to offer together. Can't wait for next season!