Monday, May 31, 2010

Happy Memorial Day

Let us remember those who gave their lives,
and think of those who serve today.

Be inspired by their courage.
Be humbled by their sacrifice.
Pray for their safety.


Sandra, Casey, Andy, Josh, Nick, Jeremy, Beau and Keifer:

Thank You,
for everything you're doing.
You make me so proud.


Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
- John 15:13

Friday, May 28, 2010

I love being a girl.
I can feel what you're feeling
as you're feeling it inside
the feeling
before.
I am an emotional creature.
Things do not come to me
as intellectual theories or hard-shaped ideas.
They pulse through my organs and legs
and burn up my ears.
I know when your girlfriend's really pissed off
even though she appears to give you what
you want.
I know when a storm is coming.
I can feel the invisible stirrings in the air.
It's a vibe I share.

I am an emotional creature.
I love that I do not take things lightly.
Everything is intense to me.
The way I walk in the street.
The way my mother wakes me up.
The way I hear bad news.
The way it's unbearable when I lose.

I am an emotional creature.
I am connected to everything and everyone.
I was born like that.
Don't you dare say all negative that it's a
teenage thing
or it's only because I'm a girl.
These feelings make me better.
They make me ready.
They make me present.
They make me strong.

I am an emotional creature.
There is a particular way of knowing.
It's like the older women somehow forgot.
I rejoice that it's still in my body.
I know when the coconut's about to fall.
I know that we've pushed the earth too far.
I know my father isn't coming back.
That no one's prepared for the fire.

I know that lipstick means
more than show.
I know that boys feel super-insecure
and so-called terrorists are made, not born.
I know that one kiss can take
away all my decision-making ability
and sometimes, you know, it should.

This is not extreme.
It's a girl thing.
What we would all be
if the big door inside us flew open.
Don't tell me not to cry
To calm down
Not to be so extreme
To be reasonable.
I am an emotional creature.
It's how the earth got made.
How the wind continues to pollinate.
You don't tell the Atlantic Ocean
to behave.


I am an emotional creature.
Why would you want to shut me down
or turn me off?
I am your remaining memory.
I am connecting you to your source.
Nothing's been diluted.
Nothing's leaked out.
I can take you back.

I love that I can feel the inside
of the feelings in you,
even if it stops my life
even if it hurts too much
or takes me off track
even if it breaks my heart.
It makes me responsible.
I am an emotional
I am an emotional, devotional,
incandotional creature.
And I love, hear me,
love love love
being a girl.

- from "I Am an Emotional Creature"
by Eve Ensler

Wow, time flies.

It's been over a month since my last post... How did I let that happen? How in the world am I supposed to do what I set out to do -- keep my people updated -- if I never actually DO it?

Something must be done...



Today is a busy day, so bullets it is!

- My last day at Dress Barn was Wednesday. I never expected it to be as emotional as it was -- although, who am I kidding? I am an emotional creature. Eve Ensler had me pegged when she titled that collection of monologues... (Actually now that I write those words, I really should post the monologue I stole them from... Yeah. I'll do that. Next -- I'm on a different train of thought right now.)

- Our Elijah performance went... Relatively well. I'm not going to start getting into what sort of things went wrong, as it was a live performance, and if EVERYTHING goes off without a hitch... Then it really doesn't count. I felt good afterwoods, so I guess that's what counts. Plus, I met some new people from the orchestra -- God knows how much I enjoy new people :)

- One week after the Elijah, my vocal coach had a recital for all of her voice/piano students. I was set to sing 3 of the most demanding I've ever done: Sweet Chance (an art song from the late 19th Century,) O Mio Babbbino Caro (Puccini aria. Gulp.) and Show Me (from My Fair Lady.) All three in different styles; different characters. I had to be focused and prepared to make my voice switch in the ways it needed to -- So of course, I got sick the night before. If I still had my tonsils, they'd be infected. (Good thing I had them out when I did.) I restricted myself to limited talking (what?!) and gargantuan amounts of tea and honey. My performance went alright, I suppose. Adrenaline took away what amount of throat pain it could, but by the last song I was beat, trying to get through as quickly and gracefully as possible.

What really made my day, though, was when I was sitting in the pew, waiting for the recital to start -- focusing -- when I heard "Ahem." Standing above me was the last person I expected to see at this casual small-town recital: Nicole Matthews. She's an old friend -- a friend who has always been such a HUGE support of me with all of my musical endeavors. I hadn't seen her since my high school graduation, and suddenly here she was. She moved back to Portland from DC a couple months ago, but I wasn't expecting to see her until Summertime when my schedule slowed down. I couldn't believe she made the drive for 3 measly songs -- what an amazing friend. I shot up and we hugged for God knows how long, pulling away to say a few words, but never letting go. Such a great surprise.

- The school's Pirates of Penzance went very well -- I was so proud. I loved watching the kids in the audience. You could see every little boys' pirate dreams come to life in their eyes as they watched on the edge of their seats. Alan's niece, Ava, was so enamored with Karli, following her everywhere after the performance, trying to decide if she was actually real... Adorable.

- Jenna Ruth Hinkle made her way into the world on May 14th. I had literally stepped out the door after getting off work, when I got a text from Chris saying they were at the hospital -- and at 7 cm. I fully expected that baby to arrive before I did, but I got there just in time. I walked into the room and 15 minutes later, there she was: The 9 lb 2 oz butterball that completes the Hinkle family.

- Two very dear people, Alex and Riann at http://fromwhomallblessingsflow.blogspot.com/, left for Ethiopa on Sunday, and yesterday met Moses -- their newest precious addition -- for the very first time. I'm so very happy for them, and can't wait until they bring him back so I can hold that sweet boy (and yeah, probably cry. Go figure.)

- I'm still receiving mounds of paperwork from Cornish. I got a big packet of the different required non-artsy classes to choose from... Boring. So boring. I'm so glad that the majority of my classes will be... Not like these, ha. Who knows, they could turn out to be interesting????

-Karli's graduation is fast approaching, and I've volunteered myself to stuff, address, and mail her announcements, as she is crazy busy and doesn't need this dull task on top of everything else. I also really need to get a move on finishing her scrapbook -- which she doesn't know about. Here's to hoping she doesn't read this.