Coming out from under my rock...

Yes, I do live. I live well, as a matter of fact. I'm sorry this is such a long time coming, but I can explain! For a while I was Internetless and since getting Internet my other housemates have been connected to the modem at the times I had a spare moment to blog... we have since gotten a wireless router, so I'm golden! But I've been gone all weekend in Shelton/Portland, so here I am! A lot has been happening...

I turned in my last date of work a while back, so effective the 27th of this month I am unemployed again! WAHOO! I'm very blessed to have the job I do, especially for the pay and for the amount of time I was available, but man it's wearing on me. I'm getting a little tired of being yelled at all day. I could talk for days about some of the calls I've had, but I won't bore you and to be honest I'm trying to block them out haha. My boss was upset that I wasn't sticking around for the school year, but I want to see how stressful my final semester at Whitworth will be before I add on a job including a commute. If I can find a job on campus, shwing! If not, helloooooo super-budget. Anyway, I came back to work today after a long weekend and only 10 days left! Wahoo! That and only one more tutoring session... I can't believe the summer is wrapping up so quickly!

So, as promised, I am ready to reveal my house! Below are pictures of my room, bathroom, living room, kitchen and dining room. Enjoy the adorable college housingness :)

Please don't mind the dishes drying on the rack or soaking in the sink... I just wanted to give you a picture of how it will likely (hopefully) look like throughout the year. Having no dishes at all would be unrealistic and downright dishonest! It was quite the road to get all the bills transferred and names changed and such, but I washed my hands of the old place and am starting anew! To celebrate, when Steph came back into town, we held a barbeque for our friends and second family. There were about 15 of us, it was great! The badminton net was up, the tiny football barbeque was... well, useless until Tarig, the father of my Sudanese kids, came over. Fire + inexperienced barbequer = flipping burgers on the stove. Anyway, we all had a blast. I did take one picture though with my camera. Asim, the 5-year-old, apparently starved himself all day, telling his parents "I don't want to eat yet, I'm having barbeque at Chels and Steph's". So by the time we finally got food warmish, Asim asked for this impressive masterpiece.

Oh yes, the boy I've never seen finish a piece of chicken asked for a double decker cheeseburger. After eating half, he put it in a ziploc baggy and put it in the fridge as a snack for the ride home :)

This past Tuesday (or a week from today if you will), it was Richard's friend Alice's birthday so a small group of us went to Silverwood Theme Park. It was so fun! I had never been so it was great to finally trek over and try it out. There were many memorable moments, including the accidental hour-long detour around Hayden Lake (fun fact: it's a pretty large lake), being spit on by kids while riding the ferris wheel at sunset, helping Richard overcome his fear of rollercoasters (slightly), and trying to skillfully and discretely pick my atomic wedgie in front of the whole group after going down the super duper cool waterslide. It was great, I could go there every day! Except I will admit, after about 7 minutes I wanted to kick/punch/slap each and every speaker in the park that was playing nonstop kiddo banjo music... I can still kind of hear it now... anyway, here's a picture of Richard and I on our Silverwood day of fun! Kinda goofy (on his part... but I'll get him someday):

I haven't figured out how to turn it, so... sorry! Enjoy :)

This past weekend I took a roadtrip with my friend Kendel to Shelton (the parents' cabin), Portland, and Eugene (didn't actually happen, we were going to visit the University of Oregon but decided to wait for when class was in session... I'm looking there for grad school, they have the 4th best program for Masters in Education in the US so it's worth a look!). It was phenomenal to see my wonderful family as well as an old friend (Shoes, or Emily as she was called at birth, goes to Portland State University), but fairly self explanatory so I'll just show a few pictures:

The stunning sunset at the lake cabin :)

My niece is b-e-a-UTiful, she's so perfect! And she's getting SO big...

An example of the beautiful driving weather we had for our nomadic weekend.

I've still got quite a few things to plug away at until the summer is over (school starts September 8th... I think...), so I've been keeping nice and busy in my off time! But don't worry, I play plenty too :) I hope this finds you well, please keep me posted on what's going on with y'all, and have no fear I will not go this long again without blogging :)

Peace out, rainbow trouts

Chels

I'm HOOOOOME!

Oh hey! This is a quick one, just thought I'd let you know that thanks to some absolutely wonderful people *cough* Grandma and Grandpa Book and Richard, not to mention the emotional support of the four other friends who said they would help but forgot that they had to "work" *cough*, I am moved into my new house! It's so wonderfully lovely! Just thought I'd let you know that I can now be reached at a new address:

9905 N Waikiki Rd
Spokane WA 99218

I moved from Ivanhoe to Hawaii in a day, and oh can I tell the difference :) Love y'all! Hope your Fourth's were as wonderful as humanly possible!

Love,
Chels

Magnuson Hotels Weird Call of the Day: I went on a wild goose chase today to find a man a hotel in Santa Cruz, CA that provided those complimentary shampoo's... yes, called multiple hotels to see if they were provided in the rooms. Found nothing, the guy wasn't happy with me. Awesome.

The Goods

Oh hey there! Long time no blog... sorry, things have been pretty dang busy around the Chelsea household... a lot has been happening!

So I've been working at the Call Center at the kind of job I never want long term but always thought would be fun to, you know, try out... my headset, cubicle, computer and I are becoming fast friends! Except when I work the 6am shift. Then we throw punches. I've actually been working 6am shifts a lot lately and began a stretch of 7 consecutive days of 6am shifts, some being 5 hours and some being 8 hours. It's the only way I could get a few days off to spend the 4th with the family at the lake cabin, so I was happy to concede and struggle through it. Should be interesting... Anyway, I could talk forever about the funny calls I've gotten, every day is such a treat! I love talking to people and the intelligence of some is amazing, but it just lights another fire under me as to the importance of educating people... everything can relate back to a calling to teach :) I've had several Southern men declare undying love and affection for my phone skills and self (awkward to get them off the phone, by the by), this morning I was asked to settle a dispute between someone and where they were that involved the guy providing his card for guarantee, paying with cash and ending up being charged on the card anyway. I was confused because I couldn't find his reservation and was searching on our database for a good few minutes... come to find out he was referring to his tab at the bar inside the hotel which he never had reservations in... not really my job to settle your beer tab, sir. And this morning, my coworker got a phone call from a woman who accused her of sleeping with her husband while he was staying in Florida on business. This is when we quickly say "I'm at a corporate office in Spokane, Washington ma'am, it ain't possible". We've gotten people asking if there are nude beaches close to the hotel and how "nude" they truly are, had people calling to ask square footage of rooms and asking if it would be possible to fit three adults and 7 kids in one room, tons of stuff. The job can be unbelievably stressful, but I'm enjoying it for the most part! If it weren't for the early morning hours and the computer headaches, I would say the hours, pay and variety make it the perfect summer job. I am blessed :)

So a few weekends ago I brought my Zaki kids over to my place to share American and Sudanese recipes and play outside... oh the exhaustion, they're hard to please! Especially when you're cooking and cleaning for 6 straight hours... but thankfully I was saved by Richard (more to come on that :) ) and took them home after 8 hours of crazy fun times. I have a few pictures of my kiddos, I'm so proud of them! Asis, the oldest, graduated elementary school a week or two ago. Sara, the 10 year old daughter, amazes me. She's such an incredible little lady, she wants so badly to do good in the world and to help people... I've been learning so much from her heart! She wants to start a school club that spreads awareness about the dangers of leaving kids home alone without supervision, targeting more towards those from non-American backgrounds. She and her siblings are frequently left home alone for hours on end, and with an eight-month-old even, and she wants to educate people of other cultures about how dangerous that could be. She's a great kid :) Asim, the five-year-old, is getting to that age. Yes, THAT age. He knows all and is always right, so it's a good thing he's cute :) He actually lost his first tooth not too long ago and is excelling in his numbers and letters. Also, his garden is blooming! His radishes and carrots are doing pretty good, but I think we killed the tomatoes and flowers... oh well, at least something is growing.

Asil, the eight-month-old, is growing so quickly it's insane! And he's beautiful... he's starting to use his legs and crawl around a bit. Here's a picture of my little man :)

Last Wednesday, I actually had a two-day stretch off work on Thursday and Friday so I left after work and went down to Portland to see my baby niece and beautiful sister! It was so wonderful to see them, and I haven't seen Payton since she was a month old (I know, weird...) except for on Skype which doesn't count. I love living in Spokane right now, but I truly do miss my family so this trip was exactly what I needed. On Thursday mid-afternoon, my mom joined us to make the group complete! An awesome, chill time with family... another blessing :)

It's true... don't argue with me...

Grandma and baby girl Payton :) I like this one!

The girls all together, first time since March :)

So this probably won't interest you, but the drive to and from Portland from Spokane is absolutely b-e-a-UTiful! I wanted to share a picture of the scenary at the time, made the 7-8 hour drive bearable :)

But there's another picture I took on the way back that I want to share...

Look closely in the back of this Volvo hatchback... very closely... yes, you see correctly. When I was passing through Lind, WA (literally a one-horse town) I passed this car with a goat in the back seat. It was just hanging out, nibbling on some hay, ya know, being goaty. Maybe it's a one goat town... all hail the Lind goat!

And I'm assuming this next piece of news is largely the reason why people will be reading the blog this time around... yes, it is true. Chelsea has a boyfriend. And here he is! Sorry about the picture quality and dorkiness, it's honestly the only picture we have together after having dated for a month :)

This is Richard Falk! We met under hilarious circumstances in a diner, started talking, and went on a few dates within a short amount of time (each date being unintentionally 8-10 hours a piece haha) and entered a relationship shortly after that. It's funny who God puts in your life when you least expect it :) He's 23 and currently working in retail to save up money to go to school in the Fall. We have a ton in common so spending time with him is the easiest it has ever been for me to spend time with a guy I've dated. I don't really know what else to say except he is the kindest, gentlest, funniest, smartest and youthful guy I have ever met and he makes me incredibly happy. It's been a fun time! The picture above was actually taken last Saturday, we went to a fancy dinner and then to a Comedy Club... probably why we thought we were funny in the picture haha. So there you go, everyone can breathe easy, I'm being well taken care of!

Starting in the next few days, I'll be packing up and peacing out of my current domicile. Joy! I'm ecstatic (not for the move... I'll actually be moving three people instead of just myself... true joy!) to go to a new place with cheaper rent, nicer spaces and better people (actually, most of the same people just weeding out a few :) ) Actually, funny story. A week or two ago, my computer rebelled and decided to be moody, so while I was computerless (tear) I milked the school of it's Internet by going to the library on campus. When I walked in I saw my landlord being helped at the front desk so I said hi and started talking to him about how thankful we were and how great it looked and how Kelsey (one of my housemates who was able to move in early, rent free, because her other lease was up in June) had moved in great. He was looking at me like, "what the heck are you talking about?!" but smiled and nodded his head. It took me until 20 minutes later when I was texting Kels that I wasn't talking to Jim our landlord, I was talking to Thom Caraway, my Core 150 discussion group leader. So embarrassed, only made better by yelling out loudly in the middle of the library... good thing it's not the school year. So yeah, the English department thinks I'm insane (that's his department) but it's made for a good joke. My housemate Katie is an English major and she messaged me saying, "hey I think it would be cool if we painted our rooms for next year... I'll ask Thom when I see him in class in the Fall". Haha everyone, haha. Just kidding, it really is pretty funny, but in my defense they look extremely similar! I only realized it when considering the differences in voice octaves and the slight differences in very similar beards. Anyway, I'm stoked to get over there and build another home for the year!

In all, life has been wonderful! The sun has finally come out and looks like it'll be around for a while *knocks on wood* so summer is here :) I hope life is treating you all well and that you are living and loving life well. Hope to see y'all soon!

Love,

Chels

Reservation Specialist

Magnuson Hotels- World's largest independent hotel group

:)

Employment Por Favor

Why hello there! Hope all is well for everyone! I'm just doing a quick check in to let y'all know what's going down on this side of the mountains... First off, Spokanistan is COLD! I bet you Westsiders are saying "shush girl, you have no idea..." and I'm sorry that you've probably had it worse but my goodness! Summers ain't what they used to be in the olden days :) I can't believe it's already June... where did it go?!

I don't really have pictures or anything to post (sorry) but I do have one exciting piece of news... a week or two back I was really frustrated with this whole job search thing and gave myself two options: find a job by the end of the month or come home. Part of me really wanted to come home and be with family, but the other part of me knew it would be so much easier to stay here and that I would love the experience of working on my own and growing up and spending time with friends and etc. So I told God that I trusted Him to make the best choice for me because goodness knows I have no flipping clue what that is... that evening I went to tutor for the Magnuson family and they asked me if I had found a job. When I said no, they stated that they might see what they can do down in their company (Magnuson Hotels) call center. The next day, I got a phone call from the Director of Data and Voice Services saying that I didn't need a background check, interview, or resume and that I had been hired soley on recommendation! Granted, the clout of the CEOs and namesakes of the corporation are pretty good, but he said he felt comfortable hiring me right off the bat! Soooo what I'm trying to say is God decided to keep me in Spokane and made me an employed person! Yay!

I had my first day on Wednesday and basically I'll be taking and cancelling hotel reservations, quoting prices, changing hotel rates in databases, answering information emails and faxes, inputing hotel reviews, the works! It's actually pretty dang stressful, but I'm getting the hang of it :) I trained for two days on how to multitask like a madwoman so I should be fine. Today was my first day on phones and a) I had fun, and b) no one died! There were some pretty strange calls and some pretty awesome accents (we get calls from all over the US, UK and Canada), but my favorite by far was a gentleman calling to complain about being charged $5 for his "free" hot breakfast. He went on for a good 20 minutes about how he felt discriminated against... it really was unfair for the hotel to do that, but it was still funny how passionate he was about an egg and hashbrowns...

A little background: Magnuson Hotels is actually the world's largest independent hotel group and we represent independent hotels throughout the US, UK and Canada through reservations and marketing. We advertise and help them with bookings, and they give us a little kick-back. Tada! I think the reason why it is so stressful is because we get around 25,000 calls each month and the call center is only open from 6am-10pm PST and has maybe (if lucky) four people on shift at a time. They're seriously understaffed (which was nice for me I guess!) so they like that I'm so flexible with hours and such. I'll be getting between 25-35 hours a week and I've already picked up a shift for someone tomorrow. It's the night shift, which is much better than the 6am shift, trust me. This summer is going to force me into coffee-drinking, I'm convinced. Anyway, my coworkers are all UBER SUPER nice and my boss is already teasing me like I'm one of the family. I'm very happy :)

In all, this summer has already been phenomenal. Building some fantastic old and new relationships, learning a lot about living on my own, all great stuff! I'm all smiles :) I truly hope from the bottom of my heart that the same is for you. Okay, I'm going to rest because I officially dislike computers (thank you, job) and need a break for my eyes. I've been off work for 2 hours but it still hurts!

With love,
Chels

искать

Zdravstvutiye! I know, you're thinking "can you FIT anymore consonants in there?!" but welcome to the Russian language! That is Russian for "hello" according to my correspondence in Kazakhstan, but according to Alta Vista Babel Fish he added an unnecessary "y" in there... oh well, I should worry about saying it not spelling it :)

Well, summer is here! Kinda... besides the early apocolypse (is it 2010 or 2012? Because the Spokane sky is wondering...) it's been beautiful over here.... granted, my standards for good weather are based on the Westside of the state, so everything looks good to me! I ended school in a high fashion with a few performance-based finals on Tuesday and my Advanced Cell Biology final on Friday. One of my finals on the Tuesday was a mock interview for the Education department. They brought in administrators from neighboring Spokane public schools and had us participate in a half-hour mock interview in which we were evaluated based on our answers to the questions and our professionalism. It was a ton of fun! The interviewer that had me said she would hire me in a heartbeat, which was bittersweet since I have still been unsuccessful in landing a job here... but flattering all the same! She said it was one of the first times that she had no constructive criticism to give, so I feel as though the Education department here at Whitworth is giving me all the tools I need to do well in the job market :) when it comes to teaching jobs of course... otherwise, I'm still trained for nothing!

After my last final on Friday (take THAT, Advanced Cell!) I went with a few friends to eat me some 5-pound burrito (and no, I still couldn't do half... the guy friend with us ate more than my friend and I combined. He was a fistful away from finishing it in one sitting, and of course he's thin as a board...) and then promptly slept for 14 hours unintentionally. Laid my head down for a nap at 5pm and didn't wake until 7:30am the next morning. I don't think I've ever been that awake or peppy! Some of my housemates did not appreciate it I think :) That weekend I tied up many of the loose ends (pretty much picked off my whole to-do list for the summer minus the ongoing projects... felt awesome!), went to graduation on Sunday (promptly freaked out, too, when I realized that that was me in a year...), sang at Baccalaureate beforehand (which apparently is a fancy word for prayer service when I thought it was a fancy word for graduation... school can be over and you can still learn!) and celebrated my birthday! It was great and very low key; most of my friends went home for the summer or were graduating and were with family, so I only spent the evening with four other friends and had a great time. It's crazy to think how fast time has flown and that, four years from now, I'll finally be grown-up enough to rent a car! CRAZY! I look back at myself when I was 18 even and cannot recognize myself... I am so incredibly thankful for this transformative time and all the people who have been part of it. Thanks everyone :)

So with another year at Whitworth under my belt and one more to go (BAH!), I've been keeping busy... had some leads on jobs that friends had heard about, such as a position at a youth center and daycare, but still have had no luck in my applications. If you can keep this process in your thoughts and prayers, I would deeply appreciate it. As of right now, I've given myself a deadline: if I still have no luck in landing a job by the end of the month, I'm coming home. Everyone has been so wonderful in trying to help me and in understanding my fluidity in my decision-making, but I want to do what's best for everyone else as well as myself... I just hope I can figure that out. It's all so confuzzling! I trust Him though, and what needs to happen will happen regardless.

So after doing odds and ends stuff in the morning, I've been having fun playing at night with friends I haven't seen in a while... it's been a great time! Right now I'm working on getting Haiti all squared away, including buying plane tickets and figuring out which immunizations I need to get (joy... pure joy). Everything looks as though it is progressing though! And I spend a wee bit of time either studying for the West-E, my teacher certification test in this state that I need to take in November before I student teach (based on my content, aka Biology), and learning a wee bit of Russian and a some Kazakh phrases. These are ongoing projects, including packing up and getting ready to move to my new house sometime in July! YAY! We're so excited and think it will be a wonderful change, minus the killer driveway in the winter... we'll just wear pillows in our pants to ease the falls is all :) in all, everything is looking bright! I also had a fantastic visit with my cousins Carissa and Chris, got to show them the metropolis of Spokane and all of its outdoor wonders, and just had a great time spending time with them. Thanks you two for such a fun time and for being great family to me :)

Steph landed happily and safely in Tanzania a few days ago and had a fantastic African birthday celebration (her birthday is exactly a week after mine, so she got to spend her 21st in Africa... lucky...) and is working at a daycare/school. It sounds as though she is incredibly happy, but I would love your help in keeping her in our thoughts and prayers for safe travels and good lessons. Thanks in advance.

Anyway, I best be going... my pa is coming into town! I'm going to say hi to him really quickly, head of to work/tutoring and then the fun begins. My mornings this week are being spent at Northwood Middle School helping Dave Gamon run his Charities Week deal and dad is coming tomorrow to meet him... and on Thursday mama is coming on over too! Can't WAIT to see my family, I miss everyone so much and Spokanistan is getting lonely :) well, I hope you all are well and that the world is treating you kindly. Love you and will hopefully see you soon!

Asalaam Aleykum,
Chels

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures... they're all in my head :)

The End of All Things Junior

Oh hey! How are y'all?! I think the Spokane twang is getting to me a little bit... which reminds me, I was sitting at the DOL this morning getting my license renewed and someone's cell phone began ringing the most high-pitched, blue grass country tune I had ever heard. And that's when I realized; welcome to Hickville :)

Well, these past few weeks have been hard work but extremely rewarding. First things first, I finished my unit plan! It turned out to be 45 pages single spaced and multiple sleepless nights and weeks, but I actually had a blast doing it. I've already received feedback and my professor called it a "masterpiece" and is going to use it as an example for future students AND has shown other parts of it to the School of Education dean and professors. Apparently she was proud of my work :) Also, my advisor has asked me if my online teaching portfolio (obviously a working document) could be the chief student evidence used to help the School of Education renew their accreditation. I feel very accomplished and blessed; it's very humbling to know that God's call on your life is not only something you love but something you have the potential to be good at! It'll take YEARS upon years of experience, but I'm getting the best start possible at Whitworth. As far as other school things go, I wrapped up two of my three field experiences (thank goodness!) and am working on making my presentation for the Institutional Review Board for my behavior intervention. Good news, the kid's still living and we didn't completely tank his schoolwork. I count that as a success for being a newby, yes?! :)

In other breaking news, next week is finals week! HECK YES! I cannot be more ready for this semester to be over, but at the same time it has been the most growing semester and time of my life I think. I really feel like I've crossed the bridge from Kidville to Grownuptown... it's okay, you should be scared. I have become a huge advocate for children and feel ready to try my hand at adult life. With Haiti (which has been officially paid for :) I cannot thank you all enough for your support), Kazakhstan (I officially downloaded an English to Kazakh dictionary for my computer... did you know that atan means a castrated camel? Apparently it's important to know... it's a good thing I'm growing up, but apparently not fast enough), student teaching with Dave Gamon, graduating and living, I feel like I have been blessed beyond compare. Along with this, relationships here, gaining and losing friends, and building my relationship with God, I feel ready. Ready to affect others, and ready to share joy. He has given me the patience and ability to trust that I needed to get to this place, so I am oh so thankful. Okay, enough of this stuff, I seem to be doing it a lot :) next week shouldn't be too tough for me which is nice; the rough part was last week, it's all downhill from here! I have a huge Advanced Cell exam that I could use good juju vibes for on Friday, but other than that it is completely manageable.

A few weekends ago, Steph and I were visiting our Sudanese friends the Zaki's and was told by the five-year-old about his garden. He wanted to show it to us so badly, so we trekked outside and were taken to a weed-ridden plot of dirt with nothing useful growing in it. We asked him what seeds he had planted, and he replied "these!" and promptly grabbed a rock, buried it in the ground and watered it. It was both kinda sad and adorable :) so Steph and I decided to help him create his own garden a few weekends ago. Apparently he was up at 2:30 in the morning waiting by the window for us to come (which wasn't until 4pm...) and asked his dad to call the news stations. He said, "tell them to bring video cameras! We are making a garden! It's huge news!" Needless to say, parents = not so pleased with us :) So we borrowed a shovel and got to work.

We bought carrots, radishes, blue flowers and tomatos. You can see he was giving us a lesson. The look on our faces... we felt more scared than we look.

We found worms. He said we had to protect the worm homes. We did. So there. It was a ton of fun, and he goes out to check it every 20 minutes or so. Every kid needs a hobby :)

Last weekend was fantastic, it was our Women's Choir concert! It was called, "All Shall Be Well", and went off wonderfully. We sang mostly in English this time (who woulda thought!) except for one song in Latin called "Vivos Voco" and five songs that comprised a set called "The Hebrew Love Songs" in... well, Hebrew.... this set is my favorite. If anyone would like a copy of the CD, just let me know! There are a few pictures down below...

Typical.

These are the choir officers this year. Amy, on the left, was El Presidente, and Janelle, on the left, was the Chaplain. Tada! I'll miss these two Seniors!

Starting July 1, I will be living elsewhere! I'm very excited about this, as are the other housemates, and we think it'll be a perfect fit for us. But I really wanted to show you a picture, even though I haven't taken one of the place yet, so here's the Google Maps street view image of the place:
Lovely, huh?! We're on the right side of the "Magic School Bus", so the side with the garage door open. Can you see why it's called that? Pretty obnoxiously yellow... we love it :) After move in, we plan on planting a garden and fixing things up, even though it'll be pretty dang perfect. This summer will also be full of camping, playing outside and other frivolities. Still looking for a job; beginning to think I have more resumes out in the Spokane area than I have extended family members... but I'll keep trying. My best shot right now, I think, is at a small bakery behind the school called Le Petit Chat, but it's a long shot. I'm trained for absolutely nothing, I have no skills! I tell people that I have worked with kids at a theatre arts camp and was an RA and a tour guide, and do you know what that equates to? I'm trained for nothing. I'm also diligent though, so I'll be sure to keep you posted :)

Well, I'd better get back to work. I just need to stay strong for another week and I'll be golden! I love you all and hope you're enjoying your weekends. Hope it's as beautiful on the Westside as it is over here :)

Peace and love,

Chels

P.S. Have fun wth Payton if you're going to see her... give her a hug and a kiss from me :)

Updateamundo

Chello, this is a fully living, breathing, and somewhat functioning Chelsea here. Tis nearing the end of the semester and school is winding down! I am so thankful to see the end of this semester, I need a break! Between a normal class load, three field experiences, three jobs (although their hours would really count as about one, but still have to run around everywhere to each one), leadership responsibilities, volunteering with the Sudanese family and upkeeping my house and such, it's been a looooong semester. But so much is life! This is the way it's going to be from here on out, I realize that it's the reality of adulthood. But since when did it come up so fast?! I'm boycotting. Is it still 2003? Yes it is. And don't try and convince me otherwise... no, I don't wanna hear it!

So this is going to be a quicky update because 1) my life is school and not as interesting right now, and 2) I gotsta get over to my favorite coffee shop soon to work on my monstrous unit plan assignment. In news, two hopings have become official; I am officially going to Kazakhstan, and I am officially student teaching in Dave Gamon's classroom (the incredible middle school teacher I've been working with this semester asked if I would student teach with him and then he got it all set up with the school for me :) so humbling, that never happens for secondary people around here!) I'm extremely excited for the future right now, it's almost making me a tad bit impatient. But all this along with finishing up my degree (mostly) next Fall, Haiti in the summer and a new house to move into (with much better situations all around), next year is shaping up to be the best year of my life so far! In other news, the only thing that is weighing on my mind at the moment is summer employment. I've been sending out resumes and applications like they're free hot donuts but haven't gotten a bite yet. I'm not extremely worried about it right now because Whitworth ends in May so I will be in the job market early; if need be, I'll become a professional job hunter once school is out. I need to focus on finishing the year strong, but I'm still being proactive about summer employment. Maybe I'll find something perfect under a rock somewhere!

In other news, there isn't much news. I have been fairly preoccupied with school and work and schoolwork so I try and take mini relaxing vacations when I can. Steph and I tried to go hiking the other weekend and couldn't find the trail so we wandered down a dirt road for a good hour and a half making up stories and murder mysteries. Also, with the craziness, it's important for us to get away so I made a surprise picnic for her at Riverfront Park downtown (I know, aren't we just the cutest couple ever?! :) ) and it was SO stunningly beautiful outside we just stayed down there for a while to avoid homework. Basically, that is what life has boiled down to right now: homework. I'm so cool, my weekends are now filled with being antisocial and staying locked up to complete everything that needs to get done by the end of the year. But everything is temporary, and I will again be up to my old tricks :) makes me extremely excited to be here during the summer with good friends and good times!

Anyway, gotta jet! I love you all and hope you are well; please keep me updated! To throw a picture in here, just because I should, here's a picture of Steph and I on our picnic adventure. Enjoy the awkwardness :) and wish me luck on my unit on the cell!

Peace and love,

Chels