It's Time.

A decision has been made: it's back to VLI for me. Many of you may know that I joined the program in the fall of 2003 and left the spring of 2004 for personal reasons. The plan was always to go back. I remember telling someone "the ideal would be to do this when I have a part time job." When Timmy and I became engaged and we decided that I would be quitting the firm, I realized the time for VLI may be approaching soon. Well, VLI is coming back to BRV in the fall. After much thought, prayer, and discussion, I went from "scared and I don't think so" to "scared and nervous" to "scared and hesitant" to "scared and yes" to "not as scared and maybe even a little excited."

The excitement came when I called VLI to ask about transferring my previous credits. All my credits transfer, which means 2 of my 7 quarters are complete, 2 of my 5 projects are complete, my evangelism mentoring is complete, and my preaching/teaching mentoring is complete. Although as suspected, MDT would like me to do preaching/teaching again - and I'm not entirely opposed to it. All this good news, also means that Timmy and I don't have to pay for two quarters, saving us over $1000. I don't have to officially enroll until the Spring of 08 and will be done in the Spring of 09 - I can do that. I will, however, be sitting in on the Fall 07 and Winter 08 classes. It will be good to refresh my brain with the stuff I studied a few years ago. It'll also be good for team-building, that I be a part of the class from the beginning instead of coming in late. The only drawback to having everything transfer over is that also includes my lackluster GPA. At the time, my life was beginning to unravel and, well, my grades were showing it. That's why I decided to leave and focus on what I needed to focus on. Now, that GPA stands. However, I would rather bring up that GPA than start all over again - ew.

So, that's that. And seriously, when I don't think of the actual tests, papers, projects, and time discipline required, I'm excited. I am committed to the calling on my life. I am committed to the Vineyard. This is an ideal time for me to do it: part time job at the church, no children, and a husband who is completely supportive. What better time is there for me.

At Last

Gillian Elise

Baby, Mom, Dad, and Big Brother are well. Congratulations Stevenses!

HEROES SPOILERS! DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE ALREADY WATCHED IT!

Is that enough forewarning? If you haven't watched the Heroes finale yet, but plan to, don't read on.

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Okay, so I started to reply to Ashlie's question of "what exactly didn't you like" about the Heroes finale as a comment, but it turned out to be too long, so it's now going to be a post of it's own. Please excuse my insane ramblings about a television program.

First off I thought the whole deal with Nathan flying Peter into space to explode was stupid. The point of Claire shooting him in the back of the head was that he wouldn't be able to regenerate, thus preventing him from going nuclear again as he obviously couldn't control that particular power. If Nathan picked him up and flew him high into the stratosphere and then he blew up, it would (theoretically) kill Nathan but Peter would survive, fall back to earth and be able to explode again. So what's the point? It makes no sense.

Also I felt like Sylar "died" too easily. They build this guy up all season as being the ultimate bad guy and then he basically lays down and dies with very little fight. I guess I maybe just wanted something a little bit more sensational. Something more like the fighting done in the "future" between Peter and Sylar.

The little allusion at the end that Sylar either crawled or was dragged down the manhole was pretty stupid too. Was everyone so preoccupied with Nathan and Peter's actions that they neglected to notice that their arch villain's body disappeared whilst they stood around hugging and giving each other knowing smiles?

I don't know, I just felt that the whole ending was somewhat contrived and an unfitting end to what was otherwise a season filled with buildup and mystery. Plus it was basically like any movie nowadays where it "ends" but leaves almost every storyline wide open for a sequel. Nathan can come back and just say he let go of Peter and flew off before he exploded. Sylar (or Sylar's evil blood, if you ask Melissa) can come back and try to take over the world again. Peter can regenerate and go out into the desert somewhere to try and gain control of his nuclear power.

That's mostly what I didn't like about the finale. Now you know.

Oh, and Parkman got shot 5 times in the chest & abdomen. He would most likely be dead. There are too many vital organs for every bullet to somehow avoid hitting something. Medically speaking. But hey, stupider things than that happen on Grey's Anatomy on a regular basis.

Entertainment Fails Me Again

Just got through watching the Heroes finale. It sucked. It was stupid. It basically made the entire season feel like a waste of time. Sort of the same deal as the Matrix - all of the endings that people theorized were so much better than the real thing. Either that or somewhere along the line somebody guessed what the "surprise" ending was going to be, so they had to change it to something so ridiculous that nobody would possibly guess that's how it would turn out.

The Depths

My mania for a dog has reached new lows. Yesterday afternoon I took my parents' dog Chester to Ridley Creek State Park.

I must admit, he made a much better walking companion than I had anticipated. I attribute this mostly to the fact that he's a fatty fat and he probably couldn't muster the energy to tug on the leash after the first two inclines we climbed. Whatever the case, though, he walked mostly right at my side the whole time and only occasionally stopped to smell the various scents that the forest has to offer.

I must also note that this dog has the character of a paper bag full of wet socks. One might expect a canine companion to interact with you when you stop for a water break, but Chester basically never even sat down and just kept poking around in the weeds. Even on the handful of moments when I tried to give him an encouraging pat on the head he seemed disinterested at best.

I guess the moral of the story is that beggars can't be choosers. He walked well the whole time and didn't drop dead in the middle of nowhere, so I guess that makes it a good day. But I still want my own dog.

No Shrek The Third

I was tasked with getting American Idol results while I was at work and Melissa was at kinship last night. This, unfortunately, ruined a perfectly good episode of Ghost Hunters for me as I was unable to bear actually watching the Idol results show and instead had to keep flipping back and forth to see if they were going to eliminate somebody or what. They finally revealed the ousted contestant with 3 minutes left in the program. An entire hour of filler and then the big culmination of the show, the ousted pseudo-singer performing the last song that America deemed not good enough, had to be played with credits rolling over the bottom of the screen as they'd run out of time. Good planning, FOX.

Oh, yes, the weakest link in the competition of three ended up being Melinda Doolittle, whom I earlier this month pointed out to bear a striking resemblance to a certain big, green cartoon movie star. This morning I was checking out FOXnews.com, that bastion of almost news, and I read this confounding statement regarding same Shrek-esque performer:

Her career is arguably the one most eagerly anticipated of all of this season's contestants' and the endless hours spent on clothes, makeup and hair throughout the season have clearly had a major impact on the girl. In other words: Along the way she somehow got hot.
























Wow. Allow me to quote the venerable cave man from the Geico adds, "Uh, I have a response...... What?!"

I mean, saying, "Her image is improved," might be on the outermost boundaries of acceptable. But hot? Seriously? If that's the case, I need to do some serious reevaluation of my rating criteria.

what the heck???

Driving into work. Listening to the radio. Feeling a little urbanesque. 102.1 has a commercial. 96.5 has a commercial. 104.5 has.... R.E.M.??? What? "The One I Love" is not part of the rotation of Rumba 104.5 Orgullo Latino. Sigh. It appears that the curse of 104.5 continues to haunt me. Another station I loved at 104.5 that gets the boot. Now, it's Radio 104.5 - that's lame. And Rumba has moved to 1480AM - super, super lame. They couln't even keep it on the FM dial.

Eureka!

I finally found a house that we could afford! Sweet.

You Don't Say....

On Tuesday morning we were milling around the kitchen, getting breakfast and whatnot, when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I let it kick over to voicemail. Upon listening to same voicemail, it turns out the message was from a fellow at the National Bone Marrow Donor registry. I think it was back in 2001, they had a donor drive at the fire house in Collingdale and I registered then. Now here it is some 6 years later and out of the blue I get a call saying that I may be a match for a 37 year old man with leukemia. Hmm. Imagine that. I only vaguely remember actually registering, and I don't suppose I thought about all of the little details back when I did. Yet here I am, and regardless of previous thought (or lack thereof) I'd put into it, how could I not follow this possibility through? And so next Monday I'll have some blood work done that will help to determine whether or not I'm most suited to be a donor for this gentleman. Details to follow, I'm sure.

Ethnicity

For dinner on Tuesday evening, Melissa took a stab at making some Puerto Rican rice and beans to go with our tilapia filets. I simply had to take a picture of this monumental event.

O'er Amber Waves of Trash

They've blocked my usual riding path at the Tinicum Wildlife Refuge with construction of another crappy boardwalk for walkers. So I tried taking an alternate route, which usually involves having to walk across a little marshy section and getting my feet all wet and stinky. As I approached the end of the trail, however, I saw a clearing and what I thought was a place to cross the water! Wonder of wonders, had they done something intelligent and cleared a bridge? As the horizon fully came into view, however, I realized that it was not in fact a bridge. It was, instead, a rainwater swelled log jam of various reeds, branches and general garbage. Oh the splendor. I tried to snap a picture, but I'm not sure it does the spectacle justice. Here it is, nonetheless: