24

Yesterday was my golden birthday. When I was little I looked forward to the day when I would be 24 on the 24th of September. I wondered what my life would look like, if I would even be alive, and what crazy thing I could do to commemorate the day. I remember thinking that going up in a hot air balloon might be an appropriate activity. Hahha... well.... on my actual golden birthday I didn't do anything very out of the ordinary except for lock my keys out of my car. But, I did receive a lot of love from family and friends and I had a wonderful day. I have decided that 24 hours is much too short to celebrate something as cool as turning 24, so I'm going to spread this celebration out over the whole year. 24 is going to be a good one. Please leave your suggestions on appropriate celebrations.

Also, to celebrate turning 24 I have posted some of the lyrics from Switchfoot's song 24. I've always loved this song, and while I think posting song lyrics can be really anti-climactic compared to hearing the actual song, I posted most of them. Check out the actual link to the song below too.

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day

Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

But I want to be one today
Centered and true
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

And You're raising the dead in me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLagfciU_PU&feature=related

The Spirit Catches You

I just devoured a book by Anne Fadiman called "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down". It details the history of the Hmong people in the US (and their role fighting for the US in Laos), traces a compelling medical case, and the difficulties in intercultural communication between a Hmong family and their American doctors. I couldn't put it down. Wausau has a large Hmong population and those that I have met are really fabulous people. I'm glad I read this book because it gives me a more basic understanding of Hmong culture and history.

Choir is for Lovers

Last night Erik and I had our first night with the Wausau Lyric Choir. Its been two years (!) since I have sung in a choir. Its been two years too long.

We are going to perform The Messiah at The Grand Theatre Saturday, December 13th at 7:30.

The entire world in the middle of nowhere

I used to be afraid of North Central Wisconsin. Hunting, beer... football... We had been planning on Chicago. Music...art...culture... My imagination hadn't included a smaller city as an option. But its definitely growing on me. Of course, with a year under my belt and a growing community of friends I'm feeling more optimistic.

One thing I'm loving about Wisconsin is the people I meet at my day job (I teach music lessons- by night). As a program assistant with the International Student Office I spend my days supporting students from all over the globe. This week orientation began at UW-Stevens Point. The international students converged from 16 countries. I got to each lunch today with German, Vietnamese, Japanese and Canadian students (and that was just a my table). My favorite part was when a German student was complaining about how much English sounded like a hammer. He said German is more poetic.

Old friends from this year are coming back with tales of the their summers. Some of these stories are exciting (travels with family, being at the Olympic opening ceremonies and getting home at 3 a.m., job offers with theater companies in the U.S.), and others will be fearful (stories of sudden war in Georgia, earthquake recovery). When I moved back from China I never thought that I would remain in this cosmopolitan of a setting, but here I am. Suddenly, the entire world is in the middle of nowhere.

Book Club Mania

It all began when I learned about Melissa and Andrew's book club in Ottawa. They got together with friends at a local coffee shop and discussed a portion of Augustine's Confessions. I realized that I was missing out. Thankfully, Erik and Mac agreed to form a Wausau Chapter (I know..I know its small) We've chosen the Russian classic Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Perhaps it should be placed on your "Must read before death" lists. The reading experience has been greatly enhanced by having freakishly intelligent people in the book club with me and some friendly accountability to read the next chapter.

People! Book clubs are so great! I propose you start one now. Here are the simple steps to beginning a fabulous book club.

1-Start talking to your friends about it. See if you have any dream reads in common. ex. "I've always wanted to read War and Peace, but I can't!" Make sure to recruit at least 2 English/Philosophy/Anthropology types so you can listen to their analysis.
2-Choose a book. Preferably a good one. Research the most excellent translation.
3-Choose a time, preferably on a Friday right after work, to meet and purchase the books together. This builds group unity. Then go out for pizza after you buy your books and think about how cool your book club will be.
4-Meet once a week and discuss the characters, plot, epic themes and hilarious moments.

Book Club Wausau is currently researching our second book choice. Any suggestions?