Random

I can't believe how fast this semester is zooming by! It's practically March already--agh! It seems like it should still be February 2nd. This was such a great weekend: I got some packages in the mail (woo!), shredded some slopes, and watched the Oscars for the first time ever.

Dan's sister and niece sent me the cutest package the other day. Inside was this adorable pink elephant:

I decided to name him Humphrey. I also got a care package from Stac. Woo! Gotta love me some chex mix =). Thanks, Stac!

Today my neck hurt so bad. I think I got whiplash or something from boarding yesterday--it was snowing, so the fresh powder was SO good for boarding! I can actually go down the hill without falling now. I'm so happy. And, well, I'm beginning to realize how amazing snowboarding is and how much I love it.

Ben and Hannah in front of me on the ski lift

Ready to hit the slopes!

Unlike last time when I wore a T-shirt, this time it was sooo cold at Badger Pass (the ski hill). But with all the new snow, when I wiped out (which only happened like...5 times. A new record! Usually it's over 20, haha) it was like falling on pillows. Except it was really easy to get stuck on the ungroomed parts of trails.

Tonight we had an Oscars party here at High Sierra. We watched the Oscars in the meeting hall, had movie and song trivia, and some people dressed up as nominated actors and actresses. It was fun--and my first time ever watching the Oscars--but I realized something tonight: I really don't care all that much about who gets what Oscar. I mean, really? How does it apply to my life at all? And I'm not just being bitter because I bombed the movie trivia and song trivia because I haven't seen pivotal movies (like Forest Gump and Austin Powers), but really, why should I be so concerned about something that doesn't involve me in the least? I guess the same could be said about me and professional sports....maybe that's why I've never been big into watching football.

On a completely different note, I got my lip pierced today (!!!). Check it out:

Haha, yeah I don't just look tired--I am tired.

Aaaaaand...that's a nasal shot alright.

It hurt a LOT, but I think it looks pretty cool...

Well, time to read Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals or go to bed...bed's sounding a bit better right about now, haha.

P.S. Don't worry mom, the lip ring is totally fake =). I don't think I'd ever get that pierced...ever .

Light Painting

Have you ever painted with light before?

Now I can say I have.

Tonight some of my friends and I did "light paintings" I've never done these before, but there's a certain way you can adjust your camera to a long exposure setting so that it "records" a picture of a light (such as a glowstick) moving in the dark for a certain amount of time, thus allowing you to "paint" pictures with light. 

A heart "painting" I did

Kel's Dinosaur

Carina spelled her name

And mine =)

Boathouse

One of the things which is characteristic about High Sierra is sleeping outdoors. I love my bed, but I think a big part of the High Sierra experience is sleeping in odd places. Truth be told, I'm really not a fan of sleeping outside. Of course it's not as comfortable as inside in my soft bed, in a heated house...but it is an adventure. I've only slept outside a few times, and I don't regret them in the least. I really do need to work on being more adventerous like that...

ANYWHO! I guess where I'm going with this whole spiel is that last night I slept outside (while, relatively outside) with some friends. We slept in the boathouse, which, although it was still unheated and had large window without screens, was quite nice. Burrowed in my sleeping bag, I managed to stay warm (!).

Kenny, Me, and Katie Shore laying out our sleeping bags

The Boathouse

On a completely different note, I finished Hume in philosophy class today. Now on to Kant...

Main Campus

This past weekend, we High Sierra students migrated to warmer weather down south on main campus. Our main reason for visiting was so we could attend some philosophy lectures by Plantiga, a famous philosophy lecturer who reconciles naturalism and creationism in his arguments. His arguments were really good, but I had a lot of trouble staying awake. I mean, I *did* stay awake...but it was a constant challenge.

It was so nice to be able to see people on main campus again, though. Although I definitely do not miss living on main campus! I hated having to lock doors, not being able to walk or run anywhere by myself because of all the recent sexual assaults that had been taking place on main campus, and having to actually find people to go eat meals with. Oh well. It was still a really great weekend =).

Last night, one of our friends up here had some friends visit, and because guys can't have girls stay in their rooms, she stayed in our room. So initially she was in my bed, I was in Alex's bed, and Alex was on the floor. Then Alex and I ended up in Alex's bed. Funny how things like that work out...lol

I feel like it's time I do something really adventurous. These blog posts have been lacking spice lately! haha

Top Ten

Top Ten Things I will miss at high sierra (even though they're actually in no particular order):

1.       The 24/7 cereal bar

2.       Those showers with the button I have to push every 8 seconds. NOT.

3.       My roommates

4.       Living in a community where showering every day is actually frowned upon

5.       Reading all over God’s creation

6.       Being in a rather isolated community that allows one to just slow down and enjoy life

7.       Mountain boarding

8.       Slacklining

9.       Eating meals with my professors

10.   Never having to lock my door

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I've never been very gung-ho about celebrating Valentine's day. Usually I get a card from my mom (which I love, thanks mom =) ) and that's enough for me. But this year....

So I walked into the dining hall for lunch, and there were already a ton of people in there. And on the table where the ups/FedEx truck drivers place all our packages and whatnot is this HUGE bouquet of flowers. And I didn't really think it'd be for me, but walking by I glanced at the card and I thought I saw, "eziva" written on it, so I did a double-take. Sure enough, they were for me! By now the WHOLE dining hall was like, "Abbi, who are they from?!" I think I turned about five shades of red as I was opening the card, lol. And wow, I have such a great boyfriend. Thanks, Dan =).

My beautiful bouquet =)

And now, according to Jules, one of the girls here, all the girls here wish they had my boyfriend...

Snowboarding

This weekend has been busy--busy, but enjoyable! Saturday I went snowboarding almost all day at Yosemite's Badger Pass. It's kind of a small ski hill (or mountain, I should say...), but it's really nice, especially for beginner's like me. This time, my fourth(?) time snowboarding, I *FINALLY* got it. Like, I can finally shred. Aka, go down a hill without wiping out. The many falls it took me to get to that stage yesterday definitely took its toll--today it feels like my whole body hurts, and my knees are sooo bruised.

Hannah and I on the ski lift (check out my helmet, mom!)

Look at that control. woah. Actually, my form's really bad in that picture, isn't it? agh...I still have some work to do, haha

I think near the end of the day my form did get a little better (better than this, i hope! =S)

That was pretty much all of Saturday.
Today I went to church, then practiced slacklining, then tanned and read on Star Rock, then biked to the lake and read there, then came back and picked up trash for an hour for MAS credits (the community service that Azusa requires), then more studying. Looking back, I didn't get as much accomplished today as I had hoped, but it was a fun day. I'll finish my homework tomorrow...

On that beautiful note, goodnight. Much love,
Abbi