Bus Drivers

Ok, one more hotel story. These guys with a bus tour are staying in the hotel for a few days. One's about 35, the other's about 45. They seem very friendly...a little too friendly. One guy was DEFINITELY "hitting" on me. Yesterday morning, he said something like: "Today you look like sunshine." I had worked the night before, too. He quickly added, "...and last night, you looked like the moonlight." Woah. Let me tell you, it's kindof scary. I'm often glad that I have a counter and a door between me and the customers.

summer '07

So, at this point, I'm thinking I'm going to try to travel for Maranatha this summer, or work at a camp. My first hurdle: summer ensemble tryouts. I guess, if I make an ensemble, I'll just stick with that. But, considering I've tried out 4 times already and haven't made a team, I don't have much hope for making an ensemble (at least, I'm not planning on making one). So, I have a "plan B," which is really more of a "plan A," but the summer ensemble tryouts happen first. I really want to work at a camp this summer. Does anyone have any suggestions for camps? Some that I know of now: Amazing Grace Baptist Camp, Bill Rice Ranch, Northland, the Wilds, Chetek, Ironwood, CoBeAc. Any other suggestions?

Oh, I almost forgot

I have a new favorite quote. It goes something like this:

"Every day I get to spend with you is one more than I deserve."

Just something to think about...let it sink in. What do we really deserve? I can say one thing...we don't deserve everything we get. We should love and appreciate every good thing that comes our way because we don't deserve it.

More on comic strips

Ok, so this whole thing with Garfield. Yes, it seems kindof wrong for Jon Arbuckle, the Nerd of Nerds, to have a girlfriend. But, if you follow the comic strip, they actually go really well together. She's definitely a bit of a nerd, herself. It's funny to watch things progress...wow...listen to me, it's almost like they're real people and I'm watching their "love blossom." But really, as much of a nerd as he is, Jon Arbuckle is a nice man with some idiosyncracies (don't we ALL have them?!). Here's another comic strip that I enjoy:



As for Get Fuzzy, I think it's just a modernised version of Garfield. A bit more...weird and crazy, but definitely a knock-off of Garfield: a nerdy single guy with a crazy cat and dog. It's funny, too!

I'm glad we have comic strips...they always help me feel better! I love a good laugh every once in a while!

My favorite comic strip

Pearls Before Swine....so funny, and ironic sometimes. Here's a recent one that is a similar one to the last strip that I posted. These crocodiles are so funny...kindof sad how it depicts a blood-thirsty carnivore as the religious one...It's interesting how Mr. Pastis twists common prayers and Bible verses to fit the lifestyles of the crocodiles.



Oh, and has anyone been watching Garfield? Jon now has a girlfriend! Whoever would have guessed!?!

Ok, I'm tired of the hotel stories. I'm not sure if anyone else is enjoying them, but I don't think I'm going to do that any more. Just so you're not disappointed, that was the warning.

What can I say?!? God is so good! I don't know what He's doing in my life, exactly, but I can definitely see Him working and showing Himself powerful! But that is one thing that I would like to ask you all to pray about: What God wants for me. I have peace about the direction I'm going, so far. What direction it is, exaclty, I'm not sure, but God is definitely leading me somewhere! Pray for wisdom in the decisions I make. I definitely need that. Especially for this summer. I'm not sure where God wants me. Right now, I'm thinking probably either a camp or traveling with a Maranatha group. I still have a few months before I would know anything for sure, I guess. Tryouts for Maranatha groups start in a couple of week, and that will probably go on for about a month. I made it to the last round of tryouts last time I tried out, so that's encouraging!

So, we're finally getting into the good stuff in choral arranging. We've finished writing the 4-part harmony, which was a lot of fun. Dr. Ledge says I have a "knack" for it! That's encouraging! It's the piano parts that I'm scared about. I never liked trying to do piano parts for my arrangements. We just started that, and the first one was due today. It seemed to go alright. Hopefully I'll be able to improve as time goes on!

Thought for the day: "I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven..." Nehemiah 1:4. Pastor Loggans preached on this today in chapel. Something he brought out: when was the last time you really cried for someone just for them, for completely unselfish reasons, just because you see their pain and you feel it as they do? Wow. He didn't say it exactly like that, but that's how I saw it. Completely unselfish...what a rebuke. I mean, I cry sometimes. Not very often, but usually there is at least a speck of selfishness in there somewhere. But to be in pain completely because someone else is in pain....what a thought.

Nickels

Ok, I've learned to dispise nickels since I've been here at the hotel. Why in the world would anyone want two whole dollars worth of nickels in a roll of nickels? I don't like counting all of them. We never use them, so they stay in there forever. I don't like opening a new roll because it's so much to count, but there's hardly any money there. I guess it's not as big of a deal as it may seem, but it's annoying. For instance, the manager got $10 worth of nickels in April, and we just finished using up the last roll (of course, they got another $8 worth since then). As for the other coins, we normally have to get 3-5 rolls of each kind each week. Oh well!

The infamous room 102

So there's this guy (we'll call him "Bob") who's staying in room 102. He's been here for about 2 weeks. He's about the most annoying customer I've ever had. Bob is very dependent, and he loves to talk, especially when I have other things to be doing. He will come to the front desk and just talk to me about....well, sometimes nothing, sometimes too much. Too much, for instance, when he told me that he had been on the toilet the day before (TMI). He has probably spent a couple hours up here talking to me each shift since he started staying here.

So, that's not the story I was going to tell. That was just background. Last weekend, there was a blind man (we'll call him "Fred") who was staying in the hotel. Very nice gentleman, but he needed some help with things. Well, "Fred" was up here talking to me about some things when "Bob" walked by and saw me talking to "Fred." Well, being the dependent talker that he is, he got this look on his face that seemed to say something like, "How dare you talk to the front desk associate! That's my job! I'm so jealous!" It was really pretty funny!

While "Fred" may be gone, "Bob" is still here. He says he is looking for an appartment or some place to stay. If anyone knows of a place here in Madison, please let me know....all of us here at Microtel would appreciate it very much!

bubba

Who would have ever guessed that I would see a professional stuntsman here at the hotel?! Ok, no, he didn't do any stunts for us, but he stayed here. After I had checked him out of the hotel, I looked out the window and saw his name, "Bubba Blackwell," plastered on the side of a big trailer being pulled by a pickup truck. "That must be your trailer," I said to him. "It sure is!" he smiled back. I was curious what this red, white, and blue trailer was all about. So, I checked out his name on the internet and found his website...yes, it's the same guy! You should check it out sometime: www.bubbablackwell.com. Yes, my lovely hotel, Microtel Inn & Suites, has been graced with the presence of Bubba, whoever he may be.

Whoever would have thought to name a cute little baby "Bubba"...

hippy dude

Ok, back to the hotel stories! There was this guy who was probably in his mid-20's that was staying in the hotel for like a week, and he had waist-long, curly hair, wore outfits that completely looked like they were from a thrift store (like the people on What Not to Wear, when they wear all kinds of things that look completely ridiculous), and was just kindof scary. Anyways, I have to be friendly to the customers. This guy came up and started talking to me. He was asking me what nearby restaurants I suggest. I gave him a couple of suggestions. Then he proceded to go on with this conversation: Him: "You probably have a lot of guys hitting on you here at this job."

Me: "No, not really. We mostly have businessmen during the week, and guys who come on the weekend normally are with their girlfriends or wives."

Him: "Really?!? I would have thought that more guys would hit on you. Well, I need to go take a nap."

A couple of hours later, he had a confession: "I guess I was asking if guys ever hit on you because I was kindof hitting on you." Scary. How can people do stuff like that? What are they thinking? Why would you want to flirt with someone you don't even know? Yes, this world is messed up.

So, today, I have my second voice lesson. Crazy, really, because I really don't want to spend the time or the gas to drive all the way back home after my lesson tonight, so I get to stay in the dorm. I'm kindof scared. It's been about 2 1/2 years since I lived in the dorms. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to handle it. Oh well! We'll see. Maybe noone will be sick, and I'll be able to stay in the health center with Nikki...hmmm....

Oh, and one more thing: I love Pearls Before Swine. Here's one of my favorites:

coffee

I'm just going to stray from my hotel stories for one post because I got this comic today. Pearls before Swine...very funny, most of the time! I saw this one, and I was thinking about decaf coffee. Really, what's the point of decaf? Coffee is disgusting. If you don't drink it for the caffeine, what's the point? Yuck!!! As for the comic, that's about the ratio of coffee and creamer that I would use if I were to drink coffee, and the only reason I would drink it would be to stay awake when I'm here at the hotel. I've only done it a couple of times when I was pretty much not able to stay awake. Normally, I drink hot tea, though. Actually, James, Jason and I had a little discussion about tea: James and I like it, and Jason does not. Oh well! He's missing out on a good thing! At least he agrees with the coffee thing: he hates it! He loves Mountain Dew, though, which is understandable considering his crazy schedule: Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays he works security from 1 am to 6 am. Poor guy, I kindof feel sorry for him, but he requested those times, so I don't feel THAT bad!

working at the hotel

I must admit that I run into some very interesting people and circumstances here in the hotel. I think maybe I should start publishing some of these stories, just for fun and laughs. I'll have to dig back into my memory to see how many I remember, but...I'll try it, and you all can leave some feedback and let me know how it is.

So, I didn't have anything to do with this, but one of our night audit people (they work from 11 pm-7 am) let a homeless guy sleep in the lobby. Don't get me wrong, I know the homeless guy needs a place to sleep. But seriously...we can't let just anyone sleep in our lobby. Seriously...they have shelters for homeless people, and that's where this guy belongs. Some people would be very offended to see a homeless guy sleeping on the couch in the lobby. That may convince some people to never come back.

Next story coming in a few days.

Church

Ok, all I have to say is that it's going to be a fun year at Stoughton Baptist Church! Just the fact that Jason and I are dating is going to be fun. But, there are going to be some additions to the group that will make it completely crazy...which isn't necessarily a bad thing....really! On top of the crazy, sarcastic group that we had last year (other than a couple who are no longer with us because they no longer go to Maranatha), we're adding AT LEAST James, who is going to fit in very well, other than the fact that he appologizes too much. We'll work on that! As for other additions, well, I don't know of anyone for sure, though we've had several other people visit. God is good, and He'll give us just the right people that He needs for us to serve Him the best that we can.

My new blog

Ok, I know I've been doing Xanga for a while, but I wanted to start something that the Maranatha students could view, since most of my friends are at Maranatha. So, I hope I get a few more people who check up on this one!

Lemme think...I can't say that much new is happening. I'll post again soon.