to give a hoot.

Has it been over a year since the last blog update? Yes. Am I mildly ashamed that I've been so inconsistent with this blog? Maybe a little. Was the purpose of this blog prolific writing? Not entirely. Do owls tweet? No. [if they did, we'd have a twitter instead!] However, normally when we have something to say, it takes more than 140 twitter characters. [which would have stopped this post at 'little.']

This post is me 'giving a hoot' to you about what's been going on this past year. [yay flashback posts!] In a nutshell, I finished off another contracting/planting/overseeing/harvesting season with HBI which consumed my entire spring, summer, and most of fall. I spent the winter back in Springfield, spending time between working on my book, hanging with friends, and dabbling with my art. Originally the plan was to head back to HBI, but those plans changed. Now I'm [casually] job hunting in Springfield while trying to figure out what I want to do with my life [because, let's be honest, who really has that all figured out??].

It has definitely been an eventful winter, though, so here are a few highlights! 

~ Christmas in Las Vegas, and New Years Eve on the strip. ~
Yes, the Vegas, and the strip. We've got family out that way that volunteered to host the rest of us for about two weeks of awesomeness. [The fact that her family manages to spend that much time together all under one roof and still enjoy every day says something in itself! BLESSED!] Here's the breakdown of some of the sites we hit: 

"First Snow"
One night we went to a shopping district that had a 'first snow' event, where fake snow covered the spectators around a giant Christmas tree! Oddly enough, despite being a 'desert' *cough*, we had snow several of the days we were in the Vegas area.

Fake snow!

The lovely ladies. And tree. 

Zion National Park
During the drive out there it snowed, but it was gorgeous. Our car got stuck at one point, but some nice young fellas who were snowboarding in the area helped to un-stick us, haha.

The Grand Canyon
Unfortunately, the same snow that made Zion so beautiful closed some of the roads in the Grand Canyon park, so we were only able to see part of it.  (again, desert? snow? eh?) Still, it was breathtaking!

Wupatki National Park
Since we weren't able to spend the whole day at the Grand Canyon, we ended up exploring the Native American ruins at Wupatki National Park. Supposedly they were deserted around 700 years ago. We were just having a fun time exploring. ^_^ There was also a dormant volcano in the adjacent park that we checked out, which explained why the ground in that area was covered with tiny black rocks. 

Hoover Dam
Clearly we weren't going to miss this. We did the dam tour [SO many dam jokes], which was pretty awesome. I especially enjoyed seeing the angels near the bridge and rubbing the toes. Percy Jackson reference, anyone? =D Thankfully, no dragon-tooth warriors came after us. 

From inside the tunnel

tourists.

the lake

da angelz [the brother didn't want to be in the shot.]

The Strip
We spent a couple days exploring the strip. I didn't gamble at all, but I was blown away at the architecture and glamor of the buildings, casinos, and shops! I was not a fan of the smell of the casinos [indoor smoking for the lose], but the MGM Grand did the best at masking the smell with a nice air spray of some sort. We explored the Venetian, the MGM Grand, New York New York, Paris, Caesar's Palace, Treasure Island (yes, we watched the show!), Excalibur, The Luxor, The Mirage, Mandala Bay, and everything in-between. My favorites were definitely Caesar's Palace and the Venetian. SO DETAILED. Gorgeous. On the night of New Years, we stood in the middle of the strip and watched the fireworks show with tons of other people. Much excitement was had by all. 

Inside the Venetian

Paris

Caesar's Palace

The Bellagio water show

Treasure Island Pirate Show

(spoiler: the ship sinks.)

The Pharaohs of Old

(inside the Luxor)

New Year's Fireworks on the strip

However, perhaps the most exciting part of the entire trip was when, on Christmas morning, we had our family gift exchange, and my ever-so-awesome-and-sneaky cousin surprised me with a new member for the nest: Zuhu! I say 'sneaky' because we actually found Zuhu together during a shopping endeavor, and although I fell in love with him at first sight, I ended up passing on buying him right away. Since we were still going to be walking the mall for a while, I opted to come back and get him before we left. But, Alas! As we were pulling away, I realized I'd forgotten poor Zuhu behind! Imagine my elation, then, when come Christmas morning, my secret santa cousin--who was with me when Zuhu was discovered--presented him to me! Joy! Adorableness! Love! Clearly it was meant to be. [...but... clearly I'm still cuter. ...]

[...nest invader...]

We did other things out west as well, like tour a rare earth minerals mine my uncle manages, as well as spend several 'chill days' at the house enjoying good food, the outdoor hot tub, and games. It was definitely an awesome vacation. I must admit that Vegas was not what I expected. I won't deny that Vegas can hold its title as 'Sin City,' but there was definitely plenty to do for those not interested in gambling or scandalous shows, especially when taking the surrounding area into account, and although you could easily blow a ton of money there on shopping alone, there are lots of free things to do at the different casinos. I'd definitely be willing to go back!

~ The annual Branson getaway. ~
This was definitely a fun weekend, but apparently I failed at taking any pictures of it. For Martin Luther King Jr. weekend every year, we take a family vacation in good ol' Branson. This year was especially fun because we had a larger 'cabin' than in past years, meaning more friends were able to tag along for quality girl time. Highlights included a winery tour [don't judge] and some long, laugh-filled hours of Fruits Basket with the friend whose hubby allowed me to steal her for the weekend [new anime convert!]. We will never forget how we *tried* to use the jets in our private hot tub. Alas, it wasn't meant to be... and the picture frame on the wall was a bit wet for wear afterwards... as was someone's face... and hair... and just in time to meet a new friend. Such fun memories. hehe.



~ Art Adventures ~
February was a bit of a blur spending long hours at night prepping for the art show I participated in in early March. Unfortunately, the show was a bit of a bomb (great comments, yet people weren't buying), but on a positive note, I got a commission out of it, so that's a plus! Somehow, February & March also managed to majorly derail my original intentions for this winter to be focused on my book, and instead turned them to my art. As a result, I now have an Etsy shop! Feel free to check it out: etsy.com/shop/fantasybumpkin

Speaking of art, I've been debating starting a blog devoted to it... by which, I mean, one that highlights the adventures [struggles] of a starving artist. In fact, it was this idea that brought me back to Owls Don't Tweet! So I've been debating whether to create a new themed blog, which would focus on showing how new pieces develop (Works in Progress / WIP), or simply be a way to highlight new pieces / opportunities / projects I'm undertaking. The question I pose to you, dear reader, is whether you think ODT should remain a purely reflective / random blog as it currently is, and let the art blog idea be its own entity, or if I should combine the two as part of the ongoing project that is my life [haha]. Thoughts on this? 

That more or less brings us up to the present. Sure, other fun things have been happening in the past months (good times with friends, late night nerdiness with the housemate, etc.), but I'd never get offline if I reported them all. I've really been enjoying the Spring weather that finally decided to show up, and have been spending a decent amount of time outdoors in the past couple weeks, wether that be reading, going on walks, or shooting my bow. I'm thinking it might be about time to invest in a window box for herbs or something. I should probably lock down a source of income though, first. [Feel free to pray with us on that.]

On that note, I'm going to sign off for the night. I'll try to give a hoot more often, and, if you'd like to hoot back, feel free to lmk your thoughts on the art blog idea. As always, thanks for reading!


~Snowl

The Escapade: NJ & Family Time

Hello-hello from New Jersey!

*[disclaimer: this is likely going to be out of chronolocial sequence, mainly because Snowl forgot to keep things updated as they happened. You're getting the compressed block picture of the week.]

The adventure continues here in the garden state, where the drivers like to honk and the houses are so close together there's always a slight air of claustrophobia picking at the back of my brain. I've been enjoying my time with the family here in NJ, and am continually amazed at how American culture can vary even within the same family. The arrival weekend was full of board games and snacks such as Carcassonne and chestnuts [yes, the kind your roast over an open fire], which was a first for this Snowl. We also played Quelf [during which cousin Wheesey had to ask her foot for permission to speak. ha.], Blurt, and Once Upon a Time--a fairy-tale story telling card game [that the Aunt kept trying to turn into The Tempest].

Carcassonne! Uncle dominated, but Wheesey and I gave him a run for his money. If only we could have finished that epic road... *sigh*

These chestnuts were roasted in the oven. Sooo good!

I've been enjoying experiencing the taste [literally] of the Korean influence from my Uncle's side of the family, which includes Korean meals and a Korean soap opera, which Uncle enjoys every weeknight. The numerous Korean plaques/writing/photos around the house have been inspiring me to focus more on my Japanese calligraphy [which still has a lonnng ways to go], but a definite kick-start was found when the Aunt took me to the local book shop.

The youngest of the cousins got done with school while we were perusing here, so we went and picked her up, then came right back. *Somehow* several books managed to jump into my hands, and ended up leaving the store with me. [Shocking, I know.]

Note the farthest wall--that's actually a 'secret passage' to the bathroom!

After leaving heaven on earth, the Aunt, cousin and I hit up the award-winning cupcake shop around the corner. Apparently they won a cupcake war on tv [which might have been more meaningful to Snowl if she watched tv], but it was still a tasty cupcake. I tried the red velvet, and the Aunt got a chocolate one. Cousin decided to play the adopted Cinderella, and instead of getting a cupcake herself, she opted to chew off the flavor from our cupcake paper... one of her many special quirks... [tastes like gum? ...]

Cupcakes ftw! Literally! Nom nom nom.

The cuz et moi in front of the nom-noms.

On Thursday last the Aunt and I tracked down several bridal/dress shops in hopes of finding a cute bridesmaid dress for a dear friend's upcoming nuptials. Sadly, we didn't find anything that screamed, 'buy meeee!' We did, however, find a tasty Indian restaurant for lunch! So the day wasn't a loss after all. [The buffet may have caused Snowl to go up a dress size, though...]

This was the Aunt's first time having Indian food (*shock!!*), and she said she'd definitely do it again. The place kind of reminded me of Gem of India in Springfield, only this place had a fancy inside, and no delicious chai tea included in the price.

This is kind of random, but one of the things I've really been enjoying about this area of the country is how so many of the buildings have identity conflict issues. This library we passed thought it was a castle:

[The moat's being installed next week.]

There's definitely been a recurring food theme this visit. On Monday after my arrival the Aunt and I went grocery shopping for the week [to three different grocery stores]. I didn't realize I'd be cooking so much on this trip! The Aunt said her family tended to get in food ruts, having the same few meals on rotation, so she was open to trying anything new I wanted to cook. That night we ended up having a simple lemon/sage/pepper chicken with a fresh greens/feta/cranberry/vinaigrette dressing and dipping bread with a Door County cinnamon pear balsamic vinegar/olive oil combo, followed up with the Aunt's homemade coconut cream pie:

Aunty is excited to dig in. *drools*

We've also had fried rice, peking duck [slightly traumatic experience for me seeing that strung up dripping in the garage before church Sunday], homemade banana cream pie, key-lime pie, an assortment of fun cheeses and different kinds of crackers, a Snowl tortellini concoction w/homemade sauce and artichokes, feta/tomato/balsamic asparagus salad, some sort of beef/white radish soup... the list goes on. Needless to say, we've been making good use of the kitchen. [And taste buds.]

Other random happenings--we celebrated the middle cousin's birthday at a nice restaurant together as a family, which was tasty [again, food], and all spent some QT watching Gillian's Island episodes together. I introduced the oldest cousin and Aunt to How to Train Your Dragon, which they of course loved [who doesn't?], and one evening was spent painting and music chatting with the youngest cuz. We've also taken a lengthy walk around post a couple times as a family, getting in some exercise to burn off some of that food. There were even some geese that needed chasing! [A few of you might get that remark.]

In summary, so far it's been a wonderful trip. Next up, NYC!

The Escapade: Springfield & I-70+

[Orville's note: She's dragging me around the country again. I'm starting to think she enjoys this or something.]

To Springfield!

Hello hello! I realize there has (once again) been a long silence on the blog, but I finally have something fun to share! I've decided to stay on with Hartung for another year, meaning I've got a few more weeks of free time before the boss wants me back to start working in March. Soooo... logically, I decided to road trip it to New Jersey. I'm going to attempt to document the highlights here in the blog both for my own remembering purposes, and to share with all of you!

So. Why New Jersey? This June one of my NJ cousins is graduating high school, so the whole whole family is planning to visit for it... except for me, since June is right at start of the busy season for harvest. So I'm going to visit them now instead!

I suppose the escapade really started when I left Madison again at the end of January to return to Kansas. Momma's birthday was in the beginning of February, and it had been a few years since I'd been home to celebrate with her. After spending six days back in the home country--mainly just regenerating and seeing family--Orville and I hopped back on the road for Springfield, Mo., to visit my awesome people living there.

The first stop was with our good buddy in Middle-of-nowhere, Mo., who lives on top of the mini-mountain at the end of the terrifying narrow dirt driveway that stretches on and on and on and on...

Said buddy and I had our (belated) Christmas gift exchange, which resulted in me jumping up and down for several minutes in elated excitement. (haha. belated elated. yay.) In his words, "I thought Orville could use some travel companions other than you." His gift was a complete set of -adorable- Eeveelution plushies (yes, I'm a nerd). As you can see, Orville is very excited about his new friends:

[so excited.]

I've been letting the newbies ride on the dash three at a time for the trip. They seem to like it. [Meanwhile, she has me stuffed in a pillow in the back seat. So much for seniority.]

I was in Springfield Sunday through Wednesday, and got to hang out with some of my favorite peeps. The super bowl commercials were enjoyed with my weekend hostesses, after which we had a movie night. Monday allowed for quality fellow Epiphany-header time, and a fun evening visiting with The Professor. Tuesday started off with a make-your-own breakfast with a fellow anime lover, then a long stretch of the afternoon was spent route-planning and bonding with The Auntie while watching Courageous [many tissues required]. Tuesday evening was former suite-mate time! We located a fun tea place in Springfield and promptly raided them of all their bubbles (tapioca pearls):

Yay Door County! Except we're in Springfield... don't get confused.

After filling up on smoothie / milk tea goodness we went to Gem of India, leaving feeling very American (in the sense that we could no longer button our pants...). Delicious. Wednesday was considerably more laid back in the AM, but the afternoon was pretty full. I actually ended up going back to the same tea shop with another friend (also an anime lover) for a short while before meeting up with dear ol' K-Dog, aka The Great Black Dog for you fellow bloggers out there, and we had a fun / nostalgic evening of free pie (thank you, Village Inn), Bass Pro perusing [complete with random conversations with fish], and soup at the Aviary (which, ironically, is also were the fellow Epip-leader and I went on Monday). K-Dog humored me with a picture to document the day:

Note the longer hair! The gf thinks a ponytail will do him good. [The verdict's still out.]

After the whirlwind visit in Springfield, the Bride-to-be bestie and I met early (7 am) at Starbucks for a farewell coffee / breakfast before hitting the road on Thursday. I was proud of both of us for actually making it, lol. ^^; By her agreeing to get together, it forced me to get moving at a decent time for the 14 hour drive I had ahead of me.

I left Springfield at 8 a.m. Thursday and arrived at another EU friend's home at around 10 p.m. near Pittsburg, Penn. that night. The peanut gallery kept me amused with their dash-sitting cuteness during the drive (dashing cuteness?), but, rather tragically, a naughty stone managed to reach my windshield while I was in Illinois, and now I have a crack in the upper right-hand corner (not quite visible in this picture). Insurance arranged for a fixer to come out on Saturday once I reach NJ (to be continued...).

(The old tractor was for Daddy's benefit, since he collects them. ^_^)

I felt uber excited (and grateful!) to see / crash for the night at the fellow English majors' place from EU. Both are going through some interesting changes right now that I enjoyed hearing about. She (fellow English major and Walther gal!) explained how they are only in Penn. for a few more months, so I was glad I was able to see them when I did, because their next destination is L.A. (which is a bit out of the way for this trip). He is in a master's program for film / entertainment, and I'm thinking perhaps I went into the wrong work field, because hearing him talk about his experience at a video game creation company was pretty much epic. I parted ways with these two early Friday morning when they left for work, hitting the road by 8 again for central Penn. to meet up with another friend: dear Quetz!

I was very pumped about this get together, mainly because, despite having met online way back in 2006 and having lots of fun skype/facebook conversations, this would be our first in-person meeting. I reached her residence around 11 a.m. near the state university, and after meeting her family we walked to the campus and met up with her sister for ice cream at the campus creamery:

[The ice cream didn't last long enough to make the picture.]

Chocolate chip cooke dough ftw. After freezing our (very happy) tongues, we went out and froze the rest of ourselves as we walked from campus to the downtown, hitting up a Starbucks (love) and a comic book store (more love), both of which managed to somehow acquire some of the papery stuff in my wallet. [So sneaky.]

Since the family members I was heading for in NJ had an event that afternoon, I ended up hanging out with Quetz's family until evening, making the rest of the drive later than planned (silly computer clock was still on central time). I -finally- reached my final destination around 11:30 p.m., and waited for my cousins to come escort me onto the base. Uncle had already called it a day (quite understandably), but the Aunt and cousins and I all stayed up and visited a while.

This morning the glass-fixer-man came out, and we got that squared away for the time being. After a big family breakfast, I finally got a chance to sit down and blog this all out. I'll try to keep everyone updated on the escapade!

~to be continued~

This is Home : Part 1

I left the office today a little after 5:30 p.m. Golden sunlight lit up the autumn colors dotting Madison, flushing vibrance into leaves and contrasting the shadows cast by buildings, cars parked along the curb, and the people walking from the former to the latter. As I drove back to the Country Inn & Suites where I'd been staying on and off for the past month, the Switchfoot song "This is Home" came on over 102.5. I'd only heard the song 387 time before, but for whatever reason, the lyrics resonated with me today, and shucks-a-doozey it reminded me that I'm wayyy overdue for a blog update.

{Refresher for your Pleasure}

All through college, the one question all new people asked was, "So where are you from?" Ugh. I hated that question. You see, as I'm sure most of you are aware, I don't have a pretty answer for that. My first handful of years were spent as an army brat; when I was nine my mom packed up my sis and me and whisked us off to Kansas, leaving my dad in Wisconsin. From then on I spent the school year at mom's, and the summers and larger holidays at dad's. My work and summer beach memories were ingrained in WI; my formative school days and self-stretching was founded in KS; how could I exclusively claim one as 'home,' when they, in some sense to me, both were? ... But how do you explain all that to a politely curious stranger without going into an autobiographical monologue? Some days I was simply from "The moon."

Recap: For those of you unaware, I graduated from university this past May with my B.A. in English. Come mid June, I began working for a company called Hartung Brothers Inc., which I'd gotten my foot in the door with two years ago as a summer job. HBI contracts with canning companies such as Del Monte, Green Giant, Seneca Foods, etc. to grow raw vegetable and root crops such as peas, green beans, lima beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, peppers, beets, carrots, and seed corn. [I wish she'd demanded a quarter for every person who asked how an English major ended up with an agronomy job. We could have paid off her student loans by now.] Because my employment is seasonal, I expected to work with HBI through early August at best. The idea my brain cooked up was to work until they quit paying me (a.k.a. when harvest was over), figuring it would be a good opportunity to earn some money right away after graduation so I'd be okay when student loans kicked in come November, and in the meantime hunt for a job in my field of study. Welll... I started in peas in central Wisconsin, and ended in peas in Door County, WI. For peas I was the crew van driver (imagine being the only girl driving around a van of 12 men at noon and midnight every day... 2 crews of 12 men each, 6 migrants and 6 WI locals per crew) [Crikes has she got some stories...], and a pre-grade inspector (which meant I was getting up at the crack of dawn to pick and run samples from numerous fields, which determined what fields were ready to be harvested).

When peas wrapped up in early August (as anticipated), I was thrilled to learn my supervisors were pleased with my work ethic, and after a brief interview with my supervisors' boss, I was asked to stay on for snap beans as a pre-grade and load grade inspector (load grades determined the quality of the beans actually being harvested/shipped to the canning companies, and locked in what the grower would be paid). In addition to having more hours, I was given a company vehicle (a beautiful white 2010 chevy silverado pickup) [Which she affectionately named Kelvin], a company gas card (wheee! no more paying for gas!!), and a company cell phone (and this is all in addition to the fact that HBI was already covering my housing since I started with them). [Needless to say, she was feeling very spoiled. In a good way.] I worked with snap beans in Door County, WI, and on days that were slower for snap beans, I also helped my previous supervisors from peas with the lima bean pre-grading, which was going on at the same time.

Nearing the end of DC snap beans, word on the street was that the people working with seed corn in central WI and in the Arena, WI, area were planning on stealing me. Sure enough, once the beans had only a couple fields left to harvest, I was told to drive down to central WI again and work with the seed corn people--without really being told anything about what I'd be doing or how long I'd be gone for. I ended up filling out Bill of Lading reports in the field, and coordinated between the dump-cart drivers, semi truck drivers, and dispatch, making sure the correct trucks left in the correct order with the correct trailer numbers and amount of seed corn for the processing plant. It was by far the easiest thing I'd had to do so far for HBI, since I was basically sitting in an air conditioned vehicle in a corn field all day [being hit on by truck drivers], as opposed to trekking through pea or bean fields at 5 a.m. pulling samples.

When seed corn started slowing down the last week of September, I figured I was finally done (and would have to find a more permanent job). September 24th & 25th I had my first weekend off since I'd started working back in June. The friday before was my last day in seed corn, and on monday I was supposed to have a meeting with the head of HR and my peas/beans boss in the corporate office in Madison. At the meeting, the HR head surprised me by asking if I'd like to accompany him to university career fairs over the next month. The two of us would represent the company while searching out intern candidates for next summer. We ended up going to universities in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. In addition to that, my peas/beans boss had some office/computer projects he was hoping I could tackle for him, so between career fairs and said projects, I've been either on the road or working out of the corporate office in Madison this past month. I've been told by both the HR head and my boss that they would like me back next year starting in early spring, which is a good feeling, because I don't have to worry about floundering for a job if something else doesn't come up this winter. And I've highly enjoyed spending these past few weeks getting to know the people in the office, and was thrilled to have other women to talk to after X solid months of working with only males. It's funny how an 8 to 5 job feels so easy after working 8 to 18 hour days in the field. Done at 5? So early? Crazy!

And that brings us full circle.

So what makes today's drive from the office to the hotel significant? Why did the nearly-abused and overplayed Switchfoot song strike a chord today? Well... because tomorrow is my last day with HBI for the season. After tomorrow... I'm going home.

I've been living out of a suit case [lies! duffle bag.] since June, and my company truck has become a wardrobe on wheels. [And yes, I've been with Snowl this entire time. I can vouch for this.] I've met a ton of wonderful people in each division I've worked in, and I know some of them will stick with me even when I'm gone. [What would we do without facebook and email?] I was even blessed enough this past month+ to get to know an amazing young man who has officially raised the bar in my dating standards... he reminded me that there are good, hard working men in the world who know how to treat women like the precious souls they are; I hope our paths cross many, many more times.

While working for Hartung, whenever I was on the road 'away from home,' I received a per diem to cover basic food expenses. But their version of 'home' qualified as anywhere with family; so staying with my dad, with a cousin in Madison, at an Aunt's campsite, at a friend's in the area... these all qualified as 'home.'

Now it's time to go 'home': back to Door County, where my vehicle has been sitting since beans; back to Sturgeon Bay, where my dad and the kiddos are waiting for a send-off; up to the U.P. in Michigan, to see my grandparents I wasn't able to visit with all summer because of crazy work schedules; back to Springfield (swinging through a couple other MO towns to see dear friends on the way!) to revisit all my wonderful peeps still holding down the fort; and finally back to Kansas, to see my cat. [Ha.] ...and my mom, sis, and family there too, of course. <3 Because this (as in, all of the above, everywhere that holds someone I love), this is home.

(Un)conditional?

[rant=blogpost: What is conditional friendship?]

When something of the same theme pops up in my life on multiple occasions in a short time frame, I try to take notice. Lately, something of the same theme has popped up in my life on multiple occasions, so this is me taking notice.

Unconditional - (adjective) - not limited by conditions; absolute; without conditions or limitations; total.

On three separate occasions involving three separate people, the question of 'how far is too far?' arose in the context of maintaining a friendship. How far will you let someone push you until you've been pushed over the edge? How many arguments does it take for the bad to outweigh the good? How much emotional turmoil must the pendulum mix before you simply decide to cut your losses, and choose to remove a problem-person from your life?

What makes a friendship worth fighting for?

... what makes a friendship not worth fighting for?

Honestly, before last weekend, I'd never really given this issue much thought. My parents are divorced. They found that line where they decided things were no longer worth fighting for... or perhaps they simply made that line, drew it in the dirt, played hop scotch, and declared they crossed it, because "finding" that line can be so much simpler than trying to work things out.

Where do we draw the line?

... should we draw the line?

... does the line need to be drawn, or does it pre-exist?

I mentioned three people and three occasions. We'll dub Occasion 1 as "Alice and Conan," Occasion 2 as "Bob and Cindy," and Occasion 3 as "Ned and Minnie." I'll give you the breakdown, and you tell me where the line is.

Occasion 1: Alice and Conan

Alice and Conan met through a school field trip to candy land and quickly hit off a witty-sweet friendship. They both spoke to friends about the romantic possibilities with the other, and in a short time, most of their friends thought they would date. However, Conan was forced away from Alice to toil through the sweaty labors of the dust fields for a period, and although both still speculated about the possibilities with each other, nothing conclusive was decided. In Conan's absence Alice met Peter, who seemed so darn perfect, and she simply could not let him slip through her fingers. Conan, away in the dust fields, heard of Alice's new love, and lost hope... until Peter proved imperfect, and Alice began confiding in Conan her Peter-problems. This renewed emotional intimacy gave Conan hope, but he told the heart-shattered Alice that he would not pursue her until she was ready for him. He would, however, try to show her the grace and unconditional love he believed she deserved. Alice, in turn, quickly rebounded to Peter.v2.0, since Conan was still so far away... Conan, bewildered at this whirlwind flip, attempted to maintain a friendship, but hope was quickly dying. When v2.0 started showing similar glitches to v1.0 and Alice again turned to Conan for tech support, Conan realized the nature of what he was dealing with, and when he realized the friendship he was attempting to maintain was filled with Alice's romantic drama that shouldn't have existed had she simply waited for him in the first place, he quit. The line was drawn.

Occasion 2: Bob and Cindy

Bob and Cindy were both cadets at Star Command. Bob and Cindy's paths zigzagged in several ways, but they didn't click until an exploratory field trip to Saturn made them realize all the nerdy qualities they had in common. Over the next three months on furlough following the trip, the two spent ample amounts of time together, Bob frequently calling Cindy to come visit his star-ship and discuss strategical fantasy mechanics. Bob even kidnapped Cindy to relieve her stress when her new hover-glider broke down, and the two ended up talking all night until dawn re-laced the sky with light. They laughed together, schemed together, competed, and even cooked together. Early on, Cindy wondered at the possibility of a romantic endeavor with Bob, but after spending more time with him, she quickly realized she would be more likely to cut out his tongue due to chauvinistic remarks than to ever let hers get anywhere near it. Plus, she couldn't help but notice Bob's overall belief that women weren't fit to serve Star Command, and his general disliking for women further discouraged any ulterior motives Cindy may have otherwise fancied. Bob himself stated he was too goals-driven to bother with romance. However, she still delighted in his playful company, and when the time approached to return to Star Command, she looked forward to the adventures they could share. Bob, on the other hand, was on a different page. Toward the end of their furlough, Bob and Cindy had a disagreement about the properties of space-time travel in relation to an individual being's punctuality concepts. This argument occurred in close proximity to a misunderstanding between Bob and Cindy that followed the lines of Bob thinking Cindy was romantically interested in him, and Cindy laughing hysterically and putting an upfront 'no' on the table in regards to it. Thinking the issue resolved, Cindy was a mite surprised when Bob didn't call on her the following week. To her complete surprise, after said arguments, Bob cut off all communication with Cindy for the next month. Even after returning to Star Command, Bob only acknowledged Cindy when cadet coursework required it. Cindy, completely flabbergasted, attempted to alienate and mend the problem, but Bob was done. He ignored her messages and attempts at mending whatever went wrong. Without Cindy knowing why, he'd drawn the line.

Occasion 3: Ned and Minnie

Ned and Minnie never actually met, but they mind-melded on numerous occasions throughout their five year cyber-friendship. Both worked as moderators in a virtual reality world that Minnie created, and through this project the two became good friends. However, Ned frequently found fault with other players or moderators in the virtual world, and he always text-screamed his anger at Minnie. Minnie normally laugh-shrugged off Ned's rants, not taking them personally, until Ned would retaliate with a personal jab. This normally resulted in Minnie trying to apologize for whatever was bothering Ned, and she would try to get him to talk to her about the root of the issue, since normally the problems were flooding in from issues happening outside the virtual reality. Ned, in turn, would be overcome with guilt for his actions or words toward Minnie, and said guilt would morph into a different type of anger, and said process would repeat. These disagreements always blew over with time, and Ned and Minnie always managed to remain friends despite them. A week after celebrating the virtual reality's five year anniversary, Ned and Minnie had another fight. Mutual friends of the two viewed it as like any other time, until Ned sent Minnie a message saying he was done, that he had outgrown the virtual world, and that this was goodbye. Minnie flipped--no way was she letting Ned slip away that easily, not without a fight. A whole day went into trying to make contact with Ned, and finally, in the late evening, Ned consented to talk. Ned wanted to talk, however, not to resolve the little virtual issue that sent him off the wall (which he admitted was his own fault), but because he simply didn't understand something: in their five years of friendship, even though they had never actually met, every time Ned flipped out at Minnie, Minnie always quickly forgave him and tried to fix the problem. She never gave up on him. Even that day, when he admitted she did nothing wrong, she was apologizing to him to try to make things right. "Why?" he asked. "Why are you apologizing to me, when I'm the one who did you wrong, insulted you, insulted your creation, and made you cry?" Minnie sat back a moment, considering. "I didn't know what else to do," she replied. "All I ever do is cause you issues," Ned argued. "Why put up with me? What makes this friendship worth saving? All my life I've had people look down on me, and tell me I'm not worth their time. The people I know in real life don't care about me, so why should you?" Minnie prickled. "I'm still a real person, Ned. Just because we know each other through the internet doesn't mean I'm not real." The conversation progressed from there. Ned confessed to Minnie how he had used the virtual world as a substitute for the real one he didn't find any joy in, and how he relied on the community of the virtual world--Minnie's world--to provide the support and friendship he needed. But he also realized he was allowing his pains from his real world pour into the virtual one, and since the problems were never resolved, only transfered, then his anger at those problems was also transfered to the virtual world, and normally ended up coming out aimed at the virtual world's owner, Minnie. Yet Minnie always forgave him, and tried to fix the relationship, and even encouraged him, and he just didn't understand why, when he considered himself the cause of so much of her unnecessary griefs. Whenever Ned tried to draw the line, Minnie dusted it away and said not a chance. Hence, Ned asked, "What makes a friendship worth fighting for?"

That question is what this blog post is about. What makes a friendship, or any relationship, worth fighting for? When do you draw the line? Do you draw the line? Is the line already there, and you just have to reach it...?

For me, I know that I've screwed up time and time and time and time and time and time again, yet for whatever reason, people still humor me with their company. I've had people hurt me in turn, but, the way I see it, I can either go 'ouch!' and cut them off, or I can ask them what caused them to lash out in the first place. What is it they are struggling with that makes them behave the way they do? Don't get me wrong, I'm far from perfect! My first instinct is usually to strike back. (Snowl: *OW-OW-OW-GRRR* Wheresmybullwhip?Commereyoufartmuffin! *tackles*) When someone hurts us, our pride gets bruised, our defenses go up, and we want our revenge, dang it! [But let's analyze that, shall we? Our our our. When did everything become self-revolving? Hmm... last I checked, relationships were about others... ... So why do our claws come out whenever things don't go how we want them to?]

If there is anything the Salvation story teaches us, it's that everyone hurts... you think it felt good to have those metal spikes driven through his wrists? "Father, Forgive them..." [Remix if it were Snowl: ??? Father, where's the lightning? Where's the thunder? Where's the epic-sized hail?? Forgive them? Love them? What??] ... ... ... why? [Little Voice Inside: What do we have that makes our relationship so worth fighting for? worth dying for? What, God? Why do you put up with us?]

So what was our original question again? Oh, right: Where's the line? [*mumble*70x7 or something*mumblemumble*]

Occasion 3: Ned and Minnie - Ned wonders what it is about Minnie that makes her actions toward him different from everyone else. Minnie shares with him about her God, who, despite all the wrongs and hurts Minnie has caused Him through her bumblings, always forgives her when she asks and recognizes she has done wrong. Because of the Love she has learned from her relationship with her God, and His constant Grace, she tries to show that same love and grace to others as best as His Spirit, working through her, will allow...

I didn't want this to get all preachy, but I keep seeing Christians willingly and knowingly throw away relationships with broken people* who need the grace and love of God that we supposedly represent in this world, and they do it because the broken person is just too much for them to handle, or too messed up, or is too different from said Christian, or has 'trespassed against' the Christian too many times. ... [Pardon me while I scream into my pillow.] Every excuse diverts back to the Christian's self-needs, failed ulterior motives, desires, or dislikes. [[Little Voice Inside: Get over yourSELF!]] Last I checked, being a Christian isn't about one's SELF.

[*also, please note that all people are broken people. This isn't just about the unchurched. Splits happen in the church all the freakin' time. (All have fallen short... remember?)]

Sooo yeah... IMHO, that 'line' has been crossed out. [And yes, that is a pun.]

[/rant]

Reflections

I would be concerned at my lack of blogging lately, but it seems Orville picked up the slack for me... floppy little punk.

It's odd how a sudden lack of drama in one's life results in fewer blog rants. ... Actually, I suppose it isn't that odd. That said, there is (happily?) less drama in my life these days. Christmas break was wonderfully relaxing, my migraines finally ceased and I'm off the RX for them, and my darling roomie (now suitie) is back this semester. On top of that, I've only got 2 required classes left to graduate, meaning the rest of my final semester of college is filled up with fun art classes (huzzah!). Epiphany is still swinging, I'm still working in the PR office at the university, and I still sit in on floor council meetings to add my random comments and quirky remarks. Overall, things look promising for these final months at Evangel.

In retrospect, there are several moments since my last blog post that weigh on me with dull pangs of loss yet fondness. I'll treasure the memory of that silly boy who partnered with me in swing dancing, at first restrained, yet, after being told by the instructor that this was his chance to toss me around a bit, suddenly energetic and in command. I'll smile fondly at my pensieve when watching another instructor ask to borrow me for a demonstration, and how my partner at first refused to share me, and how he stepped up his efforts and aggressiveness to learn the steps after said cut-in. I'll remember the Wednesday getaways, stealing off to the nature center for a picnic and walk (and homework that was never touched).

I'll always smile at the image of that silly turnip with a sharpied face, the words "Harvest Fest?" inked on the back. I grin at fights to be king/queen of the hill/rock in Jordan Valley park, and random reading sessions on blankets in parks throughout Springfield. I roll my eyes at the silly Skype convos, whether deep or random banter, and how the program so enjoyed cutting out at its pleasure, leaving us to grumble and groan. I'll remember the mutual growth, and the conversations that let us push each other.

Who can forget anime nights? or dinner at the wise ol' Prof's? Death Note. ftw.

I'll remember the darker times too, when friends fell on low spirits and called, when the best way to speak was through words on a white board, and chocolate proved (as usual) priceless.

But there were highlights! Hello, Renfest!! The lovely "Renee" in gold and red threads, the small-one (who I still family:optima should have bought those elf ears!), and of course, the boyzz whom we dragged through it all (you know they loved it, if nothing else, then for those naughty-dirty pirates). HA! Wonderful times.

imho, the fall semester of 2010 was the most difficult I had to plough through in my college career, and I feel as if I didn't escape it completely unscarred--but scrapes help us grow, no?

Perhaps this isn't the most insightful blog I've posted, but I wanted to preserve, in type, some memories from this past year. I'm excited for what the following months hold, and I'm grateful for the people on this journey with me.

Onward, to the CENTER of the EARTH! (or at least to graduation in May!)

Why Hello~ Orville here.

[Okay, I'm sure the grand two of you who follow this word-hash have noticed a severe lack of recent blogging these past few months. In my usual brilliance I would attribute this to the fact that Snowl has nothing worth reporting to the world as of late. However, that would not be entirely fair on Snowl's behalf and (since she will likely eventually see that I snuck on and wrote this) I must say that her usual insight and 'wisdom' is sorely missed by the world (of two readers who follow her blog). Hence, I, the Amazing Orville, have decided to fill you all in on Snowl's happenings, since the poor gal is too preoccupied with that whole 'life' thing to do so herself. Prepare, dear mortals, for the Orville's first monologue report!

I should probably point out that Snowl is plowing through the first semester of her last year of undergrad college... so her usual energies put into this blog have been re-funneled into studies. On top of that, the poor mess fought off chronic migraines for the first two months of school. (And as much as I enjoyed the extra cuddle time, she did look rather pathetic in that state.) Thankfully, modern science came through with a cure and I now get to make druggie jokes at her expense, since the school nurse wrote her a RX to chase the head-pains away. Now she is trying to make up the first couple months' worth of homework in the past couple weeks. (Makes me grateful I'm an owl and therefore inherently brilliant and all-knowing so that studies are unnecessary.)

On top of time-consuming classwork and daily brain-implosions, Snowl also had to cope with her first semester roomie-less (save for me, of course, and I simply don't understand why I didn't suffice. whatever.) as the dear Tulio/Rutt/Roy was absent, and many of her friends flew off into the world with their diplomas in hand at the end of last term. (Moper. Get over it and make new friends. Or hang with me more!) On top of that, one of her greater efforts at making a new friend suffered a fall-out at the end of summer which she -still- hasn't fully recovered from. (Girly, as much as I like the guy, he's not worth your poetry IMHO. MOVE ON.) So on top of course work, migraines and loneliness, she seemed repeatedly depressed at the lack of this douche-bag she'd grown so freakin' attached to. (I just don't get girls. He constantly flakes and messes with your head, but throw her a bone of your time and *poof!* she's right back to square one. 'Oh Orville, I just don't understand.' 'Oh Orville, I miss him so much.' 'Oh Orville...etc.' Pardon me while I vomit dust bunnies. Pathetic. Er, no offense Snowl. I love you. ... Erm, yes. *cough* ) (If you ask me they were both playing too carefully and ended up stalemating, so no one won. Humans and their dumb games... time to reset the board and start fresh. Maybe they can do better a second time around. *eyeroll*) But who needs love when you've got an ORVILLE like me?? Silly Snowl.

On a more positive note, Snowl was granted the honor of co-running Epiphany this year, which has been (although time-consuming) a positive inspiration for her writing. It is also forcing her to talk to more people, which I generally encourage (darn hermit). She is also on floor council again this semester, and has enjoyed meeting the new girls on W1S (which is pretty much the best kept secret of awesomeness at EU. just sayin'.) I myself got to play in the floor bunko party, and promptly defeated Snowl with a better score card (and no, I haven't let her hear the end of it since!). I also acquired several numbas from da lovely ladies~~*cough*. But yes, there have been definite highlights to this semester as well, and most of those highlights revolve around the darling people in her life (special props to 'Renee,' Turnip-Head, Roomie-turned-RA, and the Beauties of 117 for your awesomeness that brings sunshine on the dreariest of days).

As for me, life is as usual. I chill in bed most the time, Snowl smushes me in her sleep and fishes me from the crack between her bed and the wall in the morning, and I get to entertain guests she has over. I kinda smell like a mix of bed-head and febreeze, which is awesome. And as always, don't crack a joke at me, because I will glare at you. I have no sense of humor. At all. *glares*

I should probably wrap this up because the mistress will be back soon from Wally World. Oh, and don't mention this blog to her--I want to see how long it takes Snowl to figure it out. HA.

-Orville out.]