I promised my mom I would get better about blogging by the time I leave for Camp and Prep Week next week. This is my first attempt at it. I know I really have been pathetic about it, so I'm hoping to remedy that.
So, I should probably start by catching my poor old blog up to date on all that has transpired since my last post. Since my last post on expectation, I have:
- had my cousin Zach stay in town for eleven days this June. I don't think Zach reads my blog, and I'm not sure how often his mom does, but here's my shout-out to Zach. He's an amazing young man. I've known Zach since he was eight or nine or so, and I've always loved him. He's twelve now, and one of the most amazing twelve-year-olds I have ever met for so many reasons. I miss him so much. You can send him back any time, Aunty!
- lived so much I forgot to write about it. I hope this won't happen this summer, because, like I said, I promised my mom I would be better about blogging. So my lack of blogging has had more to do with having too much to write about than not having enough to write about.
- had one of the greatest Carli-ish adventures of my life in the tiny town next to us. My sister Carli waves to everyone - makes their day. So my cousins and my siblings and I decided we'd try it out. An hour and a half later, I saw more smiles on the faces of busy Palmer Lake citizens than ever before. Hopefully, we'll be doing that again tonight.
- I competed in the Inaugural ICCFS National Championship Tournament. What an amazing experience! At my very first tournament with breaks, it was such a delight to be with all the other competitors and learn what true friendship can mean. I've never been in a place where I can encounter anyone in the halls and pray with them in all earnestness and hug them and send them on to their room, even if you're competing against them. I've never seen people who were more in touch with each other's needs and where I heard no backbiting. I could gush for pages on how much I love those people I was with, but I'll refrain.
- I encountered breaks for the first time. Super fun. I loved standing with everyone when they were announced! I broke in all three speeches. I also broke in debate, which was announced later, and was one of the finalists in our first-ever national championship! It was an exciting thing, for sure. I placed in all of my speeches, which was a huge blessing.
- I was an RSA. So delightful!!!! I could gush about these people for ages too, but I'll just say that they are completely wonderful and it was such a joy to work with them. They even put up with me when I was going crazy looking for jobs (usually, this didn't last too long. We were busy!)
-I was a point person setting up the banquet. That was a stretching experience. Usually my jobs involve making people feel happy, not making sure things get done. It grew me a lot though.
- Currently, I'm spending some time with my out-of-state buddy, Ethan, who flew out here a few weeks ago. I've known Ethan since he was about four (he's now eleven) , and it's been pure delight to have him out here with us again.
- Joss and I are planning on taking off again (I have been traveling so much it's ridiculous!!) to go to Tennessee for a communications camp out there for a week, and then I'll be remaining in Tennessee for the rest of the month helping a team of interns prep for the annual tour conference. Basically, I get to do chores and make sure they don't have to worry about anything while they prepare. I can't wait!
So, this summer so far has been about experiencing and learning communion and relationship. I love. I hope this will become more true. I am so excited to see all that God will do this summer and forever. I'm going to do my very best to blog my experiences as much as possible! Keep me accountable, everyone!
Is one of the most amazing places on earth. While I will always love my homestate of sunny Colorado, Louisiana gave me a glimpse of the amazing brilliance that the South has.
I just returned today from teaching a public speaking conference in Louisiana with some friends (including Art!) I'll be sharing my thoughts on it very soon!
In the meantime, I'll just say bye to y'all (I said y'all!) and let you experience the joie de vivre in your lives.
This is my Flood the Five event poem. If you haven't noticed the pattern, I apparently have at least one poem per event that just sort of summarizes my thoughts. I'll have a more official Flood post up later.
I stand beside you, full
Unquestioning, I follow
So strong art thou
So full of passion, of belief
I feel your heartbeat
I love, I am, unquestioning
Together, now forever, unquestioning
You and I to understand, for full
You think, you feel, his heartbeat
Who shall you and I follow?
Your face is devoid of belief
For you and I art forever; I, thou
I am with you, art within thou
You are quiet. I'm unquestioning
I'm noisy in your frail belief
This joy is your strength in full
Maybe I will lead and you will follow
In this strength, your fragile heartbeat
Love! My hand, my heartbeat
Open, you are precious, art thou
Forever, I will quiet, I will follow
I shall help you unquestioning
For you, my heart is full
For you, I forsake my blind belief
So much hope, so much belief
I see thy joy - how I find a heartbeat
May I stand with you for full
You are, we are together: I, thou
To you, I will forever give me, unquestioning
We, together, will lead and follow
So many, so much, I follow
I am given toward belief
I shall wear white (I am unquestioning)
Can we share one heartbeat
One soul? How fully to desire thou
I will be filled to the full
Joy! So full, happy to follow
I and though, our heartbeat
To be unquestioning, here my beautiful belief
So... like it? This is a really abstract one. You'll have to let me know what you think it's about. Then I'll write about the actual conference experience. I'll tell you, I'm having HUGE extrovert withdrawal right now. I very much miss everyone. Oh! And check out the pages at the top of the site! Are those cool or what?
Day 0: Travel to NC
Lesson learned: We love airplanes!
We departed from Colorado Springs (my mom, me, Mrs. S, Madison, Levi and Maci) and took the long flight to Chicago O'Hare airport. Madison is my debate and duo partner, and her AOR for this particular Masters tournament was debate... well, she printed debate stuff at the last minute, so we spent the first flight getting the public forum stuff in order :)
We then went from the (icy cold) O'Hare airport to Charlotte. We arrived at night, in the pouring rain ("It's so romantic!" says Maci as she twirls around in it) and rented a van ("Please pick a red one!" says Madison. We got a red one.) and head to Hotel #1.
Wow! Tiring first day. Looking forward to conference tomorrow!
Day 1: Registration and drive to Hamlet
Lesson learned: Don't blink on the drive or you'll miss the town.
We made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Hamlet and checked in at our hotel. We then went to the town of Hamlet and registered at the church. Happiness! I got to see my favorite INTP and good friend Rebecca, as well as connect up with the interns and some of my other friends from camp and conference. Among them: Westin! A friend from Colorado. After our opening simulation (ZOMBIES!!! AAAAH!!! RUN AWAY!!!!) we watched the encore performance of Lead the Escape, hung out with friends, and then went home.
Day 2: Student Leadership, Ladies Luncheon and Model UN
Lesson Learned: Josh better have a good reason...
This day was jam-packed! I got to hang out with people again, which was enough for me to be very happy, but we also had a number of simulations and things. The Ladies Luncheon (with its awesome slumber party theme) was hosted by Kelsea and Robin and - triumph! - Mrs. Moon in her PAJAMAS! That was something I thought I'd never see! This followed our first class of the day (I attended the Student Leadership track) and after lunch, we continued to the very first Model UN simulation. I was representing Mexico with a single partner (I was on the Security Council). My partner was very different from me - we didn't agree on a single issue of our country's policy! That was a little difficult to get used to. But, I'm sure Josh has a good reason...
Day 3: Public Forum, part one and Mystery Party
Lesson Learned: Mascara is really bat poop. Don't ask.
I should start by saying that I've never done any kind of debate before, and my partner is a seasoned four-year-er. This having been said, I practiced my debate a LOT. So... I forgot something important. My mascara. Ouch. I was wearing full makeup... but no mascara. My self-confidence plummeted. Apparently, when I told my partner I wouldn't debate without mascara, she believed me, because she bugged an alum intern for some mascara. AH! I felt remade. I debated four rounds and I didn't die in any of them!
We then changed into our mystery costumes for the mystery dinner. Madison, Maci and I went as clue characters (Ms. Peacock, Ms. Scarlet, and Ms. White, respectively). Our parents were Agents 1 and 2 and Levi went as the Scarlet Pimpernel (which I know nothing about). My favorite costumes of the evening: several interns dressed as Clue characters (Mrs. White, Ms. Peacock, Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mr. Green, Mr. Body [teehee]). Westin was Zorro. He had this cute little mustache. Humorous story:
Madison: Is that eyeliner?
Westin: No. It's the thing that comes with the spiny brush.
Madison: Mascara?
Westin: Ouch! That thing hurts. It must be made of metal.
Madison: No... who's mascara was it?
Westin: A friend's.
Levi: I bet it was Catey's. Madison and Catey laugh hysterically as Westin gets really confused.
Day 4: Tournament, take two and concert
Lesson learned: OUCH
To start the day off, Eric ran me over. Hard. He kicked my shins by accident so I fell over and it hurt. Great. Soon after, I was removed from the Phase 1 (easier, non-advancing competition) to judge it. That was really fun! Sadly, Josh was really concerned about whether Madison and I would be okay with it. I felt bad for him - he was harried. I felt so bad for him that I didn't begrudge him the fact that he also ran me over and smashed me into a wall. Oops. Poor guy. As I looked back, I realized I had been run over a grand total of six times. I then kept track of collisions, because it was awesome.
Anyway, I performed my Thematic Religious Reading, and was seriously worried about my time (I ran two and six seconds over, which can be grounds for disqualification). We then attended a concert and performance of The Great Divorce. I cried and cried and cried. I need to read that book.
Day 5: Model UN
Lesson learned: Never trust China
Today, we were able to actually able to attend whatever classes we wanted. In addition to that, we broke into our separate councils in Model UN. I was on the Security Council (which is the best). I wrote this fantastic resolution, and received three more than necessary signatories - including China, Russia, France, etc. My resolution was then vetoed by China. His reasoning?
China: "The world is a twisted place."
No kidding.
Today, we also heard postings. Three of my friends' teams qualified to National-level competition in debate, and Colorado swept up the only Informative slot (must be the mascara, Westin.) My friend Madison and I both took honors and slots in Thematic Religious Reading (guess those two- and six- second overtimes were okay). My friend Rebecca won the Oratorical Contest. Happiness.
Day 6: Model UN and closing ceremonies
Lesson learned: We are all broken pots.
After the closing session of Model United Nations (where our chapter performed very well: Laura taking third country, Levi taking 2nd country, Madison taking 1st speaker General Assembly and 1st country, and I taking 1st speaker Security Council), and my performance of my Thematic for the assembly, we attended classes until the closing ceremonies and formal banquet. All of us dressed up in formal gowns and tuxes, and it was a truly beautiful evening. It was tainted bittersweet though - this would be the last time I'd see many of these people for a long time, perhaps for several months or even years. After Mrs. Moon's address, we lit candles, and sang in the yellow pools of light underneath them. I stood by my dear friend, and sooner than I knew it, I was absolutely overcome by the compassion and beauty of God. I stood in the darkness, my face glowing in the candlelight and cried, Why me, God? I am no good. My words are broken. My love is fake. Why me? And back to me: You serve a good God. Everyone speaks in broken tones - just show mercy. No one loves like me - I will heal you. I chose you because I love you.
Wow. That changed my thinking. I then went around crying for the compassion of God, and saying goodbye. I know that I love these people and that they must care about me, because none of them were turned off by the fact that I had been sobbing into my hands. It was a rubbing of souls. I greatly miss everyone, but I am content to know that Masters was not the last time I'll see any of them. I look forward to seeing them again soon and I pray in the mean time.
And, ending on a more lighthearted note, my mascara did indeed cause more problems (it dripped down my face and I looked like the matchmaker from MuLan. Baaad.) Oh well. Next time I'll just ask Westin to borrow his.
I have been changed by Masters, so don't be surprised if any number of my posts quote people from Masters, or tell stories of Masters as examples. Currently, I have a piece of poetry floating around my brain from The Great Divorce. Eventually.
I watched the evening program for the CFC conference a few days ago. My mind is still caught up in the many short moments of it, my heart still frantically attached to the words I heard. I watched the speakers, heard the message, and thought, I will never reach that place.
And, at the same time, it's the only place I want to be.
Someone once told me, Why not aim for the moon, because if we fail, won't we hit a star?
I want to hit a star in my communication. I want to be one who, whether or not I lead the perfect escape, manages to somehow touch someone in the process.
And though I may miss the moon, at least I will hit the stars.
I see that it is impossible to be all that I need to be. But, somehow, it's all right, because while I may never reach that place, it is the only place I want to go. And when I only aim for places I know I can go, how will I ever know if I could have gone to a place that I actually wanted to?
If I attempt the impossible, maybe I'll be surprised.
I hope that a few days or a hundred years down this road, I will look up and see that I am at that place I thought I'd never attain. I know that I won't see the road along the way, because where's the faith and adventure in that? When one leaps for the stars, all that they can see is the darkness all around them.
But whether I look up and my feet are on the moon, or I fall onto a star, I know that I will have found the place I want to be. And who dares tell me it is impossible?
So, here is the short version of my camp experience at ICC Speech Leadership Camp. I have this really good insightful post coming, but I thought I'd write a short on camp. Sixteen fun things about Camp: Zero bug bites before the last day. I had this AMAZING bug spray that kept everything away and smelled like a smoothie. I was soooo happy... then I went on a hay ride. Apparently, in Tennessee (where "there's oxygen, so there are bugs.") there are these things called chiggers which are the demonic cousins of mites. They leave their feeding tubes in your skin, so they itch for forever and swell up and scar. I don't itch anymore, but I'm scarred. That was a unique experience. One week in Tennessee. One of the most amazing weeks of my life. Two amazing Moons. I met Mr. Moon for the first time at the conference - wonderful people, those Moons. I also got to see Mrs. Moon. I really like her and am very glad that she's still so involved in our organization. Three hours discussing philosophy with Rebecca. Rebecca was one of the girls in my cabin and we got to be friends during our week at Camp, as we were both also Student Leaders. Rebecca is a genius analyzer and then some. So, one day, we sat in the (air-conditioned) chapel and talked about philosophy for three hours (blog post on that coming soon). She's the only person I know who talks classic literature, philosophy, and knows everything old musical ever. Four speech events. Not bad for my second tournament ever, eh? I competed Impromptu, Interpretation, Platform, and Sales Pitch. Five third-place awards. Seriously. Five third places. How did I manage that? I took 3rd in Impromptu, Interpretation, Sales Pitch, Sweepstakes (not sure how that happened) and Model UN speaker. Six people playing Big Monkey. Phil (very cool intern who used to scare me but gave me a 1st place ballot in Interp) taught six of us how to play this really random, pointless game called Big Monkey... I am sad to say that four out of the six people didn't get this nearly rule-free game. Oh well. Seven guys singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - at Eric's request. Eric (another cool intern, though he didn't scare me) likes to sing. Lots. Even though his voice is, in a word, bad. Once he found out my talent for getting a song stuck in my head for weeks at a time, he made it his goal to sing every song he knows around me. Rick Astley was his favorite (and Phantom of the Opera - talk about awkward.) but The Lion Sleeps Tonight was rather amusing - considering the fact that he gathered most of the guys in the room to sing the backup for him. Eight hours with the same people daily. Since there were only four Student Leaders (I was the odd one out in a lot of ways... vaguely humorous.) we spent all of our four-six classes a day with each other and since there were so few, we got to know each other well. When we did personality typing (we actually had a class on it) we found out that we're all within a few letters of each other. Nine girls in my cabin. Six of us were there for the ride, three were interns. I loved doing devotionals every night with them. Ten showers in the Girl's Bathouse. And everyone in them sang. It was fantastic. Eleven -Minute D.I. (ouch.) Twelve wonderful interns. Hhhhh... I miss them. Thirteen or more states represented. Even a foreign country - Ontario, Canada. His accent was funny. Fourteen pages of notes. I'm a little overeager. Fifteen Model UN Nations. Yipee! Go Model UN! If they'd passed my resolution, we would have won the game... but they didn't. So much fun. A myriad: Of memories, knowledge and friendships.
Coming up next: An insightful post on Hollow Men...
One hen
Two ducks
Three squawking geese
Four limerick oysters
Five corpulent porpoises
Six pairs of Don Alverso's tweezers
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypse of Egypt
Nine apathetic sympathetic diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth
Ten lyrical spherical diabolical denizans of the deep who haul stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery
All at the same time.
(Why? Because I don't have time to write a full post about the amazingness of ICC Camp.
Why that poem? Well, you'll have to stay tuned to read all about it.
Why wait? Because it's too phenomenal to write in short form.
Why so phenomenal? Great people, like the people I love and miss so much I'm referring to them as my Camp Family and who include interns and teens, fantastic memories, like things about cows, flight attendants, and Rick Astley, and lots of fun. Like I said, stay tuned.
-Catey
Who misses her Camp Family)
My thoughts about Flood the Five conference, which I taught with two of my favorite speakers and an intern from the organization I speak with (in no particular order... kind of like the conference itself)...
- Nylons are evil. I had to wear them all three days of the conference, and I ran them the very first day, and then had to cleverly hide the runs the rest of the week.
- My gift is in the UNDER TWELVE YEARS OLD category. Which is a good thing, because, I was the only one who preferred the Beginning Public Speaking kids.
(Story:
I was running a group of 12-15 twelve & up kids and they all HATED ME. Two of them ran as soon as they realized I was their instructor. Another two spent the entire time trying to tell me that they were older and therefore way cooler than me. I had one defense, though... my twelve-year-old sister Joss with her high-heeled shoe.)
-It is so much fun to do something out of your comfort zone with a bunch of people who are also pushed out of their comfort zones. Seriously. Cowardice loves company, but courage requires it. It was a blast to work with all but one person who had never done anything like this before.
-Giggling is for late at night. Quick story here:
A
friend and I were really, really, really tired after the second day of the conference. We hadn't seen our other friend all day or much in the past three weeks and we'd been running things together all day. We were a disaster waiting to happen. We decided we missed our other friend. We decided we should find something to tease him about.... but we couldn't think of anything. So we wandered around the sanctuary talking about how much we'd missed our friend and how we needed coffee (or tea, in my case.) As we wandered, we noticed that our friend was trying to fold down a table. And struggling. A lot. He was getting very frustrated with it, getting to the point where he was holding it upside down and kicking it.
(Editor's comment: Just to clarify, this friend is absolutely great. He is a genius. Truly. It's scary to talk to him because he's too smart for his own good. He WON Impromptu speaking for our forensics league for the whole country, and placed in Extemp and debate. REALLY smart. Just table-challenged.)
My friend and I glance at each other, and that momentary glance illuminated our thoughts all too clearly. We were thinking:
(insert echoey thought sounds)
He is a genius, but he can't fold tables.
And in a moment of sheer insanity and utter exhaustion, we simultaneously began to shriek. Hysterically. Couldn't stop laughing.
AND IT WASN'T EVEN FUNNY. We were just tired.
This lasted until the table folded and we saw that our friend was glaring at us viciously, which, despite his usually calm and gentlemanly demeanor, was a sure sign that we had three seconds to shut up or he would hit us both. Hard.
We stopped.
-Some kids are hilarious! One of the speech games we did was a group interpretation - where a group of kids act out a story together. My group did Jack and the Beanstalk. But we had really, really random things happen, like:
We double-cast Jack and Jill. Jack was played by Jack and Jack Be Nimble. Jill had her very own stunt double. It was amazing.
Our narrator was Rappin' Red Riding Hood.
Go figure.
- I have the sweetest friends ever.
-One of the cutest things I've ever seen is to watch two generally private people completely brag their little sisters. It was so sweet.
-Stretching yourself is a good thing. It was so neat to be trained by Mrs. Moon, who founded the organization sponsoring the conference, but the real learning and the real experiences took place when I was actually out there, figuring out what works with shy kids or how to focus 13-year-olds. It was in growing past the fact that I either used to or still do have (I can't decide which ) an irrational fear of teenagers. It was in the experience.
Loved it! Hopefully I'll have a brain and then I can write something deep and profound...
Drip. Drip.
I do not understand the water
That falls like a birdsong on my face
You say it cleanses
Then why is the dirt pouring on
Me?
You chose me. You chose this
Dark creaking beast to be my Shelter
In a long storm. I didn’t
Choose it for myself.
Why me? I am not
Good or Beautiful and I did not
Know you then. I hardly know you now.
Unworthy is a good word.
It’s who I am right now in the face of
This Great Flood that threatens me
But somehow, you protect.
How is it you could love a fool like me?
Is this who I am? More than just the
Earth on my face or the water in my hands,
I am made in your image
These eyes are to see destruction and live
These hands to cradle in love like you do
This heart to beat like yours
Is this who I am?
Unworthy is a good word.
But that is not who I am.
(This poem was up on Real Teen Faith earlier this week, but I decided I'd post it here too. I have too much to do to come up with something new with my poor decrepit old brain right now.
Note to self: Do not make the mistake of telling a Type A person that you are Type A and are the only person in the state the week before you're hosting a conference. It doesn't work out well. Sparks of illumination, C.
P.S. The conference mentioned there is the Institute for Cultural Communicators Flood the Five conference. I get to help teach, which is both scary and exciting. It's fantastic - and, if you live in my state (CO) then this is an excellent opportunity (Don't let the fact that I'm teaching scare you away - to counterbalance my inexperience, we'll have some wonderful speakers, including the debate National Champion from a few years ago). Check it out at: http://www.instituteforculturalcommunicators.org/.
Sparks of illumination, C.)
All I can say is that I'd better marry a person who's at least a little bit more normal than I am or else my children will,
a) be complete freaks of nature
b) have to grow up with two very strange parents
or
c) all of the above
Then again, if I marry someone who's normal, then I might encounter some problems getting along with him... I wouldn't have anyone to talk to. Oh well. 'Tis a paradox I may as well just forget about, and simply pray for my children.
What prompted this interesting discussion, you ask?
Last night, my 4/yo brother was asking me to tell him a story (I told him one story to have him keep up while we were on a walk, and he hasn't stopped asking me for a story since.) when my mom announced:
Mom: No! Not tonight. Because she'll be doing an Interp for you tomorrow.
For all the non-speech-and-debate people, an Interpretation (Interp) is the best speech ever (if you're an Extemper, please don't kill me!)
Seriously though, for all the non-speech-and-debate people, an Interpretation (Interp) is a speech you perform dramatically.
Interps can be a lot of work. You have to cut a piece of literature into a script, memorize the script, block (add movement) to the script, characterize, and then work on other fun rule-related stuff. In short, this isn't something you want to write and memorize the night before.
And my mom has just sprung on me that I will, indeed, be writing and memorizing an as-of-yet-unknown piece of literature the night before.
My reaction: What?
Another note: My family is doing a homeschool co-op with some families who are considering the curriculum that my family used during my elementary education. They're studying ants right now. So my mom thought it would be "fun" for them to see an Interp of the Ant and the Grasshopper (Aesop) instead of just reading.
And, being the resident Interper with loads of time on my hands (snort... that's not even funny), I was elected to do it.
Did I mention I have a problem with Impromptu speaking? Just check out this post to be sure, but I seriously dislike it.
I just don't tell everyone that. And so, I'm being "strongly encouraged" to compete Impromptu next year and I taught a class on Impromptu speaking a week ago. Ha! If only they knew. But more and more I'm finding I probably don't have a problem.
In said class on Impromptu, I unexpectedly told an Impromptu story. In the above post, I was I competed Impromptu (not Apologetics, like I thought I'd be able to... correction, like I was TOLD I'd be able to...) I'm constantly giving speeches I've been given less than 4 days to prepare for (yeah, I went to an assisted living home with my speaking group that somebody cancelled for at the last minute, so I wrote a speech the night before and attempted to give it that day) I wrote my first-ever D.I. and performed it in three day... it's just sad how many times I've had to do this.
So, to make this post all the more random, after deciding I don't hate Impromptu that bad after all, I realized how spoiled my brothers are as it comes to reading.
My mom and my sisters and I have always read aloud to the younger family members. We've always used voices, and expression.
But now?
My brother now asks for stories like Winnie the Pooh, but expects a full-out presentation. The funny part is, he usually gets it. I've memorized so many children's books as Interps that I can usually just Interp my stories (and if I don't, we all do very dramatic voices and stuff like that).
So, I was thinking that and took it a step further. My children will probably grow up with that kind of dramatic reading/speaking. They'll come into their library storytimes as little three-year-olds and say, "Mommy, she doesn't read the stories fun like you do."
What am I getting myself into?
That and the fact that my children will probably have an overdose of the verbiage gene. So, maybe they won't say that. Maybe they'll say, "Mother dearest, she doesn't entertain us to the same degree as do you when you read aloud."
To conclude this reflective, dangerously unproductive post, I will say that, whether my poor children are freaks of nature, or I marry a somewhat normal person or a strange thing like me, I have great fun doing these speeches. So, I suppose I need to get over my Impromptu stigma and my "abnormal" stigma and just do the stupid interp. Right now. Before I forget the whole thing.
Once upon a time, I woke up to the sound of my mom yelling down the heater vent (an approved venue of communication in my house) something to the effect of, "CATEY! GET UP!"
I turned over and tried to fall back asleep - it wasn't that I was trying to ignore her, I just dream things like that all the time.
And then the screaming started again. "Catey! Get up! Dr. Messingham wants to get your bands off today!"
My first thought: Who is Dr. Messingham?
My second thought: Bands + off = good news.
Dr. Messingham!!! Oh! Dr. Devinindisguise!!!! That meant I was getting my braces off today!
I was dressed and ready in record time (something ridiculously short for a teenage girl, that is) We zipped down into the Springs just in time to get to my ever-so-beloved orthodontist, who said that he could tell I wear my rubber bands (duh) and that my teeth looked great.
Then came the last episode of devilish torture that I shall hopefully ever have to endure. If you've ever had braces, you'll know that it doesn't hurt to get them on. It does hurt to get them off. Dr. Devilindisguise took his pointy red tail and sawed the brackets off one at a time and then shaved off the glue using the same caudal device. Ouch.
Then the dental hygienist woman shoved pond slime down my throat in order to make impressions of my teeth. (Note: It's not usually a good thing when the lady says, "Um... have you ever had impressions done? No? It's going to feel like it's going down your throat, but it's too thick to do that." So the only thing stopping me from certain death is the fact that the goop is so thick?? That's a really comforting thought.)
When I came back two hours later, they had made me two clear plastic trays that fit the shape of my teeth. I was given a five-page list of retainer care (no taboo foods!) and then sent on my way.
It was the same day as Chapter Meeting for CFC (Communicators for Christ). Since I was a student leader now (!) I had to come "professionally attired" (insert Catey gulping). I'm one of those people who ALWAYS dresses really nicely, but I have no professional clothing. I mean, I'm a writer for gracious sake. I do not need a suit. I'm not a debater, nor am I a competitor. I'd gone to the CFC conference with just my regular nice clothes.
But then it hit me. I may not be competing speech, but if I was to continue student leadering, I would need some business clothes for various platforms, depending on where I was going and what I was doing. So, my crazy wonderful mother and I decided to go shopping. It was sometime around noon, and we had just over an hour to get back home in time to pick up younger sister Carli and get to Chapter. So, after dashing all over Marshalls (which, in case you were thinking about trying to find clothes there, doesn't have any professional-looking skirts, slacks or blouses for under forty dollars for a size smaller than a fourteen...) So, my mother and I resigned to go look at the Dress Barn.
Yes, you read that right. The Dress Barn. Whoever thought up that name should be given major points for creativity but some serious downgrading for that particular selection. I felt like I should be buying cowboy boots or bandanas going into a store like that!
But there isn't anything of that kind in there. Actually, the clothes are a lot nicer than I'm accustomed to looking for (which is kind of a change, since I ALWAYS dress nicely) To cut a very long story short, we ended up not being able to find very much under a size 8 there either (grr). When we did end up finding something, it was this amazing grey suit that I liked very much. Again, smallest size was a size six. Unfortunately, I can't wear a size six. Then my mother had a brilliant idea. The mannequin! Surely that was a small size...
You guessed it. We made the poor store clerk (just another one of my random store clerk experiences) undress the mannequin so I could try on the suit. And, miracle of miracles, it actually fit! But we were so short on time by now that we actually had to ask the very nice store clerk lady if I could wear the suit out of the store!! I am firmly convinced that, separately, my mother and I are unusual, but together, we are entirely insane! I walked out of the barn with tennis shoes and no nylons, but I had my suit!
Hopefully that is the last entirely random and crazy thing my mother and I will do for a while. Hopefully...
Hi! Here I am, back from competition and without enough brain to count to fifteen!
How I'm feeling: Absolutely exhausted.
What I did: Interpretation on Hamlet, Impromptu on the word incomprehensible. Two superb classes on acting/writing (it kind of covered both) by two of my favorite speakers among the interns.
How I felt while I competed Hamlet: Pretty good. I was shaking (but I always shake when I act, whether I'm in front of people or not) but confident. I didn't forget anything.
How I felt while I was doing Impromptu: Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.... Please, please, please don't expect me to do amazingly on this.....
What I did in between Hamlet and Impromptu: I prayed. For about twenty minutes without pausing, I prayed for my heart - a focus and unparalleled passion, that I would accurately represent God as an approved workman who is not ashamed. I prayed for my fellow speakers, the young man who was competing Impromptu before me, my friend who was doing Extemp (Extemporaneous). I prayed for my friend who was taking the SAT at the time. Ultimately, I prayed that God's will would be done.
What was on my ballots: On my Interp: Two first place ballots. On my Impromptu: One third place ballot with a promise that I would get a higher score if I did a more complete conclusion (which I considered somewhat fortunate, considering I really didn't have a conclusion...)
The announcements: I took third place in Impromptu (second place and above are announced). I took a first place with my Interp (which I thought was kind of scary, since I had never performed an Interp in front of people and Interp is the most frequented event).
How I feel about it: Well, overall, like I really need an adrenaline burst. But, I thank you for praying. I was encouraged that I did as well as I did.
An Important Sidenote: My friend who I came to the conference with is an aboslutely brilliant young man. He is a genius if ever I have met one. He is a purely incredible speaker. In the three events he competed (Extemp, Impromptu Sales Pitch, and Original Oratory - he gave a speech that was essentially a revised version of the essay he wrote for my writing class! -) He took two first places and one second place. That put him as the winner of the tournament, overall. You can applaud now :)
As A Secondary Important Sidenote: Because I'm still a selfish little person, I kept praying, "God, PLEASE let me have just one ballot where I'm not fifth and below [the lowest possible score]. Just one." I think he was listening :)
Today I'm at a Communicators for Christ conference, speaking at a mini-tournament on my second day here.
Confession: I happen to be a little nervous about my Impromptu.
Reason: I don't feel prepared:
Why that's not really an oxymoron: I thought I was signing up for Apologetics but as it turns out, the smart person I trusted to tell me whether I'd be able to compete Apologetics or not was wrong and I can't.
My outward reaction: Smile. "Okay... it'll be an adventure!"
My inward reaction: "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
My current feelings: Maybe I can do this.... or if I stink really badly, maybe my Interp will make up for it.... Why did I sign up for something I've never done before?????
Why this isn't a justified feeling: I only have to speak for two minutes and I'm not speaking against any of my debater/speaker friends (whew!)
What I'd like you to do: Pray for me :)
Okay, all joking aside, I think today's going to be really fun. If it's anything like last night, there will be a lot of humor, some very relaxed acting, and a moving message. And I think I'll probably do okay on my speeches too - considering I've never done them at least.
