I won't be evicted!!

I am so excited because I won't be evicted next week.  Ok, background info.... I was late with February's rent payment.  I ended up paying it (along with the late fees) on February 13th, but apparently eviction papers were filed before I submitted the payment.  I thought that because I paid everything, there was nothing left for me to do, but oh was I wrong!  I received another notice saying that I have to pay the court fees in order to avoid eviction.  I've been worried all week because I didn't know how I was going to pay the court fees.  Actually I came up with a "just in case" plan of what I would do if I got evicted.  I will not divulge those thoughts here but lets just say I'm grateful that I won't have to execute them.

Wondering how I got out of the eviction?  FEDERAL TAX RETURN!!!!!!  I just checked the IRS's website again and my federal tax return is scheduled to be in my account Monday morning.  I can pay the outstanding fees, March rent (on time), get my phone turned back on, pay my extra late car note and get caught up on bills.  It's like God made a way out of no way for me.  Could I have asked a family member for help, yes probably, but I felt like this was something that I had to work through myself.  Through all of the ups and downs that I've experienced here - the loneliness, the frustration, the lack - it's worth it.

Interval Training

Today in PE we had to do interval training, of which I really didn't want to do.  Let me be clear, I don't have a problem with interval training, I think that it is extremely beneficial in increasing speed, strength and endurance.  The challenge for me is that my time or pace isn't up to par with what is expected for students.  My pace/time is not even on the time chart.  So before we start, I try to have a private conversation with my professor to see what she recommends I do.  Instead of listening to me, she kinda blows me off and raises her voice at me in front of my classmates. 

Immediately I get tongue tied and have a hard time trying to communicate my concern.  She's like, "this isn't hard, were you listening to the instructions", takes my book and flips to the back to show me the appendixes that I'm supposed to use.  Now not only am I embarrassed because she's treating me like I wasn't listening (this time I really was listening), but I feel my voice start cracking.  It doesn't stop there.  Tears start falling out of my eyes.  In my mind I'm like, "ROCHELLE!!  Get yourself TOGETHER right this instant.  You will not cry!!" 

I think the tears came out because she wasn't listening to what I was trying to ask. In that moment, I didn't want to yell or do anything disrespectful so tears coming out was the only thing I could do.  Only a few tears came out, but it was enough to get her attention.  She understood what I was asking and I did what I was told.  I actually ended up doing better than we both expected. 

In our exercise today, we had to run around the track at full spead twice within a certain time period then pause for 60 seconds to bring our heart rate down, repeating the process 5 times. Today now my life can be compared to interval training.   The school & work reponsibilities have me going at full spead, but there are pockets of  60 second "recovery time" each weekend that I'm learning how to really take advantage of.  Although I hate the process sometimes, the benefits far outweigh the work. 

Letter C Vocabulary Word

Word of the Week: Conundrum

It means riddle or mystery.  I like this word because it's so different by has a simple meeting.  To pronounce it, break it apart into three separate sylbols Conundrum: co-nun-drum (easier to pronounce when you break it down).

Sentence: Jesus spoke in a conundrum which makes it hard to understand the Bible sometimes, ya know?

How would you use it in a sentence?

It's Time to Dream

Traditionally I HATE going to chapel, like I really hate it, but oh am I glad that I went this past Friday.  Dr. Rutland, current ORU President, spoke about the concept of "dreaming".  It was pretty timely as the Inauguration, Celebration of Dr. King's birthday and anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
would be celebrated a few days after chapel service.

I'm not going to steal his thunder, but essentially the message was that it is ok to dream and never allow anyone to stop you from accomplishing the dream.  Although chapel was a few days ago, the topic of "dreams" has consumed my thoughts since hearing the message.  I must confess, there are things that I use to dream about and longed for, but stopped.  I don't know exactly why I stopped dreaming....maybe I was sold a bill of lies and didn't believe that it could come to pass....maybe I realized the amount of work necessary to accomplish the task was more than I was willing to assert....I don't know why.  Do I even know what a dream is?

What exactly is a dream?  Is it an idea that floats around your mind while sleeping?  Is it a strong desire for or too accomplish something?  Is graduating from college a dream or just something to do?  Personally I feel like it's the stepping stone to do what I want to do, so does that make it a dream?  Is the idea of getting married and having kids a dream...or something that I'd like?  When Dr. King spoke about the life that he would like for his children one day, was he speaking about a dream or was he hypothetically speaking about something from his perspective that would never happen (no disrespect)?  

So I'm left with a few questions:
 - what is a dream?
 - how do you do it?
 - what keeps a person from taking an abstract dream and transforming it into a reality?

.......TBD cause I have homework to do...

Letter B Vocabulary Word

This is what gas looks like in our intestines

Word of the Week: Borborygmus

I would be the one to choose this word, borborygmus as it means, "A rumbling noise caused by the movement of gas through the intestines".  So ya see, just because you may hear noise coming from your stomach, it doesn't mean that you hungry, it could just be the gasses moving around inside.

Sentence: The borborygmus coming from my neighbor was distracting.

How would you use it in a sentence?

Yesterday was FANTASTIC!!!!!

I wait all year long for January 13th to roll around.  It doesn't matter what is happening in my life, January 13th always brings me great joy.  For that one day, I LONG for time to stand still, but unfortunately it does.  Traditionally I get my hair done, wear a new outfit and have some festive party to celebrate, but this year I didn't do all of that.

I did do my hair, but I didn't have a new outfit to wear and I didn't have a big party but boy did I have a fantastic celebration.  My day went like this:
 - Church Service: while here in Tulsa, I attend The Church (www.thechurch.at) where Pastor Alex talked about the tithing principle.  Essentially the points were to give God the first of your week, the first of your day, the first of your consideration and the first of your finances.
 - Sushi Date: a friend took me to a sushi restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious sushi lunch.  It was actually the first time that I've had uncooked sushi.
 - Loops: I'm really into crocheting and I want to learn how to potentially knit.  There is this store in New York that has fantastic yarn and when I heard about Loops here in Tulsa I could only hope that it was similar.  My visit was slightly disappointing.  They have yarn, but it didn't have the volume of selection that I was hoping for.
 - Target: as my birthday present, I wanted to get a new DVD to add to my small collection.  I ended up getting Bridesmaids because it is super funny and it was super inexpensive.
 - Cupcakes: one of my friends from school ended up coming over and we made cupcakes and just talked.  I love talking and she loves talking so it was a very lively conversation.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted.  I receive an abundance of FaceBook posts, Tweets, Text Messages, Phone Calls, Emails, etc....it made me feel like I wasn't far away from home at all.  I don't know if I can wait until next year to celebrate.  I had a thought though...dogs get to celebrate seven times a year, why can't I?

Birthday Eve

The eve before any major holiday, families and friends come together to celebrate the occasion and each other.  January 13th is not a major holiday recognized by communities around the country, but it is a day that I celebrate with robust delight.  It's a day that I celebrate life....my life.  My life that should have been snuffed out before it even started.  Snuffed out from the multiple suicide attempts during my early teen years.  Snuffed out from the host of bad decisions and choices I've made that have had a negative impact on my body and even my soul.

Staying stuck in the past is not beneficial to anyone, but choosing to learn from the past and even celebrating the future is where victory happens.  This year I'm celebrating triumph and victory over my past and celebrating hope and possibility over my future.  Tomorrow is the dawning of a new year for me, a new year that holds a great deal of promise and adversity.  Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be 35!!