January 29, 2007

yesterday i took the day off from blogging, but it was nathalie’s birthday, and that definitely deserves a mention!  i would link to her new blog, but it’s super-secret now, so i won’t.  but i will tell you that nathalie has known me longer than most people, and has seen me at my best and worst.  i have a few friends who i am very proud of, and she is one of them.  when we were in high school together, she was going to be a brain surgeon, and i still believe she could have done it – she could do anything she decides to do.  after majoring in political science and communications, she decided to return to the medical field, doing grunt work as a nursing assistant at a hospital and volunteering for year at a hospice for homeless men with AIDS in d.c. before getting into medical school.  now she’s doing an emergency medicine residency at george washington university hospital (top emergency program in the country!) and is making a life for herself with her nearly equally brilliant husband in d.c.  but the best thing about nathalie isn’t her brain and hard work – it’s her commitment to her values, and her honesty, and the way she challenges the people she loves to be the best person they can be.  i’ve had some of my worst fights with her (because she held me accountable) and also my best memories.  nathalie was the one who got me through my wedding day stress overload, and we’ve shared a lot – high school crushes, our first job, a room in college, road trips…  i will always think of her when i hear the song “life is a highway.” 

 happy birthday, sister – i love you!

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January 26, 2007

carol has a birthday today! carol is a new friend from church who i hope will become an old, good friend some day. she is smart and kind, and a good writer. she reinforces the side of me who wants to change the world by her thoughtful example. she reads good books, and is an excellent conversationalist. furthermore, carol is one of the few people in my current world who shares my conservative mennonite culture, and knows what it is to be a mennonite girl and a vineyard woman. like me, she didn’t go to rosedale, but did go to taylor. i can’t wait to keep getting to know her.

happy birthday, carol! remember, thirty is the new twenty!

pennsylvania creek January 23, 2007

pennsylvania creek

Originally uploaded by amy joy.

i think i’ve posted this before on my old blog, but the cold weather makes me long for the days of running around in a sunsuit and splashing around.

on the bright side, this is a perfectly normal, no practicum day – i should actually get home soon after five, and have the chance to cook a real dinner. i want to get better at menu-planning/cooking. does anyone know of good resources for this?

third week in

the semester is getting into full swing now, and i’m loving it, mostly.  i found out today that i can count some extra hours that it make it easier to finish my practicum in a semester, including the two hours of practicum class every week.  also, my practicum professor looks exactly like moby.  the funny thing is that i didn’t even notice until he was eating oranges this evening while we were listening to a guest speaker, and i started to wonder if he was a vegan (it was an absolutely thrilling presentation on proper documentation), and then i thought about the fact that moby is a vegan, and finally noticed that he looks just like moby, and that’s why he looked familiar.

yes, i am an amazing student.

in my second class tonight, we were bored to near tears during a lecture, acculturation and assimilation.  this is unfortunate, because i think the topics are important, and our professor is very nice and laid-back, and it wasn’t really her fault.  hopefully, diversity and multiculturalism will be more interesting next week.

it’s time for heroes now.

i’m not really a sports fan… January 22, 2007

…but i remember my incredible excitement in fourth(?) grade when i had a crush on jim mcmahon and the “superbowl shuffle” played nonstop on the radio, and the the chicago bears were heroes, and all was right with the world.
and now, in a couple of weeks, my sort of hometown bears are playing my other sort of hometown colts in the superbowl, and i most definitely plan to watch it.

anyone care to join me?

foxboat.JPG January 21, 2007

foxboat.JPG

Originally uploaded by amy joy.

a week ago today, we went out on larry and jennifer’s boat in sarasota. this is grama and grampa. none of my own granparents are living anymore, and they really fill in that gap for me. we were in florida for grampa’s surpise 80th birthday party, which was lovely and a real tribute to a man who likes to have fun, loves to golf, and takes pride in his family. the party was planned by grama, who is one of the classiest women i know, and always takes the time to care about what is happening in our lives.

today, we’re back in columbus, and winter is finally here. really, all i want to do is stay in my pajamas where it’s warm, and clean the house really well. yesterday i had no motivation to do anything but sit around. i think i’m having a mild time of melancholy – nothing serious, but maybe it’s a sign that i should start working out again.

last night we went to see “apocolyto.” i’m really not sure if i’m glad we saw it or not. i’m having a hard time figuring out what the actual point of the movie is, and there were parts that i found very disturbing. has anyone else seen it?

stay warm today, dear ones!

January 15, 2007

we’ve been in florida this weekend, and it’s been lovely. grama fox, uncle larry, and his wife jennifer hosted a surprise 80th birthday party for grampa. the weather has been gorgeous, and the company excellent. so, there hasn’t been a lot of time for blogging this weekend. rumor has it that we’ll be coming home to a big ice storm. that’s ok. i heart ohio anyway.

sweet dreams! pictures of tropical paradise to come…

shallow thoughts on hair January 9, 2007

this morning at court, an acquaintance from the public defender’s office (whom i haven’t seen in awhile) asked me what’s wrong.  i was confused, because i was having a pretty good morning.  then she said, “you look conservative.  your hair is longer, and it looks too conservative for you.”  hmm.  i was trying to decide if i should make my hair red again, but then one of the prosecutors said, “you don’t look conservative at all with those bangs!”   more hmm.  i guess i have a liberal reputation to uphold… (sorry, mom and dad!)

off to zanesville now!

it’s snowing! (sort of)

good morning, dear ones!

i’m into work early this morning – trying to get into the swing of balancing my job with my practicum and school…i don’t have a lot of significance to write about, but my lovely mother-in-law has some good things to say about jesus, and ed and marcia just left cambodia, which they loved. i don’t really know ed and marcia, but i found his interesting blog after a trip to puerto vallarta, where they live. they’re currently on a three-month honeymoon through southeast asia, and if you have an interest in that part of the world, it’s good reading.

there are some fun, exciting things coming up for us, but some of those things involve surprises for people who may or may not read this, so i’ll wait to tell you. we are going to be seeing some sea and sunshine this weekend, and i’m super-excited about that.

time to work. happy tuesday!

January 4, 2007

happy birthday to lara! i met lara years ago at an over the rhine event, back when we were all on the old otr email discussion list. we met her again last week when she was visiting town, and got to spend a few evenings with her, including a lovely sushi birthday dinner for a lovely woman. when are you moving back to columbus, l?

in other news, i reserved the book freakonomics from the library last night, and can’t wait to read it. carol recommended it to me, and then it was featured on “beauty and the geek” last night, and piqued my interest even further…

i’m getting everything in order to start my counseling practicum and internship next week. hurrah! my supervisor is a guy everyone loves – i hear that he has great clinical skills, and isn’t afraid to challenge his interns.

tonight i’m going to indulge in the guilty pleasure of watching new epidsodes of my favorite tv – ugly betty, the office and the oc. so, the question of the day is…
…what is your guilty pleasure?