WINNING ;)

The Brookdale Dazzlers with their choreographer (right middle)

Yesterday was just one of those really satisfying days. In the morning, I got some work done.  In the afternoon, I went to Brookdale Retirement Home where the "Brookdale Dazzlers" (a senior dance group) were doing a performance.  I thought these must be relatively younger seniors if they were a dance group, but no - most used walkers.  I really didn't know what to expect when I saw that, but they were GREAT!  Everyone was laughing and smiling the whole time.  They started out by coming down the aisle (walkers and all) to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in crazy colored wigs and GIGANTIC colored sunglasses.  They boogied their way up to the front of the room and then sat down in their assigned chairs except for the youngest in the group - a 67 year old man who could still stand without problem.  The next song was Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and they switched out of their other costumes and donned military looking hats and little plastic bugles.  They did 7 songs in total - each one required a quick change (where staff would assist them).  While they didn't get up much from the chairs, they danced with their arms and their eyes and got the audience involved.  One of the real spitfires was a 93 year old lady who had me grinning ear to ear. 

Dancing to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

Overall, it was such a treat.  They go around to different nursing/retirement centers around Charlotte to perform and I'm sure those residents enjoy it just as much as I did.  (The reason I was there is because I'm writing a story on them).

From there I stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's for a little bit and worked on a few things before heading to Quail Hollow Middle School where I teach a dance club twice a month.  This week I taught them swing and my friend Whitney taught some line dancing. We all had a delightful time, and I definitely got my daily workout in!  One little girl, in the end, came up to me and said, "I want to take you home with me Miss Lauren.  You can come be my auntie!"  It was ADORABLE. 

After leaving there I went to Taylor's new house (which has practically no furniture) to bring him the TV I used to have in my dorm, along with a few various other items.  He was so excited, even though he doesn't have cable yet.  After we got everything situated, we played some poker with the cards I brought him - Texas Hold'Em.  I had to be reminded how to play, but once I was, I totally got it.  Our bet was that if he won, he got one Beanie Baby (you know, those stuffed animals that were so popular in our youth - I still have a couple left and for some reason, he wanted one).  If I won, he was to take me to see a movie.  Now, you must realize, this was a very unlikely bet for me to win because Taylor used to play poker for big money in college and funded much of his study through his poker winnings.  He's also so good at magic card tricks that I after a couple rounds, I started always shuffling and dealing because I was skeptical.  But after he took most of my chips with literally NOTHING, I decided to get brave and bluff him just as he bluffed me. In the last hand, I had only had one pair (of 6s) and the other card in my hand was a queen.  Taylor kept raising and I kept calling.  Finally, he went all in.  When I put in an equal number of chips, I had two left.  Then we flipped our hands and - I WON!  He also had a pair of 6s, but his other card was a 7, so I won.  It was hysterical to see his face when he realized I'd beaten him in poker.  I took a picture on my phone to document my glory. lol

After that we went out on the back porch to see if we could see the moon, as it had been very cool looking as I was driving over there.  Unfortunately, with his wooded backyard and clouds, we couldn't find it.  We stood on the railing and still didn't see it, then Taylor realized it would be very easy to climb on the roof from there.  So he climbed up and it did look very easy (and it's a 1 story house), so then he came back to where I was and helped me up.  We sat on the roof ridge for a while, looking at the stars, looking for the moon (to no avail) and watching various animals wander through the area (like deer).  It was an unbelievably warm day/night and the breeze felt like a Florida in wintertime breeze.  It was so nice - especially since the last time I sat on the roof of a house was probably on the roof of our house in Miami when I was about 8. 

After that we played some big band music and danced around the living room and I showed him some of the moves I'd taught the Quail Hollow kids that night.  Then I started singing (because I felt like it) and he said, "Have you taken voice lessons?" I said 'No, can you tell?' haha  But he said he liked my voice, and asked me to sing more. 

It was just a really fun day - so much laughter and joy and good weather to boot.  Today is looking unfortunate in the weather department, but it is still rather warm out, despite the wind and overcast skies.

Taking this Life for Granted

Please click on the following link to read the most recent post by my friend Bethany who is currently on the World Race.  http://bethanywaddell.theworldrace.org/?filename=my-problem-list

The World Race is an 11 month mission trip to 11 different third world countries.  Currently, Bethany is in Honduras, having started in the Dominican Republic. In each country she and her teammates will perform a variety of tasks - building/cleaning schools and churches, leading Bible camps, playing with the children, teaching English.  In some countries they may dig wells, help in hospitals, help groups trying to end the sex trade, work in fields...there is a lot of unknown.

Her blog is always interesting, often making me laugh out loud.  And honestly, it puts my blog to shame.  But that's okay. ;)  

It seems, after reading this recent post, that all my problems are incredibly petty.  How dare I complain, when I've never known the definition of starvation?  When I can't remember what it was like to be illiterate?  When I have the peace and joy of knowing I am loved by family, friends and God?  Next time I am heartbroken or self-pitying, I believe I shall go back and read Bethany's "Problem List" blog, and shift my mental perception. 

Change of Perspective

I'm reading the fourth book in a series called The Inheritance Cycle - it's your typical, elves, dwarves, men and dragons sort of book - but there was this great scene in which the main character, Eragon, is riding atop his dragon and they fly higher than they've ever flow to go over a storm system.  (Of course, spells have to be cast in order for them to have enough oxygen to breathe).  So anyway, Eragon can see the stars so much better than he could before - he can see their colors and not only the constellations he had always seen from earth, but also many many more stars in between.  Then, he notices the horizon, from which the sun is just about to crest.  He suddenly realizes that it looks slightly warped - somehow bent in a way the horizon has never looked before.  Then he has an epiphany - the earth is round!  And all of a sudden, the wars down below and the lives of all the inhabitants seem so utterly insignificant and small.  The world is so much bigger than he ever imagined, and he suddenly feels very small, but also very blessed to be able to witness such grandeur. 

I feel much this same way when I witness natural wonders like the Grand Canyon or stand atop a mountain or at the pinnacle of a cathedral.  It is part of why I love heights - the sense that up there, you have a broader sense of the wonders of the world, and all your petty problems feel small and pointless.  However, I recently have experienced a similar feeling when volunteering and interviewing nonprofits.  The more I volunteer (teaching dance at Quail Hollow Middle or leading a Sunday school group of girls, etc.), the more I realize how vast the need of the world is compared to my own - and also, how, despite being just one person, I may be able to help in my own way and touch many lives so that, all together, the impact isn't miniscule.  Yesterday I went to the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte which I was interviewing for the paper.  They offer a home-like place to stay for out of town families who have sick children in Charlotte hospitals.  Talking to those volunteers who have such a heart to serve, and hearing about the stories of the families that have stayed there struck me so deeply. 

In the book, Eragon says something to the effect of, "If everyone could see this right now, how might the world be different?  How much perspectives change?"  I felt that when I visited the Ronald House.  If everyone would just see the need around them, if everyone would volunteer and be brought up with a heart to serve, how much better could this world be?  Immensely, I feel sure!

So, after year of volunteering but not really feeling that heart connection, I find myself suddenly craving to volunteer.  I have developed a heart of service and I look forward to one day teaching my children, from a very early age, to have a heart of service as well.

Up and Down

So Monday was a bit of a letdown from Super Bowl Sunday.  I received a rejection from the Creative Writing Program at Washington University in St. Louis.  I was really bummed because that is the only school that Lieselotte and I both applied to and I was really hoping to get in so we could go together.  :'(  I was also less-than-enthused about work (which has been fairly habitual lately), and it was a gloomy day anyway.  I did go back to the gym for the first time in over a week which was wonderful!  I didn't run, but I did some steep up-hill walking, elliptical, pull-ups, crunches and stretches. 

On Tuesday I went back to silk class for the first time since my fall.  The teacher has changed the whole structure of the class thanks to my fall.  We are now doing more dance-like stuff and more strength training and less "wow-factor" stuff (like crazy drops).  I suppose it is good, as we do tend to move fairly fast.  But anyway, class was just what I needed and got my endorphins pumping. 

I was all hyped-up by the time I got to Charlotte ONE, and my friends Jamie, Lisa and Josh all met me there and we sat together and it was really nice.  Afterward, Jamie, Lisa and I went to Fox & Hound and Tiffany (who is in town for a couple days) met us.  Other CharlotteONE friends came in and out talking to us, I sang two songs in karaoke ('Hand in my Pocket' by Alanis Morrisette and 'Maybe it was Memphis' by Pam Tillis).  It was overall a very fun night and so good to be surrounded by loving friends.  Today I'm excited to go to the gym again and then my life group girls and I are having a social dinner instead of normal Bible study, which will be nice to have a catch-up.  :)

Super Bowl = Way Too Much Food

A really long game of Jenga with Nate.

So I am feeling much, much better and my neck only hurts when I move it very specific ways now.  I even did the "Michael Jackson Experience" for the Wii which is like Just Dance but only MJ songs - it was so much fun.  But yeah, I babysat all weekend and had a good time with the little boy (Nate) - we played board games and did card tricks and played Wii.  Taylor came over one night and was showing us magic tricks with a deck of cards that were absolutely astounding.  I'm such a little kid when it comes to magic tricks - I seriously gape and demand to see it again and again, even though I never figure it out.  lol  Taylor also played some MJ Experience with Nate which was pretty cute - this 6'2" guy and this little kid dancing to MJ's "They Don't Care About Us."

Anyway, on Saturday Nate and I went to see "Big Miracle" about the whales that were trapped under the ice in Alaska in '88 and were rescued as a joint effort between Green Peace, the Eskimos, the government, the Coast Guard, the Soviets and the media.  It was really inspiring and based on the true story. 

Taylor and Nate playing the MJ dance game on the Wii.

Today was the Super Bowl and I went to two parties in a row - bad idea for one's waistline - especially one who has not been allowed to exercise very much for the past week.  Kherri, a friend from silk class, had the first party and she made the most amazing cookies - she really has a talent for cookie/cake decorating.  Then her husband Craig made more meat than 100 people could consume in a week.  But after all the appetizers, I could scarcely finish one burger.  From there I went to my friend Zac's party where there was even more food and I already felt like I was going to explode.  Of course I had to try a few things...mostly sweets.  Can't wait to go to the gym tomorrow.  I don't know if I'll be able to run yet, but some very fast-paced walking is in order!

Kherri and her amazing cookies.

I was talking to Vanessa tonight and I think I may have convinced her to meet me in Europe for about 2 weeks of my month-long trip in May.  I really hope she'll come!  It'd be so fun to travel with her and she really needs the break.  Talking about it has gotten me very excited about it again.



Lastly, I recently heard from Penn State and they said that they have not gotten any funding this year for their writing program and will therefore not be taking any new students.  They will refund my application fee.  So, essentially, that is 2 out of 13 schools down.  (As you may recall, I also got a rejection from Univ. of Texas at Austin).  So, here's to praying for at least one admission somewhere.