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. 

Dangerous Fall

A silk move from last weekend (not the night of the fall).

NOTE: the video embedded in here is just a random drop I do, it is not really dangerous and is not the one I fell on.

Last night was my first time (since age 2) that I was inside an emergency room.  But getting there is a long story, so let me start from the beginning.

On Sunday night I threw a dinner party at my house - I made chili, cornbread, brownies, rice and salad.  I ended up with 7 or 8 guys and one other girl.  lol  However, everyone pretty much knew one another, so it wasn't awkward.  We played some Wii Fitness and talked and generally had a very good time.  The guy I've gone on a couple dates with, Taylor, was also there.

About 9 p.m., a couchsurfer I'd agreed to host showed up.  He is 19, name is Tyler, and has recently returned from London after one year of college there.  He is originally from FL and wants to finish school in the states.
So anyway, Taylor and Tyler met and talked briefly and then everyone left except Tyler, as everyone else had to work in the morning.

On Monday, I worked from home and Tyler slept in and then played on his computer.  We met my girlfriend Jamie out for lunch at Mellow Mushroom and then came home and worked some more until it was time for me to go to my silk aerial class.  Tyler said he wanted to come along, and the class was from 6 to 7.  Taylor was also going to try to stop by and watch, but he got out of work too late to make it.

Right at 7 p.m., I tried a new drop called 'kamikaze.'  This was the same drop that I had seen a girl do around Thanksgiving when she fell and broke a vertebrae in her neck.  However, it was believed that she passed out in the air, and that is why she fell. But anyway, having witnessed that fall, I was hesitant about trying that move.  However, there was a very thick, fluffy pad under my silk and the floors at the climbing gym where I was taking class are also padded.

I was about 15 feet up, hanging upside down in the air.  I had the silk wrapped a certain way so that when I opened my legs into a straddle, I would drop about 5 feet.  I was supposed to keep holding onto the tail ends of the silk with my hands, and that would be what stopped me.  So, I finally got brave enough to open my legs, felt myself plummeting head down, and then - CRASH.  I landed on my neck.  (Not my head, exactly, because I curled my head under).  My body came down on top of my head and I essentially did a somersault.  I heard my whole neck crunch and pop, and I was in a lot of pain, but I was still moving.  Brian, the instructor, wouldn't let me sit up, but I was rolling around and moving my extremities in pain. 

Again, a not-so-dangerous silk move.

The people who worked at Inner Peaks (the rock climbing gym), came rushing over and one guy made me lay flat on my back and put his hands on both sides of my head so I couldn't move it.  I was so uncomfortable and felt sure that if they'd just let me move, it would feel better.  However, that was not allowed.  Brian (the teacher) kept holding my hand and talking to me and I kept saying "What did I do wrong?"  And he kept saying "We'll talk about that later, just worry about you."  Finally, Inner Peaks decided they were calling 911, whether I wanted them to or not.  I had Brian call my mom and he was very good about being incredibly calm to not make her more scared than she would be already.

Mom and Dad were on their way to Inner Peaks when the paramedics arrived and put a very uncomfortable, hard neck brace on me, then started strapping me to a board to put me on the stretcher.  They asked what hospital I wanted to go to, and I said, "Can we wait until my mom gets here?"  And they said yes, but then I realized it would be easier to have Mom and Dad meet us at Matthews Presbyterian because Inner Peaks is very hard to find.  Tyler called them and they agreed, but then after I was wheeled through the whole place like an idiot and put in the ambulance, they said they needed to take me uptown because I'd fallen from over 10 feet. So then Tyler called Mom and Dad back, who were already at Matthews Presby, and told them to meet us uptown.

Meanwhile, Taylor had texted me right before my fall and said they'd had a bomb threat at work.  I texted back, while waiting for the medics, that I had fallen, then someone took my phone.  I kept asking Brian what I did wrong with the drop, and he said it looked like I just let go.  What I think happened was that this drop is very similar to another drop we do, but in that drop, when you open your legs into straddle, you let go with your hands.  I think my muscle memory just took over and I let go when I was supposed to hold on. Oops.

Anyway, so I'm in the ambulance and I think, "I need to text Taylor again and tell him I'm sort of okay." (I mean, I wasn't paralyzed, so that's a start).  So I asked the paramedic who was with me to ask for my phone through the window and she came back and said, "Your friend is using it right now - he's on the phone with your boyfriend."  I said, "My boyfriend?" and she said "Do you have a boyfriend?" and I said, "Not that I know of!"  And the woman medic said, "Well I guess you do now." hahaha  Anyway, Tyler had called Taylor when reading my text from him and told him what was happening, and Taylor said he'd meet us at the hospital too.

Meanwhile, Brian, my teacher, was also going to the hospital, but apparently never got the  memo that I was being sent to the uptown one.  He said he was in the ER waiting room, but when Tyler went to look for him, he couldn't find him. We realized after everything that he was at the wrong hospital - I felt so bad since he'd been waiting for over an hour!

Only my mother would actually take a picture of me like this!

Anyway, so I'm waiting for the doctor to check me out and my neck is still in this crazy hard neck brace when Mom and Dad walk in.  After they come over and Mom freaks out a little and holds my hand, she finally calms down.  Dad and Tyler are really hungry, so they migrate to the cafeteria  Right after they left, I notice a very tall presence in the room, but I can't see who it is because all I have is peripheral vision since I can only look upward. The doctor was talking to me at the time I think, but anyway, when he was done, Taylor came over and held my hand and made me laugh - which hurt, but was good and distracting.  I was pretty pissed because they wouldn't let me have my water until after they did the CT scan.  My hands and feet were also freezing.  Then the doctor came and poked and prodded me and said he had a very good feeling that I was okay, but that they'd take me to get the scan soon.  When I got wheeled off, Taylor followed  my stretcher (on his gimpy ankle which he'd badly sprained on Friday when we went to the trampoline park to play dodgeball), which was good because it was kind of far to the radiology unit and all I could see was the ceiling, so it was good to have someone there talking to me. 

Finally, they wheel me back and suddenly I'm glad they didn't let me have my water because now I have to pee so badly and they won't let me move until they get the results back.  The nurse tells the doctor to rush things, which he does - when he came back, he said I was not broken or fractured!  They took the brace off me and, with considerable help, I sat up and mom helped me hobble to the bathroom.  Back in my room, it seemed like forever before they returned to take the shunt out of my arm (which they never used and has since left a nice bruise).  In the meantime, I pulled off all the little sticky things they'd stuck all over me. Finally they gave me the dismissal papers.

Oh great, let's get a close up.

As we walked down the hallway toward the garage, Taylor put his arm around me as I was rather woozy and couldn't really move my head, and he was rather limpy.  Mom started laughing behind us and said we made quite a pair.  At long last, my family loaded up into our car and drove back to Inner Peaks so Mom and Tyler could follow Dad and me home.  Taylor went home as it was already after 10 and he had work in the morning.

That night, Mom, Tyler and I ate dinner at 11 p.m.  I was so hungry, but it hurt to move and eat - my esophagus somehow got bruised (probably from the neck brace), so that's no fun.  I also have long red marks on the back of my neck from the brace and bruising.

Sleeping last night sucked, since every time I needed to move, I had to literally move my head with my hands because I couldn't actually lift it with my neck.  Today I was very tired and sore, but I think it may be worse tomorrow, as I'm starting to feel sore in other spots of my body including my back and arms.  I did, however, go to the chiropractor and get a gentle adjustment which was good.  I also went to see Grandma and Grandpa who were so relieved I was okay, and then I went to a dinner and the first part of a concert at my church.  I know, I know, probably not a good idea, but I'd already paid for it.  I did leave 2 hours early though and now I'm about to go ice my neck and watch a little TV before bed.



Oh, and we dropped Tyler off at a bus stop today as he was headed to Davidson to visit a friend there.  I tell you what though, that poor kid is probably  never going to CouchSurf again!

A Tribute to Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter has touched my soul ever since I first heard her songs, and I can't imagine a time when she will not be my favorite artist of all time.  Usually, I prefer songs that I can easily pick up the lyrics to and sing along full-throttle.  But Mary's songs are different.  Most of them are not really the sing-along type.  They may be the hum-along type, but the lyrics are long, different and not easily remembered (especially not when your MCC playlist is nearly 200 songs strong).  Yet, like a particularly poignant poem, book or movie, her songs strike a chord in my soul no matter how many times I hear them.  Sometimes they lift me up, sometimes they make me cry, and more often than not, they leave me in bitter-sweet reminiscence of days gone by and tentative hopes for days to come. Mary may be a year older than my mother, but I know in her heart, she's just a girl like me....

Girls Like Me - M.C.C.

Girls like me aren’t hard to find
We grow like roses on the vine
We wear our hearts on our sleeves
You probably know a girl like me.

We live alone and in our heads
We eat standing up or in our beds
Guilt and fear merge easily
In the quiet souls of girls like me

And loneliness is like a cold,
Common and no cure we’re told
We take to bed per chance to dream
In the blue light of the TV screen.

Girls like me like summer light
And cold beer on a summer night
And boys who aren’t afraid of what they see
Inside the eyes of girls like me

And hopefulness is like a drug
It makes a girl believe in love
And if somehow you love us back
You think there’s something wrong with that

Girls like me aren’t hard to trust
Your deepest secret’s safe with us
And when it’s time to set you free
You can always count on girls like me

It’s good to know a girl like me
You used to love a girl like me