Immature

So I have been recognizing recently, our society loves immaturity. Do I think I am mature? No, not completely. I believe we are all mature in different areas. But what I have found disturbing is society's obsession with immaturity.
It is in the cartoons. It is in the movies. It is in the comic strips. It is in the advertising. We laugh at immaturity. I am not talking about immaturity in children. They are "supposed" to be immature; they are children. High schoolers and junior highers and college students are all learning how to be mature. In fact, the maturation process should never stop. But when we are entertained by immaturity, then I worry.
It is in the cartoons.
- It is supposed to be funny when someone is acting in a childish way, like getting worked up over something small (a brother saying something harmless, for example) and throwing a fit. This is not attractive. This is disturbing.
It is in the movies.
- It is supposed to be funny when people do not have the maturity to handle various situations, such a breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend (screaming, yelling, shifting blame, lying, etc.) or learning some piece of upsetting news (not like death, more like, the car is broken). Or it is supposed to be funny when people cannot relate well to others and they make fun of them instead (their language, clothes, mannerisms, whatever).
It is in the advertising.
- It is supposed to be funny when some lady on a radio commercial can't handle a certain question and she "flies off the handle," screaming. Or it is supposed to be funny when someone else compares getting rid of an old car to getting a divorce ("You never do what I want! You are good for nothing!").

Why should we be entertained by this? If we were to see these things in person, we would not be entertained. We would be appalled and/or saddened. Things are bad enough in real life. Yet if it is in the media, we are supposed to be entertained by it. Don't be a brainless observer. Decide things for youself.

Fun with friends

Lester: I can't do anything normal when you're around!


(Viola sighting #341: Viola was spotted hiding in the bushes near human resources; we think she wants to be their mascot)

Naomi: I hate time. It's always...going.

Viola Sighting #279

Viola was spotted in the ibex office, masquerading as the head of John the Baptist.

Roommate!

I realized last night that I have never written anything about my roommate! How terrible is that! I've been her roommate for a semester and half and I never said anything about her! Any way, her name is Adrienne. She is from Washington and is an ARA on our wing in Sweazy. We get along pretty well, though she is quiet, a little detached, and tends to zone out at times. In spite of these tendencies, Adrienne is usually a good listener; she often helps me figure out various problems. She really lives out her favorite phrase, "Two heads are better than one!"

Adrienne has to pay her own way in order to go to school, so she babysits 9 kids, 8 of which are boys. She is a model student. Her major is Computer Science, which is good because though she can't really focus on people, she has no problem sticking to her work. Oftentimes I will come back to our room and there she'll be, sitting in the same place I left her. All in all, she is a good roommate. I will be sad to see her go at the end of the semester.

Oh, if you want to see a picture of us in my office, I've included one below.

Define: opinionated

Quite a while ago, I was told by a friend that I was opinionated. I thought to myself, I don't really like that and I don't think that is true. The term opinionated seems to imply that you don't really think about what you believe. You just hold onto your views dogmatically. You don't care if a good argument is presented that may show your belief to be immature or incomplete or unwise. You are going to believe what you believe, and no one else's opinions or ideas matter.
In recent months I have found myself more willing to listen to others and to change my thinking if necessary. Therefore, I have an opinion, but I am willing to listen to reason. This is the way you learn. You allow yourself to consider other opinions on various matters. You thoughtfully weigh the options and decide on one, to the best of your ability.
I was trying to think of a biblical example of this, and I finally thought of the Bereans. The Bereans didn't just accept what Paul said concerning salvation. Rather, they took what he said and compared it to Scripture. It is important for Christians to do the same thing. We need to take what has been said and proposed and compare it to biblical principles. This is also a way to have a good testimony, to be willing to listen to others.

opinion
a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in one person's mind about a particular matter www.iclasses.org/assets/literature/literary_glossary.cfm

opinionated
obstinate in your opinions
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

obstinate
stubborn: tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
contrary: resistant to guidance or discipline
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Today

Today I...

+ spoke up in class

+ climbed a fence

+ peeled potatoes

+ talked on the phone

+ sent e-mails

+ ate 2 burritos

+ took some pictures

+ listened to soundtracks

+ celebrated a good friend's birthday :)

New NickNames

Well, I have a couple nicknames to add to my list...

Japper
From Shane again...This came from the corruption of Jennica->Yennica
->Japanese Currency->Japper
GLS
From Pablo...I remind him of a sister...Not his sister, just a Generic Little Sister...Not so much a nickname as it was a title...

Hmmmm, are either of these compliments?

Gimme a break...spring break, that is...

Brenda (aka, Pickle, Monkey, or Monkey-Bean) was thrilled that my friends wanted to play Mousetrap with her!

Uh-hum, someone's shoes...Not mine, though...

We found a lizard in a pinecone at Lindy's house...Just hangin' out...

Sunrise in Willits...

Lindy's awesome hair...We got to drive around in her mom's convertible...

Sutter puppy and Pablo...

My little man, Sutter puppy!

Pickle tries to make a quick get-away..."Not so fast, Monkey!"

Paul was adament about the fact that he did not want to get pelted by Lizbeth...

Yea for shorts! Crazy college students...

Spring Break in a.....pistachio shell...

Katrin!

Hello, Katrin! Miss you! Wish you were here...

* Jenn-ee-ker

Spring Break, Part I

So, finally leaving our wonderful campus a half hour late, we left for Sara's house, the first of many stops! My poor little car made it up with 5 people and much luggage. My copilot was Sara, with Lester, Lindy, and Shane stuffed in the back. After stopping for ice cream to eat with homemade apple pie later, we headed for the Thomas home! Because of a lack of room in my car, Amos came up later with Sara's dad. We had a great time watching Looney Toons, eating dinner, playing Balderdash, and being "attacked" by Gracie (the Australian shepherd).

Sara's dad:
If God meant for us to be vegetarians, He would have made animals out of meat.
Us:
Uhhh, He did make animals out meat!
Sara's dad:
If God meant for us to be vegetarians, He would NOT have made animals out of meat.
Sara's mom:
That's so lame!! Where did you come up with that?!
Sara:
You should have heard the first version...

This morning Paul, Lizbeth, and Emily finally arrived at 1:12ish...Not that it mattered much...As we were about to leave, Shane and Sara disappeared into the garage. We got tired of waiting for them, so Pablo had the idea that we should leave. But, hmmmmm...they would hear our engines...So we put the Suburban in neutral and pushed it down the driveway. Well, Pablo steered, I took pictures, and other people pushed... :)

Goodbye, Suburban!
Goodbye van!

Goodbye Sara, Lindy, and Shane!

We arrived at the Ellsworth house just in time to have dinner! It was very good...mmmmm...Then Lester, Lizbeth, Amos, Bethany, Dr. Ellsworth, and I headed to Trinity Bible Church to help Pablo with his choral thing for Easter. Came back, got on the computer, had a family prayer, and got back on the computer...Church tomorrow and a flute concert featuring Bethany Ellsworth and the Hawkey girls (a family I met at Thanksgiving)...

Dum-de-dum

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I wasn't going to say anything. Then a Computer Services guy came into my office and informed me that my old, bulky monitor was being replaced with a new, flat-screen monitor! So I got a new monitor and a subject for my blog, all at the same time! How cool is that! ; ) Now if I can only make it so it doesn't appear fuzzy...