Creepy Crawlies

Yes, readers, that is a centipede...and yes, that is my Nalgene for perspective. It seems like, since I came home about 5 weeks ago, every spider and bug has come out to greet me.

Now I know that my bumper sticker says that I am a spider killer. This is true. I guess this is just case-in-point that spiders 1) can't read or 2) don't understand warnings.

I can't count how many spiders, bugs, and flies I have killed since I came home. This is not to say that my house is dirty or anything. But it is summertime. These bugs decide that they want the A/C, too, or that they want to go on vacation, or something, so they come on in!

And I am ready for them.

I just wish they would go away.

Any way, about the centipede. I was on facebook, talking to a friend, when I heard a scratching sound. I looked down to see the end of a 3-inch long centipede disappear under the keyboard!

--HOLD ON!!!!!!! 3 INCH LONG CENTIPEDE JUST CRAWLED ACROSS THE DESK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--

Thus began the assault on the unsuspecting creature. Pretty soon the thing crawled out from under the keyboard and and proceeded to hide under the computer modem. I considered calling the customer assistance number on the computer but wasn't sure that it would be helpful.

I tried to kind of slide the annoyance out from under the modem with a piece of paper, but he wouldn't cooperate. So I ran down the hallway to get my camera and my Nalgene for perspective. I managed to get the insect to come out from under the computer. I snapped a picture then retrieved the trash can from the bathroom and attempted to push the offending party off the desk with some TP.

He wouldn't have it.

He held on to the desk and the TP with his little legs as he bent over backwards from the edge of the desk, struggling not to get canned.

Gravity took its toll, and the villain fell. I made sure he was actually in the trash and hadn't escaped onto the floor again, and then promptly flushed him.

I have no idea how the miniature monster got into the house and up onto the desk without me seeing him. After all, he was huge!
Oh well, the adventure is over.

I just hope he didn't bring his siblings along when he entered the house......

A taste of home

Fig Newtons

"They're not cookies, they're granola bars chopped up in squares."

-gio

Terminology

"What's a gadget?"

-luke

"A thingamabob."

-mom

"Like a cookie?"

-luke

Peaches

"I don't like the skin."

-gio

"I thought you didn't like buunt [burnt]. Is that buunt?"

-mom

"I think so! But it's fwuity, not buuny!"

-gio

Star Wars

"I know what the Force is, it's 'please'!"

-gio

Shhhhhh

"What's Brenda crying about?"

-mom
"She's not crying, she's yelling."

-gio

Minty fresh

"You are not brushing your teeth. You are rinsing your mouth with your toothbrush in it!"

-dad

Tickle attack

"Did you hear about the lady who died from being tickled? They were tickling her and she couldn't breathe, and she died."

-me

"Were you tickling her?"

-lexi

Hands

"God's got everything in His hands."

-brenda

"The whole earth?"

-luke

"Yeah."
-brenda

"But He's not holding it, 'cuz then it wouldn't turn."
-gio

Haha

"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you...but you're not laughing."

-mom

Lexi, Gio, Mr. Toadally Rad, Luke, and Brenda

Unique? I think not.

I had a breakthrough when I was in Yosemite. I thought about the people who like to complain about their problems but don't do anything about them. I know we are all there at some point, but the difference is in how the person ends up dealing with the problem.

There are no unique people out there. Yes they have unique personalities and such, but they all have similar problems and sins (nothing new under the sun, I suppose). The real problem is that when people see their problems or sins as being unique, they think that they can effectively exempt themselves from the solutions and/or the consequences.
"Well, yes, that solution or action sounds good and right, but my situation is different. It won't work for me. So I'm going to keep on doing this wrong thing or not doing this good thing or being a victim of the problem until God miraculously removes this from my life."
Lame. Lame. Not going to work. (Unless you die...but then you wouldn't have a life... ;) )
I guess it was such a breakthrough because that is what I do and many other people do, usually subconciously. They don't actively think that they are helpless to conquer the problem or the sin, but that is the way they act.

And it's wrong. And it's not helpful. And it's frustrating. And we wonder why the problem won't just LEAVE.
Ha.

'Cuz it's easier to sit under an umbrella in the living room than to patch the leaking roof.

It ain't easy. But that's no surprise.

God never promised that life and its problems would be easy. But He did say He would never leave us nor forsake us. He'll be there to hand you the boards to patch the leaking roof.

And this analogy is done. I hope it helps someone out there. Ditch the umbrella and pick up the hammer. :)

Summit

I couldn't remember if I said I was going to Yosemite or not on my blog. So I used the handy little ctrl+f shortcut and found out that there was no instance of the word "Yosemite" in my current blog postings. Thus, I had not told you.

I went to Yosemite! ;)

Ross, Scott, Ashley, Garret, Kaydee, Irene, and I were the grateful recipients of ibex-roommate-and-friend Emily's family's mistake. At least I think it was a mistake.

Em's family reserved two campsites for a week, but some of their extended family was not coming till later in the week. Em contacted a few people via Facebook to see if anyone could use

the two nights that were available at the second site. After contacting a few brothers, sisters-in-law, and a friend, I said, "Hey, we want it!" It was so awesome! Thanks Em! We had a great time. Unfortunately Audra could not come because she had to work. Sad times! Next time, Audra!

As we were planning for our Sunday to Tuesday trip, Irene and I decided that we wanted to hike Half Dome. Ross, Scott, and Ashley would have come up too if we were going to be in the valley longer, but they decided to spend the short time going to Glacier Point with Garret and Kaydee and hanging out. So Irene and I hiked Half Dome on Monday.

Here are some facts:

+about a 5,000 foot change in altitude; the summit is 8,836 feet

+8.2 miles one direction (unless you get lost like we did; then it is 8.7 miles one direction ;) )

+if you slip under the cables, you will fall to your death

+there are frequent thunderstorms with lightning, and there is nowhere to hide on top

+sometimes the poles holding the cables are loose

+you can get altitude sickness if you don't drink enough water

+put your feet flat against the rock when you climb the cables; if you try to use your toes, you will slip

Thankfully I knew about the altitude sickness before I started climbing, unfortunately from experience last summer in Tahoe. I was not about to do that again! So I drank a LOT of water. I used Scott's big Camelback and my Nalgene.

It was a great experience. The hike was tedious but fun. The views were beautiful. God's creation screams of His love of beauty. I was afraid that I would get to the cables and turn back because...I don't like heights. I know, I know...why hike it then?

'Cuz it is THERE. Staring me in the face. I'm not a quitter. I had to.

I stared at my feet as I went up, barely looking out at the valley waaaaaaaaay below me. I told Irene to shut up about the people dying from falling or about the fact that the poles were loose or about the fact that her feet were slipping.

We made it up, had something to eat, talked to a few people, took jumping pictures. Irene almost took a little nap; she'd been up two times before.

We were some of the last people to get back down. It was not bad at all going down, besides the knowledge of the fact that if you let go, you would tumble end over end to your death. But ya know, 'sides that, it was fine. ;)

I thought I would be happy to go downhill after about seven hours of going uphill. Nope. The miles had taken their toll on my knee, toes, and ankle. For the last few miles I was focusing on walking correctly. But I made it, and God didn't let me die. :)

Favorite moments:

Irene yelling/snarling at a squirrel before we realized there were also people behind us! They walked away...hehe.

Making it to the top without dying and taking awesome pics!

Talking to a bunch of random people on the way up and the way back down.

Ross trying to lure a squirrel into the tent with Cheez-its to get the squirrel to jump on Irene in her sleeping bag.

Hanging out and talking with everyone.

As you can see, I had a great time. I love adventure. It is a part of me, and I hope I never lose it.

Life after school

Once again I am faced with uncertainty.

What will I do next year (next year as in August; for teachers and students, years are measured from August to July ;) )?

Where will I work?

Where will I live?

With whom will I live?

Will I even have a job?

What happens if I don't get a job?

Should I keep hoping that there will be substitute positions open in SoCal and/or NorCal, or should I look for a normal administrative assistant job?

Where is my flashing light from heaven?

There will be no flashing light. Because this too is a test to see if I will trust God in the midst of uncertainty, do my best with what I think He wants me to do, and let Him handle the outcome. Not easy, but then life isn't easy. Life's not easy like the button at Staples, and life's not like the movies.

I suppose I should start by listening to my pastor's message, "Worry Is Dumb!"

*sigh*

"When did we grow up?! And how do we make it stop?!"

Just kidding. I like being grown up. I remember a friend of mine trying to convince me on many different occasions that I was a grown up, errr, an adult. I think I finally believe him, though being an adult doesn't mean you stop learning. While it is great to have my parents to live with and to get help from for now, I want to move on. And that takes money. And money comes from a job. So I really want a job...a teaching job. 'Cuz teaching kids is fun...and I've started the countdown for my clear credential already...I have five years in which to get a job and to complete two years of teaching. And while I have the résumé to be hired, I'm not the most dynamic person out there (plus I myself don't look like I have graduated from high school yet). I can hold my own in the classroom, though...I have the Look.

Any way, I have rambled enough.

Pictures of the yard...if God clothes the grass of the field, won't He take care of me, oh I of little faith?

17 days

Seventeen days ago, I finished my education. Formal education, that is. Yes, I am now certified to teach middle and high schoolers English. Please hire me! :) I really liked the junior high students, but I loved my high schoolers. I would leave junior high thinking, "well, I'll be back tomorrow. I wonder what I'll be teaching." When I would leave high school, I would be thinking, "I can't wait to come back tomorrow to spend more time with these guys!" Though high schoolers are better at getting away with things (sneaking notes, texting, etc.) and are not as motivated, I just like them better. Before you think, "How sad!", remember that the majority of junior high students do grow up to be high school students...there is still hope for them. :)

In the last seventeen days I have read five books: Fahrenheit 451, The Catcher in the Rye, The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, and A Wrinkle in Time. More on those later.

In the last seventeen days I have taken a lot of pictures. Here are some of them.

I went to Venice Beach one Saturday. I found a sand dollar and stuck it in the cuff of my pants.

Tahoe at sunset.

Shooting Ross' rifle.

Shooting Ross' Glock out at Spenceville. :D

Dandelions in the yard.

This reminds me of Huck Finn. Lying in star thistle.

Conversation with Kat...

Here is my conversation with Kat last night on facebook regarding something stupid/really funny I did yesterday. I wish you could have been there when this story actually happened; it was a lot funnier in person. I guess you'll have to settle for our lil' chat. ;)

Katherine
oh good! i love stories that begin with "poor little kids"
12:17amJennica
this isn't about them right now
12:17amKatherine
oh
12:17amJennica
this is about Garret and I and everyone else
sort of
any way
12:17amKatherine
ok
12:17amJennica
Garret was telling us at dinner (Ross, Audra, Garret, Kaydee, and I) about how his friend pulled a rattlesnake out of a pipe by the tail.
They pulled it out by the tail 'cuz the snake didn't have enough room to turn his head around to bite anyone
sooo right before the head came out...
BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I jumped so hard an SMACKED my hand on the table!!!
12:19amKatherine
HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA
12:19amJennica
one of Ross and Audra's little dogs had gone under the table and put his cold little nose on my hand RIGHT as Garret got to that part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12:20amKatherine
i can hardly type i'm laughing so hard
i sooooooooooo wish i could haev seen that
12:20amJennica
I haven't seen Garret laugh that hard in a long time!

Update: What's on Jennica's mind?

...The Catcher in the Rye is an odd book. High schoolers should not be required to read it.

...I am 2/3 of the way through The Kite Runner. The Kite Runner has many different twists. Quite a few of the main characters have died, and the story is still intriguing. I'm going to see if I can finish it tonight.

...I am going shooting with my brothers tomorrow! I wanted to go to the store and buy the ammo for us, but that won't happen because...

...I am still waiting on the phone call for summer school. Someone from the office contacted me today, but I missed the call because I was on my way to Bowman on the way back from Tahoe. I am hoping they will call tomorrow. So if I get the call tomorrow, I might not be able to go shooting with my brothers. We shall see. There will always be other times for shooting, but still.

...I might get a new Bible this weekend. I want to get an ESV Bible because there is a really cool "edition" that you can buy with wide margins specifically for taking/making notes. Also, I read a little in the ESV, and it doesn't seem to be that different from NKJV, which is what I have read since I was about 12. We shall see. I really like the little Bible I have now and will post pictures a later date.

...I already have a few things set up with my brothers and sisters-in-law for this summer. On Monday I am going shooting with Ross and Garret (can you tell I'm excited?) and then having dinner with Ross and Audra. On Wednesday I am going to a game night at Ross and Audra's, hopefully with all of my brothers and sisters-in-law in attendance (Ashley can't come because she has youth group). I might go see Kaydee tomorrow at work if I don't get to go shooting. On Sundays Scott invited me to play volleyball with people from his and Ashley's church. I am happy to hang out with my brothers and sisters-in-law. People my age! I love them!

...I am happy to have the education and training that I received at Master's, but I am also realizing that you can turn cocky if you don't guard against it. No bueno. Maybe more on that later.

...I met four foreigners in the last week: Luke and Will from New Zealand, Marcus from Germany, and Soandso from Peru. (FYI, his name really wasn't Soandso, I just can't remember what it actually was; he was the host at a restaurant that Irene and I went to.)

...Tahoe was fun. We slept under the stars and were not eaten by bears.

...That's all for now. Back to my book... ;)

Well...

Several things have happened in the last week or so.

I finished the credential program!!!! Yes, it is all done!!!

I moved out of aptartment 29. Sad day.

I had a job interview. I will hopefully find out tomorrow about teaching or tutoring during summer school. I reeeaaaaally hope I get it.

I got home in 6 hours from SoCal. And happily, my bike made it, too. I was a little worried that I would notice just as the bike flipped off the back of the car, and I would have to go back along the freeway median in the dark to find it. I was happy that did not happen, though it would have made a good story!

I hung out with several friends. I hung out with Melyndee, Adrienne, and Michelle specifically, and then a bunch of peeps from my church's college and career group. I am sad to leave SoCal. I could actually be friends with the church people this summer if I tried hard enough. Oh well.

I headed out to Venice Beach. That was fun. I walked along the beach, found a sand dollar, walked by one of the canals, watched planes that had just taken off from LAX, took pictures, got a smoothie and a giant coconut macaroon at The Cow's End (where the locals go), and saw several hundred interesting people. I considered a tattoo but decided against it.

I started and finished Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Quite the interesting book. Since I'm going to be an English teacher, I decided that I should read the books that high school and junior high students read in school. This is one of them. I liked it, for the most part. Odd and kinda creepy, but not too bad. The whole book is based on the fact that people do not like to think, so they distract themselves with other things. They want to be happy without thinking of bad things or important world events or other people in their lives. So they destroy the things that make people think: books. However, they have a harder time destroying the ideas contained in them. This is the story of a fictional man who decided to do something about it. Sad commentary on today.

I am reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I don't know what teachers are thinking when they have their students read this book. It is an interesting style of writing. (I think the style is or is related to stream of consciousness, where the author just writes in a constant flow of thought.) Basically the main character is a perverted, messed-up 16 year old named Holden who gets kicked out of schools and knows a lot of people to do stuff with but isn't happy. Sadly he sounds like some of my students. They are upset about something but don't know what it is or how to fix it. Maybe it is something in their past; maybe it is something in their present. Maybe they are just feeling sorry for themselves. Maybe they have a victim mentality and don't know it. Maybe teachers think the students can relate to Holden. I sure wouldn't want my students to be able to relate to him. Weird. I've heard that some kids have changed for the worse after reading this book. It's like it would be justification for them to give in to their desires and sadness. Weird book. I hope I am never called upon to teach it. I honestly do not know what I would do. Another thing I don't like about the book is that you aren't sure what the plot is. It is just this kid talking...

I plan to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald next. Review coming whenever I finish it.

I also have The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I read part of that before, and a few of my friends highly recommended it. Should be pretty good. It is a book that several college kids have read, so I figured it would be a good idea to read that, too. Not that I go around reading books just because the world does. Preparation is good, though, as long as it is tempered with God's Word. It is impossible to know everything I will be asked to teach, but I would like to have exposure to the books I will be using with my students. I'd hate to assign a book like The Catcher in the Rye and to be only one step ahead of my students. That doesn't sound like a good idea.

I am headed to Tahoe to visit Irene. I can't remember the last time I saw her; maybe in ummmm, February? That might not be right. I can't remember. But we are going to hang out in Tahoe and will hopefully sleep outside. And hopefully the bears will leave us alone!

That's about all I'm going to write now...I have some thoughts on the back burner, but they will have to wait...

Before...

you think that I am very odd to put a link to my own blog on my own blog, let me explain.

Jennica is not Jenica.

Jennica is me.

Jenica is the girl from whom Jennica's parents got the idea for Jennica's name.

Jenica is in China right now teaching English. Jenica's job sounds like the dream job for Jennica. Well, sort of; Jennica likes the Middle East, and Jennica heard that Jenica would actually like to teach French, not English.

Any way, that is why there is a link to Jenica's blog on Jennica's blog.

(Though Jennica knows that most of you probably do not pay attention to the new links Jennica adds to Jennica's blog, like the link to Jenica's blog.)

And finally, as a post script, Jennica is starting to get confused as to the actual spelling of Jennica's name...or is it Jenica's name?

Too funny NOT to post

And then there was the time Sherrie was in the pool at night.  A helicopter was overhead, and someone had the audacity to leave the front gate open.

Jennica and Sherrie's

"Worst Case Scenario Defense Tactics"

1. Hit any intruder with a pool noodle.

2. Capture intruder by forcefully slamming "net-on-a-stick" over head.

3. Drag into pool (preferably the deep end).

4. Run for your life into Apt. 29.

5. Lock all doors/latches.

6. Call police.

7. Pray this never happens to you!  (But if it does, at least you'll know what to do!!) ;)

happy anniversary, little blog

Well, today marks a milestone...Not too impressive, but I have had my blog for 3 years now!  Crazy!

I multiplied the number of days per year (365) by the number of years my blog has been in operation (3), added 1 day for leap year (2008), and came up with 1096 days.  Yes, dear little Psalm 19:14 has been alive for 1096 days, with a total of 229 posts.  That means that I post something on this site once every 4.7860262008733... days.  And that is if you don't count the posts that I have deleted.  So if you follow this weblog, you shouldn't be too disappointed if you click the link at least once a week.  If you are, oh well. ;)

Here's to the past 3 years!  We'll see what comes up in the next 3...