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Name: Rita
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
Birthday: 9/7/1979
Gender: Female
Interests: music: playing it, listening to it, giving my opinion about it, etc.
reading, watching movies, power napping, knitting, hiking, listening to NPR in my car, hanging out in downtown flagstaff, photography, quoting zoolander, consuming tea
Expertise: confrontation, chinese hampster ovary cells, zoolander, praying for snow, being Spirit-filled through car trouble, making a killer latte
Occupation: Other
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
7/8/2004
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| So I know you're probably dying to know how I like my new apartment (love it) and when I'm going to post pictures (once I actually finish unpacking) and how things are going with my team/campus (so far so good...lots of fun), but that's not what this is about. I just made the weirdest discovery. In order to understand this, you probably need to read this post from 2 1/2 years ago when I was living overseas. Don't worry it's short.
So today, I was searching for a place in AZ where I can by a 1/2 lamb to fill my freezer and later my tummy (and perhaps yours if you visit!) and when I typed "Arizona" into the lamb locater website's search box it came back with two options: Arizona (state) and Arizona, LA!!! That would be Arizona, Louisiana for those of you keeping score. Immediately I recalled the degree of hilarious scorn I threw at my Middle Eastern friends when they associated my home state with not only the south, but Louisiana in particular.
So I had to look it up on wikipedia to see why on earth people in the Middle East would know about this city when I had never heard of it. Not there. Not on wikipedia. If it's not on Wikipedia, does it exist? Sorry if that's a little to philosophical for you :)
So I tried Google maps, and sure enough...there it was. A small something (I can't call it a town, because it didn't look like it had any streets) in North-central Louisiana. It seriously couldn't have more than 10 people living there. I did a little more digging (not a ton...geeze, I don't have that much time to kill) and found out it's not really a town but a unincorporated something part of Homer, LA. So please tell me...was this a coincedence, or was the education of my friends so thorough that they were taught about unincorporated somethings in north-central Louisiana?!?!? Crazy!
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| OK, I know I just posted and I never post twice in one day, but I had to. So right now, I'm sitting in my own apartment, stealing internet from my foreign neighbors (I met 2 from Korea and 1 from Wales today), on my free camping chair that I got at CSU, since I haven't moved any of my furniture in yet. And I'm thinking, nobody's coming home. Every time I hear a car door slam, it's not someone to come in and talk to me. I have this place all to myself. If I had a stereo (I don't) or functioning laptop speakers (they don't), I could totally turn up some music and dance around in my...err...pajamas... Oh wait...except that there are windows everywhere, which I love but they don't have curtains yet...also not unpacked. And I live on a major street....well...Flagstaff-major. No music, no curtains, no dancing. But still...this is so weird. Except for the fact that I have this ginormous fridge all to myself, I miss roommates :(
It'll be nice once I have friends and a place for them to sit. Oh...I just heard the train...I missed the train. And it's wonderfully cool here! Current temperature : 77. I love Flagstaff.
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| Back in Flagstaff!
After a 4 day trip to North Dakota to spend some time with my family, two flights, one lost suitcase, one significant time of repentance for my attitude about the lost suitcase, one failed attempt at having my tires aligned, one short but wonderful visit to GB (aka Bethany) to pick up my bike, one trip to target to buy a temporary bed (airbed...$25! woohoo...if you visit me you can sleep on it) and to replace my necessary things that were lost in said suitcase, and a 14 hour all-night 3-state drive from Denver to Flagstaff...I made it! I'm going on 32 hours with no sleep, so this will be short. But I feel good and...
I LOVE MY APARTMENT!!! It's amazing. I almost started crying when I first saw it, it's so awesome. It's full of light and nooks and crannies, and has a huge kitchen with hardwood floors, and an office, and a front porch, and a quite-time loft, and it's literally right across the street from campus and really really close to downtown (no driving!), and it's yellow, and it's next door to a house that has international students from all over the world rotating through in 3 month cycles (hello!), and my neighbors seem awesome, and, and, and, and.... I am so blessed!
OK...I'm going to sleep now!
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Funny story:
On Tuesday night at
our CCC US Staff conference, they brought in Switchfoot to do a little
unplugged show for us. I, honestly, didn’t know much about Switchfoot’s music
other than the songs that they played on the radio and that I have a handful of
friends who are obsessed with them. During the first song, I text messaged one
of those friends, Tracie (who lives in Mesa, AZ), and our textversation went something like this:
Rita: I’m sitting 50 feet away from your favorite
band
Tracie: No way
Rita: Yup. Do you
want me to call you so you can listen?
Tracie: Yes!
So I called her,
she listened, and in between songs…
Rita: So can you
hear ok?
Tracie: Yes! I’ve
never gotten to see them live. Where are you?
Rita: Ft. Collins, CO
Tracie: No way. I’m
in Loveland.
Rita: Really?!?!?!
You should totally come over here…it’s only, like 15 miles away!
Tracie: OK!!!
So Tracie got there
in time for the last three songs! After which we got together with Suzy, our
third stint roommate. It was SO FUN and crazy to be with them together again
for the first time since I left Desert Rivers 2 years ago. What a wonderful
surprise. It was so good to joke and reminiscing about changing the 10th
tire, cones and wounds, devil cats, cooking mishaps, slightly dented cars so we
can slightly dent them. See…you don’t know what I’m talking about which is why
it was so great to hang out with them because they were the primary witnesses
to one of, if not the, most significant year in my life.
Good times. The other great thing about the Switchfoot concert was that I realized that I really actually like them! I even got my song of the summer out of it! "Let Your Love Be Strong" was the perfect song to represent my summer.
Well, leaving Colorado was bittersweet. It was a hard summer in a
lot of ways, but a wonderful summer in so many others. God was so merciful and
good to me, and a lot of things that have been spinning around my head for a
long time, He brought deep and dealt with them on a heart level. So great. He’s
so merciful! The hardest part about leaving CO is leaving the people. I’m
really going to miss my Davis people!!! And it was really fun to get to know and see others.
I am really happy
to report that I have an apartment in Flagstaff! It sounds like it’s going to be really
cool, so I’m looking forward to moving in on the 1st. It’s weird to
think how much my life is about to change, but I’m super excited! Come visit!
But give me a few weeks to get settled and, you know, launch a campus movement
at NAU...
I’m currently in North Dakota spending some time with the fam. It took me
19 hours to get here from Ft. Collins due to delayed flights, and I finally
rolled in around 3am
this morning. Oy. But it was a great chance to catch up on some reading. Aside:
If you haven’t yet, read Organic Church by Neil Cole! It’s awesome…incredibly
challenging principles!! If you have read it, let’s chat. I’d love to hear what
you think.
Well., I’m off to
dine on my family’s famous venison sausage…mmm…
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| Only a few more days for me in Colorado. In many ways, I'm ready to be home. Oh wait...I don't have a home! I guess I'm ready for a change of scenery, at least. In others, I'm really going to miss being here. I've had so much fun hanging out, playing games, bonding with the Pudre, and running amuk with people here, and I know I'm heading into a place that's going to look a lot different. I'm realizing that I'm going to have to start saying some "goodbyes" in the coming days, and that's no fun. I've already done enough of that. Thankfully, most "goodbyes" on staff really just mean, "I'll see you in November at the next conference." Or, when they all come visit me in AZ or when we meet halfway at the Colorado river to go kayaking...(right?!?!?!?)
I am looking forward to visiting the fam in North Dakota for a few days! Even if Mom didn't get her kayak before I get there (;)), I'll still have fun seeing everyone, and, of course, taking lots of pictures. My family is always entertaining!
Some sad news...the car is officially in need of repair. God has blessed me with a great mechanic in Fort Collins (a truely supernatural thing for a place I've been for only 5 weeks!) who is fixing it as I type. $425. Could've been worse, but makes me seriously consider my long-hatching plan to go completely car-less. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough for that yet. Maybe when gas hits $4. So...basically in a few months.
Gotta go get my laundry! Hopefully I'll have some stories from my travels next time!
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