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SongsAndSonnets
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Name: KellyDiane
Gender: Female
Interests: justice. peace. my Joshua. learning. antique tea cups. reading. writing. flowers. equality. organic tea. conversations. pearls. autumn leaves. cafes. art galleries. long skirts. international cultures. old books.
Occupation: Student
Industry: Sociology, Ministry
Message: message me
AIM:  oh how lovely6
Member Since:
4/10/2005
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| Sometimes life is about change. And I'm changing my blog. I won't be posting on here anymore, but you can find me at
www.learningthemrslife.blogspot.com
I'll see you there!
Love, Kelly
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| I continually wonder if I have anything worth saying here, yet I always feel like I should come by and say something. It's like the "xanga community" slowly drops off and there are less and less people. It's almost like Xanga is becoming the Dunder-Mifflin of the cyber-world and Facebook and Blogger are the Staples and Office Depot.  (Forgive me, I've been obsessed with The Office lately.)
Again, it is continually interesting working at the bank. I meet a wide variety of people from different cultures and lifestyles. What I actually find to be the most interesting is something that the college-aged, idealist, social activist in me would cringe to hear--yet I can't deny its truth. I'm learning a lot about stereotypes, and it makes a lot more sense to me on how stereotypes came to be. I'm learning that they weren't invented out of thin air. In working in a more diverse location with all different races, cultures, both genders, and all the social classes, I'm finding that stereotypes aren't all fiction, because I'd say that only about 2 out of every 10 people from a various race, class, or culture that I meet drastically break their stereotype.
That's not to say that I only meet a small variety of clones. There's still distinctness in each person I meet, and it's kind of cool to meet the grandmother who is always bailing her grandson out of jail, the dorky guy with glasses from that one business who is always smiling, the Indian business man who never looks me in the eye, or that crabby old lady who hates me just because I'm new...
But in discovering these things, I've also been wondering something else. I've been wondering if fitting a stereotype has to be so terrible, so offensive, and something to avoid with all your life. Because in the college world, everyone uses so much energy to validate their uniqueness, to stand out from the crowd, or to prove their point that sets them apart. It's amazing how many people feel that to be similar to someone else, or to "those kinds of people," is the most terrifying thing in the world. I feel like my generation is more preoccupied with asserting their identity than with actually living it out and just enjoying life. But to continue...
Through this, I've learned that I fit into a stereotype! And I've decided that that's ok. I am a woman. I am white. I am a private-school college student from a middle class family. I go to a Protestant Christian church. I'm a fiancee. I'm a yoga-stretching, chick-flick watching, vegetarian, BlackBerry addict who is middle-class, a struggling Christian, wedding planning, shopaholic that likes flowery skirts and pastel polo shirts that ALSO happens to care about where her plastic bottles go and how her neighbor is treated.
Wow. And I bet there's a lot of other people who fit into generally the same category as me. And it's not the end of the world!
I wonder why stereotypes have to be such an awful thing. Now, if someone has a prejudice against a stereotype, then I think that's an entirely different conversation. Or if someone thinks that there's no way anyone can ever break from a stereotype and never allows a person to be different, then that's also something else. But if someone does happen to see a stereotype, or fit into a stereotype.... I wonder what all the gasps and hype is about--seriously. I think that a stereotype is just a general culture or a common characteristic that probably stems from the culture and community which the person came from. And I'm wondering when this generation got so preoccupied with individualism that that because such a taboo thing?
Just some ponderings...
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| My new job is going pretty well. I'm immersed in conservative corporate America behind the teller line, but on the other side of it, there are some pretty interesting people to meet. Especially considering that I work right downtown--I meet a wide variety of people. Like Sammie. He's my favorite so far. Sammie is a fifty to sixty-something year old black man who holds some sort of a blue collar job that requires a blue jumpsuit uniform. He always comes in laughing--he's loud and he fills the bank with jokes and joy. He kids the tellers about them "mistreatin'" him and he jokes with me to not pick up on their habits--and he says that every day he passes the bank and doesn't come in, he prays for our husbands because we "didn't get to take out our mistreatin' on him." The other day, he came in and had a nickel in his ear for some random reason. Yep--I really like Sammie.
I've been eating vegetarian for a week. It's been a little experiment of mine. Although it is mentally difficult for me to eat vegetarian because I've been trained to grab meat as a convenience food, I can honestly say that my physical self has felt better and more healthy as a result of it. Not to mention it's causing me to branch out and try more recipes and foods. Speaking of, I found a "bargain book" vegetarian cookbook in Barnes and Noble today and I'm really excited about it.
I also discovered the farmer's market today down by the river and did some browsing. I picked up some soybeans, cooking lavender, and marjoram. I also got a pack of cilantro seeds and planted them in a pot when I got home. It will be exciting to take care of them and watch it grow--and then, eventually cook with it. 
The other night, Josh took me to a Silverhawks baseball game and there were fireworks after the game. It was a great date.
Hmmm.... that is all.
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| My latest obsession has been culinary arts. I've always got the Food Network on, whether I'm exercising, cooking, or just lounging around. Bobby Flay and Ace of Cakes are addicting. I've been reading food blogs lately. I love them! People try or create recipes and write about their experiences making them, their suggestions for change, and post pictures of their creations. I've gotten so into them, and because I've been cooking and baking so much more, I felt inspired to start my own! I don't expect it to be anything great or fantastic, just a diary of my attempts and successes.
I'm currently making a wild rice bread that I'll post about later today.
(Oh, here's the address for anyone interested. *smiles*) The Culinary Quest
Josh thinks I should consider going to Culinary Arts school after I'm all done at Bethel. I've been planning on going to graduate school for a ministry related degree. I don't necessarily want to be a pastor per se. Ever since I read Take This Bread by Sara Miles about a year ago, I've had a deep passion for the community aspects that food brings. And through my love of ministry and social justice and my love of food/community, I've gained a big passion for food pantries and soup kitchens. I would love to be a part of a religious community (read: church) who has a heavy outpouring of food ministry to the surrounding community.
Because I'll already be getting my undergraduate in Sociology and Ministry, I guess the line of thinking was that I'd get "more bang for my buck" by now getting a Culinary degree and learning about the different aspects of food (you learn about more than just cooking and baking...) than getting another degree about sociology and ministry.
I don't know. It's an interesting thought. One to ponder over. I welcome any opinions or suggestions.
But for now... I must keep working on my rice bread.
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| It's been a bittersweet time. After months of searching, I've finally been offered a job. And it's a really good job too--much better than I was hoping for. However, when they needed me was right when choir has it's rehearsal. So I had a decision to make... 1. Take this amazing job, especially when it's taken so long to find one? or 2. Turn the job down to be in choir my last four months of college.
I took the job.
Today, I made the phone call to Bob's cell phone to tell him that I wouldn't be returning in the fall. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever done. He told me he was disappointed, and that radiated through his voice. I felt positively awful. He got off the phone fairly quickly, and then I immediately called Josh. I told him about the conversation and I asked him if I was doing the right thing. He said he thought I was and that I should be confident in my decision, even if it's hard. I hate growing up and making decisions....
There's also some hard changes going on in my church family right now. Some people are leaving, and whenever that happens, it's always a rough transition. I offered to step in where ever help was needed. It's going to be a difficult time, but we'll pull through. I'm confident in Christ.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, Josh and I went camping in PA with some friends. It was really nice to get away, cook over a camp fire, spend time painting in the mornings, and visiting a natural beach. We also went to a local amusement park for two days because a new wooden roller coaster opened up. That was also a lot of fun.
So far I have a solid A in Physics--three more classes and a final exam to go. The final will probably be difficult, so I'm shooting to keep my A, but I will be thrilled to end up with a B.
A friend of mine is getting married in a matter of days. I'm excited about her wedding. I think it will be very unique and beautiful. Not to mention, it will be wonderful to have all of the friends together in one place while we celebrate something as amazing as love. Weddings are interesting for me at this stage of life, because I'm anticipating my own so much. It's really hard to wait for my wedding and see others get married. Yet, it's also so beautiful, because I love weddings and I'm so happy for them. I hear people talk about our friends' weddings, and how it will be the most beautiful they've ever seen, how they're looking forward to it so much, how exciting it will be etc.... and I can't help but wonder, "How will my wedding turn out? Will people look forward to my wedding to?" It's petty, I know. But I can be a petty person at times, unfortunately.
Josh got Wii Fit recently, and I tried it out for about an hour today. They have yoga, and it was so fun! I don't really consider it "exercise," but it's definitely great for stretching, and it really challenged my balance and ability to hold poses! I think I have a newfound friend with Wii Fit and yoga.
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