good call, kate

sometimes being awake is weirder

2008-10-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

i didn't have any dreams on wednesday night.

i'm housesitting for some friends. they have a huge dog and they live in a less-than-safe area of town. they don't have a door knob on the front door... just a deadbolt.

usually i'm pretty comfortable in their house, what with the huge dog and all.

but wednesday night, after going to bed incredibly late anyway (i was watching El Dorado with John Wayne. I wasn't watching it with John Wayne. But he was in it.) i thought i heard someone trying to break into the house. that was at 1:09 a.m.

i blew off the noise as my imagination, but then about five minutes later i heard it again. for sure this time. and then a few minutes later i saw a strange light in the hallway.

it doesn't help that the dog is so big that he moves like a person. i hope you know what i mean by that.

anyway, the end result was that i spent the rest of the night, or at least a good chunk of it, with a large axe handle and my cell phone in the bed with me, alternating staring at the ceiling, the clock and the open door.

so i didn't get the chance to dream anything crazy.

phone number dream

2008-07-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

in my dream last night i was with a person with whom (ugh. "with" twice in four words. not good) i almost never spend time in my waking life, although I did see her this weekend, so that might explain her presence last night.

anyway i was with her and her phone rang. she looked at it for a moment and said something about not knowing the number, then held it out for me to look at (as people do). the number was 777-717-7771. not terribly creative, i know, but i was dreaming and i'm not sure i can control that.

i grabbed the phone from her and tried to answer it but missed the call. "i know that number," i said. "i know who that is." then i sat and wracked my brain trying to remember who it was. I knew it was someone who had called me or another of my companions earlier in the day. i knew it was someone i didn't particularly like (i didn't dislike them either, i just didn't particularly like them) and i knew it was important for them to get hold of me, but i didn't know why. it seems like it had something to do with church.

anyway i repeated the number to myself several times and that's when the strange thing happened. i woke up. i looked at the clock. 5:45(ish). and i lay awake for several minutes repeating the number to myself and trying to figure out who the heck it was. i promised myself i would remember who the caller was and call them back later in the day.

i went back to sleep for a while, dreamed something else, got up, got ready for work and it wasn't until pretty much just now that i realized the number wasn't real. it was a dream. no one with an extremely uncreative phone number needs me to call them back today. duh.

from now on....

2008-06-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

this blog will be dedicated solely to weird dreams i have. and since jessica grant is the only one who will ever read it most likely, that'll be totally fine.

finally

2008-06-18T10:32:00.001-07:00

for the longest time i have been unable to log into this account. it appears that i may be back...

oh for crying out loud

2007-02-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

six comments?

i lost my password guys. sorry. couldn't remember it. stupid google.

alright give me a break this is a weird time.

while you're thinking about that, think about this.

deceptions will abound

what the...

2007-01-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

i made it almost the entire month of january without posting. jeez. lame

almost every day...

2006-12-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

i get up, walk across the room, hit snooze on my alarm and go back to bed...

every. six. minutes. for an hour and a half.

restful? not so much.

christmas! yay!

2006-12-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

i didn't get a lot of sleep this weekend but it was amazing. we went to see the light competition in reno but it was pretty lame this year. nonetheless we had tons of fun, especially with my little [giant] brother there. because i am a wonderful mentor and big sister i allowed three of my younger siblings to try to break into the old k-mart but we failed.

Christmas eve church was amazing of course, and atypical.

i helped sarah make flammable ornaments for this tiny tree, which we then put in the fireplace and after dessert last night we set fire to it. it burned surprisingly fast. it was amazing. as was dessert.

a.t. and i baked on friday night. we made: a happy face; an angry face; peanut butter balls; and kate cookies

i had Christmas morning "i just woke up" hair/face.

i wonder if it's okay that the main two gifts i received were a coffee pot and a starbucks gift card? I mean i was thrilled of course. but i hadn't realized my coffee addiction had come to define me in other peoples' minds as well as mine. fortunately, i also got several scarfs. the ones i'm wearing right now i really like. there was another one that was large enough to use as a blanket and the first one was covered with giant snowmen and penguins.

most importantly Jesus and I worked out a few things this weekend. He never stops doing stuff. which is amazing. it's weird that He would want anything to do with me. but He does. and i'm pretty okay with that.

i kind of suck at this blogging thing

2006-12-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

geez. sorry guys.

so i'm writing this play with patty my favorite. and it's so much fun. but there's this ONE character... i'm so irritated with her. she absolutely will not stop having a cheesy life story. i don't know what her problem is.

but still it's going to be amazing. i'll let you know when it happens so you can buy your plane tickets to come see it.

i've been living in my current house for three months now and my room is still completely furnished with cardboard boxes. I'm so ready to move again if i need to.

um... i start school in just about a month. i can't wait. i also can't wait til God provides the roughly $400 i need for books. yay!

i think that Jesus is pretty cool. i really do.

the end.

what did YOU do this weekend?

2006-12-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

i had neck surgery. oh yeah.

i'm so ashamed

2006-12-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

after writing countless articles on the subject and listening to countless lectures [it was a big subject in the Army]... after seeing countless victims of dehydration and even after coming within seconds of death due to heat stroke...

today will be the first day in at least a year that I drink enough water.

oh please. don't act like you didn't find that interesting. psh.

thanks...

2006-11-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

a few years ago i was dating this guy. he was kind of a jerk but that's really not relevant to anything at the moment. anyway, whenever he would hear me complaining about something pointless that i could just as easily overlook, he would turn to me and say

"hey you know what helps with that? shuttin' the hell up"

as mean as that is, i think it's hilarious. technically he had a good point. last week i mentioned it in passing to a few friends. we laughed.

so that's the plot exposition. the following is a phone call that took place this morning to sarah.

me: can i tell you what just happened to me?

sarah: sure

me: so i'm on my way to work, as i tend to be at this time of day. and i can't turn around. there's a cement divider. and i got coffee on the way to work, as i tend to do. and just now i picked up the coffee and the lid popped off and it just exploded. everywhere. i mean it's all over me. all over my seat, my clothes, dripping off my steering wheel, it's everywhere. i mean everywhere.

pause

sarah: hey you know what helps with that?

learning to focus

2006-11-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

i've been thinking. it seems to me that when you're with a group of people... maybe not every group of people you're with, but at least the one you spend the most time with... there is one person.

let me clarify. you could absolutely love everyone in that group. but there's usually one person who, for whatever reason, you hold in higher esteem. [that's not expressed quite right. bear with me]. there's one person who's attention you want. not necessarily on an active, conscious level, but that thing is there nonetheless.

whether it's because of where your relationship with that person is for the moment, or just that you admire him or her so much - his or her opinion is important to you. [for the sake of me not having to say "him or her" anymore we'll just go with "him." try and follow].

and throughout your interactions with that group, you're not necessarily trying to have his constant attention but you're pleased when you get it. when you say that thing that makes him turn his head and smile directly at you or makes him laugh out loud. and you'd almost be willing to alienate every other member of the group [people you love] just to do or say something that will please him. it's peer pressure at its purest. to share an inside joke with him. i'm not even talking about romantic love here. this could be a close friend, a pastor, a teacher... but everytime you say just that thing and he laughs out loud, it's like a reward to you. and it doesn't matter whether anyone else even got the joke.

does this make sense? it's not an unhealthy thing. it's just the natural desire to be noticed by someone you admire or want to be close to.

so i've been thinking.

what if [no matter what group of people i was with at the moment]... what if,
Jesus, that person was always you?

2006-11-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

to love passionately...

2006-10-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

... is to stage a violent revolt against the oppressor of your soul.

Finally! The chance you've been waiting for!

2006-10-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

If you would like to contribute $5 or $10 to the "buy kate a bass" fund, you are more than welcome to. I will not stop you.

i'm not joking. i am shamelessly asking for your money.

Update: thank you shannon, for contributing an entire bass to the fund. you are the best! and thank You Jesus.

well it's unfortunate but let's just move on, shall we?

2006-10-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

i burned my bagel this morning. badly.

but you know what I always say... [ask anyone. i'm constantly saying this]

people who get free bagels shouldn't complain when they aren't sliced all the way through and you have to tear them apart and then you put them in the toaster and they burn, because, well... they're free.

and no matter how many times i say this, it's still just as true as the first time.

CHRISTMAS DRAWING

2006-10-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

the results are in.

[drumroll please]

and this year's Christmas drawing results are as follows:

Dad drew Rachael
Mom drew Kendra
Lissa drew Dad
Josh drew Mom
Kate [that's me] drew Eric
Eric drew Lissa
Kendra drew Josh
Rachael drew Kate [start saving!!]

please remember that spouses and significant others are required to buy gifts for each other as well as the person whose name you drew [duh]

12:24....

2006-10-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

and i'm beginning to lose momentum.

someone motivate me

[update]: 12:29
immediately after writing the above post, i looked up, on a whim, proverbs 12:24

"diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor."

ouch.

well, that'll do it Lord.

back to work.

some doubts...

2006-10-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

i'm beginning to have a few suspicions about the word "descrepancy" in both singular and plural form.

i've heard it pronounced flawlessly [and in the correct context] twice now by two different extremely intoxicated people.

and i'm starting to wonder if maybe it's all it's cracked up to be.

i'm just saying...

apparently my new thing is posting im conversations that don't make sense to anyone but me. bear with me, i'll get over it.

2006-09-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

doomsdaysmile85: i just spent 150 thousand dollars
Newmercies22: on natalie portman?
doomsdaysmile85: i know but i have the longest
doomsdaysmile85: no on dish network
Newmercies22: oh okay
Newmercies22: there's a will smith movie coming out in december
Newmercies22: and i actually cried watching the previews
Newmercies22: see what i mean about me and my crying problem
doomsdaysmile85: jeesh, at least you dont have to worry about pent up emotions
Newmercies22: nope
Newmercies22: can't pen 'em up if i want to
Newmercies22: they just rush right out
doomsdaysmile85: i dont feel them ever since saigon
Newmercies22: i would say that must be rough
Newmercies22: but it probably isn't
doomsdaysmile85: not really, i don't get too worked up about it.
Newmercies22: well you wouldn't
Newmercies22: by the way what were you doing in saigon?
doomsdaysmile85: parasailing
Newmercies22: of course
Newmercies22: silly me
doomsdaysmile85: lots of shrapnel involved in parasailing dont ya know
Newmercies22: that's what i've heard

MOVING!!! YEAH!

2006-09-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

so i will be moving, most likely on october 21.

if any of you have any ideas about where i should move, you might let me know.

i love my niece and nephew

2006-09-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

lissa: arden is either hugging Kale or choking him
lissa: they are so cute playing together
Kate Robinson: i adore them
lissa: arden is all "and lets pretend the baby was crying because she wanted dance lessons" and then Kale says "and then the bye bye was vroom vroom on the meeme and it be funny!"
lissa: and they are happily oblivious to the fact that they are playing totally differant games

lissa: arden thought her bible was so funny last night that she laughed until she peed the bed

ugh...Jesus...

2006-09-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

i'm tired of it never being about You.

why does everything seem so important? it's just not.

help. me. focus. please.

cause this could be so good. such an amazing, beautiful, joyful thing.

if it's about You.

beware of falling into the same trap my company did....

2006-09-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

be careful that you don't unintentionally hire a bearded lady ninja who works for a cleaning service and hides people's coffee cups in really inexplicable places.

and yet i saw it in person

2006-09-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

it is one thing to own a neon because, say, thugs from the dodge corporation held a gun to your head at the car lot, or your mom bought you one and threatened to cut off your tuition if you refused to drive it, or you found one on the side of the road or upside down in a ravine...

but to actually go to a car lot, pick out and buy a neon, and then having paid money for one, to put the word "venom" down the side in giant letters to draw attention to how cool you think you and your neon are....

that, friends, is a horse of an entirely different color. i mean come on.

exciting...

2006-08-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

i got this tattoo about a month ago and while i absolutely love it, i've been terrified that someone who actually speaks Hebrew will eventually come up and tell me it means something entirely different than what I thought it meant... no matter how carefully i doublechecked it.

but yesterday in church a man named maurice came up and actually read it off my back, aloud, in Hebrew, and confirmed that it is exactly what i intended it to be.

it was a pretty exciting moment for me.

sometimes i go to my parents' house for dinner....

2006-08-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

...because things like the following happen

Mom: hey, honey, i prayed for a little Japanese lady today

Dad: Did you get one?

my new coworker...

2006-08-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

this is an email i sent to our office administrator this morning.

i am reposting it because i find myself funny from time to time. think what you will.

From: Kate Robinson
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 9:22 AM
To: Pat
Cc: Megan M; Justin G; Tonya B; 'Lee K; Benita M; 'Sierra D
Subject: new (unexpected) member of marketing/finance office

Hi Pat,

For some time now we have nervously worn our open-toed shoes to the office (except for Justin, of course), despite the large families of spiders and giant ants that we share it with. but this morning as I went to get coffee I met a large centipede, also on his way to get coffee apparently. He smiled politely and everything but I couldn't help but wonder, what with his size and the confidence with which he made his way about the kitchen, whether he gets paid more than I do.

Mainly what I'm trying to say is, can anything be done about the pest problem?

I am not kidding about the centipede. He really was there. This is getting kind of out of hand.

Kate

alright, alright

2006-08-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

i'm not that good at blogging. there, i said it. i'm just not. i apologize.

so here we go... read up because [as you ought to know by now], this may be the last post you see for a while.

things that are amazing include:

Jesus

that's it. i'm in a strange mood, but it's not bad.

james and i had an interesting talk on friday. why is it that when God promises us something that we actually want, we assume that because it is something we want, it must not really be God?

Let me see if I can explain better.

We know that God often does things that we don't understand - things that are painful at the time, but "for our own good." We know this is true and if we are wise we choose to submit to it, understanding that His plan for us is good and choosing to see beyond the circumstances, as they often appear hopeless. All this is good. I think we are also aware of our tendancy toward idolatry and a little afraid of how easily a good thing can become the focus of our worship. Therefore we become afraid of the good things themselves.

James preached an amazing sermon once about calling God's blessing a curse. He said something along the lines of "how dare you call His blessing a curse, just because you don't know what a blessing looks like?" In other words, don't assume that your situation is bad because that's what you see...acknowledge that things are being set into motion that are beyond your understanding and learn to recognize good when you see it.

All this is true and it's good.

but we become so accustomed to this God, that we forget that sometimes He just genuinely wants to bless us.

He promised me something a few weeks ago, and I believed it. Purely, wholly, joyfully. But not a week later I was doubting it. Not doubting His faithfulness to come through with His promises, but doubting that He had promised it at all. I was convinced that I had misheard, that I was just hearing what I wanted to hear. That because it was something I very much wanted and hoped for, it couldn't have been God. It had to have been me.

But who says that God doesn't sometimes promise us the things that we want? After all, isn't He the one who placed those desires in us to begin with? Why are we always looking for a catch?

Maybe every now and then we could just take His word at face value. Why do we assume that He's not going to grant us the desires of our hearts? Granted they don't always look like we expect them to look, these promised blessings. But if they look different it's because they look better. They often exceed your expectations, but never fall short of them.

I discussed this with a friend of mine the other day and she said "that softens my heart a little."

I couldn't have put it better. I want to know this Jesus who enjoys fulfilling the hopes He's given me. Not just the One who knows better than I do what's good for me.

I love how perfectly He achieves balance. I hate how dimly we are able to see it.

Does that make sense to anyone but me?

battered heart

2006-07-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

"Batter my heart, three personed God; for You

As yet but knock, breathe, shine and seek to mend.

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me and bend

Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new,

I, like an usurped town, to another due,

Labor to admit You, but oh, to no end;

Reason, Your viceroy in me, me should defend;

But is captive and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love You and would be loved fain;

But am betrothed unto Your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to You, imprison me, for I,

Except You enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste except You ravish me."

[john donne]

sacramento

2006-07-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

vacaville actually.

but whatever. i told you i would tell you about it right?

think what you will.

when they lifted up their eyes....

2006-07-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

...they saw no one but Jesus only.

weird dreams: part trois

2006-07-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

i dreamed you loved me again.

just kidding, i didn't dream that. but how 'myspace' am i when i want to be, huh?

i fully intended to have a funny dream to write about this morning [weird? maybe] but just as i drifted off to sleep, mac texted me for the first time in what seems like forever [mac. remember when we used to hang out?] and said "Kate. you can't just write me so early. it doesn't register."

whatever that meant, it was a darn good point so i went to sleep.

emily and i are going to sacramento tomorrow for undisclosed purposes. we are very excited. all i'm going to say is that for this particular mission, we are basically required to listen to angry chic music at least once whether we want to or not.

when we get back i'll tell you all about the trip. maybe by then i'll have found my missing eloquence which seems to have fallen out of my pocket and slipped under someone's couch cushion six or eight months ago. why can't i write anymore?

maybe i need to start using capital letters.

Maybe I Need To Stop Rambling.

On Sunday I saw a license plate that said NCKLBCK. I'm not kidding. And don't try to make your self feel better about it, either. It was referring to the band. The car also had a Nickelback sticker on the back windshield. If you do not think this is a heinous crime you most likely have some sort of brain tumor impeding your brain from functioning properly.

I've been thinking a lot about love. Not romantic love, just love. If love is patient and love bears all things and believes all things and holds no record of wrongs... I wonder if I've ever really loved anyone?

That could be a depressing thought... but what the heck, why not make it an exciting one? Now that I know I can find out what that really means. I get to learn to love someone!

I'll start with you.

baghdad 2003

2006-06-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

this was the day we left for fallujah - known back then as 'the wild west.'

okay so i don't look that great. but every soldier should have a picture with their team in the combat zone. all the guys in the movies do. this is mine.

how embarrassing

2006-06-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

8 months living in this house and i have never met most of my neighbors. but the one across the street [his name is ron!] came over this morning and offered to lend me his lawn mower.

basically something must be done about my lawn and everyone knows it.

created to dance...

2006-06-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

someone said to me last night, "you were created to live." he said i should live. i should dance. i should laugh. i should not lose the blue of the sky and the breath of the wind and the creation of God because i am living in my hurts and disappointments and the things that i've lost that i miss.

he said sunset and sunrise are so beautiful because they are always colliding.

and i decided right then that "collide" is a powerful word and when i write i will never use it lightly - like to describe amusing hallway mishaps and whatnot. is that a strange reaction?

and it wasn't cheesy at all. it was amazing. everything he said was so vibrant and it woke something up in me that i had been aching for. it made me want to live the life abundant that Jesus came to give me.

now ... generally i don't dance in front of people. that is because dancing is a strange and unnatural thing for me to do. i want to dance, but i am awkward. what can i say? but i'm pretty sure that wasn't the point.

the point was i've lost my joy. where do i find it again? not where i've been looking for it. but right now, this moment, i choose to live my life in my identity... the one Jesus gave me, not the one i tried to siphon from other people.

i've made so many mistakes. big ones. and i'm going to make more.

but moment by moment i am redeemed.

that's good news, isn't it?

phantastes

2006-06-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

"alas! how easily things go wrong!
a sigh to deep, or a kiss too long,
and then comes a mist, and a weeping rain,
and life is never the same again."***

**[george macdonald]

***[i posted this because i think it's beautiful. don't read too much into it.]

fvchurch.com

2006-06-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

seriously sarah? still amazed. you and cj. basically rock.

also... to anyone who might not actually go to this church, and therefore didn't hear yesterday's sermon... go to the web site. find out if it's available. if so listen to it immediately. then listen to it again. and again. until it takes.

do something.

i am fascinating no matter what

2006-05-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

weird: adj. of strange or extraordinary character...

my job is not by any stretch of the imagination weird. not by this definition. or any definition. but every now and then during the day i'll let my mind wander into the vicinity of what i'm getting paid to do.

and when that happens, as it just did, i think to myself:

why is everyone in Incline always freaking outout?

then i go back to whatever i was doing.

see? told ya. fascinating

inexplicable

2006-05-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

today at lunchtime i went out to the grassy area next to my office and read the Word for a while while this tree looked nonchalantly on.

what?

[i'd just like to clarify that this photo is not doctored. i downloaded it directly from my camera. apparently this tree will by my disinterested lunchtime reading partner.]

beautiful

2006-05-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

mercy and judgment. they are not opposites.

the church is always trying to find a balance between the wrathful God and the merciful one. Christians are either the ones who believe in a love everyone, forgive everyone God, or the God of hell and damnation.

but the beauty is that He is both. and neither. He does love everyone. and He does not take sin lightly. He forgives freely. and He requires repentance.

"He is shaking the world with mercy and judgment."

if He were not a God of judgment and justice He would not be a God of mercy.

because without the need for justice and judgment there can be no mercy. mercy is not helping people who are in need. that is compassion.

it was out of His compassion that Jesus healed the sick and fed the poor. it was because of His mercy that He died and took our sins on Himself and, more importantly, overcame death and rose again. because someone had to do it and we never could. someone had to bridge that uncrossable chasm between a sinful people and a sinless God.

if your friend doesn't owe you money, you are not being merciful by not demanding money from him. if he owes you $1,000, then to let that debt go is a huge act of mercy.

if a man has not committed a crime, the judge is not showing mercy by releasing him from prison. if he has committed a murder, then to spare his life is an act of mercy.

but it's not just that God forgave our sins. it's the fact that Jesus paid what I owe. He died the death i deserved. THAT is mercy.

it is because we owe God so much and deserve such harsh judgment that He is able to show us mercy.

do we know how to have a good time or what?

2006-05-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

i know what you are all thinking. you are all thinking, "how can i ever do something as intelligent AND fun as this? how did these people get so dang cool?"

well i am here to help. all you need for a rousing game of carpet joust and/or carpet limbo is some foam noodles, a few assorted items from the dollar toy rack at target, a large stretch of carpet, and most importantly, friction-free carpet-slider strap-on shoes, also available at target.

so stop being so jealous.

luke 1:45

2006-05-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

okay so i realize i've been pretty severely neglecting this blog. i apologize. things at work have gotten very busy lately (praise God) and i rarely spend my off-work time on the internet because, well, i have a life.

so this is mainly just a status report. because i know that my (let's just be honest, shall we?) massive reader base must be truly suffering from the lack of knowing what's going on with Kate.

so let me fill you in.

someone said "to have found God and still pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love." i love that. i love the paradox that is a relationship with God. the constant moving forward, the growing pains and the constant comfort.

knowing that i am wrong so very very often and knowing at the same time that He takes pleasure in me and gives mercy with great joy. seeing so so so many times lately my tremendous shortcomings, my immaturity, my sin. and yet being genuinely joyful because what He does for a redeemed soul is too precious to waste on remorse and frustration with myself.

sometimes my heart is breaking.

i realize that is not a correct sentence but (at least to me) it best describes what happens. sometimes my heart is breaking. and i want so badly to do or say something to make things better but i realize that i can't. and God has been very very clear on this one.

"wait this out," He says to me. "trust Me. wait. trust. wait. trust." so i wait. and i trust. and even though my heart hurts and i'm frustrated... i trust. and i know from many many experiences that when you hear God say to wait and trust and against everything your flesh wants, you choose to do so... that He is. always. faithful.

all that being said, it's not the biggest thing that's happening with me so don't feel sorry for me. pray for me if you pray. but let this be known. that the biggest thing that's happening with me is victory. a certain foe of mine that's been with me for so long it very nearly became a friend... is vanquished.

Jesus is good. and faithful. and beautiful. and words are such unworthy companions in the task of describing Him. every last one of them fails miserably to do Him justice and when we open our mouths and spill our worn out cliches it only throws the weaknesses of our language into sharp relief.

what my soul would say...

anyway. all this sounds really dramatic. i don't know. what am i really trying to say?

merciful Jesus. i want to fall more in love with You.

2006-05-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

just don't bother calling my house...

2006-05-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

my roommate sabrina is moving out at the end of the month.

this means there will be three people living in my house, including me. both of the other two are named katie.

it's a fun house. katie, katie and kate. or kate, katie and katie. or katie, kate and katie.... i dunno.

also neither katie has a car or a driver's license. both katies work at dennys.

to add to the confusion, there are several people who insist on calling me "katie" no matter how many times i ask them not to.

on the upside, we have a lot of fun answering the phone.

today i will

2006-04-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

leave work early and drive to marysville california. yep. that's what i will do.

empty handed but alive in Your hands...

2006-04-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

one time James preached a corrective sermon and at the end he said, "if you walk out discouraged by this message, you are listening to the devil."

and i have to remind myself of that from time to time. the point of a corrective message is to encourage (transitive verb meaning "to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope; to spur on") us to repent. it should be a good thing. just like the point of correcting your children is to warn them, and ultimately to improve their lives.

my dad preached on love last night. and it wasn't a corrective sermon. it was straightforward and encouraging. but it was so hard for me not to fall into the trap of condemning myself.

as he spoke, my accuser sat next to me and reminded me how little my love is. how easily annoyed i am by most people and how selfish my love for the rest. he did the classic (read the temptation of Jesus) trick where he uses God's own words against you. he even went so far as to bring my love life into the picture, reminding me that i have already been unfaithful to (let's just call it what it is ... cheated on) my husband and i haven't even met him yet. that i can never offer him what he deserves. ever. and it breaks my heart.

but here's where the blood of Jesus comes into play. HE [Jesus] did not condemn me. He wants me to be free. and if He, the only perfect person ever and the son of God, does not condemn me, who do i think i am to go around condemning myself like i have the moral high ground on Jesus?

there's a place in Zechariah ... i couldn't believe it when i read this.

"then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. (Joshua representing Israel, God's chosen people). And the LORD said to satan, "The LORD rebuke you satan! the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying "take away the filthy garments from him." and to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes."

this is amazing. because God didn't defend Joshua or say that he had not done the things he'd done. if you read the Bible at all you know that Israel has screwed up and been unfaithful to (cheated on) God a thousand times. and God didn't deny it.

but He rebuked the accuser anyway. just like He did for me.

He said of me, "yes, she DID do these things. yes, she IS a sinner - a liar, a thief, an adulteress. but I pulled her out of the fire. I chose her. who are you?" and then he threw away the filthy clothes i came to Him in and gave me new ones.

2006-04-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

"in the red sea of His own blood our Redeemer has drowned the pharoah of our sins."

weird dreams part deux

2006-04-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

i dreamed that i went to some kind of retreat/camp and mason's wife was there.

(mason, for anyone who doesn't know, is the "ex" but it's been quite a long time since i've seen him. he lives in maine or virginia or afghanistan or something. i don't know).

anyway i dreamed mason tried to get his wife to kill me.

but then she and i became friends.

when he found out he was really mad but i gave him some bacon and he wasn't mad anymore after that.

this is actually pretty feasible.

[before you start getting any crazy ideas, mason was not married when i "dated" him. that was a long time ago. just for the record.]

2006-04-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

"don't call it a love story until it really is one."

what is easter REALLY like in nevada?

2006-04-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

job asked me this. i'm assuming by the way he asked that people have been telling him all sorts of suspicious and highly unlikely things that might happen on a nevada easter and he's ready to clear things up and get down to the truth.

so here it is, job.

easter was wonderful. i was disappointed when church was over. church was great. even if it only reached one extra person [and it did] it was great.

it WAS cold and windy and rainy. boo.

we single girls spent the afternoon house-hopping and begging dinner off happily married families. so dinner was great too. but mostly church.

sarah kicked me in the face. kale kicked me in the leg. sarah drooled on herself for nearly five minutes and is still congratulating herself on the accomplishment. she also did a great job leading worship. we lost "buzz word." we discussed the real meaning of the word "regret." i think we've almost reached a conclusion (or a few separate, but similar conclusions.)

danielle is visiting. we made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. we hid money in plastic easter eggs and hit them around town. but we only actually hid two of them. the rest are still somewhere in my car. we lose momentum quickly.

i was both overwhelmed and surprisingly unemotional about the fact of Jesus' physical and death-conquering resurrection. but sometimes i like to be unemotional. i like when He takes me deeper than emotions. they're pretty surface anyway.

i took monday off. we bowled. i bought a book called "blue like jazz" and introduced sarah to "ready made" magazine [amazing].

danielle, sarah and i woke up this morning sick to our stomachs. ugh. i think it's going around.

sunnyside up, please

2006-04-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

today is a good day.

seriously it is.

on the downside: 1. i still have this job i'm not that fond of. 2. i'm at that job right now. 3. i'm wearing high-heeled boots. why? i don't know. i get up very early, you never know what's going to happen with my wardrobe. 4.... no, i can only think of three.

but

on the UPside: 1. i still have this job. 2. my God is amazingly, overwhelmingly, unspeakably good and the things that He's done for me, today alone, are too many to mention. 3. my enemies are vanquished. this doesn't mean i've been wreaking havoc on the streets of carson and taking out high school rivals. i mean other enemies. 4. these boots look good on me. 5. i'm almost halfway done with this work day. 6. danielle is coming to visit on saturday. she is amazing. 7. no, there are just too many. don't you ever have one of those days where you just. feel. really. good?

savor it.

i will bless the Lord at all times...

2006-04-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

and His praise will continually be in my mouth!

good thing He's sovereign, eh?

2006-04-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

so i was reading this in the “news” this morning.

and i started to get all irritated and all these things rose up in me that i wanted to say… but you know what? It doesn’t even matter. bottom line. it doesn’t matter.

the only thing that matters is Jesus.

and He is completely capable of communicating Himself.

obsession

2006-04-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

"everyone has their obsession
consuming thoughts, consuming time
they hold high their prized possession
that defines the meaning of their lives...

You are mine."

science fiction

2006-04-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

you can stop chasing that rainbow now...

2006-04-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

chuck drove me to work today, while his amazing wife volunteered to drop my car off at the shop to get a new tire.

it is one of those lovely rainy misty days... and there was a rainbow.

we actually saw the place where the rainbow touched the ground -- that sought-after, pined for, mythical end of the rainbow.

there in the misty morning sunrise, we beheld, for the first time, the object of so many dreams, songs and speculations, the mysterious "what could it be" that lies at the rainbow's end.

it turns out a billboard for harvey's casino is what lies at the end of the rainbow.

we drove on.

unrelatedly, here's the quote that caught my eye today:

"A man asleep is certainly a sight to make angels weep. What good is all his brain, muscle, backing, nerve, influence, and family connections? He's at the mercy of his enemies, and more so of his friends. And he's about as beautiful as a cab-horse leaning against the Metropolitan Opera House at 12.30 A.M. dreaming of the plains of Arabia. Now, a woman asleep you regard as different. No matter how she looks, you know it's better for all hands for her to be that way."

'the soul's paradox of love...'

2006-04-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

it's weird to be stoked about something and sad at the same time.

it's strange how the answers to my fervent prayers are so good but they hurt a little.

but i guess it's really the reverse. the "but" is in the wrong place. the answers to my fervent prayers may hurt a little but they are so good in so many ways.

thank You merciful Jesus. heal her heart...

and bring him soon. please.

just an example of my rewarding job...

2006-03-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

yesterday one of our brilliant agents emailed me a template of a flyer he wanted me to set up for him.

so i emailed him back saying, "thanks, mark, i'll get this started but i need you to send me an order form."

now let's keep in mind that "mark" has ordered many many flyers from me. it's always the same process. he's also emailed me many many photos, ad requests, questions about pricing... suffice it to say i've gotten dozens of emails from mark.

today he called me. the conversation went something like this.

him: hi kate, this is mark. i'm filling out this order form you wanted. where should i send it?

me: um... to me?

him: what? just to "kate"?

me: well... type in "kate robinson...."

him: what's your email address?

me: krobinson@.... just send it to the same email address you sent the template to...

him: oh the same one? okay i'll send it right over.

what?

as good an answer as i've heard yet...

2006-03-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

"'Hunky,' says High Jack Snakefeeder, looking at me funny, 'do you believe in reincarnation?'"

'It sounds to me,' says I, 'like either a clean-up of the slaughter- houses or a new kind of Boston pink. I don't know.'

go figure

2006-03-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

while driving home from work last night i very nearly got in an accident when a median got in the way of where i was trying to slide hopelessly out of control.

fortunately, after a tense, quick, prayer (quite possibly the most pure and purely motivated prayer i've ever prayed) i slid to the other side of the road, and regained control in time to not topple off the side of the cliff or push any other drivers there.

after all that, i got back to carson, where it was not snowing, misjudged the turn into the starbucks parking lot and blew a huge whole in my tire.

hahaha

the first thing i did was drop the f-bomb, of course (let me just confess) and then later when i realized that my Lord had just recently saved my life, and i was cursing over a flat tire, i repented.

His praise shall continually be on my lips. thank You Jesus for flat tires and irritating phone calls and all those things that make up life.

return to your rest, oh my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

it seems unlikely but...

2006-03-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

do you ever feel like maybe you need to go buy some peanut butter? right now?

::sigh::

but then when i went to the store i ended up getting a loaf of bread, a roast beef sandwhich and some macaroni and cheese and i never even ended up eating the peanut butter.

the economy of mercy...

2006-03-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

"Lord, i have sinned;

i deserve not Thy smile'

i scarcely dare to ask it;

but oh! say to my soul,

even to my soul,

'I am thy salvation;'

let me have a present,

personal, infallible, indesputable

sense that i am Thine

and that Thou art mine."

ms. grant. it's finally time.

2006-03-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

just a few quick words...

- my dreams are getting weirder and weirder.

- jess grant. don't forget. chicken little. you. me. sarah. david. steven. melissa. isaac. pizza. let's make this happen, yeah? you should see if mac wants to come.

- Jesus chose me of all people to plant seeds in sweet miranda's life. how humbling. how encouraging. Lord give me guidance.

- remember. you have to start moving. be in motion.

i love weird dreams

2006-03-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

last night i dreamed that there was a cat in my room (which is not that unusual).

but one of the other pets was in my room as well. and i couldn't tell which one, only that it was snoring. so i thought i better deal with the one i could see first and i yelled "jerry!"

when i did that my brother sat up from where he was sleeping at the foot of my bed. i asked him what he was doing in my room and he said he came in to write down a zip code that he had heard on the radio. but when he couldn't find a pen he went to sleep instead.

i sympathized with his situation. i had been trying to memorize the same zip code.

this tends to happen in all areas of my life, not just driving

2006-03-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

yesterday i pulled up to a stop sign, looked to my left, saw a car coming, conducted a brief internal debate about whether or not to go, decided that i would definitely not go, and immediately proceeded to go anyway.

there's no explaining this type of behavior to myself.

starbucks

2006-03-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

starbucks is my arch nemesis. i spend more money there than i did as a 3-pack a day smoker.

also the starbucks pastry case hates me. it just sits there taunting me. it knows i don't eat sugar. it knows it takes every ounce of self control to resist it. but as if that weren't enough... on sunday it goes from being torture in a glass case and at an exorbitant price to being free, accessible torture right there on my church coffee bar.

whatever, starbucks. don't pretend you're being charitable, donating your weekend markouts to a church. it's because you hate me.

i quit smoking cold-turkey. why can't i quit starbucks?

on basically any given day you can find me there, reading, or at the register cringing as i flawlessly order a ridiculously complicated cup of coffee that somehow needs 16 words to order.

what i really hate is when i have to enter "starbucks" in my checkbook register twice in one day. it's not pretty. if you were to read my checkbook register (what's wrong with you? why would you do that? give me back my checkbook) you would probably see, more than once, and entry for "starbucks" for $4.65, followed immediately by an entry with the same date for "don't judge me." $4.65.

ugh. i'm pretty sure in the starbucks vs. me battle, i have come out the loser. i have been tried, as it were, and found wanting. wanting that $100 per month i spend on coffee. for crying out loud... that's disgusting.

i love four-day weekends

2006-03-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

and haven't had one since i got out of the army.

but starting tomorrow... four wonderful days off. how exciting. no skirts, slacks, boots, sweaters or blouses for four days. no driving to tahoe in a snowstorm, no real estate ads.

also, i get to meet jessi davis for lunch, which is pretty exciting, and not just because i've been craving chorizo for nearly three weeks.

coffee with dad after prayer meeting... good times.

and you know what i found out? if i devote just a little time to communion with my Lord before bed... not just reading the word, but some one on one facetime with Jesus... if i don't fall exhausted into bed with the cares of the day on my mind but hang out with Him for a few minutes and just talk... i don't have to wake up under it every single day.

man. God is good beyond anything you could imagine. He continually amazes me.

Lord, let me never get so comfortable that i cease to be amazed by You.

satan loses. it says so in the book

2006-03-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

so i picked up the paper this morning to discover that reno has just had it's first (and by the grace of God, last) school shooting.

apparently a student at one of the reno middle schools took a gun to school and shot at another student twice, wounding him in the arm. A ricochet bullet also wounded another student.

a teacher talked the shooter into putting down the gun and that was the end of the incident.

and all i could think was, thank You, JESUS.

not one child killed. Praise God. not one. haha.

we win.

grace

2006-03-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

"Heaven knows, i'm coming back this time

i'm guilty of this crime

that i've been walking out on You

i've run across the world

and walked in barren lands

You've knocked this fool right to the floor

i'm coming back again"

is it too late in the year to ask for snow boots for my birthday?

2006-03-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

i just went out to my car to sweep off the foot of snow that has accumulated since i parked it outside my office.

and now these stupid loafers are full of snow. haha

good times.

so i'll let my words be few...

2006-03-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

Jesus i am so in love with You.

these are things that i know

2006-03-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

let me just share with you a few notable events and things you probably already know about kate.

an iraqi policeman once proposed to me and promised that when we went back to America he would leave his other two wives and all 12 children behind.

one time, a doctor tried to point out to me that there was not and old lady in my hospital bed with me and i held up my right arm and asked triumphantly, "well who's arm is this then?". 107.7 was my temperature when my landlord found me unconcious in my apartment in korea. that was noteworthy as far as i was concerned.

i get a disability check every month for a skin disease. what? i know. what if i were to get a disabled veteran license plate? then when i got out of my car people would wonder what leg-less old man i beat up and stole a car from.

i've been healed of a skin disease. noteworthy? most certainly.

when i was a child i had countless nightmares in which a kidnapper would come to my house, politely ask my parents' permission to kidnap me, and upon acquiring it, take me away.

i cannot whistle.

i am insufferable about military movies. i mean seriously. i am a geek when it comes to military movies. don't watch one with me. i will point out every inconsistency i see even if i don't know what i'm talking about. sheesh. i do not like people like that.

that stupid pit bull puppy is kind of growing on me. kind of.

i met a lady named kate on a subway in washington, d.c. she was carrying a t-square and she gave me her business card. this woman draws tuna fish for a living. i'm not kidding. pictures of tuna fish. she draws them.

i will turn 23 next week.

i met a man named faye who has been a gunner in the air force, an army photographer and a zooologist and had 2 strokes. he has killed a man-eating tiger in indonesia, saved two nearly-extinct species of birds and run the isthmus of panama 6 times over a 50-year period...2 hours faster the last time than the first. i saw news articles, pictures and a piece of tiger skin to prove it too. noteworthy? i should say so.

i have tasted the amazing grace of an amazing God. I am in love Himself and out i will not go.

psalm 149.6

2006-03-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

let the high praises of God be in their mouth

and a two-edged sword in their hand

my enemy is already overcome

why do i refuse to acknowledge it in my actions?

deliverance is sure

victory is certain

praise

peace

praise

Lord increase my faith

hey guys

2006-03-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

hey david, guess what, buddy? we're all on the right track. we're getting closer to where we're called to be. fun? rarely. awesome and exciting? most definitely yes.

and kelly? you encouraged me very very much this morning. thank you.

Lord

2006-03-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

thank You for abundant grace.

also, while we're on the subject, for being incredibly faithful in the midst of my faithlessness.

ugh

2006-03-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

Lord

i need some grace today...

Jesus...what can i say about You?

2006-03-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

so for anyone who doesn't know... i met this girl a few months back. she thinks she's a witch. that's not Christianese for a less polite word, i mean she is involved in witchcraft... one of the biggest vices here in the mission field we call carson city.

and you thought gambling and prostitution were our problems didn't you? haha.

but this girl... it's so obvious that she's trying so hard to be something she's not. she's not a pagan. she's a sweet, lost, dying girl.

and i've never in my life known more clearly than i did the moment i met her that i was face to face with a divine appointment. amazingly, i still screwed it up. i choked.

but God, being the amazing, merciful God that He is, placed her a second time in my path, months later, and this time i jumped at the opportunity. it's not often you get a second chance like that.

anyway... most of this is old news. but i got to hang out with her last night. and even though she's still so hardcore set on her beliefs (seemingly) i can see changes. it's like everytime i see her i get to minister to her a little more deeply. which is cool because i feel so inept most of the time. but the miracle, my friends, is in the hearer. never forget that.

and it would be easy to believe that someone like this could never be saved ... if you were an idiot. but i believe in a powerful God who's arm is not too short to save. a God who saved saul of tarsus and, possibly even more amazingly, who saved me.

and i know that He put her in my path for a reason. He has so clearly claimed her soul for His kingdom. the question now is not "if" but "when." she very much thinks she wants to go to hell but He will fight her every step of the way and i will plead the precious and powerful blood of Jesus over her life.

Jessi Davis you will live.

oh for crying out loud

2006-03-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

when will we learn that "freedom of speech" and the right to a captive audience are not the same thing?

can you imagine if the comments had come from a conservative viewpoint, the red-faced fury that would be spewing from the tolerance and diversity crowd?

this one's even worse. i mean come on. we're not even pretending anymore, are we?

thank you ... so much

2006-03-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

amy! for finally getting the action lowered. you're wonderful.

song 5.16

2006-03-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

His mouth is most sweet,

yes, He is altogether lovely.

This is my Beloved

and this is my Friend
O daughters of Jerusalem

the Lord will perfect that which concerns me

2006-03-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

is that the most amazing thing i can imagine? yes.

i don't know if i've mentioned this before but i hate the word blog. i hate it so much. ugh.

now.

i finally got all the wet stuff out of the garage last night to prevent mold. didn't want to do it but i did. it wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it would be. not even close. i had the night to myself and it was actually kind of nice.

the heating unit or whatever that caused the flood was located just above and slightly in front of katie's study desk. amazingly, all the water flooded forward, and somehow (i can't see how at all) her books and computer were untouched. thank You Jesus.

unrelatedly... when was the last time you read psalm 138? or better yet, prayed it out loud?

in the day when i cried out to You,
You answered me and made me bold
with strength in my soul.

actually just read it. and 139.

and 119.

might as well just set aside some time.

mac redeemed

2006-02-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

what i meant to say (obviously) mac, was that it is too bad you are way too young for me because we are fun. and you make the best sugar-free peach italian soda i've ever had.

so just remember... if neither of us are married by the time you're 30 and i'm 45 or 46...wait.

why am i aging so much faster than you?

anyway i will be married before we are 30 and 45 respectively, but hopefully by then you'll have forgiven me for stubbornly refusing to get a myspace account.

also next time we go we'll bring our own table so there will be no risk of david asking your brother for drugs again. we'll just tell dominoes it's an intervention.

to mac...

2006-02-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

mac you're the only person i know who ever made a sugar-free mousse from a suzanne sommers cookbook, promised to bring me some, but hung out with jessica and your sister instead.

why are you always lying about your relationship with girls, mac? you don't even have a sister. and remember when you told me you were at starbucks with your girlfriend but that girl was not your girlfriend?

then you made me another mousse and promised to bring it again but some mean people said they didn't like it and spit it out so you got all self-conscious.

but then... after a week... i finally got your sugar-free mousse.

and mac? it wasn't that bad.

sometimes you just have to go on a mini-road trip

2006-02-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

like amy and patty and i did on saturday. i love being young and single.

we flipped a coin and headed south on 88. we thought maybe we'd go to sacramento but we ended up in this little town called pine grove where we walked around and just talked to people.

we visited a church and had huge burgers and met a lady named gay with a bird who talked to us. the bird that is. and the lady. they both talked to us.

we turned on mount zion road and it took us to this incredible lovely wilderness where we wandered around and took pictures.

it was simple and didn't take that long but we had so much fun.

we made snow angels. we prayed and worshipped and just hung out with each other and Jesus and it was beautiful. just to get away. awesome.

sweet Jesus...

2006-02-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

why are you so downcast oh my soul?
why so disturbed within me?
put your hope in God
for i will yet praise Him
my Savior and my God

reminder

2006-02-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

"if sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies;
if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees.
let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." - charles spurgeon

dear Lord Jesus.

i'll draw near to You. draw near to me. show me how to exercise myself in Godliness.

sometimes i'm so far off track and my focus is so wrong.

but i trust You Lord.

sarah + vespa = very yes

2006-02-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

i must fully support this.

i throw in my lot with the pro sarah owning a vespa crowd. there, it's on the record.

but hey...

2006-02-24T12:56:00.001-08:00

How good is God?

prayer meeting? today? awesome.

right? can i just get one witness in here?

wow. thank You Jesus.

wisdom

2006-02-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

fast friday + exceeding regular 2-cup per day coffee limit = bad plan.

ugh

weird? yes

2006-02-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

yesterday i was in a restaurant and a girl came out of the kitchen, looked at me and said, "hey kate!"

i looked up at her, wondering if i knew her (i didn't) and she squinted, looked a little awkward in the way people do when they've accidentally addressed a stranger they thought was a friend and said,

"oh sorry. you're not kate."

didn't go to work today...

2006-02-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

why?

because work is no fun that's why.

we went to see matisyahu last night. if you have not heard of him, look him up. i had not heard of him until recently but apparently he's getting pretty big. granted it was a wednesday night but it was at the hilton theater and completely sold out. there were like 2,000 people there.

and about 1,900 of them were smoking weed.

the opening band was really cool. it took me a minute to like them but they were so awesome. three guys ... guitar and lead vocals, bass player and drummer. but they sounded so good.

the lead singer had a faint jason mraz ring to his voice but his style was not similar at all. and their lyrics were so Godly. the last song had to be a worship song... i thought.

but i talked to him after the show and he was stoned out of his mind. i asked if the band was Christian and he said, "well...we're not really Christian, we're just really spiritual dude." or something like that. "we have a lot of different faiths."

how many different faiths can you have? there are three of you. well i guess if one of you is a polytheist...

anyway matisyahu was amazing. as expected. absolutely wonderful.

the downside was that our clothes and hair were so saturated with pot smoke that when i got in my car this morning it was all i could smell.

disgusting.

26.73

2006-02-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

sometimes, right before i go to lunch, trish gives me a check for $26.73.

it's not much, but in my humble opinion it's way better than not getting a check for $26.73.

especially when you're not expecting it and things are a bit tight.

thank You Jesus.

um... wait that's not good

2006-02-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

i pulled into my driveway last night and couldn't help but notice that water was flooding down into the street from... the garage? uh oh...

so i checked the mail.

then i stood next to the garage and listened for a second. sounds like it's raining in there, i thought, followed shortly by what?

i went inside and let our (stupid stupid stupid) pit bull puppy out of the laundry room, where the floor was soaking wet and tried to go into the garage but the door was blocked by something and water was just pouring from the ceiling.

this was way too much water for this to be a leak. it was a downpour.

that'll teach us to take our time about unpacking the garage! hahahah...oh dear Lord.

since i had no idea where it was coming from i did the only thing i could think of. i called the fire department, and then the landlord.

amazingly the landlord was angry that i called the fire department. "you called the fire department for water?" he asked incredulously.

geez, i'm sorry mitch. what would you like me to do next time your house floods?

katie got home just before the firemen arrived.

we paused for a moment to reflect on the fact that (A.) all of our things in the garage were ruined and (B.) there are three young single women living in our house and at our first emergency they sent three old fat firemen. hardly seemed fair.

eventually it all got sorted out. apparently the last renter installed a heater in the ceiling of the garage (this is a fact that remains totally inexplicable) and ran water to it. it froze. then it thawed. then it burst. good times.

but now we have to wear shoes whenever we enter the laundry room.

the moral of this story?

never ever go into the garage again. for any reason. ever.

i amaze myself...

2006-02-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

yesterday i grabbed the phone reciever to answer it.

but on the way to my ear i totally misjudged the distance and hit myself in the face with it.

it's exactly like being an idiot sometimes...

why hello little eric and kendra. aren't you fun.

2006-02-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

i like to take photos

on my desk when i got to work today

2006-02-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

maybe i should finish my book...

2006-02-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

according to the forbes.com money meter, i make $1 every four minutes.

j.k. rowling makes $2000 in the same time.

why did i even go?

2006-02-17T11:04:00.000-08:00

7:05: i leave my house on the extreme north end of town. i go to texaco in the middle-south part of town to put air in my flat tire.

7:30: the attendant and i finally decide that the air pump is frozen and i will not be getting air. i go to shell across the street.

7:35: the air pump at shell is frozen. i go to sarah's house (at the north end of town), after calling and waking her up.

8:00: i drop off my car at sarahs where claire (being amazing) not only loans me a truck, she fills up my tire and promises to get it fixed for me today.

8:15: i stop at arco on the far south end of town to put gas in the truck, but realize my debit card is in my car. at sarahs. i decide maybe i can make it and start to head to tahoe. i immediately realize it's not going to happen but there's nowhere to turn around for ten minutes. finally i turn around and head back to sarahs. at the north end.

8:30: traffic is getting worse. i pick up my debit card at sarah's but not before loudly honking the horn in her quiet neighborhood by accident. this could be the second time i've awakened her and claire this morning.

8:40: back at arco. i finally get gas. i finally head to work. but now i've lost all motivation. i can't believe i went at all.

9:10: here i am.

total time to get to work from my house: 2 hours