Channeling Charrie

I realize only Reagan will understand the title to this post. And thats ok. Everyone needs cryptic phrases every once in a while.

ahh finals. a time when the world seems so lonely yet so full of commradery. You don't see the same people on an everyday basis, but you know somewhere, they are suffering through studying just like you are. Or, if they're procrastinating, the same guilty thoughts run through their minds as well.

You know what else is cryptic? the language people put in emails. Just when you think you've known someone long enough to determine their official email tone of voice, they revolt against the norm and send surprisingly friendly notes that throw you off your game.

sad I'm missing Mother's Day by 2 days.

am starting to freak out about the LSAT. June 8, baby.

[shoutout to Reagan and Laura and our appreciation for jake fiscom, rumpled journalist and coffee shirt-casual musical barrista]

moving on.

I will have a new best friend by the end of the summer. His name is Flagstaff Public Library, (FPL, if you will.) FPL will provide me with trips abroad and formulaic boy-gets-girl storylines. Come August, I will be so adept in them I will probably be fit to write one myself. ha.

I also need to start thinking seriously about my trip to Ukraine. This is an extremely awesome component of my summer and I want it to rock me.

Conquering fears and re-discovering avenues once lost seems to be constant theme for me. Turns out, the Phantom really just wants Christine to love him. If only 10 year old Brooke had just developed an early appreciation for unrequited love, it would've saved many frightening moments with the Phantom, "inside my mind."

I'm more cynical than I once was. Much, much more so. The idea of a beautiful sad love story where the two don't end up together has currently has more appeal than the typical formula. boy meets girl. series of cute encounters follow. a big misunderstanding. time of sad reflection. one makes the big gesture. together forever. blah. blah. But that has its place. Just not at the top of my favorites. No, it seems the scardicat has begun to see the real world. And you know what the biggest surprise is? Its not as bad as she once thought.

This post is cryptic. I know. And thats the point. Bear with me. The next one will be more streamlined, hopefully. Or maybe not.

Finals studying essentials: [apparently lofty and cryptic thoughts about nothing in particular to balance the intense amount of real information in my head]
-printed notes with computer charts
-DIET COKE.
-friends to look up and stare at every once in a while, to be reassured that other people still exist around you
-late night movies as rewards.
-mindless room cleaning.
-stressing.
-DIET COKE.

Yesterday, I had a paper due at 11:55 pm. (who makes a research paper due at 11:55 on Saturday, the first day of dead days? So strange). I researched like mad most of the night before and the morning of. Began to write at 3ish. Called Mom around 6ish to see if thesis and intro was clear. It wasn't. Had a lovely dinner at Laura's that she cooked while I frantically wrote. Mom called again at 11:15 asking if the paper was done. "No, I'm finishing the conclusion and have to do the bibliography. Its only 11:15. Plently of time." to which she responded: "You are your father's daughter..." I finished with 11 minutes to spare. Her words keep running through my head because I like the sound of their meaning. I am my father's daughter. And you know what? thats not a half bad thing to be. Not at all.

Rules Breaking Discouraged

NYC. You know you've done NYC right when you return home and sleep 20 hours before doing anything else. I fully enjoyed my time in the Big Apple, successfully balancing MUN committee obligations with plain ol' crazy fun. Case in point, here is a picture of our team rocking out to either 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or 'Livin' on a Prayer' in this awesome karaoke place in Little Korea. yes, I sang karaoke in Little Korea. Then I took the subway at 3:00 am. Not cool, as there were lots of those poisonous rats the signs warn of. Its an epic night now, and I'm glad I had a chance to experience NYC the way it should be experienced.

The National MUN conference is different than most. Instead of having 2 Chairs per committee as part of the secretariat staff, NMUN has a Director and Assistant Director who serve directly on staff, and on the first night they choose someone from the committee to serve as the Chair and essentially become part of the staff for a week. Having had some Chair and secretariat experience, on a whim I decided to go through the interview process. This was partly a strategy, as the Director was ignoring my partner and I, and I knew sitting down face to face would help me stand out from the crowd of 299 other people. I was really direct and honest in my interview, and was preoccupied, thinking my team had left for our traditional karaoke without me. The interview finished around midnight and I saw a text that the team was just then leaving so I ran out of the intervew telling them to simply call me if I was chosen. Sure enough, somewhere in between Queen and Spice Girls I got a call saying I was to be the Chair of the General Assembly 3rd Committee. This is a huge honor, and the whole week I was transformed from delegate to staff. I got to meet a lot of the people running the conference and had an inside look as to how the thing is run, the awards process, and what makes a delegation stand out. I also gained great leadership skills. The best part, however, was being in committee in the actual UN building. For those of you not familiar with UN preceedings, the General Assembly Plenary is the offical GA body, though there are six subcommittees under the GA. These 6 committees pass resolutions and then report to Plenary for it to also officially adopt all resolutions. The final day of conference all the committees met in the UN building for a special Plenary session. Being the Chair of the 3rd committee, I had the opportunity to be the chair and facilitate the voting proceedings for a while. I spoke in the actual microphone, sat at the actual dias that the President of the actual GA sits at. It was way cool. The second picture is of me and my fellow dias in action.

With 2 chairs and 4 individual best delegate committee awards, Baylor's MUN came out on top. We won the highest possible award, which was that of "Outstanding Delegation." This is a huge relief, and it makes me even more excited for next year and my potential leadership within the organization.

I spent all day in the UN building on Thursday. The best part is all the signs posted everywhere, "Smoking Discouraged." Of course the UN wouldn't outright prohibit anything...I don't think anything else better illustrates the ironies and problems with the UN system than these signs...

I also got to eat in the Delegate cafeteria (almost illegally) and had the opportunity to meet an ACTUAL UGANDAN REPRESENTATIVE (!!!!!!!). He was so great to take 30 minutes out of his day to speak with some of us. The first thing he said was that we were so young. When we told him most were seniors or juniors, he was flabergasted, as higher education in Uganda is a priviledge not necessarily achieved at such a young age. Listening to him talk really put my own opportunities into perspective. I just spent the week gallavanting all over NYC. I had the chance to Chair in the UN building. I drank mojitos in a Cuban restaurant, had filet minon and crab at this upscale seafood restaurant, walked around Time Square well after midnight, drank frozen mochachino at the famous Serendipity dessert place, and frolicked around Central Park for a whole day, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. This fun, coupled with the added responsibilities of being Chair and part of the staff, gave me such a feeling of empowerment. Listening to the Ugandan Delegate, however, I realized that while these opportunities are outstanding and so worthwhile, they really are just the start. I'm young. so so young. It makes me wonder: If this is what I'm doing at age 20 (almost 21), what will I be doing at age 30? 40?

I realized something else this week. Sometimes, its fun to break the rules. Not in a detrimental way, but in a way that makes you feel alive. Maybe there is something to that UN sign of only discouraging rather than prohibiting bad habits.

On another note, Raleigh surprised me and drove through town today. It was especially nice to see him and I greatly appreciated the time he spent here in Waco with me. I've been sleeping and vegging and recovering from my crazy hectic week. It was really nice to see him, especially to see family on Easter.

I'm looking forward to summer. One month away. I have this vision of playing the piano in that great front room with the patio doors open, letting the sound waft out and down the pine tree street in the evenings and to spend serious time researching grad schools and such. I'm very glad Petey (the Petrof piano) was moved to Flagstaff this weekend.

Not sure what I'm going to do with my car George over the summer. hmmm.

Happy Easter. If nothing else, this week reaffirmed that today (and everyday) I am blessed by God's glory. He is good. so soo good.

Scouts Honor

Today I (almost) single-handedly conviced 6 6th grade girl scouts to come to Baylor. The campus wasn't giving official tours today due to an on campus marathon event, and a nice troop of Dallas girl scouts were having an exciting excursion to Waco's must see venues, such as the Dr. Pepper museum and Baylor University. The leader of the troop is an ADPi alumnae from Baylor, and called our chapter advisor to see if any current members would be willing to give a tour. Since Laura and I work in the admissions department and are now walking Baylor fact spouters, we decided to go ahead and give the tour. It was a beautiful slightly chilly day and let me tell you, by the end of our amazing tour, those girls were like, 'I can't wait until I'm a bear!" We had them stand on the seal in Founder's Mall and listen to their echos, they walked through the practice rooms, the science fountain, the SLC swimming pool, the library garden. My favorite moment of the tour was in the BSB in front of Java City when one girl asked me: "Do you have to like coffee to come to Baylor?" erm, no. But she'll soon find out it makes hangouts, study groups, and dates a whole lot easier if you're down with the Common Grounds. It was very refreshing to walk around campus for the sake of walking around campus on such a beautiful day. As I described the different buildings to the girl scouts I had flashes of various memories made in the same buildings. It made me realize my time here at Baylor has been quite extensive, action packed, and looking at those buildings, I realized I'm leaving a solid footprint on Baylor's paths.

This past week was long and hard. It rained a lot as well, and since George (my car) has a nice wide hole in the soft top (due to a vandalism incident a while back) I left him in the parking garage for the majority of the week. My kind roommate was nice enough to drive a crazed me to work on Wednesday, during the heaviest downpour (thanks again, Jessie!). This next week is also going to be intense. I leave for New York City next Saturday. I have a lot to accomplish until then- I must get homework done ahead of time for the week I'm gone, I need to finish researching my topics extensively, and plan outfits/pack for the trip. These things are all doable. Along with getting to be in NYC for an international Model UN conference, I'm also way looking forward to visiting the MOMA and MET and hopefully finding some good knock off deals on the sketchy streets of Chinatown.

I've been pondering the verses of Matthew 4 all week long.

The spring weather makes me think of sailboats.

Crayonberries

A random facts '25 things about me' craze has engulfed Facebook. Now, I'm very stubborn and tend to go against the grain on these matters, but I also am not sure I have 25 things about me that are deemed cool enough for the facebook crowd. I keep thinking of random facts and wondering, 'would I tell the world that fact?' Its interesting really. It takes a lot of courage to publish all those thoughts about yourself and trust mere acquaintances to read them.

My not so 25 things about me:
-I read the first half of a book. then I read the ending. then I go back and fill in the rest. please don't scoff at this.
-I had a slight breakdown about my future prospects today. I've had quite a few rejection letters lately (internships, scholarships, etc...)
-I really hope this trend doesn't continue into law school admissions letters.
-this is why I'm devoting my summer to LSAT, Ukraine, learning Russian for real,and community service- all for the sake of enjoyment.
-I like blackberries. The poignant burst of bittersweet is more than a bitesized fruit should be allowed to have. There is a certain simple joy in eating blackberries.
-I name most inanimate objects. They are all boys.
-I spent most of the semester being a blue crayon. For those of you not familiar with Baylor's All University SING, I'd be honored if you checked it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_wcG1Mlsmg

Cranberry Orange tea is the phantom tea of goodness. Or was the phantom tea. After months of searching for the best tea I've ever tasted (after discovering it in Oxford), I found it in an organic foods store in Flagstaff. The funny thing? I finally find the perfect tea right as summer rapidly approaches and optimal tea drinking time is on its way out. Why not enhance the heat by drinking hot tea? I say go ahead and drink. see what happens. Crayonberry tea, to be exact.

My last visit here left me nostalgic for European trains in Waco, serving free diet coke and biscuits. It also left me nostalgic for the summer that had just passed, the beauty of the British Isles, and the attitude of empowerment I secured while in Oxford. That feeling made it across the Atlantic and I've been carrying it around with me for most of the year, though I'm currently having some difficulties remembering where I misplaced it. The summer months are again fastly approaching, and though the calendar doesn't have a month marked out for study abroad (oh how I wish it would) it is nevertheless full of refreshment and great potential.

Why have I returned to this online portal? A few weeks ago a guest speaker visited my international law class. He is a young man, mid 20s, and has heavily been involved in high profile NGOs such as Invisible Children and Tom's shoes. After traveling throughout war torn Congo he created his own non profit, known as Falling Whistles. He was extremely engaging, extremely challenging, and managed to explain the conflict in Congo in such a helpful way as countless articles never have before. He also berrated my generation for being careless. Where is the passion? Where are the online blogs? Where are the questions? HOW are we letting such human rights abuses happen without any sign of uproar? Where, WHERE are the protests? I left class conviced, a little shocked, and passionate. After a brief stint with 30 degree meetings at the local hippie/chic coffeeshop for Baylor's own Falling Whistles chapter, I ackowledged the grassroots life isn't for me.

But, the idea of returning to this blog stuck around. So here I am again.

Ultimately, I've decided its time to once again be passionate out loud. With any luck my quest will have an outcome similar to that of the cranberry orange tea.


Or, I could always become a blackberry harvester. mmmhhmmmm.

Pride Rock

2 more days in wonderful England. I've decided I like the north a bit better, after having experienced both Ireland and now Scottland. The 6 1/2 hour train ride to/back from Scottland was quite the experience. I couldn't help thinking that for such an amount of time I could've been to California from Mesa, or to the states from Gatwick airport. It sure is silly how time is always relative to something else. Now, time is going by so slowly yet too fast at the same time. I'm so ready to come home yet am dreading it and think I may hide my suitcase to prohibit packing. I've layed on the prohibited Christ Church grass, I've been exploring around Oxford, I've conqurered numerous cities, I've stood in 2 hemispheres at the same time, I've rode on a double decker bus, I've matress surfed in an Oxford establishment, I've been on a pub crawl, I've almost been hit by crazy busses numerous times, I did not set foot in one American store/food place the whole time I've been here, I've climbed to the highest point in Scottland (840ish ft) and seen the city below and the North sea look so so small, I've learned to love tea, I've become fully British. I can only think of a small handful of tense/bad moments on this trip. The rest have been either ridiculous and incredible, or I've been laughing so much my face hurts. The dynamics with the people on the trip will be sorely missed, especially because we have had the best time with each other and getting to know each other. I wish America had trains like Europe does. I was so productive on the train. I need a train to circle the outskirts of Waco (or Baylor) (kind of like a Christmas tree) that I can get on, have complimentary biscuits and diet coke, and get all my schoolwork done there. Yes, that would be wonderful.

Bailey's is Bliss

I realize I've been a bit lax on the update front, but thats because I've been quite busy discovering the finer things in Oxford (like Moo Moo milkshakes) and flying sketchy Euro airlines. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

I LOVE IRELAND.

This past weekend was incredible. Absolutely stunning. The 5 of us started our 4 day weekend by pilgrimage-ing to Worcester on Thursday, with our one backpack carry on in tow. Worcester is a charming town with matching red brick buildings and greenery (kind of like Baylor on a larger and more British scale) and the main walkway is very lovely. There was a man selling large bubbles that floated up to the sky. Why this is important, I don't really know, but it seemed to fit a city with my namesake. Anyways, I was slightly obnoxious (though in my defense I warned my friends ahead of time and they agreed) and took pictures next to every sign that said Worcester that I could find. I spent some time in the Royal Worcester factory shops (after getting mildly lost- a 'detour around my fine city') and learned how to travel with only a backpack and pieces of china bubble wrapped around my clothes. I told the ladies at Royal Worcester that my last name was Worcester and that I was on a mini pilgrimage and that I was buying Holly Ribbons for my parents and I thought I was so cool, though they didn't share the same enthusiasm. Apparently lots of Americans with the name Worcester show up with the same story...bummer.

After a sufficient afternoon in the land of my namesake (which, by the way, is the only British town I've run across to sell Bueno bars- +1 for Worcester) we headed to Bristol, where we were staying the night in a youth (?) hostel. We enjoyed a lovely meal next to the river in Bristol and took fun pictures with statues. Bristol is quite lovely. The one not lovely part about Bristol was the creepy (not youth) lady staying in the (not youth) hostel room with us. She had her underwear hanging up (hopefully to dry) and when we walked in at 11 that night, we at first couldn't tell if she was male or female. She snorred odly and I was a bit freaked out and the room was so hot, I'm pretty sure I slept maybe 45 minutes that night. When our alarm went off at 5 am, I was quite relieved. We then headed to the airport and boarded the sketchiest airline I've ever ridden- RyanAir. The entire line is bright blue and yellow and the seats are dirt cheap. They don't even put pockets on the backs of the seats and the safety card is posted on the seat in front of you. They fly under the radar, and as our amazing cab driver in Ireland told us, when the radar tower broke last week and no airline flew, RyanAir still managed to get everyone to their destination on time. They play a loud trumpet noise post-landing to inform everyone that indeed, they are safe and on time at their new destination. Ohhhh RyanAir.

We made it to Dublin and wandered around the city for some time. I love the Irish; they are so laid back and relaxed and really friendly. They are the Texans of Europe. Dublin, though a bustling city like so many in Europe, also has a very easy going feel to it. It is not pretentious like Paris and doesn't try too hard to be beautiful (again, like Paris) nor does it evoke busy gray like London. We discovered Bailey's Irish cream and Irish coffee, and sat in a pub listening to U2 and drinking irish coffee and ciders. ahhh, the Irish life. The second day we were there we rode the DART (which is all green- happy happy Irish people) to a small fishing port town about 20 minutes outside Dublin called Hawth (Hoe-fth). The town itself was miraculous and the best port town and harbor I've ever seen. We took a ferry to the Eye of Ireland, which is an island located a short ferry ride off the coast. On the island we explored and climbed to the top of the giant rock hills. From the very top the wind was whistling past me, I could see ocean on all sides and beautiful sail boats embedded against the water, the seagulls squacked overhead, and the island itself was green and filled with beautiful Irish countryside. The moment I shared on top of the Eye of Ireland was quite possibly the most pleasant, most invigorating moment of my life. I laid down and closed my eyes on the rocks and just listened to the nature sounds around me. Ladybugs crawled on my legs and the sun beat down just right, and I decided that Hawth, Ireland is one of my top 3 favorite places in the world. (Don't ask me what the other 2 are- it just seemed too concrete to call Hawth my absolute favorite, seeing as how I'm only 20 and have a lot of the world to still see).

The rest of Ireland was magical- we spent a bit more time in Dublin, went to a writer's museum, and drank more Irish coffee. There is such a great vibe in Ireland. Really, with such gorgeous surroundings, it is a wonder someone could NOT be inspired creatively by living there. Its no wonder the Irish churmed out quite possibly the best poets and writers of the 19th and 20th centuries (Yeats, Wilde, Shaw, Swift, among others) We returned to Oxford mid-day Sunday, all slightly relunctant to leave our new love- Ireland.

Cheap Couture

I LOVE OXFORD.
the end. Thats pretty much all there is to it. I mean, there is plenty more and a whirlwind of details, but life at Oxford is pretty much amazing. The past week has consisted of waking up for breakfast in the great hall, then hanging out/getting ready/reading and such, then class, then a brief lunch (there is a croissantery across the gate that is wonderful and cheap) and then doing whatever we feel like. We went on a Christ Church tour the first day and saw the secret garden where Alice played and peeked through her door, as well as the old Oxford library with Chaucer originals. Did you know Christ Church has the best and biggest private art collection, including Rafael, Michaelangelo, and Renoir?? I have yet to see it, but it is definitely on my list. It is so amazing bypassing the tourists that can only go on certain parts of the walk, and I saunter right by and walk through the quad. The second day here we had an Inklings walk tour, where we saw a bit more of Oxford and the places Tolkein and Lewis lived, got married, taught, etc... I've also been to their favorite pub, the Eagle and Child (or the Bird and the Babe, as they called it) and really really like Strongbow, an English cider that tastes a lot like champagne and beer combined (because, well, thats really all it is).

This weekend we're planning on taking a few day trips, though the possibilities are endless and it is hard to narrow down the choices! The frontrunners are Swansea in Wales, Stratford upon Avon, Bath, and back to London. Next weekend I'm terribly excited about, as we've planned a trip to Ireland and leave next Thursday night (1 week from today). I just love Oxford though. It is the best things about London condensed into a small friendly town. Christ Church is at the center of the commotion, and while there are busy pedestrian streets surrounding the college, when we're in the big Tom gate it is hard to imagine there being a real world at all outside the gate. It is really fun coming back at night after the gate has been closed- we have a little card that we swipe and it opens a little door embedded in the large gate. It is so secretive and cool. The dinners are absolutely incredible as well. Christ Church has this habit of serving me something I thought I didn't like only to discover it is in fact the best food I've ever tried. This has happened with smoked salmon, lemon merrange, which they're famous for (sp?), duck (which, this wasn't amazing but better than I thought it would be), guinea fowl, and tomato pepper soup. We also had a mango avacado salad one night that consisted of half a mango and half a avacado straight up, and it was delicious. I could definitely get used to this life.