Love at First Sight

"And they lived happily ever after..." says the storyteller as the prince and princess, or prince and peasant girl, or farm boy and buttercup walk or ride into the fairytale sunset. This of course follows a trying episode in which most certainly the lovers would never be together. That was preceded by the magical first meeting where the two looked into each others eyes and realized they had met before "once upon a dream," and that life as they know it has come to an end." Ahhh, yes love at first sight, it had been wrote of, dreamed of, talked of, and laughed at.

A couple weeks ago my industrious students and I stumbled onto the question of love at first sight. "That's a fairytale," one of my girls declared. "No one can fall in love at first sight."

As it is my duty as teacher to challenge their assumptions, all I said was, "Really?" and looked at her with half-raised eyebrows indicating that she had not considered all the options.

But, really? Maybe my student just knows that real life is better than dreams and reality firmer than romance.

And yet... In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo declares when he first sees Juliet, "I never saw true beauty until tonight." If what he saw was really true than didn't he need to love her? Isn't that the proper response to beauty? And if he saw her right, that he means he really looked... perhaps the reason no one loves at first sight is because something is wrong with our sight. And if our eyes were less blind than maybe we could really see, and love. Crazy? Maybe, but love usually is... At least this idea made my students pause.

And after all, once, when I was in Spain browsing an outdoor market, wandering through the different merchandise. I saw...



A beautiful blues Spanish style pendant and I knew that it had to be mine.... Love at first sight my friends ; )

-Leilani

Indecision

I had a bride this week who loved two dresses:

She was paralyzed. Completely trapped by indecision. I've had plenty of brides fall in love with two gowns, resulting in a love traingle between the bride and the dresses. But I've never had anyone quite so indecisive as her. The resulting appointment had all the pathos and drama of a soap opera: there were tears, anger, frustration, and she even broke out in a case of hives.
And before you think, bridezilla, don't. She was one of those good, down to earth people, making her a likeable heroine. All I wanted was for her to find the gown of her dreams and ride off into the sunset with it, free from the anguish of confusion.
So what happened?
Well, we tried on both the gowns a total of twenty-one times. I discussed the various pros and cons with her. She asked everyone in sight what they thought. We reviewed pictures.
Finally, 3 hours later, she picked the first gown (and my personal favorite for her).
And then she was happy. All the stress dissolved. A simple choice relieved hours of tension and frustration.
Oh, and by the way, she picked the first one.

Huntington Library and Lakers

I went to the Huntington Library today. It's one of those places filled with guys proposing to their girlfriends and senior citizens meandering around the gardens. I don't really like being outside or exploring nature but I did smell five dozen different rose bushes (resulting in a mild high brought on by the rich fumes).

I love roses. They are my favorite flower. I used to like white ones until I realized they were at every funeral I've ever been to (thus, tarnishing my affection for them. Now they just look morbid).

So now I like hybrid flowers, which, I've learned don't even grow naturally. They are manufactured in a lab, the result of two roses being mixed together. They are better than your average rose because they are TWO colors and not just one!

And while today was all about culture, high tea, and roses, last night I went to a basketball game. The Lakers! Which was amazingly fun. I like basketball because, unlike soccer or baseball, it's indoors, so you can be nice and warm while you watch. No cold bleachers involved. And it's fast moving which equals exciting.

It was my very first Laker game so I was careful to put on a lot of makeup. After all, this would be the first time Kobe Bryant ever saw me.

However, it turned out Kobe was NOT there (which, as a paying customer, made me upset). But Shannon Brown was. And he was super cute. And while he didn't seem to notice me (I still supported him and clapped every time he made a basket), it was a blast. Since Shannon didn't seem interested, I channeled all my love to my man instead:

Cause after all, I have to be honest. He's way cuter than Shan or Kobe. -Autumn

Firefly

TV shows and me have a love/hate relationship. Begrudgingly, I have allowed myself to watch Alias and slowly become interested and then wish I wasn't...because there were SO MANY episodes.

And, I haven't sat down to seriously watch Lost, well because, the first couple episodes were scary. I tried to do laundry at 11:00 pm after watching a few and walking through my typically "safe" apartment complex I genuinely felt fear, usually, that's not me. But, the hardest obstacle (as already alluded to) is the time commitment. If I start watching a show that means years worth of TV time- its a big promise. So what to do?

Well, the first step was to realize watching a show with people is "bonding." Together we get to know characters and bemoan their bad decisions and laud their triumphs. It is a safe, newsy topic of conversation. I mean after all "It is just awful that Bones refused to be with Booth. I mean can't she see what's good for her?" (Of course we the audience know what she should do, and they the script writers know they better keep that conclusion far off to keep us the audience watching.)

The next step was to actually watch a complete season without skipping episodes, something down the lines of the journey is worth it. (And depending on the story, it is worth it... If only one could know that from the start.) So Buffy, season two, oh yeah.

But to complete an actual series? Now that would be a feat. Well, over the past several weeks I have gotten to know Mal, Captain of serenity, and his crew of space cowboys. I have enjoyed the theme song, big, commanding, take all this, but I still have my freedom, sort of theme song. I liked it. I didn't appreciate some of the "lower" elements, but I pretty much thought the captain was amazing. (He was loyal, doesn't get much better). Yesterday, I did it. I watched a complete series! Firefly. Done.

Oh, did I mention the best part. Firefly was only FOURTEEN episodes long!! So, Lost here I come... I CAN commit to a TV series.

-Leilani

A Little Bit of Random

Do you think that clothes are revealing of a person's soul? I know, I know kind of a random question, but last night as I sat in junior high youth group (the 7th graders are my girls) I couldn't help but wonder what clothes revealed about the person.

H- wore polka dots on her tights and her skirt and her little clutch was a variety of colors. They were spunky just like she is.

A- was wearing her dad's oversize (on her) blue sweatshirt. She took pleasure in swinging the long sleeves and cavorting light-heartedly.

C- had a little pink bow in her hair. It sat demurely on her head, quiet but still noticed.

So are the clothes a shadow of the person? I wouldn’t make any sound conclusions, but a little Sherlock deduction is probably permissible.

-Leilani

Sick as a Dog

I've been recovering from a damaged esophagus this past week or so. Apparently, it's an unwanted souvenir from Europe (the last few days of the trip were spent throwing up in an Oxford loo and, upon returning, I would still get sick occassionally. And the last time I threw up was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back, severing something vital to wellbeing in my esophagus and sending me down a vortex of throat pain). And let me tell you, it is not fun. I would trade for your common cold, an allergic reaction-even the 24 hr flue. I am not good with pain. Some people are proud of their pain tolerance. I have no problem admitting that mine is a
negative ten.
The most difficult part of it is not being able to eat. So I've maintained my existence on Fortifies, a kind of protein drink for senior citizens (and, by default, I am fighting osteoperosis and memory loss!).
Since there is no joy at mealtimes, I've redirected myself and found purpose and pleasure in shopping (I am still a very effective consumer, damaged esophagus or not).
So far I've purchased:
1. a teal tank top (on sale!)
2. a lace shirt
3. a pair of jeans
4. Glamour magazine (something for my eyes to feast on since my stomach cannot feast on anything)
However, shopping is a temporary fix. As I sat at Starbucks, trying to force myself to drink some tea, I had a bit of a break down.
THIS IS NEVER GOING TO END! I WILL BE LIKE THIS FOREVER! I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT AGAIN!
But today, for the first time, things seem to be getting better. Thank God for time. It, apparently, can heal anything. Even a damaged esophagus.
Autumn

It's About Time I Wrote About Macdonald

Before I went to England I went to the faithful Biola library (I discovered not long ago that one of the dedications in the ground leading up to the Library is to a Leilani. Every time I see it I mildly wonder what type of woman she was and what kind of life she led. It is rather strange..)and I checked out two George Macdonald books. They had been re-packaged as Christian romance novels, but they are far from that...

Let me describe an image inside one of the books (a book picked up later) to give you a picture of what Macdonald does. The image is of three Christians walking in the beautiful outdoors with a woman who does not believe. She, smitten by the beauty and peace of the day, murmers "If God is true, it almost seems as if he is near." And the man replies, "That he himself believes in God, that Rachel (his niece) believes, and that Dorthey (a friend) believes, so of course God is near." And I was struck with the thought that our relationship with Christ brings others near to God, because of His residence in us. And that when reading these books, the fictional characters somehow resonated Christ's love. So that I am wrapped in the all-consuming thought that knowing Christ is the well-spring from which all knowledge of God is found. And I find myself desiring to know Christ more deeply and fully, because He is God.

Macdonald's thoughts are really good. They are soul refreshing. So if you have chance I reccomend The Curate's Awakening. I think you will be blessed.