25 Random Things About Me

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, I thought I would be in an organizing frenzy this week like a piranha on a goat carcass, but life has a way of removing your desire to feed. Monday and Tuesday were just normal days of writing letters and data entry. Wednesday, I went to the beach with the Waibel team. The Waibel team consisted of Matt and Lisa Waibel and six of their children! We had a great time and made it back for Bible study that night. Thursday, I left work early, and Tess cut my hair. She really is a very talented girl. Then, we all went to supper at the Nami. All of a sudden, I realized that it was Friday, and I had yet to start my major revamp of the storage area. So, I stayed a little later that night and got the heavy stuff moved out. My plan was to plunge into my project early on Saturday morning, but Regan from LSM dropped by to say hello, and we ended up chatting all morning.

Thankfully, after lunch at the Gutwein’s house, Regan and Tess offered to help me deal with the mess I had made on Friday. I was so thankful! In a couple of hours, we had that place lookin’ good! Tonight, I’m going to head up there for a final cleaning. I want it to look fresh for Monday morning. Today, Regan, Sarah, Beth, and I went to Torbeck for Sunday School. Then, we listened to the Bluffton services and enjoyed cheesy mac and chicken for lunch. I spent the afternoon working on my update, playing chess with Sarah, and cleaning at Child Care. I'm heading back up there in a bit - I lost power and there are no lights attached to the batteries. I don't mind meeting Bob, the resident Child Care tarantula, when the lights are on, but in the dark...well, I decided to wait until we had power again before I continued.

I like to keep track of my friends using Facebook, and there has been an interesting application going around for a few weeks – 25 Random Things About Me. I enjoyed reading the lists from everyone else, and because I am certainly prone to peer pressure, I did one myself. I decided to share them with you – maybe you’ll learn something about me you wish you hadn’t, but I hope you enjoy the glimpse into my mind (and don’t come out too twisted).

25 Random Things About Me

1. I hoard books. I literally can’t stand to give/discard/lose a single one, even if I thought it was poorly written, cheesy, and/or twisted.
2. I wish I were naturally musical. I would love to play the violin and make people weep, but I’m too lazy to actually put the effort into practicing.
3. I sometimes dream about living on a little farm by myself. I would raise goats and chickens and knit by the fire while listening to old reruns of Paul Harvey and A Prairie Home Companion.
4. My iPod is filled with a very eclectic mix of music, everything from Dean Martin to Guns N’ Roses, Tupac to Elvis, ABBA to Amy Winehouse with a little R.E.M and New Bethel. Lots of variety.
5. I think the space program is a huge waste of money. Who cares if there is water on Mars? But, I love to look at pictures from the Hubble telescope. It gives me perspective.
6. Sometimes, I waste a lot of mental energy thinking about imaginary numbers. We have an infinity of real numbers. Why do we need imaginary ones?
7. In the third grade, I totally made up a book and turned in a fake book report on it. It had something to do with worms bouncing on a trampoline. I did not get caught nor have I confessed.
8. My dad loves his job. He says things like, “Thursday is my day off. They won’t let me work," and looks genuinely sad. I want that.
9. I’m always unsure how to answer the question, “How do you like Haiti?” The question, and the many possible answers, keep me up at night.
10. I hate feeling incompetent or unprepared. God has trapped me in my worst fears like Jonah in the belly of the whale. I’m looking forward to being vomited.
11. Children that I used to baby-sit are now married and having children of their own. That makes me feel old and a little sad.
12. I like to think I’m immune to peer pressure, but I recently jumped off a waterfall simply because I was taunted.
13. I would let my sisters pick out my husband and marry him sight unseen. That’s how well they know me and how much I trust them.
14. On that note, I miss my family dreadfully. I was blessed with an amazing family, all of whom I would choose for friends. Molly is my best friend (dearest seester), Joe is one of the wisest men I know, Will is wonderfully eccentric and hilarious, Carson is a musical vagabond, and Grace is incredibly smart and gorgeous, the whole package.
15. I want my future home to replicate the feeling of Grandma Gerber’s house. She always made you feel welcome and wanted. We played with her marble roller and toasted Shrinky Dinks in her little oven. I love playing Christmas BINGO and going there the first night of Street Fair for chili and potato soup.
16. I color pictures as therapy. I love the idea of using all the crayons in the box on a single picture or doing the whole page in shades of green.
17. I do not believe in soul mates.
18. If something takes me longer to cook than it does to consume, I consider it a waste of my time. But, I am secretly jealous of those people who truly enjoy cooking and do it well.
19. I handle Haitian tarantulas better than I handle Indiana wolf spiders. Figure that one out.
20. I’ve worked as a massage therapist, a secretary for a pulmonlogist and ENT doctor, a florist, an EKG/ECHO tech, a telecommunications operator, a health food store clerk, and a nanny. Now, I’m in a missionary field office working on accounting and correspondence, and I’ve never balanced my own checkbook.
21. I am constantly amazed at God’s sense of humor.
22. I love to dance. I’m no good and everything jiggles that isn’t supposed to, but I dance anyway.
23. Whenever I go to the dentist and get a healthy dose of nitrous oxide, I lay very still and soon it feels like my arms are twisting behind me and rotating at the shoulder. I love that feeling.
24. My financial goal in life is to never have to fill out anything more complicated than a 1040EZ form for my taxes.
25. I eat some form of peanut butter everyday. See #18.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aheartforhaiti/Feb20092?feat=directlink

These are some catch-up pictures and a few from this week. Sarah was kind enough to give me copies of my waterfall jump and some from past events - New Year's Eve and our island adventure. Enjoy!

Much love,
Abby