Cheryl's Journal

Busy Weekend

2006-07-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

do you ever wish that sometimes you could just crawl into a hole and say, "no more!" i have one of those weekends ahead of me where i feel overcommitted. in truth, it's really not that bad. tonight we're going out with friends for dinner. tomorrow we're going to a family reunion (not my family, but my roommate's) in mauldin, south carolina. where's mauldin, you ask? well, i'm not sure. i only know that it's three hours away. oh yeah. three hours in the morning. three hours in the evening. and the reunion in between. a very full day. and really, what i would like to do is just sort of rest this weekend.

but.... i guess that won't happen until sunday and even then, that day just seems to sort of fly by.

so, i'm a little intimidated by all of the planned activities.... think of me this weekend.

2006-07-21T07:54:00.000-05:00

Sunday Bloody Sunday

is this funny? scary? disturbing? you tell me.

Coveting

2006-07-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

oh yeah... when do i not have a wish list going? my new want.... a new car. but not just any car. this car. (this week.... it's a different car every week.) the honda civic hybrid. i just can't deny the fact that 50 mpg is amazing. i did the math. i could almost drive all the way up to my parents house in illinois on one tank. the car gets 660+ miles per tank of gas. very tempting these days.

but the reality is that i have credit card debt. and as long as i have that, i have no business getting a new car.

maybe next year.

Ahhhhh... Fridays

2006-07-14T08:19:00.000-05:00

i love fridays. i love the promise of a weekend.

what do we have planned this weekend? not much. i'll go out for dinner tonight. with my roommate's dad. we talked about going to the beach at some point. gotta give the dog's a bath. oh yeah.... it's a glamorous life.

when did i grow up? when did life become a series of to-do lists strung together?

that's a bit dramatic. i don't feel like my life is totally like that. i may have the tendency to allow it to become that way some weeks, but.... i don't know, i think i make a fairly good go at living in the moment, seizing the day, and so on.

i'm re-reading a book right now that i read in college. thomas moore, care of the soul. good stuff. he professes that each and every moment, each and every place, and each and every person has soul. or at least soul potential. finding the divine and the meaningful in the mundane, everyday experiences. but ultimately, this book is about fighting that need we have to "fix" our problems.

for example.... take someone who has a "problem" with feeling inferior at all times. we instead of addressing the inferiority, basically taking a psychological scalpel and cutting the complex out.... moore challenges us to live with our "problems." to sit with them and examine them. to embrace them. to find their root. to not be so concerned with end result.... automatically finding this incredible self-love, but rather living in and out of that inferiority and journeying through it. caring for the soul. not necessarily curing the soul.

i've had plastic surgery on the brain lately. the mother of a friend of mine recently underwent a semi-face lift. a brow lift. an eye lift. a cheek lift. we dropped by her house to visit her after her surgery. whoa. no discovery channel program could have prepared me for that sight. bruises galore. swelling. drainage. ick. when we left, i turned to my friend and i said to her, "you know, i don't think i'd ever choose to do that to myself."

i'm not going to condemn anyone who chooses to have cosmetic surgery. that's your own deal and for some people, it truly will make them feel better. so, it's their life. their money. no objections from me.

but.... but.... i can't help but see some sort of parallel between the choice to have plastic surgery and the state of culture that thomas moore talks about in his book. this need to cure ourselves. to recreate ourselves into the image that we feel like we need to have. whether that's external or internal. we have this picture of what we're supposed to look like and so often we're clawing our way towards that image. when in truth.... maybe we just need to sit with the reality of who we are. journey through that at a normal pace. not some sort of fast-forward surgical procedure.

or maybe that procedure, for some people, is part of their journey. you see.... that's where my opinion stops and their picks up. i have no right to judge anyone for a choice they might make for their life.

but for me.... i'm gonna sit with this thomas moore book for a while. one of the pastors at my church and i are reading it together and discussing it. i think it's good for a person like me. a control freak like myself, who needs a good reminder every once in a while that she can't "fix" everything. meaning: she can't control the outcome of everything that comes her way.

Sarah

2006-07-13T08:21:00.000-05:00

i'm sitting here listening to sarah mclachlan.... her afterglow album. you gotta love sarah.

and speaking of sarahs..... i just heard, through email, that one of my best friends from growing up, sarah mcneil usery, is moving back to our hometown. there is this part of my that for an instant thinks i would like moving back to my hometown. to get close to my family. back to my roots. to where i started from. but then.... reality sets in. i would love it for about two weeks and then i would most likely start pulling my hair out. i'm not sure that i'm meant to go back home. i feel like my home is where i am. and mt. vernon.... well, that's a good place for me to visit a couple of times a year.

you know, my ten year reunion is next month. i won't be attending. not so much because i chose not to go.... but more because i won't be able to get back to the area. i wonder who will be showing up.

so.... ten year reunions. did you go to your's? was it worth it?

The Chick Who Cut My Hair

2006-07-12T15:03:00.001-05:00

i designed her card. oh yeah... bartering is a wonderful thing.

The Haircut

2006-07-12T14:56:00.000-05:00

before

and after

Getting Back

2006-07-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

you know, when you get out of the habit of doing something.... it's hard to get back into it. i don't know what it is. i used to be this incredibly faithful blogger. one post a day. sometimes more. but now, it's like pulling teeth to get me to sit down and type.

i do have a bit of a new life. i'm living in charleston, south carolina, these days. i'm working as the publications assistant in a large church. getting lots of hands on experience in designing print stuff. i also manage their website (be it every so poorly) and i work with general communications around the church. it's a good fit for me.

my roommate and i live a couple blocks from the church. so, i walk to work every day. it helps me feel like i'm doing my little part in the cutting back of emissions. plus, it gives me a little extra exercise.... which is nice.

i have a couple dogs now. (speaking of exercise) they keep my roommate and me running around. two jack russell rescues. now, i know what you're thinking: jack russells?! are you crazy?! well.... maybe.... but we really lucked out and they are quite calm. they love to laze around and they are so sweet. a girl and a boy. daisy and grady. that's daisy to the left.

and life.... life is good. i'm hitting my stride here. i've been here just over seven months and i feel good. i've made quite a few friends. which is cool. just last weekend we went out with some other folks. hit one of the most wonderful restaurants in charleston. basil. so good. some of the best thai food around. we started with some soup.... it was this chicken, coconut, lime concoction. to die for. then some chicken satay. so good. and then i had pad thai. just the old standby for me. well.... it was the best pad thai i've ever had. amazing. did i mention how good this place is? if you come to town.... check it out.

so.... life is good. and, if all goes well.... i hope to become a regular blogger again. it make take a while to build back up. we'll see how the spirit moves.

on the bill today: haircut. i'll let you know how it goes. i didn't do anything with it this morning. so i'll take a picture with my isight camera on my computer and give you the before and after effect.

A New Day.... A New Blog

2006-07-11T09:44:00.000-05:00

this is my fresh start. i needed it. we'll see where this goes. but hopefully.... it will again become a place where i can process things and get my thoughts out on 'paper.' happy blogging.