A new decade...
Wow. I cannot believe I'm 20 years old. ANCIENT.
Okay, so I don't feel ancient. Actually, I'm happier this birthday than I have been on my birthday for a few years now. 18 and 19 both came with feelings of inadequacy and dread of making up for wasted time. I'm not saying I've checked off everything on the do-in-your-teens list, but I feel older than I did this time last year.
I still can't believe I'm officially in my twenties, though.
I won't do the 20 things about me on my 20th bithrday thing, but just to mark the occasion: 20 random things, most of them having something to do with me.
1. Apart from family I've only led about six or seven tours in 2 and a half weeks of of work. And out of those I've gotten the 'which denomination is this?' question at least four times. Sigh.
2. I've had the best sort of birthday this year: a long one. It started in mid-June with new clothes and new books (am I the only one who celebrates by going to the bookstore?), kept going with the 'official' supper with cakes and presents when Mom and Dad visited last week, held on for our trip to the Tattoo on Monday, and finally blew itself out - long after the candles - today. I feel loved.
3. Dad called me this morning all upset that he didn't have any more teenage daughters. Aren't people usually relieved about that?
4. Part of actually feeling my age for once may have to do with my feeling financially viable for the first time EVER. I'm actually looking forward to income tax time.
5. Grammy keeps telling people that I play the organ with such 'authority.' I haven't had the heart to point out that, if you pull out enough stops, it's hard NOT to sound authoritative on the organ.
6. Grammy goes on to say that the choir has been commenting how uncharacteristically assertive I am during practice. "They all get such a kick out of it," she chuckles. I may be twenty, but I'm apparently not old enough for people to stop 'getting a kick' out of my knowing what I'm talking about.
7. I'm going through a Vaughan Williams obsession at the moment. Rhosymedre has officially been conquered (not that I'll ever stop working on it, of course), and I think I'll tackle Bryn Calfaria next. And I want to go to England for the full bucolic RVW effect.
8. Speaking of obsessions, I thought, after the Bones finale came out in May that I would finally stop checking the spoiler sites every time I went online. No such luck... spoilers are already coming for September, and I've got the blog bookmarked on Grammy's computer. *headdesk*
9. Nothing to do with me, but I just heard a news spot about an airline exclusively for pet-owners. *biggrin*
10. I'm using far too many *actions* lately. My inner fangirl is manifesting. *facepalm*
11. I've fallen for a new TV series lately: Castle. It's sort of a modern cross between Remington Steele and Bones. Right up my alley.
12. Uncle Rod has a saying: "I'm human and therefore greedy." Well, my own version of that would be: "I'm human and therefore I'm a show-off." I have to admit that my favorite tours are the ones where people ask about the organ and then humoroursly wonder whether I can play it, not actually expecting me to say yes. The best part (for that all-too-human ego of mine) is when they gasp and point at the pedalling.
13. Just so that that last one sounds justified, people tend to make bigger donations to the church after I play for them.
14. I promise I'll stop blowing my own pipes after this, but I was so happy when someone actually commented on their tour in the guest book the other day, using my name and everything! I bounced through the rest of that day.
15. There aren't too many things I find myself homesick for when I'm in Digby. But I REALLY miss my cat.
16. Another thing I've been missing is Father Kevin. Now, a priest might be a strange thing for someone to be homesick for, but Kevin is the only one that I feel I know well enough to talk to freely to. I never know what to say to preachers. Some have great senses of humor, and some just... don't. I don't know Father Bill well enough to tell which category he fits into, and so when I'm talking to him I always come across as even more conversationally challenged than I already am. And with him being a priest and me being a churchmouse, we tend to see a lot of each other.
17. I love weeks when we do Morning Prayer instead of Eucharist. Sooooooooo relaxing...
18. Amber and I keep coming up with things we're looking forward to in September... English classes, cooking up vegan masterpieces together, Bones (yes, I know, we're hopeless), and Oreo study parties.
19. All glory, laud, and honour to whomever made Oreos vegan.
20. It's late and I don't have a twentieth thing.
Okay, so I don't feel ancient. Actually, I'm happier this birthday than I have been on my birthday for a few years now. 18 and 19 both came with feelings of inadequacy and dread of making up for wasted time. I'm not saying I've checked off everything on the do-in-your-teens list, but I feel older than I did this time last year.
I still can't believe I'm officially in my twenties, though.
I won't do the 20 things about me on my 20th bithrday thing, but just to mark the occasion: 20 random things, most of them having something to do with me.
1. Apart from family I've only led about six or seven tours in 2 and a half weeks of of work. And out of those I've gotten the 'which denomination is this?' question at least four times. Sigh.
2. I've had the best sort of birthday this year: a long one. It started in mid-June with new clothes and new books (am I the only one who celebrates by going to the bookstore?), kept going with the 'official' supper with cakes and presents when Mom and Dad visited last week, held on for our trip to the Tattoo on Monday, and finally blew itself out - long after the candles - today. I feel loved.
3. Dad called me this morning all upset that he didn't have any more teenage daughters. Aren't people usually relieved about that?
4. Part of actually feeling my age for once may have to do with my feeling financially viable for the first time EVER. I'm actually looking forward to income tax time.
5. Grammy keeps telling people that I play the organ with such 'authority.' I haven't had the heart to point out that, if you pull out enough stops, it's hard NOT to sound authoritative on the organ.
6. Grammy goes on to say that the choir has been commenting how uncharacteristically assertive I am during practice. "They all get such a kick out of it," she chuckles. I may be twenty, but I'm apparently not old enough for people to stop 'getting a kick' out of my knowing what I'm talking about.
7. I'm going through a Vaughan Williams obsession at the moment. Rhosymedre has officially been conquered (not that I'll ever stop working on it, of course), and I think I'll tackle Bryn Calfaria next. And I want to go to England for the full bucolic RVW effect.
8. Speaking of obsessions, I thought, after the Bones finale came out in May that I would finally stop checking the spoiler sites every time I went online. No such luck... spoilers are already coming for September, and I've got the blog bookmarked on Grammy's computer. *headdesk*
9. Nothing to do with me, but I just heard a news spot about an airline exclusively for pet-owners. *biggrin*
10. I'm using far too many *actions* lately. My inner fangirl is manifesting. *facepalm*
11. I've fallen for a new TV series lately: Castle. It's sort of a modern cross between Remington Steele and Bones. Right up my alley.
12. Uncle Rod has a saying: "I'm human and therefore greedy." Well, my own version of that would be: "I'm human and therefore I'm a show-off." I have to admit that my favorite tours are the ones where people ask about the organ and then humoroursly wonder whether I can play it, not actually expecting me to say yes. The best part (for that all-too-human ego of mine) is when they gasp and point at the pedalling.
13. Just so that that last one sounds justified, people tend to make bigger donations to the church after I play for them.
14. I promise I'll stop blowing my own pipes after this, but I was so happy when someone actually commented on their tour in the guest book the other day, using my name and everything! I bounced through the rest of that day.
15. There aren't too many things I find myself homesick for when I'm in Digby. But I REALLY miss my cat.
16. Another thing I've been missing is Father Kevin. Now, a priest might be a strange thing for someone to be homesick for, but Kevin is the only one that I feel I know well enough to talk to freely to. I never know what to say to preachers. Some have great senses of humor, and some just... don't. I don't know Father Bill well enough to tell which category he fits into, and so when I'm talking to him I always come across as even more conversationally challenged than I already am. And with him being a priest and me being a churchmouse, we tend to see a lot of each other.
17. I love weeks when we do Morning Prayer instead of Eucharist. Sooooooooo relaxing...
18. Amber and I keep coming up with things we're looking forward to in September... English classes, cooking up vegan masterpieces together, Bones (yes, I know, we're hopeless), and Oreo study parties.
19. All glory, laud, and honour to whomever made Oreos vegan.
20. It's late and I don't have a twentieth thing.