Last weekend
I'm overdue an actual update. Last weekend, a bunch of us got all psyched up to go for a kayaking trip through UCLA's marina...but when we tried to sign up, the class was full. So we made other plans instead!
During the early afternoon, Jenni and I went clothes shopping because both of us need nicer things for conferences, jobs, etc. We were both successful at our first stop, Ross, where I got two shirts and Jenni got some shirts and a nice jacket. We then tried out Marshall's, but felt like we had walked into a store for women 30 years our senior or more. I'm sure there must be nice things there because Marissa got her fancy dress there (which is why we went), but it was just generally not us. But it wasn't a waste of time, cuz we stopped at the Starbucks right next to it and I got a free double chocolately frap with espresso shot for FREE because the last time we went to Starbucks they forgot my order and gave me a coupon for anything free. Mmmm...tastey...We then hit up the mall near Pat's apartment (uhhhh the name of it fails me..) and it was filled with nice, ritzy stores. We browsed a bit, mostly window shopping, but then got sucked into Banana Republic. Normally I wouldn't buy anything there cuz it's so expensive, however I found an awesome pair of dark brown dress slacks with fine blue/white vertical stripes that were on SUPER sale! So then I asked a sales clerk what shirts/jackets they had that could go with the pants, cuz I didn't want to buy them if I didn't have anything to wear with them! So she pointed out some pale blue tops and some cream tops and a cream dress coat. The dress coat was really cute and looked awesome up against the pants, but when I saw the price my jaw dropped. Under advisement, I took it into the dressing room anyways (along with all the tops) just to see how I liked the look. And...I fell in love...the combination was so unlike anything I own (all I own is like one pair of black pants and a black skirt...both of which have gotten lots of use over the years...) The tops mostly all looked good too, but they were also expensive. So I debated with Jenni back and forth all the pros versus cons (the price being the only con)...like, it looked SO GOOD on me...unlike most other dress outfits...So after figuring out how much I would get off of it (from a deal they were running that day), "we" decided to get it! I say "we" because I never would have had the courage to spend that much on clothes had Jenni not been there to help advise me, but I'm sooo glad she did! There is no better advice to give a girl clothes shopping than to take a friend with you--cuz the friend will make sure you don't spend money where you'll regret it, but will give you the courage to get something when the reasons really are valid.
Okay so I'm going on too much...moving on...a sales rep had told Jenni that if I opened up a club card, that I could get free alterations (cuz the pants, although they fit great at the waist and butt where WAY too long). But when we went up to the counter, the cashier said that only applied if we had racked up enough points on the card. Hmm. Bummer. This was AFTER he had already told us that the 15% discount you get on your purchase when you open up a club card does not apply on top of the discount I was already getting on the jacket. But he could tell from my face, I think, after this second blow that I wasn't going to pay for the jacket if I ALSO had to pay for alterations. So, we find out he's the manager, and he says he'll let it go this once! So in the end I did get free alterations. :-)
All this took quite some time, so by the end of it all we needed to head out cuz our parking meter was about to end. After that we were going to hit up Kohl's, but when we reached the 405 traffic was crawling at an ant's pace, so we pulled off the next exit and went to Forever 21 in Santa Monica instead. I was really disappointed by the selection--I had built it all up as this awesome store to Jenni, cuz when I had gone there with Rachelle I had loved a lot of what I saw! But this time neither of us were enchanted by anything, even though it's 3 stories worth of merchandise. I actually found a pale blue top to go with my suit (I hadn't bought any from Banana cuz they were so expensive), and got that. By the time we were done there though, it was time to go home, freshen up, and meet our friends for dinner.
Jenni and Pat came up with this idea that we should go out to exotic, Los Angeles-only restaurants as a group. The idea being, we're all here, we should utilize the facilities that you can't find anywhere else in the world! So....we didn't actually do that...cuz we went to Cheesecake Factory...but on the one hand we've never gone there as a group yet, so it was still fun and different! Actually, it was super fun--After Jenni and I picked up Pat, we met Kate and her friend Marni at the restaurant and had an awesome time just talking, jokeing, making fun of each other (and by each other I mean Pat...), and setting salad noodles (the crunchy kind) on fire. I will admit to starting that...but Pat was the one who put ketchup bottles into the candle at the beginning of dinner! After burning them I dared Pat to eat one..when he wouldn't, I just grabbed it and ate it myself! "Mmmm" I said, "It actually tastes more like popcorn now!" So then of course everyone else had to try--I think Kate agreed with me, but Pat said it still tasted like disgusting...Only he used a word synonomous to "nast" that I had never heard before.
So after a delightful evening together, I was all pumped up and excited and ready to par-tay! But Kate had to bring Marni home, and Jenni and Pat were ready to sit quietly at home...so Kate asked if I'd like to join her in bringing Marni back so she wouldn't have to drive home alone from the Valley. So I decided to go, and had a chance to talk more with Marni as well, about her Taikwondo and other martial arts skills and other things. I don't think Kate and I even talked in depth about much on our way back to my apartment...but just as we were getting into Westwood we were getting deeper into conversation, so when we arrived at Weyburn we pulled into the parking garage to "finish our convo", instead of Kate dropping me at the top of the hill. Only, we didn't just quickly wrap it up...it grew and molded and went down different paths, twisting and turning, and the more we talked the more we realized how long it'd been since we'd actually TALKED, so it soon became what else can we think about to talk about...and then talking about it...until almost 3 am! Finally we dragged ourselves apart and I sleepily stumbled upstairs. I tried to be quiet as I came in, but shortly thereafter Jenni emmerged asking if everything was alright. In my groggy state it took me a second to realize she had been worried about me, so I was like "ohhh yes everything is fine! we just ended up talking down in the parking structure for awhile!" And she was like, "I tried calling you!" and I was like..."It didn't ring!" So I checked my phone, and then remembered that we get no signal in the parking garage! I felt so bad for worrying her, but guys don't I have an awesome roommate? Most roommies really wouldn't care why their roommate wasn't in by 2:30am.
So Sunday brought homework and celebrating Passover. I decided not to go to church in the morning, since the seder meal would start at 4:30 and go into the late evening, and I had a lot of work to get done. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted, but around 4 I ran to CVS to get grape juice (my contribution) and walked the rest of the way to church, where it was being held. We had a much better turn out than originally anticipated, which was great cuz I always think big celebrations (like Thanksgiving as well) are more fun the more people are there celebrating with you! So when they said it would go from 4:30 to 9, I figured it would be more in depth than the seders my mom as done before. But actually it wasn't, the leader just took a lot more time explaining what everything meant, and how modern American Jews view things, versus orthodox Jews (not that there aren't American orthodox--just the difference between your average person and the more strict people). We went through everything from the parsley to the horseradish (which stung my nose!) to my favorite, heroseth (I know I spelled that wrong...) We also had the big potluck type meal with matza ball soup, chicken, salads, and more! Mr. Green explained that many Jews don't actually serve lamb at Passover since they can't sacrifice them at the temple. The children had a difficult time finding the afikomen...but after he basically told them where to look, someone found it and got a dollar!
We wrapped the whole event up by dancing the Hora. It was fun and an easy dance step, though I can tell I'm out of shape cuz I was definitely breathing a little harder than normal! Overall it was a really fun experience, and I had some really good discussions with Jennifer (not to be confused with Jenni) about some things she was learning in seminary, as well as her shock that I knew what Vatican II was, and then we ranted to each other how so many Protestants think Catholics aren't Christians (or are bad Christians or something). I also shared how I didn't feel I was in one particular denomination, but that the different churches I've been a part of have molded me...and she said that that attitude was increasingly common amongst this generation. I find this very interesting, also because I recently read in COSMO Girl that this generation in general is not sticking to the religion they were brought up in or to any definitive religion at all--instead young people are picking and choosing what they like about different religions and making their own, in a sense. Also what really interested me from the article is that it said young people don't like to say they are "religious", but rather, "spiritual". I was very interested in this because all my my close Christian friends and I have very strongly said we aren't "religious", we are "spiritual", because you can be "religious" (by say, going to church, going through the motions of your relgion like praying etc., but completely lack the heart of what the religion actually represents). Instead we said we are "spiritual" since that implies lack of the regiment and more of the personal, putting us on a closer plane with God (personal relationship vs. going through the acts). So I find it interesting that it's not just within the Christian community, but within the religions community as a whole, that this balking against the words "religion" and "religious" is occuring. If I need to clarify let me know...mostly this just turned into an explanation of something I found intriguing.
The good thing about this movement is that people are willing to open their eyes and discover what they truly believe instead of just going along with whatever doctrine their parents and grandparents and local community teaches them. (Because even as Christians, we realize that with all the different denominations out there, they can't all be right--some doctrine in each is wrong--however, it is the LARGE picture that matters and is "right".) So what I'm saying is, it's good that people are willing to search for truth. However, the downside to this "free for all" is that one may feel less certain about what truth really is. For instance, if a Christian is rooted in one denomination, they have a set of creeds and doctrine explaining what they (in that denomination) believe is the correct interpretation of Scripture. By accepting their denomination as correct, they have "all the answers" and can find some comfort in that. They also have that sense of authority in their lives--authority of the "denominational" church, authority of their creeds, etc. Without this foundation, it becomes increasingly difficult to say, "I believe 100%, hands down that this is the correct interpretation."
I understand that the reader may be thinking, "But that's absurd--who has any right to say they know 100% what a particular interpretation is?" But that's my point--that is our society's mindset currently, that no one has the right to say they are right, and I'm not saying I disagree with that mindset at all! What I AM saying is that a person loses a sense of security when they let that go, and for some people that's not a good thing. It can lead to a sense of being lost and wandering.
I'm going to end this ramble now though I'm sure I could go on. This post is uber long and if you made it all the way through, you must really be searching for ways to procrastinate...
During the early afternoon, Jenni and I went clothes shopping because both of us need nicer things for conferences, jobs, etc. We were both successful at our first stop, Ross, where I got two shirts and Jenni got some shirts and a nice jacket. We then tried out Marshall's, but felt like we had walked into a store for women 30 years our senior or more. I'm sure there must be nice things there because Marissa got her fancy dress there (which is why we went), but it was just generally not us. But it wasn't a waste of time, cuz we stopped at the Starbucks right next to it and I got a free double chocolately frap with espresso shot for FREE because the last time we went to Starbucks they forgot my order and gave me a coupon for anything free. Mmmm...tastey...We then hit up the mall near Pat's apartment (uhhhh the name of it fails me..) and it was filled with nice, ritzy stores. We browsed a bit, mostly window shopping, but then got sucked into Banana Republic. Normally I wouldn't buy anything there cuz it's so expensive, however I found an awesome pair of dark brown dress slacks with fine blue/white vertical stripes that were on SUPER sale! So then I asked a sales clerk what shirts/jackets they had that could go with the pants, cuz I didn't want to buy them if I didn't have anything to wear with them! So she pointed out some pale blue tops and some cream tops and a cream dress coat. The dress coat was really cute and looked awesome up against the pants, but when I saw the price my jaw dropped. Under advisement, I took it into the dressing room anyways (along with all the tops) just to see how I liked the look. And...I fell in love...the combination was so unlike anything I own (all I own is like one pair of black pants and a black skirt...both of which have gotten lots of use over the years...) The tops mostly all looked good too, but they were also expensive. So I debated with Jenni back and forth all the pros versus cons (the price being the only con)...like, it looked SO GOOD on me...unlike most other dress outfits...So after figuring out how much I would get off of it (from a deal they were running that day), "we" decided to get it! I say "we" because I never would have had the courage to spend that much on clothes had Jenni not been there to help advise me, but I'm sooo glad she did! There is no better advice to give a girl clothes shopping than to take a friend with you--cuz the friend will make sure you don't spend money where you'll regret it, but will give you the courage to get something when the reasons really are valid.
Okay so I'm going on too much...moving on...a sales rep had told Jenni that if I opened up a club card, that I could get free alterations (cuz the pants, although they fit great at the waist and butt where WAY too long). But when we went up to the counter, the cashier said that only applied if we had racked up enough points on the card. Hmm. Bummer. This was AFTER he had already told us that the 15% discount you get on your purchase when you open up a club card does not apply on top of the discount I was already getting on the jacket. But he could tell from my face, I think, after this second blow that I wasn't going to pay for the jacket if I ALSO had to pay for alterations. So, we find out he's the manager, and he says he'll let it go this once! So in the end I did get free alterations. :-)
All this took quite some time, so by the end of it all we needed to head out cuz our parking meter was about to end. After that we were going to hit up Kohl's, but when we reached the 405 traffic was crawling at an ant's pace, so we pulled off the next exit and went to Forever 21 in Santa Monica instead. I was really disappointed by the selection--I had built it all up as this awesome store to Jenni, cuz when I had gone there with Rachelle I had loved a lot of what I saw! But this time neither of us were enchanted by anything, even though it's 3 stories worth of merchandise. I actually found a pale blue top to go with my suit (I hadn't bought any from Banana cuz they were so expensive), and got that. By the time we were done there though, it was time to go home, freshen up, and meet our friends for dinner.
Jenni and Pat came up with this idea that we should go out to exotic, Los Angeles-only restaurants as a group. The idea being, we're all here, we should utilize the facilities that you can't find anywhere else in the world! So....we didn't actually do that...cuz we went to Cheesecake Factory...but on the one hand we've never gone there as a group yet, so it was still fun and different! Actually, it was super fun--After Jenni and I picked up Pat, we met Kate and her friend Marni at the restaurant and had an awesome time just talking, jokeing, making fun of each other (and by each other I mean Pat...), and setting salad noodles (the crunchy kind) on fire. I will admit to starting that...but Pat was the one who put ketchup bottles into the candle at the beginning of dinner! After burning them I dared Pat to eat one..when he wouldn't, I just grabbed it and ate it myself! "Mmmm" I said, "It actually tastes more like popcorn now!" So then of course everyone else had to try--I think Kate agreed with me, but Pat said it still tasted like disgusting...Only he used a word synonomous to "nast" that I had never heard before.
So after a delightful evening together, I was all pumped up and excited and ready to par-tay! But Kate had to bring Marni home, and Jenni and Pat were ready to sit quietly at home...so Kate asked if I'd like to join her in bringing Marni back so she wouldn't have to drive home alone from the Valley. So I decided to go, and had a chance to talk more with Marni as well, about her Taikwondo and other martial arts skills and other things. I don't think Kate and I even talked in depth about much on our way back to my apartment...but just as we were getting into Westwood we were getting deeper into conversation, so when we arrived at Weyburn we pulled into the parking garage to "finish our convo", instead of Kate dropping me at the top of the hill. Only, we didn't just quickly wrap it up...it grew and molded and went down different paths, twisting and turning, and the more we talked the more we realized how long it'd been since we'd actually TALKED, so it soon became what else can we think about to talk about...and then talking about it...until almost 3 am! Finally we dragged ourselves apart and I sleepily stumbled upstairs. I tried to be quiet as I came in, but shortly thereafter Jenni emmerged asking if everything was alright. In my groggy state it took me a second to realize she had been worried about me, so I was like "ohhh yes everything is fine! we just ended up talking down in the parking structure for awhile!" And she was like, "I tried calling you!" and I was like..."It didn't ring!" So I checked my phone, and then remembered that we get no signal in the parking garage! I felt so bad for worrying her, but guys don't I have an awesome roommate? Most roommies really wouldn't care why their roommate wasn't in by 2:30am.
So Sunday brought homework and celebrating Passover. I decided not to go to church in the morning, since the seder meal would start at 4:30 and go into the late evening, and I had a lot of work to get done. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted, but around 4 I ran to CVS to get grape juice (my contribution) and walked the rest of the way to church, where it was being held. We had a much better turn out than originally anticipated, which was great cuz I always think big celebrations (like Thanksgiving as well) are more fun the more people are there celebrating with you! So when they said it would go from 4:30 to 9, I figured it would be more in depth than the seders my mom as done before. But actually it wasn't, the leader just took a lot more time explaining what everything meant, and how modern American Jews view things, versus orthodox Jews (not that there aren't American orthodox--just the difference between your average person and the more strict people). We went through everything from the parsley to the horseradish (which stung my nose!) to my favorite, heroseth (I know I spelled that wrong...) We also had the big potluck type meal with matza ball soup, chicken, salads, and more! Mr. Green explained that many Jews don't actually serve lamb at Passover since they can't sacrifice them at the temple. The children had a difficult time finding the afikomen...but after he basically told them where to look, someone found it and got a dollar!
We wrapped the whole event up by dancing the Hora. It was fun and an easy dance step, though I can tell I'm out of shape cuz I was definitely breathing a little harder than normal! Overall it was a really fun experience, and I had some really good discussions with Jennifer (not to be confused with Jenni) about some things she was learning in seminary, as well as her shock that I knew what Vatican II was, and then we ranted to each other how so many Protestants think Catholics aren't Christians (or are bad Christians or something). I also shared how I didn't feel I was in one particular denomination, but that the different churches I've been a part of have molded me...and she said that that attitude was increasingly common amongst this generation. I find this very interesting, also because I recently read in COSMO Girl that this generation in general is not sticking to the religion they were brought up in or to any definitive religion at all--instead young people are picking and choosing what they like about different religions and making their own, in a sense. Also what really interested me from the article is that it said young people don't like to say they are "religious", but rather, "spiritual". I was very interested in this because all my my close Christian friends and I have very strongly said we aren't "religious", we are "spiritual", because you can be "religious" (by say, going to church, going through the motions of your relgion like praying etc., but completely lack the heart of what the religion actually represents). Instead we said we are "spiritual" since that implies lack of the regiment and more of the personal, putting us on a closer plane with God (personal relationship vs. going through the acts). So I find it interesting that it's not just within the Christian community, but within the religions community as a whole, that this balking against the words "religion" and "religious" is occuring. If I need to clarify let me know...mostly this just turned into an explanation of something I found intriguing.
The good thing about this movement is that people are willing to open their eyes and discover what they truly believe instead of just going along with whatever doctrine their parents and grandparents and local community teaches them. (Because even as Christians, we realize that with all the different denominations out there, they can't all be right--some doctrine in each is wrong--however, it is the LARGE picture that matters and is "right".) So what I'm saying is, it's good that people are willing to search for truth. However, the downside to this "free for all" is that one may feel less certain about what truth really is. For instance, if a Christian is rooted in one denomination, they have a set of creeds and doctrine explaining what they (in that denomination) believe is the correct interpretation of Scripture. By accepting their denomination as correct, they have "all the answers" and can find some comfort in that. They also have that sense of authority in their lives--authority of the "denominational" church, authority of their creeds, etc. Without this foundation, it becomes increasingly difficult to say, "I believe 100%, hands down that this is the correct interpretation."
I understand that the reader may be thinking, "But that's absurd--who has any right to say they know 100% what a particular interpretation is?" But that's my point--that is our society's mindset currently, that no one has the right to say they are right, and I'm not saying I disagree with that mindset at all! What I AM saying is that a person loses a sense of security when they let that go, and for some people that's not a good thing. It can lead to a sense of being lost and wandering.
I'm going to end this ramble now though I'm sure I could go on. This post is uber long and if you made it all the way through, you must really be searching for ways to procrastinate...