bird by bird

The problem with having a really shitty year directly following one of the best years of your life (so far) is that as every day passes, I can’t help but think about what it was like “last year at this time”. For example, last year at this time, I was working at the Multicultural Center with a pretty cool co-group leader named Greg. My parents were spending the whole week in Waubay at our lake cabin. I was house-sitting and preparing for a great 4th of July weekend in Vermillion with my best friends. This summer, my co-youth group leader is a 65-year-old Sister named Sharon. My dad is forever gone as is our lake cabin, and my 4th of July weekend won’t involve my college friends but instead my mom’s high school friends as I’m her date to her 30th class reunion. It's like last year was a Mac, and this year is a PC. :(

Escuse me can i tlk 2 u for a minute!! i gotta say the back of ur head is rediculous!!

"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." --Oscar Wilde

I just learned what 'ily' means. It's been bugging me for months!

Yes, please.

More new favorite websites http://www.tumblr.com/ Sort of like my blog.. people post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos. I get lost in random profiles and am constantly amazed at how freaking weird people are. I love it! http://shephardphoto.wordpress.com/ My 10th grade history teacher has the life I would love to lead. He is a fantastic human being whose sense of humor and travel stories are inspiring. He takes unbelievable photos, by the way. Here's his photo blog. AMAZING! http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/ Yeah, the name says it all. Wow. http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/ Pretty self-explanatory http://www.wordboner.com/ What a great name for a website! Exactly how I feel about words most days! That's all for now.. more to come..

Do It Anyway By: Mother Teresa People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway

"The best way out is through" --Robert Frost

One year ago today I spent what I didn't know then would be the last Father's Day I would spend with my dad. It was an absolutely beautiful Sunday, and Allison and I drove together from Watertown to Waubay to spend the day at the lake. We had planned on buying our dad a new anchor for his boat but instead ended up writing him an IUO and burning him a CD of his favorite songs. When we got to the cabin, Allison went with my mom and grandpa on a "Father's Day drive" and I stayed to hang out with my dad. Neither of us had much of an agenda (we rarely did) so we decided to drive around the lake and listen to his CD. He loved it. He talked about how cool it was that Allison and I were able to sit down and in 3 minutes come up with his top 20 favorite songs. He said that he knew a lot of other dads whose kids wouldn't be able to do that. He was also pretty impressed by the fact that we liked all the music on the CD. As we listened to the music, we drove around the

Now the seats are all empty Let the roadies take the stage Pack it up and tear it down They're the first to come and the last to leave Working for that minimum wage They'll set it up in another town Tonight the people were so fine They waited there in line And when they got up on their feet, They made the show, and that was sweet, But I can hear the sound of slamming doors and folding chairs and that's a sound they'll never know Now roll them cases and lift amps and haul them truses up and get'um up them ramps 'Cause when it comes to moving me, you know you guys are the champs but when that last guitar's been packed away, you know that I still want to play . So just make sure you got it all set to go before you come for my piano But the band's on the bus, and they're waiting to go. We gotta drive all night And do the show in Chicago... or Detroit. I don't know, we do so many shows in a row. And these towns all look the same. we just pass the time

I remember going to Mass at the Newman Center a couple years ago and Father Joe referring to a prayer by Thomas Merton. The prayer was printed on the weekly bulletin although there had been an typing error and the last line of the prayer was missing. Despite its incompleteness, I distinctly remember that the prayer resonated with me, and when I got home, I cut it out and laid it by my bed. For years it has bothered me that the last line of the prayer is missing. Without it the prayer seems incomplete and pessimistic. Today I stumbled across it again and finally found the last line. MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do any

Things I am currently sick of... waking up with a headache, going to bed with a headache, when Garfunkle won't stop biting my toes, fines for late library books, cold weather in June, father's day commercials, bad dreams, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, not seeing results, that verizon commerical with the sprinkles, having to wear dress clothes to work, having to work, oh and the road construction on HWY 81. Bah humbug.

Words I wou ld lov e to hear.. And So It Goes, by Billy Joel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELB6NxrZ7A

Loading amanda.lightfield@gmail.com… Loading standard view | Load basic HTML (for slow connections) This is taking longer than usual. Try reloading the page . If that doesn't work, you can: Try using https . Disable Labs and try again . If you're on a slow connection, try basic HTML view . For more troubleshooting tips, visit the help center . Loading... Many things are said in gchat conversations that I would love to share though I am held back by the fact that someday, I may wish to run for office, or go to heaven, or just live a somewhat respectable life. Sometimes I do have a semi-appropriate even semi-funny convos and tonight is one of those nights. It's hot off the press (or you know, the keyboard) and I got a kick out of it. I hope you do, too. [...blah blah... We're both sitting home alone on a Friday night...] G: I'm convinced I'm getting the bird flu A: oh shoot! I'm convinced I'm pregnant G: and by bird flu I mean

"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies, for example." --John Ruskin

If my job was a movie, it would be a combination of "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray and "Sister Act" with Whoopi Goldberg. Everyday, I wake up to the same song playing on my ala rm, pass the same cars on my way to work, have the same conversations with the r eceptionis t and my co-workers, sit at the same desk until 4:30, go home, go t o bed , and do the very same thing the next day. That's the "Groundhog" port ion of my life. . The "Sister Act" aspect of my job is due to the 45 Catholic nuns by whom I am constantly surrounded. Although, like Whoopi Goldberg's character, I am not one (a sista). I jus t don't quite fit in. It's not because I'm black or because I'm a Las Vegas headliner, but mostly just because I wasn't around during the FDR administration. Also, my hair still has color and I'm taller than 5'1". I suppose it's sort of cool that both movies are critically acclaimed! Ok, so maybe not e

Nothing good ever comes after the following three phrases: "No offense but..." "With all due respect..." "Don't take this personally..."