The Weather and Lent

So, I just took a walk/jog around the neighborhood-my daily exercise. It was refreshing, but now I'm feeling the months spent sitting indoors, not exercising. Maybe I should not have run so much, so soon. Glad to put my sports shorts to good use, though. I could actually wear shorts this evening-can you believe it? The cold weather is subsiding at last-though in about three months' time, I'll be begging for winter again. Alas, that is life in the desert-y regions of the U.S., and the fate of us desert-dwellers: we complain about the heat during the summer and what should be autumn in NORMAL places-we don't really have a fall season around here; just summer and winter-then a few weeks into winter and we're complaining that it's too cold out (well, the wimpier of us, anyways-like me). The only time we really ever stop complaining is during spring, which usually consists of March and most of April, if we're lucky. But even then, we're anticipating the heat that is to come. ...Why do so many people relocate here, again? Mind you, the weather is less neurotic up north, in Payson, Sedona, Flagstaff and the like. But they get snow in the winter, and snow means reeeeeally cold weather. Too cold for a born-and-bred-Valley-dwelling-wimp like me. It's fun to visit for a day or two, but any more than that is just...not fun.

Wow, you know you have nothing significant to blog about when you spend half your post rambling on about the weather...and I wonder why I have no readers. (Actually, I don't wonder, but you get the point.)

Um..oh yeah! I do have something of some degree of importance to say! Hah.
I've decided what to do for Lent! :D This Lent, I'm going to exercise 30 min/day and read two books that I've been meaning to read but haven't gotten around to finishing:
Divine Mercy in My Soul (the diary of St. Faustina Kowalska of Poland) and A Civilization of Love-What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World by Carl Anderson. Maybe those two things don't sound like that big of a deal, but to me they are easier said than done, and that's the point of Lent-to drag oneself out of one's spiritual (and otherwise) complacency and overcome selfishness in order to be able to have a better relationship with God-that's how I apply it to my life, anyway. Whoever says that being Catholic is easy...is a liar. :P The no-meat-on-Fridays thing is the least of my concerns.

Well, that walk tired me out, and I need to get some sleep in order to take notes in class tomorrow morning with some amount of comprehension. So, I shall bid thee, dear invisible audience, adieu.

¡Buenas Noches!
-Angela

Lots of Gibberish (aka a Long-Awaited Update)

Well, I'm alive. :-o


Here I sit, using my new laptop (a generous Christmas gift from my parents, who were probably sick of hearing me complain about being stuck doing hw on the family desktop computer in the dreary corner of the family room day in and day out). It's an HP Pavilion, 14" screen, Core2 Duo processor, 4 GB RAM, 350? GB storage (I think). Now, normally, none of that would make much sense to me, but trying to shop for this thing has broadened my knowledge of computer properties [albeit infinitesimally]. Here's what it looks like. Originally I had gotten (bad word choice, I know) a Gateway, but it kept freezing and the store we bought it from was no help, so we just returned it, went to a different store and found this one. My only complaint is that the lettering on the keys is difficult to read in certain lighting, but I guess that's just an incentive for me to learn to touch-type (I know, I'm in college and I still haven't figured that out-what can I say? I didn't pay attention during computer class in junior high).

Aaaanyways...it's been way too long since I've posted, and I didn't have much motivation (and had half-considered deleting this thing) until I read a blog that I like to follow, which I hadn't read in a long time (due to the fact that I haven't been online much recently). Anyway, it inspired me to start bloggng again, even though I don't think anyone reads this. It's kinda therapeutic, y'know? And since I've stopped writing in my regular journal (it depresses me, for some reason-bad memories, maybe?) I think posting here will be a nice change of scenery.

So, what's new in my life? Well, I'm in my 4th semester of community college already (I can hear the judgemental thoughts forming in your head-believe me, community college is much better than it's commonly portrayed!)-only one more semester to go after this one until I transfer to a university. Of course, with all the budget-cutting drama that my state's universities have been discussing, I dunno if there will be a university for me to go to (joking, but they are considering closing the campus nearest to my house).

I'm taking less credits than last semester (13 instead of 17-definitely a relief), but I'm not overly fond of a couple of my classes, especially anatomy *twitch* (I am terrible at science) so that's a bummer. And I keep worrying about getting a job, because I want to save up $ for a variety of possibilities. But I've never had a job before (pathetic but true) and I'm a little nervous about trying to find one now. I'll probably wait until the end of the semester, to save myself from unwanted/unecessary stress.

What else..? Oh yeah-it's Lent again! It always takes me by surprise. I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing for Lent (see, I procrastinate in my spiritual life as well! ¬_¬) but I want to do something proactive this year (i.e. doing something rather than giving something up). I had thought about cleaning my room as a penance, which desperately needs doing (I envy those people who keep their rooms nice & tidy) but I don't have much time to do it during the week, and I want to choose something that I can do every day. I've always wanted to read St. Faustina's published diary (called Divine Mercy in My Soul) but I never get around to it. Maybe I'll do that...we'll see. Next time I update my blog (which will be soon, I swear!), I'll let you (O nonexistant readers) know what I've decided.

Well, I must be off to do my homework and other necessary things.

'Ta Lue!
-Angela

Deep stuff (Lenten style)

I want this Lent to be different from years past. This year, I really want to dig deep and look past the superficiality that I always seem to succumb to. Lent means so much more than not eating sweets for a month, or whatever. It is a beautiful period of time that the Church gives us to contemplate the very core of Christianity, so succinctly summed up (and oft-repeated) in John 3:16-that the Creator of everything that exists not only deigned to create us so lovingly and surround us with beautiful things, but He also had pity and compassion toward us in our peril and misery, and this One sent His Son to live among us and free us from the clutches of darkness and death. How mind-blowing is that? Sadly, it seems that it doesn't take too long for me to forget it. But that's what makes the Church's liturgical seasons even more valuable; they serve to bring our minds & hearts back to the Mysteries and Truths that define our Faith and (hopefully) our lives. For Lent, this means a renewed pondering/meditation on the Mystery of Suffering and the Cross...and its triumph. I pray that this Lent I'll be able to dig deeper into these Mysteries and draw closer to Him who so loves me.