Day Seven: Top 5 winter drinks. Community. Thoughts on Dexter.

I have definitely been wanting to try a lot of new things lately. Food. Restaurants. Books. Outfits. Hairstyles. TV shows. etc. This is embarrassing, but I even bought Twilight on my new e-reader. I mean, I realize that it's not great writing. And it's definitely not my favorite subject matter or style of writing. I just felt like I had to read it. It's so I can relate to my students better...right? (;

Anyway, I have been hearing SO MANY people talk about this show, Dexter. It's about a guy who is a Miami forensics expert, but also a serial killer. I know that sounds crazy. He apparently only kills "bad guys" (mostly murderers?) who have not gotten caught. Today, my lovely co-worker brought me his copy of Season One and I just watched the first episode.

This is definitely not the type of show I usually watch, but I can see how it is addicting. The writing is actually pretty strong. The plot is complex and well-developed. There are even sub-plots of relationships and flashbacks to Dexter's childhood. I could do without the violence, but I guess it's necessary considering the subject matter. Character development so far is good; we know a lot about the motivation behind the actions of some of the main characters.

I just analyzed that TV show like it was one of my student's creative writing pieces. Haha. I need to stop. (We're doing 5-12 page short stories right now, along with in-class workshops. For each student, I'm typing a page or two, single-spaced, for their feedback for revisions. Now my brain can't think any other way.) I seriously love teaching Creative Writing. LOVE it.

I don't feel super motivated or creative today. I just feel really laid back and kind of lazy. It might be the weather. I did, however, just make some delicious coffee, which is helping a bit. (: I love coffee in the winter. Or, really, all the time. Here are my top 5 winter drinks at the moment:

5.) Pomegranate/blueberry protein smoothie

4.) Water (I know that's kind of lame, but I love water)

3.) Raspberry Green Tea with honey (I make this kind during my planning hour almost every day)

2.) JP's Milky Way Latte. Especially with good company. (:

1.) Hazelnut coffee from Wolfgang's. If you have not been there, you must go.

Your list? I'm really curious.

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Writing Challenge Day 7
I'm doing a 31 day writing challenge, found on the Reverb website, designed to reflect on the past year and look forward to what's to come in 2011.


December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? 

I like this prompt. Mainly because community is always something I'm thinking about. I think finding community after college is a lot harder. In college, I had a ton of communities: bible studies, my Younglife team, college Younglife friends, Campus Ministry people, roommates, Springhill groups, co-workers at the Writing Center, weekly Founders crew, church friends, people from classes... It's unbelievable how plugged in you can be during college years. It was so busy, but I loved it. I don't think I would be happy if I wasn't constantly busy or constantly around people all the time.

That's why this year has been kind of tough. While I don't really have a ton of free time, I miss having so many communities to be a part of. I mean, I really don't have many now. I have great co-workers. Our weekly dinner crew. My wonderful friends from college. Some friends from high school. I need more consistency. I think that's a huge part of community. A set time to vent, talk to each other, cook food together, have deep conversations, encourage one another, etc. But it's also knowing that those people will be there when you need them. I'm such a relational person. I get a lot of my motivation and encouragement through interactions with others. I love people. I love meeting new people. I'm comfortable with community and I'm kind of lost without it. I'm not saying that's a good thing. It is what it is. I need really strong, close, trusting friends who know how to affirm me and tell me when I'm being ridiculous. (:


I have a few communities that I've been a part of in the past that I really, really miss. One is Springhill. Ugh. That place kind of forces you to grow close to your co-workers just because of the pure exhaustion of the job (physically, emotionally, spiritually). I made some of the best friends that I could ever have asked for. People there, it seems, just accept you for exactly who you are. Encourage you. Leave you notes and messages constantly. Go on weekend adventures with you. Love kids with you. Grow spiritually along side of you. It's amazing how quickly community can form there.

Some lovely Springhill co-workers on a weekend off (: or, a Saturday off, really... since we worked until Friday evening and came back Sunday morning. But we loved it.

Same with Younglife. When I did Younglife training, I wasn't planning on becoming a leader unless I could join a team that some of my friends were already a part of. I had some big change of heart when I met with Theule to get placed at the end of my freshman year of college. I told him to put me wherever they needed leaders... and again, met some of my closest friends through that. Like Springhill, because it's ministry-based, a strong community amongst the leaders is so beneficial. I miss those people. I miss hearing about everyone's life at dinners before club every week. Going to see our students' sports games and musicals. Leading campaigners. Having really good conversations. Hanging out outside of YL. I don't have anything like that right now.

My YL team. I love them.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, other than the fact that I know I'm seeking a strong community right now, but I don't know where to find it. I recently started going to a new church (which I love), and I'm hoping that it might provide some good community once I get more involved.

I also want to join a community of writers. I want to have friends with whom I can share my writing. I want to read theirs. That's why I miss having Alex here... I miss sharing writing we're working on over coffee, getting feedback on it, going thrifting, watching ridiculous Whose Line clips at Panera, etc. (: Come back to the US, please. Along with the writing community idea... I used to have an Art Conspiracy website where I would post things I had written... I miss that, too. I miss having writing workshops in college. I miss having time to write. I miss doing writing workshops at someone's house with our entire college Creative Writing class... complete with guitar music, food, and candles. And our professor. (:

But really, where do you find strong community after college? It's hard. But I think it's necessary. It's healthy. And worth the struggle and the search and the longing...


I don't know how to end this. I feel like a student who has no idea what a conclusion is or how to tie back to the hook. Ugh. Sorry about the organizational mess of this post, but I think I got out what I needed to get out. Phew.
(: