I'm officialy done!!

That's right ladies and gentleman as of two days ago my winter semester 2006 was officially completed. Over the past two weeks my procrastination techniques that continue to amaze many around me, came back to haunt me. I slept on average five hours every night and yet still had to turn in one or two things here and there a few days late. Fun times! Just to kind of give you all a look into the life of Amanda I'll show you what my desk looked like during these busy times and how each item contributed in some way to me putting off homework.

Hopefully you can see what each letter is pointing too as that is how I will go through and list how I procrastinated with each item.

a) hand lotion: you cannot possibly write a paper with dry hands. You must stop to moisturise them every once and awhile and once that is done you cannot type for a little while as you don't want the keyboard getting icky.

b) a glass of water: constant hydration is a medical concern that needs to be taken care of religiously. This fact leads to frequent trips to the kitchen to make sure the glass is full as well as frequent bathroom breaks.

c) the Bible: your relationship with God is to be the number one priority in your life. Make sure that despite the pressures of lots of homework to do for school you spend time with Him!

d) the Discman: good music selection in the end helps with the paper writing process. It can distract you from the fact that there are very cool people out in your living room who you would rather talk too. It can also take awhile to find the perfect cd however... and you'll have to go out to the living room to do so.

e) Chocolate: it has been said that if there is chocolate in the room, I will sniff it out I happen to disagree with this. But if you are female, you know that in order to keep everything in check, chocolate is needed "to take the edge off" therefore trips to get chocolate bars, and time to eat it is in order.

f) the computer: not only is it a tool for paper writing, but also a great way to spend those many moments when you're not quite sure what to write. A quick game or three of minesweeper really helps clear the thought processes and by that time your long lost pal has signed onto msn and you just cannot pass up that opportunity to speak to them. Eventually you can return to the paper.

g) the writing on the desk: this was a one time occurance, unlike the others. Its parts of scripture verses and I needed to have them in front of me... reminding me of God's truth.

h) Billy the stress Elephant: Billy helps my hands when they get sore from typing. He also has a really funny sense of humor and likes to build houses out of things. Its not my fault I have to help him do it... he doesn't have thumbs!

i) the battery charger: this is what charges the batteries for my camera and my discman. One day funny things were happening in my apartment so I graciously put aside the homework I was doing and filmed it with my camera. I am very giving that way.

j) Tim Horton's coffee: this particular cup of coffee is not so much a procrastination device of mine as it is a shout out to Owen. A bunch of people were going out for coffee, I needed to get my work done so Owen wouldn't let me go. He brought me back a cup without me mentioning it at all. Pretty great guy eh?!?!

k) A pad of paper with email addresses on it: Tayla had to send out an email to all the girls from our floor so they could all know each other's email addresses. Its not like I was doing any homework at that particular time anyways, of course I would do it for her!

There you have it the procrastination of Amanda. My room mates love me for it... or harrass me about it all the time. In the end though I complete everything and I do it pretty well; it just takes me longer than most to get there.

If you think the world never changes... Just wait a few days.

So, its official, I am turning down a dream job, great room mates and a summer filled with independence to return home to Edmonton. God spoke. I listened. I cried about it a little bit, but not nearly as much as I thought I might. Maybe the tears will come later on. I do have the spiritual gift of crying after all!

The others found a basement suite, or actually it was handed to them. God is taking care of us.

There are lots of people in my living room right now, and normally I would want to go and hang out with them, but lately I've actually wanted to be productive. Too bad it came so late in the year. I told Chris Boelcke (the Residence Director here) yesterday that the best thing that living in res. has taught me is procrastination. I will miss this place. I guess I'm kind of in a melancholy mood. Hopefully something funny will happen soon and I'll be able to post about that.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy. Home will be a good place for me this summer for a number of reasons. Such as actually getting to see my family before leaving for Mexico, as well as being a good three and half hours closer to Owen! It should be interesting to say the least.

I should go do homework again...

Crazy Days

So I'm supposed to be doing homework, but in reality I'm killing time to wait for Owen to phone so we can hang out tonight. Quite a bit has been going on even from my first post. Its crunch time right now which means lots to do, and a continual battle with anxious thoughts. Owen has been a blessing during these days with his positive attitude and support. Basically our apartment that the four of us girls (Jessy, Julie-anne, Carolyn and myself) were supposed to live in fell through. There were issues with the lease. We found out on Tuesday and immediately started looking for another place seeing as how Calgary is a crazy hard city to find a place to live in and we only have three weeks to do it in. We are going to look at two basement suites located near downtown tomorrow. There is one in particular we are praying to get. Pray along with us!!

In Mexico related news, I talked on the phone yesterday with two of the program supervisors. It was a bit intimidating, but at the same time extremely encouraging as they reasured me of the support I will recieve while I am there. They sent me the finalized budget and its approximately 5,000 dollars more than what I thought it would be, but I refuse to doubt that I won't be able to fundraise, or work for every penny of it!




As for more updates on Owen and I as promised, here is a picture of Owen and I... and Owen's room mate. Ben is basically a part of our relationship anyways. He gets great joy out of sitting between us or on Owen for that matter. We love him dearly though.

My Life Right Now

My very first post of my very own blog! It's kind of intimidating trying to decide what to say, especially after spending the last eight months reading Ryan Monson's blog(www.egyptianmonson.blogspot.com) whch is amazingly done. I guess maybe I should introduce myself and why it is I have a blog. My name is Amanda Falk. I am twenty years old at present, and am finishing up my second year of a Bachelor of Ministry: Children's Ministries degree at Alliance University College.

Currently though my life is going through some major changes. The first of which occured last Saturday when I started dating the wonderful Owen Scott. Over the past year I had gotten really used to/loved my singleness and then out of no where I start dating again. However there is a sense of peace of that has surrounded it from the beginning. I'm sure I'll tell you guys more about him and I as time goes on. Also, when it comes to changes is the fact that the school year is almost over which means summer!! I LOVE summer, but usually that love was due to the fact that I would return to Camp Nakamun for another summer of ministry which has been the thing to do for the past four summers. Not this summer however, as I have just recently taken a job at First Alliance Church here in Calgary, as their summer intern. This fact means that I will be staying in Calgary, living with three other young ladies in a one bedroom (yes that's right, four of us in a one bedroom) apartment downtown. It will be the first time I have lived away from home and not been at Camp or at the Residence. I am looking forward to all the challenges and fun it will bring.

Finally and most related to the reason why I am starting this blog, the next major change in my life will occur this coming October. I will get on a plane, and I will fly to Mexico City to begin my international internship with the Fusion program that the C&MA started there. Basically that means I will leave behind everything and everyone I have ever gotten to know in order to follow God into the unknown for eleven months. At the moment I am excited, but over that excitment sits nervous anticipation and anxious thoughts about what exactly it is I will discover about life, about myself and about the relationships that I find myself in or will develop. This blog will be the way you guys get to hear what is going on in regards to all of this, and a way for me to feel slightly less seperated from my Canadian home.