so today is the big day. the day i turn 27 (is that LATE 20’s? shoot!) and the day i move to benin. have i packed? no. but i DID sell my car yesterday!!!!! may be a while before i post again, but i’ll tell you all i can as soon as i can. love you all…
lauren laughs
proverbs 31:25 says, "strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." well… at least i've got the laughing part down.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
last night out (that’s doubtful)
last night was supposedly my last night out on the town… though i’ve got plans tonight too and i’m sure something else will fall into place monday. paige, laurel, david and i started pretty early at ropewalk. we (the girls, at least) made quite the scene. we basically turned the place into a karaoke bar, and nobody seemed to mind because they all knew i’m leaving tuesday. i’m going to miss smalltimore. it really is like being on the show “cheers” in my neighborhood.
tam-tam
farhan and roohi took me to the coolest restaurant last night. roohi found it online… tam-tam. it says it’s an “african american” restaurant, but the food is not at all american. the people and recipes were all from senegal, which is also in west africa, not far from benin. i had a whole tilapia with some sort of starch… i think from the cassava root? very similar to what i’ll be eating starting next week. it was sooo delicious! roohi had an excellent lamb dish and farhan had the grilled chicken. all the marinades were phenomenal. i also had some ginger juice and a traditional dessert. i highly recommend tam-tam to anyone in baltimore wanting to try something new. it may not look like much, but your mouth will think otherwise.
car for sale
okay, i really need to sell my car by august 7. a 2001 vw cabrio convertible glx: air conditioning, leather, dual front air bags, front side air bags, alloy wheels, cruise control, ABS (4-wheel), power steering, AM/FM stereo, cassette, multi compact disc, power windows, power door locks, tilt wheel.
very well cared for. mostly highway miles (102k miles… she’s got another 100k in her i’m sure). silver with black top and black interior.
you know i love my car. in fact, part of me doesn’t want to sell it. but why let it sit there for 2 years while i’m in africa? this car needs a loving owner. the kbb value is $7,800. help me out? spread the word!!
why the bubble is not so bad… after thoughts of mti
i want to post a pic of my “missionary camp” buddies, but this is all i’ve got for now. felt like the blog needed some color.
one thing i’ve learned in my training this summer is that the best lessons are often not those found in the curriculum, so it’s good to have a ready mind and open heart. here are some snippets of self discovery…
1. i struggle with prejudice. not racially or culturally speaking, but within the context of the Church. you would think that having grown up in 5 different denominations, i’d have a pretty open mind… but it turns out i tend to pigeon hole peeps pretty quickly. drat.
2. i’m a proud person. i think i’m pretty darn smart, and i think i’m pretty darn nice. the worst part is, i think this sets me apart and i often think i know better than you. sorry about that.
3. i read the “great books” (classics, for the non-johnnies out there) more diligently and with more fervor than i do the Bible. this is ironic since the Bible is a great book (johnnie curriculum) and it’s unfortunate considering my career. it also means that many of my opinions are not my own or at least not properly thought through… which is exactly that which i look down on in others, being the proud intellectual that i am. thankfully, this can be remedied.
4. the bubble isn’t so bad. it’s no place to live, with people you share so much in common with, but it’s a good place to visit to gain perspective. not to mention, there’s actually quite a bit of diversity in said bubble.
i guess it could sound like i drank the kool-aid, or that i went out to colorado and picked up that whole guilt/shame bit… but no… knowing this stuff is actually pretty freeing. i mean, as you become more self aware, you’re bound to find both good and bad. right?
bleh…. and yeah!
bleh news first…
i had to say goodbye to a lot of very special people in lex the past couple days. most notably, my little brother pierce.
yeah news next…
i got my pathology report yesterday, and all is well. thanks for your prayers and support on that one!
i’m back in b’more for the first time in a month, so i’m going to go catch up. less than 2 weeks to go!
(lack of) news flash
i called to get the biopsy results today… they said to call back next week.
i’m leaving “missionary camp” tomorrow, so i’m going to go hang out with my friends.
oh susanne-uh
tonight is susanne’s going away party, and i can’t be there…
not only is susanne a loyal blog reader and concerned commenter, she is also metro’s best employee, one of baltimore’s most selfless teachers, my favorite story teller, the most accomplished brownie baker (and goat cheese fryer), a very level headed adviser, a genuine rebel rouser (in a good way), and my very dear friend. the susanne/anna/laurel/lauren foursome is dissolving geographically as all of us bid baltimore farewell. while i have a lot of one-on-one relationships with girlfriends that mean the world to me, this is the first time i’ve had a truly tight knit group of girls i could count on for anything. all it takes is one “s.o.s.” text message to bring the 4 of us together… or one that says “wine” or “food” or “v.s. semi-annual sale” the list goes on. it’s like “sex in the city” with a very different cast of characters.
have fun tonight, susanne. i love you.
3 weeks from today
(actually, 3 weeks from NOW) i’ll be on a plane to benin, west africa.
rocky mountain high
camp friends are the best
ah, camp. people look at me weird when i break out into the weenie man song, but kim know’s what’s up. kim and i worked at camp mystic together when i was in college. though we’ve probably only hung out a total of 2 months in our entire lives, we’ve been friends ever since. she was crazy enough to ask me to sing in her wedding nearly 3 years ago (i thought she was kidding till i saw my name listed as “ceremony soloist” on her wedding website!) and she and scott together were crazy enough to pick me up from colorado springs, drive back to boulder (where they live) friday night, drive 7.5 hours to durango saturday and back again sunday just so i could see my brother. granted, we got to see a lot of pretty country in between and they had wanted to drive to durango at some point anyway, but still… pretty darn gracious friends considering how rarely we get to see each other!! kim and scott are pictured in front of colorado dunes. i’m still not sure how all that sand got there.
farwell little bro
so stephen is working in durango for the summer and won’t return to virginia until after i’ve left for benin… meaning, this was goodbye. he’s living in a camper outside my uncle gerry’s house. it’s pretty sweet. you’d be surprised how nice a camper is on the inside. plus free meals from gerry and his wife vickie… yum… biscuits and gravy for breakfast. kim, scott, stephen and i went to pagosa springs sunday to hike around for a bit. stephen reminded me we had stayed there as little kids with my parents and grandparents before pierce was born (i think). we played in the paddle boats on the lake there. ah, memories. anyway, all this rambling is to say that my brother and i are really close and i’m going to miss him a lot. i love you stephen.
a few more pictures in my album.
lauren laughs 