Random Quotation

"Judges are like wild animals. They sense fear." ~Mr. Winther

An Update of My Life

I am truly blessed
I love gymnastics, I love my new camera, I love debate, I love sunsets, I love being outside, I love hanging out with all the guys, I love waterwars, I love singing, I love my friends, I love the sky, I love the color grey, I love the smell of earth, I love burning things, I love sailing, I love the wind, I love the gentle swaying of the grapevines, I love hard work, I love trying my hardest, I love fellowship, I love crying, I love Christ, and I love his incomprehensible grace.

Some Birthday Wishes
Happy Birthday to Stephen, who is a most awesome guy, and an excellent gamer (especially runescape) And Happy Birthday to Kyle Winston Varner, the newest addition to the family (not mine) who was born this morning.

What I am stressed about:
Nationals will be coming up on me very fast, maybe a better expression should be it is running me down and trampling apon me... but we won't go to that extreme. I should be working right now instead of posting, but I need a break. Five more days and 23 more word documents to go.

What I am not very happy about:
Two things fall under this category, the first is that of repartnering... yeah, not really just debate being over after nats, its a bit more than that. And secondly, I went to the doctor today, and got a prescription filled for (drum roll please) ... ... well, you will probably never guess, so I guess that means I have to tell you: an EpiPen. Yeah, not too stoked about the idea of ever having to shove a 1 and 1/2 inch needle into my thigh, but then again, I guess its better than dieing.

Spring Cleaning

Well, we pulled the boat out today, and Laralyn and I spent a couple hours scrubbing it. I'd say we got the first two layers of dirt off... only a couple million to go. But it looks a whole lot better, and we get to go sailing on it soon :-) I love pneuma.

(I also cleaned out my photostream a little bit, and added the pictures from debate camp.)

Away from home

I am thoroughly exhausted :-)

I don't feel like I should be at home, or probably more accurately, I really don't feel like I am at home. I've spent so much time with all of my friends at debate camp these last couple of days, its just weird to be alone. Our group definitely has become much like family. I've only been home an hour (I wrote this earlier, I've been home a little over four hours now) and I am already going through Hurd withdrawals... I miss everyone. But I am so very excited about nationals, and being able to hang out with lots and lots of debaters :-D This is very yes. So, debate camp was a lot of work, a lot of fun... and not much sleep. Consequently, I am going to go take a nap when I am done posting. There is much work to be done, and little time to do it in, I am soooo not ready, but that's ok, how can you ever really be ready for Nationals? The simply answer is that I don't think you every can be.

And... I got my kip :-D This is very exciting, because I've been working really hard on it, and I finally got it. It's been a long time since I've had the feeling of getting a new skill, a very very long time. That is one of the reasons that I am loving the apparatus, I can learn new things.

In other news

Heck yes it's debate camp!!!!

(oh, and this too)

I long for so much more

I want to just sit in the rain forever. Or maybe not forever, but for a very long time. And then, maybe I could get my life strait, and I would have the strength to go on.

Been far too long

Well, we had a really good practice round at our house last night. Not that the argumentation was especially well done, or new, but just the fact that we took three hours and only got through the 1AR (for those of you who don't know, normally that would take a little less than an hour) is pretty indicative of how the round went. Some really good insight into strategy and just plain old common sense go a long way when you actually spend the time looking into what it really means in the debate round. The other cool thing, was that for the first time ever, I got a nose bleed during one of my speeches!

Nationals is coming up way too soon. There isn't enough time to get ready, hang out with everyone, and do school. But mostly, it just seems that there isn't enough time to hang out. Yeah debate is important, throwing wipped cream at Kaitlin, rolling around on the ground, and just being with other people... Even though I've done a lot of being with people lately, it just doesn't seem like enough. Hopefully debate camp will fix that :-)

Oh, and I almost forgot! I am going to be the counselor for Outpost this summer at camp (which I already knew) but on Tuesday one of the girls from gymnastics whos friend I will be counseling asked me if she could go too. Which is pretty darn awesome... only problem, I don't know if there will be space, so if you can, be praying that she will be able to go to camp.

Happy Birthday!

It is Kaitlin's birthday, and she is a very awesome person, so you should all tell her happy birthday :-)

Who am I?

Well, according to this quiz (that Kelsey made) I am me! I am sooooo relieved :-P

You scored as Bethany. Bethany 100% Kelsey 67% Laralyn 42% Kaitlin 42% Stephanie 17% Which Modesto girl are you? created with QuizFarm.com

My Political Party

Well it isn't really anything substantial and it only took me 30 seconds, but at least its a post.

You scored as Anarchism. Anarchism 100% Green 67% Communism 67% Republican 58% Socialist 50% Nazi 33% Democrat 17% Fascism 17% What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? created with QuizFarm.com

Busy

I need to post, I want to post, I should post... I just don't have time right now.

Pictures

Well, talk about back log. I finally got around to posting pictures from the Clash Debate Tournament this morning :-)

The Decision is Made

Next week is the fateful week that I put actions with my words... I am going to walk away from teaching gymnastics. It doesn't feel real. Like it isn't really happening. But it is. I've made teaching my life for so very long that I don't know how I will leave. Granted I will still be teaching on Tuesdays... but... what about Monday, and Wednesday and Thursday? I love all of those kids, and I don't know what I am going to do without them. I will miss them very much, that I know. Five years ago I started teaching gymnastics, it seems like an eternity. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn't the end of teaching. I will keep teaching Tuesdays, and will be back full swing in January... but January is so far away from now, and life doesn't seem like life without teaching. God has tought me many things through this change, and I'm sure that they will keep coming once it actually changes. Life isn't teaching, life is doing my Lord's will, and this is it.

Two Articles...

They suffer and wait.

I've listened to Wali Mohammed protest that he was just a businessman trying to get along in Taliban-run Afghanistan. I've watched Chaman Gul, crouched in his 7-by-8-foot cage, weep for fear that his family will forget him. I've marveled at the pluck and wit of Taj Mohammad, a 27-year-old uneducated goat herder who has taught himself fluent English while in Cuba.

No matter the age or background of the detainee, our meetings always leave me feeling helpless. These men show me the human face of the war on terrorism. They've been systematically dehumanized, cast as mere numbers in prison-camp fashion. But to me, they've become almost like friends, or brothers or fathers. I can honestly say that I don't believe any of our clients are guilty of crimes against the United States. No doubt some men here are, but not the men I've met.

Even the presiding officer at Mousovi's hearing declared that he found it "difficult to believe" that the United States had imprisoned Mousovi and flown him "all the way to Cuba." Yet here he sits.

"The way these men have been treated and what they've had to suffer makes me ashamed," Tom says. He and the other lawyers think it's a joke that the iguanas at Guantanamo Bay, which are protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act, have more rights than the detainees.

And will keep waiting to be released.

Just last week, we heard that the Pentagon was planning to release 141 prisoners who were determined to "pose no threat"

But now, the NY Times reports this:

"The Pentagon has no plans to release any detainees in the immediate future," said a Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon of the Navy. He said the negotiations with foreign governments "have proven to be a complex, time-consuming and difficult process."

The negotiations are in regards to assurances that detainees will not be tortured when repatriated. The sudden concern for human rights is apparently based on State Department pressure:

According to a State Department human rights report released in March, the Saudi authorities have used "beatings, whippings and sleep deprivation" on Saudi and foreign prisoners. The report also noted "allegations of beatings with sticks and suspension from bars by handcuffs."

Hunh. That sounds familiar. Guantanamo detainees have been enduring this and worse while being held at the base in Cuba. But as the State Department wrings its hands over human rights, many Guantanamo prisoners are in such a dire condition psychologically that they are repeatedly trying to commit suicide.

9 Day Weeks?

I decided today that life would be so much easier if there were nine days in a week. I could teach gymnastics three days a week, take gymnastics three days a week, have a day for church, a day for debate... and a day to just be.

A Tribute to My Friends

This post is to say how much all of my friends mean to me. The last couple of years I have been praying desperately for friendships, for real companionship, and God has answered my prayers. I have been blessed with so many people to share my life with, and I am truly thankful. I won't attempt to make a list, because there are lots of you, and I would probably forget one ;-) I love you all!