"They say that time changes things..."

"But you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol.

Excuses for Why it has been a MONTH since I have blogged:

1. A few days of pool time, ghost hunts, and shopping with the Mom. ( Which was just wonderful. Can't ever beat good times with Momma. Love her.)

2. I started back to work at the Chuck.

3. Living in three states = never having at least one of the following; laptop, laptop charger, internet, or time.

4. Been hangin' out with these kids. They are a blast.

   So, things are finally getting back on lockdown. For the past two weeks, I have kind of felt like I am strewn all over the place. Working and living in Fayetteville on the weekends, not exactly settled into Grove, Oklahoma, and trying to make Joplin home again. Took me a solid day to grasp that the chaotic parts of my life are useful in that once they are over, I will be able to fully appreciate how great having order and unity is. 

  Also, I have decided there are some things in my life I need to change. Nothing Earth shaking, just simple lifestyle adjustments. I've always been told that if there is something you don't like, it is up to you to change it. You'll just waste your time waiting for others to do it for you. So far, said changes  are proving to make life much sweeter.

 1. Taming the Obese Level

Can't get enough of it. I've been running my tail end off and finding out how truly out of shape I am. Guess that is what I get for thinking four years of Marching Band is an acceptable form of physical activity. No more pop, fried foods or chocolate. Unless the occasion calls for it. Anyhow, I am also using some left over scholarship money to secure a bike as soon as I get into Joplin.  Hoping to use the car less this summer, but with Joplin's less than biker-friendly roads, who knows.

2.  My education

I am not entirely proud of my average performance in school. So, I figured I'd take summer classes. But I just couldn't bring myself to spend any amount of time in a classroom this summer. Solution = Reading like a maniac. My summer Reading list includes; ridiculous amounts of Kurt V. and Chuck P. books,  a few of Marquez's works and I'm going to be tackling "War and Peace". And pretty much any other book that will make me look cool in Starbucks. If you have any suggestions as to what else I should read, do share.

3. The World

Not literally. I've been doing some community service this summer and it's made me realize how truly boring life is when one is not contributing to the world in any way. I'm confident that there is nothing as satisfying as community service. I'm thinking a career of it is the way to go.  If you kids haven't noticed lately, our entire world really is making some changes. This one in particular has got me all excited and jittery.

I would like to think this is the "I Have a Dream" speech of our generation. Don't care if you like Obama or not. You should like the idea of peace and friendly relations with the Middle East as much as I do. Also, keep an eye on the up coming presidential elections in Iran. It's going to be a way freakin' exciting. I wonder if I can be a Field organizer for Mir Hossein Mousavi. I'd learn Arabic just to phone bank for him. For those of you who suck, he is the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fiercest opponent. And he rocks. Get on the bandwagon.

Conclusion, there are too many good things in life to ever settle with the bad. Pay attention to what is going on in this world. I guarantee you no remedial facebook drama is more important than a ten minute trip to CNN.COM. And summertime is just perfect. Soak it up.

-Larissa

P.S. This is what this blog was written to.