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agarnergirl
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Name: Andrea
Gender: Female
Interests: caffeine, ethnic conflicts and reconciliation, pseudo indie music, theology, NPR, the great American novel, hip-hop, intellectual men, road trips, uncontrollable laughter, St. Louis, singing in the shower, Wes Anderson films, merengue, kissing in the rain, mini vegetarian corn dogs, culture, Cairdea's and Kaldi's, PBS, manuscript studies, Hindi movies, green tea, speaking Spanish, outdoor jazz concerts, and driving at night
Expertise: learning, sticking my foot in my mouth, self-depricating humor, language and cultural faux pas, and literary analysis
Occupation: Other
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
4/7/2005
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| Raw talent can only take you so far. In light of that I am choosing the posture of a learner and listening to those who see a gift and see where it could go.
I'm gonna learn how to preach it.
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| ...just because you've forgotten, that don't mean you're forgiven...
I am trying to write a talk encouraging students to intentionally love those who aren't like them. I've been thinking about it for awhile but this morning I woke up musing on the reality that I'm not even any good at loving the people who are allegedly like me, let alone those whom I label as different.
When it comes right down to it I have a growing awareness that my selfishness makes for potential incompatibility with every other person I cross paths with. It's easy to feign politeness. Love, if it is love at all, costs me a lot.
And that reminds me of some of my favorite words from Eugene Peterson:
Every day I put love on the line. There is nothing I am less good at than love. I am far better in competition than in love. I am far better at responding to my instincts and ambitions to get ahead and make my mark than I am at figuring out how to love another. I am schooled and trained in acquisitive skills, in getting my own way. And yet I decide, every day, to set aside what I can do best and attempt what I do very clumsily - open myself to the frustration and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better than succeeding in pride.
I'm pretty sure I'll be quoting him tomorrow night.
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| Hello, old friend.
Beginning in 5th grade I started reading The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogy on an annual basis. I bring that up in conversations when I feel like I need to prove that I belong in the realm of nerd-dom. I broke that tradition at some point in college for reasons I cannot recall at the moment.
Sometimes it is good to return to what you know.
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| ...love finds you even when you've given it up...
There is my hopeful thought for today. I'm enjoying a really lovely birthday. Simple and minus hype of any kind - just what I was hoping it would feel like.
This morning I indulged in a manicure and pedicure before heading to the tattoo parlor. My feet were looking pretty good after being spoiled rotten but I must confess that the right one is now approaching perfection.
Josh wrote out the long-desired phrase in a scroll-y script with filigree swirls growing out of the first and last letters and framing the edges. We set it at an angle that somehow fits with the contour of my foot and looks a thousand times better than what I envisioned. I couldn't be more pleased with the results and I am looking forward to posting photos of the work itself once it's time for the bandages to come off.
The night is still young. My roommate took me to dinner at what we thought was a German restaurant. The beer was German. The food was not. I was perfectly okay with that. In another hour I'm parking myself at a pub with some fine folk who gather there every Thursday night.
And in between all of the aforementioned fun there have been a multitude of messages, text and otherwise, and phone calls from friends and family wishing me well.
Grace upon grace.
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| these days we go to waste like wine
that's turned to turpentine
'til it's 6 am and i'm all messed up
i didn't mean to waste your time
so i fall back in line
but i'm warning you
we're growing up
And sometimes the words of others are better than my own.
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