Trust and Obey

What a topsy-turvey week I've had! Going from freaking out to peace, to freaking out again...then more peace. I'm on a rollercoaster that I don't think it going to stop any time soon. But I just want to write down what God has been doing in my life. It may seem tiny and not-so-amazing, but it's meant a lot to me, especially now. Two things in particular were really worrying me. First, my grade in my Total Rewards class. I had gotten a D on the first test. There are only 3 tests in the whole class, and they make of pretty much all of the grade. I was really frustrated and just worried because I was afraid I wouldn't do well on the second test. Generally, this may not be something to go berzerk over, but since I'm graduating, anything that could stand in my way was magnified 10 fold. So I studied studied studied for the next test, took it, then waiting anxiously for a week till our next class. I get to class and the professor tells us that the highest grade was an 86%. My heart immediately dropped. I started contemplating ways in which I could convince the professor to give me extra credit etc etc because I really believed I didn't do well. I went to pick up my test, not looking at it at first. Then I turned it over to find that I had gottent he 86%! I've never been so happen to get a B in all my life. LOL. Secondly, I was worried about getting a presentation completed for the Undergraduate Symposium. As a communication major, I naturally assumed I had to have a nice power point complete with bullet points and maybe pictures. However, I was supposed to be presenting the short story I had published this fall. What was I going to include? Basically, I couldn't get it done. I was prepared to tell my mentor, Dr. Griffith, that I would not be participating. I'm about to tell him the news, when he informs me that all I have to do is read my story outloud, no presenation, just reading. I wish I had known that before, but still, I was very relieved. Those things, on top of us having just the right amount of money to pay off the last of my bill so that I could graduate, have added up to many blessings for me this month. Nick pointed out to me yesterday that even though I've been worried and afraid about my future, God has been showing me that His plan is for me to graduate in May. He's be providing all the means for me to do so, even when it looks like it might be difficult or unattainable. I don't know what else the immediate future holds, but I do know that He is really looking out for me and I need to just Trust and Obey.

Roots

So this may be a somewhat unknown fact to those of you that know me (Not that anyone really reads this currently, but in the future...), I really like documentaries. Now that we can stream our Netflix straight to our TV, I've been checking out them out more often. Yesterday and the day before, I watched "No Impact Man" and "The Killer at Large." The first one some of you may have heard of because it was on national news for awhile there. Basically, this New York City family tries to make no negative net impact on the environment for a year. This involved not buying any new clothing, cloth diapers, homemade, environmentally safe shampoo, laundry detergent, and house hold cleaning products, only buying locally grown and organic food, no paper products which reduced their tash to basically nothing, no transportation such as cars, subways, and elevators, no electricity etc etc. It was amazing! I think it was a bit extreme and I don't think I would be a strong enough person to do that, but I really admire them for getting out there and trying to life a different kind of life. The documentary talked about how much polutants are surrounding us every day and how humans were not meant to live in this type of environment, eating the things they are with all the chemicals involved. I would have to agree. Now this is something else you may not know about me: I have the strong desire to have my own garden some day. I'm not really a country girl, but I idea of nuturing and growing something that will ultimately, nuture and grow myself and my family seems incredible. I would love to go to a Farmers Market every weekend and get my weeks supply of fresh produce, knowing that it was grown so close to home. Watching the second documentary also enforced my desire to eat better in life. "Killer at Large" is focused on the obesity issue in America, which is astronomical. It not only made me think about my decisions concerning my own health, but my future children as well. I don't want them to be addicted to McDonald's and develop hypertension by the time they're in junior high. I want them to enjoy eating healthy food and playing outside. I think that in the future, as a mother it would not be rediculous of me to restrict my child's TV/video game activitie to next to nothing. I strongly feel that Advertising has a HUGE impact on the way children perceive life and affects what they feel they need or want. I know that it is the parents job to chose wise options for their children, but when we're bombarded with 10,000+ advertisements A DAY, how can that not have a impact on person's point of view? It's Pavlov all over again. It's conditioning us and our children to have an emotional connection to food and products that destroy our health and lead to disease. It's just not worth it.

Know yourself, and be better

I've been thinking heavily today about the idea of self-betterment and progression in life. By no means do I want to be the type of person that steps on others to get ahead or looks down their nose at others, but is it so bad to take every good opportunity that you can to better yourself and have accomplishments in life? Sometimes I feel that my ambition, though not at the expense of others, is something that may negatively affect the views that some people may have of me. I'm very afraid that this will happen for some reason. I've always felt that humility is a great virtue and I try to embrace it as often as possible because I know that everything good comes from God and I am blessed well beyond what I deserve. But I also strongly believe that people need to be actively involved in their own lives. Faith in God's provision is key to living a Christian life and it is important to trust in the will of God, but just sitting by and waiting for something to drop in my lap just does not seem like something I am willing to do. I think that God presents opportunities to enrich the lives of his children so that they can, in turn, be a blessing to others. But if I or anyone else does not take a chance, put in the work, and grasp onto those opportunities, it gets wasted. Not only are we unable to help others, we feel bad about ourselves. I'm not trying to promote a certain way of life or say that what I'm doing is the only way to succeed, but I do know that having pride in what you do is important. It gives you confidence and self-esteem, which will enable you to do things that you may never have done before. I also believe that God gives us challenges which will lead us to become better people. I just feel that I can not sit idly by and hope that something will just magically happen and my life will automatically be better. Maybe some people think that its wrong to try and get ahead in life, but growing as a person is so important to me and if I don't do everything that I can to reach some kind of self-actualization, then I'm not being who I was meant to be. I need to know and understand myself, then be better. Not according to others standards, but to my own desires and those of God's.

Movies, Movies, Movies!

Recently, Nick and I decided to reactivate our Netflix account. After about 6 months of no movies or internet, you can imagine how ecstatic we are to finally have access to all the great releases that have come out this past year. We're still working on building up our queue, but this week we watched Away We Go and Up in the Air. I have to say, even though I've been wanting to see Up in the Air since I first saw the commercials for it, I liked Away We Go better. Both have fantastic male leads (I love me some John Krasinski and George Clooney), but I thought the story line for Away We Go was more...I dunno...magnetic? I drew me in. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for anything that involves family matters and/or babies. I just loved the relationship between Verona and Burt. I thought that the characters in Up in the Air were fantastic. However, I was disappointed that Ryan and Alex didn't end up together. I mean you just DON'T do that to George Clooney! lol Another favorite part from Away We Go was Maggie Gyllenhaal's crazy ass character. I'm not usually a fan, but she was perfect in this role. Good times.

In other news, today is my great grandma's surprise party. She's ninety freakin' four years old! And still coherent and hilarious. Hijinx are guaranteed to be ensued. Generally, my granny's birthday parties consist of lots of food, presents, and inappropriate joking. Lots of granny fanny pinching as well (Seriously, my family is nuts). But all in good fun. As the matriarch of our clan, she always gets a good turn out for her b-day and we enjoy celebrating the many years that went into making our family. In short, we're awesome. Happy Birthday, Grandma Jo!

-G.Rowe

Being adventurous

Nick and I have decided that we really want to make a conscious effort to try new restaurants this year. When we first moved to Columbus, we thought we would go to a different place every week. Turns out, we tried a few places which quickly became out regular haunts and that was it. Granted, they are totally amazing (The Dube, Great Wall, Canes, etc), but this city really does have a lot to offer and we want to start taking advantage of it. So through the magic of Groupon.com, we started our culinary adventure. Tonight, we went out to Blue Nile which is an Ethiopian restaurant off of High St. Now, I am just about the pickiest eater EVER so I was pretty skeptical that I would like it. But I faced my doubts and was pleasantly surprised! We sat down to a big, round basket that came up to about our knees once we were seated. We ordered a combination platter, which was brought out on a huge dish which was placed in the basket. Ethiopian food is meant to be eaten with the hands, so we dug in. The "bread" was the weirdest thing about it. I'm not totally sure of the ingredients, but I mentioned to Nick that it kind of reminded me of a sea sponge (texture wise). We had some spicy chicken, beef, chicken legs and boiled eggs covered in sauce, and puréed yellow split peas. It was delicious! The prices are somewhat steep if you don't have a gift card like we did, but if you wanted to go there as a group it would be worth it. Definitely glad we went! Looking forward to many more new experiences this year :)

G. Rowe

Some things never change...

Re-reading my old blog posts from xanga/myspace has revived my desire to flood the World Wide Web with my jabberings. Though I look back at those entries and think, "Wow! I was rediculously lame" and "I can't believe people actually read/commented on this rubbish," I highly doubt that these postings will be any less random. Sure, I'm a little older; a little wiser. But I think that my thoughts and words are almost always sporatic. I have a difficult time arranging information in a logical fashion at times, which usually ends up making me look like a fool and providing entertainment for those around me. This post is already not making sense....

So I'm sitting here a work, biding my time. I really enjoy this internship and the company is great, but there's been a lot of down-time lately. I can't really drag work out over the day because my mind just can not let a task go; I have to get it done NOW. I'll be excited when we start scoring next week. I hear there are many interesting people that will be working here so hopefully I'll get some good stories. But for now, I'll do homework, blog, check my e-mail every 2 seconds, and frequent GoFugYourself.com until 4pm. I'm basically up to my ears in business stuff this semester. My FINAL semester at Capital and I'm stuck pouring over FLSA guidelines, salary surveys, job descriptions/evaulations/analysis, and market trends. Granted I am an HR/Conflict Management Org. Comm. major, but this stuff is boring to read and study. It's much more interesting getting to apply it at my intership. I am taking a Shakespeare class, which mixes things up a bit. I've really been wondering who the real hero is in Othello. I really don't think it's Othello. I'm leaning more towards Desdemona. I'll probably write my term paper on this subject if the other plays don't offer up a more profound dilema.

Other events in the life of Rowe:

My marriage is amazing. I'm telling you, I'm fairly certain that Nick and I have got this matrimony thing down. I know, I know; every newly wed couple thinks this. But I know we're different. You can't really have two perfectly unconfrontational people and expect fights. Sure, there are times when we don't say what we feel right upfront, but it comes out eventually because we can't stand feeling angry at the other. We work it out, we move on. Grudges don't stand a chance with us. Also, I'm pretty sure our kids are gonna be awesome. I want kids so badly, but I want to have Gena/Nick time before we're wrapped up in child rearing for 18+ years. We're thinking 2012 might be a good time. Speaking of babies, Miah and Amanda are expecting thier first little one this June. I can't express enough how excited I am about this baby!!! It'll give me a good chance to brush up on my parenting skills and I'm just really looking forward to all the family fun times that the Rowe's and Wagner's are going to have together. It's going to be memorable. :)

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm graduating in May. I really pray that I can get a good job. The economy is making a come back (so I've heard) so I hope that the thousands upon thousands of dollars I'm shelling out for this education makes a difference. I think I have a pretty good shot seeing as how there are HR departments in just about every company out there, but Ohio is not a prime employment area. We'll just see where God leads me.

Alright well I better get some work done. Thanks for tuning in. I almost typed "Rowe out", but then thought better about it because I really don't like Ryan Seacrest and would not want to make an parallel between myself and said Idol host.

-G. Rowe