Sorry, this is a repost from my Xanga blog - xanga.com/pkcricket
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So, I've been listening to a podcast lately out of University of Detroit-Mercy called "Ask the Professor".  It's one of the longest-running radio shows in America, going on more than 50 seasons, and it's really fun.  The gist is that 5-6 professors from different departments of the uni get on the show and for half an hour they try their best to answer random trivia questions sent in from listeners.  Depending on the grade set by the questioner, they might win or not win, at which time the questioner may or may not receive a prize for having stumped the professers.  I'm not quite smart enough to send in my own questions for them (at least, to send in questions that won't have them annoyed by the end of the show), but here's some of my favorite things that I've been learning lately:

George Washington was the only president to lead the troops into battle while in office - the Whiskey Rebellion.

Pigs have 20 blood types.  They are also considered to be the smartest animal ever by the Irish.  In fact, they claim that pigs can even see the wind.

Calvin Coolidge was known as "Silent Cal" because he didn't like to give speeches or to talk much in general.  He was the first president to have a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the White House.  But back to the silent part, one time he was at a dinner party, and a friend's wife was sitting next to him at the table.  She leaned over and said, "Mr. President, I have a bet going with my friends that I can get you to say more than two words in the course of the evening."  He looked at her, smiled, and said, "You lose."  He didn't say one more word the entire night.

Teddy Roosevelt put a ban on Christmas trees in the White House while he was in office because he thought that it was damaging to the environment to cut them down.  His son, however, snuck one into the White House and hid it in a closet.  When Teddy found out he was angry and he had a forest ranger come in to speak with his son.  However, the ranger said that, if done properly, cutting down Christmas trees can be beneficial to a forest's eco-system.  Teddy then changed his mind and allowed Christmas trees to be put back into the White House.

The Japanese airline, Air-Nippon, has big eyes painted onto the engines of the airplanes.  This is to give the appearance of the airplane being a giant bird or hawk so as to scare away the birds from the runways and while the airplanes are in flight.

James Dean evaded the draft by saying he was a homosexual.

Brad Pitt's job before his big break was working at a chicken stall near the beach, dressed up as a chicken.

Cyndi Lauper worked at a dog kennel cleaning out cages before she made it (big???).

Ok...those are all the ones I can think of right now.  I really like trivia though and I thought these were pretty fun and interesting.  Oh, the longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."  Hope you enjoyed!

If you don't know what I'm referring to in the title, then this blog might not interest you much, except for the personal stories I will detail for you.  If you do, then you and I are already friends.  I love to read, and I probably spend too much time in the world of pages and printed words, but I really love it.  It started when I was younger, and as I got older, I grew into older books...and I don't just mean for more mature audiences.  I went back in time.  I had to read Northanger Abbey in college, but somehow I refused to read and still managed to get a passing grade on the tests.  I'm sad that I did.  Sometimes I boycott things just because I want to be difficult...and everyone was raving about Jane Austen at the time, and I like to be different.  So, I ignored any Jane Austen novels or movies...until I saw Pride & Prejudice with Matthew MacFadyen and Kiera Knightly and fell in love with the complexity, sweetness, and propriety in the story.  So, last year I read through the top five Jane Austen books: Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Emma.  I didn't get to Northanger Abbey...I still have a bad taste in my mouth with that one, but I will try again when I get home.

Anyway, back to the point of this blog.  I have decided that most people I know can fit within the characters of these books.  I mostly spend my time, like Eliza Bennet, drawing likeness between real people and the fictional characters here...but it's just a silliness and I don't put a ton of stock into it.  I have taken to studying the guys that I've dated, and I've decided that I mostly end up dating the villains.  Maybe if I eventually dated a guy who matched one of the heroes, I would be fine (although, Col. Brandon and Captain Wentworth don't really suit my taste...and Mr. Darcy, though he is an amazing character, I myself am prone to being introspective and stay-at-home, so would need the encouragement from my husband rather than being depended on it from myself.  But, mostly, the guys so far have been a mixture of  Mr. Collinses, Mr. Willoughby's and Mr. Elton's. 

Now, the Mr. Collinses and Mr. Elton's are strikingly similar, except Mr. Elton is prone to insulting when his wishes aren't met, while Mr. Collins prides himself on being able to rise above disappointment by moving on to another object quickly.  Mr.  Willoughby is generous with his feelings until something better comes along, or he finds himself obligated to leaving the relationship for some reason other than sentiment. 

One or two of these is no big deal.  But when the bulk of your relationships (and even first encounters) have been discovered to be of these sort, it gets tiring.  I'm not sure why Mr. Collins continually finds me in the faces of different young men (even older ones...yeah, I have some long tales)...and Mr. Willoughby is equally hard to face after a couple times.  But I am not the sort of woman who can just give in and enter a relationship with Mr. Collins.  It would be completely insensible. 

Maybe I shouldn't really include particular stories.  I could, and they would be humorous, but they would be kind of detrimental to the reputations of some men I know.  So, I will hold myself back from sharing them here and just resign to say that I am quite through with these grim characters.  I have decided that I would be most suited for a Mr. Knightly, or an Edmund Bertram.  If you are still in the dark as to who these people are and their characteristics, I believe wikipedia has a pretty good synopsis of each of them...or maybe you should just read the books and find out for yourself.  You won't be sorry.

I will conclude by saying that Charlotte Lucas marries Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice because she has no grand plans of romance or any hope of finding anyone better.  I am not such a person.  Though I am not prone to following my emotions first, I am still a very romantic person.  Nothing pleases me more than the hero and heroine coming together at the end of a long dramatic tale.  I also do not think that I should just settle for the next guy who comes along.  That is completely wrong.  Besides, even if there will be no one better out there, I have Jesus who is more to me than any other person could be.  But I still have hope, and while I still have hope, I cannot resign myself to Mr. Collins, Mr. Elton, Mr. Wickham, Mr. Crawford, or any of the other silly men who Jane chose to make the butt of her jokes. 

I was contemplating today how I had heard someone in the ministry say that God called him into it because heneeded to be kept on a short leash.  I realized, maybe a few years ago, that this also applies to me.  While some would like to glorify what I am doing over here, itis not the truth.  I am no holier than anyone else and these last two days prove it.  We have not had access to the internet these two days and, while I thought it was only my computer, it's the whole Center.  Also, my mp3 players broke on Thursday.  Without these two things, my world continues to turn, but I'm having a hard time keeping up.

I began to wonder why and came to the conclusion that I have been neglecting God and so He's drawing me back in.  Also, my sin has affected the whole of this building.  What is funny is that while I was coming to this conclusion, in the next room over, the other teacher cam to it as well, but for herself.  Even so, I have still refused to converse with God and I can sense Him outside my door waiting and wondering when I'll just give up and let Him in.

I have become preoccupied lately.  Preoccupied with "good" things: my updates back home, building relationships with the lost, listening to sermons, and possibly falling in love with a man, a good, godly missions-minded man.  But none of these are God!  I had promised at the beginning that my mp3 player would not be used in transit, so that I would use that time to read the Bible or a Christian Living book.  I failed that.  I had decided that I would do a sketch on God's characteristics, but have failed that as well.  I also decided I would go through all of Paul's letters...I'm still in the 1st chapter of Romans. 

I fail and fail and fail.  I wonder how my predecessors had done it before me.  Someone like Amy Carmichael...was she such a fickle and uncommitted person as I am?  All the beautiful and devited things she wrote, were those on her good days that came once a week?  once a month?

Proverbs 2:1-15...specifically verses 4-5: if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

All will fall in place when I give God His due place in my life ---> #1!