Thursday, September 29, 2011

And so it begins...

I'm officially a TA!  It's very strange to introduce myself as Ms. Jewell... I feel like I am referring to my Mom!  It's also funny because every time I read a class roster, I apologize in advance for if I mess up students' names, since I've been through it a lot myself... and I can see the puzzled faces wondering, "Why would 'Jewell' be hard to pronounce?" Ha!  Anyway, for at least the first few labs, I've been trying to dress the part so they know who's in charge :-)

And then there's the classes I'm actually taking...  Classical Mechanics is very nice, with clear, logical lectures that closely follow the book.  E&M, however, is brain-melting.  The professor is brilliant, but unfortunately his mouth is almost able to keep up with his brain, so he talks about a mile a minute.  That, on top of the fact that the textbook (by Jackson) is infamous among all grad students/programs as being ridiculously hard, makes the class rather difficult.  So I'd appreciate prayers to pass/survive e&m... it makes my brain hurt.

Last weekend (before we got any homework assigned), I was tired of sitting on Facebook, so I decided to color!  The end result makes our front door much more happy in appearance, and I'm rather pleased with the creative license I took in coloring: (sorry the picture was taken at night with my camera phone)

Finally, this coming weekend looks awesome!  I'm headed on a camping retreat with the school's Grad Christian Fellowship group!  Fun times.  Annd Nicole's coming into town!  So that will make Sunday (and Monday!) most excellent.  I'm grateful to still have these good things in everything else going on... Praise God!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

It's catching on...

Today I played tennis with another roommate, Yadi, which was great.  I still am far from consistent, but it's nice that I've started developing the callouses and muscles I need to play.  I'm glad she suggested it.

On our walk back, we took a quiet path near the library.  Two girls walked by, each carrying a plate of what looked like delicious treats, and within reach!  I was tempted to nick one as they passed but resisted the urge.  Yadi, however, joked, "Just for me?  Oh, thanks!" (though she kept walking, not expecting anything of her offhand remark).  The two girls, however, stopped and offered us some!  I happily took the offered treat, which turned out to be even better than it looked––it was like a rice crispy treat but extra crunchy and with chocolate and peanut butter.

As we licked out fingers and relished the deliciousness, Yadi commented, "Man, God must love us!"

I couldn't agree more :-)

Monday, September 19, 2011

His energy

Scripture memorization in 1996: The way to be the coolest kid in Sunday school, besides 
                                                       winning verse-lookup races.
Scripture memorization in 2011: A new goal to remind me of the truth.

I like this verse below because it reminds me that though I am working hard, it isn't my strength that will do the job, like my grad school theme song describes.  So hopefully (with His energy) I can absorb both the words of this verse and the truth in them.  Colossians 1:29:

"To this end I labor, 
struggling with all His energy, 
which so powerfully works in me."

Nutella Novella

I haven't posted an update recently because I don't know where to begin... thus, here is a rather long update that is closer to a novella but also involves Nutella, yum... Cheers to anyone who reads it all!
Quals were last week, and I'm very thankful they're over.  I'm also very thankful for the prayers and support of everyone out there; they really helped.  I feel I did reasonably well on the two exams I prepared for, but I don't know if I'll pass those or not; it all depends on the grading (how generous they are with partial credit, how much they mark me down for mistakes, etc).  The other three were stressful even though I tried to not invest myself in them.  I still spent at least an hour and a half on each of the exams, regardless of if I had passed.  So, big week!

I've been enjoying my time off though.  Thursday, Jen & I had a mini early celebration of quals by going to the fieldhouse and playing tennis!  They lend you rackets and balls for free!  It was a lot of fun.  I need to work on getting better control of the ball (I like to swing for the fences... wrong sport), but I at least impressed Jen with my hustle to get to lots of balls.  And once she gets real tennis shoes delivered, we're going again!  She said she'll teach me :-D

Yesterday, Jen and I also celebrated finishing quals by making Nutella Cheesecake brownies!!!  Such a good idea.  The brownie part was a little bit disappointing, but I think with chocolate chips it would be better.  We also may have overbaked it a bit... the top ends up very gooey because of the nutella, not from being underdone as we thought.  That being said, the end result was still delicious AND it was even better today!  One of the few cases where brownies turned out better once they cooled... weird.  It worked out well though, because Jen & I decided to share brownies with the other physics first years and the department staff.  Always good to get on good terms with the people who run things... most of them turned down our offer, and were a bit surprised/confused to see students wandering around distributing brownies.
Once we explained that we were celebrating getting through quals and wanted to share it, people understood better and became very friendly.  Nutella Cheesecake brownies = great success, on several levels.  Thanks God, for these delicious things!


After quals Friday, I enjoyed a night with a good friend from SLO, Jen, & her boyfriend, who visited Santa Cruz for the night before heading to a wedding further north.  We hiked around the Garden of Eden (more exciting with last year's mudslides...) and then went downtown for a standard, Pizza My Heart, and to enjoy the interesting range of people there.
This picture is actually when I went downtown with my roommates for Chocolate (highly recommend their Sophie, aka liquid chocolate).  While walking on Pac Ave, we noticed this restaurant with all the waiters dancing and clapping a beat.  And then this guy appeared in a boxing robe, with Eye of the Tiger blasting, and he started doing tricks with pizza dough!  He juggled and tossed it every which way, all while keeping it spinning.  Cool stuff.

Anyway, Jen, Brandon & I enjoyed some delicious Marianne's ice cream (I finally tried 50/50! Half orange sherbet, half vanilla ice cream, ALL amazing).  We then spent the night at my friend Carol's cabin in Mount Hermon.  She was such a blessing in opening her cabin up to us, giving us a full air mattress, futon mattress, couch, AND sheets, blankets, and pillows.  Her hospitality was wonderful.

Saturday, Jen, Cynthia, & I all went on a bus adventure to try out the transit system and go to Trader Joe's.  The weekend/not-school schedule meant we had to wait a while for the first bus, but we learned that the secret to getting a bus to come is me finishing my apple and running across the street (to the other bus stop).  So I made sure to stock up on apples at TJ's :-P

Afterward, Cynthia shared some AWESOME Chinese chicken curry that she made while visiting her brothers.  I very much appreciated her sharing this with me!  That night, she also shared sushi with me that her Dad made & dropped off.  I can't say that I'm a fan of the seafood/seaweed still, but I ate one to be friendly and I appreciated the chance to get to try it again.  He did do a good job.  It was really cool, that quiet evening gave us a chance to share about our faith!  Cynthia is also a Christian, and it was encouraging to hear a little bit about her experiences with God.  She came with me to church yesterday, to two different services!  That was a huge blessing because it had been tough going alone to different churches and not knowing anyone.  We both thanked God for how he brought us together in this way!

Church yesterday also generally went better than other attempts.  I've become more aware of my preference against big churches.  They have a lot of good things going on, but it's so easy to feel lost in the shuffle.  I think the only truly distressing thing for me was when a church had two larger-than-life projections of the pastor on either side of the pastor, following him around as he moved... I didn't know where to look!  Yesterday, we went to Felton Bible Church in the morning, which is a simple, traditional church.  It was a refreshing change compared to what I've been experiencing.  A friend there recommended a church that's much closer to campus, so we'll try that out next week.  I'm also thinking of occasionally going to Vintage Faith.  It's a good church, with a great young adult/college community, but the messages feel, for me, more like seminars than getting into the Word.  Solid stuff still, but I'd like more time in the Bible.  But I might get involved in their 20s/30s ministry...?  I'd love prayer for figuring out what ministries and churches to dive into, because it's a lot of decisions approaching.

I also had a lovely hike/walk with Jen in the redwood natural reserve on north campus, and this time I remembered my camera!  There are so many trails!  I'll finish with a few of my favorite pictures (though I'm saving my favorite picture for the next post!).
Being in the beauty of God's creation reminds me  how great He is...






...and how small we are.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"The trade we all forgot to make"

Take a few minutes to check out this writing; it's worth your time:

http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/09/the-trade-we-all-forget-to-make/

Out of the five qualifying exams I've had this week, I would love to pass two.  I am about to go face one of those two.  I have been studying for this test throughout the summer and constantly the past two weeks.

I don’t know if I’m prepared enough to pass.

But I’m trading in my plans for quals, and I'm going to try to leave it in God's hands.  If He brought me here, He can carry me through, even if I fail every qual this time around.  Even if I fail every attempt at quals and am out of grad school.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

I'll give up my carefully thought-out plans.  He's a much better thinker than even me; He can figure it out.

And besides, I'd rather have a party!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Glimpses of Glory

I've been catching glimpses of glory: God reminding me that He is here in Santa Cruz too.  On Monday, while I sat in my favorite study spot, I noticed one thin long strand of spider web, so delicate yet somehow strong.  And it only appeared when a breath of wind gently drew it into the light.  This still image can't do it justice, but it at least helps to show the beauty of this strand that seemingly appears out of nowhere:

I also was blessed with a quality cup of hot cocoa: 
I mean, seriously, how often does hot cocoa look like that?  If you know me, you know how much I value good food :-)


Tuesday brought on an intense day of Boot Camp review sessions (~5.5 hours of physics lectures).  But even in the brain-melting-ness of it, I was excited to be back in the classroom!  I do like school.  The professors were also very encouraging.

I wasn't ready to hit the books again after such an intense day, so my roommate & I went to West Cliff and enjoyed walking along the coast.  This was my favorite view (below).  The waves receded with crazy textures and patterns, and the sun literally made it shimmer and glow.

Spectacular, isn't it?  As if that wasn't enough, my roommate volunteered to cook food (in addition to the Jamba Juice we already enjoyed).  Homemade garlic mashed potatoes, stirfry veggies, and garlic bread.  We both left with awesome garlic breath and happily-full tummies:

Finally, the support I've been getting from friends and family has been amazing.  I so appreciate all your prayers and encouragement as I prepare for my quals (round 1) and adjust to grad school.  You guys also help to remind me of God's love; thank you!
With so many glimpses of awesome and so much encouragement, I'm well on the road to success!  Now I just gotta keep studying...
(while still keeping my eyes peeled for more greatness!)

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Watch for God

^That's what the VBS bracelets say.  I got one because one girl in my awesome crew didn't want hers (it was too big).  So now I still wear it, as a reminder.

It's easier to watch for God here, in the redwoods.  Surrounded by gorgeous trees and fresh air, it's hard not to thank God for the beauty of it all.  The gray mornings give way to beautiful blue skies and sunshine.  And it's all visible from my room:


But in addition to the beauty of my surroundings, it's easier to watch for God because I need Him more.  Because it's a new place, because I don't know many people yet, because I have scary tests and classes approaching.

I also have more space in my life, with all the quiet around me.

The quiet and space leaves much more room for God.  We'll see how that one changes as the undergrads arrive and things pick up pace.  Hopefully I can keep my sanity by keeping Number One, number 1. 
This is, and certainly will continue to be, an interesting time.  I'm trying to adopt this song as a theme song of sorts:

If you're interested, I also found a sign language interpretation of the song (beautiful, but poor audio quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKdfe9xJq5E
Annnd I heard the story behind the song on the radio Thursday on the way to moving in: http://www.klove.com/blog/post/2011/05/09/The-story-behind-Strong-Enough-from-Matthew-West.aspx

It's cool how this season of my life is drawing me closer to God.  I find myself wanting to read His word, pray, and connect with Him... because I know that'll get me through.  It reminds me that God loves me.  I just gotta keep watching for Him.