Doppelganger

So weird - at the mall today, I stopped by McD's (had a craving for fries, don't ask). I was waiting in line, and realised the cash register guy looked JUST like my friend Cole from university.

He was obviously younger, and Jewish, but other than that he was the spitting image of Cole.
I just kept thinking, "God, how sad would it be if Cole actually had to work at McDonald's?" That would assuredly be a most unfortunate circumstance...

:)

Horoscopes

Haha, I generally don't believe in this sort of thing, but lately I've been really into reading my horoscope. I found this site, astrologyzone.com, and it's been kind of a lark going and checking it out. But the monthly horoscopes are becoming startlingly accurate, and I'm not really sure why that is. Hmmmm...

The good news is that nothing is predetermined - this woman even claims so on her website. She merely uses astrology as a means to understanding patterns and alignments of planets and how they might affect our lives (or not). It's sort of cool; it's not a replacement for religion or anything like that, it's supposed to be a fun way to look at how the universe can align to help us see things we might not have otherwise been aware.

Pretty cool...I'm still in control of my own fate, and only God knows what's going to happen in the future. But that doesn't mean that astrology can't be a fun little diversion one in a while. :)

Musings on a Bus

I rode the bus home early from work yesterday because I sprained my ankle. It's funny how as soon as you need a spot to sit down, there is nothing available. Usually I prefer to stand and there are a dozen seats; as soon as I actually need to sit, poof!, nothing.

There was a girl sitting across from where I was standing, a soldier on her way home for the weekend. She was fast asleep, lying across her giant backpack, AK-47 laid gently on her lap pointed at the floor. How am I supposed to feel about this? It's funny and surreal all at the same time. I suppose it's what most people are used to around here, but I just don't think I'll ever get to used to seeing teenagers toting AK-47's on buses like it ain't no thang.

The Next Step...?

OK, so Robert and I have talked a few times on the phone so far since I told him about my feelings for him. We haven't actually verbally discussed the subject, but the message I received on Facebook was basically a "I'm really flattered I don't know how I feel about you but I would love to get to know you better but I don't know if it would ever be more than that."

I can live with that.

I just want to get to know him better, and the best way to do that is to keep the lines of communication open. Be good friends first, with the knowledge that it could possibly develop into more. Because, as much as I am willing to give him space and not broach the subject again for a while, the topic will have to be raised again at some point in the future. All too often we girls put our power in the hands of the guy and then get frustrated when nothing evolves.

Now I just have to try REALLY hard not to devolve into Stalker Girl. I can sort of get that way when I like someone, but I guess we all feel that way sometimes. When you like a person, you want to interact with them as much as possible, right? But guys generally do not respond well when you call them four times a day just to 'chat'. Uh huh. I can't help it, I tend to get a little obsessive about things; it's my addictive personality. Such a personality can be extremely useful in certain situations, but when it comes to guys, I don't think they appreciate an addictive personality when they themselves can't figure out how they feel about things.

So now I sit and try to practice the valuable art of patience...

Freeing Myself Through Music

I have decided that I really want to learn to play the guitar.

I already have the guitar, I recently restrung it with Robert's help, I have figured out how to tune it, now all I need to do is learn how to play it! :)

I have picked the songs I would like to learn, but I think I'm getting ahead of myself. I should probably learn a couple of chords first before I try to master any sort of songs. Hmmm...

Here's a list of songs I am currently in love with and play non-stop on the ipod:
The Fear You Won't Fall by Joshua Radin
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer
Flake by Jack Johnson
Lose Control by Maria Mena
When Susannah Cries by Espen Lind

It's pretty cool - the last two artists are Norwegian; I've been introduced to them by Synnove, who's been living at my flat while on pilgrimage right now. This stuff is gold!

So at this point I'm just having a blast listening to new music, trying my voice out on some old songs, and really just enjoying being in the moment. Music is so freeing and allows for such an emotional release that I can't seem to get enough right now!

Bridal Shower!

Corinne and I hosted a bridal shower for Carla today! It was sooo much fun!!
We had everyone over to my flat since I have a rather large living room, and a bunch of ladies showed up for the party. Excellent times...
We played some cute bridal shower games, nothing too demeaning or anything - Carla's very sweet and doesn't ever want anyone to be embarrassed. My favourite was the recipe for a happy marriage game. Basically I just gave everyone index cards and we all wrote down our 'recipes' for a good marriage. Everyone got really creative!
I wrote a poem for the occasion:
Roses are red
Grass is so green
When you are married
You get to be Queen
(So make the most of it!) HAHA!

Now all I have to do is put together the scrapbook for the occasion and give it to Carla once she and Adam return from the States. (They're heading back home to get married, rather than get married in the Holy Land. Better that the family can all be there.)

Ramblings After A Talk...

I had a good time after the Serving the Divine Plan talk. Got invited back to Sholeh's flat for hot chocolate with Kat and Geoffrey. I decided I need to be more social these days - I'm pretty tired a lot, but hot chocolate is hot chocolate. :)
A lot of people ended up showing up. Had a nice chat with some of the new orientation staff members. It's funny, as soon as I mention where I work, they either have a complaint or they want to congratulate us about the chocolates on the pillows. Always love those chocolates on the pillows...
Had a nice conversation with Semira, girl from the last orientation. She complimented me on my nails, which I remember distinctly since I have NEVER been complimented on my nails before. Never been able to grow them out long enough to look good. But apparently they're nice enough now to be noticed. Sweet! It's the little things I guess that people notice, so it's always good to take care of yourself.

Unexpected

It was really great having Robert, Marjan and Justin all here at the same time on pilgrimage. I knew that Marjan and Justin were coming, but Robert being here was a complete surprise.

Robert surprised me by showing up at the Dawnbreaker Collective's performance, and we spent most of his remaining nights hanging out together during and after the pilgrim talks. It was really fun, but kind of surreal, since I had never really expected to see him again after his Wildfire tour in 2005. I guess I should probably admit here that I had had a crush on him at that point, but with him being on tour and me being in university, I had decided not to say anything. Seeing him here in the Holy Land brought all those feelings rushing back, something I was completely unprepared for.

We had some great conversations, most of them pretty random, which is coincidentally just the way I like them. Robert's musical career is really going to take off soon, so it was cool to hear about how things are going in terms of songwriting and putting together CD's and whatnot. We also walked all over the Merkaz back and forth to his hotel, and we had lots to talk about. The funniest incident was probably when we walked past the zoo to discover two guys in their car trying to break OUT. It looked like they had gotten locked inside when the zoo was bolted down for the night. When we walked past the guys were smashing at the padlocked post in the driveway with what looked like a sledgehammer. (Where did they get a sledgehammer?! Maybe it's better not to know...)

Anyhoo, suffice it to say Robert and I had much fun while he was here, but now that he's gone I'm left with these stirred-up emotions all over again, and I don't know what to do about them. I wrote him a message to tell him so, but he hasn't responded yet. Either a) he hasn't seen it yet or b) he has seen it and has no idea how to respond. It's funny - most guys say that they wish girls were more direct about their feelings for guys, and would just tell a guy how they feel, but when we actually do, most guys don't know how to react and so they don't. Well, I've put myself out on a limb, so the ball's in his court now.

Dawnbreaker Collective

I was lucky enough to be invited to a small concert put on the Dawnbreaker Collective while they were on a three-day visit to the Holy Land. Too freaking cool for skool, man! It was five of them out of the whole collective, but that didn't matter, they still knew how to rock out.

Benny Cassette and Earl Iodine rocking the house!

L to R: Andy Grammer, Devon Gundry, Earl Iodine, Benny Cassette, and Tara Ellis.

I think this was when Andy was sharing his theories about women. Tres amusant.

Another group shot of everyone having a good time doing what they do best!

Naylors in Israel

It was really nice having Bronwyn and Tahirih visiting Israel at the same time. I know Bronwyn was only here for a short visit, so we had to pack as much fun as possible into three days!
We went to the Shrines of the Bab and Baha'u'llah, the Mansion of Bahji, the famous falafel place in the Wadi, and we even went to Greg's Gallery Cafe with Theresa and Liam. The cafe was lovely, very crisp and white and pretty. Plus, Liam and Theresa have a car, so we didn't have to walk there. Finally!
It was so convenient having the ladies at Peter and Pat's flat, since it's so easy to get to. Accessibility is key. Bronwyn is gone now, but Tahirih is still here working hard, so I'll get to see her at the Holy Day celebrations (hopefully!).

External Affairs

Here at the BWC we are currently hosting different external affairs representatives from the world over. They are all in charge of dealing with the public in terms of questions asked about the Baha'i Faith. These days it's mostly dealing with the situation of the Baha'is in Iran and Egypt, but they also generally deal with issues that affect Baha'is in their respective countries.

It's pretty cool having these representatives here. They did a presentation a few days ago where they shared some inspiring stories from their home communities, and it was wonderful to hear such (mostly) uplifting stories. I now really want to make sure that when I return home, I am fully active in my community both propagating and protecting the Faith.

There are also members of the Baha'i International Community (BIC) here from the UN, from both the New York and Swiss offices. My friend Tahirih happens to be one of the BIC representatives here from New York; it's so much fun to see her here in the Holy Land at the same time as me. Yay!

Musical Bliss

We had another choir rehearsal today to prepare for our performance on 1o January. The twin holy days of the Birth of the Bab and the Birth of Baha'u'llah will be celebrated on the 10 and 11 of January, and the choir has the singular privilege of being able to perform live in the Concourse of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice.

I feel so honoured to be allowed to perform in such a remarkable venue. I feel deeply honoured to be able to sing praises to God in the Seat of His power and authority on earth. It's an amazing privilege and thrill to be in this choir!

Plus - bonus! - we always get to rehearse in the Seat as well. The multipurpose room truly serves its purpose in that regard. After rehearsal, I stuck around a little while to listen to Synnove, Jordan and Paul practice a few operatic pieces on the piano. It was ethereal; I couldn't help but lose myself in their melody, and when Synnove started playing some pieces from Songs from a Secret Garden, that was sheer bliss. It doesn't matter that I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion - I stayed and listened to that glorious music wafting through the hallways of the Seat building and thought to myself, "How lucky am I?"