Wednesday, June 4, 2008

blessings

So, it's been a while since I've updated. Spent the last week at Bear Trap Ranch near Colorado Springs. It actually felt like the first vacation I've really had for around a year and a half. The trip to China didn't really feel like a vacation last summer because it was so exhausting. But I just had fun. Felt some Joy, that I haven't felt for a long time. I also got to meet some really great people, by whom I am very blessed. It feels kind of lonely to go back to living in my apartment by myself after being in tight quarters with people for a week. That should be changing as I start to move this week. Had fun hiking every day and also rappelling. Lead a family group bible study, and it was good. I hope that I did an okay job with it. But I've made a lot of new friends and I am especially glad for one. I miss them all.

Had band practice last night which was fun. Soon we will get a demo down so we can play some shows.

Need to stay organized with 中文, so I can have fun :)

Here is one of my favorite poems:

Gary Soto - "Oranges"

The first time I walked
With a girl, I was twelve,
Cold, and weighted down
With two oranges in my jacket.
December. Frost cracking
Beneath my steps, my breath
Before me, then gone,
As I walked toward
Her house, the one whose
Porch light burned yellow
Night and day, in any weather.
A dog barked at me, until
She came out pulling
At her gloves, face bright
With rouge. I smiled,
Touched her shoulder, and led
Her down the street, across
A used car lot and a line
Of newly planted trees,
Until we were breathing
Before a drugstore. We
Entered, the tiny bell
Bringing a saleslady
Down a narrow aisle of goods.
I turned to the candies
Tiered like bleachers,
And asked what she wanted -
Light in her eyes, a smile
Starting at the corners
Of her mouth. I fingered
A nickle in my pocket,
And when she lifted a chocolate
That cost a dime,
I didn't say anything.
I took the nickle from
My pocket, then an orange,
And set them quietly on
The counter. When I looked up,
The lady's eyes met mine,
And held them, knowing
Very well what it was all
About.

Outside,
A few cars hissing past,
Fog hanging like old
Coats between the trees.
I took my girl's hand
In mine for two blocks,
Then released it to let
Her unwrap the chocolate.
I peeled my orange
That was so bright against
The gray of December
That, from some distance,
Someone might have thought
I was making a fire in my hands.