Tuesday, March 31, 2009

I keep forge........oh... forgetting.

I am having one of those days when I mean to do something but I forget about it. Like Ive been sitting at this computer for ten minutes trying to remember what I wanted to do, and then I remembered I wanted to post in my blog.

Also, Ive been planning on seeing my friend in this debate tonight, but then for some reason, I forgot and asked a buttload of people out to dinner at the same time. So now I have to cancel the dinner and see the debate. I am pumped about the debate. Not gonna lie.

But its been one of those days, yanno? Nothing sticks in this noggin on mine, because there is too much to stick, like a piece of tape that is used to pick up lint, there is too much lint already stuck on the tape, so its not as sticky as when it first was removed from the roll. Something like that.

This was my last early morning working at the airport. I have loved it so far, and now I have relief because I will be working evenning shifts, which means I am more likely to catch the bus, and not freak out and I can sleep in. This is going to be a great thing for me. I have to miss out on some fun things, like the retreat this weekend, but I guess its ok. 7 More days of Airport, and then moving on to AAA. Hooray I say.

Ahh ok. Im working right now. Things are out of control here. Haha not really. But gotta go.
Wait.. do I? I forgot. haha. later.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Ardent

Ardent.
By Alissa Graham


Im desperately desiring God as a destitute nod
to my exasperated weakness
and as I ardently ask what I can do
in order to extravagantly express this truth
You tell me to selfishly surround myself with You
in order to reboot from this rusty state and renew

So now Im passionately pursuing some purity
and trying to take heed in this security
of never direly delighting in the darkness
but to love loving you in the light place

Im beautifully benefitting from this boldness
the kind that captures basically the core of it
to keep seeking sight of God's spirit
and to never nod my head to the negative.

Go Pro (vidence)!



Man oh man. What an intense week.
The union team has come and gone, and I truly miss them and all that they have brought here. They had such a heart to serve and didnt complain about anything, even riding RIPTA. The top picture is an outreach we did on campus, passing out hot chocolate and little info cards. People could not understand why we were giving out free stuff. Its funny, oh New Englanders, you are so cynical. Surely there is a catch. And (according to one) The only catch is that you have to catch it. hah. They also did some things in Kennedy Plaza and the rescue mission. Now that they are gone, I kinda dont know what to do with myself. Going from a week of pure time usage to one where I can come home and like.. do whatever, its hard haha.
Friday we took a trip to Boston and saw some sights. In the evenning we went over to Tufts University and saw "Into the Woods," which is a twisted musical about fairy tales. One of our friends was playing in the orchestra for it, so that was great. We left at intermission because we were all too tired though. haha. I miss the Union Team and hope to stay in contact, what a great group of people.
Also, this week started my second practicum rotation at the TF Green Airport. I work in the information booth doing whatever needs to be done. Directions, hotel info, flight info, yeah anything. Its my favorite rotation so far and Im loving the general public interaction. I love to help people figure out where they need to go, and what there is to do in RI. Its great, and I would love to do something similar to that for a long long while.
I also woke up late one morning, missed the bus, and was freaking out. Thankfully my kind roommate drove me to the airport and helped me get there on time. I have to be at the airport at 7am, which means I have to catch the bus at 5:50am from my house. HAHA! So missing the bus was not ok. And dang, I cant let that happen again.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Mmm Pancakes. and Russia




So I realized that I never really shared the pictures of me in Russia with anyone. But if you want to see the albums online, here are the links to three of the albums, and they should be pretty clearly explained. If you have any questions about anything let me know. Above: Me in front of St. Basils Cathedral in Moscow. The girls weaing boots and jeans with skirts because it was so COLD! And Kim, my teammate and roomie next year, and I with some Russian boys at a small church meeting.

Russia Album 1

Russia Album 2

Russia Album 3

--

Today was a great day with the Union Missions Team. They are a great bunch of people, and Its fun to get to hang out with new people and make new friends.

We woke up early this morning and made pancakes.. raspberry ones. YUM! So good. Then headed over to Grace Harbor for Old Testament Survey with Danny and then the service. I learned alot today. Kevin hits the nail right on the head and its applicable to anyone, and there were not any babies crying in the service today! Hooray! But thank God for families, so Im not really complaining too much.

Then we ate lunch at Snowden, the JWU dining hall, and it was GOOOOD food. And I have so much homework due this week, so I snuck off to work on that even though I did not really accomplish anything.

After meeting up and the KP to catch a bus, we headed over to Kevin and Melissa's for late night Bible Study, what we like to call "An After Dinner Mint." Haha it was great. Its so encouraging to be around the church body and feel such community.

I know that going to college can really isolate you from the outside world, the only people you come in contact with are other students, professors, and your bosses. But going to church really helps field that, because its gives you interaction with families of all levels, with babies, or little kids, or younger teens. I also gives you access to older adults that you can get some wisdom and help from. I remember it was great last year especially, looking at apartments. We were able to have an older guy from the church come and help us look at apartments, we were so inexperienced, and he was able to help us know what to expect. Or going over to bake banana bread with Melissa and talking to a older woman for advice and stuff about life. I value the community that I am apart of every day. Where else are you going to find people that truly value whats going on in your life and care about whats really going on with you, past the typical "Oh Im doing good" balderdash that you go through with peers or professors.

Haha, after the McKays house we all piled into a RIPTA bus over to Andy's house for a bonfire where I TOTALLY made spider dogs. YEah thats right. Camping at its finest. I wish we could have had marshmallow trees. Haha. So geat. Man I smell like smoke and Im yet again exhausted, but its been a great weekend.

TTYL folks.

-alissa-

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Dont Hate Me If I Fall Off The Earth


(above: doing some work in a boardroom at the Collette rotation, in our fabulous blue uniforms!)

Collette Vacations has been a great rotation so far, and Im really enjoying it, even if I do get slightly cross eyed from reading excel spreadsheets. But atleast they are interesting and thought provoking. My job this week has been to combine all the data from 2008's monthly budgets for all airline interaction into one big year 2008 financial outline. I get to see the breakdown of how Collette uses each airline, where they take the airlines too, how much money they give them, and what month they use them. And for some airlines, such as Delta, or British Air, the numbers are in the millions. 

Practicum is kind of kicking me in the face though. I am so exhausted by the time I get home, and I just want to sleep. But thats never really an option. But I am sincerely enjoying my time there, and I have learned so much about the company and about the industry. 

This up and coming week is going to be ridiculous. A student team from Union University in Tennessee arrived in Providence this afternoon and they are here to serve until next Saturday. They will be giving out gum at the bus stop, prayer walking, helping at the Rescue Mission, building relationships with students and residents of Providence, and helping us out with a Snow Cone event in the Xavier Courtyard this week. Its going to be a lot of fun. Two of the girls are staying at my apartment, the rest down around the Harborside area. Such cool cats. Im totally pumped about this week.

I will be working with them whenever I am not at my practicum location. I still need to work on some homework assignments and projects though, so hopefully tomorrow I can get all of that taken care of.

Its Janelle's birthday today (well.. Saturday). YAY. Happy birthday lover.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Life Update...

Man oh man. Life is crazy these days. I am now in the part of my education at JWU called Practicum, and its basically an intensive work sampling throughout the whole trimester. There are about 20 other students in this program, we get to wear awesome suits, and 4-5 rotations to choose from. I was lucky enough to get all my first choices, which would be Collette Vacations, AAA Southern New England, and T.F. Green Airport. Monday through Friday 9-3 I get to rotate through each of these locations and see if its something I want to pursue in my future. The first week seemed a huge sleepover party, we had orientation, and the 20 others in the class are girls I have known since freshman year and have taken all major classes with, so we are like a big family. And there is only one boy! He is lucky. haha.  

At the end of the trimester, we all go on a FAM trip (familiarization tour), where we get to plan and carry out each day of the tour, just like a real tour guide! The professors wait until the first day of the trimester to tell the group where they are going, even though we have been trying to get the destination out of them since day one of our freshmen years. haha. (Last year I accidently found out early for the spring trimester kids and told them where they were going months before they were supposed to know. And they were not happy. hahaha)  





WE ARE GOING TO GREECE! Ok. No joke. GREECE. for 9 days. in May. Now, Greece is never somewhere I would have ever thought of traveling, I guess it wasnt on my list of top desired places to see, but I am NOT complaining. The school pays for it. And I am a travel major. I want to travel everywhere. And the more I research it, the more excited I get. The group of kids Im going with are definitely the off the beaten path kind of travelers, so I hope we get to experience the real Greece, not only the touristy stuff. 

This week is a little more intensive. I am working at Collette Vacations in the Air department. Collette is one of the worlds largest and best tour operators, offering travel to all continents, and they have 4 major offices around the world with 500+ employees. I dont do anything that exciting, but I have been working on some ticketing and accounting projects dealing with the multiple airline contracts that Collette has. It's crazy the amount of business that they give to airlines such as Delta or British air.

Its only week 2, but it has gone by very quickly, and I am very tired. In order to be on time, I have to be out of the house by 730am, and I dont usually get back until 4pm, not counting if I have something I need to do after, which might mean I dont get home until 1030. So its a long day. I know how my parents feel.  Its especially tough because one absence means you are automatically dropped from the program. We all know about my issue with absences, last trimester I missed about 8/16 classes for Botany (passing gloriously might I add).. But still. I am working hard to keep myself in line.

I feel bad, because I have not really talked to anyone from home indepthly. Its also hard because I am trying to find a new apartment, as well as being a leader for Christian Student Fellowship, and my workstudy job that I havent even been to since this new tri started. Pretty sure I dont even have time to think... Let alone hang out or something. 

I am coming home for Easter, which will be one of the last times I will be home for a while I think. Maybe not until next thanksgiving... I am really excited to be home and see everyone, and have sleepovers in the basement and take Kodey for a walk and see my sister. And I miss Janer and Casey and Bryan. Seriously, Im emo thinking about it. 

Ok I need to sleep right now. I am exhausted.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

11

So my mom was going through some old stuff she had kept from when I was younger when she found this letter that I wrote when I was eleven years and it is addressed to my future daughter. I thought I would share it with you. Word for word.


Dear Daughter,

This is a letter about me so that you can get to know me better.
My name is Alissa Marie Graham. I am 11 years old when I write this. I was born 6-7-89 (June 7, 1989). My favorite hobby is horseback riding. My favorite groups are DCTalk and NSYNC. I have one sister; Kailey, nine years old now. My favorite colors are green, orange, and black.

I go to school at Victory Christian Academy. There are thirteen people in my class: Lindsay Blumrick, Caitlin Gifford, Melissa Poole, Mary Hill, Randy Grout, Nate Watkins, Greg Bauerline, Steffan Mcdonald, Jorin Franusiak, Justin Bendlin, Killian Evans, Brian Goodlander, and me. Our teacher is Mrs. Cara Delp. The school is small and we have a dress code.

I have a dog named Bear and a bird named Sebastian. 
I live in a small neighborhood. There is Goat Hill, where the neighborhood kids go sledding, tubing, and snowboarding. It is cool there but if you dont watch out where you are going, it is possible you will run into a truck. I live across the street from my classmate Jorin, and we had a little party there, it was fun! Then there is my neighbor Ms Huber. She likes to feed cats. In her house there is alot of breeds of cats you have to be careful to shut doors so that they dont mix breed. She is mean. When the cats get pregnant she throws them out the window to fend for themselves.

To keep the population of cats down, Pam Owens (neighbor), Jorin, my mom and dad, and me, catch the cats with a cage that has a string tied to the door with tuna in it. And when the cats go in it we shut the door and trap them inside. The next day, Pam takes them to the nearest SPCA. 

And if you get any really bad grades, like an "F" I wont be mad, just disappointed and I will just tell you to go to summer school and try harder and study harder.

Read your Bible and pray everyday.

Be sure to read a lot, it helps you in school a lot.

Love your mom,
Alissa Graham



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And thats my life at eleven years old. Gotta love it. hahaha