Summer Evenings

After work this evening, I met up with Hannah and Niki at Border's Cafe in the mall. We spend a lot of time there hanging out. They have free wi-fi, delicious ice coffee, and all the books and magazines you can shake a stick at. Thursday nights there is even an open mic night that isnt too bad. Definitely some entertainment, let me tell you.

Well, after leaving there, I went and sat on the Capital Commons grassy area under a shady tree and finished reading my new favorite book "A Godly Home" by Richard Baxter. It is a seventeenth century guide to, you guessed it, having a godly home. I will have to write a little plug for it soon.

Anyways, I just enjoy times like this where I can steal away and get some reading and thinking done. Providence is the perfect little city for such things.

AT&T Mixes In Some Tourism Strategy

AT&T has their thinking cap on. Yesterday they announced that they will be continuing to expand and improve their wireless service on Block Island, also known as New Shoreham, Rhode island. 
    This is a very smart move. They are capitalizing on the frustrations that many travelers feel when they do not have good cell reception while on vacations.
    According to Steve Krom, vice president and general manager, AT&T New England,

 "Our goal is for our customers to have an extraordinary experience everywhere they use their mobile devices, including at popular summer destination spots like Block Island. We're always looking for new opportunities to provide an enhanced customer experience, and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way we're accomplishing that..."

    In 2009, AT&T signed a 2 year marketing agreement with the main tourism organization in New York City which "provided an integrated package of marketing assets to allow AT&T and its YELLOWPAGES.COM brand to reach customers throughout New York City." This agreement allowed them to integrate popular  search products with the AT&T user experience, creating better connectivity between tourists and the city. It also provided businesses associated with the tourism board to access special deals and promotions from AT&T. This seems like a win win situation. 
    I would love to see them do this with more tourism associations, especially in New England. They could do the same things in Providence and other Rhode Island destinations such as Newport and Block Island. Like they did in NYC, they could offer specific web to phone integration with VisitRhodeIsland.com, extra snippets for those walking the new Providence Independence Trail, and even connect with TonightInRI.com/.  
   They could get specific branding partnerships with T.F. Green, RIPTA, and the Providence train station.  
   These are just suggestions, but I was definitely happy to see a corporation actually thinking about travelers. Yes they will profit in some way, but so will those now able to get better signals on Block Island and other destinations.


    AT&T also supports tourism in other ways as well. They sponsor the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City Oklahoma, AT&T Center for Performing Arts in Dallas Texas, AT&T Park in San Francisco California. They also provide wireless services to airports such as the Newark Liberty International Airport. 


In fact, according to Premium Traveler Magazine, AT&T repeatedly gets voted as the carrier with the "Best Mobile Phone Coverage." This year is their fourth year with that recognition and Bill Hague, executive VP of international, AT&T mobility and consumer markets says that this affirms "that AT&T customers appreciate our commitment to connecting them to the people and information that matters most during their travels." 


Getting into the tourism market is a smart plan. After all, the U.S Travel Association says that in 2009 there were about 1.9 billion times that people traveled for business and leisure. Most often people who travel are interested making their trips more exciting, convenient, and comfortable, a reason AT&T could make a killing. 

Downcity Delights: Tazza

My roommate and I have been taking a culinary tour of new (or kind of new) restaurants in the Downcity area of Providence. Wednesday I tend to get out of work a little early before class and we both just happened to be around, so why not?!!

 Our first adventure was Tazza Caffe. They describe themselves as "[a] combination of the qualities of a traditional espresso bar with a funky atmosphere and placing it all in the center of Providence's Arts and Entertainment District."

My roommate is a longtime fan of Tazza- I am a more recent convert. Their ice coffee enamored, Open Mic Night rocked out, love "Movies on the Block," and it was a cool place to just go and hang out (unless you are going with a friend and they light the candle thinking you are on a date, but that is another story for another day).

THEN. Tazza renovated. Whatever is there now, is not the same Tazza. It is new, it is steely and modern. No more comfy couch atmosphere. I cant see a place for music or performances. (Is there a secret back room that I missed?)

My roommate and I were saying that if we hadn't known Tazza before and had stumbled across this place, we would totally love and embrace it- but since we know the old, it's going to be a struggle to come to love the new Tazza. I cant imagine just going there to grab some coffee and hang out with friends, write a paper .... But oh my, what a delightful surprise: the food is DELICIOUS (not that it wasn't before, but WOW!)

I had the Vegetarian Tomato Bisque with parmesan croutons, grilled chicken panino, and hand crafted fries. My roommate had the margarita pizza. Both were delicious. Check out the menu here. I am dying to try their local ceviche, and the pork shoulder taco sounds divine!

Lunch was around $11 (including tip). For a poor college student it is a little pricey, but in my opinion it is worth the random (or planned) splurge.

In conclusion: there will probably be another visit. While it is a change to get used to, their new renovation is probably more geared toward their target market and the layout makes more sense.

 So I forgive you Tazza.  

Have you been there since the big renovation? Thoughts?

Experience New England: My Bucket List

A girl can dream, (and this is the short version of those dreams).


Bucket List: A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket".

New Bedford Whaling Museum

The 107 year old whaling museum located in Massachusetts, “it is home to the world's largest ship model, Lagoda, a half-scale whale ship built in 1916 by the aging shipwrights of New Bedford's famed fleet. The Museum displays four species of complete whale skeletons, including a Blue whale, the world's largest mammal plus a mother and fetus of the highly endangered Northern Atlantic Right whale.” How can you beat that excitement? No, Im not joking.

"The Nation's First Sunrise"

Viewing the "first sun rise in the USA" is a  popular activity among visitors of Maine's Acadia National Park. Cadillac Mountain sees the first sunrise in the fall and winter, and during most of the spring and summer, the sun rises first on Mars Hill, 150 miles to the northeast. This would be invigorating. 

Hartland Brick Church Famous Roast Beef Supper

Maybe I am crazy, but this seems like a really cool thing to randomly do.

“People drive an hour and a half or more to make the pilgrimage, and not just once a year or once a month, but some for nine straight Saturdays starting in January--every year. These dinners take place in the basement of  "the Brick Church" in Hartland, and no matter the weather. A bad snowstorm or driving sleet might keep servings down to 200 or 250; a good night will feed some 400 people.” And J.D. Salinger went to them!

Sandwich, Massachusetts

I have to admit one thing: I have been here before…. BUT, it was at 1am, for ten minutes, and we climbed a tree.. I don’t think that counts. I want to see the boardwalk and watch tugboats enter the Cape Cod Canal at dawn, and then hit up the Sandwich Glass Museum. Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod by the way.  (photo from Yankee Magazine)

Wild Game Supper

Congregational Church's annual "Wild Game Supper" in Bradford, Vermont, comes to mind. The out-of-town crowd at that hunting-season event grew so overwhelming--even at $25 a head--that the church recently set a serving limit of 900. The writer Calvin Trillin once called it "the Super Bowl of church suppers."

Cable Car Cinema

Located on South Main Street in Providence RI, this comfy cinema and café is known for its couches, great atmosphere, fun indie films, and speakers in the bathroom (so you don’t miss TOO much)! Reasonable prices, and a great date or hangout atmosphere. I see this place all the time, and want to go SOO bad.

What about you? Do you have any dreams to travel around New England?

 Any places that strike your fancy?  

 Am I missing something important? Do share!

Churches in Greater Providence

Using Google Analytics, I have seen activity on my blog from people searching for churches in Providence, and near Johnson & Wales specifically. So I figured I would compile a (non)exhaustive list, so that in the future, if someone were searching this out and they somehow arrive at my blog, there will be something helpful to offer!

Grace Harbor Community Church
www.graceharbor.net
Pastor Kevin McKay
Currently Meeting at the Courtyard Marriott, check website for details
Providence, RI
401-454-4673

Trinity Presbyterian

www.trinitypresri.org

Pastor: David Sherwood

72 Clifford St.

Providence, RI 02903

401.272.0766

DownCity Church

www.downcitychurch.com

Pastor: Ted Strickland

68 Kennedy Plaza

Providence, RI 02903

401.331.6384

The Sacred Journey

http://sjchurch.org/

Pastor: Todd Murphy

91 Fricker Street

Providence, RI 02903

These are churches that I find to be gospel centered, bible loving, caring congregations. Now I say this is not exhaustive because these only make up churches that I have attended or where I know the pastor. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.


*These websites have great "church search" reference guides by city and zipcode:
www.9marks.org
www.thegospelcoalition.org

*This is a great book about what makes a church a "healthy" church:
What is a Healthy Church by Mark Dever


Hope you find a great church!

Snowy Rhodey

Wednesday we had a very snowy day, and we've been enjoying the crazy times since.  (at least I have been)

 the first hours of the blizzard

 Waiting for the bus on Smith hill. Look at these "sidewalks." They have disappeared. 

Rescuing snowmen down at India Point Park

Experience New England: Latin Fa La La's

Saturday I went with some ladies from my church to our friend Diana's jewelry party. She and her husband have just recently joined Grace Harbor, and it was great to go support her and see some of her wonderful handmade accessories! I would totally recommend taking a glance at her page on Etsy! (and then buy some and give them as gifts!)

Last night my roommate Niki and I headed to the 62nd Annual Brown Latin Carol Celebration! It was held in the First Baptist Church in America and featured choir performances that were simply magical and readings that touched on the season, all in Latin! A woman from our church is studying classics at Brown, and I'm so glad she told us about the event! It was simply awesome to hear our favorite Christmas carols sung so beautifully and in Latin! I hope more people come with us next year, and man, we need to remember to get there EARLY, (starts at 8) because it was mad packed!

Celebrating Advent has been wonderful. I'm a few days behind because of the crazy weekend, but I'm absolutely looking forward to catching up today. It has been a great time of establishing a steady time to read my bible and think. It has also caused me to really think about the glory of the incarnation and what it means. The fact that the holy, perfect, and righteous God would send his son to the earth- the earth full of humans that repeatedly rebels against Him and slanders Him. So that we could then kill Him. But all for our salvation and his glory. Whew.

And lastly, Red Mountain Music has a new cd that is available to stream or download on their website. They have really wonderful, gospel centered hymns. Oh man, so good. Especially the song "All Things New," which I think is the first track. Perfectly fitting for Advent as well :)

What've you been doin' lately?

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.  

Psalms 13:5-6

This is probably the longest post ever about random life updates. But its been a while since Ive been able to talk to all my family and friends back home for any reasonable length of time. I apologize!

October has arrived. In fact, its been flying by with absolutely no concern for my feelings. The weather was beautiful this weekend. Something in the fifties I do believe. PERFECTION! In fact, I was able to pull out my flannel pajamas! The last time I wore most of my winter clothes was in Russia, so its almost an emotional process to pull out all my arctic apparel. Soon, it will be time to wear my favorite wool socks, but for now until it snows, I'm still rocking the flip-flops.

The weekend before last I went apple picking with the Christian Student Fellowship crowd, and we had so much fun! 25 apples ended up coming home with me, I just don't know how! There were about 30 of us who went, and it was wonderful to see both new faces and faces I haven't seen since last winter! One of my favorite thing about Jaswell's Farm is the hayride! Fun:) A bunch of us came back to my place after and carved pumpkins, baked apple deliciousness, and hung out. If my computer was working, or even if my work computer wasn't so ridiculous, I would show some awesome fall pictures. Sigh.

Speaking of computers. I am, again, in a technology dilemma.  My brand new laptop decided to kick the bucket. Why? Why? Why? I have treated it ten times better than the last one, offering it a nice little place to snuggle at night, safe from any sort of weird magnetism. I keep it in a special pocket in my backpack, so not to jostle or scratch it with all the nonsense I hike around with. I am glad I bought the most intense warranty ever, but still. Are you kidding me? This week it's going out for service. Until then, I am scrambling to get all my work done while I am at my work computer, which isn't a very efficient way to do things, but its the reality.

Last week Hannah and I rode our bikes about 7.5 miles. We just kind of rode and turned and wandered and journeyed. As usual, when we "travel" together, crazy things happen and we end up places we just don't even know. (Us: "Are we in Pennsylvania?" Firefighter: "No, you are in Delaware.") In our wandering we discovered this seriously awesome park called Neutaconkanut Hill, in a random urban Providence neighborhood. In fact, Neutaconkanut Hill (try saying that 5 times fast), is "88 acres of trees, field, grasses, and wild flowers, interspersed with valleys, ravines, glacial boulders, stone walls, fresh water springs and brooks, and is the natural habitat for a multitude of small woodland animals including deer, fox, and wild turkey." Seriously, who would have thought this place existed? I conclude that we must go there and have a hike and a camp out.

As for classes, well, meh. I am not very excited about this trimester. I'm taking Statistics. Math makes me cry. Enough said about that. Psychology is actually interesting to me, and my professor is a nutcase, which keeps things entertaining. (He wore a cape the first class, and last week confessed to being a UCC priest.) We talk about all sorts of engaging things, and I have a class that participates, unusual for a JWU general, continuing-ed, night class. My "Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture" class is somewhat enjoyable as well. All sorts of fascinating business case studies, including one about ZipCar, which I am intrigued by. My professor loves to use the word "cohort," and my classmates are pretty cool. I finished my Career Capstone class, and passed, which is great! Sadly, I dropped American Government, but my intentions are to CLEP it like its 1999! I am eager for Winter Trimester to arrive! Imagine: classes in my major, with great professors, at reasonable times, no night classes, and one beautiful, glorious online class! Ecstasy!

Ok, that's enough for now.

What have YOU been doing lately?

The lone Biking Viking

A few weeks ago I acquired a brand new mountain bike. It's a 26 inch cruiser mountain bike, chosen for low price, comfort, rust resistance, and agility.  I had been pining over one since the beginning of the summer. It was a blessing to have my grandparents come all the way to Rhode Island to pick it up from the Walmart in Warwick and bring it back to my apartment.  Hehehe, thats not really why they came, but it sure was a added bonus to seeing their wonderful faces this side of the north east.

The first time I took the beaut out, Hannah and I went 5 miles, all over Smith Hill, down through Eagle Square, to Elmhurst, and back to Jewett st. I was dying by mile two, but Hannah pushed me to keep going! It was great. Ive even ridden it all the way to the Broadway area, discovering quick little routes through fun neighborhoods. Providence even has more bike lanes and paths than you would think! 

The past few times Ive ridden down by the Woonasquatucket River, and its a beautiful urban trail with a hint of nature mixed in. 

Last night, I decided to take her out at midnight, a common theme starting to pop up! (Yes I am being safe, dont worry.) I rode to Nathaniel Greene middle school and back down Chalkstone for a quick but invigorating two miles. Its been fun to explore new places and get my work out on at the same time. Sometimes walking can get a little boring, and I am ten time more excited to hop on my bike and go!

In middle school and early highschool some friends, my sister, and I would get on our bikes and just go all over Lockport. We explored every path, every creek trail, every creepy wooded shortcut through neighborhoods, we rode hundreds of laps around the local high school track, and had tons of fun weaving in and around cars. We actually called ourselves the "Biking Vikings," with the motto "If you are going to get hit by a car, make sure it's an expensive one you you can collect alot of insurance money." Ok ok, I know, but we were 14 years old. I remember being able to hop on our bikes and just go, the feeling of freedom before one knows what its like to have a car. 

Everyone seems to be getting a bike these days, so it looks like my adventures wont have to be lone ranger for much longer! Yay!

Senior Year Crazies

Today is the first day of my senior year of college. Time flies by!

Last night was the Student Activities Fair for all the incoming freshmen and transfers to check out all the Clubs and Organizations on campus and see if there is anything they want to get involved in. I am the President of the Christian Student Fellowship this year, and I thought our booth was quite legit! Here is Travis, Jake, and Jasmine folding some flyers. We even had cups with our logo and info on them. Legit I tell you.

At the end of the night we had passed out over 200 cups and received over 70 filled out info cards. I was also surprised at the amount of students coming up to us as asking us for information about finding a local church. I hope they follow through and put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. I also hope we can help them all get connected with local bodies. 

This year we are strategically looking at our ministry from all angles. We know we have about two years with most students. Travis, the campus minister, has come up with a list of topics we are going to focus on and disciple people through. We realized that by the time a student has graduated, we want them to have grown in these areas (condensed version):

• Discipleship (we want them to be discipled, and be able to disciple)
• Missions (thinking about long term and short term missions, how to get involved)
• Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (what is it, how to grow in these areas, also dating and marriage)
• Love for the local church (we want them to understand the importance of the local church and being a member of one )
• Christian World view (this affects all aspects of life)
• Evangelism

God has truly blessed me by bringing this ministry into my life freshman year and allowing me to grow alongside such wonderful people.

The classes on my roster this trimester are: 

• Intro to Psychology
• American Government
• Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture
• Career Capstone
• Statistics

For some reason I was so pumped about my major classes that left all my liberal arts classes until my last year. Which doesn't make for a very exciting senior year, let me tell you. Haha. Though my last trimester does include some travel tidbits. This is also the first year in the past two years that I will be doing academics all the way through, instead of two trimesters of academics and then one of an internship of some kind. Boring! Trust me if I could find a way, I would maneuver a way out of class, but no loop holes this year. Get in, get out, get my degree!

Otherwise this trimester I am busy working in the University Info Center answering tons of crazy phone calls ("my daughter blah blah blah late for class blah blah professor is wrong to do that blah blah blah.."). Busy living in a crazy community of awesome Christians. Busy trying to wake up at 5am and get to my 710zm classes and probably not get home until 10 pm. Busy trying to keep up with everyone from home and from RI and Russia and all over. 

By the way, I have no idea what I am going to do when I graduate, in case you were wondering. But I am not worried at all really. God is sovereign, Jesus was a hobo and the sparrows are taken care of. No idea what that really means, but basically I find no reason to fret. 

Ive thought about (and started applying to) seminaries. Gordon-Conwell in Boston and Southern in Louisville top out my list and both have pros and cons. Some sort of masters in Biblical Counseling would probably be my education path. Maybe I will get a job at the Southern New England AAA. Maybe I will move to Russia. Maybe I will vagabond across Asia. Its all up in the air :)  I am pursuing God, Im surrounding myself with wise people, and thats what really matters.

So yeah. One year left, lets make it a good one. 

Experience New England: Rhodey Staycation

This weekend my family drove down from upstate New York to vacation with me in Providence. It's a great situation for everyone- they get a great vacation, I get a great "staycation."  If you have never heard the term before, well, it means staying in ones own locale and exploring new things, instead of spending loads of money going elsewhere.

When they come down, I always do a little research of some new and exciting things that I have never taken advantage of, and of course things I know we will all love. They are still in town until Thursday, but I thought I would do a little recap of our Rhodey Vacation/Staycation 2010, days 1-3, in hopes that you will discover some awesome places to check out!

Nicks on Broadway
For some reason I cant imagine why I have never been to this eating establishment. Located on Broadway in Providence, Nick's boasts delicious, local, seasonal cuisine that is both highly rated and approachable. Their Eggs Benedict was out of this world, coming on top of two savory biscuits with delicious handcut ham slices. Their salmon breakfast sandwhich on pesto wheat bread was pure glorious, and vadalia onion corned beef hash blew me out of the water. Go there now.

RISD Museum of Art
The last saturday of the month is a freefor all at the RISD Museum, and so off we went! Quite larger than I imagined, there were some wonderful exhibits on display at the museum from classical style to extremely modern, something for all art lovers to enjoy. There was also an interactive art class open to the public in which you created answers to question promts with their provided suplies, for example, "write a love letter to a part of your body." We were slightly crunched for time, and I image this museum is ten times better if you are not crunched for time. Parking stinks, but it was all free, and I cant wait to check it out next month!

The Mooring
Get the Seafood Pie. This restaurant located along the Thames St, Newport Bay area is a great special dinner kind of place. It is quite upscale, but they serve some of their sides and apps in brown paper bags for an interesting twist! We sat out on the balcony and had a wonderful view of the Newport Harbor. I'll be going back.

Rhode Island Bay Lighthouse Cruise
This one is a show stopper. I random'y found an advertisement for this cruise on a billboard somewhere, and it is worth every single penny. ($25 a person). Leaving from Quonsett Point, this cruise takes you through the Narragansett Bay area, around the Jamestown Island, and into the Newport Harbor. This light house cruise is absolutely wonderful, providing narration and indoor and outdoor seating. Absolutely picturesque, up close and personal views of the ten lighthouses and other interesting sights, along with a perfectly sunny and breezy day spent with family, how could you go wrong? I would recommend this for everyone- kids to elderly, native rhodeys or out of towners. Seriously.

We also checked out WaterFire an artsy festival type performance art where giant cauldrons of wood floating on the river are set ablaze. Its pretty amazing.

I Love Rhode Island.
Let me know if you have any other awesome ideas for things to do or see in New England!

Rhodey Living: Gaspee Days

I'm always up for a good adventure. Couple that with a craft show and MAN ya got me. When I saw Gaspee Days listed in the RI area events calendar, I couldn't resist. Putting out a request to all my friends go go along with me, only one other person wanted to go! GASP! Some people are no fun. So Leeta and I got in the car and headed off to beautiful Pawtuxet Village.

Gaspee Days is a Memorial Day Weekend celebration of American Patriots who torched an enemy ship during the American Revolution. It includes a craft show, races, musical acts, war reenactments, and all sorts of cool stuff.

There werent any wares that especially caught my eye, other than some "too expensive for me" nautical delights, but it was tons of fun seeing all the crafting of the area and getting free samples of mapled walnuts and gourmet homemade dijon mustard. Not to mention splendid views of the bay,

and cute little entreprenuers who sell exceptional lemonade.

You can check out Gaspee Days at gaspee.com

Little Photo Essay

AhhHHhhHH! My mind is spinning out of control. So many things. So little time. 4 days until departure! What's a girl to do!

Oh, maybe I will learn how to knit? Haha this evenning I went over to my lovely friend Jen's house for a simple tutorial on the art of knitting. I bought this delightful yarn and she taught me the ways. In the picture above is the scarf I am making! Whew! Look at that progress in one night. Although, Im kind of experiencing a knitting crisis! Knit, perl, knit, perl, knit, perl, I dont know what happened but something went awry! AHH!

Hmm, maybe I will try Sushi! Sunday after church everyone was invited to Sakura Japanese restaurant on Wickenden St. for some exceptional delightful food/"not really going away" party! I had never been there before but was inspired by my travelicious co-worker to check it out. Let me just tell you, that crab sushi above: de-freakin-licious. Under ten bucks for a whole plate of sushi plus soup and salad? I will be making my way here again. Dan, Kim, Alon, Hannah, Leeta, Melissa, Otto, and I headed over and had a fun time hanging out and trying some new cuisine. Hannah is leaving third trimester as well for a co-op, sad!

Or, maybe I will go for a walk around Providence! This weekend Hannah slept over. It was a great time, and I am GLAD she did. Let me tell you, living with your best friends is like having a fun sleep over every night, and add some more friends into the mix, and its simply a delight. (She brings nail polish too, cant complain about that!) After getting home from church and Sakura; Kim, Hannah, and I took a walk from Smith Hill to Federal Hill to the Providence Place Mall. We ended up at Border's and enjoyed some nice Ice Chai tea. I recommend it. (but not really- its too expensive.)

And that's where I bought this doozy, which is what brings us to real time, right now, as we speak. Its a mini Russian/English dictionary, and while it looks small, you turn it over and its about 3 inches thick, atleast. For the past six months Ive been taking Russian language classes at JWU, but never bought a dictionary? Am I on crack? Maybe a little, maybe Im just too good at getting by. Sigh. My final exam is tomorrow morning, (who knows what it will really be about- my teacher is one confused human being) and this little buddy has been quite helpful in studying. Glad I bought it, cant wait to use it for real!

And thats been my life recently. Maybe Thursday night I will get to this packing shenanigan:

(cant travel without Craisins now can we!)

Hope you enjoyed my photo essay=)

Have a good one!

No Snow, "Snow" Day

Its 4:15 Tuesday afternoon and my co-workers and I are sitting at work awaiting some good news. So far we have heard about the city wide parking ban for Wednesday, but no word yet about a school closing. The weatherman is predicting 2 feet of snow to start early Wednesday and continue all day, causing a similar ruckus to the Snowpocolypse that attacked the Southeastern coast. Everyone in Providence is on the edge of their seats, wondering if the city will close down, wondering if they should go out and buy bread, milk, and eggs to stock up for the crazy storm (typical rhodey, the stores suddenly become barren when there is any kind of unusual weather predictions).

6:00pm hits and my roommate calls the Johnson & Wales storm line. We had previously heard rumors of school closings and half day closings, but nothing for sure. At that moment I see a flood of tweets from other JWU'ers about an email declaring Wednesday to be a Snow Day! My roommate confirms the word, as the storm line says similar things about nonessential staff not having to come to work, and students are off the class hook. SWEEEETTT DEAALL! The word spreads, and everyone is pumped to the max. I know I am.

I stayed up extra late Tuesday night, knowing that nothing was stopping me, knowing that I would not feel the pangs of exhaustion the next day at work or class. I finally went to bed in the early morn, excited to wake up to this winter wonderland that I’ve been intensely anticipating.

Approximately 3:00pm Wednesday afternoon, I finally arise. (I did wake up around 9am and noon, but decided to milk sleep for all its worth). Hilariously, there is no snow on the ground. Absolutely none. It wasnt even snowing! Oh snap Providence! You got schooled hard core. Which basically means we had a no snow, snow day. I'm not complaining!

Around 6pm on Wednesday it does start snowing pretty hard, but stops without terrible damage. (nothing to close the city down about, thats for sure) Which you can see from the picture above.

Our friends Kevin and Ben have been planning on coming over for the past few weeks to cook, as their living conditions aren't too equipped for hand crafted cooking, but because of incongruent schedules, it just hadnt worked out. We all have the day off though so they end up randomly coming over (well... after a long, epic, bus excursion to Aldi and Whole Foods). Sherita came over (she lives across the street) and Alon's fiance Tim was there, obviously Alon and Kim as well. So we had a mini, spur of the moment cooking party! The guys, who are both culinary majors at JWU, whipped up some of the BEST meatballs and spaghetti that I have ever had in my life (mom, you have some competition!) There were some crazy things in the meatballs like bacon, almonds, soaked bread, interesting herbs, and I dont even know what. But it was delicious. I hope they can come over again soon! (and if e actually plan it, next time we can invite everyone over for the good times!

  
Above: Kevin and Ben
  
Left: Ben, Tim, Sherita, Kim all rolling meat balls!








<-----Yum


And that’s the story of my first ever No Snow, Snow Day!!!

Like a Bull in a China Shop

This week I was blessed to go over to a good friends house and help her decorate for Christmas. Its such a blessing how I met her! She is the Connecticut admissions representative for JWU, and she was one of the adult leaders on my trip to Greece last spring! We got along really well, and it turns out that she is a Christian and is really awesome! This summer we got together a few times, and her son and I went to the same conferences in Utica NY at Zion! So funny. Well anyways, her kids didnt want to help her decorate the tree, so a bunch of us girls from the Greece trip went over and had a blasting good time!  She is the most hospitable person I have ever met, and I pretty much want her to come and decorate my house someday. I adore her "traditional new england cottage" feel, with no gaudy decorationg, but each seems to have a purpose and memory.  Maybe Christmas decorating will become a tradition while we are all still in Providence!

It was fun, and really great to hang out with people I havent really seen that much since last spring!!

Stephanie, Me, Chimene, Yuan!

 

This is her beautiful white Christmas tree in front of the fire place.

 

Me underneath the real tree, trying to get it sturdy and uncrooked!

Almost. Done.

One more final and I am peacing out of Fall Trimester 2009!!! Hoorah! I did better than I thought in some classes, and worse than I thought in others. By that I mean one of my professors told me that it was mathmatically impossible for me to pass Statistics no matter what grade I got on the final. So I ended up writing my name on it, throwing some answers on the scan-tron and peacing out. I can retake it with a new prof and get a better grade and pretend none of that even happened. Haha.

This Thanksgiving I will be staying in Providence and just hanging out with my doggie friend Gunther. I get to dog sit him while my friends are out of town for the holiday. Its going to be quite fun, as this little bugger is a ball of energy and full throttle movement. I cant wait to take him on walks and play with him like crazy!!!

Never fear though, I do have plans with humans as well. Next Tuesday I will be visiting with my old pastor, Andy, and his family in Massachussetts! I have only seen them all briefly since the beginning of October and miss them dearly. Andy's dad will be at their house too. He will be going to Russia on a long term volunteer assignment, and we will kind of working together. Its super exciting because I havent seen him since our trip to Russia last spring, and we will get to finally catch up and talk about some details. Also, on Thanksgiving day I will be over at the McKays house with some church family. I pumped about this, because Thanksgiving is always awesome, and my church family is awesome too! (I will miss my real family, of course!!)

As for my Russia missions and co-op trip, Ive been getting a slow intake of information. Yesterday I had a meeting with JWU Career Development about the JWU side of the co-op. It was informative and I cant wait to get more details to them! Also, because I will be getting credit for the co-op I have to complete different projects, one being a 30 page paper. But after she explained it to me, I do not feel intimidated by this, more excited than anything. My co-op Advisor is really excited for me, and told me that I am the only student going abroad for my internship during spring trimester. Also, emails have been sent my way about different conversations that are taking place between Russia and the International Missions Board office, which is cool for me to see. It shows me how many people are involved in this process, as well as the fact that things are being developed and worked out for my arrival. Very tentatively, I will be living in an apartment as well as getting my own Russian cell phone. I will also being helping to lead an "English Club" although that term is still kind of vague in my mind.

Sometimes I wonder what in the heck I am thinking, peacing out for three months and living in a country where I can barely communicate and have no close friends or comforts. Then I realize that God seriously is in complete control and I need not worry. Since day one of this whole process, His hands have been evident and giving much favor. As I look back on this past year, I thank Him for everything He has brought me through and cherish what a loving God He truly is.

Thats all for now=)

Death at JWU Providence Update 1

 *This is just me being curious and investigative. I possess no power or authority in the situation. In respect for this whole issue, feel free not to leave any rude comments.*

At this current time I have no more news that what I had last night. There are still alot of rumors going around and it is impossible at this time to reliably figure out anything specific like cause of death or who specifically found her.

I received this email from JWU:
-----------------------------------
To: Providence Campus Community
From: Ronald Martel, Ph.D.
Vice President, Student Affairs

Date: October 28, 2009
Re Bereavement Notice of JWU Student



It is with sadness that I inform you of the sudden passing of Johnson & Wales University student, Franki Triano. Franki, who is from Leawood, Kansas, recently transferred from the Charlotte Campus to Providence as a student in our College of Business.

 I have spoken to her family and have extended the thoughts and prayers of our community.

 For those who need support during this difficult time, campus counseling services are available at
401-598-1016.

At this time, the university does not know the cause of death.
 ---------------------------

I am pretty sure that no one else was in any way injured or hurt. I also know that JWU and Residential Life are doing everything they can to create a peaceful, safe, and healthy environment for students at the Cove, also university wide.  They also took many precautions to protect students from witnessing anything graphic regarding the police investigation.

As I hear new develoments I will be posting them here.

Death at JWU Providence

 *This is just me being curious and investigative. I possess no power or authority in the situation. In respect for this whole issue, feel free not to leave any rude comments.*

Hey all. So quick update. This evenning I found out that a student from the Johnson & Wales University's Providence campus has died unexpectedly tonight. There are alot of rumors going around right now but the actual death has been reported through many trusted sources as being true.

Please pray for the family, as they are still being notified. Also pray for the students roommates.

Im not sure if she lived in the residence hall known as "The Cove" but I know that is where everything went down tonight.  I know that students residing in the Cove have had floor meetings, and that people are not allowed back in for the night if they weren't already there when the incident happened.

In the next 24 hours JWU will be sending out a network wide email with as many details as they deem necessary to share. Just from the people that I have talked to tonight, the whole campus is starting to become quite shaken by the situation.

Pray. and I will keep updating as I find out news.

Experience New England: Whoa, what a rush

So this past weekend my friends visited me. I havent seen them since March, and its been a long time coming. I honestly cant believe they made it here, and I was so excited to see it happen. Bryan, Janelle, and Casey left New York around 10pm Wednesday night and arrived here in Providence about 5amish. We slept for a lonnngg time and got our day started around 3pm. haha. We went to Trader Joes, played with some puppies at the Rumford Animal Store, and did random running around. We made a huge dinner of broccoli lo mein and Beef on Weck and Matt, Jon, and Eileen were able to join us! Friday we headed up to Boston to do some exploring. We ended up walking alot of the Freedom trail and discovered the Boston Green Festival going on! It was a bunch of tents and displays all set up in Gov't Center. There were free samples of all sorts of tasty "green" foods, as well as live music, and nice people. Im pretty sure it was about 3000 degrees in Boston. Everyone was sweating and it was kinda nasty. But oh well. We walked over the the North End and ate some delights at Mike's Pastrys, went to the Old North Church, and Found an awesome farmers market and water fountain to play in!

Saturday we went to the Beach somewhere in Middletown RI. I think it might have been an illegal beach, as we got a parking ticket, and no one else was really at that area. But.. oh well. It was fun and being in the water was absolutely awesome. Afterwards we drove down Ocean Drive through Newport and saw all the swanky houses. We came back, and I had to go to freaking work at the crabshack, and waterfire was that night, so I went to work and met up with my friends later after I closed. Then we walked to Waterfire and met up with a buttload of other people.

Sunday we woke up, went to church, came home, ate glorious delights of eggplant, mushrooms, feta, onions, bacon, and peppers on a sandwhich. Oh my Lord. Good job Casey. Then we rested, made some guacamole to bring to Bible Study and headed over there. After that we drove around Providence, went to a little indian store, and ended up at India Point Park (where else would I end up?). And that was fun. Until we heard gunshots and we headed back.

They left this morning and I'm sad. It was good to see them though, and combine Providence with Lockporty times. I loved that we've kept in touch so well that it wasnt necessary to have huge ridiculous intense times, but it was just like hanging out back home in Bryan's basement.

We actually set up a lair in my living room, pulled in the extra matress, unfolded the futon, and we basically camped in there the whole time. It was soo blazing hot.

Ahh. So fun times. =) I love my friends.

I know its 3am, but...

Ive been a little obsessive lately. What now you ask? Well, for some reason, Ive fervently been on a webtrail of other New England/RI bloggers. (actually some upstate NY people too..). For some reason, stumbling onto a new website or blog thats about life in Rhodey just gets me really excited.. Its interesting to see how others live their lives. Its interesting to see where other people spend their time or the little places they like to hang out. Maybe its my way of finding my own sort of Bekaj in Rhode Island.

Pause.. what is Bekaj? Well, first of all, it represents a place that ONLY a local would ever find. Someone who totally knows the area and stumbled upon it in their wanderings. Second, more specifically, it is the place in Lockport New York along State St in the undeveloped land next to the Erie Canal that Breanna, Ember, Kailey, Me and Jorin discovered one spring afternoon while wandering around. It was a rocky outcropping hidden among brush and trees, set back from the road along a dirt bike trail. We would go there and play random games, feeling a sort of secret camaraderie. Sometimes we would bring our dogs there, or I even remember bringing fellow classmates down there. That parcel of land next to the canal holds so many ridiculous memories for a kid. After Kodey was healed from breaking his leg/hip I would take him down there and run with him. We had a trail, we had a routine, and we would run the whole length, from the end of Minard st all the way to the Summit St bar. I remember one summer we were both able to run there and back- about 1.2 miles. That was the best summer of my life. I think the end of 9th grade. Jorin and I also had many memories down there searching for the ominous hobo Joe. Nate, Killian, Steffan, or Kt would join us in our quests over abandoned bridges and through back woods to find Hobo Joe. Sometimes we found traces of him. Jorin and I even found an abandoned dock once.
But thats what Im talking about. Places that the average tourist or student resident would never find. These people's websites and blogs seem to offer me clues of where to go. Piece by piece of where I need to explore, a puzzle letting me know where has already been discovered, and where I need to forge ahead to find my own littly rhodey Bekaj. For some reason I have such a strong urge to find that place. That place where I can go and run. Where I feel secret camaraderie, that place less travelled, less exposed to the public eye, to bring friends, find secret hobos. Its an urge made stronger by my natural curiousity and wanderlust as well as my love for all things local and new. Some places I have been excited to find already have been the Cemetery between North Main and Branch. There are hills, secret temples, and a lake all hidden from street view. Also, India Point Park. Surely many know about it, but I always get excited to go there, having discovered its jungle gym glory one night while galavanting with my friend Alex.
There are a few other leads... more to come..


BTW, speaking of local blogs and neighborhoods and whatnot, see some of my pics here GC:P National Night Out  and here  GC:P Smith Hill