Writing Tips

I love to write- but I can never think of things to write about. I have spent much of my life starting but never finishing diaries and journals. I would usually last about a week writing every day, but then either get bored or impatient or run out of things to say. I bought this book called "The Pocket Muse- Endless Inspiration" by Monica Wood. It is a book filled with ideas of things to write about. I thought I would post some of the ideas in there if any of you have the same problem that I do. So here are some ideas:

Open an imaginary door. What do you see?
Write about something on the verge of collapse: building, bridge, marriage, contest, institution, alliance, certainty.
Write about the last piece of something- pie, real estate posterity- and the two people who want it.
Write about a household item that becomes the source of a family war.
Whats the most you ever paid for something you didn't want? Why?
Recount the history of a vehicle you once loved.
Write about somebody else's mortification.
Write about a friendship that failed you. Write about a friendship that you failed.
Write about confinement: physical or mental, welcome or unwelcome, imaginary or real.
Write about a man seeking safety from a woman who is not safe.
Write about the one who can't resist applause.
Write about the one who got away- and regretted it.
Who told the stories in your family? Why them?
Write about the last time you jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Write about a glad-handy blowhard who meets his match.
Write about a human system whose key person has just checked out.
Write about someone who misinterprets a compliment.
Write about finally giving in.
Write in the voice of someone talking absurdly fast. Why the big hurry?
Write about a fragile connection.
Write about something useless and beautiful.
Write about a pet with a job.
Write about the first day of your last job. Write about the last day of your first job.
What if you finally did what you've always wanted to do?
Write about stinginess disguised as generosity.
Write about the elephant in the room.
Write about the last time you conversed with a stranger.
Write about an outsider in a convention of fanatics: trekkies, barbie collectors,etc.
Write about a guessing game that goes wrong.
Write about the day before the disaster.
Write about a journey with an uncertain destination.
Write as sympathetically as you can about someone who gives you the heebie-jeebies.
Write about two people trying to fit into a space (physical or metaphorical) meant for one.
Write about someone who accidentally destroys something irreplaceable.
Write about the first one to quit.
Write about a delivery that goes astray.
Start with the day that was different.
Write about what got left behind on purpose. Write about what got left behind by accident.
Write about a beautiful evening ruined by a bad joke.
Write about a painful loyalty.
Write about the first guy in line.
Write about discovering an unexpected vice in someone you thought you knew well.
Write about the painting beneath the painting.
Write about a collection that pleases one person and enrages another.
Write about a found book that changes everything.
Three people. A cold morning. One vacant movie house.
Write about a shocking discovery (not a body) in a fallow field.
Write a scene in which a woman, under no threat of bodily harm, is forced to empty her purse.
A woman on a beach, dressed in black, shouting a single word into the ocean.
Begin with a smell that brings it all back.

week summary

Last week was quite a busy week at crah, as usual. Monday it was FREEZING!!!!!!! It was 15 degrees outside, and windy! I worked on metal studs that day. It was actually really fun- I went in the scissor lift and worked on scaffolding the whole day, so I didn't even get dirty... for once:-) But my face felt like it was being poked with needles all day. I really like metal stud work though!
On Friday, I worked with the Masonry crew, and it was so exciting, because instead of just being a tender to the experienced masons, I was laying block! It was so much fun. Brother John Kimmel took me under his wing and was giving me advice and help- what an excellent teacher. Actually, some of you peeps back home might know him- he used to live in Vista a long time ago and was in the Foothill Congregation! We spent a lot of time talking about people we both know. He knows the Hammers and Bradshaws and people like that.
On Saturday I was a tender to the second masonry class going on- I took a lot of pictures for brother Sabin and helped refill mortar when people needed it. I also worked with Linda Pulliam for a large part of the day- we build a brick wall together. She and I go way back- we were buddies when we both used to work in the kitchen. We've come a long way, Linda! :-)
One great thing about this weekend was that I was actually able to socialize with people after the workdays- I don't normally get to do that because I always have to leave and go do my secular work. But not this time! Friday night was family game night- we played a bunch of board games. I played Taboo and... I can't remember the name of the other one. The one where you have cards that say wheat/barley/corn, etc. and you yell out "Two! One! Three!" Anyone remember the name of that one? Then Saturday night a group of us went out to eat at this Italian Market nearby. They had gelato too- yum.
Another important thing that happened this week- we had our last bookstudy! It was so bittersweet. I am happy for the new arrangement, but I will miss going to bros ans sis houses and hearing all the really personal comments. We had our last goodynight:-(
I have come to a realization recently. I am horrible and guessing people's ages. At CRAH, if a person is in their forties, I think they are 29ish. If they are 17/18 I think they are 24. Man, Kelsi, get it together!

Pioneer Meeting

Last night was our congregation pioneer meeting. I look forward to this every year, because our elders really go out of their way to show their appreciation to the pioneers. We really feel loved! The meeting was encouraging as always, but one thing I found interesting was our discussion of the difference between understanding and insight. Here are the definitions:

Understanding: 1) Mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation. 2) knowledge or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something.
Insight: 1) an instance of apprehending the true nature of the thing, esp. through intuitive understanding. 2) Penetrating mental vision or discernment; faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying truth.

I never thought about the difference between those two words before. The theme of the meeting was using insight in our ministry, when we deal with those in the congregation, and in handling personal matters.

After the meeting, we went to the Najjar's house for dinner. The elders all pitched in and got us gift bags with useful things we would need as pioneers. They also made little framed "Certificates of Appreciation" for our years in the pioneer service. We felt so special:-) Thank you elder body!

carpentry skills

Today at CRAH a brother asked me and three other sisters if we could make four tables for him 3'by3'by3'. And thats all the direction he gave us! We made the tables all by ourselves! We used a saw to cut our wood, and nailed them together. I am so proud of our tables! They are very sturdy- we proved it by standing on them:-)

Excuse the quality of the pics- I was using my cell phone.

Hot sauce packet of love!

I drove through taco bell for dinner tonight because I was in a hurry and it is right by my house. When I took out my hot sauce packet to put it on my taco, I saw that it says "Will you marry me?" on it. Maybe Taco Bell has some new ad campaign going on that I don't know about, but... what the heck? Do they think someone is going to use that idea to propose? I can imagine it now:

Bob and Susan get ready for an evening out. Susan senses that this is a very special date, so she makes sure to dress up and get her hair done. Bob picks her up at 7pm sharp. He hands her a rose before they walk to his car. "Oh how romantic," says Susan. As they drive to the restaurant, Susan wonders what kind of classy place he made a reservation at. Mortons? Some fancy place downtown maybe? She closes her eyes and dreams of roast duck with mango salsa, accompanied by a very expensive bottle of wine. She imagines her family and friends hiding somewhere so they can surprise them after he pops the question. Just while she is imagining the beautiful diamond ring glittering in the candlelight, their car stops. They have arrived! At... TACO BELL? Susan is in disbelief and shock. When Bob asks her what she'd like to order, she tells him to choose for her because she cannot speak. TACO BELL? As they sit and eat their grease laden tacos, Bob seems a little nervous about something. He starts to talk about the fun times they've had. He talks about how much he cares about her. Then he looks at her in the eyes with a little grin on his face. Susan uncomfortably looks down at the table. Suddenly she sees Bob's hand slowly passing over something across the table. It is a hot sauce packet. On the hot sauce packet are those four little words Susan has been waiting so long to hear... Will you marry me?

Pretty pathetic, right? I guess it could be a good story they could tell their children. They could frame the hot sauce packet and put it on the wall. When people ask "Why do you have a Taco Bell hot sauce packet framed on your wall?" They could answer, "That's not just ANY hot sauce packet. That's the hot sauce packet of love."

Masonry Class!

What a weekend! On Saturday and Sunday I was part of a masonry class at CRAH. SO much fun, and we learned so much! We all had to bring our own trowels and jointers- more tools to add to my collection now:-) Mason Sabin was our instructor, with the help of Joe Hinks and Brother Davis. These guys are pros- they have been doing brick laying for years.
The first thing we did was walk around the residence building and try to point out any mistakes we could see. (of course, we had no idea what mistakes were at that point) so we tried. "Um... I think that that brick is crooked? Or that joint is too fat?" That was about the best I could do- haha! Then we had a safety meeting and he explained a bunch of new vocabulary to us. Then we broke into groups and practiced our trowel technique. We practiced getting the right amount of mortar on our trowels (its all in the wrist!) and laying it down for the bed joint. Then we practiced buttering our bricks for the head joints and bed joints. After lots of practicing, we started to get it- I never realized how much finesse it takes.
Then came the big one- we broke into groups of two and built our own brick walls. We had to make sure they were even with the string line, make sure we didn't roll our bricks. We left a space in the center where a control joint would go (that is a space they would fill with caulking). We also inserted weepies which would let water out. And we had to make sure there were no shiners- thats if you put a brick in backwards. Woohoo, I actually remember some of the vocabulary!
At the end of day two we walked around the residence building again and pointed out the mistakes. This time we knew what to look for. Our eyes had been opened! I will never look at a brick wall the same way again.
What a fun class- at the end, we kind of felt like pioneer school was over. We were sad to part- we were like a little brick laying family. Some funny sayings of the weekend: "I want to hear the sweet sound of scraping!" "Mortar and steel=no deal, mortar and wood=no good."
I am so ready to build this assembly hall. Thousands of bricks to be layed? Bring it on!

International convention

My family and I are going to the international convention in Austria in August 2009. I am getting really excited, because we just got our package choices, and we decided we want to go to Vienna and then Paris, France! Woohoo! While in Austria, we are going to visit a bunch of family we have there that I have never met. I wonder if they will look related to us? That will be weird. I went to Barnes and Noble today and got a few things to help me prepare. I need to brush up on my German and French! I also got a big map that I hung in my office and put pushpins on it of where I have been. I can't wait to add more!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH so excited.

Safety First!

This letter is read every morning at CRAH. I have it memorized now!

Pretty intense!

I got this as an email from a friend, and I am going to try to do it.

SUGGESTED PERSONAL STUDY SCHEDULE:

This personal study schedule will really help those of us who are organizationally challenged. Don't expect to do all of the study for each day in one setting. Space it throughout the day where necessary. This lists everything you would like to do over the period of one week.

1. Daily Bible Reading and Daily Text (20 min.)

2. Read Watchtower or Awake! (15 min.)

3. Prepare for Watchtower Study (1 hr.)

4. Prepare for the Congregation Book Study (1 hr.)

5. Prepare for TMS and SM (1 hr.)

6. Read New Releases, Year Book (15 min. 3x week)

7. Personal study [Not Meeting Preparation] (1 hr)

BREAK IT DOWN INTO THE TASK TO BE DONE EACH DAY:

Monday 1, 2, 4 1 hour 30 minutes

Tuesday 1, 6 35 minutes

Wednesday 1, 2, 5 1 hour, 35 minutes

Thursday 1, 6 35 minutes

Friday 1, 2, 6 50 minutes

Saturday 1, 2, 3 1 hour, 35 minutes

Sunday 1, 2, 7 1 hour, 35 minutes

WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN JUST 1 TO 1.5 HOURS PER DAY:

• § One Magazine read each week

• § Up to date with all new releases

• § Prepared for all the meetings

• § The Bible read in one year

It's G!

Hey everyone, it's G! Yeah, thats my new nickname. More about that later.

So today at CRAH I worked on waterproofing again, and yes, got VERY sticky again. I actually had to cut some adhesive out of my hair when I got home- hopefully it isn't noticeable! We had a fun team. It was all sisters except poor Vincent and our overseer Mason Sabin. But us girls were having a blast- Cassy, Amy, Kellyn, Brittney and me.
I made sure to take a lot of pics today. We are really making progress! The rest of the steel is going up for the lobby and where the offices and behind the stage will be. On Monday and Wednesday I helped pour the concrete for the stage! Parts of the roof are going up, and the metal studs for the walls are going up too. It seems like it is moving so fast now that we are above ground.
Today at lunch all of us girls were deciding who looks like what animal. Don't ask me how that started, but here is what we all agreed: Felita is a chipmunk, Amy is a koala, Cassy is a lioness, Kellyn is a gazelle, and I am a giraffe. Yeah... I don't know how I feel about mine. But they said I was a cute giraffe like the Toys R Us one. His name is Geoffrey. And that is how I got the nickname G:-) I like the nickname, and maybe I will just get used to the fact that I look like a giraffe!

Pic descriptions (may be out of order): 1) Jessica Dokey and I 2) Our waterproofing crew 3) My adhesive roller stuck to my glove 4) Amy, Me and Cassy 5) Metal stud wall with a scissor lift 6) Everyone at lunch starting from left to right: Felita, Amy, Cassy, Me Kellyn, Nikki 7) Geoffrey the Toys R Us giraffe

new addition

New addition to the visitors list: my sister Kaleena is coming in April! She will be going to my memorial with me:-) And we will be going to 2 baseball games!

Comment!

I am constantly finding out that people are reading my blog, and I had no idea. Make your presence known, people! Leave a comment:-) Especially you people in Cali- communicating with you is the reason I made this blog in the first place. Hope to hear from you soon!

Super fun day:-)

Today was just a fabulous day, and I felt the need to blog about it. I went to CRAH, and worked on waterproofing the block again. I pretty much spent the whole day with two sisters that are becoming my good friends- Amy Archuleta and Cassie Hirmer. It is so refreshing to hang out with them, because they are both single pioneer sisters, and we have a lot in common. (I should have taken a pic of us. Darn!) We spent the whole day talking while we worked, and spent a good two hours singing kingdom melodies. Amy has this amazing memory, where you can say, "What is Song 88?" and she'll say "oh, thats Prayer of Jehovah's Servant" and be able to sing it and know most of the words. So we tested her knowledge and sang a ton of songs:-) Fun!
I worked until dinner, which I never get to do, because normally I have to drive home and do my secular work. But I had today off. After dinner, the brothers brought out a ping pong table and we played- one of these days I will beat Jerry! Amy used to be a hairdresser, and she brought her tools today and gave Cassie a haircut. During the haircut, Cassie and I were practicing harmonizing. We sang "You are my sunshine" and after a few failed attempts, we got it down! We are next going to try to figure out how to harmonize "More than words." Its a work in progress:-)
I have been trying to get more people from my hall to come work at CRAH. It is so hard to describe the amazing feeling you get after working there. I dont think people can really "get it" until they've worked there. It is literally like spending a day in the new world. Working shoulder to shoulder with all types of brothers and sisters, where everyone is so excited and happy to be there, and everyone swaps stories and helps each other out. You meet so many people- people who have similar goals and have done amazing things in Jehovah's service. These people really are the "cream of the crop"! Some of my favorite parts are morning worship and experiences at lunch. We do the text in the morning like they do at Bethel, and at lunch they will have a new experience shared each day. Some of them have been amazing, touching stories involving people that are right there at CRAH! Whenever I work there, I completely forget about any problems or stresses I have going on in my life, and just enjoy the experience. Its like you get to escape from normal life for a while. I think the best thing is that everyone there knows that we are right in the middle of one of those life changing experiences we will never forget for the rest of our lives. We have made new friendships that we will keep forever, have learned new things and attained new skills that will only give us more opportunities to reach out in the future. And we will have awesome memories from the 2 years where we devoted so much time to help build a place of worship for Jehovah.

Ok, I know that was a little wordy- but I just felt inspired:-)

Service Schedule

A few people have asked me what my service schedule is. Well, lately I haven't had a regular one- I've just gone out when I'm not at CRAH. Well, good news- I am now going to have a set schedule! YAY! I will be going to CRAH every mon,wed, and fri every week. (They put me on the "regulars" list.) So my service days will now be tues, thurs, and sat. Lets make plans!

I'm a scarecrow!

Today at CRAH I helped with Masonry again, and we were waterproofing the brick we laid a few days ago. We used this really sticky adhesive, and later we used this stuff that was like tar- so you can imagine how filthy, sticky, and grimy I was. I got a ton of that sticky stuff all over my clothes, and then I would kneel down to work some more and get hay stuck to myself (the ground where we were working was covered in it.) I decided to take a pic of myself looking like a scarecrow since I was already halfway there:-) I just had to stuff some in my sleeves and hat. For some reason, after a long days work, I am always the messiest one on the crew...

Something kind of cool: I learned how to operate a scissor lift today!

Masonry in the snow!

So today I worked at CRAH again and helped out with masonry- back breaking work, but really fun. It was FREEZING today. On and off it would start snowing, during which I would get very excited and do a little "its snowing" dance. (yes, I know, I am a dork:-) Pretty soon every time it would start snowing the people working with me would say "um, Kelsi, its snowing, aren't you forgetting something?" and then would expect me to dance. I guess we all get a little goofy when it is so cold. Leah, if you are reading this- I was like the performing seal;-) Here are a few pics of us working, including a shot of the steel that recently went up! Wow, it is actually a structure now! Also a pic of me doing one of my snow dances.

"The Stare"

I love period movies. Something about the polite manners, very subtle innuendo, and romance of it all is so intriguing to me. I love how in those movies it is all about what is not said. So much is said with a look. However, sometimes I think they go a little overboard with the looks. Tami and I were talking about this movie she saw on TV which was a period film set in Russia, and it was about this girl who was madly in love with this guy who didn't give her the time of day. Typical unrequited love story: I love them. But she said the entire movie she was waiting and waiting for something to happen, but the girl basically stared at him longingly for the entire movie! She said they finally talked towards the end of the movie, but nothing happened! No dramatic kiss, tears, maybe some good yelling or something, nothing! I mean, come on! Wasting two hours of you life watching people stare at each other? I decided that I would be very good at acting in one of those movies. I can stare pretty well, don't you think?

Visitors!

I am so excited, because starting in January some people will be coming to visit me here in Maryland! In January, Kaitlin is coming. Then in February, Melanie will be here. Then in March, Jenny will stop by before she goes to Ireland! It will be so nice to have some long time peeps here. Ahhh... to be around people who think like me. Nothing against you Marylanders, of course;-) Here are some old pics of the girls that are coming:

Amos Lee

Monday night Natalia and I went to an Amos Lee concert at 930 club in D.C. He is such a talented musician! We met up with Aaron Stapley there and his sister Summer and her husband. The guy that opened for Amos is named Mutlu- he was pretty good. He sang a funny song about board games, and it was very "Justin Timberlake" in style. Amos has a soulful voice. I tried to attach a video- but it was taking FOREVER! And all my pictures came out blurry, because there was no flash photography allowed. So here is a link to his video for "Shout Out Loud."
Also, here is the board games song being sung by Mutlu (also from the internet)

good quote

I love this quote. I don't know who originally said it, but it is a great one for all of my fellow single sisters out there!

"Girls are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The boys don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think that something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree."

A visitor

So Justin Moreno flew over from Visalia, CA to MD to help at Crownsville- he is one of the engineers on the project. He was there to inspect all the work we've been doing. Our schedules didn't mesh to hang out, but we had fun eating lunch together and catching up on site. It was great to see an old family friend!

View from my balcony

I took a couple pics of the sunset. Gorgeous!

Crownsville and my famous art

Last week was a crazy Crownsville week! I worked three days in a row, thurs, fri and sat. Jaclyn came with me on Thurs and Sat. I am so happy because they are no longer assigning me to work in food service! Woohoo! The pics of the two burns on my arm is from the huge grill in the kitchen. They are grease splatter burns. At least now I wont be getting any more:-) On thursday they had a huge cement pour- about 23 cement trucks came. I wore my new knee high cement boots and learned how to finish the cement. Then friday and saturday I helped with carpentry and also learned how to tie rebar. I also did some landscaping again.
So my cute hard hat is sort of a sensation now, so I have sisters asking me to decorate their hats also. I now have a waiting list of hats to do. Here are some I did- one with butterflies, another with orchids. Another sister wants a jungle scene with monkeys. I should start charging or something:-)

Strange (but cool) encounters

So today I worked at Crownsville again, and it was a pretty normal day- get up at 3:30am, leave my house at 4:15, get to the site at 5:30 and work till 2. At breakfast, I noticed a brother across the dining hut and did a double take. Could that be Byron Deitrich? It was!!!!! I walked over and said hi, and Byron freaked out, he was so surprised and excited. He is a brother who was in my congregation when we lived in Visalia when I was 7yrs old! His daughter Amy and I were best friends when we were little! I have not seen him in probably 10-12 years at least. That was so cool and strange! I guess assembly hall builds attract people from all over. He was updating me on how his family is doing- Amy is doing good, his son Hans is doing good. Hans in in Germany right now helping out an English group. I thought, wow, that is so weird that a nerdy kid who used to play barbies with us is now an adult and living in Germany! He fits right in, I bet- I mean, his name is Hans:-)
Anyway, I just thought that encounter was kind of cool. It is such a small world in Jehovah's organization.

Visit from the Parental Units

My mom and dad flew over to visit for the weekend- it was mostly for work stuff, but we went to Baltmore on Sunday and had some fun. We walked around the harbor and did some shopping, and we went to the aquarium. Here are some pics! Love you mom & dad, your visit was way too short!

1yr anniversary

So last Tuesday was my one year being in Maryland anniversary. Jaclyn and Jen came over and dropped of a present for me- they are so sweet! They got me a cake and The Office DVD board game! Woohoo! Now I need to have an Office party.

Assembly Hall Build

So since late March/Early April I have been working on an Assembly hall build in Crownsville Maryland. They basically bulldozed the old one and are building an entirely new one! I have been working at least one day a week in the Food service dept, but I have also helped out with landscaping, insulation and carpentry. It is so much fun, and I have met a ton of people! A few weeks ago I took some pictures, so here are some of the brothers putting the roof on the residence building they are making for the C.O. and D.O to live. The 2nd pic is the dining room. Also, my beautiful hard hat that I decorated myself:-)

Congregation dance party

So a couple of weeks ago our congregation had a dance party. It was pretty fun! Here are a few pics. John Nelson was surrounded by a group of teenage girls the whole time- probably because he dances like a "cool black guy" :-) A group of little girls did a routine that they put together. Natalia and I arrived in style- we rode in her dad's convertable. And this is a pic of me and Erica Ross- she is in my bookstudy and one of the only other single girls my age in our hall!