1/2 Way!

Well, well, well - here I am again, finally. It's these times where I think that I probably shouldn't have a blog, because it's pointless if I don't keep it up-to-date. Hmm, what do you think? As for now, I'm just going to share some random thoughts and maybe (?) I'll be a little more thorough later. It's chilly in Berkeley! I did buy a good winter coat though so that helps. I've been crocheting occasionally - making some gifts. . .though it's really hard to find the time. I'll be finishing a project after typing this because tomorrow I'm having brunch with a friend (at a place that sells banana pancakes with chocolate drizzled on top, sounds so amazing!) and we're exchanging gifts then. Fun! This morning I "skyped" (online phone call with video) with a former Cal student/friend in East Asia. She's on STINT and it was so amazing to see her, hear her voice, and share our lives with each other again. We were support raising buddies in the central valley this summer and she's a huge blessing. I got to hang out with 2 awesome Crusade San Fran interns that I went to college with last weekend. We had Thai food and then saw the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". Please see it, that's all I have to say. This week has consisted of wrapping up on campus and ending out my small group Bible studies for the semester. This included my first time eating sushi on Monday night with my freshmen (no thanks) and chocolate fondue with my sophomores (yes please). We as a new staff team who have no history at Cal are learning a lot and are realizing that this week before finals is very stressful for students and that even a short hangout can be too much to ask for - we'll probably be doing our fun wrap-up times the week before dead week next semester. So different then at Cal Poly. . .where memories of finals week included going to the beach, fun hangouts with friends, and a free schedule. It's hard to believe that my first year here is already half way done! Well, we as staff spent the rest of the week evaluating, planning, and prepping for next semester. These meetings were long but actually very energizing - I am so excited about where God is leading us and it's fun to implement change in light of that. A new role that I will have next semester is the leading/coaching of our weekly Thursday night meetings (which will actually be happening weekly from here on out!). This is a role I had in Santa Monica (summer project) as well and I really enjoyed it. This includes mapping out the night, coaching the MC on what to say, making sure we have a well-stocked info table, delegating student to various roles (worship leading, name-tag making, tech, etc), as well as encouraging and thanking all those that played a role in the meeting afterwards. Looking forward to this and a lot more too! Well, off to send lots of Christmas cards, finish my crocheting project, and then I'm going to bundle up because I'm going ice skating in the city with friends from church. Thanks for reading!