Why not?

This post serves only the purpose of informing Sam that, yes, they do indeed say "Why not Minot?" in Minot, North Dakota. Who knew?

- Lauren :o)

The countdown is ON!

14 days and counting! Fiona and Sam, Hutt Valley High School... the Canadian is coming your way in only 2 weeks!

An IMC update!

After nearly a 2-week hiatus, kiwilauren is back with an update! I'm on my day off from IMC right now, and I'm sitting in the Sleep Inn in Minot, North Dakota, where they offer free internet use to anyone (this is awesome, as I have only $5 USD left for supper tonight - the rest of my money is Canadian).

Camp is awesome awesome awesome!!!! I'm having tons of fun, meeting tons of new people, and catching up with tons of old friends. :o) The girls in my dorm are cool, and everybody's having a good time so far. The time is flying by - I'll be leaving for New Zealand in only 3 weeks and 2 days! Outrageous.

I'd better keep this short, as I need to get off the computer asap. They ask you to limit your internet time to 30 minutes, and I've been on for 55 already. More updates to come on future days off! :o)

50 things for "About the Author" link

Sam inspired me to do an "About the Author" link on my blog. I had fun coming up with 50 random facts about myself, so here they are, in no particular order:

1. I can be too trusting. My mom affectionately refers to me as a golden retriever puppy – always wanting to believe that everyone is good, and that nobody would ever intentionally hurt me. I’m getting better at judging character as I get older, but I still have the tendency to trust people unless they prove to me that they can’t be trusted.
2. I call my grandpa “Bobby” because that’s what my sister called him when she couldn’t say “grandpa.”
3. When I was in grade 2, I tripped over my sister as we were both running up the stairs. I hit the corner of the wall, and got 7 stitches down the middle of my face. My grandparents were visiting at the time, and we sent Bobby (see #2) to the hospital with me. He’s an artist. We left my grandma, Connie, the nurse, at home. Go figure.
4. I always sign my name with an 8^th note at the end.
5. I have that same 8^th note tattooed on my left foot. It took me 6 years to actually decide to do it.
6. I have played every drinking straw that I’ve ever had in the past 8 ½ years like a slide whistle. If you’ve ever gone out for a drink with me, you’ve probably seen this.
7. My toenails are always painted.
8. I was not a naturally talented singer. I had to work very hard for my voice. As such, it is one of my pet peeves when someone says, “You’re so lucky that you have such a natural talent.” No, I have determination and a strong work ethic.
9. I also have asthma. It is easily controlled.
10. For 2 years, I played a saxophone in sax choir that was almost as tall as I was. My back and shoulders ultimately made me give it up, but it was fun while it lasted (for the record, the saxophone in question was the bass sax).
11. I am a physical clone of my dad, and an emotional clone of my mom.
12. I have an older sister whom I love dearly, despite all of her attempts to fool me as a child. She once told me that a “family reunion” was a type of domestic pet, closely related to the dog.
13. I love to write poetry, but I don’t do enough of it anymore.
14. I’m a better baker than a cook.
15. I want to have children. One of my greatest fears is that somehow I will be unable to have my own biological children. There is no reason for this fear, yet it’s still there way in the back of my mind.
16. I used to speed skate. My skin suit had the World Industries devil on the back. Perhaps then it is no coincidence that my best race was the 666m.
17. I love ghost stories, even if they make me crawl into bed with my parents at age 16.
18. I take pictures of everything. I wish I knew more about photography.
19. One of my fondest childhood memories is watching Saturday morning cartoons while my dad made Mickey Mouse pancakes.
20. Age is just a number to me. Every stage of life can be beautiful in its own way, if you choose to see the beauty in it instead of focusing on your age.
21. I rip my fabric softener sheets in half when I put my laundry in the dryer. Half a Bounce sheet does the trick, and it saves money (see #46).
22. I’m allergic to animals, kiwi fruit, pollen, sulfa, and maybe plastic band-aids (I have a weird little scar where I put a plastic band-aid on once).
23. I wish I could compose music in the style of Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Jason Mraz, etc.
24. I have a very girly taste in alcohol. Kahlua is my drink of choice, either in the form of Paralyzers or Brown Cows.
25. For many years, my family would go on a ski trip to the mountains during February break, usually to Alberta, BC, or Montana. My dad would always make his world-famous pizza the night before, then my parents would pick my sister and me up from school at noon so that we could get on the road early. We’d be all excited, and then year after year, without fail, we’d have van trouble and we’d have to devise some ridiculous scheme to get the required car part. The most memorable one for me was the time mom and dad had an alternator or something like that shipped on a Greyhound bus that was going to be passing through Cereal, Alberta at like 3am, so they made arrangements to be waiting on the side of the highway in the van, and they flashed their brights when they saw the bus approaching so that the bus would stop and they’d get the alternator. Despite the travel delays and the excess spending of money to fix these problems, we always laughed about it.
26. If I can help it, I will never go to bed angry at someone. Sometimes this means staying up until 4am.
27. I have a low tolerance for pain, yet I have a tattoo (see #5) and 5 piercings, not including my earlobes.
28. I can play multiple instruments, but somehow I’ve never been good at the piano.
29. Traveling amazes me. No matter how far removed you become from your home in terms of geography, culture, or language, you still find people who are exactly like you. I’ve found that music seems to be the common denominator, probably because most of my travel experience has been with choir.
30. I keep a pair of slippers in my locker at school, and I’ve worn them to class so often in the past 4 years that very few of my profs comment on their outrageously shocking neon yellow/green colour anymore.
31. It’s my ultimate goal in life to pull my debit card out of the ATM before it beeps. I’ve been trying for years, with no success so far.
32. I view glasses as a fashion statement. So far I’ve owned pairs in black, deep red, semi-rimless, and now purple and orange with rhinestones.
33. I was a very persistent and determined child, which was tiring for my parents at times. Fortunately, they didn’t stifle my determination, because now when I want something I will work my butt off to get it (see #8).
34. I got 99% in Jazz History in my 3^rd year of university, and I cried because I thought I was going to get 100%. I didn’t realize the absurdity of this reaction until much later.
35. I love to sing along with Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of “Blue Skies” while I’m driving. I’ve done it often enough that I have almost aurally transcribed her entire scat solo.
36. When I need time to be alone with my thoughts, I love to go for long walks with an Ipod full of good tunes. Walking at night is better than during the day.
37. Marshmallows taste better frozen.
38. Inside jokes make my world go around.
39. I hate spiders with a passion. This stemmed from an incident when I was 16 in which I was on a canoe trip on the Churchill River, and I discovered a big, fat, hairy black spider crawling inside my bra, between my boobs. I’ve never screamed so loud in my entire life.
40. My mom and I are very intuitively connected. Often I’ll come home after a long day at school, and as soon as I sit down at the computer she’ll e-mail me. Sometimes I’ll call her at work, and she’ll answer, saying, “I just had my hand on the phone, about to pick it up and call you.”
41. They say procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. I’ve almost mastered this art.
42. I get great satisfaction from hitting the snooze button on my alarm.
43. I have been known to sleepwalk when I am extremely overtired. This has only happened a handful of times in my life.
44. Despite #42, I am a natural morning person.
45. Astronomy fascinates me, but I know very little about the topic. I find the expansiveness of the universe entirely mind-boggling.
46. I’m not an impulsive spender of money, nor do I buy brand name products when I don’t need to. I’d rather save my money so that I can spend it on travel or good times with friends.
47. I tend to be typecast. In choir, I almost always get the jazzy or gospel solos. In musicals, I tend to play the loud, bossy, or irritating characters. I hope that this is not a reflection of the directors’ opinions of me.
48. When I fall in love, I love with my whole heart. Sometimes this leaves me vulnerable and capable of being easily hurt.
49. When I get the giggles, it can be hard for me to stop. This is especially funny in situations in which it’s completely inappropriate to laugh.
50. I view life as an ever-changing adventure with unlimited opportunities for new friends, new experiences, and meaningful self-discovery along the way. The profundity of human experience and emotion will always keep life interesting for me.

Reflections on a would-be 3 year anniversary

On this day, 3 years ago, I met Justin while visiting my cousin in Winnipeg (incidentally, I was on my way to work at IMC, where I will be going in 3 days). We hit it off immediately, we decided to date despite the distance (he in Winnipeg and I in Saskatoon). We made the commitment to making a long-distance relationship work, and we stayed together for just over a fantastic 2 1/2 years. Sure, we had our problems, and sometimes we argued past the point of no return, but overall we had a great relationship. A friendship, a romance, and a definite bond.

We broke up mutually at the end of January of this year. It was definitely the right move for both of us. And so now today, on our would-be 3 year anniversary, I have decided to reflect on a relationship that taught me so much and changed me in ways that I could have never imagined. So this one is for you, Justin, my friend.

(In Prince Albert - winter 2005)


(Road trip - on the way back to Saskatoon - Christmas/New Year's 2005)


(Visiting Winnipeg on a day off from IMC - summer 2004)


(Justin's 21st birthday - August 2004)

Throughout our relationship, Justin and I shared some pretty ridiculous moments that can only be captured through photos:

(An outrageously tacky charicature drawn by that crazy man at the Forks - hahaha, does this look familiar Diane? - fall 2004)


(Dressed up in drag for Dave's going-away party - He was going to "Queens" University, so it was only appropriate! - Late summer 2005)


(Vikings at the Forks - October 2004)


(Justin and I were there to support each other always, even when the other one was so drunk that he/she drooled on the other - Justin's b-day - August 2004)

Above all, Justin and I were friends. We could talk about anything to each other at any time, and we genuinely enjoyed each other's company, and for that I am grateful:

(In PA in September 2004)


(At Karyn and Nook's wedding - July 2005)


(In PA - winter 2005)

Now we have both moved on and gone our separate ways. Justin has a new girlfriend, and I sincerely hope that they may bring each other happiness. Now I am about to embark on a life-changing adventure in just over a month, and I truly believe that my relationship with Justin has taught me to a be a stronger individual, capable of tackling anything that comes my way. With this new level of maturity, I feel that I will be able to face my New Zealand internship with a greater level of self-awareness than I could have even a year ago.

As I grow older (and I'd like to think wiser) I find myself becoming more appreciative of those people who have touched my life along the way. While Justin and I clearly were not meant to be together in the long run, I still value his friendship and I still cherish the time that we did have together.

Justin, if you're reading this, I hope you are doing well. Debbie, I miss you. I would love to get together for a girls' day in Brandon this month if it works with your schedule. Send my love to Ray and Brenda, Lorne and Rosada, Laurie and Monique, Brad, Laurie and Jeff and the boys, and of course, Lenny, that crazy dog. :o)

Growing up has certainly been a reflective process for me. So, as I reflect on today, our would-be 3 year anniversary, I give thanks to Justin and his family for helping to shape me into the person that I am and will become.

Friends pics

I was getting ready for IMC today, and in doing so I decided to print a few pics for my dorm room wall. These are just a few of my favourite people pictures from Greystones' Austria/Czech Republic tour, in no particular order (click for full size):

I love that everyone's personality shows in this picture. Nick, you make me happy inside. :o)



Tara and I cuddled up together under an umbrella in Prague - it was COLD that day! (Fiona and Sam - if you enlarge this one you'll see my ring.... would you consider it a koru?)



I don't think it's possible to pass by a lamp post like this without hanging off of it for a picture. :o)


Conrad, Darcy, Bronwyn and I, out for a drink on Valentine's Day in Prague. This one is somewhat remniscent of a 1950s soda shop or something. Nobody in this place spoke any English, so ordering our drinks was very interesting to say the least.


Tim makes my heart happy in this picture. What a kid. :o) This is in the salt mines in Germany.


This remains one of my favourite pictures of tour. Me, Nick, and Anna, cuddled under the umbrella in Prague. Great friends, beautiful cities, great memories. :o)

Dream analysis

I've never been one to over-analyze my dreams, but lately I've been having dreams that have gotten me quite curious. The subject matters of these dreams aren't necessarily anything out of the ordinary, but the characters in them have been consistently different. I used to have dreams with somewhat believable plot lines (at least until you wake up and think, "Oh, I guess that WAS kind of silly."), but with characters or settings that aren't familiar to you in real life. A classic example is a dream in which I'm doing something with a group of my friends, and I'd say, "And you were there.... but it didn't look like you. But somehow I just knew it was you." Or "and we were at my house, but it didn't look like my house in real life, but it just was, you know?" Lately, though, I've been having much more realistic dreams.

A week or 2 ago I had a dream in which I was on a dangerously tall iceberg with some of my friends (Jana, Nick, Anna, Kerstin, etc... these are a few friends from Greystone Singers, and in my dream they all looked like the real people I know in my waking life), and this iceberg was made up of all of our personal belongings frozen into the ice. So we were climbing to the top, chipping the ice away to retrieve our belongings as we went along. Everything was ok until we realized that we had climbed up extremely high, and we had accidentally removed all of the belongings that we were using as foot and hand holds. So at that point we panicked, and we were all struggling to hang on for our lives. And naturally, because all of the people in my dream were real-life Greystone Singers, we decided to sing Moses Hogan's "Elijah Rock" to comfort us in case we were to plunge to our deaths. The funny thing is, though, that I don't remember being frightened when I woke up from this dream.

Two nights ago was a different story. I had a dream that I was with Shelly and Anna (why is Anna suddenly a recurring character in my dreams?) and we were in residence on some university campus (visually I'd have to think that it was not U of S, although in my dream I felt like it could have been). We were hanging out in our room on a relatively low floor, like 2nd maybe, and there were tons of people around us in residence and outside the building. We then casually walked over to our back window or balcony or something, and we freaked out because there, walking very purposefully towards our apartment/condo/residence room, was a well-known serial rapist and murderer that had been all over the local news relatively recently. We panicked, and had to decide quickly what we were going to do: should we run to a high level floor in the building and hide under beds, in the showers, etc. where the killer might not think to check? Should we run out of the building as fast as we can and get as far away as possible? We decided to run away, and we couldn't see the killer after that.... but as we ran, if we ever stopped anywhere, Shelly would freak out saying, "You guys, I feel his presence here right now - he knows we're here!" So we'd have to run again to another location. The same thing kept happening no matter where we went; we couldn't escape it. Then weird things kept happening with Shelly's intuition and crazy "coincidence" occurrences that led us to believe that the rapist/murderer was after us because he thought Shelly was someone else. I know that in my dream, 2 things happened that we thought were really weird and coincidental, and I can't remember the first one, but the second one involved us driving away in a car at dangerous speeds, then, despite the fact that it wasn't icy on the roads, we spun out of control and hit a building that a girl named "Lisa" (?) worked at. Somehow we knew that the killer was trying to stall us, and he thought that Shelly was Lisa, so weird things like that kept happening, and Anna and Shelly and I were all caught up in it with no real way to escape.

I woke up from this dream with my heart pounding. When I calmed myself down, I went back to sleep and the dream picked up right where it left off. Finally I woke up again and decided to stay up so as to not have to dream about the serial rapist and murderer who was after us again.

Then, on a much less nightmare-ish note, just last night I had a dream in which I was at some sort of discovery museum type thing, and I went upstairs to another display room, and who was sitting there giving an informational talk about New Zealand, netball, and other kiwi things, but Fiona and Sam?! I remember walking in there and being like, "Oh my goodness!" but having to be quiet because they were busy working and talking to the people who were taking the tour. I had to patiently wait until they were done to go over there and give them both a big hug. Once we had officially met, I ran down to my car to grab a postcard that I've been meaning to mail them (in real life, I'll mail it today! haha). Again, although I've never met them, Fiona and Sam actually looked like themselves in my dream.

I'm not sure what this change in characterization means, or if it means anything at all, but it's just something that I've been noticing lately. For years my dreams consisted of people with names, and faces, and personal connections, but they were never accurate in terms of those real-life people. Now if I have a dream about a friend, it actually looks like that friend. In fact, I had a very vivid dream about a month ago that I was getting a tattoo with my good friend Nick from Greystones. In real life, we got body mods together in Prague (I got another ear piercing and he and I designed him a travel tattoo that he got on the back of his right arm, right above his elbow) and then we decided that if I was to get a NZ tattoo of a koru, we should go together. In this dream, we were together and I got the tat right below my bra line on my left side rib cage. When I woke up I realized that I didn't in fact have that tattoo yet, but the dream was so vivid that I decided, "hmm, that's a good idea!" and that's where I plan to get it now.

I'm rambling a bit here, but I think that this is pretty interesting. I really think that there's something to be said for dream analysis, but I don't have enough of a knowledge of it to know whether my change in dream characters means anything significant. Regardless, I've just provided you with perhaps some entertainment on a lazy Saturday morning. :o)