Because

I kind of really like Dr. Seuss. 

"A persons a person... no matter how small."

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

"Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them."

Plus his illustrations are really pretty great.

Brainiac

This was my great idea today.

Lets leave the house and drive to Kroger in the all mighty two wheel drive mini van the evening after a snow storm. Then lets forget our cell phone while we drive through the gazillion feet of snow. Lets top that off and get stuck about 5 times before even leaving the neighborhood, and since I left my phone at home I won't be able to call anyone for help. That way, I will have to rock the van into neutral and push it out of snowbanks all by myself. And lets make sure that no one stops to help me so that it is extra hard. I bet I could push it back in reverse with one foot out of the van and one foot on the gas. Not too hard or anything. 

NBD.

 

Another note: A certain company that makes things you can sit on in offices is craazz-heey. I'll give you a hint. The first syllable rhymes with "eel" and the second rhymes with mace. Got it yet? (Anna?) Does case even rhyme with mace? 

That Effing HURT

I stubbed my toe today. It was the typical kind of "toe stubb-age" I cussed a couple times out loud ( a lot more in my head) and hopped up and down a few times, shaking my foot like that would actually make it feel better.

Then I put a sock over the bloody (literally.. figuratively too, I guess) thing and decided that I would deal with it later.

Its still sore, but I haven't taken that sock off yet.

My Hero

Auto Bailout

The following is political. I don't know why I wrote it. I hate politics.

I am not one to follow economic politics. I'm usually completely in the dark when it comes to financing and economics. There is one exception to this, and that is the auto industry bail out plan that has been debated over in Washington for the last couple days.
Usually I view these type of bailouts as putting a finger in a leaking levy. Long term, its not going to do much good. In this situation, however, I find myself taking a different standpoint because it hits so close to home.
Being on the west side of the state, things are bad - I agree. The furniture companies aren't doing so great, and people are feeling it. What I would like for the West Michigan community to see is how extremely blessed they are in comparison to Detroit. Over there everyone is affected by the auto industry. I'm an east side kid. Always will be. When I was 16 my dad refused to let me buy a foreign car. More than half my friends' parents work for the auto industry. If you do not work directly for the Big Three you work for companies who do. We know what a coney island is and we also know what belle isle is and half the change is our pockets is Canadian.

Today, the bill for the auto bailout failed to pass. GM and Chrysler are said to declare bankruptcy and close down in the next few weeks if things continue down this road. This makes my heart race. It's scary because these companies have been such a huge part of our economy since the first Model T was built. Hopefully Bush will allow some TARP money to be implemented, so that the few who still do have jobs in Detroit can keep them. I can't even imagine what would happen to our already depressed economy if these companies shut down. It's scary, really.

Times are changing.

Oh yeah:
What is hilarious to me is the fact that Obama wanted Granholm working under him in an economic position. What the eff.

Revival

Today I went to a meeting at the hospital for all the volunteers. They were talking about their building projects and plans for the future. There are some amazing things going on in the Heartside District, and St. Mary's is totally on board. They are updating their buildings and facilities - combining technology and art to maximize healing. 

The transition that is affecting me most is their new ER department. Most of our patients that we see in ER can barely afford the health care they receive there. What I find amazing is that St. Mary's is going through great means to offer this demographic and community the very best health care available, and giving these people means to truly heal despite their economic situation. 

As I was driving home I was looking around the city at the new life and revival that seems to be evident all over, especially in the Heartside District. It is amazing to see ministry, art, and relief for the less fortunate all inter depending on one another. It is a revival of community that is gaining speed and can only become stronger throughout the next couple years.

Jumper Cables

My car wasn't feeling too motivated the other day. When I turned my key in the ignition I didn't hear the slow "chug chug chug" I usually hear before it springs to life. Instead, I heard an even slower "chuuuuu......chuuu....chuu...." because obviously it was being lazy. I let it rest in the parking lot for a day and tried again, hoping that the hyundai gods were feeling generous. Did it start? Nope.

Luckily I have friends who own jumper cables and are willing to help me push my isty car out of snow banks. She works now, and she is hopefully resting up for the drive across the mitten home.

This is my friend Dylan. He is the one who helped me with my car. I know whoever is reading this probably already knows him (hi anna.) but I thought I would share a little bit of his personality in my blog. I love him a lot and he is the brother I never really wanted but got anyways. He always makes me smile even if he is being mean, and he plays me silly songs that make me laugh.

Dillwan from Heather Quandt on Vimeo.

P.S. I'm boycotting blogger video. 

Buzz Kill

The challenge I have faced this semester is making new relationships last. Why is it so hard sometimes to turn an acquaintance into a friend? Maybe this isn't the problem, but instead that I have such a hard time finding community in a school of 25,000 undergrad students. I miss the community I had at camp, I miss actually getting to know people. 

I am really thankful for the friends God has blessed me with. I may only have a handful, and our friendships may not be perfect, but I know who I am when I am with them and they know me inside out as well. My best friends annoy me, annoy each other, and we may not always be "peachy", but they understand me inside and out; and don't judge me for sitting in a coffee shop all day working on anatomy.

What makes a person interesting? I wish I knew, because sometimes I feel like the most dull person in the entire world. This is what being a health major has made me become. I'm happy I got out... now its just a matter of finding who I want to be instead of what I find myself becoming.

"thats so hot"

The Grand "Valley" Girl Formula

Qualifications:

You must wear Ugg boots as soon as the temps hit 55 degrees.

You must own a Northface jacket, even though you may have no idea what a north face of a mountain is.

You must own a coach purse.

You must talk very fast.

You must die your hair blonde in the summer and brown in the winter.

You must have a cell phone attached to your ear, especially when riding the bus, and then you have to talk extra loud to be sure that the people up front can hear you.

You must watch MTV at the gym, where you temporarily trade your Uggs for pink Nikes.

You must only wear lots of Victora's Secret Pink! clothing.

You must listen to crappy music.

I'm not very nice. I'm sure all these girls are not as shallow as they all seem, its just that I am sitting in Einsteins right now on campus and I am surrounded. I needed some sort of outlet.

Fakin' it.

Getting on the expressway last night was eerie. Because of all the traffic, everything was in slow motion... I felt like the snow was even falling slower than usual. This might just be because of the fact that the snowflakes were seriously the size of golfballs though. 

Some "first snowfall" pictures from last week-ish:

Sometimes I think it is easier to swallow light bulbs than study biochemistry.

The Beatles are singing me into non-motivation. Bad news when finals are next week. 

Once Upon a Time

The truth is that I have no friends and I spent my time making movies with my little sister all break. 

Probably the crappiest editing job I have ever done, but what do you except when you have an impatient 8 year old breathing down your neck?

Enjoy.

Sisterly Bonding Over All American Rejects

I'm a little apprehensive about posting this embarrassing home video but I figure no one really reads my blog except Anna and my mom (shout out) so here is the latest music video from Heather and Meagan Quandt.

Parkas

So I feel that in the winter I get cold more easily than most folks. Its okay though because I have this huge knee length parka that keeps me toasty. What made me laugh out loud today on my walk home from class was the fact that I'm walking in the snow with my parka on, and then I pass a guy who is wearing shorts and a tee shirt. I think that only happens in Michigan. It cracked me up.

Today I have been walking a lot to and from campus. More than usual just because I have a weird schedule going on today. Its been nice though, the mile there and back in the snow goes by quickly when I am spending the time talking with my Father.

I'm praying for guidance. Patience too.

Go Organic

Regarding GMOs:

You are what you eat. Get Real. Put your money where your mouth is.

Farmer JC

I went to a concert last Friday that featured a few Michigan folk artists - I loved it. I've been diving deeper into their music and kind of collecting anything I can. Anyways, they focus pretty heavily on working the land and appreciating the life it gives us. I think that we are such a consumerist society that we often forget that our sara lee bread comes from flour which at one point was grain that was growing in a field somewhere. We drive in our carbon emitting cars to the grocery store and pick up a loaf prepackaged for us. 

I'm reading through Isaiah. There is a verse that, in the NIV version, talks about the sash of faithfulness Christ wears around his waist. I was thinking about how faithfulness plays out in my life. I think that the first thing our head jumps to concerning faithfulness is adultery in romantic relationships, but I was considering my lack of faithfulness in so many other areas of my life. My friendships, my school work, my goals, my relationship with Christ. 

Okay so here is where my farming and faithfulness concepts have collided. In The Message, Isaiah 11 refers to this faithfulness is such a cool way:

Each morning He'll put on sturdy work clothes and boots and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.

What an awesome metaphor. I think I'm a consumerist Christian! Its so easy for us to reap the benefits of Christianity and our faith, but what about "working the land"? Faithfulness isn't just some easy habit I can pick up from the grocery store. I need to plant the seed of faithfulness, nurture them, and help them to grow. When I think about it, I kind of laugh, because in order to grow in faithfulness and righteousness you must be faithful. Ironic, but thats the circle I've thought myself into. God made creation to grow and provide for us. I often forget that looking at His creation is a great way to see real examples of His Word. 

One last thing. A lyric from a Lansing musician:

my father he taught me how to sew, told me that the land could teach me how to grow 

Smile

Some people have this light to them. You want to smile and be happy when you are around them. I was reintroduced to someone like that this weekend and it really made me want to be that way, too. I think I need to get out of my social box and shine some light into other peoples lives... shine some light on the people in my box too.

I think I'm going to start praying about this and make it happen.

Satisfied.

I love spending time with old friends. They know you so well, the silences aren't awkward they are comfortable. Its easy to just sit back and talk without fear of first impressions. I really appreciate my friend who I can gorge myself with at a mediocre restaurant, talking about politics, theology, and boys. She rocks. And she doesn't hate me because I voted for Obama. 

She also taught me a coldplay song on guitar and my sore left fingertips are a souvenir of our great night.

God is good. 

I would like:

A magical land were the trees are forever golden like in autumn and the skies are always blue and the sun is always shining, except for the occasional thunderstorm that would roll over the sea and we could watch it from the shore coming in. Then I want the temperatures to always be balmy but not hot and I want the grass to always be green and the breeze always blowing. We all would take a lot of of pictures, play a lot of red rover, and make music together.

Lets work on that, yeah?

Elections

I told myself in August that I was going to really keep up with politics so that when the election came I would be prepared and be certain about who I was voting for. So I did, but I still have no idea who I am going to vote for. Its all about choosing the person I dislike the least... maybe I'll just write in Ron Paul. Tomorrow should be interesting.

I wish I had brown hair because I would have been Palin for halloween. I love her, but I love her as an Alaskan governer, not a vice president. But it would be cool kind of... it would be like our entire country had a soccer mom.

Grand Haven

Scraping off the Grime

So lately I have been praying for humility.  I can feel it build a huge wall inside of me when it comes to dealing with the relationships in my life. It's not that I think I'm better than everyone else, its the fact that my own priorities and feelings always come first in my life. Paul writes "put yourself aside, and help others to the top," to the Philippines. Why is this so hard for people in our society to embrace? It makes me sad, that our own egos and priorities are what is preventing us from building the type of relationships that Christ wants us to have. 

I have been considering the relationships I have in my life and I think a major barrier is my own personal ego, my unwillingness to let my own priorities sink to the bottom of my list. I've been praying for God to break me, to strip me of my pride so that I can truly live the servant life, and take a step toward the type of relationships that Christ wants me to have. I'm not saying its been easy; one of the hardest things to do is to swallow your pride and not feel sorry for yourself, but even though its hard and it hurts, I am trying to praise Him for the ways in which he is humbling me and putting me down so that I can clear my heart completely out to "help other to the top".

On the Outside

So I was journal-ing this morning and I realized that I was writing as if someone were going to read it. Its my journal, not something that anyone ever reads besides myself, and here I am writing while in the back of my mind I am worrying about how it is going to sound to someone else. Now I am not saying that was catering to someone else while I was writing my journal, but I had this small sense as if someone were reading it, and then subconsciously I think I was thinking about what they would think about me afterward.

So, I came to the conclusion that I accidentally live my life around my image most of the time. Its not something I actively think about but in the back of my head I am living as if I were being looked at or judged.

I think that a lot of our culture today is to blame for this, and that I am not alone in the imaged-based life. Everything in our culture, from facebook, to where we shop, to this very blog, is based around a public display of one's self, and if you don't portray yourself in a certain light then people may get the wrong idea of who you are on the inside.

This makes me feel so sad, and ashamed of myself to be honest, because I don't want to live that life. Especially when it comes to my faith. I don't want my lived out faith to become a part of my image. I don't want to strive to be like Jesus just so that my christian image with be parallel with my christian actions. I want to strive to be like Jesus because of the personal relationship I have with him, and I want that love of Christ to flow out of me as a result of the love he shows me, not because I feel obligated to in order to keep up my reputation.

Hope this makes some sense.

Jordan

This is my roommate Jordan. She is amazingly beautiful, talented, and creative. She is so inspired that she inspires me. I love her and her musical fingers.

A Quick P.S.

Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:11 The Message

Three Steps Backward

I was sitting in the arboretum today reading my book because I had some time to kill before my next class. All of the sudden I hear shouting and screaming, wondering what was going on I looked toward to sidewalk. The shouting continues and a group of people who were obviously not students begin to set up lawn chairs in the grass. The shouting man comes into sight and he is in a shouting match with a student, telling her why she was going to burn in hell for not hating gay people.

As the scene inflated, more students gathered to hear what the commotion was about, and the man began to scream at all the students who could hear, Bible in hand, as to why they all were heathens and going to burn in hell for their sins. Some students just stood and laughed, and took pictures of these people with their camera phone. Other's yelled back at the man, swearing and telling him why he was full of shit. Still others just stood and shook their heads, in awe of the scene. Most of these students who stopped to watch were freshmen, the upperclassmen just walking around the scene. They were use to it since this man comes to our campus every year with members of his "church" and his young children.

It makes me really sad to see this happen at a public university. There are many students who are turned off to Christianity for many reasons, and this man yelling at them is just going to solidify their anti-christian opinions even more. What is even more sad is that this man honestly believes he is doing the Lord's work, even though his actions are more out of hate than showing the great abundance of love that our God has for all human beings. 

I prayed for that man as I sat in the grass with my book, and then I could no longer stand listening to his wild ranting, so I walked away. I couldn't help but feel sad though, because he probably influenced at least a hundred students negatively that day for Christianity.