Friday, March 4, 2011

7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 18

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*
You have something to look forward to.

Not only will you get the annual meditations and beautiful traditions and scriptures of Lent, but you will also see a new series with Julie and Trista.  

What does it mean to be a woman in the Church? 

Keep an eye out on Fat Tuesday. 

*2*

Many of you are joining me from Conversion Diary (Hello to those who are new!), so it's likely you're Catholic, blogging, and ready to mingle in this cyber-Community we are developing!

The Venerable John Paul II pointed out the need for the New Evangelism and social media is a spectacular, effective, and cheap way to be a part of this movement. A new resource has popped up to help you make the most of the new media and your Catholic (or non-Catholic Christian) faith. Drum roll please...

(I don't own the rights)

Give it a look-see.

*3*
If you noticed... good job!

If not, let me point your attention to... exactly where you're looking. I changed the design of my blog because, apparently, a dark background is a turn-off for blog readers. I think it's cool, but I'm bending to the will of the people. I'd love some feedback!

I also bought and redirected this to my own domain. Soon I will have a less "Blogger" layout... if only I could physically paint or draw these designs. I'm not very handy with the digital art.

*4*
You may find this hard to believe (you shouldn't), but I only miss the dorky stuff about college:
(I don't own the rights)

*I have yet to meet another person who enjoys finals week (um, excuse me. At what other point in your life will you have ONE purpose: surviving while studying? College kids complain, but their lives are easy). 

*Academic writing. I had the formula down pat and I liked trying to create a new thesis statement. 

*The enclosing feeling of standing between two library shelves, the books on which haven't budged in 5 years.

However, I do miss looking forward to spring break.



*5*
My skin smells like chlorine and it might as well be crack-cocaine.

After a 3 month hiatus from the pool, I swam this week. It wasn't a long swim, but it was beautiful and helped me clear my head. As I've mentioned before, my natural state is in the water. I need to avoid forgetting that again.

When I got home, I went through my old photos of when I swam in the Beijing Olympics. I hope you enjoy them:
Overlooking my turf.













Getting mentally prepared.
You have to relax sometimes when you're kicking butt.























Ahh what a satisfying world championship.






























*6*
You may have seen this post about my weekend with teens preparing for Confirmation. I'm curious about what YOU were thinking on the retreat prior to your own Confirmation. If you went on a Confirmation retreat, tell me about your experience!

*7*
This little boy was born in LA, adopted by Filipinos, and grew up in the Philippines.








It goes to show you that color ain't no thang.

14 comments:

Jackie said...

Ooh, I loved finals week. Well we had 2 weeks. Sure you had to study, but there were no other responsibilities, and you had so much free time compared to regular school week. Plus during Christmas we had all sorts of fun study breaks and parties.

Good times.

I love the new look! Very sharp.

Leah said...

This layout is definitely easier to read and I look forward to future tweaks!

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

That video was something else. I only wish I could have understood more of it. ;)

Unknown said...

I will never get over little kids being awesome singers (is he wearing a little sailor outfit?) or the fact that Idol is all over the planet. ...and not sure how I feel about that either.

AMAZING [swimming] PICTURES!

I always miss college. Going to class last night was so fantastic; I can't wait for more!

YAY FOR OUR LENTEN BLOG POSTINGS. Yes, I'm going through a caps phase. Living with my little siblings is wearing off on me. ;)

not a minx, a moron, or a parasite said...

I liked finals week because everyone seemed to bond over late night studying and general craziness! The stacks were so peaceful to me...if I felt too stressed, I'd just wander around gaining strength from the books.

Beijing Olympics?! How behind am I in knowing your life story?

As for the Confirmation retreat, I did go on one. The best part to me was a guided meditation where we encountered Jesus in our own hearts. I'm trying to remember what else we did...

Anonymous said...

I just wrote out a long comment and I was told that I do not own the identity to vitaconsecrata.

Liars.

Anyway, Olympics?? That's crazy insane! You rock girlfriend!
Confirmation retreat I don't remember: been on too many they all meld together.
And as soon as I clicked on the link from my reader, I noticed the change. I'm not a fan of the light blue, never have been on a blog, but I love the header!
Oh and did I ever mention that I usually don't follow people who don't have a full feed in reader? You were the first one I made an exception to...no idea why. I'm so glad I did though. :)

Calah said...

I really like the new header. I do think the black background was maybe a little distracting, but I liked it. I'm not a huge fan of this light blue. Maybe a different color? It is easier to read, certainly, and I love the contrast between the drama of the header and the peaceful blue background. Hope that helps!

The Olympics? You're so awesome.

Unknown said...

Jackie- I was so surprised to see the FIRST commenter also enjoyed finals week! And thank you!

Leah- Thanks, I tweaked it a little more. I wish I spoke more html so I could just write my own.

Angie- Yes! Me too! I like how the judges switched back and forth between English and Filipino.

Julie- Thanks, girly! Yes, I want to sign up for a class, just to get back in the groove. But if I run into an embarrassing situation... I don't know how I would deal with that ;)

Trista- ANOTHER kindred finals lover! Books are always a great comfort. Oh, yeah, I definitely kicked booty in the Beijing Olympics. I beat Michael Phelps in practice. To be fair, I had just given him the "dead arm" before we raced.

Tina- Darn Blogger. I changed the blue! Maybe I'll just changed colors every other day!

Calah- Thank you!! That feedback is really helpful. I had NO idea that dark backgrounds were no good. I guess when you are looking at your own site, it's so familiar that you don't know what it would look like to fresh eyes. Hahaha thanks, yeah, someday I'll post a picture of my full back tattoo of the five rings. We all got them :)

I love my Mac.

Liesl said...

Finals week was always my favorite week of the semester... I had so much free time despite all that studying because we didn't have class or activities or anything!

And I'm gonna be the weird one... but I like dark backgrounds. I think light backgrounds are too bright when I'm reading them online. But that's just me!

Anonymous said...

Finals were the best part of the year. Even better than spring break. I used to study with some friends, so we also took breaks together. I never studied after supper, so after seven I usually went for a long, long walk with a very close friend. We would walk and talk for hours.
Libraries were so great too. We had ten or more big libraries in walking distance of my room. I could spend hours there. My favourite one was the theology library, as it was open until ten in the evening. I literally spent whole days in that library when I was writing my thesis. The good old days ...
The lay-out of your blog looks better than the dark one, but I think it's a bit plain at the moment. Maybe you could add a background with a light pattern?

Kate said...

I love your new background! And as far as confirmation retreats go I was only confirmed 2 years ago and have gone back to lead the past 2 years (just this past weekend) I love(d) the speakers and the best thing was that for the first time this year a TOB couple was invited to come talk and share their story and it was amazing.

However the thing I don't like (and I may be cynical) is how people cry and get emotional and talk about how changed they are but don't follow through with actions. On the first day of the retreat the guy practicing guitar to lead music was annoyed with people on stage and literally shouted "shut the f- up" in between his verses of praising the Lord. This and the fact that people aren't actually committed to following church teaching. One of the most depressing things is that I don't have a single truly Catholic friend who understands/believes every church teaching and I have started praying for God to send me one!

Sorry this is so long!

Unknown said...

Whoa, Kate! Email me! liz@lizlenzi.com. I'll be that friend.

Liesl said...

Kate, that can be so difficult! Come check me out at my blog too if you ever need someone! I love learning Church teachings :)

Unknown said...

P.S. - I can't believe I've found so many people who liked finals week. I've been flogged for saying I like finals week.

Yes, Kate. Contact Liesl as well. She's a great person and a wonderful Catholic blogger. In fact, everyone who commented on this will refresh you after a discouraging retreat weekend!

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