Wisdom Teeth

Well, it's official. I saw the dentist yesterday, and I'm on the list for wisdom tooth extraction. Turns out my two bottom teeth are impacted and have been pressing into the teeth in front of them, so they need to come out and soon. I dunno how soon they'll come out, but even though I'm glad to know about it, I'm also terrified to know that I have to go in for my first actual surgery. The idea of being knocked out and having no awareness during the whole procedure. More info to follow as I find out more details, but yeah, this is the first step.

Compassion

Maybe it's stupid of me, but I've always been this way. I always feel very deeply for my friends, both joys and sorrows, and it affects me to a level I probably shouldn't let it. Whenever a friend has something bad happen to them, I feel just as bad on their behalf as if I'd had it happen to me. My friends have always confided in me, and I've been happy to listen. I've been told that I'm a good listener, and it's one of the ways I try to be a good friend, but it comes with it's toll on me. I'm trying really hard lately to become unattached from the problems of the people I care about, but it's harder than it sounds. Somehow I do feel like if I don't feel bad for them the way I always have, I'm not caring like I should. On the other hand, as my mom said, letting myself get beat up about stuff that's not my fault and that I can't control makes me basically a doormat. Too many of my friends over the course of my life have used me as the punching bag to make themselves feel better, and I took it, because I thought a good friend should be there, but they were never there for me. I don't want to feel miserable like this, but I do still want to show I care. For me, at least, it's a hard balance to maintain. When I did my spiritual gifts inventory I found that I had the gift of compassion, which is to say that I care about people. I guess I have to use that gift and not let it use me. My best bet is just to keep my friends in my prayers. Whether they believe or not, God will take care of them in the way He sees best.

Mud Bogging and Drag Racing

This weekend, and really all summer, my dad has been racing his trucks in the mud bogs. I usually don't go with him, since it's a long, hot, dirty day, but he's very good at it. He's always been a winner and he's been competing for as long as I can remember. Even as a small child I remember going to races with my parents, watching my dad's trucks race and more often than not, win. Yesterday were the annual races here in Taos, and though dad didn't win, it was an enjoyable day. I got splattered with mud and mildly sunburned, but that's the fun of it. Pity that dad sold his truck, really, but that's what he does. He builds them, sells them, and builds some more. He's always been happiest when he's working on something new. Some racers complain that he must be cheating, because he's such a regular winner, but really, he works hard and knows what he's doing. He's been doing this for so many years that he has experience with what works the best and likes to experiment to try to make it even better. He even sometimes races a heavier truck than the others in his competition class, but he still beats them.

The other thing that I enjoy doing with my dad is drag racing. Not the actual racing, but watching the pros who race with nitro in the National Hot Rod Association. Every summer we go to the races up at Bandimere Stadium near Golden, CO. The last couple of races we've been in the sponsor tents, which is really nice, since there's a cool place to sit and eat that's not under the sun, since of course the races are very hot. In between rounds, we go into the pits, check out the merchandise, and try to catch our favorite drivers for a picture and an autograph. This year our favorite racing team, Team Pedregon, is doing very well, they're brothers, Cruz and Tony, and though they race for different sponsors, Advance Auto Parts and Q oil, they help each other and share information. They're in the top ten and if they can win their next few races they'll win the championship. We were doubly lucky this year to go to the races in Las Vegas as well, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

If We Were Playing Freeze Tag I'd Always Be Frozen...Thanks to Kate =P

3 Joys:
1. A book to fall asleep with
2. Really talking to someone who knows how to listen
3. Knowing that someone I worried about is alright

3 Fears
1. Depression
2. Hospitals
3. Not being in control

3 Goals
1. Get a Ph D
2. Get out of debt
3. Find someone I can be happy forever with

3 Current Obsessions:
1. Pokemon
2. Redwall
3. Facebook

3 Suprising Facts
1. There's a side of me that delights in chaos and destruction
2. I can read a 400 page book in a day, easily
3. Almost all of my best friends have been boys

i am: Angela
i know: That God won't throw anything at me that I can't handle, but sometimes I think He has more faith in me than I have in myself
i want: To be independent

i have: more books than shelf space
i wish: I wasn't alone

i hate: people who drive under the speed limit in the fast lane, especially when I'm running late
i miss: Being in school, where studying was the most important thing I had to worry about
i fear: chaos
i feel: glad it's Friday and I can sleep in late tomorrow
i hear: the fan humming...for once I have no distracting noise
i smell: nothing. Grandpa cut the hay and thanks to my allergies my nose is plugged up
i crave: Muddy Bears
i search: On google
i wonder: whether I'll ever find time to watch the anime I've been collecting for so long
i regret: not being more courageous when I traveled and missing some opportunities for the sake of feeling safe
i love: my mom's rolled tacos
i care: About my friends

i always: worry about the things I can't control
i am not: judgmental...or at least, I try not to be
i believe: God loves you, no matter how hard you try to resist Him
i dance: as little as possible...I have no sense of rhythm so dancing is more work than fun for me
i sing: in church, in the shower, and in the car, and occasionally hymns to help me fall asleep
i don’t always: forgive and forget like I should
i fight: with my sister, if we're together longer than a weekend
i write: when the muse descends.
i lose: my temper easily
i win: at Pokemon and at a lot of trivia games
i never: give up on my friends
i listen: to whatever strikes my mood at the time...oh, and I love audio books
i am scared: of being sick enough to need being in a hospital
i need: to be better about saving my money
i am happy about: having people to talk to
i tag: anyone who reads this and wants to play

Finally Got My TKD Pics!

Ok, I really don't have a lot to say, but here we go, gotta post these pics. I've been waiting ages to get them. The last time I got pics taken for TKD was about five years ago, when I was only a 2nd degree or so, and when I was still a junior trainee instructor with the goofy red-white-and blue collar. I've come a long way since then. And now, in a few weeks I'll be able to put on my black collar, as a fully certified instructor, capable of opening and owning my own school should I desire to do so. 12 years in the making, and worth every second, even the busted knee and shot wrists. TKD has shaped who I am and who I want to be.

Just Cuz I Haven't Posted In A While...Thoughts on Pokemon

So yeah...a geeky topic if ever there was one. Not a lot new in my life, but some thoughts on one of my favorite pastimes. Pokemon. My interest in Pokemon started the summer my little cousin was either nine or ten, I forget, and he was utterly obsessed with them. Since I was babysitting him, that meant that that's all I heard about. Finally, in an attempt to save my sanity, I agreed to learn more about them. I watched the animated series, which is ridiculously cheesy and silly in the 4Kids incarnation (never seen the actual Japanese version), I started collecting the cards (and still have a decent collection for the first 250 or so) and started playing the games. The games are what I enjoy most now, though I'm still working on collecting the whole series on DVD, mostly for nostalgic purposes. I have almost all the games, and I'm pleased that this is a game that I'm actually good at, for remembering and studying type strengths and weaknesses for raising an effective team for battle. Silver was my favorite game for the longest time, but I'm also very much enjoying Fire Red/Leaf Green, and Emerald, as well as Diamond, though I haven't gotten very far into the latter two. I like the challenge of catching and raising my team, and I always name my Pokemon according to people or characters that suit their personalities. I'm a dork that way. But yeah, it's tons of fun, and I'm looking forward to finally trading with my friend when he comes to visit. I haven't actually had anyone to trade with before. I like raising the little critters, and I actually find myself talking to them while I battle, encouraging and sympathizing when they get hurt or faint. Wow. I'm how far into admitting what a dork I am...but I still love it.

Response to Being Tagged

In response to my tagging by Kate, I'll play along and post 7 interesting/weird facts about myself. Really though, anyone who knows me probably knows these things about me anyway.

1. Mostly in defiance to my father and uncles, I've been a Dallas Cowboys fan since I was a small child. I don't actually care about football that much, but it's just fun to annoy my dad.

2. I could never be a doctor, but I'm fascinated, way more than I should be, by medical shows, especially surgeries and things to do with delivering babies, especially multiples.

3. This is probably a sad one...I'm way more familiar with the geography of places like Middle-Earth, Discworld, and Mossflower Woods than I am a lot of the world, and probably more familiar with their histories and peoples too, in a lot of cases.

4. I've been teased for having a good memory for things like quotes and the names of actors/writers/voice actors. My cousin was asking me why on earth I knew the name of the VA who plays Brock on Pokemon this weekend.

5. I've enjoyed wearing caps since I was about 8 when I decided I wanted to be like my dad, who wears them every day. Mostly they end up being sports or racing caps, though I have a couple of favorite ones from school.

6. I've always been the most attracted to geeky guys. Glasses and a knowledge of some obscure subject, not to mention a great sense of humor, are incredibly hawt.

7. If I could pick any other country in the world to live in it would be England. Most of the authors I love and admire the most are English, and London is by far the most friendly city to me that I've ever spent time in.

Ok, here they are, some things that you might or might not have known about me. I'm not gonna tag anyone, since most of my friends who read this don't have blogs, but respond if you wish.