Punt, Pass, and Date?

I've been thinking, can you "pass" on a relationship due to musical differences? Say a girl is really into country, and its the only thing she listens to, and then guy loves punk rock. If they met, and were perfect together, besides this one thing, is there reason to say, hey, you are an awful person because you listen to country, i can't date you?

Or can you "pass" on dating if they aren't really into movies, but you are? Are these things important enough to determine our fate? Or how do we determine what is so important in a match? Blonde/brunette, smoker/athlete, christian/mormon, burping/farting?

I'm over clemping....this is my topic to discuss....discuss amongst the blog....

I love my job.

I work at the PFAC. Also known as the Platteville Family Aquatic Center. I'm a lifeguard (second year). And well, the job consists of making sure people don't die and people watching. Which the later is my favorite aspect of the job. Not to mention the stellar tan. But here are a few reasons why I love working at the PFAC.

1. A group of boys the other day were pretending to dunk themselves by grabbing the back of their heads and forcing it under water. They would each blame each other for the dunking. Excect one boy. He was doing the dunking too, except he would shout out things like, "Mrs. Smith (one of the other's mother i'm assuming) stop banging me." "Help. Barbara Streisand is on my shoulders." "Its like Patch Adams, look beyond." Why? Who knows.

2. A woman lays in front of the pool doors and awaits its opening. Why stand when you can lay? She was wearing acid washed, high wasted, tapered jeans with a grey and pink faded sweatshirt that ran over the shoulders. She had a brownish/orange pair of sun glasses that took over her face, and a hat that had the bill as straight as an arrow. Instead of waiting for the pool to open so she can swim, this woman sets up camp next to the deep end to watch the diving boards. Why? Who knows.

3. The group homies grope the 12 and 13 year old girls and ask what PDA is. Then they move onto adjusting their tracking ankle braclets so they can do flips on the diving board. Why? Who knows.

These are just some reasons why the PFAC is the best place to work. Granted to some, they may seem like you'd want to leave that area immeditaly for fear of life, but no, its just the pool rats and their fun ways of being creepy. Ahhh, the PFAC.

Open mouth, and enter foot.

Open mouth, and enter foot.

Sometimes i put my foot in my mouth. maybe some of you have experienced this too, but when you know you're talking to someone that its kind of important that you're talking, you end up putting your foot in your mouth (figureatively). I mean, you can't find the right words to say, and you aren't allowing yourself to think because your emotions or something else gets in the way. Well, recently this has happened to me.

I came to the moment that i had thought about for a long time. this whole summer i've prayed to receive the words to say at this very moment, and prayed that when the moment comes God would speak to me and help me get out what i needed to say. However, when this moment came, i was numb, dumbfounded, and i'm sure i said the wrong things. I just wish i could take it back, write down what i really wanted to say, and then let the spirit work through me to help the other person understand.

So what does this say about the timing? Was the timing not right? Did I mince words because it wasn't in God's timing, it was on my own? Should i have said anything in the first place? Did i pray about it enough. I mean, i can't go back - what's said is said, and what's done is done, but i just wish i could explain myself more. Ah well....perhaps its for the best this time around. Perhaps we all need to put our feet in the our mouths just so someday we can know when not to.

C'est la vie.

I'm New!

This week was a stellar week! I had so many blessings it was great! i got my teeth fixed, which someday soon i will have a picture on of my new chompers, but also, i got a new computer! i got an apple ibook G4. yes, that means i'm better than you. Well, not really, but that's what my brother would say. :] But seriously folks, i got a brand spanking new computer, which means that you have to email me, write on my blog, and do a whole lot more, because i'm going to! Oh, that also means that i got a free, yes FREE, ipod mini, which is also extremely stellar. So, i'm now better than you for real.

Oh, also, we almost got to see Tiffany at the Mall of America. But it turns out that it was a fashion show instead of an 80's icon concert revistited. Darn.

Oh, and soon enough we'll get a deep blog...i'm not feeling too deep this summer, but soon enough i will. And thanks for having conversations on my blog. i enjoy reading them, and it seems i'm not the only blog that gets conversations, sam, john, evan, brandon and spots...what a family.

Let me hear it!

If anyone who reads this, AKA spot and Brandon and maybe Sam, i need ideas! Brandon smells like....?? I write a weekly column on our refridgerator that says Brandon smells like ( ). This week, its WOOT! So if you have any ideas, let me know!!

And for the man who has internet all the time, and decides to use it as his TV, i'm updating...happy?

dun, Dun, DUN!

Its coming!! The end is fast approaching! The end of my time at Winona, that is...its getting kind of sad. Please don't think that this is the very end though...i still want to talk to you if i do now, okay? Yeah, that means leave me contact info...cause i want to hear from you! Okay, enough of that...

SCHOOLS ALMOST OUT! WISCONSIN HERE I COME!!!!!!!

Sometimes...

Sometimes life isn't as you'd like it. Its hard to get by the fact that its not going to go your way all the time. Sometimes you'd rather just crawl into a small box, seal it up, and ship it out. That way, you'd be away from everything you're fed up with, and you'd most likely be passed out from lack of oxygen so you wouldn't have to think about all the stupid stuff.

But life doesn't like sealed boxes and neither do most people. You can't hide from the things that hurt you; you can't disappear from the things you're scared of; and you can't get angry at the things you don't have control over.

When those times come...the ones when all you want to do is scream off a big hill into an abyss, when you just want to run and never stop, when the only that keeps you from telling that perfect person the things you've been meaning to all along, is the fear of rejection...we have to remember -- we're just human, and things happen. Your voice will diminish, your legs will give out, and your fear will take over so you never say anything at all.

My advice...take it as it is...life sucks sometimes, but that's no reason to give into the sometimes and whenevers...give life your best, and that's all you can hope for in return.

Drunken Goose Syndrome

I was running the other morning, taking my usual route around the lakes and I spotted a goose walking down the water's edge. He seemed a little bit tipsy, and i found it really humorous. So i got to thinking about this goose and its intoxication. Why does a goose need to be drunk anyway? Here's some of my thoughts...

Geese feel the need to mate as all of God's creatures feel the need to in the spring of the year. Only this time around, he's feeling lonely. No female goose has caught his eye. Likewise, he, sadly, hasn't caught any female goose's eye. So how does a goose ease the pain?? How else...drink himself away! Then he takes the lonely walk down the water's edge to the smelly part of the lake...so no one sees his pain.

I think i have drunken goose syndrome. Walking the edge feeling lonely...scurring off to the undesired side as to hide my pain. Ah, spring...

True story!

Okay, so this is a true story:

My friend Dave and I were studying calc in the hallway, and this girl came up from the steps and totally wiped out by tripping on the carpet! I had to bite my cheek and talk in order to stop the laughter. Then to add to it, she walked the lonely walk of shame past us instead of saving her dignity and turning around to go a different way. Props to her for not caring i guess...but yeah, woooo, i love a good laugh!

Also, can i just say that i love spring!

Jaime...this ones to you..."let's never fight again, shant we?" (or something of that sorts)

Chocolate Covered Life

It seems like everything is chocolate covered in this life. Its never just the chocolate. Sometimes life feels like you're eating a chocolate covered raisin. You start to eat it, and then you start to chew it, and like the candy-coated outside, but as soon as you hit that raisin...BAM! Your face goes sour. The candy you once had is now spoiled and ruined.

Sometimes relationships seem like that, when it really should be the opposite...you love just hanging out, chewing on chocolate, but as soon as you hit a spot where you're bored, or its hard, or you are being tested and tried (hit the raisin), we just spit it out. Stop eating, and continue onto the next chocolate covered morsel. But who's to say that what's inside isn't so bad? Who's to say that things won't work out? Who decides whether you fight to keep it and stick it out, or give up as soon as you get bored. Life's not like that. When you meet someone and get past the chocolate, it takes work, but if its worth working on, then we have to strive to perservere, learn to appreciate that raisins are good for you!

But then again...maybe its for the best...maybe it would be hard on you...maybe it would take some work...and if you're not up to it then, well, i can't chew for the both of us.

<>< Bri

Whoa Nelly!

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!

So i didn't go home for Easter. First Easter away from my family. It was strange and lonely. I think its better to be with people you love and love you back on such an amazing day! But it just so happens that my car needs to last throughout my college days, so we're saving her some breaths.

I received this wonderful Easter care package with great chocolate and jelly bellies, but here's the catch. I don't know who its from!! Not from my parents, not from my sister or brother, not from my grandparents, not from my friends...who can it be from?? Are you the mystery sender? If so...tell me! I want to thank you!! It made me smile (and continues to do so since i don't know who its from!).

Side note - i only have about one more month here in Winona until i depart for good....just thuoght i'd remind myself since i don't do that enough.

Alright, i'm out yo!

<>< Bri

P.S. There's a full moon and i've got a craving for salsa...anyone with me?

Simply Beautiful...

I was walking back today from my cancelled class when i was thinking about all the beauty in the simple things. Last night i did a bulletin board about "natural highs," which probably now means that all my girls think i'm a stoner, even though i'm not. But when i was making it, i was reading the things that were mentioned like catching a glance from a cute stranger, taking a hot shower, hearing a good song on the radio, etc...Immediatly when i read them i was like...dang yo, those are some good times!

So back to my walk. I was walking and thinking about life and this strange time in mine...and i got to thinking about the bulletin board, the fact that it was sunny out and the simple things in my life. How we never (or hardly ever) look at the simple things. We may see them or know that they are there, but we never LOOK at them.

What kinds of things am i talking about? Things that make you feel good inside just because they are small and simple, but so beautiful...here are some examples:

* A mom singing a song to her little girl in the stroller as the mom drops the little girl off at day care so Mom can go to classes.

* Seeing a train car pass you by with the word "irate" on it, and realizing that the world is a tough place for a lot of people.

* Noticing that there is a dance studio of serious ballet dancers right across from your window and appreciating the dedication those people give, and how hard they work at it.

* Having a friend that understands and shares the fact that you may just need company and so you can sit in silence and be with each other.

* Having someone say that they could never be disappointed in you, even if you kind of already knew...

* Having your best friend say, "can you call because i want to hear your voice?"

*Taking a nap after eating lunch and having the sun beam down on you so you're nice and warm.

* Having someone notice that your away message isn't the same old one...its actually a little down this time around.

* Having someone tell you they miss you and wished it was back to a time when you were together.

Those are just some examples. Do you guys have any ones? Things that just make you smile, but you take for granted sometimes? This blog goes out to Nate...he's a pretty cool cat :) Hope you enjoy the beauty in the simple things!

Ahhh, fruit snacks....

Do you remember those sharks and dinosaur fruit snacks from Aldi's? They are the best kind of fruit snack. They are fruity, yet CAN be pulled apart (unlike the strawberry and cherry ones that stay all rubbery in the gut). Anyway, they are my all-time favorite snack! Walmart has these smiley faced ones on sale right now, and let me tell you...they are quite the gems!

Do any of you sort your fruit snacks by color? Oh, that's right, no one responds to MY blog...john and Brandon's are the hot topic these days....Thanks a lot guys!!

The inevitable fall...

When i was younger and first learning how to ride my bike, i was scared. It might have been the most scared i have ever been in my life, without ever knowing it. I can remember the day clearly. It was cloudy and the parking lot to the armory behind my house was empty. It was warm, but not hot. My dad took me out to learn on our little yellow and black bike. It was the same bike that my brother and sister learned on, so i knew it worked. This was the first time that i was going to ride without the training wheels. We started out at the top of the hill. It was either downhill or up hill. Downhill seemed the best way to actually get moving (which is true most of the time in life, you have to go down before you go up). So my dad is hanging onto my seat and i, being five and scared for my life, am begging him to not let go, sobbing and trying to wipe the tears away so if by chance he does let go, i'll be able to see. We start moving, my dad moving right along side of me, I'm peddling and then it comes -- He lets go. I can feel the warm breeze through my pig tails and overalls and i finally feel it. The feeling of flying into the unknown, scared as all get out, but trying so hard to make it, make it to the end of the hill so i can place my feet on the ground and say that i did it.

But like most little kids who are just learning, about half the way down, i fell. The bike tipped and pulled me down with it. I landed on my knee and elbow trying to catch myself before the inevitable fall. Not a surprise to my dad, someone who has already taken the fall and gotten back up. The thing i remember the most was feeling defeated. Feeling numb to the fact that i was never going to learn how to ride a bike because i had fallen. Fallen hard.

Life is funny like that. God has a sense of humor, in that everything you do is preparing you and easing you into the next thing. What if i would have made it all the way down that hill the first time i tried? I wouldnt have learned to get back up again, i would have felt invincible. Lately it seems like i find a good thing or something good happens and then two more bad things come into play, or the good gets taken away. I do not doubt for a minute that God is the best teacher ever, but his lessons are hard. I meet someone, God replies saying, "He is a good man, but now's not the time." I catch a break in schoolwork and classes, God replies, "Trust in me and then feel safe, but until then i need you to keep trusting and working in me."

How do we get through these times...these falls? We get back up, simple as that. Trust that the reason you fell is even more important than how. God will explain later..."This is the right guy, but i need you to be patient and see that i have saved him for you, and you need to be friends and hang on," "This schooling will provide for you when you're done putting in your time, but now i need you to keep your head above water and keep swimming until you can touch."

The inevitable fall brings about the inevitable getting up. We just have to trust that when He lets go, you will make it...

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit...this is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit..." 

I DO! SO?

I enjoy the occasional rap song...the rare country tune...but if i had my way everyday in the world of music, it would consist of a plethora of good music. It would involve the following bands:

-The Beatles
-The Who
-Led Zepelin
-The Steve Miller Band (in their hay day)
-Simon and Garfunkle (sp?)
-James Taylor
-The Carpenters
-Relient K
-FM Static
-Jimmy Eat World
-The Shins
-Fountains of Wayne
-Jet
-Cake
-The Strokes
-Pedro the Lion
-Rilo Kiley
-Howie Day
-Damien Rice
-Death Cab for Cutie
-Copeland
-The Wallflowers
-Something Corporate
-Fall Out Boy
-Guster
-Jason Mraz
-Story of the Year
-Switchfoot
-Yellowcard
-The Starting Line
-The Format
-The Flamming Lips
-Tegan and Sara
and last but not least
-Phantom Planet

This is quite the list and it certainly doesn't include all bands and songs that i enjoy. This is just the bands that came to mind today at this very moment. And even though it is a make-shift list...it does the world of music justice! Wouldn't you enjoy music like this?

You might be thinking..."None of this is the same genre of music." Well Duh. Its good to have many influences in music, i mean if you just listened to the same thing all the time, then what fun would it be to sing along to songs with your friends that they enjoy, but you don't? I have to admit, most of my music tastes have come from these wise people:

-My Brother, Brandon "the intelligent" Otte
-My Best Friend, Jaime "the beautiful" Bodden
-My Parents, "Ma and Pa" Otte
-Myself, yeah, that's right

However, i'm open to any new stuff...not gonna say i'll enjoy it as much as these bands, but i'll give it a try. If you have varied opinions of this and want me to hear your music...send a CD and we'll see...Care to make a wager? Or if you agree on my tastes and want to make a CD for yourself and just burn all of these bands on one CD and make an extra, you can send that to me too :) Alright, that's my view...I'm out.

<>< Bri

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat....

Hey All. So I'm all done with tests, which means that Christmas is getting closer and closer! I'm so excited to see my family and spend time with them :) This semester was most excellent, and i'm really happy that i'm done! Thanks for reading this semester! Its been real.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

<>< Bri

Double Decades Prove to be Better

Hey Everyone! So on Monday i turned 20. I was actually just planning on not telling anyone and going through the motions. But somehow the word leaked out and EVERYONE new. But it was all good...it was nice to see everyone who i care about, care back. I do have a bigger issue to address in this blog though, i don't know about the analogy...but we'll see what comes out.

So right now it is snowing outside and i am looking out the window as i type because i'm an awesome typer like that. But the snow reminds me of the fact that every snow flake is different. Yes, i am going to use the old cliche, but its true. Every snow flake has its own personal touch made from the creator himself. He is making them all unique, but creating some that fit together. Something has happened this week that has changed my view on the world, and no, it isn't the fact that its snowing outside. Was it that i turned 20? Was it because i could actually be honest with someone that i haven't in a long time? Was it that we only have two weeks left, which means almost only one semester left in winona for me? I think its a combo of all those things.

For the first time in forever i feel like i know who i am! I feel like i can be completely myself and not think any differently! I can show emotion and admit that i am certainly not right, not even half the time. I can be comfortable with the fact that i don't do a lot of things that most college students do, and i am going to serve the Lord with my whole heart before i get anywhere. I worry a lot about finding someone and feeling complete. But i am complete within the Lord. No other. And this week i've realized that God has someone out there for me...he's preparing him as he is still preparing me. We will find each other someday, and then we'll know...but right now, who knows who tomorrow will bring to your door or what kinds of relationships evolve from your existing ones. Who knows?!

So yeah...thanks for listening and don't be alarmed if i don't write for a while...i have some other things to do. Signing out....

<>< Bri

Wow, wow and double wow!!

Hey everyone...this is more of a thank you blog than anything else. Yesterday was my birthday, and i was thinking that it was going to be any old "ho-hum" birthday because i had to work and i had to go to three meetings and i had lots of classes, but it turned out to be spectacular! I really didn't want many people to know about it either, not that i was trying to be pius or anything, but its just another day, and no need to make a big deal. But there were some people that really made my day! So to all those people that sent cards, hung pictures, gave presents, and just even said happy birthday...

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

<>< Brini

Happy Thanksgiving

So its thanksgiving today and i would say that i am thankful for everything. Most importantly this thanksgiving i am thankful for the family that i have. My dad got a case of the kidney stones this thanksgiving eve. He is currently in the hospital and most likely not able to come home this fine holiday.

So i miss him, and feel bad that i am not with him right now...but i just woke up. But this whole thing makes me think how truly important our family is. Seeing him sick like that reminds me of the times when i was sick and he stayed home from school with me and took care of me. It also reminds me that i like coming home to see my family. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and i do miss my family when i'm away.

Anyway, i don't really have anything else to say, but be thankful for your family, even if they are dysfunctional and quirky. They love you all the more! Happy thanksgiving everyone!

<>< Bri