are you BOWLING my dear?!

yes, this is the very question that i asked myself this week. let me just state for the record that i am most emphatically not into bowling. i go strictly for the nachos & the cool shoes you get to wear. however, this week i have the opportunity to go bowling not once, not twice, but three times!! so, at first i was thinking "man, why bowling?!" but then i realized that this could be my chance to perfect my bowling skillz & to impress those around me. so i'm gonna give it all i got. tonight was the first attempt at proving to myself (& others) that i could indeed get some pins down if i wanted it bad enough...& i did get some down...at least a few...once or twice...i really do not understand how slovak girls who have never bowled in their entire lives can get pins down every turn!! it's one of those inexplainable absurdities that you come across when you live in Slovakia.
but fear not, i have not given up! friday & saturday are new days that bring new opportunites to rock the house.
in the meantime, check out my bowling pics from night #1 & stay tuned for more...




me, big country, & dara armed for battle

these indeed are the "non-bowlers" who whipped my tail over & over & over...



Zuzka, Zuzka, & Lucia




some of the guys that came seemed more interested in the beer than the bowl

hmmmm...can't say i blame 'em ;-)

Holy Sonnet XIV

Batter my heart, three-person'd God; for you
As yet but knock; breathe, shine, & seek to mend;
That I may rise, & stand, o'erthrow me, & bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, & make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, & proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, & would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
(Holy Sonnet XIV by John Donne)


let your mind wander & read this sonnet over & over again. i think it is amazing.
i was battling with god this morning & was telling him to break my chains & i remembered this sonnet from school so i looked it up. & man, i absolutely love it. the power of god's force hitting your life is wordless. "Yet dearly I love you, & would be loved fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy" -i mean, do we live like this or what? i do. but that is not who i really am. i am an oak of righteousness displaying god's splendor. but i fight this so often. so often i believe that i am held captive by the enemy so i live like that. but that's not true!! the enemy is not stronger than my god & my god is on my side & has given me freedom & has given me beauty so i am not bound.
I think my favorite lines are the last 2: "I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. " i think that it is similar to dying to self, but it is more striking. it's a wild concept, but that's god for ya.
so think about this sonnet & have a glorious day :-)

why i am asking myself

well, the thing is that i don't really get into these things, but now that i have one i must confess that i am a bit excited. i have high hopes for these ramblings. my friend emily was my inspiration.
today is saturday & i am sitting around with my roommates bored. we are watching american idol tapes (thanks lynn!). a day with no obligations just feels weird. but it's good...we are bonding in our boredness together. boredness is not really worthy of complaints anyway because i could actually do something if i wanted to...
i did mail my sister's birthday package today so it hasn't been a totally unproductive day...she is turning 30! my little (albeit older) sister is 30-crazyness. i wish i could be with her, but i told her that we could party together when i turn 30 in 5 years :-)
the sun is so pretty today-it 's like an old friend just showed up & knocked on my door to my great delight. & due to the free hours this afternoon brought, i was able to lay on my comfy couch & read Emma for several hours. so, life is good. it's better than good-it's beautiful!