Sophomore year

December 10, 2007 

I think following God in college is so much more different than what I thought it was.  Not to say God isn't radical (because he is, and we don't recognize it enough), but that he's also practical.  He's real, he's every day, he's decisions, he's there.  And sometimes, following God is JUST THAT.  You don't always have to push hard, always have to chase him.  Sometimes, you just follow.  Passive.  Submissive.  Trusting.  "He maketh me lie down in green pastures.  He leadeth me besides still waters.  He restoreth my soul."  Slowly, letting him take control.  Letting go.  Releasing.  Relaxing.

Yikes

Are FD phone calls supposed to get easier?

Trying to balance between cultural appropriateness...when to make small talk, when to be direct...when to use formal titles, when to use first names...and praying for grace amid all the blunders!!

Darks and Whites

Darrell asks me why I still don't sort darks and whites when I do laundry, since I know you're supposed do.

I've been doing laundry for 15 years now, and my clothes have been fine.  Also, it's kinda a hassle.  I already juggle sorting "really dirty" and "can wear again" between my basket, pop up hamper, and the space on top of my shelf. 

Darrell tells me that, just as you use warm water to wash dishes, hot water makes your clothes cleaner.  But hot water makes colors run, so that's why you use it for whites.  And it's really important to get socks and underwear clean.

Well that just opens up all sorts of problems!  What if you have colored underwear and socks?  Do you wash those with the whites so they'll be cleaner (and run the risk of pink socks, which has happened even washing cold-cold in our family), or do you wash them with the darks? 

Darrell tells me he washes his black socks with darks.  And to my concern that I don't have enough white clothes to make even a small load, he says they don't have to be all white.  Grays work too.  Light colors.

But what about yellow?  I just got a cute new yellow tanktop.  But what if it turns all my socks yellow?  

I am just making excuses.  But it's hard to change the way you've been doing laundry after so long.  And it feels like this will complicate the whole system. 

But mostly, I'll admit that I just don't know what warm water will do to my clothes.  Cold-cold has been safe for fifteen years, but what if my clothes get warped and shrinked but stretched in hot water? 

Though I guess I don't wear a lot of whites, that's not a problem for all my colored shirts that are still being washed cold anyway.  

This is so complicated.

You mean your family doesn't do that?

Yesterday I came back from work, picked up the mail, and glanced over a KFC ad.  Now here's the thing about me and fast food:  I'm never proud of eating it, and I often feel guilty when I do, but sometimes, I crave its fatty unhealthiness and imagine it's gotta be the best tasting thing ever.  Yesterday was one of those days.  So I gave in and got a little three-piece meal (extra crispy, yesssssss) even though I probably could have been fine with two.  As I was guiltily eating my heart-attack-in-a-box, I remembered the first time I asked for ketchup when eating fried chicken and someone asked, "For what?"  

This instance is one of many from these past years...of discovering that just because your family does it one way, it doesn't mean everyone else does too!  Hence, today's feature:  Things I always thought were normal.

1.  Eating ketchup with fried chicken

2.  Using paper plates for breakfast (compared with everyone else who just uses it for parties and get-togethers)

3.  Using paper towels in the restroom (in our defense, public restrooms do this, but most homes use linen towels)

4.  Putting soup on our rice

5.  Not sorting whites and colors for laundry, unless we're using bleach

6.  Using kid-furniture in the living room--a red, yellow, and green Iris Mini-Chest.  It's so useful, why would we put it anywhere else?

7.  Leave stuffed animals on coffee tables, piano tops, and bookshelves as decoration.  Then again, this is kinda typical of Asian households.

8.  Having no concept of "breakfast food"--leftovers, spaghetti, ramen, rice...or toast, eggs, and cereal.  Anything goes!

I shall add to this list as things come to mind!