Saturday, May 31, 2008
Above All Video
Miracles do happen...I uploaded a video to You Tube! (The miracle is I have bad Internet connection here in Brazzaville). Here's a little clip of one of my solos at our concert last weekend. My solo isn't outstanding and the choir was actually pretty bad that night, but hey, God was there and we had a ton of fun!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Facebook photos from May, Strengths Finder, etc.
Here are a few pics from the past month (including photos of Monkey Business, my new braids, my roomie Theresa, Amelia's bday party, etc.)
Life's been a blast lately. Theresa and I keep coming home at 11 or midnight. Just not enough hours in the evening for all the fun we want to have :o)
Work's been going well too. One fun project has been writing drafts of 2 papers about things I've learned from singing with my choir.
I recently took the "Strengths Finder" test in preparation for an upcoming leadership workshop in Cameroon in September. The premise is that we work best by turning our talents into real strengths (rather than emphasizing overcoming our weaknesses). Gallup compiled like 34 themes of different talents people possess. A talent becomes a strength when you invest in it through learning, practice, etc.
My top 5 themes were: Communication, Strategy, Belief, Activator, and Woo (Winning Others Over). I definitely agree with Communication because I love giving presentations and writing. Woo was cool because it says that networking is one of my talents and that's exactly what I've been working on lately. Belief I definitely resound with because I absolutely have to do work that resonates with my values or life is completely meaningless to me. Strategy is sort of me because I'm analytical and can pull out the important themes in a discussion, but it doesn't really describe me in that I don't think through all the possible outcomes before making decisions. Activator is what I wish I were, but I don't really see that it's my natural strength to get things started and be impatient to put ideas into action. Looking forward to the leadership workshop because as team leader I have a lot to learn!
Life's been a blast lately. Theresa and I keep coming home at 11 or midnight. Just not enough hours in the evening for all the fun we want to have :o)
Work's been going well too. One fun project has been writing drafts of 2 papers about things I've learned from singing with my choir.
I recently took the "Strengths Finder" test in preparation for an upcoming leadership workshop in Cameroon in September. The premise is that we work best by turning our talents into real strengths (rather than emphasizing overcoming our weaknesses). Gallup compiled like 34 themes of different talents people possess. A talent becomes a strength when you invest in it through learning, practice, etc.
My top 5 themes were: Communication, Strategy, Belief, Activator, and Woo (Winning Others Over). I definitely agree with Communication because I love giving presentations and writing. Woo was cool because it says that networking is one of my talents and that's exactly what I've been working on lately. Belief I definitely resound with because I absolutely have to do work that resonates with my values or life is completely meaningless to me. Strategy is sort of me because I'm analytical and can pull out the important themes in a discussion, but it doesn't really describe me in that I don't think through all the possible outcomes before making decisions. Activator is what I wish I were, but I don't really see that it's my natural strength to get things started and be impatient to put ideas into action. Looking forward to the leadership workshop because as team leader I have a lot to learn!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Amelia and Me
Haven't written about anything besides my hair and my cat for a while, so I figure I better talk about something with a little more depth, if only to prove to myself that my life is indeed deeper than braids and Monkey Business (I do live in the Congo, after all).
So something cool is that I have an amazing new friend named Amelia. Her new hubby is a "special agent" with the US gov't, so they're here for the new embassy building project. She's an artist and recently ran a half-marathon in South Africa. She comes over to hug me when I'm sad and bakes me muffins when I'm sick. On a scale of 1 to 10, they're "totally awesome." Meeting cool friends can't be taken for granted when one lives in Brazzaville. What are the odds of meeting someone I totally click with? God's grace and goodness are astounding. Amelia and I like to go to the orphanage, make cookies, address each other as "Hey Woman", hang out in her air-conditioned home, invite each other over for dinner, etc.
Fun times.
So something cool is that I have an amazing new friend named Amelia. Her new hubby is a "special agent" with the US gov't, so they're here for the new embassy building project. She's an artist and recently ran a half-marathon in South Africa. She comes over to hug me when I'm sad and bakes me muffins when I'm sick. On a scale of 1 to 10, they're "totally awesome." Meeting cool friends can't be taken for granted when one lives in Brazzaville. What are the odds of meeting someone I totally click with? God's grace and goodness are astounding. Amelia and I like to go to the orphanage, make cookies, address each other as "Hey Woman", hang out in her air-conditioned home, invite each other over for dinner, etc.
Fun times.
Liberation Day
After 2 weeks, my braids were getting a little fuzzy and I decided it was high time to wash my hair. The experiment with extensions was definitely a success, however, and will be repeated.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
A place for everything, and everything in its place...
J'adore mon chat. She's so stinking cute. She sleeps on my feet while I do the dishes. She bites my ankles in the morning before I feed her. She does frontward summersaults when she plays with her tennis ball. So, so cute.
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