All Things New

When I graduated from high school in 2001 I had a hand full of close friends. For the most part, they are all still very close to this day and I look forward to the ups and downs that life will surely bring. After all, that's what friends are for. But I have one friend who has been up close and personal since high school, and now it is time to say farewell. I met him when I was getting ready to leave Rockwall for my first semester of college. His name is Kirkland. Some of you are reading this and thinking "Who is Kirkland? And why hasn't Amelia ever mentioned him before?" The reason for this is because Kirkland is a roll of trash bags. That's right, I've had one roll of trash bags for 7 years.

How? My mom likes to shop at Costco...that's how. When I was getting ready for college, my mom made one of her famous Costco runs and bought me this box of trash bags. Little did she know that that roll would see me through 2 universities, 10 changes of address, 4 cities and 1 job hunt. He has seen me on the mountain tops and in the valleys - he's really been there for it all. And now I'm down to my last bag. I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that I've had a roll of trash bags for 7 years or the fact that I consider him to be like family...

I've never really been a reader, but I am now. It all started on my 1 year anniversary with Gerald. In my haste to get him a present I bought him some books (which I thought he might like) and ended up buying one for myself. It was Atonement. I'd already seen and fallen in love with the movie, so I was sure that the book would be great if not perfection. I was right. Next was Blue Like Jazz, a book that I've been trying to read for 4 years - it made me laugh. If you ever want a religious gut check, read this book. It'll pull you out of the mundane religious experience and transform you into a believer. It was awesome. Then my co-worker suggested that I read The Devil in the White City. It was scary (hence the whole "devil" part of the title) and filled with those random factoids that your high school English teacher would put on quizzes just to see if you read:

1. HOW MANY TIMES DID MR. HOLMES MARRY? He never really did. He was just trying to set up a franchise in his name by fathering children all over the nation.
2. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF MR. HOLMES' FIRST VICTIM? Joe?? I'm not sure what this has to do with my graduating.
3. HOW MANY TIMES DID BURNHAM AND ROOT TRAVEL COLLECTIVELY? 15; I think that's the number, if you count their travels to and from school and New York. Again, what does this have to do with me graduating?

There were so many chapters that went on and on about what in my opinion were stupid details, that towards the end of the book I just started skimming the pages in hopes that something worth reading would come up. This man, H.H. Holmes had done so much that hadn't been detected by the police that it was hard to stomach. I really just wanted to know if the evil-doer was caught (he was) and if Burnham went down in history as a great American architect (he did). Needless to say I didn't love the book but it did make me glad that I believe in Jesus - knowing that the Lord protects His children from those kinds of people is really comforting. After that was One Mississippi, a book I randomly picked up in Target because I liked the cover and the simple fact that everything is better when it comes from Target. It was so good that I finished it in a week! Which I never do because I'm a slow reader (or so I like to think). Now I'm reading The Red Tent, which is definitely cool. The beginning was a little gross (it's hard to think of a Biblical hero, Jacob, as a young, sexually charged man, but I guess it's only natural). So far, the book is my favorite. It's an easy read and through it I'm beginning to appreciate Jewish heritage and the strong bond that women have with each other.

Another cool development in my life is the pair of Pumas that I got to build on Thursday night. Pretty cute huh? Navy, pink, gold and white. :) My team at work went to the Puma store in SoHo and had appetizers and "made" a pair of Puma shoes. (no stitching required). As soon as we got the word that we were going to go to the store everyone frantically hopped online and started designing their shoes. The only down side is that we're going to have to wait 5-7 weeks for them to come in. Just in time for football season, I guess....