the fire of a thousand suns

God is pretty funny. I mean yesterday, here I was, blogging about the fact that I have nothing to blog about this summer. I missed my chaos, my routine was a challenge. Well, ask and you shall receive, folks, and you best be careful what you ask for.

My family was awakened last night to the sound screaming from my room. They emerge from their beds to find me leaping through the kitchen on one foot, still screaming, though the only audible words were "burning" and "fire" followed by sounds like "aoueieoiuouououahiiiiiiieeeeou" and "ugh." My mom came in smiling. She knew what had happened. Why else does someone scream out in the middle of the night and leap around the kitchen like a madwoman in Dripping Springs (other than the obvious midnight relay races)?... a scorpion.

That's right. I stepped on a scorpion. Apparently he didn't like that-- which would explain the not one, but three stings on the left side of my left foot. Why three?-- you ask. Well, I learned last night exactly how long it takes a message to travel from my foot to my brain-- and that would be about the same amount of time it takes for that dang thing to sting me two more times.

Looking down, I expected to see my foot gushing blood and large shards of glass protruding from it. But no. Oh no. It was the most evil of God's creations (besides women). I hate scorpions. I always have. In fact, I have nightmares about the dang things. I fear them. And now I know why I do. You know, someone once told me that all I need to do is be stung by one to see it isn't so bad and to realize that I shouldn't be so afraid. That person should be shot.

I don't want to be dramatic about this. In fact, I pride myself on my pain-tolerance. But holy cow-- it is now about 17 hours after the incident and I am still in pain. It hurts to walk. It hurts to sit. It hurts to be my foot (and yes-- my foot told me that). This morning it was just needle-pricky-ish and now when I walk around campus in the heat, pain shoots through my foot and up my leg. Evil, vile creatures!

In an effort not to be dramatic, I want to give you an approximation of the burning at the time of the incident and the hour to follow it. Borrowing a line from Shakespeare, I would say that it burned with "the fire of a thousand suns." That's not too dramatic-- is it?

My mom, in an effort to make me laugh, commented that I needed to ask God why Noah had to take them on the ark with him. I replied that they weren't on the ark. They were just evil enough to survive a flood that covered the entire earth, devastating every living creature that ever existed to that point. That's how evil they are. They have the devil on their side.

I called Bart today to make a retraction. Last year we had this amazing conversation about Pain and what we thought Pain truly was. I asked him to retract every philosophical, spiritual, and thoughtful comment and conclusion I had about Pain. My new definition-- the scorpion sting.

I wanted something to write about (i.e. dramatize for my readers), I got it. Ready to rethink what you asked for today?

a challenge of my own

I truly wish that I had something worthwhile to write about. I mean-- things are good, don't get me wrong, but there's nothing really going on to speak of. Summer is summer. I work two low-key part-time jobs on campus, I see quite a few of my friends for lunch and dinner and movies and such, and I spend most weekends with my family. It's been a nice balance.

Julie is an intern in DC. Jenn is an intern in NYC. Erika is with her family in California. Nicole is studying in Oxford. Samuel is somewhere between here and Alaska on his bike. Katy is in London/Spain/Europe. Jerod is taking classes in DC. Goza is in the Woodlands. Chris is in London. Ashley is in China. Bart just recently returned from the Caucasus. And I am here. Me and my nice balance. Writing emails, sending cards, and chatting on aim with them is fun, but I miss them. I like it better when they are here and there is no balance.

In thinking about it, though, I see that each of these friends is in a place that challenges them and forces them to try something new and step out of their comfort zones. But I think in a way, staying here challenges me. There is no pressure, there isn't much of a schedule, there isn't much to do. And my closest friends are gone (thank you for coming home, Bart). That is definitely a challenge. And paying the cell phone bill with them far away has been a challenge too ;-)

I miss them a lot, but they will be home soon enough. And the chaos of life and college and organizations and clubs and friends and parties and homework and my senior thesis will ensue. But I miss them a lot.

I don't have much to write about, but I would love to tell you some of their stories when they return. And to those of you who are still around-- you've been invaluable to me-- and never think otherwise. It's been a good summer. It's been a nice balance...

...but I could use a little chaos :)

photo shoot with erika