OMG I'm FULL of Smartzzzz!

I'm pretty sure we all have that friend that is smarter than us. No? Just me? Well ok then.

Anyway, I have a lot of friends who are smarter than me, and I've realized that intelligence falls into two personality traits: show-off or ignorance (whether it be known to them or not).

The show-off personality is that guy that you know that's incredibly smart, but he (or she) has to remind you every five seconds how smart they are. They are completely aware of their intelligence, and they enjoy every minute of it. Spouting off random facts is second nature. When I meet these people, I usually humor them. I'm drawn to people smarter than me. But after listening to them talk for ten minutes, I feel remarkably stupid. There are rare cases when they actually explain what they're talking about, so then I feel less stupid. That tends to help a little bit.

Unfortunately, there's always that show-off who question why you don't know about whatever they're blathering about.

"It was in the news. Don't you watch the news?!"

"Yes..."

"Well...you must watch the stupid news. The news I watch is FULL of IMPORTANT information that YOU should know. Is there something WRONG with you?"

"Apparently."

"Well, anyway...where was I?"

"If I shoot you, would it be considered self-defense?"

Yeah, that type of show-off. Those people drive me crazy. Fortunately, I haven't met very many. If I have, I usually end the conversation as quickly as possible before they start ranting. Because ranting is my thing.

Then there's those lovely ignorant people who don't realize they're smart. I know they are a lot of smart people who know they're smart, but they still fall in the ignorance category because they act ignorant a lot. I know it's a stretch, but this is me we're talking about. If you don't remind me you're smart all the time, then you're ignorant. Let's humor the unintelligent girl and move on, ok? These people will spout off information that relates to the subject or something random that is actually interesting. Despite this, I usually end up feeling stupid around those people, even if they're also really good at explaining things.

<Side-note>Is it weird that I love certain people's talking voices? Like, they could be explaining something that's going completely over my head, but if they're talking then it's all ok. I feel odd for being drawn to certain types of voices. It's not accents, it's voices. Intelligence higher than mine is optional.</Side-note>

I know a lot of people that fall into my ignorant category. So you could say that I feel stupid a lot. Especially at Sno-Isle. I'm supposed to be (one of) the tech-y girl(s) that pwns all the boys with her amazing knowledge of computers. HA! Yeah, right. The only thing that impresses the boys at my school is my chocolate-chip cookies. Oh, they like my niceness and sarcasm, but that doesn't matter as much because girls like those characteristics as well.

I remind myself quite often that I'm still learning and that I know more about computers than a lot of people my age. But when you surround yourself with people smarter than you unintentionally, those reminders disintegrate and you're stuck making cookies. And correcting spelling. Those boys cannot spell.

I still feel mildly stupid around them. A lot. But don't tell them I said anything because I'm afraid they'll take pity and I really don't want that.

"That's right Michaela! That's where the power supply is! You are so good with computers! Isn't she?"

"Yes she is! She is very smart!"

"...You guys read my blog didn't you?"

"...Yes..."

So, in conclusion, I am good at making cookies, and spelling. How invigorating.

And to think I have a blog to feel better about myself. Oh well. I always have common sense to fall back on. Don't even get me started on the lack of that in teenagers.

It's Been A Good Run

Our family is taking a break from Arabic. We're going back to a close-by English Kingdom Hall now. It's just been getting to expensive. Taking a forty minute drive three times a week was too much. But it's been a good four years.

Our last meeting in our previous hall was on Tuesday. We didn't make a big announcement or anything, we just went around and told our friends. News spread quickly. It wasn't announced from the platform and there was no party by request. It's better that way. Everyone said they would miss us, and the feeling was very mutual. In the car on the drive to the meeting, I was actually excited to be going back to English. But as soon as my dad said our last meeting was that night, that changed. I still believe this is the best decision, as do our friends and the rest of the family. My excitement, though, turned to sadness. I didn't cry, but there was a tightness in my chest the whole meeting. I was eager to spread the news, but at the same time I didn't want to. I just wanted to hug all my friends without them knowing I wasn't coming back for awhile and let them know how well they were doing. Then vanish.

That, of course, didn't happen. I only told three people directly, I was approached by most everyone else in the group. I think there's a couple people that weren't told because they weren't at the meeting that night or they left too early. Hopefully those people got the goodbye email my dad sent out. I'm sure they'll figure it out. Any people missing from the Arabic group is noticed.

Anyway, it was an interesting goodbye. It was sad, but it was also full of smiles. People understood why we were taking a break from Arabic. I'm trying really hard not to say "leaving" because we aren't leaving at all. If we can afford to go to the conventions in the summer, then we will. We'll definitely visit. And we could come back, we just don't know. Finally, we had to walk out the door. I walked extra slow, trying to take it all in. We were at that hall for a year, and it was an amazing year. The door closed. We left the parking lot. And that was that.

Taking Arabic was so good for us. We've met friends that we'll forever have. We've expanded our ministry. We were able to travel more as a family. Those accomplishments will never be regretted. It's amazing how learning this language has changed all of us. I've been slowly (very slowly) maturing around adults who care enough to tell me when to shut up, and when I've said the wrong thing. There's too many people that are my age who literally have no one to guide them through life. I know that my parents are excellent at guiding me, but you can never have too many role models, right? Hopefully when I visit, they'll be able to see the "Adult Me." Because, let's face it, everyone's seen enough of "Teen Me."

Our first English meeting was today. My two closest friends are there, and it was glorious knowing that I'll see them on a regular basis once again. Also, there's girls my age in this hall, which will be nice considering I spend a lot of time with guys at school. I mean, sometimes I just want to talk about hair. It was a happy new beginning.

Learning Arabic was the best decision our family has ever made. It's just time to move on for now. The group will never leave our hearts or minds, and we will keep in touch. We love them after all.

May Jehovah continue to bless them.

Rain, rain, don't go away!

Since I am a person who just brought groceries in the house from the pouring rain, I have every right to say I love the rain.

So very much.

Thus brings us to the "rain" post. Rain is just one of those things that you can't describe unless you've been in it. It's not just a form of precipitation. It's an experience.

Water adds drama/romance to everything. Why are all fight/make out scenes in the rain? When you think about it, fighting and kissing are opposite actions. You can't do one while thinking about the other. Could you imagine?

"All right. Time to fight Daredevil. Hmm...maybe we should kiss later..."

Was the Kingpin thinking that? I don't think so. If he was...well...let's move on.

Rain is depressing sometimes. A lot of the time in movies, it's raining during the funeral scenes. It represents sadness for the most part. Water droplets make everything look dramatic. Then again, that's why people kiss in it.

I suppose rain is the movie's natural irony. Kissing in the rain seems silly, but almost every girl I know dreams of doing just that. Yeah right. Girls, the movies are fake, you know that right? It seems like a cute idea, then you do it and you're freezing because you've been in the rain too long. Then your hair gets frizzy and you can't see if you have glasses. If it's cold enough your nose will start running.  Also, no relationship should be based on the girl's fantasies. Or the boy's for that matter. But I digress. If you're reading this, though, you should be used to that.

As I was saying, I think having happy occurrences in the rain is supposed to be ironic. It's like the movie is saying, "See? Rain doesn't have to make things so sad after all!" I love how rain looks (I could watch the rain fall for a long time) but what's even better is how it feels.

When I was outside just now, I had my Sno-Isle sweatshirt on because it was warm and had a hood. I love the rain, but not the cold. I flipped the hood up, stepped outside, and immediately took my hood down. The feel of rain is the best experience. Besides, if I had my hood on, I couldn't hear it well enough.

Ok, these are dewdrops on my mom's rose. But the
principle is the same!

There's too many people I know that despise the rain. This one girl I knew last year would remind me how much she hated the rain, every time it rained. In Washington, it's a common occurrence. But that didn't stop us from having a puddle-splashing fight. By the end, we were soaked and laughing our heads off. She literally had to wring her socks out. I think I was wearing my boots that day, so my socks were dry.

Speaking of boots, rain means I get to wear my boots! My jean cuffs get soaked but who cares? I have cute shoes on!

Most people I know that hate the rain don't like it because of the wetness aspect. They don't like the feeling of their hair getting wetter every time a droplet falls on their head. I don't see what the problem is. That's my favorite part.

Watch this gorgeous girl lip-syncing in the "rain." You'll understand the quotation marks if you watch it. I'm not giving anything away. I will say that it is not a scare video. I hate those. I've watched this four times already in the last hour. I love it.

Nanalew - SAIL Music Video

But I've said too much already. Talking about rain tends to ruin the experience.

Enjoy the rain! You better not stay inside!