Enemy at the Gates

I watched this movie this evening with Hansman and Jay... it was pretty cool. If you haven't seen it, you might not want to read on, but the choice is yours. It was also really gruesome, but fairly true to life. It was interesting to see that part of WWII because I most often see it from the American perspective, being American after all. It amazed me how the Russian soldiers basically had to choose between being shot at by German bullets or Russian bullets. Interesting the way that they used fear and intimidation to drive their soldiers onward. I am so blessed to live in country that is not ruled by a power hungry tyrant.

I can also see why many people are against war, one man, Vassili, is fighting for the motherland, becoming a hero for them to look up to, and later because the Major kills many of his close friends. The Major ends up coming out to Stalingrad because Vassili killed his son. Both are seemingly justified and yet it is so futile, most of the characters get murdered by the others. This movie has at least partially illustrated the utterly destructive nature of war to me. I thank the Lord that this is not the end, that there is something much greater waiting for us, because without the cross and the promise of heaven, this life would be futile, all our efforts would be nothing. Praise God for the life that only He can give, Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Why do I always want to do everything?

So I realized today that I really love to do like any kind of art. I love dance, drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, dude even like needlework is really fun. I always find that I like to do everything and it's frustrating because, well, I can't. I know big shocker. Oh well, I suppose that is life, maybe I should transfer to Pitzer and become an art major... wouldn't that be funny. I mean, why go to college when I could go to Pitzer? Tehehe. I love that. But I suppose I'll just do what I can and worry about it later or not worry about it. But it's so frustrating. Arggh. Anyway, enough babbling, if anyone would like to see some of my random works, I'll probably be posting them on my website but let me say that it is definitely not a comprehensive array of stuff, just the ones that I have easy access to make it up there. Mleh. This is a really incoherent post, but I hope you enjoy it none the less and can at least partially sympathize with my frustration. I need to sleep.

Dude

I really like that word. It's funny because my dad always gets weirded because he thinks that I am calling him dude, but in reality, I use it as an exclamation, like "wow" or "gosh." I really don't know where I am going with this... anyway, I also like it because I guess it makes me feel more like the native Southern Californian that I am, by fulling embracing that stereotype. I really need to go surfing more... oh well, maybe this summer, especially if all my internship possibilities fall through.. I'll have plenty of time. Well, I guess that is about it... peace out dudes!

My Website

So I know it's not much, but if you feel like it, you can check out my website:
http://www3.hmc.edu/~hmartelle
Hopefully it will be further updated soon, but will probably being about as infrequent as this blog has been. Until next time... stay classy Bloggerville.

So I Was Bored...

This is my experiment with photo shop that I was messing with yesterday. I actually really like it. It was originally a picture that I took down at Pitzer last year, but anyhow, isn't this cool, I'm actually blogging two days in a row. Sweet.

Some of the things that I love...

So I've been realizing lately how ridiculously ungrateful I am, so I am going to list all the things that I love and am thankful for:

1. Jesus. Without Him, I would be nothing.
2. My friends and family. I have been so blessed, thanks guys!
3. Chocolate. Sooo delicious.
4. Dr. Pepper. The best drink ever.
5. Swing dancing. Sooo fun, tonight was awesome thanks for dancing with me Greg, James, Brian, and Mishi!
6. Hugs. The spice of life.
7. Kitties. I love the way they purrrrr.
8. Bun Bun. I'm sorry I am a horrible mommy.
9. My roomate. Renee, you rock!
10. My jiggy bob. Karen and KJ, you guys are awesome!
11. My new skirt. So much fun to dance in.
12. My sunglasses. hehehe
13. My goblet. It may be plastic, but it friggin rocks.
14. Nature. It's amazing to see the beaty that is all around us that we often take for granted.
15. And like everything else, ever.

Well, anyway I am incredibly blessed and it bothers me how much I don't remember that and get so caught up in one desire that it blocks me from seeing all the other really awesome stuff in my life. I also realize that I have been using the same descriptors for just about everything, but I can't stop myself from saying "awesome" and "rocks," maybe the whole lack of vocabulary thing is why I should definitely not be anything near a literature major. Yay Mudd for being so technical that all the vocab is given to me and I don't have to write fluffy papers, or at least not near as many as at other colleges. So I suppose I should add the opportunity to attend school here at Mudd to the list, but it is included in everything else, ever, so I guess I'm set. Wow, I'm really rambling here...anyway, and then I found $10. G'night everybody!

So Buckface gave me a *nudge*

So the prefrosh are here, that is pretty cool and all the ones I've met seem pretty awesome. I also am missing one.... I do have a pretty bad track record regarding prefrosh... but the one I have now is coming to Mudd (and decided this after meeting me :D). Steak night was rather on the crazy side, for the first few bites I ate my steak with only a butter knife... pretty amusing.

Anyhow, things have been going pretty good. I have really been trying to not have a stress level equal to my work level, and I have been able to enjoy God's peace to some extent. For example, on Tuesday I had two midterms, a dance presentation, and we started work on the bridge... generally a pretty stress filled day, but by God's grace I was able to have peace about all of it and also finish off reading the Chronicles of Narnia.

Speaking of the Chronicles of Narnia, I really enjoyed all of the books. I enjoyed C. S. Lewis' writing style, he is an amazing author which I hope to read more of in the future. The books are also very true to life, I was able to relate with the ways that the children grew and were transformed by the presence of Aslan. I love Reepicheep and his incredible loyalty and faith, that is something that I aspire to. Each of the stories really spoke to me, especially the way that Aslan used these seemingly insignificant children to achieve great things for the creatures of Narnia.

Oh, we also had my 19 and 3/4ths birthday party because my birthday is in the summer and my half birthday is during winter break. It was really fun, they tried to surprise me by actually having it the day before. Thanks everybody who came, I really appreciated it and the cake Martha made was of course delicious, and very chocolate-y. Go Marf Marf!

Well I suppose that is all for now, I do enjoy sleeping and tomorrow starts another week of good ol' fun here at the Muddinator, although it shouldn't be too bad. Not that any week is too bad come to think of it, because Jesus is with me through every one :D.

Some Things I've Been Thinking About the Last Month

Yeah..Yeah.. so I haven't updated this dude for a while and I could attribute it to a many number of things. I've gotten more into Myers-Briggs recently and me being a ENTP I tend not to write anything down and suck at self reflection. But I think that I would more commonly attribute it to not having any time due to all the gosh-darned work. But is that really a valid excuse? I mean granted there is alot of work to be done, but I think it is not as oppressive as it often seems to be. Since when did I buy into the idea that my stress and overall attitude should be directly related to my workload? Why do I always seek some kind of escape, usually through useless movies and TV shows on the network?

The truth is that the work is doable and my view on life should not be determined by how much homework I have to do that evening. I need to get my priorities straight. Grades will not save me from the pit, only Jesus can do that. The difficult part of these revelations is in application, but I will pray for perserverence and awareness in the day to day, because I know that I cannot do anything on my own, despite my seeming "toughness." How is it that we can forget the God of the Universe? That seems so ridiculous to me, but it happens to me ALL THE TIME.

Lord, I pray that you will continue your work in me and discard my old self so that my new self in You can shine through!