This is the best email that I've gotten in a long time.

:)

Guess who's going to Korea...

:)

G-d's just been showing off.

Soooo I've been meaning to post this since Thursday. Sorry. Life's been hectic. I'm sure you can understand.

On Thursday, I decided I was not going to let fear rule me, and I borrowed my friend's car, and went driving by myself to run some errands.I got my papers sent off to Korea, which turned out to be harder than I thought. I got to the UPS store, only to be quoted a price of $50 to send them. $50 is not acceptable. I cannot afford it, so I left and went to the bank. After that, it was time for my check in with the doctor, who said that he was entirely surprised at how well I'm doing physically. He double-checked my head, saying that the bumps are healing nicely. He too was surprised at my lack of injuries. He gave me the appointment for free, because he thought I'd been through enough already. He's so sweet.

Right after that, I went to the post office. I knew that they would not get my papers to Korea as quickly as UPS, but they would be cheaper. After consulting with one of the women who hired me, I knew the most important factor was the ability to track it over the ocean, so I requested that at the counter, only to be told that this was impossible. I debated this point with the man behind the counter, but he insisted, so I reclaimed my papers and went out into the lobby to think. I tried calling a couple of people, but no one picked up. Then this really sweet woman put a hand on my shoulder and asked if I was okay. I told her yes, but then she said (in her English accent),

"You know, honey, I ship things overseas all the time, and I know they can track it...I'm going to sort this out for you. Stay right there."

She then disappeared into the main area, shortly reemerging with two papers. She told me that I needed to request "registered mail" vs. "tracking." She said, "Honey, fill these papers out, and take it all back in. They're just being stupid. If they still say that they can't, take your s*** and go to another post office."

I laughed, and then looked up to thank her, and she was gone. My mom insisted I share this story as proof that G-d is working overtime in taking care of me (Maybe angels aren't quite as straight-laced as we like to think?). I agree; He is, because this woman's option worked just fine. I took a picture on my phone of the intensity of what they did to this envelope, but I'm technology illiterate and couldn't get it to upload, so just picture every opening paper-taped down with date stamps every couple of inches along the tape. It was exciting (and only $15).


After all that excitement, I did something totally for me (which I'm now striving to do every day): I went back to the crash site. A lot of people think I'm insane for doing it, and I will admit that it got my adrenaline pumping, but I really felt that I needed it. The skid marks helped to fill in some of the blanks in my memory, and certainly got me a bit emotional, but I needed this to feel more real. Until then, I hadn't been able to process it; it was like nothing had happened, except that I didn't have a car. After this, I can't feel that way anymore. All in all, it was a good choice.












That being said, I have a request to make: please drive CONSIDERATELY and RESPECTFULLY. Yes, you may be running late to something, even something very important, but, whatever it is, it is not more important than the life of the person in the car next to you (and if it is, you shouldn't be driving, emergency personnel should be). Please, slow down and obey the speed limits; consider the moves you're making and choose what is safest. (Click here for some tips from AAA.)

Love you all.

I promised...

I got my VISA paperwork! It's here! It's here! I will send it off to Korea tomorrow.

My departure date has also been officially pushed back. I will arrive in Korea on August 24.

I am also delaying leaving Nashville. I'm not sure when I will leave, but it will certainly not be this weekend.

Also, I'm not nearly as sore today as I thought I would be, but I did make a doctor's appointment to make sure that everything is going okay with the places where I bumped my head in the accident. I'll post that update either tomorrow or the day after, because my appointment will be calling it awfully close to the HP 7.2 premiere!!! :)

Drive safely, friends!

Let's talk about how good G-d is.

So... Today, I understood a little better as to why everything has been unfolding the way it has.

Today, I got in an accident. I am absolutely fine, so don't worry. I was trying to merge into the right lane, when it turned out that there was another in my blind spot. It sped up and beeped, which startled me. I overcompensated, then overcompensated back. I hit the guard rail and ricocheted back into traffic. I looked up in time to see a semi coming straight for me. He braked in time, though, and then stayed there, preventing other cars from coming back at me. I could not open my car door from the inside, but a woman from two cars behind me came and got me out. As it turns out, she is a doctor, so she took care of me. Right behind her was a TDOT man, who also took care of me. Soon, emergency personnel were there too. They took me to the hospital, where it turned out that I was perfectly fine. I'm barely even bruised. I'm sore and shaken, but I'm fine.

G-d knew this was going to happen, and, although I certainly would have preferred to not wreck, He took care of me through it. He put these people on the road and kept me from extensive injuries. He delayed me getting my VISA paperwork so I would not have to be on an international flight next week.

Quite honestly, I feel like I should have been dead (as did the police officer that I was talking to today), but I was able to walk away with only bruises, not even scratches. G-d is so good.

Finally, I got this in my mailbox today. I'm pretty certain that it's my VISA paperwork. I'll let you know for sure tomorrow. As it turns out, everything really is in G-d's perfect timing.
Please drive safely.

Going Away Party

So, my going-away party at Yeshuat Yisrael was last night, and it was so much fun! I haven't smiled/laughed that much in a long time. In fact, my cheeks are still hurting (the thought of which just made me smile, and, in turn, hurt more... cue vicious cycle). Anyway, the moral is that it was absolutely the best party that I can remember having. I just went through all my pictures from it, and they made me so happy that I am going to share them with you and give you the walk-through that way.

This is the cake that Meret made. She doesn't know it, but I ate a slice, even though I hate cake. Why did I do that? Because everyone kept telling me that it was the best cake they'd ever eaten. So I tried it, and you know what? It was pretty amazing. I think I've finally found the answer to the question that everyone asks me when I tell them I hate cake. "You hate cake?! What are you going to do whenever you get married?!" (Yes, I go to a Christian School, and this cliché is so true here.) Anyway... my new answer: "I will have Meret make it."

These are a bunch of my TNU friends (and families) that showed up for my party. They came from near and far, and I was so happy they were there! Really... they made it so much better. We were all laughing the whole time.

You'll see that the plates are full of food. The foods that are on those plates are a lot of my favorites from Yeshuat Yisrael over the years, including Rabbi Ken's Chop Chop Salad and Jasmine Rice with coconut milk. Yum yum yum!

Later, the beautiful DeMetri Moon came by with her sweet baby, Paisley Grace, who succeeded in entertaining us all with what is apparently her new favorite: the surprised face. This kid is ridiculous. At first, she was shy (for the first time I've ever known her to be), but, as she warmed up, this face came out, to a rousing round of laughter. She must have liked that, because she kept doing it ever few minutes for the rest of the time she was there. P.S. Her momma told me that this munchkin is running now. Running. Kids grow up too fast.




Paisley wasn't the only one that performed that evening, either. Between a lot of jokes and a hilarious Sci-fi routine, the boyfriend got up and did a rap that impressed the congregation so much that they asked him to do it again later. He was assisted by Ms. Allison Lafoe on the beatbox... sort of.









And Rabbi Ken's Sci-fi, comedy routine consisted of a mad-scientist and a Blue Man Group impersonation. It was hilarious.

After all of that, they had me sing, and then they prayed for me. People got confused then and thought it was time to leave, but that was okay. I thought it was time to leave for a second too. BUT IT WASN'T! Nope... it was present time!

They gave me some excellent new Samsonite luggage (see above), and Suzanne, a member of the congregation, gave me her Samsonite carry-on. Plus, they gave two bags of Sour Patch Kids (my favorites) and some toiletries. (They're still planning on sending me toiletries every month... they're so amazing.) Alex and her family gave me some crucial journaling supplies, since Alex sees me journaling all the time. (She knew I was going to need more.) That was pretty ironic, since I had been looking at getting another journal earlier that day, but had just not found one that I liked. Yay, Alex! (In addition... she and her family gave me a HP 7.2 movie poster!!!)
In summary, my party was awesome, my friends are awesome, and G-d is awesome. The end.

This is that "Come to G-d Moment" that my friends like to talk about.

Okay, so a month or so ago, as some of you may or may not know, my friend Jason was riding his bike and got hit by a car. It was looking really bad for a few days, but through an insane amount of prayer, Jason is steadily recovering. His family started a blog to keep everyone up to date with his progress. Anyway, his latest entry, entitled 2 and 1/2, has really gotten me thinking about life. I'm going to copy it in for you:

2 and 1/2

hey guys this is jason :) To begin i want to thank everyone so much for what they have done for me as i have been healing. Setting me up with awesome dinners, making sure i know that someones there for me. I keep hearing that my parents don't know who caused the accident, but they want to find out. But to be honest i'm not worried about that, I am just happy and thanking god that i have no broken bones, and that i'm alive. This whole month has felt like more time then it seems but to me i haven't really been worrying about it all. This is the time for me to be happy and i'm almost there but in all this thats going on there has been some mesh of emotions some where along the line. It was a feeling i ran into to many times before the accident to be honest this has been beneficial to me. This accident has given me much more appreciation for the little things that happen every day. It has also helped me to realize the importance of life as it is. As before my accident i remember going to school and seeing some people just flipping out for the worst of reasons . "oh im so fat!!," or seeing some kid so desperate for attention that he jumps on a girls back and makes her give him a piggy back ride. I mean seriously she's a girl ok and about to grow into a woman treat her like one you jerk. or "People just dont get me." Really!! I wasn't worrying about that before. Yea i liked a girl and she sort of ignored me whenever i told her but i had school to focus on. I had to take a college math course three times just to pass it!! thank god i did though!! :) As what im trying to say is that people make everything more dramatic then it really is. This accident was dramatic it gave a big scar on my forehead and caused me to be in a 4 day coma which had everyone who knew on edge. But i awoke and every person who knew the news must have been happy to see me open my eyes. To me having people there for me has been a huge part of this whole process. I mean i'm 19 yea i am young but though i'm young this accident has made me feel different then before. I feel like having this brain injury has made me want to be able to relax and not have to make things a bigger deal than they really are. As i have also learned that who ever truely knew about this accident really knew that i needed them more than ever and for all those people i say thank you and god bless.

He's gotten me thinking about myself, and how I've been blowing things way out of proportion with this VISA thing. It will be what G-d wants it to be, and it will be perfect because of that. As for me, I need to wait on the Lord, and renew my strength. It's all going to be okay. As my inspirational figure, Dory says, "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim..." Yes, I think I could use a bit more of Dory's reckless faith, and a lot less of Marlin's strict faith in only himself. (And this isn't only in reference to Korea; I'm seeing this need in all areas of my life.)

L-rd, G-d, teach me to trust. Amen.

This will be quick.

Good news! There's a backup plan in case my VISA doesn't come through in time: If that turns out to be the case, my departure from the U.S. will be pushed back a month. However, I still plan to leave Nashville on July 17, as I have to be moved out then anyway, and my cousin (who just sent me yet another game request on Facebook... too bad I can't access that game unless I'm off campus.) and his fiancée are patiently waiting for me to sell them my car, and I really don't want to keep them waiting. Not to worry, though... my bedroom has yet to fully turn into a storage room at my parents' house. Soooo maybe, just maybe, I won't be in a rush to say goodbye to all my HoCo people... Of course, a month does seem a little more than necessary, but I'm trying to trust in G-d's perfect timing (as I remember that I have yet to check the mail today... I'm going to go do that)!