Kendall's perspective

Wed, 23 May 2007 18:46:24 GMT

Oops, I forgot that I had to post this thing.

Comment here, and
1: I'll respond with something random about you.
2: I'll challenge you to try something.
3: I'll pick a color that I associate with you.
4: I'll tell you something I like about you.
5: I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6: I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7: I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8: If I do this for you, you must post this in your journal.

My Halloween

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:32:19 GMT

We had decided to not do anything for Halloween. But as night fell, and the air began to smell of burning pumpkin and fireworks, I longed to return to my childhood. As a child, Halloween meant pizza, best friends, my grandparents, apple cider, staying up past my bedtime, pumpking pie, the coolest costume in the world, and a mound of chocolate bars of which is was allowed to eat as much as I wanted. I made Josh drive over to my parents, just to check if any of that stuff was there. But alas, I was disappointed. All I found was my Dad and a big box of bagged goodies, waiting in vain for children to come claim. I guess that stage in my life has passed.

the weekend

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:17:39 GMT

I spent my weekend volunteering at Joy Fellowship, a camp for handicapped adults. Even though I've been helping there for years, there are always little things about the people I find fascinating. This weekend I was really intrigued by the way the ladies with cerebal palsey would communicate. Basically, I can hardly understand what they are saying, because they have such little voluntary control over their muscles, so talking is a slow and difficult task. It takes about 30 seconds to a minute for them to say a single sentence, and even then it's almost incomprehensible. But these ladies will sit and talk to eachother for hours! One of them can't even talk, and uses a little keyboard to spell out what she's saying, which takes even longer. But they can understand eachother, have the patience for eachother, and are actually really good friends. It makes me look back at myself when I'm talking with them. Do i just humour them? Pretend I know what they're saying? That's not fair because they are people too, and deserve my attention and interest, despite their physical disabilities. Well, there are always things to learn about myself.

now where did I leave off...

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:42:38 GMT

I've decided to start posting again. After almost a year, it is time to get back in this habit. I've decided to do this because I've recently started a new chapter in my life. The part where I'm now married, and I think it would be beneficial to record my discoveries and experiences as a married woman. After all, it has already been quite the adventure.

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 16:00:50 GMT

What a busy weekend!
Yesterday afternoon Josh and I had an engagement party. We had it at my Grandparent's house, and there must have been about 50 people that came through. It was alot of fun. The wedding/marriage stuff is starting to sink in. It was really cool to see all my family and friends. I didn't realize how many supportive people I have in my life. Even my aunt, uncle and cousins came down from Kelowna for the day. It was the first gathering where all my family and all of Josh's family were together. It was a bit awkard for them, but I'm hoping relationships will develop over the next little while.

I hear wedding bells....

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 22:22:24 GMT

Just thought I'd let everyone know that.... I'm ENGAGED!!!!

Last weekend Josh proposed. We were up in harrison at a young adult's retreat. On Saturday night, in front of everyone, Josh pulled out a ring and got down on his knee. It was so amazing!!!! So, I'm getting married.

Time to start updating again

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 05:18:24 GMT

Well, school has been ok this semester, not too hard. However, I am so bored with my classes. Data Analysis, Statistics, Research methods, and bio. I'm not enjoying school too much. However, things with church are great. I'm loving it right now. And I'm really starting to get into music again. Leading worship is really awesome, and challenging me in my musical abilities. I'm contemplating writing songs again. Maybe when I have time, I'll take voice lessons.

Thu, 07 Jul 2005 03:35:03 GMT

Ok, time for a quick update.

Monday night I went down to the US with my mom, brother and Josh to light off fireworks on an Indian Reserve, as it was 4th of July. We were coming back pretty late. Josh and I in his car, my Mom and Brother in another car. I was driving because Josh had a headache. It was about 12:30 and I was starting to get really tired. My eyes kept closing, and I thought to myself, "oh man, if I close my eyes for more than a blink, I'll probably fall asleep." Next thing I know, Josh is yelling at me to stop the car, I open my eyes, and we're flying through a grassy ditch and 100km/h. My first thought was, "oh crap, I did fall asleep." I finally got a hold of myself and put on the brakes. A bunch of people stopped to try and help us. We tried driving it out but we had no such luck. The ditch was too steep. A guy called the police so we could get a tow truck. Well, the towtruck was just 5 mins away. He had us out of there in no time. And he didn't even charge us anything, cause he was on his way home. A cop came, and said he should be writing me a ticket, but nothing was damaged, so he just left. Man, I feel so blessed to be alive. We were about 1 min away from the bridge. If I dozed off at the bridge, who knows what would have happened. There were also tons of lamp posts all along the side of the freeway. But I managed to miss the. Our car didn't flip or anything. Josh's car is fine, and we're fine. I am certain that we were in God's hands. But I am never driving when I'm tired ever again.

Mon, 30 May 2005 18:21:40 GMT

Well, I must say everyone came through with the play. They all amazed me. The improvements in some of them was amazing. The last two nights went really well. No mistakes, and it all went smoothly. Except for me, haha. I missed a cue and when the curtains opened, everyone was on stage except me. So, I casually walked in as if I was supposed to. But, for a cast of unexperienced actors, the play was really good. I can't wait to do the next one!

Sun, 29 May 2005 00:19:09 GMT

This week has been MusicMan week. I agreed to help out with BCCA's musical, and was drafted in for a minor role. We had our first performance on thursday, and our last one is tonight. What a stressful week! The entire cast is made of of green performers (newbies). 3/4 of the cast do not know how to act, 1/4 of the cast don't know when to come on stage, and 1/3 of the cast do not know how to sing on beat. I spent my moments backstage finding kids who missed their cue. The nice thing about it though, is I get to act. It's a secret passion of mine (or not so secret). I was given a role as a pick-a-little lady. I love those kind of roles because I get to totally overact everything! Of course I stand out with my crazy facial expressions, but the drama teacher says it adds alot ot the performance and gets the other kids into it. It's almost over, and my stress levels will get back to normal. Yay!

Fri, 27 May 2005 20:35:25 GMT

Wednesday night was the awesomely awesome DELIRIOUS concert!!!!! Josh and I went down to bellingham for the afternoon, bought him some cheap groceries, went to ROSS, bought me two shirts, had dinner, and then went to Christ the King Church. The concert was so good! Whenever I see Delirious live they totally inspire me as a musician and worship leader. I have a bit of a vision for worship at my church now. They played mostly songs from their world service cd. And poor Martin Smith had a bit of a cold and couldn't sing his crazy high notes like usual, so we didn't get the whole Delirious experience. Even still, it was awesome.

Sat, 07 May 2005 02:17:22 GMT

OK, time to update about my trip to Costa Rica

Saturday: we left the house about 10 am and picked up Josh in abbotsford. We then drove to Seattle, hung around, and our airplane left at 7pm for los angelas. We arrived in Costa Rica at 6 in the morning. It was a horrible flight because i barely slept at all, and we had a full day of travel ahead of us.

Sunday: We got off the plane and my dad managed to find us some transportation. A guy named Louis with a cool van was gonna take us for our 4 hour drive to Manuel Antonio. He was so cool! He didn't speak alot of english, but he was great at teaching us spanish and showed us all sorts of stuff as we drove through the country. The drive was crazy. Costa Rica is full of steep mountains and valleys. We just kept turning these windy roads. It was a beautiful drive though. Incredible views. Louis stopped at this fruit stand and let us taste all sorts of different fruits. I was a little squeamish with the wierd fuzzy stuff and brown mushiness, but Josh dug right in and loved most of it. We then stopped at this bridge over a river and got out, and the river was filled with crocodiles. After that we stopped at a little beach side restaurant for chicken, rice, beans and tortillas. Mmmmm, I like costa rican food. We finally arrived in Manuel Antonio at about 2 pm, and hit the beach for a splash in the ocean. Our hotel was pretty nice. Lots of trees and stuff. There were even some Monkeys swinging outside our hotel room.

Monday: We went into a nearby town called Quepos on the bus. We basically just explored, ate lots of pastries and drank coffee. Then we headed back to the beach for some more wave jumping.

Tuesday: Our Treck through the jungles of Costa Rica! Man, talk about hot and sweaty. It was fun though. We saw sloths, monkeys, crazy rodents, tons of lizards, and millions of land crabs scurrying through the mountains. Although the rainforest was beautiful, it was along hike.

Wednesday: We went back into the jungles, but this time one horses. It was great because it was Josh's first time on a horse. It sort of sucked for him at first because the trail guide started us off at a trot, which for a first timer is not fun, especially since Josh's stirrups were too long. But, i had the guy fix them, and he showed Josh how to find his balance, and pretty soon Josh was charging along the trails having a great time. Near the end we stopped for a little swim in the river. So beautiful and refreshing. A nice change from the salt water of the ocean.

Thursday: Another exploration of the rainforest, but from way up in the canopy on zip lines. Hundreds of feet from the ground, we were harnessed onto pullies, and went flying through the top of the trees. It was soooo awesome! Even though I'm scared of heights, I managed to do it. I had a blast. We then called upon our trusty taxi driver Louis who took us back to the inland. We went to a city called Alajuela. Alot different from the coast. People everywhere, crammed streets, gross old men who kept staring at me, and pregnant girls everywhere! We did lots of shopping in the city. Lots of cheap clothes. Except every store I went into, half of the clothes were maternity. Alot different then at home. Even the trendy teen stores had maternity sections. Our hotel the first night was ummm....different. Even Louis cringed when we told him we were staying there. They had a lovely mural painted on the wall. About 10 naked women bathing in a waterfall. We hung up some toilet paper bras on the wall.

Friday: We took a bus up into the mountains to a volcano. We hiked up a ways to see this huge crator. It was steaming like crazy and there was sulphur all around its edges. There was also another crator that is now a large lagoon. We hung out there for a bit, except it was really cold and rainy, alot like back home. It was a nice change from the 40 degree crazy hot weather down in the valley.

Saturday: We went to the town called Sarchi which is supposedly the artisan capitol. But, it was mostly large stores with tons of costarican merchandise. We were hoping for a marketplace with street venders. However, we still managed to get some neat stuff. We definetly got tons of coffee. We then went back into Alujela for even more shopping. I got a "Roxy" purse (they have tons of Roxy rip-off stuff, including "Roxie" and "Rossy"). I also got a cute pair of pink shoes.

Sunday: We departed from the beautiful warm weather of Costa Rica, sadly, with only a tiny bit of a tan. We left at 9 in the morning and arrived in seattle at 9 in the evening.

It was a super fun trip. Lots of food, icecream, beaches, and crazy bugs and lizards.

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 20:35:36 GMT

Happy Birthday Joshy!!!!

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 20:18:42 GMT

Costa Rica in two weeeeeeeeeks!!!!! I'm am so excited. We haven't had a family vacation for quite a while. Plus i get to bring a friend, hehe, guess who I'm taking. JOSH!!! Only one problem with this trip, I keep feeling the need to buy new clothes. "oh, i really need a new bathing suit," "I don't have enough pairs of shorts," "I need new shirts to go with my bathing suit," "I don't have any shoes!" So, I have been spendign a tiny bit too much lately. Well, at least I know once the trip's over I'll stop.

(yeah right....)

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 06:05:49 GMT

Today was my 19th birthday.

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 21:37:18 GMT

I think that I should inform my online journal readers of what it is I do for a career. I do Applied Behavior Analysis, which is a behavioral intervention therapy to treat autism. Using a behavioral model, we can teach children with autism to control their behavior, to have normal social interactions, and to function like everyone else. For those of you who are unaware of Behavioral Psychology, ABA comes from the idea that for every behavior, there is both a cause, and a consequence. If we want a behavior to increase, we reinforce it. If we want a behavior to decrease, we either ignore it, or if necessary, punish. Using this principle of teaching, children with autism have fully recovered! It is scientifically based and has data, not just case studies, to back it up.

The problem....ABA is expensive. For an early intervention program (ABA is most effective when introduced as early as possible, and done extensively), it can cost up to 60,000 dollars a year. For older children, the costs are about 20,000. This is alot for families to pay, especially since it is a medically necessary treatment to treat a medical disorder (which affects 1 in every 200 people). However, it is not recognized by the government as medical treatment that should be funded. This needs to change! If you would like to help with our fight for kids with autism, you can sign a petition online here. Autism is steadily increasing, but you can help.

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 05:19:56 GMT

cellulite shmellulite....

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 05:49:15 GMT

The bio lab technician gave me about 20 Indian Stick Insects!!! They are so cool. If I ever find myself dropping out of psychology, I'm gonna be an entomologist, or study reptiles, or amphibians, or everything relating to that. Anyone wanna go catch some tadpoles?

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:23:21 GMT

I am angry, very angry. The United States has now come to a point of euthenizing people with disabilities. Terri Schiavo is dead, not because of some natural means, but because a court ruled that she should be starved to death. It was said that she was in "a coma" and on life support. From my knowledge, a person in a coma can not open their eyes, look around and respond to stimuli. And since when was needing food life support!?!?!?! That is like saying someone who lives in an area where the tempurature is -50, and has heat on in their house, is on life support because to turn off the heat, they'd probably freeze to death. A feeding tube is not life support! Funny thing, they just put the Pope on a feeding tube. Oh, he's now brain dead, let's kill him! Just because someone can not move or speak doesn't mean they are a vegetable. A vegetable grows in the ground, doesn't have personality, doesn't have a soul.
What's insane, is if someone wanted to give Terri a drop of water, they would have been arrested! This is a catalyst for a whole lot more to come. Autism, Downs Syndrome, Cerebal Palsey, MS, ALzeimers, and so many more, will now fall into the category of "not living." How callous and horrible has our society become!!! I don't care if our society believes in evolution and survival of the fittest, we should not be wiping away the weak. We need to protect the weak!
There is not alot I can do to show that those with disabilities have value, except keep caring for them and loving them, and giving of myself. I want to dedicate my life to protecting the weak, those who can not speak for themselves, those who God loves so much and has given life for a reason.

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 21:24:23 GMT

Last class in philosophy we had a little pop quiz. It was on animal rights. Unfortunately, I have done NONE of the readings on animal rights. So, I wrote a whole bunch of stuff off the top of my head. I got the quiz back today, with a comment to read the philosopher that the quiz was on, because I was not quite correct on my interpretatons. Even so, I got 100%!!! Ummmm, why?!?!?! Just goes to show you that in philosophy you truly can write a whole lot of BS and get good grades for it.

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 05:40:49 GMT

I HATE THE BUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was done working with Tobey, and had two options:
a) walk home, it's only about 20 mins
b) take the bus and spare me the energy

I settled for option b). I found a little stair well and thought it might lead to the main street faster, but instead it took me far, far away, and i had to walk forever to get back to the main road. When I got there, I realized I left my bus tickets at home, and would have to pay $2.25. Was the bus really worth it? Well, I had already walked this wierd route and was further than where I had started, so I figured I should take the bus. The bus finally comes, and then I get off to catch the one that goes by my house. It was to come in about 10 mins. I decide I need some excercise, and so to pass the time I walk down the street to the next bus stop. The bus finally comes half an hour later! So much for bus schedules. And when I get on, I put my transfer in the little machine thing, and it says zone upgrade 1 dollar. Zone upgrade?!?!?! I caught the bus like only, 5 blocks away. The bus driver says the transfer is from burnaby. I was ready to jump off the bus and just walk home, like I should have in the first place. But, the driver asked me where I was going, and I said just a couple blocks away, and so he didn't make me pay the extra dollar. An hour after I got off work I finally arrived home. I WANT A CAR!!!!!!!

Tue, 29 Mar 2005 00:36:43 GMT

The worst part of my relationship with Josh: We can never seem to get sick of eachother!!!

Mon, 28 Mar 2005 23:21:56 GMT

Easter weekend was pretty good. I was alot more focused this year than most years (i mean, i was able to think upon Christ's death and ressurection, and what he did for us). I think going to the good friday service helped alot. This weekend I did alot of thinking. Along with that part of easter, the rest was great too! After church on sunday, I popped over to Josh's house to eat lunch with his family. Then I raced over to my house to help my mom make our easter dinner. For easter my mom gave me a sound of music barbie (maria). It is so cool! I also got cute pink panties! Nothing says the lord is risen like underwear and barbies. Just kidding.

The greatness of living on my own.

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 17:50:10 GMT

Right now I'm house-sitting. It is awesome! I get a huge house to myself, and their car. It's such a great feeling having that sort of independance. Saturday, Josh and some of his friends came over. It was great! I made spaghetti, and we hung out and played some video games. I love cooking for people! I totally enjoy being domestic. I also love hanging out with Josh's friends. Matt, Ryan, Scott, and Andrew came over. For some reason I really enjoy spending time with guys. I guess it's cause they don't have tantrums like girls do. Well, I really hope I can have them over again sometime, and I'll cook them something way better than spaghetti, cause really, spaghetti is such an easy no-brainer.

Thu, 17 Mar 2005 07:16:17 GMT

Wow, I've been so busy lately. I've started two new jobs within the span of one week. Not only am I working with Tobey, but now Quinn, and 14 year old high funcitoning autistic boy. Challenges, I love challenges. Speaking of challenges, I had to basically defend God infront of my english class today. It was insanely difficult. It was me against 20 agnostic/athiest students. At least my points had a lot more depth then those defending satan or adam and eve (we were discussing who was to blame for the fall of manking, and I had to defend God against the reasons why people believe it is his fault). It's not just a debate, it's my faith that's on the line. My faith that is being challenged, and everything I believe in is being questioned. I know why I trust God, why I believe what I do, and why I think he is worth trusting, but it's hard to get others to understand.

This weekend was Josh's last shift at Joy house. I went over to visit. I am totally gonna miss him working there. John and Gordie are so much fun to be around. I loved phoning Josh while he was at work, and then talking to Gordie on the phone. He'd just laugh while I'd sing him songs. And I'll miss hearing John singing to his crazy music while I'm on the phone with Josh. Oh well, at least I'll still be able to see John and Gordie once in a while at camp.

Things are always changing in life. Things never go the way I plan. I'm so glad God is in charge and not me. Makes life alot less stressful.