The race is on!

The contestants are set. The start of the race begins on the sidewalk, the bridge over the stream. They are all there: Chip, Fly, Leaf, Butterfly, Mud, and Thunder Storm.

Ready? Set. GO!

The little fans cheer on from the sidelines, walking alongside the contestants. They wait in anxious anticipation for the results.

"Go Chip!" "Faster leaf!" "Hurry!," they chant

. . . but up ahead we see an obstacle or two. The Ducks. What will happen when their paths cross? Will the ducks ignore their little race? or will they think the contestants are food, ending the race all too soon?

We all wait in suspense.

The moment inching forward.

Coming slowly.

Slower and slower . . . until . . . Chip--the lead--comes by.

Thankfully, and with a sigh of relief, he gets by without a scratch . . . then fly barely sneaks past, luckily unseen as a duck dipped her head in the water in search of food . . . but next we see Leaf, with his wide body and colorful stick adornments on top. The moment has come. He tried to sneak by like the others, but he is spotted! The duck seizes the opportunity and attacks Leaf! Next thing we know Leaf's sticks are strewn about and his body is mangled to pieces. His little fan looks on from the sidelines, ashen faced and distraught.

But the race goes on. It always goes on.

Who knows the end? Who can say what happened to Chip and Thunder Storm and the others? They continue to race down the stream, the children's cheering voices get drowned out as they get further and further away. The race continues even when not in sight.

These days of summer. They used to be so free. They used to last forever. What happened to them? They grow shorter. The time to play outside with your friends and race your boats made of leaves become less frequent. You get caught up in the duties and order of the day. Those days are too easily forgotten, but even though those days get drowned out as they get further and further away, the race still goes on. Life still goes on. Who knows? Someday I may get those carefree summer days back.

{pic via}

flowers at grandmas house

All flowers found at my grandma's house. lovely!

The first three were found inside. The rest are in the backyard, which is basically all a flower garden with a little brick pathway to walk through. It is fantastically beautiful. They were taken after a nice torrent of rain! If you look hard enough you can see the rain drops on the petals, or just click here. Got to love Colorado weather!

{notice the orchids? [pic #3] yeah my grandpa grows them year-round and as we all know, orchid growing is hard. he is a master!}

les canards dans le risseau

3 0'clock every day
I walk around campus, lay in the sun, visit the animals, enjoy nature, etc.
It's the only real time I have to myself.
It is pure bliss!

Today was no different. I ate my apple next to the stream where the ducks live. I wrote a little ditty and watched the birds frolic about. The little baby ducks swam by so I snapped a few pics.

After that, I walked up the stairs on my way back to work. Vive l'escalier! I spotted a nice little centipede trying to find his way. He seemed lost.

Also, I can hardly wait for SYTYCD season 5 tomorrow!! Woo Hoo!
Obviously I lead a very exciting life.

a few thoughts from today:

Proctoring in the 'IS' is kind of like riding the bus because you meet all sorts of characters and individuals. Par example, I saw the following today:

*That married man who I thought kept staring at me, but really he just kept looking my direction every two minutes whenever he was thinking deeply.
*That cool Tongan kid taking his HS English final. He was in there a long time and he looked pretty stressed out. English obviously isn't his cup of tea. {heh. tea. english. get it?}
*That 15 year old kid taking his HS French final. I wanted to help him out a bit. Things didn't look like they were going that well. :[]
*Haha! That kid wearing white ankle socks with flip flops. No joke.
*A sweet 50 year old lady taking her history test for five hours total!! And then talking to her afterward about how much she hated that exam.

But the best parts of the day?
Making new friends at work. Walking outside on my lunch break just listening to sounds of the outside. Watching five little ducklings lose sight of their mother and then find their way again by listening to the sound of her voice. Walking home in the rain without an umbrella, smelling the wet pavement. Glorious. Possibly seeing my future husband when I turned the corner and walked into the Enclave? {Here's to hoping}


















{J'ai oublié où j'ai trouvé cette photo. désolé}

It's earth day!!

How coincidental that I made sure to bring my camera today so after work I could take some pictures of those lovely blossoms and magnolias {the ones I blogged about yesterday} by the moa?!

Happy Earth day!

{Aren't they glorious?! They smelled delicious as well. I highly recommend taking a stroll over there}

{Also, Munir just directed me to this. I liked it. I have been out of the music loop for a while.}