Blessed out of my mind

This is and is going to continue to be a bittersweet semester for me.  I'm so very excited about all the opportunities that I have already have and have lined up for the next few months, many of them culminating in the college graduation of my all my friends.  I however, will be staying at Purdue another year to finish my degree.  It's been hard to come to terms with at times, knowing that the people I have lived life with for the past 3.5 years won't be here after May, but it has caused me at many times to sit and reflect about where I have come from and where God is leading me.

And the thing I keep coming back to again and again is that I am SO. Blessed.  God has opened so many doors for me in the past year and given me the chance and the drive to walk through many of them.  I get to choreograph another piece for PCDC which I am super excited about, I have another internship for this coming summer this time at Cargill in Minnesota, I have the opportunity to continue to mentor and work with the Honors College freshman here at Purdue, I've been asked to do several side projects with one of my dance professors, and I've gotten to see my best friends do great things with their life as well which brings me no end of joy.  Plus on top of that, I get to plan my wedding to one of the best guys I could ever know that somehow makes me keep falling in love with him even when he bugs the crap out of me!

I have been overwhelmed time and time again not only by my crazy schedule and all the lab reports that I write all the time, but by all the love that is poured out on me through the people in my life.  In my life right now I think it does the best job of bringing me to my knees in awe of my Savior.  I honestly don't understand why He has given me so many great things in my life, it's not like I'm by any means the most deserving of them.  Nor do I even make the most of the situations that He puts me in.  I screw so many of them up all the time due to my own selfishness or laziness.  But He continues to give me chances to do all these great things and couples with that the passion and love to make it so fulfilling.

So I guess what I am trying to say here, is that despite how much I may complain this semester about my classes or how busy I am or how difficult it is to do all the things that I want to do, I really am just rolling around and being covered by the love of God expressed through others.  Kind of like diving into the ball pit at Chuck E Cheese.  And boy does it feel good.

to be continued...

It's the start of finals week and I just wrapped up my 5th season with the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company.  As I was working on my choreography proposal for this coming semester, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and watch videos of all the previous works that I have created since coming to Purdue.  I watched them in reverse order, so starting with the more recent works and making my way back to the solo that I had to compose for my midterm project in Composition Class my freshman year.

That solo was titled "to be continued..." and I remember having a big discussion with Sally, the instructor who would later become one of my dance mentors, about the title of the piece.  She thought it should be titled Black and Grey while I was dead set on having it the previously mentioned title.  In the end, she let me choose what I wanted, but because of that discussion, I have always felt that the piece maybe wasn't titled correctly those three years ago.

But as I journeyed backwards through my work, I noticed a very large trend with my work.  For a long time I have been fascinated by the articulation of peoples hands.  Their other body parts as well like their feet, elbows, knees, heads, etc., but most of all the hands.  I find them to be a beautiful part of the body and the emotion and feelings that can be conveyed through them astounds me.  They sweat when we are nervous, they convey confidence or timidity in a handshake, we place wedding bands on them when we make those vows, we use them for everything.  I composed an entire piece about the articulation of body parts for PCDC last year entitled "d i s c r e t e" but as I watched "A Phoenix, Buried" and "Doors" and "Crinkle" and finally "to be continued..." I realized that I had gotten to the choreography in "d i s c r e t e" by way of the rest of the pieces.

When I titled my solo "to be continued..." it was because to me that dance was representative of my life.  It conveyed the struggle that I had with myself and with God about who I was and who I was becoming.  The fights and trials I had suffered in my life, the perseverance through them, and the dedication to continue to fight those battles.  to be continued was the phrase that I always felt about my life because I knew how much more I was going to learn throughout my days.  But what struck me this evening when I was watching and looking at the piece, is that the majority of my work at Purdue has been greatly influenced by the curiosity that arose from me one day in composition class.  The material that was put into that solo work has subsequently worked its way into every other thing that I have done in the past three years in some way or another.

So not only did "to be continued..." apply to the emotional connection I made with that first piece, but it was also foreshadowing the work that was to come from my dancing experience.  Interesting to know that it has taken three years to get to a point where I am able to look back and see the growth that has occurred.  It has also taken three years to be able to convince myself once and for all that "to be continued..." really was the right title for that first modern dance work of mine.

~A

Cherry Limeade Recipe

Today at work we had a potluck lunch to thank me(hehe) for all the work I did this summer as an intern.  I think it was their way of not having to take me out to lunch at a restaurant like most of the other groups have done for their interns.  But I didn't mind that much because when you work with people who all cook, why wouldn't you want to eat their food?!?

My contribution to the delicious meal was Cherry Limeade as I had leftover supplies from Ginny's bachelorette party mojitos to use up.  However, after scouring the web(okay spending like 30 min) trying to find a good recipe, I just decided to wing it and make my own.  It was quite delicious if I do say so myself!  However, be warned that I like these kinds of drinks fairly tart, so you might want to add more sweetener to it if you don't like eating lemons in the same manner as oranges, like I do.  :D

Cherry Limeade:

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice (about 5-6 limes worth)
1/2 cup cherry puree (I just used frozen cherries and threw them in the food processor)
2 TBSP lime simple syrup (2 parts water to one part granulated sugar with a TON of lime zest)
2 Liters of Sprite

lime wedges and cherries for garnish.

Amounts might need to be adjusted for taste, but this is a good base to work off of.  This made enough to serve the 10 people at lunch.

and then I said yes!

   Preface: Dan and I have been dating for over 2 years now and I have known in my heart for the past 1.5 years that I wanted to marry him. The struggles of bringing my head into alignment with the love that my heart felt took some time, but it finally came to a place of fruition where I finally felt secure enough to be able to say yes with both. I had told Dan a long time ago that I would not accept an engagement ring from him until he was financially independent(in his case, this meant he had graduated undergrad) so I knew what the timing would look like for our engagement. All semester as I have watched literally countless friends and acquaintances get engaged and/or married, I was literally sitting on pins and needles waiting for my own turn. I knew that it would happen sometime this summer, and knowing my fiance so well, I figured that it would happen sooner than later, but I was trying not to anticipate anything because I knew he wanted to surprise me. I left the country on a study abroad trip to Italy in the middle of May, fulfilling a lifelong dream to visit and experience that beautiful country. I had limited use of the internet while I was there, but I did get to talk to Dan fairly often on facebook for at least a little bit of time. During one of these exchanges, he randomly linked me to a website listing dance performances in Chicago in June. He said that we needed something to look forward to when I came back other than just the number of weddings we have to attend this summer.(I say have in the meaning that I LOVE weddings and am so honored to be going to all of them!) I of course am not one to turn down a chance to see dance, especially in Chicago, so I was all for it.

 As the days went on though, the trip to Chicago became more elaborate. First it was dinner, then lunch at *this really awesome pizza place that has the best pizza ever* (why had he never taken me there before then?) and then going early to walk around Millennium Park, and finally, riding the ferris wheel at Navy Pier at NIGHT. This last little bit really put my suspicions through the roof. At that point we were in Rome, and I turned to the girls I was sitting with and was like, "Guys, I think my boyfriend is proposing to me in a week and a half, because he now wants to ride the ferris wheel, one of my favorite things in the entire world, in Chicago, in the evening."

 I kept going back and forth, trying to analyze every part of the situation, attempting to decide if I thought it was going to happen that day or not.

 "It's so early in the summer"

 "I bet this is just him trying to psych me out"

 "I'm just getting too excited and impatient"

 "But he wouldn't spend all that time and money if it wasn't the real deal"

 "He's more impatient than I am, why wouldn't it be at the beginning of the summer"

 These are just some of the things that constantly went through my head in the 1.5 weeks leading up to June 9th. I had oodles of conversations with EVERYONE, getting everyone else's opinion on the matter. (all the while not knowing that most of them already knew what was going on. I told you Dan can't keep secrets) I couldn't decide if I should prepare for the excitement and risk disappointment, or if I should not prepare and risk not wearing my cutest outfit. lol. After a long night's chat with Josh the night before, I went with my gut, wore the cute sundress, and prepared myself to get engaged on Navy Pier on the ferris wheel.

 Day Of (1): I woke up early on June 9th because Dan insisted that we had to leave Laffy Taffy at 8am. I had no idea why we needed to be in Chicago SO early, especially since I had just finished the first week of my internship and I was exhausted. But up early I was and then promptly fell asleep again in the car. We got to Chicago around 9:30am local time(before the Art Institute was open, so people were able to take pictures touching the lions in front) and spent about 2 hours walking around Millennium Park, seeing the Bean, enjoying the weather, and walking down by the water. Essentially we were just killing time before we went to lunch. I still didn't understand why we were there since it's not like I haven't been to Chicago a zillion times before, but I had just decided to go with it and let Dan execute what was obviously a carefully planned out day.

 After walking around we went back to the car and drove north? and ended up by a different part of the lake. Dan was being super secretive of the little piece of paper he was holding that had directions on it and the parking situation wasn't turning out so well for us. We were right by several beaches and the beautiful weather had brought out everyone and their dogs that day. After a masterfully executed 3 point turn by Dan, we found a parking spot. As we got out, Dan INSISTED that I put on sunscreen as he slung the wine carrier over his shoulder, explaining that he had paid a corking fee so we could have good wine with lunch. As we started walking to find the restaurant, he turned to me and said, well I guess it's probably obvious that I've never actually been to this place before. I responded with, I didn't think so. Then he said, we are looking for Dock B. I realized that we were getting on a boat (YAY!) but still didn't really understand what the deal was. We get to the dock and sign our life over to the boat company where I hear that whatever boat we are getting on, we have it for two hours.

 We climb aboard "The Traveler" a small little sailboat with a small cabin underneath and meet our captain whose name I honestly have no recollection of. As we get out to the lake Dan just has this giddy smile on his face and I know he is quite proud of himself. My only question at the time was whether or not we still got to eat. There was bruschetta and pizza below deck for us with of course the delicious Reisling that we brought a long. It was a bit difficult to manage eating on a boat that kept rocking back and forth, but I was just loving being out on the water. It was a perfectly beautiful day with bright skies and just enough wind to make sailing possible. Plus, from the water we had a most excellent view of the skyline which is one of my favorite things to look at. We could also see Navy Pier and the ferris wheel which I was still super excited to get to ride that evening. Once we finished eating, Dan took the plates below deck and came back with a giant bouquet of roses. (He clearly hadn't picked them out himself though, because they were not solid red, they just had red tips)

 It was at that instant that I knew he was about to propose. He sat down, handed me the flowers, and gave some short little speech about how much he loved me and all that we had been through together in the past 2+ years. (I honestly don't remember most of what he said, he said it all so fast!) Then he shakily got down on one knee(remember, we are on a tiny sailboat and the captain is still sitting there too) and said, "I just need to ask you a question though, Allyson Mercer, will you marry me?"

 *Pause* Now, I was thinking beforehand that I would say no whenever he asked me, just like Clare does in The Time Traveler's Wife and say something about wanting to exert my own free will, but I totally forgot about it in the moment. *Unpause*

 I simply said yes and leaned in to kiss him. After we finished kissing he was just sitting there smiling at me, so I finally said, "Do I get the ring?" He insists that he didn't have a chance to because I was kissing him, but I contest. :) After that we still got to sail around for 1.5 hours enjoying the beautiful weather, the skyline, and being out on the water.

 Day Of (2): Once we got back onto land, we stopped to use the restroom before heading off to go to jewelry stores to find the real ring. A group of ladies were outside as I was waiting and after whispering to themselves for a minute or two, one of them came up to me and asked if I had just gotten engaged. I happily replied yes, that he had done it on the boat which they all just "awwwwwwed" to. Apparently they found it as adorable as I did.

 Once we left we went to Wabash Avenue where jewelry stores abound so I could start looking for a ring that I liked. I have always wanted to pick out my own engagement ring because I want to love everything about it if it's going to be worn every day for the next 60+ years. We went to about half a dozen places and then went back to the first place to look at a ring that I really liked again. I loved it the first time, but I wanted to see what else was out there so I didn't feel like I was settling. But it was so beautiful. We actually just paid the deposit on it, so hopefully I will be able to post a picture of it in a few weeks. :)

 After the ring shopping and numerous phone calls made to family and friends to inform them of the happy news that most of them already knew about anyway (thanks a lot Dan :P) we went out to eat a sushi place by the Art Institute. Knowing my tendency to try random new things, Dan convinced me to order octopus sushi. Needless to say, as adventurous of an eater as I can be, I was not fond of staring at the suckers still on the tentacles, nor the EXTREME chewiness of the meat. I can confidently say, that while it does not taste bad at all, octopus is not my thing. I'll stick to my eel any day, thank you.

 Following dinner was the promised dance show that was supposedly the reason we were coming to Chicago anyway. "Gotham City" by Chicago Dance Crash was a spectacular performance of hip hop/street infused modern dance performed in a black box theatre on Randolph street. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the show and I hope to be able to see more of what this company and choreographer does in the future. When the show was over, I was still insistent that we go to Navy Pier for the ferris wheel ride. It was the thing I had been looking forward to for 2 weeks now and despite the fact that I was already engaged, I REALLY wanted to go. So we took an extended walk there, going through alleys and random parking lots, getting disoriented at least once and frustrated at least twice. But finally we made it and I got my ferris wheel ride in the end. The skyline was just as beautiful lit up at night, and now I got to enjoy the experience with my fiance. ;) I even got a funnel cake out of the adventure, which was also a plus!

 All in all, it was a very long, exhausting, exciting, all sorts of wonderful day. I get to marry the love of my life. My partner in crime, my confidant, my favorite person to tickle and cuddle with, the person who has shown me what commitment, sacrifice, and love looks like in a relationship. And for all of you who are wondering, NO we have not set a date yet! Once we find a place to married at, we will set a date and let people know. For now, you can just block out the entire month of October, 2013. :P

 Kudos to you if you lasted long enough to get to the bottom of this, or even cared to! But that, in a nutshell is the story of the day I said yes!

Roommates: Chapter 4

Something that has been on my mind and been a frustrating point in my life since the middle of November is that I resigned my lease and didn't have all the roommates needed to fill all the spaces. Nyssa and I have been looking and looking and asking and attempting to persuade so many people since November. We had several people say yes only to back out just a few days later. I was getting really discouraged that things weren't working out. But I had at least 5 people that said, I'll know in May/June if I need a place to live next year and if I do, I would totally live with you!

Fast forward to March. Spring Break is approaching, people are starting to find out about RA positions, jobs, co-ops, etc. Nyssa and I decide that a choice must be made. If we don't have a new roommate shortly after spring break, then we are breaking our lease and finding a two-person apartment that we can afford. It's not the most ideal plan, but in the long run, it will cost the least amount of money. Keep in mind that throughout all these months of not knowing who I would be living with, I was doing my best to keep the attitude that God had something in mind for us and he WOULD provide. It wasn't until Spring Break time that I thought maybe what he was calling us to do was live somewhere else. Before Spring Break I contacted everyone who was a maybe for living with us and said that we needed some sort of answer by the end of spring break. One after another no's, and sorry's came back and Nyssa and I were prepared to go find a new place to live.

Then low and behold our dear friend Murphy said, "Hey you know my friend Brianna, she still needs a place to live next year. You should ask her."

And just like that, all our plans changed. Brianna and her dove, Mr. Darcy agreed to live with us for the next school year, and all the paperwork was completed within two weeks. As I reflected on it later, I realized that my initial feeling that God would provide someone I couldn't even dream up was absolutely true. I don't even know what prompted me to think that changing leases was the best option, probably just my desire to gain some control of the situation at hand, like I always feel like I need to do. I'm just very glad that God showed us what was best for us in time. It's been a great test of faith and trust in the One whom I often claim to have faith and trust in.

And I'm quite looking forward to what a new year of roommates will bring. Ginny will be dearly missed though... :)

~A

What's Behind Door Number Three?

Something else that has been a large part of my life is semester is being a student choreographer for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company. I have been working towards this goal for almost three years now (basically since I started at Purdue) and it has finally become a reality. I have already been working with my group of 7 lovely dancers for about 7 weeks now, crafting a piece of choreography out of the creativity of their dancing bodies and some direction and ideas of my own.

It's been a really different experience, having 3 hours of rehearsal every week, coming up with costumes that I actually have a budget for, working with a super cool sound designer, (whose name happens to be Mercer, yes I know, it's adorable) and my favorite ever lighting designer, Ethan. :) I have a top notch team working with me, and a vivid imagination that is making this into a fun experience that is stretching me as a choreographer and dancer.

Last week I had the AWESOME opportunity to attend the American College Dance Festival which was held at Grand Valley State University in Michigan with several(~25) Purdue cohorts. At the festival I was able to take a gaggle of master classes from faculty members at schools around the country, watch 7 phenomenal dance concerts, perform in one of them, and listen to feedback from three highly esteemed adjudicators. The feedback was probably what challenged me the most as I listened to the adjudicators pick apart and dissect and evaluate and comment on piece after piece. Some of what they said I agreed with, some of it I didn't, but all of it was constructive in helping me re-evaluate what I am currently working on this semester. I'm really excited to head back to school and apply some of these ideas I have to my dance this semester. Hopefully my dancers don't get too upset about the new changes that are headed their way. :)

Also, if anyone is interested in attending this show at the end of April, let me know!

~A

I've been waiting on this door.

My opportunity has finally come. I got a summer internship working with Sensient Flavors in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am super excited to have the chance to work in industry and experience that side of Food Science. I have been placed in the Savory Lab division, what exactly I will be working on has yet to be determined and will likely vary from day to day.

Getting this internship has been the result of a lot of patience and reliance on God for His timing. I desperately wanted one last summer and it wasn't provided for me. I did however have a great experience working full time at Purdue and learning a lot about working with a variety of people. I am over the moon to be having a different sort of experience this summer though. I will still be living in West Lafayette as the one downside to this internship is that housing is not provided. Living at home would be the same amount of driving as living in Laffy Taffy so I decided to stay in the community of my friends and life at Purdue. I am looking forward to growing in several relationships this summer as one of my roommates is likely staying in Laffy Taffy as well.

I feel like this internship has been a long time coming. It's been hard standing by, watching my friends and peers get internships far before me and gaining all the experience that I want. Honestly it has been hard getting past this idea of entitlement that I should be given something just because I worked for it, just because some people tell me that I should.

I'm looking forward to a new work environment, I'm looking forward to being challenged by a new job, and I'm looking forward to my first foray into the food industry!

~A