Day 15.

Day 15.

"Singing without tongues, screaming without lungs, I want more than my lonely nation, I want more than my lonely nation. Desperate we are young, separate we are one. I want more than my desperation, I want more than my lonely nation."

↑↑↑↑ The girlssss. ↑↑↑↑ :) At break. We're cool. Bahahaha. We finally fit all of us into one picture, after a million tries.

First day of testing out. So stressful, but pretty dang exciting too. We are excited.

We helped push a girls truck today. We pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed until it started FINALLY. Only after Raelene hurt herself, haha. It was pretty hilarious.

Also I have a zebra bow and I love it. Just in case anyone wanted to know.

And I got a zebra mocha today to match my zebra bow, which was supposed to be a zebra white mocha frappuccino, but we decided to let it go. It was good anyhow, even if it wasn't what we ordered. :)

All the Pretty Things.

We are, we are, we're caught in the in-between of who we already are and who we are yet to be.
And we're looking for love but finding we're still in need.
It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep.

And we're waiting, but our eyes are wandering to all this earth holds dear.

Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away.
I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things that keep me from Your face.
Come and save me.

We run, we run to finally be set free.
But we're fighting, fighting for what we've already received.

So we're waiting, but our eyes are wandering to all this earth holds dear.


Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away.

I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things that keep me from Your face.
Come and save me.
We are, we are caught in the in-between, but we're fighting for what we already have received.
We are, we are caught in the in-between, but we're fighting for what we already have received.

Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away.

I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things that keep me from Your face.
Come and save me.

Day 14.

Day 14.

"We are one tonight, and we're singing it out. We are one tonight, and we're dreaming out loud. Though the world is flawed, these scars will heal. We are one tonight, tonight, tonight."

I was almost late for school today. I clocked in at 12:59, the latest I've ever been. It was pretty scary - a tardy is the last thing I need right now.

I watched an old man eat the concrete on his bicycle, which landed on top of him. It was pretty savage. And kind of sad.

I watched part of "Anne of Green Gables : The Sequel," today. I cried. I always cry at that movie - at the part where Gilbert proposes and she refuses and he's so sad and she's crying and it's just SO tragic. It's the most terrible part of the whole movie because it's so... movingly horrid. I'm always so glad when they get together in the end.

I went to TKD tonight, and finally David and Josh made it to the same class. It was amazing... like a reunion or something like that. Our parents even let us hang out and talk for a while (not long enough) afterwards. I think they felt bad because we never see each other anymore, haha. It was fun hanging with those guys!

"The Scarlet Letter" + a cup of rainbow sherbet + chocolate chips = amazing way to end my night. Especially because ice cream is just way more satisfying when you can eat it out of a coffee cup that came straight from Paris last summer.

Day 13.

Day 13.

"When it feels like my dreams are so far, sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again. So I lay my head back down, and I lift my hands, and pray to be only Yours, I pray to be only Yours. I know now You're my only hope."

Slept in, second service again. This is becoming way too routine. I miss my first service people!

Hung out with Anne and Samuel and went to Mandy's party. Watched Psych for the first time, which was hilarious, I might add.

Evening service was, you know, the usual. Friendship bracelets and misshapen circles and funny little children. :)

Played Edward. He's cool.

I've Missed a Day. :'(

Sad to say, within the first two weeks, I've already slacked off and missed a day! This is very depressing, but I've said from the beginning that I won't allow this to become some sort of "bondage" or anything like that. I missed a day, so what? I've continued, moved on... I'm past that now. So... don't hate, okay? I'm not perfect and I don't pretend to be. So I won't feel like I've failed, because I haven't. I only muffed up a bit. :)

Day 11.

Day 11.

"We are family!"

↑ We decided that this was our theme song at school. Ha!

Women's Ministry Luau - good times.

I fell down and skinned my knee shortly after this photo was taken. Pretty savage. I haven't skinned my knee since I was like 9 - I was proud of myself. :)

I failed in the hula hoop contest too, even though afterwards, I hula-ed for like 4 minutes straight behind the playgroud where no one could see. :)

And the food was amazing.

This (↓) Blog Post is Definitely NOT Depressing. At All.

Today was... hmm... a 'blah' day.

The sort of day that makes you want to go home, climb in bed, curl up in a little ball and go to sleep; as if that would make everything go away. Or you could describe my day as the sort of day that makes you want to eat a bunch of chocolate and spend a bunch of money and not even care because it would make you feel better. Or the kind of day that when a friend tells you that his little brother thinks you have a funny last name, it makes your day because nothing else remotely good has happened. Yeah, that's the sort of day I've had. It sucked. And that's an understatement.

But who wants to read about a depressing, stupid and otherwise lame day?

I surely wouldn't, were this someone else's blog. Depressing blog posts are... depressing, mood-squashing and otherwise damaging to the spirits of all who read them. SO I vow that my blog post shall NOT be a depressing one! Or at least, it won't end in a depressing way. It won't.

Because...

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so!!!"

Which is why it is true that...

"Life without Jesus is like a doughnut, 'cause there's a hole in the middle of your heart!!!"

Which is why...

"Yes, I love my Jesus, deep down in my heart. Deep, deep, oh, down, down, deep down in my heart, ooo-wah!!!"

And because of this...

"I won't turn left, and I won't turn right. I will not stray from the path that's right, but I'll keep on seeking, keep on reaching, and I will follow, follow, follow Jesus Christ!!!"

And...

"Whether it rains, whether it pours, wherever I go, I will trust You, Lord. In the light of day, or in the dark of night, I will trust You, Lord, with all my life!!!"

There. Wasn't that a nice, un-depressing ending? :)

Ironic.

Day 11, posted at 11:11. The moment when you're supposed to make a wish. And it's supposed to come true. On basically the most terrible day ever. Ironic, isn't it?

Day 11.

Day 11.

"Every now and then I see you dreaming. Every now and then I see you cry. Every now and then I see you reaching, reaching for the other side. What are you waiting for?"

Today sucked. The end.

Day 10.

Day 10.

"Love is the movement."

Today was... wierd. Warfare is crazy, so lame.

But I got a Jamba Juice and In 'N' Out, and church was amazing. And my friends are legit, especially Danae. I love that girl. :) I love you, Danae!

And the car ride home was a blast, and I almost swallowed my gum, which was hilarious.

And Switchfoot is as awesome as ever.

"You should know by now, that the darkest hour is when your broken heart goes down. It's a bitter end when the sweet begins; grace is sufficiency... Who are you gonna be? When you're on your knees, what do you believe? Fear is lonely, man. You been given innocence, you been given innocence again. "

Day 9.

Day 9.

"Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah..."

Today... was pretty good.
I had an urge to draw this morning. I had a picture in my head but it definitely was NOT coming out that way on the paper. It's so difficult when you have an imagination coupled with zero talent whatsoever. :/ Lame, haha.

"It's bigger than cold religion, it's bigger than life. Love is the movement..."

I walked into the kitchen at 11:11 this morning. Not that I believe in making wishes... but I took a picture anyways.

After school, Darylyn, Katy and I got zebra white mocha frappucinos at Starbucks - yum-o! :)

And when I got home, I put on my Bass Pro hat and played Edward, and Paige said I looked like an okie, jamming to "Soon and Very Soon". (A song which I hate, by the way - I was only playing it to bug Paige. **Disclaimer : I'm sure the song is great and I have nothing against anyone who likes it, I just happen to not.**) And yeah, so that was amusing, ha!

"Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice, you've made it known..."

Day 8.

Day 8.

"Mighty fortress for the righteous, saved to glorify, our Deliverer, our Deliverer." ♥

No, I don't actually sit like that when I read, haha. Normally I would be sprawled out somewhere comfy... :) And this picture didn't turn out half as good as I wanted it to. I didn't get to read much today, but I wanted to. I'm right in the middle of the Scarlet Pimpernel for like the 17th time and it's still SO good. Haha!

We went to Taekwondo tonight. It was actually a pretty good class. I was satisfied. And I got to drive to Modesto twice and back home once, which was cool. Plus the time when I drove home was in the dark, which was amazingly fun (I've never driven in the dark before).

And I might be testing out of the freshman room this week! Oh joy, haha. :)

Day 7.

Day 7.

"It's your life; whatcha gonna do? The world is watching you. Everyday the choices you make say what you are and who your heart beats for. It's an open door. It's your life."

I was having fun today. :)

Today was a lazy day. Second service, late lunch... and I accomplished basically nothing. Oh well, there's plenty of time for accomplishing things during the week when it's important. Weekends are for having fun, right? Not working and doing lame things like that. At least, I think so.

And this is my favorite scarf. ^^^ Which my Auntie Bev bought for me, because she always picks things that I like. :) 'Cause she's just cool like that.

"Don't got it." Ohhh yes.

Day 6.

Day 6.

"A new broom sweeps clean..."

It's only the first week of school, and I'm behind already. Typical, but depressing, nonetheless. Ah, well, it's done now, although one really shouldn't have to do homework on a Saturday, should one? But it is my own fault, so I can't complain much.

Although there really is nothing so depressing as having to spend your one day at home concentrating on Mozta-whatever-his-name-is, the Aztec chieftan in 1473 or something ridiculous like that. Stupid history.

Paige and I cleaned our room today and danced to old random music like "Jesus Freak". So now our room is clean. Sort of. Plus it was fun. "There was a man with a tat on his big fat belly, it wiggled around like marmalade jelly. It took me a while to catch what it said cause I had to match the rhythm of his belly with my head..." That's our favorite part. :) Don't hate, gosh!

Other than that, nothing much happened.

Day 5.

Day 5.

"When my world is shaking, Heaven stands. When my heart is breaking, I never leave Your hands."

I played that song today. I can't play it the way it's meant to be played, so it sounds crappy, but I play it anyways because it's amazing. It made me happy.

It's been nice being home in the mornings, so that sometimes, like today, I can just quit doing homework for a little bit and hang out with my brother. Seriously... I am the proud owner of the most adorable 2 year old brother in the world. We made this wheel-less Lego "car" this morning. He was so proud of it. :) It made me smile.

Fish quote for the day :
Fish : That girl on TV just blew grits! ((I assume Dad told him to say this because I'm pretty sure he didn't know what that meant.))
Me : Oh, that's really lame.
Fish : Um, no, it's good, actually.
Me : Really?
Fish : Yes. I don't know what it's good for... but it's good because Daddy said so.

Hahaha, I love that kid. :)

Day 4.

Day 4.

"I called, You answered, and You came to my rescue and I want to be where You are."

Apparently a cummulative pile of homework waiting to be finished is a common side effect of sleeping in two days in a row. Whoops... I'll finish it tomorrow. (A common procrastinator's line - so I hear.)

Random day. Hmmm.

I'm kind of thoughtfullish today, I think. Whatever that means.

"...Make Your way straight before my face." -Psalm 5:6

Creeper.

The funniest thing happened to me today.

I was sitting alone at the Queen Bean this afternoon, minding my own business, and studying like a good girl, when I noticed some random guy approaching me. He was middle-aged, very tall, with a ginormous David-Crowder-like beard, and wearing a suit. I looked down immediately, and in my head I was going, "Please, please, please don't talk to me," but he did.


He stopped in front of my table, hands behind his back, and says, "Hello."

I looked up, really slowly, horribly creeped out. I honestly couldn't tell you if I acknowledged him at all or not.

And then he says, "You are very pretty. And I just had to tell you because I just feel like if I didn't tell you that, I would hate myself for the rest of my life. And I have stuff to do so I'll just go sit down now." Hopefully my mouth wasn't open, because I was so surprised, haha. (Just kidding, I know it wasn't, haha.) And just like that, he walked back to his table and sat down and went back to work.

And I was just like..."Oh my gosh, did that really just happen?"

It was so awkward, haha. But at the same time, horribly funny. What a creeper. :P

Like Anne said... A rare occurence. Ha!

Day 3.

Day 3.

"I want to live - to live for Your pleasure. I want to run - to run for Your fame. I want to dwell in Your house forever. To seek Your face as You call my name. To hear You say, "Well done."

I was practicing spinning pictures today in my amazing new dress. None of them turned out very good but this was the best of the 30+ that I took. Sad, I know.

I was going to go on a walk with my mamma this morning, at 6. When I woke up at 6:36, I said, "Forget it," rolled over, and didn't wake up again till 9. Good plan? Maybe not. Because all that meant was a buttload of homework after bible study tonight. Which just means extra tomorrow morning. Oh well. It was worth it.

CBC was pretty fun today. Fruit baskets, FFA, impertinence... none of us knew what we were talking about. Or did we?

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." -Matthew 5:14

Day 2.

Day 2.

"Sing it out, sing it out. Take what is left of me, make it a melody. Sing it out, sing out loud. I can't find the words to sing, You be my remedy. My song, my song. I'll sing with what's left of me."

I played a lot today. I enjoyed it. I start to miss Edward when my jam sessions become so scattered. But today was nice. God is good.

Pink Shorts and a Lip Piercing???

Today was my first day of 11th grade. My last year of high school. (No, I'm not exceptionally dumb, I know there's 12 grades.) I'm graduating early, in case you didn't know. So this is my last year. I'll never begin another year of high school after today.

In any case, the year is begun! I was able to accomplish all of my chores, devotion, and all of my homework for the day, and make myself presentable, before I had to leave the house for college. I was rather proud of myself.

My cousin was supposed to pick me up from school, so when I was finished, I walked outside looking for her... and couldn't find her car anywhere. I was starting to think she'd accidentally gone to the wrong place or something, when a small, tan-ish, gold-ish colored Mazda began driving directly at me, with two young people in the front seat. Of course, it was my cousin, and her boyfriend. So I hopped in, and we carried on our way.

My other cousin is visiting from Idaho for the week, which is quite exciting. I was able to see him tonight. Pink shorts, a lip piercing... I hardly recognized him. Of course, the shorts weren't too pink, and the lip piercing was fake, so I didn't mind. :) Ahahaha... good times. We had dinner, and afterwards, dessert with a million more cousins. It was a lazy evening, and very, very nice.

Plus I'm expecting a mysterious Word document... I can't wait to see what it contains.

Careful; This Might Blow Your Mind With the Nature of its Awesome Legit-ness.

Hallelujah.

Phil Wickham, one of the most amazing musicians in existence, playing likewise one of the most amazing songs in existence. Basically, a completely legit combination sure to blow your mind.

P.S. Make sure you turn off the playlist on the sidebar, because even though it's awesome, you won't be able to hear the amazingness of Phil's voice properly. :)

The 13 Month Experiment.

Anyone who reads this blog has most likely seen my 'Experiment' post a week or two ago. I only recieved one comment, but the one was an affirmative, so here I am. The experiment begins.

If all goes as planned, it should last about 13 months - beginning today, my final first day of high school, and ending on the very day I clock out of CBC for the last time. My "senior year"/beauty college, combined.

This won't be fabulous, at all. I hope you don't expect it to be. My camera's not great, and niether are my photography skills - not a particularly stellar combination, but what can I say? I loved the idea, and I thought I'd try it. At least it will motivate me a little bit to keep up with Facebook, and my blog, and my friends. And my life. It's so easy to get caught up in what I "have to" get done sometimes... Maybe this will help.

If you check my Facebook and this blog, this might come off a tad bit repetetive, but I'm definitely not creative enough to come up with something different for each one, and I like to keep up with non-blogging and non-Facebooking friends alike, since I have very dear ones on both sides of the line.

Regardless of this, allow me not to ramble any longer.

Day 1.

"And no matter how you feel, it's what you do that matters. This is your moment to be strong, today's your day, it's on."

Starting my last first day of high school off the right way. Hair done, jammies on, earbuds in, pillows handy, homework scattered randomly everywhere. Because that's just how I roll.

The Epitome of Lame.

Divorce is so lame.

One of the hardest things for me last night was having my aunt not there. And then seeing my uncle walk in with his new girlfriend... that basically topped it off for me. Maybe this is wrong, but I glared. At both of them. I gave them the evil eye like there's no tomorrow. I was so angry. It's not as if they've wronged me, but, seriously? I don't know. It's lame.

People are stupid. It's a good thing I'm not God. Ha!

"Because the judge of you is someone that I could never be, is why you should thank the Lord that it is Him, and it's not me."

That's so going to be my line right now.

But when I think about the next few lines...

"Don't give up, it's not the end, there's hope for every fallen man to pick themselves up when they think they can, because with every passing second comes a second chance."

So maybe... There's still hope for them. I can't forget that. It doesn't matter if they're lost, they CAN still be saved. Because God works miracles, right?

But it's still lame.

How I've Spent My Last Day of Freedom Before My Last Year of High School Begins & I'm So Busy That I Have No Time to Do Anything Fun.

Today was a lovely day. :)

I woke up early for first service. Excruciating, but it was nice to see all of my friends, I'll gladly admit. I've missed them. Second service just isn't the same. Only first service kids would understand that. :)

After church, my mamma & I went grocery shopping. It was nice to just hang out with her. I've missed her too. 8 1/2 hours is a long time to be gone from my mommy every day.

Later in the afternoon, all us girls went to see "Annie" at the Gaslight. Today was the last day it was playing. It was fun. :) The acting/singing wasn't spectacular, but we didn't expect it to be, so it wasn't a letdown or anything. It was nice though, & we ran into some friends, which was fun.

Tonight, I had to miss evening service, & dear friend, which was a sore disappointment.

The reason for this ↑ being that my great-grandmother was turning 92 today, and the family threw her a party at the rehabilitation center she's at right now. I expected the party to be rather lame, but aside from a few minorly aggravating situations, I had a rather nicer time than I expected. I hung out with the boys. Is it wrong to say that I always have more fun with the boys on my mamma's side of the family than I do with the girls? It's true. The boys are just nicer to me - it's just easier to hang out with them. They don't care what I'm wearing, or if I have makeup on, or if I'm cool or not. :) I don't feel like I'm being judged by them everytime I hang out with them; hence, they are much more enjoyable to be around. & I had quite a nice time with them tonight.

& afterwards, I texted a lovely friend for a nice while, which was amazing, and had McDonalds french fries & ketchup, which was delicious.

A nice day, indeed. The perfect way to spend my last day of freedom, if I do say so.

Psalm 8:3&4

•Psalm 8:3&4•

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

The photo is of Venus. Mercury and Mars are in the picture also, but you can't see them. I find it hard to believe that we can actually see the planets from here. Or that they shine so brightly. Or that they align themselves periodically so that they're all in this beautifully perfect little row - perfect for Type A people like me. I want to get a picture of that. How amazing. Just another picture of God's amazing goodness, and the intricacy of His creation. I can't begin to understand it.

I love these verses. I remember memorizing them in seventh grade when I was on the VBS worship team. I think one of the other girls had to recite them at the end of one of our songs, "Creator King," if I remember correctly. But I suppose I heard them so many times that I memorized them right along with her. I guess they've always been special to me for that reason. But really, they also just speak of God's majesty and power. Who are we that He would even... consider us in any way? That we would ever enter His thoughts? Let alone love us so much that He would send His son to die on a cross for us. He is the Creator of everything! We could never deserve His love. Still, He keeps giving it. ♥

Beach Trip Slideshow. For Musiker. :)

For my one and only faithful reader, my amazing German friend. :) Love you, dear!

Holy Stinkin' Cow.

I just realized that I've been a Blogger member for over two years now. I was really surprised, to be honest. I didn't even notice. But what's sad is that in those two years that I've been blogging, I've only posted... one hundred and forty-three times. Out of... approximately eight hundred and two days. How lame is that? Until I just did that math, I kind of felt like I was a decent blogger, but now... I guess I'm really not. How utterly depressing. Now I know why I hate math - it entirely crushes one's idea of... good blogger-ness. If I was a good blogger, I'd have blogged at least a quarter of the days in two years. That would be... approximately two hundred and a half times. I'm over fifty posts behind. How terrible, isn't it? A quarter isn't even that much. Only like... twice a week? Or something. What a way to ruin my confidence in myself. No... I still have confidence, because "I have confidence in confidence alooooooone; besides which, you see I have confidence in meeeeee!" :) Even if the state of my blog is a cryin' shame, and I am a lousy blogger. Even then. Because The Sound of Music is the best.

Please Don't Try This at Home.

I did my second haircut today. A blunt cut with some graduation. Basically... straight across, except not. Sort of. If that makes any sense. Which it probably doesn't. ANYWAYS. Haircutting is basically really amazingly fun. I super like it, which is great because that is mainly what I want to do for like, the rest of my life. And I was really scared that I was going to be utterly lame at it, but I'm not. Which was fantastic. So that was pretty exciting... And that's all.

P.S. For those who may be concerned, no, I don't usually cut hair with craft scissors. ↑

Girly Movie + Long Nap = Cure for All Ills.

Today I came home from school early on account of I had a terrible migraine. It was rather depressing. I attempted to soothe my damaged spirits by watching You've Got Mail (one of my favorite movies in the world), and taking a very long nap. I woke up at dinnertime, with my headache nearly gone (hurra!). So that is that. In any case, tomorrow we shall start haircutting, which is immensely exciting, even if I do have to make up my highlighting class now that I've missed it. :)

You and I.

You and I. (Future of Forestry.)

Water for the thirsty.
Wholeness for the meek.
Shelter and foundation for the weak.
Friendship for the lonely.
Riches for the poor.
Fulfillment for the ones who yearn for more.

You are what I long for.
You are what I need.

When it's You and I, then my heart can sing.
When it's You and I, then my soul is free.
You are all my life.
You are all my strength.
You are all my hope.
You are everything.

So take me to the inside, the inside of your heart.
Take me to the depths of who You are.
Shake me with Your wonder.
Stir me with Your grace.
Lighting every dark and empty space.

When it's You and I, then my heart can sing.
When it's You and I, then my soul is free.
You are all my life.
You are all my strength.
You are all my hope.
You are everything.

You are here, You surround me
Glory falls from the fountain of Your beauty
You are now, You surround me
Glory falls from your tender hand of mercy
You are God, You surround me
Glory falls from Your love

Nothing Particular.

This week has been a ridiculously long one. It's been draining. These days are starting to wear on me. Something's gotta give somewhere or this is never going to work for the next year and a half. Really. Being too exhausted to have fun all the time is lame, and no fun at all.

This is a "vintage" squaredancing skirt!
Isn't it adorable? I love it, and the
picture, too, haha. :)

Moving on.

Probably the highlight of my week was Saturday when I went to a party, at which there was squaredancing. Of course I participated. I absolutely love squaredancing - it's like... my passion, or something. So much fun. I was so tired by the end though! We must have danced for two hours at least. But I must say it was a grand time.

Today I went to David's "jam session" at church. It was basically amazingly fun. I had a particularly good time hanging out with a particular friend. Of course Martin and Edward had a pretty good time too - I think they enjoyed getting to see one another after Edward's long period of absence. They still sound quite beauteous together, which was nice.

We've been doing haircolor at school. That's been pretty fun, I guess. School is so agonizingly overrated, though. Couldn't you just give me a DVD and I'll do it at home? Sheesh.

Next week will begin my very last year of high school. Crazy. It's wierd to think that I will never begin a new year of high school again after this year. Kind of, really exciting.

Anyways, school is tomorrow still so I shall depart for bed.

Experiment.

Lately, on Facebook, everyone has been starting these series's of photos in which they post one picture every day for a certain number of days. Some have done a month, some a year, some just for the summer. It's an interesting idea, I think. An original one. It rather makes me sad that I didn't think of it myself, haha. But I have absolutely no qualms about copying someone else's good idea - I mean, somebody had to think of it! But I think it's interesting to see the original pictures that people can come up with, one for each day, and the thoughts that they have to go along with their picture. It's an idea I'd rather like to try, personally. Just as an experiment. I think I'd post a picture and a few words on both Facebook and this blog, every day, for maybe, I don't know, say a year? I don't know if I could do it - I'm so busy always, now - but I think it would be fun. And it would motivate me to keep up with Facebook and Blogger and people - my friends. Otherwise, when I get busy, I tend to neglect everyone. And friendships never thrive well when they're not being watered. I think this might be a way to help make sure that I get on, check up on people, and keep them posted on what I'm doing, too. Because once school starts, I can almost guarantee that these rather lengthy, contemplative posts will slow to almost a complete stop. So... what do you think? Is an experiment at hand?