Midterms

Wow. It's been a while since I wrote to you.

A lot has happened in a month. This school has offered me a lot of opportunity, and I'm still in the process of taking advantage. Two weeks into school I was offered a job at the Wellness Center, where I do social media and marketing things. Mostly I do design and research. Recently I found out about two school publications which I am going to do my best to be involved with, Calliope and the Pacifican.

I've also been given the chance to go to London during spring break; we would visit Oxford and Stonehenge and Bath and many other places. It all sounds very exciting. That, and studying abroad next year. I've wanted to leave the US for quite a few years now. Finally I will begin to have the chance. There are so many beautiful things in this world.

My professors here are wonderful and personable. They each have their own senses of humor, and plenty of wisdom to share. The relationship between students and teachers here is different than I have previously experienced. I'm quite enjoying it. Already I have the feeling that I will leave this place with good connections to my mentors, without having to labor for it.

I'm in a good place, learning good things. The good people are in progress. X) Ah.

I will try and write more often, because this is a little ridiculous.

"Στα βάθη του χειμώνα, ανακάλυψα μέσα μου ένα αήττητο καλοκαίρι." Continue reading →

Hello School

Continue reading →

Weekend in Portland

Some scenes from last weekend's trip through Oregon. We spent two days in the Portland area visiting Lan Su Gardens, Powell's Books, Voodoo Donuts, Multnomah Falls, and a few wonderful restaurants(I heartily recommend Santeria and Mama Mia's). Also while we were there, Josh proposed to Catie, who promptly said 'Yes'. :)  In Powell's I picked up a book of Wilfred Owen's poetry, "The Social Contract", a small collection of Oscar Wilde's poetry and Ursula LeGuin's "Four Ways to Forgiveness".

Sadly I don't have any video of our adventure on the dunes in Coo's Bay, dinner with Josh's grandma in Lakeside or our trip down the river and subsequent beach activities in Grant's Pass.

Coo's was interesting. It had been a damp day and the sand wasn't in the best condition for quads. We spent a lot of our time stuck on hillsides, but it was still a good experience. Directly after that we had dinner in a local pub with grandma, which was delicious.

On the last day we headed down the river on a 10 foot raft. I learned that I can spend a large amount of mostly-idle time with these three and still be at ease; something that does not come easily to me. On the beach we skipped rocks (or tried) and played with the creatures we found around the rocks. There may have also been some stick fighting involved, which is probably the thing I from which I most wish I had video.

We spent a good 24 hours in a small car, singing and laughing and sleeping and talking. Time well spent.

Thanks to Josh, Catie and Adam for being great friends, company and adventurers. Hopefully we will have many more trips in this vein. :D
Continue reading →

Half Dome Hike

Best friend Kaitlyn, brother-in-law Nathan and I headed to Yosemite National Park at 3 AM to hike 16.4+ miles to the top of Half Dome. As it was my first time, I figured I should make record of it. :) Definitely one for the bucket list.

We started out that morning on the Mist Trail, going past Vernal and Nevada falls. From there we went on the Half Dome trail through Little Yosemite Valley. Close to an hour was spent 8000+ feet up on the top of Half Dome. Really amazing. Originally we had planned to take the John Muir trail on the return hike. However, sore feet and urgency brought us to simply hurry back down the Mist Trail. Probably not the best choice, but it got us the short return trip we wanted. X) This is a very long, exhausting hike to accomplish in a single day--but well worth it!

The majority of this was filmed on my Nikon, with some shots from Nathan's camera.
Follow along on: http://twitter.com/Laurmott  Thanks for watching! Continue reading →

Use Skill: Choose University

It's official. I'm attending UoP in the fall! Very ecstatic about this. Subsequently after first visiting the campus, I aspired to get into this school. Nevertheless, financially it was impractical. God works miracles, though. Don't forget. Through avenues that I never expected, He made it possible. To be honest, it has been some time since I was aware of God coming through in a large way. The jokester--a day before the deadline it looked like a definite 'no', by which I was crushed (irrationally). The day of, however, it suddenly became very possible. Teach me to have a little more faith, why doesn't He.

The campus aesthetically blends with who I am. I have loved just walking around the times I've visited, not to mention joy of the library. The students are so kind and full of leadership (rub off on me, please), and wonderfully nerdy. Yes, there is a Harry Potter club. Yes, they do play Quidditch on the lawn. From what I've read, class sizes are relatively small. Hopefully this will grow my confidence when it comes to class discussions. That has always been a problem for me. The professors in the English department have written me personally, and seem incredibly helpful and caring. Inconceivable, how blessed this makes me feel.

Excitement. So. That is what I wanted to tell you about. Starting August I will be describing episodes from this place more frequently, for sure. I'm taking things as they come, and enjoying every minute. This year has truly been great thus far.

Summer Plans

• Get another/better job
• Return to Youtube. >_>
• Take more pictures, see more friends
• Write a children's story
• ...

Any suggestions? Continue reading →