Another question thing

I really have nothing interesting to say, but I think it's been long enough that I should post again. I'm going back to the U.S. for Steph Bennett's wedding in a couple days--hopefully I'll get some blog fodder out of a week back in the States.

Until then, there's really only one thing to write about when I can't think of something better....myself. Here is a questionnaire that was on Amy's blog. How well do you know me?

Four Jobs I have had in my life:
1) I taught piano in high school
2) I interned about 4,000 (or 3) semesters at the ETSU Campus House
3) Thankyouforcallinghomedepotcreditservicesmynameiskellyhowcanihelpyou?
4) Missionary/churchplanter/whatever the heck I am now

Four places I have lived:
1) Harlan, KY
2) Johnson City, TN
3) Estancia de Animas, Zacatecas, Mexico (does a summer count? I'm trying to get up to four)
4) Madrid, Spain

Four movies I could watch over and over again:
1) It's a Wonderful Life
2) Moulin Rouge
3) The Shawshank Redemption
4) Raising Arizona

Time for a short interjection here: I just watched What About Bob for the first time last week, and I can't believe I have lived so long without that movie. My lips go numb just thinking about it.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1) Anything in English (yes, Amy, I stole your answer)
2) Alias (I secretly believe I am Sidney Bristow)
3) Trading Spaces
4) Everybody Loves Raymond

Four songs that will always be on my IPOD (right, like I'll ever be un-cheap enough to buy an ipod)
1) Grace by U2
2) The Fatal Wound or Daisy by Switchfoot
3) Til Kingdom Come by Coldplay (actually, first by Johnny Cash, but the Coldplay recording)
4) Anything Nickel Creek

Four Places I've been on Vacation:
1) Jacksonville, FL
2) Nerja, Spain
3) Lake Eerie
4) Chilton Cantelo, England

Four websites I visit daily:
1) about 10 blogs
2) http://www.relevantmagazine.com
3) recently www.mac.com (I've been reading up on how to navigate a mac since I'm getting one in a few days!!!!)
4) a couple news sites (cnn international and bbc world are my 2 favs)

Four of my favorite foods:
1) olive garden's garlic herb chicken with broccoli
2) the meal (roast beef, cornbread, potatoes, carrots, gravy, sweet tea)
3) anything featuring tomato and basil
4) anything chocolate

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1) Lying on the grass in the park (actually, I can't think of a good reason why I'm not there right now)
2) Smelling the clean clean air of the KY mountains after a storm.
3) Somewhere with my family--doesn't really matter where.
4) I really can't think of four. To be honest, I like it here and wouldn't rather be anywhere else. I just want the people I love to come to me :).

Four jobs I wish I could do:
1) Famous artist--crazy wild sculptor or something.
2) Be a mom.
3) Professional writer or musician--but the kind that doesn't have to work. Ok, strike that one.
4) Amazingly rich person that could feed all the hungry people, wise peacemaker so I could help end conflict, gutsy enough to stand up against injustice, and all around make the world better all over person. I think that position's filled, though.....


I hope this holds you over. One day I'll have something interesting to write.

Nothing of Import

I have nothing important to say, but I haven't update in a while, so I decided to be good to my faithful readers (all 4 of you) and post, even if it's mindless drivel. So here's the current news in my life.

It's already hot here. It's been between 30-32 (around 90 F and up) and cloudy the past few days, which turns Madrid into an oven. The heat gets in and can't get out. If anyone sees me walking around and looking incredibly wobbly this July, it's because my insides will have melted by that point and I will only be held together by my skin. And I don't want to hear "at least it's dry heat." Right now it's not, but anyway, would you rather bake or boil? Either way, we're in for quite a summer, I think.

In other news, Victoria counted her change yesterday and found out she had 27 euros she didn't know about. That's alot! Today, as she was putting the coins into the little counter things the bank gives you, and I couldn't resist trying to count my change. I emptied all the drawers, every purse, every change receptacle (there are many). I had 18 euro in 10 and 5 cent pieces!!!!! That's so much! That's a trip to J and J's for some books to read on my flight to the States! (for those of you who don't know, I'm going to the U.S. for one week at the beginning of June for my friend Steph's wedding).

Finding out you have much more change than you thought is like getting free money!

Back to Victoria. She beat me by 9 euro, but who's counting? Anyway, here's her latest deep thought. "You know, Kelly, life is like a bowl of Ramen noodles. Add hot water, and everything gets mushy, and the peas reinflate." I'm not sure what it means, but I think she was serious when she said it. Man, I wish I was that deep! Anyone want to try to interpret that?

In other news, Amy and I are seriously contemplating murder on a dog. There's this dumb yappy thing that barks in some window facing the courtyard of our building all day and all night. Last night (or actually 3 am this morning), after yet another barking fit, I heard in a strange, raspy voice "Callate, Luli!" To get the voice right, imagine you're 80 years old, you've been smoking since 1 week before birth, and you evidently spent the first 70 years of your life yelling at a dog. This is the crazy dog lady. She takes her dog out to pee abou 40 times a day, and every time we can hear her on the steps..."Luuuuuuliiiiiiiii! Vamos Luuuuuliiiiii!"

The fact that we now know that the incessant barking belongs to Luli, and by default, the crazy dog lady, does put a hitch in our murder plot. You see, we like the crazy dog lady! She smiles and says hi to us as she stops on our floor to take a smoke break on the way up to her apartment (not kidding). Her dog, Luli, runs into our apartment if the door is open, and we chase him down and bring him back to her. She calls all of us "Joven." I think we make her day by petting her dog.

So we can't kill Luli.

Then again, if Luli keeps it up, he might be in danger yet.

An attempt at songwriting

Many of you who have talked to me in the past year have heard me complain (most likely several times) about the fact that most of the writers of worship leaders are male. Being female, it's really annoying to have to transpose everything into a key that doesn't make me screechy. I have whined about this for a long time (sorry to all the recipients of this whine, I'll try not to repeat myself so many times).

But recently something has occurred to me. I am a female. I am a worship leader (well, a worship leader in the works, anyway). I have a decent theory and composition background.

I am not allowed to whine if I don't do anything about it. So I'm doing something about it.

Also, I think it's really cool for a church to have some music that is indigenous--rather than just singing what everyone else is singing all the time. There's definitely a place for songs that everybody knows, but at the same time, I think there's a place for a congregation to have some music that expresses what's going on in that community.

So I'm trying.

This song is called "Glory." It's based (loosely) on the liturgy of the second movement of the Ordinary of the Mass. The basic concept of the movement is "Gloria in excelsis Deo"--Glory to God in the highest--and then it goes on to list a bunch of reasons that we give God glory.

Anyway, I hope to actually write 5 songs that can be used together--kind of a worship mass--based on the concept of each movement. More on this to come.

For now, here's my first attempt.