Gospel choir, morbidly obese bloggers, and other things that inspired me this week

This week was very eventful, and happily a strong return to the 400 goal. First off, on Monday afternoon, I heard from Iowa Law. My application "has been viewed by the admissions committee and is being held for a second review". Basically, pre-waitlisted. As a middle of the road candidate numbers-wise, non-minority Iowa resident, I never expected a gimme, but come on. I just want to know what's going to happen, and I really, REALLY want to get into Iowa Law. I'm very excited about the other offers I've been given by Drake, Mizzou, and St. Thomas, but I want to stay in Iowa City, and honestly, I'm overwhelmed by just the thought of choosing between the other three schools. On a more hopeful note, admitted students withdraw from Iowa Law every day, and hopefully enough of them back out that I will be selected. This has happened to other friends of mine, so I'm not completely despondent.
That being said, after hearing the not-so-great news from Iowa, I had a bit of a mental breakdown (a common occurrence during the law school admissions process, but this was a biggie) and decided I needed to further fill my life with meaningful things so, logically, I joined Voices of Soul, the University of Iowa's gospel choir. Check out this concert video of them below from 2007.



Ever since I was in high school, I've wanted to be in a gospel choir. I have always found gospel music so moving, especially songs from greats like Moses Hogan and others. I remember a girlfriend borrowing my iPod last year and making fun of me for having an album downloaded called, simply, "Negro Spirituals". Truth be told, I rocked out to those songs. HARD. Still, I was very nervous heading to VoS practice on Thursday night. I walked in, prepared to grab my sheet music and sight read to the best of my ability to catch up and prove that I could handle being part of the ensemble, since they've been rehearsing for the upcoming April concert for weeks already. I choked a little when I wasn't handed any sheet music (Had they *gasp* already memorized everything?). This is where my learning comes in. Evidently gospel choirs learn by rote, no sheet music, just a sort of call and response. At first I was extremely panicked by this development, but it ended up being incredibly fun and spontaneous, a sort of jazzercise/jam session combo.
Everyone at Voices of Soul was so sweet and welcoming to me, and singing with the group and the band was a very powerful way to worship God, a far cry (forgive me, Pope Benedict) from minor-key Catholic hymns. I'll admit, I was a little shy at first when the director was yelling out, "Sing with your hands! Do it!", but by the end of the two hour rehearsal I was sweating profusely from clapping, swaying, pointing up to the sky (quite a jaunt outside of my comfort zone. We were instructed to do it every time we sang Jesus' name in one of the songs) and basically singing my guts out. I've easily decided that I will be staying in this group.

Another first for this week was my first BIG GIRL LICENSE!!!! I was very excited for my first horizontal Iowa license, until I arrived at the DOT. I would just like to say that I imagine Hell must be a lot like a prolonged stay in the DOT office--loud, stuffy, windowless (at least the Johnson County office is sans-outdoor light), full of rude people and fourteen-year-olds. Entering the office, I had the distinct displeasure of standing behind an unpleasant woman dressed in homemade sweatpant capris and fake Ugg boots (do NOT expect to be taken seriously in this ensemble). She was ripping the very sweet receptionist's head off about how she needed to switch her ID back to Iowa after some years living in Kansas, and why wasn't her photocopied birth certificate sufficient for this purpose, etc etc. When this ugly wretch finally stepped out of the office, I approached the desk.
"Wow, THAT'S a way to end your Friday", I said to the receptionist with the knowing grin of someone who's worked in the service industry.
"Yeah, I was just about to tell her that she could get an original of her birth certificate across the hall for only fifteen bucks." She laughed and shook her head.
"I was just about to tell her that my boyfriend has lived in the state for five years and still has his California ID, no problem", I replied. Just then, Ugly Wretch stepped back into the DOT, her body trembling with rage.
"Are you two TALKING ABOUT ME?! THAT IS SO UNPROFESSIONAL! You're RUDE! I want to see your manager, RIGHT NOW." Then, looking at me, UW says, "YOU are so rude. You don't know me or my situation."
I contemplated briefly if there were any way someone could have a situation involving the need for new ID that would be sad enough for me to pity them. I decided not. "I don't care", I said, rolling my eyes (I have a great talent for the disrespectful eye roll, one which earned me many slaps from my parents in my school years).
"You wouldn't." Because clearly underneath this bag's sweatpant capris was an amazing judge of character. Not. UW proceeds to be escorted to a back office, glaring at me as she passes. The receptionist calls me back to her desk, where she covertly asks me for my name and phone number should an official complaint be filed.
People are so astoundingly awful sometimes. Sadly, so are ID photos. Mine resembles a mug shot, as Iowa's new ID photo policy dictates that you cannot smile at all in your photo. Observe...



So proud of myself, I actually made something new this week! Not a craft, but for the first time ever I made homemade gourmet mac 'n cheese for Adrian and I, plus Matti and Mallory, prior to Delta Zeta date party last night. It was so good, very absorbent food for the winos to eat while imbibing. The recipe, officially titled "Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese" is available on the Cooking Light website. Here's their photo of the mac, mine wasn't as beautiful but was so damn good we gobbled it up before I could get a shot of it.




Okay, one more thing and this epic post is done. Another first for this week is embarking on a fitness plan with a group. Adrian and I along with my homegirls Matti and Mallory Mitchell are all doing the Couch to 5K running program. Today we did our first workout, walk/run intervals for twenty minutes, plus about ten minutes of navigating the icy sidewalk to the trail. I was inspired to do this program by a weight loss blog I found in one of my aimless travels through the blogosphere. The author, who is morbidly obese at the time of this entry, has completed C25K and is preparing for her first live 5K. I was so motivated reading her account of being an overweight runner, and for the first time in my life I felt like possibly I could also complete a running regimen. My posse and I are searching for a 5K to run in nine weeks or so, in the meantime we're running again on Tuesday and Thursday. We're also weighing ourselves as a group every Sunday. Currently, we weigh 710 pounds, very ready for some weight loss progress! More updates to come.

I lied, one more thing on top of C25K. I finished The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson. It was so wonderful that I shelled out the $20 I owed the Iowa City Public Library in late fees from a year ago just to check it out, just really rich and funny and real. I laughed over almost every page, sometimes more than once (speaking of, have you ever noticed how awkward it is to laugh over a book, especially in public?). A must read for everyone who's ever lived in Iowa, especially near Des Moines.

That brings us to the tally. Read, Make, Do, Learn--97, 95.5, 87, 94. I have GOT to get my ass in gear if these goals are going to be accomplished! Hoping to be into the seventies on all of them by the end of March (into the eighties on reading. It's slow going reading for pleasure during the school year).