the ninth week

Mandy K.

Monday. I woke up sick. Everyone’s sick these days, it seems. The nausea went away, leaving me with cold symptoms. I did laundry, grabbed some Thai food for lunch, hung out with Faikham and Katie, and then studied for an exam. The Gospel of Mark exam was rough. I’ll cover my licks with a kickass research paper. Ams and I went to WalGreens and Rally’s, and I hung out in Student Life with Jessie and Justin for a while. Jessie is sick, and so is Ams. Jimmy G. is reading losing touching searching and really likes it.

Tuesday. I didn’t feel any better today. After Geology I hung out with Mandy K. in the Hilltop. She’s really cute, a great girl. I may like her… I went to Mount Echo for a bit to think and pray (primarily about Mandy) and then took Ams to WalGreens. I napped until 7:30 and had dinner in the Hilltop. I spent the evening hanging out in my dorm room, stricken by diarrhea, contemplating my evolving friendship with Mandy K. She is SO MUCH BETTER than Karen in EVERY conceivable way, and truth be told, I DO like this girl. So what do I do? Pursue? Back off? Our paths in life are different, maybe. I honestly don’t even know what I want to do. I talked to Mandy about it, and she told me, “Develop the friendship.” She told me I should be aware of Anthony Soto. “Mandy seems to be weird and giggly with him.”

Wednesday. A hangover would be better than this cold; at least then you know when it’ll be gone. I woke up feeling as if I were swallowing razor blades, and my entire body aches. I went to breakfast in the Golden Eagle and perused Mount Echo, thinking about Mandy. She came into the Hilltop while I was working just to visit, and she asked me if I wanted to go to the gym with her. I said No since I’m feeling so shitty, and I asked her if she wanted to hang out when she got back, but I never heard back. I give my heart away too easily, that’s for sure. Besides, while she’s adamant about hanging out, she may just really enjoy my company. Jessie says she treats lots of people this way, and I’m probably reading into things. Truth be told, she is a good girl, leagues beyond Karen, and that frightens me. It frightens me because I have such a horrible past, I’ve done things I deeply regret, and I know she can do much better than me. On top of that, she desperately wants to leave the U.S.A. “Are you cool with that?” Jessie asked me. *SIGH* She graduates in May. I graduate in December. She’ll be running off to Africa and I’ll be staying in Cincinnati. There’s no future in this.

Thursday. Mandy and I went to Romans group study together. This afternoon Ams came to me and confessed, “I’m not a Christian, and I may want to be one.” We sat in the Oratorium for an hour and a half and talked about the faith. She wants joy and peace in her life, and she wants a changed life. I talked to her about how this is possible in Christ. We continued our conversation at Mount Echo. I told her, “What you want, you can have. But you need to commit yourself to Christ.” It’s a big decision, not one to be taken lightly, and she needs to think deep about this.

Friday. I spent the day at Mom & Dad’s, but not before hanging out with Mandy for a while. Gah, she’s so adorable. But nothing will happen there: she graduates in May and is then heading off to northern Africa to do missions work.

Saturday. Mom and I went and got my license renewed, and then we went to I.G.A. for groceries. I had a hamburger for lunch. We went to Grandma & Grandpa Barnhart’s for a Game Night; I pretty much just drank six cups of coffee and talked with relatives. I held Cate, Megan’s baby. It’s the first time I’ve held a baby, and it was wonderful. I can’t wait to be a dad! Hopefully I don’t have to wait TOO long. Back home I called Jessie and Sarah and talked with them for a bit, and then Ams and I met up with Paul Lawson at the Mad River Starbucks for coffee.

My 22^nd Birthday. I went to Southwest Church this morning. Megan M. was thrilled to see me. She literally shouted and screamed. She’s dating a stoner from Indiana; I’m not a big fan, and she knows it. I met up with Kyle at the Max & Erma’s on 741; he’s heading to Ireland on Tuesday. The weather got pretty bad come evening: tornadoes and such. The skies were beautiful, though. Mikaela called to wish me a happy birthday.