my johari window

Okay, so I'm gonna try posting my "Johari Window" results. A Johari Window is one of those fun pseudo-psychological quiz-type things that's supposed to tell you what other people think about you. I think it's fun and interesting, and it was neat to find out who among my friends and family chose which adjectives to describe me. Click on the "full data" link down there if you wanna see who picked what.

And I'd like to say that the "arena" and "blind spot" aren't totally accurate; I *do* know a lot of those things about myself; I just wasn't allowed to choose enough adjectives! So there. ;o)

Arena (known to self and others) confident, reflective	Blind Spot (known only to others) able, accepting, adaptable, caring, cheerful, clever, complex, dependable, energetic, friendly, giving, happy, independent, intelligent, kind, knowledgeable, loving, mature, modest, observant, relaxed, religious, self-conscious, sentimental, silly, trustworthy, wise, witty
Façade (known only to self) idealistic, introverted, proud, sympathetic	Unknown (known to nobody) bold, brave, calm, dignified, extroverted, helpful, ingenious, logical, nervous, organised, patient, powerful, quiet, responsive, searching, self-assertive, sensible, shy, spontaneous, tense, warm

Dominant Traits

55% of people think that Courtney Anne Cantrell is intelligent
66% of people think that Courtney Anne Cantrell is loving

All Percentages

able (11%) accepting (11%) adaptable (16%) bold (0%) brave (0%) calm (0%) caring (50%) cheerful (27%) clever (5%) complex (11%) confident (5%) dependable (11%) dignified (0%) energetic (5%) extroverted (0%) friendly (27%) giving (27%) happy (11%) helpful (0%) idealistic (0%) independent (5%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (55%) introverted (0%) kind (5%) knowledgeable (11%) logical (0%) loving (66%) mature (11%) modest (5%) nervous (0%) observant (5%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (44%) relaxed (5%) religious (33%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (5%) sensible (0%) sentimental (5%) shy (0%) silly (22%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (38%) warm (0%) wise (11%) witty (16%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 27.3.2006, using data from 18 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view Courtney Anne Cantrell's full data.

creek and feet

We got home from Gemeinsames Essen ( = "communal eating," i.e. potluck) just over an hour ago, and it looks like the neighborhood will be keeping an eye on the creek for the rest of the day. What with the rain on top of the snowmelt, the water level is getting a bit high. The neighbors' basement flooded right next door to us, and Karen is already taking a few anti-flood precautions. Here are a few pictures I took when we got home:

From our third-floor stairwell, the view of our backyard, the creek, and Karen's apartment

The creek at groundlevel. Usually, the water level is about two feet lower.

We'll start having problems if the water rises over the bridge. Hopefully, that won't happen!

In the meantime, here are a few completely flood-unrelated pics. Jennifer and Kendra bought me this neat foot-sock-warmer-thingy at Christmas, and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. I feel like one of those podfoot people in one of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books ("The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," I think).

With legwarmers! Don't forget the legwarmers!

Kids, don't try this at home.

the essentiality of proper sequence

I think it's funny that if you switch around the letters of the word "blech," you get the word "belch."

In English, "blech" means "yuck." In German, "Blech" means "steel plate."

And "belch" in German is "rülpsen."

"Blech!" he belched at the Blech.
"Igitt!" rülpste er das Blech an.

Now doesn't that just make your day go better?

to smile or not to smile?

Earlier, I was reading an email in which the writer was praising a certain Christian who died. To make a long story short, the writer described how this particular Christian always showed a positive attitude, always responded to requests with "I'd be happy to do that!", and never complained about anything. It was a glowing report on a Christian life led in service to God and in service to others.

Before I go on, let me say that I find such Christians to be admirable examples. They don't seem to let adversity touch them; no matter how hard or how bad it gets, they meet every challenge with a smile and with the meekness manifested in quiet strength. These are people I look up to; these are people whose attitudes encourage me to try to be more like Christ. In what I'm about to say, I'm not attempting to criticize such Christians in the least.

But these glowing, post-death reviews--and I speak of them in plural, because we've all read them in plenty of email forwards and obituaries--these reviews never focus on Christians who struggled visibly to retain a godly attitude. And that raises all sorts of questions in my mind.

What about the Christians who don't smile all the time? What about the brother who answers us with an honest "Like dirt!" when we ask him how he feels? What about the sister who admits openly that she can't take the pressure anymore?

What about these Christians who show their anger, their frustration, their confusion, their depression, their sorrow, their rebelliousness...What of these Christians who show us all the time that their backs are breaking...but they keep going anyway?

Oh no, I'm not trying to say that these Christians are people who give up. No, they definitely keep plodding away, and sometimes they grumble about it...But they keep going. Somebody makes a request of them, and maybe they don't have a Christlike attitude, maybe they gripe about it...but they do it. They see the snow piling up outside, and maybe they complain that they're ready for summer...but they still make it to every worship service. They've had a rough week, and maybe the last thing they want to do is be around people...but they still say thank you when someone encourages them.

Nobody ever talks about the Christians who keep going even though it's very obviously hard on them. We talk about the ones who have a bright, happy smile and a kind word for everybody...but we rarely mention the ones who *need* the happy smiles and the kind words but keep on keeping on even if they don't get what they need.

I've never read a post-death account of a Christian's life in which someone wrote, "He sure was grouchy all the time, but he always stood up for his faith if anyone had a bad word to say about Jesus." "You know, for a Christian, she never looked very happy, but she stuck with God even when her family turned against her."

I don't know just why I wanted to say all of this...I guess I just wanted to talk about those not-so-chipper kinds of Christians, because I think we all feel not-so-chipper some of the time.

the hunchback of notre maison

I've come to the conclusion that Pippin is spineless. Literally. Here are Exhibits A and B for proof:

Weird. Just weird.

the joys of science

On Monday, Pam and I discovered that if you tear a hole in a bag of microwaveable popcorn *before* microwaving it, you can patch the hole with a piece of Scotch tape. While the bag is cooking happily in the microwave, the tape will melt to the bag, thereby sealing the hole and re-creating the cozy environment in which kernels can explode into lovely, fluffy white treats.

I LOVE POPCORN.

i return....bearing a survey

Well, April tagged me to do this, and I’m glad she did, because it’ll get me back into blogging mode. I’m tellin’ ya, I was born to write for an audience: When I get no feedback on my blog, I get bored with it. Stuff goes into my private journal and never sees the light of blog. So COMMENT, people! Let me know you’re out there! ;o)

So, this survey:

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. 1998-1999. Enterer of vehicle information and parking ticket records in the Security Office of Oklahoma Christian University. Woo.
2. February-May 2000. I worked at Lakeshore Learning Store (May Avenue, Oklahoma City), stocking shelves, filling orders, and running the register, but I don’t remember what my official position was. Clerk?
3. July 2000-May 2001, July-October 2001. Correspondence Representative at Midland Mortage Company, Oklahoma City. Never get a 30-year mortgage. 15-year is the only smart way to go.
4. November 2001-present. Missionary: teacher, counselor, innkeeper, organizer, mentor, writer, artist, janitor, interior decorator, construction worker, friend, sister, wife, and using all these roles to tell others about Jesus in Chemnitz, Germany.

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Lord of the Rings ("Po-TAY-toes!")
2. What’s Up, Doc? ("Don't you dare strike that brave, unbalanced woman!")
3. Gone with the Wind ("It ain' fittin', it jes' ain' fittin'!")
4. Benny & Joon ("Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese.")

Four places you have lived:
1. McKinney, Texas. (I don’t remember it.)
2. Darmstadt, Germany. (“Darmstadt” means “Intestine City.”)
3. Edmond, Oklahoma. (“Edmond” is the name of the main character in “The Count of Monte Christo” by Alexandre Dumas.)
4. Chemnitz, Germany. (It was Karl-Marx-Stadt before the Wall fell in 1989.)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. The X-Files
2. Lost
3. 24
4. American Idol
(I would add Gilmore Girls, but it hasn’t been impressing me lately.)

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Florence, Italy. (One of the most beautiful cities on earth.)
2. The Ring of Kerry, Ireland. (I want to live there.)
3. Stoupa, Greece. (Want a perfect coastal Grecian village? This is it.)
4. Creede, Colorado. (Yeah, I think I left a piece of my heart up there.)

Four websites you visit often:
1. http://letsplaychess.com
2. http://www.yahoo.com
3. http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/elfwood.html
4. http://dict.leo.org

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Chocolate. Anything.
2. Greek: Bifteki, souflaki, tzatziki.
3. Sushi: Anything, so far.
4. Mexican: Guacamole, chiken fajitas, spinach quesadillas, and sopapeias.

Four "places" you would rather be right now:
1. A beach in Hawaii.
2. A log cabin in Colorado.
3. Jerusalam or Cairo. (I want a vacation, can you tell?)
4. Heaven.

Four people who are tagged to do this:
1. Ed C. (Though I doubt he will.) ;o)
2. Matt G. (I’m not sure he will, either.)
3. Leenda L. (She might, if she has time.)
4. Patricia M. (And I'm 99% sure she'll go for it!) ;o)