planned for a hike, played nurse, having fun

On Saturday, I worked late (11:00am-7:00pm with customers and 7:00pm-11:45pm without) and got up early on Sunday to do dish team and put in a few more hours so that I could take the rest of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday until 11:00am off and go on a long and fantastic hike with Caleb before he gets too busy in these last few weeks to get up to Cloudy Pass. Sadly, when I returned from dish team and work, I found out that Caleb was very sick. Instead of going on a hike, I made a skirt, finished off my second hat, hung out with friends, and did little errands such as getting tea, orange juice, or the like from the dining hall and watched movies with Caleb in my attempt to play nurse and help him get well again. He went to talk to the medic several times (difficult with a throat so sore you can't talk) and found out that it WASN'T strep. But that really doesn't tell one what it IS. Yesterday, it was so bad, that he was sent out of the village to see a doctor. Luckily, he came back today with a bunch of "horse pills" and various tonics from the doctor that are helping him to recover. What was wrong, you ask? He has tonsillitis. However, he is on the mend and able to eat, drink, speak, and sleep again. Wonderful! So, the grand adventure was canceled, but I managed to enjoy myself the last few days.
Last night, we had a viewing of The Wedding Singer in the Village Center and we were encouraged to "dress up 80s", (how could I possibly resist a charge like that??) Picture may arrive with that subject, but I'm going to have to work up the guts to let you see it! (UPDATE: You can see it... I guess!) In the half hour between when I was informed of the movie and it actually began, I got together quite the outfit including a leotard, leggings, leg warmers (the arms of a sweater that was damaged in potty patrol), a bandanna, wide-necked green sweatshirt and pink high heels. Lovely, right??
Following that, I had invited a few friends over to watch Amelie (one of my all-time favorite movies). I made arrows with masking tape from the doors of my chalet, all the way up to the attic where I live to help people find it. About half-way through this process, I realized that it was a very Amelie-like thing to do. Nick and Andrew made a baking sheet full of nachos... I suppose I should mention that this was a dining-hall-sized baking sheet... with a bowl full of salsa. The Pool Hall Staff also made a dining-hall-sized bowl of popcorn (really it was the night's leftovers), and a few of us who were old enough indulged in a lovely wine (a 2008 boxed red... :)
We plugged in the Christmas lights for mood lighting and all sat on my bed, a few chairs, and pillows on the floor and had a WONDERFUL time. There were about 8 guests in all. Many had to work this morning, so not everyone stayed the duration.
In the last week, my artistic abilities have been put to work in making signs for celebrations, advertisements, and various other things. It has been HIGHLY enjoyable for me to be asked to sit around and work on my graphic art abilities for the enjoyment of others.
Today is Jubilee. This is part of why I've been making so many signs. For those of you who do not know about what the Jubilee is, I suggest you peruse your bible a little bit for the exact passages pertaining. The basic idea behind Jubilee was that every so often (there is a formula for precise years here, but it's complicated) all debts should be canceled and everything should be returned to who it was received from. It was the first passage that Jesus presented. The thought is basically that everything should be returned to it's original state every so often so that people will not work so hard with greed in mind (knowing it will all go away again in their lifetime), but rather toward community. If someone is in need, you should give them what they need without asking for money, interest, or debt from them.
Here at Holden, Jubilee is a time for celebration. I just finished watching a video of Bono addressing Bush and several leaders of various religious and political communities on the topic of Jubilee and debt cancellation for countries in need. Very interesting. I suggest looking it up on Youtube.com when you have a few moments. We then discussed the idea, why we like it, why it could/couldn't work, what steps have been taken by world powers to help those in need, and what steps need to be taken. Very enjoyable.
I also did dishteam today, cut out a pattern for a dress, taught someone (David, a graduate this year from St. Olaf who knows Jake Boyce) to knit and got him rolling on a project, welcomed Caleb back into the village, did some laundry, talked to people, witnessed part of a Cake Walk, listened to an open-mic "Proclaimations" session, and enjoyed french toast! What a good day! Off to dinner with me now, but I thought I should stop in for a moment to touch base while I was thinking of it and a computer was open.