Never Cease to be Amazed

Today I learned that the important number in the weather forecast is not the High... but the Low. Because even as I left the house this morning I was thinking to myself, "how cold can it really get if the High for the day is 65?"

Well, when you live in St. Louis, the answer is: 20 degrees.

Even at 1:30pm when I went to church to study inbetween classes, it was nearing 70 degrees and it felt HOT! I left my fleece in the car because I knew that even if it did get a little cooler, I was parked right next to the building.

An hour later I emerged from the building to find that it had dropped at least 20 degrees, and the wind was whipping around furiously, smacking twigs into my poor car as I drove back to school.

Halfway through my class (around 4 pm), it was 30 degrees and snowing lightly. And by the time I headed home, I was very grateful that I had at least thought to put gloves in the pockets of my fleece jacket because as I walked to my car, I had to be sure to breath with my mouth closed because otherwise my teeth hurt from the cold wind... CRAZY!

Only in the City

Only in the city can you arrange to meet someone at your church to practice for choir, and when you're finished, end up walking across the street to meet up with other friends at Forest Park to watch a hot air balloon race.

Then when you drive home, only if you live in the city would you end up following the path of the balloons and park your car only to find that there are a dozen hot air balloons directly above your head as you walk into your apartment building.

And only in the city would the following day bring a bike race that blocks off (without formal notice) the two streets necessary to enter and exit your apartment building and parking lot... leaving you homeless or imprisoned from 12pm-4pm.

Only in the city...

...it's really all quite fascinating to the girl who grew up in the endless suburbs of California.

Home

Today is my last day at home. And then tomorrow, I fly home again. What is "home"?

It's been so much fun for me to be home for the last week... but I can't wait to go back home.

I know what I mean each time I use the term, and often people can guess correctly, but I find it strange that I call both places "home".

St. Louis isn't just "school", it's home. It's where I have a life and a normal routine and many wonderful friends to spend time with.

But California is still home. It's where the people live who have known me the longest. It's where I grew up, and I think it will always be the most familiar place for me.

So which should I call home?

Reason #4

...that St. Louis is an awesome place to live (in no particular order):

Musicals at The Muny
in Forest Park
FREE seats in the nosebleeds

I have never seen Peter Pan live before and that's what opened at the Muny this week. I volunteered to go on the Mentor/Protege event at my practicum and it was a lot of fun. Two of the four kids who came with their mentors, I had already worked with, and then we even ran into another girl from one of my sessions.

I even saw one of the families from my church (and their four adorable daughters) and the senior pastor and his wife. I hadn't chatted with them long before I noticed a younger couple and their baby girl (from church - whom I had just spent a good part of last evening with)... and THEN, Mandy (a friend from school) showed up in the row behind me.

By that point, I was completely amused... and entertained... oh, and Peter Pan was fun, too. :)

Reason #3

...that St. Louis is an awesome place to live (in no particular order):

The one and only Forest Park

I just LOVE the park... and I live two blocks from it.

I think I've decided that it's the St. Louis equivalent of the beach. In the Bay Area, one might take an impromptu trip to the beach for the afternoon... and in St. Louis, a Sunday afternoon picnic in the park is a common occurrence. People run, bike, walk, go paddle-boating, golf, sunbathe, go to the zoo, play racquetball, and wander museums at the park.... and wedding photo shoots are frequent.

It's a very cool place and I still can't believe that I live here. :D

Here are some pictures from my most recent Forest Park outing.

Rain on the 4th of July?!?

That's just not okay with me!

It does not rain during the summer in California. It just doesn't. The concept of rain on the 4th of July is like... non-existent.

Missouri is weird... but its an enchanted kind of weird. The evening air makes me feel different. I think it has something to do with the fact that I spent many enjoyable summer vacations as a kid in similar Midwest weather.

I can't really explain it. You can feel the air. Its warm, but cool enough to feel nice... its thick and you can feel it on your skin, but its comforting, rather than overwhelming.

I like it that I live in St. Louis. I still can't believe that I live here... I live in Missouri... I really do.

Sad Feelings

So it just dawned on me today that I don't get to go to Six Flags this summer... stupid foot!

I was SOOOO excited about having my very own amusement park so close by... and I had every intention of getting a season pass. I guess at this point, its a good thing that I wasn't very quick about getting that done... wah!

Farewell my beautiful roller coasters... you will be greatly missed... but rest assured that I shall return as soon as I am able to partake in your marvelous modes of entertainment...

Reason #2

...that St. Louis is an awesome place to live (in no particular order):

The Shakespeare Festival
Much Ado About Nothing
Forest Park in St Louis, MO
FREE

It was set to a western theme and so much fun! I love shakespeare! I love plays! I love laughter! I love people! I love the park!

Yup, I think that about covers it... ;)

Reason #1

...that St. Louis is an awesome place to live (in no particular order):

The Whitaker Music Festival
Wednesday night concerts
Missouri Botanical Gardens
Tonight was the first one for the summer: Jeremy Davenport
FREE

A-mazing. Definitely my favorite kind of Jazz music.

Great. Wonderful. I'm buying a CD... or two. ;)