Call me....Professor?

I told my students they could call me Jamie, yet all of them have referred to me as Miss Petersen so far.

Yes, today was my first day of teaching at the University level. All of my students are brand-spankin'-new freshman who are interested in pursuing a teaching career. The purpose of this course is to equip them with information about Biola and it's Education program, as well as allow them to form friendships in their cohort of students. These are the students they will see a lot of during their four years at BU. Today they partnered up and interviewed each other (some of them were quite humorous) and then we had a great discussion on the differences between High School and College. Some bulletpoints included:

~HS is mandatory and usually free. College is optional and EXPENSIVE (especially at Biola!)

~Testing in HS is frequent, and covers small amounts of material. In college, exams are cumulative and sparce.

~In HS, most of your classes are arranged for you. In college, you have control of your schedule.

~In HS, you are not responsible for knowing what it takes to graduate. In college, you are responsible for following requirements.

~In HS, you are expected to read short assignments that are then discussed, and often re-taught, in class. In college, you are assigned substantial amounts of reading and writing which may not be addressed in class.

~In HS, teachers impart knowledge and facts, sometimes drawing direct connections and leading you through the thinking process. In college, Professors expect you to think about and synthesize seemingly unrelated topics.

~In HS, courses are usually structured to reward a "good-faith" effort. In college, though "good-faith effort" is important in regard to the professor's willingness to help you achieve good results, it will not substitute for results in the grading process.

...THERE! All the info, and you didn't even have to pay $930 for the class! I think this particular task will be one of my favorite parts of my job.

Acoustic Madness!

Carrie, Chen and I have been busy this week, playing 2 acoustic shows in 2 days. We played Monday night at a venue called "Howl at the Moon," a cool piano bar on the second floor of the Universal Studios City Walk. It was a shorter set, and we had some sound isssssues (like the bumping of dance music coming through the open wall behind us), but we all had a good time regardless. I saw a familiar face in the crowd and realized that it was actress Sarah Silverman (Ned's angry girlfriend on "School of Rock"). It was nice to play on a "real" piano (it wasn't really real...it was a digital keyboard in a baby grand shell. Still nice to sit down.) I was thankful I didn't have to tote my Roland to either of these shows. The poor Roland is experiencing some health issues in it's old age...the imput jack is loose and crackles, the sounds don't compare to newer models, and now the A key is not working properly. Oy.

On Tuesday, we rocked out at Florentine's Tuscany Club in Downtown Fullerton. Our set started unusually late, and we played to an unresponsive crowd, so we threw out a couple songs we had planned to do (including a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time"). Carrie's mom and a couple others made the long drive down from Nor Cal to hear the show and surprise her (I think she saw her mom during our 5th song. Her response? "What's going on here?")
(Below...Carrie's mom, aunt, and lil' Jen)

Dreams Really Don't Come True.

Go ahead. Watch about 15 seconds of the Disneyland 50th Anniversary "Dreams Really Do Come True" Fireworks Spectacular. Then realize that this was ALL we saw of the show before it was abruptly cancelled in the middle of the program. WHAT HAPPENED? Did Tinkerbell fall to her death? (By the way, that moving dot on the video is Tinkerbell herself) Does Mickey have it out for me? This is the SECOND time I've been to Disneyland for the SOLE PURPOSE of seeing the fireworks show. And this is now the SECOND time I've left disappointed. However, it was a fantastic day on all other counts. I got to see my buddy Matt in costume and entertaining crowds at Aladdin's Oasis, and hanging out with Steph, Kaelyn and Angelina was the best. I'll get over the fireworks mishap soon...but you can bet I'll be making another trip to the Magic Kingdom!





This was Kaelyn's first trip to Disneyland (at 2 years old). Officially, her first ride was Pirates of the Carribean, followed by "It's a Small World" and Astro Blasters. It's no surprise that she LOVED the rides! While mommy and Angelina rode Space Mountain, I took Kaelyn for a drive (correction....she took ME for a drive) at Autopia. As you can see, she was thrilled with her driving skills, and clenched her souveneir Driver's License the rest of the night.


Oh.....and here is a pic from Astro Blasters. Check out the intensity in my eyes, and note the score : )

Say "cheese"!

What happens when you tell someone that you are going to take their picture, but hit the video button instead? Keith and I were discussing people's humorous reactions on a break during our band practice...here's what we came up with.

Before....

Thanks so much to Steph and Stephen, Jessie, Cheryl, Jeff, Suzanne, and Matt for helping me get my furniture and boxes from the Uhaul to my new apartment (and, of course, my amazing parents for hooking it up in Stockton and making the drive down). Moving is always exciting, but so stressful. Unfortunately, this past week has not helped any...I've had little time to unpack and organize. Yesterday, I upgraded our apartment status from "total disaster" to "making progress." It still smells of paint and carpet glue (not sure how to get rid of that...any suggestions?), but at least we can now see the floor.

Here are a couple pictures of the apartment as we started out last Saturday...hopefully "after" pictures will follow soon!

A Visit to the Staples Center

A group of us from Revolution enjoyed an evening in the VIP box at a Los Angeles Sparks game (WNBA) thanks to Steph and her connections.... We cheered, well...jeered is more like it, the Sparks to victory from our lofty seats- complete with icebox, sodas and peanuts.




Bobby and Chris had a great time watching the cleanup. Shortly after, they told us to leave. Darn it! We were set to stay all night!

Too Hard to Love You

Get this video and more at MySpace.com Here's a new little ditty from the fabulous Carrie Turner- Check out www.myspace.com/carrieturner for information on upcoming acoustic shows! (We're hitting Hollywood and Fullerton next week!)

Welcome, Anne Marie!

I forgot to throw down a mad shout-out to my peeps in the Lone Star State- Congratulations to Amanda and Daniel on the birth of their first child, Anne Marie Adelle Baker (August 8th).

CrossWalk, August 13th

Just a couple pictures from Sunday morning's excursions. I attended the "Big Church" at 9:30, and thoroughly enjoyed Pastor Dunn's message on "living with bad choices." I love being introduced to scripture passages (in this case, the deception of Joshua in Joshua 9 & 10) that I'm reletively unfamiliar with. The morning continued with great worship and Word at CrossWalk, where their series is focusing on "Getting in the Game," learning how to serve. Ironically, Revolution is going through a similar topic on our weekly "Equipping Nights" called "Get in Shape"- learning about how we can contribute to the body of Christ and beyond by using our Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences. We took a Spiritual Gifts inventory last week, and my results were no surprise to me; Creative Communication (arts), Pastor/Shepherd (concern for the lost/broken), Encouragement (exhortation) and Leadership (go figure, huh?). After church on Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at "Bob's At the Marina," right on the Delta. Great burgers: the quintessential stop for anyone who may find themselves in Stockton.

'Tis the Season for Gift Giving

Mom and brother both have birthdays during the first week of August, so I had a lot of catching up to do in the gift department. I planned WAY ahead on Derek's gift, and hooked him up with a highly-coveted Dwight Shrute Bobblehead, compliments of the NBC show "The Office." Here is my brother trying to make the bobblehead move by telekinetic power. Good job, D.

Before I left for Morocco, my dad expressed an interest in the city of Fes, and requested that I bring him an authentic Fes hat. I did. And we proceeded to see it modelled all around the house. My mom's face says it all.

Student Updates

While listening to the message at CrossWalk on Sunday, I heard "pssssst.....Miss P!" I turned around to find one of my very first second grade students, Sean, who I haven't seen SINCE second grade! He is now in Jr. High School, and was visiting First Baptist on the Sunday I was home. Another great surprise was seeing former student, Alexis, who is now entering fourth grade. During my last year of teaching, her mother was a tremendous blessing to our class, supplying us with all kinds of homemade goodies and catering for our parties. We talked often about her dream of opening a deli in Stockton...on Sunday, I stopped into her NEW DELI to look around! Plus, Denise hooked me up with some AMAZING cookies for the ride home. Yum!

If you are in Stockton, I HIGHLY recommend that you grab a bite to eat at Denise's Downtown Deli...and tell Denise that Miss Petersen sent you!

Any other former students out there??

It's MOVING TIME!

After more than a year of sadly sitting in storage, my "stuff" is THRILLED to be reuniting with me in Southern California. I'M pretty excited too: excited to be sleeping once again on MY bed, eating off of MY dishes, sitting on MY couches.... hopefully it will contribute to a feeling of "home," finally. I've been diligently recruiting some brute strength of both ends of the moving process (this may be earth-shattering news for those of you who think I am wonder-woman....unfortunately, I cannot lift an aromoire on my own. Yet.) THANK YOU to Richard, Brock, Nick and Chris, who will be helping on the Stockton end, and Matt, Larry, Jeff, Stephen, Jessie, Steph and Cheri who will be helping on the Cypress end. I'm so grateful for good friends!

If you would be willing to help on either end for a little while (Stockton- Friday night, or Cypress- Saturday afternoon), you will receive dinner and lots of thanks from me. : )

And so, the journey continues!
Lots of pictures of the new place to come!

Welcome, Kinley!

Congratulations, Jen and Kyle, on the birth of baby girl #2, Kinley Petrie Park!

Grrrrrrrreat.

Wouldn't you know....on the day that I'm scheduled to fly, a terrorist alert shakes up all air travel. I doubt that Long Beach Airport is a huge terrorist target, but I'm having to make the appropriate changes to my itinerary- no carry on luggage and a three-hour delay in airport security. There goes my evening.

Happy Birthday, Silke!

Okay, a little late on the pictures, but here they are nonetheless. Our celebration for Silke's 26th birthday was nothing short of "Silke Style"...lots of fun into the wee hours of the morning! We started in Seal Beach for appetizers and some Karaoke (during which Matt demonstrated his unusually keen knowledge of Spice Girls songs), then made our way into Long Beach to hit the Gaslamp (Bar and Restaraunt) where 80's cover band "Knight Ryder" was playing a Friday night set. LOTS of dancing, LOTS of laughing, LOTS of pictures! (Stephen took an inclination to my sunglasses a few weeks ago and hasn't taken them off, since...) Carrie, James and Kelly drove down from Hollywood to meet up with us at the Gaslamp, also.

Yesterday, Today and Forever

I attended a worship night/concert with Vicky Beeching in Pasadena this past Sunday. Her music is relatively unknown here (now), but she is a popular worship artist in her home country, England. She was delighted to be in Southern California (not much sunshine in London) and was thrilled about her first Jamba Juice experience earlier that day. In the past, she has recorded under the Vineyard label, and is now branching out as an independent artist. You can hear a couple of her songs, including the title track of her new album "Yesterday, Today and Forever," on Christian radio.

One of her songs in particular, "Captivated," has emerged as a favorite of mine. While in Morocco standing in the shadow of the Grande Mosque, a phrase from this song played over and over in my head...from the Holy Spirit, I'm sure; "No other could ever be as beautiful..."

I had the opportunity to talk with Vicky after the show. It turns out we're somewhat of Kindred Spirits! We both have a love for the Beatles, for Jamba Juice, and for the piano. Plus, we wore matching shirts.

Check out her website at www.vickybeeching.com!

Serve Day 2006

I took a LONG nap after all the festivities from THIS weekend subsided. No sooner am I back on American ground when my calendar fills up completely. One year ago, I participated in Serve Day on my first "official" day as a Southern Californian. This year, I was assisting with worship leading at the rally and serving with good friends from Revolution Church. I've come full circle....it was a moment (sniff).

Our project THIS year was facilitating a carnival for psychiatric patients at the Metropolitan State Hospital. We worked with adolescents and adults who had limited to full grounds access. The possibility of working next year with patients from the penal code section is in the works (patients who are doing time at the hospital for pleading insanity in a criminal case). We sure did have some characters this year...and I'm just talking about the volunteers from Revolution. CRAZY! We provided Karaoke (listened to a lot of "I love Rock and Roll" and "Rapper's Delight"), many carnival games and crafts, and an abundance of prizes. The experience of serving people "just because" is always so rewarding.