Current mood:	exhausted
Current music:	What's So Amazing About Grace? (and Writing for the Soul)
Entry tags:	amazing race, american idol, family, survivor

Bits and Pieces
My voice is back. It started coming back last Tuesday, and just over a week later, it's still not at 100%. Close, but not quite.

WEC Week

We've been really busy this week. DTS is having its annual World Evangelization Conference (WEC) this week, and the boys have their own Kids' Konference that they've been attending. They've been learning about missions in different countries each day. Tuesday was Canada; Wednesday, Greece; today, Australia. I can't remember what country they'll be "visiting" tomorrow.

While they've been playing, learning, crafting, and eating, I've been attending chapel services and a few 45-minute sessions on missions. Tuesday I went to a talk about "10 Myths about Missions" with my friend Jenny. Wednesday I attended "The Role of the Local Church in Missions". It was okay; there was some good information there, but it wasn't what I expected. Instead of going to one today, I sat out in the warm sunshine and worked on rough drafts of two book reviews I need to get turned in for my self-study program. It was fairly quick work; now I just need to polish them, type them, and email them to my faculty wife advisor. I saw her on campus today and was able to discuss substituting a few books that aren't on the list. I have one review left to write, then I'll finish reading What's So Amazing About Grace?. I've been reading a little on that book for over a year now. It's time to finish! It's a good book, but not one that I can just breeze through. It's a thinking book, and after a chapter or two, I have to put it down and...think. Then I forget that I'm reading it and I get involved in another book, and another book, and another book...

On the homefront, I've been too busy or too tired to get much done. Dishes are piling in the sink because I haven't unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher yet, and laundry is starting to pile up again. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some things done. Or Saturday morning.

Idol Chatter

American Idol isn't hooking me like it has in the past. The guys are pitiful for the most part. The only consistently good guy is Chris Sligh. I really liked Sundance and was sorry to see him go home tonight, even though he has struggled. He sounded better tonight during his farewell performance than he did Tuesday night, but nothing beats his "Mustang Sally" from the week before. He was awesome then, and I had hoped he was making a comeback. I can think of plenty of other guys who should've gone home tonight. Mainly Sanjaya. I think he's got a huge teeny-bopper fan base. (And he's the new pick of Vote for the Worst.) Poor guy. They're gonna push him through, then watch him fall flat on his face. Oh, Jarred was sent home tonight, too. I won't miss him.

As for the girls, I'm so glad that Antonella was sent home tonight. She was the only one of the four sent packing tonight who really deserved to go. Sabrina is good, and I don't understand why people voted for Haley (who?) instead of her. No surprise that Melinda and Lakisha made it to the top 12. They're the top two, respectively. They're the main reasons I'll be watching the rest of the season. When they're gone (if they're gone), I'm done for this season.

Disappointments

Is anyone else as disappointed in Survivor as I am? While I find myself rooting for the constantly losing tribe, I haven't really chosen anyone as a standout pick to pull for. Everyone on the winning team seems really haughty. There are definitely some I don't like, just none that I really do like.

The Amazing Race has let me down this season, too. I thought the all-star race would be a good idea, but I don't like many of the teams they chose. My favorite is Uchenna and Joyce, who won the million a few seasons back. I liked them then, too, but why do they need to compete for another million? If they're going to put previous winners in there, they should've included BJ and Tyler and the Cho brothers. They need to just let me pick my own all-stars... I can't stand Rob-n-Ambuh, mainly Rob. Most of the other teams get on my nerves, too.

Why are so many shows in reruns right now (CSI and CSI: New York), or not being aired (ER) so that something lame can air in its place (The Black Donnelly's)?

I guess this would be a good time to go to bed and get some extra sleep before my last day of WEC Week. I'm helping out with the 4-year-olds tomorrow during the first half of the morning, and I think I'm going to need my energy plus some...

Good night!