The story of a cell phone

Did you know that moisture is the worst enemy of cell phones? Well, I learned this week that it doesn't even take direct exposure to water, like a dunking or a spraying or an "I dropped it in the toilet." (Hilariously, that is the most common cause of cell phone replacement!) No, my friends, it takes less than direct wetness to make the little moisture-detecting sticker on the inside of the phone turn red. All it takes is humidity - in my case, sitting overnight in the pocket of a pair of pants that I had put on over my wet swimsuit. Not the brightest idea, I'll admit, but it wasn't that I thought it was a good idea, I just wasn't thinking!

So after panicking because it WAS my fault that it now wouldn't turn on, I spent several hours researching online what to DO about it, and I found some pretty interesting stuff to say the least. I definitely ignored the advice to bake it in my oven at 125 degrees to dry it out, but I DID take it apart as much as I could and put it out in my car with the windows rolled up for the afternoon, then overnight in a plastic bag surrounded by packs of silica gel (you know, that stuff that comes in vitamin bottles and new shoes that says "Do not eat!" - it's a moisture-absorber). And I prayed hard as I put it back together again, then plugged it in to the charger.

Guess what! IT TURNED ON!!! :) And now it works perfectly. HALLELUJAH!

Now, if only my car would cooperate just like that...

Oh, what a night...

So, in the past few weeks, I have both loved and hated not having a job. Sometimes I get tired of having all my time be free time, not having any structure. But in the end, I have been able to...

1. Take my brother Ben out driving, out for a college visit at Houghton, and climbing around the waterfalls in Wiscoy Creek.
2. Visiting the Davises in Hollidaysburg, PA, where I got to speak Portuguese, catch up with them, and get networked with some of their church friends who are physical therapists.
3. Have enough energy and time to be a housekeeper and cook in my own house.
4. Starting to learn how to play the guitar, thanks to the Shaffners' wonderful long-term loan of one of their guitars. (And I'm glad that nobody else is around to hear me yet, 'cause I'm really self-conscious, and I want to make sure I'm confident enough to not make a fool of myself in front of anyone!)
5. Picking strawberries and making a strawberry-rhubarb pie, (which was devoured at the pizza party we had at Paul & Katrina's, at which we made 7 homemade pizzas plus breadsticks and salad...for 12 people...).
6. Having enough time to guiltlessly read and thoroughly enjoy Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, Prophetic Untimeliness, by Os Guinness, and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
7. Successfully changing a flat tire on my car with Amy, at midnight, wearing skirts, on our way home from Buffalo on Monday night, all by ourselves. (Yeah! Go us!!!)
8. Having the freedom to say yes when my youth pastor asked if I wanted to fill in as a chaperone on the Cuba Youth missions trip to Lexington, Kentucky, in two weeks, because one of their original ones had to cancel.
9. Watching Brazil be eliminated, and then Portugal be eliminated, and then finally Italy win, the World Cup!!!!!
10. Being able to spend time with Amy, Sam, Paul & Katrina before they all leave the country again for their new and exciting lives in China, Thailand, and Tanzania!

But I don't want to have to say goodbye...not yet...