i have such nerdy childhood friends. let me recap (by the way, all happened to go to cal for undergrad):

olivia, masters in nursing (nurse practioner), johns hopkins
eva, masters in nursing (nurse practioner), johns hopkins
ev, mph, johns hopkins
mary, mph, yale
jean, doctorate in phyiscal therapy, wash u in st. louis
alinna, masters in education, stanford
alice, masters in education, davis
karen (chiang, not me), mba, stanford
karen (me), uh... the furthest i got was taking the gmats, but the score will expire this upcoming year, and i don't want to apply to school. i don't think i'd be able to score as well again if i let my current score expire, so... oh well!

that doesn't even count all my other friends getting or have gotten their masters/phd's, law degrees, or in med school, etc. no wonder i feel like such a slacker. sheesh.

i bring this up now because i'm praying about an opportunity to go on a missions trip with canaan this summer. many people know that i have tried multiple times to go on missions in the past couple of years, but timing has never worked out (like when i was okay'd by work to take the time off to go/lead the first mexico team a couple of years ago, then subsequently denied that time off.) and a lot of trips are in july, when i definitely cannot go because of quarter end. so this opportunity may work out for me since it's in august... but it's in taiwan. and though my parents always tried to get me to go on missions to taiwan, i've always felt more of a heart for china, hence oex 2000. but i'm praying about it, and i know God can change hearts. plus i have plenty of vacation (currently have more than five weeks, and will have more than six weeks by Aug) to take for this three-week opportunity.

so what does this have to do with all my nerdy friends? this opportunity is actually teaching college students and prefers people with higher degrees. which... i do not have. and... i have no clue what i'd be able to teach them! plus, it's not even a confirmed trip from canaan yet, depending on interest. so there's a lot God would have to do if i were to go. but at the very least, if everything happens, i can be sure that He is really calling me there. :) we'll see.