permanently clever

Monday, February 28, 2005

you make me wanna . . .

i wanna be able to dance like usher.
i think the first thing i have to do is get some white sneakers.
i know i have the skills. or at least can learn them. i just need the shoes!

a recommendation for you...

i was quite impressed with kellen's post today on his blog. i highly recommend that you take a look at it. also interesting is that on his site, he has grouped his posts into categories so if you wanted to look at all the ones about poetry, you just click on the link that says poetry. quite a clever idea i must say.

D-O-N-E and a G-R-I-P-E

oh yes, how glorious it is that i am done with my greek quiz and my new testament midterm. greek = went horribly. oh well. i don't think anyone was confident going into it. was kinda nervous that i would fare as well on new testament. luckily, my greek preceptor let us go early if we wanted to study more. and that i did. new testament = okay. think i could do fairly well but not getting my hopes too high. it was the first time ever that i had to stay the entire alotted time for a test! but, i really liked the format of it (no long essays!). and hey, my work got cancelled tonight cause of the impending snowstorm so i have a whole afternoon and evening free. magnificent!

well, i just got back from the field ed. office. i can't believe something my advisor told me. i went there to turn in my request for deferment for this summer. i had several reasons but the last one i tacked on the end was that i would like to create a new site in croatia. cool thing is that flo, the secretary lady, says that she is going to croatia this summer to build a house. her husband is from there. she said she's going to give me her address whenever they get it . . . awesomeness! anyway, back to chester. he says they like to fill up the sites they already have. (i know this . . . have heard that field ed. office just wants to fill spots and not listen to students) well, he said that they were talking to a couple new places that could be added to the list. so, i say that i have a heart for eastern europe (i said this in case one of the new places was in eastern europe). and this is what chester says to me: well, maybe you're heart will have to change. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! that is so anti-pastoral, anti-listening-to-what-students-care-about, and anti-follow-the-leading-of-the-Holy-Spirit. i couldn't believe he said that. i was shocked.

poor matt, or emmamatt as larissa would call him, got to listen to me complain about that because he left the field ed. office at the same time i did. kinda funny cause i haven't really talked with matt except when lots of other people were around. oh well. he didn't seem to mind too much.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

this is why i don't like irony

the only post-it note i need is the only one i can't find

Friday, February 25, 2005

the day of wrong books

let's just go in chronological order and you will see connections at the end. i was supposed to wake up early to do some studying. why would i ever think that would work for me?! so, i end up getting up a little later than usual for classes because when i reset my alarm i forgot to turn it back on. as i'm rushing out the door, i try to grab all the books i'm going to need for today. this is the day i am required to have the most books. i even remember an email from my nt preceptor reminding us to bring our Bibles. i already have my NIV in my bookbag from yesterday but i decide i should take the NRSV. so i swap.

okay, in greek, i have my textbook. that's all i usually bring on fridays since the others are really heavy. but dang i wished i had my lexicon today.

on to systematic. i didn't read anything this week (this is an entirely different issue of which i feel quite shameful). i knew that we were discussing calvin and gutierrez. so, i grabbed those books this morning. actually, in my haste, i picked up the second volume of calvin and then i saw what i had done before i left and switched so i had the first volume. turns out that today our reading was from the second volume. how completely like me to do soemthing like that. okay, fine, i'll read gutierrez. oh no i won't. the gutierrez reading was online, not in the book that i brought. dang. i suck at this book business. oh well, i never talk in systematic anyway (again, not proud) so no one was the wiser; except the people that were there when i realized the error in my books.

now for new testament. i was sure i would be fine for that class. i had my huge Bible in my bookbag. well, when i go to pull it out, i am shocked to see maroon instead of blue. amazingly, i grabbed my lexicon instead of my Bible. gah! it's easy to confuse such large books in haste but how ironic that for the one class i was specifically told to bring the book, i grab the wrong book AND it's the book i was wishing i had earlier but thought i didn't have!

welcome to my life.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

exciting field ed. news

i just got done with a sort of phone interview with the pastor from first united methodist church of somerville. from what she told me about the youth program and the church in general, it's sounds like an exciting place to be! i really hope that when i visit again on sunday that i really click with the church folk and that they feel a connection to me as well. i'm getting kinda excited about this opportunity! and, the pastor told me that even though they are already talking with someone else that it is a possibility to have two interns this year. nice!

it's so strange to me how i find internships. in college, i wasn't looking for an internship at all and through random events, i ended up at tisdale. and i could definitely feel God calling me there. i mean, i tell people that it had to be God because i never would have done it otherwise. and now, this church basically called me up. i did go to the service to scope it out for field ed. opportunities but i didn't talk to anyone about it. then, that same week, i got a call from the pastor because she saw i was from the seminary and wanted to know if i was interested in doing field ed. there! i love it when God does all the work for me :D well, i don't have this internship yet but it's looking pretty promising. i haven't even met the pastor but she seemed to be talking like 'when' i work there instead of 'if'. i am meeting with her on sunday and i have to take some typed up stuff on my call and my theology. i'm afraid i don't really know how to interview and i don't have the best confidence in my ability to think on my feet (at least when it comes to answering questions in order to impress people). i just think that if this is how i get all my ministry positions, i'm definitely down with that. it totally caters to my procrastinator nature and even more importantly, it caters to my dependence on the Spirit leading me to where God wants me.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

diametrically opposed to my last post

i'm feeling kind of sad. melancholy-ish. i think it's because i feel like i've been offensive today and i don't like that. sometimes my big mouth gets me in trouble. i know a lot of people that have me in class or precept might not believe that i have a big mouth but let me assure that the beast does come out at times. basically, i suck sometimes. but let me at least take something from the sexual ethics seminar: i may suck but i'm not the suckiest person ever. praise the Lord!

1 in 137,856!!!

I WON!! I WON A CONTEST!! NO, I WON A SWEEPSTAKES!!

i never win things. i never in my life thought i would win something like this! apparently, three friends and i get to go to nyc and get makeovers! we get to stay at the soho grand. it's at least $300 a night; four stars . . . we get to stay there for free!! everyone gets airfare! well, i probably won't if i'm in new jersey, but whateva!!

so, last night, i got a message on my phone from my brother saying that i have to call home immediately. okay, freak me out. no one from my house ever calls me unless something horrible has happened. (i think my phone inadequacies might come from the rest of my family . . . who knows!!) so, i call back and i'm preparing myself for the worst. no, they called to tell me i won the sweepstakes!! much relief and then much excitement! the thing is that everyone i want to go has to sign an affadavit and get it notorized and everything has to be sent in by monday. kinda hard for me to get that taken care of from new jersey. well, my brother said he wanted to come. okay, fine with me. haven't seen him in over a year! (he's been in iraq with the national guard) it's kinda funny to think that my brother wants to come get a makeover/facial/pedicure sponsored by midol. but whatever! now, two other people get to come. i don't have many friends that live in salina anymore. so, i call my buddy sara, a friend from high school (one of two friends that do live in salina) and tell her about it. she goes to my house late last night and decides to come. i'm very glad about that because sara probably wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to come visit me up here. i try to call my friend marie (the other friend in salina) but she is not to be found. big surprise. she kinda falls off the face of the earth sometimes. so, now i'm thinking i'll have to get someone from princeton to go. that would be fun. and then i think: hey, my friend megan likes to take random road trips, she might drive to salina to sign a thing. so i call her. yep, she's driving almost two hours today to meet my brother and sign the affadavit. this is probably the most random selection of people! my brother, my friend from high school, and my friend from college! i love it!

I SO WIN!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

i'm bouts to be a serious student

how am i going to achieve that goal? i'm going to turn off my computer. the computer/internet is the source of 93.7% of all my procrastination techniques. today i am going to do a lot of homework. i am going to read. the only thing i can do that is not homework is clean my room. if you see me online later today, please yell at me.

today, i got an amazing care package from people at my church in winfield. oh how i love them. it's a valentine's package and i love that it's late by over a week. it reminds me that those people really do love me other than just that one day. now, i have lots of candy to help me get a rush so i can have the energy to do all the studying that i'm going to do.

peace out!

Monday, February 21, 2005

525,600 minutes . . . how do you measure a year?

yesterday i went to new york city with my pal ann. it was a rockin' good time (ha! don't know if it was "rockin" . . . just felt like saying that word. but we did have a lot of fun!). manhattan is manhappenin'!! we went to advent lutheran church. the people there were very welcoming. the sermon was just okay. it was the second time in my life i took communion with wine. i wasn't going to take communion there but ann assured me i could. i still wasn't going to but then when the pastor said that the table was open to all, i thought it was okay. i mean, communion is one of my favorite things. even if i may not completely agree with a lutheran view of the elements, i felt i was welcome to share in the Lord's supper with fellow believers. also, cool thing = i saw a girl at the service that i went to high school with! how weird is that!! i mean, two salina south graduates go to the same lutheran church in new york city on the same sunday. i love when things like that happen. so, after church, ann and i made our way back to times square/the theatre district because we had tickets for rent and we needed to figure out where the theater was. (by the way, we totally figured out how to ride the subways! we win!) it just so happens that when we exited onto the street from the subway station the theater was directly across the street. sweet! so, we bought a hot dog from a vendor and walked to times square for a bit. then we went to rent. i LOVED it!!! ann did too. i'm really glad that we got tickets for it, even if it was a bit expensive. the singing was awesome. i had the 'seasons of love' song in my head for the rest of the day! after rent, we walked back to times square and then went to rockefeller center and st. patrick's cathedral. we actually went into the cathedral and they were having mass. i can't imagine worshipping regularly in a place that is a tourist attraction. there was actually a velvet rope! after that, we went on a quest to find food. while we were looking for a restaurant, we walked past bruce vilanch signing autographs outside a theater! true, most people don't know who he is but it was fun to see someone i recognized from hollywood squares. anway, we decided to eat at an italian restaurant. it was pretty fancy but it was good! i've never been to a place where they actually check your coat and lay the napkin on your lap. then, we walked the twenty blocks back to penn station. there were a heyya lot of people there and a mad rush to get on the new jersey train. it's all good, we made it back. we ran into katy at the dinky. coolness. all in all, it was a good day!

(p.s. i was going to post a pic but i can't find my camera cord. i think maybe i lent it to someone but i don't remember . . . if you have it, can you let me know! thanks!)

Saturday, February 19, 2005

my first tribute post goes to:

APRIL AND CARL ROSENDALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

let me assure my devout rosendale readers that this is a high honor not to be taken lightly or scoffed at. it is not merely an award but an entire post wholly dedicated to you. congratulations!

this week i had the awesome opportunity to speak with both of ann's parents. they were wonderful. i didn't chat too long with april but i could definitely tell that she was a lovely lady (carl assures me that is an accurate description). last night, i talked for a significant amount of time with carl. i say 'significant' because i'm not a phone person and anything longer than two minutes is significant to me. i am very pleased to report that ann's parents appear to be some of the privileged few people with whom i don't have awkward phone conversations. this is even more amazing because i have never met them. i mean, i have awkward phone conversations with some of my nearest and dearest friends but there are just some folks that are easy to talk with. i think maybe i need people with a little bit of randomness and that keeps the conversation going. now carl, i don't want you to think that me calling you a little bit random is a bad thing. quite the contrary, it is a highly esteemable trait in my opinion. the conversation had a nice flow with lots of variety.

so, per carl's suggestion, i downloaded some music by poco. from what i've heard, i like it. i haven't actually had an opportunity to sit and really listen but i will.

carl, how did your band play tonight? (i thought maybe you might comment for the first time since i dedicated the post to you and asked you a question! haha, no pressure!!)

i think april and carl are probably some pretty wonderful people and i look forward to getting to know them better as i spend the next three and half years with their daughter. also, i think they must be pretty awesome to have produced someone as awesome as ann. i think maybe this paragraph might be a little too warm fuzzy so i'm moving on ...

thank you april for reading my blog at least weekly!! thank you carl for reading my blog religiously!! you win!!

Thursday, February 17, 2005

update on uckiness

well, i woke up in time for class. and i was still all jittery. dang that stuff lasted a long time. at least it seems that my snot is gone. and i haven't had much of a headache today. then, i started feeling hungry at 11:00ish. but i couldn't eat until 12:30. then my stomach starts burning. and i foolishly think, when i eat something i'll feel all better. yeah right. i eat. and then i feel like throwing up. my ailment just moved to my stomach is all. and i had a long day of doing stuff with gross stomach feelings. classes from 8 til 2:20 and then work from 3 to 6. at work, apparently i'm the only that takes trash out now. i was hoping my manager wouldn't ask me because i felt nasty but of course she does. three trips to the dumpster. at least six bags each time. it smelled horrible. not helpful. oh well, now i'm back in my room. with icky stomach feelings but seemingly no headache so maybe i can finally get ready for my greek test and systematic precept tomorrow. can't wait til after class tomorrow because i am going to have a glorious nap (i'm under the impression that i won't be getting much sleep tonight because i have to do a week's worth of work in one night and study for a test). adieu for now.

note to self

kyle can't take tylenol nighttime at night time. there are adverse effects. at 10:30, i was feeling bad and i could definitely have gone to sleep. i took tylenol at 10:40 thinking it will help me feel better and cure me while sleeping. i start reading some systematic just to help facilitate the sleep and maybe get some theology read. now it's 1:30 and i can't sleep. it definitely created some sort of insomnia in me. i feel all jittery and nervous. and for a while i felt totally out of it. like i could feel my body but my mind wasn't in it. it definitely wasn't a dream because i never fell asleep. i really feel weird. now, i'm afraid that whenever i do get to sleep, i won't be able to wake up for my 8 o'clock class. and i really have to go because it's systematic and it might help me for my precept. i am seriously fidgety and nervous. my hands are shaking. it's definitely the drugs; i can feel it. and i've developed a serious case of the munchies and i don't have any food. that has nothing to do with the drugs. i didn't smoke pot sillies . . . i took tylenol nighttime! oh gosh, it's weird. i have a headache now so i'm going to try and lie down again. but i still feel like there is no way i can fall asleep. i so want to go to sleep that i even did one of those whiny prayers. you know the ones. "God, pleeeeeeeeeease just help me sleep." i'm a freak! drugs that are supposed to make me sleepy actually make me hyper. what's wrong with me?!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

i've never sneezed so much...

well, unfortunately, yesterday was not as glorious as previously hoped. i felt horrible. physical sickness. and that led to emotional despair. i think i'm over the stupid emotional part. but i still have the head cold business. i never thought i sneezed a lot when i got sick. i always thought that was weird. well, i sneeze now. lots. it's okay though cause sometimes i like sneezing. maybe not as much when i have so much snot in my head. yeah, that was gross. sorry. i don't understand this being sick business though. i mean, i never used to get sick so often. here, it seems like every other week. it sucks. maybe the atmosphere in new jersey is different than kansas and it affects me. i don't know. wish it wouldn't.

there were three highlights to yesterday while i was feeling like crap. first, i did laundry. love having clean clothes. second, i took out my trash and did my dishes. love that my room is not grody messy anymore. third, watched american idol. love that three out of four of my picks made it through.

well, i feel better today. not well. but i don't have a headache yet. nicole r. gave me some dayquill so that will surely help. i hope i don't contaminate anyone. (do you see how my post went a-b-a? i talk about sickness, i talk about highlights, i talk about sickness. if i was really feeling clever i would go back and make it a-b-c-b-a but i am not so inclined.) good day to you. *sneeze*

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

thank God for tuesdays

i'm just so happy that i don't have to work today. that's weird that it's one of the first things i thought about. i like both my jobs. i just wanted a day to rest i think. but no rest . . . i have to catch up on reading. especially systematic. i have to understand the stuff really well this week because i have to lead the discussion. why, oh why, did i volunteer to lead the same week i have a greek test?! oh yes, it's because i'm an advocate for the Trinity.

why do i have the song "look on the bright side of life (death)" in my head this morning?! silly monty python.

hey, if you're a prayer (haha, i mean pray-er. like if you pray.), you should pray for folks getting sick. i mean don't pray that they get sick but pray that they feel better. the most recent affliction i have heard about is the whole throat thing. poor emily is suffering with that. i myself have had a sore throat and my chest hurts really bad sometimes. i think emily feels worse though so pray more for her ;)

i think maybe this post is kinda weird so i should prolly not post so early in the morning, post-waking up. yeah. k bye.

Monday, February 14, 2005

i've got potential

yes! i get to wear my favorite button today. i wait for it every year. it's just a little message for any guys who are potentially thinking about finding a girlfriend . . . "i've got potential"

well, to all the haters out there, have a happy single's awareness day, anti-valentine's day, or black monday. whichever you prefer. oh and if you're a protester, happy naked day.

to those less bitter, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! all you need is love . . .

i mean, i have every option to be as bitter as the next person but i would rather not to have a day of chosen sullenness. embrace the unimaginative, consumeristic, arbitrary, shallow view of romance day! wear pink!

Sunday, February 13, 2005

ann is losing it

evidence = ann was singing britney spears. and dancing. never thought i would see that.

her world is falling apart. she's angry. rageful even.

my poor ann.

don't know why i thought you'd like to know this

today is going to be a laundry day, a clean my room day, and a study day. but first i have to go to work until five.

i've been having a sore throat when i wake up recently but it usually is gone by the time i leave for the day. it didn't leave today. and my chest kinda hurts.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

a quick smattering of my friday

well, i set my alarm so i could wake up early and read some systematic. did that happen? nooooo. of course not, what do you think i am? a non-procrastinating responsible student?! ha! so i go to greek. dr. parsenios is in good form today ... makin' me laugh. systematic was okay. i mean, i could follow most of the conversation because i had a crash course in the readings and kellen did a pretty good handout. i feel guilty that i never talk though. well, next week i will cause i have to lead the discussion! new testament precept = don't want to talk about it. bad news bears. moving on ... had lunch with krista. good times. took a nap. good times. went to work. okay times. at least it took my mind off feeling bad about the precept that i didn't tell you about. came back and went to get dinner at the caf. couldn't get in. they are prolly going to hate me if they did save food cause it's prolly getting all nasty. not my fault i was locked out. so, now i'm hungry. krista takes me to wendy's and we have valentine's miracle frostys. yum. i went over to hodge to watch donnie darko with some folks. it was good. i liked it. others were more skeptical. the bunny did freak me out. but i really like movies that make you think. well, i should go to sleep now because tomorrow is my work-all-day day and i have to get up at 7:30. adieu.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

are you happy carrie?!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

new commentability. new counter. new background color. permanently clever has a brand new outlook on blogging. all thanks to my buddy jenny smith, blogging/html genius.

a cool theory

i think my life goes in stages of coolness. it's actually not stages but more of a cycle. in high school, i was so uncool. in college, i was hella cool. in seminary, i feel uncool again. except, i don't think i was ever cool before high school. i mean, in elementary school, i thought i was cool. but i think everyone tends to think that. in middle school, i was definitely not cool. maybe high school is when i started making my way up. i felt all right in my lazy attitude about coolness by my senior year in high school. i know i've discussed with ann a theory about how both of us reached our coolness peaks in college. people peak at different times and mine was definitely college. i just hope that there is going to be another one some time. a mountainous range of coolness peaks and valleys. but right now, i feel as if i am on the downward slope. sorry to those in seminary who have to be subjected to my uncoolness. just wait a couple years and maybe i'll be on the other side of the cycle!

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

hey, it's me again

well, i didn't know what to post about again but this time i think it's because my blood sugar is low and i don't feel like being intentionally clever (ahh, a new category of clever. now we have permanently and intentionally). the caf was supposed to save me dinner and they didn't. you can really tell my sugar is low because when i saw they didn't save me anything, i almost cried. yeah, sounds dumb. that's what happens. don't worry, i'm currently shooting my sugar back up by consuming reese's pieces. anyway, i decided on my i-don't-know-what-to-post post to do something that prolly no one will read instead of making a giant list of things that are wrong in my life. stole this idea from my friend megan's xanga but i don't feel bad because she stole it from someone else.

10 Random Things About Me
1. i'm hungry (hey, i'm a fat kid, it's important!)
2. i like to separate my candies by color before i eat them
3. i have an aloe plant named chunk that needs repotted
4. i like giving people presents thusly i like holidays (see how i cheated and actually did two in one!)
5. i love kansas sunsets
6. i adore alfred hitchcock movies
7. gene kelly is on of my favorite favorites
8. i think hippos and skunks are really cute
9. lime serenade is my new favorite candle scent
10. i am a jack of all trades, master of none

NINE Places I've Visited:
1. spain
2. mexico
3. ecuador
4. ireland and northern ireland
5. germany
6. france
7. switzerland
8. czech republic
9. canada

8 Things I want to do before I die:
1. visit all 50 states
2. visit all the countries of the world (especially india, russia, egypt, and australia)
3. ride a mechanical bull
4. be in love
5. make a difference in the life of a youth
6. not be fat
7. do a serious hike (several days)
8. build a sandcastle like the cool ones you see on t.v.

7 Ways to win my heart:
1. be really nice to me
2. make me laugh
3. love God more than anything else
4. play guitar
5. sing to me
6. look me in the eye when you speak with me
7. give me a hug

6 Things I believe in:
1. God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
2. i believe love is the answer ...
3. my friends
4. my family
5. justice
6. that God has the best of intentions for me

5 Things I'm afraid of:
1. failing
2. never having someone love me romantically
3. spiders
4. not living my life as i should
5. being too scared to do what God wants me to do

4 of my Favorite Items in my bedroom:
1. my art
2. wrinkle dinkle
3. pictures of my friends and family
4. my t-shirt quilt

3 Things I do everyday:
1. wish i could sleep in
2. avoid doing homework
3. chat on msn

2 Things I am trying not to do right now:
1. have a headache
2. be mad at the cafeteria

1 Song stuck in my head right now:
1. 'i believe love is the answer' by blessed union of souls because of my answer to six things i believe in #2

k, done. american idol is coming on soon!

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

where do lemons go to seminary?

LeMoNaRy!

hahahaha! i love cheesy jokes!

that word is to help us remember the liquid consonants in greek (lamda, mu, nu, rho). i thought that joke was hilarious but i think when i passed a note with it on it to nicole r. that she thought i was a freak. eh, i am. and i usually enjoy it.

Monday, February 07, 2005

i just don't get it

every time i go to wal-mart, the guy who checks your receipt when you walk out remembers me. usually, he just says hi and how's it going. he seems genuinely happy to see me. that's fine . . . i like it that he remembers me; good customer service. tonight as i'm walking out, he was talking to some other folks but then sees me and then says how ya doing buddy and gives me a high five and keeps talking to me as i walk out. i mean i think it's cool. it's just kinda weird because i don't really go to wal-mart that much. i seem to have a very good relationship with the greeters at this particular wal-mart for some reason (one time, krista and i talked for a really long time to the greeter who wanted to know why we were laughing)!

Sunday, February 06, 2005

can't i just go to bed now?

no. i have a quiz tomorrow and i have to memorize a MILLION charts (that means three). i have to translate five sentences too. krista has my notebook. bad news bears.

(i thought my loyal readers might appreciate a short post since the past few have been kinda long)

windows-down-day

today was a windows down day! i couldn't believe it. here it is, the beginning of february and there is snow on the ground and it's the right kind of temperature to drive with the windows down. i loved it. at first i thought, maybe i was a crazy person to be driving with my windows down (i kinda liked that idea!) but then i saw other people with windows down (most not all the way like mine but still significant for february). i even saw a convertible top down. interestingly enough, their windows were up. i am sure many pedestrians and fellow windows-downers were blessed with my pleasantly loud sing-along to the wow worship cd. yes, i was having a little praise session on my way back to campus from work.

i love windows down days
not too hot
not too cold
just right for living

ha! that's a poem i wrote way back when that i kept thinking of today. eh, a little cheesy but still an appropriate sentiment.

well, after my many hours at work today at both of my jobs, i went to dinner with larissa and nicole. unfortunately, the restaurant was busier than anticipated so we ended up missing the movie that we were trying to catch. have no fear ... we improvised by going to hamilton to have dessert for an hour and a half (hey, nicole g. i shared about the fat kid handbook and how fat kids schedule an hour and a half for dessert. it was glorious!). can't get much better than a huge warm cookie with ice cream, a huge warm brownie with ice cream, a yummy mixed drink, lots of laughter and some good theological conversation. i even got to talk about my beloved john wesley. ahhhhh. then, we went to the movie 'the wedding date'. don't waste your time on it. usually if a movie isn't so good, i'll say it was okay. this wasn't even okay. it was fair to poor. no worries though. a poor movie was not enough to put a damper on a pretty darn fun evening. larissa and nicole are hilarious!

p.s. this is the first day in over a week that i haven't had a headache or felt sick to my stomach! (well, my tummy felt a little funny after having a large dinner and then sharing two huge desserts . . . but to misquote larissa: a little gluttony never hurt anyone. it pushes us to our limits.)


Thursday, February 03, 2005

some good thoughts coming to me lately

first, i want to encourage my fellow seminarians to check out a post on graham's xanga. well, hey, i encourage everyone to look at it. i think it's an interesting insight into how the world views christians. i think graham brought up some very valid points that are worthy of consideration.

second, just want to say how happy i am that i heard from both of my mentor-type-guys this past week! love them! i just want to share a small paragraph from one of them. (steve rankin was the campus minister and my religion teacher at southwestern college)

"while you're growing intellectually, remember: in the end all of your acumen and skill are for loving God and loving your neighbor. work hard, keep the faith, don't grow weary in well-doing."

how beautiful is that?! i love steve! well, now i feel like i should include one of andy's comments. (andy was my philosophy teacher and advisor at sc) this quote is in reference to me lamenting how there is a lot of theological talk about God but really not much faith sharing.

"once the students get into pastoral care or CPE they will all stop being karl barth and start being bob newhart. i distinctly recall a lot of people asking me, “how do you feel about that” during my time at seminary. they were annoying and a bit insincere but they were practicing their pastoral skills."

oh, how it's just like andy. i hope no one takes offense at it because it really is meant to be funny! ahhh, they make me feel all warm fuzzy on the inside!

third, i went to a choir concert tonight with my pal ann at the university chapel. it was beautiful. soul-filling even. i wanted to include in this post the lyrics of one of my favorite choral hymns.

Beautiful Savior,
King of Creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love Thee,
Truly I'd serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.

Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.

Fair is the sunshine,
Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels in the sky.

Beautiful Savior,
Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!

"Beautiful Savior"by Author Unknown, 1677. Translated by Joseph A. Seiss, 1823-1904.

well, folks, i'm sorry this is such a long entry. but i'm pleased that it's all happiness and joy! praise to you if you have read completely thus far. props to you if you've skimmed most of it. plagues to you if you scrolled down first to see how stinkin' long it was before you even started reading.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

if only this were the case in new jersey ... Posted by Hello

who loves wednesdays? i love wednesdays!

haha! i can't help but laugh at myself. i didn't know i could be so melodramatic! i mean, i was feeling those things i wrote in my previous post but i think a lot of my frustration stemmed from me not feeling well. really, i just needed to go to sleep. and that's what i did. for a long time. on wednesdays i can sleep pretty dang late because i don't have class until 11:40. (i think sleep is in my top 3 favorite body functions list) when i woke up, my headache was gone (miracle of miracles) and i had a little theme song running in my head: relient k's 'pressing on'. it's even more hilarious to me that i have a theme song in response to my rantings last night! oh goodness. i just want to make it clear that i do love when my system gets messed with. i do enjoy new ideas that really make me think. i don't know how much these new systems are going to change my life (if at all) but i appreciate being introduced to them. maybe i should just refrain from theological reflection when i have a headache!

a curious thing happened: my body wash has disappeared. yesterday when i took a shower, i noticed there was significantly less than the last time i had used it. i think it probably leaked out. but i don't know why anyone would have taken it out of my basket. it was almost empty so maybe they threw it away but still ... i mean, i could have thrown it away. it wasn't leaking anymore and if they thought it was all they would have had to have done was turn it over. oh well. no harm, no foul. i used my new one today. ahhhh, ocean breeze.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

i don't know where to go from here

i have a headache. i don't think i'm getting enough oxygen. i have been confronted with so many new ideas and theologies today that i am just swimming in intellectual pandemonium. my brain processes are slowing down because of the overload of new ideas that are bombarding my capacity to reason. it's been a long time since i've been challenged to critically think. i love it and i hate it. i want to talk about the church and changes it needs. i get excited about the new possibilities. i have been a proponent for church change for a while. i'm having a hard time reconciling all the things i get passionate about (maybe passion isn't the right word anymore) with each other because i'm not convinced that radical change can occur on many levels at one time. i get hopeful about new ideas but i have to be skeptical as well. errrrrr, i feel like i'm not making sense at all. i really have something to say and i don't know what words to use. turmoil, upheaval, restructuring, headache. i want my brain to think faster, process more acutely. i don't want to sit back anymore and just hear the dialogue that i'm not catching on to. i want to engage but i can't find the right questions to ask. i can't even process my thoughts into coherent laments! i'm done with this post. i thought it would help for me type some things out but i really don't think it's doing anything but adding to my frustration.