Back!

I am back from Cleveland/Gambier. It was a nice trip, very good for me. Well, except for the cold I caught. I thought it was an "extra-strength" cold, since it had made my head and my lungs gunky. Surprise, surprise: when flying back in, my ears wouldn't readjust to the ground level altitude. I couldn't hear, and it was extraordinarily painful. I wouldn't recommend it.

So off I went to the urgent care center, because this just wasn't normal. (It took forever, even though there weren't any other patients.. what is it with those places?) Verdict: ear infection. Or in the words of the NP, "Whoa... I haven't seen ears this red and inflamed on anyone over the age of two.. ever."

So off I go in search of antibiotics on Sunday night. I love adventures. Meanwhile, in other news, it is hot here. And there's no AC at home, which is where I have spent the week since, sounding like a woman with 60 pack-year lungs, wheezing and grumpy. I am not good at being sick. I get whiny and grump a lot. The heat doesn't help, either, because for some reason it made it much more difficult to breathe.

Anyway, I finished my antibiotics, and am hopefully on the way to a full recovery. Last night, we (I) decided that I had had enough of the heat and needed to get out. So we went off to Firehouse Pizza Place in the Square and then saw the Bourne Ultimatum. No spoilers, I promise, but it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Perhaps in my top ten ever. Strongly recommended. (And far better than HP&OP -- which was fine, but not great.)

Temps to the 90s today -- we think we'll go bask in AC comfort at the b-school where the Fisher has an office.

I got the Blues

I have been in a Major Blue Funk.

Now, these come around every now and then, and I've got reason to believe that this one is on it's way, but I really really hate these things. *In case you're worried, I'm not depressed. I know the difference.

You know how it is (or maybe not, lucky ducks): you just don't have any motivation. Sitting on the couch and playing freecell and watching TNT for hours looks like a good day. It's hard to get moving, and even though you're being ultra-lazy, you're also simultaneously tired. You don't like it, but the Major Blue Funk has got you in its hands. (Can a funk have hands? Anyway...)

In the middle of all this, I talked to my mother (dangerous, that). I mentioned that I was in a bit of a funk, and she said: "Well. You know those Dunns (genealogy has a lot to answer for -- they're like five generations back! Where was I?) Those Dunns, they're prone to melancholy." Oh, right. I'm in a funk because of people 100 years ago. I fully agree that depression and its cohorts are in part due to heredity, but really.

I finally got back into the swing of things yesterday (okay, finally = after 6 days). And today, I was downright productive! It is really hard to be productive when you're studying for an exam that you may or may not take in six months, by the way. Best intentions aside, the motivation is very low.

So let's hope that I can build some momentum and keep up the good work! No more of the blues!

purely for amusement purposes

I promise! I take these things with a grain of salt, but they can be amusing and not entirely inaccurate. 50 points - and the house cup - to anyone who can guess which is most accurate and which is absolutely untrue. (I couldn't quite help the HP reference.. now when oh when will I see the movie? Vital matter.. I'm trying to carefully balance my need to avoid the crowds and craziness with my desire to watch. Harry. Potter. NOW.)

What Your Latte Says About You

You are very decadent in all aspects of your life. You never scale back, and you always live large. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. Intense and energetic, you aren't completely happy unless you are bouncing off the walls. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are expressive and friendly, but you are never pushy.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

Friday Five: Gifts and Talents!

1. Personality tests; love them or hate them?
Love them -- but they're not the Gospel truth in any sense of the word. But as a tool to open up conversation and to think about things with a new paradigm... they have their uses.

2. Would you describe yourself as practical, creative, intellectual or a mixture?
I'd say a mixture of practical and intellectual. I'm a bit of a nerd, about just about everything. I'm not really at all creative, which always grieves me a bit, because it seems like it would be nice to have that gift.. But alas, no. Brains and a gift for tinkering, that should be enough for one ordinary girl.

3. It is said that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame; have you had yours yet? If so what was it, if not dream away what would you like it to be?
I haven't had it and don't particularly want to. Just let me toil and work.. that's all the satisfaction I need. (As an example, I haven't been to any of my graduations. I loved the work, I had plenty to be proud of, but I'm not interested in the spotlight. Just give me something to research and learn about, or a mechanical problem to solve.)

4. If you were given a 2 year sabbatical (oh the dream of it) to create something would it be music, literature, art.....something completely different...share your dream with us...
I'd probably work out a plan for reading, research and writing. I can imagine trying to write a book someday.

5. Describe a talent you would like to develop, but that seems completely beyond you.
Art. I can't draw or paint. Knitting, needlepoint, cross-stitch, and crochet, I can do, because there are rules and patterns to follow. But I can't come up with a vision of something and create it. My friend Miranda can do this, and I admire it tremendously.

Bonus question: Back to the church- what does every member ministry mean to you? Is it truly possible to encourage/ implement?
This isn't a term I hear bandied about -- but I think it's the same thing we Episco's call baptismal vocation? Hrm. Anyways, to me, baptismal vocation is the idea that every person is a minister of the Church by virtue of their baptism. I believe it to be true, and that this understanding needs to be encouraged more. Implement? I think God is implementing it in ways that we as people of an institution can never grasp. It may not be that every person participates in the institutional life of the church in the way we think they ought, but that doesn't mean that they aren't ministers of the Gospel in ways we can't grasp. I don't think baptismal vocation is something to be implement, but something to be claimed as an affirmation of what God is up to in the world through each and every one of us.

not again!

I've been a bit delinquent in my blogging.. dare I say neglectful?

Let's see: I finished the spring semester, I worked through mid June at the University Chaplaincy, and I'm now taking a summer intensive course on preaching (2 weeks, 2.5 hrs per day, four more days). And then, I'll relax for a few weeks in July before going to the Kenyon Summer Conference on the MDGs. In August, more rest and a trip home to Georgia. And then, before you know it, September will be here, and I'll get right back into the midst of things!

I'm afraid I don't have anything terribly interesting to say.. the most interesting thing to happen today was the solicitors who rang the bell around 8pm. Now, this happens a lot, as we live in a dense city and a particularly well-off neighborhood (nevermind that we live in an apartment and with both of us in grad school... well, you get the picture). So I go to the door, and look through the peephole. I see the binders and the gear of solicitors. And I think to myself, it's been a long day, from class to several hours of copying and then the gym, all while hauling around a 20-lb messenger bag -- quite literally, since I took the liberty of weighing it at the gym. I decided not to open the door, since I would only have to tell them that I'm not interested. I waited until they went away, and then went off to see what Steve was making for dinner. Five minutes later, I hear someone yelling outside about how "they" wouldn't even open their door. Yep, that would be me. And I don't seem to feel very guilty at all.. well, maybe just a little. Soliciting is a terrible job, but that doesn't mean I want to deal with it in my own space.

Books! More books! Friday Five

This is my kind of Friday Five! I love books -- I read all the time. I have my own books, of course, but I also have library cards to three library systems (public, seminary, the university nearby). I'm the only person I know who maxed out her library card at 14 (75 books -- I mean, really Geauga County, do you think that's enough for me?) The librarians swore I single handedly raised their circulation levels when I was in town.

I take my books seriously :)

1. Fiction what kind, detective novels, historical stuff, thrillers, romance????

Mysteries, histoical fiction, epics, romance, scifi/fantasy, children's lit, nonfiction, poetry, classics -- I pretty much read everything. Very eclectic!

2. When you get a really good book do you read it all in one chunk or savour it slowly?

Ah, well, I really have no patience.. I can't stop, once I start reading a book (unless I've read it before, and some times not even then!).. this is dangerous. Ever since I was little, if I started a book at bedtime or before I needed to do something or be somewhere, I couldn't put it down. I can't tell you how many times I would be up till 3am or reading surrepticiously in my lap during class. Yeah, I got in trouble a lot for reading.

3. Is there a book you keep returning to and why?

I reread books all the time, so I'll stick to the most unusual returning pattern. I've read the James Herriot books (all five, 300+ pages each) at least twice a year since I was in fourth grade. Sometimes more often than that. I'm very fond of them -- it's like meeting an old friend.

4. Apart from the Bible which non-fiction book has influenced you the most?

That's a tough one.. I don't know if I could say which has influenced me the most. One of my favorites, though, is Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got that Way. It's funny and interesting. Most importantly, it's funny -- I reread this one too.

5. Describe a perfect place to read.

I like to be comfy when I read -- couch, bed, squishy big chairs. The perfect place is anywhere horizontal with a cushion, pretty much.

yum yum YUM!

Our friend Hallie came over for dinner last night, and after cooking up some very tasty bolognese and pasta, we made PB&J bars, adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home.


And let me tell you... they are good! Definitely good enough to stay up late for. Recipe to follow!

Lesson No. 132

Do not commute by bicycle when the tourists are in town.

You might think that sensible drivers would check for oncoming cars before attempting to parallel park, and that in so doing they might notice the bicyclist toodling along at 3 mph, and therefore NOT swing their behemoth SUV directly into said bicyclist's path... but no. You would be wrong.

And it is for this reason that I say unto you: Life lesson no. 132 is Remember that the tourists aren't accustomed to cyclists in the road. For your safety, do not commute by bicycle when the tourists are in town.

F5: Bad Habits are my secret vice

1. Have you ever successfully quit a bad habit, or gotten a good habit established? Tell us about how you did it.

I used to bite my fingernails and pull on my toenails, so that they would look ratty and often a bit raw. I started wearing nail polish at all times for a full year. By the time I stopped with the polish, I had gotten out of the nail biting type habit.

2. "If only there were a 12-step program for _________________!"

Freecell addiction.

3. Share one of your healthy "obsessions" with us.

Yup, freecell. Relatively harmless.. sometimes gets in the way of doing work, but does no harm. As Husband would tell you, I'm well and truly obsessed. 11,000 games in a year. And yes, that's an average of 30 games per day.

4. Share the habit of a spouse, friend or loved one that drives you C-R-A-Z-Y.

My mom leaves the milk and butter out on the counter all the time. It drives me up the wall.

5. "I'd love to get into the habit of ___________________."

Not over sleeping. But it's very hard to get up when there's someone warm and snuggly nearby. I did try to kick the habit by giving up the snooze alarm during Lent... but, uh, that failed.

Bonus: What is one small action you might take immediately to make #5 a reality?

Hmm. I think I'll try to go to bed earlier consistently, and shift my sleeping clock.

nervous

The Boss+ is away at Credo effective tomorrow, which means I am in charge for the next week. This is a one-priest show, and I am the very part-time assistant seminarian. And yet, the show must go on, Boss+ or not.

I am so incredibly nervous. I've only been left in charge of Sunday once before, and it was not a raving success, partly because I was trying to keep track of so many things at once. So hopefully this week will go ten times better. Firstly, because I don't want to muck things up, especially as I am coming to the end of my time at the Chaplaincy, and I'd like to end on a good note. And because I just plain don't want to muck things up, for the sake of the Boss+ and his return. Secondly, because I need to learn how to take charge of a situation with many moving parts and keep them working in harmony. My last time out of the gate has left me doubting my own abilities to do this, so I'm hoping to boost my confidence a bit.

So pray for me, friends, that the next week goes well, and that my farewell week does as well -- my last day is Pentecost, and I'll be preaching. Hip hip hooray!

*Oh, and I especially give thanks that this trip did NOT coincide with finals at the Sem. That would have been a bad scene.