I stayed home from work today to try and recover. Last night was really bad, but I feel a bit better today. It's running its course, just like Mitch said: a day and a half of a super sore throat, followed by congestion and eventually a cough. Right now I'm in the congestion phase, with a spurt of coughing every once in awhile.
Maybe this is a blessing in disguise: I'm doing some work from home, but I also put the finishing touches on my packing for WV. I also discovered, to my delight, that I'm able to access one heck of a wireless connection from my living room. We may not be forking over the big bucks to Charter for cable modem if this thing stays consistent!
Did I mention earlier that Jerry is joining Mitch, Gabe and I on this trip? He's coming down with another group on Saturday while we are leaving tomorrow, but he'll only miss a day. Cool, huh?
"So take this broken offering and make me whole,
Set my feet upon the road that leads me home,
let me walk as one fixed upon the goal,
even though I've got a thousand miles to go..."
Set my feet upon the road that leads me home,
let me walk as one fixed upon the goal,
even though I've got a thousand miles to go..."
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
I'm Sick
Mitch gave me his sore throat, cold-type bug. If anyone has any medical advice for me, I'd appreciate it. I'm currently self-medicating with a combination of gargled salt water, tea, Robitussen, ibuprofen, Slurpees, cough drops, ecinacea and grapefruit juice.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Three more days!
The days are seriously dragging - at least, until I get home from work and try to cram shopping, packing, spending time with soon-to-be-graduated friends, climbing and working out into the four or so hours until bedtime. Last night we bought all the food, tonight Pete is coming over for dinner, tomorrow we're hoping to climb, Thursday is hardcore packing night, and Friday is departure! I love vacation, and I love the anticipation of vacationing.
Switching topics, I have to say, I really hate condscension. I have an uncle who's very condescending and while I love him, I loathe conversations with him at more than the superficial level. He's a lawyer and he's always angling for ways to make you say what he thinks you should say, or ways he can twist your words to his advantage. At Easter, he was being condescending with regards to religion, and I really wish we hadn't been interrupted by dinner because I think I could have really held my own with him on the subject of whether or not going to church makes you a good person. He seems to hold the view that Christians think going to church is the main mark of being a good person, but I betcha I could show him he's wrong. Also, he seemed surprised that religion even played a role in my life. What does he think, that I wear a cross around my neck for fashion purposes?
Many of you know Mitch and I were struggling to find a church home, and we've definitely succeeded, though summer weekends are definitely going to put a kink in our regular attendance. Be that as it may, I've really come to see Sunday mornings as a time of renewal, of reminding myself about God's role in my life, of providing me with opportunities to learn and question and see things in a new light.
Switching topics, I have to say, I really hate condscension. I have an uncle who's very condescending and while I love him, I loathe conversations with him at more than the superficial level. He's a lawyer and he's always angling for ways to make you say what he thinks you should say, or ways he can twist your words to his advantage. At Easter, he was being condescending with regards to religion, and I really wish we hadn't been interrupted by dinner because I think I could have really held my own with him on the subject of whether or not going to church makes you a good person. He seems to hold the view that Christians think going to church is the main mark of being a good person, but I betcha I could show him he's wrong. Also, he seemed surprised that religion even played a role in my life. What does he think, that I wear a cross around my neck for fashion purposes?
Many of you know Mitch and I were struggling to find a church home, and we've definitely succeeded, though summer weekends are definitely going to put a kink in our regular attendance. Be that as it may, I've really come to see Sunday mornings as a time of renewal, of reminding myself about God's role in my life, of providing me with opportunities to learn and question and see things in a new light.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Easter
It was easier than I thought, remembering this as Grandma's first Easter with Jesus rather than our first Easter without her.
We had a busy weekend between spending Friday night and Saturday morning in Lake City with Jon, Saturday afternoon with Mitch's family in Carson City, and Sunday with my family in South Lyon. I wish I could say the highlight of it all was Easter morning service, but I just about fell asleep and I had to wake both Bobby and Mitch up. The old church downtown is just not particularly inspiring (though the pancake breakfast was amazing). Still, we go for family.
In actuality, one of the highlights was a great mountain bike ride in Cadillac. We went 12-14 miles and since I always ride by myself - the boys are just too fast - I usually have a lot of time to think and appreciate the act of just being outside and (in my opinion) very close to God. Of course, I can meditate on this better if my lungs aren't burning as they often were on the two-mile uphill stretch, but even then I manage to do a little focusing on God, as in, "OK God, I need a bit more strength here. Just a little nudge, come on." Usually I get songs like "I Need Thee Every Hour" stuck in my head at that point, because boy do I need something!
Now I just have to get through the week, because it's almost vacation time! I check the weather in WV every day and while there looks to be some rain, I'm also pleased to report a little sun and, most importantly, NO SNOW.
I have a to-do list a mile long, so I better get hoppin'.
We had a busy weekend between spending Friday night and Saturday morning in Lake City with Jon, Saturday afternoon with Mitch's family in Carson City, and Sunday with my family in South Lyon. I wish I could say the highlight of it all was Easter morning service, but I just about fell asleep and I had to wake both Bobby and Mitch up. The old church downtown is just not particularly inspiring (though the pancake breakfast was amazing). Still, we go for family.
In actuality, one of the highlights was a great mountain bike ride in Cadillac. We went 12-14 miles and since I always ride by myself - the boys are just too fast - I usually have a lot of time to think and appreciate the act of just being outside and (in my opinion) very close to God. Of course, I can meditate on this better if my lungs aren't burning as they often were on the two-mile uphill stretch, but even then I manage to do a little focusing on God, as in, "OK God, I need a bit more strength here. Just a little nudge, come on." Usually I get songs like "I Need Thee Every Hour" stuck in my head at that point, because boy do I need something!
Now I just have to get through the week, because it's almost vacation time! I check the weather in WV every day and while there looks to be some rain, I'm also pleased to report a little sun and, most importantly, NO SNOW.
I have a to-do list a mile long, so I better get hoppin'.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
The Story
With Good Friday tomorrow, I thought this was an appropriate set of lyrics to post:
The Story
Written by Andrew Osenga for Caedmon's Call's newest CD
In some sweet ways it's simple,
Sometimes that's all that I need,
To trust someone else so I can get some sleep.
And all our heroes have deserted,
Said we were nothing on our own,
And now that's all I am.
Oh, can you tell me the story,
Of all of your glory,
Of your rising again?
'Cause I, I'm in love with the mystery,
Of how our sad history,
Can turn out for good.
And the bitter man is angry,
Angry man just thinks he's right,
Too right to see mercy,
When he's standing in its light.
We can shed tears over dying,
We can rage and we can fight
But we cannot forget that
we were loved before we opened up our eyes,
Such foolish pride.
It's a shame to build our homes,
With bricks of fear and cynical stones.
There is nothing left to run from,
There is nothing left but love.
Can you tell me the story?
Can you tell me the story?
I need to hear it again,
I need to hear it again.
The Story
Written by Andrew Osenga for Caedmon's Call's newest CD
In some sweet ways it's simple,
Sometimes that's all that I need,
To trust someone else so I can get some sleep.
And all our heroes have deserted,
Said we were nothing on our own,
And now that's all I am.
Oh, can you tell me the story,
Of all of your glory,
Of your rising again?
'Cause I, I'm in love with the mystery,
Of how our sad history,
Can turn out for good.
And the bitter man is angry,
Angry man just thinks he's right,
Too right to see mercy,
When he's standing in its light.
We can shed tears over dying,
We can rage and we can fight
But we cannot forget that
we were loved before we opened up our eyes,
Such foolish pride.
It's a shame to build our homes,
With bricks of fear and cynical stones.
There is nothing left to run from,
There is nothing left but love.
Can you tell me the story?
Can you tell me the story?
I need to hear it again,
I need to hear it again.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Wonder?
Does anyone else ever wonder if, "Just be yourself and everyone will like you for who you are?" is really just code for, "I don't particularly like the way you are, so change and I will like you?"
Just wondering. I've had friends drop the "just be yourself" bomb on me when I was pretty darn sure I was being extremely true to myself. Granted, that was quite awhile ago and I'm not quite sure why it popped into my head now. Maybe it's because I'm still acutely aware of not being "myself" (read: the self they want me to be) when I'm around them.
Just wondering. I've had friends drop the "just be yourself" bomb on me when I was pretty darn sure I was being extremely true to myself. Granted, that was quite awhile ago and I'm not quite sure why it popped into my head now. Maybe it's because I'm still acutely aware of not being "myself" (read: the self they want me to be) when I'm around them.
Quote of the Week
(for last week.)
So I'm sitting in my office around 5 pm, wrapping up my work, and I hear my coworker call my name from the bathroom. (My office shares a wall with the women's restroom.) I go in, and she's run out of toilet paper. I hand her some, bust out laughing and go back to work. A few moments later, she comes into my office and says:
"This is really symbolic of our working relationship. I drop a deuce and you help me clean it up."
Hehehe!
So I'm sitting in my office around 5 pm, wrapping up my work, and I hear my coworker call my name from the bathroom. (My office shares a wall with the women's restroom.) I go in, and she's run out of toilet paper. I hand her some, bust out laughing and go back to work. A few moments later, she comes into my office and says:
"This is really symbolic of our working relationship. I drop a deuce and you help me clean it up."
Hehehe!
Friday, April 07, 2006
Apologies
In the past few months, I've attended dance concerts, a track meet and Honors Day presentations at Alma College, partly because I enjoy them and partly to recognize and support the efforts of my friends as they complete their time at Alma College. I realized, after sacrificing lunch to watch part of a home track meet, that I was ridiculously self-centered in college. I never attended choir concerts, dance shows, orchestra concerts, athletic events, Honors presentations, or anything else to support my friends, not because I wanted to be a jerk but because I was too busy and wrapped up in what I had to do. I lost sight of how good it made me feel to see my friends at dance recitals or sporting events in high school, and I would truly like to apologize for that.
Some of this preceded an insightful email sent by one of my friends to the entire campus community. If you're curious, go to http://www.xanga.com/marchon2884 to read it. Marc makes some good points and gives me a lot to think about, not only in the context of my experiences at Alma but also those in the "real world." I have found, since graduating, that time with friends is sometimes more important than a good night's sleep; that the world will not end if I press pause on my work; and that making an effort to really KNOW my family is more valuable than any academic accomplishment or accolade in the workplace. I feel like I've done a good job balancing work and home, and am able to resist the pressure to work insane hours and make my career my life. I know I still have a long way to go in discovering and accepting what is truly important in this world, but I'm working on it.
Some of this preceded an insightful email sent by one of my friends to the entire campus community. If you're curious, go to http://www.xanga.com/marchon2884 to read it. Marc makes some good points and gives me a lot to think about, not only in the context of my experiences at Alma but also those in the "real world." I have found, since graduating, that time with friends is sometimes more important than a good night's sleep; that the world will not end if I press pause on my work; and that making an effort to really KNOW my family is more valuable than any academic accomplishment or accolade in the workplace. I feel like I've done a good job balancing work and home, and am able to resist the pressure to work insane hours and make my career my life. I know I still have a long way to go in discovering and accepting what is truly important in this world, but I'm working on it.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
What a night!
It's 4:30 pm and I just woke up - for the second time since going to bed 12 hours ago. We had a bunch of people over kind of as a last hurrah before everyone graduating this year goes their separate ways. It was a blast...I made a ton of food as always and Mitch mixed up some pretty serious Long Islands, which got everyone out to a great start. It was so much fun just to hang out with my friends and not worry about anything except making sure Miriam didn't fall off the balcony while peeing. Like I said, it was about 4:30 am before we went to bed and I was up at 9:30 am making breakfast and straightening up. We hit the noon service at church and I crashed on the couch as soon as we got back. I'm still a bit tired, but I'll make it.
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