Sundays are made for... blogging?

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte 

(Un dimanche après-midi à l’Ile de la Grande Jatte), Georges Seurat, 1884-1886.

Sunday afternoons seem to be the time that many of my friends choose to hop on the old interwebs and gush their thoughts about the world. Or so Facebook status feeds tell me. So, heck, I may as well join, right?

Today is the first day of spring. It is 6 p.m., and still light enough to be outside and not realize that it's turning toward evening. Amazing. (Not that I'm outside. It's still only 47 degrees and cloudy in Chicago. I just checked that on my iPhone weather app, which lies to me every time I look at it: the app icon says "73" permanently. This annoys me to no end in the winter. But, I digress.)


So how am I spending the first day of spring? Homework, of course. Spring Quad B starts tomorrow, which, for those non-North Parkers out there, means new classes for those of us in the School of Business, and the end of Spring Break for everyone. (Don't you think it's cruel that "spring break" actually ends on the first day of spring?) I will begin both Ethical Leadership and Board Governance & Volunteer Management classes. Sounds thrilling, right?

And, also, basketball. The glories of March Madness started this past week. My Jayhawks will be playing Illinois tonight; another chance for Bill Self to show his former bosses just how great a coach he is. Unfortunately, Roy Williams and North Carolina also won today. I'm almost personally offended every time this happens. My bracket is already shot to the crapper; I picked my upsets in the wrong region, apparently. But it's still my favorite time of year.

And, finally, it is Lent, my favorite liturgical season. This year I've been reading the World Vision ACT:S Relentless Acts of Justice study; it has been a great experience of reading, reflecting, and action. You should check it out.

I suppose I have neglected the reading for long enough now. I pray you have a peaceful end to your first day of spring, wherever you are.

A New Year

Well, friends. It seems that I've been semi-regularly blogging for a few years now, and that 2010 was not a stellar world in my blogging habits. I'm not sure that it's what I want to be doing with my time, honestly, or that I really have anything to say that just neeeeeeeds to be put out there on The Internets. But I hesitate to give up The Mixed-Up Files. I do not like change. And, you never know, maybe I'll be inspired by something that I just have to say.

So, welcome to 2011. Strange to say, but doesn't really feel that different from 2010.

What am I looking forward to about this year? Well, coming up soon will be the nominations for the Oscars. We'll see if I feel compelled to see all the Best Picture nominees again. Dreary Chicago winters are good times to sit in movie theaters.
Classes start in two weeks. I will definitely have my hands (and any imaginary free time) full of reading and projects.
I'm on a cooking kick, more than a baking one, right now. I only wish I lived in a fairer climate, where some variety of produce could be fresh and local all year long.

And, most immediately, I am looking forward to my brother's wedding in only 11 days! I can't believe my big brother is getting married. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Here he is, my brother John, with our nephew and me at our younger brother's wedding last summer:

Procrastinating

I forgot how much I love this job: procrastinating through finals week.
And by love, I really mean loathe.

Looking forward to the end of another semester. Who knows, maybe I'll kick-start the blog again.

Live from St. Paul...

...it was Tom Petty!

Indeed, last night I saw Tom Petty live. It was FANTASTIC. Seriously, the man is old, but he can still rock. If only I hadn't forgotten my camera, or had a better phone with which to take pictures. Thanks to "Visit St. Paul" some colleagues and I were invited to the show and experience it in a suite filled with food and drink. My only wish is that it was closer to the stage; Tom was so tiny!

Now we're onto the business of Annual Meeting. Lots of Covenant folks are arriving and lots of fun yet to be had!

Celebrating MLK and Dreaming of Desert Lands

This Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and I am glad to work for an organization that allows us to celebrate his life and work as a holiday from the office. I took this day to do something that I have never done before in my 8.5 years in Chicago: visit the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

It was really other-worldly, especially the Desert Room. To step out of the barely-above-freezing temperatures into a bright 75-degree space, full of green and vibrant life.

I found a quiet bench to eat my lunch and read some of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s early writings. I couldn't imagine a more peaceful way to spend the day.

As far as the eye can see...

The Forecast:

The Possibilities:

Looking forward to a weekend at home.
(Yes, even the cleaning.)

A funny thing for a Monday morning

THE WINDY CITY TEMPERATURE CONVERSION CHART

60° F: Arizonians shiver uncontrollably; people in Chicago are still sunbathing.

50° F: Californians try to turn on the heat; people in Chicago plant gardens.

40° F: Italian sports cars won't start; people in Chicago drive with the windows down.

32° F: Distilled water freezes; Lake Michigan water gets thicker.

20° F: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats; people in Chicago throw on a light jacket.

15° F: People in Chicago have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0° F: All the people in Phoenix die. Chicagoans close the windows.

10° below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico . The Girl Scouts in Chicago are selling cookies door to door.

25° below zero: Hollywood disintegrates; people in Chicago get out their winter coats.

40° below zero: Washington , DC runs out of hot air; people in Chicago let the dogs sleep indoors.

100° below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicagoans get frustrated because they can't start 'DA car.'

460° below zero: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale); people in Chicago start saying, 'cold 'nuff for ya?'

500° below zero: Hell freezes over. The Cubs win the World Series.

So what do May showers bring?

Season Finales and the Freedom of Summer

I rarely admit this, but I am a television addict.
(See Ellen's monologue from May 6.)

Admitting this is the first step to recovery, yes?
Well, I think the second step is the current wave of spring season finales. Thank the Lord! Now, I enjoyed nearly every minute I devoted to The Biggest Loser, Brothers & Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, and several other shows I may be too embarrassed to reveal on the World Wide Web. But there comes a point in the year when it is just time to cut the cord. As much as season finales are for the vacations of the actors, they have also got to be to re-interest the television viewer. I cannot imagine an entire, unending year of wondering how much weight Mike has lost this week. Or waiting for Izzie to suck it up and get treatments already. Or the crazy Walkers and their insane affairs. Thank goodness it is summer! Freedom! (Well, until Project Runway starts...)

What?

This is annoying. C'mon, people--it's April!

States as Puzzle Pieces

If the states in the United States were puzzle pieces, I would lose the ones that are between Illinois and Kansas. Or I would cut Chicago off of the corner of Illinois and put it in the middle of Missouri.

Alas, the states are not puzzle pieces, and I remain hundreds of miles from this little face.

In better news, spring may actually be here! This was a great weekend in the city, with a surprise visit from my aunt (and great friend ) Stephanie. And, Becca had her baby out in Washington! Many exciting things!

Hip to Be Square

Happy Square Root Day
3/3/9

An Entertaining Month

The past month has been one without obligations for school. Ideally, this would mean that I had caught up on my ever-lengthening reading list, caught up with all my long-distance friends, and finished at least a couple of the many projects I have started over the last year. What actually happened was more along the lines of adding more books to the reading list (though reading a few), and unsuccessfully catching up with people or projects as I found myself sucked into the world of entertainment. I watched several movies, both in theaters and via the wonders of Digital Video Disc, played a decent amount of Nintendo Wii, and kept up with all the online news about our economic and political climates.

Most notably, I think, and also what will leave a large void in my life (at least temporarily, while I get used to it) is that I completed watching all 7 seasons of The West Wing. Rest assured, I DID NOT watch all 7 seasons in the past month (more like over the past 9 months), but I did knock out a large chunk of them. And just this afternoon I put in the final disc of season 7, traveling nostalgically through the memories over the 8 years of the Bartlett White House along with CJ Cregg, Josh Lyman, Toby Zeigler, and President Josiah Bartlett. I am a little sad that I missed the West Wing boat when the show was actually on television, but I truly enjoyed all the hours I devoted to Netflix-ing the series. I even cried a few times, particularly in the incredibly sad final episodes after John Spencer passed away in real life, and so had to be written off the show.

Other notable entertainment pursuits included seeing Slumdog Millionaire (fantastic!) and Seven Pounds (meh) in theaters, and watching Beetlejuice for the very first time. It is true; my roommate was astounded that I had never seen it. Especially seeing as that she has owned the movie for most of the 8 years I have known her.

And, finally, over the 2nd weekend of January I traveled to my sister's home in Kansas to celebrate my nephew's first birthday, and the addition of a puppy to their family. It was a good weekend, and I can hardly believe that K is already a year old! (Or that they decided a puppy was a good idea, frankly, but that's another topic all together.) So, as everyone thinks pictures of babies are a good idea, I will leave you with a couple from K's 12th month of life:

Story of the Day

Well, folks, I'm sure you've heard: Chicago is cold. Not just generally cold because it is the middle of winter. SERIOUSLY cold, like it has not been in over a decade. Forecasts give us more than 30 consecutive hours of below-zero temperatures; the Tribune Daywatch this morning declared "Chicago held frostage". My 10-minute walk to work this morning resulted in frozen hair, nostrils, and bright red cheeks (the only part of my body visible to the outside world).


My calendar today, January 15, reads "Josh & Car Payment" -- a little reminder that today both my car payment and my monthly support for my missionary friend, Josh, are to be taken out of my bank account. Routine items. But today, on a day when I tried to come up with a good reason to not leave my house at all, my thoughts linger on what Josh might be doing... in South America. His current temperatures are a bit different than mine:


Yes. friends, that is a 68 degree difference in temperatures, at 9:30 in the morning. Oh, why am I not in South America right now?

As I was checking out the weather, I thought that maybe I would look at the temperatures for a place that would surely make me feel better about my measly -7 degrees. I lived in Soldotna, Alaska for a semester... surely it is colder there, in Alaska, than it is in Chicago!

Alas - it is not so. There are several reasons I want to go back to Alaska -- I never thought that current temperatures would be one of them! What I wouldn't give for 36 degrees today!

And so, my friends, I hope you are reading this from warmer climes than my own, and can say a little prayer that Chicago's hostage situation doesn't last, or cause larger problems than it already has. For those of you in The Windy City today: we are in this together! And for all of us, no matter where we are, may we remember that this time of year is always filled with concern for those in our city (nation, and world) that do not have the resources or opportunities to stay as warm as we can. Even as we are cold, we are thankful for what we have, and watchful to share these things with others, even in the smallest of ways.

1 Year In

This week marked the end of my first year of employment at the main offices of the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is semi-baffling that I have been here a whole year already. Much has happened...

• I have learned a completely new position in a brand-new work environment, with great colleagues who have become good friends
  
• I have traveled to work events in Wisconsin, Michigan, and the outer-regions of Illinois (with a trip to Atlanta coming up shortly)
  
• I have (almost) completed 10 more semester hours of graduate work at NPTS
• My nephew was born 11 months ago (wowzers!)
• I have been to 5 weddings of my good friends
  
• I have moved out of the basement apartment
• I have met and mingled with more Covenant pastors than I thought was ever possible
• I have eaten, with my colleagues, at Tapas Barcelona (twice), The Cheesecake Factory, Semiramis, Tre Kroner (on several occasions), Subway (quite regularly), The Pit (until I stopped eating meat), and a variety of catered meals of everything from Chicago-style pizza to ARA wraps
• I have encountered some great new friends and joined a new church
• I have baked more loaves of bread, cookies, muffins, brownies, and other manners of sugary goodness than I can possibly count.
  

While this may not seem like a long enough list, it sure has occupied my time over the last 12 months. A few of my favorite photos, as well:

Snow and Communion

Earlier today, from my perch on the third floor of the library at school, it looked like it was snowing in every direction -- up, down, side-to-side, and even a bit slanty. Now it just looks like this outside:


I am sitting here writing a tough paper: the sacrament of communion. I don't know if it is tough because of the professor, the page limit, or the subject. But I did learn something in my research. One of my favorite songs of late is (excellently) much older than I knew it was. Some lyrics, written by John Stocker, circa 1776:

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart, which wonders to feel its own hardness depart. Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground and weep for the praise of the mercy I’ve found. … Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own, and the covenant love of Thy crucified Son. All praise to the Spirit, whose whisper divine seals mercy and pardon, and righteousness mine!

Wednesday?

How in the world did it get to be Wednesday already?

What I did on my Saturday morning:

Communion Bread for tomorrow morning...
and cinnamon rolls from the extra dough.
(The pre-baked versions.)


Easy bread pudding with dried sweet cherries.


(Just me in my new glasses.)

For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
First Corinthians Ten, Verses One through Four

A New Look for a New Day

I guess I don't really know if it is a new day, or if anything is really different from the old day. But I thought it was time for a change.

(Also, check out my weekend activities over at lisa's candid look at life.)

AND, I guess I've been tagged by Ann-Marie:

Four Things

Four things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Going to CCCHS; that's right, high school
2. Living with my parents and siblings in Clay Center, Kansas
3. Working at the public library, one of the original Carnegie Libraries in Kansas
4. Writing Affirmative Cases and Negative Briefs for my stint on the Debate Team (I believe it was the year to debate foreign policy with Russia?)

Four things on my to-do list:
1. A paper on the theology of the human body
2. Bread-baking
3. Phone date with Becca
4. Find my other box of fall sweaters

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Camp Store & Canteen Manager
2. Publications Project Manager
3. Waitress/Soda Jerk
4. Nanny

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
1. Remember the Titans
2. Spellbound
3. The Bourne Identity
4. Love Actually

Four places I’ve lived:
1. Kenosha, Wisconsin
2. Clay Center, Kansas
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. Soldotna, Alaksa

Four places I want to visit:
1. Fairbanks, Alaska
2. South America (yes, the whole continent, though Brazil and Ecuador in particular, I suppose)
3. Thailand
4. Sweden

Four television shows I watch right now:
1. The Office
2. Presidential Debates
3. Brothers & Sisters
4. Friday Night Lights

Four things you might not know about me:
1. I have five siblings, six if you count a brother-in-law.
2. I’m in seminary and don't really want to pastor a church.
3. I am a faithful NPR listener.
4. I watch most of my television online on the weekends.

Four things I THINK I WILL like about being married:
*Since the original question didn't really apply to me...
1. I will get to live with my best friend for the rest of my life.
2. Someone sitting across the table will be interested in what I'm saying, but not afraid to challenge me on it.
3. Being a primary family unit that is not spread across the states.
4. Companionship

(I'm supposed to tag people now, but I think I'll add that later...)

A Long Time Comin'

Well friends, it has been about two-and-a-half months since my last post. The end of the summer was hugely busy, and then fall was here, bringing the return of graduate school and various other activities.

I would like to say that I promise to get better at this whole posting thing. There are a few things on the horizon that I would like to get out here, and a couple of book reviews I'm excited to do. But I fear I can make no (or very few) promises, as the piles of Christian theology and church history reading keep rising above my head.

I will leave a short list (in no particular order) of things I am looking forward to:

• Thanksgiving with my family in Kansas
• A trip to eastern Michigan in a month or so, combining the best part of my job with one of my best friends
• The Vice Presidential debates Thursday night, surely followed by more SNL sketches
• NPU Gospel Choir Anniversary Concert
• Emily's wedding in 18 days, and Carrie's wedding in a month and a half