Happy Sunday.

I am unable to think coherently today. I finished my interim class and started my second semester on Friday with Hebrew. I haven't studied Hebrew since December - bad move on my part. You would think I would learn after years of taking languages - but every break I conveniently forget to study. Shame on me.

This semester Mondays are going to be very long days for me. I have 3 classes on Monday, 2 of them only meeting on Mondays which means they are 3 hours long each. One in the morning and one in the evening. That means I only have 1 class every other day of the week - so hopefully I will use my time wisely.

I have a lot of ideas and musings rolling around in my head, but nothing I am currently able to articulate. Mostly it is about my future. I find myself thinking about teaching classes and how I would set them up. Other times I think about if I should go directly into a doctoral program or take a year or two off to figure out where I want to go. Keep me in your prayers - ask God to give me some direction.

Happy Sunday.

Resolution in Action

This last week I returned to my life as a student again. Even as I type I am listening to a lecture online (that is multitasking, my friend!) I am learning 2,000 years of Church history in 2 weeks. 7 days of class. That's a lot of information in a short amount of time - but it's a good way to get back into "the swing of things" as my dad would say. So, that means most of my time lately has been spent reading and listening to lectures in and outside of the classroom. I am currently learning about the anabaptists and specifically Menno Simons.

Last night I put my new year's resolution into action and did something that is uniquely New England: candlepin bowling. What's this, you ask?

Bowling is not new to me. I was out on the lanes as soon as I was strong enough to push the ball to the pins. I bowled on leagues growing up. Both of my parents continue to be in bowling leagues. Let's just say - it's in my blood. The prospect of a new way to bowl was both exciting and challenging. To top it off, this new bowling experience comes right on the heels of learning to bowl on a Wii.

Here is a link explaining candlepin bowling on wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlepin_bowling

Here is a list to sum up the major differences:
1. The pins are more like cylinders rather than the traditional shape of the 10-pin bowling pins.
2. The bowling ball is smaller (like the size of a shotput) and there are no holes in the ball.
3. You get 3 turns per frame and bowl 2 frames at a time.
4. The lane is not cleared between turns (which allows you to aim for the fallen pins to knock other pins down.)
5. Scores are often much lower (on average) than regular 10 pin bowling. (at least for me.)

It was a fun time. I'm excited for the next New England oddity.

Shameless

For those of you who like to send me packages in the mail (which I love) I have a request.

One of the many things lacking in the East Coast is a Hy-Vee. There are other stores such as Shaw's and Market Basket, but no Hy-Vee. Since there is no Hy-Vee, there is no Mallow Time microwavable popcorn. I've only ever seen it in a Hy-Vee and tonight I was craving it. So, my request is that if you ever feel inclined while you're at Hy-Vee to pick me up a box and send it - it would make my day.

Letters are always welcome - people here actually notice the amount of mail I get from people at home. It's a good feeling.

Class starts tomorrow - wish me luck!

Also, I heard that my aunt got a scarf for Christmas. Now, the next time I go home I can wear her scarf :)

New Year

With everything that happened over the new year with my grandpa, I didn't have time to think of a new year's resolution. I emailed one of my favorite comedians and asked him what his resolution was, to which he replied "to lose 30 pounds." Granted, I seemed to have gained the freshman 15 (I didn't realize that extended beyond college), but I once made a resolution to never make a diet resolution.

When I was home and had a tv to watch, I noticed so many diet commercials. I bet this is a big time of year for them. I bet if Gallup did a poll on new year's resolutions (I'm sure they have) the number one resolution would be to lose weight. Everyone wishes for the new year to be free of those things that made them unhappy in the previous year. It seems that for many, that starts with their body. It's too bad - it's not the body that needs changing but something deeper. What, you may ask? I don't know. Everyone is different.

So that little sidetrack led nowhere. Maybe I can do better in this paragraph. I flew back to MA the day after grandpa's funeral. I've had a week of nothing to do here to try and work through my grief, reflect on the past year and ask myself what I wanted from the future. This last year was full of changes and adventures. I graduated college, spent my last summer at camp, moved halfway across the country, started graduate school and dealt with changed within the family (additions and subtractions.) Pretty eventful year.

My biggest wish for 2008 is for it to be less eventful. I would like the year to be spent remembering and discovering. Remembering those things which make me happy (such as walking) and discovering what living in New England has to offer. I'm excited for the summer and plan to take in the sights in this area.

My wish for all of you is to remember what makes you happy and make time for it in your life. Don't feel like you have defend those little joys if someone else doesn't understand or share your interest. This is your life - do those things that make it the life you want - not the life you think you need.

Blessings on your head.

Poem

My uncle requested that I post the poem that I referenced in my last blog. It is by Emily Dickinson. I hope it can bring you comfort and peace as it does me.

I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,
And breaths were gathering sure
For that last onset, when the king
Be witnessed in his power.

I willed my keepsakes, signed away
What portion of me I
Could make assignable,-and then
There interposed a fly,

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,
Between the light and me;
And then the windows failed, and then
I could not see to see.