Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Just in case you were wondering...

RM mentioned in a comment on a prior post that I was looking radiant when I was at the concert at her church last weekend.

The truth is that it has nothing to do with seminary.

It's the vast quantities of silver hair shining under the lights now that I've stopped dyeing it.

Aw, shucks! It's no fun basking in the reflected glory of your own gray hair.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Yes, I'm Still Here

...just a little swamped with work right now. It's all good, and I'm loving it. I got deeply engrossed in an exegesis last night and the next thing I knew, it was 11:30 pm. Would that I could get as joyfully engrossed in Hebrew grammar!

I did get to do some fun things this weekend: a community dinner at the seminary, a dinner with the rector of the church we helped out on the Gulf Coast this past February, a concert by the absolutely transcendent Carrie Newcomer at RM's church, and dinner out with dear PH last night. In between, it was reading, reading, reading, writing, writing, writing (with some loads of laundry in-between).

StrongOpinions got an A+ on a paper about feminist perspectives on the Bible. I hope some of her smarts rub off on her mother!

I am mostly over the icky cold, just some occasional sniffles and hacks. This, too, shall pass.

Back later.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Bleahhh

Still feeling awful. I went to bed early, and slept in StrongOpinions' room since I didn't want to infect poor PH, who's doing a 100-mile bike ride today (what cyclists call a century) up in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

I got up and took some DayQuil in hopes of beating it back, so my nose isn't drippy, but my throat still hurts and my head feels like it's stuffed full of cotton. I will skip icon writing today, which gives you an indicator of how vile I feel.

I'm perched on the couch with my nice warm laptop, and should really put it away and get started on my Hebrew homework. I can't afford to be sick right now, but whining about it won't help. Is it too early for me to take a nap?

Friday, September 08, 2006

Friday Five: Five Things I've enjoyed This Week

I'm sitting here feeling yucky from what feels like a bad sore throat/flu coming on, so meditating on things I've enjoyed may put me in a better frame of mind (I hope):

1. Small group worship this morning. Here at Big old Seminary, on Fridays we don't go to chapel in the mornings, we go to our faculty advisor's home (all faculty are given houses on the campus) for worship, fellowship, meetings about stuff. We had a lovely Presbyterian service led by one of our two advisors, some great coffee cake made by the other advisor, and some wonderful and frank conversation among our group of nine students and the advisors.

2. Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Ice Cream Bars. Sugarfree, so I don't feel guilty. Delicious so I feel indulged. Life is good.

3. A hug this morning from PH that made me feel so safe and loved in the midst of all this change and chaos and fear in my life.

4. The first rehearsal of the motet choir. It was so good to be singing with a group of good singers. I NEEDED to sing, even though my voice wasn't at its best. And the new choir director is awesome.

5. A commitment from my rector to help cover the cost of some vestments I need to buy. Whew!

I'm going away now to take some TheraFlu.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

About that Hebrew...

...remind me why I'm so ticked off that I only got a 91 on the final...

Gotta find a way to shuck that competitive streak...

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

What?

Anne Lamott talks in one of her wonderful books about her friend, whose two modes of prayer are "Thanks" and "what??!!"

I'm feeling rather "what??!!??" this evening.

Today was registration. Being in something so new and unfamiliar, and being a beginner after umpty-ump years of being the resident expert on something, is odd and disorienting. Tomorrow classes start, and I think I'll feel better sitting in a classroom with someone telling me what is expected of me. I do better with the parameters circumscribed around me than floating free.

Igor Stravinsky once said that the thing he feared the most was a blank page. No decisions made yet as to what the music was to be about, no choices as to form, not even a key signature or a meter. Once the initial decisions were made, he could be bold.

I suspect that this is a bit of what I'm feeling, although nothing I produce will be "The Rite of Spring." I need the boundaries defined for me, then I can press against them.

The debate du jour - you knew I couldn't do this seminary thing without stretching the envelope - is whether I'll run for something in student government. Odd to be considering this some 18 years after I ran for statewide public office (it wasn't a rollicking success story, but that's a tale for another day). I wonder if I'd have the time, I wonder if it would be nothing but a pain in the butt, I wonder if it's something I might called to do, I wonder if I'm over-thinking it.

Some things never change.

Perhaps I'll just wait and see if someone nominates me or someone volunteers. My guess, though, is that everyone will sit around waiting for someone else to do something, and I'll fill up that empty space by volunteering. We'll see. I have until Thursday to suss it out, and since I'm having dental work done that morning, I may be unable to speak.

It may be a good thing, that Novocaine!