April 27, 2009

1. Must continue to think about risk.  Why am I so easily distracted?  How can you find anything new if you are buried in the pile of the everyday?
2. Play practices are fun, hectic.  More time than I have available I think.
3. Testing looms at school.  Paralyzed by what to choose to teach in the short time remaining.
4. Paul and I have a little unspoken contest of who will turn on the AC first.  Pretty warm out today, and he didn’t break.  Impressive.  I am wavering.  It gets warmer upstairs, so I am at a disadvantage.
5. We went to see a play last night, See what I wanna See at signature.  Weird, but entertaining overall and very enjoyable to be out and seeing something new and different. Other activities this weeked were the annual PreDerby party with AB.  She has a very good hat, and hoped to win the contest, but another woman was clearly motivated and had a sidekick who was also well hatted and they were combining tickets.  AB took her second place finish well, mostly since we spotted a presumtuous latecomer in a yellow hat, and we since felt her attempt to rise to power was not acceptable, and formulated some strategies (body tackles) should they be needed.  Yes, Yellow hats loss was win enough.

April 21, 2009

1. I’ve been working on, or putting off working on the Altar Guild Schedule for about a week.
2. I hope to finish in about an hour.
3. It’s 12:15am.
4. I hate the Altar Guild Schedule.
5. and….scene.

April 14, 2009

1. Easter was most glorious, the Great Vigil especially.  The fire lit successfully, and I did, dirty as it sounds, polish the bishop’s crozier.
2. I almost lost faith, no I did lose faith on Good Friday because I was tired, and it was all a downer, and I really felt like I was over it.  But when I came in Saturday morning, I could feel things beginning to thrum and hum with energy.  Not the energy of the people, though that was there, they converted the place from plain to amazing in two hours.  The energy I felt was the stones themselves, wanting to sing.  I attribute amazing power to God, but I think even he had pause and muscle flexing as the moment of Resurrection occurred.  I mean, it is  called power for a reason, right?  It is powerful!
3. There was something in the bishop’s sermon that got me to thinking about risk.  He was talking about seeking the truth. (Look, it might have been our rector who preached this one, or this might be a conglomeration of sermons.  I heard a lot of sermons last week)  There was also something about people who live in places of risk or in fear (It is also possible that none of this was said, it was something else preached that triggered these thoughts)  Anywho, I got to thinking about how to seek the truth, that maybe truth is that life has to be lived with a certain degree of abandon and risk.  That those people who struggle are living in the truth.  I live a very safe life, one that I think is boring in a way in its physical and emotional barricade to avoid exposure and embarrassment and strife.  And the way this all relates to God is this: What exactly am I afraid of?  I don’t live in a place of war.  I have plenty (more than enough!) to eat.  All the standard worries are handled.  What do I fear? Embarrassment? Rejection? And even if there are things to fear: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  I don’t mean that as an “F-everyone else, I do want I want.” I mean, if I say that I am secure and certain in the hope of the resurrection, what exactly is my worry about not being perfect in my time on the planet.  I need to think more like I did in the abstract painting class.  Do more things because I want to experience them, not because I want to be amazing.
4. Yeah, I am downloading turbo tax right now.  Don’t judge me.  Living on the edge has to begin somewhere. 
5. The dear seeking servant has been accepted to Seminary, and this is right glorious, but I am just starting to realize what that means for me and our parish, which is that he is going to leave us and cleave to another, and pretty soon.  His fine woman too.  I always knew that I guess, but I didn’t really understand how soon that was coming, and I think, Seeking, we ought to all have a drunken sit down, so as to understand how our weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth will play out, and if we can arrange some sort of flaming viking ship for an exit.  I joke, but I am sad too.  I guess I had thought that we had 3 years of seminary to go, and I am not so sure of that anymore.  Did they give you a handout on this transition?  Don’t get me wrong, it is all right and good and a joyful thing, and seeking the truth is risky, I get that, but ouch, ouch, ouch.

April 9, 2009

1. I’ve got about 15 minutes before I need to head back to church, but I thought I’d give a Holy Week Report.  Frankly, everything is going really well.  The crews are great,   and they get a lot done, really fast.
2. We added a funeral to the mix this week, for a longtime parishioner.  It was at 10am today.  Busy busy.  I got to put the pall on the casket, and even though I am all about the cremation, that thing is fabulous looking with black tassels on the corners!
3. Sometimes there has been a debate about which is harder, Christmas or Easter president.  At 6pm on Maundy Thursday, with 14 services to go, I can report: NO CONTEST.  Seriously.  I mean, there are no lights to flip on and off at Christmas.  Yes you have to wrap your presents too, but Easter has 17 pounds of extra stuff that gets done once a year and comes without explanatory handouts.  For example, why is the setup for this next service all at the credence, and not the altar?  There are 3 chalices, 3 things of wine and 40 billion wafers on a 7 by 12 inch shelf.  I mean, how about a paragraph explaining that?
4. Speaking of lights, some of those switches don’t do anything, or there is a closet somewhere where the light is flipping on and off.  Maybe it controls the copier in the office, or the hot water boiler.  I have no idea, but dammit, I’m a-gonna flip them.
5. In the interest of full disclosure, after today’s crew, I put my feet up on the desk in the sacristy and ate a steak and cheese sandwich.  So I may look holy, but I am, quite literally, a big fat sinner.

April 6, 2009

1. When I am crew leader, my favorite time is during the lessons and sermon during the 9 o’clock, when things have settled down and I can iron the linens.  I keep the door open and can sort of hear what’s going on.  I like to turn the overhead lights off and just use the undercounter lights.  It is very peaceful.
2. Palm Sunday went well.  Feebly waving palms.  The congregation gamely, but lamely saying “Crucify him, crucify him,” as instructed by the script.  Palm Sunday has never been a favorite service of mine, but overall it went well, except for the part where I interferred with the subdeacon assignment, because I’m a jerk, and then the part where a trash can caught on fire (though that was an acolyte issue, and I only found out about it after the fact. Frankly, I’m sorry I missed it.  If I hadn’t been interfering in other things I probably would have seen that show, so there is another lesson for me.)
3. I like the movie Dogma.  “You knew Jesus?”  “Knew him?  Dude owes me 12 dollars.”
4. Spring Break!  Woo!  Even though I have to spend lots of time at church, Spring break is still Spring Break.
5. While we were in Jamaica there was an exciting comminique, that the awesome AT and her family are coming back to Virginia.  Hooray!

April 3, 2009

1. The penny war was resolved in a most excellent way.  The HILT students (older English as a second language students) who often operate on the fringe of things, quietly organized, and in the last minute of the competition, rolled into the office with a trashcan containing 20,000 pennies.  They said they went to the bank four times to get them all.  I got to announce the result, and the cheering that exploded from their classroom area could be heard all over the school.  It was fantastic.  They are a lovely bunch of kids (though some of them are almost 20) and becoming more and more involved in the life of the school.  It was a magnificent display of strategy, teamwork, and sweetness.
2. You know how occasionally in a film on the native tribes of various continents you’ll run across a culture where the women don’t wear tops?  Well, welcome to the video I was showing.  So we had a little talk about differing culture etc, and how they needed to be mature or I would cut them etc.  And this was only on the screen for about 2 seconds anyway.   Oh, and of course toward the end there was a little boy frolicking in the water.  unclothed.  You know, equal time.  And in case that wasn’t enough, in ancient civ, I was showing some clips of the last emperor, and I tried to skip over the part where the mother is breast feeding the Emperor, but I didn’t quite make it.  Welcome to room 106.  All about the bosoms. Sheesh. 
3. Chris is back in the states (or on his way) on leave.  Hooray!
4. I had a great conversation with some of the kids today about people who were “undateable.”  “They may be dateable someday,” I said “but if they use to much sexy talk, and they are loud and tease to much, at this point….UNDATEABLE!”  This was well received.   It was a fun conversation, and one of the few times there was a group clustered about in my room.  I don’t know what caused it, but it was fun.  Though I do want my quiet from time to time, I don’t want to be the grouchy intimidating teacher, so I was glad to have this moment.  A nice way to head out for spring break.
5. 25 services between me and 6:00pm Easter Day.  Don’t believe me?  Count ‘em up!

April 1, 2009

1. Still alive.
2. Just working the paperwork, trying to get ready for next week.
3. We are having a “penny war” at school.  Each class has a jar.  Pennies earn points, silver takes away points.  You put pennies in your own jar and silver in others.  The winning class gets a ice cream social.  I brought in a soda bottle for the faculty money, because quarters don’t fit in it.  I thought that was crafty, but one of the other faculty members got frustrated trying to put all his pennies in bit by but, and cut the top off.  The money will go 50/50 to the senior class and to the Leukemia/Lymphoma society.
4. My email is getting out of control.  I am trying to keep my to-dos in my head.  not good.
5. The kids liked the bracelets I got them in Jamaica.  Some still have them on.  That makes me happy.  I had a good time telling them the tales, and showing them the places on Google Earth.