Oh Man. Merry Christmas!

What a whirlwind...
I drove from ATL to Greenwood
to Kershaw to Pickens to Greenwood
to Kershaw to Greenwood.
And now I am supposed to be on the way to Florida.

Presents and families and church
and candles and silent night and church
and cinnamon rolls and fritatta
and more presents
and tiny babies and friends and
illness.

Everyone is sick.
I personally am stuffy and sniffly and a bit sore throaty.
And I have the dayquil light head.
Dave and his whole family are rather ill.
Except baby Eli, who is precious,
I mean awesome.

I lost my debit card.
Not cool.
Banks are closed today.
So I am going to Florida tomorrow.
Cancelled the card.
New one should meet me in the ATL
where I will be by New Year's.

I'm zonked.
Nap time.

Don't even worry

I don't have to quit school.
I finished the paper about 30 minutes ago.
I was so wide awake and so focused,
I have been trying to get my body to realize that it's 4am.
Anyway, the paper ended up being 16 pages plus biblio page.
I had a bunnnnnch of footnotes.
Theological footnotes can include all kinds of crap, it turns out,
so mine were mostly either regular citations of sources
or random questions I had about what I was writing about.

Must sleep.
SC tomorrow.
It's Christmas break!

Paper Update

I'm up to about 11 pages.
I will never finish this.
I can barely remember a time when I wasn't working on this paper.
Seriously.

All I have left to talk about is the gnostic Gospel of Mary.
Can I talk about that for 4 pages?
Or 3.5 plus a conclusion?

Holy crap. I will seriously never be done.
Can I quit school instead of finishing this paper?



** Man, that was a lot of whining.

Ooh, the dryer buzzed! Clean socks and underpants for the holidays!

Mary Magdalene

I feel like I've been writing about her forever.
I shall never finish this 15 page paper.
Only halfway there, and I should be halfway to SC instead.

She's lovely, and I am glad to do a paper on her.
I am just frustrated that I don't know what else to say
and I have so much space left.
In reality, I have not run out of things to say.
I just can't figure out how to say them.

I've talked about the actual passage I'm focusing on
(John 20:1-18 The empty tomb and resurrection)
and how it contrasts and compares with other similar passages.
Right now I'm talking about how John treats other women.
Then I have to talk about how this portrayal of Mary compares
to the portrayal of her in other gospels, including gnostic ones.
Then there's the Mary Mag mythology to debunk:
-- she was not a whore
-- she was not the Mary of Mary and Martha
-- she was not the one who anointed Jesus with oil

Also, the more I work on this paper, the less I like Peter.
Sure, the church is built on him, the Rock.
But he seems like a bit of a dolt, which Judy told us not to be in college.
He's always rushing to do things without pausing or thinking.
And in the gnostics, he's a jerk to Mary Mag.

Alas, now I must go write these things in my paper...

Dana, Jay and me at the party 

Dana got danced at a lot at Candace's party 

This week of Reading?

So, classes ended last Friday
and exams started yesterday.
The intermittent time is called
Reading Week.
But who really gets to read?
More like Writing Week
or Up Until 3am Week
or Aauuughh! Week.

Here's what I did this week:
3 hours of church nursery
3.5 hours babysitting
8 hours of tutoring children
8 hours of ConEd
2 more than 10 page papers (and one to go!)
2 3am nights writing above papers
2 parties
1 exam

And last night I found out that
whiskey makes me dance.

So much online quizzes... there really is stuff going on in my life...

You Are 27 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Another Surprise, this one from the Personality Defect Test

Hippie

You are 14% Rational, 85% Extroverted, 14% Brutal, and 42% Arrogant.

You are the Hippie! Characterized by a strong sense of extroversion, irrationality, gentleness, and humility, you no doubt frolic through fields preaching peace and love to all! You are probably either very spiritual or needlessly paranoid about "the man", like most hippies, as a result of your focus on intuition and feelings over cold, brutal logic. You are also very, very social. And like any hippie who would have no qualms about hitchiking across the country just to meet some interesting people, you also love to interact with others, even complete strangers. Because we know most any hippie is peace-loving and humble, it stands to reason that you, as well, are terribly gentle and humble, almost to the point of revulsion. Your carefree attitude of peace and harmony is probably very, very sickening to realists or cynics or anyone who isn't a hippie, to tell the truth. In short, your personality is defective because you are overly emotional, extroverted, gentle, and humble--thus making you an annoying hippie. And you listen to psychadelic rock and smoke a whole lot of pot. Okay, maybe not, but I wouldn't be surprised if you did.

To put it less negatively:
1. You are more INTUITIVE than rational.
2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted.
3. You are more GENTLE than brutal.
4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant.

Compatibility:
Your exact opposite is the Sociopath.
Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Hand-Raiser, the Televangelist, and the Robot.


If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:
The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.
The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.
The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.
The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.
The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.
The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.
The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.
The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.
The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.
The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.
The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.
The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.
The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.
The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.
The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.
The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 2% on Rationality
You scored higher than 86% on Extroversion
You scored higher than 8% on Brutality
You scored higher than 39% on Arrogance

The Personality Defect Test

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=4741219933576750506

My cousin Sarah, Aunt Betsy, Grandma, and me at Thanksgiving 

Ready for a shock?

According to this quiz:
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

I am
52% Dixie (Right on the Mason-Dixon line).

I'm not used to this

Short hair cuts are funny
and I don't know if I like it.


The hairstylist didn't quite hear what I was saying.


Dorothy Hamill had my new haircut in the 70s.
It looks charming on her.


Maybe it's cute when it's curly.

Proverbio XXIX

Traveler, your footprints are the road and nothing else
Traveler, there is no road; the road is made by walking
Walking makes the road, and to turn and look back
Is to see the path that you will never again return to tread
Traveler, there is no road, but rather wakes in the sea.

-- Antonio Machado

The assemblage of thanks! i.e. people who came and ate turkey and stuff at our apartment on Saturday. (front: me, Jay, Michael, Lane, Ben, Luke; back: Dana, Matt, Erin, Marie, Craiggers, Dave, John) 

Dana and me with the lovely, delicious, golden brown turkey! 

Dana washing the bird, I mean preparing the turkey for cooking. 

We're having 10-15 people over for a pre-emptive Thanksgiving Dinner tonight

Here's the food list, TV Dinner style:
Turkey -- Beth and Dana
Dressing/Stuffing -- Elizabeth
Mashed Potatoes and gravy -- Marie
Green Bean Casserole -- Michael
Rolls -- Jay
Sweet Potatoes -- John
carrot salad -- John
Baked Apples? -- Erin M2 and Matt
Pineapple Jello Salad -- John
Pineapple Casserole -- John
Cranberries -- Erin M1
Other Veggies and dip -- Erin M2 and Matt
Pies (pumpkin, and chocolate chip) --Erin M1
Rice Krispy Bars -- Sara
Drinks -- Craig
Hot Cider -- Erin M2 and Matt
Cranberry Margaritas -- Katy

That's 12 people.
We think that at least 2 more are coming.

We just took the turkey out of the oven.
It is golden.

Photos later.

The waterfall in N. GA that I hiked up and down this weekend. 

Michael can't read signs. 

Candace, Anjie and I are strong.

I am a sellout to the blogospherical Man

I now have MySpace and Facebook profiles.
Oygh.
It's far too much.
I can procrastinate until the day is done
and never accomplish a bloody thing.
Alas.
This internet.
It provides entirely too many diversions.
And I am far too susceptible.
Woe is me.
I am undone.
And it is all Dana's fault.

Hooray!

I am done.
I wrote and wrote and wrote,
and I finished that paper.
It's 10 pages of text,
and over a page of biblio.
The topic, so you know,
is the issue of homeless children
and the church's involvement in service and activism.
Rock on.


Here are some jokes from laffy taffy:

What is the difference between a fish and a piano?
You can't tuna fish.

What street does a ghost live on?
A dead end.

Where did the dentis go on his vacation?
To the mouth of the Mississippi.

Which garden has the most vegetables?
Flash garden.


Okay. I got them all except the last one.
Flash garden?
Who can say...

What my birthday means, according to blogthings.com

Your Birthdate: March 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

This is the strangest one of these weird quizzes so far. Intense optimism? Flower symbol? Very stubborn streak?

Oh, and the link on the last one didn't work but here it is: http://www.blogthings.com/threequestionpersonalitytest/

Just so you know

because I didn't

there are about 4,000 unaccompanied homeless youth in Atlanta
and 100 shelter beds for that population

Let the games begin!

Your Personality Is

Idealist (NF) You are a passionate, caring, and unique person. You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals. You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily. Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings. You seek out other empathetic people to befriend. Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships. In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily. At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career. With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone. As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style. On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The Three Question Personality Test

More papers....

Tomorrow
I have an 8-10 page paper due
about the church's involvement
with homeless children.
And
I have to turn in an outline
and bibliography for a paper
that's due later in the semester.
Do I have any idea what I'm going to say
or what my sources will be?
Nooooooooooo, of course not.

So, there will probably be posts.
Excessive, silly posts.

Also, it is warm in our apartment.

Eayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! (or Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Part 2)

Count down to cruch time!

I'm getting close to the end
both of the midterm
and of the time before it's due.

Three down, one to go.

I am such a horrible student...

Get the feeling there will be lots of posts tonight?

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Professor Dwarf Your Superpower is Solar Your Weakness is Frogs Your Weapon is Your Robotic Dagger Your Mode of Transportation is Submarine

What's" your Superhero Name?

Waaaaaaaaaaaah!

Just a bit 'o whining...

I have a midterm due tomorrow
in Systematic Theology.
Some would argue that my professor is less than systematic
but I adore him
and his ramblingpreachingprayingscripturingprofessing.

Alas, I do not so much adore the midterm.
It's not bad, as midterms go --
four essays
three pages each.
Had I stuck to my one-essay-per-day plan on Saturday
I would be sittin' pretty.
Alas again, I did not.
Because why? Because I am a procrastinator.
Because when I have reading to do or essays to write
I check email, wash dishes, clean out the refrigerator, take a shower, create a myspace page, watch sporadic television, wander around, and check email some more.

So now here I am
blogging
and I need to go write (and read!) about
the questions faith asks
the role of experience and the situation of faith in doing theology
confessing the triune God
and Kathryn Tanner's assertion that "there are no irredeemable aspects of the world."
Mix in a little Cone, Cobb, Erskine, Soelle, Placher and Migliore,
plus a little Barth and Tillich for good measure,
and there you have it
the next 14 hours of my life.

And I'm off!

Dave and me heading to the Candler Halloween party. I'm a catburgler. Get it? 

I just took the world's shortest personality test

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Doughty Video

I just saw Mike Doughty's video on VH1.
Excellent.
http://www.mikedoughty.com/blog/

John's Birthday

(I wrote a post and it went away, so here's the abbreviated version.)

Yesterday at like 11:00 in the morning
John is in the kitchen
and I'm at my desk
in what would be the dining room except that we made it a library instead.
He says
"I'm going to tell you something
because if I don't
then later you might wonder why I didn't."
Then he says it's his birthday.

With no time or money for a tangible present,
I had two brilliant ideas:

First, I got out a bunch of random cards for random people to sign.
I got people to fill up 5 or 6 cards.

Second, I made 2 signs and took pictures of random people holding them.
I ended up with a slide show of 30 pictures.

College People!

Jodi, Nikki, Josh and me

There's a GC Atlanta Alumni thing coming up.
Maybe I'll go. Who can say...

Get in Shape Girl

I totally have worked out 3 times this week.
I ran on Tuesday.
I went to the Williamsburg fitness center on Wednesday
and rode the recumbent bike for 30 minutes.
And this morning I went and rode it again.
Sunday, I'm walking in the AIDS Walk.

I am so getting in shape.
Rock on.

With Fern and Dana on a bridge in Chicago 

Crushing Fern and Dana on the big red futon 

Scenes from Chicago

Need sleep...

Dana and I had a whirlwind trip to Chicago this weekend
(pictures soon...)
to see Fern and
to go to a young adult Peace and Justice conference
through the World Council of Churches.

Here's the cryptic shortened version:
Friday -- planes=drugs
Saturday -- conference, dinner and drinks with Fern's new seminary friends
Sunday -- shopping, site seeing, conference, worship, Gilmore dvds
Monday -- early plane, quick connection, airplane parking lot, straight to class (okay, we stopped at Dusty's for a bbq sandwich because I was starving!), tutoring

Today, I gave a presentation on Mary Magdalene.
I pretty much think she rocks.
Also, the way she has been portrayed is really a comglomeration of unnamed women in the gospels + the actual accounts of her.
Now, I want to learn more about her... must read the gnostic Gospel of Mary, and for kicks probably the DaVinci Code novel.

Tonight, I went running with Sarah and John.
We found a park near our apts
and hit the (somewhat obscure, and perhaps imagined) trail.
I will run again.
It did not hurt and was even fun with other people.
The trail made me feel healthy, even when I was falling on a rock and prickly tree.
Memories of high school and college Cross Country...
I really am still a runner in spirit.

Now, bed.

Waterfall rainbow, somewhere in northern Georgia 

Still Coughing

I can't seem to shake it.
I thought it was gone
and then I started coughing
halfway through dinner with Bob tonight.
Fun to see Bob, though.

Had a good mountain retreat this weekend with Wesley Foundation.
Hiked to a waterfall. Fell in the mud and slid down the mountain.
Had a stream outside my window.
Ate some campfire toasted marshmallows.
Delicious.

Bob, Joy and me at Joy's house a couple weeks ago... Hooray for old friends! 

Have I mentioned

that I am not a superb student?

I will never be able to read all that is assigned.
At times, I am at peace with this.

I was talking with a friend about that the other day
and he shared this quote from a similar conversation with someone else:
"If you're drowning, it doesn't matter how much water is above you."

In one sense, I suppose that is true
but really only if you have already given up hope.
If you can still see light above you
there is hope you will float
or that someone will notice your flailing body and reach out
or that you will have a sudden burst of energy
and kick and paddle your way to the surface.

I am still holding my nose.

The Best and Saddest Concert

Get ready for an abridged play-by-play.
And then some lamenting about the passing of my youth and favorite band.

Jump Little Children is doing their "Last Hurrah" tour,
and I went to the Atlanta show last night at the Variety Playhouse.

The show was perfect.
They started out playing recent stuff off Dim and the Dark (Rains in Asia, Mexico, Education),
played some rockin' songs from Magazine (My Guitar, Not Today, Say Goodnight),
and some vintage JLC (Cover Me/Dancing Virginia).
Matt did a couple of his songs (Body Parts, Habit, You and Me), and Jonathan soloed on the upright bass.

There were four encores.
They played Cathedrals in the first one, and seemed to have planned for a second encore.
At the end of the second encore, they bowed theater-style and walked off stage.
After a couple minutes of screams, they returned for the 3rd encore, which Jonathan said was "probably the most authentic encore we've ever done."
They unplugged the instruments and turned off the mics and the whole crowd stood silent while they played Down Where She Lies acoustic.
Jump left again, and we did not.
So, Jay came out alone and played my very favorite of their songs, Close Your Eyes.

This is my favorite band. This might be the last time I see them play all together.

They have a million side projects, and they are in each other's side projects. I saw Ward play solo this summer, and it was very different but very cool. I am sad to see Jump go, though Dave says they don't really mean it.

I first saw Jump in February 1997 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC with Scott and Abby. Guster opened for them. Jonathan was still in the wifebeater phase, not yet to the crazy wax mustache. Matt had a feather boa -- pink, I believe. I've seen them several (like 6 or 7)times since then, twice at this same venue within the last year. Tallahassee was far from their shows, so I had to catch up...

Anyway, I am a big dorky fan. I obviously remember well the first time I saw them. I saw Ward walking down the street in Little 5 Points before the show, and I almost ran back to talk to him. I did accost Jonathan to autograph the tour posters I bought.

And I am sure I will frame them.