Howdy Everyone
Well, I'm home for Christmas. Woohoo! The semester is done and now it's time to relax. My Christmas shopping is done, the tree is up, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve, one of my favorite days of the year. The anticipation is I think what does it...that combined with midnight mass, which is hands down my favorite service of the year. This year I'll be at the Cathedral with my parents, so it should be a good service. I really like their new rector, and it will be interesting to hear his sermon. Other than that, I've been catching up on some sleep. I had to get up at 4 am to get to Providence for my flight on Friday, so I was pretty much dead on my feet by that night. It's been nice sleeping in...now to the reading. I may take a break from the Natural History of Make Believe and move on to some Toni Morrison. We'll see. I'd just like to finish this one, but I'm on a chapter that seems to go on forever. Oh well. We took Blaine to see Santa today, which was great. He's such an awesome kid! Other than that, not too much to report. Hope everyone has a merry Christmas!!!!!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Insurance
I hate hate HATE insurance companies. Here are my unfolding dramas:
1. On august 14th, I got back to MA after visiting home and had a sore throat and couldn't swallow anymore. Not knowing who on earth in MA would see me, as my insurance company isn't very common up here, I went to a clinic where I waited for two hours only to be told that they couldn't see me because I had insurance but it was the wrong kind. So if I had no insurance or the right kind, they would see me. The receptionist told me to go to the ER.
So, I went to the ER. There I waited another 2-3 hours (not having eaten at all, as my throat was so sore) only to find out I had tonsillitis. They sent me home on antibiotics.
Then the bills started to come. The physician's bill was paid, but the hospital bill is almost 600.00 . I called the insurance company today and they won't cover it because it "Wasn't an emergency." WHAT????!!! But the fact that the physician's bill was covered might help...the lady is sending it back down for review and then I can appeal if necessary. However, turns out there ARE doctors in MA who would have seen me, I just didn't know of any. So it's now MY fault that I strayed "out of network." You've got to be kidding me. All I know is that I was miserable and needed medical attention, but apparently it wasn't an emergency. So that's saga number 1.
2. Saga number 2 is dealing with my school insurance policy. In September I had to go for an intake evaluation for the mental hygiene clinic, and the doctor ordered some bloodwork. I went downstairs, had it done, and left. Then I started getting bills. After the second bill I called the company (which is provided independently through the school) and they told me just to mail them the bill. OK. I did that. Then I got a third bill. I called them today, and there are apaprently two problems. 1. the ordering physician is not covered by the plan. WHAT? HE'S A DOCTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Sheesh. And they also say there is no record of my appointment that day. So what, am I just making this up? I have the bill with the ordering physician's name and the date of service on it. Why would I make it up and the billing folks from the lab make it up? And furthermore, it was a doctor at our health center! I KNOW he's approved!
This is ridiculous. The worst thing about all of this is a. it makes me sound like an unhealthy person when I'm not (one was allergy related and the other routine) and b. what the hell would happen in a major emergency? Thank God I didn't have these problems at Harvard. I'm thinking about getting my own insurance policy next year. Hopefully I can afford it.
1. On august 14th, I got back to MA after visiting home and had a sore throat and couldn't swallow anymore. Not knowing who on earth in MA would see me, as my insurance company isn't very common up here, I went to a clinic where I waited for two hours only to be told that they couldn't see me because I had insurance but it was the wrong kind. So if I had no insurance or the right kind, they would see me. The receptionist told me to go to the ER.
So, I went to the ER. There I waited another 2-3 hours (not having eaten at all, as my throat was so sore) only to find out I had tonsillitis. They sent me home on antibiotics.
Then the bills started to come. The physician's bill was paid, but the hospital bill is almost 600.00 . I called the insurance company today and they won't cover it because it "Wasn't an emergency." WHAT????!!! But the fact that the physician's bill was covered might help...the lady is sending it back down for review and then I can appeal if necessary. However, turns out there ARE doctors in MA who would have seen me, I just didn't know of any. So it's now MY fault that I strayed "out of network." You've got to be kidding me. All I know is that I was miserable and needed medical attention, but apparently it wasn't an emergency. So that's saga number 1.
2. Saga number 2 is dealing with my school insurance policy. In September I had to go for an intake evaluation for the mental hygiene clinic, and the doctor ordered some bloodwork. I went downstairs, had it done, and left. Then I started getting bills. After the second bill I called the company (which is provided independently through the school) and they told me just to mail them the bill. OK. I did that. Then I got a third bill. I called them today, and there are apaprently two problems. 1. the ordering physician is not covered by the plan. WHAT? HE'S A DOCTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Sheesh. And they also say there is no record of my appointment that day. So what, am I just making this up? I have the bill with the ordering physician's name and the date of service on it. Why would I make it up and the billing folks from the lab make it up? And furthermore, it was a doctor at our health center! I KNOW he's approved!
This is ridiculous. The worst thing about all of this is a. it makes me sound like an unhealthy person when I'm not (one was allergy related and the other routine) and b. what the hell would happen in a major emergency? Thank God I didn't have these problems at Harvard. I'm thinking about getting my own insurance policy next year. Hopefully I can afford it.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Snow, Finals, and Books
Well I have one final done, and now only one left to go. OT was this morning...it wasn't too bad, although I don't think I did that hot on the Bible IDs...they were selections totally different from the ones I had studied, but I think I did fine on the essays. I'm not too worried about it, really, and it's over so that's good. Now on to Patristics, for which I'm going to have to study hardcore over the next couple of days. I would study at the library tomorrow, but I work tomorrow night and would prefer not to spend from 9 am to 11pm there. It might drive me crazy, especially considering that I'm working there on Wednesday morning as well. Crazy.
Things are snowy here. Worcester got a ton of snow on Sunday, and New Haven got snow and ice. There was already a bunch of snow on the ground, and now it's covered in an icy layer so that when you step on the snow you don't sink. In fact, you're more likely to fall on your ass than anything else. It looks like everything has been coated in cake frosting. I felt really bad earlier--there was an older gentleman holding himself up with a crutch trying to get his van out of the ice and snow that had plowed him in. Unfortunately I've been having back problems and I don't own a good shovel (don't really need one), so there wasn't much I could do.
Christmas shopping is done, which is good. Well, except for the thing Rick and I are getting Blaine, but I think he's going to pick that up and bring it down with him when he comes for New Years.
I've got quite a reading list for Christmas break. Aside from the summer, it's the one time of year when I can sit and read whatever I want whenever I want and I don't have to read for retention. So I've come up with a list of a few books I'd like to read over break, all of which I've already ordered from the library and will probably pick up tomorrow. Here they are:
Bluest Eye and Beloved, both my Toni Morrison
The Natural History of Make-Believe by Goldthwaite (I'm working on this one now)
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind
and, if I can get to it, A Brief History of Time by Steven Hawking
Oh and Candide by Molliere (the last two are some of Rick's favorites, so I thought I'd give em a read and see what I thought).
I have no idea how many of these I will actually get through, but I'm planning to enjoy thoroughly my first real Christmas break since I graduated from WKU (Harvard had finals after Christmas, so there were always papers to write and finals to study for during the holidays). On Demand cable and books and family and friends are my plans for the break. Oh and New Year's with Rick. Woohoo!
Now I just have to get that final out of the way....I wish it were take home. Oh well. C'est la vie.
Things are snowy here. Worcester got a ton of snow on Sunday, and New Haven got snow and ice. There was already a bunch of snow on the ground, and now it's covered in an icy layer so that when you step on the snow you don't sink. In fact, you're more likely to fall on your ass than anything else. It looks like everything has been coated in cake frosting. I felt really bad earlier--there was an older gentleman holding himself up with a crutch trying to get his van out of the ice and snow that had plowed him in. Unfortunately I've been having back problems and I don't own a good shovel (don't really need one), so there wasn't much I could do.
Christmas shopping is done, which is good. Well, except for the thing Rick and I are getting Blaine, but I think he's going to pick that up and bring it down with him when he comes for New Years.
I've got quite a reading list for Christmas break. Aside from the summer, it's the one time of year when I can sit and read whatever I want whenever I want and I don't have to read for retention. So I've come up with a list of a few books I'd like to read over break, all of which I've already ordered from the library and will probably pick up tomorrow. Here they are:
Bluest Eye and Beloved, both my Toni Morrison
The Natural History of Make-Believe by Goldthwaite (I'm working on this one now)
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind
and, if I can get to it, A Brief History of Time by Steven Hawking
Oh and Candide by Molliere (the last two are some of Rick's favorites, so I thought I'd give em a read and see what I thought).
I have no idea how many of these I will actually get through, but I'm planning to enjoy thoroughly my first real Christmas break since I graduated from WKU (Harvard had finals after Christmas, so there were always papers to write and finals to study for during the holidays). On Demand cable and books and family and friends are my plans for the break. Oh and New Year's with Rick. Woohoo!
Now I just have to get that final out of the way....I wish it were take home. Oh well. C'est la vie.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Post 100
I almost have all of my Christmas shopping done. Woohoo! I bought something for Rick he already had, so once it gets here from Amazon I have to return it. LAME. But it's my own fault for guessing on that one. I only have to get stuff for my siblings, but I already know what I'm getting them so it's just a matter of waiting to get paid on Thursday and then going to get the presents. Umm...what else? Bought Harry Potter 5 today...I didn't get a fancy version, mostly because the simple version is so much cheaper. So that's what I got. Other than that I'm just studying.
And I miss Rick.
And I miss Rick.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Papers are DONE.
That's right--I'm done writing papers for the semester. Wahoo! And for all of you naysayers out there who claim I'm always procrastinating, I would like you to note the following statistics:
History Paper: Due 12.12, Turned in 12.5
Ethics Paper: Due 12.21, Turned in 12.10
Colloquium Paper: Due 12.21, Turned in 12.10
That's right, they were all done early. Sweet. Now it's on to studying for finals. On the one hand I'm glad that I have time to study for these finals hard core (we never got that at WKU aside from one half of a day), but on the other hand I'm not looking forward to studying a very few things all day every day for the next week and a half. Oh well. As of 12.20 I am done with the semester.
Just thought I'd keep you updated.
History Paper: Due 12.12, Turned in 12.5
Ethics Paper: Due 12.21, Turned in 12.10
Colloquium Paper: Due 12.21, Turned in 12.10
That's right, they were all done early. Sweet. Now it's on to studying for finals. On the one hand I'm glad that I have time to study for these finals hard core (we never got that at WKU aside from one half of a day), but on the other hand I'm not looking forward to studying a very few things all day every day for the next week and a half. Oh well. As of 12.20 I am done with the semester.
Just thought I'd keep you updated.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Beer+shaving=bad idea
It's Friday, and it's Advent, and it's been snowing. And it was the day of the Friday fellowship where we decorated the tree in the YDS common room, accompanied by a keg of Sam Adam's Winter Lager, of course. Being a good div student, after work I ewnt upstairs to do my part in finishing the keg (after all, we don't want it to go to waste!!!!). I had a nice time, and my friends were all there so revelry was abounding at YDS (one of the reasons I love the place...great community!!!!). Then I braved the snow, played some guitar hero with Julie, and decided to come to my room to do laundry. After I'd put the lclothes in the dryer, I decided a hot bath would be nice. After three bottles of liquid plumber I had managed to get my drain to work and cleaned my bath tub last night. So tonight was perfect for a bath and my book (I'm starting to understand why Mom used to take baths and read...there's nothing more relaxing!). Anyway tomorrow is the ISM fancy shmancy Christmas party so I have to wear a skirt and decided to shave. So I did, not connecting the fact that a. I'm a clutz and b. I'd had the equivalent of 2.5-3 beers. I proceeded to shave and on my left knee took a generous chunk of skin away with the razor. And then I proceeded to bleed. And bleed. And bleed. Luckily it's tapered off a bit, but geez. Lesson: Don't shave your legs after drinking beer. It's not a good idea, no matter how little you think it hurts.
In other news, the semester is winding down. All I have left is one 5-7 page ethics paper, and OT final and a patristics final. Not too bad. I don't really have classes anymore so I'll spend the next week studying OT and Patristics, and the next week spending Tuesday and Wednesday doing more patristics. Joy. But I do have my schedule worked out for next semester, assuming there's no problems getting into the seminars: OT interpretation 2, Canterbury Tales (grad seminar in the English dept.), Milton (grad seminar in the English dept.), and Reformation Europe. Not too bad, really. Two seminars and two classes with sections. It could be worse, but I think it will be a good balance. Fingers crossed it works out that way.
It snowed today and it's so quiet outside. It's that quiet that only comes after snow...even in Boston it got this quiet when it would snow alot. I like snow, as long as I don't have to drive or go out in it. Luckily I live on campus so there wasn't far to go. But it definitely means winter is here.
Hope you are all having a blessed Advent.
Peace
In other news, the semester is winding down. All I have left is one 5-7 page ethics paper, and OT final and a patristics final. Not too bad. I don't really have classes anymore so I'll spend the next week studying OT and Patristics, and the next week spending Tuesday and Wednesday doing more patristics. Joy. But I do have my schedule worked out for next semester, assuming there's no problems getting into the seminars: OT interpretation 2, Canterbury Tales (grad seminar in the English dept.), Milton (grad seminar in the English dept.), and Reformation Europe. Not too bad, really. Two seminars and two classes with sections. It could be worse, but I think it will be a good balance. Fingers crossed it works out that way.
It snowed today and it's so quiet outside. It's that quiet that only comes after snow...even in Boston it got this quiet when it would snow alot. I like snow, as long as I don't have to drive or go out in it. Luckily I live on campus so there wasn't far to go. But it definitely means winter is here.
Hope you are all having a blessed Advent.
Peace
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Checklist, etc.
Here's what's coming up:
12/5- History Exam
History Paper, 8-10 pp (technically now due 12/12 but I'm making myself turn it in by 12.5)
12/7- Coll. paper. Not too bad. 300 words. Whatever.
12/10- Ethics Section
Ethics paper 5-7 pp (not due until 12/21, but again I'm making myself do it early)
12/17- OT final. It shouldn't be too bad. 3 hours, though, which sucks, but she gives out good guidance beforehand.
12/20- Patristics final. This is going to be a beast. A real beast. Tons of stuff on there, tons to review, from 33-451 CE are up for grabs. Sheesh.
So the semester doesn't look too bad from here on out, actually. My bigger papers are turned in, except for history, and the research for that is going well (I'm looking at the historicity of the "Archbishop" episode of Blackadder 1, specifically church-state relations at the end of the 15th century. Really really interesting stuff, actually). The patristics final is the only thing that makes me the slightest bit edgy, and that's only because of the amount of preparation it will take.
On another note, I'm surprised how many people actually care about this writers strike. I watch 3 shows on TV ona regular basis, and really my life wouldn't be over without them. Get over it and stop writing crap. That's my message (not that anyone cares...).
Other than that...I'm trying to get through The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. It's good reading but not the kind of thing you want to "get through" for a class. Oh well. And then it's on to Erasmus for next week. And Augustine for Patristics. And I need to catch up on OT reading (but that can really wait until the 12th, when reading period officially starts).
Just thought I would say hey. Now it's back to reading.
12/5- History Exam
History Paper, 8-10 pp (technically now due 12/12 but I'm making myself turn it in by 12.5)
12/7- Coll. paper. Not too bad. 300 words. Whatever.
12/10- Ethics Section
Ethics paper 5-7 pp (not due until 12/21, but again I'm making myself do it early)
12/17- OT final. It shouldn't be too bad. 3 hours, though, which sucks, but she gives out good guidance beforehand.
12/20- Patristics final. This is going to be a beast. A real beast. Tons of stuff on there, tons to review, from 33-451 CE are up for grabs. Sheesh.
So the semester doesn't look too bad from here on out, actually. My bigger papers are turned in, except for history, and the research for that is going well (I'm looking at the historicity of the "Archbishop" episode of Blackadder 1, specifically church-state relations at the end of the 15th century. Really really interesting stuff, actually). The patristics final is the only thing that makes me the slightest bit edgy, and that's only because of the amount of preparation it will take.
On another note, I'm surprised how many people actually care about this writers strike. I watch 3 shows on TV ona regular basis, and really my life wouldn't be over without them. Get over it and stop writing crap. That's my message (not that anyone cares...).
Other than that...I'm trying to get through The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. It's good reading but not the kind of thing you want to "get through" for a class. Oh well. And then it's on to Erasmus for next week. And Augustine for Patristics. And I need to catch up on OT reading (but that can really wait until the 12th, when reading period officially starts).
Just thought I would say hey. Now it's back to reading.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thanksgiving.
I'm back from Thanksgiving. It was good, albeit very very busy. My grandmother was visiting so the whole time home seemed very whirlwind-ish. I'm looking forward to when I can go home and actually relax. I didn't get anything done on the exegesis, but no worries. I'm taking a break from it at the moment, and in the first hour I got 3 pages of 8 done, so I think it's going pretty well. Now that I'm sitting down writing it it's turning out to be much better than I anticipated. Hopefully the finished product will be good as well, but I think using the method from this article we read in class is turning out to be a good way of structuring my argument about the Akedah. Woowoo! I like it when papers come together. It makes them actually somewhat enjoyable to write.
Rick came in this weekend. It was so so so good to see him. I know it had only been 7 days, but it felt like a long time. We went out to Sleeping Giant State Park today and went on a hike. It was beautiful and there were tons of people out, but that's a good thing. We got a nice workout. I took him out for his birthday (which was on Thanksgiving) yesterday. We saw Beowulf, which was actually pretty good, and then went to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant here in town. It was good, and we had fun. We then proceeded to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory here at home and drink some beer, and then we slept for 12 hours (I had to be up at 4 yesterday morning because I flew back). So that was good. And we went to Friday's after our hike today. Now I'm just doing some homework.
On another note, I got the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album on iTunes and it's amazing! I'm glad it's the season for Christmas music. I can't fit a tree in here (we're putting up Rick's on Saturday) but I got some Christmas lights and a reindeer doorhanger from Walgreens, so that should Christmas up the place a bit. and I have an Advent calendar that start on 12/1, so yay for that. Other than that...my bathtub is backed up and didn't drain from showers today, so I'll have to skip my shower tomorrow morning I guess and call maintenance. LAME.
I'm off to study again. Buy the Sufjan Stevens if you can. It's really awesome.
Oh and only 12 days left of class. And less than 2 weeks until the Golden Compass movie comes out. Yeehaw!!!
Rick came in this weekend. It was so so so good to see him. I know it had only been 7 days, but it felt like a long time. We went out to Sleeping Giant State Park today and went on a hike. It was beautiful and there were tons of people out, but that's a good thing. We got a nice workout. I took him out for his birthday (which was on Thanksgiving) yesterday. We saw Beowulf, which was actually pretty good, and then went to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant here in town. It was good, and we had fun. We then proceeded to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory here at home and drink some beer, and then we slept for 12 hours (I had to be up at 4 yesterday morning because I flew back). So that was good. And we went to Friday's after our hike today. Now I'm just doing some homework.
On another note, I got the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album on iTunes and it's amazing! I'm glad it's the season for Christmas music. I can't fit a tree in here (we're putting up Rick's on Saturday) but I got some Christmas lights and a reindeer doorhanger from Walgreens, so that should Christmas up the place a bit. and I have an Advent calendar that start on 12/1, so yay for that. Other than that...my bathtub is backed up and didn't drain from showers today, so I'll have to skip my shower tomorrow morning I guess and call maintenance. LAME.
I'm off to study again. Buy the Sufjan Stevens if you can. It's really awesome.
Oh and only 12 days left of class. And less than 2 weeks until the Golden Compass movie comes out. Yeehaw!!!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
...
Just thought I would say hello. I'm in the midst of writing my patristics paper. It's not going too badly, and I hope it will continue that way. I would be nice to finish this today and finisht he ethics paper (I'm halfway through that one) tomorrow. Bad news on the exegesis front though, in that I'm going to have to do some research at home as well. But it will really only be a couple of hours a day, and I can do that once people are settling down for the night. I have actual work to do for school this week too, though, including reading a couple of books for classes, so that AND researching a paper probably won't be possible, unfortunately. Luckily the exegesis is only 8-10 pages, though, and I know the method I'm going to use. I just have to figure out what the hell I'm going to say, and hope I don't get home and realize I need certain books. But I've been going over my sources and hopefully I should have everything by Monday (I had to get a couple more books from the library delivered to the Div school, so that should solve that). Other than that...it didn't snow today, like they said it would. But it was friggin' cold last night and it's supposed to be friggin' cold again tonight! (26!!!!). I may have to bust out with the flannel sheets soon, if these keeps up. Last year we didn't even turn the heat on until December, but I guess this year winter may be a little colder. Who knows. Other than that, I should get back to my paper. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving/reading week. A whole week with the fam, no classes, and I can actually get some work done on that paper without having regular school work in the way. Woohoo!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Swamped
I haven't posted recently as I'm swamped with school. Here's the rundown:
History exam today
Write ethics paper tomorrow
Write patristics paper Saturday
research exegesis next week
write exegesis over Thanksgiving
Research/write history paper week after Thanksgiving
History final and paper due 12/5
After that I only have one 5-7 page ethics paper and two finals left, so that shouldn't be too bad. Write now I'm just trying to crank out writing like a machine. Woowoo.
Other than school, I'm just trying to maintain my sanity. Rick and I went to see Sweeney Todd last weekend in Boston, which was cool. Our 1 year anniversary is the 15th, so we're both taking the 16th off to have some fun. I think we'll probably go somewhere in MA and spend the day looking around. Then it's off to KY for Thanksgiving, which will be nice. I wish I didn't have to work on the paper that week, but oh well. There's nothing I can really do about it. I don't think I can get it researched and written next week, since I'm really only at school for 3.5 days. But I should hopefully get the research done, and then the writing part shouldn't be too bad really. Anywho class starts in about 20 minutes, so I'm going to do some last minute reading. Hope you're not as swamped as I am!!!
History exam today
Write ethics paper tomorrow
Write patristics paper Saturday
research exegesis next week
write exegesis over Thanksgiving
Research/write history paper week after Thanksgiving
History final and paper due 12/5
After that I only have one 5-7 page ethics paper and two finals left, so that shouldn't be too bad. Write now I'm just trying to crank out writing like a machine. Woowoo.
Other than school, I'm just trying to maintain my sanity. Rick and I went to see Sweeney Todd last weekend in Boston, which was cool. Our 1 year anniversary is the 15th, so we're both taking the 16th off to have some fun. I think we'll probably go somewhere in MA and spend the day looking around. Then it's off to KY for Thanksgiving, which will be nice. I wish I didn't have to work on the paper that week, but oh well. There's nothing I can really do about it. I don't think I can get it researched and written next week, since I'm really only at school for 3.5 days. But I should hopefully get the research done, and then the writing part shouldn't be too bad really. Anywho class starts in about 20 minutes, so I'm going to do some last minute reading. Hope you're not as swamped as I am!!!
Monday, October 29, 2007
I'm running out of title ideas...
GO SOX!!!!!!
I wish I were still in Boston today. Damn. Oh well.
Anyway, lots has been going on here. After much discernment I decided to drop out of the ordination process and switch to an MAR. I realized that I'm called to teach, and that the sacramental offices of an ordained person (which are the only things that set them apart from the laity) don't really play into my calling. So why do it? It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders when I came to this conclusion. Now I'm actually kind of excited about school, starting next semester (ha), in that I can take classes that really interest me and will help me towards my goal (ie religion and literature classes). I'll have to go to the academic dean and switch everything next semester, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Other than that, Rick and I were in Jersey this past weekend for the last VW show of the season. This is one his club puts on, and it's called Dubs of the Dead. People dress up their VWs and then have a costume contest, basically. It was fun, albeit cold. We'd woken up to disgusting weather (although the rain was badly needed) and then it stopped for the show, but slowly got colder. I couldn't feel my nose by the time it ended. Then we hung out with Frank and the guys, as Rick calls them. Watched Disney's 1979 movie The Black Hole. Weird. I find it hard to believe Disney made that movie! And then we watched the Kiss movie special Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park or something like that. I fell asleep during bits of it, but it's a strange strange movie. I love how it makes Kiss out to be this wholesome family fun band.
Anywho I should get going. I have class in about 20 minutes and then studying and lunch and then more class and then I have to hit the books hard. This is the beginning of the end of the semester (I think we only have 5 weeks of classes left, maybe 6) so things are starting to be due. Yikes.
I hope you're all enjoying the fall weather. It seems that it's finally arrived. We had a hard freeze last night (It was only 30 something) and up in Worcester it got down to 29! So stay warm. :)
I wish I were still in Boston today. Damn. Oh well.
Anyway, lots has been going on here. After much discernment I decided to drop out of the ordination process and switch to an MAR. I realized that I'm called to teach, and that the sacramental offices of an ordained person (which are the only things that set them apart from the laity) don't really play into my calling. So why do it? It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders when I came to this conclusion. Now I'm actually kind of excited about school, starting next semester (ha), in that I can take classes that really interest me and will help me towards my goal (ie religion and literature classes). I'll have to go to the academic dean and switch everything next semester, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Other than that, Rick and I were in Jersey this past weekend for the last VW show of the season. This is one his club puts on, and it's called Dubs of the Dead. People dress up their VWs and then have a costume contest, basically. It was fun, albeit cold. We'd woken up to disgusting weather (although the rain was badly needed) and then it stopped for the show, but slowly got colder. I couldn't feel my nose by the time it ended. Then we hung out with Frank and the guys, as Rick calls them. Watched Disney's 1979 movie The Black Hole. Weird. I find it hard to believe Disney made that movie! And then we watched the Kiss movie special Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park or something like that. I fell asleep during bits of it, but it's a strange strange movie. I love how it makes Kiss out to be this wholesome family fun band.
Anywho I should get going. I have class in about 20 minutes and then studying and lunch and then more class and then I have to hit the books hard. This is the beginning of the end of the semester (I think we only have 5 weeks of classes left, maybe 6) so things are starting to be due. Yikes.
I hope you're all enjoying the fall weather. It seems that it's finally arrived. We had a hard freeze last night (It was only 30 something) and up in Worcester it got down to 29! So stay warm. :)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Dumbledore
So apparently Dumbledore was gay and in love with Gellert Grindenwald. Go to www.mugglenet.com to read the story. I'm not sure how I feel about this particular piece of information. Personally, I couldn't really care less if Dumbledore was gay or not, as his sexuality never seemed (to me) to play that big of a role in the text. Also I wonder whether this was interesting information for the kids in the audience. While I realize there's a huge adult following (of which I am most definitely one), they're still kid's books. I feel that with this revelation, conservatives who are ALREADY fighting Harry Potter are going to add this fact to the long list of reasons why the books shouldn't be read. And as we have seen in our society, especially from 2004's election on, issues of homosexuality can make or break an argument (or so it seems to me). Anywho, I guess what I'm trying to say is, why on earth did she reveal this piece of information or even talk about Dumbledore's sexuality? He was over 100. That would be like talking about your grandpa's sex life with the 10 year old grandkid. Weird, JK, weird.
PS For those reading, don't take this as an anti-homosexuality rant, because IT'S NOT. I'm just wondering why JK Rowling felt this was even pertinent information for the audience. It's food for thought, maybe.
PS For those reading, don't take this as an anti-homosexuality rant, because IT'S NOT. I'm just wondering why JK Rowling felt this was even pertinent information for the audience. It's food for thought, maybe.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Bag
I bought the bag! It's a Timbuk2 custom messenger bag. It cost me a pretty penny, but it should last forever and now all of my stuff won't get SOAKED every time it rains (which also means no more carrying around tons of shopping bags in my backpack in case of the odd rainstorm). I debated for a while on getting it, but decided to go for it. It should last me for a good while, and thus I'll be able to use it here and wherever I do the PhD, and then wherever I work. Yahoo. I'll let you know how it is when I get it...I picked the custom made one. The colors for the already designed bags were ok, but I really like the color scheme I picked out (slate blue, charcoal, and navy, with an orange logo and a black waterproof liner) so I decided to splurge and go for that. not to mention that it will also make the bag easier to pick out if for whatever reason it's left in a big group of Timbuk2 bags. And I like blue. Woohoo.
I overslept today and didn't make it to my morning class. Oh well. I got a really good amount of sleep. And now I'm going to start reviewing for my exam tonight. I went to a group study session last night, which wasn't too bad. I don't do well studying in groups, so at times it was frustrating but I made it through. I'm pretty confident about the terms and the passage ids, I just want to go over my material for the essay (some topic having to do with matter and spirit) before I actually have to write it. The exam is at 6:30 tonight and the professor still hasn't told us where it is. Should be interesting...
Hope you're all having a nice day. It's almost the weekend!!!
I overslept today and didn't make it to my morning class. Oh well. I got a really good amount of sleep. And now I'm going to start reviewing for my exam tonight. I went to a group study session last night, which wasn't too bad. I don't do well studying in groups, so at times it was frustrating but I made it through. I'm pretty confident about the terms and the passage ids, I just want to go over my material for the essay (some topic having to do with matter and spirit) before I actually have to write it. The exam is at 6:30 tonight and the professor still hasn't told us where it is. Should be interesting...
Hope you're all having a nice day. It's almost the weekend!!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Books and Other Stuff
I have my very own copy of the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church now. It was $109.00 after my discounts, which were many. It's normally $150.00. I know all of you math and science people out there are thinking "that's nothing!" but for religion folk, it's a chunk of change. However, I've already used it in preparing for a history exam, so at least it's started to be fruitful. The thing is awesome; it tells you basically what you need to know about almost anything in the history of Christianity. SWEET. I like it. It's on my bookshelf smiling at me right now. Woohoo!
I must admit that there are many things I wish I could be reading right now but can't as I don't have the time. For example, I want to read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, which is sitting on my shelf, but it has to be either bedtime or Christmas reading. Over Thanksgiving I've got to polish up (hopefully they'll already be written) two papers and read a book. I'm also doing a paper on the Mists of Avalon, so I'll have to reread that as well as any other school stuff I have. But once Christmas break hits, I will most definitely be taking advantage of the massive amounts of reading time I plan on having (especially since I get a real break this year with no finals or Greek or papers to worry about!!!!!!!!!)
I'm debating on buying a new bag for school. I'm finding that the backpack just isn't very handy: it makes my back all sweaty any time I have to go downtown (which may be trivial but I HATE walking around with visible back sweat on my t-shirt...it makes me feel like a 50 year old man at a gym), and next semester I plan on taking at least one if not two classes downtown. Also, my wallett, keys, etc. don't feel as secure because they're on my back as opposed to by my side. And it's not waterproof, which the bag I'm looking at is. I'll let you know if I get it. It's kind of expensive, but I should hopefully be getting a deposit check soon. Maybe with some of that money I'll buy the bag. We shall see.
Other than that...I have a history exam tomorrow, an OT exam Monday, a paper due the next Tuesday (the 30th) and an OT midterm on Halloween. Needless to say, it's crunch time. Luckily the OT midterm shouldn't be too bad...we got questions beforehand AND it's open-note, so I can prepare for it however I want really. The paper also hopefully shouldn't be too horrific, but I haven't read the books yet. Guess I should get on that.
On that note, I'm going to read some Hauerwas now. Peace.
I must admit that there are many things I wish I could be reading right now but can't as I don't have the time. For example, I want to read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, which is sitting on my shelf, but it has to be either bedtime or Christmas reading. Over Thanksgiving I've got to polish up (hopefully they'll already be written) two papers and read a book. I'm also doing a paper on the Mists of Avalon, so I'll have to reread that as well as any other school stuff I have. But once Christmas break hits, I will most definitely be taking advantage of the massive amounts of reading time I plan on having (especially since I get a real break this year with no finals or Greek or papers to worry about!!!!!!!!!)
I'm debating on buying a new bag for school. I'm finding that the backpack just isn't very handy: it makes my back all sweaty any time I have to go downtown (which may be trivial but I HATE walking around with visible back sweat on my t-shirt...it makes me feel like a 50 year old man at a gym), and next semester I plan on taking at least one if not two classes downtown. Also, my wallett, keys, etc. don't feel as secure because they're on my back as opposed to by my side. And it's not waterproof, which the bag I'm looking at is. I'll let you know if I get it. It's kind of expensive, but I should hopefully be getting a deposit check soon. Maybe with some of that money I'll buy the bag. We shall see.
Other than that...I have a history exam tomorrow, an OT exam Monday, a paper due the next Tuesday (the 30th) and an OT midterm on Halloween. Needless to say, it's crunch time. Luckily the OT midterm shouldn't be too bad...we got questions beforehand AND it's open-note, so I can prepare for it however I want really. The paper also hopefully shouldn't be too horrific, but I haven't read the books yet. Guess I should get on that.
On that note, I'm going to read some Hauerwas now. Peace.
Monday, October 15, 2007
OMG
Oh my God, for those who don't know internet speak. Which, when said in a valley-girl tone, is what I think several people in my history class are saying when they think of the upcoming exam. I personally am not too worried about it. This doesn't mean that I'm not studying for it--I most definitely am. However, having majored in history in college, the format of this test is just about like every OTHER history test I took at WKU, and therefore I'm not too worried about it. It's 50 minutes. He's given us the list of terms AND the essay topic. We just don't know the two text ID's, but as long as you've read the texts you should be find. What are people freaking out about? He's practically given us the test already!
Here's where I got miffed today. The exam was actually last Monday, but because of Div school reading week about 14 Div students were out of town. So the professor agreed to set up another exam date. Well, we met today after class to pick a date, and one person (who has driven me nuts before with her anti-young clergy comments) said "Oh it has to be during the day on Friday." Well, myself and another member work on Fridays. So then a bunch of us were pulling for Wednesday. But everyone complained because Wednesday is a long day for all of us. I'll admit, it's a long day for me too but the exam is only 50 minutes! It's not like I'm sitting some 2 or 3 hour language exam. But this is the kicker. This same person protested to Wednesday night because it would be during Berkeley's Wednesday night Eucharist. I muttered to my friend "We have Eucharist every day, God forbid we go one day without it." THEN, on Thursday afternoon we have BDS colloquium, which is hands down the most pointless class I've ever taken, intro to geology included (as well as all of the 3rd grade). And she said "we CAN'T miss colloquium!" I again said to my friend "An exam would be more productive." He agreed. Anyway it's going to be Thursday evening. A few of us are going to dinner afterwards to celebrate (or, as a friend said, to mourn).
Sometimes I think too many ministers and minister-to-be's have sticks in places they shouldn't be. I sure as hell hope that I don't turn out to be one of them.
Sheesh.
On an unrelated note, I think I may have found part of the reason my left foot goes numb at the end of my runs. It felt today like there's a nerve on the ball of my foot that by the end of the run I'm putting pressure on and it's losing feeling. Hopefully when I get some new running shoes this problem will be solved.
Here's where I got miffed today. The exam was actually last Monday, but because of Div school reading week about 14 Div students were out of town. So the professor agreed to set up another exam date. Well, we met today after class to pick a date, and one person (who has driven me nuts before with her anti-young clergy comments) said "Oh it has to be during the day on Friday." Well, myself and another member work on Fridays. So then a bunch of us were pulling for Wednesday. But everyone complained because Wednesday is a long day for all of us. I'll admit, it's a long day for me too but the exam is only 50 minutes! It's not like I'm sitting some 2 or 3 hour language exam. But this is the kicker. This same person protested to Wednesday night because it would be during Berkeley's Wednesday night Eucharist. I muttered to my friend "We have Eucharist every day, God forbid we go one day without it." THEN, on Thursday afternoon we have BDS colloquium, which is hands down the most pointless class I've ever taken, intro to geology included (as well as all of the 3rd grade). And she said "we CAN'T miss colloquium!" I again said to my friend "An exam would be more productive." He agreed. Anyway it's going to be Thursday evening. A few of us are going to dinner afterwards to celebrate (or, as a friend said, to mourn).
Sometimes I think too many ministers and minister-to-be's have sticks in places they shouldn't be. I sure as hell hope that I don't turn out to be one of them.
Sheesh.
On an unrelated note, I think I may have found part of the reason my left foot goes numb at the end of my runs. It felt today like there's a nerve on the ball of my foot that by the end of the run I'm putting pressure on and it's losing feeling. Hopefully when I get some new running shoes this problem will be solved.
Reading
Hi All
I'm back in classes now. Last week was reading week (a wonderful invention of Yale in which we have a whole week on in October to...read?), so I didn't have class. Rick and I traveled to KY for a few days and had a wonderful time. I'm just sad the trip couldn't have been longer. We were really busy the whole time, and didn't really get a chance just to chill with the fam. Hopefully the next trip (with Rick) will be more low key. I'm looking forward to my next trip home for the same reason. Speaking of which, the US Airways website sucks. I bought my plane ticket last night, thinking I was buying it for a flight out of Boston, and when the confirmation page came up AFTER I had paid, it had sold me a Providence flight I'd been looking at earlier that's 40 dollars more! So I'm not going to use that airline again out of principle. LAME.
As far as productivity this last week goes, I wasn't productive. At all. But that's OK. I needed the break. Now I'm studying for a history exam this week (which, in all honesty, I'm not overly stressed about) and reading like a maniac for classes, my two other exams this month, and a paper due on October 30th. Woohoo.
This weekend I read a book completely for pleasure, though, and it was awesome. I bought Into The Wild, about Chris McCandless (there's a movie by the same name that just came out). The first I'd ever heard of this kid was in an Eddie from Ohio song called "Sahara." Anyway, because of the movie Barnes and Noble as a gillion copies of the book, so I bought one and read it this weekend. It's basically about this 24 year old kid who goes off into the Alaskan wilderness and starves to death. There's obviously more to it than that--he hitched around the US after he graduated from Emory--but it was an intriguing read. It's only 200 pages so I got through it in a couple of days of intermittent reading. I also bought Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's supposed to be really good. Once I finish Little Women I'll start on it as my bedtime reading and let you know how it is. Or maybe I'll read the traveling funeral book first (on recommendation from my mom). Needless to say, I can't wait until Christmas break when I can sit around and read whatever I want, and they can all be fiction books that take very little brain power. Sweet.
Well, speaking of reading I have heaps of it to do. I'm on to reading Origen now for patristics, then some Hauerwas, and maybe some more stuff after history.
Oh and happy fall everyone. It actually feels like it now.
I'm back in classes now. Last week was reading week (a wonderful invention of Yale in which we have a whole week on in October to...read?), so I didn't have class. Rick and I traveled to KY for a few days and had a wonderful time. I'm just sad the trip couldn't have been longer. We were really busy the whole time, and didn't really get a chance just to chill with the fam. Hopefully the next trip (with Rick) will be more low key. I'm looking forward to my next trip home for the same reason. Speaking of which, the US Airways website sucks. I bought my plane ticket last night, thinking I was buying it for a flight out of Boston, and when the confirmation page came up AFTER I had paid, it had sold me a Providence flight I'd been looking at earlier that's 40 dollars more! So I'm not going to use that airline again out of principle. LAME.
As far as productivity this last week goes, I wasn't productive. At all. But that's OK. I needed the break. Now I'm studying for a history exam this week (which, in all honesty, I'm not overly stressed about) and reading like a maniac for classes, my two other exams this month, and a paper due on October 30th. Woohoo.
This weekend I read a book completely for pleasure, though, and it was awesome. I bought Into The Wild, about Chris McCandless (there's a movie by the same name that just came out). The first I'd ever heard of this kid was in an Eddie from Ohio song called "Sahara." Anyway, because of the movie Barnes and Noble as a gillion copies of the book, so I bought one and read it this weekend. It's basically about this 24 year old kid who goes off into the Alaskan wilderness and starves to death. There's obviously more to it than that--he hitched around the US after he graduated from Emory--but it was an intriguing read. It's only 200 pages so I got through it in a couple of days of intermittent reading. I also bought Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It's supposed to be really good. Once I finish Little Women I'll start on it as my bedtime reading and let you know how it is. Or maybe I'll read the traveling funeral book first (on recommendation from my mom). Needless to say, I can't wait until Christmas break when I can sit around and read whatever I want, and they can all be fiction books that take very little brain power. Sweet.
Well, speaking of reading I have heaps of it to do. I'm on to reading Origen now for patristics, then some Hauerwas, and maybe some more stuff after history.
Oh and happy fall everyone. It actually feels like it now.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Yo.
Wow. I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. Sorry about that, Mom (as you're the only one who reads this). Things are going well. School is, well, school. I have a paper due next week so I'm kind of scrambling to get it done. Topic: anything you want to write about the patristic period. So I'm doing mine about patristic approaches to what we today consider classical literature. Hopefully. I think I got a lead on material this morning when I was looking some things up in the library, so I hope they pan out. Unfortunately I have to work tonight and tomorrow night from 6-11, but maybe I can get some homework done then so I can work on the paper during the day. Then this weekend Rick and I are off to Ocean City, MD for H2O international. It's supposed to be a blast. I'll just be glad for a weekend at the beach. Woohoo!
On random notes, apparently there were some tornadoes in England last night. Being from a place where tornadoes are pretty frequent, I thought the BBC article was rather amusing. Scared Britons worried by the 60mph (don't they use the metric system?) winds. I guess when you're not used to those sorts of occurrences, it can be crazy. Don't get me wrong, there was some damage and everything, and I'm not downplaying that. I just find the outcries of "Holy cricket! 60 mph? Don't worry, stiff upper lip and all that!" to be somewhat amusing. But maybe that's just me.
And UL lost again this weekend. I'm hoping to make it to the UConn game, but I'm not sure I want to go if we're just going to suffer another embarassing loss. And what will I do if we lose to Rutgers? (that's where Rick went...) I'll never get over the shame. Well, yes I will. I'm a Cardinals fan, so that comes with the territory, I think.
Other than that...I have an Ember Day letter to write sometime soon. I don't know what I'm going to say. Chapel's ok, but not great. Classes are ok, but I feel rather intellectually stifled. It's not that their easy or that they're bad, I just don't have any avenue in which to engage with the material other than my own mind. That's fine, but I'm in a university. One would think I could do that sort of thing in classes. But when there are 100 people in your class, it's rather impossible. Bleh. Hopefully I'll be taking more seminars than anything after this semester, and that should make things a bit better. For now I'll just keep on trucking along.
That's all I can think of for the moment. I just got back from my run, so I'm going to change and cook dinner. Then it's off to work. Exciting, no?
Oh and the leaves are starting to change up here. I think I'll miss peak leaf season as I'll be in MD and then KY, but there are some really gorgeous trees right now.
Anywho, that's all for now.
On random notes, apparently there were some tornadoes in England last night. Being from a place where tornadoes are pretty frequent, I thought the BBC article was rather amusing. Scared Britons worried by the 60mph (don't they use the metric system?) winds. I guess when you're not used to those sorts of occurrences, it can be crazy. Don't get me wrong, there was some damage and everything, and I'm not downplaying that. I just find the outcries of "Holy cricket! 60 mph? Don't worry, stiff upper lip and all that!" to be somewhat amusing. But maybe that's just me.
And UL lost again this weekend. I'm hoping to make it to the UConn game, but I'm not sure I want to go if we're just going to suffer another embarassing loss. And what will I do if we lose to Rutgers? (that's where Rick went...) I'll never get over the shame. Well, yes I will. I'm a Cardinals fan, so that comes with the territory, I think.
Other than that...I have an Ember Day letter to write sometime soon. I don't know what I'm going to say. Chapel's ok, but not great. Classes are ok, but I feel rather intellectually stifled. It's not that their easy or that they're bad, I just don't have any avenue in which to engage with the material other than my own mind. That's fine, but I'm in a university. One would think I could do that sort of thing in classes. But when there are 100 people in your class, it's rather impossible. Bleh. Hopefully I'll be taking more seminars than anything after this semester, and that should make things a bit better. For now I'll just keep on trucking along.
That's all I can think of for the moment. I just got back from my run, so I'm going to change and cook dinner. Then it's off to work. Exciting, no?
Oh and the leaves are starting to change up here. I think I'll miss peak leaf season as I'll be in MD and then KY, but there are some really gorgeous trees right now.
Anywho, that's all for now.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
First Aid
I think I helped save a guy's life today...well, only if there had been no one around and everyone was injured when it happened. Anywho here is what went down...
YDS is on a huge hill, and as I was walking up the hill a friend and I saw a biker going down the hill out of control. We turned to watch him, and his bicycle ran smack into the middle of a mini van, leaving a huge dent and breaking the side window. The guy ended up on the ground bleeding and in really bad shape. Being a lifeguard, I ran over to him, called 911, told whom who I was and started helping. An EMT who saw it came over too. The guy had about a 3 inch gash down the middle of his forehead/head, and the back of his head had a big flap of skin hanging down. Some other guy had a first aid kit so we put on gloves, stabilized his head, and started to clean up some of the blood out of his eyes. While the others were talking to each other, I talked to the guy to see how he was. Luckily, he was conscious and knew who he was, where he was, and wasn't really confused. He also had feeling everywhere, which is another good sign. It was a major head injury, but hopefully he avoided brain trauma. So the ambulances came and got him, and I answered some questions for the cops and that was that. I was shaky all afternoon though, as the adrenaline hit my system and then crashed. It was insane to watch, but I'm glad I was there to help. The firefighters only said thanks to the EMT guy (not that it matters) but the cop did say thanks to me. I mean, hell I was on the scene first. But that's not important. The guy was taken to a hospital and hopefully is recovering.
Lessons learned: Keep First Aid and CPR current, because you'll never know when you need them.
Keep a set of gloves in my backpack, for the same above reason.
And, most importantly,
ALWAYS WEAR A BIKE HELMET. This guy's injuries would not have been so bad (probably) if he'd had one on. I think breaking the window actually helped absorb some of the impact, but sheesh. His head cracked open like a melon.
Keep him in your prayers...
YDS is on a huge hill, and as I was walking up the hill a friend and I saw a biker going down the hill out of control. We turned to watch him, and his bicycle ran smack into the middle of a mini van, leaving a huge dent and breaking the side window. The guy ended up on the ground bleeding and in really bad shape. Being a lifeguard, I ran over to him, called 911, told whom who I was and started helping. An EMT who saw it came over too. The guy had about a 3 inch gash down the middle of his forehead/head, and the back of his head had a big flap of skin hanging down. Some other guy had a first aid kit so we put on gloves, stabilized his head, and started to clean up some of the blood out of his eyes. While the others were talking to each other, I talked to the guy to see how he was. Luckily, he was conscious and knew who he was, where he was, and wasn't really confused. He also had feeling everywhere, which is another good sign. It was a major head injury, but hopefully he avoided brain trauma. So the ambulances came and got him, and I answered some questions for the cops and that was that. I was shaky all afternoon though, as the adrenaline hit my system and then crashed. It was insane to watch, but I'm glad I was there to help. The firefighters only said thanks to the EMT guy (not that it matters) but the cop did say thanks to me. I mean, hell I was on the scene first. But that's not important. The guy was taken to a hospital and hopefully is recovering.
Lessons learned: Keep First Aid and CPR current, because you'll never know when you need them.
Keep a set of gloves in my backpack, for the same above reason.
And, most importantly,
ALWAYS WEAR A BIKE HELMET. This guy's injuries would not have been so bad (probably) if he'd had one on. I think breaking the window actually helped absorb some of the impact, but sheesh. His head cracked open like a melon.
Keep him in your prayers...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)