January 1, 2008 — 4:03 PM
About this time last year I was looking forward to some pretty big (and hopefully very positive) changes in my life. 2007 turned out to be a very good year for me indeed. Here are a few highlights that made the year one to remember:
1. Taking the call to work at San Francisco Theological Seminary (January)
2. Agreeing to become a Parish Associate at Mission Bay Community Church (February)
3. Getting ordained to my position at the seminary (April)
4. Starting to date Dane (June)
5. Traveling to New Zealand by myself with no specific plans for two weeks (October - November)
There were lots of little things that made the year memorable as well, but they are too numerous to list. After the hardships of 2006, I was ready to welcome some good times in 2007. Thanks be to God that I was able to do that many times over.
As 2008 begins, I am hopeful that this year will be at least as good as last. And I have many reasons to think that it will be, including:
1. I am settling into my position at SFTS nicely and am even being given opportunities to teach some.
2. I am working with Bruce, the pastor of MBCC, on his campaign to stand for Moderator of the General Assembly for the PC(USA).
3. Dane and I welcomed the new year in together last night with wishes for continued deepening of our relationship.
May 2008 be a good year all around!
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January 4, 2008 — 12:34 PM
Every single personality type test I have even taken (and I have take quite a few) says that duty and responsibility are very important to me. Likewise, I want people to be able to rely on me. I offer these comments to help explain why - on this horribly, awful, stormy day - I went to work this morning.
When my alarm went off this morning I actually laid in bed listening to the wind and the rain and thought to myself, "I should call in and say that it is too dangerous to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and up into Marin." I thought this several times before dragging myself out of my very comfortable bed, getting dressed, and making the crazy drive up to the seminary in San Anselmo.
To make this commute, I had to drive down streets littered with tree limbs and leaves, through multiple intersections with the lights out (scary when people forget or ignore that this means the intersection becomes a four-way stop), through flooded lanes, and closed roads. When I finally arrived, I told my coworker that I had contemplated calling in to beg off from coming over and she said I should have done that!
Ugh! Oh me. Why do I do this? What does risking my life to sit in my office really prove?
I decided that sitting in my office was silly if it meant I was going to get stuck at the seminary due to rising waters all around San Anselmo. So, one and a half hours after making the crazy commute from SF to Marin, I turned around and worked my way back home. This was even crazier since more lanes and roads were closed by this time. I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't be able to make it out of Marin.
But I am home again with no plans to go out for the foreseeable future. Just me and my book on the couch listening to the storm rage outside. That's how it should have been all along!
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January 13, 2008 — 11:08 AM
Several things have caught my attention in the last week or so that I've wanted to blog about but I just haven't had the time. So I'm going to follow in the footsteps of other bloggers I know and give you an annotated list. Enjoy!
1) Caucuses and Primaries: When I first started blogging, one of my favorite topics to discuss was politics. I am fascinated by the ins and outs of the American democratic system. But then the current administration entered via a court ruling and quickly shut down any public participation in the governing process. Following that, I found it painful to even think about politics. I realized recently that the strong field of Democratic contenders for the office of the President has revitalized my interest in politics again. I actually watched reporting on both the Iowa and New Hampshire votes as well as many of the debates by the Democratic candidates. I'm glad to have politics back in my life.
2) Mavericks surf contest: This year's contest was staged yesterday off Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Record crowds turned out to witness the insanity of surfers going up against 20-30 foot waves. In addition, there were many other ways to follow the competition - including watching it at AT&T Park or streaming online. Check out the official Maverick's page or read the local paper's take on it.
3) MacWorld: It's January. That means that MacWorld is coming to San Francisco's Moscone Center. I have never attended and won't be able to again this year. But I still enjoy following the goings-on. I freely admit that I have drunk the Apple coolaid and am a complete fan of everything they do.
Those are some highlights from what I've been thinking about over the last week.
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January 16, 2008 — 3:08 PM
Last night at the bi-monthly meeting of the Presbytery of San Francisco (a regional governing body of the PCUSA), my friend Bruce stood up before all present and declared his intention to stand for Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA) and the body said, "Hey, that's great." This GA begins in June in San Jose. If chosen, Bruce would then be the "Grand Poobah" of the PC(USA) for the next two years traveling around the country as well as abroad to work to bring folks together to do the hard work of remaining in fellowship with one another as a religious body.
For some crazy reason, Bruce invited to me join in the craziness/fun of his campaign effort for this position. I agreed. Now I am officially the "GA On-Site Coordinator." Check out Bruce's page about this whole adventure.
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January 24, 2008 — 6:26 PM
Today I visited Fourth Street Studio in Berkeley to see some paintings by Tim Mooney. Tim is the husband of a colleague at SFTS as well as an ordained Presbyterian minister in the San Francisco Presbytery. In the last year or so Tim quit his church job so that he could dedicate more time to his art work. Today I reaped the benefits of this decision.
Since I bought my new condo in May 2006 I have been looking for a painting that would fit on the wall above my bed. I brought a piece of reproduced art from my old place but wasn't very happy with it in that space. I had definite ideas of what would work in that space and I was having a really tough time finding something that would fit to my liking.
Until today.
I walked into the Fourth Street Studio, saw this painting, and knew it was what I wanted. I was a little unsure if it would fit within the frame of my murphy bed so I took it on trial for two days. I hung it up as soon as I got home and knew immediately that I would be keeping it. It fits perfectly!
My quest to make this condo my own is complete. Thanks Tim.
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