It Begins...

Tomorrow is the first day of the book sale. From 7-9 p.m., PTS students and faculty get a jump on the book buying madness. I won't be participating in the mad consumption since I've already had my fill. In the past week and a half, I have acquired 24 new free books as a reward for sorting and moving and sorting again.

When you walk into the gym, it's crazy. Over 40 12' long tables chock full of books fill the room. As we ran out of space on top of the tables, we started laying books underneath. In almost every category, we had enough books to completely cover the table and the floor beneath. The weirdest part is that none of it was there before 4 p.m.-ish yesterday!

There is a gigantic stack of boxes in one corner of the gym (pictured at right). The ceiling is probably about 30 feet high and it reaches almost all the way to the top. This morning, shortly after 8:30, I caused a box avalanche while attempting to receive some box tops. Fortunately, very few people had arrived, so there wasn't any teasing.

There was also a massive pile of boxes in the middle of the gym (pictured at left) that still needed to be sorted, but Marcy, Jordan, I and a handful of other people, who came and went, had them all sorted and placed on the proper tables by about 3 p.m. It was very satisfying to see the progress that we made as the day went on. It was freaking awesome when we finally sorted the last box.

Of course, it wasn't really the last box. As soon as we were "finished" they brought some more of the special collections (old, rare books and complete sets) boxes up to be sorted and put on display. Though the book sale thing can sort of become an obsession, I was ready to leave. The book sale people are grooming Jordan to become the next book sale person, though...

Anyway, if you're going to be in the Princeton area on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, stop at the PTS gym (on the corner of Hibben Road and Route 206) and have a look around. The prices are reasonable ($5 for hardcovers and $2 for paperbacks on Monday), the variety is sure to please almost anyone (everything from children's books to Paul Tillich and Karl Barth), all the money goes to overseas seminaries, and there are at least 5 copies of The Purpose Driven Life and the accompanying journal. Come on down!

Focus

When I was younger, I kept a journal. During high school and my first semester of college, that journal contained a fairly detailed account of everything that happened every day of my life. When I read my accounts now, they are pretty silly. Dozens of books filled with details of my life that no one (except I) will ever care about, but that I can't bring myself to toss in the garbage because journaling did something for me. It helped me to process my life when it felt like there was no one with whom I could share the details.

In the past few years, blogging has done the same thing for me in some ways. But...blogging is different. The processing has to take place before I write. I have to determine whether something I'm thinking or feeling is worth releasing in a public forum or whether I am even ready to communicate it.

I think I'm offering you, my faithful readers, an excuse for why I haven't been around. There's a lot of stuff milling around in my head these days and I just can't decide what of it is worth writing about. I never realized how much thinking one does in school until I came back after a few years off. The number of topics that I think about and talk about on any given day seems insane and it doesn't leave me a lot of energy (or time) to process something for ye olde blogosphere.

Anyway...that's all...I need a nap after getting only 5 hours of sleep and doing a presentation on Daniel 7 this morning. Read Daniel 7 and some of the commentaries on it, your brain will hurt, too.

More Awesomeness

When I was a child, my favorite book was Katie the Kitten. We had three different copies of the book because I insisted on having it read multiple times a day. In the past few years, I've been trying to find a copy to keep, but have only been able to find expensive first editions on eBay. And I just wasn't down with paying $60 for a Little Golden Book.

But, thanks to Jordan and the book sale, I now have my very own copy of Katie the Kitten. He found it in the pile of children's books and he brought it to me when he picked me up from work. If it were in better condition, they might be able to auction it, but as it is, I will treasure it and be able to read it to my children. Awesome!

Free and Easy

Every year, the Stewardship and Mission Committee at my dear seminary has a book sale. Thousands upon thousands of books are donated by students, faculty, alumni, friends of the seminary, widows/widowers of alumni. All of the books are then sorted and sold for very low prices to the Princeton community. The proceeds go to seminaries in developing countries and some of the books that are left over are donated to them. Because so many books are donated, it takes a multitude of people to sort and box them. All of the work is done on a volunteer basis, but for each hour one works one gets to choose a single hardcover or a couple paperbacks.

Many of the books donated are less than desirable; similar to the junk that people would take to the local Salvation Army store or Good Will. But, while sorting, it becomes easier to find the gems amidst the piles of rubble that should never have been printed in the first place (e.g. multiple copies of The Purpose Driven Life). Tonight, after I had already left, someone discovered a Greek textbook and a preaching textbook. Jordan was there and later told me of the discoveries. So, at the low low price of 1 hour of sorting, I've acquired two textbooks that probably would have cost nearly $50. Now that's what I call a good trade.

Good Things About Today

-My problems with my work study job were cleared up with one single email. Awesome!
-My Hebrew midterm wasn't necessarily a piece of cake, but it definitely favored those of us who regularly do our homework.
-It is barely 10 a.m. and I have already attended my last class of the day.
-There is a new episode of C.S.I. online, at CBS.com for me to watch.
-I don't have classes again for nine days. I do have to write a paper and a midterm over the break, but ten hours working at the Y will help me focus on that so that we can have fun times at Jordan's house later in the week.

Money Trouble

So, I have this work study job. Or, at least, that's what I thought. This afternoon, I received an email from the PTS Financial Aid Office that the job I am currently working is not work study, that I do not have work study. The problem is that I've already worked at least eight shifts. That's forty hours that I may or may not get paid for depending on whether I can straighten this out with the school. Another problem is that work study was definitely included in my financial aid package, so it makes no sense to me that suddenly I don't have it.

I was supposed to work tonight, but I called my supervisor to talk about the situation and we decided that it was best for me not to come in again until all of this is straightened out and we know that I'll be paid. If I'm not going to be able to do that job, I don't know what I'm going to do. I really need work, but positions on campus are hard to come by and non-work study positions would require more hours and, generally, a car.

If you pray, please lift me up. Thank you!

Things I Hate To Do When I'm Sick...

-be awake
-move from my bed
-eat food

On Friday night, I had a tiny sore throat. It didn't seem like a big deal. I thought it might just be an allergic reaction to inhaling cigarette smoke.

Woke up Saturday morning, still had a sore throat, but it wasn't that bad. However, as the day progressed, my sore throat got worse, my body became achy all over, and I developed a headache and a fever. I spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening curled up on my newly acquired papasan couch, drifting in and out of feverish sleep. Jordan (who never gets sick) brought me ginger ale and crackers since I couldn't make it to dinner. He even risked getting whatever I had by staying with me for a while.

Sunday was more of the same, except with a hacking cough that was awful enough to prompt my neighbor to ask if I needed any medicine. No, no medicine, thank you. I'll just let it run its course. I felt better enough to read for my classes, but not better enough to stir from my room much.

It's the third day now...I can tell it's coming to an end, but I still have to get through the congestion and residual cough. Should be an awesome time to be among other human beings. I can't wait for the looks that range from why-are-you-here-among-the-living to I'm-so-sorry-do-you-need-some-ginger-ale?

Which leads me to a final question: Who on earth taught our mother and their mothers and their mothers that ginger ale was good for sickness?