And those are my toes in it.
You Want to Live Here...
This picture was taken on May 30, near Oceanside, OR, the place where I first dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean. You know you want to move here.
First Photo from Oregon
This isn't a picture of Oregon, but it is a picture I took from the plane on my way here.Things are going swimmingly. It's always a little bit weird to get used to a new job and a new place, but everyone here has been very welcoming and helpful. For all intents and purposes, today was my first work day at church. The entire morning and part of the afternoon was spent in staff and worship meetings.
I'll be preaching on June 29th. Today I discovered that the lectionary text for that day is the story of the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22. This will be my first sermon in any venue other than preaching class...should be interesting. The congregation isn't huge, but it's definitely a lot bigger than preaching class.
My big project for the summer is planning a weekly activity for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade for each of six weeks between June 25 and July 30. My thoughts so far include a rainbow theme, with a color for each week, somehow tied into the fruits of the spirit, with a few fruits sharing weeks. Feel free to offer any suggestions as this is my first time being in charge of something like this.
Well, I should get this letter written so that it can go out relatively soon. More pictures tomorrow...promise!
I Lied to You and You and You...
I was going to post some pictures today, but that would mean getting them off my camera, editing, finding some way to transfer them to my host family's computer, and so much more. So, instead, I'm just going to tell you what's going on here in Oregon.
My days off are Friday and Saturday. Woot! So, taking advantage of my supervisor's offer to borrow her daughter's car, I traipsed around northwestern Oregon today.
The first stop on my journey was Tillamook National Forest. I love driving along winding mountain roads, so the drive there was a blast, nerve-wracking at times, but still tons of fun. The forest was absolutely beautiful. I hiked around for nearly two hours, enjoying the sounds of the river and taking pictures of all the wildflowers I could find. (RGR - I bought the little one a gift there. I shall send it Monday!)
My next stop was Tillamook Cheese Factory. Not that exciting, but I got plenty of free samples and a tasty lunch for less than three dollars.
To finish out my journey, I headed down Three Capes Scenic Route, first to Cape Meares, where I climbed into the lighthouse and watched the common murres through one of those quarter-fed binocular stands. My last stop was at Oceanside, where I dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life.
It was a wonderful day. I'll start posting some of the pictures I took on Monday. I filled an entire memory card, so there are bound to be some good ones.
My days off are Friday and Saturday. Woot! So, taking advantage of my supervisor's offer to borrow her daughter's car, I traipsed around northwestern Oregon today.
The first stop on my journey was Tillamook National Forest. I love driving along winding mountain roads, so the drive there was a blast, nerve-wracking at times, but still tons of fun. The forest was absolutely beautiful. I hiked around for nearly two hours, enjoying the sounds of the river and taking pictures of all the wildflowers I could find. (RGR - I bought the little one a gift there. I shall send it Monday!)
My next stop was Tillamook Cheese Factory. Not that exciting, but I got plenty of free samples and a tasty lunch for less than three dollars.
To finish out my journey, I headed down Three Capes Scenic Route, first to Cape Meares, where I climbed into the lighthouse and watched the common murres through one of those quarter-fed binocular stands. My last stop was at Oceanside, where I dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life.
It was a wonderful day. I'll start posting some of the pictures I took on Monday. I filled an entire memory card, so there are bound to be some good ones.
I'm Not Going to Apologize
I'm a delinquent blogger, and I don't care.
Really, what would I be writing, anyway?
I've been packing.
My room's almost totally stored
in cardboard boxes
and plastic totes
in the basement and above my closet.
The walls and shelves are bare
and the floor is a mess.
My flight to Oregon leaves at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
It will be a very early morning, indeed.
A friend is driving me;
she's a saint.
I've been working a bit.
Nothing too fancy,
just some catering and waitering.
Easy money, free food, and human contact...
not bad for a campus job.
The dorm is empty.
Only two of us remain on my floor
and the other one is house-sitting right now,
so only here during the day, sometimes.
A cookout is in the forecast for Monday.
It will be nice to not be alone.
Split infinitive, amen.
Really, what would I be writing, anyway?
I've been packing.
My room's almost totally stored
in cardboard boxes
and plastic totes
in the basement and above my closet.
The walls and shelves are bare
and the floor is a mess.
My flight to Oregon leaves at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
It will be a very early morning, indeed.
A friend is driving me;
she's a saint.
I've been working a bit.
Nothing too fancy,
just some catering and waitering.
Easy money, free food, and human contact...
not bad for a campus job.
The dorm is empty.
Only two of us remain on my floor
and the other one is house-sitting right now,
so only here during the day, sometimes.
A cookout is in the forecast for Monday.
It will be nice to not be alone.
Split infinitive, amen.
In One, Out the Other
The first time I watched the film Schindler's List,
I was in ninth grade.
It was rated "R."
My mom signed a permission slip.
The librarian made a copy of the tape for me.
Even at 15, I knew my mother wouldn't want to see it.
I was careful to watch before she came home.
The first time I saw the movie,
I was a junior in college.
It was assigned for Sociology of Film.
I was taking a history class on twentieth century Europe.
There was nothing better to do
and it seemed to fir,
so I watched with the girls next door.
There's an old saying,
"In one ear and out the other."
Is it possible for something to go in one eye and out the other?
At fifteen, watching along,
the images flashed before my eyes.
I shed no tears.
I felt no horror.
Presented with the jagged pieces of a bygone era,
I could barely bring myself to shrug.
Six years later,
seated comfortably between two friends,
I saw
and wanted nothing more than to un-see.
I saw the cattle cars full of human cargo.
I saw the stripping:
of their candleholders, toothbrushes, eyeglasses, and spoons
of their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters
of their hats, coats, shirts, pants, socks, and shoes
of their dignity...
of their lives.
I saw the people who stood on the train platforms
and those who operated the gas chambers,
the ones who made "selections"
and those who tossed live babies into pits,
too many of whom attended church,
sang hymns,
and offered prayers in the name of Jesus.
And I saw the broken man, Oskar,
who knew he hadn't done enough...
that he could never do enough.
I saw and wept and wondered
the questions we all have.
Who made the heart capable of such evil?
What more could one mad expect of himself?
Where was God keeping Moses and Elijah?
When would justice flow down like water?
Why was there silence from heaven?
How how how could God let us be
when it's so obvious we don't know how to get it right?
And I wondered
would I have been capable of the same.
Am I capable of the same?
Could I have made the selections that sent people to death of life?
Would there have been Jews hiding in my basement?
Unanswerable questions
that could not be quenched with tears.
At least for that night, my hope died
because I finally saw.
-I wrote this poem for a class on Spiritual Autobiography. We had a public reading tonight that was sparsely attended, but powerful all the same. If you're wondering where Jesus is in all of this, I have to say that the night I really saw this aw(e)ful movie, Rebecca was Jesus to me. There was no comfort in knowing that nothing had stopped the bureaucracy that slaughtered over 6 million people, but Rebecca lay with me and let me cry and didn't try to pretend it was all okay. I think this particular poem ends appropriately, but there's probably another one in my somewhere about what happened to my hope after that night.
I was in ninth grade.
It was rated "R."
My mom signed a permission slip.
The librarian made a copy of the tape for me.
Even at 15, I knew my mother wouldn't want to see it.
I was careful to watch before she came home.
The first time I saw the movie,
I was a junior in college.
It was assigned for Sociology of Film.
I was taking a history class on twentieth century Europe.
There was nothing better to do
and it seemed to fir,
so I watched with the girls next door.
There's an old saying,
"In one ear and out the other."
Is it possible for something to go in one eye and out the other?
At fifteen, watching along,
the images flashed before my eyes.
I shed no tears.
I felt no horror.
Presented with the jagged pieces of a bygone era,
I could barely bring myself to shrug.
Six years later,
seated comfortably between two friends,
I saw
and wanted nothing more than to un-see.
I saw the cattle cars full of human cargo.
I saw the stripping:
of their candleholders, toothbrushes, eyeglasses, and spoons
of their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters
of their hats, coats, shirts, pants, socks, and shoes
of their dignity...
of their lives.
I saw the people who stood on the train platforms
and those who operated the gas chambers,
the ones who made "selections"
and those who tossed live babies into pits,
too many of whom attended church,
sang hymns,
and offered prayers in the name of Jesus.
And I saw the broken man, Oskar,
who knew he hadn't done enough...
that he could never do enough.
I saw and wept and wondered
the questions we all have.
Who made the heart capable of such evil?
What more could one mad expect of himself?
Where was God keeping Moses and Elijah?
When would justice flow down like water?
Why was there silence from heaven?
How how how could God let us be
when it's so obvious we don't know how to get it right?
And I wondered
would I have been capable of the same.
Am I capable of the same?
Could I have made the selections that sent people to death of life?
Would there have been Jews hiding in my basement?
Unanswerable questions
that could not be quenched with tears.
At least for that night, my hope died
because I finally saw.
-I wrote this poem for a class on Spiritual Autobiography. We had a public reading tonight that was sparsely attended, but powerful all the same. If you're wondering where Jesus is in all of this, I have to say that the night I really saw this aw(e)ful movie, Rebecca was Jesus to me. There was no comfort in knowing that nothing had stopped the bureaucracy that slaughtered over 6 million people, but Rebecca lay with me and let me cry and didn't try to pretend it was all okay. I think this particular poem ends appropriately, but there's probably another one in my somewhere about what happened to my hope after that night.
Strange Things Are Happenin'
Well, in the past few weeks, lots of interesting and fun things have been happening in my life.
First, I was approached by the editor of Pennsylvania Magazine with a request to use one of the blueberry photos I shot last summer. They don't pay a lot, but the point is that a magazine bought one of my photos!
Next, I got an internship in Oregon. I will be in Salem from the end of May until the middle of August. My housing situation will be better sorted out in the next few weeks, but if I end up with a house all to myself, people will need to visit me.
Then, last Monday, one of my favorite professors here asked me to apply to be a Hebrew TA. We still haven't gotten word yet, but I'm hoping that since a professor asked me to apply, I might have a little extra in.
The very next day, I received a letter in my mailbox notifying me that I'd been chosen to receive the Benjamin Stanton Award, which is given to a Middler who excels in Old Testament studies. It was completely unexpected and wonderful. I sort of bounced all the way to the cafeteria after reading it.
And then, the book sale I was running with a fellow student, brought in just a little over $26,000. Minus expenses, that means we can send nearly $21,000 to fund projects at seminaries overseas.
Most recently, today in fact, I learned that the photo above has been selected as an entry for the Schmap map.
Sorry for tooting my own horn, but I figured some of the people who read this might like to have a newsy post and since I don't feel right posting about the one huge crappy thing going on, I thought I would post the million little things that are going well.
Navigate
I'm finding it difficult to navigate the path between honestly sharing my feelings and laying on a guilt trip. It's not easy to decide when I've moved from letting someone know how they've hurt me to giving unnecessary details so that they'll be hurt. Any hints?
My Summer Vacation
The title of this post may be making some of you question whether you've stepped through a time warp, but let me assure you, it is, in fact, the middle of March. The weather is very rainy and indecisive. School is still in session. And flowers have just barely started to bloom.
But! I have news that pertains to my summer vacation and it is very exciting news. Around 2 p.m. today, it was decided that I will be spending my summer working at First Presbyterian Church of Salem in Oregon! Getting my internships lined up has been weighing on my mind this semester, so it's great to finally know that both of them are set. I'm so excited to spend some time living in the Northwest because it's someplace I've always thought I'd enjoy.
Anyway, it will be great to have some time away from the hurry and pressure of Princeton and to be paid to visit a place I've always wanted to go. Woot! I will be required to work on the weekends, but I'm hoping that I might find a few friends with "alternative" work schedules who might like to make random, midweek trips to the mountains or the coast. Mostly, I'm just glad that I won't have to spend another miserable summer living in Central New Jersey where the concept of humidity was perfected.
But! I have news that pertains to my summer vacation and it is very exciting news. Around 2 p.m. today, it was decided that I will be spending my summer working at First Presbyterian Church of Salem in Oregon! Getting my internships lined up has been weighing on my mind this semester, so it's great to finally know that both of them are set. I'm so excited to spend some time living in the Northwest because it's someplace I've always thought I'd enjoy.
Anyway, it will be great to have some time away from the hurry and pressure of Princeton and to be paid to visit a place I've always wanted to go. Woot! I will be required to work on the weekends, but I'm hoping that I might find a few friends with "alternative" work schedules who might like to make random, midweek trips to the mountains or the coast. Mostly, I'm just glad that I won't have to spend another miserable summer living in Central New Jersey where the concept of humidity was perfected.
Coming to Get You!
I love how these flowers appear to be moving toward the camera, ready to leap off the screen and into your face!
Dianthus Red and White
I don't want my readership of 10 people to get bored with all the photos of my books, so I thought I would pull something from the archives. Here's to Spring, friends.
I've Never Said This Myself...
...but I can understand why someone might feel it.Don't worry, friends, I'm not despairing of love.
Signature Covers
My new favorite thing to do when making books is to wrap each signature in a piece of decorative paper. With the visible binding, it looks particularly nice. It also helps provide strength for the stitching.
Want to Buy Me Things?
If any of you ever felt like buying me a belated birthday present or a we're-so-sad-your-heart-is-broken present, this would be perfect. It's from one of my favorite Etsy shops, takae, and it's beautiful! If you click on the picture, it will take you directly to the listing even... pretty please :)
Plum Fields
Yeah, it's a lame title, but I'm not that creative... This is one of the books I made this week. It already sold, but I have five more for sale in my Etsy shop.
New Bag
If you click on the photo to get to the flickr pages, you can scroll over the picture and see where I got my things!
LittleMary's Stars
This is the other set of books I made for LittleMary. It was a lot of fun to work with her. Anyone else in my life may feel free to patronize me, too.
LittleMary's Rainbows
My new patroness, LittleMary, recently purchased seven books from me all! at! once! Pictured here are the four with rainbow pages.
Each book is 5" wide x 7" tall. One cover is black, the other is white and the paper in between makes a lovely rainbow. With 168 pages, these notebooks should serve the average person for a year or two. To ensure that they would be unique, I used a different color thread to bind each one. I happened to have some rainbow ribbon lying around, so I included a ribbon bookmark with each book. I was very pleased with the outcome and definitely plan on making more of these in the very near future.
All in a Line
One of my favorite parts of going to Jordan's house is seeing him interact with his brother. It's not that they don't have normal sibling conflict, but you can definitely tell that they respect and enjoy each other. It's a wonderful thing to behold.
Oh, the Insanity!
I don't know how and I don't know why, but after almost two months of being an Etsy seller, in the past two weeks I've sold nine books, seven on Etsy, one to Jordan's mom, and one to a classmate. I'm beginning to wonder if someone with a good readership blogged about me or if the new search engine on Etsy is really working in my favor. This morning, I listed a new book before I went to class and it was sold by the time I got back. Crazy!If I could guarantee that such high interest would keep up, I would be tempted to leave this seminary thing behind and become a small business owner. Unfortunately, I would have to raise my prices pretty dramatically in order to make a living from this hobby. For now, I'm happy to make a little bit of money from each sale. It gives me more money to make books and a little ego boost every time I get to tell my friends that I just sold another book.
It is really tempting to just spend my days making books, but I am not going to screw up this semester.
Brown is Beautiful Binding
This one just sold. That's two books in like five days. Also, there is a woman on Etsy who wants a custom scrapbook, who will be giving me the details soon, and Sarah's sister wants one of my journals.
This Is My Book
My ramblings have already begun to fill this book. It contains about 480 pages. That should last about a year.
Made By Me
I didn't taken this picture, but I did make this book. Sarah commissioned me to make it as a wedding gift for her sister. In my opinion, it is the prettiest book I've ever made. The orange opalescent paper coordinates extraordinarily well with the blue polka-dotted paper. It's just beautiful to look at and beautiful to hold. I hope Marci likes it.
Two Weeks In
Another semester is well under way, so it seems like a good time to give my first impressions of each class I'm taking. I'm only taking four classes, plus preaching.
Preaching - This class is going to be a little different from last semester because they switched professors on us. Before I had the professor who preached a sermon every class whether he meant to or not. Now I have the professor who begins weeping on a regular basis.
Theology of Paul Tillich - I am intriqued with this man's thought, but reading it makes me feel incredibly stupid. Much of it is really dense, philosophical stuff. Fortunately, I am taking it pass/fail, so I feel a little more freedom to get creative and be dumb.
Theology, Cosmology, and Creation - Interestingly enough, most of what we've read so far has been from a book called Cosmic Jackpot, which gives a really good layman's overview of physics. I am gaining a greater respect for my friends in college who were ballsy enough to study physics and I kind of wish I hadn't asked them to stop talking about physics at dinner. It will be interesting to see if any of my theology is fundamentally changed based on what I learn in this class. Jordan is in this one with me and listening to him talk I am in awe of his ability to understand and integrate seemingly unrelated concepts.
The Biblical Canon - This might be my "easiest" class. Not that we're not going to deal with some tough concepts and work through some tough questions, but it is a large class with a visiting professor, who is possibly the cutest old man ever. His wife is taking the class with us. Anyway, it's not a lot of reading and there's a whole lot of repetition from other courses I've taken on the Bible.
Spiritual Autobiography - This is going to be my best class. We are reading about 10 different autobiographies and working with them both as literary and theological works. The professor is Yolanda Pierce, who just started her career at PTS last semester and is already in high demand. She's this fabulous, earthy, real African-American woman who is not afraid to get into the real stuff of life. Several of the books we are reading are repeats for me, but I never tire of re-reading and discussing good literature.
I think this is going to be a good semester. There are already a lot of connections coming out between my various classes, especially Paul Tillich and Theology, Cosmology and Creation. Last semester was a little boring at times, so it's nice to have a semester in which I am genuinely interested in every one of my classes.
Preaching - This class is going to be a little different from last semester because they switched professors on us. Before I had the professor who preached a sermon every class whether he meant to or not. Now I have the professor who begins weeping on a regular basis.
Theology of Paul Tillich - I am intriqued with this man's thought, but reading it makes me feel incredibly stupid. Much of it is really dense, philosophical stuff. Fortunately, I am taking it pass/fail, so I feel a little more freedom to get creative and be dumb.
Theology, Cosmology, and Creation - Interestingly enough, most of what we've read so far has been from a book called Cosmic Jackpot, which gives a really good layman's overview of physics. I am gaining a greater respect for my friends in college who were ballsy enough to study physics and I kind of wish I hadn't asked them to stop talking about physics at dinner. It will be interesting to see if any of my theology is fundamentally changed based on what I learn in this class. Jordan is in this one with me and listening to him talk I am in awe of his ability to understand and integrate seemingly unrelated concepts.
The Biblical Canon - This might be my "easiest" class. Not that we're not going to deal with some tough concepts and work through some tough questions, but it is a large class with a visiting professor, who is possibly the cutest old man ever. His wife is taking the class with us. Anyway, it's not a lot of reading and there's a whole lot of repetition from other courses I've taken on the Bible.
Spiritual Autobiography - This is going to be my best class. We are reading about 10 different autobiographies and working with them both as literary and theological works. The professor is Yolanda Pierce, who just started her career at PTS last semester and is already in high demand. She's this fabulous, earthy, real African-American woman who is not afraid to get into the real stuff of life. Several of the books we are reading are repeats for me, but I never tire of re-reading and discussing good literature.
I think this is going to be a good semester. There are already a lot of connections coming out between my various classes, especially Paul Tillich and Theology, Cosmology and Creation. Last semester was a little boring at times, so it's nice to have a semester in which I am genuinely interested in every one of my classes.
I Sold a Book...
to someone other than Jordan's mom.
Woot!
Good bye, Blue Monday.
Check out my Etsy shop. These would make fabulous Valentine's Day gifts!!!
Woot!
Good bye, Blue Monday.
Check out my Etsy shop. These would make fabulous Valentine's Day gifts!!!
My Most Recent Books...
Another post in less than two weeks. Imagine that! So, here are some pictures of the books I made most recently. Enjoy!
This flowered one is teeny, but still big enough to write in, only 3 x 4 inches. I used the scraps from the other books I made while at Jordan's house. My favorite detail is the way I placed the holes for stitching. It's a bit difficult to see in this picture, but I made reverse Vs, in opposite directions on each side.
This one is 4 x 6 inches. As far as I'm concerned, it's the perfect size to carry everywhere you go to be used as a journal, a sketchbook, a dayplanner of your own design. And, like the flowered book above, it's reversible, you can choose which side is the front and which side is the back.
Here we have one that's a little less traditional. It's 4 x 7 inches, which isn't unmanageable or weird looking, but it is a little thinner than a book would normally be. The thread I used is a vibrant blue. If you look closely, you can see that I pasted an extra dot on the front. That's because I made a mistake. Glue is sometimes not my friend.
You might not think about it much, but square books are a lot of fun. I love the proportions of them. The pattern on the front is beautiful and I used a complementary red metallic paper for the back. It wrinkled a little from the glue but, as far as mistakes go, it was a fortuitous one.
Now we have a smallish one, 4 x 5 1/2 inches, covered in blue, white and purple flowers on one side and blue, brown, purple, and green stripes on the other. I originally picked the paper for myself, but now realize it would probably be more appropriate as a gift for a little girl.
I've used the paper covering the book to the right before. I love how there is just one heart in the middle of all those dots. This one is the same size as the red dotted one above, just a few pages thicker. I love the back cover, too, but I didn't want to include to pictures.
And, finally, there's this lovely 5 x 7 job that is covered on the front with an abstract floral print and on the back in creamy paper with darker flecks throughout. The grass green thread may not seem to coordinate in this picture, but it looks great in real life.
I've listed a few of these over at Etsy and should have the rest up in the next few days. I've been getting a lot of hits, but no purchases on books so far. Maybe when Valentine's Day gets a little closer some folks will be poking around for a great gift and will decide one of my books would be perfect. Here's hoping.
If you would like to see some more shots of these books, you can hop over to my flickr page and check out my set called Bound and Determined.
This flowered one is teeny, but still big enough to write in, only 3 x 4 inches. I used the scraps from the other books I made while at Jordan's house. My favorite detail is the way I placed the holes for stitching. It's a bit difficult to see in this picture, but I made reverse Vs, in opposite directions on each side.
This one is 4 x 6 inches. As far as I'm concerned, it's the perfect size to carry everywhere you go to be used as a journal, a sketchbook, a dayplanner of your own design. And, like the flowered book above, it's reversible, you can choose which side is the front and which side is the back.
Here we have one that's a little less traditional. It's 4 x 7 inches, which isn't unmanageable or weird looking, but it is a little thinner than a book would normally be. The thread I used is a vibrant blue. If you look closely, you can see that I pasted an extra dot on the front. That's because I made a mistake. Glue is sometimes not my friend.
You might not think about it much, but square books are a lot of fun. I love the proportions of them. The pattern on the front is beautiful and I used a complementary red metallic paper for the back. It wrinkled a little from the glue but, as far as mistakes go, it was a fortuitous one.
Now we have a smallish one, 4 x 5 1/2 inches, covered in blue, white and purple flowers on one side and blue, brown, purple, and green stripes on the other. I originally picked the paper for myself, but now realize it would probably be more appropriate as a gift for a little girl.
I've used the paper covering the book to the right before. I love how there is just one heart in the middle of all those dots. This one is the same size as the red dotted one above, just a few pages thicker. I love the back cover, too, but I didn't want to include to pictures. 
And, finally, there's this lovely 5 x 7 job that is covered on the front with an abstract floral print and on the back in creamy paper with darker flecks throughout. The grass green thread may not seem to coordinate in this picture, but it looks great in real life.I've listed a few of these over at Etsy and should have the rest up in the next few days. I've been getting a lot of hits, but no purchases on books so far. Maybe when Valentine's Day gets a little closer some folks will be poking around for a great gift and will decide one of my books would be perfect. Here's hoping.
If you would like to see some more shots of these books, you can hop over to my flickr page and check out my set called Bound and Determined.
A New Semester Is Underway
It's been a long time since I actually wrote a post on here that wasn't short and completely lacking in news, so I thought I'd take the time for a real update.
Last semester was hard, not academically, but emotionally. It's over now and I'm glad of that. My classes weren't so bad, but they weren't spectacular either. Of course, that probably had to do with my inability to concentrate on much of anything, so I won't blame my instructors.
Just a quick rundown:
Preaching - I like preaching, surprisingly enough, probably because I love spending the time in preparation and feeling inspired with something to say.
Hebrews - The class was structured in such a way that we barely used our Greek, which was a tad frustrating considering that's why I took the class in the first place.
Systematic Theology - Dr. McCormack is my new theology hero and Barth's doctrine of election has made the Reformed tradition a bit easier for me to swallow.
Women in OT Narrative - Hebrew is the bomb and we used it a lot in this class, so I was pleased with it from start to finish. Some people complained about having a paper and a final exam, but I liked having the grade spread out a bit more.
American Church History - Dr. Moorhead is a fun little man who knows more stuff than any one person should know. I loved trying to scribble down every important thing he said and thought the tests were completely fair.
My grades haven't come in yet, so maybe I'll feel differently in a few days...
I'm still having some difficulty finding a field education placement, but at least I've gotten the process underway by contacting a few sites. There's a church in the West End of New York City that I'll be visiting this Sunday. Commuting to NYC every Sunday is not my idea of a good time, but being in an urban, ethnically diverse setting would probably be a good stretch for me. We'll see how that goes.
Break last week was fun and relaxing. Emily's generosity allowed me to spend a long weekend in DC and Northern Virginia, an area I haven't visited since I moved to school in 2006. We did a lot of laying around her lovely apartment watching Melrose Place and football and some haunting of familiar places, like Chipotle and Bangkok 54 and the Falls Church. Mostly, it was wonderful to see Emily and Mary Katharine and enjoy time with friends knowing that there was no schoolwork to be done.
The rest of my week was spent at Jordan's house in Pennsburg making books. Over Christmas I used a gift card from his mom to purchase enough supplies to make a bunch. So, while I was there, with no schoolwork, I managed to make nine, of which I will be posting photos in the next few days. My goal is to get them listed on Etsy by Wednesday afternoon. My other goal is to actually sell one. The problem is, now that Christmas is over, Etsy sales are moving rather slowly. Worst case scenario, I have a huge stock for next Christmas season. One of the books I made was a photo album Sarah, Jordan's mom, commissioned as a gift for her younger sister's wedding gift. It's one of the best and prettiest books I've ever made, but I forgot to take pictures. DOH! This semester, I plan to make one book a week for fun and, hopefully, for just a little profit since I can't keep them all and not everyone I know wants a book for his or her birthday.
If there's something I left out and you'd like to know, just leave a comment and maybe I'll answer with a blog post dedicated to you!
Last semester was hard, not academically, but emotionally. It's over now and I'm glad of that. My classes weren't so bad, but they weren't spectacular either. Of course, that probably had to do with my inability to concentrate on much of anything, so I won't blame my instructors.
Just a quick rundown:
Preaching - I like preaching, surprisingly enough, probably because I love spending the time in preparation and feeling inspired with something to say.
Hebrews - The class was structured in such a way that we barely used our Greek, which was a tad frustrating considering that's why I took the class in the first place.
Systematic Theology - Dr. McCormack is my new theology hero and Barth's doctrine of election has made the Reformed tradition a bit easier for me to swallow.
Women in OT Narrative - Hebrew is the bomb and we used it a lot in this class, so I was pleased with it from start to finish. Some people complained about having a paper and a final exam, but I liked having the grade spread out a bit more.
American Church History - Dr. Moorhead is a fun little man who knows more stuff than any one person should know. I loved trying to scribble down every important thing he said and thought the tests were completely fair.
My grades haven't come in yet, so maybe I'll feel differently in a few days...
I'm still having some difficulty finding a field education placement, but at least I've gotten the process underway by contacting a few sites. There's a church in the West End of New York City that I'll be visiting this Sunday. Commuting to NYC every Sunday is not my idea of a good time, but being in an urban, ethnically diverse setting would probably be a good stretch for me. We'll see how that goes.
Break last week was fun and relaxing. Emily's generosity allowed me to spend a long weekend in DC and Northern Virginia, an area I haven't visited since I moved to school in 2006. We did a lot of laying around her lovely apartment watching Melrose Place and football and some haunting of familiar places, like Chipotle and Bangkok 54 and the Falls Church. Mostly, it was wonderful to see Emily and Mary Katharine and enjoy time with friends knowing that there was no schoolwork to be done.
The rest of my week was spent at Jordan's house in Pennsburg making books. Over Christmas I used a gift card from his mom to purchase enough supplies to make a bunch. So, while I was there, with no schoolwork, I managed to make nine, of which I will be posting photos in the next few days. My goal is to get them listed on Etsy by Wednesday afternoon. My other goal is to actually sell one. The problem is, now that Christmas is over, Etsy sales are moving rather slowly. Worst case scenario, I have a huge stock for next Christmas season. One of the books I made was a photo album Sarah, Jordan's mom, commissioned as a gift for her younger sister's wedding gift. It's one of the best and prettiest books I've ever made, but I forgot to take pictures. DOH! This semester, I plan to make one book a week for fun and, hopefully, for just a little profit since I can't keep them all and not everyone I know wants a book for his or her birthday.
If there's something I left out and you'd like to know, just leave a comment and maybe I'll answer with a blog post dedicated to you!
Maryland Lighthouses
Someone at UNC used one of my early digital pictures in a project. If you go here and scroll about three quarters of the way down, to Western Shore Lighthouses...there it is. It's like the one to the left, only bigger.They listed it as an anonymous Creative Commons photo, even though they were able to link back to the source. I think I'm going to email whoever wrote that.
EDIT: I emailed Russ Rowlett, the creator of the website and a professor of Math at UNC-Chapel Hill, and he kindly credited my photo. Awesome!
Finals
This place has a way of making me anxious like no other place in my life ever has before. Two days ago, Jordan and I were in Pennsburg, enjoying some down time, doing at a little studying at the same time, then we came back here. We came back here and, immediately, I felt overwhelmed by everything. It was almost as if there was a basket full of stuff that I was able to leave here at school, but as soon as I got back it was sitting here waiting for me.
It's nothing I can't handle, but it's a bunch of stuff that I don't want to handle. Stuff like field ed and finals and papers and all that jazz... The problem is that the stuff I don't want to handle is the stuff that should be done immediately. Whenever this time in the semester comes along, I have to continually remind myself that the work always gets done and I'm not going to fail.
It's nothing I can't handle, but it's a bunch of stuff that I don't want to handle. Stuff like field ed and finals and papers and all that jazz... The problem is that the stuff I don't want to handle is the stuff that should be done immediately. Whenever this time in the semester comes along, I have to continually remind myself that the work always gets done and I'm not going to fail.
Need an Opinion...
What do y'all think...
Is this one better...
...or this one?
It's the new year and I just don't have the energy or desire to write a long post about it. Give me a few weeks; then finals will be over and I might feel like writing for fun again.
Is this one better...
...or this one?
It's the new year and I just don't have the energy or desire to write a long post about it. Give me a few weeks; then finals will be over and I might feel like writing for fun again.
Sparkle & Glow
Yes, it's a day late, but better late than never. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Merry Merry Merry
Not only is this a Christmas post, it is my first post in a week, it is my 700th post and it is a post about how awesome I am. I recently completed a tutorial about how to make a book because bookbinding is something I'm getting into these days. Well, on the 23rd of December, the Craft Magazine blog linked to my tutorial as part of their post full of ideas for last-minute gifts for boys. Mine was the first one mentioned!!! And, they posted a picture of the journal I recently made for the boy. Yay for Christmas! Yay for 700 posts! Yay for making books! Yay for being linked on a cool blog! Woot!!
My First Book (for Sale)
I listed my first book for sale over at Etsy. If you want to check out my shop, which mostly contains photos, click here.
I'll never be able to list a lot at a time, but I'll be putting up a few more books up after Christmas break and there are always photos to be purchased. I'm also willing to work with people on custom orders if you have something you'd really like.
Start to Finish
Hey friends! I just made a tutorial for making a simple book. If you're up for a little challenge, please try to follow my instructions and let me know if they are sufficient. If you don't want a challenge, just read through the instructions and let me know if you think certain things are unclear.
To see the tutorial, click here. A slideshow will begin. To read the captions which give the instructions, just click on the picture. If it's too fast, you can slow it down using the buttons in the bottom left corner. For a few days, you can also just click here to go to my flickr page and view the photos in non-slideshow format.
My So-Called Life!!!
If you go to abc.com and click on the link for full episodes and launch the player, you can actually watch the first episode of My So-Called Life. Blast from the past, no doubt!
Another...and Another
The bookbinding bug lives! I can't stop myself. I see beautiful paper and I want...NO, I need, to make it into a book. Since last Friday, I've made two more pretty things and thought y'all might like to see a few pictures.
This one I made especially for me. The paper on the front cover called to me from the shelf as I was in Michael's one day. It probably would have made me happy to use it on the back, as well, but some part of me likes to have variety, so I chose a coordinating sheet, which is not visible in this shot, but it provided the green dot visible in the top right corner. Another bit of the J.Crew shoebox was used for the cover board and some green embroidery floss sacrificed itself for the binding. I made the book over 500 pages. Yes, that is a lot, but I like big fat books. Believe me, it's perfect!
This book is my first commissioned job. Jordan's mom wanted to give one of her students a sketchbook/journal for Christmas, so she bought the supplies and I made the book. Basically, she bought a regular sketchbook and I used the thick board on the back and the pages to make a pretty sketchbook. My habit of binding too tightly came into play, so I built in an elastic strip to keep it closed.
These pictures are my favorites, but don't show much detail, so if you want to see more check out my picture set of homemade books.
These pictures are my favorites, but don't show much detail, so if you want to see more check out my picture set of homemade books.
Laid Bare...Almost
Written two weeks ago...
Most of you, my faithful readers, will not be surprised when I tell you that this has been a tough semester for me. The infrequent, somewhat cryptic posts could have clued you in. Or, if you know me outside the blogosphere, the constant look of confusion may have done it for you. Anyway, it's the hardness of life that's kept me from posting because some things really are too personal. Today, though, I've felt prompted to share a little bit, at least.
Some of you may read the word "semester" and think that I'm struggling academically. But, other than having difficulty finding the motivation to complete the work, school hasn't been much of a problem. I've been learning some things and enjoying my classmates. Preaching has been especially good, which is a huge surprise to me.
My current struggles have been more internal; emotional and spiritual. For the past fifteen years or so, I've believed myself to be a basically stoic person. I've begun learning, though, that I am not so much a stoic as a stuffer. Ever since I can remember I have distanced myself from my emotions and now, suddenly, all of the emotions that I'd stuffed down inside myself have decided it's time to come out. The best illustration I can think of is how the Titans were released from their bonds to wreak havoc on the earth in Hercules. (Yes, I just referenced the Disney version of a Greek myth.)
Of course, in the midst of unexpected and unprecendented mood swings, I haven't been able to explain it quite so succinctly before. It's taken me several months of thinking about and talking about these things to understand what's going on with me. And, I'm sure there's still a lot more to understand...
This new understanding hit me in a fresh way as I was listening to a classmate's sermon on Matthew 11:16-19, which goes like this:
Sometimes, I wish I could go back to not feeling because pain hurts. (Obvious, huh?) But, at the same time, I now realize that not feeling pain and sorrow also deadened my ability to feel joy and happiness and I know that I don't want to go back to that. I want to cry when I need to cry and jump up and down when it's time to do that. If you've ever been disappointed in my reactions to your news in the past, know that I am feeling them now, intensely. And, while I can't promise that I will have the right reaction when you bring me your joys and sorrows in the future, I can promise that I will try to experience them both with you.
I am Elliott and I feel.
Most of you, my faithful readers, will not be surprised when I tell you that this has been a tough semester for me. The infrequent, somewhat cryptic posts could have clued you in. Or, if you know me outside the blogosphere, the constant look of confusion may have done it for you. Anyway, it's the hardness of life that's kept me from posting because some things really are too personal. Today, though, I've felt prompted to share a little bit, at least.
Some of you may read the word "semester" and think that I'm struggling academically. But, other than having difficulty finding the motivation to complete the work, school hasn't been much of a problem. I've been learning some things and enjoying my classmates. Preaching has been especially good, which is a huge surprise to me.
My current struggles have been more internal; emotional and spiritual. For the past fifteen years or so, I've believed myself to be a basically stoic person. I've begun learning, though, that I am not so much a stoic as a stuffer. Ever since I can remember I have distanced myself from my emotions and now, suddenly, all of the emotions that I'd stuffed down inside myself have decided it's time to come out. The best illustration I can think of is how the Titans were released from their bonds to wreak havoc on the earth in Hercules. (Yes, I just referenced the Disney version of a Greek myth.)
Of course, in the midst of unexpected and unprecendented mood swings, I haven't been able to explain it quite so succinctly before. It's taken me several months of thinking about and talking about these things to understand what's going on with me. And, I'm sure there's still a lot more to understand...
This new understanding hit me in a fresh way as I was listening to a classmate's sermon on Matthew 11:16-19, which goes like this:
"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."The constant refrain in Jason's sermon was that the people just didn't get it. But, one thing he said was especially striking to me. I can't quote him directly, but the gist was that weddings and funerals should be two life events to which we are intensely connected emotionally. Yet, the unresponsive children in this passage were able to contemplate both with dispassion. And, then I remembered all the times my friends had shared news with me, news of engagements and illnesses, of exciting opportunities and huge disappointments, to which I responded with a meager "congratulations" or a wan smile, when I should have been crying or rejoicing with them. The joy and pain that I should have shared with my friends was absent because I had learned not to feel.
Sometimes, I wish I could go back to not feeling because pain hurts. (Obvious, huh?) But, at the same time, I now realize that not feeling pain and sorrow also deadened my ability to feel joy and happiness and I know that I don't want to go back to that. I want to cry when I need to cry and jump up and down when it's time to do that. If you've ever been disappointed in my reactions to your news in the past, know that I am feeling them now, intensely. And, while I can't promise that I will have the right reaction when you bring me your joys and sorrows in the future, I can promise that I will try to experience them both with you.
I am Elliott and I feel.
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