The Myth & The Majesty

Thundersnow! Sort of.

Again, as a disclaimer: this post is just as much for my own memory as it is for your entertainment. Possibly more for my memory. ------------ Ah, Easter. I took off on Good Friday directly from work shortly before 11:30 in the morning. I was somewhat relieved that I could take a half day; the drive to Sioux Falls is long and boring and I would be making it completely alone. It was also, thankfully, quite uneventful. There was a little snow here and there, but nothing compared to what was happening in Chicago at the time. I made it home in almost record time -- it took just over seven hours to get from the parking lot at work to the Sunnycrest parking lot. Showed up at church around 6:30, where I was meeting up with the rest of my family. The Good Friday service started around 7:00 and was great and very thought-provoking, as expected. We had a family dinner that night -- steak, potatoes, homemade bread. Oh, how I've missed family dinners. Saturday started a

It's official. I am now out of my old apartment. I left my keys behind, inside a spotless, lemony fresh kitchen. And let me say, the Comet-Windex-Pledge-409-PineSol-orange degreaser stuff cocktail did NOT agree with my head. I came away marinated in cleaning agents, a malady which is only cured by a long, hot bath. I hope -- otherwise who knows what that orange degreaser stuff will have done to my arms. The label said that you aren't supposed to leave it sitting on stainless steel for more than a minute. Who knows what it can do to human flesh. Okay, sorry. That was gross. Moving on! Despite the fact that I am often a nostalgic person, I felt absolutely nothing but that anxious "get-me-out-of-here" rush until my final inspection. Then and only then did I get a twinge of, "Hey, this was my first place of my own. And now I'm leaving." It lasted about as long as it took for me to check the master bedroom. Now my dining room has been invaded by boxes of rand

WOW. I love spring. I particularly love it when the first reeeeeeally nice day hits. Which, as luck would have it, would happen to be today. So naturally, I'm sitting on my computer. Whoops. Okay, okay. In my defense, I've been moving and cleaning all day ... It's my last weekend to get everything out of my old place (last day of my lease is Monday!) and, naturally, I put off a large chunk of the work until now. Granted I haven't had a truly free weekend since the first one of the month, and I've gotten a lot done since then ... but here we are. I'm still not completely out. Although very close, thank you. I've also managed to get groceries and wash Sophie (she downright sparkles now), making this one of the most productive Saturdays I've had all by myself in quite some time. And I'm not done yet ... I need to get back to the old place for my laundry and, ahem, my cell phone (whoops again). And I think I'll take a nice long walk around my old nei

It is a gorgeous, sunny spring day outside. And I'm stuck here, at my desk, for about another four hours. (Things that make me sad. And a little stir crazy.) I'm oddly relieved that I forgot my lunch today, even though it meant I ate junk instead ... At least I got out there and enjoyed the sunshine for half an hour. That will have to tide me over until I can leave for a weekend of cleaning and general blah. (Gotta be out of my old place by Monday ... Glad I'm down to the last bit!) *Sigh.* Back to work.

For those who don't live in the Sioux Falls area (and those who do, I suppose) -- a car/bus collision yesterday killed the older brother of a soccer teammate of my sister. It sounds like a much more obscure connection than it is (our families traveled together on a nearly-weekly basis for at least six years). Please pray for the Parliaments, Al and Lauren (Lance's dad and sister) in particular. www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080327/NEWS/803270301

Moment of excitement for today: My dad was cleaning out a closet at work and found a slide rule with an instruction book that was otherwise going to be tossed ... so he's going to give them to me. Now maybe I can actually learn how to use the slide rule I've had for the last couple of years! I am such a nerd.

From The Irrestible Revolution by Shane Claiborne: "When the church becomes a place of brokerage rather than an organic community, she ceases to be alive. She ceases to be something we are, the living bride of Christ. The church becomes a distribution center, a place where the poor come to get stuff and the rich come to dump stuff. Both go away satisfied (the rich feel good, the poor get clothed and fed), but no one leaves transformed. No radical new community is formed. And Jesus did not set up a program but modeled a way of living that incarnated the reign of God, a community in which people are reconciled and our debts are forgiven just as we forgive our debtors (all economic words). That reign did not spread through organizational establishments or structural systems. It spread like disease -- through touch, through breath, through life. It spread through people infected by love." [Oy.]

Three weekends ago I headed to Rochester, Minnesota, to hang out with three of the four high school friends with whom I've actually stayed in touch. I was excited for a few reasons ... First because I hadn't seen them in awhile (over a year since I had last seen Jessie), second because I really like Rochester, and third because I was starting to go a little stir crazy in Wausau. (Winter does that. So does holding still too long.) In any case, I headed straight out of town on Friday after work. Rochester is about three hours away and a fairly scenic drive. My particular route lead me straight through the Big Woods (that's a Laura Ingalls Wilder reference for those that are unfamiliar) -- which is a moderately formidable drive in the middle of winter. Rochester is a rather pretty little city revolving mostly around the Mayo Clinic. It's moderately "well-off" as far as towns go, although not overly yuppie, thank goodness. Ashley and Jon moved there because she

An amazing, exhausting weekend. Awesome kitchen help (we couldn't have asked for better youth volunteers), 200 cinnamon rolls, "Tinman," a Good Friday service that again reset the bar, roughly 345 cracked eggs, eighty newly inspired thoughts, more donations than ever before, some great conversation, and in general a week that ended on a very, very good note. Oh, and, "Women are strong. They can stir stuff and hold babies for more than five minutes without getting tired."

Ahhh. An early morning. Okay, so that's definitively NOT what I said when I woke up today. And it's not what I'll say when I get up well before the crack of dawn tomorrow. But about half an hour after I dragged myself out of bed this morning, that's what I was thinking. I love mornings. I'm not a morning person, per se -- I just love the day beginners and enders. Possibly because they tend to be the most colorful parts of the day, or because at neither point am I usually doing anything particularly important ... Or it could just be that afternoons rarely reach my high expectations, making the other parts look even better. In any case, I was up and going early this morning. Made it to church at 7:15 ... and was home again at 8:30. (Easter is that kind of weekend.) Had some good breakfast, watched the whole of the SciFi miniseries "Tin Man" (over the course of the day), helped crack over 200 eggs, baked roughly 100 muffins, and rolled out 50 cinnamon rolls.

Fourteen hours and I'll be on my way west. That's a very good thought. A pretty short Thursday night ... I was home before 9:00 for the first time in several months. Alas, I had to finish cleaning my apartment and I had some work to do (most of which is done now). I'd rather not be frantic when I get back on Sunday, you know? It's looking like a pretty psychotic weekend and, to be perfectly honest, I can't wait. It's also looking like a good weekend for thinking, as Easter often is. This time, however, I'll also have about fifteen car hours to myself. Should be interesting, hmm?

I've talked about it rather relentlessly for the better part of a month now. I finally have a couple of pictures to show you of this awesome new place I live ... I'll only show you one tonight (I like to maintain some illusion of privacy), but it's a start. This is my absolutely fabulous (you heard me) living room by candlelight. In the back you can see the HUGE windows that are pretty common in this part of town -- relics of old architecture. (This house was built in 1892, if that gives you any idea.) The thought of actually having sunlight in my place seems completely foreign, but I'm willing to learn. The non-white walls are also a big plus, along with the gorgeous hardwood floors (that unfortunately you can't see in a picture taken by candlelight). And, although you can't really tell in this picture, it's actually clean. That's right. I've been here for three weeks and my place is still clean. Woot! Now, way off to the left is this guy ... Admitt

It's interesting. Home is not a relaxing place for me right now ... It hasn’t been since I moved. I'm unpacking, or cleaning, or cooking, or entertaining almost constantly. I'm thinking about what I have left at my old apartment (not much) or what I'm still missing (slightly more) or what's going on the next weekend (lots) or the next day at work (egads). Home is where I should be able to defrag, but for the last three weeks it has been the last place in the world that I can do just that. This next weekend I'll be headed west again which will be even less relaxing. Easter weekend is a spectacular weekend, but it is anything but slow. Granted, this year will likely be easier than last year (I'll hopefully be getting home considerably earlier on Friday and we don't already have ten hours' worth of plans for Saturday), but I haven't had a relaxing Easter break since middle school. Suppose that's a consequence of feeding 200 (plus) people

Well, here we are again. A year ago today was my first "out and about in Wausau" experience ... which is funny to me now, because I think I was a little nervous about hanging out with a coworker outside of work (even though that coworker was Stuart, who is fairly nonthreatening). Friday night was good times ... and on Saturday, Darren got here! I'm afraid this hasn't been an overly entertaining weekend for him, but, well, I moved to Wausau, Wisconsin. It's not an overly entertaining town, particularly in the middle of March. That's okay. It was a fairly relaxing weekend. I have today off, so we'll see what we find to do next. Anyway, that's about it. Thought a quick check-in was in order. Have a great week, folks!

Today: - Still awake when the day starts. - Weird dreams. - 5AM text messages. - Earlier morning at work than usual. - Oddball request from Darren. - Eight hours in a cubicle. - "Team building exercise" at Subway over lunch. - Some more appetizer-making. - A bunch of people appearing at my apartment. Who knows what note it will end on ... ?

Listening to: The White Stripes - "Balla and Biscuit" followed by Eve 6 - "Open Road Song" Thinking about: heat & material balances and snow Wishing for: Friday Oh yeah. It's one of those days. I'm concentrating too hard on a problem that refuses to be solved. Considering I've been attempting to get this thing balanced all week, I've come to the conclusion that the system just needs to selectively leak. Grr. Woke up this morning to two or three fresh inches of the white stuff. It was just enough to cover the mounds of dirt left by previous melt. Oddly enough, it was also warm enough to just need a jacket while I was cleaning off Sophie. Probably means we'll have a fresh inch of slush by the time I leave here this afternoon ...

It's starting to look like I actually live here now ... except it's cleaner than any place I've ever lived. So maybe it just looks like someone lives here, if not me. Hmm. I apologize for the fact that my posts as of late have all been exceedingly dull. I've been a bit strapped for free time. (The only reason I'm posting now is because I'm waiting for my dishwasher to be done so I can start mixing a few things up for Friday.) I suppose that's expected, and anyone who reads this with any regularity will understand why, but I want to let you know that I haven't gone completely vacant. I'll post something more interesting soon. I hope. Hey, if nothing else, I have pictures from Rochester. Somewhere ... Hmm. Okay. Have a great night, folks, and I'll catch you all soon!

Back online, back online (insert happy dance here) ... That's right, folks, I'm back to using my own computer in the comfort of my own ... living room. Until the girl upstairs gets her butt -- and wireless router -- down here, that is. Then the compy will once again be exiled to my office/tiny spare bedroom. Still loving the new place ... It's such a step up from my cookie-cutter apartment that I can't help but be happy sitting here. Even though it's also much quieter (let's face it, I'm not a quiet person) and I'm currently lacking in anyone with which to talk. Which is funny, because I just spent two hours in the company of plenty of people. Wausau Young Professionals had their monthly shindig, which Stuart, Mariah and I ended up attending. Maybe it's my general dislike for yuppies, but my heart wasn't in it tonight. Oh well. Actually, for now I'll blame it on a weird form of homesickness, combined with my new addiction to this blog . How I

Argh, Mondays. Double argh for the Monday after Daylight Savings Time begins. Lo and behold, that's today. Grr...

Well, I made it back to Rochester in one piece (two, counting Sophie). My trip back was unexpectedly eventful, but more on that when I can also post pictures. And after I get this thing moved to my new apartment so I don't have to type standing up. Yes. Looking like a pretty average week ... until Saturday when Darren gets here! Woot! Then comes a not-so-average weekend ... Yay. Good stuff. Onward and outward. Take it easy, folks!

To my sister: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (My goodness, you're getting old.)

Funny -- I never really told you much about my trip to Rapid City. In the interest of not piling up several trips and then not being able to recall the pertinent details, here's the plot. (Keep in mind that this is as much for my own memory as it is for your information. It will get a little long.) It started on Wednesday. I caught a ride to work with a coworker that happened to live about ten seconds away. Put in a whopping three hours (basically there long enough to check and answer a bunch of emails and have one short meeting) and a second coworker took me to the airport shortly before noon. Turned out I was on the plane with our general manager and one of the awesome R&D guys. The GM disappeared into the Minneapolis airport within seconds of getting off the plane, but Awesome R&D Guy and I stopped at one of the airport bars for a drink since we both had at least an hour to kill. Second flight was wholly uneventful. I ended up seated next to an engineer from G

Well, Calvert, we'll see if I can write more than you this time. Um ... Oh! Oh yeah. More adventures ahead -- I'm going to Rochester tomorrow directly after work to hang out with a few high school friends. It strikes me as crazy that I'm still in contact with anyone from high school (yeah, I'm not very good at that), but it's also crazy to me that any of them live close enough for me to go visit for a regular weekend. Very cool. Particularly Rochester ... I have almost entirely happy memories of that town. My only trips to Rochester (before this coming weekend) were for my sister's soccer tournaments. They played a Memorial Day tournament there ... A couple of those times, it rained -- and rained and rained and rained -- and at least once we had to jump start the van because we camped out in it for a couple of hours when games were delayed due to lightning. It was actually pretty funny, in that, "Huh. Whoops." sort of way. Mostly, I r

Okay. The paint they're using here smells oddly like B.O. Not a fan. On a happier note -- yay for a dinner group! Yeah, that's really all today.

Our office has turned into an obstacle course. We're in the process of remodeling, and they're doing it all in stages (obviously, or they'd have to displace about seventy people simultaneously). Currently, the place is riddled with painters and guys on ladders rerouting network cables. The print room that was right outside my cube was demolished over the weekend, leaving a large open space (with a half-open ceiling -- the other half is threatening to fall in) in the middle of the cube farm. Two big changes have resulted (from my point of view) -- I have a clear view into two other people's spaces where before I could only see the plotter, and traffic has been rerouted to the far corner for the printer. Poor Jim. His corner used to be the quiet one.

Crazy week ahead. Lots of work (as usual -- I mean, I have a job, that's what you're supposed to do there), lots of moving, and hopefully a trip to Rochester this weekend. And after a crazy weekend, it's always interesting to see how the next week will go. I'm sore. My shoulders, my arms, my legs -- moving uses muscles that aren't used in normal physical activity. Egads. Tired, too, but it's a Monday morning. That's pretty normal.

The big moving day went absolutely wonderfully ... I can say with all honesty that I have the greatest coworkers a person could ask for. Three of the guys in my department were cheerfully willing to be my able bodies so I could get all the big stuff -- my bed, my couch, my kitchen table, etc. -- and about nine crates of books moved, along with a bunch of other random things. The weather was absolutely perfect, too (warm enough that you didn't need a jacket as long as you were doing something physical, cool enough that you didn't generally break a sweat), which made it even better. Now I'm residing in two places while I go room to room here (my old place), emptying space and cleaning as I go. I'm pretty much down to the spare bedroom and the floors ... Great feeling. This is going a bit more quickly than anticipated. As long as I can maintain steam over the week, I'll be golden. And as long as I get my kitchen completely moved, I won't resign myself to eating jun