Auld Lang Syne

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I added to the blog. The last couple of months have been crazy. Drowned in papers . . . I was about to give up, plead that I had no more words left. But, I persevered, and ended up with 3 As. 4.0!

Plus, I made four altered objects (three books, one shadow box) for coworkers for Christmas. Now that Christmas and the attendant cooking and preaching are done, I am working on massive cleanup projects in the house. Got the bedroom rearranged and am working on those disreputable bookshelves in the living room. Isn't that mundane? Should one post something like that on one's blog? A blog is something like a verbal reality show, so I guess that even the everyday gets included.

New year's resolutions? Nah. Goals, maybe. Graduate is at the top of the list. Find a new employment situation. (Best of all would be NO employment, but one has to eat.) Lose this weight. Go on the driving trip I wanted to do last year. Planning to attend the JASNA AGM in Fort Worth in October. Planning to attend Diakonia in July in OKC. If I can shake this cough and congestion, I'll be happy. This week was the first time I had to go to the dr. in seven months! That's a record for me. DH is sicker than I am, which worries me.

The dogs are barking at the neighbors' fireworks. It's going to be a long couple of nights.

And today is my youngest's birthday. No more teenagers!

Altered Art Bug

Oh my, have I been bitten lately. First the theatre bug and now the altered art bug. I am absolutely itching to get my hands into an altered book. Give me embellishments, stamp pads, paper! Help!

Can I possibly wait until I graduate to start working in art again? No! All I need is a place to work . . .

Virginia Woolf was so wise. A room of one's own. And I think she said something about money in the bank, too. Sheesh. Reality always comes around to bite one on the butt.

Happy Day of the Dead!

Or, All Saints' Day, as we staid old Lutherans like to call it.

Halloween is over for another year. Sigh. I love Halloween. It's the one time of year when adults can act stupid pretending to be someone they're not, and get away with it. Unless we're on stage, that doesn't happen any other time. I don't hold with all the scary stuff, the blood and gore associated with Halloween these days, and absolutely do not think it's an excuse for people to be mean. I think Halloween is just goofy fun.

In keeping with my un-scary costume rule (and I ALWAYS have a costume for Halloween!), I was a Gypsy fortune-teller this year. The only problem is, I can't tell fortunes. I carried around my Jane Austen Tarot cards with the accompanying book. I discovered no one wants to have their fortune told by a woman with a book in her hand. Okay, I admit, that is pretty lame. So one of my goals this year will be to learn to tell fortunes with the Jane Austen Tarot. Don't tell my church friends, okay?

Glorious evening

Not taken at the wedding,
but the same lovely venue.

Last night was another beautiful evening in the two-week block of gorgeous, perfect weather we've had in Houston lately. Usually fall only lasts about three days, but this year we've had the special blessing of many days with mid-80s midday and high 50s at night. Last night was warmer than expected, still perfect for Julie Templet and Mickey Haranda's wedding at the Houston Zoo. I was honored to have a very small part in the event, as the officiant. Not only was it a great honor for me, I loved doing it.

Which brings me to what I've been thinking today. Lately, I've been backing off the idea of seminary after graduating from UHD. With all the nonsense in the ELCA, I've thought it was no longer the place for me, but where does one move one's tent when it's been so firmly staked in Luther's camp for so long? Still not certain of that. But . . . I believe that I should perservere, perhaps try HGST.

Although I'm still hearing the siren song of that graduate degree in History . . .

But the REAL reason that last night was such a glorious evening is that our beautiful daughter Mary Milan was with us, home on R&R from Afghanistan. Thank you, God, for that special blessing.

When I am an old woman . . .

And when will that be? Another birthday yesterday, and I wore purple. Am I old? Some days, yes. Or perhaps I'm not old, just worn down. Tired of working a job that sucks the life out of my soul, tired of being poor, tired of chronic illness. Ick.

Okay, whining over. On the positive side, I am working on the life list, with some ends in sight. I haven't had a real illness in several months now. Decent boss, even if the job stinks. Adjusting to the empty nest. And the three days of fall we get in Houston has begun. Lovely cool mornings.

My first wedding (to perform) is coming up soon! I will be officiating at the marriage of Julie Templet and Mickey Haranda at the Houston Zoo, next weekend. Very excited! I got my new white stole, and will get my oatmeal alb cleaned this week. I've done lots of baptisms, some funerals, and now my first wedding. When will I be a "real" minister?

That's one giant leap for tenacity

I discovered on Monday afternoon that not giving up when faced with bureaucracy is the only course available to those who are in the right.

Case in point: an hour spent at the Admissions desk at UHD, refusing to accept their answer that UST didn't send the complete transcript that shows my graduate credit. By refusing to be worn down, I wore them down. It will cost me another trip to UHD with my stamped and sealed UST transcript, but if I can get another three hours' credit toward my degree without having to pay for it, I will be happy. Of course, I may regret this course of action when I start on my master's degree, but that is trouble I won't borrow for now.

I feel like I've struck a blow for sanity and intelligence.

BTW, tomorrow is my birthday. Can't decide if that's a drag or a good thing.

On my mind this morning

Serendipity . . . for some reason unknown to all but God, India is in my life this week. Yes, the country.

First: In Theatre History class (yes, there is such a thing, and yes, I'm taking it. It's my favorite class this semster!), the last two chapters have discussed historical theatre in India.

Second: I am reading Eat, Pray, Love, one-third of which, everyone on the planet knows by now, takes place at an ashram in India.

Third: In World Religions class, we are studying not only Hinduism, but a broad overview of the culture of India.

India is not a place I ever wanted to visit. Dirty, smelly, overpopulated, cows, snakes, incense, and heat. (Only I don't hold the incense or the heat against it.) But I'm now thinking of India in a different light, one of beauty and religiosity. I wish I knew what all of this means. There are no coincidences

Update as of 9/29. Still on India in both classes. Lost interest in Eat, Pray, Love when author was forthcoming with too many details about Love in Bali. Ruined a really good book.

So today I'm thinking . . .

. . . of the sacred spaces and places I would like to visit, that are on my life list. All because my World Religions instructor (because finally really graduating from a university is the top thing on my life list) posted an article about Angkor Wat, which made me realize that Angkor Wat is one of them. But . . . reality being what it is, I think I'll have to start a life sub-list of things that I know I'll probably never get to, but can always hope for. So far, the list is:

1. Chartres Cathedral
2. Delphi
3. Jerusalem
4. Serpent Mound in Ohio
5. Notre Dame in Paris
6. Karnak
7. St. Peter's
8. return to St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey (possibly could happen)
9. Stonehenge

(sub-list probably starts here)

1. Rocamadour
2. wherever it is they keep the Black Madonna in Poland
3. somewhere in India . . . kind of nebulous on that one
4. okay, Angkor Wat

In some holy/consecrated spaces, I can feel what's there and some, not. I don't know what triggers the brain to react to a place or not. Another one of those things I need to investigate further . . . in my spare time.

If there's anything I'm meditating on this week . . .

On one statement in class last week that stuck with me. "Primal man lived in a world lit only by fire."

Actually, humankind lived in a world lit only by fire until the last -- what? -- hundred years or so? That kind of puts all our burning (pun intended) problems in perspective. Yes, we have marvelous technology, including the machine on which I write this. The last hundred years have seen strides in science and technology, and a standard of living, that could not have been dreamed of even by the eminent Jules Verne. But . . . if we think of all the accomplishments of humankind in the previous millennia, we understand that we don't own the right to define our culture. Almost a thousand years ago, people who lived in a world lit only by fire built St. Denis, Chartres, Notre Dame, Salisbury. Chaucer and Shakespeare lived in a world lit only by fire. So did Columbus. And Thomas Jefferson.

So, all this is to say that it seems to me that life is not about a new smart phone, or a McMansion in a gated community, or a prestigious job. And it isn't about me, me, me! Because really, in a thousand years, what will the difference be between a Blackberry and an I-Phone?

What was I thinking?

Class on Wednesday nights from 7 to 9:30. Hmmm. Doesn't sound too bad, only one night a week. After all, Geology from 6 to 9 twice a week wasn't so bad last fall, right?

I must have aged since last fall. (Well, duh.)  I am unutterably tired. I am hoping this mantra will keep me going: Graduating next summer . . . graduating next summer. Like many other things in life, college is designed for young people. I've decided that it isn't actually a measure of how much you can learn, how bright you are, it's just an endurance contest.