happy birthday to me

Today was my birthday.

Not much went on. Kathryn had to work tonight, but she left me some nice cards on the kitchen table for me to find. I cleaned out my neighbor's litterbox for her while she's away. I read some more of the Harry Potter series that I'm behind on. I was going to make a pizza for dinner, but it didn't happen: partly because of the cat box cleaning, and partly because I was brought by someone to hang out with the summer students - a bunch of people I've never met before, who were already half in the bag when I got there. It was nice enough, but now I smell like cigar smoke.

I always wanted a birthday during the school year so that I could spend it with my friends. Summer birthdays leave much to be desired. Only Christmastime birthdays are worse I recon.

Ah well, another year.

Spanish Pirate

This week I start my Spanish classes. On Wednesdays I may be staying in Chicago to go sailing! Yes, it's true, I'm crewing under a new captain. This is great. I haven't been sailing since I was in Bermuda just before comming to Seabury. How cool would it be if the spinnaker was the jolly roger? Not likely, but fun to think about. I got a call from a friend Saturday night offering me the "opportunity of a lifetime." The captain was setting sail to race Sunday morning and needed crew. Sadly it was too late to call Jane and change the Sunday service plans so I wasn't able to go. It's really okay because it rained and I don't have any foul weather gear. I would have been a sad, wet sailor. I don't know what kind of boat we're sailing, and I don't care. I'm told her crew is not a favourite on the racing circuit. In fact her last showing was about the last boat out there. But that's okay. Maybe I can work my way up to first mate. Ooooh yeah. I wonder what the name of the boat is. "Ship Rector" "Jibilate Deo" "High Masst" "Up Pericope" I should stop. This is turning out to be quite a fun summer.

wanna go ride bikes?

Last evening I brought a photo of the bike in question around, door-to-door, to see if anybody would claim it. Nada. It's mine now. While working on it today I found out why it was left behind.

1. The seat is all chewed up.
2. The front derailer doesn't move at all.
3. Might be a slow leak in both tires.
4. The rear derailer skips a gear.
5. The front brake cable slips.

But...

It's a ChroMolly frame with quick-release everything. The shifting is automatic. I've never had auto-shifting before, but I'm sold. It's got to be better on the sprockets than manual shifting. The gears it does shift into are smooth and sure. Changing out cables is not that difficult. And it matches all my outfits! (kidding on that last one)

So...

1. I'm going to get a cushy new seat.
2. Maybe new cables. Do I really need 21 gears? I think not.
3. I'll fill the tires at the gas station and see what happens. They don't look too bad on visual inspection.
4. I'd like to get a full gear range out of the rear derailers so I'll work on that.
5. Brakes are for sissies.

Who wants to go for a ride?

Summer in Ev'tn

The weather has turned mild. Just a few weeks ago it was quite hot. I'm in the minority of people who find hazy, hot & humid comfortable, and I enjoyed those few days while they lasted. These days it's pleasantly sunny and warm during the day and cool at night -- perfect sleeping weather you might say.

The lawn I've been carefully cultivating is looking wonderful. I overseeded so it's dense. There was a patch of weeds where I didn't do anything and they are slowly overtaking the grass. I'm alright wiith that. Weeds are green with sturdy roots that keep the dirt covered. I'll bring the umbrella'd table back to its traditional spot in a week or so. I'm working on repairing the dog pee spots that have killed some areas. I got some lime to rebalance the pH and I think its working.

The farmer's market has been back for several weeks now, but I've been away for the last few Saturdays and have missed it. We're just finishing up berry season. Asparagus is still going strong, and my favourite collard greens are back. Carrots are beginning to make an appearance. I saw "rainbow carrots" today. They're reddish at the top and mottle between orange, red and yellow towards the point. Interesting. I remember pulling up the carrots at Thurston Briley's garden on Groundnut Hill in Cape Neddick, Maine. The kid next door and I would ride our bikes down to the garden and "check on the carrots." We'd pull them up, and if they weren't big enough we'd try to put them back. I don't think we were very successful. Don't have to worry about picking too early with the farmer's market.

There's an arts fair in downtown Ev'tn today and tomorrow. Kathryn and I walked through it tonight as we walked home from a movie ("Cars"), but all the tents were closed up until tomorrow.

There's an abandoned bike in the basement of my building that I plan to rehab over the next few days. With a little love and attention, it should shape up nicely. Kathryn's been bugging me to do something about it because she wants to ride it to work. The campus is about as empty as it's going to get now that everyone has moved away or split for the summer. Anything left behind at this point is up for grabs. I'll make one last trip around to whomever is left behind to see if anyone claims it. It shouldn't take long. It's very quiet here.

I have my reservations for a retreat later on in July. I'd hoped I could go before June is out, but it didn't work out. I'm thinking of taking a bus to Milwaukee and hiking the rest of the way. It's about a 5-6 hour walk from the bus stop. Still thinking about this. Not sure if I want that to be part of the spiritual experience. Might be a better thing to do in winter.

The sun is beginning to set and the fire flies will be out soon. I'll pour myself a glass of cab-sauv and find a seat for the show.

where have you been?

A lot has transpired since my last post. The quarter ended and I began the process of cycling down. I cannot just stop working -- especially at the rate I was going for the last two quarters. It takes me a few days to get out of work mode and into vacation mode. I'm still working at the library which, while interesting work, it has lost that certain magical lustre it had initially. Now it's just a job and not an adventure. I picked up my friend Derrick's gig at the Anglican Theological Review for the summer. The ATR is a quarterly trade journal for Episcopal shop-talk. I've been asked to do other various and sundry things around the community to make a little extra money over the summer.

Then there was the whirlwind tour of the upper mid-west. This was the wierdest trip. The plan was to go to General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. I'd leave on Tuesday afternoon, sharing a ride there and back with a student colleague, staying at a Red Roof Inn waaaay far away from the convention centre. I had a meeting Tuesday morning that I couldn't change and a meeting Wednesday of the following week that also couldn't be changed. Everything was well planned out so that I could make these meetings. Then the plans started to unravel. My ride back from Convention fell through. No problem, I figured out alternate plans for that. Then the ride to Convention fell through. Bigger problem -- I learned of this about 24-hours before we were to depart. I managed to get a ride with the Diocesan Youth Commission. Imagine me on a bus with 30 teenagers. But we all made it. When we were a few counties out from Columbus I asked the group coordinator if we were going directly to the Convention. She said no. We were going to their hotel which was a dozen miles out of town. Perhaps it was poor planning to get on a bus without knowing where it was going, but my options were severely limited. The bus pulled off the highway at my hotel. The Youth Commission was staying in the hotel behind the Red Roof. How 'bout that for lucky?

That was Wednesday. Friday I met up with some Seabury folks to drive to Indianapolis for a wedding. I met Kathryn and Roz there, who drove in with another student. People were comming from all over to take part in this affair. I must say I'm impressed with Indianapolis. It's clean, architecturally interesting, and easy to get around. The cathedral was much smaller that I imagined it would be, but beautifully decorated. Congrats to C. Davies Reed, and good luck to Carol Rogers ;) on their fabulous wedding. It was perfect. Then we all piled into the car to go back to Columbus.

Sunday was amazing. I was in the House of Deputies (legislative body) when they got to the election of the Presiding Bishop. Someone moved to jump ahead to the voting results from the House of Bishops (the othere legislative body - there's just two, kind of like the House & Senate). The room was absoultely full -- maybe 15,000 people, standing room only. The President of the House quieted everyone. Two bishops from the cathedral where all the other bishops were sequestered to vote. I'm told that the Columbus city police had the entire block surrounded and nobody could get in or out. It's darn near impossible to get our seminary chapel silent with 60-odd people in it, and yet in this cavernous room of 15,000 you could hear a pin drop, and you could hear the envelope being opened through the microphone. A man's voice said, "We the Bishops, (blah, blah, preamble... ) Katharine Jefferts Schori ..." This is what it was like: I remember walking out past the breakers as a child at Ogunquit Beach, to the place where the swells pick you up off your feet and push you back to the break line, set you down, and then the next wave breaks right in front of you. The salty spray fingers from the breaker would fill my face, and surf me back to the beach. That's about what it was like when they announced her name. There was an immediate wave of "Ooh!" "Ahhh!" and *gasps*. Then, like the wave breaking, the room burst into cheers and applause. There was laughter and tears and hugs. For all my non-Episcopalian friends, this is about as big as the Red Sox winning the World Series: it was a hopeful possibility, but nobody expected it would really happen this year. People began greeting eachother with the phrase, "Congratulations, it's a girl." The President of the House had to bang the gavel and tell the crowd to settle down several times before they did. Then they read off the voting results. The winner had to have 95 votes in a simple majority. She won in the fifth vote. Jefferts Schori was in the lead for all but one. She tied with another candidate in the second, but then pulled ahead to win it in the fifth. Kinda sounds like a horse race doesn't it. For the next 45 minutes Deputies were allowed to speak their affirmation or opposition of the election. The President asked at least three times if there was anyone who wished to speak against the election. There was only one man who spoke in opposition. Of course there were a number of deputations that were unhappy. One deputy told me that a woman sitting behind her wept openly in her disappointment. I don't understand her reaction, since it was in her time that women were allowed to have a voice in the governance of our Church, and her being there as a deputy is the direct result of much effort to bring women into full participation in the Church. *shrug*

That evening was the Seabury dinner. I think we had a good showing. I made some good connections. A man from Arizona was recruiting me to plant churches there. One of our alumni is the Bishop of Michigan and we chatted about similar things in his diocese. I think I made a good impression. Maybe I'm putting the horse before the cart, but good networking is always important. Earlier in the day I met the man who wrote the recently published HipHop Prayer Book. We chatted and I mentioned my spoken-word sermon. He wants to see it. He'll be in Chicago at the cathedral in December for a Hip Hop service and he'd like to bring me in on it. Cool. Sunday was a pretty good day for me too.

The next morning I met up with the Diocesan Youth bus for the trip home. We collected a few extra people for the return trip so I didn't get the seat to myself. It seemed to take forever to get back. Usually it seems faster on the return trip, but not this time.

I made it back for the Wednesday evening meeting, which was very good. Kathryn and I met with the second adoption agency, and we really like these people. Adoption has been on the table for some time now. I think we're both ready to move forward with this. We're very excited.

I'm planning a much needed retreat to a monastery in Wiconsin very soon. I'm hoping to stay at the Order of Julian. They called me back last night, but I was driving. I'll get back in touch with them later today. I'm really ready for a silent retreat. Especially after this tome of an entry. Haven't you got something better to do that read a blog? Back to work with you.

hmmm...

This morning as I was getting ready for church, I tipped the small jewlery drawer into my hand and a small gold feather pin dropped out. It was a gift from the Native American Heritage Museum. So I put that on my collar. The next thing to drop out was a pair of dangle earrings that my Dad gave me. They have small turquoise stones with sterling silver feathers. The post is attached to the Indian head side of a miniature buffalo nickel. How 'bout that? Dumbo needed a feather and got three feathers on Trinity Sunday. Dontcha just love the Holy Spirit?

dumbo had a feather

Jane put me on the preaching rota at St. Matthew's, and I'm up tomorrow. I've been chipping away at this sermon all week. I know I can use what I learned in class. I know I'm pretty good at this. But I'm almost all by myself here. Most of the usual folks who got together to practice our sermons the night before class have left campus. There's one left, but his parents are in town so I don't want to take up too much of his time. Our practice sessions used to go on for several hours, and at least one bottle of Merlot. We all got some really great sermons worked out in those sessions. I think I'm close with this one. It just needs a little more polish. (Hmmm... maybe it wasn't Raisin, Davies, Joe and Ian. Maybe it was the Merlot!) Another friend, who is just about to move away to start his career, listened to my draft so far and gave me some really good feedback. He wants a copy of it when it's done. (What is up with all these people who want copies?) I've been generally happy with the final product, but the lead-up to delivery is less confident. I'm looking forward to building up some real-world experience with this preaching stuff. At least Dumbo had a feather to fly with.

done!

I finished my last paper and turned it in just a few minutes ago. Extensions are a wonderful thing. Up until this quarter I've been at least a week ahead on everything. Dunno what happened this quarter that held me back. I really like to ease into the last week of classes, as you know, but it wasn't to be this term. Now I get to celebrate for myself tonight. I've been to a bunch of graduation/ordination parties this week, but I was distracted by things left undone. That ice cold beer will taste so much nicer now.

Tomorrow I just have to show up at church, nothing special. Next week I start a second part time job (10 hr/wk), the usual library gig, and lots and lots of trash television. Time to clear the brain. "Jerry... Jerry... Jerry..." (go ahead, click it).

happy ordination

A big shout out to my good friend Mark Moore who is being ordained a deacon today. I'll be giving a command performance as crucifer.

It's been one party after another lately. I think I may be able to get back to all that stuff I still need to do this afternoon.

happy graduation

We rehearsed the walk today for tomorrow's ceremony. I'm the first crucifer. I've never been a crucifer before. Should be fun. The bad part is they've seated me practically front & center. Now I have to behave. Remember when this happened at my college graduation -- I made honor roll or some such thing and they put me in the front row facing the entire faculty. As long as they were watching me I was watchng them and none of us got away with anything. "Best behavior" can be such a challenge.

The person I'm seated next to was at rehearsal today too. He was very concerned that the faculty wasn't there. He was afraid that they wouldn't know what to do, be confused, and something would go wrong. Silly boy. A teaching moment: trust your faculty. They' ve done this so many times already they don't have to think about it. And I don't think they do. This is one of a few times of year the tables are turned between students and professors. Usually they direct us. Now we direct them. We dress them up in their pretty colourful academic robes and prance them about. They're really very gracious about the whole thing, and the crowd loves it. In a few short summer weeks we'll do it again to impress the next incoming class. Then we'll go back to the norm where the faculty dress us up in our cassocks and surpluses and prance us about the chapel until we finally figure out liturgy. See, son, it's all very simple. Now hold my GameBoy while I do the gospel procession.