Adventures in being my father's daughter

My father loved projects.  Most of the time, I'm not so sure he really knew what he was doing but everything always got finished and looked great... on the outside.  The best example would be our old garage which should be studied by the folks from CalTech for it's anti-gravitational abilities that allowed it to stand for many years at a 30 degree angle.   My father, however, simply built a nice frame around the front of it so it looked straight from the front.  When I was a kid, he would say "If I was feeling ambitious I'd ________" and then we'd promptly do whatever project was rolling around in his head.  Well, in honor of my father, I'm allowing that ambition to rub off on me and for my "summer" vacation, I've decided to paint my bike frame.  This basically involves stripping all of the moving parts off the bike; sanding, priming, and painting the bike; then figuring out how to put it all back together.  Currently I'm just about finished with the painting phase, and everything is looking great... we'll see what happens when I begin to reassemble.  I figured that if I can't get it back together, I know plenty of people who can do it for me.  I'm not going to lie, this has been pretty relaxing.  Oh dear, I am my father's daughter.  

Also, I built this bike stand myself... it's amazing that for about $20.00 you can build what would cost much more at a store.  

Musings on Reconciliation... part 1

In the past few months, I have been mulling over thoughts on the concept of reconciliation.  This isn't really a something that I spent much time thinking about before now but this past year has offered me more  opportunities to consider this idea than ever before.  I suppose the reason this topic is rolling around in my head so much is because my time in seminary has given me increased opportunities to continue thinking about what "the church" should be like as compared to what it actually is today.  I am frequently running into stuff in the bible that seems to be a contradiction to how a significant portion of the church is, especially in America.  2 Corinthians states that just as we have been reconciled to God we are to be his ambassadors and share the message of reconciliation with others.  It occurred to me that the church today does not carry the message of reconciliation very loudly.  Why is this message not on the forefront of all all Christian agendas?  I believe that with the influence the church has had on the greater world throughout history, if the message of reconciliation (to God and to others around us) were a priority, our world would be significantly different.  

Back to the Bike

So, the worst part of this whole fire (for me) was the fact that the air was so filled with smoke that I was unable to bike anywhere.  Please do not assume that I wish to pretend that the inconvenience I dealt with is anything compared to the countless number of families that lost their homes in the fire.  Other than the nightly pyrotechnic show we received, this has been the only physical way I've encountered the fire.  You know when you're standing by a camp fire and the wind blows the wrong direction and all the smoke hits you in the face?  That's kind of what it was like.  Or when you walk into a hotel room that someone has smoked in?  That's kind of what it smelled like... for a week.  Well, the smoke has decreased (I read that the folks at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab here in Pasadena have been tracking the smoke and it's reached the gulf coast... get ready, East Coast!)  and I'm thrilled to be able to bike around again.

I realized during this time, how blessed I am to be able to bike around town.  I'm thankful that I don't commute further than a mile, that I get exercise every day without having to set time aside for it, that I don't add to the pollution problems of LA (let alone the globe), that I can't purchase more than one bag worth of groceries at a time, that I can park for free for as long as I want.  One week of driving every day to and from school and moving my car from parking spot to parking spot cost me an entire tank of gas.  I recommend everybody consider switching to a bike if not for commuting, than simply for running errands around town!  

... Also, this happened yesterday: 

For more information:  http://laist.com/2009/09/08/another_valley_water_main_break_cau.php

In a galaxy far, far away... Hollywood

So, my friend Amber and I decided that we were going to attempt to head to the Hollywood Bowl to see the LA Philharmonic play the music of the movies directed by John Williams.  Well, luckily (unfortunately) a guy we knew broke up with his girlfriend and gave us the tickets.   John Williams wrote most of the famous soundtracks one might recognize like ET, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Superman and of course... Star Wars.  So, I had a chance to see almost this exact same show a few years back in Pittsburgh but there was something this show had that the other one didn't.  I couldn't put my finger on it, until the Star Wars music began and then I realized...oh yeah, LIGHT SABERS.  Apparently there's some unspoken understanding amongst John Williams/ Classical Music/ Star Wars fans that it's totally appropriate, if not socially expected to wave a large 4 ft light saber in the air along with the music.  As you may have already realized, I love it when grown-ups have a chance to act like kids again.  

No, but really...

So, I would like to start this by apologizing for the 9 month absence from the world of internet blogging.  Apparently the combination of adjusting to life on the other side of the country as well as being a student again left me quite distracted.  (Please do not make any assumptions about the 9 month absence and other things that also take 9 months!)  I do, however, feel that it is only appropriate that I follow up my previous post regarding fire with this one, which is occurring as the mountains about 5 miles north of me burn from the largest wildfire in LA county history.  There are a few pictures on facebook taken from either my front yard or from the Rosebowl here in Pasadena.  My east coast self is still a bit uncomfortable watching actual flames rise from mountains.  For real, people... when Smokey The Bear says "Only you can prevent forest fires!" he really freakin' means it out here.      

Other than the flamin' mountains, my first year in seminary has been wonderful and I'm hoping (please have grace) to be able to keep you all updated on what i've been studying/mulling over since making a complete change of professional direction.