Post Mid-Term Detox: Weekend Adventures

Mid-terms officially ended Wednesday evening when I turned in my last paper. I was exhausted. Slept quite well that night. I have spent the last few days detoxing from the whole experience, a downside of being a psycho planner/over-achiever/perfectionist. I guess we will see how I came out this week, no exactly excited to see, but yet not worried.

Thursday: I literally sat on my couch watching hulu.com for wayyy to many hours. Even though I felt my brain turning to mush from the lack of intelligent content, it was needed. Does anyone else love House as much as I do?, his charm never grows old. Then it was small group, a welcome distraction from my television watching. We partook in some amazing homemade mac and cheese and talked about 1 John 5 for a few hours. Deep convos, apples and caramel... what could be better?

Friday: After having lunch and a shopping spree at Target with Linda (I bought 12 movies, ridiculous!... but all worth it, all goodies: Forest Gump, Fried Green Tomatoes, Last of the Mochicans, The Village, Love Actually, to name a few), I made my way to Ebz to meet small groupies (+ friends) for a night at the Corn Maze in the Plains. That's right, a corn maze at NIGHT with only flashlights and Mark's incurably intimidatingly large umbrella to protect us. Great fun! My team, "Team Get off the Phone Dave" trampled the competition team, "(Not So) Awesome". Unfortunately, there was no prize involved but we did get to play on the slide! Yea for sliding in groups! Then we headed back into the city for some pizza, cider and a movie at Amanda's. Met up with even more people and enjoyed one of my all time favorite flicks, Donnie Darko. Now, any one that knows me well knows that I rarely stay awake during movies, much less movies I have seen, even less when it is already past my 10PM bedtime (GRANDMA, I know... it's part of my charm). Therefore, I was doomed from the start. I am just glad I didn't drool or anything too embarrassing.

Saturday: The normal, French class and working production at the services at Ebz... I didn't pull the plug this week but the computer did freak on us causing a panic or two. Oh, well... it was my last week of training, so next time I am on my own. Drove over to Erin's house for a Pumpkin Carving party (sans my own pumpkin) and had some amazing pumpkin cupcakes. Had some more cider and socialized before heading home for the night.

Sunday: I was supposed to met a group for lunch to celebrate Robert's 21st birthday after the 11:30 service at Union, so I decided to go ahead and attend (making it the third time I heard the sermon this weekend, it was a good one!). Lunch at an Irish pub (I had WAFFLES!) with friends = guaranteed fun. I headed to metro center afterwards to kill time at H&M (dangerous) until I heard from Steve about a documentary about Palestinian hip-hop (how could that not be awesome!?). Turns out the movie was sold out (Steve is NOT a 'details man') so we wandered rather aimlessly for about two hours, annoyed a security guard, discovered a leather clad 'gang' of thugs, ate some fake mexican food at Chipotle, and solved a puzzle (well, almost) in a random magazine at Starbucks. Finally ended up at the concert which followed the movie... yes, that's right we saw a Palestinian hip-hop group perform at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was AMAZING. A room full of Middle-Eastern people fist pounding and chanting about who knows what... a recipe for memories. Favorite quote of the night?..."remember that time Steve took us to a free Palestine rally?"...

Anyway, Monday starts a return to the reality of school. Already got a lot done, but I need to get ahead since i will be spending the later half of the week distracted by wedding festivities and burritos. I predict I will not be picking up any school reading in my free time. In exactly 3 days I will be EATING a big jerk burrito!

Conundrums and Cures

Every time I turn around on campus I hear it from someone else, "Why am I here?", "Why are we studying this?", "How come it's so depressing?", and most commonly, "How come there are no answers to these questions and no solutions to these problems?".

It is pretty common for people to get down and beat up on themselves in this line of study. Everyone has the grand idea that they will be able to 'save the world' or play a role in ending hunger or creating world peace, but reality strikes somewhere during the first semester and you start to realize that you will be lucky if you get a job doing much more than paperwork.

I know that I had this image of myself working in a refugee camp somewhere in Africa. On the ground, with cute little orphans... but, in actuality, this work is best done by locals. In fact, most agencies do not want to send westerners in, they want to empower locals to do the work. I love the idea, I just hate the implications. So what are we training for?... Capital hill? Admin work? Research? BLAH.

You do not come to this program if you are not willing to get your hands a little dirty. We all want to help people, solve big problems... but the more we learn, the more we realize we have no idea how. All of the smart people that came before us couldn't figure it out, so why do we think that we can? All we get are a bunch of conundrums, huge questions, and unsolvable problems... "Here, continue the work..."

...how depressing.

I have to admit I find myself less discouraged than most. I have faith that I am here for a reason, and I am still (at this exact moment) content to have no idea what that might be. God placed this desire in my heart and I am sure that it will serve His purposes.

Last night in small group we had a significant discussion about the overwhelming nature of poverty, slavery, and all of the other ailments that plague the world. What can we do? Well, first we can step up and DO something about it. I am sure that God has called more people to action, most just get so overwhelmed they give up before they try. But, I also think that we are ALL called to pray.

I know it's hard to know how, what to say, what to pray for.... and it's incredibly overwhelming and seemingly pointless to pray for ending poverty or world peace... but I think that if we allow those thought to overtake us, we have missed out. Pick an issue, pick a country, pick a neighborhood, pick a neighbor... pick something! and PRAY.

Pray for freedom, pray for food, pray for health or healthcare... anything. But most of all, pray for them to experience and realize God's love and comfort in their situation. Because, we all know that some food, a job, or a home are all great! ...but they don't solve all of your problems. This world really sucks and just because we provide for people's physical needs, they won't be satisfied. Just because we make their life look a little more like ours, will they suddenly be problem-free? I mean, are we?

Anyway, one thing I know for sure... God's love is the only thing that will solve all of our problems.

momentary misery

There are two things that I can't stand (I am sure there are many more as well):

1. Never being able to get warm/cool.
2. Feeling like I am not checking things off of my list.

Today, they all come together. The house is constantly 58-60 degrees.... not bad, but it's one of those things that if you wake up cold, it is in your bones and you can never seem to get warm. I hate that feeling. I have literally been walking around with either a wool blanket wrapped around my fully clothed and highly layered body... or fun on winter gear, including hat and gloves... INSIDE the house. Bizarre, I know.

Today is 'D-Day' for midterms. I have three assignments done. I can't wait until I do not have to worry about this anymore. Of course, finals are right around the corner and then it starts all over... but let's dwell on the positive.

The other positive? My land lords get home today and we are going to have to talk about the heat in this place... :)

Home = ??????????

I am down to ten days... ten days until I go home, to NC. It is going to be a crazy weekend, jammed full of wedding events, reunions, and salsa.

I got to spend some time with my other roommate from last year, Wendy, yesterday who was in town for another wedding. We went down to Eastern Market for a few hours and basically just did a lot of talking and catching up. She made a comment thats stuck with me... she said I seemed very content here in DC. I think that is the perfect way of describing it... I am content, completely at peace with where I am.

Sometimes I can't believe it, that I actually left NC. I had been pinning for something new since puberty, but in the last 6-9 months in Wilmington I had begun to wonder why I was leaving. I mean, how could I leave such an amazing church, wonderful friends, and amazing burritos! (ah, sorry)

But somehow I have known since the first day I found out that this school and this program existed that I was supposed to go. I can remember the day I discovered it. At the time, I had no ambition to finish my bachelors much less pursue a masters degree. But God had another plan.

I got a handwritten note and the card of a person from Mount Olive College in the mail shortly after and ended up enrolling in their program. Next thing you know I am reminded of this masters program as AU. I applied to 4 programs, this is the only one I got into.

God provided the money for school, He provided housing, and money for living expenses. Then God provided me with a new church, which has lead to a new community, new friends and new relationships. I have no complaints, no regrets, no doubts. God is amazing.

At first I thought it would be weird to go back home, simply for a 'visit'. I mean I have never done that before, gone to NC just for a weekend, it seems bizarre. But, the closer it gets the more I realize that I don't think I will have a problem returning. DC already feels like home, it feel like it's where I belong, it feels right.

Who would have guessed? Certainly not me. I was telling Wendy how when my first boss at United Way quit for a job in DC, she left me a note saying 'if you ever want to move to the big city, give me a call!' I remember smirking and thinking 'If I ever move to the 'big city' it won't be DC"... ha, how ironic.

Anyway, I am looking forward to going home and visiting Port City Church and Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn, but I think I will be ready to come back to DC afterwards...

Maybe I can convince Flaming Amy's to open up a place here!

I stand amazed.

God is doing some crazy things in my life. I think I most struck by how He is revealing the depth and breadth of His love for me.

Last night I was walking home from church. It has been chilly here so I was enjoying the crisp autumn weather. I had broken out the ole' ipod and turned in my books for the day (what I usually use to entertain myself during commutes) for some tunes. I was listening to this beautiful song by Jump, Little Children called Cathedrals, walking down Mass Ave when I came to a family of deer grazing in the grass in front of one of the houses. They were actually blocking my way, I had to turn onto a side road. I know that deer can be aggressive, especially when the young ones are around... and I was certainly outnumbered (channeling 'The Ring' here) so I stood still and just observed for awhile.

Deer remind me of home. There are quite a few in Brunswick County, not quite as many in the city. They seemed so out of place next to one of the busiest roads in the city (although it was a residential section) right up by occupied houses. Yet, it was serene. Just watching them I was reminded of how beautiful animals are.

I had a similar experience on Thursday. At Small Group we talked about God's love for almost two hours. Deborah had brought her new puppy. As we were closing with prayer I glanced over to see this tiny creature squirming to find a comfortable position. Once found, she shut her eyes and immediately her chest began to rise in fall as if she had fallen asleep instantly in complete peace and comfort. Unbearably cute.

I don't get to see as much of nature in the city. So, I guess these moments have been reminders of the beauty in God's creation.

This has been at the top of my playlist for awhile, so these are the thoughts that have been running through my brian. This is an edited version of Jason Morant's, 'Love Song':

Where can I go
Where can I run from You
You're everywhere

You know all my thoughts
You see through my ways
And still You come to me

From Heaven above
Earth down beneath
Your love rains down on me

You walk on waves
You run with clouds
You paint the sky for me to see
Your majesty
Your majesty is why I sing


Yes it's all for You
my life a love song to You

Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. Now it is time to stop stalling and get on with my midterm.

Ode the the most beautiful barn in the world...

So if you were imagining a melancholy old building against a picturesque landscape, you were wrong! Here is the most beautiful barn known to man:


If I was a poet I would write a sonnet to it's salsa. If I was a musician I would play a jingle about it's burritos. But alas, I am no such thing. So all I can do is write this pitiful blog entry and count down the days until I get to enjoy it's wonderful flavors once again:

15.


What should I order? hmmmmmm....

Tourist for a Weekend

So this weekend I was blessed with the presence of my friend, Gloria.

She was my first visitor since relocating to the DC area and considering my busy schedule, and the magnitude of option, I have not been able to explore much of the myself. So we did some of it together.

SATURDAY
I had French class in the AM in Adam's Morgan so Gloria hung out in Dupont until I was done. Then we had some Lebanese food for lunch... a first, but certainly not a last. I have no idea what it was called but it was eggplant, chickpeas, mint, yogurt, green onions and pomegranate seeds... there was more but I can't remember. The unique mixture of flavors grew on me.

We then made our way (as did everyone else) to Georgetown to stop in at the Mall for a quick trip to Urban Outfitters. There was some sort of festival going on so there were so many people it was hard to breathe. Not the best choice. We accomplished our goal and got out as quickly as possible.

Next, we made our way to Ebeneezer's for the 5pm service. Heather Zempel, the discipleship pastor continued the Elephant in the Church series. She did an awesome job talking about suffering, check out the podcast! Gloria was able to meet some of my DC peeps.

Jen was nice enough to give us a ride to La Tasca where we partook in some Spanish Tapa's and Sangria. I got the traditional, gloria got the Sangria Blanco which had cinnamon in it. It was yummy and so was mine. We got a Spanish salad, some sauteed spinach with raisins and pine nuts and some veggie pealla. an entirely pleasant experience.

We ended our night at Harmon Hall for Romeo and Juliet by the Shakespeare Theatre. It was performed entirely by men, like it originally would have been. We had front row seats to the madness. Sword fights, dancing, poison... quite the soap opera. It was a wonderful performance, they managed to make it quite funny and the 2.5 hours flew by!


SUNDAY
After giving Glo a quick tour of the AU campus we went to Eastern Market. It was my first trip but it will NOT be my last. A crazy cool flea market of sorts with antiques, cool jewelry, art, music, and food. We had amazing crepes with apples, walnut, coconut and caramel. And, the icing on the cake? There is a Port City Java near by! How cool is that? After we informed the staff that we hail from the home planet, we were NOT given free coffee. It was a nice try though.

Anyway, then we got some Ethiopian food on U street. Dukem was packed with Ethiopians... always a good sign. Spicy red lentils, split peas... yummy as I remembered.

We finally hit the stereotypical tourist destinations on the National Mall. We made it through the Native American and the African Art museums. Not the most popular ones, so less crowds. Gloria actually found an exhibit that included reference to her mom's family, the Locklears in the Native American museum. I was bummed there was only 2 things in the African Art Museum from Sudan. They must take art seriously in Nigeria because the place was overrun with it.

Then it was back to Ebz's for the Robbie Seay Band who was in town. The concert was a really nice end to the weekend. Chris, Robbie's brother was a long for the ride and had some cool things to say about consumerism and such. I think he could have a second career as a comedian.

Top off the day? Some FRIED ICE CREAM at Guapos. What Can I say? I know how to party.

I am exhausted, yet rejuvenated by my brief 'vacation' from the real world. It is a really busy week, but I guess that is just a sign that I am starting to settle in here.I do not have a single picture from this weekend or I would insert them here. A significant failure on my part which I will try to rectify in future adventures.

Mid-Term Blues

I can’t believe the semester is half over! It is going by so quickly. At this rate I will be on a cruise ship in the Caribbean with my family before I know it.

I have come to a conclusion about grad school: I think it is the goal to morph all of us into this mold of ‘grad student.’ It’s like the goal is to create a class of people who use big words and fancy language, read political theory for fun, spend hours in the library studying… something, and are constantly fine tuning their resume and networking to obtain the ‘dream job’.

The thing is, I have no desire to be like them. I have no desire to come out the other end of this thing and be anything more than what I am now, just with some more general knowledge and hopefully some more understanding. If anything I see my personal and spiritual growth through this process as equally if not MORE important than the ‘education’ my classes are providing me.

I would consider myself lucky if I ended grad school markedly and noticeably different than the rest of my classmates. I refuse to be motivated my money and/or status (ironic considering our field of study). I refuse to be disappointed if I am not on the path to be the next Secretary of State. I might come out the other end without a job and any prospects… but that is a part of the journey, and I look forward to it. In fact, I kinda hope that I do… it sounds like an adventure!

The reality is I can do anything I want to do. And even if I have a Masters degree I can still clean toilets if that is what makes me happy. I don’t have to talk like I read the dictionary and claim to understand post-structuralism.

I didn’t come to DC to be changed by grad school, I came to DC to be shaped by Christ.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Seems like there has been a lot of talk about money lately. If you have a significant amount tied up in the stock market you are feeling a crunch. The other population that is worried? College students.

It appears that the 700 billion the government is spending to bail out 'main street' isn't going to do much to assure graduate students like myself have access to the money they need to finish education.

I am lucky that I am not reliant on private loans, but most of my classmates are. Even my government loans used to run through a private carrier, but at the last minute they switched us all over to Federal Direct loans. Should have known something big was going down...

As college students we spend way to much time worrying about money. Well, at least I do. I am one of the lucky ones but still I find myself balancing the need to be frugal with the need to be social. Add some pressure to get a couple hundred pages of theory and case studies read each week, papers, midterms... Internships, thesis's, jobs... you get my point.

DC is not a cheap place to live. I know a few people paying as much as $1500 for STUDIOS! Not to mention 'grabbing a bite' to eat is never a inexpensive endeavor. They don't like you to spilt entree or bills here either. Produce is a lot more too.

The upside is all of the monuments and museums are free and you can usually bum a free meal from a Table Talk or campus event, but they also take up a lot of time and effort.

Transportation is a whole new obstacle. It takes an hour for me to get just about everywhere and it usually costs at least $2, one way. Plus gas prices are through the roof in the district.

Ahhhh. So, my point? Please consider your college attending friends and family members this holiday season. They might not have access to the loans they need next year and they could use some free food, some hand-me down clothes/shoes, and maybe even a ride. Or maybe I just mean me.

POLITICS

It surrounds me!

I think it is absolutely hilarious that so many people watch the VP debate last night. My Facebook status update page is covered with reactions. :)

I wish more interest had existed in the Presidential debate, because that was certainly more substantive and relevant, but oh well.

I am getting so sick of this whole election! MOst of you wold know that I have been actively invovled in the campaign for over a year. I did my research, and selected my candidate in September 2007. Then I went to work for him and becasue a dedicated volunteer for over six months. That was enough for me. Not that I am not still behind him 100%... but it is a hard life! I am incredibly proud of the people who have stuck it out and remained on the trial since last year. You have a drive that i don't even understand, much less have.

I can not wait for this whole mess TO BE OVER. I love my candidate, but I hate the political mud slinging contest that is the election process. I can not stand what we have reduced it too.

I am certainly sick of Sarah Palin... not as much her as the talk about her... Hopefully we are done with that now that the debate is over and she will most likely retreat to the background until election day.

So, what do I really want to say? I want to say... stop freaking out! If ______ candidate wins... the world is not going to fall apart, we all know you are not going to leave the country... they are NOT the devil incarnate!

Believe it or not, we have two very capable, very dedicated, very smart people running. I certainly have an opinion that one would do better than the other. BUT, I am willing to admit that both candidates are FINE. I mean really, let's STOP making this into a angel/devil scenario... both of them are politicians... both have said/done some stupid stuff during the campaign. Both have played dirty when it benefitted them and both have done what the needed to get power, BECAUSE They believe that their policies are the best for the country.

Believe it or not, most politicians get into this game because they want to HELP people. I am convinced no one who was in it for themselves would have stuck out this rat race. WHY? Becasue, in reality, the president can't do as he pleases (although, Bush may disagree)... there are checks and balances in the system. They must work through bureaucracies, deal with millions of constarnts and always consider 'public opinion'... they can only do so much. Someone can not get in office and turn the country upside down. Our fore father designed the system that way on purpose. Therefore, no one is jumping through a YEARS worth of hoops and dealth with all of this CRAP, just so they could achieve power... the hoops don't end here. You aren't immediately soverign lord or anything. In fact, you are inheriting a country in its downfall. So, my point is: they both want what's they think is best for the country. So, let's just pick which one we like better and leave it at that!

GAH. So sick of this mess.