Sitting here, basking in the glory of the Chargers taking the title to the AFC West (and therefore a trip to the playoffs) by routing the Broncos by more than 20 points. Man... this is nice.
But it has also caused me to reflect. I'm very happy right now, and I can do nothing but praise God for all of the wonderful gifts He has given me recently.
First off, a trip home to see my parents. How fortunate am I! Wonderful that in today's economy, we are comfortable and able to bring me (and my brother) to North Carolina for a family celebration.
Secondly, a good support system. The longer I am in Miami, the longer I am content with where I am and who I'm with. From providing me with a supportive boss and wonderful site director, to a growing network of friends, to a new man in my life, I'm really being blessed with wonderful relationships that are aiding me in my continuing search for human interaction. I'm also becoming more comfortable in my position, my place, and more.
Thirdly, a great home to live in. And I don't just mean the building. My housemates are increasingly wonderful people, the more I get to know them. I'm inspired by them and encouraged by them.
These are really only the smallest of samples of ways that God has blessed me, but right now, those are the ones I'm feeling the most. (That, and, of course, Jesus Christ himself.)
I'd like to encourage all of you to take the time to really sit down and think about what blessings God has given to you. God is over-generous in His gifts and sometimes we are so blinded by our own ideas that we don't see the wonderful things God has provided. So please stop, look around, and realize where you are blessed. I know I am.
Happy Holidays to all of you! I hope it was a rewarding and contented season.
I'm heading home to Florida on Tuesday. Safe travels to all of us!
Cheers,
Em
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Spiritually Charged
So I'm sitting here, cheering on my Chargers (and the Dolphins as well, of course) and listening to my roommates play a game together. It's been a good week and I'm really happy right now.
Saturday was an amazing day. I woke up bright and early (530 am!) and put a casserole in the oven. It was a breakfast casserole and at 7am, members of our over-18 band, Toolbox, came over for some coffee, breakfast and then an early departure. We left for a local prison and played a concert there. This was an amazing experience. The prison we went to is the reception center, so it's where all male prisoners go at the beginning of their sentence before they get placed in their permanent facility. It's a very interesting environment. First off, most of the men in there are probably not in a very good place mentally. They are either in jail for the first time and facing all the emotions that we could imagine, or they are having whatever self view of themselves being reinforced by yet another trip to custody. It's a rough mental environment. We even walked through a room with a mass of inmates, all not allowed to talk. It was a silent room. That was tough to see.
But when we got to our location and set up and the inmates started to come forward, it was amazing! The concert was great and so many of the inmates were appreciative. Many of them sat and listened to us even though they didn't need to at all. They were under no obligation to hear our message. There were even inmates from another recreation area all pressed against the fence into the section we were playing so they could hear our music.
Some of them said "God bless" and "thank you" to us when we finished. The looks on their faces were amazing and some of then danced and raised their hands to the music. How wonderful it was!
I've been on a spiritual high since then... how great it was. Church on Saturday night was again, wonderful. I loved it.
Then last night, my housemates and I had one of our classic dance parties, accompanied by home-baked treats and cheap champagne. It was pretty fun. :)
So things are pretty good around here right now. Tuesday, I go home to North Carolina for a week to celebrate Christmas. I get to see my parents, my brother, my cats and snow. Should be a great time and I'm very excited.
I hope all of you have a really wonderful Christmas. I'm so excited about the promise of our savior. Let's not forget Jesus this Christmas!
That's all for now... cheers!
Em
Saturday was an amazing day. I woke up bright and early (530 am!) and put a casserole in the oven. It was a breakfast casserole and at 7am, members of our over-18 band, Toolbox, came over for some coffee, breakfast and then an early departure. We left for a local prison and played a concert there. This was an amazing experience. The prison we went to is the reception center, so it's where all male prisoners go at the beginning of their sentence before they get placed in their permanent facility. It's a very interesting environment. First off, most of the men in there are probably not in a very good place mentally. They are either in jail for the first time and facing all the emotions that we could imagine, or they are having whatever self view of themselves being reinforced by yet another trip to custody. It's a rough mental environment. We even walked through a room with a mass of inmates, all not allowed to talk. It was a silent room. That was tough to see.
But when we got to our location and set up and the inmates started to come forward, it was amazing! The concert was great and so many of the inmates were appreciative. Many of them sat and listened to us even though they didn't need to at all. They were under no obligation to hear our message. There were even inmates from another recreation area all pressed against the fence into the section we were playing so they could hear our music.
Some of them said "God bless" and "thank you" to us when we finished. The looks on their faces were amazing and some of then danced and raised their hands to the music. How wonderful it was!
I've been on a spiritual high since then... how great it was. Church on Saturday night was again, wonderful. I loved it.
Then last night, my housemates and I had one of our classic dance parties, accompanied by home-baked treats and cheap champagne. It was pretty fun. :)
So things are pretty good around here right now. Tuesday, I go home to North Carolina for a week to celebrate Christmas. I get to see my parents, my brother, my cats and snow. Should be a great time and I'm very excited.
I hope all of you have a really wonderful Christmas. I'm so excited about the promise of our savior. Let's not forget Jesus this Christmas!
That's all for now... cheers!
Em
Saturday, December 13, 2008
It's been a while...
Well, happy thanksgiving all... and into Christmas we go! I had a lovely visit with my parents here in town and really was happy to have them here. I'm glad I'll be seeing them again soon though because I miss them.
A few weeks ago I wrote to you from Orlando, courtesy of a gig for the youth band and a night without sleep due to transport. Well... here we go again, folks! Once more, I'm embarking on a sleepless night and an over night drive up to Orlando... this time, though, we'll leave at 3am, arrive a little before 8, grab a quick breakfast, go to the gig, play, eat a quick lunch, and drive home. I'll be back around 6 or 7 pm. Whirlwind, I know! But school is in the mix and finals are going mad for many of our band members so this trip must be quick.
Things have been okay for me here. I'm learning a lot, especially about forgiveness. I've been gearing up for a play here lately. It is a Christmas play and ready to get going for production next Saturday. I was director and actor and had assembled a cast for the show. It was going along well until one of my cast members stopped showing up to rehearsals. Essentially what it boils down to was this cast member lying to me, avoiding my phone calls and attempts to contact her and never showing up. So I talked to my supervisor at the music ministry and he called her and she immediately answered the cell phone that was supposed to be broken (when I called her). He asked my cast member straight out if she was going to do the play and she said no, flat out. That was 9 days before the play. To summarize, the play had to close - no replacement could be found and there wasn't sufficient rehearsal time even if we could locate someone. By the way, this person still has not said "I'm sorry" or actually told ME that they were leaving... only told my supervisor.
Because of that, I'm learning a lot about forgiveness. I think I'm actually learning something interesting. Most people think you have to abandon your pride in order to ask someone to forgive you. This is true, of course. You can't be ready to ask for forgiveness if you still have pride for yourself. But I've learned that it is also important to abandon all pride for yourself before you forgive someone also. You can't truly forgive someone until you let go of your pride. I can't hope someone will come to me and apologize and I can't hope that they secretly feel bad for hurting me. I can't hope that they feel guilty if I'm nice to them after they've betrayed my trust. I have to be totally okay with the idea that someone will brush off anything bad between us and not really even care if I truly want to forgive. It has to be selfless.
So that's one of the many lessons God is teaching me this week.
Other than the play, lots of little things have been keeping me busy. I'm going to my parents house in 10 days, so yay for that! Funny as it is, I'm almost more excited to see my cat than I am to see my family. It's too bad my sister and nephews can't make it.
I'm also really loving Christmas right now. Not the typical Christmas idea, but I'm just so blown away tonight about how God came down to earth. I really just can't get over it. I usually think about it, and acknowledge it, but tonight it really hit me. This world that is so dirty and gross and sad... why would God ever want to come here? I don't even know how to describe it. I just really feel it tonight.
So happy Christmas to you all. I hope you all feel that unconditional love of God too. I promise to write more soon.
Cheers,
Em
A few weeks ago I wrote to you from Orlando, courtesy of a gig for the youth band and a night without sleep due to transport. Well... here we go again, folks! Once more, I'm embarking on a sleepless night and an over night drive up to Orlando... this time, though, we'll leave at 3am, arrive a little before 8, grab a quick breakfast, go to the gig, play, eat a quick lunch, and drive home. I'll be back around 6 or 7 pm. Whirlwind, I know! But school is in the mix and finals are going mad for many of our band members so this trip must be quick.
Things have been okay for me here. I'm learning a lot, especially about forgiveness. I've been gearing up for a play here lately. It is a Christmas play and ready to get going for production next Saturday. I was director and actor and had assembled a cast for the show. It was going along well until one of my cast members stopped showing up to rehearsals. Essentially what it boils down to was this cast member lying to me, avoiding my phone calls and attempts to contact her and never showing up. So I talked to my supervisor at the music ministry and he called her and she immediately answered the cell phone that was supposed to be broken (when I called her). He asked my cast member straight out if she was going to do the play and she said no, flat out. That was 9 days before the play. To summarize, the play had to close - no replacement could be found and there wasn't sufficient rehearsal time even if we could locate someone. By the way, this person still has not said "I'm sorry" or actually told ME that they were leaving... only told my supervisor.
Because of that, I'm learning a lot about forgiveness. I think I'm actually learning something interesting. Most people think you have to abandon your pride in order to ask someone to forgive you. This is true, of course. You can't be ready to ask for forgiveness if you still have pride for yourself. But I've learned that it is also important to abandon all pride for yourself before you forgive someone also. You can't truly forgive someone until you let go of your pride. I can't hope someone will come to me and apologize and I can't hope that they secretly feel bad for hurting me. I can't hope that they feel guilty if I'm nice to them after they've betrayed my trust. I have to be totally okay with the idea that someone will brush off anything bad between us and not really even care if I truly want to forgive. It has to be selfless.
So that's one of the many lessons God is teaching me this week.
Other than the play, lots of little things have been keeping me busy. I'm going to my parents house in 10 days, so yay for that! Funny as it is, I'm almost more excited to see my cat than I am to see my family. It's too bad my sister and nephews can't make it.
I'm also really loving Christmas right now. Not the typical Christmas idea, but I'm just so blown away tonight about how God came down to earth. I really just can't get over it. I usually think about it, and acknowledge it, but tonight it really hit me. This world that is so dirty and gross and sad... why would God ever want to come here? I don't even know how to describe it. I just really feel it tonight.
So happy Christmas to you all. I hope you all feel that unconditional love of God too. I promise to write more soon.
Cheers,
Em
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thanks and Giving
This week promises to be an exciting and joyful one for me. Tomorrow, I have work and worship team as always but then after worship team I'm driving to my aunt and uncle's house - and meeting up with them and my parents! My parents are coming into town for a week for Thanksgiving time. Huzzah!
I'm so pumped to see them, I've been talking about it for a long time without much stopping. I'm really, really excited. It should be a relatively low key week, but I have to work Thanksgiving morning. Our older band plays at a local homeless meal on Thanksgiving morning. It's a lot of fun though, and my parents are going to be able to come so it should be pretty cool. I'm really looking forward to having them around.
I've been thinking this week about giving thanks and such and I just wanted to point out that we usually remember to be thankful on thanksgiving day... but it should be every day and every hour that we are thankful for what we've been given. We are so blessed! Let's never forget that.
I hope all of you have a wonderful and happy week with friends, family or whomever you may be with. And if you are alone, remember you always have Someone with you.
God bless to all of you!
Cheers,
Em
I'm so pumped to see them, I've been talking about it for a long time without much stopping. I'm really, really excited. It should be a relatively low key week, but I have to work Thanksgiving morning. Our older band plays at a local homeless meal on Thanksgiving morning. It's a lot of fun though, and my parents are going to be able to come so it should be pretty cool. I'm really looking forward to having them around.
I've been thinking this week about giving thanks and such and I just wanted to point out that we usually remember to be thankful on thanksgiving day... but it should be every day and every hour that we are thankful for what we've been given. We are so blessed! Let's never forget that.
I hope all of you have a wonderful and happy week with friends, family or whomever you may be with. And if you are alone, remember you always have Someone with you.
God bless to all of you!
Cheers,
Em
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Unable to think of a creative title....
So my creativity is a little stifled. Sorry. :)
It's been a very long 10 days since my last post. I can't believe it's only been that many. Feels like a million.
The silent retreat went well. I had a good time just sitting there, being with God, no complications. It did, I admit, get rather boring at times. But in all, I think it was a very positive experience for me.
While I was there, I spent a bit of my time writing because I was preaching Saturday night at the Lighthouse. I think that went ok. I had some people tell me they enjoyed it, but you all know how critical I am of myself, so I really don't know. I did, however, manage to incorporate some dramatic elements in the form of a scripture pyramid. (For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a type of reading scripture that builds the words upon themselves in reverse order. It also incorporates aspects from "audience participation". It's really pretty cool. You may not get it at all, but believe me, it's cool.) I think in all I did pretty well, but I also believe that it's really just up to God. I hope God used me well.
Monday at our weekly meeting the worship team met with some pastors and worship leaders of a local church. Honestly, though, that doesn't quite get there. The reality of the situation is that it is a mega church, mega with five campuses all over the county. It's mega in so many ways... schools, services, bands, pastors, etc. They bring in over $80,000 a Sunday. Seriously. In reality, I haven't liked this church any time I've been to any of their campuses, and I'm skeptical of their mission and the way they approach the gospel. But all the same, they have a knack for bringing in people and have a lot of money. So Monday night, we the worship team, met with some of their staff to discuss potential partnerships. We have been talking with them for many months, but things have never really come to a resolution. Well on Monday night, to put it simply, a resolution did come. We resolved not to work together. I think it's the best outcome.
Thursday, I had an amazing day. Richard and I went to a local correctional facility. We have been trying to set up a volunteer opportunity to play a concert at a prison for quite some time and finally a meeting with a chaplain had materialized. We went, and it was a wonderful thing. I'm pleased to say that we are able to go in a month or so and play for the inmates. Everything we learned about was fascinating.
Friday was community day and my housemates and I went to the Miami Book Fair, which has been going on this week. The MBF is really famous and HUGE. It was a lot of fun, but unbearably hot (over 90 and maxed out humidity) and a few of my roommates and I decided that the Thai Food booth would be the wise choice for lunch so we added hot, spicy food to the mix.. Ha, that was smart.
After the book fair I drove (accompanied by my roommate Rachael) to Florida City and picked up Lily. This weekend we had music school and band practices and church, of course, but we also had a gig earlier today (Sunday). The important thing is though, that the races were in town today! Three races this weekend at Homestead/Miami racetrack, including the final race of the Nascar Sprint Cup series (this race determines the winner of the season, essentially). So traffic in Florida City and Homestead was terrible. So Friday I picked up Lily (Zoraida was coming up Saturday morning on her own and Nahomi is out of town). It took 3.5 hours to go down, pick her up, and bring her back. Long day.
Saturday was a good day with lots of good students and fun. I'm really enjoying the theatre class and my students in it. I'm proud of them and think they are doing well.
Today, we played at a local church. In fact, it's the one that my aunt and uncle attend. It was a lot of fun, and I thought it went well. But now, I'm exhausted. I'm here at Richard and Heidi's watching football and working on a grant that is due tomorrow. Heidi and I are working on it now, and we will be again tomorrow, before we go hand it in at five pm.
No rest for the weary! :)
Oh well. I'm enjoying myself though. Things are going well.
I guess it's off for now. I'm going to watch the rest of this game and then head home.
Cheers,
Em
It's been a very long 10 days since my last post. I can't believe it's only been that many. Feels like a million.
The silent retreat went well. I had a good time just sitting there, being with God, no complications. It did, I admit, get rather boring at times. But in all, I think it was a very positive experience for me.
While I was there, I spent a bit of my time writing because I was preaching Saturday night at the Lighthouse. I think that went ok. I had some people tell me they enjoyed it, but you all know how critical I am of myself, so I really don't know. I did, however, manage to incorporate some dramatic elements in the form of a scripture pyramid. (For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a type of reading scripture that builds the words upon themselves in reverse order. It also incorporates aspects from "audience participation". It's really pretty cool. You may not get it at all, but believe me, it's cool.) I think in all I did pretty well, but I also believe that it's really just up to God. I hope God used me well.
Monday at our weekly meeting the worship team met with some pastors and worship leaders of a local church. Honestly, though, that doesn't quite get there. The reality of the situation is that it is a mega church, mega with five campuses all over the county. It's mega in so many ways... schools, services, bands, pastors, etc. They bring in over $80,000 a Sunday. Seriously. In reality, I haven't liked this church any time I've been to any of their campuses, and I'm skeptical of their mission and the way they approach the gospel. But all the same, they have a knack for bringing in people and have a lot of money. So Monday night, we the worship team, met with some of their staff to discuss potential partnerships. We have been talking with them for many months, but things have never really come to a resolution. Well on Monday night, to put it simply, a resolution did come. We resolved not to work together. I think it's the best outcome.
Thursday, I had an amazing day. Richard and I went to a local correctional facility. We have been trying to set up a volunteer opportunity to play a concert at a prison for quite some time and finally a meeting with a chaplain had materialized. We went, and it was a wonderful thing. I'm pleased to say that we are able to go in a month or so and play for the inmates. Everything we learned about was fascinating.
Friday was community day and my housemates and I went to the Miami Book Fair, which has been going on this week. The MBF is really famous and HUGE. It was a lot of fun, but unbearably hot (over 90 and maxed out humidity) and a few of my roommates and I decided that the Thai Food booth would be the wise choice for lunch so we added hot, spicy food to the mix.. Ha, that was smart.
After the book fair I drove (accompanied by my roommate Rachael) to Florida City and picked up Lily. This weekend we had music school and band practices and church, of course, but we also had a gig earlier today (Sunday). The important thing is though, that the races were in town today! Three races this weekend at Homestead/Miami racetrack, including the final race of the Nascar Sprint Cup series (this race determines the winner of the season, essentially). So traffic in Florida City and Homestead was terrible. So Friday I picked up Lily (Zoraida was coming up Saturday morning on her own and Nahomi is out of town). It took 3.5 hours to go down, pick her up, and bring her back. Long day.
Saturday was a good day with lots of good students and fun. I'm really enjoying the theatre class and my students in it. I'm proud of them and think they are doing well.
Today, we played at a local church. In fact, it's the one that my aunt and uncle attend. It was a lot of fun, and I thought it went well. But now, I'm exhausted. I'm here at Richard and Heidi's watching football and working on a grant that is due tomorrow. Heidi and I are working on it now, and we will be again tomorrow, before we go hand it in at five pm.
No rest for the weary! :)
Oh well. I'm enjoying myself though. Things are going well.
I guess it's off for now. I'm going to watch the rest of this game and then head home.
Cheers,
Em
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Silence is golden...
Now that the election is over I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who went out and voted. Horray! Also, let's all pray for the new President-Elect- he's got the worst job in the world right now and needs our support.
This week I feel like I've gotten a lot done. I think having that talk with my boss about what specifically is needed of me and how he can relay that has been beneficial.
Today I'm going to a local organization to recruit for the music school. It should be exciting because these are young people who could really use a direction for their life and some of them have already indicated an interest in music. I'm hoping to be able to get three to four new students. That would be great. But, as my boss points out - you go, you talk, you recruit - then leave it up to God. If they don't come, don't worry.
Tonight I'm going with my housemates on a silent retreat. Hmm.... silence? You bet. The idea is that after dinner tonight we simply shut down all talking and spend time alone. No tv, no phone calls, etc... Reading, reflecting, writing is encouraged. We can go on the lake (freshwater so no gators!) in one of the small boats, go swimming, etc. My site director said that we should all have one or more of these "an idea, a question, a struggle or a boat load of happiness" and that's what we should focus on.
We've been studying solitude and silence recently in our learning of spiritual disciplines. We've studied many more, of course, but this one in particular is right now. I'm actually looking forward to this retreat.
My boss informed me on Monday that I am preaching this Saturday so I think I'll be spending most of my time Saturday coming up with what I want to preach on and writing my notes. :)
I'm asking you all to pray for me this weekend- I want to have a good time in silence for a full 24 hours (we can talk again at dinner on Friday) and then really let God's wisdom come from me when I preach. Pray that I really put forth what God wants everyone to hear!
I've got a fair bit of work to do before I head off tonight, so that's all for now. Let's hope that silence is golden for me tonight.
Cheers,
Em
This week I feel like I've gotten a lot done. I think having that talk with my boss about what specifically is needed of me and how he can relay that has been beneficial.
Today I'm going to a local organization to recruit for the music school. It should be exciting because these are young people who could really use a direction for their life and some of them have already indicated an interest in music. I'm hoping to be able to get three to four new students. That would be great. But, as my boss points out - you go, you talk, you recruit - then leave it up to God. If they don't come, don't worry.
Tonight I'm going with my housemates on a silent retreat. Hmm.... silence? You bet. The idea is that after dinner tonight we simply shut down all talking and spend time alone. No tv, no phone calls, etc... Reading, reflecting, writing is encouraged. We can go on the lake (freshwater so no gators!) in one of the small boats, go swimming, etc. My site director said that we should all have one or more of these "an idea, a question, a struggle or a boat load of happiness" and that's what we should focus on.
We've been studying solitude and silence recently in our learning of spiritual disciplines. We've studied many more, of course, but this one in particular is right now. I'm actually looking forward to this retreat.
My boss informed me on Monday that I am preaching this Saturday so I think I'll be spending most of my time Saturday coming up with what I want to preach on and writing my notes. :)
I'm asking you all to pray for me this weekend- I want to have a good time in silence for a full 24 hours (we can talk again at dinner on Friday) and then really let God's wisdom come from me when I preach. Pray that I really put forth what God wants everyone to hear!
I've got a fair bit of work to do before I head off tonight, so that's all for now. Let's hope that silence is golden for me tonight.
Cheers,
Em
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I voted - that's the way it should be!
Election Day!
I'd just like to take the time to post that I hope all of you have or are going to vote.
Sometimes I still marvel at how our government lets us make a large part of this decision. There are so many places around the world where the citizens are subject to someone else choosing their leader. Let's realize how fortunate we are to live in an area with free elections.
I still don't understand people who don't vote. Why would you not? One of my roommates didn't this year and I honestly don't know why. I don't think my roommate does either. If it is a matter of being lazy, there are ways around it. If feeling like you don't matter at all, well, then.... you obviously don't understand our privilege. It breaks my heart that people just don't care enough about it. Even if the reason be because they choose to follow God and not politics, I still have trouble with that justification. Are we not, as those entrusted to the care of this earth and life of others, therefore required to vote? We can help choose those that will protect, love and care for the earth, the people in it, and all of God's creation. We can help do so many things by carefully and thoughtfully choosing whom to vote for. Not voting is to give up your God-given duty to do what we can for the world.
So please, go vote! And if you have already, thank you. You've done a wonderful thing. Thanks on behalf of me, our country and our world.
Regardless of how this election turns out, we should all be praying for our leaders - past, present and future. None of this is easy - especially right now. It is our job as those who trust in God to ask the Lord to bless those who have stepped up to lead. They need wisdom, courage, guidance and safety.
Cheers,
Em
I'd just like to take the time to post that I hope all of you have or are going to vote.
Sometimes I still marvel at how our government lets us make a large part of this decision. There are so many places around the world where the citizens are subject to someone else choosing their leader. Let's realize how fortunate we are to live in an area with free elections.
I still don't understand people who don't vote. Why would you not? One of my roommates didn't this year and I honestly don't know why. I don't think my roommate does either. If it is a matter of being lazy, there are ways around it. If feeling like you don't matter at all, well, then.... you obviously don't understand our privilege. It breaks my heart that people just don't care enough about it. Even if the reason be because they choose to follow God and not politics, I still have trouble with that justification. Are we not, as those entrusted to the care of this earth and life of others, therefore required to vote? We can help choose those that will protect, love and care for the earth, the people in it, and all of God's creation. We can help do so many things by carefully and thoughtfully choosing whom to vote for. Not voting is to give up your God-given duty to do what we can for the world.
So please, go vote! And if you have already, thank you. You've done a wonderful thing. Thanks on behalf of me, our country and our world.
Regardless of how this election turns out, we should all be praying for our leaders - past, present and future. None of this is easy - especially right now. It is our job as those who trust in God to ask the Lord to bless those who have stepped up to lead. They need wisdom, courage, guidance and safety.
Cheers,
Em
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sunday Afternoons
Today I'm relaxing and watching some football. It's a comfort for me right now. Lately I haven't been feeling the best and am looking in many places for some respite.
I'm dealing a lot right now with being very lonely. As you all know, I'm an extrovert (understatement to put it that way!). I love being around people. I gather energy from people. I am happier when others are around.
But, guess what? I work alone. By myself. With no co-workers, no office mates, no nothing. I work at home, in my bedroom, by myself. I can't even go anywhere that is MY own to work. So I spend all day alone until around 430pm. When my housemates get home, they are all burned out and exhausted from work, or else have had a lot of interaction with people and are looking for some solitude. So, I sort of miss out on this even when they are home. It's nobody's fault it is just the nature of the beast.
But a beast it is, so I am dealing with this. At first it was no big deal, but now it's getting hard. I could go to a coffee shop or something - but then I'd be tempted to spend money. I could go to the library, but it's still not my place. I'm a visitor and that's not really what you want out of work everyday. And the people at those places aren't my coworkers, and I won't necessarily get to know them the way I would someone I work with. So, understandably, I'm having a tough time.
Hopefully though, some sort of solution will come out of the woodwork. Please, pray for me! I'd really appreciate it.
Otherwise, I think things are coming along ok. I'm finally able to dig into the drama aspect of my job and am directing and acting in a play in December. My students in drama are doing well too and I'm pumped about that.
I'm learning the ins and outs of communicating with a large group of people that you live with too. That is definitely interesting.
Right now I'm in a bumpy phase but things are still good on the whole. I'm enjoying my time here and am eager to keep exploring the things that are coming my way.
I'm volunteering for the Obama campaign in Miami on Election Day and am really excited.
Please pray for me in all of this, but also celebrate with me that I'm here doing what I am so happy to be in the midst of.
Cheers!
Em
I'm dealing a lot right now with being very lonely. As you all know, I'm an extrovert (understatement to put it that way!). I love being around people. I gather energy from people. I am happier when others are around.
But, guess what? I work alone. By myself. With no co-workers, no office mates, no nothing. I work at home, in my bedroom, by myself. I can't even go anywhere that is MY own to work. So I spend all day alone until around 430pm. When my housemates get home, they are all burned out and exhausted from work, or else have had a lot of interaction with people and are looking for some solitude. So, I sort of miss out on this even when they are home. It's nobody's fault it is just the nature of the beast.
But a beast it is, so I am dealing with this. At first it was no big deal, but now it's getting hard. I could go to a coffee shop or something - but then I'd be tempted to spend money. I could go to the library, but it's still not my place. I'm a visitor and that's not really what you want out of work everyday. And the people at those places aren't my coworkers, and I won't necessarily get to know them the way I would someone I work with. So, understandably, I'm having a tough time.
Hopefully though, some sort of solution will come out of the woodwork. Please, pray for me! I'd really appreciate it.
Otherwise, I think things are coming along ok. I'm finally able to dig into the drama aspect of my job and am directing and acting in a play in December. My students in drama are doing well too and I'm pumped about that.
I'm learning the ins and outs of communicating with a large group of people that you live with too. That is definitely interesting.
Right now I'm in a bumpy phase but things are still good on the whole. I'm enjoying my time here and am eager to keep exploring the things that are coming my way.
I'm volunteering for the Obama campaign in Miami on Election Day and am really excited.
Please pray for me in all of this, but also celebrate with me that I'm here doing what I am so happy to be in the midst of.
Cheers!
Em
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Politics of Life
I know it has been a very long time since I last wrote, and for that I am sorry. My life has been following the path of general exhaustion for the past few weeks so in my free time I have been anything but inclined to sit down and enlighten the world. So now I am. I will go into some more details on my life and such and tell you more about what is going on here in Miami, but first I'm going to talk about something else - politics. Cringe if you want, but please read on. It's going to be a long post.
What prompted this political conversation I actually happened upon last night; it was for the sake of calm and collected writing that I waited. I was so angered by what I saw and so upset that I "enjoyed" a fitful night of sleep in order to spare any readers of an emotional outburst.
I assume many of you know my political sway - I am a proud democrat, but I have indeed voted for a Republican or two in my life. Ususally, though, I do side with the more socially progressive candidates. This year I am supporting Barack Obama to be president. I did not start with him in the primary but have found him to be a worthy and a dedicatd servant to this country that has given us all so much.
Now, I understand that this is a very controversial presidential race, and for a vast number of reasons. The Bush Legacy, left to be cleaned up by a new president. The wars going on in the Middle East. Our role in peacekeeping around the world. The economy, gas prices, etc etc etc. And yet there also are more cosmetic issues - Obama is black, McCain is Old, McCain is "experienced" and Obama is relatively new to national politics.
Throughout this campaign (as with many others) I have been disappointed by many of the ads run. Some disappointment comes from the attacks made and how deeply saddened that makes me, and other disappointment comes from the nature of the ads - that they are poor quality. Take for example a recent ad by the GOP - it said Obama has no executive experience and talked about how he would make his first executive decisions from the chair in the oval office. Well, DUH, of course he would! But so would McCain! Neither of them have been president before so neither of them have executive experience and neither of them have sat in that chair as POTUS! In ads like this I am less upset over the content and more dismayed at the stupidity of the idea.
Recently, I have been very proud of ads Obama has put forth. Calmly discussing his plans and his ideas on how to implement them, reassuring the voters that things will get better and yet also calling us to accountability - he said in a recent ad for education that it is up to the parents to "turn off the tv" and read to the kids, etc for not only their future but ours. I really like these ads. They encourage us to get involved not only in politics, but in our lives. I do understand that Obama does have his own share of negative ads running out there, but I have found them to be much less offensive and even less negative "sounding" (music, narration) than McCain's.
The real thing that upset me the most and caused me to go on this particular topic was a late night tour of the internet. I, as many members of the worldly society do, love Facebook. Last night I was doing my usual updating and such on facebook when I decided to pop on over to my favorite app- Pieces of Flair. It's a fun little application in which you can get buttons and display them - buttons on anything, and I mean anything. I have cartoons, buttons from my favorite tv shows, some made for me by my friends with our pictures on them and more. I also have a few political ones. I have the popular red and blue drawing of Obama's face and I have one I find to be funny - a picture of McCain with a red "no" circle across it and the words "No Country for Old Men." Now I realize that this is slightly offensive and it mocks McCain's age. But let's face it, he's very old so far as presidents come. If he was a two term president he'd be 80 when he left office. But I also (incorrect as it may be) believe a general mock of McCain's age to be much less offensive than a mock of Obama's race. To know that at McCain and Palin rallies across the country people have shouted things like "off with his head" and "kill obama", and have these things met with small, sly smiles by the candidates on the stage disgusts me. I have learned more in this election than in others that there are people who truly HATE. I came across this on the facebook application last night.
I, looking for more "pro-Obama" flair, typed in "obama" in the search box. I found a few pro-Obama ones and many anti-Obama. Granted, the anti-Obama ones on the first page were usually more funny to me than not. There was a button with the word "Socialism" written on it with the O being the Obama logo. There was one saying "Obama/Marx" as if Obama was running with our favorite communist. And then there was one with Obama's face imposed on the movie cover of The 40-Year Old Virgin... but they added "political" before the word virgin.
Okay, so none of these bothered me too much. But then as I clicked through the pages I began to sense something completely different.
666 - on a piece of flair, the obama logo being used in the rounded part of each 6
Obama isn't the messiah he's the 12th Imam
Give Al-Qaeda A chance - Vote Barack Obama!
Buck Ofama
The only difference between Osama and Obama is BS
A picture of Obama in a darth vader suit - don't be seduced by the dark side
and the one that made me stop - A picture of a sonogram and the words in cold red: OBAMA HATES ME
I was so angered, so disgusted, so upset that I literally kicked my chair back and paced my room. There are anti McCain buttons of course but they are usually going after his choice of Palin as VP, his age or his funny faces that he makes. But none are nearly so offensive as these against Obama.
So what if he's black? And he's not that young! He's 48! He's intelligent, and he worked himself up from the bottom. Barack Obama is the epitome of the American Dream. He is someone I'm proud to vote for.
I was so shocked at seeing hatred so blatant and so alive in such a medium! Facebook applications? Honestly?
I know this kind of hatred exists and I've come across it before. I was just so saddened to see it here, now, in this way. I am praying for both our candidates to find a way whether they win or lose to bring this country together and heal the wounds that we have created. We need someone to help us and teach us how to stop destroying ourselves; because right now, we've set ourselves on self destruct and nobody even knows it. We have hate, greed, jealousy and overwhelming fear of all things different. We're so used to being in control and being the "big one" in the world that we can't even cope with the idea that other countries, other races, other people have worthy ideas and ways to help this great earth. We need someone to help us, and we need someone to lead. And for that, I'm choosing Barack Obama.
Now that my political rant if you will is over, I'll provide an update on the ongoings in my life.
Music school is up and going strong. Our student base is growing and we're enjoying working together in learning music and growing in God. This has been the main reason I've been so busy lately.
Right now, CCDA (Christian Community Developers Association) is in town for their annual conference. They picked Miami this year and a local organization that two of my housemates work for has been heading up the local side of it. It's nice to see things finally going! It's been a long and difficult road to get this here but now it is and it's moving along nicely.
I'm facing a lot of tough decisions with the church I'm involved in at the music ministry. We're making lots of big choices right now and being new, I often feel like I am unworthy of input. But occasionally I feel God tugging at my heart and I speak up.
My parents are coming down soon for thanksgiving and I am quite excited to see them. It will be wonderful to have them around!
I've been able to spend more time with my aunt and uncle lately which has been great too.
In general, things have been moving along, quickly and crazily, but steadily as well. For this I am thankful.
Now, I really must get back to work. The band is playing tonight at CCDA and I've got a lot to do before taking off to pick up some of the musicians.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. God bless!
Cheers,
Em
What prompted this political conversation I actually happened upon last night; it was for the sake of calm and collected writing that I waited. I was so angered by what I saw and so upset that I "enjoyed" a fitful night of sleep in order to spare any readers of an emotional outburst.
I assume many of you know my political sway - I am a proud democrat, but I have indeed voted for a Republican or two in my life. Ususally, though, I do side with the more socially progressive candidates. This year I am supporting Barack Obama to be president. I did not start with him in the primary but have found him to be a worthy and a dedicatd servant to this country that has given us all so much.
Now, I understand that this is a very controversial presidential race, and for a vast number of reasons. The Bush Legacy, left to be cleaned up by a new president. The wars going on in the Middle East. Our role in peacekeeping around the world. The economy, gas prices, etc etc etc. And yet there also are more cosmetic issues - Obama is black, McCain is Old, McCain is "experienced" and Obama is relatively new to national politics.
Throughout this campaign (as with many others) I have been disappointed by many of the ads run. Some disappointment comes from the attacks made and how deeply saddened that makes me, and other disappointment comes from the nature of the ads - that they are poor quality. Take for example a recent ad by the GOP - it said Obama has no executive experience and talked about how he would make his first executive decisions from the chair in the oval office. Well, DUH, of course he would! But so would McCain! Neither of them have been president before so neither of them have executive experience and neither of them have sat in that chair as POTUS! In ads like this I am less upset over the content and more dismayed at the stupidity of the idea.
Recently, I have been very proud of ads Obama has put forth. Calmly discussing his plans and his ideas on how to implement them, reassuring the voters that things will get better and yet also calling us to accountability - he said in a recent ad for education that it is up to the parents to "turn off the tv" and read to the kids, etc for not only their future but ours. I really like these ads. They encourage us to get involved not only in politics, but in our lives. I do understand that Obama does have his own share of negative ads running out there, but I have found them to be much less offensive and even less negative "sounding" (music, narration) than McCain's.
The real thing that upset me the most and caused me to go on this particular topic was a late night tour of the internet. I, as many members of the worldly society do, love Facebook. Last night I was doing my usual updating and such on facebook when I decided to pop on over to my favorite app- Pieces of Flair. It's a fun little application in which you can get buttons and display them - buttons on anything, and I mean anything. I have cartoons, buttons from my favorite tv shows, some made for me by my friends with our pictures on them and more. I also have a few political ones. I have the popular red and blue drawing of Obama's face and I have one I find to be funny - a picture of McCain with a red "no" circle across it and the words "No Country for Old Men." Now I realize that this is slightly offensive and it mocks McCain's age. But let's face it, he's very old so far as presidents come. If he was a two term president he'd be 80 when he left office. But I also (incorrect as it may be) believe a general mock of McCain's age to be much less offensive than a mock of Obama's race. To know that at McCain and Palin rallies across the country people have shouted things like "off with his head" and "kill obama", and have these things met with small, sly smiles by the candidates on the stage disgusts me. I have learned more in this election than in others that there are people who truly HATE. I came across this on the facebook application last night.
I, looking for more "pro-Obama" flair, typed in "obama" in the search box. I found a few pro-Obama ones and many anti-Obama. Granted, the anti-Obama ones on the first page were usually more funny to me than not. There was a button with the word "Socialism" written on it with the O being the Obama logo. There was one saying "Obama/Marx" as if Obama was running with our favorite communist. And then there was one with Obama's face imposed on the movie cover of The 40-Year Old Virgin... but they added "political" before the word virgin.
Okay, so none of these bothered me too much. But then as I clicked through the pages I began to sense something completely different.
666 - on a piece of flair, the obama logo being used in the rounded part of each 6
Obama isn't the messiah he's the 12th Imam
Give Al-Qaeda A chance - Vote Barack Obama!
Buck Ofama
The only difference between Osama and Obama is BS
A picture of Obama in a darth vader suit - don't be seduced by the dark side
and the one that made me stop - A picture of a sonogram and the words in cold red: OBAMA HATES ME
I was so angered, so disgusted, so upset that I literally kicked my chair back and paced my room. There are anti McCain buttons of course but they are usually going after his choice of Palin as VP, his age or his funny faces that he makes. But none are nearly so offensive as these against Obama.
So what if he's black? And he's not that young! He's 48! He's intelligent, and he worked himself up from the bottom. Barack Obama is the epitome of the American Dream. He is someone I'm proud to vote for.
I was so shocked at seeing hatred so blatant and so alive in such a medium! Facebook applications? Honestly?
I know this kind of hatred exists and I've come across it before. I was just so saddened to see it here, now, in this way. I am praying for both our candidates to find a way whether they win or lose to bring this country together and heal the wounds that we have created. We need someone to help us and teach us how to stop destroying ourselves; because right now, we've set ourselves on self destruct and nobody even knows it. We have hate, greed, jealousy and overwhelming fear of all things different. We're so used to being in control and being the "big one" in the world that we can't even cope with the idea that other countries, other races, other people have worthy ideas and ways to help this great earth. We need someone to help us, and we need someone to lead. And for that, I'm choosing Barack Obama.
Now that my political rant if you will is over, I'll provide an update on the ongoings in my life.
Music school is up and going strong. Our student base is growing and we're enjoying working together in learning music and growing in God. This has been the main reason I've been so busy lately.
Right now, CCDA (Christian Community Developers Association) is in town for their annual conference. They picked Miami this year and a local organization that two of my housemates work for has been heading up the local side of it. It's nice to see things finally going! It's been a long and difficult road to get this here but now it is and it's moving along nicely.
I'm facing a lot of tough decisions with the church I'm involved in at the music ministry. We're making lots of big choices right now and being new, I often feel like I am unworthy of input. But occasionally I feel God tugging at my heart and I speak up.
My parents are coming down soon for thanksgiving and I am quite excited to see them. It will be wonderful to have them around!
I've been able to spend more time with my aunt and uncle lately which has been great too.
In general, things have been moving along, quickly and crazily, but steadily as well. For this I am thankful.
Now, I really must get back to work. The band is playing tonight at CCDA and I've got a lot to do before taking off to pick up some of the musicians.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. God bless!
Cheers,
Em
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Orlando
This weekend, God's been moving in my life. I know I already said a lot of this in a prior post but I'm including it again now as a way to show how God has been blessing me. I left around 12:30 Friday night/Saturday morning and Danielle (Drive band member) and I drove up to Orlando. Including the tolls and a stop at Starbucks in the middle of the night, we arrived sometime around 5am. By the time I got to my room, it was 5:30 and we had to be up at 7am. So I decided to forgo sleep and just spent some time alone. It was great. The hotel we have been at is the Holiday Inn on International Drive. There are a number of buildings on a lovely if not touristy campus. Our rooms have been in the "tower" which is a building 13 stories (though they say 14) tall with a completely open air atrium. The entrance is covered, but enter the center again and look up and you see the sky. It's wonderful. So I spent the rest of that morning sitting on a neat little couch, checking email and relishing the grotto-like waterfall and foliage.
While I was sitting on that comfy bench, I received a much anticipated email. I've been a member of an organization called CITA (Christians in Theatre Arts) for a year or so now and really love what they're doing. Every year they have an annual conference. A few days ago I was randomly on the CITA website and I came across preparations for this next conference, and it's going to be in Orlando. I sent off an email and phone message to those in charge of CITA and got my response yesterday morning. It was an email from the executive director of CITA. He said he had forgotten how close Miami is to Orlando, and that if I was in the Orlando area this weekend, he'd love to meet. Well, it just so happens I am! He's visiting this weekend for conference preparations so after a few phone calls and emails, yesterday afternoon I got to sit down an chat with him. We discussed many things, including the conference itself, involvement of people from the Music Ministry (in many ways) and gave me some helpful hints and even told me about something that could really help the ministry grow. It was a great meeting that really filled me with validation in what I'm doing. I feel so fortunate and give GLORY to GOD for this. :) He also visited with the band and listened to a rehearsal and he liked what he heard.
After a failed attempt at napping during the afternoon (maybe it was my excitement through the holy spirit) we had another worship session at night. (There's a total of four played this weekend.) During that worship, I saw God again. It was a moment I was not expecting. The worship service ended with an alter call. Now, I in my life have been very anti-alter call because of the implication of "saving". This is a subject I have trouble with. I believe we were "saved" when Jesus Christ died for us. So saying you were "saved" when you chose to follow God is a bad idea for me. Because I believe that we refocus ourselves on God many many times during our lives and it is not our saving of ourselves, but our renewed attention to God's love and His saving of us. So alter calls I think are self-serving and saying "I have now saved myself in Jesus Christ". But I'd never seen one in which things made sense. Last night, I saw one in which it was simply a call to repent and return to "our first love" as the preacher put it. I saw many young people refocusing themselves and saying they were sorry. I heard people say that they needed forgiveness. And it was great. I loved it. I felt like people were actually going to connect. Granted there were, as there always will be, those who went merely for show and for a public exhibition of their faith. But I pray that God will move in their hearts as well.
I've met a number of fun youth and young adults who truly seek God, and many who are still searching for everything they yearn to know about life and love. And I've also met those who don't know anything about God or faith and have simply come to learn or find out what this about. But no matter where they may be on their journey, I know God is walking with them, constantly encouraging them to learn, ask and grow in Him.
It's been a good week. And bonding has been going well. :)
I hope all of you take the time to find God in your life this week. Seek Him in all you do.
Cheers!
Em
While I was sitting on that comfy bench, I received a much anticipated email. I've been a member of an organization called CITA (Christians in Theatre Arts) for a year or so now and really love what they're doing. Every year they have an annual conference. A few days ago I was randomly on the CITA website and I came across preparations for this next conference, and it's going to be in Orlando. I sent off an email and phone message to those in charge of CITA and got my response yesterday morning. It was an email from the executive director of CITA. He said he had forgotten how close Miami is to Orlando, and that if I was in the Orlando area this weekend, he'd love to meet. Well, it just so happens I am! He's visiting this weekend for conference preparations so after a few phone calls and emails, yesterday afternoon I got to sit down an chat with him. We discussed many things, including the conference itself, involvement of people from the Music Ministry (in many ways) and gave me some helpful hints and even told me about something that could really help the ministry grow. It was a great meeting that really filled me with validation in what I'm doing. I feel so fortunate and give GLORY to GOD for this. :) He also visited with the band and listened to a rehearsal and he liked what he heard.
After a failed attempt at napping during the afternoon (maybe it was my excitement through the holy spirit) we had another worship session at night. (There's a total of four played this weekend.) During that worship, I saw God again. It was a moment I was not expecting. The worship service ended with an alter call. Now, I in my life have been very anti-alter call because of the implication of "saving". This is a subject I have trouble with. I believe we were "saved" when Jesus Christ died for us. So saying you were "saved" when you chose to follow God is a bad idea for me. Because I believe that we refocus ourselves on God many many times during our lives and it is not our saving of ourselves, but our renewed attention to God's love and His saving of us. So alter calls I think are self-serving and saying "I have now saved myself in Jesus Christ". But I'd never seen one in which things made sense. Last night, I saw one in which it was simply a call to repent and return to "our first love" as the preacher put it. I saw many young people refocusing themselves and saying they were sorry. I heard people say that they needed forgiveness. And it was great. I loved it. I felt like people were actually going to connect. Granted there were, as there always will be, those who went merely for show and for a public exhibition of their faith. But I pray that God will move in their hearts as well.
I've met a number of fun youth and young adults who truly seek God, and many who are still searching for everything they yearn to know about life and love. And I've also met those who don't know anything about God or faith and have simply come to learn or find out what this about. But no matter where they may be on their journey, I know God is walking with them, constantly encouraging them to learn, ask and grow in Him.
It's been a good week. And bonding has been going well. :)
I hope all of you take the time to find God in your life this week. Seek Him in all you do.
Cheers!
Em
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Sleepless Nights - but not for stress!
So here I am, just before 5am in Orlando, FL. I just arrived and am all ready to begin a crazy weekend here working with the youth band at a conference at which they are playing. I left Miami around 12:30am (thankfully that early!) and drove about 4 hours to Orlando, then found our hotel. I went to my room but found some of the band girls there, asleep each in one of the two beds and with the tv on loudly. How they can sleep that way is beyond me. We may have to discuss that for this next night. I didn't want to wake them (since it's they that have to perform tomorrow!) or change their TV sleeping habits, and since it's 5am anyway and we START at 730am, I figured sleep would only make me groggy as I'm feeling rather perky and awake now. I'd rather take a long nap this afternoon while people are in session than pick up an hour of sleep now. Blech.
So now I'm sitting in the center grotto of the hotel we're staying at. We're at a very lovely Holiday Inn with many buildings and areas... it's a resort and conference center. Nice.
Hopefully I'll get some sleep today. Otherwise I'll be cranky. :) Or ineffective. Or whatever. I also need to shower. I feel gross.
Wish me luck this weekend! It's my first real trip with the youth band and I am hoping for some good bonding, good work and good fun.
Cheers!
So now I'm sitting in the center grotto of the hotel we're staying at. We're at a very lovely Holiday Inn with many buildings and areas... it's a resort and conference center. Nice.
Hopefully I'll get some sleep today. Otherwise I'll be cranky. :) Or ineffective. Or whatever. I also need to shower. I feel gross.
Wish me luck this weekend! It's my first real trip with the youth band and I am hoping for some good bonding, good work and good fun.
Cheers!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
New Beginnings, Ghosts and More
I realize that it has been some time since I last posted, but for good reason.
Music school finally kicked off in some official manner on Saturday. Orientation/registration happened for the students, etc. I have been working my tail off for the last weeks getting things ready, making phone calls, organizing things and such. Official lessons start NEXT week, not this coming Saturday. Why you ask? Because I, the youth band and Richard (boss) will all be in Orlando! We're playing at a conference for the United Methodist Church - they're having a conference for equipping youth leaders and the band is their music. Rock on. It's at a lovely hotel. So while we're off playing (and working).... school will be postponed. I'm quite excited! The unfortunate part is that it's looking like I'm not leaving Friday afternoon with the rest of the group. There are some younger band members that have to leave post Friday pm so i'll be waking UP at 2 am and going South by 3 am to pick them up so we can be on the road for Orlando by 4 am. My the fun we will have. My sleep schedule is going to be so messed up!
But I'm looking forward to it. :)
I have a new computer now, that I'm typing this on, so if there's an unusually high number of typos or such, please just accept them as adjustments to the new keyboard. My old one decided to sacrifice itself to the gods of laptop monitor failure, so here I am with Christmas in my lap.
The other big thing that happened this past week is that I spent 5 days at Ghost Ranch Retreat and Conference Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico. It's one of the big Presbyterian Church USA conference centers. It was very beautiful and fun. I went for the YAV orientation retreat. This was for all of the Nationally serving YAVs so I met all those serving around the country for this next year. It was 5 days of no communication with the outside world (so missing the debate totally sucked!) and forgetting to tell my mother so I had many messages like "hmm, well, I guess you're busy..." but also 5 days of really feeling connected and meeting tons of other people doing what I'm doing and so much more. Yay! Good times had by all.
I'm really enjoying my time here. Truly. And I'm learning everyday how tough living with 5 other people is, but it's really helping me learn to always think of others first. I like my housemates a lot still so when things go up or down in relationships, it's easy to remember the relationship is more important than whatever issue I/others may be having. So yay for this being a year of learning!
We talked about discernment during one of our days at Ghost Ranch and I found that a very helpful and enriching seminar. I'm hoping to put many of the things I learned into practice.
Well, I'm tired, and I'm starting to push my bedtime forward each day in prep for this weekend so I'm signing off.
Cheers!
Music school finally kicked off in some official manner on Saturday. Orientation/registration happened for the students, etc. I have been working my tail off for the last weeks getting things ready, making phone calls, organizing things and such. Official lessons start NEXT week, not this coming Saturday. Why you ask? Because I, the youth band and Richard (boss) will all be in Orlando! We're playing at a conference for the United Methodist Church - they're having a conference for equipping youth leaders and the band is their music. Rock on. It's at a lovely hotel. So while we're off playing (and working).... school will be postponed. I'm quite excited! The unfortunate part is that it's looking like I'm not leaving Friday afternoon with the rest of the group. There are some younger band members that have to leave post Friday pm so i'll be waking UP at 2 am and going South by 3 am to pick them up so we can be on the road for Orlando by 4 am. My the fun we will have. My sleep schedule is going to be so messed up!
But I'm looking forward to it. :)
I have a new computer now, that I'm typing this on, so if there's an unusually high number of typos or such, please just accept them as adjustments to the new keyboard. My old one decided to sacrifice itself to the gods of laptop monitor failure, so here I am with Christmas in my lap.
The other big thing that happened this past week is that I spent 5 days at Ghost Ranch Retreat and Conference Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico. It's one of the big Presbyterian Church USA conference centers. It was very beautiful and fun. I went for the YAV orientation retreat. This was for all of the Nationally serving YAVs so I met all those serving around the country for this next year. It was 5 days of no communication with the outside world (so missing the debate totally sucked!) and forgetting to tell my mother so I had many messages like "hmm, well, I guess you're busy..." but also 5 days of really feeling connected and meeting tons of other people doing what I'm doing and so much more. Yay! Good times had by all.
I'm really enjoying my time here. Truly. And I'm learning everyday how tough living with 5 other people is, but it's really helping me learn to always think of others first. I like my housemates a lot still so when things go up or down in relationships, it's easy to remember the relationship is more important than whatever issue I/others may be having. So yay for this being a year of learning!
We talked about discernment during one of our days at Ghost Ranch and I found that a very helpful and enriching seminar. I'm hoping to put many of the things I learned into practice.
Well, I'm tired, and I'm starting to push my bedtime forward each day in prep for this weekend so I'm signing off.
Cheers!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Checklist: Week 1
Week #1 is finished. What an exciting week. First days of work, first worship team meeting, first Lighthouse Church where I helped out, etc. It has been a little stressful but a lot of fun and very rewarding. I'm getting ready to really sink my heels in.
I'm currently neglecting folding laundry and getting ready to go to bed, but I felt like writing at least a little.
Today I went to the church my aunt and uncle go to and they had a big kick off for their new church vision and things. They are called Crossbridge Church and they are a fun, funky church with a multicultural and arts based worship experience. A lot of fun. After worship there was a lunch with food from Pollo Tropicale (sp?) and then a Latin band played some great music. I went on a tour of the building (for reasons I will disclose later) and it was really an all around good experience.
Saturday was my first full day with the bands and such. It was different than it will be once the school gets going, but a load of fun. I had to go to Florida City to pick up some students. It was a new and different and long drive that I'll have to get used to.
Friday was community day and the housemates went to Sailboard Beach and we spent the day picking up trash and recycling. Then we went further to Hobie Beach and swam a bit before going home. It was a lot of fun.
Other than that, there has been more time settling into things.
Oh, and my computer is on its way out... so I am getting a new one soon. :) I'm gonna wipe Vista off tho and put XP back on. Grr Vista.
Okay, I'm tired (I work long days Saturdays and didn't sleep well last night) so I'm gonna finish with the laundry and then hit the pillow... hard.
Night all!
I'm currently neglecting folding laundry and getting ready to go to bed, but I felt like writing at least a little.
Today I went to the church my aunt and uncle go to and they had a big kick off for their new church vision and things. They are called Crossbridge Church and they are a fun, funky church with a multicultural and arts based worship experience. A lot of fun. After worship there was a lunch with food from Pollo Tropicale (sp?) and then a Latin band played some great music. I went on a tour of the building (for reasons I will disclose later) and it was really an all around good experience.
Saturday was my first full day with the bands and such. It was different than it will be once the school gets going, but a load of fun. I had to go to Florida City to pick up some students. It was a new and different and long drive that I'll have to get used to.
Friday was community day and the housemates went to Sailboard Beach and we spent the day picking up trash and recycling. Then we went further to Hobie Beach and swam a bit before going home. It was a lot of fun.
Other than that, there has been more time settling into things.
Oh, and my computer is on its way out... so I am getting a new one soon. :) I'm gonna wipe Vista off tho and put XP back on. Grr Vista.
Okay, I'm tired (I work long days Saturdays and didn't sleep well last night) so I'm gonna finish with the laundry and then hit the pillow... hard.
Night all!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Beginning.....
It's late at night and I'm finally getting around to doing this.
Things here have been crazy. Wonderful, but crazy.
Let me tell you about it.
Julie and I arrived safe and sound (but very tired) in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. We were met at the train station by Heidi and we loaded up our things and drove to the house. We dropped off our stuff, met Matt and JJ (Matt I had met before... he took some of my things down with him on his way in his car - incredibly sweet!) and all went to grab dinner before dropping me at my Uncle and Aunt's house. Dinner was great - eating subs on the end of a dock in the bay, looking out over a marina. I caught up with my Aunt and Uncle (Sally and Frank, respectively, my mother's brother and sister-in-law), had a fantastic shower (after twenty hours on the train, it was wonderful) and got some much needed sleep.
After a late breakfast out on Wednesday, Frank and Sally dropped me back off at the house (the Wesley House... where we live) and we waited for Julie and Heidi to arrive so we could all go to the airport to pick up Elizabeth and Rachael.
After we picked them up, we went to the famous Scotty's Landing for lunch. Delicious food abounded, as did discussions of the best way to steal coconuts, movies about zombies and other fun things. It was quite fun.
The Wesley House is one of two houses that the DOOR program uses here in Miami. The other house (the South House) is not being used this year as there are six of us. So guess what happened to all the furniture from the other house? It ended up in our living room.
Much of our week was putting away the furniture, painting a bedroom (a rather large task), unpacking, cleaning, driving around to everyone's sites so we could meet everyone's work placements and bosses and such, doing paperwork and reading rules, writing a covenant, making a chore chart, praying together and such. This all had to be done before Sunday at 4pm, in which our house was going to be taken over by many guests in an open house so that the bosses, board members, former DOOR volunteers and many other people could see what we're doing, how we're living, and get to know everyone.
Needless to say, I've been very, very busy. I feel quite guilty about only having called my parents once in the whole time I've been here, and never being able to call any of my friends, let alone my best friend Mattie. Time has been crazy here. So for those of you who may feel neglected... I love you! I didn't forget about you! Now that things here are settling into routines as we are all getting into work and such, things should calm down and I should have a set schedule.
Speaking of work.... it started today! I, unlike the rest of the DOOR people here this year, have a very different work placement. Most of them go to work 4 days a week (M-Th) at the same hours each day. Some work morning to afternoon like at and office or school, or some work late morning to early evening, for afterschool type things.
I, however, have none of that luxury. :)
Let me tell you about my job.
I am now, officially, the Director of the Community Music School of Miami. I also am on the worship team for Lighthouse Christian Fellowship and one of the key staff of Miami Music Ministries (which runs all of this stuff).
I am responsible for finding curriculum, writing curriculum, finding teachers and students, fundraising, grant writing, scheduling classes, private lessons, bible studies and more, networking, investigating and connecting people. And all of this is done with my mind completely on what God wants me to do. Heavy stuff.
I also will be teaching/leading drama classes: history/theory of theatre and acting classes that will evolve into rehearsals when nearing a performance of any kind.
I get to travel with the youth band (one of the many amazing ministries of the school and church and such) and help lead worship on Saturday nights. I'm already signed up to preach in October.
Most of our classes and things take place on Saturday, so Saturdays will be big, crazy busy days for me. I will work from very early in the morning to very early the next morning. Sundays, if the band is travelling, will be busy too. And most likely Mondays, I'll be heading South to a particularly poverty-stricken area of Florida to teach in and direct a satellite part of the Music School in Florida City.
So this means that Tuesdays are my day off. :)
Wednesdays and Thursdays are for phone calls, emails, grant writing, scheduling, fundraising, networking and organising.
Friday is the community day here at the house when all of us don't work and we do things together - a lot of volunteer work, a lot of fun, a lot of bonding.
Speaking of my community....
IT ROCKS! I am so happy and so blessed to be with such a wonderful group of people. I really have such huge appreciation for each of them. Rachael, Julie, Elizabeth, Matt and JJ are incredible Christians and wonderful young people and we have all really hit it off. We're all having fun and getting along well. We joke that we will have to see how things are going in six months, but I don't think I could have asked for a better group. We're all so different and yet have so much in common and so much to talk about.
So in a nutshell.... I'm pretty happy. My job will be a blast (though very difficult so please please pray for me!)
I want to really thank all of you who have been supporting me in so many ways these last few weeks. It means a ton. And of course, all the glory to God our Redeemer. For it is for GOD that I am doing all of this!
And don't worry... Ike left town. :)
Things here have been crazy. Wonderful, but crazy.
Let me tell you about it.
Julie and I arrived safe and sound (but very tired) in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. We were met at the train station by Heidi and we loaded up our things and drove to the house. We dropped off our stuff, met Matt and JJ (Matt I had met before... he took some of my things down with him on his way in his car - incredibly sweet!) and all went to grab dinner before dropping me at my Uncle and Aunt's house. Dinner was great - eating subs on the end of a dock in the bay, looking out over a marina. I caught up with my Aunt and Uncle (Sally and Frank, respectively, my mother's brother and sister-in-law), had a fantastic shower (after twenty hours on the train, it was wonderful) and got some much needed sleep.
After a late breakfast out on Wednesday, Frank and Sally dropped me back off at the house (the Wesley House... where we live) and we waited for Julie and Heidi to arrive so we could all go to the airport to pick up Elizabeth and Rachael.
After we picked them up, we went to the famous Scotty's Landing for lunch. Delicious food abounded, as did discussions of the best way to steal coconuts, movies about zombies and other fun things. It was quite fun.
The Wesley House is one of two houses that the DOOR program uses here in Miami. The other house (the South House) is not being used this year as there are six of us. So guess what happened to all the furniture from the other house? It ended up in our living room.
Much of our week was putting away the furniture, painting a bedroom (a rather large task), unpacking, cleaning, driving around to everyone's sites so we could meet everyone's work placements and bosses and such, doing paperwork and reading rules, writing a covenant, making a chore chart, praying together and such. This all had to be done before Sunday at 4pm, in which our house was going to be taken over by many guests in an open house so that the bosses, board members, former DOOR volunteers and many other people could see what we're doing, how we're living, and get to know everyone.
Needless to say, I've been very, very busy. I feel quite guilty about only having called my parents once in the whole time I've been here, and never being able to call any of my friends, let alone my best friend Mattie. Time has been crazy here. So for those of you who may feel neglected... I love you! I didn't forget about you! Now that things here are settling into routines as we are all getting into work and such, things should calm down and I should have a set schedule.
Speaking of work.... it started today! I, unlike the rest of the DOOR people here this year, have a very different work placement. Most of them go to work 4 days a week (M-Th) at the same hours each day. Some work morning to afternoon like at and office or school, or some work late morning to early evening, for afterschool type things.
I, however, have none of that luxury. :)
Let me tell you about my job.
I am now, officially, the Director of the Community Music School of Miami. I also am on the worship team for Lighthouse Christian Fellowship and one of the key staff of Miami Music Ministries (which runs all of this stuff).
I am responsible for finding curriculum, writing curriculum, finding teachers and students, fundraising, grant writing, scheduling classes, private lessons, bible studies and more, networking, investigating and connecting people. And all of this is done with my mind completely on what God wants me to do. Heavy stuff.
I also will be teaching/leading drama classes: history/theory of theatre and acting classes that will evolve into rehearsals when nearing a performance of any kind.
I get to travel with the youth band (one of the many amazing ministries of the school and church and such) and help lead worship on Saturday nights. I'm already signed up to preach in October.
Most of our classes and things take place on Saturday, so Saturdays will be big, crazy busy days for me. I will work from very early in the morning to very early the next morning. Sundays, if the band is travelling, will be busy too. And most likely Mondays, I'll be heading South to a particularly poverty-stricken area of Florida to teach in and direct a satellite part of the Music School in Florida City.
So this means that Tuesdays are my day off. :)
Wednesdays and Thursdays are for phone calls, emails, grant writing, scheduling, fundraising, networking and organising.
Friday is the community day here at the house when all of us don't work and we do things together - a lot of volunteer work, a lot of fun, a lot of bonding.
Speaking of my community....
IT ROCKS! I am so happy and so blessed to be with such a wonderful group of people. I really have such huge appreciation for each of them. Rachael, Julie, Elizabeth, Matt and JJ are incredible Christians and wonderful young people and we have all really hit it off. We're all having fun and getting along well. We joke that we will have to see how things are going in six months, but I don't think I could have asked for a better group. We're all so different and yet have so much in common and so much to talk about.
So in a nutshell.... I'm pretty happy. My job will be a blast (though very difficult so please please pray for me!)
I want to really thank all of you who have been supporting me in so many ways these last few weeks. It means a ton. And of course, all the glory to God our Redeemer. For it is for GOD that I am doing all of this!
And don't worry... Ike left town. :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Getting There - and Hurricanes!
This evening I'm boarding the train and heading off for Miami.
It's finally here!
I'm very excited about going and getting started. We have a week of orientation things and moving in, times to get to know people in the community and (if the weather holds up) a possible trip to Orlando for a concert.
Speaking of weather....
Many friends and family have been checking in on me and my "hurricane status".
First off, the house I'm living in has hurricane shutters. And secondly, there is indeed an evacuation plan for all of us.
Hurricanes, in general, are "the best" natural disaster, though I say this lightly in the wake of current events. What I mean by this is that in the case of hurricanes, you get a few days of notice. It's not instant like an earthquake, or sudden like a tornado.
Don't worry - If I'm in danger of a hurricane's path - I'll leave. The program people understand the risk and we'll be well taken care of.
But in most cases, evacuation won't be necessary. Just putting up the shutters and staying inside could make for an exciting evening! There will be plenty of flashlights and candles and other things we need.
For now, let's just pray that Hanna holds off until I'm all moved in! It could be interesting moving into the house with rain and wind.
Wish me luck this first busy week! And as always, your prayers are always appreciated.
Cheers,
Em
It's finally here!
I'm very excited about going and getting started. We have a week of orientation things and moving in, times to get to know people in the community and (if the weather holds up) a possible trip to Orlando for a concert.
Speaking of weather....
Many friends and family have been checking in on me and my "hurricane status".
First off, the house I'm living in has hurricane shutters. And secondly, there is indeed an evacuation plan for all of us.
Hurricanes, in general, are "the best" natural disaster, though I say this lightly in the wake of current events. What I mean by this is that in the case of hurricanes, you get a few days of notice. It's not instant like an earthquake, or sudden like a tornado.
Don't worry - If I'm in danger of a hurricane's path - I'll leave. The program people understand the risk and we'll be well taken care of.
But in most cases, evacuation won't be necessary. Just putting up the shutters and staying inside could make for an exciting evening! There will be plenty of flashlights and candles and other things we need.
For now, let's just pray that Hanna holds off until I'm all moved in! It could be interesting moving into the house with rain and wind.
Wish me luck this first busy week! And as always, your prayers are always appreciated.
Cheers,
Em
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Fernando Alejandro Guitario
I was re-reading some old posts and realized that while I disclosed I had a new guitar and that it would take some time to name it, I had not posted what the name was!
Well, after much careful deliberation, my new guitar was named Fernando Alejandro Guitario. He's beautiful. *Sigh*.
Things are going well here in NC. I'm taking the train with Julie down to Miami and another YAV, Matt, has volunteered in fantastic fashion to help transport some things in his car as he drives right by the R/D area. Yay Matt!
I'm helping clean up the house and packing things much tighter now... fit for train travel... this also means that I'm having to cut back more on things I was planning on bringing. But oh well. This is truly a learning experience, and I'm ok with that.
:)
Hope everyone is enjoying their time, wherever they are.
Cheers,
Em
Well, after much careful deliberation, my new guitar was named Fernando Alejandro Guitario. He's beautiful. *Sigh*.
Things are going well here in NC. I'm taking the train with Julie down to Miami and another YAV, Matt, has volunteered in fantastic fashion to help transport some things in his car as he drives right by the R/D area. Yay Matt!
I'm helping clean up the house and packing things much tighter now... fit for train travel... this also means that I'm having to cut back more on things I was planning on bringing. But oh well. This is truly a learning experience, and I'm ok with that.
:)
Hope everyone is enjoying their time, wherever they are.
Cheers,
Em
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Finally! An update!
Well, I'm sorry it took so long (over a month, yeesh!) but it's finally here. An update.
Things have been, well, insane since I last posted.
Here's a brief rundown:
With the intent of finalizing my "work" while away on my trip I had some casual interviews with a few organizations in the Miami area. I know now at least one organization I'll be working with. I don't know for sure whether I can release that info yet, but I can tell you it will deal with drama ministry and lots of fun stuff. I'll give more info when it is completely settled and I feel comfortable disclosing information.
I also completely packed up my apartment, gave away a number of things, sold all my furniture and moved out of my place. My friend Natasha has been a huge blessing this week, staying with me and helping me move. We cleaned the whole apartment top to bottom and drove 2 days down to my parents place in North Carolina. She gets to visit for a week or so, and then is flying home. Then I'm leaving about a week later for Miami, traveling with another young woman from the Miami YAV site who lives here in the area near my parents home.
All in all, I've concluded working at both prior jobs, interviewed for 2 new ones, packed and cleaned up my apartment, had a fun going away party, finished a semester at Kirkwood and moved (partially) to North Carolina. It's been quite busy. But I enjoyed it.
Another update to come soon... much sooner than the last.
PS - I have the address, phone number and more for the new home in Miami, and I have a new cell phone number so the old one you had will not work any more. If you need any of this, contact me and I'll pass it along.
Cheers!
Things have been, well, insane since I last posted.
Here's a brief rundown:
With the intent of finalizing my "work" while away on my trip I had some casual interviews with a few organizations in the Miami area. I know now at least one organization I'll be working with. I don't know for sure whether I can release that info yet, but I can tell you it will deal with drama ministry and lots of fun stuff. I'll give more info when it is completely settled and I feel comfortable disclosing information.
I also completely packed up my apartment, gave away a number of things, sold all my furniture and moved out of my place. My friend Natasha has been a huge blessing this week, staying with me and helping me move. We cleaned the whole apartment top to bottom and drove 2 days down to my parents place in North Carolina. She gets to visit for a week or so, and then is flying home. Then I'm leaving about a week later for Miami, traveling with another young woman from the Miami YAV site who lives here in the area near my parents home.
All in all, I've concluded working at both prior jobs, interviewed for 2 new ones, packed and cleaned up my apartment, had a fun going away party, finished a semester at Kirkwood and moved (partially) to North Carolina. It's been quite busy. But I enjoyed it.
Another update to come soon... much sooner than the last.
PS - I have the address, phone number and more for the new home in Miami, and I have a new cell phone number so the old one you had will not work any more. If you need any of this, contact me and I'll pass it along.
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
So Long Furniture Friends
News Flash! My apartment is for sale!
Well, not literally, but many of the items in it are. I am selling almost all of my furniture.
Here is a list of what I am selling (that is not already claimed):
Brown wingchair
Sofa (with slip covers so you have TWO options!)
Tall, good quality dresser
Endtable
Entertainment Center
Short bookcase
Tall bookcase
Rubbermaid drawer sets
Small white cabinet
If you need or know anyone who needs (which may be fitting considering those in need of things post-flood) any of these furniture items please contact me pronto!!!
Otherwise, things are going well. I'm moving forward dissecting my life into three piles: take, store, sell/giveaway/throwaway.
I am getting very excited about going to Miami! Less than 5 weeks til I leave Iowa and just a few more days after that until I arrive for the program itself.
I'll keep updating, though until I arrive, I've got lots to do and not much time to do it in, so the post-volume may tone down a bit. But rest assured, any exciting and important information will be here!
Well, not literally, but many of the items in it are. I am selling almost all of my furniture.
Here is a list of what I am selling (that is not already claimed):
Brown wingchair
Sofa (with slip covers so you have TWO options!)
Tall, good quality dresser
Endtable
Entertainment Center
Short bookcase
Tall bookcase
Rubbermaid drawer sets
Small white cabinet
If you need or know anyone who needs (which may be fitting considering those in need of things post-flood) any of these furniture items please contact me pronto!!!
Otherwise, things are going well. I'm moving forward dissecting my life into three piles: take, store, sell/giveaway/throwaway.
I am getting very excited about going to Miami! Less than 5 weeks til I leave Iowa and just a few more days after that until I arrive for the program itself.
I'll keep updating, though until I arrive, I've got lots to do and not much time to do it in, so the post-volume may tone down a bit. But rest assured, any exciting and important information will be here!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Miami, here I come!
Well, after a lot of thought, prayer, and LONG phone calls, I'm headed to Miami!!!
I'm very excited about all of this. It took a while to be sure about where I want to go but now that I've made the decision and worked out some details, I'm so excited!
I'm really looking forward to working with Heidi (the site coordinator) and the other YAVs there. I'm also looking forward to this new and exciting (and stressful) year ahead. But I'm all geared up and ready.
Now, I just have to figure things out. At least I won't have to pack up any winter clothes and such, so that will cut down on the amount of things I need. :)
I'm also excited to be living in an area near my Aunt and Uncle and my cousin and his wife. It will be nice to see them more regularly.
I'm really looking forward to this experience. Huzzah!
On another exciting note, yesterday I bought a new guitar! It's beautiful. I will take some time to name it, as this is an important part. The best part is, it's all black! How awesome is that?!
Anyway, wish me luck! I'm psyched!
I'm very excited about all of this. It took a while to be sure about where I want to go but now that I've made the decision and worked out some details, I'm so excited!
I'm really looking forward to working with Heidi (the site coordinator) and the other YAVs there. I'm also looking forward to this new and exciting (and stressful) year ahead. But I'm all geared up and ready.
Now, I just have to figure things out. At least I won't have to pack up any winter clothes and such, so that will cut down on the amount of things I need. :)
I'm also excited to be living in an area near my Aunt and Uncle and my cousin and his wife. It will be nice to see them more regularly.
I'm really looking forward to this experience. Huzzah!
On another exciting note, yesterday I bought a new guitar! It's beautiful. I will take some time to name it, as this is an important part. The best part is, it's all black! How awesome is that?!
Anyway, wish me luck! I'm psyched!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Awaiting News
Yesterday I finished my last interview with Heidi in Miami. Afterward I had a lot of prayer and thinking going on... and then I filled out my response sheet and sent it to the denomination.
Today, I wait to hear back from them as to where I am going. Hopefully I should find out today, but it may be tomorrow. I'm nervous! We shall see.
Pray for me until I find out! I'll be sure to post here as soon as I know anything.
Today, I wait to hear back from them as to where I am going. Hopefully I should find out today, but it may be tomorrow. I'm nervous! We shall see.
Pray for me until I find out! I'll be sure to post here as soon as I know anything.
Friday, July 4, 2008
I won't be running with the horses this year
Having spoken with the wonderful people who've helped me make lots of decisions about all of this (aka the people at the PCUSA office, namely Essie and Bridgette), I've decided to wait and apply for the internship this year. I really feel like God is calling me to do mission now, and if I'm able, the internship later. So no Louisville. I'm okay with it though.
Now, it's down to Miami or Nashville. I'm in the process of setting up my final interview with Miami and then I'll just have to pray and think a lot.
This morning I wrote a letter to my congregation about my mission, asking them to help in many ways. I asked for help to store things (the large stuff), for financial help since I have to raise a ton of money, and for prayers, letters, phone calls, etc.
For those of you reading this, I ask all of this from you as well. Please contact me to find out what I need and how you can give it to me. Thank you so much. :)
Today is July 4th. Happy Independence Day! I, unfortunately, am working at the bar today, but it should be a slow day out at the airport because I don't think many people would be flying today. I hope our new bar has finally opened and I can go work upstairs in the concourse at the new bar! How exciting it would be! Plus, a nice benefit is that I get paid time and a half. :)
After work I'm planning on going up to Center Point to Kristen and Mark's to celebrate with a bunch of friends. Long drive from the airport to CP, but oh well. It should be fun.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday today. God Bless America (and every other country out there too).
Now, it's down to Miami or Nashville. I'm in the process of setting up my final interview with Miami and then I'll just have to pray and think a lot.
This morning I wrote a letter to my congregation about my mission, asking them to help in many ways. I asked for help to store things (the large stuff), for financial help since I have to raise a ton of money, and for prayers, letters, phone calls, etc.
For those of you reading this, I ask all of this from you as well. Please contact me to find out what I need and how you can give it to me. Thank you so much. :)
Today is July 4th. Happy Independence Day! I, unfortunately, am working at the bar today, but it should be a slow day out at the airport because I don't think many people would be flying today. I hope our new bar has finally opened and I can go work upstairs in the concourse at the new bar! How exciting it would be! Plus, a nice benefit is that I get paid time and a half. :)
After work I'm planning on going up to Center Point to Kristen and Mark's to celebrate with a bunch of friends. Long drive from the airport to CP, but oh well. It should be fun.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday today. God Bless America (and every other country out there too).
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Maybe Miami?
After discussing a few things with some people at the PCUSA, I've decided to interview with the Miami site as well. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up there. That site needs more volunteers so I could be helping them out quite a bit if I ended up going there. But they also told me not to let that sway my decision as it really needs to be a guided decision with lots of prayer and thought. I did really like the Miami site so far (it was my second YAV site) and Heidi, the coordinator, seemed really cool. So, yeah. We'll see. It's definitely something to think about. Hopefully I can talk to Heidi soon and get this all settled so that I know where I want to go and what I want to do.
I've also decided that August 18th is the day I'm leaving Iowa. I'm driving 2 days to North Carolina, spending a week or so there and then heading off to my next destination, whether it be Nashville, Miami, or Louisville.
Drats. Just when I had it narrowed down, I have more work to do. :) Ah well. I can't complain. This is all very exciting.
Usually, Tuesdays and Thursdays (and some Fridays) are nuts for me as I'm working both jobs crazily, but tonight I don't have to work at the bar tonight because the second bar hasn't opened yet (it's behind schedule caues the contractors are, well, terrible) so they don't need the like 10 bartenders they have scheduled for one night and I really don't want to be working somewhere else not making tips, like the terminal snack shop or the gift shop. Oh well. I'll get a lot of nice hours tomorrow at the bar getting paid time and a half for working July 4th... and since FCC is closed that day, I go in at noon and make lots of moolah. Huzzah!
Spose that's all for now! Cheerio!
I've also decided that August 18th is the day I'm leaving Iowa. I'm driving 2 days to North Carolina, spending a week or so there and then heading off to my next destination, whether it be Nashville, Miami, or Louisville.
Drats. Just when I had it narrowed down, I have more work to do. :) Ah well. I can't complain. This is all very exciting.
Usually, Tuesdays and Thursdays (and some Fridays) are nuts for me as I'm working both jobs crazily, but tonight I don't have to work at the bar tonight because the second bar hasn't opened yet (it's behind schedule caues the contractors are, well, terrible) so they don't need the like 10 bartenders they have scheduled for one night and I really don't want to be working somewhere else not making tips, like the terminal snack shop or the gift shop. Oh well. I'll get a lot of nice hours tomorrow at the bar getting paid time and a half for working July 4th... and since FCC is closed that day, I go in at noon and make lots of moolah. Huzzah!
Spose that's all for now! Cheerio!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Numero Uno!
Entering into the world of blogging. Interesting.
Is it really a surprise though? I have been called an open book before, so be it.
Really, though, this blog is more to describe and let others know about my adventures helping out the PCUSA as either a YAV or an Intern. I'm not sure which yet, though hopefully that will be done by the end of this week. A YAV is a Young Adult Volunteer which consists of being part of a year long mission program. I'll pack up to a site somewhere and work for a year in mission work. Details to be ironed out later. The Internship I'm considering is in the office for young women at the PCUSA offices in Louisville, KY. The YAV site I'm most interested in is in Nashville, TN. We shall see.
Hopefully this blog will keep those I love and care about (and those that love and care about me) up to date on my goings-on. I'll try to keep on top of this and let everyone who wants to know what I'm doing in my far away place, well, what I'm doing.
Fabulous.
Off I go. Long day of work ahead of me today at FCC. Blah. Only a few more weeks though. It will be bittersweet to say goodbye to the people who have become such a family to me over the last year.
Is it really a surprise though? I have been called an open book before, so be it.
Really, though, this blog is more to describe and let others know about my adventures helping out the PCUSA as either a YAV or an Intern. I'm not sure which yet, though hopefully that will be done by the end of this week. A YAV is a Young Adult Volunteer which consists of being part of a year long mission program. I'll pack up to a site somewhere and work for a year in mission work. Details to be ironed out later. The Internship I'm considering is in the office for young women at the PCUSA offices in Louisville, KY. The YAV site I'm most interested in is in Nashville, TN. We shall see.
Hopefully this blog will keep those I love and care about (and those that love and care about me) up to date on my goings-on. I'll try to keep on top of this and let everyone who wants to know what I'm doing in my far away place, well, what I'm doing.
Fabulous.
Off I go. Long day of work ahead of me today at FCC. Blah. Only a few more weeks though. It will be bittersweet to say goodbye to the people who have become such a family to me over the last year.
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