And now, on to better--or at least, other things...

Today, instead of being glued to the computer screen looking for jobs, I:

~defrosted the freezer
~biked in the crazy heat for the first time since Vancouver (it wasn't the smartest thing I've done, but I do feel re-comfortable that I can bike again)
~got fingerprinted for my new part-time tutoring job with the school district. Oh, and signed that I affirm the Constitution.
~drank 3+ glasses of White Grape Peach juice and got a headache.
~had a dinner meeting with a couple from church about planning an evangelistic session.
~researched Hyundai Sonatas and old Acura Integras/Legends online. Dilemma: borrow some money for a newer car, or pay cash for an old car that could be a good purchase?

Huh. I guess I didn't do as much as I thought. Oh, well. Tomorrow's another day.

Lessons learned from a laptop-less week

I am:
~97% more likely to go to bed by 10:30/11pm because I’m less distracted
~83% more likely to feel lonely/disconnected from the “real world”—compounded by switching temp jobs
~53% more likely to feel less administratively on top of things—easy to forget/put off life admin tasks, like contacting the disposal company to pick up furniture
~47% more likely to be motivated to either maximize my time for applying to jobs when I’m at the library OR Gchatting or checking FB (the pendulum swings)
~39% more likely to feel off-kilter because I haven’t listened to songs I only hear on the Web or on my iTunes (Sandra McCracken’s “Shelter” or Oliver Schroer’s “Field of Stars”)
~100% more likely to appreciate that, as boundless as the Web is for connecting to one more person or doing one more thing at the simple click of a button, at the end of the day, the people and the place you come home to is what shapes you most subtle-ly and profoundly. As Steven Bouma-Prediger and Brian Walsh say in Beyond Homelessness, “The original and truly important worldwide web is biodiversity.”

I am writing this from my re-vivified laptop, thanks to a new adapter with a too-short cord. Thankful once again for the options it opens up, hoping to be more careful of how I use it.

On sale: Haagen Dazs, $3.49

She thought about the Crolows, Jenn with her mischievous smile, Carsten, with his earnest eyes. Gracie, with her irresistible white-blonde curls and sparkling blue eyes and the way she sits so comfortably in your arms. Evan, with his shy smile inviting you to his house on 5555 20th St. She thought about the luxurious Haagen Dazs bars they shared laying by the fireside after a scrumptious sushi meal, hand-rolled by Carsten himself--well, she and Jenn shared while Carsten put the kids to bed. She remembered them coming to her farewell party after Eastside Story Guild, first Gracie and Jenn; Carsten came along shortly thereafter with Evan. When Carsten asked, Why are you doing this to us?, regarding leaving, of course, she wondered why. Why was she leaving? She remembered when she first met them, or at least the two kids, when they came over to her house so Nancy could baby-sit them, and Jason somehow ended up hanging out with them for most of the time. She remembered a hula hoop in the mix, along with the ginormous exercise ball Nancy sat on at her desk, that the kids played with on the stairs. It got a little out of hand, and the ball had to be put away. She remembered learning about Evan’s middle name at another time—Jayber, of course, after Jayber Crow, one of Carsten’s favorite books, if she remembers correctly. She remembers them considering moving to the Sunshine Coast with two other families, the Wuests and the Neufelds, and Jenn’s excitement at a new/different life.

She wonders if it’s possible for Vancouver to get old to someone. If the glitz and the glamour fades because you are the one living the story, the one so close to the surface, the dull sheen is all you see. If you need someone else’s eyes to see. Or perhaps just some time, and some distance removed.

She wonders all this because she saw a box of Haagen-Dazs on sale at her local Stater Bros. store for only $3.49! And it wasn’t like the original price was something extravagant--$4.29, in fact, just a savings of $0.80. She remembers this because she pondered for a while whether to purchase this or Breyers ice cream, also on sale for the same price. She finally decided on the latter because she got more ice cream for her buck, quantity-wise. Quality-wise, is still yet to be determined. The box she bought in Vancouver was a lot more. But worth every penny.

So...I guess I still have a shot

I thought I would have heard back by last Friday if I was going to be interviewed for a job, but I heard today that I should hear back by this week's end about an interview. I'm not terribly optimistic about it, since I'm guessing I would've been contacted sooner rather than later, but I guess I don't know their timeline, and I can still hope...and pray. I must pray. So easy to get caught up in desperate longing and lose sight of what's most important--keeping in tune with the Spirit and moving in faithful obedience. Which means applying to lots of jobs this week. Which is easy to lose heart in. Please pray for me to press on.

Oh--and this job is directing spiritual formation at Warner Pacific, a small Christian college in Portland--would combine many things I would love to do: coordinate chapel, pastorally counsel college students, speak in chapel...the last one would be the one I have the least experience in, but I would love to grow in it, to be able to communicate biblical-theological truth in a relevant way to college students. How cool would that be for a job???? And in Portland! There's an intentional Christian community I could live with that lives really close to the school. Hard not to get my hopes up.

Grazie.

Death be not proud...

This week, I've been thinking about death--the death of a friend's husband, the dying of those many ugly things, ie. a sense of entitlement, inside of me that is not part of the reign of Light. I've been thinking about life, too--how it pops up when you least expect it, ie. a Japanese garden in an office building in Torrance. A 1 yr, 4-month-old boy who couldn't stop looking-staring, really-at me on the bus. How babies are such gifts of life, another chance at life, regardless of how they were conceived. Though there's so much death in this world, there's even more life.

I've been thinking about serving others and how little I "want" to do that, especially when the recipient is someone who irks you. I think there's something about dying and death there, too. Also, needing to let go of having to figure out the rest of my life...it's not possible; furthermore, God doesn't ask this of me. He only asks that I move forward faithfully. Moving is hard for me to do. But, I guess I'm seeing it's contemplation-and-action, as Parker Palmer would put it, that I need; I can step forward as I pray. I am more convinced that God does provide what we need to know to make the decision we need to make at that time.

Just an hour and a half ago, I opened an email from friends in Vancouver who gave birth to a boy, William. For some reason, this made me really happy. New life is here. There is hope.

Some in the wrong direction

...
Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary,
Some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
~ Wendell Berry

Wonderland

This morning, at precisely 10:20am, I walked into Wonderland. Ok, perhaps it was technically the courtyard of 3625 Del Amo Blvd., home to Temp Agency E, but I was entranced. Bamboo shoots, bubbling fountains in stone pot, large smooth stones, Japanese-style garden...oh, man. What caught me off guard was that it was so unexpected--assuming I'd walk into yet another indistinguishable office building, and then to be hit with--tranquility. Beauty. Peace.

Perhaps LA is home to some breathtaking places after all.