Here are a few things on the 'net that consistently make me laugh.
http://catalogliving.net has a perfect eye for the absurd. The creator is the lady from this and several other funny commercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjHoxSKqE0M&feature=related.
http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com is a real agent's mental responses to real queries.
http://tinyartdirector.blogspot.com is a chronicle of a young girl's responses to her professional-artist dad's drawings. It is rarely updated, but maybe it is new to you.
http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com shows pictures of signs all over the place that misuse quotation marks, and a brief response about what they really mean.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com is just a really good, funny blog.
On http://www.overheardinnewyork.com, people send in things they really overheard. From there, using the colored rectangles, you can find Overheard at the Beach, Overheard at the Office, Overheard Everywhere, and Celebrity Wit.
Enjoy! Next Monday will bring links in a new category.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The True Meaning of Easter
...is sweets plus arts and crafts. Or so it would seem if one observed my behavior today, the day before the day.
Here is one of the latest additions to our family here at the Jenkins house.
Not all of his brothers and sisters were ready to greet the world.
Another new resident of my parents' house.
The arts-and-crafts portion features eggs made from a tie-dye egg kit. Among some sweet rocks.
And perhaps my favorite part of the day, thanks to Real Simple magazine. Check it: gumdrops, smashed thin with a spatch, cut in half and rolled into roses or cut into leaves. Tip: use lots of sugar as you'd use flour in kneading bread, because when you roll them out, you expose a much stickier side of the 'drop.
In short, I feel very accomplished today! How fun.
I'm glad I decided to blog for Lent, and exceedingly glad it's about over. While many of the posts have not been as theological and Lent-y as I'd envisioned, it's been a helpful and thought-provoking exercise. Thank you so much, everyone, for reading and supporting this and so many other projects. I'll be posting regularly, just not holding myself to doing it every day. Expect lots of links, which I've been looking forward to sharing after Lent.
Have a great Easter tomorrow, everyone. What a joyful occasion! Celebrate renewal, redemption, love, and faith.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Outliers
I'm listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers in the car. It's about how extremely successful people get that way. The gist is that nurture is just as important as nature, if not more so. He says it's all about opportunity. Part of that means being born at the right time and place, much of it has to do with cultural legacies and social systems, and some of it is under our (or our parents') control. That's a pretty small amount, but because it's all we can do anything about, it's worth a lot of attention.
As a non-parent, I'm thinking of how I can put this knowledge into action, short of lobbying for different education practices or something. While I can't directly create opportunities for children to get practice and mentorship in particular fields, I can create opportunities for people to feel welcome, safe, and loved, and to have fun, and to share what they have to share. Still not sure what form this takes in concrete, visible terms, but it will be with me for quite a while.
There's a lot more to Outliers than that. Quite a good read, if a little redundant. I recommend it for anyone, especially parents and educators.
As a non-parent, I'm thinking of how I can put this knowledge into action, short of lobbying for different education practices or something. While I can't directly create opportunities for children to get practice and mentorship in particular fields, I can create opportunities for people to feel welcome, safe, and loved, and to have fun, and to share what they have to share. Still not sure what form this takes in concrete, visible terms, but it will be with me for quite a while.
There's a lot more to Outliers than that. Quite a good read, if a little redundant. I recommend it for anyone, especially parents and educators.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Thing That Makes Me Have to Take Deep Breaths
This morning, I left around 8:30 for my 10:00 appointment for work. Then, I swung by the office of the guy I'd interviewed yesterday because I forgot to take his picture. By 12:30, I was back home and ready for a long afternoon and evening of good work.
I checked my email and saw, in a subject line, that the governor was going to be in Jacksonville. I prayed that it would be today so I'd already missed it. It was today, but at 5 p.m., which meant I could make it in plenty of time. Not a good thing because I had lots of work to fit into the rest of the day.
I cursed the sky and made the hour-long drive, which I'm used to, but not having to go there and back twice in one day. That's what really got me.
The reason for this post's title is the anxiety these situations cause me. This unpredictability is my least favorite part of my job. Most of my days have a pretty long and detailed to-do list, and when my plans are thwarted, I get very grumpy.
Since I only have a few more weeks at work here, this should be only an annoyance. But it's not the current trouble that gets me worked up, it's the future implications. Ministry, as I imagine it, is nothing but days like this. If I work in a church, or in a nonprofit agency, I will very frequently sit down in my office with a full docket of important and rewarding work for the day, only to check my email or voicemail or receive a call that...fill in the blank. Someone has died. Someone's in the hospital. A child is missing. Dramatic things like this may not happen super-often, but surely my flock will mix things up with smaller issues, like needing a confidante, not showing up for a volunteer job so I have to handle it, inviting me to something at the last minute, or some other harebrained scheme.
It's hard for me to think of this, mostly because of how badly I handle it at present. After a minute or two of overexcitement, I remember that church life will be considerably less disruptive for me. For one thing, a big one, these last-minute calls won't involve an hour-plus drive each time. I'll live in the same town as my employer. Going to something at 5 won't mean I'm sitting down to work at 9. Also, I will be helping people I care about, not inwardly rolling my eyes about an event that has no importance to me. And I knew when I took this job that it wasn't a perfect fit. If I go into my next job or career with more peace about it, that will create a much better and more harmonious, fulfilling situation.
So I lean heavily on these ideas on days like this. I'm not looking at a future of this level of frustration. There will be plenty of frustration, I know, but not much of this breed. A comforting thought.
I checked my email and saw, in a subject line, that the governor was going to be in Jacksonville. I prayed that it would be today so I'd already missed it. It was today, but at 5 p.m., which meant I could make it in plenty of time. Not a good thing because I had lots of work to fit into the rest of the day.
I cursed the sky and made the hour-long drive, which I'm used to, but not having to go there and back twice in one day. That's what really got me.
The reason for this post's title is the anxiety these situations cause me. This unpredictability is my least favorite part of my job. Most of my days have a pretty long and detailed to-do list, and when my plans are thwarted, I get very grumpy.
Since I only have a few more weeks at work here, this should be only an annoyance. But it's not the current trouble that gets me worked up, it's the future implications. Ministry, as I imagine it, is nothing but days like this. If I work in a church, or in a nonprofit agency, I will very frequently sit down in my office with a full docket of important and rewarding work for the day, only to check my email or voicemail or receive a call that...fill in the blank. Someone has died. Someone's in the hospital. A child is missing. Dramatic things like this may not happen super-often, but surely my flock will mix things up with smaller issues, like needing a confidante, not showing up for a volunteer job so I have to handle it, inviting me to something at the last minute, or some other harebrained scheme.
It's hard for me to think of this, mostly because of how badly I handle it at present. After a minute or two of overexcitement, I remember that church life will be considerably less disruptive for me. For one thing, a big one, these last-minute calls won't involve an hour-plus drive each time. I'll live in the same town as my employer. Going to something at 5 won't mean I'm sitting down to work at 9. Also, I will be helping people I care about, not inwardly rolling my eyes about an event that has no importance to me. And I knew when I took this job that it wasn't a perfect fit. If I go into my next job or career with more peace about it, that will create a much better and more harmonious, fulfilling situation.
So I lean heavily on these ideas on days like this. I'm not looking at a future of this level of frustration. There will be plenty of frustration, I know, but not much of this breed. A comforting thought.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Being a Good Grown-up
I set my alarm for 7:30 this morning even though I had nowhere to be until 1:30. That's right, I have become an actual adult. I did it so I could run and shower without having breakfast at lunchtime. And you know what? It worked out great. I sat down to work at about 9:45 and had finished an article a little after ten. I wrote two more short pieces this morning before sitting down to lunch at a reasonable, grown-up lunchtime. Then I did the webcast, had a good talk with Dad, and did an interview all before the regular workday was over.
This is slightly unlike me. Because I often work in the evenings and am not much of a schedule person, I have weeks where things are pretty willy-nilly, and Friday can be an ugly affair around here because that's the deadline for the articles I should have been writing all week. But days like this give me faith in structure, or at least in getting up early. I'm thinking a lot about how I use my time because things will change drastically come July 6 when summer school starts. I'm trying to start good habits while simultaneously getting my ya-yas out, enjoying the relative lack of structure while I can. Right now, it's mostly just a topic of thought, but based on the success of today, I'm thinking I'll soon start changing my behavior. I've gone through periods where I got up early and adhered to a schedule, and one of those periods is coming up.
I say this after an evening of watching cartoons and reading graphic novels that were apparently attended for adolescents. Adulthood is highly relative.
This is slightly unlike me. Because I often work in the evenings and am not much of a schedule person, I have weeks where things are pretty willy-nilly, and Friday can be an ugly affair around here because that's the deadline for the articles I should have been writing all week. But days like this give me faith in structure, or at least in getting up early. I'm thinking a lot about how I use my time because things will change drastically come July 6 when summer school starts. I'm trying to start good habits while simultaneously getting my ya-yas out, enjoying the relative lack of structure while I can. Right now, it's mostly just a topic of thought, but based on the success of today, I'm thinking I'll soon start changing my behavior. I've gone through periods where I got up early and adhered to a schedule, and one of those periods is coming up.
I say this after an evening of watching cartoons and reading graphic novels that were apparently attended for adolescents. Adulthood is highly relative.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Missing Out
So I signed on with Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond today, unofficially, by confirming that I am interested in a program called Communities of Learning. I will read a book with other incoming students and take part in online discussions over the summer, shepherded by a faculty member or alum. Cool. There's also a weekend get-together before school starts so we can all meet face to face outside the realm of regular school-time.
But the get-together is the same weekend that my friend Laura is getting married. In Houston. Since I haven't quite mastered being in two places at once, I have to miss the get-together. The same thing happened with my cousin's wedding and our Davidson five-year reunion. This vexes me. The good news is that neither of these is a dilemma, exactly; I'm not thinking in circles about which I should do, because the priority in both cases is pretty clear cut. The other good news is that a surplus of activities is better than boredom. But that doesn't make it fun to miss something fun.
I have a lot of trouble with the concept that fun can happen without me. I'm looking forward to both of these weddings in a big way, though, and I'm certain that when I'm there, the last thing on my mind will be the reunion or the get-together. I'll be there to celebrate, and celebrate I will. I am very blessed to know all of the marrieds-to-be and to share in their happiness on the big day.
But the get-together is the same weekend that my friend Laura is getting married. In Houston. Since I haven't quite mastered being in two places at once, I have to miss the get-together. The same thing happened with my cousin's wedding and our Davidson five-year reunion. This vexes me. The good news is that neither of these is a dilemma, exactly; I'm not thinking in circles about which I should do, because the priority in both cases is pretty clear cut. The other good news is that a surplus of activities is better than boredom. But that doesn't make it fun to miss something fun.
I have a lot of trouble with the concept that fun can happen without me. I'm looking forward to both of these weddings in a big way, though, and I'm certain that when I'm there, the last thing on my mind will be the reunion or the get-together. I'll be there to celebrate, and celebrate I will. I am very blessed to know all of the marrieds-to-be and to share in their happiness on the big day.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Rollin' It Out
My roommate has a foam roller for her muscles, which I occasionally use with permission. It's hard to get used to but does tenderize stiff and sore muscles. It's just a plain cylinder, and you roll around on top of it.
The trick is to focus on the areas that it hurts to roll. It's counterintuitive to continue causing oneself pain, but pain is actually really beneficial and important physically. Stretching, yoga, and I'm sure plenty of other things, when done right, involve a certain amount of pain. When a stretch hurts, I've learned to stay there and take a few breaths. If I hurry away from it, the pain will just get worse and be there with a vengeance next time.
I think this has to do something with the hurtful aspects of faith and life that I've mentioned in other posts. Avoiding pain pretty much gets you nowhere.
The trick is to focus on the areas that it hurts to roll. It's counterintuitive to continue causing oneself pain, but pain is actually really beneficial and important physically. Stretching, yoga, and I'm sure plenty of other things, when done right, involve a certain amount of pain. When a stretch hurts, I've learned to stay there and take a few breaths. If I hurry away from it, the pain will just get worse and be there with a vengeance next time.
I think this has to do something with the hurtful aspects of faith and life that I've mentioned in other posts. Avoiding pain pretty much gets you nowhere.
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