Weekend Update March 16

The Week That Was - Last week seemed very busy. I have the class I lead at one of the local YMCAs on radio techniques. That's going well although we're stuck in transition mode. Not all the new equipment has arrived so we're trying to generate excitement while we still work with the old stuff. Doing video taping of a mid-week noonday service for broadcast on local access cable. After problems the first week that's gone much better. And then planning for our planning retreat. Which went mostly well I think. I got at cross purposes with one of my young adult leaders (we really weren't as far apart as it seemed and both of us got upset. Sorry Sammi!) and generated a ton of negative energy right at the end. I think we got that set (mostly) to right and came away with some excellent goals and objectives for the next three year cycle. Stayed at a nice Catholic seminary for the retreat (Christ the King). Love to go back and see it when the trees are in leaf and explore a little. Just a shade too chilly for much walking around. But I've been very tired since we got back. My lady wife was off at a vestry retreat at the same time so we haven't seen much of each other. We got to sit together at worship (a rare occurrence), then went out for lunch and held hands and spent the afternoon together. It was kind of nice. We're looking forward to taking a little vacation together sometime in the next couple months. We need some marriage time together.

The To Do List - Yes there's still the video and camp and all the rest of that. It's becoming clearer to me that what NEEDS to be on my to do list is a spiritual retreat. I find myself a little jealous of Marko who has made these kinds of retreats a regular part of each year. I'm trying not to covet my neighbor's spiritual retreat but I think I need to work on that. A good idea has already arisen on how that might be made to happen.

What Am I Procrastinating About? - I'm still stuck with my rocks and piles problem. Have I ever explained that saying? We use it in my family. All the tasks you have each day are represented by rocks. And all those rocks are stacked in piles which make up a larger pile that is your life. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the size of the pile and not know where to start. So you end up not doing much of anything. So the reminder to me is "Just pick a rock!". Start anywhere just to get started.

What Am I Watching/Reading/Listening To? Still working on "Soul Graffiti". Finished Jonathan Kellerman's "The Conspiracy Club". Really enjoyed it. Nice mystery story with a medical setting. Now I'm reading Scott McClellan's book "What Happened - Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception". An interesting read so far. Can't imagine the Bush fan club like it much. But then he's not making many friends with Clinton fans either so I guess you can say that's fairly balanced. Seems to be pretty up front about the good and the bad. Something different to read. It'll be interesting as a lead in to the next book on the pile "Jesus for President" by Shane Claiborne!


Movies - Watched a part of "Wedding Crashers" and then ejected the disc. Yawn. Sophomoric. Vulgar. Predictable. I really do have better things to do with my life.

Music - Finally listened to the Damnwells and liked them a lot. Indie rock with a kind of folk feel to it.
Also grabbed an old disc that's been sitting on my desk and popped it in. Little Feat "Ain't Had Enough Fun" from 1995. Little Feat have been around forever it seems (since '69) doing their blend of rock, blues, R&B, country and New Orleans funk. The band is one of those ones that are revered by many folks but were never a real hit. This particular album is long after they had waned as stars but I like every single cut on this album. Must be why I keep it around.

Next Up Finally can put the camp application at the top of the list. Got the last price and can move forward now.

How Am I Doing I'm hanging in. We'll see how that goes.
Peace