The Things That I Do

A moment to catch up. It's been pretty hectic and to be honest a couple projects are really weighing me down. They don't really play to my strengths so I'm especially aware that I'm under performing. All I can say is I've done what I can and if it falls down, it falls down. I don't have the time or the energy for intense worry.

Let's see, what else is going on? Volleyball team continues to be pretty bad. Still have only won once this session I think. Came close last week, could have easily doubled or tripled our win total. It remains mostly a good time.

I'm supposed to be learning to play guitar. I must confess my practice time has dropped to zero. Just too many other things right now. But my faithful musical friends awaits with perfect patience if probably less than perfect tune at the moment.

Getting ready for my first meeting as a member of the Standing Commission on Ministry Development, a national body of the Episcopal Church. (And before anyone jumps on me for the "national" I am well aware that we are in fact an international denomination, a fact which I cherish and proclaim. There's just no easy term I can think of to represent that this body is drawn from the larger church. It's quick and easy and understandable if not perfectly precise. Bear with me). This is something of a big deal (there's a limited number of these Commissions with a limited number of seats and lots of people who want them) and it's a six year commitment. To a large degree I enjoy this kind of work and it matches my gifts as well. So I'm excited. Plus it involves at least some travel and I LIKE travel! Next week I go to Chicago. Don't know if I'll have any time to see various friends while I'm there. Since this is a first trip and a training/community building trip I'm going to work on committing most of my time to the task at hand.

I WILL be very interested in seeing what the Commission does. A quick (very, very quick) look seems to indicate LOTS of stuff for clergy and very little if any for the laity. I'm fairly certain I don't like that balance. We'll see.

You see how I am? Put me on a board and I walk through the door planning on making waves. [Evil Grin]

The current soap opera of my life concerns my cars. Two very LONG stories that I'll spare you here. The short version has a buck deer taking out the entire right side of my SUV and a flat tire on the other car (plus news that we need a new battery). The flat tire would normally only get a foot note except along the way I discovered that my car lacks a tire iron. Not sure how that happens but it makes trying to change a flat rather problematic. Borrowed one, discovered the mini-spare was almost flat. Plus a 50 mile mini-spare when you're 90+ miles from home...not real useful. So we had to try and find an open tire store on a Sunday afternoon.

Thank you Wal-Mart. I will have nothing but good things to say about them for 6 months.

The big thing right now is the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where I am trying to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. It is day 11 and I've written 18,500+. That's ahead of the minimum to stay on target but a little behind my personal goals. So I should really be writing on the novel, not on the blog. I think I've hit part of the dreaded week two slump. I'll get at least 1,000 words on the virtual page today and I have hopes of hitting 2,000. We'll see. It has been a very interesting experience, some of which I've already written about.

My immediate goal is to survive the next 10 days. Then my trip will be over, that project that is not working so well will be over and I'll hopefully be well on my way to 50,000 words. Hey, the volleyball team might just win a game too!

Peace

Something of a drought

I realized that I haven't posted a great deal recently other than routine things - resource reviews make up the majority of my posts over the last couple months. Take of the CREDO related ones and there's not much there. If you're still checking this blog you have my heart felt thanks.

So what's up? Not my mood at the moment. I'm feeling dis-spirited at the moment. It's mostly a convergence of little things. Post camp let down after Senior High. Always get that. The sadness that comes with the growing certainty that I'm going to cancel a camp this year. Junior High just has a handful of applications at the moment. We continue to struggle with the "why" question. Lower demographic numbers, bad economy, poor "marketing", combination of all of the above? Don't know. Add in having to do the financial report for senior high camp. Looks like we're close but OK there but it makes me crazy every year. I hate having to scrape and stint to make the budget work. I want to focus on the program and doing it right. SIGH. We're still hassling with a small problem with the mortgage on the house where I live (I don't hold the mortgage but I'm the executor to the estate that does). I wish I were getting clearer simpler answers than I am. And I wish this problem would go the hell away. I'm assured that the house will not be foreclosed upon (which is good since I'm living in it) but it wears on me.

Adding in is something that should be elevating my mood, our upcoming mission trip to New Orleans. I've never done a mission trip, ever. I'm always nervous before the first time I do something so that doesn't help. As a strong Myers-Briggs introvert these "everybody-all-together" events just wear on me. Add in the high heat and humidity down in NOLA this time of year and I have the potential for being miserable. I know, way to keep a good thought in my head, right? :)

In other news my bicycling is going well. A 20+ mile ride on Tuesday in less than 90 minutes was very encouraging. I rode into work without any trouble. Then I did another hour long ride of almost 13 miles two days later. One hill defeated me but otherwise it went well too. Between the weather and the mission trip I'm going to lose two weeks of cycling however.

My weight remains good. Steady at 175, then down to 173 this week with the riding. I'm hoping the work on the mission trip will make up for the lack of workouts. The next doctor's appointment is in 6 weeks. That's nagging at the back of my brain too.

I'm doing a little more creative stuff. Actually practicing my guitar every day for a least a little while. Need to do more of that stuff to balance the financial stuff.

The kid is doing her last weekend at her second summer job. It's a restaurant that is run strangely. They never seem to get around to posting a schedule for kitchen and wait staff (at another restaurant owned and operated by the same folks the staff simply started doing their own schedule and posting it. Management/ownership doesn't seem to care.) Plus strange attitudes on how things get done, decor, food etc. The whole situation was just making her crazy so she decided on her own to drop it. Tonight and tomorrow and she's free. And will be much happier.

I have lots of things to get done. At the moment I can't seem to put my hands on things however. I know I got an e-mail about something left at camp. I have the item, can't find the e-mail. Weird but typical for what's going on.

So hopefully I'll find the on switch again and get moving a little faster. I AM getting things done but slower than usual. I'm thinking about some things to write here but I'm not sure about them. I'll probably post about that process soon.

Pray for the youth of the diocese and the future of their programs.

Pray for me.

Peace

Weekend Update January 26

The Week That Was - Hmmm, what did happen this past week? My office got cleaned, kinda sorta, I got work done on a variety of projects. I started with a new book group at my church, we're reading "The Shack". It's a fairly large group, 15 people or so, and diverse in age, theology and even a couple non-episcopalians. The book is OK so far. I had Adam McClane of YS Blog ask if he could do a profile on me which was really cool. If you're into youth ministry and haven't discovered the blog, check it out. The profile goes up first week in February. Am I excited? Yeah, just a little. Other than that I got my hair cut and did office work. And did winter things like run the snowblower. It was that kind of week.

The To Do List - I have organizational meetings about CROP Walk and the LCLC event this week so I guess I'm over the ELCA guilt thing.

What Am I Procrastinating About? - Not sure, just really don't want to look at my to do list. Cause it's long...

What Am I Watching/Reading/Listening To? Reading The Shack as I mentioned. It's OK but not earth shattering for me. This is the kind of stuff I've been teaching for a while. Not braggin', just sayin'. We'll see where it goes. I've got an Orson Scott Card book I want to read and one other (whose name escapes me).

Movies - I'm not even sure I want to bring this one up. It's called "The Aristocrats". If you're easily offended avoid this movie like the plague. If you're average-ly (?) offended avoid this movie. Paul Provenza and Penn Gillette got about 100 comedians to talk about the ultimate dirty (but not always) joke that they all tell each other that goes back to the days of vaudeville. Some of the versions are awful, vile things. A couple are really funny. It's interesting to hear these folks talk candidly and casually about how jokes work, why this one does or doesn't and why they tell it over and over and over. Everyone from Shelly Berman and Phyllis Diller to Chris Rock and Robin Williams (and the editorial board of "The Onion"). It's a weird movie about a weird, stupid, ugly but strangely interesting joke. I've spent 89 minutes worse in my life.

Next Up Holding myself and my daughter to our new pledge of mutual accountability. She has part of the deal and I have part of the deal. In fairness I'll only reveal mine. I'm to work at playing the guitar and writing. She's tired of hearing me whine. Same thing goes for me about her part of the deal. And we've agreed to hold each other accountable. Very cool. But then my daughter is all that and a bag of chips. Does anybody say that any more?

How Am I Doing You know, I think I'm doing OK. I'm going to do what I can do and try to trust in God for the rest. What a novel concept.

Peace

I'm a gitar man!

Whoops, I almost forgot the major new "skill" I picked up this summer! This is the summer that I officially became a guitar player! I've been a guitar owner for a while now but couldn't play anything. So under the hectoring guidance of our Junior High camp director I learned to play a song in 4 days and perform it in public.

The song is "They will know we are Christians by our love". I chose that song not out of some deep theological basis or because it was the song "I've always wanted to play".

Nope.

Chose it because it only has two chords. Am and Em. Which the real guitar players will tell you are two REALLY EASY chords!

My "teacher" was disgusted. He ranted. He raved. He kept badgering me to change songs, to add a chord (his arrangement has at least 3 and maybe 4 chords. I refused), to be a man about it. (I note that he was mostly kidding. Mostly)I stood my ground. I had 4 days and maybe 45 minutes a day if I was lucky. Simple was my friend. He did con(vince) me to include a quick intro and outro which I managed to learn.

When it came time for the performance at the talent show I told the whole story to the kids. Then I sang LOUD! It helps to drown out the missed chords. I'd say I got 75% of them right, maybe. Might be a little less than that.

The kids gave me a standing, roaring ovation.

So now I'm working on my second song. An old folk tune that my Dad sang when I was growing up.

Tom Dooley.

It has two chords.

I'm like that.

Peace