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What song is stuck in your head today?
Yesterday, I slept for almost 18 hours. It was a very odd day. I'm not sure why I was so tired, but I took 4 naps, then went to bed around 11pm and slept soundly until 7:30 this morning.
Here are some of the possible reasons for my sleeping beauty impersonation:
1. Caffeine catch up. I have been on a pretty fast pace this last week, fueled by caffeine (Red Bull and Light Roast coffee).
2. Stress. Things at my office have been stressful. My coworker may be leaving and I have a new undetermined boss as of Dec. 31st. Top that with home and school stuff, and I'm a little worked up.
3. Car sickness. I rode over 8 hours in a Chevy Cobalt in a 27 hour tour through Iowa. I generally sleep on road trips to cope with car sickness, however, since it was a business trip with a Product Manager, I fought sleep with #1. Possibly, the car sickness caught up with me.
4. Weird physical system reset. I've felt a bit out of sorts lately, and the sleepy day seems to have reset my system. I feel much better.
5. I'm incredibly lazy.
In the year 2006, I road tripped to Boise, Idaho, to aid in relocating my sister-in-law. To aid me in making this journey, I borrowed two books on compact disc: Nicholas Sparks’ The Wedding and Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation. I practically cut off my ears during The Wedding (it was one of several book club disasters) during the drive through Minnesota and North Dakota. Assassination Vacation accompanied me in Montana, from Billings to Bozeman (a place I later learned Vowell worked as a college radio newscaster), leading eventually to Boise where my girlfriend and I delivered Kelli to her new abode.
When I heard about Vowell’s latest work The Wordy Shipmates, I gleefully recalled the humor and historical commentary Vowell delivered in Assassination Vacation. The Wordy Shipmates continued this through a careful dissection of John Winthrop, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Puritan framework of these early European settlers. Vowell examined religion’s role in shaping the worldview of not only the Puritans, but also of Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and the English environment that made these people set sail for North America. Vowell also wrote about how these settlers treated the Native Americans (especially the slaughter of the Pequot).
As a fan of both religion and history, I geeked out on this book. I have studied these people before and I laughed during several of Vowell’s pokes at these often-funny people. For example, I studied Roger Williams during a course on Religion in America and I remembered his eccentric and libertarian views on religion and the state. I giggled when Vowell wrote, “John Cotton arrives in 1633 just in time to help Massachusetts Bay board up its theological windows. Hurricane Roger is coming” (pg. 112). I chucked again when Vowell again talked about Williams’ desire to allow all forms of religious worship while at the same time having disdain for their views. Vowell said, “Not that Williams will be hosting any interfaith prayer breakfasts” (pg. 136). It made me laugh because I am a religion geek.
I believe one of Vowell’s many talents is connecting these historical events of long ago to both modern pop culture and to me personally. It was funny when she talked about how she was originally educated about the Puritans and Pilgrims from the Brady Bunch. Vowell connected to me personally by talking about how the circumstances leading up to the Pequot War was like the frustration and disgust that drives skateboarders to focus (intentionally break in half) their skateboards after missing a trick. Even my disdain for the murderous and bigoted former United States President Andrew Jackson was shared by Vowell’s sister (and undoubtedly by Vowell herself) when they noticed a plaque at the Royal Mohegan Burial Ground that was dedicated by said President. Vowell’s sister said, “Figures, one asshole [Jackson] honoring another [Uncas, a Mohegan sachem who sided with the English during the slaughter of the Pequot at the Mystic Fort and later against the Narragansett tribe]” (pg. 201).
I only have one small criticism of this book. Vowell does not cite her sources during the text of the book, opting instead to create a short list of primary sources at the end. While this may be a small deal to most readers, geeks like me see it as a big deal because I am unable to pull out which source Vowell used for her claims. However, since she wrote the book for geeks like me, I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt because I know the religious information is dead on accurate.
I did not slip and fall off my toilet like Doc Brown.
However, like these two, I had a vision recently that has caused a major shift in my life. Last week I wrote about my decision to suspend my quest to obtain a graduate degree at the seminary. I talked about feeling theologically constricted and questioned the need for working on this degree.
What I did not talk about was the vision I received during one of the many sleepless nights I have been experiencing lately about this decision. Last Saturday, in a deranged fashion not unlike Neary or Doc Brown, I sketched out a drawing on one of many whiteboards in our house. Yesterday evening, I used the nifty Microsoft Word 2007 and made these diagrams.
Dating back to last year, I have been in a spiritual darkness that is common with many mystics and religious people. I now believe I have emerged from that darkness and am now in a place where I can begin the mission. I am now comfortable with my lot as a religious mutt, or as I will talk about in the future, a polyglot. I have for far too long tried to, as Ericka says, fit my square peg of a being into a round hole of existence. I have been forcing my theology into a Christian framework and it does not fit. Being an adult convert to religion, I do not have any religious heritage. I am forming my identity every day. I have come to peace with the fact that I draw my religious identity from all traditions I study. I have given myself permission to be religiously free.
My vocation now is to relate and connect the two diagrams above and to use that as a tool to help others in similar circumstances. I no longer believe I need graduate school because there are no schools that teach this. I have learned everything I need from my undergraduate studies. The rest I need to do on my own.
Happy Birthday to my dearest! You are my equal for the next 42 days. Enjoy it!
Mood Ring: What color do you feel like today? Why?
Submitted by MarStar
I stopped wearing my mood ring because it became a distraction due to the frequent color changes. Although I experience most of the colors listed above, the ring typically vacillates between gold, brown, and black. Rarely does the ring show orange, red, or green.
Today I made a decision that will hopefully bring about more purple and blue colors and reduce the amount of blacks that have been displayed in recent weeks. In an attempt to regain my free time and sanity, I decided to take a leave of absence from school starting in the spring semester. I have overwhelmed by the amount of work graduate school has produced and I want my personal time back. I want to be able to read a book without the pressure of academic performance. I want to work on personal projects without the cloud of homework dampening my endeavors. All of this has been detrimental to my spiritual health, which is something that deeply concerns me. The time gained by not writing papers could be used to address these issues.
I am not sure that my personal theology fits at a strictly Christian seminary. As a religious mutt, I am feeling constricted by the work I am doing there. A person with more vision would have probably seen this and not enrolled there. However, I thought the school would be more progressive and open to other ways of religious thinking.
In addition, I am not sure that I need graduate school at this time. Other than ego reasons, I am not sure what this degree will do for me. I already have a B.A. and have an apparently secure job with plenty of knowledge and skills hoarded to maintain my position. Of course, that could all disappear tomorrow and prove me wrong. However, my current degree and academic plan would not do anything to help with that. I would have to use my current skills and knowledge to find a similar job.
Perhaps the most important factor, though, is that I want to be more available to my family than I have been in recent months. I want to enjoy and contribute to my family without the specter of homework looming over my spirit.
Tell us how you met your significant other.
Submitted by Luda
I met Ben in high school. I didn't like him at all. I thought he was an arrogant asshole. I think he even ripped on my car. Although we had many mutual friends, our paths rarely crossed until he started dating my friend, Betty. I was very disappointed in Betty for choosing to date such a jerk. As was bound to happen, we started hanging out a lot--the three of us. In mid-October, Ben started having feelings for me during a snowball fight. I was oblivious to his change in feelings. He came over to my apartment one night and sat next to me on our huge 'L' shaped couch. We played games and laughed. He left and Jodi told me that she thought Ben liked me. I was shocked. He continued to come over without Betty, bringing me Skittles (my favorite candy at the time) and just hanging out. I started to fall for him, but didn't want to do anything to damage my relationship with Betty. Eventually, Betty cheated on him and their relationship ended without much teenage drama. We started dating about 2 weeks later on his birthday in 1992. We broke up briefly (I won't go into the great prom incident of 1993), but we've basically been together for 16 years. It's amazingly weird to tell people that I met my husband in high school. It so rare these days. Although it hasn't always been easy, I can say that I've never regretted the decision to marry my high school sweetheart.
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