Sunday, March 21, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Here's the thing...
When I came to college I packed in 6 rubbermaids and 2 suitcases. Each rubbermaid was marked with a number that corresponded to the same number list of the container contents. Granted I brought alot of the wrong things and looked like a transfer student in January when I came back to school, but the point is- I like order. And I like my life to be in order as much as my stuff. It is such a relief to know who you are and how you fit with those around you; to know where the lines are; to know what's black and what's white.
In my world without grey, I simultaneously believe that the earth is round... and that this ground is flat... OK, maybe that's a dumb example- I'll try again. I simultaneously believe that losing weight requires hard work and discipline... and A slurpee is a good way to relax after a long day at work... At first glance they don't seem related at all (and usually they don't go through my head one after the other like this anyway), but drink enough slurpees and suddenly they are very related.
It's like juggling, the trick is to keep every handkerchief moving and unaware of the others. You are mesmerized by the color and speed and pyrotechnics of the whole experience (well, there could be pyrotechnics!) Though it is complex and requires precision, juggling is much easier than the alternative.
The alternative is like making salad dressing. (Yes, you can thank me later for these killer analogies. haha) The vinegar and the oil are constantly separating and then you have to shake them back up to be of any use to your salad. It's tiring and annoying. Wouldn't it just be easier to make a dressing that stays mixed?! Sometimes my world (like the dressing) gets shook up. Suddenly all my simultaneously held beliefs are colliding. I see evil and it looks fun. I see hate and it seems noble. I see good and it looks brutal. I see hope and it looks disappointing. Or even not so extreme, I see two good choices and it is hard to pick one.
Last week I was browsing though Borders (looking at kids books, checking for any Chiam Potok books I do not already own, you know... the usual). Somehow I ended up in the religion section and found myself wondering if any of these had a better answer to this conundrum. You can {GASP!}if you like, but I don't think I am the only one who has ever been there. I am grateful to report that I walked away (tall) from any books with juggling strategies.
HERE'S THE THING: I simultaneously believe that I do not understand or at times even like this reality... and that nothing would taste better on a pecan crusted chicken and pear salad with goat cheese...
This entry is cute, but the realness of these collisions has brought me to tears on more than one occasion in the last month. And I have no solution- only that I have found comfort in the nearness of God and His people. Psalm 73 is one I have been reading alot. (Check out the link to a video by ALERT. It's real cool.)
In my world without grey, I simultaneously believe that the earth is round... and that this ground is flat... OK, maybe that's a dumb example- I'll try again. I simultaneously believe that losing weight requires hard work and discipline... and A slurpee is a good way to relax after a long day at work... At first glance they don't seem related at all (and usually they don't go through my head one after the other like this anyway), but drink enough slurpees and suddenly they are very related.
It's like juggling, the trick is to keep every handkerchief moving and unaware of the others. You are mesmerized by the color and speed and pyrotechnics of the whole experience (well, there could be pyrotechnics!) Though it is complex and requires precision, juggling is much easier than the alternative.
The alternative is like making salad dressing. (Yes, you can thank me later for these killer analogies. haha) The vinegar and the oil are constantly separating and then you have to shake them back up to be of any use to your salad. It's tiring and annoying. Wouldn't it just be easier to make a dressing that stays mixed?! Sometimes my world (like the dressing) gets shook up. Suddenly all my simultaneously held beliefs are colliding. I see evil and it looks fun. I see hate and it seems noble. I see good and it looks brutal. I see hope and it looks disappointing. Or even not so extreme, I see two good choices and it is hard to pick one.
Last week I was browsing though Borders (looking at kids books, checking for any Chiam Potok books I do not already own, you know... the usual). Somehow I ended up in the religion section and found myself wondering if any of these had a better answer to this conundrum. You can {GASP!}
HERE'S THE THING: I simultaneously believe that I do not understand or at times even like this reality... and that nothing would taste better on a pecan crusted chicken and pear salad with goat cheese...
This entry is cute, but the realness of these collisions has brought me to tears on more than one occasion in the last month. And I have no solution- only that I have found comfort in the nearness of God and His people. Psalm 73 is one I have been reading alot. (Check out the link to a video by ALERT. It's real cool.)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
the absurd
Drinking Dilemma. There is a drinking fountain at work that is in a main hallway. (fascinated yet? haha.) Today it was totally dismantled. Pipes and screws and o rings and every other kind of part all over it. Seems like the condition of the fountain should be simple for any passerby to deduce, yet just in case a sheet of loose leaf was marked "Out of Order" and put on top of it.
Scoping Soldier. I saw a man on the brown line platform waiting impatiently for his train. He was dressed in camouflage and looked like he had government issue backpack and boots. In an effort to see if the train was coming, he pulled out his scope and checked both directions. hahhaha. Who needs bus tracker when you have that?
Tanning Terror. This past weekend I found a dress for Genna's wedding. Thanks to Alli for getting me through David's bridal without crying, breaking something or making a terrible selection. ("Maybe I could just get a skit and then find something to go with it.") Anyway, the dress is clover and flowy and alot of back and arms- alot of my winter WHITE back and arms (oh-except for the cross on my back still courtesy of this past summer's burn). This caused me to want to go tanning so I went to Ultimate Exposure after work on Monday. Basically you can start laughing now, but I assure you that the name is only half the fun. After I asked the lady a bunch of questions and heard my Mom's voice very clearly in my head telling me to walk out, I got a 3 month membership. Would you believe that was cheaper that just 30 days? This super patient lady gives me goggles and a packet of tanning lotion- takes me to the room and shows me how to work the machine. I do my thing and get in the bed and then start to pull the cover closed and realize that my whole body is clenched in panic. I suddenly have visions of the lid getting locked shut, the machine burning me to a crisp like Larry and Beilke in that one episode of Perfect Strangers and dying. I left my hand sticking out a bit as a safety precaution, secure my goggles of the 50th time and turn on the bed. I am trying to relax... trying to believe Alli when she says that it will be a wonderful warm nap, but I am struggling. Now I am not only afraid of getting locked in, but also going blind- you have to admit, there are alot of intimidating signs around the place. You would have thought I was doing some kind of freaky version of the Hokey Pokey or Father Abraham- Hand out, eyes clamped shut, keep breathing, and count...
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask the lady how the timer issue works while I was still dressed so I was trying to count to the recommended 8 minutes in my head. :) I am happy to report that today was a bit better... still no day at the beach though.
Looking up that video of Perfect Strangers has caused a flood of my favorite childhood shows to surface and now I am hopelessly watching theme song videos to them:
Who's the Boss?
Step by Step
21 Jumpstreet
Growing Pains
My 2 Dads
Bosom Buddies
Night Court
Webster
Family Matters
Head of the Class
Silver Spoons
Full House
Alf
Blossom
Sister Sister
VR Troopers
Scoping Soldier. I saw a man on the brown line platform waiting impatiently for his train. He was dressed in camouflage and looked like he had government issue backpack and boots. In an effort to see if the train was coming, he pulled out his scope and checked both directions. hahhaha. Who needs bus tracker when you have that?
Tanning Terror. This past weekend I found a dress for Genna's wedding. Thanks to Alli for getting me through David's bridal without crying, breaking something or making a terrible selection. ("Maybe I could just get a skit and then find something to go with it.") Anyway, the dress is clover and flowy and alot of back and arms- alot of my winter WHITE back and arms (oh-except for the cross on my back still courtesy of this past summer's burn). This caused me to want to go tanning so I went to Ultimate Exposure after work on Monday. Basically you can start laughing now, but I assure you that the name is only half the fun. After I asked the lady a bunch of questions and heard my Mom's voice very clearly in my head telling me to walk out, I got a 3 month membership. Would you believe that was cheaper that just 30 days? This super patient lady gives me goggles and a packet of tanning lotion- takes me to the room and shows me how to work the machine. I do my thing and get in the bed and then start to pull the cover closed and realize that my whole body is clenched in panic. I suddenly have visions of the lid getting locked shut, the machine burning me to a crisp like Larry and Beilke in that one episode of Perfect Strangers and dying. I left my hand sticking out a bit as a safety precaution, secure my goggles of the 50th time and turn on the bed. I am trying to relax... trying to believe Alli when she says that it will be a wonderful warm nap, but I am struggling. Now I am not only afraid of getting locked in, but also going blind- you have to admit, there are alot of intimidating signs around the place. You would have thought I was doing some kind of freaky version of the Hokey Pokey or Father Abraham- Hand out, eyes clamped shut, keep breathing, and count...
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask the lady how the timer issue works while I was still dressed so I was trying to count to the recommended 8 minutes in my head. :) I am happy to report that today was a bit better... still no day at the beach though.
Looking up that video of Perfect Strangers has caused a flood of my favorite childhood shows to surface and now I am hopelessly watching theme song videos to them:
Who's the Boss?
Step by Step
21 Jumpstreet
Growing Pains
My 2 Dads
Bosom Buddies
Night Court
Webster
Family Matters
Head of the Class
Silver Spoons
Full House
Alf
Blossom
Sister Sister
VR Troopers
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