Finished Eating
Monday, June 19, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Friday, June 09, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Balancing: Not Just For Check Books and Acrobats
Inspired by another blog…
I have been hemming and hawing for some time now about setting time aside specifically devoted to solitude, contemplation, quiet time, call it what you will. If you’ve known me for long enough you’ve probably heard my thoughts on the relationship between solitude and community. For that matter if you’ve read Bonhoeffer’s Life Together or Foster’s Celebration of Discipline you probably already know my thoughts on the subject. If none of the above apply to you, or you just need a quick refresher…
It seems that solitude and community work together as one machine (like a lock and key as Lewis would probably say). Spending all one’s time in solitude is unhealthy, just as the same applies to time spent in community. Time spent in community is made richer and more meaningful when it follows time spent in solitude. Time spent in solitude is dangerous when not balanced with time in community. Lastly, it should be clarified that by solitude I do not mean time in front of a tv or asleep, but time spent reading, praying, writing, and contemplating God and life. Similarly, by time in community I do not mean sitting shoulder to shoulder at a bar starring at the liquor bottles while steadily draining a bourbon on the rocks, but rather time talking to others, sharing with others, learning about others and loving others, serving them where possible.
Since most of my time recently has been spent in community, hopefully more the positive kind of community than the negative, I realize that I need to restore that equilibrium with more time in solitude. As I look at the scripture reading I have not been doing, the conversations I haven't had with Abba, or simply the utter lack of reflective writing I’ve done, I see someone who is seriously drying up. I thank God he has shown me this before the creek is dry, but I know that is the logical destination unless I act.
So for now I’m setting aside Tuesday evenings as a time to go home, get out some good books, a notebook or two, and make sure I meditate on all those things that mean most to me in life. It's a measley way to start, but it's something and hopefully it will lead to an increased appetite for more solitude.
Question for the moment:
What do you value most in life? What do you make sure you set aside time for? If these don’t match up, why and what are you going to do about it?
You Have Redeemed My Soul (100 Portraits & Water Deep, Enter the Worship Circle)
You have redeemed my soul
From the pit of emptiness
You have redeemed my soul
From death
I was a hungry child
A dried up river
I was a burned out forest
And no one could do anything for me
But you put food in my body
Water in my dry bed
And to my blackened branches
you brought the springtime green of new life
And nothing is impossible for you
I have been hemming and hawing for some time now about setting time aside specifically devoted to solitude, contemplation, quiet time, call it what you will. If you’ve known me for long enough you’ve probably heard my thoughts on the relationship between solitude and community. For that matter if you’ve read Bonhoeffer’s Life Together or Foster’s Celebration of Discipline you probably already know my thoughts on the subject. If none of the above apply to you, or you just need a quick refresher…
It seems that solitude and community work together as one machine (like a lock and key as Lewis would probably say). Spending all one’s time in solitude is unhealthy, just as the same applies to time spent in community. Time spent in community is made richer and more meaningful when it follows time spent in solitude. Time spent in solitude is dangerous when not balanced with time in community. Lastly, it should be clarified that by solitude I do not mean time in front of a tv or asleep, but time spent reading, praying, writing, and contemplating God and life. Similarly, by time in community I do not mean sitting shoulder to shoulder at a bar starring at the liquor bottles while steadily draining a bourbon on the rocks, but rather time talking to others, sharing with others, learning about others and loving others, serving them where possible.
Since most of my time recently has been spent in community, hopefully more the positive kind of community than the negative, I realize that I need to restore that equilibrium with more time in solitude. As I look at the scripture reading I have not been doing, the conversations I haven't had with Abba, or simply the utter lack of reflective writing I’ve done, I see someone who is seriously drying up. I thank God he has shown me this before the creek is dry, but I know that is the logical destination unless I act.
So for now I’m setting aside Tuesday evenings as a time to go home, get out some good books, a notebook or two, and make sure I meditate on all those things that mean most to me in life. It's a measley way to start, but it's something and hopefully it will lead to an increased appetite for more solitude.
Question for the moment:
What do you value most in life? What do you make sure you set aside time for? If these don’t match up, why and what are you going to do about it?
You Have Redeemed My Soul (100 Portraits & Water Deep, Enter the Worship Circle)
You have redeemed my soul
From the pit of emptiness
You have redeemed my soul
From death
I was a hungry child
A dried up river
I was a burned out forest
And no one could do anything for me
But you put food in my body
Water in my dry bed
And to my blackened branches
you brought the springtime green of new life
And nothing is impossible for you
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Memorial Day Weekend - The Post That Wouldn't End
I hope everyone out there had a wonderful and relaxing Memorial Day weekend.
Friday I went and helped Amy, a friend (not just some person), prepare communion kits for all 3 church locations. I think they said in all we made over 600 kits. It was fun sitting around talking with the other 3 people helping put the kits together though. Then Friday night Amon was both free and in town so we went out. We had dinner on U street at Duke’s City (named after Duke Ellington I would imagine since it’s practically across the street from the Lincoln Theater) and dessert a few blocks down at Love Café (run by the same people who own Cake Love). I can heartily recommend the strawberry shortcake, oh so delicious.
Saturday I managed to meet up with Malcolm and Amy to see the Bartok string quartet perform a piece that was commissioned by the Library of Congress in the 40’s. It was the first time this piece has been performed in the Library of Congress’s Auditorium. Afterwards Malcolm helped me lug some furniture around, and then he and I went to Dpont Crcle to get a Krispy Kreme donut and watch some kids do the robot dance quite impressively.
Sunday was fun because I got to go to the 11:00 Union Station church service, then I met up with Wendell, Malcolm, and Amy to go to Wendell’s brother’s house and eat traditional Trini food. It was strongly influenced by (Western?)-Indian food and included Roti (a kind of flat bread), potatoes and chick peas in a curry based sauce, and chicken on the bone stewed in a wonderful blend of seasonings (including brown sugar). It was all cooked by Wendell’s mom who did an excellent job (they are from Trinidad). After dinner Wendell, Malcolm, Amy, Malcolm's sister and I sat around and played Scrabble.
Monday found me over at Malcolm’s to help with a Barbeque/pool party. Malcolm had invited one of his co-workers to help us cook and it was amazing. This guy brought his own grill and equipment, including real skewers (the flat metal kind you see at places that specialize in kabobs) and probably 15 or 20 pounds of good quality beef that had been marinating in something excellent for quite awhile. It turned out to be some of the best, most tender beef I’ve had in a long time. We supplemented that with barbeque chicken and some fresh fruit. Then of course there were some chips, delicious drinks, good friends, and a wonderful pool. It was a good day.
About the only thing missing from this weekend (Sat. through Monday, yes I realize Monday isn’t the weekend, but it was a holiday) was Amon. She flew back to Michigan to be with her family and should get back in town today. Her grandmother passed away last Monday and the service was Sunday. While it would have been nice to have her around, it is good that she was able to make it back and be with her family. Amon, my prayers are still with you and your family.
Now I’m back at work for today through Thursday. Next Monday I start my new job. I admit to being a bit nervous, but at the same time quite excited. It should be an excellent opportunity to build on the things I’ve learned here, as well as working on developing another skill set, and meeting new people. Wow, less than a week away.
Friday I went and helped Amy, a friend (not just some person), prepare communion kits for all 3 church locations. I think they said in all we made over 600 kits. It was fun sitting around talking with the other 3 people helping put the kits together though. Then Friday night Amon was both free and in town so we went out. We had dinner on U street at Duke’s City (named after Duke Ellington I would imagine since it’s practically across the street from the Lincoln Theater) and dessert a few blocks down at Love Café (run by the same people who own Cake Love). I can heartily recommend the strawberry shortcake, oh so delicious.
Saturday I managed to meet up with Malcolm and Amy to see the Bartok string quartet perform a piece that was commissioned by the Library of Congress in the 40’s. It was the first time this piece has been performed in the Library of Congress’s Auditorium. Afterwards Malcolm helped me lug some furniture around, and then he and I went to Dpont Crcle to get a Krispy Kreme donut and watch some kids do the robot dance quite impressively.
Sunday was fun because I got to go to the 11:00 Union Station church service, then I met up with Wendell, Malcolm, and Amy to go to Wendell’s brother’s house and eat traditional Trini food. It was strongly influenced by (Western?)-Indian food and included Roti (a kind of flat bread), potatoes and chick peas in a curry based sauce, and chicken on the bone stewed in a wonderful blend of seasonings (including brown sugar). It was all cooked by Wendell’s mom who did an excellent job (they are from Trinidad). After dinner Wendell, Malcolm, Amy, Malcolm's sister and I sat around and played Scrabble.
Monday found me over at Malcolm’s to help with a Barbeque/pool party. Malcolm had invited one of his co-workers to help us cook and it was amazing. This guy brought his own grill and equipment, including real skewers (the flat metal kind you see at places that specialize in kabobs) and probably 15 or 20 pounds of good quality beef that had been marinating in something excellent for quite awhile. It turned out to be some of the best, most tender beef I’ve had in a long time. We supplemented that with barbeque chicken and some fresh fruit. Then of course there were some chips, delicious drinks, good friends, and a wonderful pool. It was a good day.
About the only thing missing from this weekend (Sat. through Monday, yes I realize Monday isn’t the weekend, but it was a holiday) was Amon. She flew back to Michigan to be with her family and should get back in town today. Her grandmother passed away last Monday and the service was Sunday. While it would have been nice to have her around, it is good that she was able to make it back and be with her family. Amon, my prayers are still with you and your family.
Now I’m back at work for today through Thursday. Next Monday I start my new job. I admit to being a bit nervous, but at the same time quite excited. It should be an excellent opportunity to build on the things I’ve learned here, as well as working on developing another skill set, and meeting new people. Wow, less than a week away.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Apologies and Treasures
Huh, so I’ve been chastised for not posting enough. I suppose that is fair. I’ve been doing good recently just to get a post in per week. In my defense though, I hate posting entries that simply read, “I washed my hair today, and I also went to work. I love lamp.” That may work for some people, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I feel like if I’m going to post something there should be a good reason such as keeping people I don’t get to talk to every week updated on events in my life, possibly posting some bit of writing to get feed back on it, commenting on some current event, or sharing newly discovered music or books.
I thought I would remedy my lack of posts by putting up something that was about how I haven’t posted in awhile (smell the silliness of that remark yet?)
Oh, and the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PORTION OF THIS POST!!!
Check out this link:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=58151200
My Goodness!!! Alex, your songs, your voice, it’s just amazing. The range is nice as well, from BrokenPeacefulSleep to the Pumpkin Song, to Pitcher OK. Brilliant (even if The Pumpkin song does remind me of a certain song I heard an impromptu version of sitting in an Irish bar in the French Quarter). Still, Brilliant. Download these before he wises up and puts them on an EP and starts charging $14.99 for it. And then, because he deserves it, you should probably send him some money, just to be nice.
I thought I would remedy my lack of posts by putting up something that was about how I haven’t posted in awhile (smell the silliness of that remark yet?)
Oh, and the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PORTION OF THIS POST!!!
Check out this link:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=58151200
My Goodness!!! Alex, your songs, your voice, it’s just amazing. The range is nice as well, from BrokenPeacefulSleep to the Pumpkin Song, to Pitcher OK. Brilliant (even if The Pumpkin song does remind me of a certain song I heard an impromptu version of sitting in an Irish bar in the French Quarter). Still, Brilliant. Download these before he wises up and puts them on an EP and starts charging $14.99 for it. And then, because he deserves it, you should probably send him some money, just to be nice.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Changes
It's seems that anyone with interest enough to still be reading this blog deserves to have the following bit of information:
Over my lunch hour last Friday I had a follow up interview at another company. The possibilities over there are pretty exciting and after having taken this last weekend to pray, ponder, and repeat - I have decided to make a career change.
Not only will I be switching companies, but I will be altering my career path (if only slightly). I'll discuss in more detail later, but the new job will involve a more varied Architectural Engineering experience. I'll be involved with telecommunications, AV design, possibly security system design, and maybe some occasional in house acoustics jobs. Ultimately I will likely be taking on a project management roll and functioning as a sort of "jack of all trades" AE person. Could be fun. At any rate, I certainly won't be taking a cut in pay, the benefits are better, and the DC office is larger (offices in DC, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, LA, Miami, London, Madrid, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul-Korea).
As I said, more details will certainly follow.
Mike
Over my lunch hour last Friday I had a follow up interview at another company. The possibilities over there are pretty exciting and after having taken this last weekend to pray, ponder, and repeat - I have decided to make a career change.
Not only will I be switching companies, but I will be altering my career path (if only slightly). I'll discuss in more detail later, but the new job will involve a more varied Architectural Engineering experience. I'll be involved with telecommunications, AV design, possibly security system design, and maybe some occasional in house acoustics jobs. Ultimately I will likely be taking on a project management roll and functioning as a sort of "jack of all trades" AE person. Could be fun. At any rate, I certainly won't be taking a cut in pay, the benefits are better, and the DC office is larger (offices in DC, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, LA, Miami, London, Madrid, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul-Korea).
As I said, more details will certainly follow.
Mike
Monday, May 08, 2006
New Music Monday
I’ve encountered some new music lately that I wanted to make a quick note of…These aren’t intended to be full reviews (I’ve only heard one album by each of these people), but rather notices to keep your eyes (or ears) open for these artists.
Denison Whitmer:
I’m really enjoying listening to the cd, “Are you a Dreamer”. The cover art seems to indicate he isn’t taking himself too seriously, but not in a, “Hey I think life is a big joke” sort of way, more in a “Hey I realize that life is too short to not enjoy the small things,” sort of way. The instrumental portions of the music remind me, ocassionally, of Sufjan Stephens on Illinoise (who I’m told he’s toured with). Whitmer’s vocals stand up wonderfully among the better singer song writers of today. Despite the fact that Josh Ritter makes a conscious effort to hark back to artists like Dylan, Whitmer pulls the whole package off better, in my humble opinion. I still love Josh Ritter’s sparse work on Bone of Song and other songs on Hello Starling, but that’s another subject.
Rosie Thomas:
Someone I know has called Rosie Thomas the match to Denison Whitmer. Lyrics from the song October on “When We Were Small”, “Some days when she is slightly down, tell her it is ok to frown, it makes you just fall more in love with her.” I lack the proper music library to discuss Rosie’s voice, but the ambience her music creates is undeniable. When you listen to her songs you feel like you’re alternately wearing your most comfortable sweater watching it rain outside, or sipping tea on a sun covered leather couch rereading your favorite book.
Brandi Carlile:
Ah Brandi Carlile. I first heard about Brandi Carlile when she opened for Jamie Cullum. I was so satisfied after hearing her that if Jamie had pulled a no show, I would have still felt great about the concert (he did play though and his energy was INSANE). Have you ever watched someone who is excellent at something? It could be as simple as watching an expert chef cut an onion, the sort of thing that happens in kitchens all over the world every night. But the way they do it reveals how many thousands of times they have used that knife, how well they understand the entire process they are involved in, and how supremely competent they are. Listening to Brandi sing Hallelujah was like that. Her combination of youth and talent (hey, she started EARLY in life) result in someone with an already well developed skill presenting life in a very fresh way.
Denison Whitmer:
I’m really enjoying listening to the cd, “Are you a Dreamer”. The cover art seems to indicate he isn’t taking himself too seriously, but not in a, “Hey I think life is a big joke” sort of way, more in a “Hey I realize that life is too short to not enjoy the small things,” sort of way. The instrumental portions of the music remind me, ocassionally, of Sufjan Stephens on Illinoise (who I’m told he’s toured with). Whitmer’s vocals stand up wonderfully among the better singer song writers of today. Despite the fact that Josh Ritter makes a conscious effort to hark back to artists like Dylan, Whitmer pulls the whole package off better, in my humble opinion. I still love Josh Ritter’s sparse work on Bone of Song and other songs on Hello Starling, but that’s another subject.
Rosie Thomas:
Someone I know has called Rosie Thomas the match to Denison Whitmer. Lyrics from the song October on “When We Were Small”, “Some days when she is slightly down, tell her it is ok to frown, it makes you just fall more in love with her.” I lack the proper music library to discuss Rosie’s voice, but the ambience her music creates is undeniable. When you listen to her songs you feel like you’re alternately wearing your most comfortable sweater watching it rain outside, or sipping tea on a sun covered leather couch rereading your favorite book.
Brandi Carlile:
Ah Brandi Carlile. I first heard about Brandi Carlile when she opened for Jamie Cullum. I was so satisfied after hearing her that if Jamie had pulled a no show, I would have still felt great about the concert (he did play though and his energy was INSANE). Have you ever watched someone who is excellent at something? It could be as simple as watching an expert chef cut an onion, the sort of thing that happens in kitchens all over the world every night. But the way they do it reveals how many thousands of times they have used that knife, how well they understand the entire process they are involved in, and how supremely competent they are. Listening to Brandi sing Hallelujah was like that. Her combination of youth and talent (hey, she started EARLY in life) result in someone with an already well developed skill presenting life in a very fresh way.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Put some water on the Kettle...
...Let's just sit here and talk a little while.
Job update: Not much to report that I can mention on the internet. My company keeps on keepin' on. Supposedly I'm getting a promotion in June, so that will be interesting. They just hired someone to work on Audio Visual (AV) projects in DC. So at least there's another body in the office. Helps with the not slacking when there are other people around - no matter how well intentioned you are.
Church update: I've been switching services alot lately. I had been going to the 11:00 Union Station service, but I’ve also gone to the Saturday night Coffee shop service which is cool. Then last Sunday I went to the 10:30 Union Station service. I need to pick a service and keep going. The good news though, is that the reason I’ve been going to the different services is that I know people at each of them, which means I’m getting more plugged into the important part of the Church – Relationships. I owe most of that to the Small Groups I’ve been attending.
Small Groups: The Church History group is over, but I was glad to have been a part of that, and now I have an excellent book to go back and reread more thoroughly (you could say peruse if you wanted to use the correct definition). Narnia is going excellently. We are taking a “month off” but enjoyed discussing the books so much we are still going to meet twice this month to go over the two books we weren’t able to cover in the semester long group (Voyage and Silver Chair). In June we start Mere Christianity, officially making us Inklings Reloaded, Beyond the Lamp Post (Amazingly enough, I did not come up with that name). I’ve meet some great people at the Narnia group.
Meeting People: Yes, buried in the middle of this post is in fact the most exciting news…I met this really cool girl at the Narnia group. I don’t know how she feels about having her name on the internet, so I’ll just say that I’ve been extremely happy to spend time with her recently. Call me sometime and I can fill you in on a few more details, but only the details a gentleman can be expected to share.
Conclusion: Busy, check. Learning, check. Having fun, check. Challenging myself, check. Missing Lawrence and all those friends back in KS, sigh…triple check.
Job update: Not much to report that I can mention on the internet. My company keeps on keepin' on. Supposedly I'm getting a promotion in June, so that will be interesting. They just hired someone to work on Audio Visual (AV) projects in DC. So at least there's another body in the office. Helps with the not slacking when there are other people around - no matter how well intentioned you are.
Church update: I've been switching services alot lately. I had been going to the 11:00 Union Station service, but I’ve also gone to the Saturday night Coffee shop service which is cool. Then last Sunday I went to the 10:30 Union Station service. I need to pick a service and keep going. The good news though, is that the reason I’ve been going to the different services is that I know people at each of them, which means I’m getting more plugged into the important part of the Church – Relationships. I owe most of that to the Small Groups I’ve been attending.
Small Groups: The Church History group is over, but I was glad to have been a part of that, and now I have an excellent book to go back and reread more thoroughly (you could say peruse if you wanted to use the correct definition). Narnia is going excellently. We are taking a “month off” but enjoyed discussing the books so much we are still going to meet twice this month to go over the two books we weren’t able to cover in the semester long group (Voyage and Silver Chair). In June we start Mere Christianity, officially making us Inklings Reloaded, Beyond the Lamp Post (Amazingly enough, I did not come up with that name). I’ve meet some great people at the Narnia group.
Meeting People: Yes, buried in the middle of this post is in fact the most exciting news…I met this really cool girl at the Narnia group. I don’t know how she feels about having her name on the internet, so I’ll just say that I’ve been extremely happy to spend time with her recently. Call me sometime and I can fill you in on a few more details, but only the details a gentleman can be expected to share.
Conclusion: Busy, check. Learning, check. Having fun, check. Challenging myself, check. Missing Lawrence and all those friends back in KS, sigh…triple check.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Update
I am now officially, as of today, the only full time acoustical consultant in the DC office. Hmm...hopefully this won't last too long.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
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