its a busy day. but thankfully one class let out early and another was cancelled.
i called praxis and made some progress. there are pros and cons. the pros? i'll be able to fit all of my tests in and i'll definitely get to pick up my middle school certifications. the cons? six hours of testing in one day costing well over $300 in the end. and that's five tests total for certification, which is well well well over $300.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
i had forgotten about this one...
mary met andres and i after school. we caught a micro and took it to mary's sister's house. it was joel's birthday.
the house was humble, but it was apparent they were more blessed than most.
i met the kids but they weren't very receptive, which was understandable. there was a sheepish girl helping around the house. she was making empenadas with ericka, and mary quickly joined in. i watched a little bit and they talked me into helping. and they laughed at me.
mary showed me the pet parrot. he could say "hola tia mary!" and "ciao tia mary!" he was a funny bird.
mary's sister, ericka, liked me from the start, because my fiancee's name was erica. the name erica sounds prettier when spanish people say it. (so does the name "mary." our english r's are quite ugly sounding.) she showed me wedding pictures and we did our best to communicate about wedding customs in our broken english and spanish.
we gathered around the table and they sang "estamos contentos," which is a beautiful birthday song. andres messed up the words and sang "we're happy for the food" instead of "we're happy for the life." mary and ericka and the helper girl were laughing so hard at his mistake that they couldn't finish the song.
they sang another song, and at the end of it they smashed joel's face into the blue icing of the cake. some sort of custom, i guess, and i kind of liked it.
eventually ericka's husband came home. he spoke to me in the best bolivian english i heard while being down there. it was very quickly evident that he was a good husband and father. he greeted joel with a hug and asked how his party was going.
later on, while we were playing catch in the front yard, he came out armed with a shovel to pick up the dog excrement. i learned the spanish word for excrement: excremento. he said it to his children with a sense of urgency: "¡excremento!"
mary's niece had a concert for school that night. she was playing the recorder. i sat in the corner of the livingroom watching mary brush and braid her niece's hair at the dining table, while her niece played her recorder in between grimmaces from her hair being pulled. it was a scene out of a foreign film.
ericka had a big and beautiful smile, much like mary's. their smiles and laughter revealed an amount of joy rarely found back home in the states.
i played outside with the kids and mary until mark and susana came to pick us up.
...i had forgotten about this one, but now that i've remembered it, it is crystal clear in my mind. i close my eyes and i am there. and i am wearing an uncontrollable grin, both there in my bolivian daydream and here in my indiana reality.
mary met andres and i after school. we caught a micro and took it to mary's sister's house. it was joel's birthday.
the house was humble, but it was apparent they were more blessed than most.
i met the kids but they weren't very receptive, which was understandable. there was a sheepish girl helping around the house. she was making empenadas with ericka, and mary quickly joined in. i watched a little bit and they talked me into helping. and they laughed at me.
mary showed me the pet parrot. he could say "hola tia mary!" and "ciao tia mary!" he was a funny bird.
mary's sister, ericka, liked me from the start, because my fiancee's name was erica. the name erica sounds prettier when spanish people say it. (so does the name "mary." our english r's are quite ugly sounding.) she showed me wedding pictures and we did our best to communicate about wedding customs in our broken english and spanish.
we gathered around the table and they sang "estamos contentos," which is a beautiful birthday song. andres messed up the words and sang "we're happy for the food" instead of "we're happy for the life." mary and ericka and the helper girl were laughing so hard at his mistake that they couldn't finish the song.
they sang another song, and at the end of it they smashed joel's face into the blue icing of the cake. some sort of custom, i guess, and i kind of liked it.
eventually ericka's husband came home. he spoke to me in the best bolivian english i heard while being down there. it was very quickly evident that he was a good husband and father. he greeted joel with a hug and asked how his party was going.
later on, while we were playing catch in the front yard, he came out armed with a shovel to pick up the dog excrement. i learned the spanish word for excrement: excremento. he said it to his children with a sense of urgency: "¡excremento!"
mary's niece had a concert for school that night. she was playing the recorder. i sat in the corner of the livingroom watching mary brush and braid her niece's hair at the dining table, while her niece played her recorder in between grimmaces from her hair being pulled. it was a scene out of a foreign film.
ericka had a big and beautiful smile, much like mary's. their smiles and laughter revealed an amount of joy rarely found back home in the states.
i played outside with the kids and mary until mark and susana came to pick us up.
...i had forgotten about this one, but now that i've remembered it, it is crystal clear in my mind. i close my eyes and i am there. and i am wearing an uncontrollable grin, both there in my bolivian daydream and here in my indiana reality.
Monday, March 07, 2005
two years ago, i had the privelege of working in haiti. our project was to help build one side of a balcony on a new church that had been a slow moving project. it looked something like this when we arrived:
after a week of hard work, we left it like this:
i got an email last night. and the church now looks like this:
i can't even begin to describe how amazing it was to see this last night. thank you lord, for amazing opportunties and for your amazing faithfulness.
after a week of hard work, we left it like this:
i got an email last night. and the church now looks like this:
i can't even begin to describe how amazing it was to see this last night. thank you lord, for amazing opportunties and for your amazing faithfulness.
the warm weather was short-lived. you would think after 4 years in indiana i would come to expect this.
two nights in a row of little sleep has led to some intense grogginess today.
jamin and i are putting the finishing touches on the documentary. it is turning out pretty dang great. we are fighting to fix some overexposed parts, but dont think they are entirely fixable. this is quite a shame because it's the only thing holding us back from an oscar nomination for best documentary short.
editing the documentary caused me to avoid all schoolwork and responsibility this weekend, and when i was on my way to handy andy (*ahem* circle k, i mean) to pick up our pizza, my up-tight-brain started saying with a great deal of urgency, "shorb! get your act together! you've got other stuff to be taking care of!" i promptly responded in a firm tone equally as urgent, "listen here, buster brain, i've been waiting for some fun and excitement, or at the very least something--anything!--more interesting than sitting in my apartment staring at walls for the past two and a half months, and nothing is going to stop me now, especially not homework i can live without doing!" he shut up after that and i had a great time, stayed out til after 12 (which is very late for a formerly-student-teaching-apartment-living-newspaper-delivery-boy, mind you), and went straight to bed.
good luck (or god bless, if you prefer) on your test, andy! you'll be the best chemical sprayer i know!
(and by the way, music for the day is appleseed cast's low level owl vol. 1)
two nights in a row of little sleep has led to some intense grogginess today.
jamin and i are putting the finishing touches on the documentary. it is turning out pretty dang great. we are fighting to fix some overexposed parts, but dont think they are entirely fixable. this is quite a shame because it's the only thing holding us back from an oscar nomination for best documentary short.
editing the documentary caused me to avoid all schoolwork and responsibility this weekend, and when i was on my way to handy andy (*ahem* circle k, i mean) to pick up our pizza, my up-tight-brain started saying with a great deal of urgency, "shorb! get your act together! you've got other stuff to be taking care of!" i promptly responded in a firm tone equally as urgent, "listen here, buster brain, i've been waiting for some fun and excitement, or at the very least something--anything!--more interesting than sitting in my apartment staring at walls for the past two and a half months, and nothing is going to stop me now, especially not homework i can live without doing!" he shut up after that and i had a great time, stayed out til after 12 (which is very late for a formerly-student-teaching-apartment-living-newspaper-delivery-boy, mind you), and went straight to bed.
good luck (or god bless, if you prefer) on your test, andy! you'll be the best chemical sprayer i know!
(and by the way, music for the day is appleseed cast's low level owl vol. 1)
Sunday, March 06, 2005
last night turned out to be very productive and you should be proud. i finished an art project, found articles for my health project, made copies for a new art project, and made some headway on my licensure application. at 10:15 i went over to help jamin edit our documentary. i stayed there til 3:00AM! arent you proud of me? so yesterday i was awake from 6:30AM to 3:30AM. that's a long time to be awake, kids.
the documentary is really coming along, i might add. it's tough to edit out some of the stuff we're editing out, but youve gotta do what youve gotta do. that's the hardest part of editing. some stuff is really great, but you have to sacrifice it for the good of the entirety of the film.
so i bet you think i skipped church this morning, huh? well you'd be WRONG. i went to exit 59. i dont feel challenged at these muncie alliance churches, because i already agree with everything they preach. but yet, i think it's good to get that same message every week, because it's one that no one else is preaching, and it's always good to be reminded.
ive always been too lazy to memorize scripture, but i think i'd like to memorize philippians 3.
today the sun is out and it's beautiful. i just cleaned my closet/computer room/recording studio which was long overdue. im going to grab something to eat and get a little work done and then head over to jamin's for more editing. im also hoping to watch the gleaners and i again in hopes of reviewing it for the echo even though most people would probably hate it.
may the peace of god be with you on this day.
the documentary is really coming along, i might add. it's tough to edit out some of the stuff we're editing out, but youve gotta do what youve gotta do. that's the hardest part of editing. some stuff is really great, but you have to sacrifice it for the good of the entirety of the film.
so i bet you think i skipped church this morning, huh? well you'd be WRONG. i went to exit 59. i dont feel challenged at these muncie alliance churches, because i already agree with everything they preach. but yet, i think it's good to get that same message every week, because it's one that no one else is preaching, and it's always good to be reminded.
ive always been too lazy to memorize scripture, but i think i'd like to memorize philippians 3.
today the sun is out and it's beautiful. i just cleaned my closet/computer room/recording studio which was long overdue. im going to grab something to eat and get a little work done and then head over to jamin's for more editing. im also hoping to watch the gleaners and i again in hopes of reviewing it for the echo even though most people would probably hate it.
may the peace of god be with you on this day.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
i think i could handle getting into half-handed cloud. you should probably go out and buy me his entire catalog.
if you're interested, im a new author over here, along with nev and chalupa and liz boltz and two other people who i dont know but they never write on there anyway. i do realize this means i now have three blogs, and i do realize im a total loser for it.
i took 2 praxis tests this morning. not too bad all in all. and, assuming i passed, im one step closer to indiana and pennsylvania certification, which is a pretty good feeling. but dang those tests are daunting. 2 hours each and 120 questions each. you get to question 60 and your brain is already fried and you realize you're only halfway there. it wasnt fun.
i was hungry tonight because the only thing i had eaten since 7:00 this morning was 2 candy bars. i made an impressive little meal if i may say so myself. it was eggs and onions and green pepper with crushed red pepper and cilantro and celery seed with some melted cheddar cheese in a tortilla. i enjoyed it.
jamin just came over to the apartment a little bit ago to film a quick project for one of his classes. i think it will turn out to be a pretty impressive little movie for such quick work.
not a whole lot going on tonight. trying to make some progress on a few projects that shouldve been started a long time ago. and perhaps i'll watch motorcycle diaries a bit later. we shall see.
keep on keeping on.
i took 2 praxis tests this morning. not too bad all in all. and, assuming i passed, im one step closer to indiana and pennsylvania certification, which is a pretty good feeling. but dang those tests are daunting. 2 hours each and 120 questions each. you get to question 60 and your brain is already fried and you realize you're only halfway there. it wasnt fun.
i was hungry tonight because the only thing i had eaten since 7:00 this morning was 2 candy bars. i made an impressive little meal if i may say so myself. it was eggs and onions and green pepper with crushed red pepper and cilantro and celery seed with some melted cheddar cheese in a tortilla. i enjoyed it.
jamin just came over to the apartment a little bit ago to film a quick project for one of his classes. i think it will turn out to be a pretty impressive little movie for such quick work.
not a whole lot going on tonight. trying to make some progress on a few projects that shouldve been started a long time ago. and perhaps i'll watch motorcycle diaries a bit later. we shall see.
keep on keeping on.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
another long random story and update post coming...brace yourselves...
milford played a team last night that had 3 black guys, lots of tattoos, and lots of muscles. they were scary. we lost. and it was the first game where i actually played well, which made it even more painful.
last night scott was complaining that he had swimmer's ear after his water safety class. chalupa suggested he stick a long thing of newspaper in his ear and light the end on fire, because this somehow creates a change in pressure or something and solves the problem. so we tried it. the first time, we pulled it out too soon. the second time, it was wrapped too tightly and wouldnt burn. so the third time, scott wraps a big thing of newspaper, sticks one end in his ear, bends over the sink in the kitchen, and we light it. frenchy, joe darling, chalupa, and i were all in the kitchen coaching him. i had the bowl of water ready to throw on it when it got close to his ear. well, we waited, and waited, and waited, and he was freaking out and the flame was getting closer and closer. and finally, the split second i was about to put it out, scott screams at the top of his lungs, jumps up, knocks the bowl of water out of my hands, and jumps up and down screaming. apparently i waited too long.
we watched the story of the weeping camel last night. it was kinda slow but very beautifully done and a really intriguing story. i liked it quite a bit. tonight i watched a documentary called the gleaners and i. i LOVED it. the lady who films it and narrates it loves life and capturing the beauty of it wherever it's found. she is a grown up amelie. very quirky, very fun. she follows people that salvage junk or eat food from trash cans and its interesting and beautiful. i would really recommend it, although i'm probably crazy for thinking you might like it.
we had an interesting discussion about religious pluralism in contemp today. i was thinking and it was good.
scott's car is in the shop and they told him they had a vehicle he could borrow. little did he know the vehicle they were giving him was a big white pickup truck with a license plate on the front that says "i'm too sexy for my hair, that's why it isnt there."
check out the comments on this post. how cool is that? i helped him, and he emailed me back and told me that if i ever get to read "Revolution No. 9" by Neil McMahon, i should think of him. i feel so important! german book lovers all over the world are indebted to me!
here's another funny story and that will wrap up this post.
i picked up a kid and his parents from the indy airport on monday for the admissions office. they flew in from dallas. we didnt get back in time to eat at the dining commons, so i took them to the subway in the mcclure gas station in upland. they got their subs and were paying for them at the cash register. the kid pointed out some of those energy pill things and mentioned how they were illegal in texas because some people have died from using them. this is where the teenage cashier chimed in. "yeah, one of my friends, well, my friends mom, actually, took those every day, and then one day, she went into the hospital because of it, and they had to cut open her chest and restart her heart and it was going nuts and bleeding all over the place and if they did anything wrong her heart could completely explode at any given moment." he kept going and going with more and more detail right as this family was getting ready to eat their dinner. after their appetites had completely disappeared, he finally concluded the story with "....so my suggestion is....huhuhuh....don't ever take them....cuz...like...they really mess you up."
milford played a team last night that had 3 black guys, lots of tattoos, and lots of muscles. they were scary. we lost. and it was the first game where i actually played well, which made it even more painful.
last night scott was complaining that he had swimmer's ear after his water safety class. chalupa suggested he stick a long thing of newspaper in his ear and light the end on fire, because this somehow creates a change in pressure or something and solves the problem. so we tried it. the first time, we pulled it out too soon. the second time, it was wrapped too tightly and wouldnt burn. so the third time, scott wraps a big thing of newspaper, sticks one end in his ear, bends over the sink in the kitchen, and we light it. frenchy, joe darling, chalupa, and i were all in the kitchen coaching him. i had the bowl of water ready to throw on it when it got close to his ear. well, we waited, and waited, and waited, and he was freaking out and the flame was getting closer and closer. and finally, the split second i was about to put it out, scott screams at the top of his lungs, jumps up, knocks the bowl of water out of my hands, and jumps up and down screaming. apparently i waited too long.
we watched the story of the weeping camel last night. it was kinda slow but very beautifully done and a really intriguing story. i liked it quite a bit. tonight i watched a documentary called the gleaners and i. i LOVED it. the lady who films it and narrates it loves life and capturing the beauty of it wherever it's found. she is a grown up amelie. very quirky, very fun. she follows people that salvage junk or eat food from trash cans and its interesting and beautiful. i would really recommend it, although i'm probably crazy for thinking you might like it.
we had an interesting discussion about religious pluralism in contemp today. i was thinking and it was good.
scott's car is in the shop and they told him they had a vehicle he could borrow. little did he know the vehicle they were giving him was a big white pickup truck with a license plate on the front that says "i'm too sexy for my hair, that's why it isnt there."
check out the comments on this post. how cool is that? i helped him, and he emailed me back and told me that if i ever get to read "Revolution No. 9" by Neil McMahon, i should think of him. i feel so important! german book lovers all over the world are indebted to me!
here's another funny story and that will wrap up this post.
i picked up a kid and his parents from the indy airport on monday for the admissions office. they flew in from dallas. we didnt get back in time to eat at the dining commons, so i took them to the subway in the mcclure gas station in upland. they got their subs and were paying for them at the cash register. the kid pointed out some of those energy pill things and mentioned how they were illegal in texas because some people have died from using them. this is where the teenage cashier chimed in. "yeah, one of my friends, well, my friends mom, actually, took those every day, and then one day, she went into the hospital because of it, and they had to cut open her chest and restart her heart and it was going nuts and bleeding all over the place and if they did anything wrong her heart could completely explode at any given moment." he kept going and going with more and more detail right as this family was getting ready to eat their dinner. after their appetites had completely disappeared, he finally concluded the story with "....so my suggestion is....huhuhuh....don't ever take them....cuz...like...they really mess you up."
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
i think this is going to be one of those really long general update and random thought kind of posts. to be honest, those are always my favorite.
the weather has been miserable but today the sun is piercing through the clouds and the snow and the fierce windy cold, so there is hope after all. and it's march 2nd! soon we'll be going out like a lamb and partying all day every day. remember in elementary school where in every grade once march rolled around you made some kind of craft or art project related to lions and lambs?
ive been sick ever since saturday night. a sore throat and hints of a cold and general feelings of grogginess and fatigue. i often wonder how much of these ongoing feelings relate to my lack of exercise. i should look into it.
i watched the documentary "to be and to have" with frenchy and chalupa over the weekend and slept through most of it. i watched it again yesterday and really liked it. it's about a one room school in france. i am an el ed major who loves french kids, so i'm a little biased. but even though it was slow and had no plot, it was a very enjoyable and heartfelt look at education and kids and so on and so forth. so many great moments. the teacher talking with jojo about infinity, and helping him wash his hands. the teacher saying goodbye to all the kids at the end of the year was a tearjerker. and the bonus features with the kids reciting poetry. its pretty beautiful. if i ever get sick of being a teacher, i'll pop this movie in and watch it a couple of times and be ready to go again.
ive been dreaming about bolivia 5 nights out of 7. i can picture those streets very clearly in my mind and miss mary and adrian very very much. those were good days and i am thankful for them.
this morning was youth conference chapel and for some reason, even though they are fun at the time, they have a way of depressing me. i have a lot of unresolved tension with youth ministry i think. i dont know what my problem is with it, really. i cant write it like i think and i cant think it like i feel it. but i will say this...
i think too much energy is spent on trying to convince teenagers that christianity is fun. its seems as though it is our only apologetic with that age group. we play a catchy song or have silly contests and then demand, "who says being a christian isnt fun?!?"
but is being a christian fun? as fun as we claim?
and if being a christian wasnt fun, would it be worth our while? (...i hope we can agree the answer is yes.)
i feel like we're really insecure about the level of fun we're having, and we have to dress it up and try to convince everyone. "we dont need beer to have a good time!!" it seems rather lame to me. and what im trying to say is we should follow christ whether its fun or not. and from what i know and read, it is not fun more often than it is fun, or at least, i think it is supposed to be that way. are we ok with that? and can we convince teenagers that it's still worthwhile even if it isn't fun?
maybe my problem with youth ministry is that the gospel is so often dressed up into things that it isnt, and not just in what i'm talking about here, but in a variety of ways. and i really think it screws with peoples minds. but i'll stop there before i start saying things i dont mean or dont fully understand.
well, i'll say one more thing. i'd much rather focus my energy on teaching teenagers how to think than on having them pray a prayer or make a "commitment." because the ability to think will last longer and lead to more positive effects than words uttered during an emotional high.
theres more and theres more and theres more but i'll keep thinking and i hope you do the same.
later skaters.
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