Just three blocks, but a world away

I did something this morning that I probably should have done ages ago. I visited a church down the street. It was a small church (though larger than the many storefront churches in the neighborhood) with about a hundred people worshipping this morning. The music was good, the minister energetic, and the ritual of tradition deep. I never knew what to expect exactly when someone in the sanctuary changed position or we stood or there was a quiet pause. This was a church filled with traditions and practices that were largely unfamiliar to me. The style of the preacher, the combination of music with the preaching, the offering procedure, the songs.... all unfamiliar.
I knew before I walked in, though, that it would be unfamiliar. I would be lying if I said that I walked in confidently. I walked up the sidewalk to the front steps, took a deep breath, and said out loud, "I can do this." I knew that whatever was inside those doors would be unfamiliar to me. I knew that I would be the only white person in the building. (Incidentally, I was right.)
I didn't just walk into a different church this morning. I walked into an entirely different culture. Three blocks from my house! This was a mere three blocks from my house. I am living right beside people with such a different experience of worship than me. How can I live here and be ignorant to this culture? Better yet, how can I live here and endeavor to reach beyond my ignorance? Ignorance is not bliss -- Ignorance lacks love. True love does not live in ignorance. I want to be a part of the neighborhood, not be afraid of it. I want to love the people here, on my block, down the street, on the bus. But, how can I love these people if I don't understand them? Or, at least attempt to understand? And, how do I start to understand? Lots of questions. Not many answers.

A few books for a few prisoners

I went with a small group of awesome people to help out a local nonprofit that sends books to prisoners. For two hours, I hung out in a smallish, dank room in the basement of a church in Dupont Circle, filling requests from prisoners for books. We read their letters, then looked for books that matched their requests, wrote them a short note, and packed them up to be shipped off. Many of the requests were for dictionaries, fantasy and other sundry kinds of fiction, but I did fill one request for erotica. (He said it would fill a need of his. :) But, alas, that is not the point. The point is that I really enjoyed spending my evening that way. It definitely had the feel of a small, underground (literally!) band of mismatched people getting together to make a tiny little difference in the world. One person opened a letter from someone who said he'd been in prison for 40 years. I can't imagine what it would be like to spend 40 years - an entire lifetime - in prison. I can't even stand being in my apartment for a full day! I hope to make an effort to go back and help out again. And, now I will look at books at yard sales in a whole different light!

Dream of the Day

Last night I dreamed that I got a tattoo. This is strange for several reasons:
1 - I've never considered getting a tattoo and don't reckon that I ever will.
2 - It was on my upper arm, near my shoulder. If I was ever going to get a tattoo, it definitely wouldn't be on my arm or any other place where it would be easily visible.
3 - It was some sort of cheesy looking banner thing that said Christie Jean IV.
4 - In my dream, I had a conversation with someone in which it became apparent that I didn't actually want it to say "Christie Jean IV".
5 - I concluded that I could probably have it "fixed" to say Christopher and make the IV into a heart!

It amuses me to no end that I came up with all of that in my sleep! Fortunately, when I woke up there was no tattoo on my arm.... or anywhere else for that matter!

Today is Amy's birthday!! (and other stuff)

Nightmare on 15th Street - The other night I dreamed that someone stole my flute. I woke myself up crying. Sadly, this is not the first time that I've had that dream, nor the first time I've woken myself up crying in my sleep.

Runnings-Into - As aforementioned on this blog, I love randomly running into people around town. In the last few days, I've run into several people. Last night, on our way home, Chris and I saw Ian and Bekah (super cool folk from my small group who are moving to "East Asia" next month). A few days ago, I saw Candace (of Grand Jury Fame), but we were in a car and I thought it might be weird if we stopped so we just kept going. Then, this morning I ran into Molly in the metro station. Speaking of Molly, she just started a new blog. I haven't even visited it yet so don't yell at me if you don't like it. :)

Also, I would like some frozen yogurt please. sigh.

Second Grade expert

I remember being in elementary school and thinking that anyone who passed second grade was then qualified to teach it. That made sense to me. After all, as third-graders, we were second-grade experts! Of course, now I realize that there is a lot more to teaching second grade than just having been through it. However, it seems like that elementary school logic is applied in a lot of situations. Frequently, people come to me or my friends (maybe even you!) and ask for advice about something that I've just barely been through. Lately, it seems to be related to relationships. I guess people have always come to me for relationship advice (which was VERY strange when I had never even been on a date and people came to me for advice!), but now it's more specific and drawing on my experiences. Anyways, that happened again today so I will attempt to be helpful and draw on what little wisdom I have to share. :) So, as a wise old third grader, I will bestow my knowledge on a second-grader!

Thursday Thoughts

• When one shops for a new skirt, one should try sitting in said skirt before purchasing, lest the new owner discovers that it falls open in a not-appropriate-for-the-office kind of way
• I'm hoping bad stuff doesn't happen in threes.... at least not this time
• 2 hour commutes are so overrated
• I am so thankful for my close friends and for Chris who truly have operated as a family recently.
  

Little things for a Wednesday

One of the things I love about working from home a few days a week is being able to cook a quick healthy lunch for myself. Today I had sauteed green beans with corn and spinach over a bed of whole wheat couscous. So yummy! And, nutritious! And, I got to eat so many veggies that I am very very full now. It is hard to get many vegetables when you eat out.

Also, I really need to go buy some fruit. I just can't decide which grocery store to go to. The Safeway on Bladensburg is closest, but the one down on 14th is probably a safer walk. I really hate having to consider that every time I go out. I do NOT want to live in fear. I WILL not. well, maybe just a little. sigh.

I'll let you know how my attempt on a new tofu and broccoli recipe works out tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. By the way, I thought maybe I could add some turkey bacon to it and tried to look for recipes like that, but apparently tofu and bacon don't show up in the same recipe very often. Psshaw.

Tears of Joy

Something fairly uncommon in my life happened this morning and so I just wanted to be sure to make a note of it. I cried tears of joy this morning. I was sitting in my awesome red chair finishing up a banana from my breakfast/brunch/lunch when suddenly I was just struck with deep joy and happiness. I don't know entirely why. I was just looking around and thinking how very much I love my apartment and though, I don't have everything exactly as I want it, I just absolutely love my space... it makes me happy to have such a great place to live life. I think that's what triggered my joy, but then I started thinking about how I have a job and work arrangement (work from home two days/week) that I love. And, I'm with the man that I love so much and he adores me. And, I love my new smaller, healthier body. And, my God is so good. Even when life is difficult and deals us a crappy hand, there is joy and rest to be found in Him. Today is probably extra joyful because it is Baptism by the Bay day. This is my absolute favorite NCC event each year. We all head out to Sandy Point and hang out, picnic, then go down to the water to worship with some music and then, the main event... baptism! People make a public confession of faith with this very symbolic act. Right there in the Bay... it is so exciting to be there with people as they begin their public faith journey ... some for the first time... some with vigor for the first time. And, every year, among those baptized, there are people who have been touched by Alpha getting baptized. It reminds me why I do what I do and gives me a tangible moment to be grateful that God allows me to be a tiny part of those people's journey and experience of Him.
And, so, this morning.... tears of joy.

What fruit am I?

So, one of our assignments for small group this week was to ask someone which fruit of the spirit they thought was most evident in our lives. Of course, in the spirit of under-achievement, I waited until the day before small group to do this. But, in the spirit of over-achievement, I am asking more than one person. So far, I have 1 love, 1 joy, 1 patience and 1 watermelon. (One of these things is not like the others.)
What do you think?
As a refresher, the choices are:
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
gentleness
faithfulness
self-control

I'm not dying!

And, rusty nails will not harm me!
I went to the doctor today. A real, run-of-the mill, everyone should have one and go once a year or so, doctor. And, she says I'm not dying.
Normal blood pressure - check!
Normal cholesterol levels - check!
Normal red and white blood platelet levels - check!
She poked and prodded and inspected and listened to me and pronounced me to be healthy. Plus, I got a tetanus shot so now I don't have to fear rusty nails and wild chipmunks. Life is good!

Sport Identified!

Meredith, you were right!! It's bicycle polo. Remember a few months back when I was so intrigued by the random sport I stumbled across on my way to the store? Well, apparently, I'm not the only one that's intrigued. Check it out:
The Washington Post picked it up: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/07/02/GA2009070201500.html
http://www.dcfixed.com/teams/polo/

Playgrounds and airplanes and transformers, oh my!

So, this last week has been fun! Caryl (my sis-in-law, by way of Scott) and Johnny (my nephew, by way of Scott) have been in town. We've been to playgrounds, the Air & Space Museum (at Dulles), Eastern Market. They've been on the mall, seen dinosaurs, animals at the zoo and lots and lots of Firetrucks! Here are a few fun pics from the weekend.

Caryl and Johnny in front of National Airport at Hains Point. We went down to watch the airplanes land.

Me and monkey boy! At one of many playgrounds.

At the air and space museum at Dulles. Notice which boy is NOT behaving!

This is the face of a boy who demanded a repeat visit to Jaleo. (Yes, an upscale tapas restaurant.... they've created a monster with a sophisticated palette.)

Behold! "Clean-out-the-freezer" eggs

For those of you who keep returning to my blog for more punishment and only to find it not updated, you may recall my earlier fondness for "clean-out-the-fridge" salad. Tonight, I ventured into a new land that I will call, "Clean-out-the-freezer" eggs. I ate way too much for lunch so I was trying to figure out something to eat tonight with lots of veggies and without lots of calories and fat and such. This fit the bill. And, fortunately, it turns out that spinach, roasted corn, shrimp, eggs, feta, salt, pepper and dill is really quite, quite tasty. I think perhaps I shall try this method again soon. (But, not too soon, I did, after all, make a dent on cleaning out the freezer.)














In other news: Screen on the Green is saved!!

The Long Way

Tonight, I had a first. For the first time in my life, I swam an Olympic length pool, the long way. And, guess what? It kind of is a long way! I was disappointed to realize how very slow my 50 is, but oh well.... I guess that means there is plenty of room for improvement. Plus, the workout goes fast because each length takes twice as long and I swim half as many.
Anyways, just thought I would share! (LOVE my gym!)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is why I love my job!















When I brought up the fact that we really needed to get my 6-month review done, my boss promptly grabbed a post-it pad and gave me this. Seriously.

Today's score so far

Walked outside to discover 92nd day of rain this month: -1
Caught bus immediately: +2
Was bigger person and said hi to girl on bus who seems to routinely ignore me even though we've gone to the same church for a long time: +3
Passed Calculus (with an A- !!): +5

Total so far: +9

Derivatives Be Done!

I just finished my calculus exam a little bit ago. Whew! I am so glad that's done. And, I think I did surprisingly well on it. At the minimum, I am confident that I passed. And, let's be honest. That was the goal here. For those that don't know, I was taking calculus this semester as a pre-req. to get into the MBA program at Mason. Let's just say that it wasn't a walk in the park. The professor was less than stellar (he actually answered his phone during class one night!) and well, calculus is hard! Well, it's difficult for a girl that hasn't done high-level math in about 15 years! Anyways, so it's over.
However, I have to get a tetanus (tetnus? huh. I don't know how to spell that. That's embarrassing. embarassing? eh - I must just be tired) shot before I can find out if I passed the class. I never turned in my immunizations so my account has a hold on it and I won't get my grade until I do that. Since I haven't had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, I have to do that first! So, if I have to go get a shot and then find out that I failed the class, that's going to be a real double-downer. Hopefully, that's not the case.
Hmm... lots more to say, but I'm wilting.
Ciao

Thoughts from a Seashore

A few random thoughts from today:

• It must not just be the swimming that I enjoy. I think I enjoy the repetitive motion of many activities that I like. Today we went for a fairly long bike ride and I had the same experience - where I could just put my body on autopilot and zone out, allowing myself to think and reflect and observe whatever I wanted.
• My father and I were walking on the beach. He picked up shells that were pretty (his word) and perfect (my word). I was looking for unique, interesting shells. I have a feeling that says a lot more about our differences than just our shell aesthetics.
• I never want to take the ocean for granted. I could sit and listen to and watch the waves for forever. Here are a few random shots just to make sure I don't take it for granted. (There are a bunch of other vacation photos here, too.)
  

Today's to-do list

• Cuddle with my nephew
• Hang out with parents, who I rarely get to see
• Drink diet coke
• Sit on deck listening to ocean
• Lay on beach reading a magazine and getting some sun
• Give hugs to Scott and Caryl for first time in 9 months.
  

Good stuff!

A Walk Across Philly

I love walking around cities/towns that I love. Yesterday, I spent all afternoon just walking across Philly, stopping wherever I wanted to check out a shop, get a manicure, have a mojito, take some pictures, whatever tickled my fancy. It was very hot, but I did get to at least go to Reading Terminal Market, Elfreth's Alley, Jeweler's Row and walk by Independence Hall and City Hall.

I realized that I really miss a few things about Philly. I miss the grit... the blue-collar working-class feeling you can get there. I mean I met a machinist one night. I can't imagine meeting a machinist in DC.

I also miss the rich, rich homegrown arts scene in Philly. One of the best orchestras in the world, dance companies, Curtis Institute, lots of visual artists, a culinary canvas to compete with any city... there is a lot to miss. Like many things in DC, the arts are often (or at least feel) imported. Of course, that's one of DC's strengths: an internationa population and attraction. Even for a city, I suppose one's strengths can be one's weaknesses.

Maybe, though, what I should really do, is make an effort to do a better job of living in DC... finding great restaurants, unique shops and neighborhoods that love me back. I mean I love my neighborhood, but there surely aren't any designer boutiques there. I should go find them. They're not going to come to me.

If only I could get Philly pretzels in DC!!