Potential Employers

Here's the current list of schools I know I'll consider applying for this spring, in no particular order.

Eastern (near Philadelphia)
Lehigh (Bethlehem, PA)
Messiah (PA)
Temple (Philadelphia)
Philadelphia Biblical
Gordon (Boston)
Emmanuel (Boston)
Belmont (Nashville)
Lipscomb (Nashville)
Lee (TN)
Union (TN)
Notre Dame
North Park (Chicago)
Trinity International (Chicago)
Calvin (MI)
Bethel (Minneapolis)

Other considerations:
Northwestern (IA)
Taylor
Butler (Indy)
Huntington
Malone (OH)
Grace College (Tracy talked about applying to be an RD, so that's how it make it on the list)
Cornerstone (MI)
Oberlin (OH)

Any other suggestions???

With Honors

The final for our Spiritual Formation class was a 10 page paper on the 1994 film, With Honors. Cheesy on the surface. Less cheesy a few layers below. So, in the spirit of an 11 day span between the return from Thanksgiving break to the beginning of Christmas break that was overrun by student issues and getting owned by the cold my dad passed onto me at Thanksgiving, I pulled the last all-niter of 2008 last Monday writing this thing. I think it could have made for a cheesy movie of it's own. Mondays are always full of meetings for me, but this one had the first meetings starting at 11am and they went back to back from then until 10:45pm. At which point, of course, I gave Kyle a call and headed to The Sunshine Cafe with laptops and good intentions of getting to work in tote. The whole reason we went was because Kyle was cashing in on a deal we made for him to sit in my apartment that smelled like rotten eggs, but that's another story for another time. When we arrived at the diner the first problem we encountered was a lack of electrical outlets. Welp, guess we're not writing the whole paper here cause our computer batteries wont last that long. The second problem arrived with Missy showing up to give us some cookies. What ensued was about an hour and a half of more GREAT conversation about whatever. The third problem reared it's ugly head when she left and we realized that neither of us wanted to write this thing. So, after filling up on crappy, greasy diner food, we gave it our best effort for about an hour and then headed home around 2:15am. Class starts at 9am, so what better thing to do then call up friends at the post and work there? And, believe it or not, we did. Emily, Rody, and Sara were already at work. Kyle and I joined and got right down to business. The three girls finished and went to sleep. Kyle and I stayed up and completed Kyle's first legitimate all-niter for academic reasons (BOOYEAH!). We finished up at 7:30am with enough time to run home for a shower and change of clothes. Good friends. Good memories.

Overall, I didn't think this movie was terribly worthy of such in-depth critique. However, there was a great excerpt from Whitman.
‘You shall no longer take things at second or third hand nor look through the eyes of the dead nor feed on the specters in books. You shall not look through my eyes either nor take things from me. You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.’
–Walt Whitman Song of Myself

Thesis Thanksgiving

Before Thanksgiving Break my thesis data collection was administered. Every male student in a residence hall was given my survey as a supplement to the standard residence life survey. I have a response rate of about 600, which is huge. I'm very excited about this. My data set will be substantial and hopefully, that means significant when all is said and done. I collected all of the responses before I headed home for the break. My mom and I spent several hours together entering about 100 of them onto the computer. Between working with Sara during Jumping Bean shifts and afternoons at the Rusty Post (Let's be honest, I'm a poor research assistant... sorry) as well as commandeering the help of my PA staff for a few minutes after one of our meetings, I've got about 360 entered. I head into the Christmas break with 250 or so left to enter. What else could a guy want to do with 3 weeks during the Christmas season than enter data for a research thesis? ha.

Back to Thanksgiving. Dad was down for the count with a bad cold (which he passed onto me right before I left) and Tracy was working like a good poor graduate student has to. This left my mom and I to spend tons of time together during the break. It was great! I can't recall the last time that I spent that much intentional time with only my mother. We caught up on all sorts of stuff. She's been worried about me this semester, as I'm sure most mothers would in response to that sort of stuff. It was good to be able to share everything with her and give her a chance to ask questions and give her answers. So often when I call home, I talk to dad only. I forget that she's left with answers mediated to her by someone else. Though, I know she's understanding, I'm trying to do a better job of calling and talking directly to her as much as I call dad.

Since she's been retired and since I've spent more time with her without so much stress in her life, I think I'm discovering more about how we're similar. This Thanksgiving I realized that we are similar in our low-key personalities and our mutual lazze-fare approach to decisions on unimportant things. I mean, who cares what restaurant we go eat at anyway? Not mom or I. Just choose. Thank you.

Shorbs

As was written about a month ago, in my previous post, I headed out to my friends, the Shorbs, in a pretty pathetic emotional state all over again. As communication was traded, things were said that threw me into a tailspin. The 20 hours of driving out to P.A. & back was alone time long overdue. It's something I'd been avoiding like the plague for about 6 weeks at that point. It's very difficult for me to go without time alone, so by this point, its fair to say that I was pretty raged. Nate & Erica took me in and through their friendship, I think God filled me up and put me back on my feet. The whole weekend was wonderful. However, I think that I would have driven the whole way out there to have our conversation Friday night only to jump back in the car and drive all the way back and counted it time well spent. I'd been in a haze for the better part of the semester up until then. Everything was reaction and fighting to be OK. In our time good questions were asked; truth was spoken; challenges leveled; and care communicated. God spoke to me through the mouths of Nate and Erica the whole weekend, but that first night's conversation especially. Thank you Lord.

The rest of the weekend was filled with college visits to Eastern and Lehigh (I think it's safe to say that the visit firmly cemented eastern PA as a top location of choice for my job search in the spring). We also made the obligatory pilgrimage to Pat's in downtown Philadelphia for cheesesteaks even in the monsoon rains. Other highlights were band practice, 3 church services, family lunch at the Shorbs (Nate's parents), and young adults Bible study.

I drove home on Monday with clarity I'd not had since August. The change in my heart and head seemed unbelievable. As things have sunk in for the past month, it's not left me. Though this was not originally my choice, I am choosing to move forward and I feel confident there is wisdom here. Hindsight is 20/20 (as Mr. Grose, my 12th grade Govt. teacher always said) and some of haziness that's begun to come into focus are important.

I left, living a life that was 'numb' and afraid to be overwhelmed. I returned with a clarity that my life can move in the direction of 'healthy'. Thank you Nate and Erica.

Everything's all messed up.

Musica

So, one of my Lighthouse students emailed me last night asking me what some of my favorite music of the semester has been. I responded with this and thought I should turn it into a blog post.

(Anonymous Student)-
First, let me apologize for the fact that I've just received this email while working at the Jumping Bean for the afternoon with little business and no work to do. Thus, I've got nothing but time to respond to this question I'm sure was asked, expecting a short response. So, here we go.

Let's start with individual songs thus far in the semester:
(Song Title - Artist)
Dear Prudence - The Beatles
Sissyneck - Beck
Lost! & Violet Hill - Coldplay
Medication - Damien Jurado
Dogs 0 Damien Rice
Marching Bands of Manhatten - Death Cab for Cutie
O Valencia! - The Decembrists
The Blood - The Frames
Wake me up when September Ends - Green Day
One Man Wrecking Machine & Keep It Together - Guster
Weary Memory - Iron & Wine
Wrong Turn & If I Could - Jack Johnson
New York Not My Home - Jim Croce
Gravity - John Mayer
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
Under the Weather - KT Tunstall
Grace Kelly - MIKA
Missed the Boat - Modest Mouse
The Long Day is Over - Norah Jones
Right on Time - O.A.R.
Drunkard's Prayer - Over the Rhine
New Shoes - Paolo Nutini
Hang on Little Tomato - Pink Martini
Summer in the City - Regina Spektor
October - Rosie Thomas
English Girls Approximately & Avalanche - Ryan Adams
Those to Come - The Shins
Heart - Stars
Romulus - Sufjan Stevens
This is My Story, This is My Song - Thelonious Monk
Ball & Biscuit - The White Stripes
Either Way - Wilco
Warrior - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Albums:
(Artist - Album Title)
Anathallo - Hymns
The Beatles - White Album (Disk 1&2)
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Damien Jurado - Ghost of David
Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place
Format - Interventions & Lullabies
Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Modest Mouse - Good News for People who Love Bad News
The Postal Service - Give Up
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
The Shins - Chutes too Narrow

Significant Days

These days are significant. This election was significant, maybe for the political, but especially for the symbolic. I heard someone say that there hasn't been such large electoral college support for a president since Lyndon Baines Johnson in the 60's. His acceptance speech last night... ...inspiring. Our natural response to the sight of our highest elected official at a podium, in front of a microphone should not be cringing or reaching for the remote to turn down the volume. I am excited about the American President, again possessing the ability to elicit feelings of respect and thoughts of hope from those who hear his words. I think this quality exists outside of the the partisain political arena; having little to do with tax plans or government programs. Though such thoughts and feelings can be had in these areas as well, I think that an American President should be able to excell at the symbolic nature of his role, as well as the poltical one. I hope he can bring about even some of the changes he's spoken of, but at least as important to me... ...inspire me! Inspire my students! Inspire my parents about the oportunities and possibilities present in their lives at this time and in this place if we consider a paradigm shift toward serving others before ourselves, and serving together instead of on our own. In his own words, "So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

There are certainly more and higher places to which I look for hope, value, significance and meaning in my life. However, for as much as an imperfect man who's authority and leadership we submit ourselves to is capable, I hope that you were inspired last night, even a little bit. And I hope that he is able call us to more unity, compassion, and selflessness through his inspiration in the months and years ahead of us.

Approval

As of 10am Saturday morning my research proposal was accepted unanimously by the department. BOOYEAH! It's now moved on to be submitted to Taylor's I.R.B. for approval. I'm hoping for notification within a week.

Though parting ways with friends after college is difficult, it makes the time with these people later in life seem so good and so beneficial. Time with Phil was very good. Sushi and a new entry into the journal, of course. We met Michelle for lunch and it was fun to ask her questions and see how the two of them share the same space. I think there's something necessary about having someone in your life periodically who knows you outside of your current context and circumstance. Maybe it's the ability to step away from an expected role one plays too often, or maybe it's the weight of time that such a person's inquiry carries with it. Ultimately, I think it's simply the sincerity and depth of a friendship that persists in the face of seperate lives and different spaces. There's comfort and refuge to be taken in these relationships. Thank you Phil for a breath of fresh air.

Yesterday I turned in the last big assignment I have academically for the semester until the last week of class. Though a front loaded semester made for a hecktic last 3 weeks, especially, I'm looking forward to a schedule that I can fill up with one-on-one meetings with students. Coffee anyone?

yawn

Sunday - Stayed up all night. Wrote an EXTREMELY frustrating paper for Spiritual Formation class. (Had the best conversation of the year up to this point with Caleb and Ben during the middle of the night)
Monday - 5 hours of sleep. Late PA meetings followed by a phone call that left me sleepless for quite a while.
Tuesday - 4 hours of sleep. meetings with students till late followed by 6am wake up for work @ the coffee shop the next day.
Wednesday - Stayed up all night again! Ended up rewriting my entire lit review for my thesis proposal. Good news: it was officially submitted to the department at 7am this morning.
Tonight - Falling asleep as soon as I finish this post... Ahhh sweet sweet sleep how you've been so elusive to me this week.

It's been a long time since I've done 2 all-niters in one week. I hope it's another long time before I do it again.

ruffles

Amy and I talked over Skype this morning with Joanie, our Czech host. It was very encouraging to get answers to some of the questions our team's had over the past month and a half. Looks like we'll be spending most of our days in english & gym classes between elementary school through high school & even some adult learning oportunities as well. In the evenings it sounds like we'll be inviting the school kids to hang out with us at local pubs and our residence. We'll also be spending time working with gypsy communities (Roma) and childrens' homes. Evidently our first weekend in the country we'll be helping host a soccer tournament with some of the younger kids in the area. Overall, the excitement level was raised more than I thought there was room for, to be quite honest. I can't wait to share the news with our team on Monday.

This afternoon & evening Amy and I ran down to Indy to see a movie. Afterwards we were walking through an outdoor mall and she asked if we could look for a present for one of her friends who's birthday is this week. We walked in to Ann Taylor Loft and Amy sort of walked around looking for stuff. As I stood in the back of the store for a few minutes I started to look around the store. Angela liked Ann Taylor alot because they have a good petite section with clothes that are her size. I identified this section and spotted several tops that she would have looked at. Had we walked into this store together this is what would have happened. We would have walked to the petite section and begun perusing. She would have picked up this yellow short sleeved top with little ruffles down the middle and looked at it. I would have walked over and said that looked very nice and that she should get it. She would have agreed but then put it back on the rack and walked away. I would have waited until after she'd finished looking around and then picked it back up and encouraged her to get it. She would dismiss it as too expensive, to which, I would have said I wanted to buy it for her. Once I would have convinced her that I really wanted to get it to help build her work clothes wardrobe, then she would walk back to the rack, look at the shirt and then put it down and looked at several other ones behind it that looked similar, but with different colors and no ruffles. She would have picked up a brown one that was a few behind the yellow one and ask what I thought of that one. I would have told her that i thought that one was nice too. Ultimately she would decide to let me purchase the brown one for her even though she likes little ruffles alot, because she doesn't like the way that yellow looks on her (she says her skin is too pale) and she thinks brown is much safer for work.

I wanted to sit down on a stool in the shoe section and cry for knowing how specifically that would have played out.

Thank you Andrew and Amy for getting me through this weekend. Everyone comes back from Fall Break tomorrow night, and it wont be a moment too soon, I'm sure.