last days of summer

And I'm wasting it! Why am I here, typing away on a computer when I should be out enjoying the weekend and the break from the mounting work load of school? Why aren't I sucking the marrow out of life? Carpe Diem!

Oh right. Because it's 90+ degrees with 780% humidity out and the second I step outside of my climate-controlled house I will turn into a disgusting, sweaty mess. This does not appeal to me.

I do need to make a library run - Never Let Me Go is nearly past due and my copy of Lamb : the gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal is waiting to take me on a near-blasphemous trip through Christopher Moore's mind. I can't wait. Here's hoping I don't sweat all over the books, warping them and spoiling the reading experience for some future borrower. Maybe I'll walk really, really slow.

Catch up time. The end of summer was marked by several wonderful events, which for the sake of time will only get a cursory mention instead of the in depth treatment they deserve. Again, blame it on school. The King's X/Extreme show rocked. Couldn't have asked for better weather or better friends to share it with. KX put on a great set, a mix of old and new that if there is any justice in the world won them a few more new fans. Doug was in excellent voice and Ty and Jerry played well. They were missing a touch of showmanship, but oh the sound. Definitely helped being only a handful of rows from the front (thanks Brandon!). I'd never seen Extreme before and they put on an excellent show as well. Gary Cherone is an entertaining showman, though he teetered on the line of self-parody at times (and bore an odd resemblance to Ben Stiller with his hair short). Nuno still has fingers stolen from the devil himself and his playing was stellar. I got some pics, but haven't found a place to post them yet. Maybe I'll do that this afternoon while I'm pretending to be agoraphobic.

I got to make a quick trip up to Canton/Stow/Kent the next day. Met Jenna and Courtney at Jen's house and we lounged around the pool for the afternoon and shared tales of the school year past and anticipation for the one upcoming. Adorable rugrats kept us entertained, which is probably how most of our get togethers will go for the next few years. I also was interviewed for someone's doctoral thesis - she's studying second career teachers and how education programs may better serve them. Interesting to revisit the transition again, do a little evaluation of my experience, see how much cross over there actually is between what I do and what I used to do.

I also got to see Candice one last time before our respective worlds blew up with the start of school. We met at Barnes & Noble and shared our vacation stories and then met Aimee at The Chang for dinner. Always good to catch up, especially since I walked away feeling encouraged as usual. Everyone should have friends like that. I hope you do.

Last weekend (geesh, was it only a week ago) was the Garey family reunion up in Columbiana. Dad is still on bedrest, so I drove up early Saturday morning to drive my mom (and her carfull of items for the auction) up to my cousin Elaine's house. Made for a long day - eleven plus hours of driving once I finally got home around 1:30 AM. But worth it. My Aunt Mary (my grandma's sister) was there and shared the history of the family, which was great. I'm hoping to procure a copy so I can keep it somewhere. So much I've never realized. Was great seeing all the cousins and their spouses and kids. Strange to think I'm the same age my parents were when I remember going to reunions. There was talk about passing on the responsibility to "the next generation" and I realized they were talking about us. Wait, I'm not old enough for that yet, right? Right?

Good to spend some quality time with mom, too. Wasn't sure how it would go, but we had a good time on the drive - I even got her to watch Juno on my iPod. We had hoped Jen would join us, but the night before the reunion her next door neighbor pounded on her door at 12:30 AM, accused her of sideswiping her car and then punched her in the face (?!). I am not making this up. She ended up with a black eye and was in court this past Tuesday for it. Only my sister.

Last Sunday I met with the pastoral council of VC to talk about ordination. Not mine specifically, per se, but the idea of ordination and how it fits in this community. Traditionally ordination has been saved for those earning their livelihood by working in the church. However, since VC doesn't pay its leaders, that criteria doesn't really work. Ordination has also been the mark of those ordained by the church to administer the sacraments. But with our house church set up, those are not reserved only for the ordained. So the question has become, "What does ordination mean in this context?" with a side order of "Should we even be ordaining people?" I gave a brief account of my journey and talked about my own feelings and then we discussed some of the issues facing us as a community. Was good to be part of the discussion and though nothing was settled, it's comforting to see us wrestling with this and not rushing in willy-nilly so to speak. More conversation lies ahead and I'm looking forward to seeing what we decide.

Which brings us up to the beginning of the school year, which I believe I will save for a separate post since this one is already on the lengthy side and there are events from this past week I am still trying to sort through. Nothing too terribly serious, just my entire financial future. Even typing that much makes my head throb.

Off to face the heat. If you're walking in Norwood and see a book floating in a hairy puddle of sweat, you'll know my worst fears came true and I have indeed melted away. Be careful where you walk - would hate to ruin your shoes... Æ

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Now playing: King's X - Goldilox
via FoxyTunes