:: M squared T ::

:: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 ::

This is just sick and wrong

Heard about this on WLS Thursday as I was driving to the Seminary.

Kyrie Eleison
Christe Eleison
Kyrie Eleison

Article linked via Relevant Magazine.

:: Matt 9/30/2003 09:05:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Morning Surprise

My mini-blinds broke and fell on my head when I tried to raise them this morning. Stink! The window project evolves to the next level... :)

:: Matt 9/24/2003 09:29:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Long-Distance School

Yesterday I took the 280-mile round-trip to and from Northern for the first time for the year. Only 30 more to go!

I discovered that high speed on the highways only decreases the travel time by 15 minutes each way. So I might as well not risk the ticket and take my time.

:: Matt 9/23/2003 11:45:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Blogging from the Seminary

All right, folks... here I am in Northern Baptist Theological Seminary's Library... waiting for my next class to start at 4. Had a bit of a hiccup today in registration (only signed up for one class for the whole year) but I think we've gotten that straightened out.

This whole commuting thing will make the seminary part of life very different than it was for the past two years. I hope God will be a part of it from start to finish. Graduation is June 5, 2004.

:: Matt 9/22/2003 03:04:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

???

Feeling spiritually weird... please pray for me.

:: Matt 9/21/2003 11:00:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Will the insanity never cease?

I was just in a convenience store at a gas station and saw something mindblowing: a vending machine for McDonald's waffle fries. I'm not kidding. You put in your money and 45 seconds later, the fries come out.

That's just too much!

:: Matt 9/21/2003 12:48:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Window Project

I started a window project today. Sutton Place is housed in a c. 100-yr.-old former boarding house, and the windows are original. Today, one of the two original windows in my room was re-glazed. The glazing had cracked and fallen out over the years, and I realized that it was going to get a bit cold in here in a few months if I didn't do something about it. Moreover, there is a considerable amount of space around the frame and sill - enough to see light through.

The glazing went well. Unfortunately, I could not complete the project because the putty knife caught in a small crack in the side of the glass in one window and cracked the whole pane. So now I have to replace it. Furthermore, the cheap foam weatherstripping wouldn't stick to the old wooden frames, despite washing and drying them beforehand. I am going to attempt another type.

Windows are labor-intensive. I can see why most people just replace them with the new models rather than putting the time and effort into rebuilding existing ones. But I believe that maintaining old, well-crafted work is good stewardship of resources. And it often looks great in the end!

:: Matt 9/20/2003 09:37:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Busyness and Creativity

Whatever readers I have left may have noticed that I have been blogging more and more infrequently. This does not in itself disturb me; however, I have discovered that I am reflecting less in general than I have previously.

I have found myself so busy with day-to-day activities that my reflection that lies behind my blogging and my journaling has diminished considerably. Over the last three weeks, I have started to take one day off every week: a day where I do not do any work for the church, any schoolwork, and no work for the house.

I thought I would use that time for relaxation and reflection. But then I discovered that I have been so busy that I don't have any activities left that I enjoy outside of work and school. My interests have been re-focused.

This realization left me in a state of shock and perhaps even horror at the fact that I have lost something so integral to my life - the ability to come up with creative pursuits that I can enjoy separate from my academics and church work.

I used to enjoy building things - model railroading, etc.; I used to enjoy reading Greek and Latin and translating it just for fun; I used to enjoy repair projects; I used to enjoy camping; I used to enjoy music.

Now my only relaxation seems to be sleep.

I have lost something, and I must fight to get it back.

:: Matt 9/19/2003 01:50:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Where Were You?

Two years ago this morning, I was getting ready for work (I set my own hours, and I woke up late). As I was getting ready to leave, my mom burst in the door of our house and said, "Someone stopped me on my way in and said a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center!"

My first thought was, "must be a heckofa storm out there for someone to crash into the WTC like that." Then mom flipped the TV on (to CBS - WCIA Channel 3). Seconds later, we saw the second plane hit, out of the clear, blue sky. I'm not sure if it was in realtime or a replay, but that was the first thing we saw.

My heart jumped into my throat, and I went numb. I said, "Wow... one plane, that's an accident... but two, well, that's terrorism!" Little did I know the extent of what would take place.

We watched the TV for a few minutes, and I saw the first tower fall. Then I realized that I still needed to go to work. At the time, I worked as a Computer Systems Administrator in a local high school and thought I could do some "pastoral care" if I were to go to work rather than gawk at the TV. Shortly after I arrived at work, the second tower collapsed.

September 11, 2001 transformed the nation's psyche. Government officials now have to go on TV every time something unusual happens to declare whether it was terrorism or not. Terrorism is now on our list of possible explanations for just about everything.

I pray for peace. I pray for freedom from fear. Come, Lord Jesus!

:: Matt 9/11/2003 03:44:00 PM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...

Wetter House

Yes, the rain is coming through the open roof. Not so much as on Friday, but morale is getting low in the quarters where the steady dripping is reducing the amount of liveable space. Please pray for two of my housemates who are having to sleep elsewhere tonight due to the wetness.

:: Matt 9/01/2003 12:57:00 AM :: permalink :: comments (0) ::
...