So, I sort of feel like I fell off the face of the Earth over the weekend--hence the title. At least with regards to the Internet anyway. My internet involvement, at least since I've been in Seminary, though I would say it's been longer than that, has been cyclical. I got through these periods of apathy, where I pretty much just read up on things on the 'Downs and LJ, and that's about it.
I'm in one of those troughs at the moment, seemingly, but not an entirely voluntary one. This one has been boiling for a while, as the post below regarding my new computer obsession will indicate, but it came to head this weekend with the loss of internet here at the Seminary.
For reasons as yet unbeknownst to me, sometime Saturday afternoon/evening the phone lines (including the internet) to Newman College and the Seminary were cut, a state of affairs that lasted until Tuesday sometime.
I hardly noticed, as far as my normal internet rounds went. And for good reason, since I've been working on my History paper the last week or two. Not in great bursts of all-nighterly effort--haven't had to pull an all-nighter yet--but steadily. The lack of internet was a bit of a problem there, since my printer has decided it is permanently in the state of being jammed (though it most assuredly is not), and I needed to print from another machine... and I couldn't email myself.
But socially?
As most of my contacts can aver, I haven't been on MSN regularly since January, or earlier. I've made an effort to sign in on weekends, with an eye to talking to Abby, and whoever else might be on, but it's no longer habitual. AIM signs itself in automatically, but I don't think I've chatted with Jamie in weeks, and AIM was never more than a backup for those not MSN-enabled.
Forums? I'm keeping up with my favourite threads on the 'Downs and that's about it. I just don't have any desire to get involved in the debates, or interest in getting involved in the fun stuff, or even much stamina for roleplaying (that energy is probably being consumed by the LEGO books).
I know my habits well enough to know this is just a cycle. It'll pass. Probably in May, when moving back to Olds will mean that my current social structure will be missing, and I'll be craving contact with people my own age a LOT more than now.
But it's intriguing, I find, watching me slipping out of the Internet circle, as quietly as I can. Like it or not, that's probably going to be the trend of the future for me. A priest doesn't have the time I do for frivolous internetting. Or LEGO books.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
By Michael A. Joosten
It's been an interesting couple of weeks lately... I think I'm spending more time than usual on the computer, but I'm certainly spending LESS time that usual on the Internet. And the beneficiary of this surfeit of computer time has not been games (though I have been playing a lot of Solitaire lately... which says absolutely salutary about me).
No, I have been spending copious amounts of time lately on writing LEGO stories.
This is hardly something new. My first extra-curricular writing project was a story (fully illustrated) about the Imperial Guards and Pirates (the LEGO guys), back when I was in Grade 3... which was a very long time ago.
From then until about... lemme see... about two and a half years ago, I wrote more and more about my LEGO people, ending up with 30 books (none with more than 32 pages, I assure you), and 45 or so issues of a monthly "LEGO Report" that my brother and I put out for three and a half years, and an 80-page novel.
I finally tired of writing all this in mid-2004. Looking back, of all that enormous volume of paper, hardly any of it had any literary value. But it was an incredibly valuable part of my life, and can be credited with my ease in writing in most respects. Though even my work of three years ago seems a bit cringe-worthy now, it's remarkable to see the marked progress from year to year.
Well, I don't think it's any coincidence my LEGO book output stopped at right about the same time I joined Classic-Castle.com, not with me joining the CCRP two months in, and becoming one of the staple authors of the Roleplay. Never mind that I was one of the Gaming mods, I was posting additions to that thing anywhere from three to eight times a week for over a year and a half (even counting out the month I spent in Europe). It broke my heart when I finally had to stop out of Roleplay-wide malaise from which it never recovered, and I tried to get back into it at a later date, but once the pace was lost and the mutual support of the other Roleplayers undone, there was no going back.
And so we come, about a year since then, to my resuming LEGO-based story-telling around Christmas. It was pretty much a full-fledged return to the universe of my old LEGO stories. But rather than continue to build on stories that go back to my stilted beginning in 1995, I decided to rewrite the best stories of the whole thing, and expand from there. Most of the infrastructure, the subcreation and world-building, remaining intact, but the stories were to be completely restructured.
To this new literary endeavour I brought a year and a half of CCRP experience and more than half a year of Barrow-Downs RPGing, as well as a general increased maturity and awareness of literary technique. What is now about seven months of watching Stargate episodes has had its part in stimulating the creative part of my mind, if not directly influencing the narrative.
What has had rather little influence on this "LEGO Book Series" has been LEGO itself...
It's interesting, but while I've made an effort to incorporate the new themes of LEGO that have come out since I stopped writing in 2004, and while the factions and characters still have their little plastic counterparts... from the written text and the descriptions therein, you'd hardly think it was LEGO being written about at all, unless you had a comprehensive knowledge of LEGO promotional storylines.
It's the world that's the important thing. I'm deeply attached to the great history of the Royal Knights, Johnny Thunder, and the Spyrius Empire. I cannot just cut the universe adrift from its source. And even though the storytelling has lost the LEGO flavour it once had, the LEGO models and figs are still the wellspring of creative thought. It's just that I've grown up, and my LEGO has with me...
Now... um... where was I going with all this?
Ah. Yes. What I've been doing lately.
Well, there's not really much to say about it, except that I'm enjoying myself immensely. I actually skipped Religion class today to get back three hours earlier than usual, so that I could be sure of having time to work on a chapter or two (I have three different books on the go: one Castle, one Adventurer, and one Space). Mind you, this would hardly have been drastic for Joe Ordinary College Guy, if you consider that today's Religion class was only a review of the last few weeks in preparation for Friday's test, and keeping in mind that I am pretty much Religion Geek Maestro. Still, I NEVER skip class, unless a doctor's appointment or seminary function, or something similarly serious, distracts me. This is a first.
And the result?
Well, I wrote two more chapters. One on the Castle book, one on the Adventurer book (which really doesn't enthuse me, but the events need to be covered, important as they are to the entire Johnny Thunder story arc. It'll be the weakest volume, though). And the whole LEGO book product overall?
It isn't great literature, let me assure you. My fiction continues to suffer from a lack of distinctive characterization, as well as very linear storylines, with an immaculately sharp distinction between good and evil. I either rely almost entirely on dialogue or I start sounding encyclopaedic/"Annals of Aman"-istic. All of this is improving, especially as I work my way out of the whole "rewriting of old stories" thing and into the writing of totally new tales, which gives me a much freer hand. Being aware of it also helps.
But it isn't great literature. It isn't supposed to be. It's FUN! I haven't had this much fun since the headiest days of the CCRP, back in the summer of 2005. And it's very similar, in some respects. Except that this is all my work, all my creation (though the LEGO Company gets credit for some of the set-up). Did I mention I'm having a blast?
~~~~~
And in other news... I not only got through Psalm 112 on Monday with no problem, I totally NAILED it! Go me!
No, I have been spending copious amounts of time lately on writing LEGO stories.
This is hardly something new. My first extra-curricular writing project was a story (fully illustrated) about the Imperial Guards and Pirates (the LEGO guys), back when I was in Grade 3... which was a very long time ago.
From then until about... lemme see... about two and a half years ago, I wrote more and more about my LEGO people, ending up with 30 books (none with more than 32 pages, I assure you), and 45 or so issues of a monthly "LEGO Report" that my brother and I put out for three and a half years, and an 80-page novel.
I finally tired of writing all this in mid-2004. Looking back, of all that enormous volume of paper, hardly any of it had any literary value. But it was an incredibly valuable part of my life, and can be credited with my ease in writing in most respects. Though even my work of three years ago seems a bit cringe-worthy now, it's remarkable to see the marked progress from year to year.
Well, I don't think it's any coincidence my LEGO book output stopped at right about the same time I joined Classic-Castle.com, not with me joining the CCRP two months in, and becoming one of the staple authors of the Roleplay. Never mind that I was one of the Gaming mods, I was posting additions to that thing anywhere from three to eight times a week for over a year and a half (even counting out the month I spent in Europe). It broke my heart when I finally had to stop out of Roleplay-wide malaise from which it never recovered, and I tried to get back into it at a later date, but once the pace was lost and the mutual support of the other Roleplayers undone, there was no going back.
And so we come, about a year since then, to my resuming LEGO-based story-telling around Christmas. It was pretty much a full-fledged return to the universe of my old LEGO stories. But rather than continue to build on stories that go back to my stilted beginning in 1995, I decided to rewrite the best stories of the whole thing, and expand from there. Most of the infrastructure, the subcreation and world-building, remaining intact, but the stories were to be completely restructured.
To this new literary endeavour I brought a year and a half of CCRP experience and more than half a year of Barrow-Downs RPGing, as well as a general increased maturity and awareness of literary technique. What is now about seven months of watching Stargate episodes has had its part in stimulating the creative part of my mind, if not directly influencing the narrative.
What has had rather little influence on this "LEGO Book Series" has been LEGO itself...
It's interesting, but while I've made an effort to incorporate the new themes of LEGO that have come out since I stopped writing in 2004, and while the factions and characters still have their little plastic counterparts... from the written text and the descriptions therein, you'd hardly think it was LEGO being written about at all, unless you had a comprehensive knowledge of LEGO promotional storylines.
It's the world that's the important thing. I'm deeply attached to the great history of the Royal Knights, Johnny Thunder, and the Spyrius Empire. I cannot just cut the universe adrift from its source. And even though the storytelling has lost the LEGO flavour it once had, the LEGO models and figs are still the wellspring of creative thought. It's just that I've grown up, and my LEGO has with me...
Now... um... where was I going with all this?
Ah. Yes. What I've been doing lately.
Well, there's not really much to say about it, except that I'm enjoying myself immensely. I actually skipped Religion class today to get back three hours earlier than usual, so that I could be sure of having time to work on a chapter or two (I have three different books on the go: one Castle, one Adventurer, and one Space). Mind you, this would hardly have been drastic for Joe Ordinary College Guy, if you consider that today's Religion class was only a review of the last few weeks in preparation for Friday's test, and keeping in mind that I am pretty much Religion Geek Maestro. Still, I NEVER skip class, unless a doctor's appointment or seminary function, or something similarly serious, distracts me. This is a first.
And the result?
Well, I wrote two more chapters. One on the Castle book, one on the Adventurer book (which really doesn't enthuse me, but the events need to be covered, important as they are to the entire Johnny Thunder story arc. It'll be the weakest volume, though). And the whole LEGO book product overall?
It isn't great literature, let me assure you. My fiction continues to suffer from a lack of distinctive characterization, as well as very linear storylines, with an immaculately sharp distinction between good and evil. I either rely almost entirely on dialogue or I start sounding encyclopaedic/"Annals of Aman"-istic. All of this is improving, especially as I work my way out of the whole "rewriting of old stories" thing and into the writing of totally new tales, which gives me a much freer hand. Being aware of it also helps.
But it isn't great literature. It isn't supposed to be. It's FUN! I haven't had this much fun since the headiest days of the CCRP, back in the summer of 2005. And it's very similar, in some respects. Except that this is all my work, all my creation (though the LEGO Company gets credit for some of the set-up). Did I mention I'm having a blast?
~~~~~
And in other news... I not only got through Psalm 112 on Monday with no problem, I totally NAILED it! Go me!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
He Who Sings Prays Twice
So said St. Augustine, anyway...
Last night, being Friday, was Community Activity night. The Community Commitee being short on ideas, we ended up going out for supper by pod (the community bedrooms are grouped around central living room areas, or "pods"). Despite the humble origin of the idea, it was a good night.
My pod, the smallest due to various reasons, went out for supper to a Vietnamese restaurant in St. Albert.
Possibly because we were the fewest, or possibly because we were something else, we were the first pod back at the Sem--except that we didn't stay there. Fr. Marco and Maurice had other, more pressing duties, but the remaining four of us got back in the car, and drove off towards the south end of Edmonton. One of the guys was on a mission for his Vicar General, who had broken a liquor glass on a fairly expensive set. Naturally, we found out upon arrival that either John had been given the wrong name of the set, or that they didn't make them anymore... or something. In any event, we went away glass-less.
On the way back we were going to stop at a pie place, and have a late dessert. Except... we couldn't find it. (Completely incidentally, we were held up in the middle of this by an accident scene. It looked like a jaywalker had been hit... it was dark, and not surprising, but still sad.)
Fortunately, we were third time lucky, and though we couldn't find a glass, and couldn't find the pie place, we managed to find the Seminary, pulling in after an hour and more of what amounted to aimless driving.
But it was a very good time regardless. I definitely need to get out of this building and the regular routines a bit more often with a broader variety of my fellows.
Anyway, after pulling in around 8:30, Geoffrey and I headed over to the Chapel to practise one of the psalms for Cathedral Vespers on Monday. Monday is St. Joseph's Feastday, and St. Joseph being the patron of the Seminary, the diocese, and the entire country, it's a pretty big celebration. I was a wee bit queasy about the prospect of being asked to be cantor for one of the psalms, but I don't really know how to say no, I'm afraid.
That said, I learned the psalm in short order, which speaks volumes of both how easy the psalm is, and how good an accompanist Geoffrey is. He's our foremost musical virtuoso, Fr. Eric possibly excepted.
Geoffrey sings (beautifully), plays the piano (I know he taught before coming to Seminary), and can compose. What we're going to do when he graduates, I don't like to think.
In any case, what started as a practise for one psalm turned into an hour-long session of Geoffrey playing and me singing. It was an awesome time. It was evening, and well past supper, which meant that my voice was blessedly free of a messy-feeling throat. Fr. Eric turned up in the chapel's balcony halfway through, and we had an audience.
I don't normally think of myself as a good singer... though I know I'm better than the average, having the ability to hit notes and having a voice that can project. But, blame it on various childhood events if you like, I don't think of myself as a good singer. But last night... I was almost willing to accept Geoffrey and Fr. Eric's word that I have a beautiful voice.
No, I'm not being egotistic. I'm reliving a moment that meant a great deal to me. I should like to hear me sing on tape, if I could... I've never heard me sing solo. And if talking sounds different inside your head than on tape, then I'm sure singing does as well.
Of course... my experience is that if the rehearsal goes too well, there will be problems with the main performance. We'll see how I do with Psalm 112 on Monday.
Last night, being Friday, was Community Activity night. The Community Commitee being short on ideas, we ended up going out for supper by pod (the community bedrooms are grouped around central living room areas, or "pods"). Despite the humble origin of the idea, it was a good night.
My pod, the smallest due to various reasons, went out for supper to a Vietnamese restaurant in St. Albert.
Possibly because we were the fewest, or possibly because we were something else, we were the first pod back at the Sem--except that we didn't stay there. Fr. Marco and Maurice had other, more pressing duties, but the remaining four of us got back in the car, and drove off towards the south end of Edmonton. One of the guys was on a mission for his Vicar General, who had broken a liquor glass on a fairly expensive set. Naturally, we found out upon arrival that either John had been given the wrong name of the set, or that they didn't make them anymore... or something. In any event, we went away glass-less.
On the way back we were going to stop at a pie place, and have a late dessert. Except... we couldn't find it. (Completely incidentally, we were held up in the middle of this by an accident scene. It looked like a jaywalker had been hit... it was dark, and not surprising, but still sad.)
Fortunately, we were third time lucky, and though we couldn't find a glass, and couldn't find the pie place, we managed to find the Seminary, pulling in after an hour and more of what amounted to aimless driving.
But it was a very good time regardless. I definitely need to get out of this building and the regular routines a bit more often with a broader variety of my fellows.
Anyway, after pulling in around 8:30, Geoffrey and I headed over to the Chapel to practise one of the psalms for Cathedral Vespers on Monday. Monday is St. Joseph's Feastday, and St. Joseph being the patron of the Seminary, the diocese, and the entire country, it's a pretty big celebration. I was a wee bit queasy about the prospect of being asked to be cantor for one of the psalms, but I don't really know how to say no, I'm afraid.
That said, I learned the psalm in short order, which speaks volumes of both how easy the psalm is, and how good an accompanist Geoffrey is. He's our foremost musical virtuoso, Fr. Eric possibly excepted.
Geoffrey sings (beautifully), plays the piano (I know he taught before coming to Seminary), and can compose. What we're going to do when he graduates, I don't like to think.
In any case, what started as a practise for one psalm turned into an hour-long session of Geoffrey playing and me singing. It was an awesome time. It was evening, and well past supper, which meant that my voice was blessedly free of a messy-feeling throat. Fr. Eric turned up in the chapel's balcony halfway through, and we had an audience.
I don't normally think of myself as a good singer... though I know I'm better than the average, having the ability to hit notes and having a voice that can project. But, blame it on various childhood events if you like, I don't think of myself as a good singer. But last night... I was almost willing to accept Geoffrey and Fr. Eric's word that I have a beautiful voice.
No, I'm not being egotistic. I'm reliving a moment that meant a great deal to me. I should like to hear me sing on tape, if I could... I've never heard me sing solo. And if talking sounds different inside your head than on tape, then I'm sure singing does as well.
Of course... my experience is that if the rehearsal goes too well, there will be problems with the main performance. We'll see how I do with Psalm 112 on Monday.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Born to Fly
So, I'm driving to class this morning, listening to the country radio station (those of you who have just begun to sniff disdainfully, remember that it's my car and my ears), and one of the songs that made it on during the course of the drive has the following as a refrain:
"But how do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know, that you were born, you were born to fly?"
Sara Evans is the artist who performs it, but that is irrelevant to my reason for posting.
Basically, the refrain here addressed a topic I've thought a little about lately: wannabe-martyrs. "Martyrs?" you ask.
Martyrs.
See, the thing about quite a number saints is that, typically when they were younger, they really, really wanted to become missionaries in some dangerous foreign country--for the sole purpose of achieving martyrdom. Now, to my way of thinking, this is a cop-out. Why did these saints want to die a painful gruesome death? Not out of a desire of pain, I assure you, but out of a desire to make it to Heaven--for sure. Hence the cop-out. Sure, you can go get yourself killed in some foreign country, and yes, that does simultaneously give you pretty much automatic entry to Heaven and saves you the Hellfire-worthy job of suicide.
The REAL saints, to my way of thinking, are the ones who willingly (or resignedly), have to slog their way through a life of eighty-some years of temptation, regular suffering and the general toss-up chances of making it into Heaven. You know... the NORMAL saints.
And here's where the song comes in. Who CAN wait for Heaven? Why would anyone want to stay here in this world, when the option of going to Heaven faster is out there? Seriously... Heaven is leaps and bounds beyond this world, and in every way possible. And, as the song's analogy goes, who wants to walk when they were born to fly? And born to fly we were. We were made for Heaven.
On further reflection, however, I retain my opinion that opting out of life in the quickest way possible isn't the right thing to do. And I'll use the priestly vocation to demonstrate why. It is, of course, my belief that if I'm called to be a priest (which happens to be what I believe), then I was called from the moment of my conception. And, naturally, I yearn to fulfill that vocation, and be ordained. It's only the proper order of things, if you want to do God's will, to be eager for the vocation he's called me to.
That does not mean that I should be skipping over years of childhood and seminary. Every one of those eight years of seminary is necessary before I'm ordained. I may desperately want to be a priest, and that my be where God is calling me... but all in due time. And when I'm ordained, assuming I'm like 95% of priests, I'm going to look back on Seminary as some of (if not all of) the best years of my life.
Similarly, we are supposed to live long and healthy lives, I hold. Martyrdom remains something to be bravely endured--not sought out. We should enjoy and relish this life. Eternity is eternal, so there's no rush to get there. This life has a point.
And...
On a totally differnt note, you know that Spring is here when you start seeing more female skin cropping up between pants and shirt in class.
"But how do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know, that you were born, you were born to fly?"
Sara Evans is the artist who performs it, but that is irrelevant to my reason for posting.
Basically, the refrain here addressed a topic I've thought a little about lately: wannabe-martyrs. "Martyrs?" you ask.
Martyrs.
See, the thing about quite a number saints is that, typically when they were younger, they really, really wanted to become missionaries in some dangerous foreign country--for the sole purpose of achieving martyrdom. Now, to my way of thinking, this is a cop-out. Why did these saints want to die a painful gruesome death? Not out of a desire of pain, I assure you, but out of a desire to make it to Heaven--for sure. Hence the cop-out. Sure, you can go get yourself killed in some foreign country, and yes, that does simultaneously give you pretty much automatic entry to Heaven and saves you the Hellfire-worthy job of suicide.
The REAL saints, to my way of thinking, are the ones who willingly (or resignedly), have to slog their way through a life of eighty-some years of temptation, regular suffering and the general toss-up chances of making it into Heaven. You know... the NORMAL saints.
And here's where the song comes in. Who CAN wait for Heaven? Why would anyone want to stay here in this world, when the option of going to Heaven faster is out there? Seriously... Heaven is leaps and bounds beyond this world, and in every way possible. And, as the song's analogy goes, who wants to walk when they were born to fly? And born to fly we were. We were made for Heaven.
On further reflection, however, I retain my opinion that opting out of life in the quickest way possible isn't the right thing to do. And I'll use the priestly vocation to demonstrate why. It is, of course, my belief that if I'm called to be a priest (which happens to be what I believe), then I was called from the moment of my conception. And, naturally, I yearn to fulfill that vocation, and be ordained. It's only the proper order of things, if you want to do God's will, to be eager for the vocation he's called me to.
That does not mean that I should be skipping over years of childhood and seminary. Every one of those eight years of seminary is necessary before I'm ordained. I may desperately want to be a priest, and that my be where God is calling me... but all in due time. And when I'm ordained, assuming I'm like 95% of priests, I'm going to look back on Seminary as some of (if not all of) the best years of my life.
Similarly, we are supposed to live long and healthy lives, I hold. Martyrdom remains something to be bravely endured--not sought out. We should enjoy and relish this life. Eternity is eternal, so there's no rush to get there. This life has a point.
And...
On a totally differnt note, you know that Spring is here when you start seeing more female skin cropping up between pants and shirt in class.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Good Mood
Nothing much has happened since yesterday... and considering that the summary of my post yesterday was that nothing interesting had happened of late, one might well wonder why I'm bothering to post with the essential message of "ditto".
Because this is less of an update, news-wise, than it is an update "specific detail"-wise.
It seems that, over the month or so coming to a head today, I've sort of developed a bit of a teacher complex. To set the stage my goings on, allow me to first explain that about a month and a half ago I helped an English classmate in preparing her last essay. Without knowing exactly where her marks were from last semester's essays, I know they were "not good". I'm guessing in the 2.5 to 3.0 grade point range.
Well, our class got back our essays last Friday. I got a 4.0, A+, which put me in a fine mood--but it was not anywhere near so fine as discovering today that my classmate got a 3.7 (which the professor apparently said she may regrade as a 4.0) on her essay. Entirely my work, the improvement.
Next tale of me and teaching involves Religion class: Introduction to Christianity. It's the easiest course I've ever taken or am likely to take unless they come up with a Middle-Earth History 101. It's also, rather relatedly, my favourite class. The reason? Well, Christianity (with Tolkien) is probably my favourite field of study. We have an engaging prof, and one who isn't tied in notions of control or doing all the work. She's also quite open to class input. This means that if anything comes up touching on Catholicism... then Michael A. Joosten is the expert who gets to pontificate to the class.
There was also the episode a couple weeks back where I got to class early, and, being bored, took up a piece of chalk and drew a map of the Middle East on the board, marking in a few of major centres of ancient times (this is intro to Christianity, remember? We were studying inter-Testamental times at that point). Well, the prof came in, and loved it. I either got really lucky or really unlucky because it so happened that she had been planning to bring maps in, but hadn't had time. The upshot was that the first five minutes of class were of Professor Michael standing at the front of class giving a very short overview of Middle Eastern history, and the Hebrew involvement therein.
Then, today, in Sociology class, we were divided up into groups and told to discuss the pros and cons of homeschooling. You will all remember that Yours Truly was homeschooled... and had a lot to say. Well, when each group had to pick a spokesperson, I got nominated (I was more than willing). When no group seemed eager to go first, I volunteered... and proceded to spend about five minutes expounding on homeschooling pros and cons from the podium at the front of the class. The best part was that the next group had to be completely cajoled into presenting, since (apparently) I had already covered all the points they came up with. (Not true, as they added a couple things I never thought of at the time, or didn't have time for, but still).
Finally, after my last class today, a religion classmate and I went over last Friday's class, which she had missed. Since I took all of zero notes for class that day, and haven't bothered printing a lecture outline all year, I did it from memory. The main thing regarding that, however, is that we got to talking afterwards (she's one of my best friends at Concordia, where I'm slightly solitary normally), and I mentioned the fun I'd had that morning talking in front of Sociology, and how I loved speaking in public, and expounding on topics I know something about. Of course, she laughed and my history talk in Religion was mentioned, and I believe I said something about it looking like I was becoming something of a teacher.
"You're very good at teaching," was about what she said, or something quite similar. It wasn't a particularly dramatic statement, and conversation flowed on--but it struck me. I considered it a huge compliment, and it was probably the high point of my day.
It's true, really... I love imparting information, and I love speaking in public. It would have been my own verdict, but I'm glad to have a second opinion, but it seems that I'm good at it.
I have no idea if this means anything in the long run. Coupled with the reaffirmation of my intelligence (between getting back marks and beating TGWBS in an IQ exam--surely a fluke, though), I've been thinking about the prospects of me being sent on for further studies after ordination. I thought about that a fair bit before the New Year, as may be recalled, and I hold to my original conclusion that it's way to early to make plans or worry... but my mindset has changed. I still don't really want to do more studies, if that's what I have to do, but the prospect of becoming a professor or seminary formator, rather than looking like the unwanted roadblock on my road to being a pastor, looks like something I could really enjoy.
If I end up an academic... I might not mind so much...
Because this is less of an update, news-wise, than it is an update "specific detail"-wise.
It seems that, over the month or so coming to a head today, I've sort of developed a bit of a teacher complex. To set the stage my goings on, allow me to first explain that about a month and a half ago I helped an English classmate in preparing her last essay. Without knowing exactly where her marks were from last semester's essays, I know they were "not good". I'm guessing in the 2.5 to 3.0 grade point range.
Well, our class got back our essays last Friday. I got a 4.0, A+, which put me in a fine mood--but it was not anywhere near so fine as discovering today that my classmate got a 3.7 (which the professor apparently said she may regrade as a 4.0) on her essay. Entirely my work, the improvement.
Next tale of me and teaching involves Religion class: Introduction to Christianity. It's the easiest course I've ever taken or am likely to take unless they come up with a Middle-Earth History 101. It's also, rather relatedly, my favourite class. The reason? Well, Christianity (with Tolkien) is probably my favourite field of study. We have an engaging prof, and one who isn't tied in notions of control or doing all the work. She's also quite open to class input. This means that if anything comes up touching on Catholicism... then Michael A. Joosten is the expert who gets to pontificate to the class.
There was also the episode a couple weeks back where I got to class early, and, being bored, took up a piece of chalk and drew a map of the Middle East on the board, marking in a few of major centres of ancient times (this is intro to Christianity, remember? We were studying inter-Testamental times at that point). Well, the prof came in, and loved it. I either got really lucky or really unlucky because it so happened that she had been planning to bring maps in, but hadn't had time. The upshot was that the first five minutes of class were of Professor Michael standing at the front of class giving a very short overview of Middle Eastern history, and the Hebrew involvement therein.
Then, today, in Sociology class, we were divided up into groups and told to discuss the pros and cons of homeschooling. You will all remember that Yours Truly was homeschooled... and had a lot to say. Well, when each group had to pick a spokesperson, I got nominated (I was more than willing). When no group seemed eager to go first, I volunteered... and proceded to spend about five minutes expounding on homeschooling pros and cons from the podium at the front of the class. The best part was that the next group had to be completely cajoled into presenting, since (apparently) I had already covered all the points they came up with. (Not true, as they added a couple things I never thought of at the time, or didn't have time for, but still).
Finally, after my last class today, a religion classmate and I went over last Friday's class, which she had missed. Since I took all of zero notes for class that day, and haven't bothered printing a lecture outline all year, I did it from memory. The main thing regarding that, however, is that we got to talking afterwards (she's one of my best friends at Concordia, where I'm slightly solitary normally), and I mentioned the fun I'd had that morning talking in front of Sociology, and how I loved speaking in public, and expounding on topics I know something about. Of course, she laughed and my history talk in Religion was mentioned, and I believe I said something about it looking like I was becoming something of a teacher.
"You're very good at teaching," was about what she said, or something quite similar. It wasn't a particularly dramatic statement, and conversation flowed on--but it struck me. I considered it a huge compliment, and it was probably the high point of my day.
It's true, really... I love imparting information, and I love speaking in public. It would have been my own verdict, but I'm glad to have a second opinion, but it seems that I'm good at it.
I have no idea if this means anything in the long run. Coupled with the reaffirmation of my intelligence (between getting back marks and beating TGWBS in an IQ exam--surely a fluke, though), I've been thinking about the prospects of me being sent on for further studies after ordination. I thought about that a fair bit before the New Year, as may be recalled, and I hold to my original conclusion that it's way to early to make plans or worry... but my mindset has changed. I still don't really want to do more studies, if that's what I have to do, but the prospect of becoming a professor or seminary formator, rather than looking like the unwanted roadblock on my road to being a pastor, looks like something I could really enjoy.
If I end up an academic... I might not mind so much...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
So... It's been a while
No, I haven't gone and died--despite the melodrama of the last post, my diabetes specialist (who I happened to have my half yearly checkup with last week) certified me as "healthy, other than that diabetes thing" (not an exact quote).
It's been a good week and a half... but I can't say much has happened. Probably because it has been a good week and a half. Good times don't merit posting so much as the bad ones. You can be sure that if I had come back from the specialist with a verdict of "you've... got maybe three years, Mr. Joosten, before you go blind" that I would have been hyperventilating here as soon as I got back from that trip. No, the only thing noteworthy about my trip to the specialist is that while my appointment was at 7:45 am (an ungodly hour that involved missing Morning Prayer, breakfast, and my normal hour of rising), I still couldn't make my 11:10 class on time. I was fifteen minutes late. I was furious. Especially because I was the first appointment of the day. Between that and always getting a clean bill of health, is it any wonder I hate going to check-ups? One rather amazing product is that it got me drinking milk, something I've avoided since age 4, and which no amount of prior diabetic check-ups had managed. Must have been that post-mortality depression from my last post...
Let's see... what else has gone on?
Not much.
The weather has been downright gorgeous the last ten days or so. We've had a week averaging about 5 degrees above zero (Celsius). Spring has come! I love it... though it hasn't done much good for my mental frame of mind. I can't wait for summer, and going camping. I'm not even sure I'll have time... but that doesn't matter. I'm going, sometime. Somewhere. I might even go alone (which really defeats the whole purpose of camping... or any sort of holiday. People are key). Even yesterday's slightly chillier, much rainier/windier/cloudier/snowier weather was delightful! Sure it looked nasty. Sure, it WAS nasty. But it was a SPRING nasty! Spring has a completely different feeling and smell from winter. Besides, I adore nasty weather, so long as I don't have to drive in it. I love the wild power of creation, and I love the colours, sounds, and smells. I suspect I'll love it even more once summer comes and I'm at work fencing (with fences, not epées), and bad weather means a day off.
But... yeah... that's all that's going on. It should amply explain why I haven't posted in a while. Live is great, but not particularly newsworthy.
It's been a good week and a half... but I can't say much has happened. Probably because it has been a good week and a half. Good times don't merit posting so much as the bad ones. You can be sure that if I had come back from the specialist with a verdict of "you've... got maybe three years, Mr. Joosten, before you go blind" that I would have been hyperventilating here as soon as I got back from that trip. No, the only thing noteworthy about my trip to the specialist is that while my appointment was at 7:45 am (an ungodly hour that involved missing Morning Prayer, breakfast, and my normal hour of rising), I still couldn't make my 11:10 class on time. I was fifteen minutes late. I was furious. Especially because I was the first appointment of the day. Between that and always getting a clean bill of health, is it any wonder I hate going to check-ups? One rather amazing product is that it got me drinking milk, something I've avoided since age 4, and which no amount of prior diabetic check-ups had managed. Must have been that post-mortality depression from my last post...
Let's see... what else has gone on?
Not much.
The weather has been downright gorgeous the last ten days or so. We've had a week averaging about 5 degrees above zero (Celsius). Spring has come! I love it... though it hasn't done much good for my mental frame of mind. I can't wait for summer, and going camping. I'm not even sure I'll have time... but that doesn't matter. I'm going, sometime. Somewhere. I might even go alone (which really defeats the whole purpose of camping... or any sort of holiday. People are key). Even yesterday's slightly chillier, much rainier/windier/cloudier/snowier weather was delightful! Sure it looked nasty. Sure, it WAS nasty. But it was a SPRING nasty! Spring has a completely different feeling and smell from winter. Besides, I adore nasty weather, so long as I don't have to drive in it. I love the wild power of creation, and I love the colours, sounds, and smells. I suspect I'll love it even more once summer comes and I'm at work fencing (with fences, not epées), and bad weather means a day off.
But... yeah... that's all that's going on. It should amply explain why I haven't posted in a while. Live is great, but not particularly newsworthy.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Near-Death Experience
Okay, so it's been what, about five hours, since I lasted posted? A lot has happened since then.
Well, not really. I spent most of that time playing Solitaire (for an hour and more) or finishing Great Expectations.
That's what I did... but what happened to me scared me stiff.
Backstory: This morning my car's locks were frozen, probably due to carwashing yesterday. My memory said nothing about having locked it, so I thought it was the whole door that was frozen--but unlocked. To make a long story short, I nearly busted my arms and the door handles trying unsuccessfully to break into my own car. I didn't succeed. I gave up for an hour or two to let the car defrost some, and succeeded on the third try later (after having missed, non-problematically, English class) to unlock the door, which then opened like a charm.
That was just me being stupid, but the upshot of it was that not only did I miss English, but I really strained my arms and hands, leaving me with a dull ache all day and, more pertinently to where this is going, a general feeling of weakness in my hands.
Fast forward to this evening, after my last post. I compound the lightness in my hands by playing Solitaire for an hour and more, a procedure that, due to the non-ergonomicness of my desk, cuts off the circulation a wee bit. When I got to Great Expectations, my hands were rather weak-feeling indeed, as if my circulation was not so good.
Not TOO long later, whilst reading... let's say two hours ago, I start to notice this general feeling of poor circulation, and take some pains to encourage my blood to flow to my hands, and my brain (no doubt tired of reading, momentarily) decides to invent a conspiracy theory wherein my diabetes is not so well-managed as I have been led to believe, and that I am exhibiting the first signs of the overall poor circulation typical of diabetics with poor control.
In finding support for this theory, my brain decides that the sleepiness in my legs is another symptom--a very spurious relationship as that is quite simply the result of being elevated by sitting in a crossed-legged position. In addition, however, it adds the fact that I need a new glasses prescription--again ignoring a pertinent fact, here the fact that my left eye, far from getting worse, actually improved.
Murphy's Law holding as true in Edmonton as anywhere else, I felt my bloodsugars dropping about this time. Too much insulin or not enough food at supper, apparently (more likely the latter, thinking back... shrimp and noodles in alfredo sauce is okay, but not a favourite for me). So with this persisting weakness/lighthandedness in my fingers and palms, I head down to the cafeteria (still with nose in my book, I might add) to remedy that fact.
I'm not sure how I found the time to think it over, because I don't recall putting down Great Expectations, beyond the unlit hallway I didn't bother to light, but I certainly had time to ponder what it would really mean if I was loosing control of my diabetes--or, rather, if it was too late to do anything about it.
And I was scared. Scared to the point of ridiculous.
And very, very serious.
My first thought was that if it looked like I wouldn't be able to manage my diabetes with the hectic schedule of a priest or seminarian, then I'd have to leave: either voluntarily or under orders.
That scared me. Badly. I haven't a clue what else I would do with my life. And I'd have a debt, since the free room and board the Diocese pays for is then 50% mine to repay. (Now, in real life if they kicked me for medical reasons, I might be able to expect it to be waived, but this didn't occur to me.)
And then I began to contemplate what else I would do... nothing occurred to me. If I'm not fit to be a seminarian/priest, then I doubt I'd be fit for most jobs. Who would I be dependent on? My family? Who else?
The thought also occurred to me (perhaps absurdly, though I'm inclined to think not) that I might end up married if I didn't make the cut for the priesthood. Not so absurd if I was healthy and left of my own accord, but I'd rather necessarily be a rather poor prospect if I was kicked out on medical grounds. What girl would want to be saddled with a shortened-lifespan, physically-weaker, lost and clueless guy?
(As an aside: I retained either enough whimsy or else was so serious I was, well, serious, that I know who I'd WANT to fall in love with/marry, possibly. Though I'm not sure I'd want to dump that broken, fictional ex-seminarian on her...)
That was about it. I regained my blood-gluclose equilibrium, and finished Great Expectations. I was, and am, sane enough to dismiss this crackpot hypothesis and projection of the future as having no real ground to stand on. I am, after all, studying Logic this semester, and as demonstrated above, none of my premises is really true, and therefore my conclusion is invalid.
All the same, though, the thought scared me--as I've kind of made clear. Death doesn't scare me. I'm sure enough of the afterlife and what it's like that I think I have as good or better a chance than most at ending up all right. (And the best thing is... if there's no afterlife, I'll never know.)
But the process of dying scared me horribly... I don't mind the idea of going quickly, be it at gunpoint or car accident, or whatnot. But if it were to drag on for years, leaving me unable to earn a living... that's what scared me, the idea of being shunted into dependence and uselessness before I'd even had a chance to earn the care of the Church or a wife.
It still gives me the jibblies. I'm going to bed.
Well, not really. I spent most of that time playing Solitaire (for an hour and more) or finishing Great Expectations.
That's what I did... but what happened to me scared me stiff.
Backstory: This morning my car's locks were frozen, probably due to carwashing yesterday. My memory said nothing about having locked it, so I thought it was the whole door that was frozen--but unlocked. To make a long story short, I nearly busted my arms and the door handles trying unsuccessfully to break into my own car. I didn't succeed. I gave up for an hour or two to let the car defrost some, and succeeded on the third try later (after having missed, non-problematically, English class) to unlock the door, which then opened like a charm.
That was just me being stupid, but the upshot of it was that not only did I miss English, but I really strained my arms and hands, leaving me with a dull ache all day and, more pertinently to where this is going, a general feeling of weakness in my hands.
Fast forward to this evening, after my last post. I compound the lightness in my hands by playing Solitaire for an hour and more, a procedure that, due to the non-ergonomicness of my desk, cuts off the circulation a wee bit. When I got to Great Expectations, my hands were rather weak-feeling indeed, as if my circulation was not so good.
Not TOO long later, whilst reading... let's say two hours ago, I start to notice this general feeling of poor circulation, and take some pains to encourage my blood to flow to my hands, and my brain (no doubt tired of reading, momentarily) decides to invent a conspiracy theory wherein my diabetes is not so well-managed as I have been led to believe, and that I am exhibiting the first signs of the overall poor circulation typical of diabetics with poor control.
In finding support for this theory, my brain decides that the sleepiness in my legs is another symptom--a very spurious relationship as that is quite simply the result of being elevated by sitting in a crossed-legged position. In addition, however, it adds the fact that I need a new glasses prescription--again ignoring a pertinent fact, here the fact that my left eye, far from getting worse, actually improved.
Murphy's Law holding as true in Edmonton as anywhere else, I felt my bloodsugars dropping about this time. Too much insulin or not enough food at supper, apparently (more likely the latter, thinking back... shrimp and noodles in alfredo sauce is okay, but not a favourite for me). So with this persisting weakness/lighthandedness in my fingers and palms, I head down to the cafeteria (still with nose in my book, I might add) to remedy that fact.
I'm not sure how I found the time to think it over, because I don't recall putting down Great Expectations, beyond the unlit hallway I didn't bother to light, but I certainly had time to ponder what it would really mean if I was loosing control of my diabetes--or, rather, if it was too late to do anything about it.
And I was scared. Scared to the point of ridiculous.
And very, very serious.
My first thought was that if it looked like I wouldn't be able to manage my diabetes with the hectic schedule of a priest or seminarian, then I'd have to leave: either voluntarily or under orders.
That scared me. Badly. I haven't a clue what else I would do with my life. And I'd have a debt, since the free room and board the Diocese pays for is then 50% mine to repay. (Now, in real life if they kicked me for medical reasons, I might be able to expect it to be waived, but this didn't occur to me.)
And then I began to contemplate what else I would do... nothing occurred to me. If I'm not fit to be a seminarian/priest, then I doubt I'd be fit for most jobs. Who would I be dependent on? My family? Who else?
The thought also occurred to me (perhaps absurdly, though I'm inclined to think not) that I might end up married if I didn't make the cut for the priesthood. Not so absurd if I was healthy and left of my own accord, but I'd rather necessarily be a rather poor prospect if I was kicked out on medical grounds. What girl would want to be saddled with a shortened-lifespan, physically-weaker, lost and clueless guy?
(As an aside: I retained either enough whimsy or else was so serious I was, well, serious, that I know who I'd WANT to fall in love with/marry, possibly. Though I'm not sure I'd want to dump that broken, fictional ex-seminarian on her...)
That was about it. I regained my blood-gluclose equilibrium, and finished Great Expectations. I was, and am, sane enough to dismiss this crackpot hypothesis and projection of the future as having no real ground to stand on. I am, after all, studying Logic this semester, and as demonstrated above, none of my premises is really true, and therefore my conclusion is invalid.
All the same, though, the thought scared me--as I've kind of made clear. Death doesn't scare me. I'm sure enough of the afterlife and what it's like that I think I have as good or better a chance than most at ending up all right. (And the best thing is... if there's no afterlife, I'll never know.)
But the process of dying scared me horribly... I don't mind the idea of going quickly, be it at gunpoint or car accident, or whatnot. But if it were to drag on for years, leaving me unable to earn a living... that's what scared me, the idea of being shunted into dependence and uselessness before I'd even had a chance to earn the care of the Church or a wife.
It still gives me the jibblies. I'm going to bed.
Friday, March 02, 2007
"We Adore You, O Christ, and we Praise You"
"Because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed the World."
So begins each station in the traditional Lenten prayer, the Stations of the Cross.
I just got back from it.
It officially opened our silent recollection. Naturally, I'm blogging. There's something about the deep, prayerful silence of a recollection that sends my comtemplator into overdrive-- and there's no distractions to stop me diarizing it here.
Anyway, the Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross as it's generally known in English) has got to be among the most emotionally powerful prayers the Church has in her armoury. It IS the embodiment of what Lent is meant to be; the reliving of Christ's passion and death. It doesn't hold anything back.
Station 1: Jesus is Scourged.
Station 2: Jesus takes up the Cross.
Station 3: Jesus falls (carrying the Cross) the First Time.
Station 4: Jesus meets His mother on the road.
Station 5: Jesus is assisted in carrying the cross by Simon of Cyrene.
Station 6: Jesus' bloody face is wiped by Veronica.
Station 7: Jesus falls the Second Time.
Station 8: Jesus meets the mourning women of Jerusalem.
Station 9: Jesus falls the Third Time.
Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his clothes.
Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
Station 12: Jesus Dies.
Station 13: Jesus' body is taken down from the Cross.
Station 14: Jesus' body is laid in the Tomb.
Even the "happier" stations, where Jesus is assisted by Simon or Veronica only serve to highlight the fact that he needed that help in the first place, that he was so weak and bloody as to need assistance.
Not all forms of the Stations include the Fifteenth station--at least not all the ones I've seen used. The Fifteenth station is the Resurrection, which is of course the reason that for all the suffering in the first place. But unlike the Easter season, the focus of Lent and Via Dolorosa is the SUFFERING and DEATH of Christ.
It's a very serious season indeed, and I've always found it to succeed a great deal better than Advent at capturing the serious feeling of the pre-festive season. Probably that has to do with all the carols blaring on the radios, decorations everywhere, and frantic shopping and partying going on. Lent, mercifully, is free of such concerns, and assisted in this goal by a sharper focus on penance, with days of Fasting and Abstinence, the custom of giving something up for Lent, and the somehow very noticeable removal of the Alleluia from all worship.
It's more than that, of course. Advent is a serious season, a season of anticipation for the coming of Christ, just as all the centuries before A.D. 1 were anticipating Christ. It's a hopeful, eager, if solemn season. It's a housecleaning and refocussing season.
Lent, by contrast, is a preparation for Easter. And just as Advent echoes the reality of waiting for the first Christmas, so Lent recalls the events that led to the first Easter, namely the suffering and death of Jesus.
It's a very powerful season... and I find it gets moreso each year. Of course, it's the feast of Easter that makes it worthwhile. As St. Paul said in his letters, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, there's absolutely no point to Christianity--and no point to Lent.
Lent is an awesome season, but thank You, God, that it comes only once a year. Just as you can only go about forty days without food, you can't go much longer with that kind of sorrow. You need the promise of Easter to make it worthwhile.
So begins each station in the traditional Lenten prayer, the Stations of the Cross.
I just got back from it.
It officially opened our silent recollection. Naturally, I'm blogging. There's something about the deep, prayerful silence of a recollection that sends my comtemplator into overdrive-- and there's no distractions to stop me diarizing it here.
Anyway, the Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross as it's generally known in English) has got to be among the most emotionally powerful prayers the Church has in her armoury. It IS the embodiment of what Lent is meant to be; the reliving of Christ's passion and death. It doesn't hold anything back.
Station 1: Jesus is Scourged.
Station 2: Jesus takes up the Cross.
Station 3: Jesus falls (carrying the Cross) the First Time.
Station 4: Jesus meets His mother on the road.
Station 5: Jesus is assisted in carrying the cross by Simon of Cyrene.
Station 6: Jesus' bloody face is wiped by Veronica.
Station 7: Jesus falls the Second Time.
Station 8: Jesus meets the mourning women of Jerusalem.
Station 9: Jesus falls the Third Time.
Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his clothes.
Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
Station 12: Jesus Dies.
Station 13: Jesus' body is taken down from the Cross.
Station 14: Jesus' body is laid in the Tomb.
Even the "happier" stations, where Jesus is assisted by Simon or Veronica only serve to highlight the fact that he needed that help in the first place, that he was so weak and bloody as to need assistance.
Not all forms of the Stations include the Fifteenth station--at least not all the ones I've seen used. The Fifteenth station is the Resurrection, which is of course the reason that for all the suffering in the first place. But unlike the Easter season, the focus of Lent and Via Dolorosa is the SUFFERING and DEATH of Christ.
It's a very serious season indeed, and I've always found it to succeed a great deal better than Advent at capturing the serious feeling of the pre-festive season. Probably that has to do with all the carols blaring on the radios, decorations everywhere, and frantic shopping and partying going on. Lent, mercifully, is free of such concerns, and assisted in this goal by a sharper focus on penance, with days of Fasting and Abstinence, the custom of giving something up for Lent, and the somehow very noticeable removal of the Alleluia from all worship.
It's more than that, of course. Advent is a serious season, a season of anticipation for the coming of Christ, just as all the centuries before A.D. 1 were anticipating Christ. It's a hopeful, eager, if solemn season. It's a housecleaning and refocussing season.
Lent, by contrast, is a preparation for Easter. And just as Advent echoes the reality of waiting for the first Christmas, so Lent recalls the events that led to the first Easter, namely the suffering and death of Jesus.
It's a very powerful season... and I find it gets moreso each year. Of course, it's the feast of Easter that makes it worthwhile. As St. Paul said in his letters, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, there's absolutely no point to Christianity--and no point to Lent.
Lent is an awesome season, but thank You, God, that it comes only once a year. Just as you can only go about forty days without food, you can't go much longer with that kind of sorrow. You need the promise of Easter to make it worthwhile.
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