hermionesviolin | Entries tagged with advent daily readings 2005

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Zomg I have so much stuff. Rearranging the house to fit Christmas (namely, the tree) I was reminded of this. And of course it feels overwhelming like, "How do I even start?" Which doesn't help.

I'm working on clearing out the huge amounts of fic I've bookmarked to read and I find I'm just commenting on the parts I like and not mentioning what didn't work, and I feel like I'm a slacker plus I'm losing concrit karma, though at least the fic isn't making it onto my To Rec list, so I know I still have standards.

scrollgirl brought to my attention that the Smithie Republican on The West Wing is played by the same actress as the blonde chick on CSI: Miami. The conspiracy to get me to watch The West Wing continues.

An overnight in a Newark airport hotel and now it's off with the family to warm places for a week which will, I trust, burn off this hellish cold-cough-sneezy thing. ("If I die," I told Mike, with the gloomy relish of the afflicted, "this will all be yours." "You're giving me your cold?" he asked, unimpressed.)

In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas, Chanukkah, Kwaanza, Mithras's Birthday, Festive Wossname etc. Or have more than one.

And please don't break the internet while I'm away.

-Neil Gaiman

Commenter #1 on the LJ feed (

svetosila) commented:

The Internet is a Godsend,
so I doubt it'll be that easily broken even on HIs\Her\Its B'day

10pm Christmas Eve service at United.

I think I'm used to Smith Vespers, 'cause I was totally expecting the sanctuary to have low lighting when we came in, or to at least have the lights dimmed once the service started.

Oh, and we have blue pulpit drapes even though the Advent Wreath has purple candles.

Hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Call to Worship: Isaiah 9:6
Scripture Reading: John 1:1-14 ["Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." On whom his favor rests? I am disconcerted.]
Vocal Selection: Sweet Little Jesus Boy [Pastor Bill sings this every year, so I have animosity toward it -- at least in this context. It is a good song, though. "But please, sir, forgive us Lord, we didn't know 'twas You," is always what strikes me most -- "Whatever you did to the least of these you did to me" and all that.]
Lighting of the Christ Candle [including reading: Luke 1:68-69]
Choral Selection: Rejoice With Exceeding Great Joy
Offertory: O Holy Night [harp&organ, no vocals]
It always feels sort of dirty to me to take an Offering during Christmas Eve service, like that's not what it's supposed to be about
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-8
Hymn: Angels We Have Heard On High
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:9-14
Meditation [I always forget there's a sermon on Christmas Eve. Again, it feels like not the point, though tonight at least I was actually glad, as listening to a sermon forces you to think at least a little and I endorse thinking -- since I'm all intentional about my hymn singing and most people aren't necessarily. 4 points? Seemed a bit much to me. He actually only talked for ~15 minutes, which for him is amazing. I think it would have been a better sermon if it had been more focused. Highlights: "Do not be afraid." Apparently variants on "Fear not" appear 365 times in the Bible -- convenient for the calendar we have. God came not to bring religion but to bring relationship. God wants us to know Him. Christmas is not about Santa or anything else but about Jesus. All the good things we associate with "the holiday season" should be year round. He said the holiday season can often be a time of conflict and he didn't mention the "war on Christmas" but instead listed examples such as having to see relatives you don't particularly like, and he talked about relationship there, too, about asking ourselves who we need to forgive and whom we need to ask forgiveness -- and because I went to school with Ruhi I thought of Yom Kippur.]
Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Communion Observance [I always say I'm jarred -- though pleased -- that we have Communion on Christmas Eve, but I've talked about it so much that I was actually expecting it. In the Invitation this time, though, PB talked both about confessing our sins before we come to the table and also about being cleansed by Christ's blood. I admit I haven't been to UCN on a Communion Sunday in a while and I don't pay all that much attention to the Invitation, but I definitely don't have any sense of having grown up with a pre-Communion Confession tradition, and since it was part of the Invitation it definitely would only have been a personal silent Confession.]
Lighting of the Christmas Candles [This is when they extinguish all the lights in the sanctuary.]
Hymn: Silent Night! Holy Night!

[Advent day 27] Luke 1:34-38

³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[Or So the child to be born will be called holy,] the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God."

³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

I got to sleep in!!! Two whole extra hours. I was excited.

Yesterday I was feeling kinda bad about planning to stay home even though I knew I would have nothing to do and I did not wanna come in to work for an amount of time equal to my total bothways commute. It was really nice to be in front of my own computer, though, so yeah, I affirm my decision. I checked work e-mail and voicemail frequently and there wasn't anything, and it was so comfortable and just good-feeling to be in my own space.

Once 12:00 hit I headed up to the high school for what's probably my one opportunity all year to go up and visit. Gorgeous day. Bright sunny, high ~40F and I actually didn't mind the unseasonable warm.

I heard bits and pieces of the Winter Holidays Concert assembly 'cause they had the doors open. The singing was quite good. The Orchestra was not, which made me sad. (Background note: Music has always been big at my high school, but Orchestra was neglected for a long time, but it got built up shortly before I got there [oh, Mr. Ambrose] though as I was leaving it started falling again.)

'S always weird to go back and visit 'cause while most of my teachers remember me, they've got their own stuff going on, so you exchange pleasantries and that's about it, even if you absolutely adored them. Mr. Carver's the one who doesn't do that. He'll sit you down and ask you about everything. Love. Having taken Stats rather than Calc would be far more relevant to my actual life, but leaving aside all the wonderful experiences of AP Calc class itself, I remain glad for that experience because of his continued being-ness.

We [my family] decided at dinner tonight that we should just hire a homeless person to dress up as a Christmas tree -- well, okay, we're gonna go buy a tree tomorrow, but it was a really amusing suggestion [mine O:) ].

Tree-selling places aren't open at 9pm at night, but my brother and I did a bunch of other errands, including procuring a dish drainer at Linens & Things. W00t.

tenebraeli wrote mermaid!River fic!!!

( I get NYT Headlines e-delivered; it's not my fault I keep seeing Johnny Damon news. )

Current Music: "Hush" - Angie Aparo

[Advent day 26] Matthew 1:24-25

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

So slow today. I still didn't do LJ stuff that required thought, though, 'cause I suck at doing that while at work.

I was in a Good Omens [fanfic] mood today. Also winter recs from

lunabee34 (Kovksy's Weary World Rejoicing is this week's

club_joss).

Today's rec like whoa: Sparks by

afrai. Pepper and War and, yeah.

I was helpful three times today. Dean Fanikos in External Relations is a lovely lovely man. It's his job to very nice and friendly and everything, but it actually feels genuine (as opposed to, oh, Jessica).

I left work a bit early to drop off a FedEx package and as I walked by the bus stop the bus was almost there, so since I really wanted to make my train (gotta be home for Thursday evening Emmanuel Lutheran -- which, oops, they're not having this week ...last week's pinch-hitter forgot to mention that, but he was there tonight for something else so we weren't totally lost) I actually took the bus. It got me to Eliot Street in only 5 minutes, but I hate the waiting in traffic feeling like I can't control how quickly [or not] I'm moving, even though duh I have to wait for traffic as a pedestrian as well.

Amusing commercial moments during tonight's second Without a Trace:
Jenna Elfman in skimpy silver garb... "And who picked this outfit? I play a lawyer." (Courting Alex)
"smart, funny, sexually adept...branch" (Love Monkey)

( and a moment of smiting Johnny Damon. now to bed with me. )

[Advent day 25] Psalm 98

¹ Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.

² The LORD has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

³ He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;

⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,

⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.

⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy; ⁹ let them sing before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.

The Johnny Damon thing amuses me. A(lmost a)ll the Red Sox fans are like, "So sad to see you go -- not!" And all the Yankees fans are like, "We're stuck with him?" I don't really follow sports, so I have no opinion (I root for the Red Sox and consider the Yankee teh evol, but that's 'cause it's in the air) but I am amused. [And it has happened so often that I have ceased to be surprised by it, but I still feel like there is an ethical code prohibiting RedSox players from defecting to the Yankees, though clearly many are the sinners.]

Eric called in today 'cause his back was killing him (he fell and landed on it yesterday -- and Barbara said today that she told him he should have just gone home rather than exacerbated it by coming in). Sadness.

Prof.N. had asked him to do a number of things, only some of which he could do from home, so I got to help. I learned that FedEx InternationalPriority will get something to the Phillippines on Saturday if it was shipped today, and FedEx International NextFlightl uses commercial airlines and courier services and starts at $225 :)

V!A [woman who went on vacation, giving me a temp gig next door to my usual HBS building for a week back in September] came up to my desk this morning, having misread a room number, and she was so pleased to see me. "You look great. I think of you often. Always fondly. You were so great."

Other morning anecdote:
Me: "So our scanner works now."
TechGuy: "Yes."
Me: "So that took you what, 5, 10 minutes to fix?"
TechGuy: "More like an hour. Or two, really."
OtherTechGuy: "And it took us 4 months to coordinate it."
Me: "Yeah, that's the thing."
(As I understand it, it was more like 6 months, but I didn't push them.)

OtherProf gave me a Banana Republic gift certficate.

Bianca okayed my working from home on Friday. And talking to my bro tonight I realized that I can go visit the h.s. on Friday (and could briefly even if I'd had to go in for the half day).

The temp is working the week after next, which makes more sense than the "next week" I originally understood it as.

All 3 of us remaining FAs (there were ~3 profs left, but they were all working) headed over to the Community Holiday Party ~4. First stop: booze. Second stop: food. I quickly moved on to third stop: dessert :) I found my finance people at a corner table and it was nice to spend time with them. And the white wine was yummy. I had two glasses. Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I have no alcohol tolerance. I left around 5:40 to make the 6:15 train (the one after the one I normally make, 'cause socializing trumped coming home in time for dinner to maybe not even be on the table) but I bumped into V!A on the way out as well as another Morgan coworker, so it was 5:50 when I left, and the building the party was in is a bit father away from the Square than the building I work in. (Not a whole lot, but every bit counts when it usually takes me close to 15 minutes to get to the Square.) So I get to the Red Line a little after 6, a lot of people are waiting (which is a good sign 'cause it means a train is due to come), a train does in fact arrive very shortly thereafter, and it hits 6:15 before I even arrive in South Station. I walk quickly up the escalator anyway, though. People are on the next escalator, so I go quickly up the stairs, look at the board anyway, and Franklin-495 is boarding on Track 7 though the clock says almost 6:20. I run, get in the first door, ask "Franklin-Forge Park?," get a yes, sit down in the first available seat, and commence catching my breath. The train actually didn't leave until 6:25, and my mom was on the same train so dinner wouldn't have been ready had I come home on my usual train anyhow. So glad the train was leaving late, however, as the next one was 7:35.

Oh, anecdote I forgot from last night: Talking about carding or something, my brother said that in Ireland so long as you can see over the bar they'll serve you. (Which I've heard before.) "So it sucks to be a midget." Ba-dum-bump. "Which is too bad because they have so many of them." (My mother had to explain to me that he meant leprechauns. The shame -- 'cause I've been translating for my brother since before he could talk.)

Hey, look, a variation on the anon-meme I actually wanna participate in (via

thistlerose). Who do you think your friends would set you up with? Comment with your username and then people can subsequently reply with who they would put you on a blind date with. Fictional characters, actors, real people -- they all apply! Do me here. (Yeah, that was bad phrasing.)

Current Music: "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" - Sarah McLachlan

[Advent day 24] 2 Samuel 7:8-11, 16

⁸ "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders [Traditionally judges] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
" 'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you:

¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me [Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts you] ; your throne will be established forever.' "

My morning train had a brand-new double-decker car, complete with wheelchair accessible restroom. (My evening train also had such a car.)

I had lunch with Linda today. I was gonna make more Thai pasta and bring it in for lunch today, but I was lazy. Calzone option was meat again, and calzone lady knew I wouldn't be having it, so she suggested the spinach&feta individual pizza, which I had in fact already been eyeing.
Linda asked if there was news about permanent-ness, said she almost didn't wanna ask, and I laughed 'cause I'd been meaning to bring it up. She said she thought I didn't think I liked it here, which was a bit jarrring, though I do grouse a lot (and, let's be honest, this job is not my favorite thing evar).

Later, my prof called and mentioned that Bianca still had to do some more reference checking and assorted hoops, but it was expected that I would start perm either end of this year or at the latest very beginning of next year. I'd been sort of operating on the assumption that I'd be hired perm come January, but official-type word is yay. He's pleased about this, of course, and he said Bianca was also enthusiastic, which made me do a mental double-take 'cause last time we met I half felt like was trying to dissuade me from pursuing this position. She had also mentioned that there might be some shifting and I might not be working for the exact set of professors I am now (I, of course, thought of recruiting) and he mentioned something about that, though "Don't take it to the bank" and it has all sorts of implications and ties in to something someone else told me hush-hush weeks ago, so there ends my crypticness.

Apparently the temp is working in Morgan next week, which weirds me out because I thought the college shut down all week.

4:52 I commented that I could go home and no one would notice, but I would stay till 5, in part because there are so often last-minute things. And yes, prof called shortly before 5. 'Twas 5:10 when I left work (so I just took the later train home, though the Red Line was so much less crowded that I actually got to S.Station only 5 minutes later than normal and I practically strolled from HBS to the T). One thing that came out of the conversation was an okay to work from home "on standby" Friday 'cause it's a half day and he'll be out of the office anyway. I was stoked 'cause I would have been working for approx. the same amount of time I spend commuting round trip, which felt rather foolish, so I was prepared to ask for the day off but this way I get paid for those 3 hours so it's an all-around win. He talked about flexibility and how sometimes esp. next semester when he's teaching he's gonna want me to come in a little early or stay a little late, and I'm fine with that though oh how I look forward to having an apartment in the city.

My Serenity DVD arrived today.

My mom got her January T-Pass today. Is Charlie Card now. I am displeased. And not just because the song is stupid. I have grown up with multi-colored T-passes that actually have trains on them. The Charlie Card design is cartoonish. (It also has the flaw of not listing on the back like it used to where it's valid and that a guest rides free 5am-midnight Sundays.)

Tickets to Home are $24/each. Damn. That's the most I've paid yet, and it has 4 actors and like no set. I am confuzzled. I did buy the tickets, though. (Having seen the rough draft, there's no way I'm not seeing the final version.)

New:

Five by Tenn
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Roberts Studio Theatre
1/27/2006 – 2/25/2006

Norton Award-winner Scott Edmiston directs the Boston premiere of this collection of five recently-discovered one-act plays by famed playwright Tennessee Williams.

http://www.bostontheatrescene.com/season/production.aspx?id=1861&src=t

( Read more... )

Current Mood: tired

[Advent day 22] Jeremiah 23:5-6

⁵ "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up to David [Or up from David's line] a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.

⁶ In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.

This morning I went to church here.

( Read more... )

Short version: I wasn't particularly impressed, either positively or negatively.

The more church services I attend, the less I feel like claiming Christianity. Not like, "These people are all unChristlike vile hypocrites," but like, "The source texts are contradictory," and feeling less and less pull toward reconciling the contradictions. I used to frequently say that I wished I could just have all my belief cut away because that would make my life so much easier than feeling still attached to so much of it while simultaneously finding so much of it problematic and contradictory and just generally untenable as a Truth. And this afternoon, I've been feeling rather like I'm cut off from it, like it's a story other people tell and which has points of value but which I have no obligation to accept wholly. This is odd, and I keep expecting it to pass (and it may well). I also feel like I'm not allowed to quit yet, 'cause I was suppposed to read the New Testament full through and research the historical Jesus and the early Church and make an informed decision as to whether there was enough logic and evidence for me to make a faith leap.

Recently I also keep getting rageful when I read my friends writing about religion (like, "zomg, you are so wrong") which disturbs me 'cause this isn't Walter Brueggemann, these are my friends. And I'm supposed to be rational disagreement girl. (Incidentally, I started rereading The Prophetic Imagination so I could actually write up my thoughts and finally return it to Liz Carr, and while it continues to bring to mind the phrase "plowing through" more than much else I have ever read -- the back cover blurb about "Writing in a popular, conversational style" is a lie -- it doesn't inspire the rage it did last time I read it. I was kinda disappointed.)

Oh, and ages ago

eard_stapa linked to this great piece -- How to Solve the December Dilemma: An Orthodox rabbi maps out a peace plan to end the war on Christmas and put the miraculous back in Hanukkah. (Interview by Alice Chasan with Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield) -- and I have been remiss in disseminating it.

Also from her (more playful):
FIGHT NIGHT VIII: Season's Beatings!
SANTA CLAUS vs. THE MACCABEES

Current Music: my mom's playing a tape of Handel's "Messiah"

[Advent day 21] Luke 2:8-15

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One"; also in verse 26.] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

Yesterday when we were walking over to John Harvard's, Eric was asking me about how much my commute costs, and in the course of conversation he mentioned that HBS pays something like 40% for permanent employees, though he hasn't actually gotten around to taking advantage of it yet. I said I'm a cheap bitch so as soon as I'm hired permanent I'm all over that. He replied with something like, "I'm glad you said you're a "cheap bitch" [he even used air quotes]. I'll remember that next time I see you on a street corner." I hit him, repeatedly, with my umbrella.

I played phone tag with AJ. She got a request for a letter of reference ~4pm on Dec. 12. I sent Jessica and Bianca my refs Sunday Dec. 4.

I spent a bit of time at the B&N at the Pru after dinner last night. They had 2 bookcases of Cultural Studies; out-facing books include Yell-Oh Girls, The Education of Little Tree, and Virginia Postrel's The Substance of Style. On my way out, I saw a display of Tammy Bruce's new book. When did she stop looking good? The book also looks like I would seriously disagree with her arguments, which makes me sad. [See here and here if you didn't know me back in February of '04.]

Walking down Dartmouth Street to the Huntington was slippery. Not great fun.

BCA Black Box is in the building next to the Calderwood (where the box office is) and said building has a bunch of doors. I walked into Cyclorama by accident, and on my way out was accosted by a woman asking if I had a pen. I did, so I gave it to one of the guys she was with, who scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Apparently she was helping him hook up with a Jude Law lookalike. I was a bit fuzzy on the details. I insisted I was happy to help, though. The other guy was much calmer and chatted with me. He asked if I worked here. "No." "Your boyfriend does?" "No." "Girlfriend?" "No." "So you're just hanging out here?" "No, I just took the wrong door."

Having read LJ, my mom called shortly before the play was to start to offer to pick me up at the train station and drive me home.

One of the Metros I happened to pick up recently (Dec. 9-11) gave P.S. Page Me Later a positive review, though my mom doesn't trust them since they panned Laughing Wild. ( my take on the play )

I know that Dartmouth comes up really quickly when I'm walking back from the Huntington, so I usually make myself watch the street signs, but I kinda zoned out last night. Now I know where BPL South End Branch is, though :) Walking back to Dartmouth I passed an inebriated guy who told me I was very pretty. Going up Dartmouth I crossed the one street where I had legit slipped on my way down and even though I knew it was the same street I hurried (there had been traffic, so I wasn't in the mood to stroll) and I gracefully fell smack on my ass. Go me.

Got an e-mail from Amazon this morning saying Serenity was available for pre-order. How many days ago did I place my pre-order?

Brokeback Mountain is playing at Loews Harvard Square 5 (10 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138) and Coolidge Corner Theatre (290 Harvard Ave., Brookline, MA 02446).

fabu has a poll on feedback -- for writers and/or readers.

I made Thai pasta for Nicole's potluck -- for which I am leaving soon and from which I will likely return late. Have a good night, y'all.

Current Music: "We Belong" - Pat Benatar

[Advent day 20] Luke 1:34-38

³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[Or So the child to be born will be called holy,] the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God."

³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Both my trains arrived promptly this morning. However, I was not at all happy about the rain. What is it doing above freezing in December, first of all? Second: only half the people shovel their sidewalks (*hates*) so one has to walk in the road, and the rain means puddles like whoa. [This weekend is supposed to be sunny with highs above freezing, which I am pleased about only because the idea of all this turning to ice is horrifying. Though overnight lows are still gonna be below freezing, including tonight's, which is kinda terrifying, as I'm going to P.S. Page Me Later tonight and thus getting a late train home.] JFK/North Harvard has been clear sidewalks for days now, but this rain created an icy slushy film which was no good.

I called Eric to ask him something shortly after e-mailing the unit that Amanda's temp had to leave suddenly, so he says, "First of all, what did you do to scare off the temp?" (though to his credit it wasn't how he answered the phone). Also: Apparently spellcheck doesn't do signatures, as mine has said Asisstant until Barbara corrected me today.

I suddenly have more free time as Ruthie had to cancel Saturday. My prof's RA is having a potluck Saturday night (8pm-whenever) so yay for having social engagements. (Sadly, Eric's gonna be out of town at a sister's concert, so he can't come. Any area friends of mine are welcome to tag along with me.)

The FA luncheon was at John Harvard's down by the Garage today. They apparently don't do strawberry daiquiris (though Eric got a rum&coke) so I got a pale ale. Yeah, on the whole I'm not a huge fan of beer. *shrug*

There were vegetarian sammich leftovers from a meeting yesterday, so that'll be my dinner tonight. Think I'm just gonna go to the Pru to eat. Once I'm there I'll be turning my cellphone on, so feel free to call anytime tonight save ~8-10 (when I'll be at the play and thus have my cell off). My train home's a 10:40 out of Back Bay, so provided the battery hasn't conked out, calls after the play are fine, too.

Current Music: "both hands" by ani difranco

[Advent day 19] Matthew 1:22-23

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[Isaiah 7:14]—which means, "God with us."

This morning I waited for 15 minutes (past the listed arrival time) for my train. I was about to call SmarTraveler when it showed up. "We apologize for the substantial delay. We had a train break down out of Forge Park, so we had to rescue it and bring it to the Franklin facility." Yes, the conductor did say "rescue." [I'd forgotten what an express train the 7:30 is. One more stop after mine and then the next is Ruggles.] Amanda got delayed a bit with a disabled train at Kendall (Red Line) but only a little.

Amanda on Jessica & Bianca: "Incompetence doubled."

My meeting with them was less useless than I had potentially feared.

IT has new hold music. I like it less than the old music.

In the afternoon mail came generic holiday cards from the Dean&family. Lovely photograph of snowy HBS on the front, though.

My mom came to Emmanuel Lutheran prayer service with me tonight. The musician was pinch hitting because the pastor had had a stroke on Tuesday. (I thought it was very thoughtful of him to mention what was up to those of us who do not actually attend EL. No physical paralysis, though he has a loss of peripheral vision in his left eye. And he's very fatigued.) I was a bit saddened by his choice to recite rather than sing/chant "Let my prayer rise up, like incense before you..." I kept hearing it sung in my head, though. And he did chant the prayer, which I was glad of, because the "Lord have mercy" overlap is probably my favorite part of the service. The Scripture reading was Luke 1:26-38, and the reflection message was on Hope. (After the Greek Orthodox conversation about Mary a figure to emulate and practically perfect in every way, I was so excited to hear verse 29 -- "Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.")

My brother rocks the academic house (his phrase). His humanities class this semester was Growing Up In America, and one end-of-semester extra credit option was to write up feedback about the course, so he wrote up a long critique and sent it to the prof. She wrote back and they dialogued (her word ♥) and he sounds downright intelligent, like I could have written the stuff. "This would allow you to really get at the critical thinking which, like I said, interested me the most."

Tonight's CSI was an episode I've already seen (6.03 "Bite Me") but Without a Trace was a rerun immediately following the last rerun I saw (4.01 "Showdown"). Thoughtful of them to allow me to catch up :)

The Brothers Grimm comes out on DVD December 20.

P.S. Dear LJ: Why are you holding random comments hostage, releasing them days later for no apparent reason?

( If homosexuality:yay is HoYay!, is this inyay? )

[Advent day 18] Isaiah 52:7-10

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"

⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.

⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰ The LORD will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.

Prof was at meetings most of today, so I got to have a relatively veg day.

Our irregular mail guy did an impromptu rendition of "Blue Christmas" which helped break up the afternoon.

The e-mail about today's NOM talk said: Michael Jensen from the Strategy Department at the University of Michigan Business School will present “Legitimizing Illegitimacy: Creating Markets for Socially Illegitimate Products”.

Listening to the speaker talk with Andy afterward, I would say that an alternative summary could be: Danish film buff talks about porn. If I'd known that beforehand I might have weaseled my way into attending. (I think the talks are open to anybody, and it's not like I had anything to do this afternoon.)

I have a meeting with Jessica and Bianca tomorrow, which may or may not be useless; we shall see.

P.S. Mmm, the heat just came on. Additional incentive to go to bed nowish.

Current Music: "Scarborough Fair" by Simon and Garfunkel

[Advent day 16] Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [Hebrew; Septuagint the blind]

² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

¹⁰ I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹ For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.

Morning: I walk downstairs to the South Station Red Line. I see a very full train, doors open. I figure it's about to leave and just keep walking. Train's not going anywhere. I see an opening and get inside a car. "Attention Passengers/Ladies and Gentlemen, please be advised, due to a medical emergency at Downtown Crossing, we are experiencing some delays." Of course I have flashbacks. I would have called

trijinx were I not underground where I assumed my phone wouldn't work. And I forced myself to stay put for a while, knowing that they would probably be running again by the time I walked to Charles or Kendall or whatever and here I was standing but I was standing in warm. I waited less than 10 minutes, and wWe actually made it to Harvard in ~15. There were still people standing when we got to Harvard, though, which I don't think I've ever seen on my morning commute -- usually it's pretty sparse that far out on the line. I meant to check boston.com when I got in to work but didn't think of it, and clearly it wasn't as huge a thing as last time.

Not the best morning ever at work -- accidents and miscommunications/failures to communicate and my prof being generally difficult. Le sigh.

Phone rings. Not really registering the Caller ID, I answer, "Elizabeth [surname]." I hear, "Eric [surname]." 'Twas cute.

Later, I called him and he answered. "Eric [surname], how can I help you?" I never get the official greeting from him. (Or at least I haven't since before recruiting started.)

I decide I'm too hungry for just my sammich and the apple I was gonna get and I lament not having almonds (it's on the list -- sadly, only workpeople would get that joke) and I see broccoli calzone on the menu. I get in line and look where the sign should be ('cause the food they have doesn't always agree with the printed menu) and the woman asks, "You want a calzone?" Way to go me and my getting a calzone three times last week.

We have dry-erase boards coming out our ears, and apparently one of them has been deemed "NOM Unit quotes" (hey, it's like I'm back at Smith) and the first one is: "It's a stick dressed up like a carrot." -Deepak

So, I turned my phone on tonight (having had it off during work) and I have two new voicemails. The first one is from Ari. When I called her Saturday night I left a message on her machine. She called me back but I didn't hear it or whatever 'cause I picked up my phone and it said "1 missed call." I remember thinking it was odd that she didn't leave a message, but whatever. So apparently it took 2 days for my phone to decide to tell me I had a voicemail from her. (The second voicemail was from very recently.) And my phone doesn't say "First voicemail message, received [date/time]" it just says "First voicemail message" and then commences playing the voicemail, which makes this extra-frustrating.

sk8eeyore asked me some questions about my Greek Orthodox experience on Sunday, including a request for an elaboration on what the service was actually like ('cause I was lame and mostly just talked about the sermon) and it took 4 comment replies (10thou+ characters).

P.S. Good thing I don't live week-to-week 'cause Jessica totally didn't approve my hours today and "All late approvals, and submittals are subject to getting paid a week late."

Current Music: "Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin' " - Cole Porter

[Advent day 15] Isaiah 35:1-10

¹ The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;

⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.

⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it. [Or / the simple will not stray from it]

⁹ No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,

¹⁰ and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

When

sk8eeyore heard I was gonna be visiting here, she linked me to this piece. Amusingly, it's one of the pamphlets in a rack when you enter St. George. I took a lot of pamphlets (which I haven't read yet) and talked with the Father some during coffee hour (which was more like a full luncheon) though of course later I remembered stuff I'd meant to ask since I wasn't actually looking at my notes while I was talking to him so this is very much an introduction to going to Sunday service at this particular church rather than a primer on Greek Orthodoxy. He hoped I would come back -- of course -- but also said I was welcome to e-mail him with questions -- or I could ask the day's pastor, who teaches at Greek Seminary in Brookline. And really, what I want far more than any sort of "church home" is a collection of people I can talk theology with.

Oh, and of course the issue of tradition came up in the conversation, and the Father pointed out that Tradition predates Scripture -- since it took some time for the letters to be collected, etc., which was a really good point I hadn't thought of before.

( Anyway, the service: )

[Advent day 14 - Saturday] Luke 2:4-7

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Had a weird/interesting dream about being drafted as a WWE writer.

There was lack of plowed/shoveled sidewalks walking to the library at noon -- and I purposely went via Washington rather than Winslow. I disapprove.

I'm going to Foxwoods Sun. Jan. 22. Yeah free booze.

I went to the Ansel Adams exhibit at the MFA. It was okay. It was so crowded (and dude, how many tickets do they sell before they consider a time slot sold out?) that you basically had to literally wait in line to see the images -- and sometime it was unclear which direction a line was moving in, which was particularly frustrating. One of his most famous ones is Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico which I hadn't seen before, but it's also one of the larger ones, so I would have liked to move around it a lot but I felt rude doing so since of course a slew of other people were also looking at it at any given time.

I also spent about an hour going through other parts of the museum. One painting I saw was inspired by a line from Boccaccio's Decameron -- "Bocca bacciata non perde ventura / anzi rinnova come fa la luna." (The MFA's translation went something like "Lips once kissed lose not their freshness. It always returns, like the moon.")

Kate called me randomly, 'cause it had been "eons," "decades," over 2 months since we had last spoken. And I called Ari. Yay people. Though I'm like, "I have nothing to say" when I call people, even though I do wanna talk to them.

For dinner, I got a pinto bean burrito at Qdoba and didn't hate it. Go me. And See's Candy was giving out free samples.

Apocalypso!

an offbeat, loving story of the holidays: parties, presents, friends, family, barflies, crippling depression and feelings of inadequacy. Plus the end of the world.

( Read more... )

Queer Soup is doing Home Jan. 14-Feb. 4! I absolutely must go. Company?

Oh, taking a late train home. Always interesting company. Last night's installment featured tiny drunk white girls "jammin' "

Inside the train car there was a poster for a movie (Country Boys? tagline was something about "finding out who they are and who they could become") and the main picture was a view from the back of two boys walking along a railroad track and someone had scrawled "no walking on the tracks" on the poster. I was happified.

Current Music: "Blue" sung by Angie Hart

[Advent day 13] Luke 1:29-33

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

This has been something of a calzone week for me (3 in a row) so I knew that today we'd be back to meat calzones and lo, we were, so I got the pasta special without the chicken -- elbow pasta with artichoke, mozzarella, garlic, and oil. It was okay. I've really gotta figure out yummy & filling portable sandwiches I can make from grocery stuffs.

While waiting in line at lunch I heard a couple students talking about The Sociopath Next Door -- apparently 1/25 people completely lack... whatever it is that sociopaths lack... and just mimic -- though only some of those people actually turn into serial killers.

polls thanks to lunchtime conversation:

[Poll #630775]

7:30 Singspiration was canceled. Which I suppose is understandable as the performers have to travel and many of the attendees are older. And this does mean I can go to bed early tonight.

~2-4pm it was blizzardish -- much snow and wind -- but then it cleared up, like sunny and everything. At 4:10 the weather.com hour-by-hour changed to have "snow" at 5 and "heavy snow" from 6-9. But, um, the snow had stopped. (The 6:10 one had remedied this.)

Oh, and during that blizzardish we f'r serious had thunder and lightning. (Sam links to this.)

I left work about 10-15 minutes early 'cause usually I hustle to make my train and hustling in the snow is not a good idea. I made it a point to walk slowly and carefully, but I still slipped at times. The sidewalks were plowed but not shoveled, so you had solid flat walkon with ice underneath. You need to shovel down to the ground. (I learned that this is easier said than done when I came home and helped my mom shovel the walkway/stairs as my dad wasn't feeling well. As long as it's just patches of dusting with the ground mostly visible I think it's okay, though.)

I actually made really good time, arriving 10 minutes before I usually do.

Oh, I forgot to mention in my morning entry that the Charles was muchly iced over, which was interesting to see.

They canceled the 5:33 Readville shuttle. Readville and Hyde Park could board the 5:40 Franklin Line, but Upham's Corner and Morton Street had to wait until the 6:06 Fairmount train. That sucks for them.

Going to bed early? Oops. I watched Smackdown. ( Read more... )

After Smackdown my dad got the weather report at the beginning of the news, and it included snowfall totals -- 9 inches in Cambridge.

Okay, sleep. 'Cause I have a full day tomorrow. (library, MFA, Huntington -- must print out fic to work on during my downtimes)

Current Music: "Winter" by Tori Amos

[Advent day 12] Matthew 1:18-21

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.] because he will save his people from their sins."

I dunno if the air was different or if *I* was different or what, but my nerve endings didn't really register the cold this morning. Like, I knew it was cold but didn't really feel it. Coming home was more of the "omg I'm so cold -- okay, now I've been walking for 5-10 minutes and am fine."

I called Eric and then realized I'd forgotten to ask him something so I called again. (Please note: our phones have Caller ID, and though it only gives you the # you quickly learn to recognize the numbers of people who call you frequently.) "Whadda you want this time?" Eric nearly yelled at me.

Oh, and when I called the first time I misdialed (4 instead of 7) and after like 2 rings got, "ITS, this is Barbara; how can I help you?" I never get a real person that fast.

Eric called me later, so of course I answered with "Whadda you want this time" -- only not as loud/angry-sounding as he had done. "Touché" he responded :)

I saw Laura, and she was heading out and had a black coat on over a white blouse and black pants and shoes. "Hey Laura, you look nice," I said. (Or "all dressed-up" or something.)
"I hate looking nice" -- that really is legit almost exactly what she said.
I explained that it was 'cause of the black/white and that up close I could tell it was just a regular coat. She f'r serious took it off and put on a grey cardigan instead.
"Does this look more casual?"
"Yes, it does. Note to self, never tell Laura she looks nice."
"You're so cute," she laughed.

Those of you who read

officialgaiman? Check this out.
Everyone else: read this and then go here.

The Boston weather forecast this afternoon predicted 4-7 inches of snow for tomorrow. Nancy said she heard 8-12. (My town, incidentally, is predicting 1-3; and for both here and Boston they're now saying a snow/rain mix -- blech -- with highs above freezing.) ( more from weather.com at home )

Nancy is darling, if I haven't mentioned that already. She almost went to Smith for their international business program, and it was down to Smith and Cornell, but she'd gone to a small all-girls Catholic high school, so she chose Cornell, where she met her husband, so I guess. Telling me about the predicted snow, she was talking about taking her daughter sledding -- "If I can ever get home. Maybe I'll just call in sick tomorrow."

I went to Emmanuel Lutheran Prayer Service again tonight. Almost exactly the same as last week. I was realizing that one can't necessarily get a sense of tradition from a single service because one doesn't necessarily know which bits remain the same all the time. The Gospel reading was Mark 1:1-8, which was interesting because last night's lecture (yeah, still working on that writeup) talked a lot about John the Baptist so that was so in my head. And of course Ed singled me out when he talked about Elizabeth in John's lineage in his post-Word reflection (title: "Why seek this one called John?"). He talked about how John probably grew up in a life of privilege, servants and all, which was interesting because I don't think of any of Jesus' cohorts or family (John was a second cousin) as being like that. I got to talk to the pastor a bit afterward (though he couldn't stay too long 'cause he had choir rehearsal) which was good. He thanked me for coming and he says he's getting used to my being there and is gonna be sad if/when I'm not -- though we're very clear on my Sunday church-hopping plans.

lunabee34 totally gave me a new way into thinking of how queer!Dawn fits into canon. Yay discussion! People praising my work and reading stuff they wouldn't normally is also yay. And I'm getting to have that "what happens after the end of this fic?" discussion, which is neat, 'cause I'd thought about it vaguely but not thoroughly so I'm thinking about canon implications and such, and okay I so don't need more plot bunnies, but I'm still loving this.

memeage:

I enjoy the Dear Cthulhu way better than the Dear Santa. ( So you even get a result. )

Other timewasters: ( me as an anime [or something] character )

Current Music: "All the Small Things" by Blink-182

[Advent day 11] Malachi 3:1-4

¹ "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.

² But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, ⁴ and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

I don't remember snow in the forecast. But when I left work today it was windy and I felt precipitation but I couldn't quite discern it until I hit the street and saw the swirling white. It was little flecks of snow but lots of them and windy. I was happy.

Today commenced the coldness which even I find uncomfortable upon first leaving the warm indoors but after maybe 10 minutes of walking I'm exhilarated and happy.

Oh I forgot to mention yesterday that at the mini-mall just before the bridge (when coming from Harvard) it looks like each individual tree branch is lighted.

"I'm writing to remind you of Mike Wheeler's presentation at the NOM seminar this afternoon (3-4:30 in Baker Library 103). He will be presenting preliminary findings in research he is doing on lying and truth-telling on the television game show, Friend or Foe."

It makes me sad that I can't skip work to go to the lectures. I probably could if I really wanted to, but this one wasn't quite pressing enough.

I did spend my evening at the following:

Lectures
Lectures + Courses
Demystifying The Da Vinci Code SOLD OUT
7 — 8:30 pm
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Remis Auditorium

Sold Out

SOLD OUT LECTURE: STANDBY SEATING AND VIDEOCAST AVAILABLE. Harold Attridge, dean of Yale Divinity School; Diana Swancutt, assistant professor of New Testament at the Yale Divinity School; David Nolta, mystery writer and professor of Art History at the Massachusetts College of Art.

Dan Brown's controversial The Da Vinci Code, fiction that claims to be laced with fact, raises questions concerning the nature of truth, art, and the life of Jesus Christ. Find a key to the secrets of the "Code" in this program that addresses Leonardo da Vinci's life, the early development of an orthodox characterization of Jesus Christ, and notions of gender in the ancient world, with special attention to Mary Magdalene.

SOLD OUT LECTURE: STANDBY SEATING AND VIDEOCAST AVAILABLE. A standby line is available on the evening of the program for any seats in Remis Auditorium that may become available. The lecture will also be broadcast by video in Riley Seminar Room; free tickets for these viewings are available on the evening of the program, on a first-come, first-served basis.

It was quality, and I have 2½ pages of notes, which may get typed up tomorrow if work is slow.

My month has gotten so full. ( not that you care )

subliminal message: Go read my Aprilbot piece and discuss. /subliminal

[Advent day 9] Isaiah 40:1-11

¹ Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.

² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.

³ A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD [Or A voice of one calling in the desert: / "Prepare the way for the LORD] ;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God. [Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God]

⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

⁶ A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.

⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."

⁹ You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, [Or O Zion, bringer of good tidings, / go up on a high mountain. / O Jerusalem, bringer of good tidings]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"

¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.

¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

My mommy sent me in to work with leftovers from last night's batch of cookie baking. They were well-received, of course. I was really hungry by about 11:30 -- despite having eaten breakfast -- and was trying not to nosh on them too much. I splurged and bought pesto pasta and fancy hot chocolate for lunch. I was comfortably full and actually wasn't hungry for dinner -- in part because I'm tired I suspect. (Bed soon.)

Recruiting is finally over. I mean, we still have letters of recommendation coming in that we have to add to the spreadsheet and make copies of and distribute, and there will be other stuff in the next months I'm sure, but all the packets are done and distributed so all that's left in terms of major stuff is putting all the original materials back in the filing cabinet -- which I will do tomorrow but was not about to tackle today 'cause I was really enjoying having time to breathe. I really miss having time to participate more than cursorily in LJ. I left a couple minutes before 5 very leisurely and oh it was such a good feeling.

Deepak e-mailed the unit profs saying "Eric [surname] will give to you or your faculty assistant a small pile of job packets to review. most people receive 4 or 5." I laughed. I think there are about 6 profs who are reviewing the same half dozen applicants, but then there are about 8 profs who are reviewing 10+ -- since there are ~150 applications after all.

Nancy is so sweet. Her e-mail to the profs included "All of NOM should be extraordinarily grateful to Eric, Amanda, and Elizabeth for staying late, putting off their ordinary work, and going above and beyond the call of duty. I'm especially thankful."

Walking home today through mostly shoveled sidewalks in the calm cold air. So happy.

Mail today included a picture of my cousin Becky at her wedding. She had a tiara and everything. Very lovely.

LJ has finally found what was causing the comment notification delay -- and, most joyously, it sounds like backlogged comments will eventually come through.

P.S.

sexonastick posted the full text of Adam Cohen's great NYT piece on Christmas -- includes the history of the celebration and the bizaroness of religious folk championing its commercialization.

[Advent day 8 - Sunday] Isaiah 11:1-10

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling [Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed] together;
and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

When I woke up, there was white stuff on the ground. And white stuff falling from the sky. Yayness.

I went to First Baptist today. I'm used to them from ye olde summer services. They do the bulletins you can purchase, and the cover had a purple (and pink) candle Advent wreath with two purple candles lit; and after the Call to Worship they did the Lighting of the Advent Candles by a family like I'm used to from United.

( Read more... )

There didn't seem to be a Coffee Hour. My mom reminded me that the Baptist goes across the lot to a separate building. They didn't say anything like "please join us" at the end of the service, though, and it wasn't listed on the calendar of events. Maybe they have so few newbies they don't say anything, or they have stopped doing it since the congregation is so small. *shrugs* I hung out with Ruthie for a while and then she drove me home and we chatted and then I had to go get my train. I took the correct street the first time to get to Diesel which was impressive since I've been there maybe twice before. The hot chocolate is still yummy, though I decided whipped cream is probably overkill. I also paid $6 for the same kind of sandwich I kept stealing for free from HBS this week. Le sigh.

Anyway, Sacha is lovely, and turns out to be a fan of Whedon's stuff and we had ideas for hanging out options (damn, the Wine Expo is more expensive than I had thought).

I came home and dug through some of my boxes in an unsuccessful search for my Whedonverse essay books. omg I have so much crap. I suspect I need to kick my ass into working on that during the week I have off at the end of the year.

While waiting for the train home at South Station, I noticed that the winter train display was all up and running. I've been seeing it in various stages of construction all week. Apparently it's the same company as always, but this year they didn't have any of the flatbed train cars with McDonalds toys like they usually do. I'm fine with the change, but I wonder what the reasoning behind it was.

The question of "What do I want to do with my life?" has been coming up with some frequency recently. Getting a masters in library science -- preferably from an online program, I think -- so I can attempt to be a YA librarian has appeal. And once I'm permanent for a few months I'm eligible for reduced rates at Harvard's Extension School, so I could get a Master of Liberal Arts in "English and American Literature and Language" or "Literature and Creative Writing" and thus have more ammunition for an application to a Ph.D. program.

Am in the market for a letter opener. You can get some snazzy ones online. Example: Excalibur. I prefer the Chinese sword. Though this is fun. This one reminds me of Faith's knife for some reason. I expect I will in actuality just go to a normal store and buy a normal letter opener, but the online browsing is fun. It all reminds me of how during recruiting I've taken to leaving my letter opener on my desk within easy reach in case I feel compelled to faux-assault anyone.

P.S. My femgen ficathon assignment is gonna kick my ass. *woes* Why did I say I could write that fandom? Of course the real problem is that the request is something I know nothing about -- like "Joan becomes a woodcutter" only, y'know, not.

Cat tagged me for:
Name 5 of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick 5 people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used. Tag 5 people on your list.

I don't know if I like these *most*, but here's an off-the-top-of-my-head list:

1. The smell of wet pavement -- i.e., summer rain.
2. Snow crunching underfoot.
3. eating the batter while making chocolate chip cookes
4. walking outside in the cold air that makes me feel alive and invigorated
5. hugs

And no, I'm not tagging anyone, but feel free to do a list if you would like.

I feel like everytime I turn around there's an anon meme -- hate meme, intimidation meme, etc. -- and the "comment and I'll tell you why I love you" meme has been resurrected as well. I always hesitate to do that last one because I'm not sure what I would say to a lot of people, but dude, you are always free to tell me why you hate me -- though signing your name is appreciated.

Oh, and that 10 Things I Assume You Know About Me/My Journal is definitely on my to do list.

[Advent day 7 - Saturday] Luke 2:1-3

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

Okay, I've heard a sermon on the genealogy of Jesus, but these three verses as a daily Advent reading?

I finally went to bed at nearly 4am. College nurtured in me a sick love of staying up late. I woke up at some point but didn't open my eyes to look at the clock. Then my dad knocked on my door. "Weren't you gonna go down to the church fair at noon?" It was 11:11. After I got out of the shower my mom called and said I didn't need to rush. I ended up getting there at only quarter after anyway. Carol is lovely and my grandma drives me insane and Cat called randomly just because and we started cleaning up promptly at 3 and were done in an hour 'cause we rock and John P. was impressed that I was helping my dad carry tables (I grew up in this church, yo). And then we went to the Mint Cafe for dinner.

'S Winter Weekend (incl. Vespers) and I am not at Smith. And I am okay with that -- for which I am glad. I had a wonderful 4 years there and hope to maintain a lot of my connections from there, but I'm glad that I'm at peace with where I am now -- since going back to Smith obviously isn't an option other than for visits, so missing it painfully would be a badness.

[After being home only a couple of hourse I laid down 'cause I was tired and headachy and figured a nap would be nice. I knew should have hit Post on this first, though.

I woke up and was still really tired. I thought the clock said 9:30. No, it said 3:30. As in a.m. So I brushed my teeth, changed into nightclothes, and went to bed for real. I woke up at 8:38a.m. Day has been busy since. Sunday entry forthcoming. Posting this now.]

Current Music: "Drops of Jupiter" by Train

[Advent Day 2] Isaiah 62:10-12

¹⁰ Pass through, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.

¹¹ The LORD has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.' "

¹² They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the LORD;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.

Spent much of my morning on Adventy conversation. Yayness. Then work got crazybusy (recruiting deadline is Dec. 1), so the rest of the day's comments got responded to tonight. (Do let me know if I neglected your comment either here or elsewhere. I think e-mail notifications are finally fully back, but one never knows.) I'm getting all edumucated about Advent and having wonderful conversations with thinky people. (And it should go without saying, but please feel free to continue the discussion.)

[Sidenote: There's a "Ten things I assume you know about me" meme going around. Am thinking that might be a good idea to do, though most of you are old-timers by now.]

Last Wednesday at 8:38am Eric walked in and saw me at my desk. "Do you sleep here?"
No, I definitely don't. The way the trains run I get to work about 20 minutes early, but I am out like a shot at 5 to make my train, and you better believe I don't do any actual work until 9am sharp.

And I very much enjoy my time off. Though the long weekends throw me. Friday I felt like it was Saturday, Saturday I kept thinking I had to go back to work the next day, and Sunday I was finally in the groove of not going back to work but of course I had to go back the next day.

CCMO is finally starting to get sent to Course Services, so I asked Prof.B. if he had talked with Bianca about making this a permanent position -- something he mentioned weeks ago. He said he hadn't and wanted to confirm with me that I really was interested in staying at this position for 2 or 3 years ('cause if I'm gonna quit after a year it's hardly worth it) and I said 'yes, definitely' and he said "That's all I needed to hear" and said he'd call Bianca tomorrow and he actually said "I can't officially offer you the job, but..." because HR has to post it and I'm sure there's an interview process and of course it's all very complicated, but I've been there since Oct. 3 and at HBS since Aug. 15 and everyone likes me so there's no good reason I wouldn't get to stay perm -- though I've learned that nothing is for certain, so I'm keeping the giddiness in check.

Zia tagged me for this:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your Livejournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World
Blurry - Puddle of Mudd
All At Sea - Jamie Cullum
Breathless - Better Than Ezra
Ok Nightmare - Caviar
Breathe Me - Sia
Sunshine - Keane

Honorable mention goes to Immaculate Machine 'cause they came up on random recently and I was reminded how much I enjoy them.

Will YSI any of these on request.

And no I'm not tagging anyone for this. If you want to do it, consider yourself tagged.

edit Tuesday night:

Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World
Blurry - Puddle of Mudd [okay, this one I actually don't have on .mp3; I dl-ed a vanvid that uses it and am working procuring an actual mp3]
All At Sea - Jamie Cullum (.wma)
Breathless - Better Than Ezra
Ok Nightmare - Caviar
Breathe Me - Sia
Sunshine - Keane (.wma)

Immaculate Machine:
Statue
No Way Out
Broken Ship
No Caution

The New Pornographers:
Jackie Dressed In Cobras
Loose Translation
These Are The Fables

Current Music: "Sunshine" by Keane

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Elizabeth (the delinquent, ecumenical)

May 2025

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burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness

when faced with my demons I clothe them and feed them

Entries tagged with advent daily readings 2005

My brother has a vanilla-scented car freshener.

"She says, 'Hush, I'm on your side.' "

Without a Trace got "Be Thou My Vision" stuck in my head.

"Companion to our demons; they will dance, and we will play..."

"mama's little baby loves shortening bread" has been stuck in my head randomly

Ecumenical Advent Sunday 4: Grace Episcopal

"We belong to the night, we belong to the thunder."

"i am walking, out in the rain; and i am listening to the low moan of the dial tone again"

I've been watching the Charles ice over all week.

"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?"

"take a bow"

Ecumenical Advent Sunday 3: St. George Greek Orthodox Church

"warm skin, wolf grin, and where were you?"

"i forgot my mittens / wipe my nose / get my new boots on"

"All the small things - True care, truth brings..."

Wait, tomorrow's Thursday already?

"Whenever Giles sends me on a mission, he always says 'please.' And afterwards I get a cookie."

"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."

"She acts like summer and walks like rain..."

"Lost in the sun, can anybody find their home?"

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May 2025

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