Oh, the Places I'd Go... (If I Had the Cash)

As I sit here contemplating what it will be like to be a "young professional," it occurs to me that very soon I will not be allowed simply to drop everything and go wherever I want on a whim. Since trips from now on will have to be carefully planned out, notice given, etc., I am thinking of the following adventures to get me started:

1) New York City

I have actually been to New York City twice. Once was for the National Model UN conference in college, where I basically stayed in the hotel conference rooms and occasionally went out to eat. The second time was for the ordination of a friend to the diaconate. I have seen quite a bit of the New York Hilton, the United Nations building, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I walked through Central Park, but did not make it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have visited Time Square, but still have not made it to a Broadway (or even off- or off-off-Broadway) show. Aside from the three buildings mentioned above, I haven't seen any of the sites like the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Statue of Liberty. Now that I'm moving to New England, perhaps it will be a little easier to plan a trip to New York where I can be a tourist for once.

2) San Francisco

I have yet to visit San Francisco. I have been to California once before, about 7 years ago. We stayed in Anaheim for a week, and did some touring of the Los Angeles area. Laguna Beach is one of my favorite memories of that trip. I think when I go back to California, I'd like to go a little farther north. I am not sure what to expect from the City by the Bay, but I have heard nothing but good reports. I think it would also be fun to head up to Napa for a couple of days and do some vinyard tours/wine tastings. I also wouldn't mind seeing Los Altos, CA. It would be enlightening to see the place that produced my crackhead roommate from freshman year.

3) New Zealand

For the last almost two years, I toyed with the idea of going to New Zealand on their Working Holiday Scheme. This program allows young Americans aged 18-30 to live anywhere in New Zealand, and take any job they can find to support themselves. I think it would be a wonderful adventure. Sadly, the trip would have depleted my savings and left me with nothing but memories (albeit the most amazing memories of my life). So now I have to wait until I can take a vacation and go down there. Perhaps when I'm back in school I can take a little New Year's trip during the break before the semester starts, just to catch a little summer down under.

4) St. Martin Monastery in Beuron, Germany

Nestled in the mountains of southern Germany is what may be the most beautiful church I have ever visited. The church that belongs to the monastery in Beuron is absolutely amazing, and its Ladychapel is breathtaking. The monastery itself is Benedictine, and in the spirit of hospitality opens its doors to men that wish to live, work and pray with the monks. I have wanted for some time now to do an extended retreat there with the brothers. I would love to spend a month there in the quiet of the young Danube river valley, just to recharge the batteries.

Walkin' with my Feet 10 Feet off of Beale

So I'm having a bit of Memphis nostalgia tonight. My boss at CBU took all of us Resident Directors out for dinner as a sort of "Farewell" dinner for myself and one of my colleagues. The food was great and the company was awesome. I have actually really enjoyed the times with these other four people that I work with. I will truly miss them when I've moved on. They were a lot of fun to be around, which is important when you work with 18-21 year olds. They really made the job worthwhile, especially when we got together to talk about the stupid sh*t we saw the week prior. I can't say that I will miss being a glorified babysitter, but I will miss my partners in crime.

And the free rent.

And the free Internet access.

And the meal plan.

But mostly the people...

Being Unemployed Is Hard Work

So for the last few weeks, I have been applying for jobs in Boston. I am hoping against hope that I will be able to secure gainful employment prior to my arrival in New England. It would certainly make my life a little easier. There really is only so much I can do from 1300 miles away. But the silver lining is: most of the higher education positions can be applied for online. So I have furiously been scanning the listings for jobs at the 60ish institutions of higher learning in the Boston Metro area. I have found numerous positions that I am qualified for; even more that I am over-qualified for. The problem is, there are a lot of people that are qualified for these jobs, and no one wants to consider me for one of the jobs that I'm over-qualified for. That's messed up.

On the bright side, I think I have this cover letter thing down. I actually just have several different paragraphs that I have perfected of the last few months. I rearrange their order depending on what I want to highlight, and I change the names of the jobs and places where I'm applying. It's a great system, actually. I am really just afraid at this point, that I will have sent the same cover letter to the same institution for so many different positions that they will discover how unoriginal I truly am in my composition of letters. Or maybe they'll think I'm clever and efficient. Oh, who am I kidding? No one reads that stuff anyway.

And in the slightly less stressful world of seeking housing... I think I have run upon a bit of luck for the month of August. My friend Sara and I are going to split an apartment starting September 1st, but I will be moving the first of August. Sara has a friend that owns a great one-bedroom condo right on Commonwealth Avenue. She won't be using it until September, which means I might get to take advantage of a really great place for a month. Not free, mind you, but still pretty reasonable. At least something seems to be going right... *knocks furiously on wood*

Summer Reading

At the prompting of a good friend, I have compiled my summer reading list for this year. I think this is the most varied list I’ve ever had before me. Though, I need some more women authors, I think… any suggestions?

Love Monkey by Kyle Smith
This book was the basis for the ill-fated TV show of the same name, starring Tom Cavanaugh. I was very upset when I discovered that CBS had cancelled the show, but very excited to run across the book in a bookstore in Decatur, AL of all places. If you’re a woman who’s always wanted to understand what it’s like to be inside the mind of your average 20/30-something man, this is the book for you. Likewise, if you’re a 20/30-something man who wants to read about someone just a little worse off than you, it’s a must-read. Look for the author in People magazine, writing book and music reviews.

For All the Saints?: Remembering the Christian Departed by N. T. Wright
The Rt. Rev. N. T. Wright is one of my favorite Anglican New Testament scholars/theologians. He was recently appointed Bishop of Durham in the United Kingdom, and has published numerous volumes on Christology, as well as a set of New Testament commentaries “for everyone.” This book wrestles with the difficult concept of “life after death,” and traces the evolution of the Tradition from the biblical witness forward. It attempts to bring our modern ideas about the Christian afterlife, the Resurrection, etc. into line with what the earliest Christians maintained.

Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx
Annie Proulx won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for her novel-turned-movie The Shipping News. This is the collection of short stories that contains “Brokeback Mountain,” which recently received several nods from the Academy as a motion picture. I am not sure what to expect from the literature itself, but I am looking forward to reading it.

Living on the Border of the Holy: Renewing the Priesthood of All by L. William Countryman
Countryman is an Episcopal priest, currently serving as professor of New Testament at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, one of the 11 accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church. This book investigates the threefold priesthood: the Priesthood of Christ, the priesthood of all believers, and the priesthood of the ordained. This in-depth exploration of ministry should be eye-opening for laity and clergy alike, and helpful to anyone in vocational discernment.

Other books I’m thinking about, but probably won’t get to:
Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner
A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls
Joe College by Tom Perrotta
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (my favorite book; a re-read obviously)
Emma by Jane Austen (I’ve managed to go 25 years without reading Austen)
Night by Elie Wiesel
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

Sabbath

I have decided that my Sabbath from here on out is going to include no blogging on Saturdays. It's part of my plan to have one day a week where I can just be me, and not worry about the rest of the world. So no more Saturday blogs... starting......... now.

No Sex for You!!!!

If you didn't think the world was going to hell in a handbasket before... It is now... Apparently the burgeoning sex industry in Germany is suffering because of the invasion of World Cup spectators this summer.

What kind of world do we live in, where a man would rather go out boozing it up with his soccer hooligan buddies than visit a house of ill repute? Or where the "regulars" are scared away by the domination-seeking tourists? (Too bad you can't blog sarcasm.)

I think we in this country just don't get how important soccer (or "football") is in the cultures of our friends across the Atlantic. Here in the United States, soccer is something you make your kids do because they have too much energy to be kept in the house playing video games. We finally got major league soccer in this country a few years ago, and sportsfans from sea to shining sea responded with a resounding "Isn't that nice." (Which those of us from the South know translates as "Who gives a f*ck?!?!")

As I've learned from my sojourns in Germany over the past few years, there are really only a few things that a German man needs to survive: Ordnung ("order"), Bier (beer), Wurst (sausage) and Fussball (soccer). Sex barely rounds out the top five. I am not shocked that it is taking a back seat to the World Cup. I was in Germany for World Cup 2002. Let me tell you... we got half days at work whenever Germany was playing in an elimination round. And you know something is a big deal if a German is willing to miss work for it.

So take heart, Whores of Deutschland! As soon as Germany wins the cup on July 9th, you'll have more business than you can shake a... *ahem* yeah... at. Assuming, of course, that you're done before 10pm. Some people have to go to work Monday morning.

Somebody Pooted

I spent last week in Columbus, OH for the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. I spent the week visiting legislative committee hearings, sitting in on sessions of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. I was even present when the announcement was made of the selection of the Rt. Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori as XXVI Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Very Exciting. I also spent some time with other young adult Church Nerds (that's a technical theological term), discussing vocation and spiritual practices. I was bewildered by the exhibit hall on more than one occasion (think IKEA with church-related paraphernalia instead of furniture), but not too bewildered to drop over $100 at the Church Publishing booth. *sigh*

All of this was very fun and very enlightening. However, no part of my visit to Columbus was as entertaining as the drive home. I parked for about half an hour on I-65 somewhere between Elizabethtown and Bowling Green. I got out. I took a (newly-purchased) book out of the trunk. I read a couple of chapters. Mercifully, traffic started moving again, and I was in a pretty grumpy mood. That is, until I made it to Nashville. Nashville is that point in the drive where you say to yourself, "I'm almost home!!" and it brightens your day a bit.

Little did I know that Nashville had one more surprise waiting for me on I-40 westbound. There, on the side of the bridge was a bright red billboard with the words, "I pooted." That's it. No logo, no phone number, no website... just, "I pooted." I doubled over with laughter. I am not making this up...

Apparently, this billboard has something to do with the Cartoon Network, and there have been sightings all over the country as far north as Rhode Island. That is really immaterial to me. I am just excited that someone thought to put up a billboard that says, "I pooted." That person is my hero for the day.

P.S.
When you type the words "i pooted billboard" into Google, it asks "Did you mean 'i pooped billboard'?" Reminds me of Brick Tamland from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

I'm baaaa-aaack

Just in case you were all devastated when I stopped recording my deepest, darkest thoughts in blog format...

I am resurrecting the blog. For a while anyway. I need to figure out if I can still post pictures. I had some trouble with Hello, or whatever it's called.

Anyway, I am facing some major life changes (not like male menopause or anything like that) at the moment and I'm trying to figure stuff out. So why not let everyone read it?

I will be moving soon... to New England, which will definitely be new for me. At the moment I have no job lined up, so that's fun. About the only thing I have is a tentative living situation for the month of August. Uncertainty is fun (just keep telling yourself that).

Check back tomorrow and I'll see what sort of disjointed ramblings I can conjure up for you to read.