It's Not te End of the World As We Know It, but I Feel Fine (with apologies to REM)

Sorry for the lack of posts for two weeks or so. Life has been generally crazy. While this is not a post of excuses, I will tell you that I'm already behind on gardening and trying to get caught up, as well as having my sisters in town for a week. On that note, my sister makes the best carrot cake I've ever eaten, so I requested some of that, with her fortunately obliging. 

Also during this two week period, I applied for a tour guiding job. I sent my resume on the final day, along with my cover letter and the requested head shot. I got an email in reply, telling me that I was to attend the group interview the next day. 

I show up at Uptown Espresso (the location of the interview) a few minutes before it is set to begin. It turns out that it is actually not a group interview, but a group scheduled as a block, interviewing one at a time. I sit and talk with my fellow applicants. Some are good. Others are great. A few, not so good. Hmm...nine people at my interview block times five interview blocks equals about forty-five people applying for three to six positions. 

I'm nervous, as are a lot of the other candidates. In my interview I stutter and stammer quite a bit. I don't know the answer to one particular question, while other questions (often easy questions) find me taking too much time to think. 

I walk out, trying to be hopeful, but knowing I'm probably not getting a second interview. 

A day passes. I get an email, confirming my suspicions. At the same time, it is a personal email, referencing things in my interview and thanking me for applying. 

At this moment, I realized something: this is not the end of the world. Indeed, I feel fine. My identity is not in my job, but in Christ. And that, my friends, is one of the most beautiful realizations there is. 

Sorry for the lack of posts for two weeks or so. Life has been generally crazy. While this is not a post of excuses, I will tell you that I'm already behind on gardening and trying to get caught up, as well as having my sisters in town for a week. On that note, my sister makes the best carrot cake I've ever eaten, so I requested some of that, with her fortunately obliging. 

Also during this two week period, I applied for a tour guiding job. I sent my resume on the final day, along with my cover letter and the requested head shot. I got an email in reply, telling me that I was to attend the group interview the next day. 

I show up at Uptown Espresso (the location of the interview) a few minutes before it is set to begin. It turns out that it is actually not a group interview, but a group scheduled as a block, interviewing one at a time. I sit and talk with my fellow applicants. Some are good. Others are great. A few, not so good. Hmm...nine people at my interview block times five interview blocks equals about forty-five people applying for three to six positions. 

I'm nervous, as are a lot of the other candidates. In my interview I stutter and stammer quite a bit. I don't know the answer to one particular question, while other questions (often easy questions) find me taking too much time to think. 

I walk out, trying to be hopeful, but knowing I'm probably not getting a second interview. 

A day passes. I get an email, confirming my suspicions. At the same time, it is a personal email, referencing things in my interview and thanking me for applying. 

At this moment, I realized something: this is not the end of the world. Indeed, I feel fine. My identity is not in my job, but in Christ. And that, my friends, is one of the most beautiful realizations there is. 

It's Not te End of the World As We Know It, but I Feel Fine (with apologies to REM)

Antinationalism

I shouldn't have mentioned it: so far this week it's been all US and Canada.

I shouldn't have mentioned it: so far this week it's been all US and Canada.

Antinationalism

Beginning, Middle, and End, or Everything I Needed to Know in Life I Failed to Learn in Kindergarten

[Before we begin, allow me to present something that I find particularly interesting: this week my blog has been viewed twice as much in from Ukraine as from United States. Also, nearly half as much from Georgia (the country, not the state). I'm not sure why I appeal so much to Eastern Europe, but I do find this interesting. Hopefully all of my Eastern European readers are enjoying themselves, as opposed to being sent here by a misguided search engine. Now, to the real post.]

When I was young, I learned the essential parts of every story: beginning, middle, and end. The middle is usually pretty simple: it's where most of my writing begins, with the concept I want to address. Once I know the concept and have it worked out in my head, I sit down and write. I usually start at the beginning and write my way up to what I've thought, as opposed to writing directly what is in my head. This allows me to develop the beginning and the middle.

I do not reach the end so easily. I have written many things about many topics which sit on my computer indefinitely unfinished (and now that my computer is broken and they're gone, permanently unfinished). I've put a lot of thought into my difficulty with finishing writing. I've come to a conclusion about why this is: I don't like the resolution of things, as it seems very unrealistic to me.

Endings are what we see in sitcoms: at the end of 30 minutes (about 21 with the commercials removed), the problems are all solved and the credits roll. Jack Tripper takes his seat between Chrissy and Janice, with Mr. Furley not realizing that he is misinformed about Jack's sexuality. For 30 minutes Jack had two dates, which Chrissy and Janice misunderstood one sentence that they overheard from Jack, but that's all over with. Everything is fine now. There are no more problems.

This is not real life: if I accidentally have two dates the same night (which would be no small miracle, considering the frequency of my dating), I'm going to cancel/reschedule one. I'm certainly not going to try to take them to the same restaurant and sit at two different tables. I live in the real world. Problems aren't tied up with a bow.

I mentioned to a friend who has been a first grade teacher that a story I told had a beginning, middle, and end (all packed into about a minute). She told me that she is an unconventional first grade teacher, and that those aren't essentials. Sounds good to me. But what then are the essentials? How do you end a story, or for that matter a blog post? Do you need a dramatic climax, or is the ending a time to let things cool down? Should there be foreshadowing that it's coming, or should you just suddenly_stop?

[Before we begin, allow me to present something that I find particularly interesting: this week my blog has been viewed twice as much in from Ukraine as from United States. Also, nearly half as much from Georgia (the country, not the state). I'm not sure why I appeal so much to Eastern Europe, but I do find this interesting. Hopefully all of my Eastern European readers are enjoying themselves, as opposed to being sent here by a misguided search engine. Now, to the real post.]

When I was young, I learned the essential parts of every story: beginning, middle, and end. The middle is usually pretty simple: it's where most of my writing begins, with the concept I want to address. Once I know the concept and have it worked out in my head, I sit down and write. I usually start at the beginning and write my way up to what I've thought, as opposed to writing directly what is in my head. This allows me to develop the beginning and the middle.

I do not reach the end so easily. I have written many things about many topics which sit on my computer indefinitely unfinished (and now that my computer is broken and they're gone, permanently unfinished). I've put a lot of thought into my difficulty with finishing writing. I've come to a conclusion about why this is: I don't like the resolution of things, as it seems very unrealistic to me.

Endings are what we see in sitcoms: at the end of 30 minutes (about 21 with the commercials removed), the problems are all solved and the credits roll. Jack Tripper takes his seat between Chrissy and Janice, with Mr. Furley not realizing that he is misinformed about Jack's sexuality. For 30 minutes Jack had two dates, which Chrissy and Janice misunderstood one sentence that they overheard from Jack, but that's all over with. Everything is fine now. There are no more problems.

This is not real life: if I accidentally have two dates the same night (which would be no small miracle, considering the frequency of my dating), I'm going to cancel/reschedule one. I'm certainly not going to try to take them to the same restaurant and sit at two different tables. I live in the real world. Problems aren't tied up with a bow.

I mentioned to a friend who has been a first grade teacher that a story I told had a beginning, middle, and end (all packed into about a minute). She told me that she is an unconventional first grade teacher, and that those aren't essentials. Sounds good to me. But what then are the essentials? How do you end a story, or for that matter a blog post? Do you need a dramatic climax, or is the ending a time to let things cool down? Should there be foreshadowing that it's coming, or should you just suddenly_stop?

Beginning, Middle, and End, or Everything I Needed to Know in Life I Failed to Learn in Kindergarten

A Microcosm on Thankfulness, or What I Got (not the Sublime song)

I recognize that this will be a microcosm of a post. That being said, I've really been taken aback recently over how blessed I am materially. I mean, I'm certainly not living the "American Dream," but I have way more than most people in this world, and certainly more than I deserve. Last night as I sat in my kitchen drinking tea from my new tea kettle, I realized how much I take for granted. I just want to encourage you to take some time to think about it and be thankful for what you have, which is a lot.

I recognize that this will be a microcosm of a post. That being said, I've really been taken aback recently over how blessed I am materially. I mean, I'm certainly not living the "American Dream," but I have way more than most people in this world, and certainly more than I deserve. Last night as I sat in my kitchen drinking tea from my new tea kettle, I realized how much I take for granted. I just want to encourage you to take some time to think about it and be thankful for what you have, which is a lot.

A Microcosm on Thankfulness, or What I Got (not the Sublime song)