My boss had a picnic today at his house, for people from the department and their families. It was a lot of fun - it was nice to see people in some of their usual context, rather than just at work.
Around the table I was at for dinner, we had myself and Tim (probably the only other Californian there, he graduated from Oxy a while back); Khanh and her sister Hannah, who both grew up in Vietnam; Ben and his wife Veronique, who moved here from Belgium just a few weeks ago; Handy, who grew up in Indonesia; and Srikant, my supervisor, who is from India of course. So much fun!
My time at college paid off - I beat Srikant at a game of ping-pong. We'll see whether or not that was the right thing to do, I suppose... ;-)
Claremont folks need to hurry up and graduate so they can have weekends free sometime. :-)
Saturday, October 28
Monday, October 23
Assortedness...
That's the problem with posting once a week... each time, I end up with five completely different things to share, and have to stick them all in one post.
This last week:
I've discovered that "Quantum Leap" was another good thing that came out of the '80s... somehow I missed it the first time around.
We made some more good progress on my project at work! Always a good feeling.
I played with Lego again! This time, with Ben S., Bart, Josiah, Tessa, Matthew J., and even Colleen and Kristin. Check out our table o'creations:
Josiah apparently grew up with a careful and well-thought-out approach to Legos... he showed me the brilliant idea of dumping the Legos on a towel on the floor, making cleanup much easier, and allowing for more piece-finding surface area. Yay Josiah!
And, Ben C's birthday was Saturday - it was a grand gathering of graceful glad girls and boisterous boys. Lots of fun was had by all, and at least 3 people were showered. Including Mina, for the first time. He had it coming. :-) I was excited to be around for the party. Yay Claremont!
Lastly, this is a well-written article on the "New Atheism." http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,71985-0.html?tw=rss.index
I have a lot I could say about this. First, read it, it's good stuff, I promise.
I like what he has to say about "certainty." The fundamentalist christians have it... and yet their faith seems shallow, Pharisaical, and sensationalist. The "New Atheists" have it... and they come off as lovers of themselves: arrogant, boring, and falsely intellectual. Both rub the author the wrong way... and rightly so! Insincere faith and sincere error are both somehow nauseating to anyone who has given their spirituality a second glance. To both we must say, "look harder! If you believe, why? If not, why? Can you honestly be a whole person, and wholly satisfied, where you are?"
Faith is weak in those who need certainties. The Christians who read this may say, "what?" at this point. But God is not insecure. He's not in the business of giving out proof any more than he already has. And the whole idea of a Christian's walk with God is the process of becoming more confident that God IS, as we lean upon his love and the things he says, and as we get to know him and love him better... but I don't think God ever lets us be certain. He is always faithful; he'll never forsake us, and this cosmic war has a definite way it will end, but he wants people who will love him and trust him even when things look darkest.
So you will go through dark times - if you are blessed.
And if you have never questioned your faith, if you have never once thought, "do I know that?", and if you have never realized that every single day you must make the choice, saying, "there is no way I can know for sure I am right, or that things will turn out peachy, but I will lean on what I think is true of You" - then you are missing out.
The true Christian has tasted and seen that when you lean on God and Jesus, things do happen, and there is a peace there that is beyond any understanding. The Atheist makes the choice that what is true is that there is no God... and I imagine he is rarely surprised to find God absent from his life. The agnostic, though, never knows the fullness or emptiness of either. Similarly, some modern christians never really go out on a limb to take God at his word, and they wonder why their persecution takes the form of ridicule, and why Christianity has such a bad name despite figures like MLK Jr., Ma Teresa, and Bono being so widely respected.
Whew.
I've had plenty of other thoughts fluttering through my head lately - about blessings and cursings, about social justice at IV: Claremont, and about whether or not my cell phone is broken. (call, people!) :-)
Much love to you all! Love above all - it's what atheists forget about, it's what agnostics have trouble accepting, and it's what every person has been given freely by God.
This last week:
I've discovered that "Quantum Leap" was another good thing that came out of the '80s... somehow I missed it the first time around.
We made some more good progress on my project at work! Always a good feeling.
I played with Lego again! This time, with Ben S., Bart, Josiah, Tessa, Matthew J., and even Colleen and Kristin. Check out our table o'creations:
Josiah apparently grew up with a careful and well-thought-out approach to Legos... he showed me the brilliant idea of dumping the Legos on a towel on the floor, making cleanup much easier, and allowing for more piece-finding surface area. Yay Josiah!
And, Ben C's birthday was Saturday - it was a grand gathering of graceful glad girls and boisterous boys. Lots of fun was had by all, and at least 3 people were showered. Including Mina, for the first time. He had it coming. :-) I was excited to be around for the party. Yay Claremont!
Lastly, this is a well-written article on the "New Atheism." http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,71985-0.html?tw=rss.index
I have a lot I could say about this. First, read it, it's good stuff, I promise.
I like what he has to say about "certainty." The fundamentalist christians have it... and yet their faith seems shallow, Pharisaical, and sensationalist. The "New Atheists" have it... and they come off as lovers of themselves: arrogant, boring, and falsely intellectual. Both rub the author the wrong way... and rightly so! Insincere faith and sincere error are both somehow nauseating to anyone who has given their spirituality a second glance. To both we must say, "look harder! If you believe, why? If not, why? Can you honestly be a whole person, and wholly satisfied, where you are?"
Faith is weak in those who need certainties. The Christians who read this may say, "what?" at this point. But God is not insecure. He's not in the business of giving out proof any more than he already has. And the whole idea of a Christian's walk with God is the process of becoming more confident that God IS, as we lean upon his love and the things he says, and as we get to know him and love him better... but I don't think God ever lets us be certain. He is always faithful; he'll never forsake us, and this cosmic war has a definite way it will end, but he wants people who will love him and trust him even when things look darkest.
So you will go through dark times - if you are blessed.
And if you have never questioned your faith, if you have never once thought, "do I know that?", and if you have never realized that every single day you must make the choice, saying, "there is no way I can know for sure I am right, or that things will turn out peachy, but I will lean on what I think is true of You" - then you are missing out.
The true Christian has tasted and seen that when you lean on God and Jesus, things do happen, and there is a peace there that is beyond any understanding. The Atheist makes the choice that what is true is that there is no God... and I imagine he is rarely surprised to find God absent from his life. The agnostic, though, never knows the fullness or emptiness of either. Similarly, some modern christians never really go out on a limb to take God at his word, and they wonder why their persecution takes the form of ridicule, and why Christianity has such a bad name despite figures like MLK Jr., Ma Teresa, and Bono being so widely respected.
Whew.
I've had plenty of other thoughts fluttering through my head lately - about blessings and cursings, about social justice at IV: Claremont, and about whether or not my cell phone is broken. (call, people!) :-)
Much love to you all! Love above all - it's what atheists forget about, it's what agnostics have trouble accepting, and it's what every person has been given freely by God.
Saturday, October 14
snapshot...
It's a Saturday night again and I have no plans. I've been playing my bass and relaxing, but that is not really what I'd wanted to relate:
A little while back, I'd heard that Love Actually is a good movie, and had thus put it on my netflix queue, and in the fullness of time, it arrived in my mailbox. Now, though, I am sitting here at home, not really wanting to watch it, just because I've got no one to watch it with. I fear that watching Love Actually by myself might end up in the running for my "Saddest Moment Ever."
So am I still a Romantic, because I wait to watch it? Would I be wasting my money if I sent it back unwatched? Why trouble my soul over what is arguably just a movie?
For the record, I must confess I watched Must Love Dogs last weekend, by myself. It's a cute movie, and I think that of all the leading men in the world of romantic comedies, I am probably most similar to John Cusack. What do you think?
And I'd agree with his character in the movie that "hearts grow back bigger." :-)
Lastly, I was reading some AW Tozer this morning, and came across this interesting bit:
"We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone." - Of God and Men, p. 12.
A little while back, I'd heard that Love Actually is a good movie, and had thus put it on my netflix queue, and in the fullness of time, it arrived in my mailbox. Now, though, I am sitting here at home, not really wanting to watch it, just because I've got no one to watch it with. I fear that watching Love Actually by myself might end up in the running for my "Saddest Moment Ever."
So am I still a Romantic, because I wait to watch it? Would I be wasting my money if I sent it back unwatched? Why trouble my soul over what is arguably just a movie?
For the record, I must confess I watched Must Love Dogs last weekend, by myself. It's a cute movie, and I think that of all the leading men in the world of romantic comedies, I am probably most similar to John Cusack. What do you think?
And I'd agree with his character in the movie that "hearts grow back bigger." :-)
Lastly, I was reading some AW Tozer this morning, and came across this interesting bit:
"We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone." - Of God and Men, p. 12.
Sunday, October 8
Questioning
So I guess North Korea may have nukes soon. Whee...
Colbert had a nice segment a while back on why China should pursue "regime change" for N. Korea, for the purpose of stepping into a global-superpower role like the US. He was just being funny, but it may actually be the best option for them now. At least we can be pretty sure there are WMDs there. It's kind of scary sometimes how stuff from Colbert and the Daily Show ends up happening... I suppose it's still true today that people have to just laugh at the truth, or else they'll end up crying.
I'm curious... I've been thinking a lot lately, and want to know what you, the readers, think an average Joe like myself can do to help reverse these trends in the world, and also in our own government. (For the record, I'm fully aware that November is just around the corner, but I'm looking for a deeper answer here than just "elect Democrats" or "elect Republicans.")
It's almost enough to make one just want to pack up and head off to do missions work in someplace that is a little less... nuke-worthy. I hear India, Ghana, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Iowa are all great places for settling in and just being about His work. At the same time, though, one starts feeling the weight of the potential for millions of people to die. On the one hand, a person can only really love, and only really do what is right, with the people close by in their life, wherever that may be. This is all God asks. But on the other hand, this world is shrinking quickly - how long before it implodes? Again, for the record, I'm hardly hating on the US - I love it here, and I'm glad there's places in the world where "people's republic" is not a joke, and religious freedom is actually given, and cops don't have to carry around machine guns all the time.
In addition, I'd like to "settle down" just as much as anybody. Have a family, a little house, a good community, a ministry/job that helps people in a significant way... I really would love for God to put these things in my life. Now accepting applications... :-) I could be very happy - pretty much anywhere, from England to Costa Rica, from Kenya to Canada.
In the meanwhile, though... how much is my one life really worth? I may never end up finding somebody to settle down with, and I may never find a community of people who really care, and I may wind up never finding a job or ministry that really feels right. But I have a lot of love to give, and a decent brain, and a body that may need more time at the gym, but that can still stand beside people. And I'd like to make sure that even if none of that other good stuff happens to me, that I'm at least doing something worthwhile, and that at least God knows that He can do whatever with me.
So what is there to do?
Colbert had a nice segment a while back on why China should pursue "regime change" for N. Korea, for the purpose of stepping into a global-superpower role like the US. He was just being funny, but it may actually be the best option for them now. At least we can be pretty sure there are WMDs there. It's kind of scary sometimes how stuff from Colbert and the Daily Show ends up happening... I suppose it's still true today that people have to just laugh at the truth, or else they'll end up crying.
I'm curious... I've been thinking a lot lately, and want to know what you, the readers, think an average Joe like myself can do to help reverse these trends in the world, and also in our own government. (For the record, I'm fully aware that November is just around the corner, but I'm looking for a deeper answer here than just "elect Democrats" or "elect Republicans.")
It's almost enough to make one just want to pack up and head off to do missions work in someplace that is a little less... nuke-worthy. I hear India, Ghana, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Iowa are all great places for settling in and just being about His work. At the same time, though, one starts feeling the weight of the potential for millions of people to die. On the one hand, a person can only really love, and only really do what is right, with the people close by in their life, wherever that may be. This is all God asks. But on the other hand, this world is shrinking quickly - how long before it implodes? Again, for the record, I'm hardly hating on the US - I love it here, and I'm glad there's places in the world where "people's republic" is not a joke, and religious freedom is actually given, and cops don't have to carry around machine guns all the time.
In addition, I'd like to "settle down" just as much as anybody. Have a family, a little house, a good community, a ministry/job that helps people in a significant way... I really would love for God to put these things in my life. Now accepting applications... :-) I could be very happy - pretty much anywhere, from England to Costa Rica, from Kenya to Canada.
In the meanwhile, though... how much is my one life really worth? I may never end up finding somebody to settle down with, and I may never find a community of people who really care, and I may wind up never finding a job or ministry that really feels right. But I have a lot of love to give, and a decent brain, and a body that may need more time at the gym, but that can still stand beside people. And I'd like to make sure that even if none of that other good stuff happens to me, that I'm at least doing something worthwhile, and that at least God knows that He can do whatever with me.
So what is there to do?
Thursday, October 5
the soundtrack of my life...
now has a bass line! :-)
My acoustic-electric bass arrived today and so I've been messing around on that. it's exciting! Any requests?
I've been meaning to get a haircut, since I need one rather badly. However, I am not sure that would be in keeping with my new bass-player persona. ;-)
Things at work have been super busy. I'm seriously running around lab on a tight schedule, partly imposed by myself, partly imposed by the chemistry we're doing. It's crazy. I am very glad that tomorrow is Friday.
Speaking of which... anybody want to hang out at Zephyr's tomorrow night? or perhaps get into other mischief?
My acoustic-electric bass arrived today and so I've been messing around on that. it's exciting! Any requests?
I've been meaning to get a haircut, since I need one rather badly. However, I am not sure that would be in keeping with my new bass-player persona. ;-)
Things at work have been super busy. I'm seriously running around lab on a tight schedule, partly imposed by myself, partly imposed by the chemistry we're doing. It's crazy. I am very glad that tomorrow is Friday.
Speaking of which... anybody want to hang out at Zephyr's tomorrow night? or perhaps get into other mischief?
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