I never figured "man of action" could apply to me

Gosh, time has flown by again. In work and leisure, much has been happening.

My boss is out of town giving his presentation this week, so that lets up some pressure from me for the time being.

And as far as the leisure activities go, the busy-ness has been very relaxing. I've gotten to go hiking on the last two weekends, up Mt. Baldy and also at the botanical gardens in Claremont. Also in the mix have been a lot of good tea, good food, and good friends. For example, in the past two weeks, I have gotten to spend time with (in roughly chronological order): Hansford, Jay, Brian, Summer, Shawna, Beth (and her co-workers and housemates), Thomas, Cathy, Bart, Kristin, Tessa, Peter, Kathryn, Ryan, Jimmy and Suzanne and Nate, Mr. and Mrs. Sarah Noyes, Gracie, Melissa, Nate L., Casey, Charissa, Lexie, David, Andrew, and last but not definitely not least, Greg. Plus, I may see Mina and Martha this week. :-)

So yeah. Whew! And yay! On top of all that, I've ended up watching the first couple episodes of Gilmore Girls (I kinda like Sookie better than the leads, is that odd?), and to cancel that out, Band of Brothers, and for just weirdness' sake, this random anime series about boxing. Also, I saw Pirates 3… and I would refer you all to the "Ask a Ninja" review, which I think sums it up nicely. On Friday we watched The Shawshank Redemption, which singlehandedly more than made up for Pirates 3 and Spiderman 3 – it turns out movies can be worthwhile, after all. But now I have to find a new reason to look at Ryan funny (before, it was because he hadn't seen Shawshank, but now, that has been remedied).

Anyhow, I blew up a reactor at work today. It was more of a problem of physics (or maybe engineering?) than chemistry - pressurized water built up in the cooling jacket - but when you're not expecting it, well… I guess you could say this week started with a bang. Thankfully no real harm was done. But still. It was definitely today's allotment of excitement and humility. Also, it reminded me – who wants to have a water-fight this summer sometime?

To close, a not-so-random question:
What do you do, when even in your dreams, people find you "repugnant"?

I don't have dreams about being embarrassed or being chased – my worst ones are true-to-life. How is anybody supposed to be a whole person when we are constantly, inside and out, being torn down? The world is so twisted, what hope do we ugly, lame, parched and gnarled folks have for happiness? God, break me completely, that I might live only in your strength and care for nothing but your presence; break my chains, that my spirit may live carefree in hope in you. And let me dream of truth and goodness, not lies or damned muck.

On the plus side, I have had some very encouraging conversations lately, too, thank God." But I will yet praise him for both good and bad conversations, both good tea and broken reactors, and both good and bad dreams – God knows what I need, and what my heart desires, and how to get me to have him ever before me in both categories.

Back!

Okay, fine, you've found me out, I've really been back from London for about a week.

But what a week!

Last weekend, Claremont folks had their graduation, and a hearty congrats goes out to Renee, Martha, Josiah, Heather, Bart, Buck, and Mina (in alphabetical order, of course)!

I jumped headlong into work again on Monday, as well. Literally, my boss handed me the memo first thing on Monday morning, and I have had very full days each day this week trying to get it all done. I guess that's what happens when you go on vacation for a week and a half and your boss has time to just think and reflect on what to work on next. :-)

Photos! From my trip, for those of you who may not have seen them yet - they're up on Facebook, but if you follow these links, you should be able to see the photos even if you hate facebook with a completely irrational passion:

London, Part 1. Whee!
London, Part 2. The adventure continues!
London, Part 3. The exciting conclusion!

Several places wouldn't let me take photos (boo!), but I didn't mind, because they were very right to do so. These included inside Westminster Abbey (So there are no photos of me with Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, GMH, Disraeli, or Queen Elizabeth I, sorry) and also the Holocaust exhibit inside the Imperial War Museum. There really aren't words for that.

But I'll go into more detail about the trip later, or if you ask me in person!
I am a little tired, and I hurt my foot tonight while trying to run with Jay. :-( I hope I am better in time for a hike up Mt. Baldy this Saturday. We shall see.

Peace to you all from the God who gives it.

Great Britain

Tomorrow I leave for London! I'm excited, as most of you can probably tell, because most of you have heard me going on about it lately. I'll be there for a week - so expect more than my usual amount of interweb absenteeism.

I'm going with John, my best friend from high school. One of the few, the proud - the guys I have actually threatened with physical violence for their own good. From discussions on philosophy to ones about movies (and sometimes both at once), he is always game, and always actually cares what I have to say. Well, most of the time, anyhow. :-) Let's just say I'm looking forward to getting to see him in person for more than one day per year (like we've averaged lately).

Thanks to Jay's help, I've been running pretty regularly. I like it.


I realize I have been silent lately in the blog-space. I have continued to praise God in all things, and am still "yet hopeful," so don't worry. Much has happened lately, and yet nothing. I will have pictures and such from my trip, though, soon. And if I have any grand life-changing experiences, I will see about conveying those as well. That'd be easier over tea, though, than written on here.


God is good. Nothing has changed about that, definitely. May our hearts continue to find peace, rest, and strength in him.