First Day of School

Today is my 21st first day of school. This might be the last one ever. It will certainly be the last one for a long time, at least. I've had a lot of good first days, and I've always looked forward to them. I remember the first day of kindergarten. We have that picture of all of us standing at the end of the sidewalk waiting for the bus. I remember the first day of 3rd grade. I was really nervous about meeting my teacher, Mrs. Vukusich. I'd heard lots of rumors about how mean she was. I didn't need to worry though - she turned out to be one of my favorite teachers, in spite of having to deal with long division that year. The first day of 7th grade was memorable too - the day I started at Riverton Parke. Every class was divided in half that day - half Rosedale and half Montezuma. Actually, it was probably more like 2/3 Rosedale, 1/3 Montezuma. The two elementaries that fed into my jr.-sr. high segregated themselves for awhile. Then, of course, there was my first day at Purdue, August 23, 1999. My first class was HIST 104 Modern World History in EE 172. My professor was Gordon R. Mork, the chair of the department. He did his undergrad at Yale and his grad work at Minnesota, I believe. He was a Minnesota native, and was on the crew team at Yale. I also had POL 101, FR 201, MATH 152, and BAND 110 (Marching Band!) that day. M,W,F were very busy days. I had 17 hrs. that semester. That day I almost dropped my French class and my French minor. My instructor was a native Frenchman, and he came in spewing everything out in French from the start. I thought I would be lucky to get a C, but I got an A. :) I was a little apprehensive about some things by the time I got to band at the end of the day, but it turned out to be a great semester. September 27, 2004 was my first day at Fuller, and I was still trying to figure out what I was doing here. Intensive Greek was my only class that quarter, and I nailed it.

Betsy and I used to rehearse for the first day of school. We'd practice getting up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and waiting for the bus. I didn't do anything like that leading up to today, but I did mark the occasion by making breakfast for my roommates and me this morning. I got up at 6 a.m. and made French toast, eggs, and bacon. It was great. My roommate made coffee, too, so the apartment was full of great morning smells. We enjoyed our breakfast, and I think everything was clean by 9:00, most of it by 8:30.

This morning I'm off to a class called Family Therapy and Pastoral Counseling. Tomorrow I have Pentateuch and Hebrew.

This is it folks. The beginning of the end.

(Oh, and by the way, three months from today is Christmas.)

It's a New Day

My favorite show on television is as good as ever. I knew Today's new co-anchor Meredith Vieira would be starting on Wednesday, so I've been watching faithfully ever since. Some nights I haven't gone to bed 'til one, but I still set my alarm for 6:30 so I can be up, dressed, and sitting down with my Berry Burst Cheerios by the time I hear the NBC chimes at 7:00. The rookie is doing a great job, and they got a new set, too. If you haven't tuned in lately, you should. It's a great way to start the day. I don't have class before 11:00, so I plan on watching as much as possible this fall.

Back in the USA, etc.

PASADENA, Calif. - As most know, I made it back safely from China. The picture of me is on Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Since our return, I've been spending most of my time simply relaxing and enjoying the first significant break I've had since last Christmas. It's good that I had nothing to do when I got back, because getting over the jet lag was more than a little tricky. For quite a while, it was pretty much impossible for me to fall asleep before 2 or 3 a.m., and then I wouldn't get up until 10 or 11. Thankfully, I seem to be past that stage.

Besides getting over jet lag, I've also begun to count down to some important things. I'm not really paying attention to this, but school starts 2 weeks from yesterday. More importantly, there are only 36 days left until I return to Wisconsin, only 103 days until Christmas, and only 269 days until graduation. Those are some good numbers to know. I don't want to wish this year away - there is an awful lot to look forward to and enjoy within it - but I really can't help the enthusiasm I am experiencing regarding the nearing of the end of my seminary journey. I have a lot of class to get through this year, but man it seems close.

I've also recently started my internship at FBC Pasadena. This past weekend I went on a retreat with the church choir to Big Bear - a very nice place in the Sierra Nevada mountains where the air is fresh (and cool this past weekend). I had the privilege of sitting outside wearing a sweatshirt and drinking hot chocolate (and being chilly enough to really enjoy holding a hot cup!). We stayed in a beautiful big house, which is pictured above.

I do have some work to do as my vacation winds down over the next two weeks. I have a reflection paper to write about the trip, which I am procrastinating on right now. Well, really, that's about the only work I have to do besides finishing up my profile questionnaire for the American Baptist Personnel Service so I can start the job hunt. Friday night I am dining with the trustees of the Seminary. Next week should be the calm before the storm of the Fall Quarter.