Singed but not charred

Pentecost was this past Sunday.  I was a bit nervous about it as it was Pentecost 2011 that redirected my career and education path away from sociology and toward divinity school.  And since the choir didn't robe, I couldn't hide my iPod under my robe and tune out during the sermon.  Though I'm actually glad I didn't.  As opposed to the smack in the head I got last year, this year was a nice spark of motivation and reassurance that I'm on the right path now.  Pentecost 2011 charred me and I left FBC with parts still in flames.  Pentecost 2012 left me appropriately singed and feeling more like a phoenix out of ashes than someone only identifiable through dental records.

In other news, Kirsten and I HAVE AN APARTMENT!

Notice the suit of armor on the porch?  That's Lance.  He's our landlady's.  It's nice to have a permanent, albeit immobile, bodyguard.  So Kirsten and I are pumped.  We have a yard and were told by our landlady to feel free to have people over because apparently the neighborhood does block parties and is super friendly and social. I'm also thankfully close to a bus that takes me directly to BU and will get very good at navigating 5-way intersections and two-way streets that don't fit 2 cars next to each other again.

And my thesis is moving along relatively well.  I'm drafting chapter number 3 right now.  There will be a total of four possibly five chapters, so I've got about half of my full thesis drafted.  Other than the thesis I'm writing a TA how-to, leading a set of meetings with FBC youth on healthy relationships, sexuality, and spirituality, attempting to purge then pack, and hopefully cross things off my ATX bucket list.

Finally - the bucket list!  Here's some of what I've got planned so far.  I've got until August 1 to do this.  August 2 the movers come and I head out.  Please let me know if something just absolutely needs to be added on:

• Brick Oven
• Maudie's
• Barton Springs
• Picnic at Zilker
• karaoke
• Schlitterbahn
• Six Flags in Arlington, TX
• tubing
• Rio Grande Valley/Beaches trip with Fallon
• brewery & winery tours in the area
• see the bats!!!
• figure out a way to get to one of the upper floors of a downtown skyscraper to see Austin from above

There's more, this is just all I can remember right now.  If you'd like to tag along to any of these or if I missed something blatantly Austin, let me know.

I'm out!

Back in Massachusetts...

It's very deceptive to go to MA in May.  Even when it's rainy, the temperature is nice: no jacket necessary and you don't break a sweat after 5 minutes outside.  It's the early summer weather that makes southerners so upset come winter-like weather (to a southerner) in October.

Is it odd that I even miss the aggressive drivers?  There are dumb drivers in Austin.  There are good drivers in MA, they just all have anger management problems and makes them seem like dumb drivers.

Found a GREAT meadery in Londonderry, NH today.  Mead = fermented honey.  This place makes over 50 different types of honey wine, infused with fruits, spices, pepper, coffee, brewed in barrels that had aged cognacs or beer.  Really cool.  If you're ever there, go for a tour and tasting.  You won't be able to leave without bottles.  Yes, plural.  Check them out: Moonlight Meadery.  Check 'em out - they might ship to your state!

I'm headed into the city tomorrow and I feel as excited about going into Boston as Rachel Berry does about going to New York. :)  And speaking of Rachel, GLEEEEEEEEEEE.  If you haven't seen the season finale and you care, stop reading now.





Okay - Finn did what was probably the most mature move he's had for the entire series.  At least the sending Rachel off as a single woman move.  His desire to "redeem" his father's memory by joining the army himself seemed a bit of a rash move.  But Rachel was living in a pipe dream that she could have it all - career and guy - and the opportunity for her career was too good to pass up.  And Puck... what is Puck doing now?  Yay he graduated but what, is he going to just expand his pool cleaning business in Lima?  Maybe he'll start a mohawk hair studio.  You know, a place to get and maintain your mohawks.  Males and females welcome.  Kurt's future is unclear now too.  No NYADA, but what is he doing?  And finally, a few mixed emotions over Santana's mom (oh hello, Gloria Estafan!) giving her what seems to be a sizable check to go to New York.

I've been cured of my baby envy

For the past few months I have wanted my own baby like crazy.  Now that the semester is done, my social world has shifted to being more church-heavy than grad-heavy, and so many people in my age group have little ones.  And they're adorable.  And even being pregnant didn't look so awful - or at least it all seemed worth it.  So despite the lack of a boyfriend - let alone a husband - and an income that could support two mouths, I was soooo ready to be a mom.

Yeah, no more.

Babysat three boys tonight, ages 2, 4, and 6.  And boy do I feel like I just sat for three boys.  The two year old was a dream.  The six year old tried to help but also pushed his bedtime for an hour.  The four year old was a bit of a terror.  He was a bit like me with my sitters in that being tired made him push harder and harder to stay up.  It also made him angry and he became rude when I told him to go back to bed.  And the 4 and 6 year old share a room and the poor 6 year old truly wanted to go to sleep but couldn't because his brother was singing "Ol' McDonald" at the top of his lungs.  When the TV was on they were angels.  Sonic the Hedgehog is great.

I'll be a great mom one day.  I know that.  I have patience like no other with kids.  But right now, I'm so enjoying the ability to turn them back over to their parents after a few hours.

****

In other news, two chapters of my thesis are drafted.  The data is 98% ready to be run.  I got a full-benefits job for the summer.  I get a bit of a vacation this coming week on a trip to Boston.  And life in general really is going well.  After the stressful months of 2011, 2012 really is shaping up to be a great year.

In prepping to move, I put the cat carriers out in the apartment with the doors open to try and get Ruby and Rosalie used to them.  Ruby apparently is fine with this as I find her in there napping regularly.  Rosalie on the other hand sniffs the outside and the opening and then walks away.  She's gonna be my problem child in this upcoming move, I'm betting.

Finally - some food for thought.  What if we read passages of the Bible as if they were sarcastic.  (Hear me out before you flip out, please.)  For example, the passage of Jesus talking with the woman at the well.  It's been suggested that this is a woman going toe to toe with Jesus in a theological discussion and that she's so caught up in her conversion experience that she goes and tells the villagers and they all come to hear the Good News.  What if she actually brought the villagers to come see the crazy guy at the well?  And her social standing was already low as she was on her fifth husband and ostracized by her community (as shown by her coming to a well as high noon as opposed to with the rest of the women in the morning when it was cooler).  That much ostracism likely gave her a thick skin.  It's possible I'm applying too much 21st century thinking to Biblical times.  But seriously... the Greeks (which is what a lot of the New Testament is written in) were known for layering their writings, sarcasm, and humor.  Why do we read the Bible as if it's all as dull as the dictionary?  Why do we think people didn't have questions then?  Because people certainly have questions now; though they're often told that's a sign of weak faith.  It just doesn't seem to make for good writing to have lots of questions and justifications thrown around when you can use metaphors and sarcasm.  Just something to think about.

I'm off to watch another episode of Downton Abbey.  I hope that show's not over... I'm hooked.

"I know my call despite my faults and despite my growing fears." --Mumford & Sons

I haven't posted on here in almost two years.  Quick recap: I got a 2nd cat (Rosalie), rekindled my relationship with top 40 music, understand how 103 with no humidity can actually be better than 93 with 95% humidity, and have decided this sociology program isn't for me.  Yup, that's right, I'm leaving the program, which means I'm leaving Austin, which is ironic because I first started this blog to keep my New England friends in the loop about my life in Austin.  I'm picking blogging back up in the hopes of keeping my Austin friends in the loop with what's going on in my transition back to Mass.  And to maybe help everyone understand a bit better (including myself) why I'm making this shift.  I'll start at Boston University School of Theology in the fall for my MDiv.  I'll finish my MA in Sociology this summer.

For the record, UT Austin is a FANTASTIC place to go for grad work in sociology.  Austin itself is a fantastic city and UT has some of the most well-established mentoring programs and networking opportunities of any other sociology program I know of.

Some back story to why I'm leaving: when I was a senior at UMass, I knew I was good at sociology and I didn't know what I wanted to do professionally, so I pursued my strengths, which meant grad school.  UT offered me a phenomenal package and I have been able to study aspects of society that truly interest me.  However, where I felt the most "at home" was in my role as a teaching assistant.  Now this is ironic, because in the sociology grad world, TAing is the lowest of the low in the funding option hierarchy.  There are frequently times, though, where I preferred TAing than RAing (I've done both).  So why, you may wonder, am I going for an MDiv and not a masters in education?

Because in the past 2 years I've also realized faith matters to me way more than I thought.  And that, in my opinion, it serves a valuable, even necessary, function in society.  But many teens and young adults that are raised in a faith tradition are typically sheltered within their faith bubble until they go to college.  In college, if their tradition wasn't made relevant in younger years, they see no reason to continue it, nor is there enough of a desire to look into other faiths for this age group typically "church shop".  And finally, from the interviews from my undergrad thesis, a lot of the apathy and aggravation with organized religion comes from the lack of dialogue around issues of sexuality.

All that said, what I hope to do is take 6 years of sociological training in religion, marriage, family, and sexuality and combine 3 years of prep for ministry to teens and young adults about healthy relationships, sex, and sexuality in a way that will probably freak many people out: I want discuss sex and God, work through these issues with them, acknowledging the messiness of human lives and trying to create a safe space for them to question, wrestle, and find clarity.  I won't tell anyone how to live because I don't have all the answers and because I've certainly made mistakes myself, some of which certain faith traditions would say automatically damn me.  For the record, I don't anticipate divinity school to give me the answers.  I somewhat anticipate divinity school to actually give me more questions.

This post minimally scratches the surface of all that's motivating me to change degrees.  (I will be honest and say the idea of being back in Boston was a strong draw as well.)  I'll continue to post through the process (more frequently than when I first started this blog, I promise) because writing everything out helps me articulate my motivations as well.  But this is the start something that at first felt completely off, but not feels completely right.  :)