jasmine and other things right with the world

I've only recently discovered that I like jasminey things. I fear you will not believe me. I endeavor to convince you:

• jasmine is my favorite tea. I'm not even sure that I'm dippy about the about the taste, but the smell when you're cuddling a nice hot cuppa is either bliss or his very cute younger brother)
• jasmine rice is tip-top. I only know that from this week: I tried it by itself (i.e. not smothered in something else saucy and strongly flavored) in my rice cooker and was quite carried away with enchantment. I hope the leftovers do not stay in my fridge long enough to take on a life of their own and start issuing commands - I'm quite sure I'd be powerless to disobey.
• my cousin is named Jasmine. Of course - I only met her when she was very very small, but (circularity aside) with a name like that, how could she be anything but charming?
• isn't the word itself, jasmine, evocative of rare and exotic things?!
  

I rest my case!

Speaking of fridges... I've been wondering lately why they're called refrigerators. Why not just frigerators? Where did we get this big "re" idea? Most things that go in there seem to start out hot, including cow's milk and eggs!

OK, here's a quote from a book I'm reading.

"there is something terribly wrong with life. I don't mean that it's hard or cruel or painful. That much is obvious. There's something about life that doesn't make sense, something that's wrong with the whole picture. And this idea that life is skewed in some way is very much tied to the whole problem of human suffering.
... Anyone who can appreciate a dazzling summer sunset, or a crisp, orange autumn day, or a magnificent symphony, or the smile on the face of a beautiful girl can see that these marvelous works of creation simply don't belong in the same world as a cancer ward, a hospice, or a cemetery. It's not enough to say that the world is full of both good and bad things. That explanation simply doesn't suffice. The good things in life are just too good; the bad things are just too awful. They just can't be part of the same plan. C.S. Lewis put it best; he said that human beings instinctively know that the good things in life are supposed to exist, while the cruel, painful things are not. He said that somehow we know that "right" has a right to be there, while "wrong" has no right whatsoever."

Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, Anthony DeStefano, pp.67-68

I like it - although I would of course use jasmine (be it the word, the tea, the rice, or the cousin) to exemplify the category of things that are right in the world!

cabbages and kings

Today I sampled the delights of a sweet, sunny and cool Wisconsin Sunday from the seat of a motorcycle. We did a 160-ish mile loop through many small towns, including King where we made an obligatory stop for ice cream. I didn't want to; I thought we should press on and be more intense about getting miles behind us, but my traveling buddies would have none of it. ;) I hadn't gone on a hour+ ride for probably two years, so it was definitely overdue. My bike is an old beater, but it does the job and it's small enough that I can boss it around. Had one heart-stopping moment where I failed to read the "20 mph" advisory sign for a sharp curve, and ended up in the other lane... thankfully there were no oncoming cars. I have several coworkers who have recently taken lessons, so I think I might be going out on a smaller ride later this week. Anybody want to come?
And while I'm in recruiter mode: Larry from church is trying to recruit people for a kickball league in Neenah on Wednesday nights - anybody up for that?! I'm too escared to do it without moral support; 'specially because I think I'd be lousy and particularly at disadvantage to all those people who played soccer growing up!

In other news, I'm slogging my way through the Bible reading plan I mentioned earlier. It's not terrible or anything, but it's historical reading right now in the book of II Chronicles... started out with building the temple in Jerusalem, and following on with accounts of Solomon and his descendants. I always get bummed out reading about the bad kings who really screw things up and do nasty stuff - and thinking about the suffering that it causes all their subjects. I'm tempted to bail, and go for a different reading plan. I found this and may opt for a different one before long, but should probably stick with this one for a little longer just to see how it goes. Other suggestions? There actually are bits in there that would be interesting to discuss; so let me know if you read any of them and want to talk about it!

Oh - and sorry there are no cabbages in this post - but it sounds so much better than just "kings"! Wait, here:

Chineasiness

So there's this story about slavery in modern-day China, and then there's this one about tracking people in Shenzhen, and now there's this one about regulating reincarnation (that one strikes my fancy, though, somehow)!

I really would like to talk to some of the people I knew from China in college and get their thoughts on this stuff... Somehow my inability to "get it" when it comes to this amazing and frightening place bugs me. I hear such random tidbits, that I really wonder about everyday life for the "average" Chinese person - if there is such a thing! I would love to visit, actually, but to be honest it would be more for the experience than from a belief that I would actually like it there. I think I would like the food!

Boomeranga!

Well! I think I can chalk this past weekend up to once-in-a-very-long-while sorts of experiences: Javier, Serena, Justin, Ben and I landed in Eau Claire to watch the 2007 Boomerang National Championships. Javier and I actually headed up on Thursday night, and so on Friday got to catch the nice, sunny day of the event - and some of the more fun competitions - fast catch (how long does it take you to throw and catch a boomerang five times) and trick catch (picture on left - Dan threw 2 booms at the same time, just caught the first, and is holding it in his mouth as he catches the second) among others. We got to hang out with a bunch of the competitors - many of the best boomerangers in the States - and listen to their stories and watch them compete. Joce joined us for dinner, and we were later joined by the rest of the crew. The weather wasn't nearly as fun Saturday and Sunday (it was cold and rainy!), but it was still great fun to be around such quirky amazingness. [pics]

Bro Dan, who was competing, ended up getting 3rd in the Aussie Round (a combination of distance, accuracy and catching), which was very cool - but because he had done consistently well in all of the other events, he got 2nd in the all-around tournament!! It will be neat to see how things go next year as the World Cup will be held in Seattle, with team trials in the spring.

There were tons of stories flung about throughout the weekend, but one of the best actually happened during the competition: Katie, the sister of the Bauer brothers, headed to Shopko for sunscreen on Thursday (I think). She found the pink bottle of Banana boat spray stuff, and ended up picking up the last in the store. She paid, and was walking out with her bag, when a mom spotted the sunscreen in her bag, grabbed the bag away, and hit Katie on the head with it!! She then took off, and only because the store manager happened to be watching was she intercepted and the precious sunscreen commodity returned to the stunned and speechless Katie! So much for midwestern friendliness! Katie did assure us she bore no ill will toward Wisconsinites in general, which I thought magnanimous given the circumstances. I would have loved to have watched that one unfold.

My favorite part of the weekend was hanging out with my nephews & niece who I hadn't seen in far too long... definitely overdue!!

Bohnanza & Boomerangs!

Tuesday is game night, and tonight we played Bohnanza, the bean game. It's a sweet German card game, but to our chagrin we found ourselves without it after Ben moved to the Twin Cities and Patrick moved to Colorado within the past few months. The only possible explanation is that they BOTH callously took their copies of the game with them when they moved away. Snookpotters. Folks in Wisconsin are people too, you know. If we had known their true intentions, we never would have let them go. Serena saved the day, however, and generously spent a gift card she got for her birthday on her very own game-with-expansion-pack. It was a new one for Javier, and made for a fun night. Now we'll just have to keep a wary eye on Serena. Maybe it's the game that causes such mysterious nomadic behavior.

We had fun talking about/planning a bit for the Boomering Nationals which are being held in Eau Claire this weekend. It sounds like me, Ben, Justin, Javier, and now maybe Serena will be able to make the pilgrimage to see the wonders of trick catching and MTA event. Javier and I will both get time with our families, and there are rumors of other fun things that may be happening as well!

On a completely different note, this week is the one-year anniversary of when my dad came home from the hospital for his last week with us. I'm debating about putting another post out on his blog, but I'm not sure what I would say, really. Will take some thought. Sure miss him and wish he was still here.

what did they do before squeegees?

Yesterday I reacquainted myself with my apartment. It's quite a nice place, really. I forget that when I get lonely and ratchet up the busy-ness to compensate. I actually did quite a few "spring-cleany" things: washing bedspreads, lampshades & windows. I used to clean the outsides of the sliding doors with Windex and a gajillion paper towels, but it's so dang dirty out in that great outdoor world that it would take forever. Then I got a cheap little squeegee thing and it takes me some soapy water, a few minutes and no paper towels . Ahhhh! (see how clean that window is?!)

Today I went to two different church services. One at my regular church, and one at "the bar church" to hang with some friends. Really had a great time at both - I hadn't been to my church for quite a few weeks with all the different weekend stuff that's been going on, and it's so fun to see and catch up with "my family". John's talk today was on Nehemiah 8: "No Spiritual Well-being is Complete without Scriptural Input." I got to thinking about that... do you agree? He acknowledged that people may have different spiritual pathways - ways that people feel closest to God (through nature, solitude, activism, serving others, etc.) - but that without regular times of listening to/learning about/connecting with God through written scripture, we shortchange ourselves in our ability to be close to Him. I do try to read the Bible every day, but he challenged me to try to be a little more purposeful about it. I just looked quick and found this (looks like there are heaps of them out there ) I think I'll try the Story of the Bible one, even though I'll be starting in the middle since it's August, and see how far I get! If you have any interest in doing the same, that would be awesome - you'll keep me going, and we can talk about it as things stick out to us!

Part of the challenge of the above, for me, is to have the humility to actually acknowledge that I really might need something like this. I've been hearing stuff like the above all my life, right? Well, at the bar church, the talk was on humility. Greg had his sister-in-law, who's been in recovery from drug addiction for over 20 years, come up and talk about how humility is a huge component of staying clean and sober. In our "quick fix" world, it's so hard to acknowledge our own brokenness, our inability to fix ourselves. The addict mindset is an "I can handle it" one. (Yeep!) But for ongoing recovery, we desperately need to acknowledge our inability to (on our own) handle the things that can literally kill us. Without getting overly personal (after all, I'm pretty new to this idea of blogging to update my friends on where I'm at! I don't want to OVERshare!), I can say that when I feel most numb, most rootless, least equipped to deal with the confusing things that my life throws at me, I am usually farthest from my last good, intentional time spent with God and His people.

Tonight we have our St. Louis trip reunion. Josh is actually coming up for it - woo hoo! Apparently he found a friend who was willing to drive up with him. Also, my friend Paula is getting back from a week of being with her family - one of her nephews died last weekend. So I think Erin and I will try to stop by and see her and Dave as well.

motorbikes & little things

Tonight I went for a motorcycle ride with my friend Wendy. I haven't ridden it much this summer at all, as it was out of commission. I had forgotten how great it is to be tooling along a country rode in the midst of a sunset and the (varied!) smells of the country. We stopped at Tom's Drive In in Little Chute and had a great time catching up. Now I'm off to visit my buddy Jon at Barnes & Noble. I haven't seen him all summer either, and am looking forward to catching up. (I posted the photo for Joce, based on her comments!)

Current Reading:
I'm listening to Shadow of the Hegemon on tape, reading Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus for our book club (which is starting to bother me a tad - I may not finish), Kotter's Leading Change and Schon's The Reflective Practioner for work, and Wodehouse and C.S. Lewis to fill in the gaps (like when I leave a book in the car and am too lazy to run down and get it). Shadow of the Hegemon has me most absorbed right now, and I might cheat and go to printed soon because the pace drives me crazy!

debbie

Tom, one of my best friends, just lost his mom last week to amyloidosis. Things had been somewhat hopeful for a heart transplant and some other therapy, but unfortunately her body just couldn't hang in there quite long enough. Thankfully all the kids and Tom Sr. were there for her from Sunday/Monday (when she took a bad turn) through July 4 when she died.

Debbie was so fun; in the times I spent with her we laughed: with her - and at her - because of her youthfulness and quirkiness. Conversations ranged from serious to silly to practical to musical. She loved all of Tom's friends, and was unfailingly interested in and kind to all of us. This might seem silly, but one of the best gifts I received from her was her time: she would go shopping with me. I'm a lousy shopper, especially when it comes to clothes, and several times Debbie took me under her wing, and worked with me till we found good stuff. The things we found are still many of the mainstays in my closet.

Debbie was also a model - in a true, non-sappy sense of the word - of generosity and hospitality to me. I knew her so little in comparison with the rest of her family, but the loss for me is real, and hard. I lost a friend. How much more her family is suffering this loss... I pray God's comfort and presence to be really felt for them as they adjust to this loss. And I look forward with them, I think, to again being able to laugh with - and at - her someday. Hooray for heaven!

just in from St. Louis...

I posted a few of the updates for our recent work trip to St. Louis - you can see mine by clicking here! You can also click a link to see all the posts from the trip on the top of that page.

As the Ruin Falls

Ran across this CSL poem today, and it echoes thoughts I had in church yesterday; thoughts and wonderings about life and the whys and particularly the wherefores.

As the Ruin Falls
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through:
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.
Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin:
I talk of love --a scholar's parrot may talk Greek--
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.
Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack.
I see the chasm. And everything you are was making
My heart into a bridge by which I might get back
From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking.
For this I bless you as the ruin falls.
The pains You give me are more precious than all other gains.
- C.S. Lewis

Grandma socks and toe jam

Last night Jen, Mustafa, Katie and Carl came over. Ben made venison spaghetti and I cleaned! We also heated some homemade applesauce that Lisa (German lady from church) had given me, stole some salad from Katie-roommate, and had homemade bread. It was a good night of just bumming around and catching up with each other. I got to break in my Christmas wine glasses. Had hoped to break in the new corkscrew too, but everybody brought wine that had already been opened, and the sparkling grape juice (of course) did not have a cork. *sigh* ah, the tragedies of life. I was wearing sparkelly black socks Ben's Grandma had given me when I visited for Christmas and they gave me black, fuzzy toe jam! We were going to watch a movie or play games, but ended up just hanging out in the living room, eating chocolate chip cookies and being our parts in this play of life. Ahhh!

posts from nzdizzy

The travelogue for our New Zealand trip is at http://nzdizzy.blogspot.com, but if you want to see just the posts from my our group, the "~"s, you can click here. Just posts I made - here.

:)

low-down on Pop

low-down on Pop

So I've moved all blogs related to my dad to here - fewer ads! Happy birthday, Dad.

Stacy says rome wrap

follow-up on Rome trip - see "Stacy says spqr" for first letter. I think I want to be her!

Friends,

My time in Rome is coming to a close. I'm more than glad that I've spent my
summer here, but I suppose it's time to go home. And I have gotten more
sleep--thanks for asking.

Though my final presentation and exam are officially *finito* (no word yet
on whether I actually passed), I will try to remember some highlights from
the last part of the program...

Ostia
....is the gleaming port city of Rome. That means they get control of all the
salt commodities and a hexagonal harbor all to themselves. Right there on
the sea (or at least where the sea used to be, so I've been told). The
remains at ancient Ostia are reminiscent of Pompei--since blocks and blocks
of city are just right there, open to tourists (and student
archaeologists)--but there's less tragedy (since there was no violent
volcanic eruption and all).

Hadrian's Villa
....is an understatement. Try "ginormous imperial amusement park." This guy
built his own lake, with his own island in the middle, with his own bridges
to destroy behind him if he wanted some alone time. Plus there's that whole
thing with the dining room under the waterfall. And a large Egyptian pool
that may or may not be symbolic of something else...

Baths
....are wonderful examples of Roman innovation in architecture. From Trajan
to Caracalla to Diocletian, the emperors knew just how to appeal to the
masses: lots of concrete. Plus water. Maybe some decorations.

Augustus and Agrippa
....built lots of cool things, but check out these special ones: We threaded
some back alleys and lined some pockets to see the remains of the horologium
(that's a sundial, by the way; below the water level these days). And then
there's this little building known as the Pantheon (which isn't little at
all; a most impressive dome!).

The Colosseum
....represents a sick and broken side of human history. Ironic, isn't it,
that this is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world? The
building is nonetheless impressive, even beautiful.

The Vatican
....is full of secret places and guarded by very attractive men (try
searching for images of the Swiss Guard). Several trips yielded access to
the classical collections (Laocoon! Augustus from Prima Porta! an
unidentified marble bust!) and the cemetery excavations below the Basilica,
where I saw what may, according to tradition, in all likelihood, possibly be
the remnants of St. Peter (perhaps the official word is "relics") at the top
of an ancient Roman cemetery.

My sojourns into more modern art include the Galleria Borghese (I can't
decide whether I love Apollo and Daphne or Persephone and Pluto more),
Bernini's ubiquitous fountains, and chalk drawings on the sidewalk. I
suppose I can say I visited the Sistine Chapel, too, because I did, but the
most exciting thing there was the guard trying to get everyone to quiet
down...

During these last few days, we're concluding our Roman history tour with
visits to the catacombs and the excellent Museum of Roman Civilization (the
only museum without any real artifacts inside! but it houses the
gallery-size plastico model of the City). Hopefully we also get some great
farewell food.

....and much, much more!

That's all I have to say. : )

Thanks for your notes, thoughts, and prayers during my adventure. If you'd
love to hear more, let me know; in fact, one of the reasons I'm longing for
home is because I'm bursting to share.

Arrivederci,
Stacy

Stacy says spqr

my zweenacular friend Stacy is in doing a Latin study thing in Rome. Here's her sweet update.

Friends,

Good food, great weather, funny tan lines, and mounds of reading: what better way to spend a vacation? (Actually, this may not be a rhetorical question. I think something like "sleep" should be added to the list.)

Almost halfway through my time in Rome, I'm looking forward to a four-day weekend to rest a bit and catch up. Yes, they work us pretty hard here, between bus rides, lots of walking, sites to view, time in the libraries (did I mention mounds of reading?), and just being overwhelmed by the fabric of ancient and modern Rome. The program here emphasizes ancient Roman history and archaeology, so I get to do things every day that are completely new to my little language- and teaching-oriented brain.

So...the following list may not mean much to those who aren't history or Latin geeks, but you can sort of get a feel for the breadth of what we've done and maybe sympathize with why these last three weeks have seemed twice as long as that.

What I've Done on My Summer Vacation in Rome:
Forum Antiquarium (dead people and infamous post holes)
Tiber Island and bridges (and Cloaca Maxima...)
Forum Boarium (that's the old cattle market), including the Round Temple and Temple of Portunus
Palatine (on several levels; it boggles the mind how many layers of Rome are built here)
Capitoline (I saw the wolf! I saw the wolf!...and other stuff; what a great museum)
Top Secret Excavation of the Atrium of Vesta (shh. don't tell)
Forum of Augustus (we got to play in the Temple of Mars Ultor; special permission)
Trajan's Column (climbing to the top; special permission again)
Curia (special permission; aww, what a nice floor)
Villa Giulia (sarcophagi everywhere! and the Apollo of Veii)
Ara Pacis (we broke in illegally)
Basilica Aemilia (broke in illegally again)
Various Temples (beneath current churches)
Theaters of Pompey and Balbus
Umm...The Very Exciting and Old Ancient Walls
(and more)

Outside of Rome:
Tarquinia (tombs with incredible paintings)
Cerveteri (more tombs; cue Indiana Jones theme)
Ardea (ancient walls...again)
Lavinium (founded by Aeneas? lots of altars, anyway)
Lake Nemi (dare I say breathtaking?)
Tusculum (we lost a few people in an ancient water channel)
Veii (yeah...not much to see)
Pyrgi (nice beach)
Alba Fucens (yeah, you try being thrown cold into an archaeological site autopsy of Roman colonial ruins. see what you come up with)
Praeneste (stairs...stairs...ramp...stairs...wait! a mosaic!)
Horace's Farm (including O Fons Bandusiae [maybe; we didn't sacrifice any goats, however]) and Licenza (my love)
Scaling the side of a VERY LARGE CLIFF to be INSIDE the Aqua Claudia (low ceilings)
Pompei!!!!!!!! (on my own)

We're progressing chronologically, so if your favorite site isn't on here...just wait.

I get a little teary-eyed when I realize I can see Mt. Soracte on a clear day, I can actually find my way among the Roman and Imperial Fora, and I can make geeky jokes about Etruscan culture. (Just kidding. I can't really make jokes.)

Life outside the Academy is pretty great as well. I'm surprised at how easily I can take care of and entertain myself. Rome has some great parks and excellent vistas.

And...the World Cup is on. Boy, is it on.

Forza Italia!--et valete,
Stacy

pfennigs

My day's off to a bad start. I just found out that pfennigs are for real. I always thought they were a made up currency from one of my favorite stories, The Ordinary Princess. Another childhood illusion dashed to bits.

I'm off to try to find something to live for...

flies & travel

This Wed. is my last class for the term, so I'm hoping things will slow down a bit after that. Not sure they will though... it seems I get myself into one thing after another! I was out at High Cliff on Friday night and Sunday, and the lake flies (I think that's what they were) were really bad in spots. When we were in the woods they weren't so bad, but on the mowed grass near the lake they were TERRIBLE - it still gives me shivers to think about it!

I really like to travel. And I like traveling with different people, although that usually really affects the kind of trip that it is. My friend Paula is 54, so when I travel with her the fun is in the conversation more than in activity. Although we did get stuck in Hurricane Jeanne in West Palm in 2004 - that was an adventure, I suppose! Missions trips and work projects - the fun is all in interacting with the work/mission group and connecting with whoever we're hoping to help. And in the sense of satisfaction of accomplishing something in the world. Camping trips of various kinds - the fun is in being with a group of people and figuring out how to live on "less" (and still eat well!), and (often) in having adventures together. With my family - the focus is on the interrelationships, with a fair bit of fishing :) and shopping :( thrown in. I do have fun on my own - really! I've had a good time traveling for work by myself, but so many things are just better when shared.

rambling

Today after work I went to a nature preserve and rambled around. I almost ran into a last-year fawn and I don't know who scared who more. I made a funny noise that I'm glad no one was around to hear, but it did make me laugh. Then I got lost. For real lost - I left the trail to investigate something (not one of my brighter moments), and I turned around to go back and the trail had moved! That wasn't fun. I did figure it out after 15 or 20 minutes. I've never been lost like that before, so the "funnest" part of my evening was probably finding the trail again. I almost kissed it!

unbelief & prayer

This week we read Mark 9:14-32. Neat story; we focused in on the father who wants his demon-possessed son to be healed:

21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
22 "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

We just talked about what a neat thing that was to say - "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!". So then we talked about unanswered prayer a bit. Below are some quotes that Mike from my church compiled & had in the prayer room one time. This is what triggered my thoughts on it.

The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer. F.B. Meyer

From Jerry Sittsers book, When God Doesnt Answer Your Prayer
He lost his mother, wife, and daughter in an accident in 1991

When all other courses of action have been eliminated, when we stand at the edge of the abyss, when we approach God with empty hands and an aching heart then we draw close to the true heart of prayer.

The reason why we dont pray moreand probably dont see more answers to prayeris not because we dont know how to pray, but because we dont really need to pray. We are not desperate enough.

Unanswered prayer breaks us, seasons us, and refines us so that, in the end, we attain greater spiritual depth and greater spiritual power.

Strange as it may sound we need unanswered prayer.
It is Gods gift to us because it protects us from ourselves.

Lack of patience and persistence, so common in popular culture,
inhibits our growth in the art of prayer.

If answers to prayer came too easily, we would lose interest,
not only in prayer, but also in God.

We need to ask God to take this fragile, selfish, flawed self of ours
and make it more like him. God will answer that prayer.

Instead of unanswered prayer, perhaps there are only answers to
prayer that we dont want, cant foresee, and wouldnt ask for.

When we are ready to quit, God might just be warming up.

If we give God time, he usually does something bigger and better
than what we could have imagined.

Prayer ends up writing an epic, not a short story

disclaimer

"I'm not trying to say that I'm trying to say"
So I'm getting tired of being disclaimer queen. And trying always to explain how I'm somewhere in the middle of pretty much everything.