So, you know when you finally get recognized for doing something that up to a certain point you'd never been recognized for before? For example, you've trained to be a teacher for years and you get your first job. People start to take you seriously and at some point, they begin to believe that you know what you are doing.
Some guy at the gym recognized me as... a swimmer. He came over while I was doing laps and asked to share a lane with me. He asked me about my form and I gave him some drills to run and told him about rolling his body to the side to streamline his form. WHAT?!???! Three months ago, I nearly had a heart attack doggie-paddling my way across the pool. And today I just gave someone swimming tips. How does that happen? It feels great... I have to say.
It's the same feeling I got when I began developing confidence on skis. The whole realization that, no, I am not the most terrible skier on the mountain today. Lucky me. It's that contradiction your mind encounters when someone else's reality doesn't quite line up with your own. For my whole life, I have NOT been a swimmer, but for whatever reason, in his reality I AM a swimmer.
It's a good day.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Dear Burger King:
Please do not put creepy pictures of stupid Robert Patterson (or whoever he is - vampire boy) on my cup. He has a gross look on his face and it makes me want to run away. I would prefer pictures of Jude Law or Jake Gyllenhall. Thank you.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wow. Statue.
Dear Church That Just Erected a Statue:
Here's what I think about you: you wasted a bunch of money. Honestly, I think as long as people have need, a church has no business wasting money on stupid stuff like statues or stained glass windows. It's one thing if it was donated, but if you bought that thing... what a shame. The only thing God cares anything about is our hearts. He would rather have the love of one person than a ridiculous piece of metal.
Maybe somebody created it as an act of worship or to show gratitude. I get that. That makes sense. So, please tell me that's where it came from. Please tell me someone created it out of love and to honor the freedom God has brought to their lives. Please tell me it was donated. Just please don't tell me that you took money from some family to purchase this disturbingly gigantic statue. Unnecessary.
Here's what I think about you: you wasted a bunch of money. Honestly, I think as long as people have need, a church has no business wasting money on stupid stuff like statues or stained glass windows. It's one thing if it was donated, but if you bought that thing... what a shame. The only thing God cares anything about is our hearts. He would rather have the love of one person than a ridiculous piece of metal.
Maybe somebody created it as an act of worship or to show gratitude. I get that. That makes sense. So, please tell me that's where it came from. Please tell me someone created it out of love and to honor the freedom God has brought to their lives. Please tell me it was donated. Just please don't tell me that you took money from some family to purchase this disturbingly gigantic statue. Unnecessary.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Imaginary Conversations: Part II
You know, when I go to a pool to sit in the sunshine and splash around in the water, I don't want to be around overly-excited children. It is my job to be around children and sometimes I want a no-kid zone of sanity and serenity. So, I went to the pool with Hailee today. This pool was the epitome of adult time: peace. and. quiet.
That was until Mr. Important Pants came. Hailee and I had been sitting for maybe two minutes when he approached us to ask if the seat next to us was taken. Now, let me set the scene. There are probably at least 100 chairs around this pool of which 14 were filled with coconut-smelling soft-tushied human beings.
If he wanted to sit there, I wasn't going to shoo him away. Until I discovered his terribly annoying habit. He sat down and called someone - a short conversation. Meanwhile I am reading RtI From All Sides, by Mary Howard. Good summer reading, I know. I really was attempting to concentrate. He hangs up with the first person and calls a second, this time talking about how he saw his brother on a commercial. He's not just talking in a regular voice: It's irritatingly loud. After a few minutes on that phone call, lucky him... his brother calls.
Guy - "Dude, were you on a commercial recently? I totally just saw you on a commercial. You were golfing and then there was one shot of you with a woman. Awesome, dude."
Me - "Shut up, please."
Guy - "That's so crazy. So when did you shoot that commercial?"
Me - "Please shut up."
Guy - "Yeah. So weird to see my brother on a commercial. Have you been shooting a lot of commercials?"
Me - "It is rude to have loud conversations when you are 1)in a restaurant, 2)in an airplane, 3)sitting next to people trying to relax near a pool. Shut up."
Guy - "You were golfing. And then with a woman."
Me - "I think he knows what he was doing in his commercial, numbskull."
It goes on like this for a while. Then he gets off the phone and immediately turns to me talking about how his brother was on a commercial. He was assuming I had overheard his conversation, WHICH I HAD. How much of that conversation was him really sharing with his brother how excited he was to see the commercial and how much of it was him trying to make sure I heard that his brother was on a commercial?
Me - "OHHHHhhhh, Stranger! You are SO IMPRESSIVE. COME HERE AND LET ME SIT ON YOUR LAP WHILE YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR AMAZING BROTHER WHO WAS GOLFING AND WITH A WOMAN IN A COMMERCIAL!!!! What do you THINK I am going to think after overhearing your obnoxiously LOUD conversation? Do I really care your brother is in a commercial? No. Will I want to start up a conversation with you about it after being obligated to listening to you talk about it for twenty minutes? No. I want you to go jump in a lake. In fact, give me that cell phone (chuck cell phone). Perfect. Go away."
That was until Mr. Important Pants came. Hailee and I had been sitting for maybe two minutes when he approached us to ask if the seat next to us was taken. Now, let me set the scene. There are probably at least 100 chairs around this pool of which 14 were filled with coconut-smelling soft-tushied human beings.
If he wanted to sit there, I wasn't going to shoo him away. Until I discovered his terribly annoying habit. He sat down and called someone - a short conversation. Meanwhile I am reading RtI From All Sides, by Mary Howard. Good summer reading, I know. I really was attempting to concentrate. He hangs up with the first person and calls a second, this time talking about how he saw his brother on a commercial. He's not just talking in a regular voice: It's irritatingly loud. After a few minutes on that phone call, lucky him... his brother calls.
Guy - "Dude, were you on a commercial recently? I totally just saw you on a commercial. You were golfing and then there was one shot of you with a woman. Awesome, dude."
Me - "Shut up, please."
Guy - "That's so crazy. So when did you shoot that commercial?"
Me - "Please shut up."
Guy - "Yeah. So weird to see my brother on a commercial. Have you been shooting a lot of commercials?"
Me - "It is rude to have loud conversations when you are 1)in a restaurant, 2)in an airplane, 3)sitting next to people trying to relax near a pool. Shut up."
Guy - "You were golfing. And then with a woman."
Me - "I think he knows what he was doing in his commercial, numbskull."
It goes on like this for a while. Then he gets off the phone and immediately turns to me talking about how his brother was on a commercial. He was assuming I had overheard his conversation, WHICH I HAD. How much of that conversation was him really sharing with his brother how excited he was to see the commercial and how much of it was him trying to make sure I heard that his brother was on a commercial?
Me - "OHHHHhhhh, Stranger! You are SO IMPRESSIVE. COME HERE AND LET ME SIT ON YOUR LAP WHILE YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR AMAZING BROTHER WHO WAS GOLFING AND WITH A WOMAN IN A COMMERCIAL!!!! What do you THINK I am going to think after overhearing your obnoxiously LOUD conversation? Do I really care your brother is in a commercial? No. Will I want to start up a conversation with you about it after being obligated to listening to you talk about it for twenty minutes? No. I want you to go jump in a lake. In fact, give me that cell phone (chuck cell phone). Perfect. Go away."
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Community, Family, and the FBI
Eric has been talking in church about community and the importance of investing in three different layers of relationships: the close, intimate relationships such as family and very close friends; the typical friendships or acquaintances; and the chance meetings. I am so bad at being intentional about building and maintaining relationships. I let important events slide by without giving them the honor due.
Last weekend, I went out to lunch with my grandparents. I am so lucky to have them near. They have gone to lengths to help raise me and to support me and Rob when he was sick. I am so grateful for their influence in my life. Yet, I don’t really communicate or spend the time I want to spend with them. It takes intention, doesn’t it? It takes not letting a thought pass by without a phone call. I really value my family. My parents and grandparents. My wonderful aunts and uncles and the cousins spread halfway across the country that I’ve known since I was born. Those are special relationships.
I was just in the coffee shop reading and preparing for a paper I am about to write. A man came in with his daughter, who was in her early teens. They shared some cold coffee drinks and sat and talked about life. They had Bibles and were talking about the importance of knowing scripture and letting it resonate and sink into their minds and hearts. Then they sat and played board games together. It was beautiful. It wasn’t quick. It was intentional. His mentorship in her life will make a difference. It impressed me so much and it stuck with me. This girl will remember these precious times her dad set aside for the two of them.
We are tricked into believing that the people we love will always be around. But truly, we know deep down they won’t. The present time is the time we’ve been given. I want to be more intentional about honoring my love for my family by spending time with them and communicating with them more.
When I was at lunch with my grandparents, they told me stories about when Granddad was in graduate school. They lived in St. Louis. I loved to hear about their living situations the first year there. The first apartment was about 10x12 with a restroom that also had a clothes washer. There was a door from this room that went straight outside. They shared this with a family who lived on the other side of a cardboard divider. Grams decorated with paper curtains. A man moved in a few months later that liked to cook with garlic all the time, so they moved to a new apartment. I didn’t hear too much about this second apartment. The third one, though, was on Cabanne street in St. Louis. It was a big mansion divided into a number of apartments. It was a far cry from the tiny space they occupied earlier in the year. It had a Murphy bed that folded out of the wall and a separate dressing room and nice kitchen. Their apartment had previously been the library of the mansion. It had big, beautiful windows that looked out to the front lawn. The story went on to talk about them learning that the rest of the occupants of the house were supporters of communism. The KKK would light crosses on their front lawn and the FBI moved in to their apartment after they left so they could overhear communist radio broadcasts coming from the apartment next door.
This was the highlight of my week.
Last weekend, I went out to lunch with my grandparents. I am so lucky to have them near. They have gone to lengths to help raise me and to support me and Rob when he was sick. I am so grateful for their influence in my life. Yet, I don’t really communicate or spend the time I want to spend with them. It takes intention, doesn’t it? It takes not letting a thought pass by without a phone call. I really value my family. My parents and grandparents. My wonderful aunts and uncles and the cousins spread halfway across the country that I’ve known since I was born. Those are special relationships.
I was just in the coffee shop reading and preparing for a paper I am about to write. A man came in with his daughter, who was in her early teens. They shared some cold coffee drinks and sat and talked about life. They had Bibles and were talking about the importance of knowing scripture and letting it resonate and sink into their minds and hearts. Then they sat and played board games together. It was beautiful. It wasn’t quick. It was intentional. His mentorship in her life will make a difference. It impressed me so much and it stuck with me. This girl will remember these precious times her dad set aside for the two of them.
We are tricked into believing that the people we love will always be around. But truly, we know deep down they won’t. The present time is the time we’ve been given. I want to be more intentional about honoring my love for my family by spending time with them and communicating with them more.
When I was at lunch with my grandparents, they told me stories about when Granddad was in graduate school. They lived in St. Louis. I loved to hear about their living situations the first year there. The first apartment was about 10x12 with a restroom that also had a clothes washer. There was a door from this room that went straight outside. They shared this with a family who lived on the other side of a cardboard divider. Grams decorated with paper curtains. A man moved in a few months later that liked to cook with garlic all the time, so they moved to a new apartment. I didn’t hear too much about this second apartment. The third one, though, was on Cabanne street in St. Louis. It was a big mansion divided into a number of apartments. It was a far cry from the tiny space they occupied earlier in the year. It had a Murphy bed that folded out of the wall and a separate dressing room and nice kitchen. Their apartment had previously been the library of the mansion. It had big, beautiful windows that looked out to the front lawn. The story went on to talk about them learning that the rest of the occupants of the house were supporters of communism. The KKK would light crosses on their front lawn and the FBI moved in to their apartment after they left so they could overhear communist radio broadcasts coming from the apartment next door.
This was the highlight of my week.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Imaginary Conversations Part I
I constantly have imaginary conversations. Like this morning, I pulled up to fill up my car with gas. Across the lane was a man filling up his white Hummer.
Me: Excuse me.
Guy: Uhhh... yeah.
Me: Two questions. One, is that your Hummer? And, if it is, what made you decide to buy it?
Guy: Uh... well... YEAH. IT IS MY HUMMER. And... I WANT IT, so get out of here before I shove your nosy little self into the exit only side of this gas pump.
Me: You're a freak.
When I see someone who drives a Hummer, I automatically assume that he (because 90% of the time, it's going to be a 'he') is a chach. I honestly do not understand the thought process that goes into buying a Hummer. Everything about that vehicle screams "UNNECESSARY!!!!"
I get it. If you work hard and you have a lot of money, it's your choice what you do with it. But truly, I view Hummer drivers as some of the most selfish, thoughtless, pea-brained individuals of our era.
That's all I've got to say about that.
Me: Excuse me.
Guy: Uhhh... yeah.
Me: Two questions. One, is that your Hummer? And, if it is, what made you decide to buy it?
Guy: Uh... well... YEAH. IT IS MY HUMMER. And... I WANT IT, so get out of here before I shove your nosy little self into the exit only side of this gas pump.
Me: You're a freak.
When I see someone who drives a Hummer, I automatically assume that he (because 90% of the time, it's going to be a 'he') is a chach. I honestly do not understand the thought process that goes into buying a Hummer. Everything about that vehicle screams "UNNECESSARY!!!!"
I get it. If you work hard and you have a lot of money, it's your choice what you do with it. But truly, I view Hummer drivers as some of the most selfish, thoughtless, pea-brained individuals of our era.
That's all I've got to say about that.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Finish Line In View
I almost cried. I could feel the excitement. Coming into the stadium, with everyone yelling... the finish line in view... it all welled up in me. But it didn't quite overflow. That's a good thing.
I ran the Bolder Boulder yesterday. My first race - 10 kilometers at about 5,400 feet above sea level. I knew it would be a challenge and I was determined to make it in the range that I'd set for myself. I had spent the last few weeks getting ready by pushing my distance higher. Truly, I've never known myself as a 'runner'. Just like I'd never known myself as a skiier. But this has been the year to push that boundary a little bit and to see where I get.
I had 6.2 miles to run. I ran the first mile in 9 minutes. A minute faster than I was used to running on the treadmill. Whoops. Pace setting. Shortly after that first mile, my stomach cramped up and I felt like I was going to throw up. Maybe it was that stupid first mile, but for the next two miles, I felt pretty awful. I took some energy gel, and chugged some gatorade and shortly, I felt better. In fact, I felt so much better. My pace was set. My music had picked up tempo and I was able to match it with my own steps. The people around me were so much fun, too. There were three painted green - one of which I crashed into, leaving my arm the shade of the Jolly Green Giant. In one of the neighborhoods I passed by, a lady yelled out, "You got it! Don't give up. Just set your pace and keep at it." That echoed in my thoughts for the rest of the race.
At one point, I had slowed to a walk. Someone ran by shouting, "Go, Adam!!" I realized he was yelling that for me. I had posted a sign on my back that said, "I am running in honor of CPT Adam Brink, who is running the BB 7,000 miles away". Immediately, I remembered Adam was running along with me that very second half-way across the world. A huge smile came over me and I picked up my pace again. It was so wonderful to know that he was there, too.
I maintained a run all the way up that final hill and into the stadium. It was awesome. At no point did I ever think I wasn't going to make it. I ended up missing my goal time by 30 seconds, but I was still super excited. It was my first race. I had a rough start, but ended up setting a solid pace. I only wish I could remember it with more detail. I get so focused on the task at hand. I have different things I fill my thoughts with so that I can finish strong, but I lose out on my surroundings and on the details of the race. But I raced up the final hill and as I came into the stadium, I came around to the finish line at full speed. Exhilarating.
It was an awesome experience. Really, just knowing that I can do something that before in my life I thought was out of my reach. So, on to the next goal... a triathlon in September and a half-marathon in October. Then I think I'll take it easy and stick to skiing and regular distances like 5Ks. But who really knows?
I ran the Bolder Boulder yesterday. My first race - 10 kilometers at about 5,400 feet above sea level. I knew it would be a challenge and I was determined to make it in the range that I'd set for myself. I had spent the last few weeks getting ready by pushing my distance higher. Truly, I've never known myself as a 'runner'. Just like I'd never known myself as a skiier. But this has been the year to push that boundary a little bit and to see where I get.
I had 6.2 miles to run. I ran the first mile in 9 minutes. A minute faster than I was used to running on the treadmill. Whoops. Pace setting. Shortly after that first mile, my stomach cramped up and I felt like I was going to throw up. Maybe it was that stupid first mile, but for the next two miles, I felt pretty awful. I took some energy gel, and chugged some gatorade and shortly, I felt better. In fact, I felt so much better. My pace was set. My music had picked up tempo and I was able to match it with my own steps. The people around me were so much fun, too. There were three painted green - one of which I crashed into, leaving my arm the shade of the Jolly Green Giant. In one of the neighborhoods I passed by, a lady yelled out, "You got it! Don't give up. Just set your pace and keep at it." That echoed in my thoughts for the rest of the race.
At one point, I had slowed to a walk. Someone ran by shouting, "Go, Adam!!" I realized he was yelling that for me. I had posted a sign on my back that said, "I am running in honor of CPT Adam Brink, who is running the BB 7,000 miles away". Immediately, I remembered Adam was running along with me that very second half-way across the world. A huge smile came over me and I picked up my pace again. It was so wonderful to know that he was there, too.
I maintained a run all the way up that final hill and into the stadium. It was awesome. At no point did I ever think I wasn't going to make it. I ended up missing my goal time by 30 seconds, but I was still super excited. It was my first race. I had a rough start, but ended up setting a solid pace. I only wish I could remember it with more detail. I get so focused on the task at hand. I have different things I fill my thoughts with so that I can finish strong, but I lose out on my surroundings and on the details of the race. But I raced up the final hill and as I came into the stadium, I came around to the finish line at full speed. Exhilarating.
It was an awesome experience. Really, just knowing that I can do something that before in my life I thought was out of my reach. So, on to the next goal... a triathlon in September and a half-marathon in October. Then I think I'll take it easy and stick to skiing and regular distances like 5Ks. But who really knows?
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