A pox on both my houses

I hate moving.

I mean, I really HATE moving. Even just a few miles across town.

Thanks to my friend Ben for sending me this link to a comic strip some of you might also enjoy:

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=593
("Piled Higher and Deeper, a grad student comic strip")

The main point of which, of course, is that "helping you move is a debt payable in blood." And no one owes me any big favors right now that I can call on.

I hate moving.

And... I'm done.

Whew. Where did the time go? Of course, I realize I've not been a very regular poster here to begin with, and I'm sure my "readers" (crickets are chirping in the silence) have barely noticed my absence, but it's still a little embarrassing to have had so little to say for six weeks. Well, perhaps not so much having so little to say as not having time to process the whirlwind of my life in order to comment on it.

So the big news is that I graduated from seminary! Woohoo! (And there was much rejoicing... yay...) Yes, friends, I now have a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology. And since I'm not currently pursuing parish ministry (not as a pastor, anyway), let's hear it for being overeducated and underemployed!! It could definitely be worse, as I'll be employed half-time for the next six months with the possibility of going full-time after that if we get lots of grant money, and I'm working on convincing myself it'll be good for me not to be killing myself every week just to keep my head above water. I'm getting close to believing it.

But of course the lease on the house I've been renting a house with 3 other (wonderful) women is up June 30, so I need to get packing pretty soon. I hate moving. At least this year the trauma of the move is mitigated by the fact that moving across town is far less traumatic than it would be to move across country right now. I have come to value stability and familiarity this past year in ways that would have been very surprising to me a couple years ago. Yes, God is still doing new things, and I am grateful and excited to be part of some of them - but there is so much to be said for knowing you will be in one place long enough to paint the walls or plant perennial flowers or draw up a year-long project budget (at work) without just assuming that someone else will see it come to fruition.

Well, those are a couple of my thoughts on transition at the moment. This does mean I'll be in Denver for at least another year (barring unforeseen events and circumstances, which I'm sure will come up anyway, but I can hope, can't I?), so if you know me and have been putting off that trip out to the Rocky Mountains, COME VISIT ME NOW!!

Looking up

It's sometimes amazing how things can turn around in a short period of time. Without actually having any more positive prospects for employment, I am actually really not bitter any more. Disappointed, yes, definitely, and a little anxious still too. But the weather is supposed to warm up this week (after a two-week spell that was colder than most of February), and I can't complain about the social situation any more either. Without going into any details, I have to say that I have further proof that God has a slightly wicked sense of humor, and She is laughing Her ass off right now.

Of course, if any of you out there in the blogosphere are looking to hire a recent seminary graduate with interests in peace & justice, young adult ministry, or worship and the arts, you know where to find me...

Not that I'm bitter...

That's my new motto: "Not that I'm bitter." It's becoming very useful. For example:

It's spring, the flowers are blooming, and all of my friends are falling in love and/or getting engaged, while I spend my weekends reading Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and watching movies on video from the library. Not that I'm bitter.

Or,

Four and a half months after I sent in my application (the day it was due), and three weeks after they flew me to Nashville for an interview, I had to call the HR office of a large churchwide agency myself to find out that I didn't get my dream job. Not that I'm bitter.

I'm sure this handy little phrase is employable in a plethora of fields as diverse as politics (In spite of mass voter registration efforts by progressive groups, Bush was reelected. Not that I'm bitter.), and religion (Although American Catholics on average diverge from official teaching on many social issues, the Roman Catholic Church's new pontiff is known for his archconservative defense of traditional doctrine - not that I'm bitter.). Feel free to try it out for yourself, and let me know of any exciting new uses you find.

Snow Day!

It's April 10 and snowing up a blizzard all over the tulips in our yard, but I'm happy. Why, you ask? Because church was canceled today!

Now, for someone who's getting ready to graduate from seminary in less than 7 weeks (yikes!), this may not be a particularly good sign... but in the midst of classes and multiple jobs and a job search for after graduation and trying to stay sane, one morning where I don't have to scramble to be at church on time to warm up my choir and try to re-teach what we learned at the last rehearsal... that's okay with me.

Two of my roommates made snow angels and a snowperson, but then it snowed some more (I'm working on getting some photos up). It's let up enough at the moment that the birds have come out to dig for birdseed, but it's a long way from nice enough to want to drive anywhere. So I'm enjoying a nice relaxing day inside (Swedish pancakes for breakfast... watching The West Wing again... reading Anne Lamott... at some point I'll get around to homework for this week).

Now, if only school and work could be closed tomorrow too, I could really start to feel rested!