Category Archives: Daily Life

Possible NaNoWriMo Fundraiser

Posted on by

The past two times I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo, I’ve offered to kill people off and when I did it last year, I killed people off in exchange for a foodbank donation. This year, I’m pondering making mine a fundraiser this year as I didn’t get to do Blogathon. NaNo participants normally raise money for youth literacy (participants are encouraged to donate) but I’m thinking of making mine a fundraiser for a group like March of Dimes or Feeding America.

I’m in the planning phases now but if I decide to do it, I’ll let y’all know.

What I’ve Been Reading

Posted on by

Recently my reading list has been the following:

The PennDutch Inn mysteries by Tamar Myers — all but the last three are fairly good. The next to last one was meh and the last one was definitely not worth the paper on which it was printed. Seriously… she was tying up loose ends and got a little weird.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly — recommended by my friend Molly and was worth reading. It deals with an 11 year old girl in Texas at the turn of the 20th century and her discovery of science and the encouragement of this by her grandfather while her mother would rather have her pursue the domestic arts.

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson — I’m not done with it yet but it’s definitely a good read. Amy talks about dealing with her divorce when her daughter was young and how she keeps returning to her hometown of Freeville, New York. She’s definitely not having a pity party (which is good — she’s a nationally syndicated advice columnist) and the title refers to the generations of women in her family who have been there and done that and thrived. Amy is also a frequent panelist on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and that was how I’d heard about her book.

Possible Blog Entries

Posted on by

Wouldn’t you know that when I’m home and don’t have Internet access, I can think of a million blog entries to write and when I do have wi-fi access and some time, I can’t write anything?

Here are a couple potential blog topics that have been ruminating in my brain for awhile.

Songs that Bring Back Memories
Rules for Blogging as Clergy (or Clergy Spouses)
Rules for Driving in LA
How to be a Cat in a Household with a Baby
Irritation at Bloglines Shutting Down

Going Home Again

Posted on by

I’m in San Jose for a whirlwind trip to my parents’ house and it amazes me how things in the old neighborhood change. The local Greek Orthodox church has a Montessori school sharing its facilities, the library is now new and high-tech with a gym, meeting rooms, and revamped community center, the playground is now muchly expanded, and new shops have replaced ones that I remembered being there for 20 years!

The neighborhood has changed as well. Longtime neighbors have moved away, those who were kids when I left for college are now getting ready to leave for college, and the houses look different.

San Jose has even changed. The malls look different and the routes to places are all switched around.

It’s disorienting in a strange way.

Me? A Hipster Christian?

Posted on by

Taking a cue from Rich, I took this quiz. My result was:

Your Christian Hipster Quotient: 66 / 120

Low CHQ. You probably belong to the purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive, Hawaiian shirt-wearing Christian establishment, even though you are open to some of the “rethinking Christianity” stuff. You seem to like edginess in some measure but become uneasy when your idea of Christian orthodoxy is challenged by some renegade young visionary who claims the virgin birth isn’t necessary.

Yeah… I’m totally into traditional worship and would probably be Antiochian Orthodox if I wasn’t Lutheran. You know… incense (oh wait… allergic to that), standing for 3 hours (oh wait… can’t do that either because of the fibro), bowing/kneeling, acapella music, 1500 year-old liturgies…

I’m sure some Orthodox wear Hawaiian shirts.

I also would rather burn a copy of The Purpose-Driven Life than read it.