waltondammerung

Devil Dawg

I finally participated in the first comptetitive athletic event of my life on Saturday-- the Devil Dog Duathlon. I'm going to indulge in some blatant bragging, cause I'm pretty proud of myself. Sure, I finished 432nd out of around 465. Sure, I was completely trounced by a significant number of people in their 60s, but I accomplished what I set out to do--finish the race without resorting to walking and without utterly embarrassing myself. I mean, I haven't even owned a bike for two years. It wasn't that long ago when I couldn't even run a mile at a time, and I did over 6 miles with a long bike ride in between. I had attempted to train for an event like this last year, but I completely overestimated my abilities and washed out pretty quickly. This year, I've been pretty deliberate about my training and determined to learn some self discipline, if nothing else. I think I've at least become a little more disciplined-- I did the race in spite of coming down with a nasty bout of the flu three weeks before the big day. I was so nervous the night before the race that I could hardly sleep, mostly because of the prospect of participating in the same event as lots of people who are much, much, much better shape than I am who would probably think I'm an idiot for trying. Now I know there wasn't anything to worry about. Everyone was very supportive, and some very nice peoepl yelled encouragement to me throughout the race. The whole thing was such a great experience. I'm excited to move on toward my goal of participating in a triathlon in July, confident that I can improve a lot on my running and bike times now that I know what I'm getting into (and that I should take two puffs from my inhaler before I start the race, not just one), and happy to know that, even though I'm still a beginning swimmer, most athletes have been where I am at some point and will be supportive of me for just participating. I'm also excited that I may finally be making headway on my long-term goal--establishing a habit of fitness in my life that I hope to be able to maintain well into middle age or longer.

I will stop blabbing before I start sounding like a coach after the Super Bowl. Sports are exciting, but there isn't a whole lot to say about them other than that. :) Here are some photos.

Feeding the soul, Part II

I've been browsing more of the Mennonite cookbook, mostly to see whether my mom contributed any recipes. I haven't found any. Maybe the book was published after we started going to a different church. 1984, Mom? In the process, I've found some recipes definitely worth making, like an ice cream pie with crust made out of peanut butter and rice crispies. Yum! Then there's the "Preacher's cake". There's no explanation for the name, but it's the only recipe I've seen so far to feature sour milk.

I'm also enjoying looking at the names; they definitely reflect the region and the denomination. Plenty of Yoders, Millers, Hostetlers, and Hartmans. Plus a Schloneger and a Swartzentruber. Of course, there's a Martinez and a Khambay thrown in, reminders that the book was published in 20th, not the 19th century, Ohio.

Timely words

I've finally gotten around to reading The Closing of the American Mind. (No, it wasn't required reading in any of my Hillsdale classes, surprisingly enough.) For a book written twenty years ago, it's surprisingly timely. Here's an excerpt that seems more appropriate now than it was then:

"It goes without saying that Weber never for a moment considered whether Calvin might actually have had a revelation from God--which would certainly change the looks of things. Weber's atheism was dogmatic, but he was not interested in proving that Calvin was a charlatan or a madman. He rather preferred to believe in the authenticity of Calvin was a charlatan or a madman. He rather preferred to believe in the authenticity of Calvin and other such founding figures as representing peak psychological types who have an inner sureness or commitment. The religious experience is the thing, not God. The old quarrel between reason and revelation is a matter of indifference, because both sides were wrong, had faulty self-understandings. However, revelation teaches us what man is and needs. Men like Calvin are the value producers and hence the models for action in history. We cannot believe in the ground (God) of their experience, but that experience is critical. We are not interested in finding out how the understood themselves but rather in searching in the self for the mysterious substitute for their ground. We cannot have, and do not want to have, their peculiar illusions; but we do not want values and commitments. The result of this atheistic religiosity is the mysterious musings and language of Weber and many others (think of Sartre) about belief and action, which culminate in something very different from what either religious leaders or rational statesmen ever said or did. It fuses the two kinds of men, but with greater weight given to the former, to the necessity of faith and all that goes with it." (210-211)

Is it any wonder that seeker-sensitive churches aren't turning out real converts when they have people attending in droves? They're providing what people seek, what Bloom describes, which is the religious experience without the content.

Feeding the soul

I have been reorganizing my kitchen (very, exciting, I know). As I sorted through my cookbooks, I found one published by the Mennonite church my family attended when I was little. I flipped through it and found the recipe below. Keep in mind that all of the recipes were contributed by individuals in the church, so someone must have actually made this and eaten it at some point:

Corned Beef Salad
1-1/3 c boiling water
1 box lemon Jello
3/4 cup salad dressing

Cool, when partly set, add:
1 can chopped corned eef
2 cups chopped celery
1 small chopped onion
3 hardboiled eggs, chopped fine

For individual salads, put in muffin pans and serve on lettuce.

Yummy.

The longest day--tales of public transit in LA

I thought nothing could top the day I missed my connecting commuter train, took the local train instead, which got caught behind another train that was in an accident, took a bus to get around it, and arrived at work an hour and a half late instead of 30 minutes early. Or the time I got off the train to try to catch a bus in El Monte, only to wander around for half an hour looking for the bus then find out later that there are two El Monte Stations--one for trains and one for buses. Or the time I decided to try to take a certain bus home, but arrived at the bus stop only to learn that the line had been discontinued by deciphering a cryptic, handwritten sign in Spanish taped to the bus stop sign.

But today beat them all. Having figured out two-station mystery in El Monte, I decided to try again. When I reached the El Monte bus station, I followed the sign for buses. I waited, and waited, and wandered around a little, finally realizing that I should have followed the signs to the parking lot, which is apparently where I was supposed to catch my bus. "Oh well," thought I, "I'll catch the next bus an hour from now. It's not the end of the world." Then a bus miraculously appeared after only a few minutes with the number of the bus line I was waiting for. I got on, only to realize after one stop that it was going the wrong direction. I asked the bus driver where to catch the bus going the other direction and got off. She had told me to wait on the southwest corner of the intersection we were at. I went to the southwest corner, there was a sign for the bus line I wanted (going in the correct direction this time), and I waited. As I waited, I saw my bus go by on the northwest corner of the intersection. I decided the bus driver had told me to wait in the wrong place, or that they'd switched the bus stops or something. So I got on another bus that would take me back to the El Monte bus station, hoping I'd figure out something from there, like getting back on the train. As I rode back toward the station, I saw my bus coming back in the direction of the stop where I'd been waiting. I guess the bus made a loop or something. So, I had to wait another hour for the next bus. Of course, that bus came, and the sign on it indicated it was going the wrong direction. Good thing I double checked with the driver, or I would have been waiting out in the cold for three hours. Eventually I got to work. I got there so late, I needed to stay late and couldn't take my normal train route home. I decided to try another bus route. "Bad idea! Danger! Danger!" you must be thinking. Too true. I arrived at the bus stop nice and early. As I approached, I saw a bus with my route's number on it, but, again, saying it was going the wrong direction, and 5 minutes earlier than my bus was scheduled to go by. So I didn't try to flag it down. Turns out it was my bus. I had to wait for the next one (an hour later, again). At least this time I was near where I could get some dinner. I finally got on a bus and arrived at the train station. At this point, I was expecting to get home around 9 pm. Until I saw the sign saying the trains were running 60-90 minutes late. I'll just leave the story there.

I keep telling people LA secretly has a great public transit system. Really, you can pretty much get anywhere you want using trains and buses. If you're psychic and know the train and bus maps and schedules by heart and have all the time in the world to wait if they're not on schedule.

Winter in the RC

We're away from home for awhile (right now in KY visiting our nephew. Oh, and Josh's brother and his wife, too), but I thought I'd post some photos I took at our apartment complex showing why winter is my favorite time of year in southern CA. It's beautiful, and we even get a few fall colors.

Not one for making resolutions, but...

I have never really liked the idea of making New Year's resolutions, mostly because I've felt like I ought to be making resolutions about myself year round instead of just at the new year. But I'm beginning to wonder whether constant resolutions are really a good way for me to go about things, especially since I am not good at keeping them. I set my sights on too many goals, put my finger in too many pots, resolve at different times to do well or stick to different things that may even conflict with one another. The last 6 weeks of the year tend to be extremely stressful for me as a rule, since Josh gets crazy amounts of work to do at school and usually isn't around much, while my department at work is frantically trying to finish our main yearly task that takes about 9 months and inevitably isn't as close to being done as we want it to be in November, plus all of the usual holiday stuff. This year, I managed to add to that my ESL practicum that took up about as much time as a part-time job plus a wine tasting class which, while enjoyable, required driving to Westwood once a week after work and not getting home until after 11. My skin broke out, I gained weight, I freaked out a couple of times, and I took most of it out on my hapless husband. "Remember November of aught-seven!" will be my battle cry in this fight against my own tendency to want to be and do too many things at once. I hereby resolve that 2008 will be different. I will have a set of goals and will stick to them. When I want to do something that seems good, I will weigh it with those goals in view and will discard it if it does not fit those goals. No more chasing seemingly worthwhile things only to lose sight of what is really important.

1. Discipline. There are a wide variety of areas in my life that could use more discipline. Getting up on time, taking vitamins, and eating healthy foods as a habit are among them. I could make resolutions about all of those specific things, but I think I would rather choose a few things that I think will help me cultivate an overall habit of discipline. I will read my Bible daily (I actually did a better job of this in 2007 than in previous years, but could do better still). I will participate in a triathlon (assuming I am actually able to acquire decent swimming skills in the lessons I'll be starting this month. Notice I did not even say I would complete the triathlon. I just at least want to get to the point where I can be in one, which I would consider a major accomplishment considering my athletic abilities.) I will follow a regular schedule for riding the train and stick to it. All three of these go together-- for example, a regular commute schedule helps me stick to my devotional time and it's necessary for triathlon training, especially if I'm going to stick to twice weekly swimming lessons in El Monte.
2. Leisure. Again, there are a lot of things I'd like to improve in my life that require more "free" time--keeping in better touch with friends, being available more often to discuss interesting topics with my husband, reading more good books--I could make individual resolutions about all of these, but I would probably fail if I didn't get at the root of the problem, which is trying to do too much. If it's not one of the three items in resolution #1 and is not essential to survival (sleep or eating) or to my role as a Christian, a wife, and an employee (in that order), I need to seriously consider not doing it at all or I shouldn't sweat it if it doesn't get done. To wit, I will not see free time as a void that needs to be filled by projects.

Avoiding Taco Bell because it sounds too much like Pachelbel

From playing Pachelbel's Canon for the first time in middle school, when I actually liked it, to countless weddings in high school and college, not to mention hearing it over and over on various "friends'" CDs with the pieces set to the background of ocean waves and whale noises, I have come to loathe the tune. Here is a man after my own heart (thanks, Will) ">

Happy All Hallows' Eve!

Not so Chillycoot

By popular demand, here are some photos of my trip. As mentioned earlier on my blog, we hiked the Chilkoot Trail, and historic gold rush trail over a pass in Alaska. If you’ve seen the Alaska license plate with a bunch of people hiking over a mountain pass on it, that’s the one. It was rough (the worst part being a 2,000 ft climb over 1/2 a mile, all clambering over large bolders) but it was totally worth it. Do it, if you ever have the chance. Parks Canada describes it this way:
"The Chilkoot Trail is isolated, strenuous, physically challenging and potentially hazardous. It is also extremely rewarding, providing hikers with spectacular scenery within a unique historical setting."
That's basically it, except more fun. Even Josh’s parents, who are not exactly young or super outdoorsy, had such a great time that they went camping again the next weekend and called us a few days later with ideas for another similar trip next year. Of course, the trails they mentioned don’t involve any steep ascents like the Chilkoot, but I would take any chance to go backpacking in the Alaskan wilderness again.

Where has Waltondammerung been, anyway?

Watching the Tribe win its way to the World Series (here's hoping for a fourth win against the Sox tonight)
Backpacking in the Klondike
Taking a class on the art of pairing wine with food.
Finishing her TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) certificate with a doozy of a practicum
Crocheting a cute blanket for her nephew who will be arriving in a few months
Traveling to Ohio two weekends in a row, once to meet up with her hubby's twin for their 30th birthday and once for her 10-year high school reunion

Some of these things are still going on, so her dutiful readers may not hear much from Waltondammerung until Thanksgiving, but she promises to post photos of her hiking trip soon. Really. In the meantime, there are some on Facebook

Couldn't have said it better

And I've tried. Here's a great article about Christian behavior in the political realm. If you don't have a subscription to World, you should get one, but here's a bit of it that I think expresses the gist fairly well:
It is a pity that we Christians are so often known only for our in-your-face approach. We are frequently known more for our eagerness to exclude rather than our eagerness to persuade.

To be sure, God never compromises His truth or comes close to suggesting that we can fudge on principle in order to make peace. He never hints that all approaches to belief and lifestyle are equally valid. He is the definition of absolutism.

Yet the essence of the gospel is that God reaches out to sinful people and pleads with them to change their ways. Patiently and persuasively, He waits through their rebellion and stubbornness. Knowing that not a single one of us is good enough to live up to His absolutes, He even gives us the wrapping of righteousness we can't provide on our own. Only when that incredibly generous offer is rejected are we finally excluded from His presence.

Contentment killer

I have this issue where, whenever I feel most content or get something I've really wanted, I start wondering when the other shoe is going to drop, when God is going to wake up and realize that I don't deserve so many good things and start putting me in my place. It's ridiculous--I know it is. In my entire lifetime of experience, He has never done that to me. In fact, I have always been extremely fortunate in pretty much every aspect of my life. But, of course, rather than affirming all of the things I know to be true about my heavenly Father, all that does is make me think that it can't possibly continue. People who are really close to me will know that I am also like this with other relationships. Again, with no real reason. I've never had any truly bad or disastrous relationship experiences. Why do I think this way? And how do I get out of this vicious cycle?

Work is tough

I am blogging from this hotel where I am staying for a few days while some of my co-workers as I drive around hunting for new companies and learning about existing ones. (Today we visited a mushroom farm, which was fascinating, but really smelly. The farm is like a bunch of chilly barracks full of big bunkbeds of mulch and fungus.) The hotel is great! We've all agreed that we would come back here in a heartbeat. Fireplaces in the rooms, ocean views, and all for under $100 a night. There doesn't seem to be much to do in Ventura, but how much do you really need besides a beach?

Random stuff about me

Tirzah tagged me for this little survey:
4 jobs I've had:
-teaching violin
-cafeteria dishwasher
-riveter
-marketing manager

4 films I could watch over and over:
-Pride & Prejudice
-Intolerable Cruelty
-Anne of Green Gables
-Better off Dead

4 Places I have lived:
-Wooster, OH
-Guatemala City
-Chicago
-Rancho Cucamonga

4 Favorite TV shows:
-Battlestar Galactica
-Heroes
-Star Trek (original series)
-umm... that's it. I don't really watch much TV.

4 Favorite Foods:
-peaches in any form
-pastries from Some Crust bakery
-falafel
-salsa

4 Websites I visit everyday:
dnbi.com
facebook
gmail
my company's website

4 Places I would love to be:
-pretty much anywhere outside
-with my hubby (he's teaching right now)
-with the rest of my family
-Alsace

4 Favorite Colors:
I have to have four? I have trouble picking one.
-blue
-purple
-yellow
-jade

4 Names I love but would/could not use for my children:
Joe 1.0 (thanks, Also Amy, for this one :)
Joe 2.0
Punctuality
Chewbacca (already taken)

I tag Will,Suzanne, the Nelsons, and my dad.