Those Horrible Lying Teenagers

I work with teenagers...for some reason. Actually, this year marks my 10 year anniversary of doing so. One of the "perks" of working with kids is that every now and then they will ask you to do stuff with them. It is a great honor and very humbling as a 37 year old to be asked to hang out with high school kids by high school kids. That is, unless they hate you.

Two of these devil children invited me to hang out with them at a "Christmas party type event" at the local YMCA on Saturday. I asked if it was going to be like the last event they duped me into (also at the Y) which was the worst concert I had ever been to ever (yes, I used ever twice). They assured me that in no way was this going to be anything like that event. They even went so far as to describe in detail the games we would be playing. Very clever.

So to the YMCA I went. Outside in the rain, 20 very scary children stood smoking cigarettes and who-knows-what, but I thought, "Well this is a rough side of town, so I guess it's pretty neat that the Y gets these kids for games". Duh. I found Cheech and Chong in the lobby and they went on and on about the night's events and how much fun they were having. The "karaoke" event was about to take place in the next room and they were "waiting their turn" at the mic. So, we went in. Up front I saw speakers, lights, guitars...keyboard...drums. Hey, wait a minute...

Duped again. Not only was this another heavy metal screamer show, but it was the absolute worst heavy metal screamer show ever. I can say that because Fred and Barney have duped me into other shows before. I can compare. It was also the most, uh, "athletic" show I've seen as well. I've never been to a concert where I feared for my safety. Or felt that I had to watch the crowd. But I did. Little teeny-boppers were thrashing, kicking and catapulting over each other the whole show. I left and went into my car to listen to some Christmas music in the freezing rain. I went back in after a while, said goodbye to Tom and Jerry and took off, lamenting the sad state of music (and what passes for music) these days.

I'm also thinking about revenge. I should invite them into my world. Like making them go to church with me or watching me work. That'll fix 'em.

Monk-tastic Weekend, part I

You've seen the pictures, and now the story behind them:

I spent a rainy and wet weekend in Trappist, Kentucky at the Abbey of Gethsemani. I arrived around 7.30pm in the driving rain (I hate driving in rain) in complete and utter darkness. The darkness was pretty cool out in the Middle of Nowhere, Kentucky; it made me feel more isolated than usual. The monastery lights seemed to poke out of the darkness like a lighthouse, or more appropriately, the castle in Monty Python's Holy Grail (except this one was filled with monks, not nuns).

I dropped my bags near the main desk and went to the Compline service. I was still frazzled from driving in the rain, so I wasn't able to relax or "get into the contemplative groove" just yet. It was good to sit in a chair that wasn't attached to a car going 55 mph in the rain though. After that, I got my keys, unpacked, and went to bed around 9pm. Woo-hoo! Friday! I was really, really tired. And that's it. There's really nothing to "do" after 8pm. The monks are lights out after Compline. They do have to get up around 3am to make the cheese and bourbon fudge, so its understandable.

I woke up the same time they did. First time I've ever made it to their 3.15am service. I was still tired, though. After that, I went back to bed and woke up at the ungodly hour of 10am. All in all, I logged in 12 hours of sleep Friday night/Saturday morning. I guess I needed it. When I did wake up, I discovered that it was Immaculate Conception Day, so they had a special service that morning. I attended most of the service, and then went to the library to read.

I started reading C.S. Lewis' Reflections On the Psalms. Pretty cool little book. It's amazing how much he says he doesn't know about the topic and then proceeds to blow you out of the water. Well, if you don't know that much, why are writing this brilliant book? Turns out he does know a lot about the Psalms.

more to come....

Pics From the Monastery

christians and "meds"

I recently read this wonderful article in a blog I visit daily. Here the author (Brant Hansen) talks about his meds and the guilt and angst he goes through daily because he doesn't like the fact that a Christian should need them (but yet he is thankful for them). He's incredibly honest and paints a wonderful picture of the struggle those in the family go through daily. The comments (over 40) are great too.

Evicted From the Office

Monday morning I was greeted at the office with the news that I had been evicted from my office, the only office that I had ever occupied in my life. I wasn't too distraught, but images of the movie Office Space and Milton did come to mind:

"They moved my desk 4 times already this year and I used to be over by the window and I could see the squirrels and they were married, but then they moved my desk and they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler."

Now, replace squirrels with yellow finches and the whole stapler fiasco, and that's my situation. My office wasn't all that exciting, but it was mine. The only detractor was that I not only had a window to the outside, but everyone in the office had a window into my particular office. I was located at the intersection next to the kitchen area, so everyone and their offspring could come by on their way to get coffee and watch me work through the window, as if I were some sort of chimp on display, flinging poo everywhere.

So, at the end of my Monday I said goodbye to my cage and moved to a cubicle next to the copier/fax machine area and conference room. No more privacy. But I was moved to a corner of the office and there's much less traffic. So no one comes by anymore to watch me work. And, I discovered that I really have more desk space and more room to move around than I did at the zoo. A few desk lamps, a calendar and a ceramic Christmas tree later and I was getting compliments on how nice my cubicle was. Someone even said that it was nicer than my old office. Go figure. I won't burn the building down after all.

Any Questions?

I'm going to Gethsemani Monastery this weekend. I'm going to read a lot, walk a lot, and spend some time away from the big city of Lexington. I may also have an opportunity to ask a monk or two some questions. If either of my readers has any questions to ask a monk, just let me know and I'll think about breaking my silence to ask them. And I know you have some questions. We all have questions to ask a monk. Some of you probably have a list entitled "Questions To Ask a Monk If the Opportunity Arises That I Actually Meet A Monk."

Also, if anyone has a hankerin' for some cheese, bourbon fudge or bourbon fruitcake from the Abbey, just let me know. I'll be pickin' up some fruitcake for myself. It's the only fruitcake I will eat. Seriously.