So, part 2 of My beatitudes blog is going to outline one of our new fall campaigns at Jubilee USA. It's a little sad that I'll be working on this for the next month and won't be here in the fall to see it's effectiveness but maybe someone will keep me in the loop!
"Vulture Culture" Is a campaign to stop vulture funds from preying on small impoverished countries.
Let's start at the beginning, why are these countries in debt to begin with and who do they owe the money to? Many highly impoverished poor countries ascertain debt through dictators and governments who greedily mismanaged the funds collected by the state from the people whom they serve. When a country runs out of money they have the option to borrow money from sources such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Later, after these governments have been removed from power, the country is left with large amounts of debt that can total hundreds of billions of dollars. The country can then apply for debt cancellation from their creditor, a practice that Jubilee supports in full.
Sometimes before a deal is finalized for debt reduction or cancellation, a company will swoop in and buy the debt from the creditor, usually for slightly more than the amount that the creditor has agreed to settle the debt to the poor country. This company will often draft a thick legally binding contract that an impoverished nation may not have the legal expertise to be able to see the full legal scope of the contract.
If you haven't guessed already, these company's have been nick-named 'vulture funds.' After the poor country has payed the agreed upon amount, the 'vulture fund' will then sue them for the original amount of the loan.
For Example>
Romania loans Zambia $15 million. Zambia was not able to repay the loans because the farming equipment they bought with the loan did not work well and European Agricultural subsidies rendered Zambia unable to hold stake in the global market place. Romania and Zambia came to an agreement to liquidate the debt to $3 million. Donegal International saw this as an opportunity and paid Romania $3.3 million for the debt. Due to interest and back payments, the debt was valued at this time to be $30 million. This transaction occurred while Chiluba, a notoriously corrupt man, was President of Zambia.
By the time Zambia had settled on a debt settlement with Donegal International, the value of the debt was held at $44 million. Donegal International settled on a re-payment figure of $15 million (does that number sound familiar?).
Soon after, Zambia stopped paying the debt saying that it was accrued under corrupt circumstances. Donegal waited to sue Zambia until one month before Zambia qualified for HIPC, the Highly Impoverished Poor Countries Intitiative. The G8 leaders in 2005 voted to relieve all of Zambia's debt. Unfortunately, the Donegal International debt was not included because it was not held by a country but rather by a company. Donegal International then took this opportunity to sue Zambia for $55 million, the full amount of the original debt plus interest and penalties. After the case was taken to a British court the debt was reduced to $15.5 million, $.5 Million more than the original loan.
So, Jubilee is on a mission to "Stop the Vulture Culture!" Soon there will be a petition at www.stopvultureculture.org that you can sign and we'll deliver it to as many banks involved in vulture activity as we can! Get educated and stay tuned for more information!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
MemorySuppliers.com
The fine people at MemorySuppliers.com are giving me $15 back on my order today for posting this link to their website on my blog. Thank you Memory Suppliers!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Part 1 of my Beatitudes Society Blog
So, this week I am required as part of my fellowship to blog three times. This is the first one. Enjoy!
Greetings from Columbus, OH!
I’m currently sitting in the Port Columbus Airport waiting for a connecting flight through NY to finally arrive back in my summer hometown of Washington DC.
For those of you who may not know what Jubilee USA does, here’s a brief rundown. Jubilee is an organization committed, like many other organizations, to ending global poverty. Jubilee insists that debt cancellation for developing nations is one of the most important things we can do to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Why debt relief? It turns out that many highly impoverished poor countries have borrowed money from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other lending sources and have been sacrificing the well being of their citizens in order to pay down their debts, some of which were acquired under brutal dictatorships. Lending conditionality, vulture funds, and high interest rates are the three main contributors to global poverty where debt is concerned, but I’ll spare you a lecture on odious and illegitimate debt.
This weekend I’ve had the opportunity to attend Jubilee’s annual grassroots organizing conference in Columbus, OH. It was a jam-packed weekend of speakers and workshops, panels and fun. I was assigned to camcorder and picture taking duty for most of the weekend which turned out to be perfect. It gave me the opportunity to walk around and meet lots of folks from all over the country and to sit in and record some very interesting workshops on debt relief. Organizing a conference, as a co-worker put it, is a lot like having a baby. It needs constant attention. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.
Later this week I’ll catch you up on some of the things I’ve been doing in the office. Here's what you can look forward to: I’ll continue putting together my network of seminarians, trying to come up with community leaders to participate in an interfaith dialogue about debt relief and analyzing data to help with some strategic planning. I’ll also give you some insider information about our upcoming fall campaigns, “Stop the Vulture Culture” and “Picture an End to Global Poverty: A Call to the Next President to Make Debt Relief a Serious Priority, and Appoint a Treasury Secretary Who Will Do the Same. (We’re trying to come up with a better name…)
Greetings from Columbus, OH!
I’m currently sitting in the Port Columbus Airport waiting for a connecting flight through NY to finally arrive back in my summer hometown of Washington DC.
For those of you who may not know what Jubilee USA does, here’s a brief rundown. Jubilee is an organization committed, like many other organizations, to ending global poverty. Jubilee insists that debt cancellation for developing nations is one of the most important things we can do to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Why debt relief? It turns out that many highly impoverished poor countries have borrowed money from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other lending sources and have been sacrificing the well being of their citizens in order to pay down their debts, some of which were acquired under brutal dictatorships. Lending conditionality, vulture funds, and high interest rates are the three main contributors to global poverty where debt is concerned, but I’ll spare you a lecture on odious and illegitimate debt.
This weekend I’ve had the opportunity to attend Jubilee’s annual grassroots organizing conference in Columbus, OH. It was a jam-packed weekend of speakers and workshops, panels and fun. I was assigned to camcorder and picture taking duty for most of the weekend which turned out to be perfect. It gave me the opportunity to walk around and meet lots of folks from all over the country and to sit in and record some very interesting workshops on debt relief. Organizing a conference, as a co-worker put it, is a lot like having a baby. It needs constant attention. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.
Later this week I’ll catch you up on some of the things I’ve been doing in the office. Here's what you can look forward to: I’ll continue putting together my network of seminarians, trying to come up with community leaders to participate in an interfaith dialogue about debt relief and analyzing data to help with some strategic planning. I’ll also give you some insider information about our upcoming fall campaigns, “Stop the Vulture Culture” and “Picture an End to Global Poverty: A Call to the Next President to Make Debt Relief a Serious Priority, and Appoint a Treasury Secretary Who Will Do the Same. (We’re trying to come up with a better name…)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Lots of states, little time
This has been a marathon week. Emily and I started out last Friday and drove down to North Carolina for her friends Anna and John's wedding. Emily was the Maid of Honor so we had to be there early for the rehearsal dinner and other such activities. I got to hang out in the Hotel while Emily and Dr. Rainbow went to the festivities on Friday which was just fine with me as I had some work I needed to get done. I didn't get any of it done because there was a b-list movie on HBO but I had a nice night anyway, relaxing at least. You may be wondering who Dr. Rainbow is... Dr. Rainbow is Emily's friend from Davidson and yes, that is actually her last name, Dr. Catherine Rainbow....
The wedding was really swank. It was at a country club in Raleigh, and they served Filet Mignon, had a swing band and and open bar. There were 270 people there. It was a touch awkward since I knew absolutely no one and Emily was in the wedding. I kept getting the 'who is that' stare from everyone in sight. Oh well, at least I had beer to keep me company.
We left North Carolina on Sunday after Brunch and drove up to Washington D.C. to Spend the night at my cousin Matt's place, where I'll be staying this summer while working at Jubilee USA. The plan was to go and see where the Jubilee Office actually was and to take the proper metro devices to arrive there on time for my first day of work. It didn't work out that way... We didn't even get to the bus stop in the way we should have. We walked around 3 city blocks instead but finally got there. We got on the bus and didn't have the right change, thankfully the bus driver let us ride for free "you'll spend enough when you get downtown" he said...
We rode the bus all the way to the Capitol building when I realized that I didn't actually know where Jubilee was located aside from being 1 block behind the Capitol Building to which Emily noted that this information wasn't as helpful as I thought it might be. Oh well. We went to the Newseum instead! The Newseum is a very cool museum and in my opinion is worth the $20 for admission. They have an exhibit of Pulitzer prize winning photos and a significant 9/11 exhibit. Very cool stuff!
To the left is a picture of Emily with Herbert Hoover. He's alive!!!
To the right is Emily on the balcony of the Newseum in front of the Capitol Buildin
g, she thinks she's some kind of movie star :-)
We also visited with our friend Ilene from seminary. She has a ginormous house near the Adams Morgan train station. She took Eric and I to an Ethiopian restaurant, that was a new experience. It was very basic, chicken and eggs and such, you have to eat it with bread, meaning that they don't use utensils like a knife or a fork. I also learned that you have to eat it with your right hand which made it difficult for me since I can't feel my right hand, but it turned out ok :-) I think I'm really going to like living in DC this summer. I honestly can't wait to get there!
We drove back Monday night after Emily was finished with her meeting at the Larsh community near Ilene's house. I hope she gets the job there because I'd really like her to be near by this summer. Not to mention what a great experience it would be for her.
Tuesday was a day that I meant to use to get things done but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way. I forget what I did in the morning besides sleep. Tuesday night Emily and I went to pick up Grandmom to go out to dinner with Dad and Diane. I hadn't seen Grandmom since she got back from Florida so I was glad that we were all going out together. I miss her when she's in Florida but I'm glad she goes. She told us that she was thinking about having Gastric Banding surgery in order to lose weight so that maybe she would be able to get around better on her own. I think it's a great idea. It's a little scary but I want her to be comfortable and to live as best as she can. So this week she'll have a cardiac catheter this week and I'll go and stay with her that night to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
Wednesday, I left with a group of students from the seminary to go to the Lutheran office of World Community at the United Nations in New York. We spent Wednesday night getting to New York on many trains and subways. It's never fun trying to navigate New York when you don't know where you're going. We stayed at the Sefarer's and International House which is like a hostel or dormitory for Christian Groups or Military personnel. It was nice enough, each room was small with a single bed, a desk, a sink, and a tv. We shared bathrooms and showers with about 5 other rooms. It was only 1 block from Union Square which made it very convenient to get to the UN. We met with a number of outstanding speakers on the topic of Human rights over the two days and came home with lots of materials to read and study. There's just too much information to let it all out here. Let's just say that it was a great trip and
I'm really glad that I went.
Finally back in Philadelphia on Friday night, I got some dinner and hung out with Emily for the rest of the night. We took Grandmom shopping on Saturday morning which is always fun. She took us out to lunch and even bought me some new pillows. Got home around 4:30, ate some dinner then went to the movies with Emily, Annette, and Paul, we saw the new Ben Stein Documentary, 'Expelled.' I didn't care for it but I think Emily did so while I can't recommend it I can't say not to see it. Helpful, I know...
Ok class is almost over and I'm done writing. More to come after exams in late May...
The wedding was really swank. It was at a country club in Raleigh, and they served Filet Mignon, had a swing band and and open bar. There were 270 people there. It was a touch awkward since I knew absolutely no one and Emily was in the wedding. I kept getting the 'who is that' stare from everyone in sight. Oh well, at least I had beer to keep me company.
We left North Carolina on Sunday after Brunch and drove up to Washington D.C. to Spend the night at my cousin Matt's place, where I'll be staying this summer while working at Jubilee USA. The plan was to go and see where the Jubilee Office actually was and to take the proper metro devices to arrive there on time for my first day of work. It didn't work out that way... We didn't even get to the bus stop in the way we should have. We walked around 3 city blocks instead but finally got there. We got on the bus and didn't have the right change, thankfully the bus driver let us ride for free "you'll spend enough when you get downtown" he said...
We rode the bus all the way to the Capitol building when I realized that I didn't actually know where Jubilee was located aside from being 1 block behind the Capitol Building to which Emily noted that this information wasn't as helpful as I thought it might be. Oh well. We went to the Newseum instead! The Newseum is a very cool museum and in my opinion is worth the $20 for admission. They have an exhibit of Pulitzer prize winning photos and a significant 9/11 exhibit. Very cool stuff!
To the left is a picture of Emily with Herbert Hoover. He's alive!!!To the right is Emily on the balcony of the Newseum in front of the Capitol Buildin
g, she thinks she's some kind of movie star :-)We also visited with our friend Ilene from seminary. She has a ginormous house near the Adams Morgan train station. She took Eric and I to an Ethiopian restaurant, that was a new experience. It was very basic, chicken and eggs and such, you have to eat it with bread, meaning that they don't use utensils like a knife or a fork. I also learned that you have to eat it with your right hand which made it difficult for me since I can't feel my right hand, but it turned out ok :-) I think I'm really going to like living in DC this summer. I honestly can't wait to get there!
We drove back Monday night after Emily was finished with her meeting at the Larsh community near Ilene's house. I hope she gets the job there because I'd really like her to be near by this summer. Not to mention what a great experience it would be for her.
Tuesday was a day that I meant to use to get things done but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way. I forget what I did in the morning besides sleep. Tuesday night Emily and I went to pick up Grandmom to go out to dinner with Dad and Diane. I hadn't seen Grandmom since she got back from Florida so I was glad that we were all going out together. I miss her when she's in Florida but I'm glad she goes. She told us that she was thinking about having Gastric Banding surgery in order to lose weight so that maybe she would be able to get around better on her own. I think it's a great idea. It's a little scary but I want her to be comfortable and to live as best as she can. So this week she'll have a cardiac catheter this week and I'll go and stay with her that night to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
Wednesday, I left with a group of students from the seminary to go to the Lutheran office of World Community at the United Nations in New York. We spent Wednesday night getting to New York on many trains and subways. It's never fun trying to navigate New York when you don't know where you're going. We stayed at the Sefarer's and International House which is like a hostel or dormitory for Christian Groups or Military personnel. It was nice enough, each room was small with a single bed, a desk, a sink, and a tv. We shared bathrooms and showers with about 5 other rooms. It was only 1 block from Union Square which made it very convenient to get to the UN. We met with a number of outstanding speakers on the topic of Human rights over the two days and came home with lots of materials to read and study. There's just too much information to let it all out here. Let's just say that it was a great trip and
I'm really glad that I went.
Finally back in Philadelphia on Friday night, I got some dinner and hung out with Emily for the rest of the night. We took Grandmom shopping on Saturday morning which is always fun. She took us out to lunch and even bought me some new pillows. Got home around 4:30, ate some dinner then went to the movies with Emily, Annette, and Paul, we saw the new Ben Stein Documentary, 'Expelled.' I didn't care for it but I think Emily did so while I can't recommend it I can't say not to see it. Helpful, I know...
Ok class is almost over and I'm done writing. More to come after exams in late May...
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Changes...
So... It's been a pretty good day. I spent the morning in the LTSP (That's the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia for those of you playing the home game) archives removing staples from church documents from the mid-nineties. Then I spent a few hours with Kuhn followed by a trip down to Home Sweet Home Brew to get a new beer brewing kit with Paul. Unfortunately I was not expecting this next thing to happen.
Paul and I have gotten to be pretty close friends and some would say, including us that we share a fairly dysfunctional brain... We were going to live together next year in the Ho house and everything about it seemed great. It was going to be reassuring to have some around to connect with while Emily was on internship in Toledo, OH for a year starting in August.
There has been some turbulence with the staff here at the seminary. We're losing a total of 4 professors at the end of the year and they, specifically, give many students a reason to come here. Well, Paul's reason for being here seems to be leaving which makes me kinda sad. I was looking forward to us living together next year and having a lot of fun.
So now I'll be looking for a new roommate or coming up with a way to stay in my apartment next year. Emily's friend Mindy wanted to live here but if I don't find a roommate I'm not leaving.
I'm glad that he'll be going somewhere that will help him grow as a liturgist/pastor. I guess this sounds kinda dopey....
So right now we're making beer with our new kit and watching stranger than fiction with Emily and Annette.
So I'll be missing a lot of people next year. It's not like I won't be busy though. I'll have field ed at the New Jersey Synod Office of Governmental Ministry and the student body is voting to change the constitution so that I can run for SB President. Hopefully I'll get it.
I just needed to get that out. Anyone need a roommate?
Paul and I have gotten to be pretty close friends and some would say, including us that we share a fairly dysfunctional brain... We were going to live together next year in the Ho house and everything about it seemed great. It was going to be reassuring to have some around to connect with while Emily was on internship in Toledo, OH for a year starting in August.
There has been some turbulence with the staff here at the seminary. We're losing a total of 4 professors at the end of the year and they, specifically, give many students a reason to come here. Well, Paul's reason for being here seems to be leaving which makes me kinda sad. I was looking forward to us living together next year and having a lot of fun.
So now I'll be looking for a new roommate or coming up with a way to stay in my apartment next year. Emily's friend Mindy wanted to live here but if I don't find a roommate I'm not leaving.
I'm glad that he'll be going somewhere that will help him grow as a liturgist/pastor. I guess this sounds kinda dopey....
So right now we're making beer with our new kit and watching stranger than fiction with Emily and Annette.
So I'll be missing a lot of people next year. It's not like I won't be busy though. I'll have field ed at the New Jersey Synod Office of Governmental Ministry and the student body is voting to change the constitution so that I can run for SB President. Hopefully I'll get it.
I just needed to get that out. Anyone need a roommate?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wow, I used to be alot better about keeping on top of this thing...
Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I'm pretty sure that everyone has lost faith in my blogging since it's been over two months since my last post but, like I've said many times before, cheer up, ye of little faith for it's better late than never...
As far as I remember Christmas went fairly well. There was still a bit of awkwardness with the whole splitting up of families but it didn't seem to bother me. I spent a few days in North Carolina with Emily. I got to meet her parents and family. It was a good trip and we even got to tour the Builtmore House which, if you're wondering, is the largest single family residence in the country. It was George Vanderbuilt's house in Asheville North Carolina. It's beautiful, if you have the chance, don't pass it up.
I finished out my first semester of seminary. It went about as expected. Of course the second semester is kicking my ass much harder than the first semester ever did but it's basically my own fault. More about that later.
January was a nice escape from reality. It was great to not have classes to go to or books I had to read in order to pass those classes. I also got to go to California for the first time. Santa Barbara is an amazing place and if you want to see how beaches are supposed to look then Santa Barbara should be on you places to visit. I was there for a 4 day conference and learning experience on social justice, economics and the book of Matthew. It was great and given te chance I'll do it again. It opened my eyes to a new way of reading biblical text and also gave me the chance to meet some truly amazing folks who are making a difference in the lives of people all over the country.
This semester has been hard since I've decided to take an overload of classes, an internship, and work 15 hours a week. I've never been so busy in all my life. Unfortunately that's all I can stand to say about it at the moment.
I applied for and was chosen for a fellowship this summer in Washington DC. I'll be working with an organization called Jubilee USA who is an advocacy group for developing nations and tries to get congress to relieve their massive debts. I'm really excited about doing some real work this summer. My office is going to be only 1 block from the United States Capital Building! I'm excited about living with my cousin Matt and his girlfriend Seresa (SP?) for the summer. they live in NW DC so I'll have the pleasure of riding buses and trains to work every day.
I had another appointment with My Neuro-Oncologist last month and he says that I still have a tumor but that it hasn't gotten any bigger and he's not particularly worried about it. He did suggest that I start taking an aspirin every day to prevent stroke and that I'm about as healthy as a 45 year old man so I guess I'll be having my mid-life crisis any day now...
Paul (the other half of my brain) and I have been brewing beer as of late and the first batch wasn't awful. We were both pleasantly surprised by the Honky Hole Honey Weisse. The next beer which is scheduled for Debut this Friday after Tim's successful defending of thesis is The International Java Lager Style Ale. We'll see how it turns out. We actually think that this one will be good so by our current beer logic it will be crappy. Oh Well, we can't make all of the people happy all of the time.
On a sad Note Emily's Grandmother passed away this morning. Her name was Harriet Kuhn. Emily is at home now with family. Her family would certainly appreciate your prayers.
I'll try to post again soon when something interesting happens or maybe just report on whether the beer was good or not....
As far as I remember Christmas went fairly well. There was still a bit of awkwardness with the whole splitting up of families but it didn't seem to bother me. I spent a few days in North Carolina with Emily. I got to meet her parents and family. It was a good trip and we even got to tour the Builtmore House which, if you're wondering, is the largest single family residence in the country. It was George Vanderbuilt's house in Asheville North Carolina. It's beautiful, if you have the chance, don't pass it up.
I finished out my first semester of seminary. It went about as expected. Of course the second semester is kicking my ass much harder than the first semester ever did but it's basically my own fault. More about that later.
January was a nice escape from reality. It was great to not have classes to go to or books I had to read in order to pass those classes. I also got to go to California for the first time. Santa Barbara is an amazing place and if you want to see how beaches are supposed to look then Santa Barbara should be on you places to visit. I was there for a 4 day conference and learning experience on social justice, economics and the book of Matthew. It was great and given te chance I'll do it again. It opened my eyes to a new way of reading biblical text and also gave me the chance to meet some truly amazing folks who are making a difference in the lives of people all over the country.
This semester has been hard since I've decided to take an overload of classes, an internship, and work 15 hours a week. I've never been so busy in all my life. Unfortunately that's all I can stand to say about it at the moment.
I applied for and was chosen for a fellowship this summer in Washington DC. I'll be working with an organization called Jubilee USA who is an advocacy group for developing nations and tries to get congress to relieve their massive debts. I'm really excited about doing some real work this summer. My office is going to be only 1 block from the United States Capital Building! I'm excited about living with my cousin Matt and his girlfriend Seresa (SP?) for the summer. they live in NW DC so I'll have the pleasure of riding buses and trains to work every day.
I had another appointment with My Neuro-Oncologist last month and he says that I still have a tumor but that it hasn't gotten any bigger and he's not particularly worried about it. He did suggest that I start taking an aspirin every day to prevent stroke and that I'm about as healthy as a 45 year old man so I guess I'll be having my mid-life crisis any day now...
Paul (the other half of my brain) and I have been brewing beer as of late and the first batch wasn't awful. We were both pleasantly surprised by the Honky Hole Honey Weisse. The next beer which is scheduled for Debut this Friday after Tim's successful defending of thesis is The International Java Lager Style Ale. We'll see how it turns out. We actually think that this one will be good so by our current beer logic it will be crappy. Oh Well, we can't make all of the people happy all of the time.
On a sad Note Emily's Grandmother passed away this morning. Her name was Harriet Kuhn. Emily is at home now with family. Her family would certainly appreciate your prayers.
I'll try to post again soon when something interesting happens or maybe just report on whether the beer was good or not....
Friday, December 7, 2007
Update
So it's been a while since my last blog. I believe the last post had concerns about Thanksgiving and Dad's wedding...
Chronologically, Dad's wedding went very well. I'm very happy for him and Diane. Things are changing and it's difficult to deal with although I don't like to admit it. Only in the last few years (2 or 3) have I begun to realize how important family is. I don't know why I didn't realize this before but let's just say better late than never. I am related to some pretty amazing people. I think it's a real testament to our love for each other that my Mom's family was there in full force to support my dad in his new marriage. I was particularly glad that Annemarie, Tim and Emily were there. While Annemarie and I haven't been entirely comfortable with this whole idea, it was nice to have some solidarity within ourselves and to have Tim and Emily there to support us. I think we're both very grateful for each of you :-)
Thanksgiving was different, but not like it's been different since Mom died. It seemed like this was the beginning of the new ritual. I went to the Parade with Annemarie, Haley, Uncle Mike, Jean Marie, Bernadette, and Joe. I love parades. I think there is a special place in my heart for marching bands! Annemarie was frustrated with me when I couldn't figure out the train system to get to the parade but hopefully she didn't mind when I drove to NJ so we could take the train together. I had to be in NJ later anyway. After the parade I went to Dad's house and hung out with him and Diane, watching the parade I had just seen live, on tv and checking out the Black Friday adds. Diane's Mom and Cousins came over later and we had dinner. It was very good. I love thanksgiving food. It goes with the whole, being chubby, thing. After dinner I went to Uncle Fran's house for a while and then slept at Dad's house for the night. Over all a good thanksgiving.
I'm getting excited for my trip to Santa Barbara in January, they've taken care of my plane ticket and now I just need to prepare by reading, reading, reading.
It's nice to have something to look forward to while the semester winds down. Sometimes I feel like the classes I'm enrolled in here currently are not really helping to prepare me for ministry and my career goals. While I'm sure that the history of Christianity is useful and interesting to some, it has not been something that I've found to be entirely helpful. It's no fault of the professors because they're all very knowledgeable but I don't feel like I've learned a whole lot that I couldn't get from a decent text book. Hope is in the future and next semester looks promising as long as things work out the way I have them planned.
Tonight, Emily and I are having dinner with Roll, Andy and Alyssa. I'm looking forward to getting out of this place for the night.
This class is almost over so I'll post more when I have something to talk about. In the meantime, check out what Mike Huckabee has to say. While he's a republican, he seems to be making sense.
Peace!
Chronologically, Dad's wedding went very well. I'm very happy for him and Diane. Things are changing and it's difficult to deal with although I don't like to admit it. Only in the last few years (2 or 3) have I begun to realize how important family is. I don't know why I didn't realize this before but let's just say better late than never. I am related to some pretty amazing people. I think it's a real testament to our love for each other that my Mom's family was there in full force to support my dad in his new marriage. I was particularly glad that Annemarie, Tim and Emily were there. While Annemarie and I haven't been entirely comfortable with this whole idea, it was nice to have some solidarity within ourselves and to have Tim and Emily there to support us. I think we're both very grateful for each of you :-)
Thanksgiving was different, but not like it's been different since Mom died. It seemed like this was the beginning of the new ritual. I went to the Parade with Annemarie, Haley, Uncle Mike, Jean Marie, Bernadette, and Joe. I love parades. I think there is a special place in my heart for marching bands! Annemarie was frustrated with me when I couldn't figure out the train system to get to the parade but hopefully she didn't mind when I drove to NJ so we could take the train together. I had to be in NJ later anyway. After the parade I went to Dad's house and hung out with him and Diane, watching the parade I had just seen live, on tv and checking out the Black Friday adds. Diane's Mom and Cousins came over later and we had dinner. It was very good. I love thanksgiving food. It goes with the whole, being chubby, thing. After dinner I went to Uncle Fran's house for a while and then slept at Dad's house for the night. Over all a good thanksgiving.
I'm getting excited for my trip to Santa Barbara in January, they've taken care of my plane ticket and now I just need to prepare by reading, reading, reading.
It's nice to have something to look forward to while the semester winds down. Sometimes I feel like the classes I'm enrolled in here currently are not really helping to prepare me for ministry and my career goals. While I'm sure that the history of Christianity is useful and interesting to some, it has not been something that I've found to be entirely helpful. It's no fault of the professors because they're all very knowledgeable but I don't feel like I've learned a whole lot that I couldn't get from a decent text book. Hope is in the future and next semester looks promising as long as things work out the way I have them planned.
Tonight, Emily and I are having dinner with Roll, Andy and Alyssa. I'm looking forward to getting out of this place for the night.
This class is almost over so I'll post more when I have something to talk about. In the meantime, check out what Mike Huckabee has to say. While he's a republican, he seems to be making sense.
Peace!
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