Crazy Days

Well, it has become one of those months when just when I think things are going well something bad happens. Most of this week has been wonderful. Crazy busy (what else is new) but wonderful and then yesterday two of my close friends email me (separately) to tell me that they don't want to spend time with me anymore, lovely. Now things haven't been exactly peachy with either of them over the last little while (obviously) but I thought we could work things out, I'm still hopeful we can, only time will tell. I'm so grateful I have so many other wonderful friends. I'm really determined not to let this mess up my last summer of fun and freedom in Vancouver. I'm looking forward to a summer of fun and sun. I also have to start figuring out where I'm going to live in Saskatoon in the fall (anyone know anyone in Saskatoon with a place to rent, let me know!).
Today is my parents' 35th wedding anniversary. My siblings and I hosted a BBQ for them on Saturday afternoon and my aunt, uncle and cousin and his family came over and we had a lovely time. My sister is in town so we did some family shots with the whole family together (it happens so rarely). It went really well but was a lot of work so yesterday I just vegged at the house I was housesitting and didn't do much at all.
Tomorrow I'm doing dim sum with my sister before she flies off to Montreal on Wednesday for a conference and then getting stuff organized at the school I no longer attend for the student body I'm no longer a part of. Oh the fun! I have to help plan the set up of the new study carrel room in our new building. The one nice thing about doing this now as I'm about to leave is I won't be around to hear all the complaining (because no matter how we set it up someone will complain) in the fall.
This week I also have to prepare a sermon as I'm preaching at Our Saviour (my home church, ahhh!) on Sunday. So it's going to be a crazy busy week. I think I'm going to spend some time at the library tomorrow since I'm on campus anyways. I'll have to venture into the unknown territory of the Regent library because the VST library is closed until next week while they move into the new building.
Off to lunch with a friend and then maybe some time organizing my room, what a disaster!

Sudoku, Soduko, Suduko, Whatever I'm hooked!

I have been avoiding this new fad for a while now and then went to school on Monday and my friend Clara was doing them and she convinced me to try one and now I'm hooked! I've been doing them online but I think I might have to go pick up a book tomorrow.

I had apartment church yesterday after a really good spiritual direction session and lunch with a friend, what a lovely day! It was a perfect way to spend a summer day. It was so refreshing and life-giving. I'm going to miss all of those aspects of my life. I know I rave about spiritual direction all the time but it has been a hugely important part of my life this year.

Had church council tonight and the idea of buying more property came up again. I'm kind of glad to be leaving and not have to get involved in that discussion again. I sent my application to Lutheran Theological Seminary in Sasktoon on Friday and so that's one more thing off my list of to do's. Did my taxes today, feeling productive. Nice to not have to worry about school stuff and focus on the rest of life.

My sister comes home tonight, her flight should arriving any minute now. I'll see her tomorrow as I'm housesitting this week. We're working hard on planning my parents' anniversary event on Saturday. They're celebrating 35 years of marriage on Monday. I can't believe that they've been married that long. Pretty amazing! But means lots of work for my sister and I between now and Saturday. I'm glad she's going to be home to do this with me.

Anyways, should head to bed soon, I always seem to write these late at night. Tomorrow I have to go to New West to the synod office to wrap up convention stuff and look at youth gathering plans and meet with Tim from Camp Luther to talk about my experience as a DOC leader. Then it's Alias tomorrow night, yay, I can't wait, I'm totally addicted to TV on DVD.

Convocation

I graduated today, yay! But not forever. I have now been awarded my Diploma in Christian Studies from Vancouver School of Theology. Another piece of paper to add to my collection. I wasn't planning originally to actually cross the stage for this piece of paper but I wanted to graduate from VST and since I can't get my MDiv from there I had to settle for my Diploma. It was a lot of fun. The service was at the Anglican Cathedral downtown which is a beautiful space and one I've been to frequently over the past two years. It was a lot of fun to be surrounded by friends and my parents came as well. I really wanted them to get a taste of the community I've been a part of over the past two years. I was the last person to get my diploma and the only one who is not continuing in a degree at VST. Apparently (I didn't hear it) there was a sigh of disappointment when it was announced that I was going to Saskatoon in the fall. I'm really going to miss my community at VST but I am excited about living on my own and in a new place. Summer has really begun now. I have started to come up with some summer goals. I want to go to the beach at least once a week (went on Sunday!) and I want to clear all the crap out of my life (car, room, etc.).

Alternative Worship Space

This was the worship set up that Jason and I set up for our workshop at synod convention last weekend. 

This is the view from our newly renovated "castle" at VST. It's one of the best views in Vancouver, and it's where I went to school, so amazing! 

Friday Night at Home

Just spent a lovely evening at home. Got home from the VST's second dedication of the renovated castle (of four) where I played tour guide for some lovely people and found out I had the house to myself (which never happens!) and so I got my leftover pasta from the other night warmed it up and chilled in front of the TV until my mom came home and took over the remote at which point I moved upstairs and watched Fever Pitch. It was a lovely end to a crazy week.
This weekend I'm spending time with friends and relaxing. At some point I have to tackle my bedroom so that may happen too. Tomorrow I'm going to have lunch and wander the Drive with a couple of friends from school.
I had spiritual direction today and it was the best and the hardest session I've had so far. So much to think about, lots of discernment to do. Anyways, it was hard, left me with a lot to think about but really helped me put everything in perspective. I have such an amazing spiritual director. I will miss him a ton once I'm in Saskatoon.
I'm going to post some of my favourite pictures from the past year soon. There are so many to choose from but I'll try to keep it down to a few.

I made it to May!

Well, I just woke up after sleeping for almost 11 hours. Guess I was more tired than I realised. It also must mean my body is finally relaxing after the chaos of this past school year. I can't believe that it's over. I was at apartment church last night and gave a friend a ride home and she commented that I seem ready to leave VST and head to Saskatoon. I really am I think, mentally that is in reality I have a ton of stuff to do before I'm physically ready to move but I'm beginning that shift in thinking. Synod convention was this weekend and I spent a lot of it talking to people about going to Saskatoon. The bishop mentioned it a couple of times in passing to the convention so many people wanted to talk to me about it. The more I talk about it the more real it seems. I have convocation at VST on Monday night and that will be my last official VST student thing I do. I'm getting my Diploma in Christian Studies, wahoo. The only reason I'm actually crossing the stage is because I wanted to graduate at VST so this gives me a chance to.
I am so excited about summer. I love summer in Vancouver, going to the beach (went twice last week already!), hanging out with friends, camping etc etc etc. Next summer I'm hoping to do CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education=intense!) and so I have to enjoy my last summer of freedom. I am also hoping to reconnect with friends who have been neglected because of the craziness of this year. I'll also probably be blogging lots!

I survived April!

Well, April has been a crazy month, and it's the end, yay! April included finishing up at VST (saying goodbyes, papers, exams, integrating oral, year end party), Easter, and this weekend Synod Convention and a wedding. Synod convention meant I had a ton of work to be done before this weekend came and after papers were done (last Friday). So this past week was busy with going to the office and working from home and school. I had to make sure the youth assembly that was coming knew when and where to come and what to bring. I had to put together a display table about youth ministry in the synod. I also had t-shirts to sell and a workshop to prepare and lead (with Jason thank goodness!). Somewhere in there I had to get a wedding present and attend a wedding in the middle of convention, yikes! I made it through. Convention was great, our current bishop was re-elected quickly, which is wonderful. I heard the president of the seminary speak and he was fantastic, makes me excited to go to LTS. I also got to reconnect with lots of friends and colleagues. The youth did a fantastic job (highlight of the convention as usual said many delegates!). I came home exhausted and just had a two hour nap and am going to veg in front of the TV tonight ignoring my car full of stuff that needs to be unloaded and put away.

I was looking at my stat counter earlier and noticed that people have been visiting lots but no one's leaving comments. If you're a reader and you haven't left a comment leave a comment to let me know who's reading! I'm going to try to post some pictures for the next post. Can't wait to start summer tomorrow. The Cache Creek trip is still in the works and I have to book my flight to Saskatoon in the next day or two but tomorrow is a much needed day off, yahoo!

All done...maybe

Well I'm as done as I can be. I have handed in all my papers and completed my oral exam this morning. So it's just a matter of seeing if I have any rewrites. It's so nice to be done but now I have a ton of work to do for both jobs because I've been focusing so much on school work. I had a meeting tonight and came out with a bunch of catchup stuff to do. This weekend is synod convention and I have a lot of work to do for that. I'll have a display table, a banner for delegates to sign, t-shirts to sell, a workshop to lead and oh yeah a group of youth observing the event. So busy. I'm really looking forward to having a slower pace in May. A couple of my friends and I are talking about going to Cache Creek to look at some land my friend wants to buy and so that'll be a nice getaway. I also have to go to Saskatoon in May or June, probably June so I can see Carmen. So much to do, so little time.

On a completely different note I've been feeling very third wheel for the last few days. Anybody have any tips on how to avoid this feeling when hanging out with a couple? Besides just not hanging out with them though it may come to that if something doesn't change.

I'm really looking forward to starting over in Saskatoon. I'm sooo excited about living on my own and starting my life over with new friends, new church, new life!

Any tips on the third wheel thing would be much appreciated. Have a great week!

I'm Scooter!

Ok, I promise not to do too many of these but I couldn't resist this one. I love the muppets!

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick. You're always willing to lend a helping hand. In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going. "15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Almost done at VST!

Well I have one more class tomorrow and then I'm finished the lecture part of my classes at VST. I still have to write two papers, do a final exam and do an integrating oral but after tomorrow my classes are done! It has been a crazy week. Last Thursday my friend Clara had her wisdom teeth taken out and so I have been helping her out since then. Jason has been walking her dog and I've been bringing her stuff and keeping her company. She turned 25 yesterday and we celebrated with a bit of cheesecake (soft food!) and then she went back to bed (poor girl!). Then on Friday we had our VSTSA (Vancouver School of Theology Student Association) year end party. I was in charge so I did lots of running around on Friday buying food and setting up. People had a good time and it was nice to get together and party in the midst of the stress!
Oh I almost forgot the ongoing saga of a car trying to die! Last Tuesday as I was driving to school my check engine light went on and so I tried the turn off the car and then turn it back on and that didn't work. So I called my mechanic and made an appointment for the next day. After running the scan and everything they said that it was the crank shaft censor and that on Honda's that was part of the distributor so they had to replace the whole distributor. They managed to find a used one for $250 (what a deal! note the sarcasm) so Thursday went like this: drive to mechanic to drop off car, bus to school for community worship, bus back to mechanic and wait for car, drive to Kitsilano to pick up Clara, get Clara's prescriptions and take her home, go to school for weekly BBQ then back to Clara's to check on her, then to airport to pick up Kari-Ann, then at about 1AM home! What a day. Once the craziness of school is over I have to start car shopping, yuck!
Well I should head to bed so I'm awake for my last class tomorrow! Then I'm going to work hard and try and get my history paper done before the craziness of holy week services descends on Thursday!
I hope you are all doing well and finding time in the chaos of life to celebrate holy week.

It's been a week since I put up my last two posts (two posts in one day, what a day it was!). This week I haven't posted because the stuff that has been on my mind is other people's "stuff" that I can't share with the world. Anyways, school is very quickly coming to an end. I can't believe I've been at VST for two years. It's a great school but this year has been one of the hardest it has ever had so it's been interesting being here this year. We (students, faculty) are all at the most stressful time of the semester and if you add to that the stress that this year has brought on top of the typical end of semester stress it's a little bit nuts here. If you are a praying type please keep this community in your prayers, things are not going to get easier any time soon unfortunately.
I have just finished a major chunk of my Hebrew Bible exegesis paper, probably the most challenging of the papers I have to do this semester so I am feeling good about that. I still have a few more journals to write for that class on my interpretive principles and an exam to study for for that class. I also have to write a paper for my liturgical studies course but I haven't got the first one back yet so I want to see how I did and what is said on that one before I start the next. I also have a couple of reflection papers to do for my History course on the history of the church in Canada. Those shouldn't be too bad.
My focus has definitely been shifting from life here in Vancouver and at VST to what my life will hold in Saskatoon. I have started to look at rental listings to get an idea of what's out there and am considering heading out there to see the city in May to get an idea of what it looks like and where I might want to look for places later in the summer. So much to do!
Anyways, I should get back to my paper just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive. Please feel free to leave lots of comments!

Oh what a morning!

Well I made it. I preached this morning at LUMS and I think it went well but it was definitely an adventure getting there. I picked up a mom and two of my youth at their home at 8:20 and we headed downtown. Just as we were getting over the Cambie St. bridge my car was making this horrible noise and I wasn't sure what was going on. There was smoke coming out of the back of my car and so we pulled over and I had a flat tire. So we pulled over and changed the tire (thanks Denyse!), it was also low on air so we knew we had to get to a gas station and fill it up. We got back in the car and the car wouldn't start. The battery was dead. I have left my lights on soooo many times that my car has no battery life left so my battery goes dead in no time flat. So we finally managed convince someone to do U-turn and face on coming traffic to jump my car. On to the gas station we went and filled up the flat and got to LUMS at 9:30. At 10 the service started, I did my assisting minister thing then preached and all was well. So now I have to borrow more money from my mom and get a new tire. It's so lovely when these things happen when the bank account is at 0! Anyways, I got lots of positive feedback from the people in the pews on my sermon. I'm off to get ready for the birthday party tonight. Got to bake cakes, buy food and maybe some decorations, see how far the visa reaches! It's beautiful here today, hot and sunny, drove home with the windows down. I love the west coast!

Preaching!!!

Well I'm off to preach this morning. Yes I know it's Saturday. I'm preaching at LUMS . I did a field placement there for a couple of courses all of last year and now I just pop in when I'm able. Brian asked me a while back if I wanted to preach again and I said sure. He gave me a date and the lectionary readings and away I went. Then about a month ago I realised that it was my home congregation that was hosting the meal. So today is my first time preaching to them and my pastor will be there as well, scary! I've preached three times before but not to congregations I knew very well. This time the sermon prep was different because I knew the context these people were coming from and I felt I knew them (26 years!) long enough I could challenge them a little bit. So here goes. Had a dream last night that I forgot my alb, the people I was supposed to pick up and my sermon so it can't get much worse than that! Have a great Saturday, the sun is shining here in Vancouver and it promises to be a beautiful day!

I'm a Dr. Pepper

Ok so I'm a total copycat, saw this on someone else's blog and had to see what I was. I think it's pretty true! What do you think?

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you. People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do. Your best soda match: Root Beer Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

My first blog

Well I finally did it. I finally set up my own blog. Everyone else is doing it so I decided to try it. Really this blog is a good way to procrastinate doing all the real work I need to do. I've never been good at journaling so don't get your hopes up that this will be updated regularly but I do promise to try! I was thinking this would be a good way to keep people updated on what's happening in my life especially when I make the big move this summer and end up two provinces away from most of my friends. I've been reading the blogs of many of my friends and really enjoy being able to keep up on their lives by reading them. I'm 4 weeks away from being done at VST and I must say I have mixed feelings. Being in any community is challenging and takes work, it's exhausting and yet rewarding at the same time. I love the people I go to school with and yet sometimes they drive me nuts and I'm sure I drive them nuts! I know that I will miss these people desperately after this semester is over. They have changed my life. My time at VST has been incredible and life-altering. I will never forget it.