Now comes the chaos!

Well I have had lots of fun enjoying summer in Vancouver getting ready for events that are upcoming and now the events have arrived. On Monday Vacation Bible School starts and the week after that I have to go to confirmation camp for two days then I have a week of packing and stuff before I leave for Winnipeg on the 13th, coming home on the 21st to pack up vehicle(s?) and head to Saskatoon a few days later. I have had so much fun these last few weeks spending lots of time with friends and doing fun Vancouver stuff. I hope to fit a little more in but I know the next few weeks are going to fly by! I'm getting really excited about Saskatoon. I'm trying to figure out what house stuff I have to buy and tomorrow I get boxes from my friend and can start packing. I've been having lots of fun emailing back and forth with a friend from Smithers who will also be starting in Saskatoon in the fall. We've been sharing moving tips and ideas for where to live. She goes soon to find a place. I'm glad she'll be there when I get there and we can figure out this living in Saskatoon thing together!
This week I spent lots of time at VST. It has been nice to feel comfortable at the school again after a few times of going in to the school and having a really negative reaction to being in the space (reasons why aren't public yet but will be made public in the fall, nothing happened to me but just other crappy stuff happening at the school). I saw lots of friends who were taking classes and spent lots of time with Kat.
I'm trying to be more intentional of getting together with friends before I leave because I know the next month will just fly by and then I will be in Saskatoon. So if you want to hang out send me an email or give me a call. I may have a big BBQ at some point just so I can say goodbye to more people. The goodbyes are slowly starting to happen, I had my last spiritual direction session on Tuesday and said goodbye to Jamie there. Next Sunday (July 30) is my big goodbye party at the church which will be very hard. And the goodbyes will be coming all the time after that.
Well I should go to work and keep working on getting ready for VBS. I have to go to a congregation member's home to look at his train memorabilia that he will lend us for decorating for the "Gospel Express" which is the theme of this year's VBS. I'm really hoping the heat will die down for Monday otherwise it will be a very long week!

What to write, what to write

I always get frustrated when I go to read people's blogs and they haven't updated them. I have many friends who don't update for weeks (and even months) at a time(you know who you are!). So I have vowed to keep my blog updated on a regular basis. Unfortunately this week I don't have much to write. It has been a pretty "normal" week. I guess I'm getting more comfortable with the living in limbo aspect of my life. I'm really excited about moving but right now it seems sooo far off and I have so much to do before that.
I'm really struggling with general grumpiness this week. I have had three different friends treat me poorly all in different ways and it frustrates me to no end. I'm hoping the weekend will pull me out of the funk I seem to be in. I'm also wondering if the weather has been affecting me more than I realised (cool and wet).
I'm heading down to the folk fest at some point this weekend to chill and listen to some music (outside the gates, ticket prices are too rich for me!). Next week is my last quiet week until things get really busy and stay busy until I move. I need some motivation to get stuff done next week otherwise the rest of the summer will be chaos! I think next week is a good week to start packing stuff. I can pile boxes in my sister's room. I also still need to get my car fixed, book flights to Winnipeg (for me) and to Saskatoon (for my mom) and figure out what I still need to send to the LTS registrar to transfer my remaining courses from VST. So I have lots to do, just not the motivation to do it!

Roadtrip!

Jessica and I went up to Barkerville this past weekend to visit our friends Andrew & David (all VST people for those of you who were wondering). We had a great time. We left on Thursday right after Jessica got out of class and made it to Williams Lake where her sister lived. We crashed there for the night and I got to meet her sister and three nieces in the morning. We then headed the rest of the way up to Barkerville and had a great day and a half visiting with Andrew & David before we began the drive home on Sunday.
It has been so nice to spend time with VST people this summer outside of the craziness of the school year. I was really glad to get to see Andrew & David again before I moved. I didn't think that was going to be able to happen.
One thing that really shocked me on the trip was the impact that the pine beetle has been having on forests in BC. I know it's been on the news for the last few years but until you see the hillsides covered in brown and red trees for yourself you don't actually realise the full impact of this pest.
Today I went to VST and was overwhelmed by people and so Clara and I took off and had lunch off campus. Tonight was apartment church and now I'm about to hit the sack, I'm zonked.
Tomorrow I am seeing Sarah who just got back from a semester in Ghana, I can't wait to see her. I also have to wash the van we took to Barkerville and unpack the last little bit of stuff. Oh and I guess I should go to work for a bit.
I will post pictures from the Barkerville trip when I find my card reader for my digital camera.

Saskatoon pad take 2!

4 more pictures. First one is my bathroom (in case you couldn't tell). The second is my living room. The only thing left in it now is the futon that is on the right hand side of the picture. You can see one of the full sized windows on the left hand side. That is the back wall of the house. The third picture is my kitchen. There will be more cupboards added before I move in and the small fridge and the cat (thank goodness) are no longer there. Fourth picture is rest of the kitchen and the other full sized window. The kitchen is open plan and so is open to the living room. I'm so excited about this place! It's beautiful and bright.





 

Well, for those of you who were waiting (Kortney ;) ). Here are some pictures of my new place in Saskatoon. For some reason blogger will only upload 4 of the 8 so I will have to upload the rest in my next post. The first picture is the front of the house. It is a duplex so I am in the basement of the right hand unit (from about the motorcycle over to the right. My entrance is around the right hand side of the house. The cement pad that the motorcycle is on is my parking space (complete with plug in! Ahhh, I have to plug in my car, yikes!). The second picture is just my entrance to the house. You can see my bedroom window along the bottom of the house past the door. The third is a picture of the upstairs (not my place) that I can use if I want. The fourth picture is a picture of my bedroom. The bed that is in it in the picture is a queen sized bed, just to give you an idea of size.


 

I found a place in Saskatoon!

Well, I did it, I found a great place to live in Saskatoon. I looked at three places today. Two basement apartments that would do in a pinch but not ideal and then the third was amazing! It is a basement suite in half a duplex. The house is only 4 years old and it has big windows and it's really nice and bright. There are two grad students (female) who live upstairs and the one I met was really friendly. We share all utilities including phone line if I want and cable and internet, wahoo! It's so nice. It's a one bedroom and it has a large living space with a kitchen at one end that has a brand new fridge and stove. They are going to let me use their futon (nice, solid wood) and their microwave (also nice!) because they have two and only need one upstairs. I'm feeling so much better about this whole move thing now that I have a place to live and such a nice one with really great people living above me. It's close to the grocery stores and restaurants (on 8th St.) and close to theatres and cultural stuff (on Broadway) and fairly close to the school but in a quiet neighbourhood. I have a parking spot on the driveway. I can' t believe I found it on my first day out looking. Now I have to figure out what to do all day tomorrow. My friend Barb is coming up from Moose Jaw tomorrow night and so I have the whole day to enjoy Saskatoon. I'll post pictures of my place once I get home because I forgot my card reader for the memory card at home. Don't worry I'll take lots of pictures.

I'm in Saskatoon

Well, I made it to Saskatoon, after standing in long line ups at the Vancouver airport and a 2 hour layover in Edmonton I have made it to Saskatoon. For those who aren't up on what's happening in my life I am transferring to the seminary here from VST to finish my Masters of Divinity degree because that is what the Lutheran church requires. I have come to Saskatoon for a couple of days to see the seminary and find a place to live.
I have a rental car while i'm here which I got using my dad's airmiles (yay for dad's points!) and when I got to the desk they had to upgrade me so I am driving around Saskatoon in a ...
a Dodge Magnum. A gangsta vehicle. It's quite fun. It's a very strange car to drive because I'm in a car but I'm really high up.
I really want to find a nice place and the vacancy rates in Saskatoon are at an all time high so it really shouldn't be a problem (she says, crossing fingers, toes, eyes etc). I saw one place today that will do but wasn't ideal in any way shape or form. It was a one bedroom basement suite that was fully furnished (very old furniture) but you had to share a bathroom with the person in the other suite and the only parking was street parking and it was all wood paneling so quite dark, so tomorrow the search continues. I'm hoping wood paneling isn't the "in thing" in Saskatoon, the only other place I've seen inside pictures of also had wood paneling, yuck!
Anyways, tomorrow I go to the seminary, meet with the registrar and then continue house hunting. Think I may stop by a few churches where I know the pastors and see if they have any leads I could follow. I will post more each day because I need contact with the outside world!

Living in the la vida limbo

I feel like I'm living in an in between time. When I preached on ascension I talked about this and compared it to how the disciples must have been feeling after Jesus left them and they were waiting for the Spirit that had been promised to come down. I am done at VST and almost done at both of my jobs. At both jobs I sit on the search committee for replacements for me, weird! I continue to attend synod and church meetings knowing that most of what they're talking about will take place when I'm already in Saskatoon. So in a couple of months I move to a place I've never been, living in a place I haven't found yet, going to a school I have yet to see. Feeling kind of strange.
I told my spiritual director that in some ways I wish I was already there and he was worried I was saying I wanted to run away from the chaos at VST but I explained I didn't want to run away from it but that I knew I wouldn't be there in the fall when things get really crazy and so it's hard to be around but not really. I feel like it would be better to just be gone.
Though I am really enjoying my summer on the coast. I love Vancouver in the summer. I went to the dragon boat festival last weekend, which was great until the rain came tumbling down! This weekend the jazz fest starts and the World Urban Forum and the Peace Forum is this week so much to do in Vancouver in the summer!
And it's my birthday this week too. Thursday I am not going into work (yay!). I am going to lunch with a friend and then to a spa for pedicures with another friend and finally to a BBQ with a whole bunch of friends. I think it will be a lovely day! I also have to renew my driver's license this year, crappy $75 I don't have!
Next week I head to Saskatoon for a few days to meet with the registrar at my new school and check out some accomodation options. I feel all grown up as I'm renting a car for the first time in my life (oh except for when I had my rental after my accident but that was an ICBC thing and not a vacation rental!). I'm going all alone and looking forward to the adventure. I checked with the place I'm staying and they have wireless so I'll be sure to post from there too!

Hope you're all having a great week!

Good movies & Bad movies

I saw a couple of movies over the past couple of weeks. Last night I was wonderfully entertained by A Prairie Home Companion. It was based on the radio show of the same name by Garrison Keillor. Such a good movie! It was a lovely evening out. The movie had an amazing cast and was such a delight to watch. I loved every minute of it. I think my friends and I were the loudest laughers in the theatre, I strongly recommend this film to everyone.
Then a couple of weeks ago I saw Davinci code, what a waste of $! It was 2 and a half hours of torture. My friend and I talked all the way through it (quietly of course) because that was the only way to stay awake! My favourite part of the movie was this really serious part in the story and Tom Hanks made a really strange face and the entire movie burst out laughing. Oops! Such a bad movie.
Anyways, I'm working lots but also enjoying the summer lots too. I head to Saskatoon for a couple of days at the end of June to look for places and meet with the registar. Going to be a busy summer!

Just a battery, off to the beach!

Well life has definitely been more fun in the last 24 hours than it was all of last week. Last night I went to a friend's place and we played games until late. It was so nice. We played Settlers of Catan (now I now what everyone is talking about, great game!) and then Phase 10 (lots of fun too!). I decided that I wasn't going to go into the church today as I was there all last week some days up to 12 hours. So I slept in and then went to school to go for lunch with a couple of friends. When I got back a few other friends were hanging around the coffee shop and so I joined them. A little while later who should walk in but my crazy thesis writing friend Kat! We had a lovely impromptu coffee date and then I decided I had procrastinated enough it was time to come home and face the music with my car situation.
My car hasn't started since Friday morning and I went through all the stages of panic as the dollar signs were popping into my head. After consulting some friends I came to the conclusion it might be my battery which wouldn't be so bad in the scheme of things. So I called BCAA and 20 minutes later the BCAA guy showed up and is right now putting in a new battery. This means that I don't have to have it towed nor do I need to put hundreds of dollars into my car, yay!
Later this evening I'm heading down to the beach with another VST friend who I ran into today at school (yeah, we're all sick, don't even have classes and we still hang around the school!). It's sooo beautiful tonight. Have to get out and enjoy the sunshine before it disappears again.
I'm thinking that I really need to go and get my summer clothes out of storage. I am wearing jeans today and it's just too warm!
Anyways, car is done and ready to go, have to go call my friend and arrange plans for the evening!

More Doves

This is the mobile in its proper place. Looks pretty nice! 

Doves, Doves, Doves

This is the dove mobile I've been working on all week at work. 268 doves, 300 yards of fishing line, 1 hula hoop and way too many hours of work! This is when it's lowered to the ground.  

What's with the doves?

Well I just realised I haven't posted for a while and so I thought I'd post something about what I've been working on since I posted last. A few months ago a woman in my congregation approached me with an idea for an art installation for Pentecost. It required 400 folded paper doves, a hula hoop and some fishing line. No problem, I thought! We started folding doves and as of Monday afternoon we ended up with 268 doves (that would be after I folded 70 on Monday afternoon) so we used what we had and I spent most of this week stringing up doves. By Friday afternoon all 268 were strung and I got to hoist it up into the air!
And that would be the excitement in my life! Wahoo! Starting to think I need to work harder to find some things to do with my summer to bring a little more excitement. Otherwise work will consume me. The structure of my group of friends has changed around me and some of my summer plans have been changed as a result, soooo I'll have to be creative and come up with a new summer plan or maybe just wing it (ahhhh, I'm such a planner, I hate winging things). Who knows what's in store!
I went to the Camp Luther walk/bike/canoeathon yesterday. It was stepping into the past for me as I haven't been out there for a year and a half. It looks great, they're really working hard to make it nicer. It is definitely time for me to move on from that place though. I love it and always will. I believe that it does important ministry. It was nice to see old friends but I am definitely in a much different space now. Had a good talk with a wise friend about camp and about the church. I value those wise friends so much!
Anyways, I really need to clean my room! So I better work on that for an hour or so before I head out for a games night with friends.

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!