acts.1.eight

gunnar is sick.  he’s got a virus of some sort.  days like these, when he is not well, are not good.  makes the distance seem that much greater.  not that i could do much if i were there with him.  but i certainly can do little or nothing from 160 miles away.  the fact that i also do not feel that well does not help.  this is a crazy week.  beginning the transition into a new job.  transitioning into a new apartment.  incredibly cold weather.  quite a week.

long road to ruin
there are two topics that have been running through my mind a lot this week.  areas of my life where i want to make better decisions and do a better job of management.  i’m talking about money and food.

but i’m not going to talk about those to topics.  i’m going to talk about football and politics.

the super bowl is this week.  here are some quick hit thoughts:
- i think the patriots will win and i’m ok with that.  the nfl could use a villain and this would cement the patriots as such.  like the yankees of football.
- i don’t like the giants, or eli manning, so i’ll be happy to see them lose
- there should only be 1 week between the conference championships and the super bowl.  two weeks of hype is too much.
- did you hear tom brady’s ankle is sprained?  i hadn’t heard that yet…
- plaxico burress from the giants predicted that his team would win and everyone is freaking out about it.  i realize the correct thing to do is not make predictions, but shouldn’t he be confident in his team and believe that they will win?
- apparently, in vegas, you can bet on the likelihood that tom petty will smoke a joint on stage.
-  i don’t know where i’m going to watch the game, but i’m sure it will involve some good food and good friends.

we are in the thick of the presidential election process with primaries and caucuses going on all over the country.   here are my thoughts:
- i can’t remember if it is justin or ryan, but one of them claims that the slogan “obama in 0 8″ will win the election for barak.  it just has a ring to it.
- i’m thinking about holding a press conference to announce who i am endorsing.  i’ll keep you posted.  hopefully, no one will leak my decision before i’m able to announce it publicly.
- what’s the deal with ron paul?  i’m not against him, but if you can explain to me why i should be for him, that would be great…  seems like a lot of people in my demographic are on board with him because it’s the cool thing to do.  at least that’s my perception.
- the analysis, much like with the super bowl, is overkill.  how do you declare a winner in a debate?  does it matter who “wins” a debate?
- i would like to see bill clinton in a skirt, jumping around with pom-poms, and really embracing his place as hilary’s head cheerleader.
- i wish people cared as much about electing local leadership as the do about electing national leadership.  their decisions tend to have a more immediate impact on our everyday lives.
- as of right now, i’m planning to vote, even though my allegiance lies with the kingdom of Jesus Christ and not with the United States.  i think we should still participate.
- if you plan to vote, please do so in a thoughtful manner.  don’t just assume that one party is right and that the other is wrong.  don’t base your decisions on a single issue, you may be getting a lot of negative by choosing based on one positive.
- if you plan to not vote, please have a reason.   laziness and apathy aren’t as cool as they might seem.

and i will give you rest
thanks for all the comments today.  some of you i knew were regulars, others i had no idea that you were stopping in.  feel free to comment whenever you feel like it, but if you are strictly here to check on my life from time to time, that’s cool too.  thanks for caring.

apparently, there are only 24 hours in a day. there is no way to ask for an extension.

i am not talking about completing tasks. although. tasks no doubt require time as well. i am talking about being with people.

i spend the majority of my outside of work time with the same people. this is not a bad thing. it is just a “that is the way it is” thing. these regulars are not the only ones i want to spend time with. in fact. there are others that i do not see very often that i wish i could see. it becomes difficult to squeeze people in because you only have that limited window of opportunity each day. 24 hours.

you cannot even count on the full 24 hours either. most week days look something like this for me: 11 hours for work (this includes hours at work. the drive to and from. the pre-work meal. time for personal grooming. and the possibility that i will stay late). 6-8 hours for sleeping or at least relaxing. and 5-7 hours of social time. my weekends offer sometimes offer more social time. sometimes they offer less. depending on gunnar of course.

the other great variable is this. i am an introvert. and what that means is that i need to have alone time to recharge. i need to retreat from social setting occasionally because they are tiring. it requires a lot of energy for me to be around people. but know this. there is nothing i would rather expend my energy on than being with people.

i tend to default to my regulars. so those that i have not seen awhile. remain on the i have not seen them in awhile list.

time doesn’t wait
there has been an outrageous increase in the amount of traffic coming here this month.  previously, the most traffic i received in one month was in november when i had 348 visits.  this month the number will easily break the 700 mark (i was at 697 with about a day and a half left).  back when i used the blogger platform, i was able to better track my visitors so i generally knew where increased traffic was coming from and could account for it.  however, the statistics that are available through wordpress are a bit more limited.  but the number of comments that i’ve been receiving has not increased.  therefore, i really have no way of knowing why my traffic has increased so greatly.  so if you are a new visitor, or have been visiting more often, say hello or make a comment on one of the posts.  it would be nice to hear from you.

for those wondering, gunnar’s surgery went very well this morning. we were only at the surgery center for about an hour and a half. it was a quick procedure and he did really well. he has been a bit fussy the rest of the day as a result of coming out of the anesthesia. they said he would feel like he’d had too much to drink and that the room would seem like it’s spinning. he hadn’t eaten anything since the night before but we couldn’t give him a full bottle right away because the doctor didn’t want him to get nauseous. he did finally get some food and then fell asleep on my chest for about an hour. he’s been in a better mood since, but you can tell he is a little uncomfortable and irritated still. all in all, i’m glad we got the procedure done and know this will improve life for him. thank you so much to everyone that prayed for him and jinae and i today. please continue to do so. i’ll be back in fargo tomorrow morning.

the other update is with regard to something i did with a portion of my christmas/birthday money. i got the beginnings of a tattoo on my upper right arm. eventually it will look like the stained glass piece that you see at the top of this page. keep in mind this picture was taken in a mirror so it’s reversed.

the request came for more information about the new job. my intention had always been to let people know more information. so i’ll just speed that process up a bit. it’s not so much a new job, but it’s not so much a true promotion either. i’ll be staying at the same school and the same campus i’m at right now. but the position itself will be a big change. right now, i’m in the business end of the campus dealing with accounts as well as administrative support. i’ve never been much for working with money or with the business side of things, all of my experience prior to working here had been more focused on the student services. in fact, i’d never taken any business or accounting classes before.

the new job is certainly more of a natural fit for me.  i will be working with students taking online courses, tracking academic progress and attendance, dealing with questions and concerns about classes, and mediating and helping to resolve student/professor conflict.  i’ll no longer be working with student accounts and i’ll no longer be at the front desk answering phones.  in fact, the nature of the job will allow me to work a fair amount from home if i choose.  the flexibility with my schedule will be great and should help improve my weekends when i go to get gunnar.

the pay will be a significant improvement and i’ll be able to move into an apartment again.  but beyond those improvements, perhaps the greatest luxury it brings is something i’ve been hoping and praying for:  stability.  this job has potential to be a long term job for me.  i can really see myself loving it.   i’ll be staying in fargo for the foreseeable future now.

the thing about open doors though, generally it means others have closed.  i was never completely sold on the idea of going to minneapolis, but for the first time in a long time, moving became a real possibility.  the prospects of living with mark van s and joining his church and living in that community were very attractive.  that option is dead for now.  and while i know that ministry never stops, this certainly will have an influence on the way ministry will look in my life.  on one hand, i know i’m here for awhile, so i can focus on what possibilities exist in my own community.  on the other hand, intervarsity seems to be fading further in my rear view now.

friday night i had a conversation about how God answers prayers.  we were discussing how often we ask for things and when God answers we don’t appreciate it because he didn’t answer based on our expectations.  one of the girls said it’s like manna.  exactly what we need at the time, just nothing like we expected it to taste like.  i think that’s how my life has been the last two years.  God has been generous with me.  giving me everything i need and more.  just not in the way i thought he should.  and i know that if i remain faithful to Him, then He will remain faithful to me.  and eventually, i’ll end up in the promised land.  whatever that looks like and where ever it may be.

please don’t leave me to remain
gunnar will be getting tubes in his ears on wednesday morning.  pray for him.  and for his mother and i.  i’m not that worried, just a little nervous so far.  i’ll update sometime after his surgery to let everyone know how he is doing.

i got a new job!