Sunday, March 30, 2008

Total Geeks

I know it's been over two weeks since I updated the blog. Monkey-Girl got back from Wisconsin just fine. We got through Holy Week too. (That's more of an accomplishment for her than me.) We've finally had a normal week together. Whatever that is.

Today's picture showcases Mercutio and I hanging out. He's not usually this lovey with me. He's a momma's boy at heart. When he deigns to grace me with his affection it's typically in a moment when I'm fairly content being left alone. Such is this case here. (My pictorial debut in my own blog!)

I'm reviewing the rules to Illuminati!, a fun and funny card game. Now, I'm geeky enough to think of this as pleasurable reading. Mercutio decided to lay on my side just as I was wanting to get up, of course. I'm just silly enough to think that if I consent to being inconvenienced occasionally that I'll be repaid someday when I need a little kitty affection. (I'll let you know if that works out.)

Of course, Mercutio could just be looking for some strategies for the next time we play.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Happy Pi Day!

Geeks! Where you at? It's time to celebrate the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, yo.

For those of you that are unaware March 14th is Pi Day. (3.14 . . . celebrated on 3/14, get it?) It's not much, but we math teachers have to have something to celebrate with our students. Besides, pi is the world's most famous irrational number and one of the most useful. Why else would people dedicate so much effort to memorizing its digits?

I personally only know 3.14159265358979 . . . . That's because of the mnemonic device, "I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics." The number of letters in each word corresponds to the digits after the decimal point. Now, before you start looking down your nose at me, Chao Lu of China recited the first 67,890 digits of pi on November 20, 2005. He hold the world record for pi recitation. (Collecting Transformers toys doesn't sound so weird now, does it?)

I'll leave you with a palindrome, "I prefer pi."

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Shower in a Box

Today marks Monkey-Girl's first shower back in Wisconsin. My mom, feeling I might be missing out, sent down what I'm calling a shower in a box. I took many pictures and will now subject you to viewing them all. Click on any thumbnail to view a larger image. It begins!


Here it is. The SIAB measures 19x13X8 offering an impressive 1.27 cubic feet of interior space. It's not too heavy for its size. That's a relief considering Monkey-Girl had to lug this beast to the car on her own.




Careful use of a kitchen knife reveals the well-packed glory of SIAB.






The pre-shower spread.







What would a shower be without snacks? My mom knows her audience too. We have Valentine heart shaped SweeTarts and Airheads Sours. I have to say 100% of the guests loved the snacks.





A lovely card . . .







. . . with a lovely inscription.

















Socks.







Hooded blankets. Thus begins the theme of yellow. As we're not finding out the baby's gender until he or she is delivered, we're going to be getting a lot of gender neutral colors.













Four sets of footie pyjamas, including an appropriately sized Halloween set. (My mother LOVES Halloween. You don't even know.)





Diaper pins. Yes, we're using cloth. (Hippies.)







Yellow washcloths. I hope baby likes duckies.







Many onesies! Featured are two Greenbay Packer sets and one set stating "I mickey-mouse-head Grandma". Rest assured, Mom, baby will definitely mickey-mouse-head you.





Winnie the Pooh crib sheet. Yes!








Matching blankets. I like the instructions on how to wrap baby up like a burrito.















A Halloween costume. A dalmatian? Perhaps a cow . . . .















The miscellaneous section. Plugs for electric outlets. (Our baby shouldn't have curly hair anyway.) A monkey rattle. (Have it!) And a ghost rattle. (Mom, Mom, Mom . . .)






This one's for me. I love Dr. Seuss. I'm not as familiar with Hop on Pop, but Monkey-Girl likes to say the title when encouraging Mercutio to jump on me. I also like that when buying these sets the proceeds go to children's' hospitals.




Wow! That's a lot of stuff. It was fun to have my own little shower, just me and the cat. It was also fun to put together this report. Thank you for the thought and the gifts, Mom.

I love you!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Snowy Saturday


Here's a view from the baby's nursery window. What a pretty picture! I especially like it because it's Saturday.

Snow on the mountain during the week means no school. That's a mixed blessing. On the one hand it means I get the day off. On the other hand it means I'll have to make up for that day off somewhere in my lesson planning. Today I could just admire God's work. Good job!

Speaking of baby, Monkey-Girl is up in Wisconsin attending (among other things) two baby showers. She's got a very busy week cut out for her, and I must say I'm none too jealous of her spring "vacation" coming when it does. She comes home next Sunday evening then dives headlong into Holy Week. Poor thing.

I'm working and home alone. Well, there's kitty, but what the heck does that count for? I stocked up on entertainment at Barnes & Noble on the way back from the airport. I'll be okay.

Oh! Do yourself a favor. Check out Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley. If you've lived with a pet, especially a cat, you'll love it.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Homily Update

Monkey-Girl asked that I post a revised version of her homily. I've gone back and updated the original post per her instructions. What you see now more accurately reflects the homily given on Monday.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

A Legend Passes

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away yesterday. The Associated Press obituary can be read here.

Now my fairly recent foray into the world of "serious" role playing notwithstanding, I have been a fan of Mr. Gygax for many years. Coming of age in the 1980s, I have been aware of D&D and its impact on gaming culture all my life. This is further compounded by the fact that the company first producing Dungeons & Dragons, TSR, was located not fifty miles from my hometown. The largest gaming convention in the world started as a get-together in this guy's basement! (Gen-Con was named after Lake Geneva, WI.)

The obituary is quite respectful of Mr. Gygax. It points to his friendly and approachable nature. It makes sense. What should inspire friendship and community more than gathering around a table to play a game? Not just a game, but a game that is not about competing against one another. A game in which all participate to tell a story.

Thank you, Gary. Thank you for helping to bring the world "the quintessential geek pastime."

In the Pulpit

On Monday morning, Monkey-Girl delivered her first-ever homily to the seminary community. She was quite nervous about it and worked very hard on it. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to hear it in person as I had to work.

I know most of you reading this blog are at least a little curious as to what she had to say. I suggested that she post the text to her blog, but she's so busy lately that I'm going to go ahead and do it for her. (If Monkey-Girl objects, she has but to ask and I will take this down.)

The gospel reading was Mark 7:24-37

“It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Today we hear a puzzling response from Jesus. Now, we’ve seen him rebuke people before, but they’re usually the people that seem to have it coming: Pharisees, money changers, rich young men with cavalier attitudes about Jesus’ mission. But this woman is none of these. She is a nameless gentile in a desperate situation, a situation that we would think would cry for mercy, not harsh words.

We don’t know why Jesus responds to her the way he does, but we have all heard the theories: maybe Jesus is testing her faith, or maybe he’s got tunnel vision about his mission to the Jews, or maybe, just maybe, he’s just plain wrong.

What we do know is that Jesus’ words throw an obstacle in front of the woman. She joins ranks with others who find that getting healed may take some work. Like the blind man from yesterday’s Gospel, who was told to wash in the pool of Siloam, and Naaman, who was told that his leprosy would be cured by washing seven times in the Jordan rive, the woman finds that she cannot simply put in a request with this Man of God and have her order filled.

But the obstacle she encounters is different. She’s not asked to perform some task or present an offering. That might have been easier, in a way. (After all, what parent wouldn’t present extravagant sacrifices, or perform extreme tasks to see their child healed?) Instead, she must stay engaged in a conversation with a man who just compared her to a dog. That would pose an insurmountable task for many people.

She has some choices:
She could walk away from the conversation, and write this man off as a cruel phony, no real Man of God, but that would leave her exactly where she started.

She could scold Jesus, tell him how rude and insensitive he is, and tell him he ought to be ashamed of himself. But again, that would really get her nowhere.

Or, she could accept Jesus’ strange analogy, stay engaged, and hope that somehow she can convince him to change his mind. It’s as if she says, “Okay, then I’m a dog. But I am not some pup to be kicked away until the meal is over. You’ll find me under that table, begging until you can’t stand me anymore, you’ll have to feed me if those children are going to enjoy their meal. I’m a dog, alright, but I’m a pit bull, and I won’t let go until I get what I want.”

She remains determined, and in doing so, she finds herself in a real-life conversation with the living God. This is not some gentile god, a vacant stone idol, where one leaves a sacrifice and hopes for the best. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and like Jacob she wrestles, and refuses to let go until she is blessed.

And then something amazing happens. Jesus tells her that the demon has left her daughter. Suddenly, she is no longer a begging dog, but a child at the table, grateful for the meal in front of her.

Often, we are presented with choices much like this mother, and the challenges we face are the same. It can be tempting to walk away after we offer our own sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and forget that we have a partner in conversation, a God who wants to talk to us, and wants us to talk back. Sometimes we demote ourselves from children of God to pups under the table. Relationships are hard work, and sometimes it’s easier to retreat. But that’s not what we’re called to do. We are called to claim our status as children of God through Jesus Christ. To engage our Lord and Maker. And to invite other children to join us at the table.


Monkey-Girl reported many compliments from her fellow seminarians. She's also had a few requests for a copy for themselves.

Those of you living in southeastern Wisconsin may want to consider heading over to St. Michael's Church of Racine this Sunday (March 9th). Monkey-Girl will be preaching at the 7:30 and 9:00 services. Just be sure to set your clocks ahead on Saturday night!