seminary welcome back
Well, I've been back in Chicago a full week now, and it feels like about 24 hours. Rapid change does that—seems to numb our sense of the passage of time.
To honor that, I will now spit out a paragraph straight from the Top Ten List Of What Generally Not To Do On A Blog. This is mostly cathartic purging, so feel free to duck and cover.
The week has been: Sunday night: arrive and crash. Monday: realize I'm in Chicago. Hang out with Tim and Em and Ty and Laura. Tuesday: Mourn not being in Colorado cause everything feels sticky. Turns out to be "humidity." Have 3 hours lunch with Mark G. at Swedish bistro and catch up. Try to register for final class I need, a directed study with McKnight. Wonder where my bed sheets are. Wednesday: academic nightmare where my advisor changes, my directed study doesn't go through, and I try to re-figure out my academic plan. In the evening, run to Jewel in city traffic to pick up extra chips for the welcome-back community cookout. Smile a lot. Thursday: welcome-back breakfast with seminary people. Still try to figure out my academic plan. Worry a lot. See my friend Dan visiting from Colorado. More academic worrying. Get appropriate new paperwork turned in, and head to suburbs for See The Family time. Friday: Naperville with grandparents and Aunt's birthday, etc. Saturday: back in time to help with Seminary Retreat which actually isn't a Retreat but is still a somewhat enjoyable worship time plus meet new people plus eat a huge lunch event. Saturday evening: actually stop living out of the suitcase and start moving into new bedroom. Take break to watch Arrested Development with Ty and Laura. Sunday: pretend I don't have a Sabbath schedule yet and move into new bedroom more. Can now see part of floor. Celebrate found bed sheets. Attend Seminary Convocation involving The Organ and the Organist (plus awkward reading the names of new students that aren't actually in attendance). Hors d'oeuvres. More new students. Take break staring at wall. Share beer with new friends. Monday: wake up in stunning realization that the first day of class is here, and you're still not sure where you are. Attend Old Testament II (parallel structure), seminary chapel, seminary announcements, Starbucks, set up information fair, participate in information fair, catch up with seminary friends, turn in forgotten directed study paperwork from the summer, and sit down to recall that you haven't updated your blog in over a week.
And done. (my apologies)
