Countdown

Five classes done; one to be done tomorrow.
Last class with Milner. No way way, way! ;(

32 Weekly Ordos done
3 Major services MC'd
Student Government Job Finished
Orientation work continues
New apartment soon! With an air-conditioner, even!
Yay.

Melted

Our third floor apartment got up to nearly ninety degrees in the "cooler" room this afternoon. It is too hot to think, too hot to read, and even too hot to be excited that I have finished my final paper of the year. What fun is that? And poor Maggie dog! She's wearing a winter coat!

O Trinity! O Unity!

This evening in Theology of Music class, I present my term-long project: Images of the Holy Trinity in Sacred Music. I'm pumped. We'll be listening to music of John Sheppard, Claudio Monteverdi, Charles Wood, Sergei Rachmaninof, G.F. Handel, and Sir John Stainer. It's amazing how skillfully these composers interweave one, two, then three lines together, ending in a sublime unison. The Stainer text and tune (from "I Saw the Lord") replay in my head day and night. This is great stuff:

O Trinity! O Unity! Be present as we worship thee,
And with the songs that angels sing
Unite the hymns of praise we bring.

I welcome all good thoughts for 6:30 tonight.

Bittersweet

Even though my signal strength in the apartment is "Very Low," I am connected again. Yippee! (Good thing, too, as I'm already receiving responses from students for the Seabury Referral Directory, and from adjunct faculty for the Awards Night dinner.)

The end of the year feels so bittersweet. Though I will not miss working on several papers at once, I already miss those who are leaving the community, and I don't want daily chapel services to end. I even felt a tug of melancholy when I turned in the draft of my last weekly ordo yesterday. What the heck was THAT about? !

Disconnected

Since Reading Week, my computer cannot connect to the internet while in the apartments. Occasionally it connects in the library. Also occasionally, I get to the library during the hours the library is open. So, if anyone needs to ask or tell me anything of a timely nature, e-mail won't be the best way to go until our super-duper IT guy fixes things.

It's amazing how cross one can become when internet connection is not so easily available!

New Deacon

Hearty congratulations to Derrick, who was ordained deacon today in southern Ohio. Yay, Derrick! (Hmm, maybe he'll have to stop giving me "funny" finger signals in the parking lot.)

Sheep and Bison and Camels, Oh My

Sheep: Given that even our private phone calls are not really private any longer, I've decided not to post my sheep sermon to this blog. But, if anyone wants to see it, just let me know, and I'll send it to you, um, privately...

Bison: Yesterday, we visited a new kennel in Blue Grass, Iowa called Bison Ridge. We're looking for a place for Maggie when we go to General Convention. Bison Ridge is right off a major highway, and sure enough, there are a goodly number of bison on the premises. But, why on earth do they also have...

Camels: Yes, Camels! What does one do with camels, out in the middle of nowhere, Iowa, in May? Don't ask me: I grew up in the city! Some people even think I can't tell pidgeons from penguins.

The kennel also features country music blasting from the speakers. It wasn't quality stuff like Johny Cash (that's for you, Archer), but the whiny, twangy sort that made me really nervous. Our dog is accustomed to Bach and Monteverdi and listens to Compline at bedtime each night. Maybe we'll have to invest in doggie therapy after we return.

Guide us waking, and guard us sleeping...

Hairspray and Sheep

(Don't use hairspray on sheep.)

The solution to the domestic question posed in the previous blog is: hairspray! It works! Thanks to my classmate, a wise and generous person whom I greatly admire, who supplied the answer via private e-mail.

I've just finished my last sermon for Preaching C, the one required written sermon. Since I've preached all year without notes, this was quite a challenge. If I get really brave, I'll post the sermon (as two of my classmates have done) to my blog this week. Or not...after all, who really wants to read another sermon about sheep? Baaaaaa!

Ink

Does anyone know how to get a misaimed squiggle of blue ink out of a mocha-colored piece of clothing, before washing the clothing? (Ah well, at least the ink isn't on my NEW ALB!)

Kudos

Congratulations to Northland Al on his successful lecture/recital in partial fulfillment of requirements for his MTS degree in Liturgy and Music. Yay, Al!