Monday, May 31, 2004
Three Things
The Plan: first, I'm going to bitch and moan for a minute. Then, I am going to talk about something serious. Finally, I am going to advertise something cool.
Today was Memorial Day, a national holiday. Everything is closed: banks, the post office, businesses and schools. Wait, no, not everything; Seabury is open for business and class. After chapel, I head to lunch. There, I am turned away at the door because lunch today was only for dorm students on account of it being Memorial Day. I said that was ridiculous. She said back to me, "It was on the email. I'm sorry." I don't give a royal rat's ass (and that's putting it mildly) if it was on the email or not. If we're going to hold classes on Memorial Day, and we're expected to be at both them and chapel, then they damn sure can feed those of us on a meal plan! I don't pay the exuberant rate of approximately $900/year for crappy food to be turned away at the door because the lunch staff would like to take off on Memorial Day. I agree with the lunch staff though, we all should be off on Memorial Day. It's an important national holiday! I'm really rather pissed off about this and intend on taking to to someone who can do something about it. I plan on asking for a $6 refund (the price of lunch) on my and every other student's account who has purchased a meal plan but does not live in the dorms. This was just ridiculous, absurd, and completely unnecessary.
As I mentioned yesterday, Jackie Schmitt is leaving her chaplaincy position at NU Canterbury to accept the chaplaincy at Harvard. I forgot to mention that she asked me if I would be able to assist the new chaplain with the transition. Now, while I feel less qualified to do this than those NU students who have been attending Canterbury for more years than I, I am honored by her request. I will do what I can to assist the new chaplain with liturgical planning and anything else for which my position as a seminary student qualifies me, and leave the other items for those more qualified persons. So, this, combined with all the leavetakings of folk at Seabury amounts to an enormous amount of transition. If I would just shut-up for a minute, might I hear God saying, "Ryan, I'm gonna learn you a little something about transition in the church. Pay attention,"? I think I might. So, while the transition period will be challenging and difficult for us all, I'm going to try an pay attention to what God might have for me to learn in all of this.
A dear friend of mine, and a man whose propensity for nonsense rivals my own, has finally taken the suggestion of several of his friends and gotten his own blog! I can't tell you how excited I am and how much I anticipate the awesomeness of silliness to come. BrotherBeal also has quite the astute and serious mind. His words have been a comfort to me in times past and will be again, I reckon. His natural spirituality provides a great complement to my reasoned (I try) and logical (my nature) theological underpinnings, and so our conversations often go deep into the theological and spiritual realms of faith. Needless to say, I am really excited about the possibilities of his blog. Be sure to visit him at De Rebus Nugarum and I will make sure to add him to my blogroll. Peace and ZAX to you BrotherBeal.
-R
The Plan: first, I'm going to bitch and moan for a minute. Then, I am going to talk about something serious. Finally, I am going to advertise something cool.
Today was Memorial Day, a national holiday. Everything is closed: banks, the post office, businesses and schools. Wait, no, not everything; Seabury is open for business and class. After chapel, I head to lunch. There, I am turned away at the door because lunch today was only for dorm students on account of it being Memorial Day. I said that was ridiculous. She said back to me, "It was on the email. I'm sorry." I don't give a royal rat's ass (and that's putting it mildly) if it was on the email or not. If we're going to hold classes on Memorial Day, and we're expected to be at both them and chapel, then they damn sure can feed those of us on a meal plan! I don't pay the exuberant rate of approximately $900/year for crappy food to be turned away at the door because the lunch staff would like to take off on Memorial Day. I agree with the lunch staff though, we all should be off on Memorial Day. It's an important national holiday! I'm really rather pissed off about this and intend on taking to to someone who can do something about it. I plan on asking for a $6 refund (the price of lunch) on my and every other student's account who has purchased a meal plan but does not live in the dorms. This was just ridiculous, absurd, and completely unnecessary.
As I mentioned yesterday, Jackie Schmitt is leaving her chaplaincy position at NU Canterbury to accept the chaplaincy at Harvard. I forgot to mention that she asked me if I would be able to assist the new chaplain with the transition. Now, while I feel less qualified to do this than those NU students who have been attending Canterbury for more years than I, I am honored by her request. I will do what I can to assist the new chaplain with liturgical planning and anything else for which my position as a seminary student qualifies me, and leave the other items for those more qualified persons. So, this, combined with all the leavetakings of folk at Seabury amounts to an enormous amount of transition. If I would just shut-up for a minute, might I hear God saying, "Ryan, I'm gonna learn you a little something about transition in the church. Pay attention,"? I think I might. So, while the transition period will be challenging and difficult for us all, I'm going to try an pay attention to what God might have for me to learn in all of this.
A dear friend of mine, and a man whose propensity for nonsense rivals my own, has finally taken the suggestion of several of his friends and gotten his own blog! I can't tell you how excited I am and how much I anticipate the awesomeness of silliness to come. BrotherBeal also has quite the astute and serious mind. His words have been a comfort to me in times past and will be again, I reckon. His natural spirituality provides a great complement to my reasoned (I try) and logical (my nature) theological underpinnings, and so our conversations often go deep into the theological and spiritual realms of faith. Needless to say, I am really excited about the possibilities of his blog. Be sure to visit him at De Rebus Nugarum and I will make sure to add him to my blogroll. Peace and ZAX to you BrotherBeal.
-R
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