Twinkies and 100 Strangers

We had a cold day this past Friday. It was -6 and -25 with the windchill. A fellow teacher and I had planned to be 'twins' that day. Apparently I am known for wearing my big boots with a skirt and a scarf. My co-worker had a 'Mammoser' outfit that she planned on wearing and said that I should wear the original outfit and we could see if our students noticed. We planned to do this on Monday, the new day of the semester. Due to the day off, we didn't see our students at all due to the finals that were pushed back to that Monday. The staff luncheon was that Monday as well.

Regardless, we still dressed as twins. We walked together down to the teacher luncheon where everyone asked if we planned on dressing the same...

My co-worker and I sat at the table with the foreign language teachers. The German teacher is also studying photography. She is currently working on a project called 100 strangers where she try and meets at least 100 new people during the year, and then she photographs them in the place where she met them. This teacher and I had met once before when she commented on my Ritter Sport candy wrapper bag that I had gotten from an exchange student from Germany who stayed at our house. However, she couldn't remember my name, just the Ritter sport bag, so she still counted me as a stranger since she couldn't remember my name. Also, she kept calling my co-worker and I 'twinkies' instead of 'twins'.

Licking the Plate

Today was a pretty slow day.  I did some reading for Greek (about 1 hour of socio-historical context analysis tips in an exegesis handbook) and then spent about 4 hours translating my Greek passage for the semester (James 2:1-13).  I also put out Aspen Grove's church signs by Santa Fe like I usually do on Saturday mornings.  Last time when I took them down they were really dirty from the snow and slush splashing on them from the highway.  I'll need to wipe them down or something before I put them out again next week.  I've also been watching some college basketball.  Right now Purdue and Michigan State are on, but I'm more interested in the Mizzou/Iowa State game which I am diligently following online.  The current halftime score for that game is 48-27 in favor of Mizzou.  I am rather happy.  I've been expecting a call from my dad, but it hasn't come...it's 9 pm back in Missouri now so I don't think I'm getting it.  Hospital bill stuff.  I'm going to assume that the insurance office was closed on Saturdays so that my dad wasn't able to get any information from them....so there really was no reason to call me.

As anyone could tell, today has indeed been a pretty slow day.  I did have a high point besides the current Mizzou game.  I had some coffee after lunch (which was some nice bold starbucks with hazelnut creamer) and then it occurred to me that some cinnamon sugar toast would be nice to have with it.  So  I did.  I toasted two pieces of bread, spread some butter on them, sprinkled the cinnamon on them, and then carefully sprinkled the sugar over them trying to get that nice evenly covered slice that I at one point in my life was able to do so easily.  I've lost my touch.  I'm not sure when the last time I had cinnamon sugar toast was.  Delicious.  But the oddest thing happened when I finished.  I was sitting on the couch, and I just sat there almost ready to get up (to put my plate in the kitchen).  I sat there, and I stared at the plate.  I had this strange feeling that I was forgetting something.  After about half a minute I realized what it was.  I hadn't licked the plate clean.  This shows how long its been.  As a kid it was just a natural part of the eating process to lick the crumbs and sugar off the plate.  Of course, I'm grown up now, but what does that mean?  It means I licked the plate....and wrote about it.

Writing Mythology

Every now and then it isn't too hard to see how people would form a mythology about what happens in the heavens.  Red, fiery colors.  What's going on up there?  Someone is angry....

Verizon on the Horizon

I decided to walk down to the Aspen Grove Shopping Center today to pay a  little visit to the Verizon Wireless store.  I'm finally getting on the Mammoser family plan....or eventually going to.  Things really didn't work out very well, and though the phone is activated I didn't get my number switched.  But on a lighter side I met a really nice guy with a beard there.

I like beards.  My father has one.  I could have one.  And I'm just comfortable with them.  I wonder though when the beard will betray me, because at some point I will meet a beard I like and the person wearing it is going to be awful.  That will be a sad day.

...rays of sun from the back porch of the conservation center deck...

 Pictures!

.....

...chimney on the conservation center...

I should probably write something about all these photos...but I'm not feeling it....see the captions.

...ahh, yeah...

...This was a nice looking pine...

How To Train Your Dragon Friends

 

..and so Hannah made the dragons friends...

The University of Heidelberg

One of the best teachers I have ever had was Professors Jeffrey Tyler at Hope College.  I remember my senior year, first semester, when he taught me how to do research.  His approach was to have us determine a paper topic, collect sources (around 50 were recommended), pick key contributions among those sources, read them, read scholastic criticisms (pro and con) of those sources, write your own critique of those sources based on your research, as well as researching the authors themselves of those same sources.  We would then design an outline of that paper, and write a short 2 page description of what the paper would be....we would never write the paper.  Professor Tyler understood the importance of research process.  Why do I bring all this up?  I currently find myself in that process for an actual paper that I am writing on James 2:1-13.  And in this process I found myself researching the background of an author who wrote what I thought an excellent commentary.  His name, Martin Dibelius.  In learning about who Martin Dibelius was (yes, I found out he was dead), a German theologian who pioneered New Testament form criticism (that painful analysis of all the literary forms found in the New Testament), I discovered that he spent some time teaching at the University of Heidelberg.  The University of Heidelberg was the fourth university established in Christendom in the late 1300's, and is extremely prestigious.  I had no idea.....and that is what research is all about.

Noisy Ganders on the South Platte River

Snowy Day

...a local pond of the South Platte Conservation area...

I went fishing yesterday.  Today I went out to take some wintry pictures...but it was too cold to stay out longer than fifteen minutes.  I walked along the river briefly, watching the snow come down and the Canadian geese on the South Platte that stay here all winter.  I guess Colorado winters seem gentle to them as well, even when it snows.  I enjoyed the quiet of the trails as no one was out, and I am reminded how snow muffles sounds.  I had my iPod playing some Frank Sinatra, so here I was bundled up, taking pictures, in my own little world.  At one point I farted, and in the muffled silence I suddenly became very self-conscious about how loud it seemed.  I looked behind me on the trail in case someone had silently been sneaking up on me and had heard.  There wasn't anyone. 

This morning I sang at church and ate two glazed donuts.  I was also asked several times when the 'wedding date' was.  I think this will be a reoccurring question, particularly considering that we just started a sermon series of which relationships will be a heavily hit topic.  I suppose that will be a reoccurring theme in my ramblings as well.

It's a start at least....

Just got back to Grandma's house and found it's 60 inside. So while the house

heats up, I figured I would write again in hereI woke up this morning with Molly, my family's black lab, laying directly on top of me. As much as I enjoy her warmth, I don't enjoy her weight. She usually wakes up when my alarm goes off, but this morning, she didn't. That made it even harder to wake up I think.

This morning's services went smoothly as possible. When I got home, my mom and I started AND finished my application process for getting a Colorado teacher's license. I just have to have a few things sent in, have my fingerprints taken, and be given a job somewhere. Alex and I know some people from Hope who might be able to help me with the later part. I will be registering to take the two certification tests for Colorado; one I can take near my house and the other I'll be going to Colorado in late February to take. The sooner I get them done the better. I know that this is just a very small part of the whole processes, but it's a start at least. If I at least get a job, then Alex and I will be able to afford money for food and a place to live, you know, the important things. It may even speed up the day when we can name a day to get married. *crosses fingers*

A full week of school this week and then a three day weekend! My mom said we might go dress shopping/viewing on Monday since we both have the day off.

When we were coming back from the Dells during Christmas break, the Christian radio station gave the challenge to listen to only Christian music for the month of January. I really struggle with the music I listen to. I know it's not right, but I often find myself having a severe dislike for Christian music. It's not the lyrics, and I could go as far to say that the lyrics are the best part. Instead, it's the musicality of it, or the voice, or the way the song was put together or something. I know it's just me being ridiculous, but it's true. However, I thought it was an appropriate challenge for me. So far, I have been doing ok. A couple of times I turned my radio back to the secular stations, but after listening to one or two songs, I have to change it back. As much as there is a musical variety in the secular songs, the lyrics are, most of the time, horrible if you listen to them closely. Sometimes I find the Christian radio station is still annoying so artists like Anberlin, Switchfoot, David Crowder, Mat Kearney, and Search the City are my radio replacements.

Along with a change of radio stations, I've also been working on keeping my foot a little lighter on the gas pedal while I drive... Since school has started, and it's only been a week, I am proud to say I have not gone over 75. Kudos to me.

I need to figure out how to add pictures.... Alex......

Looking Ahead To Ice Fishing

I got the chance to go fishing today.  It's an activity which I find quite energizing. Of course, January is an awful time to fish...no one under the water is hungry.  But, it is still a nice time to go out and see what there is to see.  It was peaceful.  It was pretty much just me out there alone, listening to obnoxious ducks and the creek....something like this.

Not long after I recorded this a conservation officer stopped by and we talked about the thickness of ice in local ponds, agreeing that we need a cold snap to thicken the three inch ice to the officially sanctioned six inches that local ice fishers look for.  Not that I am any sort of ice fisher, but it's something to do.  It was a strange conversation considering how musty the trails smell, as if this was late fall and not midwinter.  It was very pleasant weather for a conversation about ice thickness.  I love Colorado.

A contribution

Alex has already charged ahead in the undertaking of a blog for, and written by the both of us. Although he started it yesterday, I feel as though my efforts are lacking due to the effort he has already put forth. Alex is good at doing this sort of thing though, much better at me, and hopefully, will keep me accountable to write on this thing at least once or twice a week.

My weekend has been busy but I have gotten much accomplished! I finished writing one of the four finals I have to write and be ready to pass out during Martin Luther King week. Grading is up to date as well as some lesson planning. I'm also playing in church this weekend. They replaced the huge grand piano that I LOVE playing with a new keyboard synth. As awesome as this synth is, I miss the piano.

So far, my mom and I are planning on looking/shopping for a wedding dress in a couple weekends. My sisters got really into it this past week, looking for dresses in all sorts of places. (Any suggestions are welcome!) I have even caught my mom on a couple bridal sites looking at dresses. We've got an idea of where the ceremony and reception could be, and that's pretty much all we got.

I really don't know what else to write about, so..... until next time!

Abe's Cafe

Abe's Cafe

 Today I cleaned, and as with anything taken to excess after several hours I felt the urge to wander away from the apartment.  I persuaded Gregor to accompany me to downtown Littleton for lunch with ease, and he found it all the more agreeable since he needed to go to the bank anyways.  We walked.

 I guess we like walking.  It's one of those things we do when we feel like we need a break but still want to be productive.  I don't believe we consider it exercise, but I guess there is something about nature that just seems healthy.  Getting out in the sunshine is rewarding, and if there is a yummy meal to be had for the price of a short walk all the better.

...The sun shown very strongly on this window front table...

  The journey went well, if it can be called a journey.  There isn't much particularly gorgeous about the walk during early January, though the 50 degree weather does seem rather mild compared to the bitterness of a Wisconsin New Year's Day.  We arrived at the bank in high spirits, as is the result of a brisk walk.  We found the service to be exceptional today, and Gregor was seated with a banker rather than having to wait for a teller to become available.  It was here Gregor submitted his deposit while I sat idly by in another chair.  We talked to Scott, my personal banker who happened to be handling Gregor's deposit, and we shared with him our desire to find food.  He recommended this little place called Abe's Cafe.  We didn't know what he was talking about, but still in good spirits we left the bank intent on finding this little place which might as well be our ultimate food destination.

...a wine display to rival any in Littleton...

We found the place without much trouble, though on the way we were puzzled by a strange tweeting sound that accompanied us whenever we crossed an intersection.  Gregor recalled that these 'tweeters' had been installed for the blind people that frequent the area so they could know when they could cross the street.  How nice.  Not long after that intersection we found ourselves entering a little 'Old World'-esque cafe with old wood floors and stucco walls.  It reminded me of some place you would find in a much larger city, not on a main street.  Abe greeted us, and to our surprise Abe was a jovial middle-aged Greek man who upon learning we were unfamiliar with his establishment described all his delicacies to us and assured us all his sandwiches were excellent.  Gregor noticed that his daughter, an attractive young lady I would put between the age of 18 and 24, was also excellent--a point he brought up after we had left though his eyes gave him away far before that.

...classic deli...

We selected our dishes while admiring the decor and atmosphere.  I particularly enjoyed the lively Greek music.  From our window seat we watched a very upper-middle class looking family of tourists enter the cafe.  They soon left.  Gregor and I soon found our discussion after that turning to things such as culture shock and the surprising location of such an 'ethnic' restaurant.  That family doesn't know what they missed out on, for as soon as our food was delivered we discovered that Abe was good as his word, though just in case he still came over to personally ascertain whether his food was suited to our tastes.  It was.  There was nothing flashy about the food, but it was filling and delicious which is really all two 24 year old males could really want. 

We left the restaurant, thankful for the experience, and intent upon our next destination--a coffee place just down the street.  We each got something there and as we walked back with our beverages, my cappuccino and Gregor his latte, we drank them and considered the role the caffeine would play in keeping us productive for the rest of the afternoon.  Abe's sandwiches were definitely on the side of napping on the couch.  We really didn't finish the conversation because we noticed a heron standing by a pond that we walked by.  It did not fly away, but rather stood its guard over the ducks which moved busily about the pond (which was rather small).  I purposed in my mind to ask the first person I meet who knows something about birds why the heron stands on one leg.  Now that the moment has passed I am more interested in whether the opportunity will ever arrive, and if it does whether I will remember anything of herons and legs or points of interest previously expressed.

It was a good day one might say.  A small walk can go a long way...

The Little Things

...a little thing called rays of sunshine...

There are few things I can think of that can both enrich and inform like a journal.  Perhaps it's that time of forced reflection that strikes each journal's author which causes it to be such a good exercise as each attempts to translate the words that life has whispered or shouted at them.  Each individual's personality inevitably shows when they write their lives in as concise or verbose a manner as each desires.  My desire is that this is a place to remember the good things life has presented me, and it may be that I am long-winded....Perhaps I enjoy rambling about those little things that make life more than tolerable.  If this endeavor, here in this space, proves to force me into the habit of recognizing these little things then that is plenty enriching for me and will bring joy each day.