- Thankful that though it rained most of the day, I made my commute to and from work in the brief periods where it wasn't raining
- chocolate
- a hot shower after a very long day
- that when I got stuck on a delayed train (again! this is why I definitely prefer the bus), I wasn't in a big hurry to be anywhere
- having a refrigerator in my bedroom, giving me some options for healthier food that I didn't have previously.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 14
Today's Daily 5:
You Ask, I Answer, Take 20
Today's You Ask, I Answer question is the second last of the ones left on my list, and is once again from Johanna in Germany. (Side note: Send more questions my way if you like! I'm still having fun with them, though I do have a plan if I don't get any more from all of you!)
Johanna asked:
It took me a little while to come up with an answer for this one!
I would actually say that I think one of the biggest challenges that we face is figuring out how to live in a world that has become so much larger. I was reading a historical novel just recently and was struck by the reality that only a century or so ago, a 80 mile distance was immense, and meant that you might only see friends or family living at that distance once or twice a year! Long distance relationships were conducted by writing letters, and receiving a letter once a week or so was hugely frequent! Now, my closest friends live in different countries and on different continents from me, and while I don't always see them in person on a regular basis, I hear from them multiple times a week via email, phone calls, and skype.
I'm also struck by how, as we've developed these communication tools to make the world both larger and smaller simultaneously, our concerns have grown. We are aware of the effects of famine in Somalia, and war in Libya, and earthquakes in Japan and Haiti and elsewhere. We know instantly about the death of Osama bin Laden, and we speculate about when Will and Kate will produce an heir to the throne.
I think this growth/shrinking of the world is both a blessing and something that presents an immense challenge. I feel like we've lost the sense of family and community that came with a smaller world, and that a huge challenge for our generation is to figure out how to live with a sense of family, and community and grace on a more global scale. We have to make choices about how our lifestyle, our finances, our travel, and so many other things affect not only those close to us, but those on the other side of the planet. We need to consider the ramifications of the fact that we might talk daily with someone on another continent and not know who lives in the apartment next door. With a larger world comes a sense of responsibility - do my choices about transportation, about the environment and the food I consume have an affect on someone living in sub-saharan Africa? Does the fact that I have more than enough even though I'm on the lower end of the North American income scale make me responsible for the family existing in extreme poverty in Haiti or Cambodia?
As I write, I think about people asking Jesus who their neighbor really is, and I think that question they asked two thousand or so years ago takes on a new significance in an age where in many ways the whole world can be considered our neighbors.
So, that's my answer - I think figuring out how to live out a Christian ethic of loving your neighbor, in the midst of a world that has expanded/shrunk is a huge challenge for our generation, and one that will very much define the mark that we will leave on history.
Johanna asked:
What do you think is the biggest/one of the most important challenges for our society/for our generation right now/in the coming years?
It took me a little while to come up with an answer for this one!
I would actually say that I think one of the biggest challenges that we face is figuring out how to live in a world that has become so much larger. I was reading a historical novel just recently and was struck by the reality that only a century or so ago, a 80 mile distance was immense, and meant that you might only see friends or family living at that distance once or twice a year! Long distance relationships were conducted by writing letters, and receiving a letter once a week or so was hugely frequent! Now, my closest friends live in different countries and on different continents from me, and while I don't always see them in person on a regular basis, I hear from them multiple times a week via email, phone calls, and skype.
I'm also struck by how, as we've developed these communication tools to make the world both larger and smaller simultaneously, our concerns have grown. We are aware of the effects of famine in Somalia, and war in Libya, and earthquakes in Japan and Haiti and elsewhere. We know instantly about the death of Osama bin Laden, and we speculate about when Will and Kate will produce an heir to the throne.
I think this growth/shrinking of the world is both a blessing and something that presents an immense challenge. I feel like we've lost the sense of family and community that came with a smaller world, and that a huge challenge for our generation is to figure out how to live with a sense of family, and community and grace on a more global scale. We have to make choices about how our lifestyle, our finances, our travel, and so many other things affect not only those close to us, but those on the other side of the planet. We need to consider the ramifications of the fact that we might talk daily with someone on another continent and not know who lives in the apartment next door. With a larger world comes a sense of responsibility - do my choices about transportation, about the environment and the food I consume have an affect on someone living in sub-saharan Africa? Does the fact that I have more than enough even though I'm on the lower end of the North American income scale make me responsible for the family existing in extreme poverty in Haiti or Cambodia?
As I write, I think about people asking Jesus who their neighbor really is, and I think that question they asked two thousand or so years ago takes on a new significance in an age where in many ways the whole world can be considered our neighbors.
So, that's my answer - I think figuring out how to live out a Christian ethic of loving your neighbor, in the midst of a world that has expanded/shrunk is a huge challenge for our generation, and one that will very much define the mark that we will leave on history.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 13
Today's Daily 5:
- A relatively decent first day in this new temp position
- sitting outside, near the river, reading a book on my lunch hour
- a commute with no connections or transfers today, just time to read and think
- crocs ballet flats (an essential part of my work wardrobe)
- a cute scarf to wear, today's was floaty and a deep blue and cream color combo
Begin Again
I'm writing this post ahead of time, since, well, by the time it goes live this morning, I'll be on my way to catch a bus, and head for work.
This new temp position will require catching a bus by 6:30 am. That means waking up at around 5:30 am. Is there even a world at 5:30 am?
In some ways, I'm not sorry for last week's miscommunication over the start date of this position. It means that I've had a dry run, and I know just how much time I'll need to get up and start feeling like a human being. I know which buses to take, and where the office is. I have a sense of what's nearby - and of things that will be lovely until the weather changes - things like the fact that the river is only a few minutes walk from the office, nestled in the midst of a pretty park, and a nice escape from the density of downtown. Lunch hours will likely be spent in the park.
It's a downtown job, and that's a first. I've worked in administrative roles for years, but this is the first time I've worked right in the city core. (Well, other than the job at the social services organization last year, but that was more on the fringes of the core than actually in the core.)
So, today I begin again. I begin working. I begin adapting to a new schedule and rhythm of life. A new need for a more disciplined approach to time management than I've needed in a while. I begin longish commutes, likely filled with reading and thinking. I begin sorting out how to manage a full time work schedule given the particular challenges of my living situation, especially in the areas of easy access to a shower, and for cooking. I begin again. And new starts are always both terrifying and wonderful.
This new temp position will require catching a bus by 6:30 am. That means waking up at around 5:30 am. Is there even a world at 5:30 am?
In some ways, I'm not sorry for last week's miscommunication over the start date of this position. It means that I've had a dry run, and I know just how much time I'll need to get up and start feeling like a human being. I know which buses to take, and where the office is. I have a sense of what's nearby - and of things that will be lovely until the weather changes - things like the fact that the river is only a few minutes walk from the office, nestled in the midst of a pretty park, and a nice escape from the density of downtown. Lunch hours will likely be spent in the park.
It's a downtown job, and that's a first. I've worked in administrative roles for years, but this is the first time I've worked right in the city core. (Well, other than the job at the social services organization last year, but that was more on the fringes of the core than actually in the core.)
So, today I begin again. I begin working. I begin adapting to a new schedule and rhythm of life. A new need for a more disciplined approach to time management than I've needed in a while. I begin longish commutes, likely filled with reading and thinking. I begin sorting out how to manage a full time work schedule given the particular challenges of my living situation, especially in the areas of easy access to a shower, and for cooking. I begin again. And new starts are always both terrifying and wonderful.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 12
I'm writing today's Daily 5 at what feels like an insanely early hour compared to when I normally write them. That said, since starting tomorrow my alarm clock will ring at 5:30 every weekday morning, I'm aiming to start my hour of "no screen" time by about 9:30 tonight, and have my lights out, heading for sleep by 10:30. That means I need to write this Daily 5 now, even if it feels early!
So, today's Daily 5:
So, today's Daily 5:
- Hawaiian pizza for lunch
- crawling into a bed with freshly washed sheets
- buying a mini refrigerator for my space at grandma's, just a little thing, but it makes my life here quite a bit more liveable (and will let me snack in a bit healthier way!)
- a weekend that really was quite productive
- all the little things involved in preparing for a new start at work tomorrow morning
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