It's About Time

I'm finally going home today. Mountains, old friends, family, Claire and Dave, my home church (where I dreamed last night that they told me at the last minute that I'm preaching next week), and time to devote to paper writing. Okay, the last one is a little less exciting, although I do actually like having big chunks of time to devote to writing instead of the little chunks I get at school. I have four large-ish papers to write in the next 3 weeks. I'll basically get home, sleep, eat, and start cranking them out. On the plus side, I can do most of my writing at the coffee shop near my parents house. All of you who I've been neglecting to call for the past, um, 3 months can expect phone calls too, or at least expect me to pick up when you call. And now back to packing.

That About Sums It Up

Tonight at dinner a few of us decided what would go on our class t-shirts, if we had such a thing.

PTS 2008
It Just Needs to End.

I have about 75 pages to write, 15 of them by Friday. Marcy suggests I petition to have them call it a dissertation.

My Famous Friend

Dave's Famous!

And he has a website too!

The Art of Procrastination

Due:
Tuesday - Presentation on St. Stephen of Hungary
Friday - Group presentation on our congregational study
Monday - Lit paper on Faulkner and Silko
Friday - Church History paper on the church in Hungary in 1989
and numberous other small things like a few translations, reading 4 books, a few little response papers, etc.

Done:
Swing Dance Lesson
Gingerbread Campus

Christmas Dinner/Dance (aka Seminary Prom)
Saw Enchanted
Saw The Golden Compass
Dinner out
And today a trip to the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, eat yummy food, shop (unsuccessfully) at H&M, and go to The Strand where I acquired 3 books on Post-Soviet era Eastern Europe.
And I won't mention how many episodes of Gilmore Girls I've watched.

Yeah, I'm ready for Christmas.

on the utility of an M.Div.

I guess there are a lot of jobs available for people with an M.Div. Cut them in half when you remove youth ministry from the picture, and then probably half that if you take out things that require you to be ordained (which I won't be for at least a few years). Also remove children's ministry, contemporary worship leader, and positions requiring experience. Factor in the statistical fact that it is more difficult for single women in their twenties to get jobs in ministry than any other demographic (I think they think there's something wrong with us, or we can't make long-term commitments or something), and the reality that I need a job that will pay enough for me to start making loan payments and most likely buy a car. That leaves me with, um . . . catering. Or maybe temp work as a receptionist.
That might be a little fatalistic, but it's also more or less true. Lucky for me, I have "administrative assistant" and "catering manager" on my resume. I'm just too damn marketable for my own good. It's a good thing I have that Biblical Languages minor, because that will really bump me up to the next salary bracket.
Unless anyone wants to support my mission work as a Spiritual Formation Coordinator at a Christian college in Lithuania (no, seriously).