Sometimes I'm Irresponsible

Today's manifestation: going to IKEA with Geila and Rachel instead of writing the funeral sermon I have to preach in class on Monday and catching up on all the homework I didn't do during the Book Sale. But hey, we each need a new bookshelf for all the books we acquired.
Such as:
A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union (a coffee table book)
The Book of Lights by Chaim Potok
Memoirs of a Geisha
To Kill a Mockingbird
Medieval Women Writers
A History of Christian Thought by Justo Gonzalez (3 volumes)
Yugoslavia (also a coffee table book)
First-hand Reports of Rumania's Minority Policies Today
The Journal of John Wesley (highly abridged)
From Jerousalem to Irian Jaya
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
Pinakothek (an art book of one of my favorite museums in Munich)
Christendom by Roland Baintan
The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Roland Baintan (to replace mine that fell apart)
The Da Vinci Code (I really should read that)
Hungary: A Bried History
In My Father's House by Corrie ten Boom
The Kite Runner
The Book of Common Worship
and a few CDs of Czech music. Yeah, I'm random.
And I obviously need to go buy a Swedish self-assembly book shelf.

I'm alive, mostly

The last time I updated was during Reading Week I believe. That seems so long ago, those days of forced relaxation. For the past two weeks I have pretty much lived in the gym working on the Book Sale, which is a huge event that raises money for seminaries in developing countries. After using ever free minute for almost two weeks sorting books and cataloguing the rare stuff so we could get more money for it, the sale completely overtook my life since Friday.
Friday: 12pm-10pm - Haul books upstairs and start setting up.
Saturday: 10:30am-10pm(ish) - Set-up
Sunday: 11am-7pm -Set-up, 7-9 Preveiw Sale, 9-10:30 clean-up
Monday: in the gym 8am-10pm, except for coming back to campus to deposit money, and getting my stitches out in the afternoon (yay!)
Tuesday: in the gym 8am-11pm
Wednesday: in the gym 8am-2am for the last day of the sale then clean-up.

It's a good cause and I enjoy a lot of it, but I haven't gone to classes this week, my feet hurt, and I'm exhausted. I've also eaten a lot of junk because of missing meals in the cafeteria.

But we did find two books from the 1600's worth several thousand dollars, and a Journal of John Wesley from 1800s that the United Methodist archives is buying from us.

And apparently it's been beautiful outside, so I hope to see that today. I'm babysitting all afternoon, so maybe I'll take the kids to a park.

Have my cake, and eat it too.

I don't think of myself as a very demanding person (you are free to disagree . . .) but I REALLY wanted to have my way with this one.
Me: Can I come to Ghana around the 18th so I can go to a dear friend's wedding in California?
Rev. Dogbe: No problem!
YAY! It's a paraphrase, but it gets the point across.

And there's more

Right after writing that post I received an email notifying me that I have been placed at Bishop Speaks AME Zion Church. I need confirm with them soon so we can get paperwork started, but I'm not yet 100% sure I want to go. I'm rereading my journals from when I was in Ghana before, as well as meeting with the girl who was at that placement two years ago. I also just sent an email to the pastor suggesting the wedding-altered schedule, and I'm not sure which I'll choose if they can't work around the wedding. So keep me in prayer for where my butt and I will spend the summer.

Tail Tale

I saw the surgeon this afternoon and he said everything looks good so far. I get stitches out in 12 days. In the mean time, I have to continue staying off my rear until at least Monday, and then I still can't be sitting too extensively.
I have a nice little set-up here in my room, although my hips and shoulders are sore from being laid on far more than usual. I've been eating standing up in the cafeteria and otherwise mostly laying in bed watching movies or doing internet things or chatting with people. So far I've watched both the A&E and the newest versions of Pride and Prejudice, and all 4.5 hours of the extended version of Return of the King.
In other news, I had my second international field ed interview today with the other Ghana site. I hope to know soon which wants me, and convince them to let me push my start date back a few weeks so I can go to this summer's big event, the much-anticipated Bianca/Andrew nuptuals.

Rump Update

Surgery went well and I've been in bed since then. I have my computer set up so I can reach it while laying here. I'm only in a little pain, and am only going to take painkillers if it gets really bad. So far I've watched 3 Gilmore Girls episodes, 5 Friends episodes and half of That Thing You Do. Friends are taking care of me - bringing food, visiting, etc. So far so good.

BS Day!

No, not the card came, nor the expletive. Butt Surgery! Tomorrow morning at 7:30am. So by the time you West Coast folk are getting I'll probably be back in my dorm room doped up on codine. So keep me in your prayers, mostly for a speedy and infection-free recovery. This next would be a great week for those of you who I haven't talked to in a while to give me a call, since I certainly won't be busy ;)

Whining (like Jeni, only not pregnant, and therefore with less of an excuse)

Surgery
My surgery for my butt cyst will be this Friday at 7:30am. It will be under local anesthesia and will only take about an hour. Then I'll spend about 10 days staying off my butt (aka laying on my stomache and standing). The logistics of this is a little mind-boggling, but that next week is reading week, so I'll just be doing my reading in bed.
Field Ed
Have I whined enough about the field ed office yet? No, because I haven't told the promised 'why they're having me interview with Ghana' story.
The short version is, and this is as direct of a quote as I can remember from Chester, my field ed "advisor": 'it's like we have a barrel of students (i.e. 14 students), and we pull them out and try to place them in the best site for each of them. Then you were left for Ghana.' Yes, he actually told me that.
And it gets worse.
Yesterday I had a phone interview scheduled for 8am my time with Bishop Speaks AME Zion church in Accra. I arrived a little early at the field ed office to find it locked and nobody there. At 8:18, Harry, the other field ed "advisor" arrives for work and I tell him that I was supposed to be on the phone with Ghana at 8. So he goes into the office, hunts down the phone number, and calls the church. Then he says to the pastor (again, almost direct quote): "Rev. Dogbe, I have a student here who wants to talk to you about summer field ed. Here she is." And hands me the phone! No introduction, no explanation for calling almost 1/2 hour late, no apology. So I got a 25 minute interview (they're expected to be about 1 hour), then when I came out of the office in which I was interviewing the office assistant (who I usually consider the only semi-reliable person in that ridiculous office) said 'sorry I was running a little late' then proceeded to explain that she hasn't been able to get in touch with the other church I am supposed to interview with. I'm considering writing a formal letter of complaint to the Dean of Student Life about how this office is screwing me over. Unfortunately, I can't remember the appropriate non-colloguial term for 'screw me over.' I'm not sure I want to travel to Africa under the auspices of an office that can't even remember to show up when they've scheduled an international interview. At least I know how to get myself around in and out of Ghana when they fly me to the wrong airport then forget that I exist and think that I dropped out of school and therefore cancel my loans and I don't graduate. That's a little melodramatic, but with all the s#%@ that office has already put me through while I'm only living 200ft away, I can't imagine what it'll be like when I am out of the country.
Seriously folks, it should not be too much to ask to have an ounce of tact and reliability.

Oh, now that's just gross!

Remember that time freshman year when I fell on my tail bone and thought I broke it and it's been hurting sporadically ever since? Five years after the fact I go to the doctor and learn the really disgusting truth:
I have a pilonidal cyst. I won't go into details, but prepare to be grossed out if you choose to research it for yourself. It's not dangerous, but I will be having it surgically removed either next month or after I get back from Africa, depending on the surgeon's recommendation.
If you've heard Dave's stories of cyst nastiness from college, this is the same thing he had.
Ew. That's about all I have to say about that.

Lent-tastic

I celebrated Shrove Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras) in style by gorging myself on half-priced appetizers at Applebees with some friends last night. Ah, the feast before the fast.
So overall I'm pretty bad at the whole giving something up for Lent thing. I was much better at it as a kid when 'because you're supposed to' was a good enough reason for me to give up cookies or salad dressing or whatever. But once I actually understand the purpose of giving something up (ie. cultivating a longing for Christ and identifying with his suffering), I had a really hard time thinking of things that would have that impact on my life, rather than just self-denying for its own sake.
But this year I'm back on it. The plan is to eat bland food, because life without Jesus would be bland. This being the first day of Lent, I'm not exactly sure yet what that will look like, but I figure there'll be a lot of rice, bread, hummus, and meat without sauce involved. I think I should still be able to eat pretty healthfully on this plan, and by the time Easter comes around I will definitely be longing for something with flavor.
There is much discussion on campus about the imposition of ashes. Are they self-righteous, it is meaningful, is it a good witness, etc. Thoughts?

The Late, Great Bruce Metzger

New Testament Scholar and Bible Translator Bruce Metzger Dies
Princeton, NJ, February 15, 2007–Dr. Bruce Manning Metzger, New Testament professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and one of the preeminent American New Testament critics and biblical translators of the twentieth century, died February 13, 2007, at the University Medical Center at Princeton, at the age of 93.

Bruce Metzger was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on February 9, 1914. After gaining a B.A. from Lebanon Valley College in 1935, he entered Princeton Theological Seminary, graduating with a Th.B. in 1938. So began a life-long association with Princeton Theological Seminary during which Bruce Metzger became not only a legend himself but also one of the school's greatest intellectual ornaments. He was ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (now the PCUSA) in 1939. In 1944 he married Isobel Elizabeth, the elder daughter of John Alexander Mackay, the great third president of the Seminary, who rebuilt and revitalized the school after the divisions of the 1920s. Bruce Metzger's sheer brilliance, clarity, and Christian devotion set a standard all of his own. He taught while he continued to study (Princeton University, M.A. [1940], Ph.D. [1942], Classics), serving as teaching fellow in New Testament Greek 1938–40 and as instructor in New Testament 1940–44. He was appointed assistant professor 1944–48; associate professor 1948–54 and professor 1954–84. He was named the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature in 1964. He retired in 1984 and was named professor emeritus.

An absolutely preeminent New Testament scholar, Metzger was known internationally for his work in biblical translation and the history of the Bible’s versions and canonization. He was one of the world leaders in textual study of the New Testament, the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. He served as Chair of the Committee on Translation of the American Bible Society 1964–70, and as Chair of the Committee of Translators for the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible 1977–90. The impact of this work is incalculable and Bruce Metzger saw it through the press almost single-handedly. The NRSV, published in 1990, made changes to the RSV in paragraph structure and construction, eliminated archaisms while retaining the Tyndale-King James tradition, polished renderings in the interest of accuracy, clarity, and felicity of English expression, and eliminated masculine language referring to people, insofar as this did not distort historical accuracy. In 1993 Bruce Metzger presented a copy of the NRSV, Catholic Edition, to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Bruce Metzger understood and was passionate about the significance of biblical translation for ecumenical dialogue. In 1957 he served on the committee that translated the Apocrypha (the committee included the original RSV Committee plus Metzger, Floyd Filson, Robert Pfeiffer, and Allen Wikgren). In 1972 he chaired the sub-committee that translated 3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151 for an expanded version of the Apocrypha. He personally presented this expanded version to His All Holiness Demetrios I in 1976. It was important to him that Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant Christians be able to have recourse to a common biblical text as an instrument of unity.

Bruce Metzger cared about and provided for his students. Generations have been grateful for his Lists of Words Occurring Frequently in the Coptic New Testament, and his Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek (first published in 1946) became a standard study tool. He edited The Oxford Annotated Bible in 1962, and in 1966, along with Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, and Allen Wikgren, edited the United Bible Societies' edition of the Greek New Testament. This text, especially adapted to meet the needs of Bible translators, with its beautiful original font and indication of the relative degree of certainty for each variant adopted in the text, proved to be an enduring landmark. The editors were later joined by Carlo Martini (the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002). A warm friendship grew between Metzger and Matthew Black, the doyen of Scottish text-critical scholars. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from St Andrews University was bestowed on Bruce Metzger in 1964, and all Scots are moved by seeing that he is wearing his St Andrews tie in his portrait in Princeton Seminary’s Speer Library.

There were other honors. In 1994, Bruce Metzger was awarded the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies by The British Academy in London (of which he had been a Corresponding Fellow since 1978). This is only awarded in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished biblical study. Bruce Metzger was elected president of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (1971), the International Society of Biblical Literature (1971), and was the first president of the North American Patristic Society (1972). He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1969 and 1974) and visiting fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge (1974) and Wolfson College, Oxford (1979).
There were many other books, among which the classic studies The Text of the New Testament, Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (1964, and translated into German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian and Russian) and The Early Versions of the New Testament, Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations (1977) have been particularly influential. Bruce Metzger's last publication before his death was Apostolic Letters of Faith, Hope, and Love: Galatians, 1 Peter, and I John (2006).

Bruce Metzger cared passionately about the Bible, and in 1982 became the general editor of the Reader's Digest Condensed Bible. He lectured throughout the nation and the world, in North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, and South Africa, often at churches and universities where his former students ministered and taught. He was awarded honorary doctorates by Lebanon Valley College, Findlay College, St. Andrews University, the University of Münster, and Potchefstroom University in South Africa.
A Bible autographed by Bruce Metzger is sealed in the time capsule embedded in the corner of Princeton Seminary’s Scheide Hall.

Princeton Seminary President Iain R. Torrance said that, “despite all his distinctions, Bruce Metzger never lost his modesty, or his courteous welcome, genuine interest in and encouragement for much younger scholars. He was a warm and supportive colleague within the Seminary and beloved by many scholars and lay people in Princeton and throughout the world.”
Bruce Metzger is survived by his wife, Isobel, and his sons John Mackay Metzger and James Bruce Metzger. There will be a memorial service to give thanks for Bruce Metzger's lifeon Tuesday, 20th February at 2.00 p.m. in Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.



[above: PTS students with Dr. Metzger after a seminar he led at Princeton UMC in Oct. 2005.]

Snow Day!

That's right, classes are cancelled due to crazy bad ice and snow. Wahoo!

In honor of the frigid weather, I'm posting this photo of me in Ghana, which serves both as a reminder that the sun is not all it's cracked up to be and as a precursor for a forthcoming post on the Field Ed office's explanation for why they are having me interview with Ghana sites for international field ed this summer.

Still here

I'd like to be able to say my fortnight's foray into the world of oblivion was filled with fascinating things to keep me busy and away from blogging. The reality is that I've been working a whole lot and going to classes.
I have to plan the spring retreat for my field ed church. This is not an especially daunting task, except that the theme is something along the lines of a spiritual spa. Now those who know me know my propensity toward ascetisicm (if not in reality than at least ideally), so my inclination was to do something on spiritual disciplines, kind of a weekend as a monk/nun thing. It probably comes as less of a surprise to you than it did to me that being a Religious for a weekend is not that appealing to the common church-goer. Hence, the theme of spiritual spa. I figured I could spin that so it sounds like a rejuvenating self-care weekend, then come out of left field with the idea that there's no place for self-indulgence in the Christian life (self-care is necessary and good in as much as it prepares us to live lives worthy of our calling in the world) and it's really all about God and not about us at all. It doesn't sound like that's the direction the Adult Education chair would have it go. We haven't done much in the way of planning, so I still have time to work with my supervisor and get the direction headed where I think it's more appropriate to go (i.e. toward God, not toward ourselves). I said something at our last meeting about having a flow of the weekend that goes from interiority, to focus on God, to being sent out into the world, and latter two seem to be very clearly lower on the hierarchy of importance. Thoughts on how to extricate the self-indulgent form of self-care from the spiritual spa weekend?

p.s. This is petty, I know, but the confusion of e.g. and i.e. is a pet peeve of mine. So for the greater good of all, here's the deal. E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means 'for the sake of example': (She likes fruit, e.g. strawberries). I.e. stands for id est, which means 'that is': ((I can read Greek, i.e. Koine Greek).

We Do NYC Right

Once each semester NJ transit is free for students, which means an el cheapo day in the great Manhattan for those willing to brave the cold. It's amazing how much you can pack into one day in the city.
1. The Cloisters: Obviously I had to go to the Cloisters. Marcy and Rachel and I rode the train in to the City, then took the subway way way uptown to this great museum. The building itself is parts of cloisters brought over from Europe, and it is full of great religious art, mostly medieval. If you've seen Keeping the Faith, this is where the filmed the scene where Anna and the Rabbi and his mom are walking around in a garden.
2. The NYC Public Library: Another obvious stop for me. I hadn't made it there yet in all my trips to the City, so after Rachel left us for her field ed church Marcy and I took a tour of the library. I didn't realize that it's actually an amazing research library with some really significant holdings, such as the first Gutenberg Bible to cross the Atlantic.
3. TV Show tapings: Tickets to tv show filmings are free, so we got on the stand by list at Letterman then ran down to The Colbert Report and waited there to get on stand by until an intern from The Daily Show with John Stewart came over and said they had extra tickets, so we went there. If you happened to watch on Wednesday night I was in the audience.
4. Cheap Diner Dinner: We managed to find cheap and tasty burgers on Broadway :)
5. Train home: If ever we are travelling together and I want to drink 3 cups of coffee minutes before an hour long train ride, just say no. I won't elaborate on the consequences.

Other than the day of galavanting, I've been spending this break working at Bonner and earning my keep. Meanwhile, Dave is at the Sundance Film Festival chillaxing with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Ricci. At least that's who he was in the same room as yesterday. But I did see Cornel West on the street the other day (he's a very famous philosopher), so it's almost the same really.

See this!

Last night I went to see Blood Diamond. I can't adequately explain in a post how convicting and disturbing and important this movie is. You should all see it (except Bianca). It is very violent and hard to watch, but it is so well done.

Done!

I am officially half way through my seminary career. As of yesterday my finals were over. I make no claims or promises about how they went, but I'm done and that's enough for me. Spring classes start Jan. 29th, so I have a few days and next work to put in hours at work, vegetate, catch up with people, and frolic in NYC. Huzzah!

Sometimes PTS really burns my buttons!

Exhibit A: The Library
As of Friday at 9am it is officially finals week. We have papers and exams staggered throughout the week except for on Sunday and Monday (MLK Day), although I do actually have something due at 5 on Monday. Does the Library extend its hours during this stressful and work-heavy time? NO! They close at 5pm (really they start kicking people out at 4:45) on Friday and Saturday, don't open until 3pm on Sunday (come on, even the Pentecostals are out of church way before then), and are CLOSED on Monday for MLK Day. The best theological library in the Western world (literally!) and we can't access it during the most academically rigorous week of the term.

Exhibit B: Computer Services
Our network was down for scheduled maintenance for 5 hours today. Now granted it's Sunday, so 9-12 seems like a safe bet to shut down the Seminary network. But it is still finals week, and I was one of many who opted out of attending church this morning. To top it off, it is now 3:20 and the network just came back up, but I still can't access the PTS website, including the Library catalog, which I need now that the library is open. Come on people, we have inter-semester break in a week and noone will have any homework at all. You couldn't schedule your maintenance one week later?

Exhibit C: Dining Services
As of Friday after lunch the dining hall is closed until the first day of classes, January 29th. For this week we have to get our own food, which wouldn't be a huge deal except that eating out is really pricey in P-town, and the two little kitchens available for student use are hardly equipped for preparing a decent meal. Not to mention, the meal plan is a ridiculus rip-off anyway.

Exhibit D: The Systematic Theology Final
Suffice it to say that noone has any clue what is expected of us, and the stupid terms that we have to define and turn in can't be completed without referring to books from other classes because what the professors lectured on was not systematic theology. I've used my college textbook and notes for most of my preparation thus far. I've spent a lot of time whining with my classmates about this one, so I'll leave it at that.

Exhibit E: The Registrar's Final Paper system
We have been told to turn in final papers to the registrar's office at certain times. For some people this time is during another exam. For most people, we don't trust the registrar to get our papers to the professor, and the professors don't trust them either, so we are mostly circumventing that system and turning things in via e-mail or campus mail or sliding papers under doors to avoid the disaster that we all fear could come of the registrar being responsible for anything involving our academic success.

But they're Princeton and they've been here for 200 years and they pay for us to go here, so they can do whatever they want (insert sarcasm here).

Where has the time gone?

It's mostly gone into spending time in the Springs with Claire and Dave :) I love those crazy kids. We didn't do anything extraordinary, just lived like normal as a little family of three for the week, drinking tea and watching movies and running errands. We searched for dancing shoes for Dave, did six large loads of laundry, cooked a lot, took advantage of Dave being at work to eat foods he can't have, and had an altogether pleasant time together. One thing will never be the same though . . .

that's right, I got a tattoo! It's the Hebrew root pronounced arash and it means "betroth." It's the word used in Hosea 2:19 ("I will betroth you to me forever, says the Lord.") I chose it because it represents God's covenant with me in Christ, and it's on my ring finger because whether I marry or not Christ is my first love and my primary commitment, and is more committed to me than a husband can be. (Don't worry, I didn't do this on a whim. I've wanted a tattoo for about 5 years and this particular design for quite a while. The tattoist, Doc, is a pretty rad guy, and it was much less painful than I thought it would be.)

I got back to P-town yesterday afternoon, quickly read and planned for the class I teach at church, taught the class, then worked into the week hour of the morning on my Job paper that was due this morning at 10am. That paper is out of the way now and it is officially finals week. That hasn't really hit me yet. I'm sure I have a ton to do, but for now I need to clean my wretched mess of a room.

And not that he ever reads this, what with the lack to internet at home and all, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

"Break"

I made it home finally on Tuesday night. I need to have been working on papers, but I haven't done much of that yet. Tomorrow morning I preach both services at my home church, then go down to the Springs with Claire and Dave for the week. And now you know :)

The Blizzard

I wish I could give you a first hand account of the huge blizzard that has hit Colorado. Unfortunately I can't because I'm in New Jersey where it hasn't snowed a bit this season. After 2 flight cancellation and 5 hours on hold with United airlines I finally got an agent at 2 this morning and am on a flight out of Newark on Tuesday. The dorms are open so I'm not homeless, and I know some people in town so I should be able to find a home to be in for Christmas dinner. I guess I'll be writing my papers and maybe crochet a scarf for when I do get to see the snow. I'll try to make the best of it - maybe go to the City for a day or something. Merry Christmas everyone.