Today's culinary experiment

Sometimes I get bored eating the same stuff and decide that it's time to try something new. Today's culinary experiment was baked chicken. I took a boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut it in half. I mixed up 3/4 cup orange juice, a little bit of lemon juice, a touch of olive oil (no more than a tablespoon of each, if even that much) and some Mexican seasoning (the stuff I bought in the grocery store labeled "Mexican Seasoning" - no hidden ingredients here - I shook some in, stirred, then sniffed, then added more until it smelled tasty). I took a baking dish and put foil inside, folding the foil up to hold all of the liquid. I put the chicken on the foil and poured the orange juice mixture on it. I baked it at 375 for 15 minutes, turned it, then baked it for another 20 minutes or so (it was still partially frozen in the middle, so I am not sure how long fully thawed meat would have taken to bake). While the chicken was baking I cooked some white rice, adding a cube of chicken bullion for flavor. I also cooked some zucchini, adding butter at the end. I put some rice on the plate, put the chicken on the rice bed, spooned some of the orange juice mixture over the chicken and rice, and put the zucchini on the plate. What I had was a nice dinner of moist, tender chicken on a bed of rice with a side of zucchini. It turned out well. Perhaps if I make it again I will marinate the meat for a little while in the juice before baking it, but it was really a quick and easy meal (and relatively healthy, too) made with ingredients on hand. :)

Eureka!

Eureka - the motto of the state of California (what a wonderful place that is!) - it means "I have found it"

I found my Social Security card just a few minutes ago. The best part is that I wasn't even looking for it when I found it. One source of stress is eliminated!

I sent my resume in for three jobs this morning, all for the same company, and am almost ready to send in two more to other places. The job I really would like to apply for still has not posted. It is possible that the company I applied to this morning will like my combination of customer service and computer support background. We shall see about that.

Just a big softie

I am a dog person. That means that I am not generally fond of cats. Today, however, I visited a friend who has two 3 week old kittens at her house - one from a litter that a barn cat had (the mother cat was killed by a truck) and the other was the runt from a litter her sister's cat had. They are keeping one and their neighbors upstairs are taking the other one. I would have taken one home with me if I could have. I got to bottle feed one of them this evening. :) So maybe cats aren't so bad after all, at least not in their cute, 3 week old stage. So I'm just a big softie around baby animals!

At lunch today we had some buffalo calamari. They use the sauce that is typically put on buffalo wings and put it on fried calamari. I love the spicy taste of buffalo sauce and love calamari - it was great!

Today I called to cancel my reservation for the trip to England. I just cannot afford to go. The tickets are non-refundable, so I will have to use my credit with the airline to fly home for Christmas. I was hoping to get at least some kind of refund and pay for a ticket home later, since I could really use the cash now, but I guess this will have to do. Being strapped for cash is not fun!

Joy comes in the morning

My life has been relatively easy. The trials have been few and mostly small in nature. Right now I am tasting what a more difficult life is like. Shieryl sent an e-mail saying that she sensed that I was concerned about my job(less) situation. She is quite right. I really need work! I sent my resume to two places today, so I am not wholly slacking, but it does not make me less stressed out. Truth is that there is a job that has not yet been posted that I would really like and that makes me more reluctant to pursue other available jobs, but I need work, so I can't just sit and wait for it. That's rather frustrating and confusing.

Today I went to check on some stuff regarding getting a replacement driver's license since my New York license never got to me. My temporary one (it's just a piece of paper) expires next week. It takes about 4 weeks for them to be delivered. If I went to the DMV to request a duplicate license I could probably get another temporary one. There's just one slight problem. They require a Social Security card as part of the proof of identification, even just to request a replacement license. I looked for the card this afternoon and I cannot find it. It's a rather important little document that I will need soon, so that's rather stressful. I sincerely hope I took it out of my purse and put it somewhere in my room. I'm pretty sure I did, but I don't know where that might be. Tomorrow's task will be to find it! In the meantime I requested a duplicate license online. Hopefully I won't get pulled over between the time my temporary license expires and my "real" one arrives. A ticket for driving without a valid license is not what I need right now! Most officers would probably accept my receipt in request of the duplicate as acceptable, but there's no guarantee.

On top of all of this I got a phone call from my parents tonight telling me that my sister had a miscarriage. She had her eight week check-up yesterday. There had been some signs that things might not have been right, but other signs that things still were. There's always hope, too. I've been making a baby afghan and will probably continue to work on it and just have it ready in anticipation that it will be needed soon.

These things are not easy, but I am doing well. God is faithful and will use this time to teach me. Today, however, was not an encouraging day. Tomorrow will be better, I am sure. I will likely go to lunch with a friend from school and get caught up with her. We always have good conversations. Hopefully I can slip in some little tidbits about the comfort I have during this time and that peace that passes all understanding.

Pensive

I'm in a bit of a pensive mood today, as my posts might indicate. I suppose it may be due in part to the novel I finished reading this afternoon. It was a good book, but at the end, the young lady's lover goes on a long journey and the author implies, although she does not plainly say it, that the lover dies on his way home. I read 460 pages for a shipwreck? It was a good book otherwise, I must admit, and expresses a real romance between two imperfect people whose relationship is not all sunshine and flowers. It also had some interesting discussion about the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism, with Protestantism appearing in a much better light. Piety was praised. I do enjoy a good classic novel! (I won't say here which book I read, since I do not wish to spoil the ending for anyone who might stumble across it to read it.)

I found myself praying somewhat apologetically and doubtfully for someone's salvation recently. I prayed not expecting to see the prayer answered the way I wanted it to be. The prayer lacked faith in a mighty God who can change a life in an instant and can soften the hardest of hearts. God is great. My prayers are of a different tenor now. I will pray this friend into faith in Jesus Christ if I can!

Always

When the days and weeks pass by
And my heart feels so alone
You're still the God who's always there
My loving Father and my Friend

When the path on which I walk
Is dark and so uncertain
You're still the God who's always there
My faithful Counselor and Guide

When I dig a pit in sin
And cannot escape from it
You're still the God who's always there
My great Savior and Redeemer

Blessings ill used
Holiness forsaken
Unglorifying life
When this is how I thank You
You cleanse me and restore me
And make me more like You
For You're the God who's always there

Ground upon which I must tread lightly

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.
~ Matthew 11:18-19

I have forsaken my church friends often of late to spend time with my friends from work. There are a few reasons for this. One is that I appreciate my friends made at work. I also enjoy team trivia, which is our primary activity that has required me to choose between two sets of friends. I like the fact that my friends from work are closer to my age or older than I am while most of the friends from church are at least a few years younger. I am much more accustomed to having older friends! This situation requires me to be on my guard, however.

My friends from work, with a few exceptions, are not saved. They live like those who do not know Christ. It is true that when we are together alcohol is almost always present, and often quite conspicuously so. I am not one to consider this an inherent evil. I have observed very little drunkenness, and my friends know that I will not have more than two drinks and often will stop at one. They do not try to force alcohol upon me and are respectful of my self-imposed limits. My alcohol consumption is not problematic in my estimation, though others may disagree.

What I think poses a greater danger is the conversation. These friends do not hold back from uttering all sorts of unseemly words. I have noticed that the Christians in the group will emit the occasional obscenity, those those cases are rarer than they are common. My own speech is not perfect, admittedly, and much to my own shame. It is vastly "cleaner" than most of my peers' speech, and I know what I can and cannot say based on who is around to avoid offending anyone, but I do not and should not operate on a standard of "better".

I think the challenge lies in striking a balance. On one hand, bad company corrupts good morals. Spending too much time with them may tempt me to embrace too much "liberty". On the other hand, one of the reasons I spend time with them is to develop relationships with them that will allow me to share my faith with them more openly and candidly without "preaching" at them. Jesus spent time eating and drinking with sinners, yet without sin. His detractors still accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. How important is my reputation among Christians of the Northeast who often consider consuming one drop of alcohol as an indicator of a debauched life? I desire to be like Christ. He did not shy away from spending time with sinners, yet did not sin.

How Great Is Our God

Breaking with tradition, I am posting a modern worship song instead of a hymn. This evening the pastor was preaching about the greatness of God from Job 26:5-14:

5 "The departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 "Naked is Sheol before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.
7 "He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 "He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
9 "He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 "He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
11 "The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
12 "He quieted the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
13 "By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 "Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?"

This song is what came to mind as I listened to the sermon.

How Great Is Our God
Chris Tomlin

The splendor of a King
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps Himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

I didn't drown

I did a lot of running around and physical activity today. It felt good, but it had a pricetag on it. While swimming with the kids this afternoon I got a leg cramp. Yes, I was in the middle of the deep end of the pool. No, I was not holding onto a wall when it happened. No, I did not drown. That's always a good thing. ;)

Tomorrow we go to a park all day. It's the last day. I'm going to miss those kids!

Woohoo!

We won team trivia tonight and have $50 to show for it. Because we have a rather large group we decided to use our winnings to pay for food & drink next week. The question that won it for us was "what year was Dumb and Dumber released?" I didn't know the answer, but others in my group did. 1994. I knew it was before 1997 because I was in my third year of high school when I saw it. I thought it was a dumb movie, personally. Trivia was still fun.

Today was interesting. Very interesting. Some of the stuff that kids do is beyond my scope of things I am willing to deal with or know how to deal with. Two more days, however, and then I'm done. I will miss it, issues and all!

A first time for everything

This evening I had a first time experience. Tonight for the first time I put air in one of the tires on my car. It has a slow leak that I've known about for some time now and probably waited far too long to refill, but I really do loathe doing any sort of maintenance on my car. I would much rather pay someone to do it for me. As the tire was really low and I am short on time during business hours, the tire really needed to be filled and just could not wait until next week when I have time to take it to the tire place to get it looked at (again). The tire was patched nearly three years ago after a puncture and I really think that the leak is due to the original puncture.

I feel much better about looking foolish in my own parking lot than I do at a gas station on a street corner, so I purchased a pump of my own this evening and made my roommate come out with me to pump up the tire. I figure that owning a tire pump can't hurt, and if I leave this tire on I may need to fill it up somewhat regularly. It seemed like a decent investment to me and now that I have used it once I may not feel so weird about doing it again sometime. It was cheaper than a new tire, anyway, and right now cheap is good! Cars. I love mine, but sometimes I wish it maintained itself!

The last week...

This is the last week of the summer program at work. That means that this is the last week that I have any kind of secure income (such as it is). It is the last time my Monday afternoon will be spent at the park, riding the carousel with the kids who aren't swimming. Today I met a lady who brought her grandchildren to the park. She had a bichon frise with her and I was reminded of my own dear bichon frise in California. They are such nice dogs! She mentioned at one point that she has a 23 year old grandson living with her right now who goes to a local church and just spent two years teaching English in China. I did not pursue it any further than that, although I was rather amused by the mention of him after she asked me where I went to church.

The last week at work also means that staffing is a bit difficult for us. We had both 10-12 groups combined today, as we had last week also, and tomorrow we will have to split them up. Today there was a fight between two of the boys and a bunch of the kids were referring to one of the girls as a player. Neither of these things is okay and I think neither of them would have happened (or at least to the degree that they did happen) if all of the kids had not been together. This is the kind of drama I could do without. There are a few really good kids in the group that I will miss after this week, but there are others that I just will not miss at all. The kids are not looking forward to returning to school in two weeks and the staff are all tired and starting to lose their patience, so it is time for a change of pace. I will not regret this summer experience. It has taught me a lot and I almost regret that I will most likely not be able to do it again!

What Wondrous Love Is This?

What Wondrous Love Is This?

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Anything but...

I forgot to mention that Wednesday was my one year anniversary here in New York. It has been an interesting year for me and I must confess that things turned out anything but the way I thought they would be. I did not anticipate most of what has happened and definitely did not anticipate being where I am now. I do not regret where I am, however, and am not sorry that I came out here to be in a completely different situation than I planned. God is good, and I am glad I listened when He said, "Go."

The highlight of my day

From time to time I like to do something a little bit different because I need occasional change or adventures. Today I decided to take one of my co-workers up on her offer to highlight my hair for me. I used to get my hair highlighted somewhat regularly but hadn't for 18 months or so and my old highlights had almost grown out completely. So I went to the drug store at lunch and bought the highlighting kit. It took me a little while to decide whether to buy the stuff for blonde to light brown hair or medium brown to dark brown. Can't they put on one of them that it works well for natural redheads? I opted for the blonde to light brown formula. It seemed to work rather nicely. Perhaps I'll take a picture and post it sometime soon so you can see the difference. ;)

Next to godliness

They say that cleanliness is next to godliness. We're moving one step closer to godliness in our apartment in that case. I borrowed a cleaning device from a friend to clean the couch we purchased. It was rather dirty from years of use and I would not sit on it without a blanket between it and me. The process involved another spontaneous trip to Wal*Mart to buy cleaning solution and the rest of the stuff that Nicole and I had on our shopping lists. I have gone over the whole couch once (the seat cushions had removable covers that I put in the washing machine twice to clean) and will see what it looks like in the morning. I may go over some spots again, but I know that it is much cleaner than it was - the extremely dirty water I removed from the cleaner was proof of that!

I also got around to calling customer support for Robby's illness. When I went to test him while I was on the phone with a representative he decided to work just fine, so it would appear that Robby is miraculously healed. Perhaps he just needed some time off of his wheels. I look forward to running him in the living room as soon as the couch is put back together!

May I have one, too?

Today we took the kids to the local baseball stadium for a picnic put on by United Way. There is a minor league baseball team that plays in Binghamton and some of their players were there at the picnic to help out with the kids by doing some baseball-related activities. Two players were autographing baseballs for the kids. I decided that I needed one and so I went up to the table where they were sitting and got a ball from them. I have to say that those young men from the team who were at the picnic were an uncommonly good looking bunch, too. That's always an added bonus. I really like athletes and have since I was quite young, so I enjoyed being around them today. ;)

When I was in junior high school my dad took me to Montreal to see the Dodgers play a 3-game series against the Expos. We stayed at the same hotel that the Dodgers stayed at and saw some of them in the lobby. One of the players we saw there in the lobby I had seen once before in person. We were at the airport in Los Angeles one night to pick up my sister from a trip to the Dominican Republic when I looked up and saw someone I recognized. I said something to my family and my dad looked over and confirmed that I saw who I thought I saw and then he went over to talk to him. Turns out his mother was on the same flight as my sister. That was cool. (The player in question was Ramon Martinez, who was pitching for the Dodgers at the time; he is now probably best remembered as Pedro Martinez's older brother, although he was a good pitcher in his day.) It was even more cool to see more players in the lobby of the hotel, but even then I would never approach any to speak to them. Mike Piazza was playing for the Dodgers then and I think I would have wanted to disappear out of delight and fear if he ever came through the lobby when we were there, but he did not, much to my disappointment. I don't think I have the courage to do more than ask a minor league player for an autographed baseball now and I am much more bold than I was back then!

General update

I got a lead on a job that has not yet been posted. The lead came from a professor at the university I attended. She was my supervisor when I taught the ESL class. If I use her name as a reference perhaps my application will receive more attention. Perhaps. She was responding to a request I made to get a letter of recommendation for me to submit with substitute teaching applications to local school districts. Substitute teaching is my default plan right now since I know I can make some income that way, but I would prefer something with a little bit more security. I think the job she told me about would be great fun and a lot of work, but it is related to something I strongly believe in. Perhaps when it is posted and I apply officially I will tell you all what it is. Perhaps. ;)

We had two more staff leave to return to school in the past few days. The summer program at the Boys & Girls Club is ending at the end of next week. The time has gone by so quickly and I have enjoyed it a lot. My patience has officially worn thin and I have decided that I am not putting up with anything anymore, however. The last two days the kids have had the opportunity to practice lining up in a straight line, quickly and quietly, keeping their hands to themselves, and then walking nicely down the hallway. It is an exercise in listening (which they cannot seem to do) as well as a not-so-subtle reminder that their behavior is sub-par. When the pastor was telling us about his trip to Japan on Sunday morning, he mentioned that their culture is respectful. They respect other people. I wish our culture had some notion of that. It might save these kids the trouble of walking up and down the hallway and sitting in silence whilst pondering the rules of the program (which I made them do yesterday in addition to practicing walking in lines as punishment for being unable to stop talking when they were asked to be quiet). I will continue to ask them the rules and make the walk until they figure out that perhaps it is best to do it right the first time. They will probably hate me for it, but that's too bad.

A nice Sunday

This morning at church the associate pastor who teaches our Sunday School class gave us all Japanese snack foods. He just returned from a short term trip to Japan to work with a missionary that our church supports. I liked the Japanese snacks that I have had in the past and am usually up for trying anything once, so I took advantage of the opportunity before me. There was some stringy, chewy stuff - dried squid from what I am told. I even ate that and it really wasn't too bad. I doubt I would make it my snack food of choice, however. They are apparently planning on sending a group back over in two years to do some vacation Bible school stuff, and I think I'll keep that in the back of my mind. I would kind of like to go!

This evening we had a commissioning service for a family who are leaving in a week to start their first term of service in Nigeria. It was a very nice service. They are going to direct the implementation of youth groups in 6,000 Nigerian churches at the request of a group of Christian leaders from Africa. They told us that 42% of the population of Nigeria is under the age of 15, so ministry to young people is a huge need!

Overall it was a great reminder that God is at work all throughout the world. When people obediently go and are supported by prayer warriors back "home", God does great things through them.

Before the Throne of God Above

This is a hymn that I really like. It is apparently most commonly sung to the tune of "Sweet Hour of Prayer", although I learned it to a recent tune written by Vikki Cook. You can hear the first verse here.

Before the Throne of God Above
Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

I was OUT!

Last night I went to Team Trivia once again. We did much better last night than we did the previous week, finding ourselves in first place going into the final round. Once again we ended with zero points, since we didn't know the answer to the final question and had wagered all of our points. It was fun even in losing!

We are having a multi-cultural week at work, so each group had to pick a culture or country to learn about. It involves a cooking competition, judged by some picky eaters (how does that work?). I chose Israel for my group's country, since I knew I could make some interesting food and know enough about the country that I can help my kids out a lot on the "research" stuff. How it worked is that we made them research stuff and then this afternoon I had the kids share what they learned and then I told the kids more detail about the various things that their peers learned. We did the cooking this morning. I had them help me make Israeli salad, which is tomato, onion, cucumber, red pepper and green pepper chopped up and mixed together with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing seasoned with salt and pepper. We threw some parsley and cilantro in for a little bit of extra flavor, too. I made mejadra, which is a rice, lentil and onion dish. It is a typical Middle Eastern food. The only thing the kids did on that was cut the onions up. I intended to have them help more on that, but they were busy chopping stuff up and I knew that I needed to get the rice and lentils cooking, so I started that and ended up doing all of it. That was probably best, since the lentils required more cooking time than the package said they did. We also made borekas, which are phyllo filled with a cheese or spinach filling. We made some of each. They are really good, but are a mess to make. Phyllo is a pain to work with. Those went over really well, however, so the effort was worth it!

If I had to guess, I would say that the 5-7 year old group had the best tasting food with the best presentation. They made Chinese egg rolls and hot and sour soup. The egg rolls were very good and I hear that the soup was okay but not spectacular. As you might imagine, most of the work was done by their leaders. Our group had the most variety in the food since we were the only group to make three items, and our presentation was good but not great. Our kids did most of the work on our food. One group (or their leader, as I observed) made some Native American flat bread (which I did not get to try) and the other made Irish ham and cabbage with potatoes and carrots, and I think the kids probably helped a lot on that one. It was good, but much less "interesting" than the other stuff made.

I was rather tired all day from not getting enough sleep at night and then from helping the kids cook, so when I came home from work today I went straight to bed for a nap. Two and a half hours later I woke up. My roommate came home and did some stuff around the apartment and then left again before I woke up. I never heard her. My hair was pulled back in a pony tail and looked exactly the same when I woke up as it did before I went to sleep. All of these things tell me that I was out cold! I was really asleep and didn't even move. I haven't taken a nap like that in a long time, but I really needed it today!

Starting a new project

I have temporarily laid aside the blanket I am making to begin a new project. While the older project involves basic knitting, crocheting and sewing, this new project is an all crocheted afghan. I went to the store today to buy yarn and more crochet hooks and also picked up a small pattern book, so I am trying my hand a crocheting according to a pattern. It is an interesting task as I have done nothing that involves more than the most basic of crochet stitches in the past. I got some instruction from my roommate on how to do another kind of stitch and then proceeded to attempt to follow the instructions in the pattern. Two rows in and I think I'll be able to do this afghan without too many problems, which is exciting since it is my very first. It is a lot easier than I thought it would be!

Sitting on the couch crocheting made me think of my grandma. She crocheted all the time, even with very arthritic fingers. At one time she attempted to teach me how to do some crocheting, but I was too young to concentrate on it long enough to actually learn it well. I have to imagine that she would be pleased to know that I picked it up now. As I made my stitches, I remember her making very similar motions as she did hers. When Nicole taught me the basics a few months ago, she commented that I held the hook differently than how she showed it to me. I hold the hook the way Grandma held it. Most of what she tried to teach me never sank in, but her legacy did not die.

Gone but not forever

So I've been absent from the blogosphere for a few days now. I'm still alive! I'll be back around soon, I am sure. My weekend was good, but it did not involve a lot of sleep. I went to a party with co-workers, which was fun. Yesterday I went to another little league baseball game. The right team won, for which I am most grateful. I love to see the kids smile after a victory, and the one I was there to see had an adorable smile that was firmly plastered all over his face. :)

Really, really random remarks

1. I finished reading Peace Like a River. It is a good book and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

2. I started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time tonight. There are a few observations that I made almost immediately:

• The book is British. I did not know that when I started to read but it became quite apparent to me within the first few pages.
• The main character is autistic, and the book is told from his point of view. It is very odd to see through his eyes, as it were.
• The chapters are not numbered "normally". I am not sure how to describe just how much it was bothering me to have the chapter numbering start on 2 and proceed to 3 and then 5. I finally connected it in chapter 17 to something that was mentioned in chapter 3. The main character/narrator has a thing for prime numbers. The chapter numbers are prime numbers. It bothered me less to see chapter 19 come after chapter 17 once I realized that. Chapter 19 was all about prime numbers and why the chapters were numbered as they were. Amazing how a logical numbering sequence, odd though it may be, is acceptable to me when something that seemed random to me at first was just not okay. It doesn't bother me if my bedroom is chaotic nearly as much as it does to have numbering out of normal order. Interesting.

3. I live in my little world and everyone who exists outside of it is of very little importance to me. Listening to people talk about people I don't know is almost the most boring thing I can think of. If I know you well enough and can relate to the kind of relationship that you have with someone, I might be interested in hearing about them. Just don't tell me the name of every last person who attended a party you went to two years ago in a town I have never been to. I really do not care. This isn't a good thing, but is it inherently bad? I talk about people that my friends don't know. Usually I refer to them by the relationship I have with them, not by name. A name is meaningless to me without some context.

4. We had a talent show at work today. It was a good talent show that consisted of primarily acting/dancing performances by most of the groups, ours being no exception, of course. Our group made fun of the leaders from the other 10-12 year old group. I spent most of the day constructing a tutu from a couple of pieces of tulle and some fabric. I don't think I did a spectacular job on it, but it turned out fairly well and was, from what I am told, far better quality than the average last minute costume made for a Boys & Girls Club talent show. I took care of getting most of the props together and determining which ideas we used. The other leaders did scripting and directing, as I was busy with the ballet costume. I would love to post a picture of the costume, since it was made for one of the boys to wear, but because of privacy issues I don't think it is wise (I can't just post the picture of someone else's 10 year old!). Just believe me when I say it was hilarious and very cute.

Field trip day

Today is Thursday. Thursday is field trip day for the Boys & Girls Club. We went to a park today and I took some kids on a walk around the lake. The geese had been there in large numbers, so we had to be careful of where we were walking until we got into the woods. It was like a mine field - very disgusting!

I went swimming in the lake today. I took my stuff in case I decided to go in, but when one of the leaders told the other leader that she was going in (as in he was going to push her in), I decided to get in the lake myself. I stayed in the shallow water at first with water to my knees, but some of the kids were not listening to the life guard, so I went further out to ask them to behave. Plans for pushing people into the water were many. The girls all got in and got completely wet just to ruin the fun of pushing us in. ;) In the end a couple of the guys got taken down. We would have gotten upset with the kids if they had done anything like what we did. I had some fun splashing some of the kids and got involved in a game of tag with them. I got a little bit of a sunburn on my shoulders where the sunblock apparently did not get applied well, but I really don't mind it much.

We left the park early due to a thunderstorm. The ride back was rather interesting. We had all of the windows down on the bus because it was hot, but we went through a bad spot in the storm and the rain was getting the inside of the bus really wet, so we had to quickly close all of the windows. Some of the windows did not close easily, so I was up on my feet, leaning over kids, attempting to get the windows shut all the way. The bus had a rather sudden change in velocity at one point and I almost fell backward. I grabbed the nearest seat to hold myself up, but I really did come close to losing my balance. I would have taken out a kid in the process, so it's good that I caught myself in time. We also had a kid with a bloody nose. One of the leaders was helping him while I and a few others were trying to close the windows. I think at one time there were four leaders on their feet taking care of various crises. We then got a phone call to let us know that a part of the road flooded, so we had to take a detour. Fun times on the bus! Although it was dramatic, part of me prefers that to a boring ride. It seemed to go by very quickly!

I've been tagged!

The ever reasonable Rose~ "tagged" me.

1. One book that changed your life:
The Bible
I know Rose used this one and that it is the obvious, "Sunday School" answer, but I have to use it, too. The Bible is the only book that has changed my life. No others have had much influence on me. When God Writes Your Life Story, by Eric and Leslie Ludy, had some impact recently, but nothing I would call life-changing.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Did you really have to ask?

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
Probably the best work of fiction I have ever read. The novel is so much more than just a story. It's also really long, so it would keep me occupied longer than other books might.

4. One book that made you laugh:
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach
Morbid, but still very funny.

5. One book that made you cry [or feel really sad]:
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
While influential in bringing reforms to the US meatpacking industry, I found its greatest power to be depression. The whole book is just dark and depressing. I came very close to throwing it across the room and had to put it down for a week before I could bring myself to finish it.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
Salvation, Faith and Works for Dummies, by Peter, Paul, John and James
Wouldn't that be nice? We would have to find something else to disagree on, then, wouldn't we?

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
The Book of Mormon
Many people will stand in judgment and wish it had never been written, too.

8. One book you’re currently reading:
Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger
So far I like it. It was a Christmas gift from a friend. One reviewer compared it with A River Runs through It, and I can see why.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
Another Christmas gift, this time from my sister (who also gave me Stiff for Christmas).

10. Now tag five people:
Tim, Shieryl, Carey, Sarah (Redeemed), Psychobob

Another hot day

We did not visit with the senior citizens today, nor did we golf. The weather was warm enough that we opted to stay indoors all day in air conditioned rooms once again. There was an unofficial Harry Potter movie marathon in one room. None of the kids seem to have enough of an attention span to even get through half of a movie. It made the day drag on for the leaders! We spent some time in the computer room this afternoon. I took the opportunity to read a book, Because of Winn-Dixie, during that time. It's a really cute story about a 10 year old girl and a stray dog that she adopts. I had heard of it but had never read it or seen the movie, so I pulled it off the shelf and managed to make it all the way through before we left the room. That was a nice treat. :)

Tonight was team trivia night. It was fun, although we did not have as many people on our team this week and were among the 15 of 20 teams that ended the evening with no points since we wagered everything on the last answer and didn't know it. The questions were really obscure tonight, so we had not done as well during the whole game. We'll do better next week, I am sure! Honestly I was becoming frustrated because several correct answers were offered by the team and rejected by the party writing down the answers, but that party cannot take full blame. We rise and fall as a team! We blame our lack of success on the weather. Most of us put up with too much heat during the day and the air conditioning in the establishment went out at the beginning of the trivia, so we spent two hours with no A/C on a really warm and humid night. Next week will be better, I have no doubt!

I broke it

Today I was playing kickball with the kids in the gym. Now that we're back at the Club we have a full sized gym to use. I was up to kick. I kicked the ball. It hit the rafters at mid-court. It permanently damaged the ball. Ooops. I was wearing flip-flops, too! I didn't kick quite as hard the next time. One of my kids did the same thing yesterday, so it's not just me. ;)

Today I also got really angry at some of the kids for the first time. As much as I yell at the kids when I am irritated or frustrated, I did not yell when I was mad. No yelling was needed. I think the offending parties knew from my body language that I was not at all pleased with their behavior. I am glad that I did not yell, however. I opted for the firm lecturing mother mode instead, which I think is probably better. I got my point across in a slightly gentler way. Another kid came very close to making me very angry for talking back repeatedly. I informed him that my fuse was getting very short. I have learned that there are two things for which I have very little tolerance: not listening to what I say the first time I say it and talking back. There's a simple solution to both: keep the mouth closed and the ears open!

It was hot and humid today. We spent most of the day in air conditioned rooms or doing activities that require little to no movement. It was just too hot to do anything more. We had planned tentatively to have another water balloon fight, but it started raining in the afternoon. Tomorrow it is supposed to be about as hot and humid. We are supposed to go to a "senior living center" in the morning and then out to golf in the afternoon. That should make for a rather interesting day!

I started to read a novel this evening. Reading fiction. Reading something I chose to read. What a concept! I dislike life as a student because it makes reading a chore instead of a pleasure. I am reclaiming the pleasure!