Schedule change!

My schedule changed at work a lot sooner than I expected it to. I was assuming it would happen some time in August, but last Thursday I received word that it was changing....the next day! To make a long story short, between some overtime I put in and the schedule change I worked 8 straight days between days off. What it allowed me to do, however, was go to church on Sunday evening - the first Sunday evening in several months! I was also able to go out afterward with some friends. It was very nice to be able to do that again. I look forward to getting back to church more often and think I will try to start going to Sunday School again, too. No more working on Sunday, so I can nap all afternoon if I don't get enough sleep on Saturday night!

I am no longer training for my new position. While the training seemed to drag on, I don't think the number of days I actually trained before they had me take calls without someone sitting with me is the equivalent of two weeks of work. Not much, but so far I have managed fairly well. There are still things that baffle me, but I seek help and learn something new! I like the stuff we do in this position better, even though much of it is the same as what I did before, just a little bit more in depth.

I have decided to redecorate the office in my apartment. I have some rather ambitious ideas, but I think when it is all done it will look really good! It involves recovering a futon and its pillows which I plan to do with some curtains that I like the pattern on and some pillow cases. I ordered some framed black & white photography and some curtains (as of right now the window has nothing covering it), and I am excited to see how it all comes together. My roommate is gone for a few days and doesn't know about my plans, so hopefully she won't object! ;)

Life is going by so quickly for me these days, which is probably evident at my lack of posting recently!

Forbidden Fruit?

Last night I brought home my MacBook. That's right. I am now a Mac owner. I have much still to learn about it, but so far I like it. Everything runs really fast and it really is easy to install things ;). Fortunately I have friends who know a lot about this, so I can get some assistance with learning some of the finer points, but as for right now I think I am going to love it!

Queens

I went to Queens on Saturday. That marks the second time in my life that I have been in New York City. The first time was something like 16 years ago, and I distinctly remember not particularly caring for the city. This time my visit included a bus ride to Shea Stadium, a Mets game, and a bus ride back to Binghamton. I went with a group from work, and the company paid for all of it, so it was free for me (except food). People were complaining about how expensive food was at the baseball game, and I was actually pleasantly surprised by the prices. Food was cheaper than what you pay at a baseball game in California, although still overpriced.

The game was nice. There was action, but it did not drag on forever. I was a bit amused to see the fans on their feet cheering with two strikes on a Diamondback batter with two out...in the top of the first inning. That was just funny to me. Guys! There are 8 more innings to go, relax! Fortunately for me, I wanted the Mets to win because Arizona is battling with the Dodgers for first place in the NL West, so I fit in with the crowd, and was also quite pleased with the outcome. We were sitting in the sun the whole time, so it made me grateful for sunblock once again. It was a warm day, but not oppressively so, at least in my Southern Californian opinion. The stadium is very close to the coast, which probably kept the temperature down quite a bit and also might be one reason for the fairly steady breeze that made the day more enjoyable.

On the way home we drove past Yankee Stadium, so I can at least say that I have seen it with my own eyes. They are building new stadiums for both the Mets and the Yankees, so being in one and seeing the other really did mean something to me. I suppose there is a little bit (okay, a lot) of my father in me, and I like being able to tally states, countries, and baseball stadiums that I have been to.

The bus we were on had air conditioning that worked a little bit too well, but the engine and/or transmission was a little bit less than impressive. There was a bit of an incline on one stretch of the highway, and the bus literally did not go any faster than 30 mph on that incline. I was not the only one aboard someone concerned about whether or not we were actually going to make it home, but we did. When all was said and done, I left my apartment at 7:30 am and arrived at 9:00 pm. It was a long day, but I am glad I went, even though technically I went by myself since I never did find anyone to take with me (fear not, one of my friends from work was there and had the seats right next to mine). Baseball games are always a good choice ;).

Sad

There are two things that I have pondered lately that make me sad. The first is the impact the world has on Christians. I am no exception. I amaze myself sometimes at how I respond to things, because I know what my mind jumps to is NOT what a follower of Jesus Christ should embrace. I suppose it just proves that I am not wholly sanctified, but for me it also proves that I should probably take care to focus on the things that are not of this world so that my mind may be transformed more and more.

The second is when people do not heed the words of wisdom spoken to them. More than one example comes to mind for this one as well. When a voice of reason breaks through the din of foolishness, one should listen. When people don't listen they end up unhappy, and needlessly so, because they were shown a way out of the hole they have been digging for themselves. Sometimes it is because they cannot understand that the majority is not always right and sometimes it is because they are probably too afraid to do what they need to, but either way the result is the same, and it is a sad thing to observe.

While the overall tone of the post is somewhat dark, I am doing very well. I started my training officially for my new position this week and cannot believe that my weekend has arrived already. Vacation really was good for me, and I am much more relaxed and patient than I was before I left.