Photos from Fire-Land

So far, my home hasn't been threatened by any of the numerous fires sweeping So-Cal. We went without electricity Monday and most of Tuesday, but that's been it. *knock on wood*

Please pray for (1) the firefighters and other workers who are trying to contain the fires and (2) the hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected, and in many cases lost their homes.

It almost felt wrong, but I couldn't help myself: I took some photos of the visible effects I could see from home.

Up for Air

Egad, it's been a long time since I had a worthwhile post.

Between school and subbing, I barely have time to breathe these days. Indeed, I've had to take numerous days off from subbing just to finish my homework. (I probably shouldn't be composing this post, but since I'm not going to get any work done right now anway...). At LU I'd just start pulling all-nighters, but that's not really an option anymore: When one must rise before dawn and drive for an hour to get to school, one can't afford to be half-awake.

For some time, I was confused about my busyness. On a cursory glance at my various syllabi, the workload doesn't seem to be that bad: one 7-page paper, one 10-page paper with several parts (outline, precis, abstract), another 10-page analysis of Luke 16:1-13, a handful of 2-page Scripture interpretations, and assorted minor assignments. It's nothing to sneeze at, but neither does it seem to justify the time, energy, and stress it's costing me.

Then it hit me: 90% of my work (including all of the major assignments) is due before Thanksgiving. So the last 2-3 weeks of the semester will be a breeze. Assuming I survive, that is.

*sigh* I seem to be doing a lot of complaining on this blog lately. I can only beg your patience and ask for continued prayer for my sanity and discipline.

It's certainly not all bad. Epistemology, though still a bit mind-warping, is starting to fit together, and we're discussing lots of fascinating and deliciously "wacky" (to use the prof's term) theological stuff.

But rather than bore you with dry philosophical minutiae, I'll bore you with frivolous but entertaining diversions. ;-)


First, via Paige:

You're Confessions!

by St. Augustine

You're a sinner, you're a saint, you do not feel ashamed. Well, you
might feel a little ashamed of your past, but it did such a good job of teaching you
what not to do. Now you've become a devout Christian and have spent more time
ruminating on the world to come rather than worldly pleasures. Your realizations and
ability to change will bring reverence upon you despite your hedonistic transgressions.
Florida will honor you most in the end.

Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Interesting that I should get that result, given my growing interest in Augustine and the fact that I'm writing a paper on his On Christian Teaching this semester.

And to round things off, I leave you with some words of wisdom and wit from my professors this semester, presented anonymously and in no premeditated order:

"Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your current 4.0 GPAs. Enjoy it while it lasts." [on the first day of class]

"For a long time, eating pigs was forbidden. But now--thank God for Acts 10--it's not, so we're free to eat pork. Especially barbecue."

"You could send your dog to get the paper, but that doesn't make him a disciple."

"Food is power." [This one's for you, Moore!]

"People don't talk that way. But we have to be able to talk that way as philosophers, because we'd be out of a job if we couldn't."