Monday, October 30, 2006
frequent flier miles rock
places i've been in the past 3 weeks or places i'm going in the next 3 weeks:
philadelphia, pa charlotte, nc new york, ny detroit, mi phoenix, az memphis, tn san antonio, tx los angeles, ca atlanta, ga minneapolis, mn
Saturday, October 28, 2006
i had one of alexander's days
my trip back to kentucky yesterday was a disaster. in a nutshell: traffic problems, damaged windshield on rental car, delayed flight, two babies five rows in front of me on a four hour flight, missed my connecting flight in detroit, the scariest landing i've ever had in my life. i'll expound on the latter.
i consider myself to be fairly well traveled for my age. i've been to ten countries and the vast majority of the states, but have never been on a scarier landing. the weather was bad. the ceiling was low. we weren't able to see the ground until we were around 1000 feet off the ground. i thought our approach was off because i didn't recognize anything below me. all of a sudden we shot back up in the air. our heads went back against the headrests and the g forces were incredible. the pilot came on a few seconds later and said they had misjudged our approach because of the bad weather. we weren't over the runway. yeah. he said we'd approach the runway one more time and if we weren't successful, then we would divert to indianapolis. if we weren't successful? hello!? we made a giant circle and came back to the airport. we landed without problem. everyone clapped and cheered. one lady said very loudly, "i need to go to the bathroom".
i was never so glad to get home and lay in my bed. and breathe. and pray.
Friday, October 27, 2006
wow.
i drove to the grand canyon today. this view was my reward for the 3 1/2 hour drive.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
on going hiking
i went hiking this afternoon at phoenix mountains park. the summit trail was steep. it was difficult. did i mention it was steep?
i was suddenly aware of just how incredibly out of shape i really am when a jack la lanne-ish grandpa went flying past me like a bat out of hell while i was panting like a dog in heat, trying to gulp down the bottle of water i had with me. but i kept going. i was going to press through the pain. after about a mile or so, i saw the summit and thought that pressing through the pain is for overachievers and i have never claimed to be an overachiever. when i turned around i was hit with the realization that now i had to back DOWN the mountain. going up is one thing, but going down!? i slowly started going back down, one step at a time. don't fall down the mountain. don't slip. jesus, please come back now. right now so i don't have to go another step. lord, if i've done anything wrong please forgive me. i can't be stuck on this mountain. don't fall. don't fall. i was starting to feel good about going down when i heard a noise behind me. i turned around and who was running back down the mountain!? the jack la lanne-ish grandpa. i wanted to trip him. seriously.
i eventually made it down the mountain just in time for the sunset. cause that's where you want to be - at the bottom of the mountain for the sunset. yeah.
when i got to the bottom i saw the caption for the piestewa peak summit trail: "... while the trail to the top is only 1.2 miles one-way, it is extremely steep and difficult." i probably should have read that sign before i started.
on a positive note, my arse is hard as oak now.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
meow
there was a cat on my flight last night to phoenix. a cat. meow. it was far enough away that my allergies didn't go completely haywire, but close enough that the constant "meow, meow, meow" got on my everloving nerves.
Monday, October 23, 2006
leaving for phoenix tomorrow
Sunday, October 22, 2006
she had the audacity of hope
after church i wanted to run by the bookstore to see if they had the audacity of hope by barack obama. i couldn't find the book, so i got in line to ask the lady at the cash register. in front me, a very large, untidy woman had twelve, not one or two, but twelve romance novels. and she didn't seem to be the least bit embarrassed about it.
twelve.
i'm pretty sure she was stocking up for the winter.
Friday, October 20, 2006
genocide in darfur
over 400,000 murdered. over 2,000,000 displaced. men murdered. women raped. children taken as slaves. email president bush here and ask him to do something. anything.
there's a man on cable access right now in a white rhinestone-clad elvis jumpsuit (sunglasses, wig - the whole nine yards) singing "rock'a my soul, rock'a my soul, oh bosom of Abraham, rock'a, rock'a, rock'a my soul"
i'm thoroughly embarrassed. he's a member of my church.
curty-poo
so i had lunch today with my music pastor, curtis bridgeman. he is a nut. his wife is a nut too. they're both super cool people and i'm glad they're at my church.
Monday, October 16, 2006
grrrr
rain + rush hour traffic + vice president cheney driving through town =
HUGE BACK-UP ON THE ROAD
Saturday, October 14, 2006
on saying grace
last weekend i was eating at an indian restaurant in brooklyn heights with a friend and when our food came, i started eating. she asked me if i ever prayed over my food. without skipping a beat i answered no, not most of the time - and that's true. most of the time i don't pray over my food. she said that she doesn't always pray over her food either.
"you should thank God for your food and ask him to bless it" another friend told me.
true. but do i pray every time i walk in my house and thank him for it and ask him to protect it? no. do i pray every time i put on my clothes and thank him for them and ask him to not let the seams come out when i'm in public? no. (although perhaps i should do that because my back pocket came undone one time when i was in public. embarrassing. my underoo's there for all the world to see.)
i think it's interesting that some people think you're sinning when you don't pray over your food, but they won't ask God for direction when they get a new job, or when they want to get married, or other major life events. but not praying over food, now that's a one-way ticket to h-e-double hockey sticks.
this is what jenn and i ate for dinner last night. yummy.
ya think!?
what i overheard on the staten island ferry last night:
"that big green thing with the light at the top - is that the statue of liberty?"
Saturday, October 07, 2006
jet plane
i'm going to the big apple today. woo-hoo!! i'm going to brooklyn tabernacle tomorrow morning and am going to try my hardest to go to MoMA on monday.
probably won't have a chance to post much while i'm gone, but i'm sure i'll have plenty to tell and pictures to share when i return.
Friday, October 06, 2006
i don't want to make love to her
Thursday, October 05, 2006
ich mochte schlafen
i would like to sleep. my body needs sleep. now.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
go big blue
so rick pitino was on my flight home last night from philadelphia. i thought it would have been funny if somebody went up to him, shook his hand, and said, "Coach Pitino, GO BIG BLUE!"
