1/30/2009 11:21:00 AM


I understand all the jokes.

I'm such a geek.

P.S. Note to self - more books to read to develop a theology of suffering (as a single person in ministry):
All Things For Good - Thomas Watson (Romans 8:28)
The Divine Decrees - Jonathan Edwards (essay)

1/27/2009 09:05:00 PM

#21


As part of Rutger's ridiculously smart decision (from both a marketing standpoint and a student perspective), RU recreation started offering "Dollar Menu"classes in which for a buck, you can try a bunch of one-time classes ranging from needlepoint to basket weaving.

I picked "Crisis Intervention for Women," aka self-defense. There is irony in the name "crisis intervention" especially since as a shrink in training it means something completely different. But this "crisis intervention" essentially means beating the crap out of your attacker, and I think it has its merits in specific situations.

Anyway, it was fun to learn some basic moves and get to practice them (gently) on another student. The instructors (a cop and a martial artist) taught us a variety of moves that I hope never to have to use, including:

Eye gouge
Nostril hook
Throat punch
Swim-through
Over-the-shoulder throw

And some others. Anyway, I basically learned that sometimes you want to do actions that are counter-intuitive in order to inflict the most damage on an attacker. And that you should always scream your shrieky head off when confronted regardless of what the attacker threatens you with, including guns and knives.

The instructors seemed very knowledgeable and obviously comfortable with their masculinity. At one point one of them lay on top of the other as if he was sexually assaulting him. Unfazed, the one on the back wrapped his legs around his partner and pulled him closer. The point was to emphasize that actually pulling an attacker closer to you takes him by surprise and actually puts you in control of the position, but I think all the girls in the room was... distracted at that point. Heh.

The teachers said if the class gets picked up as a full-course at RU they would be able to allow us to wail on them while they wear protective suits, and train us to feel comfortable with screaming our heads off. Sounds good to me!

Most Memorable Advice: "You don't want to just kick, you want to grab it... and then yank as hard as you can." Priceless.

1/26/2009 04:58:00 PM

#12

This past weekend, I went to try snowboarding for the first time at Hunter Mountain.

So, I still don't know how to stop yet without landing on my butt, but at least I can kind of stay up for ~10 secs or so until I see an obstacle (e.g. a sign, a tree, a crying child). Then I try to stop and end up falling on my butt.

I'm glad though for people who pushed me to learn on green vs. bunny. If I stayed on bunny I think I would've quit early and called it a day.

And ladies: there is no better test to gauge a guy's character, than to see who stays behind to help you learn when they are tempted with the call of the mountain (I was going to say "call of the wild," but I thought that may be misconstrued as to mean "toilet," so I didn't).

1 down.... 50ish to go?

1/26/2009 04:34:00 PM

Books to read

So I can feel smart, in a good way (not in a I-have-to-read this for grad school kind of way):
Tony Campalo - Adventures in Missing the Point
Jhumpa Lahiri - The Namesake

Interesting quote from two Sundays ago, from Pastor Lucas:
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but is thinking of yourself less."
Mark Driscoll:
"Religion leads to pride or despair."

1/15/2009 05:43:00 PM

I should add...

51. Tame a lion, or at least pretend to in a circus.

1/15/2009 11:14:00 AM

26-50

The big list of random, continued

26. Play in a band (praise team does not count)
27. Go to DC during Cherry Blossom festival, and have a picnic
28. Visit a Buddhist temple, a synagogue, an African-American church, and a mosque (if possible)
29. Provide foster home for an abandoned puppy/kitty
30. Be part of a Big Brother/Big Sister mentoring program
31. Go to Disneyworld
32. Attend a Beyonce concert
33. Get dressed for a FANCY dinner out with friends for no reason (ie. bday, engagement...)
34. Get a manicure/pedicure and eyebrows threaded (I have never tried any of those things... always been a DIY kind of girl)
35. Build.... something (assistant from the male species is ok)
36. Join a gym and actually go consistently for a year
37. Get married. Have sex? Have children? (Har har har. I mean, Have sex! Have children! Of course.)
38. Go on a cruise with friends
39. Go to VEGAS! with friends
40. Be part of a photoshoot
41. Attend a taping of The Colbert Report or Conan O'Brien (unlikely for Conan, since he's moving to LA)
42. Write a children's book (note: find a friend who's an artist)
43. Witness a solar/lunar eclipse
44. Take fitness class I normally would not take, even if pushed
45. Be part of a prison ministry
46. Join a walk-a-thon
47. Ride a hot air balloon
48. Cultivate some form of a green thumb
49. Prepare an entire meal for close friends (from appetizer to dessert)
50. Throw a costume party

If I mention to tick off a good portion of this list, I'll allow myself to create 50-100.

We'll see what happens!

1/15/2009 11:02:00 AM

1-25

This includes things I have done, but want to make a purposeful attempt to do again, and things I haven't done.

As I do them I'll cross them out and journal about it.

Don't be hatin' on my list, if you don't like it, I don't want to hear about it :)

In no particular order.

1. Go skydiving
2. Horseback riding in the desert
3. Shooting range
4. Learn how to swim (after two failed attempts)
5. Master volleyball, or at least hitting the ball over the net with one hand
6. Hip-hop lessons
7. Ballroom dancing lessons
8. A full one-on-one game of Beer Pong
9. Try a new type of food (so no Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc...)
10. Get color contacts
11. Use an online dating site and actually go on a date with someone I've never met
12. Learn to snowboard (or attempt)
13. Go on a safari (Six Flags doesn't count)
14. Do Meals-on-Wheels or a similar outreach event
15. Teach a lecture course
16. Go-kart racing, like not just friendly racing amongst friends, but racing to totally PWN YOUR FACE kind of thing
17. Trip to Italy
18. Try eating sea urchins/blowfish
19. Ride a mechanical bull (maybe... this scares me more than skydiving)
20. Learn to ice skate (so does this)
21. Take self-defense class
22. Take an automotive class or learn to change my own oil, at least
23. Solo-karaoke in front of my friends (without using liquid courage)
24. Return for Africa for another STM
25. Go to Thailand/Cambodia to work against the sex trade industry