...i am sure there is, but at the moment, i can't think of anything better to do than sitting by an open window on this fresh sunny seattle day, my M1210 in my lap, tea sitting on a bookshelf within reach, writing, journaling and yes, checking work email.

Perspective

33 years. Church tradition tells me that this is when Christ died on the cross, the completion of his ministry on earth. Birth, Death, Resurrection.

Makes me think, have I completed anything? In so many ways, it feels like life is just starting for me. I have done a lot in some sense: traveled all over the world, completed a lot of years of school, lived in lots of different places, with lots of different people, worked a variety of jobs, and met some real and tangible goals.

Then there are the things I haven't done such as: gotten married, had children, visited Kenya, Ireland, Prague, South Africa, written a book, won the Pulitzer Prize, flown to the moon and back.

I got a birthday card this year that says "barn's burnt down; now i can see the moon"

It is about vision, about what I see.

...........................................................................................................

A good friend just encouraged me recently to allow God to dig out that big large rock in my life called disappointment, or "hope deferred." Where is that balance between complacency and contentment? I believe this is the time in my life, my 33 years of life, when I can come to that place where He is enough. I don't need a person, a job, a vacation, an adventure, a book or anything else to satisfy that "thing." I don't know what else to call it except that aching gnawing "thing" inside me that craves more and more and more. But it takes me seeking Him, truly with all my heart.

"It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest to the soul of another" --George MacDonald

The first commandment...

A New Plan

When living in Switzerland, I had dinner at the Ellenberger's and saw pictures of their trip to Iceland. Probably one of the most beautiful places Ihave seen by photograph. Today I saw the trailer above called Heima and was reminded that I must need will go there.

Photo Shoot

A few nights ago, my roomates, a friend and I had a makeover night. I tried a little camera experimentation. I realized that I don't know much about indoor photo shoot style photography. Definately, I need to learn more about taking pictures. So far, my learning curve has been to just take lots and lots of pictures, and sort out later which photos worked and which ones didn't. I am going to make it a goal to take a photography class that will teach me more about lighting, learn how to use photoshop and also try out some different lens filters.

Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball

I hope they choose the 360.

A Semi-Hourglass Society Adventure:

And called that just because we had three of the seven hourglassians together. ( a rare occurance nowadays). The evening consisted of happy hour at the Dragonfish Cafe on 8th and Pine, coffee at Cafe Ladro just across the street along with attending a performance of First Class written by David Wagoner and performed by John Alyward.

The evening was not only fun, but inspiring and challenges me to begin writing again.

Really Writing, with a capital W.

Star Wars Legos

Not only is there an XBOX 360 game, but now MAGNETS for the fridge! More Here.

The Best News I've Heard All Week

Anyone who has traveled to Europe has probably shopped at H&M. And gotten addicted to its cheap, but extremely fashionable clothes.

Soon, we will be able to shop to our heart's content at our very own H&M right here in Seattle, location University Village.

For those worried that this will ruin their unique wardrobe from all their travels to other places collecting various H&M pieces, a few thoughts...

1. H&M is probably the most popular clothing store in Europe and so think about all those thousands of European women, men and children who are wearing the same exact outfit that you have on today.

2. The new store at U Village will be TWO LEVELS. This allows us to continue in the H&M tradition of shopping by color and a myriad of choices. MYRIAD.

3. Because they manufacture cheaply, this allows H&M to continually rotate their fashions, as I can attest to as everytime I visited the shop in Switzerland--almost weekly--there were new things to choose from

4. And what's wrong with wearing the same thing as someone else? It just shows that both of you have good taste.

I will always be addicted to...

1. Travel (i just got home and i am already planning my next trip, as soon as i get some more vaca.)
2. Caffeine (in coffee, tea, chocolate or diet coke form please)
3. Reading (books, magazines, websites, billboards, etc)
4. The Internet (which includes the world wide web)

the items i carry

Part of Hitler's record collection found in Moscow (apparently, he didn't mind listening to music composed by Jews).

Mess

Why does it always seem like things get messier as I clean them? For instance, my room. I have been trying to organize these random boxes of stuff, papers and more stuff, along with drawers full of more stuff for about the past week. I have two large boxes of trash, one for recycle and one for garbage, but my room just keeps getting messier and messier. Currently, I am having a hard time getting dressed and also accomplishing daily tasks because I cannot find anything in the black hole which has become my room. It just depresses me to think about it.

Where is my external hard drive? My cream colored earrings? My calendar? What bills need to be paid? All these are questions that I just don't have the answer to at the moment. And if I think too hard about them, I just want to cry or throw things.

It is time to attack this thing head on, so I have decided to head to The Container Store in Bellevue and collect various boxes and storage solutions to help me bring a little order to my life.

One Year

I have now been a home owner for over a year. One one hand that is absolutely amazing, but on the other, a little scary as there are so many projects that still need to be done. The reason for my delinquency could be the fact that I was finishing up grad school, that I traveled extensively (Charlottesville, New York City, Scotland, Las Vegas, Virginia Beach, Cape Cod, San Antonio, Orlando and Denver) or just plain procrastination.

Okay, it's probably all of those.

However, despite feeling very overwhelmed with all the home improvements to be done plus all the need for organization after a year of accumulating stuff, I do feel a bug to project-ize and organize.

Tonight, I started with the fridge.

Shiny.

Things of Note:

First Class by David Wagoner

A play about Theodore Roethke, famous poet and UW prof playing at the ACT theatre. David Wagoner wrote this play about his poetry teacher, and David Wagoner was my poetry teacher. I think I need to go see it.

Zig Zag Cafe

Apparently very famous because of their bartender Murray Stenson. I didn't get Murray as my bartender, but the gentleman took my drink order (Maiden's Blush--a recommended drink from my coworker Myles) with no problem, even though later he informed me that it was a very obscure drink from the Savoy Hotel in the 30's. It was tasty.

remembering

now that school is over and show season is done, i feel like i can take a breath and remember what things are important to me...

the moon
poetry
solitude
cleaning house
new friends
family
a new nephew
books
old friends
community
soaking
loving
photography
painting
creating
adventuring

thoughts...

every workplace has drama. it's not much different than high school in some ways. i think we all think that when we finish school and leave adolescence behind, that the drama will end and we can finally grow up. well, this idea does not take into consideration this little thing called human nature.

lately, there has been an incredible amount of drama at my work. there is usually always a high level of it, but recently it's mushroomed out of control. completely out of control. most of it doesn't really have much to do with me, some of it does, but it all is totally out of my hands.

i am the kind of person that wants everything to work out and everybody to get a long. i think this time, i need to face the reality that i can't fix this. i can't fix people and i can't fix life. that's not my job.

it is times like this when i am grateful for things like hope and grace. without these i think i'd pretty much just shrivel up and fall into some sort of vortex of depression.

but, when i think back on my life and remember other times when the drama of life seemed to overwhelm me, seemed to be like that bell jar that has no exit--yet, hope still found a way to grow and grace brought change, then i know that this time will be no different.

He is faithful. He is good. And no matter what we do, He is who He is.

thank God.

I'm an auntie!!

isaiah david staab

born july 24th 2007

7 lbs 15 oz

21.5 inches long

Too Many Books?

Is there such a thing? I usually would say no, no never. However, yesterday after shifting a bunch of things around in the house to make room for two more roomates, and seeing the piles of books on my floor, making it near impossible to nagivate through my room, I began to wonder if I just might have too many. I don't want to put them in boxes, hidden away. I don't want to sell them. I want to keep them and keep them in plain sight. I really need a library, but at the moment rent money looks more attractive than me having a room for my books, so I guess in piles they will stay.

Coming soon: (and I wait impatiently...)


Isaiah David Staab

Dell XPS M1210

Camp

The Next Trip to Starbucks to use One of my Gift Cards

A New Dog

Finding out who the New Gummi Bear will Be

The Release of the New Lawhead

Today is a good day to be thankful for

instant message
reading blogs of people i don't know, but hope to meet someday
friends who pass on tidbits about music i need to check out
a basement remodel for under a hundred bucks
quiet days at the office
fat paychecks
waiting to meet my nephew
starbucks gift cards
two new roomates soon to arrive

Birthday Phone Calls

I know that for me, one of my favorite parts of having a birthday is all the phone calls I get. It makes me feel so loved and popular when my friends and family call me and sing silly renditions of happy birthday.

Yesterday was my birthday.

And I got lots of phone calls.

HOWEVER...

I was stuck in rehearsals all day for a BABO (big ass breakout) at WPC in Denver doing backstage technical support--Low lights, headsets, producer calling the show, etc... So, I couldn't answer my phone even though I knew that people were calling ME!

Thank God for voice mail. And thank you to everyone who left me messages yesterday and yes, I forgive you if you didn't call me. I'm sure you had a very good reason. I wouldn't have answered anyway.

Shopping list to buy before I fly to Denver:

1. aveda hair products
2. bliss fabulous foaming face wash
3. book: Annie Dillard, The Maytrees
4. AE boyfriend 77 jean
5. book: Chrisopher Paolini, Eldest

My Birthday is in 7 Days

...and though I already had a party, but if anyone is in the mood to buy me a present, I just found what I want.

oddness and the internet

this week i realized an odd coincidence. three of my favorite bloggers are named joshua. of course i don't really know much about them, except one married my good friend mandy, one lives in NYC, and one is a nomad who will live in seattle for a time.

well, so what's the coincidence? not only are they interesting bloggers and are all named joshua, but at the same time... they all posted about their birthdays within 3 days of each other, like one right after the other.

i dont know why i think that is interesting. am i just shallow? or maybe im not so interesting myself so i feel like i have to latch on to internet personalities. or maybe i just want to go home for the day.

but anyway, here's a little advertisement for their blogs.

Letter From Abroad

The Very Daily Weblog of Joshua Blakenship

love in the key of longbrake

party weekend:

1. tonight: golden gardens bbq, unless it rains, then RR on the pier.
2. friday: my birthday bbq
3. sunday: sister in law's b-day at the century ballroom
4. monday: sister in law's baby shower at my house
5. 4th of july: coors field, suites, free everything.

it hasnt even started and i'm already tired!

The Top 5 of my favorite blog posts that I posted about, for, with and/or because of my Ex-Roomate:

5. The Viking Diet
4. Confession
3. Advice Desperately Needed
2. Can I just vent a little?
1. The Continuing Saga of Marsha* and Her Vehicles

Ever wondered what to do with old stamps that are no longer the most current USPS first class rate?

I decided to start a photoblog.

camera and jooni

Historical Graph of President Approval Ratings

Several things to note.

War Time Presidents seem to have extremes between the beginning and end of their terms. Look at Truman and Bush. In fact, with the exception of Nixon, the war time presidents have the highest approval ratings... Truman and the Bushes.

Clinton is the only one to end with a higher approval rating, but he really never got that high, seems to me he stayed in that mediocre range.

GW Bush got higher approval ratings than Kennedy. I always thought Kennedy was the most popular President.

Green Grass

There are two states in life. Either a person is happy with the grass in their yard, or the grass is greener in the neighbor's yard. At the moment, I have a large tree in my back yard, all cut up into pieces. It's pretty much going to be impossible to do anything back there until it is removed. I don't really care about my neighbor's grass, but it would be nice if I could enjoy the grass that I have. However, I do like my grass, even though I can't see it currently and I have moles and dandelions. I like it because it's MY GRASS.

I feel fairly content with my life, but what makes life hard sometimes is when people around me are discontent. Then I look at what I have and think, is something wrong with me? Shouldn't I feel miserable like that person?

Nah.

Thanks to the Random guy walking around handing out plumerias....

Five things to Remember about Being Stranded in Orlando

1. Native Orlando folk laughing at us because our cabbie left us a bogus number.

2. Standing outside the closed Chick Fil A for an hour waiting for a new cab that our hotel called for us.

3. Offroading rolling laptop bags while walking to the Ruth's Chris to find a cab.

4. Trying to protect the bag of Chicken sandwiches from the sewer water sprinklers.

5. The most memorable quote of the evening, "Welcome to Orlando!"

Laughter

Bear and Evie June Ayers... two absolutely adorable and hilarious kids,

the offspring of Jenny and Anthony.

Baking In Orlando... The movie title for my life this week

I have spent the past few days cooking to a nice melted mush in a large expo hall at the OCCC in Orlando. Let me try to describe the feeling of being cooped up in a huge hall with no AC in hot, humid Florida.

First, all you smell is stale BO and electricity (yes, electricity has a smell, especially when you have about 1,500 or more computers running). Then from 7:30 am to 9 or 10 at night, you feel like someone poured syrup all over you and then wouldn't let you take a bath. Lastly, everything you do, must be done twice or even three times. Fresh air? What's that?

That's pretty much it.

And its been really hard to keep up with the 40 day fast that I wanted to join in on. REALLY HARD. Ah well, at least I get to hang with about 200 MCs, my TSG peeps and receive a nice FAT paycheck at the end. Not to mention the obstacle course. I think some of my ex coworkers might remember this about the convention center here.

Did I mention the TORNADO WATCH that's goin' on for this area?

I miss Seattle. I love where I live.

**UPDATE**

They turned the AC on in here and it's pumping in over the help desk and now it's actually FREEZING in here. I think that they have temperature issues here. I'm going to need to bring my parka tomorrow.

and can i just say that Plantain Chips are delicious and tasty?

mandy and joshua's wedding--some pics

Lone Star State

I went to Mandy's wedding this weekend in San Antonio and now am staying with Jenny and Anthony in Dallas. I hope to post some pictures soon, but I am on a Mac at the moment and I don't know if I can use a usb stick between a PC and a Mac. I will post some pictures ASAP because you NEED to see them.

I just want to say that anyone who knows Mandy, you sure did miss a great party. Everything was absolutely gorgeous, including the bride. And did I mention that you all missed great party too? Texans sure know how to have fun!

San Antonio is a very special place. It's very happy, and it seems like Cinco De Mayo is 365 days a year. The River Walk is probably one of the coolest places I have been in a while. There is a path that runs all along the San Antonio River in the downtown area, with restaurants, fountains, shops, large trees, old bridges and the like. The Mission where Mandy was married is about 300 years old and absolutely amazing. I also saw the Alamo, but it was closed and I couldn't go through it. According to one Texan I met, it is quite the spiritual experience. I would love to come back here and spend some quality time. And I have said nothing about the food. All I can say is that I am eating enough to keep me going through the fasting period that begins on Monday! Yummy!!

Portland

On Saturday, I went to Portland, Oregon to do a little tax free shopping. I hadn't been there for about 10 years, and it was odd to be there again. I lived in Portland from about age 11 until age 21. In many ways, a lot of who I am today was formed during my time there as I spent my adolescence in that wonderful city. When we moved to Portland, I was a country girl, so not only did I grow up, but I was transformed from a small town hic to a sophistcated city girl--well, I supposed that can be debated.

Saturday, I was able to go to a few of my old haunts, Pioneer Square, Powell's Books and Rocco's Pizza. I drove by my old house, work, school and other places. One funny thing is that I kept getting lost! I think it's because when I was in Portland, I was a pedestrian. And being a driver is very different than being a pedestrian!

Being in Portland while at the same time knowing that I have grown up even more since moving to Seattle, everything felt a little unreal. I was walking the same streets, but my outlook and perspective is so different than the last time I was there. I think that I have mellowed out quite a bit since then, plus I am not depressed like I was. I am glad that life continually changes and that God is continually giving grace and mercy, while helping me grow up. I am also glad that even though I am almost 33, (oh gosh) that I am not done with my growing up.

Famous Friend?

Does anyone else see Rose in this picture?? I know the room is kinda dark, but I think I recognizer her from her shoulders...

Thoughts on Whaling

After being on Cape Cod and Nantucket, I have been hearing more about the whaling history of this area. Having time to read, I picked up a couple of books about it--a fictional story about Ahab's wife (The Ahab from Moby Dick) and a non-fiction tale about the whaleship Essex out of Nantucket (a story complete with an angry whale who "stove"--rammed-- a ship and starving shipwrecked sailors who reached a point of desperation where they began to eat their shipmates.

One thing I found intriguing is that Nantucket, the whaling capital of the world in the 1800's, but an island smaller than Camano Island, also had a strong Quaker community living on it. This came about because a highly influental woman on the island was converted by a Quaker when all other missionaries had been rejected and booted off the island.

When I think about the Quakers, I think most about their pacifism and their abolitionist movement, not the dirty but profitable whaling business. The more I read about whaling, the more it seems like an anomoly. Quiet spoken, plain dressed Quakers on a bloody, stinky, whaling ship where they would not only capture, but kill and process the whale all on the ship's deck? Quakers engaging in cannabalism? One interesting fact is that while other whaling ships would press black sailors on and treat them like slaves, the Quaker whaling ships treated the black sailors as equals, perhaps not total integration, but giving the sailor the same wage as the others. However, it still seems an oxymoron that that these Nantucket Quakers pursued whaling so passionately while making a ton of money on the oil that they produced all the while "Fulfilling the Lord's will" (from In the Heart of the Sea by Nathanial Philbrik). Were they really fulfilling God's will? It's hard to say. For sure, the oil brought in from the Sperm whale was used all over the world to light the lamps of lighthouses, which saved many people from death. However, they also brought a lot of money their way, while also producing many widows and fatherless children. I am in no position to judge the Quakers, as the question I hear being asked of me is, what things to I justify as "The Lord's Will" when in reality, I am pursuing them for my own profit?

On another note, while in Plymouth we walked around Burial Hill and saw many graves of some of the first Englishmen and women to live in our country. One grave stuck out, that of Adoniram Judson, who is called the "Father of the Baptist Missionary." Not only did he translate the Bible into Burmese, but he spent many years in prison in Burma. This man, while doing the Lord's will, obviously was not in it for his own profit.

Photographs from Cape Cod

For more selection, go here...

seedless watermelon...

for an excellent diatribe on the evils of seedless watermelon go.... HERE and HERE.

Cape Cod, MA

What a wonderful place! I have been able to spend some serious time wandering on various beaches here. I am accumulating quite the collection of seashells. They are very different than the Pacific variety. Its always windy here, but its been perfect with lots of sun and just the right temperature. I even managed to get sunburned. I could live here.

I have done a couple of watercolor sketches, but they aren't very good. I have, however, been taking a ton of pictures with my film SLR. Hopefully, I can get them developed and posted soon.

Commencement at Regent University 2007

I can now officially call myself: Jennifer Joy Staab, M.A.

With over 1000 graduates, 2007 was Regent Univeristy's biggest commencement ceremony ever. It is odd to go to a school where there are more graduate than undergraduate students. The ceremony was fun, not too long with inspiring speeches from Pat Robertson and Mit Romney. It felt great to walk across the stage, to get my "diploma"...a great finish to a long two years! Are my friends and family ready to have me back in their lives?

Where's Jen?

I have officially been hooded and commissioned with my Master of Arts! Tomorrow is graduation!!

Unwelcome Home

I came home yesterday at 9pm after being gone all day, and found a horrible surprise at my house. Someone had kicked in my door and burglarized my house! Yes, they took the laptops, my new camera, ipods and a bunch of dvds, but what really steamed us was when we realized that these darn thieves had snitched our PILLOWCASES!

Thank you to everyone who has been so encouraging and helpful in the past 24 hours, and thanks to our deputy sheriff, J. Reid.

Important Notice for the Residents of Madrona Beach on Camano Island...
Perhaps, the mis-spelled word is why Madrona Beach residents disregard the above notice and dig away to their hearts content when the tide is down.

Mugs of Tea

I am guilty of leaving a trail of of mugs and teacups behind me, half-full and tepid. I wake up in the morning, make a cup of tea and carry it to whatever chosen perch of mine to spend time in prayer. I get distracted, leave the mug behind and later make another cup, forgetting that I already had one, now cold and lonely. After a day of this, I might wander around and find the various drinking vessels scattered around the house, one on a windowsill, another on a dresser, and perhaps one in the laundry room on the dryer. I will even find some, days old, with the milk beginning to curdle in the brownish pale tea.

My obsession with tea started really after my return from Switzerland a few years ago. I moved in with a family, whose head is a British man. Their youngest son started drinking tea as a toddler, holding the china teacup carefully and sipping as elegantly as a Lord. The tea canister would run low at times, and a quiet fight would ensue to see who would get downstairs first the next morning to get that last cup of tea.

Still today, I find that I love to open the new box of tea from the store, breathing in the aroma of the tea leaves and packing my canister full with the round tea bags. Though I love a good cup of coffee, tea has taken that supreme place of that first drink in the morning.

Spring Fever

I can definately feel it. Does anyone else go crazy in the spring like I do? I feel this wave of unmotivation toward anything even remotely mundane and a total drive toward anything spontaneous and adventurous.

Want to skip work, eat lunch at 10am on top of a mountain pass? I'll be there.

Desire ice cream at 2am? Count me in.

Feeling the itch to swim the Pacific in April? I'll beat you too it.

Howl at the moon? Yep. Sounds like a plan.

Want to climb telephone poles wearing raingear covered in grease? uh... well, maybe not THAT.

There's not a lot on the internet that will make me cry,

but Billy Collins Action Poetry

makes me cry with happiness.

Sheer Joy.

Check out "The Country"

EGG HUNT: nothing better.

New Favorite Song

"The Story" from The Story, Brandi Carlile.

all of these lines across my face tell you the story of who i am...

Dreams About Me

Occasionally, I get these phone calls or emails from someone saying, "I had the craziest dream about you last night." Invariably they are the same, involving me, some guy I am about to marry and some other kind of shenanigans.

Not today. I did get an email, but the dream is worth repeating because it's probably the most hilarious, at least today, thing ever. The dreamer's name will remain anonymous, but it is worth mentioning that she is prego.

So, I dreamt last night that you were taking these vitamins that made your nose
hairs grow at insanely fast rates. Like long and curled up and over your
nose…sticking out and AWFUL…RREALLY BAD!!!

You were at a loss at
what to do about it because you couldn’t groom them fast enough b/f they grew
again.

In a moment of sadness, you went to “wander” through Wall
Mart. You’d heard that the only thing I’d craved so far is Sweet Tarts, but that
I wouldn’t allow myself any, so you thought it would be “really funny” to make
me MASSIVE Easter basket full of every type of Sweet Tart imaginable b/c
you wanted to be the person that made me give into my craving. You put this big
basket together and brought it to me on Easter Sunday. You were SO excited!
BUT…you left your nose hair trimmer that you’d found at Wall Mart in the basket
and were so embarrassed. But it was a special one that only Wall Mart carried to
“radically remove” those “pesky” nose hairs. Ha!

Then I woke up.

Any interpretations?

Reese's Pieces

In 3rd grade, I used to buy these everyday at the school store. I ate them so much that by the time I reached 4th grade I was so sick of them that I couldn't eat them for years. So, from their website I gather that the birthday of Reese's Pieces was in 1978.

I'm older than this candy?!

omg.

I'm ancient.

You might argue that the reason I liked Reese's so much in 3rd grade was because it was ET's favorite candy. However, I did not see the movie ET until the late 90s, so that's not it at all. Acutally, my friend Sally, whose opinion was the one that mattered in 1983, said it was her favorite, so it became mine defacto.

Did I even use that term properly?

Possibilities of what to spend my Tax Return on:

1. First Edition Lord of the Rings 3 Volume Set: $1040.00

2. Fireplace Screen: $290.00

3. River City Deer Grandfather Clock:

$9749.99 (I'd only have a down payment on this one...

4. Kona Queen Kikapu Mountain Bike 2007: $1899.00

**Hint** These items also make good graduation gifts....

New Fun

Twitter.

try it, and add me as your friend.

yes, i am an addict for weird internet social interaction things.

What?

Snow? Yes, I found snow/ice/slush on top of my car this morning...

It's April for cryin' out loud. I guess I spoke too soon about flip-flop season. I am pushing for spring though and what better way to ignore the cold than to go get a Blizzard after lunch? A Heath Blizzard.

Now that it's April, it is officially flip-flop time.

Things of note this weekend:

1. waffle cookies from holland
2. phone call from old friend
3. new IM friend
4. hail, and a dropping of the temp 10 degrees in about 30 minutes
5. silly string
6. new dress
7. no one played an april fool's joke on me

Ironic,

but after I posted yesterday about how efficient I am, I have a confession to make:

I get absolutely nothing done on Fridays.

Can I just take a minute to complain?

I am not sure who to blame for this, but every time I do a good job on a project at work, I seem to create more work for myself.

Case #1: I help out one of the managers schedule some interviews and now I am in charge of scheduling ALL the interviews for ALL the mangers.

Case #2: I take some data, throw it into a spreadsheet and all of a sudden I am the Excel expert. I think I make or create a new spreadsheet for this or that pet project everyday now.

Case #3: I organize a little holiday party, and now I am the Event Planner?

And I took this job because I thought I would just sit out front playing "pretend" security guard, answering a phone that never rings.

Sheesh.

I think my job title should read:

Jennifer Staab
Senior Administrative Assistant/HR assistant/Accounting and Payroll Assistant/Scheduler/Event Planner/General All Around Go To Whenever You Don't Want To Do That Project Yourself

Bed of Roses? Perhaps.

There are 2 weddings and 5 baby arrivals coming up this year, and who knows how many in the near future. I look at these facts, and realize I am not directly involved with any of these events. Then I think about how I am just finishing up graduate school and realize in the total wisdom of the sovereignty of God. How in the world would I have ever been able to complete grad school with either a man or baby in my life? Would I be able to pick up and go to weddings in various US states if I was married? Probably not.

Why not enjoy the NOW, instead of moping around for the future? Anyways, who knows what the future holds? It won't be all roses as I am pretty sure there will be a few thorns which I will encounter along the way. That's life. And so why not enjoy this veritable flower bed I am living in right now?

Good News, Men!

Tired of all the e-cards with flowers and sappy music?

Try Stuntmail.

(girls can send one too!)

Today, the Rabbit is going in for an oil change.

Spiderman 2 Movie Review


Spiderman 2 is a movie about redemption and the hero’s struggle with it. Can the hero find redemption? Can the hero be saved from his problems? Peter Parker is forced to come to terms with the consequences of his decisions in Spiderman. He kills his friend’s father, the Green Goblin, as Spiderman. He turns his back on a relationship with Mary Jane because he wants to protect her. His aunt is angry at Spiderman because she believes he is responsible for the death of her beloved husband, when in reality, Peter Parker holds himself responsible. It was his uncle’s death that caused him to make a commitment to be Spiderman, to use his abilities to help save people. This is the most important decision that he made in the first movie, and the second is the outworking of that choice.

**SPOILER**----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is necessary for the hero, Peter Parker, to turn his back on all that in order to find out who he really is. He doesn’t realize that the “spidey” part of him is really who he is. It is not until he turns his back on the life of a superhero, and sees that NOT being Spiderman really doesn’t’ change his problems. I found the scene where Peter Parker enters the burning building to save a little child to be one of the most interesting parts of the film. He still feels the need to go into the burning building. Even without his powers, he HAS to go in and try to save the child. He is weak and barely accomplishes the task. It is interesting that the director has the child engage in the rescuing. Without the help of the child, Peter could not have accomplished it alone. This theme continues on in the film. When Spiderman is trying to save the train full of people, his identity becomes compromised. However, the people make sure he knows that they won’t tell anyone, and they then step in front of the very hurt Spiderman when the villain, Doc Ock, comes to take him away. His Aunt forgives him for the death of his uncle and she encourages him to continue being Spiderman. Later, when Mary Jane finds out that Peter Parker is really Spiderman, she also agrees to stay loyal to him and help him. The redemption of Spiderman is found through meaningful relationships. Spiderman no longer needs to face his problems alone as he has the support of his family, friends, and the people of New York City.

Though the typical superhero film is about the hero overcoming the villain, Spiderman 2 is about Spiderman overcoming his own failures and weaknesses. At first, he thinks he has to be the hero himself, but he realizes that he cannot. It is when he allows other people to see his weaknesses that he is saved. Spiderman 2 is a very relatable story with a powerful redemptive theme because it shows the weaknesses that humans all have, and that being superhuman won’t save a person from himself. It is the redemption found in relationship with others, something beyond you.

Joshua Blankenship has started a discussion on the whole question of whether "christian" should be an adjective.

It is an honest and interesting discussion, which if you happen to be a Christian, you might want to at least read.

The Top Ten of the Top 1000 Titles Owned by Libraries

How does this list compare to my library?

1. Bible--own and read
2. US Census--do not own and will never read
3. Mother Goose--do not own but have read
4. Divine Comedy--own but only partially read
5. Odyssey--own but not read
6. Illiad--own but not read
7. Huckleberry Fin--own and read
8. Lord of the Rings--own and read
9. Hamlet--own and read
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--own and read

Own: 8 out of 10
Read: 5 out of 10

I guess I have a little reading to do, before continuing on to the rest of the thousand...

In the spirit of generic pop brands...

Diet Rite

Shasta

Has anyone tried this yet? I actually saw someone drinking this the other day.

And now, I'm curious.

It's time for an honest confession...

I work for a tech support company, and while I play one on TV, I will never truly be a tech. I just have to admit this to myself, get it out on the table and just be brutally honest with myself about this. And no matter how hard I try, I will never really reach the status of a "geek."

Though its fun to pretend and sometimes I get to travel the world in my role (Scotland, Boston, LA, San Diego, Orlando, Atlanta). So far, this summer's line up isn't as glamorous as last year, but I am looking forward to going to Denver for the 4th of July...

Flipstart

It may not be that great of a design, but a least someone is getting this whole mobile thing on the right track....

Moleskine City Notebook

...is probably one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. Not only does it have maps and key points of interest, but blank pages to journal and record, archive pages and more!

this fall, there will be a Seattle version!

Check it out...

Free Health Tip:

When dressing a wound such as a burn, do not put a Band-aid over the part of the wound which has blistered, for upon removing the Band-aid in order to apply more ointment, you will surely rip away more skin and therefore make the wound even worse.

I have 1800 emails in my Gmail inbox. I love Gmail.

Friday Driving to Work Adventure

Because of the light Friday traffic, I was about 15 minutes early on my way to work , so I decided to stop by Starbucks. Bad decision. I ordered my coffee, paid for it, and drove off ready for a big day at work. Until...

I decided to take a drink and qickly found that the lid wasn't on so tight and my grande americano spilled all ofer my right side, quickly soaked into the waist of my jeans and... OUCH! that burns!!

Needless to say, I did not get into a wreck, but I ended up with 2nd degree burns.

I guess I will be drinking iced americanos from now on.

PS. Happy St. Patrick's Day! To bad I didn't have a cold Guinness in the car to throw on top of the burning coffee.

How do you spell relief? E M A I L

I received this email today, and I quote:

Just a quick note of congratulations! You have passed your comprehensive
examination. Hope to see you at graduation. Blessings.

Thank God.

Thoughts while sitting in a hotel ballroom listening to a presenter...

Ok, so, can someone tell this presenter that text and pictures which are catywhompus are not really very creative and more annoying to the visual perceptions of the audience. I'm getting a crick in my neck.

Also, please tell her that the use of the Scissor Sisters as one of her examples just doesn't fit the demographic of this audience of international press.

And one more thing, if you can mention to her that her consant use of jazz hands is a little disctracting.

Thanks.

I'm a junkie:

http://grapesky.vox.com/ don't really use it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/grapesky/ use fairly often

http://regent.facebook.com/profile.php?id=215500549 don't really use it

http://www.myspace.com/grapesky use only when i get messages

http://www.virb.com/grapesky on pretty much every day, but i think its a current fad for me.

http://grapesky.blogspot.com/ use ALL the time, and probably will for a long time

http://grapesky.spaces.live.com/ rarely use

http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=7997306 use only when someone's trying to network

http://www.xanga.com/joonitree only have the account to comment on other people's blogs

http://joonitree.livejournal.com/ i can't remember why i signed up for this one. obviously, i have done nothing with it...

oh! and I almost forgot...

http://del.icio.us/joonitree

oh dear, another one...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/ALMRHGUSTR7CU

and i love amazon and i buy stuff off it.

V I R B ° is Live!

I am joonitree at http://www.virb.com/grapesky.

I highly recommend killing your MySpace or Facebook and use V I R B ° instead.

Just Another Phase in Life?

My roomate made an observation today that our friends' blog habits are decreasing...I know that of late, I haven't posted as often as I normally do. Now, perhaps it is becuase the newness of blogging has worn off, but from my stat counter, I can tell that my readership, though small, is slowly growing. Now, should I be selfish and stop writing because I am bored with blogging or because I have so called "better" things to do? No, I cannot do this. I must push through the wall and activate my imagination once again to creative blogging. Otherwise, I will lose my audience and blogging will be just another one of the fads in my life like pogo stick jumping.

Did you know that I jumped on the pogo stick so much that there were thousands of little round marks on the sidewalk in front of my house in Portland? I wonder if those marks are still there? I wish I could remember my record of how many jumps I did, but I am pretty sure it was quite large.

Happy Friends:

Some of my friends just recently started courting, and I thought I would post a few pictures of them in case you may know them. They are pretty darn cute.

Amazing Grace is still playing, and if you have not seen it, you should.

Here are some local showing times in Seattle.

I took some time to update my links today. I deleted some that, though are still some of my favorites, needed to be retired for a while, and I added some of my new favorites.

What City do I live in Again?

So, today is the last day of February, and what happens? Snowstorm. Again. I just don't know what to do with this town. Has it forgotten that its the rainy city? Oh well, I don't mind.

Its so beautiful to look outside and see white everywhere. It's quiet now and the snow glows under the streetlights.

Too bad that I will have to drive in late to work after all the snow melts... I guess I will have to make a snowman and the best snowmen are calvin snowmen.

I can buy Paprika Pringles via the internet. But shipping costs make it very expensive, about $50. The question is, are they worth it?

They just might be.

I lost all my pictures of New York City. All I have is what I posted on this blog.

sadness....

I've been horrible at posting this week. Coming back to work after being gone for three weeks does not help. I had a pile of stuff to do, and I will have to still work on a bunch of stuff next week.

Tomorrow, I am going to Camano Island to see my parents and to take my friend Mirjam, who is from Switzerland, to see that quiet and peaceful place. I am so excited and I hope that the tide is down.

Heavy Metal in Bahgdad: Thanks to VSL.
(*nfw language*)

Often its hard to imagine anything other that what the mainstream media tells us about Iraq, so here's another perspective.

I am thinking about using a little windfall i received recently to buy a camera:

The one I am looking at is:

Sony DSLR-A100 á (alpha) Digital SLR w/ 18-200 Lense Digital SLR

Tall's Camera has a great deal on it...

mebbe i'll have me a digi SLR by the enda this week, eh?

Having a V-day in the middle of what is called "comprehensive exam week" is a nice distraction. Getting flowers, a free lunch, a package full of candy, encouragement and a target card is keeping me sane.

What is comprehensive exam week?

Its kinda like being in junior high PE, waiting to be picked for a team... will I be on the A team or the B team?

A pass/fail exam that consists of:
1. 20-25 scholarly paper on recent changes which affect communication in my chosen area of focus
2. 5 page personal theology of communication paper
3. 2-4 page workshop outline

Timeline: one week to complete.

Oh. Why am I doing this? Ah, well for the partial fulfillment of a Master's Degree in Communication.

There is no place like home...

Coming home today, to my house on a sunny Springish feeling day in Seattle was an amazing feeling. After experiencing so much adventure, the common everyday life becomes precious and something special. I promptly took a nap on my cozy bed with the sunlight streaming in, just because it was not a hotel bed.

Anyone heard of VIRBº?

Well, want to be a part of the latest web 2.0 social networking site while its still in beta form? ...follow these instructions that Joshua Blankenship posted.

and, I also have three invites left, so I can send one to you too.

i like meeting random people on the internet.

i do not like convention center food.

i love haagen dazs ice creams bars.

i do not like working long hours, but my bank account does.

It's fun when your laptop has a big black line down the middle of it, and then you drop it and the hard drive starts making creaking noises, then shuts down, and when you try to reboot it, you can't. Luckily, we got new laptops at work... it just took me a few days to get one, and then to put an image on it.

Anyway, that's why I haven't posted in a few days.

I am working at a MS show in downtown Seattle and I haven't gotten much sleep.

Rabbie Burns' Night

So the last few days the streets of Edingburgh have smelled of Haggis morning noon and night. This is because of Robert Burns' Birthday, which is celebrated with great fanfare here. Everyone heads to the pubs to eat Haggis and hear Burns' poetry being recited.

If one wants, they can organize their own supper.

I did try Haggis. It smells a lot worse than it tastes. Kind of a meaty salty taste. Sort of like a meaty paste. I won't tell you what Haggis is made of, I will just let Wikipedia tell you. The Neeps and Tatters that accompany the dish are nice, but not super exciting.

I think my favorite scottish meal so far is Sausage and Mash. I also like the Fish and Chips with Vinegar and Salt. I guess there is a brown sauce I need to try also.

According to Ben, the network guy from Parliment who lives in Glasgow, the best food is Indian and most of the restuarants are in Glasgow, so I don't know if I will get to try the UK version of Indian food while I am here because at the moment, its all about Work Work Work.

One important thing to remember when walking around a city in the U.K.--

New Band Alert

Check them out at:

Pure volume or MySpace

Scotland is more beautiful than I ever imagined. The first picture here is of Arthur's Seat. Its a large hill on the outskirts of Edingburgh and is a part of Holyrood, the Royal residence here. The name has nothing to do with King Arthur. It's just what its called.

Mirjam came and met me here from Switzerland. She is going to stay for a couple of days. What a dream to be here in Switzerland with her--to have adventures together.
A Royal Pint of Guinness. And yes, it tastes better here than in the States. I think probably becuase I am in the UK, its poured properly and is the right temp.
The Scottish flag waving proudly. Every street corner has flags and tartan shops. The Scottish are very proud of their heritage.
St. Giles church at night. This is where John Knox preached. I also saw the house where he lived and a life size statue of him. He was not even 5 feet tall! I think its a mistake for Dustin and my uncle to play him at the Reformation fest each year... Very misleading. He also had a very long beard. Mirjam and I found a very old bookstore today and I bought a Dryden poetry book published in 1711. And only for Ten Scottish Pounds. (I don't know if there is a difference between English and Scottish Pounds, but since mine are minted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, I figured I should pay tribute.)

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Not as bad as I thought, but not the best either. The sausage and mash was much better.

The Royal Monument of Scotland. I've noticed that the Scots like putting up monuments of many things. I climbed one called the Scott Monument (put up for Sir Walter Scott) and it was 278 steps one way. Whew. My coworker Will and I climbed it with this Aussie girl, Nadine. She attached herself to us for the rest of the afternoon. It was fun to meet a new person and just hang out, talking about differences in various English speaking cultures.

Edinburgh Castle. Amazing.

I'm in Scotland!

And let me tell you, this place is totally unbelievable. I think I am going to go out, find a kilt and paint my face blue... or at least start wielding a broadsword.

Pictures and Adventures to come...