Nice Plans, Broken Plans

I wonder...I suppose Our Lady had other plans, perfectly good plans for life.

One irony of this solemnity's Gospel is verse.37 "nothing will be impossible for God." is oft-quoted whilst we are hatching our own schemes or dreams. We want, hope and pray that the Big Guy is behind us. I suppose this is alright but..

The Fiat of verse.38 can be a difficult pill to swallow at such times. Say it! Say it again. Squeak it out in that pitiful voice and through gritted teeth. Fiat, Fiat, Fiat... until your dream has crumbled away (it was only a shadow of happiness anyway) until all that remains is you and Him.

Spoken vs Written

Why do my written words seem so cold to me and my spoken word’s too hot. Thoughts seem so alive while turning in the brain like softened gold but after they are carefully selected and molded and set on the page they become as cool as a fashioned ring just retrieved from the jewelry box.

The same thoughts, however, when spoken are hastily worked, crude and still to hot when they are pressed upon someone’s unsuspecting palm. It seems I must either tame my tongue or practice my pen or just be still.

good poetry on youtube

I like this guy. He has a lovely voice for poetry and reading. I am grateful for his labors. He has made the world a better place for making these recordings.

Reading some Gerard Manley Hopkins on Librivox and the Gutenburg e-text I decided to see if he had read any. I found this delightful collection of three poems, including one by Hopkins, nicely grouped. The Ogden Nash poem is like candy desert.

First week of class

I have completed my first week of graduate school(sigh- of relief)

My first class is concerning computers and various ways of sharing information by computers. For this week we have been exploring how networks work, server/client relationships and practicing File Transfer Protocol or FTP.  In normal speech, I am able to use my computer at home to tap into the schools big computer. I can access a file created for me upon enrollment for my use where I can store documents.  This "space" on the schools server(computer) is also capable of hosting a student webpage. (stay tuned)

I didn't know what was going on for the first four days partly because my terms were not defined and partly because I am using a Mac and it's operating system and the teacher is teaching from the Windows operating system. The visual correspondence between what he did and what I was trying to do wasn't there.I am very grateful to the computer genius next to me who already knows all this stuff and is also a Mac user. He kindly showed me how to do everything I needed to do. As for defining the terms I have discovered that while I have heard words like server, http, and ethernet before I didn't have a solid understanding of what they were. Still, I don't understand all the terms used in my class well enough to teach them but I hope to with time and practice.

Someone in my class pointed out this very cool post on a blog explaining how to embed things like video into your blog. I was very happy to learn this. The example video they embedded is kinda creepy in a conspiracy theory sort of way.

First day of class

Tomorrow my classes begin. My first class in graduate school is a Technical class about computers and webpage design and other software that manages information like spreadsheets. Glancing through the textbook is like reading a foreign language and rather intimidating. I will probably ask a lot of "stupid questions", like "What exactly is the difference between RAM and ROM?"and everyone will wag their head in disbelief. 

I suppose this is the best class to have right off the bat to get me up to speed with technology. My undergraduate studies hardly required such computer savvy and even if it had it would be outdated by now.

Thank you Fr Corapi

Thank you Fr Corapi for saying it again and saying it well.

The Best Grocery Store on the Planet

Today I went to the best grocery store on the planet. Only TJ's could entice me out into the rain on my first full day in my new town. 

Attending a huge state school has its benefits and near the top of the list is demographics which allow for my favorite grocery store. This morning I put on my Hawaiian print shirt in anticipation of my first sojourn on the public transportation. I walked for 15 min in a misting rain to the bus stop. Ignoring my directional instincts I think I took the long way but no matter. I made it and waited only a short 10 min or so before the bus came roaring down the road. I found my stop with ease and though I had never been to the shopping center my intuition lead me  in what turned out to be the most direct path to my destination. I rounded the corner and there it was. 

Today I bought only what I needed and filled three small bags. Carrying all my groceries slung on my shoulders limits how much I can buy. Even when I didn't buy everything on my list my shoulders were aching before I reached home again. I am thankful that this store is on the way home from school and I can easily stop throughout the week so I don't have to lug everything at once. Today's extra burden was unique being my first grocery trip after moving.

After checkout and carefully packing the breakables I walked outside into regular rain. It rained all the way to the bus stop. All my bags were soaked but thankfully I didn't have to wait because just as I arrived so did the bus. The rain poured down while the bus wound its way back to my stop. The rain abated  just as I was disembarking as though on cue. 

There was one casualty.  An egg broke in the carton.