Day by Day with Gina

New Posters for My Classroom

2006-03-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

Actors in True Form

2006-03-22T21:30:00.000-05:00

Each Wednesday night, I sit down to watch videos for my Master's Degree. These are often boring experiences that ilicit mumbling explicatives from the husband and me. You might ask why I watch them. Well, I have to watch them so I can take this five-question quiz each week and write a short paper.
This evening, after my weekly grocery trip, I sat down to watch my video for the week so I could take my quiz before bed. Ben was "enjoying" the video with me, and we began to actually enjoy ourselves when we saw these fine teachers who were in the audience. I swear, they must be professional actors. They are so authentic-looking.

Drugs...good...

2006-03-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

So, in classic Gina style, I messed myself up yet again doing something quite stupid. Remember the s'mores incident? This runs in the same vein.
Monday morning, I drowsily got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. While I was in the shower, some water got into my ear, kind of like when you go swimming and get water in your ear. Whenever I get water in my ear, I just tilt my head to the side and hop up and down until the water comes out. I have probably done this a hundred times in my life.

I guess this quarter-century-old woman couldn't take the one hundred and first time. Apparently, I don't know my own hopping strength. I majorly pulled the muscles in my neck. I immediately knew it, too. I went downstairs to take some medicine and get my ice pack. Ben had to help me finish getting ready by drying my hair and pulling my sweater over my head for me. I pulled my muscles so badly that it hurt constantly, not just when I moved. And when I say hurt, I mean throbbing, shooting pain. All from a little water in the ear.

I bravely went to work and pumped myself with ibuprofen. Teaching is tough to do when you can't move your neck. If my kids had a question, they had to hold the paper up in front of my face because I couldn't look down. When trying to scan the room and "monitor," I had to turn my whole body 180 degrees instead of just my head. I was surviving, but it was pretty pitiful. And everyone was having a really good laugh on my account.

After the ibuprofen wore off around lunchtime, though, I took some Tylenol because the school nurse didn't want me "ruining my stomach" with ibuprofen. The three Tylenol I took didn't even put a dent in the pain. I started getting nauseated, it hurt so badly. I finally caved, got a sub for the afternoon, and carefully went to not one, but two doctors before I made it home.

Dr. #1 gave me a shot in the rump, a pain-killer prescription, and a muscle relaxer prescription. Dr. #2 (my chiropractor) gave me some muscle work and therapy and strict orders to stay home today. "I'll even write you an excuse note," he said. This was the first time all day that I smiled.
"Well, as much as I hate to be out of school, I guess I have to if you tell me to stay home." :)

Muscle relaxers roxxor, as my friend Eric would say. Combine that with not going to work, and I woke up feeling pretty darn good this morning.

And the funniest part of the day? When I went to the chiropractor's office, the nurse asked me how I hurt my neck. I said, "Well, it's a bit embarassing."
She whispered, "Were you having sex?"
I wish! At least then it would have been worth it!

If the card fits...

2006-03-05T10:42:00.000-05:00

My birthday was on the 24th of February. The celebrating began on the 23rd with a cake and a few presents during our hanging out with friends. It has continued with various cards, contacts, and celebrations. It will continue into next weekend, at least, with a couple of shopping trips with my mom and mother-in-law and a dinner promised me by my very kind husband. I think this will be my most lengthy birthday celebration evar- possibly as long as three weeks! Whoa. I really like dragging out birthdays, don't I?

So, I wanted to share some of my very cool cards I have received...so far. More may be coming. With all of this celebration of my day of birth, I just don't know what to expect!

I just have to say, this is one of the coolest cards I've gotten in awhile. It was given to me by Mr. Jason during the fambly birthday celebration yesterday. It described my birthday celebration perfectly.
As if this wasn't enough to honor my birthday awesome-ness, Miss Pamela gave me a homemade card with an original poem in it, to my ultimate delight. This construction-paper backed poem is so massive, I have to scan it in two separate parts. Even more exciting, Pam wrote this card in one draft. That is impressive. I must be pretty darn inspiring to elicit words like these!

Wow. I'm speechless! Well, not quite...
Now, for those of you out there who didn't write me a birthday poem (everyone else but Pam), feel free to include it in the comments since you've now been inspired by Pam's originality and artistry.
After all, I am birthday incarnate!!! Worship me for my birthdayness with pomp and poetery!!!

Through Space and Time

2006-02-28T20:03:00.000-05:00

We went to West Virginia this past weekend. We drove for ten hours (12 total travel time with stops), spent two days in WV, and drove back Monday with a similar timetable.

I sat in the car for at least twenty hours, slept more than I have in a long time, and didn't really do a whole lot. The most active part of my weekend was the Electric Slide during the wedding reception. Now, while that was impressive while wearing my heels and doing the extra little turn-steps, the net of the weekend was basically a lotta nuttin'.

And I am exhausted!

Why does sitting in a car for a long time and relaxing a lot otherwise leave me so tired? I can think of some contributing factors, but no truly viable scientific explanation. So, you, my faithful readership, have the assignment of giving me an answer to this lifelong bothersome question. Feel free to discuss or assign percentages of impact from the following list:

age
circulation
movement (or lack thereof)
boredom
stress
change in schedule
change in environment (weather, allergens, etc.)
the possibility that man was never intended to travel through so much space and time at once

Which Side are YOU On???

2006-02-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

Time to take a commercial break and just do something fun!

A friend of mine sent me this really fun test that I took a couple of days ago. If you have ever wondered whether you are a Southerner or not, this is the test for you!
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

My favorite question:
What's that bug that rolls into a ball when you touch it?

Doodlebug
Pillbug
Roly-Poly
Potato bug
Sow bug

This test is very educational. You'll find out four different titles for the night before Halloween, two different ways to pronounce the word "route", and what people in Massachusetts call their soda.

I am 57% Dixie. What are you??? And what is your favorite question???

Evolving Thoughts

2006-02-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

Now, I have been convinced for a large portion of my life that evolution is a load of unproved, misinformed, atheistic crap. It seems the view of the modern church that Creationism is the only option that includes God. I have been wondering over the last several years, though- why must evolution be missing God? What if God was the one who initiated and sustained this process of evolution? Would that make Him any less God?

As I was finishing the previously mentioned book, The Story We Find Ourselves In by Brian MacLaren, the character Neil Oliver is a Christian in the book who finds some parts of the theory of evolution not only interesting, but even exciting.

He starts by saying that the theory of evolution is not perfect and has many holes, but that, to him, it makes more sense than any theory because of God's creative nature. Basically, that God created the universe to continue creating, not just to be stagnant.

from page 98:
"Bottom line: Go back before creation. If God is the only thing that exists, the only being that is, then God has to create time, so that the universe can be itself, become itself, with some kind of freedom and authenticity. Otherwise, it's just a puppet universe, just a simulation. Do you see it? So if God wants to make a universe that's real, I think we would expect it to happen just as evolution says: the universe would develop, over time, writing its own story, so to speak. It's a story of becoming, of unfolding, of novelties emerging and possibilities being explored and diversity flowing. And best of all, it's not finished yet. We're still in process, still young, still moving ahead toward what we're going to be when we're all 'grown up.' And each of us, through our lives, through our choices, by cooperating with God or by withholding our cooperation, plays a part in the continuing evolution of God's creation. That's not so bad, is it?"

I don't think that's so bad. And while I don't know that evolution is the best theory we can come up with, there are some parts that do make sense and some parts of it that are intriguing, and I don't think that God has to be absent from it.

I have this feeling like all of the things we argue about and consider to be "Christian" and "atheistic" will not even matter to God when we finally get to heaven and ask Him. If He does tell us what He did, it will be something completely different from anything we could have imagined, I have a feeling. It reminds me of Joshua chapter 5, when Joshua meets an angel and says, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" The angel says, "Neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." In other words, He doesn't come to take sides. His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are higher than ours.

We haven't figured it all out. Maybe we need to view all of our theories as huge stabs in the dark, and everyone hits a different part of the bigger picture that no one will see until we meet Him face-to-face.

Evolution is something we don't discuss much in Christian circles, except to bash it and disregard it completely. Are we willing to consider it and discuss it?

Time for the passionate comments!!! Let's hear 'em...

Fun with Micah in His Homeland!

2006-02-12T21:23:00.000-05:00

Britt and Becca were home for a couple of days. On Friday night, we had family dinner and took some fun pictures!!!

Britt and Ben talked manly talk on the couch.

Micah got to meet his Uncle Derek for the first time!

He also got to meet Aunt Amy and hang out with her!
McKenna got to meet Micah for the first time and kept saying she thought he was "really cute."
Here is Micah with both of his cousins, Jeremiah and McKenna.
Great Aunt Dodie played with Micah for awhile.
Emma also enjoyed getting to know Micah!

Though it wasn't under the best of circumstances, it was really good to hang out with Britt, Becca, Micah, and the whole family. We are so excited that they will be coming home this summer to stay for awhile!

More Goodbyes

2006-02-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, a close family friend, Craig Cooper, died suddenly and without warning. He was in his early thirties, happily married, with a six-year old son left behind. The nature of this situation is nothing short of heartbreaking.

And I'll be honest...I'm heartbroken.
I am heartbroken for Charleston, who thank God will have vivid memories of his father, but will sorely miss him for the rest of his life. I am heartbroken for Melissa, his loving and lively wife, who is suddenly missing the love of her life. I am heartbroken for their family, and I am heartbroken for my brother, who lost a dear and rare kind of friend.

Those of you who have been well-acquainted with my life over the past year know that I have lost three close people within four months. Other sudden, unexpected, and seemingly unfair deaths have happened, all too often, over the last several years. I am heartbroken over losing them, and when I grieve for Craig, I am greiving for all of those I miss so deeply.

Most of all, though, I am heartbroken over the realization that all relationships, ultimately, end in loss. Whether by time, distance, or death, all relationships will eventually end in this fallen world. I am also heartbroken to notice that most people, my age especially, have no idea the reality of this risk. Each time we enter into a relationship, risk is automatically present. We risk our emotions, our safety, our ideas, our futures, and we especially risk the possibility of devastating loss.

Is it worth the risk? you might ask. Is it truly worth it to befriend a person, spend time to get to know them, and know that someday, that relationship will die? I have asked myself this question a thousand times, even in the middle of funerals, burials, and grieving, and my heart, though in pieces, answers a deep and resounding yes.

It was worth it to know Craig and his desire to live life and savor it with his friends and family.
It was worth it to know Eddie, a passionate pursuer of the living God who gave it all to serve the One he loved.
It was worth it to know Larry, whose relationship with the Father was contagiously radical.
It was worth it to know Brad, who sought to please the Lord in every step and decision.
It was worth it to know Jessica, and her precious, quiet spirit that loved Jesus with all of her being.

It seemed all of these people left us before it was time, but somehow, God knew it was the right time. I don't understand it, and I don't like it, but I have to choose to believe that God is still present in the midst of this. Theology doesn't provide any comforting answers in these circumstances, but God's grace and love are faithful to catch me where my own faith fails. Rich Mullins lyrics keep coming to my head, "If I stand, let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through [not around!]. If I can't, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You." The other song I keep thinking of is simply, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but HE is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me." Seems so simple, I know that's what you're thinking, but His love is the only force that keeps me from giving up on life after all of this loss.

I know that many of you understand exactly where I am coming from. You have experienced deep, piercing loss and grief...and you understand. Some of you, my fellow young adults especially, don't know from experience, but someday you will. And when that day comes, you'll know that I understand deeply, where no words can express.

But let me share with you the simple, yet vital lesson I have learned.

I am so thankful to have known Craig, Eddie, Larry, Brad, and Jessica for the time that God gave me with them. Somehow, the loss makes my memories and friendships more treasured.
I guess what I am trying to say is that we need to treasure each other in light of the fact that one day, sooner or later, we will lose each other. This makes our times together all the more precious, and it should be treated that way. We need to savor our time with each other. I get to know God better when I am with His children. A part of those I love becomes a part of me. Maybe that's why it hurts so much when they leave; a part of us dies, too.

And, after such times of loss, death, and grief, one sweet day, He will dry every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more goodbyes. Thank you, sweet Jesus, for giving us hope in your death and resurrection.

God isn't enough?11?l?!(0!)

2006-01-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

During my unfortunate battle with the common cold this week, I have been reading A New Kind of Christian and The Story We Find Ourselves In by Brian McLaren. The thing I have appreciated most about these books is its ability to challenge every lens and predisposition I have when I approach God, the Bible, and Christianity. God has really been opening my eyes to show me how much of my views are skewed by modern evangelical and conservative upbringing. Don't get me wrong--my modern evangelical conservative upbringing gave me much that I hold dear, including the ability to question it. "Momma always said" I should seek out the truth for myself, and I am thankful for that lesson.

One thing that seems ingrained in me because of said upbringing is the concept of "God is all we need." While I do believe that all we have, need, and will ever know is wrapped up, from, and for Him, God has not just given us Himself. Even when we were created, God wasn't all that man needed. God created the world, animals, and finally, man, and yet, he wasn't finished.

From Genesis chapter 2--emphasis mine

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone [but he wasn't alone--he had God, right?]. I will make a helper suitable for him."

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found [even though Adam had God]. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."

From The Story We Find Ourselves In, McLaren writes:
"There's one other surprising thing that the second creation story in Genesis suggests to me. It's something shocking, maybe put best when it's put in a way that borders on heresy: God is not enough, the story says. That has nothing to do with any deficiency in God; it has to do with the storyline God had in mind for us. God doesn't want to be the only reality in our lives, the only relationship in our network, the only message on our screen. In the story we find ourselves in, God wants us to name the giraffe, and laugh as it reaches the tall, tall branches...Noticing and naming and enjoying our fellow creatures...is part of why we're here...This is the story we find ourselves in, isn't it? Caught between two dangers: a hyper-spiritual danger that says, 'It is good enough for human beings to be alone, so all they need is God,' and a hypersecular danger that says, 'It is good enough for human beings to be with the other created beings; forget about the Supreme being from whom all being and blessing flow.' Neither of those options is good enough. The only viable option in our story is for us human beings to enjoy the company both of our Creator and of our fellow creatures...in whom we find a lost part of ourselves restored again...The story is telling us that we were designed to be incomplete and unfulfilled in ourselves as monads, as isolated individuals. We feel an ache in our side, like some part of us is missing, so that we'll always be looking outside ourselves for belonging and connection, for it is not good for a person to be alone--not in this story! And so in this story we live in a garden, with all the creatures around us, and we walk with God in the cool of the day."

A bit long of a quote, but he says it much better than I can. This idea rang true in me, as I have come to appreciate greatly the intimate connection between people. I just wanted to say, to those of you who call to check on me, who challenge me, who question me, who encourage me, and who deeply love me, thank you for being God's creation fulfillment in my life. God created us to need each other. You are priceless treasures!!!

A Sheep or a Goat?

2006-01-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

Matthew 25:31-46 (The Message)

The Sheep and the Goats

31"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. 32Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, 33putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, "Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. 35And here's why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
36I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

37"Then those "sheep' are going to say, "Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? 38-39And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' 40Then the King will say, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.'

41"Then he will turn to the "goats,' the ones on his left, and say, "Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. 42And why? Because--
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

44"Then those "goats' are going to say, "Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
45"He will answer them, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me--you failed to do it to me.'
46"Then those "goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the "sheep' to their eternal reward."

⁴⁵"He will answer them, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me--you failed to do it to me.'

⁴⁶"Then those "goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the "sheep' to their eternal reward."

Am I a sheep, or a goat? If my eternal judgment is based on such actions, where will I honestly be placed? I can count the number of times I have fed the hungry or visited the sick on one hand. One hand!!! What, in God's name, am I doing sitting on my lazy butt in a huge, multi-million dollar facility with my nicest clothes on for a couple of hours while Jesus is out there, waiting for us to minister to Him? What kind of Christian am I if I spend more time in that nice building, comfortable and safe, than ministering to Jesus? What kind of church have we made ourselves to be if we aren't purposefully, habitually ministering to Jesus in our community? How is it that Jesus called us to do very few things, really, and we keep missing them? How is it that I have been in church since the womb, and I am not in the habit of ministering to the needy in my community?

And we can't say that there aren't needs in our suburban, middle-class community. There are needs just down the street.
Ben and I have just spent an hour searching online for volunteer opportunities, and we have only a few resources to show for it. Anyone else know of ways to get involved? Let's research, pool our resources, and get out there and do something!!!

We really did go back in time...over a week ago...

2006-01-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

Okay, so my original plan to blog soon after we got home from Korea...didn't happen. Duh, as Ewic would say.
We really did go back in time. Technically, we were on January 2 for about 48 hours. Purty cool...purty rough.

Anyway, our trip home went pretty well. LAX treated us nicer than Hartsfield did, fo' shizzle. I was ready for the worst. We did get delayed in LA for an hour because of bad weather on both coasts. Everyone there was super-nice and really friendly, though. We asked this one guy for directions, and he said, "How did you get such a pretty lady to agree to marry you?" When we continued to ask our directions question, he said, "You didn't answer my question. I'll tell you how to get where you want to go when you answer my question." It was funny.
We didn't get first-class seats on the way back, and it really made me appreciate what happened to us on the way over. Lemme tell ya.

Other than that, things are pretty good. I am still not sure what to do with my career life, but I am just exploring options right now and praying for some direction. And the past week and a half has kicked my tail in a major way. Consider that I have been severely jetlagged and had to deal with my 120 12-year olds again that are becoming more like seventh-graders. Too much for one week, "methinks." There is a reason I don't teach seventh grade. This semester is it. I know what they start to turn into...and I don't like it. One time, one of my kids asked if I could move up to 7th with them next year. I said, "I love you guys right now, but next year, you are going to turn into 7th-graders, and I won't like you then. Trust me, you'll look back and not really like yourself, either." They were a bit hurt and insist they won't be like that, but oh, yes, they will.
There is this angel figurine in the teacher's bathroom that someone made, and it says, "Teachers at (name of my school) are truely angles." Inspiring. Makes me feel better about my job.
We found out today that we get a 4% pay increase next year. That's a good thing for anyone who is staying in the school system. Don't know if that will be me or not...

And I am sorry for not keeping up with blogging this week. I missed it, but it's hard to do when you are falling asleep around 8 or 9PM each evening uncontrollably. A lot of interesting posts on my buddies' blogs, though- highly recommend checking those out. I also HIGHLY recommend the brand spankin' gi-normous batch of pictures my brother, Derek, posted on his blog of his kiddies. Tres-super-cool (with French accent).

In Enemy Territory...Almost...

2006-01-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Sunday, January 1, 2006

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Even though most Koreans don't really celebrate our American New Year, I want to wish you a happy one from South Korea.

Ben, Shane, Jason, and I brought in the New Year by visiting the DMZ today. We got up a bit earlier than normal, got ready, and took a taxi to the Songtan subway station. We had seats the whole way into Seoul, which was great. We had to transfer twice to get to Itaewon, where our DMZ tour began. While we were on our last leg of the subway ride, we were actually the only ones in our subway car, except for two Koreans all the way at the other end. This was quite abnormal, as it has been moderately crowded on the subway every time we have ridden it.
Here, you can see our presence in the subway car and the lack of other people around us. This is when we decided to get brave. Ben really wanted to see how much he would sway if he hung from the handles on the subway. He tried, but he was too tall and wasn't able to both hang and keep his feet off the ground. My young and "subtle" sister was then nominated, being the shortest among the four of us.
If you're wondering, she really didn't sway that much. But, we got some fun pictures and the two Koreans on the other end of the car found us very amusing.

We walked briskly out of the subway and found the nearest Burger King so we could grab a quick lunch before our tour began. As we were waiting to cross the street to get to said BK, we took a look at our surroundings. I would say that only 50% of the people I saw on the street were actually Korean (maybe less). In fact, a rather belligerent pair of people in front of us on the crosswalk were speaking language I would expect to hear on an urban streetcorner in the states. It really didn't feel like we were smack in the middle of Korea at that moment, for sure.

We assembled our BK to-go, then met up with our tour guide in the lobby of the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, which is part of Seoul. Our guide's name was Choi, and when I was making sure I pronounced it correctly, she said, "Like Taster's Choice." I thought that was funny. Not just like "choice," but "Taster's Choice." teehee. I didn't forget her name, though! Maybe that was the reason she picked a mediocre coffee brand to help people pronounce her name correctly.

We got in our van to drive toward the DMZ, and found out we were the only four on today's tour. It was kind of nice, though, since we got to ask a lot of questions and be more comfortable. While we drove the hour-long trip, we ate our BK lunch, talked a lot, saw Korea get colder and colder, and heard some interesting information from our tour guide. One thing she showed us on the way particularly stuck out to me. In the 80s, Koreans used this one large area as a garbage dump. They decided to turn it into something a bit nicer when the Olympics came to Seoul, so they basically covered it up with a bunch of dirt and put a big park and golf course on top of it. So, it's this huge man-made hill covering a mound of old garbage. Kind of weird, if you think about it. But, the mound is still releasing methane gas, which provides the electricity for nearby apartment complexes. Can you imagine? "Yeah, the lights went off again. Guess the garbage dump wasn't decomposing enough today."

We went as far north in South Korea as you can get and stopped at a place called Paju Park. It's kind of the starting point for people wanting to tour the DMZ. The Freedom Bridge is there, as well as several Korean War memorials. What is strange is that they've turned it into a little carnival area. There were kids riding on these carnival rides, in the dead of winter, in the middle of a park that commemorates the Korean War and a very divided nation. It just seemed a but juxtaposed to me.

Here is another example of how Koreans like to make cartoons out of everything. I got a tshirt with this on it because I thought it was so...weird and humorous. It shows a North Korean military person standing next to a South Korean military person, and then says, "Joint security area, in commemoration of visiting Paju City." I don't know about you, but Korean military persons don't exactly invoke visions of cute little big-headed cartoon characters.

Here, the cartoon character is actually a statue in front of the Third Tunnel Building.

We walked over to the Freedom Bridge and walked across. The Freedom Bridge is where thousands of POWs were exchanged after the Korean War. There is a kind of shring at the end of the bridge where people hung up items and wrote things. Sometimes I wish I was Data from Star Trek just so I could read all of the different languages, ya know?

Right when I took this picture, the Korean guard you see said, "No picture!!!" I didn't take any more. He had a gun.

We then walked to the war memorials area. The largest one was dedicated to American soldiers who fought in the war, of which Ben's maternal grandfather was one. 30, 000 Americans died in the war, and 5,000 are still unaccounted for. The number of soldiers missing just amazed me. Can you imagine the families of those people who don't know what happened to their husband, father, brother, or son? Can you imagine the old men that still might be prisoners up there, who have lost hope of ever going home? God bless them...
We climbed on the bus and drove over to a spot called The Third Tunnel. Over the years that the DMZ has been in existence, North Korea has tried several times to tunnel into South Korea so it could infiltrate troops and weapons. We were able to actually walk down into the third one that was discovered, called, you guessed it, "The Third Tunnel." It was a pretty steep walk down, then a pretty hunched-over walk through the actual tunnel that the North Koreans dug. We weren't allowed to take pictures down there, unfortunately, but it was basically a damp, stinky, cramped tunnel. I was amazed at how badly North Korea wanted to invade South Korea, just to control it. There are some spiritual implications there that I'm still thinking through...

After hopping back on the bus, we drove over to the Dora Observatory, where you can get a scenic view of the DMZ. The Demilitarized Zone was basically the cease-fire agreement made between North and South Korea. They agreed to draw a line between the two, with a 2 km buffer on each side. So, essentially, the DMZ is a 4km-wide band running from the east side of Korea to the west that has gone untouched by man for over 50 years. As you might imagine, it's quite packed with wildlife and vegetation. Unfortunately for us, we weren't able to see any of it today, even from the Dora Observatory. It is cold, so everything is brown, and it was snowy today, so visibility was very limited. I would guess we could see maybe 100 feet into the DMZ, but the parts we did see were really cool.

Next, we went to the Dorasan Station, which was built just in 2002 by South Korea. It is the northernmost subway station in South Korea. This is an amazing effort by South Korea for reunification. They are incredibly hopeful that the two parts of Korea will reunite someday soon. I asked Choi, "Do you think it will really happen?" She said, "Oh, yes, definitely within my lifetime." I think it shows amazing grace and forgiveness of the people of South Korea to actually want to reunite with a communist nation that wanted to just control them for a really long time. In an effort to show goodwill and a desire to unify, South Korea built the Dorasan station as far north as they could. One day, when they do unify, Koreans will be able to travel by train all the way into China and the European continent. Now, they have to take a plane or ferry to get into China or Russia. The Dorasan station was built using the funds of South Koreans who had some kind of tie to North Korea, whether they lived there before or still had family there.

We all got stamps in our passport at Dorasan Station!

Our DMZ trip was pretty much over after that. We made a quick stop at the Reunification Village, which was also settled as far north as possible, and we found out that our own Jimmy Carter helped to build some of the housing in that town. We went back to Paju Park, got on our van with our tour guide, and made our way back to Seoul. After an adventurous meandering through the Seoul Station, we got on our subway train toward our Korean home...Songtan.

We decided to end our trip with an old faithful dining experience...Happy Teriyaki! It didn't let us down. I left the restaurant feeling...you guessed it! Happy. We came back to the apartment, packed our lives into suitcases, and went to bed.

In just about an hour, Ben and I will be on a bus toward Incheon National Airport and we'll begin the 24-hour travel back in time toward Atlanta. We make one stop in LA, so wish us luck with the worst airport in America.

Next time on "Korean Days with Gina," we travel back in time!!!

Days of Rest and Korean Potty Adventures

2005-12-31T07:39:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Friday, December 30, 2005

After our two busy days Seoul-searching, we decided to take it a bit easy. We hung around the apartment for the first half of the day, then Becca, Shane, Jason, and I decided to do some shopping in downtown Songtan. I made some all-important purchases during our excursion: jewelry, stickers I will use for my scrapbook, a cool scarf, and some hand warmers. They have these cool hand warmers you put in your pocket. There's a little bubble with some kind of chemical in it, and you pop the bubble, and it gets warm. You can put it in your pocket and make use of it at anytime. You can even reset it by putting it in the microwave, then reuse it at will. They are a brilliant invention, and they are in really funny shapes, too.

On Friday nights, Britt and Becca do a meal for the Hospitality House. Becca made ham, carrots, and green bean casserole (Jason's favorite dish). It was mashesayo (delicious)! After staying up a bit later to have a deep conversation between Ben, Jason, Shane, and me, we all got a really good night's sleep.

Saturday, December 31, 2005
New Year's Eve!!!

After sleeping in this morning, we took it pretty easy all day long. Ben is still feeling rough, so we decided to rest. We slept in, ate meals at appropriate times, and watched some Arrested Development. We're in season three now!! Woo hoo.
We getting up early to go to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tomorrow. The DMZ is the area that separates North Korea from South Korea. It's a pretty big deal, and a pretty long trip. It involves us traveling about three hours each way to get there, then taking the tour while we are there. Large time (and money) commitment, but I think it will be well worth it. There is one part of the tour where you actually get to step into North Korea--enemy territory!!! Someday, Lord willing, the DMZ won't exist anymore, and it will be very cool to see it while we are here. All that to say, Ben and I intentionally took it easy today in an effort to store up energy for tomorrow. It's going to be a long Sunday doing the DMZ trip, and then we wake up on Monday to go to the airport and take the long journey home, so it was good to chizill today.

The highlight of the day, for sure, was the evening church meeting. Britt and Becca hold a meeting in the Hospitality House on Saturday nights. Becca usually cooks another meal, but this week, we had a teacher at the school where Britt works and her familiy cook some awesome Greek food. It was great! After the meal, we had a time of singing and sharing about what the Lord is doing. The meeting went really well, and Britt shared some good teaching. Most of the sharing and teaching tonight was about focusing on the Lord and being willing to die to ourselves, our desires, and our dreams and let Him be enough. It was a good word, and I was really blessed by it.
Shane started Micah on his first piano lesson tonight! He was pretty distracted, but that's okay.

Here is a picture of Britt teaching during the meeting.

So, tonight is New Year's Eve, and I am going to be in 2006 before all you guys back in the states, so nanny-nanny-boo-boo! I will hopefully be asleep by midnight as long as my laundry finishes in time, isn't that sad? I am getting old...

Korean Potty Adventures

So now, time for what I promised: my Korean bathroom experiences. Here are some things to know about public potties in Korea.

Most of them are not heated, and therefore quite cold since this country has very chilly winters and the restrooms are all ceramic and metal.
In many public places, such as the subway, you won't have a "Western" toilet, but what we affectionately call a "squatty-potty," that looks like this:

No, that picture isn't upside-down or rotated or anything. That really is a urinal-looking potty in the floor. Hope you have strong thigh muscles for this one! Special thanks to Mr. Deaton for being brave enough to snap this pic.

They don't have hot water to wash your hands. The water is honestly right around 33 degrees Fahrenheit in most I have seen: just "warm" enough to be able to flow out of the faucet.
They also don't usually have paper towels. They may have a hand dryer that blows out cold air. Between the cold water and the lack of paper towels or cold dryer, my hands have had trouble staying warm.
Several places I have been also don't have soap. Rinse, rub, repeat, shake dry, then hand sanitizer is the best formula.
Most Koreans don't flush their toilet paper. They use it and deposit it into a small trash can next to the toilet. This causes bathrooms to both look and smell rather...interesting.
The topic of toilet paper brings me to my last, and most funny, observation. There are three varieties of toilet paper providing. 1) My personal preference, which is a roll of toilet paper in each stall. Seems normal and expected, right? Oh, just wait. 2) A large roll of toilet paper in some central location of the bathroom. Grab as much as you think you'll need, and take it in with you. Makes me concerned when I don't see women grabbing any, though...guess they drip dry. 3) Last, and least desirable, is exampled by my experience at the bus station the other day when we went to pick up Shane and Jason. I went in the restroom, looked around for the toilet paper, found none in a central location or in the individual stall. Seeing my confusion, a Korean lady motioned profusely and told me (in Korean) that I had to go buy some at the small store in the bus station. So, for about 500won (50 cents), I bought some toilet tissue. Ladies and gentlemen, if you ever come to Korea, bring some toilet paper with you. I would hate for anyone to have to "drip dry" if they weren't planning on it. That's just an uncomfortable situation.

So, the funny thing about this toilet paper is not only that I had to buy it to use a public restroom, but the package itself is quite amusing. Koreans really like to use English words, but their phrasings are rarely exactly correct. This is a perfect example. I will show you the pictures of the three sides of the pouch that have such writing, then put the words in quotes underneath so you won't miss the linguistic humor.

The toilet tissue itself is called "Porky'Dreams" and, according to Porky himself, he is having a "Happy Time." Apparently he really enjoys life when he has a good pouch of toilet paper. What a guy.

Here is the back of the pouch. It says, "Good like I know if would every when I go I feel love." I'm speechless.
Here is a picture of Porky and his woman dancing, and the subtitle reads, "I feel love all day long like it's promise like a song like it's feeling."

I don't know about you, but that was a good 50-cent investment for me. When I sit down to use the restroom, it's important to me that I know I have some uplifting literature to read on my toilet paper pouch. I'm getting so much done--emptying my bladder, enjoying Lovely Porky's swift dance grooves, getting some great absorbency from Porky's paper, and being inspired by the inscriptions right there in my tissue container. Because, as Porky says, "When I go I feel love." I couldn't have said it better.

In all seriousness, though, the package incited some audible giggling as I used the restroom, and as soon as I got out, I had to show Ben and Britt, who were also very entertained. I did show Becca as soon as we got home.
Just to clarify, I am not as brave as Ben, so I didn't take this picture while actually in the restroom.

Next time on "Korean Days with Gina," we step into enemy territory!

Seoul Searchin'

2005-12-29T19:56:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Wednesday, December 28, 2006

On Wednesday, we rode the subway into the city of Seoul and did some Seoul-searching. Ben, Shane, Jason, and Britt went early in the morning to explore the Electronics Mart. Becca, Micah, and I went up around lunchtime to join them. The subway ride there was very culturally interesting.

At first, we didn't have a seat, but a nice lady let Becca have her seat when she saw her carrying Micah on her front-pack. As Americans, we get a fair amount of staring and general attention most of the time. When you throw in a Caucasian blue-eyed baby, we get even more attention, especially from old Korean ladies. Becca had to feed Micah while we were on the subway, and this Korean woman next to her tried several times to tell her how to do it. Becca was covered with a blanket, which I am sure many on the subway appreciated her modesty, and the Korean woman next to her told her to take the blanket off because the baby couldn't breathe. She even reached over to take the blanket off of Becca, and Becca had to pull out her smack-down face, grab the blanket to keep it on, and insist that Micah was just fine. Keep in mind that we have never met this person before, and she's trying to expose Becca in front of a subway car rather full of people. Micah was, however, getting warm, so Becca and I pulled his pant legs up so he could have a bit of ventillation. The Korean woman reached over and tried to pull his pant legs back down, I assume because she thought he was cold or that we were being negligent. Becca and I both pulled out our smack-down faces and said (with motions) that he was hot. The Korean lady finally stopped making unreasonable suggestions and became content just watching and making cooing noises at Micah.

There were other interesting things that happened on the subway. Several beggars came through during our ride, asking for money, sometimes playing music on an instrument or a small radio. There were also salesmen that walked through, selling items like earmuffs, scarves, gloves, toothbrushes, battery-operated razors, and even band-aids. I actually saw some people purchase from them, so it mus be a viable economic option of some kind.

Becca and I made it into Seoul at the Yongsan station, which is really big and looks like this:
There is a very large store there called the Electronics Mart. I only spent a couple of minutes in it, and I had to leave because I was so overwhelmed! If you have ever been to the Apparel Mart in Atlanta or know what it's like, imagine that, but full of only electronics. It is several buildings (over 20) with several floors (3 or more) each, and on each floor are many separate vendors, each selling myriads of electronic devices. That's the best I can do to explain it. Ben will probably do a better job since he spent more time in there, but imagine lots and lots of this:
Also at the Yongsan station is a relatively new food court, where we ate lunch together. I had BiBimBap, which is rice, vegetables, and eggs in a very hot ceramic bowl, where you cook it yourself altogether. Ben had Bulgoki, which is beef and rice that you put in leaves of lettuce like a burrito. Shane had some kind of sweet pork dish. Britt had a turkey sandwich, go figure.

After lunch, we walked around the shops a bit. I found a store named after me!!!

GinArt!! My new favorite store!1!l!(0!)
All of the products were made by a company called "Gina World." Must be great world. I'd sure like to live there.
After shopping a little, we stopped into Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee and sweets.

Then, we braved the subway journey home. It was so crowded on the subway that we all stood the whole way home (over an hour). Poor Becca was carrying Micah and standing most of that time, so she got a bit tired. Britt finally releived her and carried him the rest of the way.

We took a taxi back to the apartment, made chicken for dinner, and the boys went downstairs for the men's fraternity meeting. Becca, Shane, Micah, and I chilled out in the apartment with some Allison Kraus dvd viewing and put our feet up. We ended the evening with...Signs, the alien/faith in God movie, then had a much-needed night of sleep.

Thursday, December 29, 2005
We got up early on Thursday and headed back into Seoul via the subway. The boys had some interesting head happenings on the train:

This Korean lady tried to tell Jason how to wear his hat, as did the rest of us, but alas, it did not help.

We rode toward the Gyeongbok palace on the north side of the city. It was very cold, but it was really a neat palace and we all enjoyed looking around the grounds and the beautiful buildings.

Here is a good view of the front of the palace, where there are guards that look like this:

We actually saw one of them falling asleep. It was really funny. They aren't really supposed to move or respond to anyone, but I don't know that sleeping is allowed, either.
This is a detailed picture of the beautiful colors that decorated the buildings.

Everyone is really cold, but we had a great time!

We took the subway south back into Seoul and got off at Daebong to see the 63 building, the tallest building in Seoul. Guess how many floors it has??? We had planned to go there and eat in the food court and shop around a bit in the building, but we found out most tourist-y spots at the building were closed for renovation. Bum-mer. It was about 2PM and everyone was starting to get cranky from lack of food, so we zipped out to the streets and found the closest decent-looking restaurant we could. We had Kalbi at this very authentic Korean restaurant. We sat on pillows on the floor, and they brought out the meat and cooked it on a grill in the middle of our table. They had excellent pork and rice. I also had some really good dumpling soup, but the side dishes were not as accessible for us boring Americans. They were mostly too spicy or had unidentifiable substances.
Now that we had our glucose levels back within the safe range, we walked back over to the 63 building and went up to the observation deck, the only part of the building that was actually open. It was a beautiful view of the city.

Here is a view up the side of the 63 building.

This is a view of the Han River.

All of the tall buildings pictured above are apartment complexes.

Seoul is really interesting. In most American cities, the tallest buildings are offices and companies. In Seoul, the apartment buildings are just as tall, if not taller, than the businesses. And since the tallest building in Seoul is only 63 stories, you can imagine that there just aren't that many skyscrapers there. Donal Trump has some Trumpworld towers in Seoul. At least two sets, that I was able to see.

After recharging with some chocolate ice cream, we boarded the subway again and headed toward home. Becca and Britt were able to get seats, which was good so that they could hold Micah and Becca could feed him again.

We picked up our really awesome tailor-made shirts at the shop and then walked over to Britt and Becca's favorite Bulgoki restaurant. The owner and his wife know Britt and Becca really well, so it was really a great experience. He called himself grandfather (in Korean) and whisked Micah away when he started to get fussy.
He and his wife ("grandmother") entertained Micah for most of our meal. The Bulgoki was great. He cooked the chicken on the grill in our table, then would randomly put food in our lettuce-burritos for us- a little bean sprout there, some seaweed over here. He was really a fun guy and seemed very genuine and nice. The food was incredible.
My favorite side dishes were the potato salad, the egg rolls, and the cucumber kimchi.
We made a stop at the Coffee Tree, and kept ourselves warm with our excellent coffee on the cold walk home.

Hooray for Coffee Tree!

We ended the evening with two more episodes of Arrested Development, the we all crashed after a very busy day.

I promised to write about my Korean potty-time adventures, but this blog post is getting really long, so I will save it for tomorrow. I know you're disappointed, but a girl can only do so much.

Until next time...sugo hasaeo! (Keep working hard!)

Chillin' Like Korean Villains

2005-12-27T19:45:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Monday, December 26, 2005

Happy day after Christmas! We spent the morning calling family, since it was still Christmas evening over in ol' Atl. Britt and Ben went downstairs for the men's Band of Brothers all-day marathon in the Hospitality House. Becca, Micah, and I hung out in the apartment for most of the day. We had some fun visitors like Laura Beth and Hannah (the little Christmas tree from my last post), and Jenn hung out with us a lot since Butch was enjoying the marathon downstairs. Becca and Jenn went downtown to run some errands, and I stayed home and baked some cookies while entertaining the boy. I haven't made peanut butter or chocolate chip cookies in awhile, but they were successful adventures. Apparently everyone else thought so, too, because it's only been two days, and they are all gone!!1l!

We closed out the evening with, you guessed it: Arrested Development.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Britt and I went to work out in the morning, then we came back to the apartment to get ready and go to Incheon to get Shane and Jason! We took the bus into the city and saw some interesting buildings and bridges on the way in. The apartment buildings reminded me of condo buildings at the beach, just more of them, closer together, and in the cold instead of the heat. The bus itself was extremely uncomfortable. It was literally over 80 degrees on that bus the whole way. I thought I was going to hurl. But at least we got some good pictures!

Ben really liked the bridge pictures, and I am sure he will share many of them with you, but I was especially proud of this one that I took.
This is a pretty classic view of Seoul- mountains around, lots of buildings close together, and you can kind of see the big apartment building on the left- imagine a LOT of those.

We picked up a very tired Shane and Jason, got McDonald's at the airport, and got back on the bus toward Songtan. It's at least a two-hour ride one way, so we had plenty of time to eat our McDonald's and catch up. The temperature on the way home was much better, actually on the cooler side. But, our bus driver must have been a kamikaze. He drove like a maniac! We almost hit some pedestrians a couple of times, and in Korea, that's a really big deal. This girl across the aisle from me actually threw up during the trip. We all agreed that our bus driver was certifiably crazy.
Becca picked us up at the bus station and we squeezed two more adults into Britt and Becca's apartment. We also squeezed two more episodes of Arrested Development in before we all crashed!!! Shane and Jason did well staying up late and sleeping through the night.

Okay, so now, time for what I promised and for what you probably came looking for: Micah's hair adventures. This is probably one of those embarrassing things moms will show future girlfriends in baby books, but it is a reality nonetheless: Micah has a mullet.

Business in the front...

...party in the back!!!

He has rubbed off all of the hair from the back of his head, so he's left with a smidgen of hair on the top and front, and a thick-ish row of hair on the neck. It's really funny- we all laugh about it pretty hard. When we laugh, Micah laughs, too, so I guess he's okay with it. Britt wants to trim, the "party in the back" section, but Becca hasn't seen the light yet. Well, on Christmas morning, Britt decided to experiment and see what Micah would look like with other kinds of hairstyles. Becca donated her hair to help us with the demonstrations.

In the first picture, Micah is looking pretty hippie-like with his long locks.

Here, we have Micah sporting a side ponytail.
And finally, my favorite, the rocker do, in honor of his father's previous years of style.

So, there you have it. Now you know something really personal about my nephew.

Up next...Korean bathroom adventures!!!

A Korean Christmas

2005-12-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Saturday, December 24, 2005

The morning of Christmas Eve was full of preparations for our big Hospitality House Christmas dinner! Hams were smoking, turkeys were baking, and green stuff was congealing in the fridge. If you don't know what green stuff is, I feel very sorry for you, just know it is one of the favorite Mooney desserts. If you have the opportunity to try it one day, you will be a blessed person.

Everyone came over about noon and we started eating once the feast was prepared. When I say feast, I mean FEAST! Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, rolls, strawberries, salad, green stuff, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, brownies, pumpkin pie, and probably twenty other things I can't think of at the moment. There were about 60-70 peole there. We had a great time! Our Christmas FEAST!

Wendy and David

Butch and Jenn

Micah was dressed up like a candy cane...
But his friend, Hannah, was dressed up like a Christmas tree!!!
Micah got to eat his Christmas dinner, too!!!
Micah really likes to play with Daddy...
...and chew on his nose.

After lunch was over, several of us took a turkey nap and then got ready for Christmas Eve Chapel Service on base. I have never been on a military base before, so it was interesting to be signed on, have to leave my driver's license held, and walk into an American city that is in the middle of Korea. It looks just like a small town or college campus- lots of buildings with housing or offices, then also an elementary, middle, and high school right there on base. We found out that this base (Osan Air Force base) has about 8,000 men stationed there, so it's really its own little community. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the base, then about 15 minutes to get to the high school auditorium from the gate. It was about, oh, 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit, and we were pretty cold by the time we actually got to the high school. The Christmas Eve service was really nice. There was a Korean brass ensemble that accompanied all of the Christmas carols. The group had actually driven all the way from Seoul (a couple of hours away) to play on the base, which was really nice. The opening act, though, was this really cute group of children who ranged in age from five to ten. The little ones were extremely cute, of course. They sang two songs, both of which illicited cute hand motions and other humorous behaviors. The third song, though, took the cake. The kids had these color-coded hand bells, and the director held up these colored cards that showed the kids when to play their bells. It was really cute. This one little guy got really into shaking his bell back and forth.

See the little boy in the front row? Yeah, he captured my attention most of the time.

There were many other special music presentations, Christmas carols, communion, and the classic pass-the-light-of-the-world candlelight ending with the little paper wax-catchers. The service was really more like a Lutheran or Methodist service. We did the kind of communion where you walk up, get a wafer, dip it in the cup, and eat the soggy wafer on the way back to your seat. We also did several responsive readings and scripture "lessons," so it was pretty liturgical. It was also really warm in there, which you know I like, but I got kind of drowsy. I was glad there were special music groups to keep us entertained.

When we left chapel, we had to walk all the way home, and now it was about 10 degrees. We all had trouble feeling our faces and talking without slurring by the time we got home. It was super-duper cold. We (Ben and I) realized about halfway through the chapel service that we had forgotten to eat dinner. We are sleeping pretty well at night and seem to be adjusted to the time change, but we still kind of get confused about eating times. I don't realize it's time to eat until way too late and my stomach says, "Hey, what about me?!?" Anywho, we got home and ate some long-awaited leftover pizza, watched some more Arrested Development, and went to bed.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas!!1!l!1l!
We took it pretty easy on Christmas morning. We spent a lot of time on the phone talking to the Deatons (Ben's family), the Mooneys (my family), and the Schneiders (Becca's family). After spreading our Christmas wishes around the globe, we opened some presents. Well, I say "we," but I really mean Becca, Britt, and Micah. You can guess who got the most presents. Ben and I didn't actually have anything to open on Christmas day. We got each other the trip to Korea, and Britt and Becca are getting us our tailor-made Korean shirts for Christmas. It wasn't a big deal not to have anything to open, just a bit weird. Didn't really feel like Christmas. We both kept saying over the last couple of days that it didn't feel like it was really Christmas. I don't really know why. Maybe just being halfway around the world and away from most of our family and friends is part of it. I don't know. But we are glad to be here! Okay, enough rambling. Time for what you really came here to see: pictures!!!

Oooh! Something to chew on and make fun noises from Nana!Becca's Bath and Body Works was a great present.

Ooh, what's in there??? Micah really liked all of the tissue paper. It makes cool sounds.

We watched some more Arrested Development to waste away our afternoon. We are one-third of the way through the second season, so we're really booking it! We tore ourselves away from the beloved show to get ready for the Christmas Day chapel service on base. We all tried to dress up a bit more, but no one looked cuter than Micah.

The cutest little guy in the bunch!!!

Family picture time!!!

The walk to base and then to the chapel was really cold- about 15 degrees- and we were cold all the way through by the time we got to the chapel. The chapel service we went to was the more contemporary one with a praise band and power point slides and all that jazz. After the service, we went to Checkertales, a burger joint similar to Johnny Rockits. Many people from the chapel joined us, including several people we had already met at the Hospitality House. After hanging out and eating some good food, we took a taxi to the gate, got signed off, and Becca, Micah, and I rode with Kenny and Nicole home because it was- you guessed it- super duper cold! Ben and Britt braved the elements, allowing the gentler gender to enjoy the engine-induced heat. Oh, yeah.

We got a few Arrested Developments in before bedtime, naturally. Thus ends our Korean Christmas adventures!
Coming soon...Micah's hair adventures.

Lazy Days

2005-12-23T06:14:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Thursday, December 22, 2005

On Thursday, we took it pretty easy. We slept in a bit, made some phone calls to people in GA, and poked around until after lunchtime. Britt and I worked out and came home during the afternoon. Ben and I played babysitter while Britt and Becca had their well-deserved weekly date. We also watched a hacked copy of Elizabethtown, which was an entertaining movie at best. I thought Kirsten Dunst did a great job, though she's not, in general, my favorite actress to watch. We all decided Orlando Bloom was pretty weak, though. He played a great elf in Lord of the Rings, and that was really the shining moment of his career: look pretty and have lofty, disconnected facial expressions.

When I say a "hacked copy," that means that there is this store in Songtan where Britt regularly buys pirated versions of movies so he doesn't have to pay money to see them in theatres or rent them. He will usually buy the "real" version of the dvd once it comes out, if he likes it enough. I don't think they have laws here about piracy and all that sort of thing. It's Korea. Their idea of ethics is very...individually interpreted.

The star of the day, though, was Micah. He was on his tummy on the changing table and started to get his knees up under him. It was the first time he had tried to start moving that way, i.e. the beginnings of a crawl!!! It was really cute. And I think he's pretty darn photogenic, so here you go. Enjoy some cute pictures.
Imagine some really cute grunting noises during this picture while he tried vigorously to get moving.
There are three important ingredients to Micah's sleepytime: pacifier, blanket, and teddy bear!

Thursday, December 23, 2005

We took it easy this morning. Ben and I called the folks having a get-together at our house last night and enjoyed our speaker-phone fellowship. It sounded like you guys were having lots of fun without us!!! That made me happy.
Anywho, then we all started to get bundled up and go out for lunch. I had to grab my camera when Becca put Micah in his very warm snowsuit.
Can you say Randy from A Christmas Story? It was even funnier in person, because the flapping of his bulky arms reminded me of a penguin.
We all got our winter paraphenalia on and made our way down the street toward "the strip." We stopped by the optician to get Ben's glasses adjusted, then went out to lunch at "Happy Teriyaki."
I don't know about you, but I really like my teriyaki chicken to be not only tasty, but happy. This restaurant did not disappoint! Britt and Becca are regulars at this place, so it was a fun dining experience.
Ben and I are getting better at our chopstick skills!

We went down to the tailor shop to get fitted for our cool Korean shirts. I am getting a long-sleeved one in red and a short-sleeved one in pink. Ben's getting a men's shirt made in black. We're super excited about them. The price isn't too bad, either- only around $30 per garment. For a tailor-made, silk shirt, that is a really good deal!

We all trekked home and started to get ready for the evening meal. Britt and Becca host a meal at the hospitality house on Friday nights. Tonight, we did homemade pizza. I can hear your tummies rumbling from here! We all pitched in to get everything ready, and it was very yummy. The group went caroling after dinner, and Becca and I stayed in to clean up and take care of the little guy.

This weekend will be pretty packed, so I will have more events to write about. It's been good, though, to take it easy over the last two days. I have been reading Now, Discover Your Strengths (almost finished) and trying to zero in on my strengths more clearly. It has been a very good book for me. I read something today that was very important. It talked about how, once you find your strengths, "you will be most successful when you craft your role to play to your signature talents most of the time" (p. 167). I appreciated that it didn't say to change jobs immediately or seek out a new profession, but to try to focus on your talents, no matter where you are. Now, given, some professions may not bring out your strengths at all, but chances are that you can highlight at least some of them regardless (or irregardless, as my dad would say, but isn't that redundant?). I don't know if my profession highlights my strengths, but I am willing to give it a try. So, that is my goal over the next month or so: try to focus on my strengths in my job, and see where that takes me. I think that's a reasonable goal.

We have also been educating my brother on the fabulously funny show Arrested Development. It was one of our un-published, but very important goals of this two-week trip. We all knew this show was right up Britt's alley, but somehow he has remained oblivious to it...until now. We're almost done with season one, and we have a whole season left to go!!! Good thing we will be here at least another week...whew!

Love you guys. Miss you. Have a great Thursday!

Sauntering Around Songtan

2005-12-21T06:56:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Wednesday, December 21, 2005

I hope Tuesday went as well for you as it did for me. And let me tell you that your Wednesday will also be a great day.
Ben and I were able to sleep the night through last night and not wake up until around 8 this morning. Yipee! Our jetlag seems to be slight, so that is a tremendous blessing.

We poked around the apartment this morning and finally got out around lunchtime to traipse around downtown Songtan. We went to Pizza Club for lunch, which was really good- somewhat similar to Pizza Hut. We ran into some of Britt and Becca's friends there, too, who also have little tots. Not tater tots, but human ones. They always make life more fun and entertaining. We talked about Britt and Becca coming back home to good ol' GA this summer, which will be great. I'm excited.

After finishing our lunch, we went across the street to Britt's favorite guitar shop here, Mr. Potato. Yes, you heard me: Mr. Potato. This Korean guy owns it and all of his guitars, "Mr. Potato" guitars, are handmade and really pretty. Ben and Britt, of course, had to play a bit.
Stores in Korea are funny. Their titles are sometimes very strange English. And they make everything into a cartoon- street signs, store signs, school signs, you name it. I will try to find more examples.

Britt and Ben talking to Mr. Potato (not his real name, but it might as well be).

Mr. Potato's guitars really do have "Mr. Potato" on them. Hee hee!!!

Ben enjoying the Mr. Potato sound.

We walked over to the optical place, where Ben picked out some glasses and had his eye exam. He found some really cool rimless ones:

I was rooting for the large, plastic trendy ones, but Ben sided with the more practical, lightweight frames. That's why he's the smart one in the family.

The trendy ones he didn't get, but I thought they were very cool!

While they were making his glasses, we went to have some more adventures. Britt got his hair cut, and while I was waiting, I saw this woman getting what I assume was a perm on this machine. It looks like a torture device, but she didn't appear to be in pain. The curlers go in the clasps and stay heated from the electrical hook-ups. Anyway, I was fascinated by this machine and the early '90s music they were playing on the radio, such as Mariah Carey's "I Don't Wanna Cry" and some song by the Jets that I can't remember the title.

We left the salon and browsed around several different shops in the downtown area. Touristy shops, one store that reminded me of a Big Lots or Dollar General, and then a tailor's shop where Ben and I are going to get some cool Korean-looking clothes made. Very excited about that.

Anywho, we got some coffee at this great place called Coffee Tree, and warmed up all the way through. It snowed last night, so it was really cold today and pretty windy. But, it was really pretty.
We went back to the optometrist to pick up Ben's glasses. They seemed fine at first, but they gave him a headache within the first couple of hours and now he's trying to sleep it off, so I think we will have to take them back. They look really cool, though!
Here is a picture of Britt and Becca's. The top floor is their apartment, the second floor is the Hospitality House, which is really just a big room, and the first floor is some type of business. If you look closely, you can see Britt and me going in the front door!

I hung out with Micah for most of the afternoon, wiping up drool, changing a blow-out diaper and getting him some fresh clothes. We ate some yummy meatloaf for dinner and then I headed downstairs for the Hospitality House's White Elephant party. Being very experienced in these kind of social events, I came prepared with gifts I bought at Barnes & Noble. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I bought white elephant gifts, packed them, and they came with me on the 24-hour travel to Korea. My Golf Voodoo Kit got a decent laugh, complete with doll, pins, and instruction manual. The bigger hit, however, was The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts by Shinta Cho. Great book. Highly recommend it, and its counterpart, Everyone Poops.
I left the party a bit early. I'm starting to wane. Being tired really only hits me when I am still and unoccupied.

By the way, thanks to those of you who are reading our blogs and commenting. I am enjoying doing this. I hope it will help me remember more and keep our memories fresh. I also hope it is a blessing to you guys. It will give us a lot to talk about, I hope!
I love you guys and miss you. Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Back to the Future, Part II

2005-12-20T19:04:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have already lived through the day and night of Tuesday, 12/20/05. This is why I call my series of Korea posts "Back to the Future." I am 14 hours ahead of you. So, right now it is 9am on Wednesday in Korea, but a mere 7pm on Tuesday for you.
So if you want to know how the day ahead of you is going to go, just ask, and I'll be happy to tell you. Tuesday was a good day.

Ben and I got some really good sleep on Monday night and woke up feeling great. After some rest and e-mail checking, I went to the gym with Britt and had a good workout and stretching session. Ben hung out with Becca and Micah at home while Britt and I walked the streets of Songtan. I really enjoy walking in cities, but it's so cold here. Korean people dress funny in the cold, too. They usually wear heavy coats, but then instead of a scarf they wear medical masks over their mouths. The idea is that the air will be warmer going into their lungs if they wear the mask. Apparently they think cold air is really bad for you, which doesn't really make sense because their climate is super cold and they are surviving just fine.

After our invigorating workout, we ate lunch, got ready, and visited Britt's school in Pyongtaek. They were supposed to have three days of school this week, but didn't because the heater in the school was broken. This provided a bit of a cold tour. It's a really neat building, though. There are a total of five floors that house grades K-12. All of the teachers know each other and most of the kids. It seems to be a really close community, which is cool.

The school from the outside...

The school is in the middle of a huge rice pattie. I just think that's funny.

Some artwork done by students. Recognize the idiot in the middle?

Britt pretending to work at his desk...

...being watched over by his Jesus
bobble- head doll.

A picture of the gym using only the flash since the lights wouldn't work. I thought it turned out cool. A bit creepy, but cool.

It's cold in here with no heat!!!

Ben layin' down the law over the school intercom system.
Wat up, home cheeses?

We came back to the apartment, I worked on my gi-normous blog post, and then we all had some fun plans for the evening. Britt, Ben, and Micah went to a men's Bible study meeting at a Thai restaurant close by. Becca and I went to a women's Bible study meeting at the house of Nicole and Kenny. Kenny is stationed at the Osan military base, and Nicole is his wife, who also works at Britt's school. There were eight of us there, most of which are either in the military or are military wives. It was a blessing to meet with other women and be able to see God working on the same things with all of us, even though I live halfway around the world. Most of you who know me well know that I really enjoy women's ministry, so this was right up my alley. It amazes me how similar our experiences are.

We came home so Becca could feed Micah, and Ben and I realized something important at about 10pm: Yesterday was our anniversary! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we both neglected to realize yesterday that it was our three-year anniversary. We were so confused by the jetlag that we both were completely oblivious. We shared a celebratory hug and got in bed and...we were out like three strikes. Oh, well.
Happy anniversary, us!

Back to the Future, Part I

2005-12-19T20:26:00.000-05:00

UPDATE FROM SOUTH KOREA
Hey, everyone! We made it safe and sound to Seoul, South Korea. It's officially our second day here, and we have already had several pleasant adventures.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2005
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
We spent the morning packing and getting our myriads of items together and making sure they would fit in our suitcases. We went to lunch at Figo for Jason's graduation party with his family, which was very enjoyable. Later that evening, Ben's parents drove us down to the airport and we made our way through check-in and security.
And so our travels began...
We waited at the gate for our first flight to take off at 9:45pm. Night flying is so cool.
Atlanta is such a pretty city at night. Well, any city is really pretty at night, no matter how ugly it is in the day. The lights are just gorgeous. And, I had the window seat. :)
We flew for a couple of hours and kept awake by reading on the plane. Once again, the night flying proved beautiful as we circled around the city of Chicago, passing the Sears Tower and John Hancock building, then descending toward the ariport. The most interesting thing about Chicago's layout (besides the tall buildings) were the perfectly straight streets with house after house in perfect squares and rectangles.
We landed in Chicago at about 11:45 (GA time). Transferring in airports is always interesting. Local time in Chicago was 10:45 pm, so there was nobody there to help us when we got off of the plane. We followed the crowd until we saw a friendly custodian that pointed us in the right direction. After asking directions a few more times, we finally found our way to the train that shuttled to different terminals. O'Hare airport is interesting. It's really spread-out, so when we went to our terminal, it was literally a mile away. It's a totally separate campus from the other terminals.

After arriving at our terminal, we went to check in and get our boarding pass. We walked up to the Asiana airlines counter, which was staffed, thankfully, and showed the nice man our tickets. A look of concern shot across his face and he called his manager over. At this moment, I am trying not to think too seriously about what may have gone wrong. He looked at us and said, "I'm sorry, the economy section of the plane was full. We had to bump you to business class." SCORE! I tried not to look too excited as I said, "That will be fine."

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2005
In transit around the world...
We waited for our plane to take off at 1:00am Chicago time, 2:00am GA time. In the waiting area at our gate, there were three kinds of people. Most of the seats were filled with trendy Korean guys and gals and their electronic gadgets. Since there was a flight to Guadalajara leaving from the gate next to ours, there was a large group of Hispanic men wearing cowboy hats. There must have been Hispanic women with them, but I didn't notice them as much. The cowboy hats were too distracting.

When they start boarding the plane, ya know how they always call the first class and business class first? Ya know how those people always make you jealous because they get to go first? Well, we were those people. Oh, yeah we were. We boarded our plane, which was two stories and gi-normous. And we, the privileged ones, got to go up to the second floor.
By my amazement of it, you can tell I had never been on first class before. It was sooooooo nice. Every aspect of economy class can be doubled to demonstrate the utter cool-ness of business/first class. Booty room- doubled. Seat reclination- doubled. Viewing choices- doubled. Service, leg room, and food quality- probably quadrupled. There were probably 30-40 people in business class, and about 5 or 6 ladies serving us. They were super nice and either were extremely excited about serving us or were really good at faking it. They wore these really cool silk apron-kimono things. I want one. They also served everything on silver trays with little doillies and tiny glasses.
Our flight took off (again, about 2am GA time), and our goal was to stay awake for about three hours more before we slept. In such comfortable seats, this was very difficult. Just when I thought I couldn't make it any longer, they served dinner and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory came on. I fell asleep after the movie was over (about 5am GA time), and fought to stay asleep for the next 6-8 hours.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2005
South Korea
Almost there!
We woke up a couple of hours before our flight ended (about 1pm GA time) to eat a delicious breakfast and enjoy the descent to Incheon, South Korea. We landed in Incheon at 3pm GA time, 5am Korea time. After a frustrating hour going through customs, we picked up our baggage and found the McDonald's where we were supposed to wait for Becca. We had planned to wait an hour since she was going to ride the bus to get to us, but we were in for a surprise! About five minutes after we sat down, Becca, Micah, and Britt walked up! Britt had an unexpected day off from school, so they were able to drive the van to us and get there about the same time we were ready. We ate some KFC for breakfast and piled in the van for the 2-hour ride back to Songtan, where Britt and Becca live.
We met our nephew, Micah, in person for the first time, and he was such a trooper all day long! He was very patient and sweet...and super cute.
We arrived at Britt and Becca's apartment, which is really cozy and just the right size for them. They live above the Hospitality House, which is the location for their ministry to the military personnel on the base just down the street. We took some much-needed showers and went to Chinez2Go, "New York Style Chinese," for lunch. We visited Emart, Korea's version of Wal-Mart, came back to take a power nap, and went out to see King Kong so we could stay awake until bedtime.

King Kong was good, by the way. Special effects and action were excellent. Some parts were a bit over-the-top, we all agreed. I was about sick of watching people being chased by large, prehistoric creatures by the time the three hours were over. Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts, and Andy Sirkes were all great.

We got back to Britt and Becca's about 8:30pm Korea time and ate a quick dinner, then got ready for much-needed sleep.
We actually were able to sleep most of the night- about 8 or 9 hours, which was really good.
And that ends our first 48 hours of our traveling.
To be continued!

In the Christmas spirit...

2005-12-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

(Disclaimer: Gina enjoys sarcasm and finds it extemely funny. If you do not feel similarly, skip to the pretty pictures below. If you enjoy sarcasm as I do, read on, faithful ones!)

A few suggestions to help you relax and enjoy the true meaning of this holiday season. I starred the ones I've personally tried. :)

A double espresso before bed is always a winner.
*Recognize your limitations, then ignore them.
*Recognize other people's limitations. Then tell them what they are.
Make a list of all the people who have ever dumped you. Contact them once a year and try to re-start the relationship.
Gardening is relaxing. Never garden.
*Make schedules whenever possible. Include an unrealistic number of tasks. Agonize over why you are constantly falling behind.
Make yourself a Humor Free Zone. If you ever find yourself laughing at a predicament you are in, go to the bathroom and pull yourself together.
*Really tense up your muscles. Try to stay this way all day. If this proves impossible, you have yet failed again at a really simple task.
*Don't delegate...they'll only do it wrong.
Record the sound of a dentist's drill. Play it at bedtime.
Get married as often as possible.
Find out when your friends' favorite TV program is on. Then call them seven minutes after it starts.
Overspend on meaningless material gifts while frantically shopping on Christmas Eve.
*Take every opportunity to give others advice. Especially on subjects of which you have very little or no knowledge.
*Never let yourself, or anyone else, off the hook.
*At dinner parties try to bring the conversation around to sex, politics, or religion. Preferably all three at once.
Ask single women if they've got a boyfriend yet. Repeat on Valentine's Day.
*And finally, prepare lunch for 2300 students with no power. Throw in trying to teach 2300 middle schoolers in the hallways, and in the dark, the day before vacation!!!

And, finally, what you've all been itching to see...a Christmas comic or two!!!

Coming soon...blog posts from South Korea!!!

The Vicious Christmas Cycle

2005-12-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

Ahh, Christmas. The two-week holiday from my students, the fun of getting and giving cool stuff, the trips, the parties...and the family drama.
Ben and I are leaving for South Korea in five days. I have been super-excited for the following reasons, the last of which has been shattered.
1. I get to see my brother, who lives there, and I think is pretty great.
2. I get to see my sister-in-law, who lives there too (duh), who is also pretty great.
3. I get to see my new nephew, whom I haven't met yet, but I am certain is also pretty great.
4. I get to spend a LOT of time with my mighty fab hubby.
5. I will be able to see and learn about a new country. Always an adventure.
*6. I will escape my family's Christmas drama. (No longer valid, but on my original list.)

I have a relatively large family, which you may have figured out if you either know me personally or checked my list of links which reference anyone bearing the name "Mooney." Two brothers, both married with kids. Sister and her very cool boyfriend. Two awesome parents who are very much involved in all of our lives in a great way. I don't spend much time complaining about my family. I have been so blessed, believe me. We Mooney siblings get along swimmingly, and we have all found significant others that jive really well with our pre-established groove. I don't take these things for granted.

One recurring problem my family seems to have, however, is holiday planning. Combine a rather large immediate family with grandkids and in-laws and a Christmas Eve birthday and travel plans, and you have a regular rubik's cube of holiday fun. Many families have found that one day over the holidays that is always a given and everyone just knows they will reserve, but we, for some unknown reason, can't seem to pursue this logical solution. Every year we replay the stresses and confusion from twelve months ago. People get busy, get stressed, forget things, fly to other countries or states, have birthdays, and then someone inevitably gets really upset about it not working out the way they want it to. I, for one, try to just come to terms with the fact that we have a large, very active and busy family, and sometimes things just aren't going to work out. I try to help mediate and offer solutions as much as I can, but I only seem to make things worse. On December 26 every year, I breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to watch this pattern happen again for another eleven months.

This past weekend, we celebrated Christmas with my family since we will be spending Christmas Day doing some Seoul-searching (yeah, you heard me). I was hoping that this would provide an escape for Ben and me from the Mooney holiday planning fiasco. I was also hoping that, since everyone managed to be together for a meal and some present-opening, it would alleviate some of the pressure for everyone to have to be together at once over the "special" dates of Dec. 24 and 25. Both of my hopes were unfounded, however. After our really enjoyable lunch and gift exchange, the conversation began with the duh-duh-duh (insert dramatic background tone here) question, "Okay, so when are we going to get together over Christmas?" This was followed by a 30-minute conversation in which people did that they always did- misunderstand, overreact, and get worried over something that really isn't that important. Not everyone, mind you. Generally, the women tend to get emotional over this, and the men just stand by, know not to get involved if they can help it, and wait for the storm to blow over. Since it didn't concern me, I gladly left the room and went to the kitchen to get a knife so I could cut the tension.

My family is happy, and healthy. How is it that we can have so many blessings and priceless gifts to our name, yet continue to get so worried over comparatively insignificant things?

Does this happen in everyone's family, or is it just us??? Does every family have that one "thing" they get worked up over every time?
Is it possible to change a well-established family habit?

Not so s'wonderful s'mores

2005-12-07T21:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am about to tell you the hands-down, stupidest thing I have ever done. Once I have explained my utter stupidity, I will ask you to make me feel better by sharing moments of your own stupidity. Please consider what you might share as you read... :)

The other night, Ben and I decided to make dinner. We looked around the kitchen and found exactly what we wanted for dinner: s'mores! Ahhhh...graham crackers, jet-puffed marshmallows, and classic Hershey-bars, making the perfect balance of carbohydrates and chocolate. We assembled our food elements, and Ben opted to consume the room-temperature version of the s'more. Because I like to "go for the gold," I naturally looked for a heat source to make real s'mores. Our gas stove seemed like a very viable solution, so I grabbed a fork and began to roast my yummy marshmallow over the blue flame. When it began to look very brown and ready to melt in my mouth, I constructed my perfect s'more and enjoyed every calorie of its tastefulness.

As I finished consuming my first course of dinner, I looked down at the fork and noticed there was some gooey marshmallow left on the end. I went in for the plunder, wrapped my lips around the fork, heard a strangely loud sizzle, and immediately felt searing pain in my mouth.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I burned my mouth on a fork I had been holding over a gas flame. Having experienced this first-hand, I would highly recommend avoiding this mistake. Burning off fork-shaped strips of skin in your mouth may be my subconscious activity of choice, but I hope it isn't yours.

The next two hours were spent with my lips around an ice cube and searching online for what to do for these kind of burns. Unfortunately, there isn't much material on this sort of injury. I did, however, find a fellow s'ojourner who made the same s'mistake as me. His story s'matches s'mine, s'tep by s'tep.

Now, it's your turn!!! Can anyone beat my stupid s'mistake? I challenge you...to a duel of idiocy!

The post I have been avoiding...

2005-12-04T19:25:00.000-05:00

First, let me apologize to you, my faithful readership, in being patient with me in my inconsistent blogging record. Yes, I admit it, I am an infrequent blogger. There are many reasons for this. Most of the time, I feel my life is not very interesting and I struggle to find topics about which people would want to read. I don't generally have the time to blog about random topics (urinals, fainting goats, etc.) similar to the way my frequent-blogger friend Eric would (especially during work hours). The "serious" blog posts I think about writing scare me most of the time, which leads me to believe others might be frightened as well.

Because of these and other I'm-really-busy kind of lame excuses, I have neglected my blog. I have come to the important conclusion, though, that I won't be able to blog on anything else until I get my scary-serious thoughts published.

So, here goes. Beware that this is not the normal kind of "Christian" post complaining about institutional churches or explaining some warm fuzzy about God. This is me, in all of my brutal honesty, in all of the things I have really struggled with over the last several months.

I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. I honestly don't remember not being a Christian. God has always been a part of my life, for which I am deeply grateful. I owe most of my childhood foundations to my incredible mother, brothers, and my childhood church. I can't express to you the depth of God's blessing and faithfulness to me over the course of my life. I have always loved Him and wanted to know Him. There have been several rough times in my history when I have drawn closer to Him. I've even prayed before for trials so that I could grow closer to Him. Yeah. Don't do that.

Recently, God has brought my life to a place in which my trials have made me question everything about Him. This has totally freaked me out. For a person who has always known and loved Him, questioning the basic traits of God is somewhat distressing. Now, when I say the "basic traits," let me explain what I mean. I have seriously questioned whether or not God loves me. I have questioned whether He has anything good planned for my future. I have questioned whether He has me in mind whatsoever as He carries out his plan for the universe and His glory. I have felt like straight-and-narrow roadkill, an unfortunate casualty of what is necessary to make Him look good.

Trust me, I understand it's not all about me, but recent events have led me to question whether God even considers me in His thoughts at all. Does He see? Does He hear? Does He care? Am I just a checkmated chess piece in some kind of deity game? Sometimes, I'm so angry with Him that I don't even want to talk to Him. Sometimes, I don't even like Him. Doesn't bother God, but it really sucks for me.

I feel like I am starting to come out of these questions with the beginnings of answers. Now, these answers are not ones that people can tell me in our over-churched cliche's. I have to learn the lessons and seek them out for myself. There have been a few people I have been encouraged by, but only because I know they have been through it already and are still holding on to something.
Here are some things I have started to hold on to this week. All italics are mine.

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:1-3

¹ But now, this is what the LORD saysÃ—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you...
Isaiah 43:1-4

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Psalm 116:15
¹⁷ Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins behind your back.
Isaiah 38:17
² I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.
Psalm 57:2
¹¹ "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11

I hope to not only hold onto these truths weakly, but deeply believe them one day soon. honestly believe every seeker of God will have to question Him this deeply and seek the answers at some point in their walk. Finding answers to these questions is not fun, pleasant, or pretty. I just hope I have the courage and patience to find them, and believe.

Pictures II

2005-11-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

The pumpkin Emma and Pam carved for us to use at our house...and Eric and Heather's pumpkin, who we lovingly call Special Ed.

Emma and me playing around at the Gwinnett County Fair.

Katie's surprise birthday party with her very favorite dessert: Tirimasu.

(What's tirimasu? Can anyone name that line???)

My band, Breakdown, at our first concert.

True Friendship

2005-10-20T22:30:00.000-04:00

Ben and I just walked in the door at 10:30 and saw a true demonstration of friendship.
Tonight, we had several people over for dinner, Bible study, and fellowship. As they began arriving around 6pm, we received a phone call that Ben's grandma had passed away today. We stayed here long enough to let everyone know what was going on and get the meeting moving, then went up to his parents' home to bring them food and help in any way we could. I left a key with Emma, thanked her in advance for locking up, and we walked out, knowing the meeting would continue and everything would be fine.
After a rather tiring and somber evening, we drove home, not sure what we would need to do when we got home. I walked in the door and the first thing I heard was my dishwasher running. My wonderful friends had cleaned my kitchen, loaded my dishwasher, and even put the leftovers in a container in the fridge.
Thank you Emma, Brent, Pam, Eric, Heather, Alice, Cliff, and Stacy for continuing the meeting and humbling me to tears as you blessed us tonight. Your love did not go unnoticed.

I'm A Winner!

2005-10-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, while at the chiropractor, I received a phone call from my favorite (and only) sister. I declined the call, knowing I could call her back after my appointment. Not five minutes later, I received another call from a very strange number with a 727 area code. I promptly turned my phone off, tired of the ringing interrupting my appointment.
I called Shane back once I got in the car, and she said she received a phone call from a strange number, you guessed it, with a 727 area code, and was told she won a free cruise in a drawing which we both happened to enter on the same dinner excursion. Once she told me the results of her strange 727 phone call, I decided to call my 727 phone call back for myself.
"Yes, Gina, I need to start off by congratulating you. You were drawn for our free 4-day cruise to the Bahamas!"
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I finally won something in my lifetime.
Even though I called and got more information today, had to listen to a ten-minute recording of boring and repetitive data, and found out it was definitely not worth it after all of the taxes, fees, and upgrades needed to make it worth my four days and three nights, it was still kind of a fun idea while it lasted.
Now, regardless of the circumstances of life, I know deep down...I am a winner!

Friendships Lost

2005-10-07T19:46:00.000-04:00

My last post was a very saddening one. While I apologize for its informational and impersonal nature, I was unable at the time to personally explain what had happened to my dear friend.
I have been encouraged by those that counsel me to write about those I've lost and what they meant to me. Perhaps this may be an encouragement to you if you have lost someone dear. Perhaps this may encourage you to live for today and seek to honor the great cloud of witnesses that surround us.
I first met an extremely talented actor named Eddie Rector as a sophomore in high school. We saw each other in plays, knew each other through drama activities, and a friendship was forged. Eddie began to ask questions, and we talked about the Lord and his quest for faith. Over time, conversation, and the Spirit working in his heart, Eddie came to a passionate relationship with God. I cherished his friendship, inspiration, and never-ending search for truth. He constantly laughed, gave hugs freely, and never met a person he didn't like.
Eddie Rector was killed two weeks ago in a violent, evil crime. My precious friend's life was taken by robbers who stole only two computers. To imagine that Eddie's life was exchanged for two machines worth no more than a few hundred dollars...stunning. He was training in South Africa to be involved in a drama ministry team that reaches out to the poor and destitute. Eddie always spoke of his biggest dream being such a ministry. The times I saw him in recent years, he never failed to mention his desire to use his immense gifts to spread the gospel of Christ. He was living his lifelong dream.
Eddie isn't the first treasured friend I have lost in years past. In the future, I hope to write about others- their inspiring story of obedience to Christ in all they did.
How do we honor those that have gone before us? We allow their life and death to work its full purpose within us, forging a deeper passion and determination to use every day to glorify God himself. If we do not know Him, we open our hearts to the One they lived and died for. If we do know Him, we seek ever more deeply to know and have intimacy with He who called them home. We further their dreams of taking His message to the world in need.
If you have lost someone such as I have, honor them by allowing your life to be changed for the kingdom. If you have been spared such a loss, do not wait until you lose a beloved friend to be changed.

Saying Goodbye...

2005-09-29T22:27:00.000-04:00

From africancrisis.org...

Pretoria - A young American who was undergoing Christian missionary training in Pretoria was brutally murdered over the weekend, a mere four weeks after arriving in the country.

His best friend, Eric Jones, found the body of Eddie Rector, 24, on Saturday.

Both are from Suwanee, Georgia.

Rector was murdered on Friday night or in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Flaps van der Merwe, director of 13th Floor, said Rector was working or sending e-mails from the centre's computer room when robbers overpowered him.

"They beat him and stabbed him in the back with a knife. The robbers also broke his jaw.

"He was also hit on the head with a heavy object. This probably caused his death."

The robbers made off with two computers.

A post-mortem will be performed on Monday to determine the exact cause of Rector's death.

"As soon as the investigation is complete, his body will be flown back to his home town.

"Eric broke the news to Eddie's parents (Ed and Dee Rector) before I spoke to them. When I spoke to them on Saturday evening, they were very shocked and asked that we pray for them."

He said Rector was passionate about the arts.

"He was a professional actor and wanted to make a difference to the lives of young people through his art.

"He was very excited about being in South Africa."

Pictures!

2005-09-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

My brother sent pictures of my new nephew last night, and I just can't wait to get them out for everyone to see!
Let's just say that, once again, the Mooney genes have produced a very adorable progeny.
Hey, at least we're reliable!

Presenting...

2005-09-17T16:07:00.000-04:00

My brother in Korea, Britt, and his wife Becca had their baby on September 16. Here is what Britt said about the little guy in his announcement e-mail.

"Micah Patrick was born yesterday at 12:48pm on Sept16, 2005. He was 4.5 kg, which is almost 10 lbs (9 pounds 14+ ounces). Becca went into labor officially around 2am.
More details to come, but he's awesome, very responsive, opens his eyes frequently, and is already raising his head like a champ. He's strong and a great baby already. What a blessing.
So we're home, he's sleeping in his bassinet as we speak and cute as can be. I think he looks a little like my Uncle Vick ... not when my Uncle Vick was little ... but now that he's in his 60's."

That last part was my favorite. If you know my Uncle Vick, this would be a very funny comment. I don't really have any digital pictures of Uncle Vick, but I will try to scan something in and we'll take a poll. I don't have any pictures of Micah yet either, so we'll save that for another post.
The fact that my brother and sister-in-law produced offspring is very exciting for several reasons.
1) We get to go see him over Christmas- Micah has been the reason that is finally getting us out there to see Korea!
2) A baby makes my mom very happy. And everyone knows that when mom is happy, everyone is happy.
3) As with my niece and nephew being born in the past, having babies around keeps my baby fever from spiking too high. When I can spend a few hours with my niece and nephews and be completely happy to return them to their parents, it is a cure for any desire I may have been feeling to have offspring of my own.
4) My family (the Mooneys) have been very successful at producing cute children.
Consider exhibit A:

McKenna, daughter of my brother, Derek, during a very cute "snow bunny" day.

Exhibit B:

My nephew, Jeremiah, son of my brother, Derek, a month into his very cute life.
The evidence proves the conclusion. (There is more evidence on McKenna and Jeremiah's website.)

So welcome, little guy, and we are so excited to meet you soon!

Need Your Vote!!!

2005-09-04T08:20:00.000-04:00

I am starting up an a cappella group with my sister, her boyfriend, and another guy from Flowery Branch (Jon McLemore) who kind of headed up the whole thing. We have some name ideas, but need opinions from you- our adoring fans!
So, read, think, and then cast your vote by leaving a comment.
Thanks! :)
1) Georgia 400
2) Collared Greens
3) Synergy
4) Extreme Measures (or something else with Measures- can anyone think of something else?)
5) Less is McLemore

A Lighthearted Post for Once

2005-09-04T07:53:00.000-04:00

Ben and me on vacation in Amelia Island, FL.

Shane (my sister) and me at the capital building
in Austin, TX. As with everything in Texas, it is
the biggest capital (by acreage) in the country.

Yes, Ben did actually finish his second degree (Master's).
No, he's still not done.
Yes, he is getting a doctorate as well.
Yes, I am his "sugar mama."

This is my new hair color- it's red!!!
At first, I thought it was a bit crazy, but now it's calmed down a bit and I really like it. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, though- it gets really expensive!

Million-Dollar Disappointment

2005-09-04T07:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, my husband and I watched Academy Award-winning blockbuster, Million Dollar Baby. I had heard nothing but good things about it, and the rent was free, so what did we have to lose? I figured this was a feel-good, underdog-turns-champion kind of movie, and I needed that kind of a pick-me-up after a long week at school.
Why didn't somebody warn me? I don't know if nobody saw it or nobody wanted to give it away or if people just didn't think about mentioning it at all, but I am a bit surprised that my local community (of which there are many Christians) didn't seem to speak out about this sorely disappointing movie.
Let me first say that the movie, from a business, acting, and production standpoint, was very impressive. Clint Eastwood did an excellent job, as did Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman.
Let me also say that if you don't want me to give away the ending, you'll need to skip to the next post.
Maggie (Swank), a young lady in her thirties from lower-class America, has a dream of being a boxer. Dunn (Eastwood), a much older man who is a professional boxing trainer, finally decides to train Maggie after months of her persistence. He trains her, gets her ready for the world championship against a merciless and violent opponent, and she is actually winning the fight. During a break between rounds, however, the opponent hits Maggie when she isn't looking and Maggie falls on a stool, breaking her neck and paralyzing her from there down. She can't even breathe without a respirator.
Maggie, in her desperation, asks Dunn to take her life since she can't do it herself. At first, he refuses, and a very naive part of me hopes that he will encourage her to live, help her become functional, and show the world that, yes, a paraplegic can contribute to society and lead a meaningful life.
But no, he disconnects her respirator, gives her a shot of adrenaline, and she dies. And the movie ends with him being some kind of "hero." No one explores the fact that it is 1) wrong and 2) illegal. He does go and get counseling from his "priest" (I put that in quotes because it was a very lame excuse for a religious leader character), but the "priest" tells him to "forget God and heaven." Now, that's advice you want to hear from your religious leader. "You're struggling with a very difficult ethical dilemma. Let me encourage you not to think about God and truth and the consequences of your actions. Only think about yourself."
This is the kind of movie that our society heralded as "Best Picture." I am not surprised by this, because spiritual death begets cultural death. I am disappointed at this unfortunate "celebration" of a person who gave up on overcoming their circumstances and another person who actively helped in the giving up. What about Christopher Reeve? What about the many heroes daily who live with paralysis and do great things? Why can't we celebrate them?
I am also disappointed that, even in my Southern Baptist, Bible-belt world, there was not more outspoken response to a blatantly unethical film.
Thank God I didn't contribute a dollar to seeing this movie.

Does anyone really like their job?

2005-08-31T21:40:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I have had one of those weeks...months, really...when I really question what I do for 50+ hours a week.
I am a teacher, and while I survive each day by making jokes and trying to have adult interaction interspersed throughout my day, I struggle from time to time. I have been really thinking about it, and I think I've figured out why teaching is unsettling for me at times.
1) I don't feel that the job I have is contributing to the kingdom of God. I teach Language Arts- interjections, independent clauses, punctuation, etc. I don't have that much opportunity to share my faith, though I try to be faithful. Maybe I am wrong about this- maybe I am making more difference than I think.
2) I don't make enough money to contribute to the kingdom of God monetarily. I work really hard, and I don't make enough money for the job I do. Yes, even with "summers off" and blah, blah, blah, I still don't make enough. Trust me. If I can't make a direct impact in the kingdom of God, I would like to at least be able to support it monetarily. My job doesn't allow for that.
Maybe the reason I am feeling this way because John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life has been a part of my regular reading activities.
So, blame it on Piper, but really, why do I stress myself out every day at a job that doesn't impact God's kingdom and can't even indirectly support it?

Scrapbooking victories and church questions

2005-08-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

This weekend, my mother and I went to a 25-hour scrapbooking "Camp Crop-a-Lot" up in Dawsonville.
I got 40 pages of pictures, paper, and stickers done. I am the wo-man. I won a prize at the end of it for my fab 40 and I also got my name picked in a drawing for free stuff...it was a fun weekend!
In other news, I sang in church this morning, Dr. Parker didn't really have any fun phrases to blog about, and I am in denial that I have to go back to work tomorrow. I am avoiding going to bed (hence the blogging at 10PM) so I don't have to wake up and face Monday. Sundays are so much more fun!
On a more serious note, Ben and I were discussing some about his thoughts on community today with our Sunday School teacher, David C. We were discussing the ideas behind visitation and inviting people back to church who have already visited. I completely agree that this is a great strategy for people who are looking for a church. They visit once, we get their info, we talk to them about what our church is and does, and they decide if it's the right fit.
I only have one problem with this. What are we doing to reach the lost? Would the lost even be interested in what our church has to offer? Visitation on Tuesday nights is a place to start, yes, but won't the people who are looking for a church find one in the end anyway? Are we wasting our time? Not entirely, of course, but I don't believe this is the place our church is really being disobedient. Even though I don't go "visiting" on a certain night of the week, I make phone calls to people I see and try to reach out to those who have darkened the doors of our church.
But what about those who don't darken the door? I don't know if the churches at large in our country are even relevant to most people who don't know Jesus. 90%+ of our American population loves to sleep in on Sundays, go out to eat, hang with people, and they enjoy their life just the way it is. They probably feel no need to spend a couple of hours a week with people whose cultural perspective is so far from their own.
Is the way we do "church" really working for the Great commission? I am sad to say I don't know. I grew up going to church. I have always enjoyed it. There has never been a time where I didn't want to go to church. The institution and organization of our southern churches is ingrained in my personal history and culture.
But most people in this country are not like me! And if I put myself in their shoes, I don't know that I would feel any kind of desire to get up early on Sunday and go to a building with strange music and people I don't know. Even if a person invited me, I would still be overwhelmed with people I had never met and didn't have a real opportunity to get to know in a natural setting.
Of course, a church community is necessary to believers in many ways, and I am in NO way advocating the absence of a church altogether. But what would it look like if we designed a church community around being culturally relevant? Not watered down, not fudging on truth, but just in a more accessible and natural format? Would we meet on Sunday mornings? Would we meet in a building? It just seems so fabricated when I think about what our organized church has created. It doesn't seem like a natural fit into part of any un-churched person's life.
I have a friend that I work with who actually grew up in church, but no longer attends. He goes walking or hiking on Sundays, and he really enjoys it. I don't see a single thing wrong with that, and in some ways, I'd like to do that, too. What do we have to offer him that is relevant and needful in his life? I have invited him countless times, and he says in a guilty tone, "I really need to go, I know." But it's never that he really wants to. If he wanted to, he would.
Sometimes I wish God would just come down and design his own church from scratch. That would make our jobs easier, but that kind of defeats the purpose of seeking Him, doesn't it?
Plus, what He wants could change all the time. That's part of the problem- I don't think we change as quickly as He wants us to.

Parker-isms

2005-08-21T14:25:00.000-04:00

My pastor of ten years, Dr. David Parker, is constantly saying things in his sermons that both challenge me greatly and greatly crack me up.
Ben and I lovingly call these "Parker-isms." I attribute these strange phrases and Parker-created words to growing up in Milan, GA, being a missionary in Zambia, and having a long history as a pastor that sometimes needs a bit of spice.
I have decided to devote my blog, in part, to recording these phrases, full of both God-honoring truth and side-splitting humor.

Now that I have established this purpose, let me share this morning's highlights.
1) In introducing an incredible passage from Colossians 3:12-17, Dr. Parker said, "This passage oozes with the spirit of God. If you squeeze them, you will get Holy Spirit juice."
2) In talking about theology passed down to him from his Aunt, he said, "A hard head makes for a soft hiney."
3) As he spoke of taking on the image of Christ and His holiness (I Peter 1:13-16), he said, "Dip your basting brush in the holiness of Jesus, spread it all over you, and then when the heat of life rises, you will be a good turkey for God."

The last one was my personal favorite. And a great topic for a sermon at Thanksgiving, by the way: "How to be a Good Turkey for God."

At least he was honest!

2005-08-20T17:55:00.000-04:00

The other day, President Bush was discussing his weekend biking trip with Lance Armstrong.

"Like a lot of baby boomers, my knees gave out," Bush explained to seven journalists who accompanied him on a two-hour ride Saturday. "And I believe that mountain biking is going to be an outlet for a lot of people my age. I'm 59, and people are going to realize you get as much aerobic exercise if not more on the mountain bike without being hobbled."

Bush said he prefers mountain biking to road biking, where riders often shave their legs and wear Lycra shorts. "There are certain things that age brings with it, and not wearing the formfitting Lycra short is one of them, if you know what I mean," Bush joked with the reporters.
(Taken from ABC News)

I had a good laugh for a couple of reasons. 1) I didn't know "hobbled" was a verb. Yet, President Bush makes a regular habit of creating new words. Should I be surprised? 2) "If you know what I mean" - that just opens up a whole can of worms!

Alex and the Pastor

2005-08-16T18:14:00.000-04:00

Funny funny...sent to me by a coworker.
*********************************************************
One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the
foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with
names with small American flags mounted on either side of it.
The seven year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so
The pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly,
"Good morning Alex."
"Good morning Pastor," he replied, still focused on the plaque.
"Pastor, what is this?" asked Alex.
The pastor said, "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and
women who died in the service."
Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.
Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear,
asked, "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:15?"

Dinner-time adventures

2005-08-16T00:34:00.000-04:00

So don't you just love it when you are about to serve a yummy meal of shrimp Alfredo and your faucet explodes in your face (literally)?
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Anyone???
Okay, so I am about to serve a lovely culinary presentation of shrimp, pasta, veggies, and sauce to my wonderful husband and my fabulous friend Emma when I suddenly have the sensation of water being sprayed all over me. In my shocked state, I managed to realize that it was the faucet spraying me and promptly turned it off.
You have to know that we got this really cool faucet when we bought our house and you can actually grab the faucet itself, pull it out, and it double-functions as the sprayer.
Little did we know what a two-edged sword this faucet would be... (insert suspenseful music here)
Well, I guess somehow over the last year of living in our house and pulling the faucet/sprayer out over and over again, it managed to unscrew itself from the water line. So, the sprayer was in my hand with no water coming out, the water line was undone, so it of course dropped back into the sink, during the course of which it sprayed water both omni-directionally and with a great projectile force. I was soaked, our poor hardwood floors were splattered with water, and my poor dinner companions had soggy shrimp.
They were very gracious and complimentary in spite of the fiasco. I changed, we wiped up the water, screwed the faucet back on, and had a good, hearty laugh about the whole thing.
So if you see me checking my faucet/sprayer every five minutes when you come over to my house, now you will know why.

I'm a Survivor

2005-08-15T20:32:00.000-04:00

So I survived my first week of this school year. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I really do teach 105 12-year olds every day and survive! And sometimes....I like it.
My kids crack me up. Their sense of humor is...not present. When I try to make a joke in class, they all look at each other like, "Are we supposed to laugh now, or will she write us a citation if we giggle at her joke?" Then, when they are working on individual work, they laugh at the weirdest things. Now, some of the things they laugh at are funny. For example, a student of mine does a very uncanny impression of a bobble head. Even I have to stop and laugh at that. But when I am correcting a student for poor behavior and they start giggling along with their fellow group members, I have to draw the line...and hope that they grow out of this soon.
Ah, the joys of education...

Sunday woes

2005-08-14T19:33:00.000-04:00

So my husband and I attended this very interesting session on Sunday School improvement. We were hoping this would be a chance to allow our opinions to be heard and to offer some much-needed suggestions for our church. We were asked to come to the church from 3-6 on a Sunday afternoon.
Why, you might ask, would we need such a long time frame? I asked the same question. Even though I knew what we would be doing, which was a relatively complex evaluation process on implications of different statements, I thought we would surely be done early.
And we would have been, had it not been facilitated (and I use that term loosely) by an expert (again, use that term loosely) on this process.
Being a teacher, I am constantly learning new ways to activate my 12-year old audience and keep them hooked for periods of time. While this makes me better at my job, it also causes me to be critical of those who perhaps don't have such training. Keep that in mind, and forgive me if I sound harsh. But shouldn't people who are facilitating and training large groups be able to do so efficiently?
Anyway. Maybe that was too much to ask. This very nice and God-loving individual spent the first hour giving us instructions. Now, I am no genius, but that is just too long to spend giving directions to a bunch of mature, intelligent adults. He gave us roughly thirty minutes to do what he had spent an hour explaining. That doesn't seem to make sense to me, but oh well. We did it anyway, and did it pretty well under the circumstances, I must say. Then, he asked us to go back and evaluate what we did from a different perspective. Sounds easy, right? Well, it could have been clear if you were explaining it well (any teacher knows this). Unfortunately, we didn't have a good teacher facilitating us. So he spend the next 30 minutes giving us instructions we didn't need, not answering the questions we needed answered, and then gave us, you guessed it, 15 minutes to complete the assignment. When we had trouble (due to his lack of good direction) he stopped the group and gave us a guilt trip about not being able to see things from the right perspective. Our problem? I don't think so.
In short, I felt his purpose in being there was 1) to hear himself talk and preach and 2) to promote his strategy. The problem was, that was not the reason all 100 of us were in that room, and it was frustrating.
He's a nice guy who is probably really trying, but he needs some training on how to facilitate a large group instead of how to speak to a large group.
And that was my Sunday afternoon.