I'm a stranger in two countries. :(

A Long-Awaited Return

I haven't been able to access this blog, or any blog for that matter, for over a year and I'm finally back! It feels good.

Currently, my family and I are vacationing along the West Coast of California. We started out a bit inland at beautiful Lake Tahoe, stayed a night in Yosemite National Park, moved on to Monterey where I fell in love with the care-free seals, and have finally landed in the diverse city of San Francisco. Oh, and I almost forgot a small one hour stop at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, a place where many of my friends have worked through the years. Tomorrow's our last day of exploring before we head back to good old Kentucky, and I'm hoping to run across some fun antique or book stores while we traverse Chinatown and other parts of the city. I could comment more extensively on the views and landscapes that we've encountered along the way, but I think the following pictures will say quite enough. Enjoy. Many posts to follow!

Leaving

I can't wait to be here:

But...I will dearly miss this city and my beloved sisters. Forget me not, Louisville, KY. :)

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head running down the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore." --Psalm 133

The Land of Waiting

"April is the cruellest month, breeding

lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

memory and desire, stirring

dull roots with spring rain."

--T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land: "The Burial of the Dead"

As I wait, anxiously, to plant my feet on the soil of a new home, I feel the cruellest weight of things known and unknown. Africa, a seed, has been planted and watered, and I'm ready for the ground to break-- for the roots to make themselves at home in my heart. But, with this new beginning, also comes the shedding of most things familiar and comfortable. I feel exhausted with the approaching reality of separation and the near fulfillment of a much-anticipated desire.

Found This Today...

As most of you know, volcanic ash delayed my traveling plans, thus I have a butt load of free time on my hands. Several months ago, this random guy took some pictures at a local coffee shop and posted them on a blog that details some pretty incredible smiles. I finally found it!

In our defense, we were purposely trying to cringe:

Smile Like You're Dead Inside

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Brevity

I'm reading Strunk and White's The Elements of Style to freshen up on my writing/usage rules and skills. This passage was nice:

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer makes all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

Easier said than done, Strunk and White.

Not Just Another Tuesday

1.Morning Prayer
2.Breakfast with Sojourn comrades complete with Pancake Puppies and theology
3.Shots
4.Trip to North Vernon with B.
5.Late lunch with B.'s mom
6.Drive back to L-ville
7.Lots of Gillian Welch
8.Traffic
9.Nap
10.Community Group
11.Beauty and The Beast with Patty