Tonight we will watch LOTR: El Returno del Rey! (I think I got it right. It's Spanish for "The Return of the King." The movie ads were displayed nearly everywhere in every city we visited in Spain. Talk about international madness! We tried to get tickets, but it was sold out. But then again, it wouldn't have been much fun to watch it in Spanish translation.)

We've returned safe and sound. Spain is beautiful, and reminds me a bit of Italy. Did you know that it is the second most mountainous country in Europe, following Switzerland? There are absolutely gorgeous sights, as well as the mundane and regular. My favorite panaromic view was of Toledo... imagine castles, villages and bridges dotting the side of a mountain with a river running below it - absolutely medieval feel to it. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera! Everyone else took tons of pics though, and many of them are digital. (Dorothy, I don't think I can post them on this page, though. Hmm.) Spain also seems to be less crowded and have fewer tourists it seems than other Western European countries. I must admit that I got quite tired of eating tapas and French baguette bread.

I slept about 13 hours the first night I returned, catching up (and more) on my sleep. Intercontinental travel is really tiring, esp. when there are layovers, lines and heightened security. I did play some Super Mario World and Wario's World (a cool Tetris-like game with monsters) on the flight. Jason spent too much time playing some knock-out boxing game and car-racing game.

I then slept only 5-6 hours last night, waking at 5am and feeling quite awake and refreshed and so I decided to get up and enjoy the dark and still morning. I even saw the sky transform from deep dark blue and then the faint orange burst through to reveal the daylight. It is the penultimate day of the year, and I'm at home in Fullerton with my parents, Joy and our friend Angie who is currently living with us.

This week I will continue work on the Comment. Yea, all I want to do is complain about it, but I really must stop that. One of my new year resolutions is to accept all of my work joyfully. I must learn to follow Mother Teresa's wise words:

"Holiness is to take whatever Jesus gives us and to give Jesus whatever He asks of us with a big smile."

Hola from Seville, Spain! It´s been a nice trip thus far, but our bus is about to leave. Last night we watched amazing and beautiful flamenco dancers - that was exciting! Gotta run... adios!

Merry Christmas!

Almost there!

Tax is kaput. It was a monster exam though - for four hours, I kept feeling like I was drowning and needing to come up for air. It probably had quite a bit to do with lack of much sleep, but my brain just didn't seem to focus. I hoped (against hope, it seemed) to finish the exam before time ran out.

I listened to my mommy's advice not to go to the 12:01am showing of The Return of the King. I hadn't slept much, and still not completely well yet from the sickness thing. It was a (really really) hard choice, but I let my brain rule over my feelings. If you watched it, don't spoil it for me! :P

I'll be flying home to OC tonight... so if anyone wants to do some studying at a cafe or bookstore Thurs or Fri, let me know. Just a draft in by Friday, and then it's off to Spain!

p.s. my cell phone is also kaput. which means all phone #s stored on it are also kaput. so if you leave a message, please leave your # so I can call you back. :)

p.p.s. dorothy, i was so pleased to get a v/m from you! hope to talk to you soon.

I didn't pass out during the Evidence final - hooray! Though I did feel a little woozy going up and down the stairs on the way to and back from turning it in on the 3rd floor. I told my friend after the exam that if someone asked me my name at the moment, I didn't think I could respond.

It seemed like everyone thought it was a challenging exam (it was multiple-choice, with TEN possible answer choices for each question, with various combinations of answers - e.g. answer choice (8) would be that answer choices (1), (2), and (3) were correct) Blech. It was a fair exam, but just not enough time to give each question the careful thought it required.

Still feeling sick, but I think I'm on the mend. (Praise God and props to Claritin and Thera-flu!) Need to begin Tax study, but will probably require a couple hours to sleep or veg so my brain can recuperate. Poor, poor, little brain.

I'm sick with some sort of cold or flu thing. It stinks. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I have a med student taking care of me! He brings Cold-Eeze, soups and Chinese take-out.

No, nothing new with my uneventful and rather boring life. Last week I overheard a group of law students say that every time they try to catch up with non-law-school friends, they keep realizing how nothing new happens in their own lives and that they're really boring freaks. Yep, that's me.

I have a final on Monday morning and another on Tues morning. Then I need to turn another draft of my Comment in by Friday.

A bright spot in all this is that at least I can look forward to the Wed 12:01 am screening of LOTR: The Return of the King! (Go to the www.lordoftherings.net site for the trailer, multimedia stuff and overall general coolness.)

If Frodo can battle the forces of Mordor and prevent the evil Sauron from dominating all of MiddleEarth by destroying the Ring - surely even I can handle a couple finals, writing, sickness and stress. Otherwise, what am I good for?!?!

This article in the Boston Globe Magazine, God on the Quad, hits it rather dead on.

I'm a little surprised to hear how "cool" evangelical Christianity is becoming in some of these Ivy League schools. It seems to be a pretty fair and balanced article in many respects, touching on the subculture of Christian fellowships on college campuses, the methodology and organization of many of the Christian groups, some reasons for its appeal to college students, and the subtle pressure to compromise/conform in order to gain "access" and legitimacy in the eyes of the secular academia.

A couple excerpts that really hit home:

***********************************************
(Re: a controversy regarding homosexuality)

"But Chang says the incident exposes much bigger stakes, with the viability of what he calls "educated evangelicals" hanging in the balance. A native of Taiwan and 1990 graduate of Harvard, Chang says educated evangelicals feel at home in the university world and want to be considered full members. So they're quick to distance themselves from Bible-thumping, anti-intellectual fundamentalists. Instead, educated evangelicals stress their more progressive politics and nuanced theology.

"Being drawn into conflicts over homosexuality profoundly discomforts us, for we fear that our hard-earned distance will evaporate under the public glare," he argues. During the Tufts controversy, he says, he watched as other conservative Christians who share his views on homosexuality remained silent "out of fear they would be persecuted next." Three years later, he's come to believe that "the price of admission" for educated evangelicals in a place like Boston is ultimately too high.

Homosexuality is a defining issue for evangelicals, Chang says, because "it calls into question what the authority is governing your beliefs and your group. Is it changing public opinion or is it Scripture?" He argues that the debate is really a table-setter for the biggest issues to come, when genetic cloning and manipulation of human biology take center stage. "At root is: Do we all have the right to self-define?"

He fears that if evangelicals cede too much ground on homosexuality in the battle to preserve their welcome in intellectual hothouses like Boston, they may ultimately sacrifice their ability to win the war."

Re: the fellowship members in post-college life:

"...there are many more students whose intense involvement slackens after commencement. That's when all the attributes that made the evangelical groups so appealing to students -- their premium on tight-knit social circles, their student-run, non-hierarchical approach, their funky, late-night culture -- can begin to work against them in meeting the needs of the post-college crowd."

************************************************

I hope evangelicals aren't defined merely by a high view of Scripture. Weren't the abolitionists and civil rights activists considered evangelicals?

I really miss that "funky, late-night culture".

Yet another form of procrastination - online personality quizzes.

What Color Are You?

you are mediumauqamarine #66CDAA

Your dominant hues are cyan and green. Although you definately strive to be logical you care about people and know there's a time and place for thinking emotionally. Your head rules most things but your heart rules others, and getting them to meet in the middle takes a lot of your energy some days. Your saturation level is medium - You're not the most decisive go-getter, but you can get a job done when it's required of you. You probably don't think the world can change for you and don't want to spend too much effort trying to force it. Your outlook on life is brighter than most people's. You like the idea of influencing things for the better and find hope in situations where others might give up. You're not exactly a bouncy sunshine but things in your world generally look up.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Does anyone know a service that provides a tool that will give me the ability to add a "Comments" section under each entry? That would be cool. Post in the comment box on the right-hand bar or email me. Thanks!

I just realized. Today is my blog's first birthday! How quickly time flies.

Thanks Isaac for providing the link to the article. Would love to hear your comments about this...

Wimp, Barbarian, or Man?

Here's an excerpt:

"For more than a decade I have been in a position to see young men in the making. As a Marine, college professor, and now principal of a K-12 charter school, I have deliberately tried to figure out whether the nation through its most important institutions of moral instruction—its families and schools—is turning boys into responsible young men. Young women, always the natural judges of the male character, say emphatically "No." In my experience, many young women are upset, but not about an elusive Prince Charming or even the shortage of "cute guys" around. Rather, they have very specific complaints against how they have been treated in shopping malls or on college campuses by immature and uncouth males, and even more pointed complaints against their boyfriends or other male acquaintances who fail to protect them. At times, they appear desperately hopeless. They say matter-of-factly that the males around them do not know how to act like either men or gentlemen. It appears to them that, except for a few lucky members of their sex, most women today must choose between males who are whiny, incapable of making decisions, and in general of "acting like men," or those who treat women roughly and are unreliable, unmannerly, and usually stupid.

The young men, for their part, are not a little embarrassed when they hear these charges but can't wholly deny them. Indeed, when asked the simple question, "When have you ever been taught what it means to be a man?" they are typically speechless and somewhat ashamed."

LISA AND ALBERT LEE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Will post again when I discover whether it's a boy/girl. Yaaaayyyyy!!!!

For those who have yet to be introduced to the mammoth and very-weird underground subculture of blogging... well, it's probably a good thing. However, you may be wondering why so many millions (ok, I'm not sure about this number, but I think it's a good guess) of people blog. In order to give you a taste of a life addicted to blogging (and to encourage more of you to join the ranks - *cough, cough* Beverly *cough, cough* Salina) I bring you... *drumroll*

"Top 10 Dangers of Living in the Blog Space"
(Star C. Foster)

1. You think everyone cares about your opinions: They don't. They care about mine.

2. You stop having normal experiences: Every event you participate following your initial blog post will be constantly interrupted as you simultaneously live the adventure and write the corresponding blog post in your head.

3. You will care what other people think: Even if you really don't. "Stats" will become an important part of your blogging life (also self-esteem),even though you detest math. You'll be glad your web-stalker is gone but regret losing the hits. When stats go down, you will start padding your posts with words like "naked", "nudity", and "clown porn".

4. You will become more news savvy: You'll start reading several news sources to inspire more posts. Unfortunately, you will focus on items that are weird, quirky, or bizarre, thereby eliminating your ability to discuss these items with non-bloggers in real-life (ie around the water cooler) without coming off like the freak you really are.

5. You will feel the need to post: Even when you have nothing to say. Just in case other people are reading. Sarcasmo's Corner, I'm a slave for you.

6. You stop hearing from non-blogging friends: You're behind on their lives, but they feel like they haven't missed a beat with you, because they "keep up with you through your blog." Also, they are tired of talking to you because you constantly ask them "So, when are you going to get a blog?" (You laugh, but our local blog mafia has coerced four independent, strong-willed, intelligent, people into blogging (and we're working on a 5th). All hail the power of peer pressure!)

7. Your work habits change: Why talk to those irritating, clueless, inane people in your office, when you can sneak a quick peek at your favorite blogs for clever quips, interesting insight, and comment-based conversations?

8. You will stop having normal conversations with family and friends: Real life conversations will go like this. "Oh, hey, I saw So-And-So in concert and the weirdest thing happened..." Friend, "Yeah, I know, I read about it on your blog." Silence. Friend, "Did I tell you that I'm..." You, "Blog." Friend, "Yeah."

9, You expect your friends to be witty and clever. Always.: I am lucky to surrounded by bright, witty people with bright witty blogs. I don't know how the rest of the world survives without these for distraction. I suppose they must come here.

10. You demand that your witty and clever friends be blogging. Constantly: Why aren't you all busy shirking your jobs and entertaining me? I need INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION. Or, barring that, something really silly and inane to peruse. Seriously. I'm bored to tears, here people. For the love of Pete, POST SOMETHING. NOW.

Although my classmates had already labeled one of our speakers as "one of those right-wing property rights guys", I attempted to keep an open mind about the subject.

It was a discussion/debate on the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the other speaker was one of the drafters of the ESA (a "liberal", I suppose.) Both positions made a good deal of sense to me.

The conservative basically said: yes, we need to protect endangered species, but at what cost to human beings? Why do we protect some microscopic organism by taking "water out of the mouths" of the good people of Albequerque ("children", he said with emphasis)? We need a balance. We need to realize that people are here to stay and we will impact the environment.

Sounds reasonable to me.

The liberal basically said: it's not just the spotted owl or the microorganism that is at stake, we're talking about an eco-system. It's like being the librarian of the world's only library, with only one copy of each book. Do we let someone destroy a book as firewood? When we do that, we don't even know the questions to ask, much less the answers these species provide. It could be a cure for cancer.

Sure, that seems pretty important too.

One audience member criticized the conservative for basically being "man-centered." That is, that he was only concerned about the needs of human beings, without regard to the earth as a place for all species, and humans didn't have the right to just trample over them.

However, it seemed to me that the liberal was also man-centered... his arguments were about how the species could prove to lead to discoveries unimaginable by us at this time... and for what purpose? To serve man's needs, including finding a cure for man's cancer.

So I came away with no clear answers about the debate. However, I was impressed with the truth of the adage, "It's not what you say, but how you say it."

Unfortunately, the conservative's arguments were poorly presented. He came off (and I was probably the most sympathetic to him in that room) as rather a fool at times. He got a little too excited and used "freakin" (which can't be a good sign.) He was rather defensive at times, though there were plenty of liberals who were rather unreceptive (everything from the raised-eyebrows to the time someone actually burst out laughing while he was talking, to my professor - trying to be kind, I think - presenting a question that he said would permit the conservative to "rehabilitate" himself - ouch.)

The liberal, on the other hand, was fairly cool and collected, and came off as wise and learned. He presented his views much more reasonably. He was a little more diplomatic, but then again he had the bias for him before he even opened his mouth (plus he spoke after the conservative.) He didn't do a good job of hiding his own views about the "Bushies" or "this Administration". And he didn't really have solid answers either, why the resources should be allocated to "endangered" or nearly-endangered species when there isn't clear evidence that it's effective. He may have said something like, but we need to do something. Not so persuasive.

The conservative seems to stand for those that probably perpetuate the rather ugly stereotypes about the Religious Right and the social/civil conservatives. They're dogmatic, stupid, and they've got sharp teeth. Unfortunately, Christians tend to get lumped in with them. We're not sophisticated, we're foolish, we're intolerant, and so forth.

I contrast the conservative with Christians I know, say some of those at IJM or an articulate classmate who has conservative political views, who are "winsome". Though perhaps they aren't able to change the other side's point of view, they may win their grudging and reluctant admiration for at least being consistent, firm (without being dogmatic or strident) and maybe even likable.

Thanks Grace, for posting the link to the SF Chronicle article on "Shame of the City - Homeless Island." It made me really sad, particularly the picture of Tommy. (See the Photographs, they're good.)

I keep thinking that these would be the folks that Jesus would've hung out with. As for me, I have a hard time just looking them in the eye as I walk by. I justify it by saying I'm female, afraid of being harassed, don't want to encourage their drug habits, etc. At the same time, I feel... well... guilty.

At one of the Starbucks I frequent, there are a few homeless folk that hang out there occasionally. They always seem to stick out to me, maybe because they're not reading or talking to anyone, just sitting around and staring into space. They usually drink water from a Starbucks cup without a lid. I imagine it's a nice respite from the rain. Recently, there was a schizophrenic man there - he wasn't bothering anyone, but he had sort of a wild look in his eyes, and I could hear him mutter and exclaim under his breath. He would pace around the room, talk (and respond!) to himself in a corner. I admit he made me a little nervous and uncomfortable, not that I would've admitted it to anyone around me. I wonder if it was only me.

What can I really do? I think I'm a believer in making a difference, making a change. At the same time, I think I've also been hardened into thinking that it's just a drop in the bucket and why should we work so hard for so little result? It's scary to think that, for the most part, people tend to get more cynical with age, and the idealism fades and the self-preservation/self-absorption/self-indulgence mold really solidifies (I think it's been true for myself.)

I don't know. I don't have any answers. I guess I can be somewhat hopeful that, at the very least, I still do feel sad.