A Physics Lesson in the midst of Disney Fun

I learned an important lesson about physics yesterday, while at Disneyland of all places! My wonderful former roommate, Jen, was in town with me this weekend and yesterday we spent the day with Mickey, Donald, and of course all the beautiful Princesses and Princes. Thanks to it being a weekend in July we joined several thousand other folks taking in roller coasters, parades, the Fantasmic show, and of course good Mexican food and margaritas :) It has been insanely hot down here lately, but we were pleasantly surprised to realize that all the rides inside are air conditioned, so we only had to roast while in line and then froze while inside. About half way through the day we decided we were ready for Splash Mountain—it was time to get a little wet. So we headed over there and found out everyone else had the same idea we did, so we used the fabulous new Disney invention the “Fast Pass” which allows you to get a “coupon” with a time to return on it and you get to by pass the rest of the line—but it told us to come back between 9 and 10 that night—so we decided that would be a fabulous way to end the day and kept going with other rides and dinner. When it was time for us to redeem our fast pass, we excitedly by-passed all the hundreds of people still in line and they put us in our boat (I guess it’s really a log…it is a log ride after all…). Because there were so many in line they had to fill each log, so they added 4 other women to the 2 of us. 3 of the 4 women they added to our boat were definitely larger than the two of us, but I didn’t really think too much about it. I’ve been on Splash Mountain several times in the past few months, and I have hardly even gotten more than just a little damp, and that is only during the final 500 foot drop at the end of the ride, the rest of the ride is usually a very dry, very relaxing experience. Well, when we went around the first corner last night, and our little log started floating, our feet got a little wet. I just assumed that there were bigger “waves” or more current last night because there were so many logs running because of the heat. So we keep going after commenting that the water is kind of chilly. The first “baby-drop” that is in the ride brought on another several ‘waves’ and we ended up rather wet—so now we are beginning to think that this upcoming 500 foot plummet is going to be a bit of a soggy endeavor. As we begin being pulled up the big hill at the end of the ride all the water that our little log had taken on ran through the log to the back, and then we reached the top of the hill. After the precarious pause at the summit, we headed down (and the cold water already in the log runs back over all of our feet to the front of the log) and hit the bottom in a giant splash. As we come up spluttering and exclaiming about how wet we were, we look up just in time to see this huge wave coming straight towards us (it had somehow ricocheted off the corner of the ride and was headed back towards us). As it swept over us thoroughly soaking everything in the log that wasn’t already wet we quickly realized there was nothing left to do but laugh—which we did, and ended up with mouths full of water as the wave crashed over our poor soaked bodies—so we ended the ride trying to not swallow what we were sure was wonderfully clean Disneyland ride water ;) As we climbed off the ride, shoes and clothes sloshing all the way through the exit and gaining several funny looks from those waiting outside Splash Mountain (apparently people don’t normally exit the ride literally wringing their skirts out and trying to get their soaked t-shirts from sticking to their skin…) We realize that the restrooms in Disneyland unfortunately do not have dryers, so we did the only other thing we could think of—went back to Big Thunder Mountain railroad and hoped that the speed of the rollercoaster and the night air would work together to dry us out a bit…and it worked surprisingly well! (Although we still had to peel our clothes off when we got home a couple hours later, so it didn’t work completely!)

So, last night I managed to learn firsthand about physics and water displacement better than I could have in any physics class I ever took! But in spite of how chilly it was the rest of the evening, Disneyland (and Splash Mountain) was a fabulous adventure—Captain Jack Sparrow makes several cameo appearances in the new Pirates of the Caribbean and since I have a little crush on Johnny Depp right now, this was a very welcomed surprise :) And we explored Downtown Disney and took advantage of the fact that you can enter and exit the park once there, so we left to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the new shopping district and listened to some very fun live music. It was a great break from homework and a fabulously beautiful day with a wonderful friend. Anyone else up for Disneyland? I’ve decided I’m a little obsessed with Thunder Mountain Railroad and will make you ride it several times with me!

So now I have exactly 1 week to write 3 final papers including my first Greek exegetical paper (which I'm actually a little excited to attempt--so I must be an official seminary geek!) and then it's off to 2 months of summer vacation which will find me in Sacramento, Houston twice, Seattle and LA....1 more week to go!

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July! Ok so it's a little bit after the 4th now, but I'm just now getting a moment to put some of these pictures up. For the 4th about 15 of us from the Presby group headed over to San Marino to spend the day at Lacy Park hanging out doing nothing. It was wonderfully relaxing and we had the added bonus of having our new friend Barbara in town with us for the 4th! Sophie, Becca and I met Barbara at Cursillo in Houston back in April and she's been taking classes from Fuller online for awhile now and is here in Pasadena for 2 weeks doing a summer intensive, so she was able to be with us that day! Here are some photos from the day:

Denise and Daisy came to join us too!

Sarah, Barbara and Sophie outside San Marino Community Church, the PCUSA church Sophie and Becca work at which was 2 blocks from the park.

Sophie had preached at SMCC the previous Sunday and her name was still up on the board out front (ok it is her "other" name--Marian)

Sarah, Sophie, Jenn and Denise hanging out with Daisy waiting for the fireworks

I think I am definitely not in Seattle any more judging by the palm tree backdrop to the fireworks!

Here Comes the Bride....(and groom!)

My little sister is getting married 1 month from today!! Just thought I would continue to share my excitement for them with you all!

Popcicles, the Pentateuch, and Pride & Prejudice

Yeah, didn't really mean to do the whole alliteration thing in my title, but those are 3 of the things my past week has consisted of. I realized something this past week. Popcicles and Otter Pops--they are not just for kids! They are an incredibly refreshing treat and when it is a bazillion degrees outside, nothing beat a cold dessert--especially one that will turn your tongue blue :) So stop reading, go grab a popcicle...I promise, you'll enjoy it!

I'm also in the middle of my 5 week class on the Pentateuch, and this class is absolutely amazing. Easily one of my favorite classes at Fuller so far, I don't think I have ever learned this much about scripture in such a short amount of time. It definitely has not been easy--not just in terms of work load (which is ridiculous for 5 weeks) but in terms of really looking at this portion of the Bible and asking hard questions--who wrote it? How do we know? (the usual answer is Moses, but how did Moses write the account of his own death and how did he know how the world was created?) What is the personality of God in Genesis, and why does God seem to change a bit throughout the book (well not in His personality, but in the way he relates to humans)? Why are there 2 different creation stories and why do they greatly differ in many of their details? How does God relate to women in these stories? What do their stories mean for us? I don't think I have ever dug into scripture and been forced to think for myself in this way before, and it has been an amazing experience, and Dr. Goldingay's teaching style has allowed us to wrestle with the text like nothing I've ever done before. Sitting and reading all 50 chapters of Genesis in 2 days was a LONG assignment, but it was amazing and I saw so many things in the stories that I've always missed before because we usually read scripture in 1 or 2 chapter chunks. Onto Exodus...that's what I'm doing tonight...it's shorter though, only 40 chapters!

Pride & Prejudice....so I decided to wade my way through a Jane Austen novel because my wonderful former roommates were appalled that I'd never done so, especially after living with them for 2 years, so I decided I was going to do it! Yeah...so far the story is ok, but I'm not so sure it's my new favorite :) Last night I was reading a few chapters before bed (after doing homework for awhile) and after about 3 pages I found myself saying "this is my fun reading book in the midst of class?! I don't have the slightest idea what in the world I just read for 3 pages! What in the world is this thing about?!" So I had to rewind...Tuesday we're all hanging out in a park all day for the 4th and reading and playing games etc....I think I'm going to break out something that requires a little less concentration...Angels & Demons is next on the list, maybe I'll break that one out...Don't worry Heather & Lynn, I'll get through it eventually :)

An updated list...

Awhile ago I posted several books I was currently reading, mostly because I was bored and had nothing exciting to post. But I decided last night that I felt like updating my blog with what I've been reading/listening to lately...myspace lets you post those things but I don't use myspace for the blog, so I decided to carry that over to here....and because I know you all care oh so much about what I am reading through right now...

My new favorite CD is Lifesong by Casting Crowns--their lyrics are incredibly powerful, and this CD has re-reminded me how much I loved their first CD so I have brought that out again. Their songs speak so strongly about our identity in Christ and their new song Praise You in the Storm has become my new theme song and inspired the theme for my new bathroom :o)

This past week I broke out one of my old favorite books that I've read many times--Leota's Garden by Francine Rivers. It's a wonderful story about family dynamics, God's grace, and following your passions--a great mindless read for when I'm having a long week!

Last summer I read The Brothers K by David James Duncan and even though the book is long an it took me forever to get through, I loved it. Pastor Dan quotes it often in sermons and has talked about it a lot, and he's never recommended a book I didn't like, so I thought I'd give it a chance. It was amazing--theology, baseball, community, family and a coming-of-age story all in one. I laughed so hard sometimes I couldn't stop and other moments found me with tears that wouldn't stop--it is an amazing book. SO, I decided that since it is such a rich story I would re-read it this summer...it might take awhile, but it will be worth it!

This book by Marva Dawn (an amazing author who has written a lot about the church community and the worship-wars that are ravaging our churches today) is one I found when writing my final paper last quarter and it is probably one of my new favorite books about ministry--it puts so many of my thoughts in words and was an incredibly inspiring book to read--it reminded me why I care about chidren's ministry so much!

And because I know you will all want to join me in the world of New Testament exegesis, I'm reading a handbook for students and pastors--honestly though, I just started exegetical methods this week and already I am in love with it, despite the fact that it is insanely difficult (yeah my Greek isn't quite as wonderful as it should be!). I think I'm officially a nerd, but my exegesis assignment the other night was to spend a LOT of time with Philippians and translate part of it and the amount of stuff I realized from this one assignment was amazing--it's a totally different way of reading scripture and it is pretty incredible---now if only I could remember all the Greek I was supposed to have learned!

A Guilt-Free Sabbath

So this morning I woke up and realized that the cold I've been fighting all week is still hanging around, so I rolled over and decided to go back to sleep. It's Friday, the end of the first week of summer intensive classes, so it's been a busy week and I am pretty much exhausted--and I have no where I have to be all day long, no class, no meetings, nothing. So after sleeping for awhile longer I decided to move to the couch and pop in a movie and spend some time replying to some emails while watching Robin Williams inspire his young students in Dead Poet's Society. What amazed me was the overwhelming feeling of guilt I had while laying around in my pajamas on my day off. Where does that come from? What kind of world do we live in that says we are not allowed to take a day off and be lazy? Especially when we're sick!? Just a thought, but I think maybe we need to work on that as a society in general becuase I KNOW I am not the only one who has a hard time taking a day off now and then. We have this mentality in our culture that says the harder we work and the more busy we are the more successful we are, and to rest is a sign of weakness--something to feel guilty about. Never mind that God specifically consecreated a day for the sole purpose of allowing us to rest--that seems to be a discipline we have lost, especially in our culture today. Just thought I'd share what's on my mind---oh and I did give myself permission to stay on the couch--and it's amazing, and you all should try it!

Random End-of-the-Quarter Photos part 1

Spring quarter is officially over, which means, that I have officially survived my first year of seminary!! It has been an insane year, full of transitions, new friendships, lots of reading, Greek, church-shopping, amazing conversations, some So Cal fun, and a LOT of growing. No wonder I am feeling exhausted! I have had this past week off, and start summer classes on Monday, but this week was not the most relaxing as I moved as soon as finals were finished, but I am now settled in my new place, and have about 48 hours of freedom left before classes resume. I have several random photos from various moments these past couple months that don't really fit into any specific category, so I thought I'd post them for your viewing pleasure (in a very random and no particular order...) and maybe one day in the near future I will have more energy and creativity to post something reflective and meaningful...stay tuned...! Here comes the bride....wedding dress shopping for Megan over Easter weekend...Sophie & I have a new fascination with butterflies thanks to our time at Cursillo in Houston, so she has been on the look out for butterfly clothing we can wear when we return to Cursillo as staff members some day...yay for random obsessions!Enjoying dinner at Islands...Sarah, Bob, Reese, Sophie (and Kernie!)Dr. Ron Kernaghan, Denise, and Dr. Doug Nason decked out in their academic regalia before baccalaureatte (I think that's what they were dressed up for). These are 2 of our wonderful Presbyterian faculty members who continually serve our Presby students in many ways...and apparently Doug was hungry...good thing Denise keeps food around the office!So we went down to Santa Monica last week for dinner, and Alan and Reese decided to tell the waiter it was Becca's birthday (it wasn't...) but they brought her dessert and made her stand on her chair while she danced to the birthday song the Bubba Gump staff sung her...it was quite entertaining...here she is with Kernie who is sporting Reese's new hat...

I'm not sure where I got this photo--I think Lynn's myspace profile? But I love this picture because it has my wonderful Seattle friends (Lynn, Jen, Karen, Heather, and Darbee) all looking amazing as they're headed to see Les Mis...we'll see if any of them check my blog and see this....but if you do see it know that I miss you all & will see you in August!