Uphill idealist

Actually the people were wearing the suits, cologne and lots of hair gel. I was wearing my suede brown boots, my brown hippie skirt, simple white thermal top and my red wool jacket that I got on clearance at Old Navy. A few weeks ago a acquaintance called me up and invited me to learn more about a part- time online opportunity. I took the invite as a nice gesture and planned on making it to the meeting, but missed it due to schedule conflicts. About a week later he returned my call and invited me to another meeting. So that was the meeting I walked into and immediately realized I was in the wrong place. Don't get me wrong. I know the intentions of this acquaintance were good, the people were kind, they tried their best to make me feel welcome - but artsy idealist me was never going to have the excitement and enthusiasm for numbers and marketing that these folks did. I even met up with an old school mate that I hadn't seen in years and he kept reassuring me that, " You are ...

Arthur Spiegelman (who created the image above) was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and immigrated to the United States with his parents in his early childhood. Spiegelman studied cartooning in high school and started drawing professionally at age sixteen. Despite his parents wanting him to become a dentist, Art Spiegelman majored in art and philosophy at Harpur College. After leaving college in 1968, he joined the underground comix movement. This month's Artists Share Expo will be a eclectic mix of media, music and personality this month as Julia Ciesla-Hanley, Fred Dickson, Jonah Hathaway, Andy White, Tara Lamont, James Reed, and Noisetrack perform music varying in styles from singer songwriter, classical, rap and noise. A photography collection by photographer Megan Pop will be on hand as well as "Deez Accessuriez", a creative art jewelry collection made from guitar picks and buttons created by Danielle. Artists Share is a monthly gathering of musicians, artists, photogra...

You Are An ENFP The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart. You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do. You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused What's Your Personality Type?

Today's meme turned out to be a song "Bonfire" by Lamb who "were an electronic music duo from Manchester, England, known for their trip hop and drum and bass influenced sound. The duo comprised producer Andy Barlow, also known as the "Hipoptimist", and singer-songwriter Lou Rhodes. They received acclaim throughout Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Portugal), Australia and the Americas, especially for their hit singles "Gorecki" and "Gabriel"."(Wickipedia) I was introduced to Lamb's music by my friend Ian M. from the Moot community in the UK. ________________________________________________________________________________ What kind of bonfire should I be? One that toasts marshmallow sticky smores' for chubby fingered toe-haired campers? Waiting for one of the gooey charcoal confections to fall to my hungry blaze. My bonfire could be one that consumes the newspapers of days past - licking the words from the page. G...

During the Christmas season I was asked and asked my friends and family that all time material based question, "What do you want for Christmas?" While it is a joy to receive thoughtful gifts from friends, loved ones and family during this time of year, the number of times that this question is asked makes me wonder, " What are we all searching for?" Saturday afternoon I had the time and opportunity to go to the movies with my family to see, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." The premise of the film centers on a family's worldwide treasure hunt to find the historical evidence to clear their recently marred name. The story is filled with adventure, excitement, mystery and a great story line that pulls you in. You join in on the adventure, the mystery and search for the treasure that will make everything good again. Movies have a way of taking us out of real life, as do holidays – but the scripture in Matthew 2 remind us of the harsh reality of life ...

Maybe it's the fact that I'm wrapping up my final assignments for my BA program, maybe it's the fact that New Years is only a few days away, or maybe its the fact that another birthday is swiftly coming to the surface; but I keep pondering the direction of the year to come. So many things that I've always wanted to accomplish will be wrapped up in 2007: My BA, writing and performing music, working in a ministry that I love and get excited about. But I find myself uncomfortable with the idea of officially no longer being a student. I keep thinking about Pittsburgh Seminary's distance program, NNU's online Master's in Missional Leadership degree and possibly the Commissioned Lay Pastor's program though the Presbytery. Again then there is the additional cost of going back again. Anyone have a grant in their pocket that they'd like to give me? Can I swing the pressure of a more dictated study program? Should I jump into the M-div, or take the baby step o...

Christmas Eve holds many picture memories: toddlers wearing brand new footed pajamas staring with excitement at the sparkling tree on Christmas Eve, family and friends sitting close over a holiday meal, baking cookies to place on a special visitor's plate later in the night, gazing out the windows of a cozy Christmas tree lighted living room at the fluffy snowflakes gracefully falling to the cold ground. The pictures in our memories are the lenses that we look though and see the holiday season. These memories help to frame the heart and mind and the perspective that this year's holiday experience will hold. Some of the pictures memories may not be the warm, fuzzy examples of a Currier and Ives Christmas card or a thirty-minute Christmas television special. But our minds hold these internal pictures, both light and dark, as our eyes look to see and capture this advent's addition to our memory banks. So in the perspective of both the light and darkness, what will become our p...