when I went to Oxford

Last week, I spent a day in Oxford.

Two PUbs that Tolkein and Lewis Frequented. I ate Fish Pie and Drank Cider at their Alleged Favorite, the Eagle and Child.
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Thursday all over the city

The weather was miserable, but it was a great day.

>> I love musicals, I love Tolkein's works, I love live theater, I love front row seats in the balcony.

I love that I was blessed to end my Thursday in London at the Royal Theatre, watching as all three books were wrapped in a whirlwind of special effects and dramatic staging at the performance of the new musical The Lord of the Rings. Definitely a highlight of my time in London. ... See my Tabblo>

Wednesday at the British Museum

The British Museum is free and amazing. It's about all I did in London on Wednesday before going back up to Kirkwood's for a delicious supper of chicken and mashed potatoes.

On Wednesday, I lugged my luggage to Kirkwood's, then returned to the city center to explore the British Museum, if only to see the Rosetta stone. There was so much to see that I might've missed what I came to see, if I hadn't ventured through that room before they suddenly pointed everyone to the doors. Parliament should make a law expanding library hours past 5:00 p.m. It's ridiculous. ... See my Tabblo>

First night in London

I am in Spain by now, but I'm trying to catch up on posting pictures. Here's some I took the night I got to London.

Done.

Last night I finished up the last little detail work pertaining to the Fall 2007 semester. I am very happy, very relieved to have all that work behind me. The brunt of the work was writing. When I got back from Thanksgiving break, I added up the average page requirements for each assignment so that I would know how to pace myself. It came to 63 pages, which made for three solid weeks of not-one-minute-to-lose.

Now I am done. Done with all the meetings and the finals and the Social Justice Chapter events and the writing. Out of curiosity, I tallied up all that I had actually written:

82 pages (12 point font, double spaced, 1 inch margins, page breaks omitted).

Handel used the same time frame to write The Messiah, which fills 252 pages with just the vocal and piano parts, just to put it all in perspective.

how we party

Hoisting the heavy box higher in my grip, I backed through the door and turned around beneath the awning. The light of the building across the sidewalk caught my attention, and I heard the sound of conversation and laughter coming through the panes of its windows. "Looks like something fun is going on in the Fireside Room," I thought to myself. Then I laughed at myself. The Fireside Room is where I had just come from, but in the time it had taken to carry my stuff to the exit on this side of the sidewalk, that must have slipped my mind. It was definitely time for bed.

Last night was the Social Justice Chapter Christmas Extravaganza. Social justicians are really good party planners. We have to be, otherwise we'd get bogged down in the poverty, the hunger, the slavery, the war, the exploitation… Yes. A lot of bad things happen in this world, but we do not need to sit around pouting or escape into a world of superficial happiness. When the Social Justice Chapter has a party, we don't pour ashes over our heads and cry in sorrow (though there is a time for that) and we don't pour beer down our throats and laugh in denial (there's never a time for that).

This is what we do: We set out fair trade coffee for students to buy and fair trade gifts that give students an opportunity to tell their families about fair trade. We wait until the party is starting to light the fireplace, so as not to waste petroleum. We ponder ways that we could use less disposable products next time we serve food. We wear Christmas garb found at the thrift store. We sing Christmas carols of God's redemptive work and our desire for for the coming of Immanuel to ransom this world from captivity. We listen to the song a student wrote in response to watching the Invisible Children film. We rest our heads on comfy sofas, our ears on honest music, and our hearts in Christian friendship.

That is how the Social Justice Chapter parties.

Jump right in!

This is an ad I saw online.

I honestly thought it said "game trap" at first. It might as well, because that's what it is, if it's like all the other pointless escapes from reality that are part of reality today. A part of reality that is not reality must be a hole. A pit dug for a grave, a dent angrily punched in the wall, a quarry with dynamite still lying around.

Usually when people dig a trap, they cover it with sticks and leaves so that it doesn't look like a trap. Next time I'm trying to catch something, I'll dig a pit and put up a bright green sign that says "Escape into this trap! It'll be fun! It'll be violent! You'll be happy!" That strategy seems to be working.

What kind of traps do I jump into?