This Week's Excitement

Yesterday morning, around 10:30, I looked out my window to see two firetrucks in the parking lot. There wasn't any smoke and there weren't any alarms going off and none of the firemen I could see looked anxious or in a rush or anything, so I didn't worry about it, although I did wonder what was going on. I went on with my schoolwork (while watching "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Woman" which I would definitely recommend if you like old science fiction movies) and kept a bit of a watch on what was happening outside in case anything actually happened.

About an hour later there was a loud knocking at my door. I opened it to find two (big, strong, good-looking) firemen (that was not the week's excitement, but it was nice). They told me that there were high levels of CO2 in the building and they were trying to evacuate everyone, and was I feeling okay, and would I crack open a window to help clear the air. In fact I felt fine, even though I had spent the night there (they asked if I'd spent the night, and when I said yes, asked more questions about how I felt). So...I figured it was a good time to forget my plans for the day and spend it with friends (and their children...and their children's tinker toys...). Later, when I was outside waiting for a ride to elsewhere, the news people came and since I was about the only resident outside at the time, I was interviewed by the TV and newspaper people. They kept trying to get me to talk about how scary it was, but I wasn't scared; nothing had happened to me and I felt fine. Plus, there were a lot of firemen there to take care of us (by the time I left they were up to 4 fire trucks). It was interesting to watch 4 firemen go in with oxygen tanks on, especially since one of them was carrying an axe.

Later I learned that the CO2 levels were double what they should be in some of the units on the top floor (but I live on the 2nd floor so it wasn't as bad). It seems that there was a malfunctioning air makeup unit. Anyway, it all worked out. And that was my excitement for the day.

(As an aside: I checked the MSN article to see if they explained what was wrong since I don't remember details, and the only person they quoted was someone complaining that the firemen could have handled it better. Don't read it. She's an idiot. The firemen did a fine job, especially since at first the levels didn't seem too high, and even in the units where the levels were higher, they were never actually at emergency levels. They only quote the upset people.)

Merry Christmas

From the Gospel According to John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came into His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

...but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

A Confession

In November I visited my family. I finished my Christmas shopping and left the presents there; in exchange, they sent my Christmas presents home with me. Which means....I have had my Christmas presents in my house for a month, and for a month I have been very good. Until Sunday I kept them tucked away in my room, but on Sunday I put them under the tree. There are big presents and little presents and obvious presents (it's hard to disguise a mug) and mystery presents. There were also 4 small, identical presents just the size of individual packages of hot chocolate. And I have a shortage of hot chocolate in my house.....

Last night I caved. My only excuse is that once work was done last night I declared it to be Christmas (technicalities bore me; once I'm on Christmas break, it's Christmas no matter what day it is), and if it's Christmas it's perfectly okay to open 4 small, identical presents. And they're very nice hot chocolates: hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, white hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, candy cane hot chocolate, and gingerbread hot chocolate.

The rest of the presents are still wrapped and will stay that way until a proper present-opening time, I promise! But I am very thankful for the hot chocolate.

Next year maybe I will keep them all hidden away until Christmas Eve.

School Update

Last year, at the end of my winter class, I ended up with a final mark posted on my transcript long before I received marks for the individual assignments. This year, I have no final marks for my summer classes, but there are finally marks for all of the individual assignments. Go figure.

And, thanks to my amazing mathematical abilities, I can determine that I passed both classes (well, a glance at the marks assures me that I passed since I didn't fail any assignments; the math was to determine that I received A's in both classes (and yes I'm bragging a bit, but what else is a blog for?)).

I have now earned 10 credits (every class I've taken has been worth 2 credits) which means I have 24.641024641024...% of my program completed. I'm currently working on 4 more credits, so by the end of March I will have 35.897435897435...% of my program completed (I need 39 credits, which makes for long, repeating decimals).

And I'm enjoying my classes. Most of what I'm doing right now is reading, but it's interesting reading. I'm hoping to get a lot done over Christmas break so I can get going on the longer assignments in the new year.

Just a Reminder

Please go vote for Emily (find the link below). The page was closed for a while but it's open again.

You can vote for her 14 times.

Make a Snowflake

Go make a snowflake.

I refuse to be held responsible, however, if you find it as much fun as I did, resulting in forgetting the other things you should be doing (like eating lunch, or maybe working).

Vote for Emily

My young friend Emily has entered a writing contest and is one of the finalists.

Head on over HERE and vote for Emily. You can vote many, many times.

Ignore the other contestants. Only vote for Emily!

Thank you!

To Think About

From The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges, p.93:

"What does it mean that God administers His discipline in the realm of grace? It means that all His teaching, training, and discipline are administered in love and for our spiritual welfare. It means that God is never angry with us, though He is often grieved at our sins. It means that He does not condemn us or count our sins against us. All that He does in us and to us is done on the basis of unmerited favor."

My Fellow Word Geeks....

...you should head over to Biblical Christianity today and read his rant and the comments that accompany it.

An Alternative to Studying

Today when I checked email there was, as always, an offer for a free degree. Today I began to consider the pros of going that route. It's free, it probable doesn't require studying, it won't take four more years, they give them to anyone....

Yes, yes, I know it's not the same as a real degree. I know it would come without getting to learn everything that I've been learning.

Still, it would be easier than spending hours reading textbooks, and it's bound to be cheaper than paying tuition and buying those textbooks. It wouldn't require juggling work and school and church stuff.

Some days I wonder if it's worth the effort and the sacrifices I'm putting into getting the degree. Some days the alternative seems like a good idea.

Finally

As you may know, I moved into my apartment about 17 months ago. I love my apartment. It's warm and cozy (especially on a snowy day like today) and quiet and just the right size.

Those of you who have been here know that there has only been one little problem with the apartment, and it's been wrong since the day I moved in: there was no light in the fridge. When I first moved in I was too busy getting settled to worry about the missing light, and then I was just used to it not being there. But.....other people kept commenting on it and telling me that I should replace it.

Today I gave into peer pressure. I was getting groceries and passed the lightbulbs and remembered the fridge. And now there's a light in my fridge and I can see the food.

It really hasn't changed my life.