F5: Social Media edition

From KathrynZ J over at the RevGals site:

I had the joy of spending time with Songbird last weekend, someone I would have never met had it not been for the blogosphere. Now we keep in touch using a large variety of methods: blog (hers a lot, mine not so much lately), facebook, twitter, text messaging, chat and email. So far there has been no skype.

It got me to thinking of the pros and cons of these relatively new means of communication and interconnecting and so I ask you the following:

1) What have been the benefits for you of social networking (blog, twitter, facebook, etc...)

Keeping in touch with people, like my bff in Germany, and meeting new people. I've been a slow adopter for some of it, but it made my time in NJ (and since) with my classmates more fun, too!

2) Which medium do you use the most? Or if you use them all, for what do you use each of them?

Facebook and Twitter for keeping up with church folks and friends. And then there's this blog, which has helped me keep my head on straight sometimes.

3) If you could invent a networking site (with no limits on your imagination), what would it provide? What would it not provide?

I really wouldn't...I'd like to continue using the ones we have. Twitter's great for quick announcements and uppdates; we're using FB groups with our youth and young adults; and we're exploring using blogs to provide more/better content about the church and its programs. Basically, we have most of the features I'd want...it's just a question of helping people learn to use them and see the potential.

4) Who have you met that you would not have met if it were not for the 'miracle' of social networking?

Well, "met" is a relative turn. The other revanne comes to mind, although I've not officially met her...I got her email one day because her address is so similar to mine, and sent it on to her. Now I follow her blog. Also, hotcup, whom I've not met in person but exchanged little gifties with.

5) Who do you secretly pray does not one day try to 'friend/follow' you?

I think I'll keep my secrets...but so far, I've been safe. And I've blocked or ignored a few people. It's hard because you always want people to think well of you, but I have enough drama in my life. I'm not adding the potential for any more right now.

BONUS: What was the most random/weird/unsettling/wonderful connection you made that would not have happened if it were not for the ease of which we can find each other in the computer realm?

You know, it's been great fun to keep up with friends from college that I had otherwise lost touch with. I've changed a lot since then, and it's fun to meet people again and see how they've changed too.

F5: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Songbird is on vacation, but left these questions for us over at the RevGals blog:

By the time you're reading this, I'll be en route to a Great Big City to see my son in a play. I'll go by car and bus and train and no doubt cab and maybe even subway. Thus, our Friday Five.

1) What was the mode of transit for your last trip?

Last trip was Greensboro, via car.

2) Have you ever traveled by train?

I took Amtrak to visit my sister's family last spring, and it was pretty great!

3) Do you live in a place with public transit, and if so, do you use it?

No. We're too small for it to be practical, I think. Not sure if I would use buses...subway and light rail would be great, though!

4) What's the most unusual vehicle in which you've ever traveled?

Duck boat? Chattanooga Choo-Choo? Double-decker bus? I don't know how unusual those are. Also frankly not sure if I rode on a Duck Boat or just watched them...

5) What's the next trip you're planning to take?

Unless I make a quick run to see my mom, I'm taking a short trip as soon as I finish the dissertation. I'm hoping that will be mid-March, but that's pretty ambitious. If I don't finish then, I'll take a longer trip around then to get all rejuvenated for whatever the new deadline will be.

The writing...

It seems to be happening, finally. It's been a long struggle, but I'm hoping I can manage some high-intensity work. I've been lent a little writing eyrie, and I've spent 2 evenings there. I haven't produced as much as I'd have liked, but I am being far more productive than in the past.
Completed dissertation, here I come...and I'll know soon whether I can graduate with my classmates or not.

Two weeks later...

Another blog face-lift, just for fun.
Found a new site for free backgrounds, and used digital scrapbooking elements for the banner, which I did myself, thank you very much.
I have spent way too much time at this, and because I didn't want to spend multiple versions, I have redone the banner from scratch many times.
So now it's time for bed.

Broken-hearted...

Sam Dixon, reported yesterday to have been found alive in the rubble of a Haitian hotel, died of his injuries before he could be rescued. A UM workteam from TX has also lost a member. Please keep all the families who are grieving, hoping, and waiting anxiously in your prayers.
To help in the recovery efforts in Haiti, please consider doing the following:
Give money. UMCOR is my charity of choice because I know that 100% of funds received will go to recovery and post-recovery development in Haiti, courtesy of United Methodist churches that pay their apportionments.
Give time. Contact the local Red Cross or your church judicatory's offices and find out if you can help pack supplies or otherwise assist. Post links to information and places to give on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, and other pages. In the NC conference, plan a trip to the MERCI to help. Each district has suggested items and work days.
Learn. Read about the long-term issues in Haiti, as well as the current trouble. It will break your heart.
Shop. In NC, health kits and food kits can be taken to the MERCI in Goldsboro. The MERCI is a UM disaster response center that can receive UMCOR kits and kit items. (More below, or follow the MERCI link for more info). In Beaufort, Ann Street UMC will be collecting items to be sent to the MERCI--call 252-728-4279 for more information, or visit our website (should be up soon).
Pray. There is more than enough need. I've highlighted here some of the people I know and know of, but there are hundreds of thousands missing and a death toll estimated in the tens of thousands.
Do what you can. If you don't have a church to work through, now may be a good time to find one. I'm proud of mine.


UMCOR Health Kit Items - $12 Value
Call your local United Methodist Church to find out how to get these where they need to be.
Place these items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.

* 1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", No kitchen towels)
* 1 washcloth
* 1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
* 1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
* 1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
* 1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
* 6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
* 1 full-size tube of toothpaste with an expiration date (if it has one) of at least one year away

UMCOR Food Kits Items - $12 Value

New, unopened & sealed bag of dried beans
New, unopened & sealed bag of rice
New, unopened cans of vegetables (pop top lid)
New, unopened cans of fruits (pop top lid)



Important Food Kit Assembly Information

* NO GLASS JARS!!
* All food items included in kits must be NEW items.


All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations. Since strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits contain only the requested items-nothing more.
Do NOT include any personal notes, money or additional materials in the kits. These things must be painstakingly removed and will delay the shipment.

Friday Five: IF

From Jan, over at the RevGals:

In EFM this week, our question was, "If you were a color, what would you be?" So that's where this Friday Five comes from, at least its jumping off place.

1. If you were a color, what would you be?

All the varied shades of the ocean...(how's that for not wanting to be pinned down)

2. If you were a flower (or plant), what would you be?

A wild rose: hardy, pretty, occasionally a little thorny

3. If you were an animal, what kind would you be?

A Jellicle cat, of course. Not quite predictable, affectionate (unless I don't want to be), a creature of habit until I want to run wild...

4. If you were a shoe, what type would you be?

Crocs...but not the clunky ones, although I love them and if you have cold toes, they are the best fix ever.

5. If you were a typeface, which font would you be?

I saw one last week called "spicy"--clear, direct, just slightly whimsical

And...it's over

Our local crisis is over.
The main part of the clean-up was finished by about 5pm Tuesday, allowing the bridges to open just after we'd all committed to go the long way home. :)
The port is open today, and we've had an exciting reminder that the port handles more cargo than the huge piles of phosphate we can usually see.
In more serious news, this is bad. Do what you can to help. Give to the charity of your choice, or try a local church.
Makes our little dramas seem kind of small.
Please keep Sam Dixon and the other missing people in your prayers.

If you've seen the news today:

It's made it on the news in Hampton Roads, anyway.
Some containers of PETN were punctured at the Morehead City port this morning. The bomb squad from Cherry Point Marine base is on its way to start cleaning up. Apparently the stuff is highly explosive; winds seem to be blowing out to sea which would be good for us. The road and bridges from Morehead City into Beaufort are closed, but there is another way home using back roads.
We're fine. Dad's actually the one who told me what was going on first; we had heard many conflicting reports of a car accident on the causeway or a problem with the drawbridge, but Dad heard the real news first.
Here's a link to a local news story.

Newsletter Article and a wish for snow

Ponderous Thoughts

“Happy Birthday!” -- Frosty the Snowman

I have insisted fervently the last week that it is unfair that we should have such cold weather and no snow. I don’t want the kind of snow—measured in feet—that has fallen in the Plains states, but just a little snow to perk us up a bit. By this time last year, we’d had a round or two of snow flurries, but this year, I’ve seen nary a flake.
Funny thing about snow, when you get a good inch or so covering the ground, it makes everything look fresh and clean. The yard becomes a smooth blanket of white instead of having the odd leaf or squirrel hole around. The garden looks like a sculpture instead of a wild mess of tomato vines that really didn’t stop growing until it got so cold. And Ben and I, like the overgrown children we are, like to go outside and play in it, just a little.
The problem with playing in the snow, or letting the dog out to do what dogs do, is that it’s no longer quite so pretty. The footprints look dingy and turn icy, and the many tracks left by the dog’s romping and the other assorted wildlife that populate our little backyard in town ruin the effect of a white blanket covering everything over. All too soon, the snow melts away, and there we are, back to normal.
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore, because like the snow, everything seems to be clean and new for a while, but then it all goes back to the way it was. Instead, I “resolve” to accept what I must, and change what I can, and not to condemn myself if I need to start over (and over and over)…
How is the new year treating you?
Anne

Technology in Ministry Powerpoint

The presentation for today's Lay Leadership workshop.

Friday Five: Dreams edition

From Sophia at the RevGals:

With the beginning of my college teaching semester I have been having some unusually intense and memorable dreams lately--especially related to my Women and Religion class. With the beginning of a new calendar year many of us are engaging with dreams of another kind: planning, brainstorming, setting intentions or resolutions, etc. And many churches will celebrate the baptism of Jesus this Sunday, reading the Gospel account of his vision of the Holy Spirit as a dove and the "beloved child" words of Godde that set him off on his mission sharing Godde's dream for the world. So let's take a few minutes on this (where I am at least) lovely snow-blanketed Friday morning and share about the many different dreams and visions in our lives.

1. Do you tend to daydream?

Oh, yeah. My thoughts often wander. I've learned to do important work in a setting where I can be easily distracted...counterintuitive, I know, but the momentary distractions are easier to manage than just letting my mind roam, which is inevitable in a quiet space.

2. Do you usually remember your night dreams? Do you find them symbolic and meaningful or just quirky?

I rarely do remember them, unless a dream is interrupted. I've had a few recurring dreams/themes over the years, but they are often pretty transparent. For example, when I was struggling with feeling powerless, I dreamed of riding a bicycle with flat tires.

3. Have you ever had a life changing dream which you'll never forget?

Hmmm...no. I feel like I'm missing something. But I'm generally, I think, just a pretty good sleeper.

4. Share a long term dream for one or more aspects of your life and work.

I want to write, whether it's with my classmates or just on my own. The difficult time I'm having with my dissertation suggests that I need to work on discipline and compartmentalization a little more.

5. Share a dream for 2010....How can we support you in prayer on both the short and long term dreams?http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Here are my current dreams: a finished dissertation and to be able to continue at my present church. The dissertation's in my control, even though I am struggling, but the other is out of my hands.

Bonus: a poem, song, artwork, etc. that deals with dreams in general or one of your dreams.

And the search goes on...

We narrowed our choices down from about 20 places for Ben's mom to about 3, which is a pretty impressive piece of work if you ask me. We have a clear preference; it will be interesting to see which place she ends up at. There are dynamics to moves like this that we don't know anything about...we were just the scouting team. So we have some notes to put together and make coherent and then send them on...still hoping she can find not just a place to live but a home.
In other notes, we are hoping for snow tonight. Schools are already delayed tomorrow morning, just in anticipation of something ranging from light rain to up to an inch of snow. The forecasting gets tricky at the coast. I'm voting for 3 inches of sound-effect snow, myself, but only if everyone promises to stay home. We do NOT know how to drive in snow 'round here.
And we saw Avatar in 3d last night. Very cool, although I kept saying to myself, "Ferngully!" As Ben pointed out, it's not the most original plot, but the details really made the difference to me, as did the extended theme about belonging. I confess, I wasn't terribly impressed with the major 3D effects, but that changed when I started watching sparks floating around me to make sure they weren't going to land on me. All in all, a good movie, and I really loved the cgi stuff. I want a dragon of my own!

Searching for home

We have roamed off to the big city several big cities over to find a new home for Ben's mother. His brother, sister-in-law, and mom are all relocating to our state, which we're pretty happy about. We're thrilled that his brother has found a job that he can really make a difference at, and it will be nice for Ben to be closer to his mom and be able to see her more often.
And since we already live in this state, we're scouting out locations for his mom's new home. Over the last several years, she's had some challenges that limit her independence, but we'd like for her to have as much as possible. And the budget for such things is...limited. But we're encouraged; we've had several good phone contacts and tomorrow we're going to see some places that we hope will be a good match.
You know, this is about so much more than a place to live. Ben and I hope all of them will find a true home here. His mom left AL a couple of years ago, and it was really hard for her to adjust. His brother & his wife have put down deep roots where they've been living, and we're praying that all three of them will love their new state the way we do. So we're not just looking for an apartment, but a place to call home, one where there are things to do and people to get to know, a place to be comfortable and relaxed, a community to join.

New Year's Doings

There really aren't any.
I no longer do New Year's resolutions, as I find them just an invitation to fail. I don't have that kind of willpower to make some sweeping proclamation. In the last year, I've been through a lot of stuff, both good and bad. I've given up caffeine, with the exception of chocolate, which I will never give up. There's a sweeping statement for you.
Instead, I've got some hopes, some tentative plans, a vague idea of how I'd like to be living at the end of the year. I want to be back on my eating plan and healthier, if not lighter. I want to get my stinking asthma under control, even if that means going back on steroids--and it does. I want to kayak more, take more pictures, walk the dog, finish my dissertation.
That's really, I think, more than enough work for any one year. So I'm just going to kind of see how it goes.

A New Year's Face-lift

I've been harboring a subtle jealousy for Hot Cup Lutheran's blog backgrounds lately.
So I went to get my own. It's a new year, and time for a fresh start. Also time to really get cracking on that dissertation. So watch this space for fresh updates!