Spring, Beauty, Sadness, and Summer

Sorry for the long wait since my last post. A lot has been happening here in the beautiful Ozarks as winter slowly gives way to the first whispers of spring. The two seasons have been struggling for the past month; at times it seemed that spring had finally chocked the last winter breath away, but then we would wake up to a winter wonderland of ice and snow. I shall try to post some pictures of some of our winteresque beauty. One day we experienced all four seasons in the full day. We woke up to birds singing and a light spring breeze. By noon the sun was brilliant and summer was in full bloom. Then it turned to an drizzly afternoon of autumn bliss and, finally, it froze before the day had ended.

Two weekends ago our local college theatre department presented "Beauty and the Beast", based on the old original Disney animated film from 1991 but expanded for Broadway in 1996. This play is one of my favorites for several reasons: the animated movie is one of my favorites. The characters are perfect: Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Babette, and Mme. de la Grande Bouche are adorable characters. The play is even better because it flushes the characters out and adds spice to the story. The play also has some fond memories for me because two of my best friends and I took a rode trip in the summer of 2003 to go see the traveling Broadway version in Kansas City. It was absolutely crazy because we ended up staying with people I didn't really know and my friends didn't know at all. But I also have some of my favorite memories from that trip. So here's to Joyous and Miss N!

But life can't be all interesting weather and happy memories. Last Wednesday my brother called from Texas to tell me that my grandmother (my mum's mum) had passed away. I left Thursday afternoon to avoid another big snow storm coming through and missed classes on Friday. All in all, it was a strange experience. My grandmother had an unidentified form of dementia, so it was almost as if we had really lost her several years ago. The whole event was somber but not near as sad as my grandfather's funeral (my father's father) last summer. Mum made the comment that she distinctly remembers going through the grieving process several years ago. The whole event was sort of surreal.

Last week was also midterms! I really only had one major test, which I did quite badly on. I've emailed dear Dr. Zakariadze to see if I could possibly try for some extra credit to make up for my poor showing, but he hasn't responded yet. He's probably still translating my email into Russian. Another thing about midterms is that it tells me summer is almost here. And with summer comes Europe. Right now I've been switched (again) to Brussels instead of Paris. Every day I get a little more antsy as I watch the dollar lose value to the euro. Today it is at another all-time high of $1.55. By the time I get over there it could be over $1.75 or (Heaven forbid) over $2.00! At the rate I'm going I'll have to live in a cardboard box and eat out of trashcans just so I can go to work. :)

That's all for now. I hope you all have a faaantastic week!

The Middle Road

In our current environment of extremism, whether it be political, religious, or some other issue, I have found, and continue to find, C.S. Lewis’ following quote quite telling. You see, when we begin a new subject of study, if we are honestly seeking for the Truth, we do not enter into that study with a preconceived belief. However, after only a short amount of study, we become intimately familiar with a particular error on one side of the discussion or another. That error so consumes us that we often turn so passionately and so firmly against it that we have unwittingly embraced the opposite, equally malicious error.

I feel a strong desire to tell you–and I expect you feel a strong desire to tell me–which of these two errors is the worse. That is the devil getting at us. He always sends errors into the world in pairs–pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them.

This applies to any subject one can think of:

• In economics, one may see the vast problems of communism and so embrace pure capitalism as if it were the perfect answer. Or visa-versa.
• In language, one may understand the idiocy of thinking that words have no meaning and thereby assume that words will always have the same meaning. Or visa-versa.
• In business, one may understand the importance of making a profit and conclude that he must make a profit at any cost. Or visa-versa.
• In politics, we may see the problems inherent to the Republican Party (Conservative) and so embrace the errors of the Democratic Party (Liberal). Or visa-versa.
• In theology, we may either reject God’s sovereignty or us it to blame Him for our actions. Or visa-versa.
• In doctrine, we may reject certain twisting of Truth in one denomination so hardily that we also reject the Truth that has been twisted yet remains in that denomination. Or visa-versa.

It would seem that almost anytime one is placed in the position of having a belief that must be either this or that, and this and that are complete opposites of each other, that neither this nor that are likely to really be the Truth, but instead are usually two equally evil twisting of what the Truth really is.

Busy Week 2

My last post seems to be the most popular so far, so I figured I should go ahead and continue with the rest of my week.

But first some clarifications. Panera Bread was wonderful, as was the tea and company. I tried the black bean soup and a French croissant. Both were amazing. I think my dad would like the black bean soup (so if you're reading, you should try it!). My friends (please note the plural) were also great company, and we enjoyed much interesting converation. To answer one commenter's question: I do occasionally go to restaurants with females. Yes, it's awkward and risky, and sometimes I'm just tempted to drop to one knee right there, but the other people with us normally do their best to keep me accountable. ;) I don't know why I experience such urges... maybe I've been reading/watching too much Jane Austin.

Fortunatly for me, I actually have until December before I finish with school and things get real busy...

On to my busy week:
Wednesday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-10:00
French Through Popular Culture class @ 10:00
Study Break @ 11
Lenten Chapel Service (for Christian Worship class ) @ 12:00
Lunch @ 12:30
Study/Thursday Homework 1:00-3:00
Free Time!!!/Catch up on other Projects/etc. 3:00-4:45
Dinner @ 4:45
Work from 6:00-9:00
Finish homework for Thursday @ 9:00
Bed @ 10:30/11:00
Average Amount of Free Time on Wednesdays: 2.5 hrs.
So Wednesdays are my good day. Actually they are normally very relaxing.

Thursday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-9:30
French Civilization class @ 9:30
International Economics class @ 11:00
Managment Information Systems @ 1:00
Study/Friday Homework from 2:30-4:45
Dinner @ 4:45
Truth Project (Bible Study) 6:00-8:30ish
Finish homework for Thursday @ 9:00
Bed @ 10:30/11:00
Average Amount of Free Time on Wednesdays: 1.5 hr.

Friday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-10:00
French Through Popular Culture class @ 10:00
Lunch @ 11:00
Christian Worship class @ 12:00

And I'm done with the week's scheduled times until Sunday! Happiness and joy and bright sunshine!

Busy Week

I thought I should allow my readers to take a walk with me through my days. My next few posts will follow my steps throughout the normal week. Unless I find that this is too overtly boring, in which case I won't post Wed-Fri.

Monday:
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-10:00 (includes tutoring, professor assistance, studying, etc.)
French Through Popular Culture class @ 10:00
Lunch @ 11:00
Christian Worship class @ 12:00
Work from 1:00-4:00
Study/Break @ 4:00
Dinner @ 4:45
French Club or French Bible Study (alternating each week) @ 6:00
Homework for Tuesday classes 8:00-10:00
Bed @ 10:30
Average Amount of Free Time on Mondays: .75 hrs.

Tuesday (This is my exciting day!)
Up @ 6:45
Breakfast @ 7:20
Work from 8:00-9:30
French Civilization class @ 9:30
International Economics class @ 11:00
Break (I don't bother to go to the cafeteria) @ 12:30
Management Information Systems class @ 1:00
Break/Study/Campus Errands 2:30-4:45
Dinner @ 4:45
Free Enterprise Studies class form 6:00-9:00
Finish homework for Wednesday @ 9:00
Bed @ 10:30/11:00
Average Amount of Free Time on Tuesdays: 1 hr.


So my Mondays really aren't that bad, but my Tuesdays are a killer. Fortunately, it is my worst day (could it get much busier?), so everything is downhill from there.

Today we finished filming a class project for Free Enterprise Studies. We did a presentation of "20 Minutes" with Jeter Pennings and Bobby Walker. I was Jeter Pennings. I also played the roles of a trendy English CEO, a computer geek from New York, and an old Southern gentleman. It was all very fun. I never knew I could talk as slow as I did when I was the Southern gentleman. On playback I was listening to myself going "could you just speed up an itsy-witsy?", but the group liked it, so we didn't do another take.

Before that, I helped a friends family move their business from an old warehouse to a new warehouse. It's a manufacturing business where they make... actually I don't know. There were lots of wires and cables and things, and it's called "Positive Connections", so it must be some sort of electrical connection manufacturing business. That was fun. This evening I was supposed to meet a couple of people and go to a Rotary Club chili feed. At the last minute (actually 3 minutes before we were supposed to leave), I got a phone call saying that we weren't going after all because someone had lost our tickets. I don't think any of us were too crushed, but I was sort of looking forward to it. So my evening became suddenly open again...

Except that another friend had already asked me to dinner with a few others, so I called her and told her that I could join them. So I had just enough time to get on the Internet, check the news, read my emails, and write this blog entry. I hope you've enjoyed it. I'm off to Panera Bread for a lovely evening of homemade soups, freshly baked breads, and, of course, tea!

Henry IV and Random Thoughts

We learned about Henry IV of France this morning in French Civilization. Henry was born a Huguenot during the Wars of Religion in France shortly after the beginning of the Reformation. He became leader of the French Protestant movement (the political arm anyway) but converted to Catholicism to marry the princess of France. When the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre occurred, he converted back to Protestantism (possibly out of horror at French Catholics?). In 1589 he was invited to become King of France, but the Parisian area objected since he was not Catholic, so he converted once again back to Catholicism saying "Paris is worth a Mass".

As king, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes suspending violence against Protestants and brought relative peace to the country. He was wildly popular with the French people and ushered in a short time of prosperity for the beleaguered country. As popular as he was, he found enemies on both sides of the religious questions: Catholics distrusted him because of his liberal policies toward the Huguenots while the Huguenots distrusted him because he was Catholic. He eventually overcame most of these problems (partly because of the Edict) and presided over several years of peace. He was assassinated in 1610 by a Catholic extremist. His Catholic wife, Marie de Médicis, reigned as regent until his son Louis XIII was old enough to assume control. Marie squandered the wealth and prosperity of her husband and later caused a civil war between her sons.

Henry IV's grandson, the infamous Louis XIV ("Je suis L'État") later over-turned his grandfather's famous Edict and Protestants were once again murdered in the streets of France and successfully driven from any subsequent influence on that country (they currently make up less than 3% of the population).

While Henry IV is generally accepted as one of the best kings in French history, his reign really seemed to have little permanent affect on his country. Worse, he seems to have been a man of little real conviction, only drive for political power. This caused countless deaths on both sides of the religious fight. In my mind, that really makes him a failure.

I couldn't help but compare him to his contemporary, Elizabeth of England, who found herself in many similar situations. She was born Protestant but later found her life being threatened when Catholicism made its brief return to English politics. While Elizabeth made it clear that she was loyal to her Catholic queen, she refused to compromise her beliefs. For years she lived under house arrest in constant danger of being burned as a heretic or traitor. When she came to the throne, she made it clear to her Catholic subjects that she would most certainly not sacrifice her Protestant beliefs just to have a "successful" reign. But she also made it clear that she wanted peace. She, like Henry, brought peace, tranquility, and general prosperity to her country. She survived dozens of assassination attempts by Catholic extremists and credited God with this protection as well as military victories. When she died, the country had permanently adopted her Protestant beliefs. One could argue that Elizabeth I single-handedly laid the foundations of the Victorian British Empire, both politically and religiously.

How sad that Henry IV missed his opportunity to do the same for his own country.