Leading Off - The good news is that next fall Florida State Navs will indeed have a full EDGE Corps team (assuming, of course, they raise the necessary support). This is great news for the ministry, and I’m really excited about what all God is going to do through them. The bad news is that this probably means I will be living either by myself or with people I don’t know this fall (assuming, of course, I return to Tallahassee).
No Room In The Inn - Allow me to paint you a picture. Dave, the Nav head staff, owns two houses and a duplex that he rents out to students. The original idea was to have half of the duplex with the EDGE men and the other half with other guys who needed a place to live. I would have probably been one of those guys, since the other two houses are full and because I would like to live in one of these heralded communities. The EDGE women were going to live with an alumni who last year was prepared to house them when we thought we were getting a team then. A couple of weeks ago something changed. Either this alumni changed her mind due to some set of circumstances or maybe Dave only assumed the women would be living with her instead of solidifying a strong confirmation. I don’t know, and it’s really a moot point. The bottom line is the EDGE women will be living on the other side of the duplex. Which is actually a pretty cool ministry setup, having the whole team live in the same complex. But it does leave me without a place to live in the fall. Don’t misunderstand - I never signed a lease or anything. There was just an understanding that if there were a place available that I would probably be the one to fill it. So now, even if I do manage to find a job in Tallahassee, my next struggle will be to find a place to live.
Job Situation - I still have no job, as you may have inferred from above. I do have a couple of new promising leads, but I’ve said that before. I believe a job is coming, but at this point I take that stance only because the alternative is more depressing, not because I base that belief on much of anything. You may think that goes against the idea that God will provide. I challenge you to look at my life right now. Am I not being provided for? I am, but by my parents. I would rather provide for myself. Do I have a job? No. I believe that God provides, and I also believe that it doesn’t always look the way I want it to.
Manual Labor - This past Saturday I helped my friend Josh and his roommate move from one apartment to another. They had been living in a one-bedroom apartment since May, waiting for a two-bedroom to open up. Everytime I move or a help someone else move I am amazed at just how difficult the process is. We just have so much stuff. I started helping them at around 8 AM and didn’t finish up until around 3 PM, with a short lunch break mingled in. Let me tell you, it brought back the physically painful memories of last summer’s conference services job. But it was worth it. Josh has helped me move twice, both out of my dorm at the end of my junior year and into my dorm at the beginning of my senior year. So now we’re almost even.
Superman Returns - Wow. I can’t believe just how much I enjoyed this movie. I just saw it for the first time last night, and I saw the IMAX version. The 3D scenes are pretty cool, though the nearly $14 I spent to get in was ridiculous. I agree totally with David Ansen’s review in the June 26 Newsweek when he writes “[Director Brian] Singer cleverly doles out his hero in small portions, so that we’re left, like all those awestruck admirers in Metropolis, wanting more glimpses of him than we get.” When the movie ended I wanted more. I wasn’t feeling like the story had ended abruptly; it was more the realization that I’m going to have to wait two or three more years before I get to see something like this again. I now totally agree with Singer’s decision to leave X-Men to work on Superman, this coming from a lifelong Marvel lover/DC basher. I got chills when Superman gave his speech to the airplane passengers, the same speech he gave to Lois in the very first Superman. That was by far my favorite part. Thank you Brian Singer for being so awesome.
Steven Waldman and Michael Kress brought up the point in the June 19 Newsweek that Superman can be seen as a kind of Christ figure, though it’s rather dubious to think that the character’s creators, two Jewish men, would say that that was their intent. After seeing the movie I agree with Waldman and Kress, but I also have to stress how much the movie was obviously influences by The Da Vinci Code. Think about it. A god-like man has come to save the world from evil, but along the way he also falls in love with an average mortal woman. They have a child, but the truth of that child’s true lineage is kept secret. Has no one else caught on to this? Because it just seems so obvious to me.
Don’t Mess With Texas - My sister has been at UT-Austin orientation since Sunday night. My mom went with her for the first two days and came home on Tuesday. My sister will come home late tonight. She’s one step closer to leaving the nest. I tell you, I don’t think I will ever comprehend how she got older than twelve. From what I’ve heard so far it sounds like she loves it there.
Hey, I am sorry to hear that nothing has developed with the job situation in Tallahassee. We really do miss you back here in Florida. BUT, at least you were able to use the phrase “moot point” in your blog! I was quite excited because I have never heard that used appropriately before now! I am also glad that you enjoyed Superman- I’ve heard mixed things about it and have yet to see it for myself. I’ve been busy moving in and unpacking, but I know that things are going to slow down (or already have)- thus, my being online reading blogs and such. So, yeah, I think that Florida can be just as boring as CT sometimes….hmmm..what do you think?