Rules v. Principles

Last week, I visited Woodland Hills Church con mis padres y mi hermano. Greg Boyd preached on rules verses principles. It was GREAT. You can listen here.

My new problem

It started during Spring Break. I got a taste and now I'm hooked.

Crossword Puzzles - a great way to waste time, but feel intellectual.

And they're everywhere! Online:

With a handy feature that can allow you to see mistakes as you go.

In books:



This is the one I'm working on right now.

I might have to ask for specific help soon. I'm stuck on #33.

Worth debate

I made the mistake of watching 'A Chorus Line' last night. I was on the phone when I picked out the movie...and I couldn't really find anything I wanted to watch. Somehow I ended up with a mediocre musical. The first song really tipped me off (sung lyrics include "How many people does he need? I hope I get this job. I really need this job. I hope I get this jooooooooooob"). My dis-desire to continue watching peaked when the fox-like hair you see pictured above showed up on screen.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is probably the worst movie I've ever seen.

Like a lamb

Why does warm weather feel so good/make everything better?!

A bite of opera for you!

A moment of my opera debut (more accurately, of the Minneosta Opera's production of Tales of Hoffman) has been you-tubed! Angie found it! Guaranteed you won't be able to actually see me in this video clip, but if you'd like to know what the scenes looked like, feel free to watch.

In this song, the main character (Hoffman) is drunk at a bar, during the intermission of the opera Don Giovanni. The opera-goers want him to jam out with them to a song about a midget (I think), named Kleinzach. Half-way through, he sees an image of the diva, walking on the bar. It ends with more sung dwarf jokes. Opera is not known for being a sensitive art.

Here!

It's The Day!

Today (well, tonight), we interview a new Office of the Publisher! Yippee! Despite the fact that the interviews make for a long board meeting, I'm very excited. It's always more fun being the interview-er. And who doesn't love coming up with interview questions?

Hey - if you have any good Qs, let them be heard!

AND my family flies into MPLS today.

Girl Gone Wild

I'm STILL recovering from Spring Break. I think this picture says it all.



Notice the disheveled hair, the sweatpants, the guy I spent so much time with - all these things indicate my nature as a party girl. South Dakota was, as usual, no deterrent.

The party continued on Sunday for the St. Patrick's Day (even though it wasn't St. Patrick's Day) 8K. Chrissy & Sarah Anne & I "raced" Summit Avenue.











And more last night. After picking up Emily & Alyssa from Peru, Angie & I settled in for a glass of Riesling and some Gilmore Girls (which didn't go exactly as planned...but still good).


Then TODAY, my darling family arrives stateside. Yippee!


(Remember Rome, guys? We love pastries.)

Chanticleer!

I am to Chanticleer what many 14-year-old girls used to be to Lil Bow Wow. This sounds...um...geeky at best, but Chanticleer is this men's chorus that kicks the total face off of all mass around it. Their voices are just per-fec-tion.

Here, just listen.

Or read.

Anyway, tonight I'm sitting at Grumpy's with a bunch of the MN Opera's people (b/c that's what happens when you have a friend named Angie who has an interesting job) and I ask this guy next to me how he's liked working (um, singing) at the Opera and what he plans to do next. He likes it, he says. And then:

"I'm moving to San Francisco," he sort of shrugs, "to sing with this men's chorus..." he pauses and I nod, sort of interested ..."called Chanticleer."

I lost it. I got sweaty and couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe it! I'm so excited for you! That's so great!!"

I mean, I was sitting there - individually putting ketchup on tater tots - next to a guy who is in a premier, world-touring vocal ensemble. I'm still giddy and feel ridiculous. I might put up a life-size poster of them in my room.

In closing, let me tell you that they do this thing (it's like magic), where they're singing so perfectly in tune that individual singers can create more than one note at a time. It's true:

"Overtone singing (also known as harmonic singing) is the technique originating from Mongolia which singers can use to produce more than one note at once. The human voice produces a simultaneous range of overtones, or harmonics. A skilled overtone singer can focus specifically on these discreet overtones."

Tiny Teddy

I need ideas for a blog (not for me, for a real live place) - but hasn't everything been done? Here's what it needs to be:

B is for brusque (abrupt or off-hand in speech or manner)
L is for largish (of wide range or scope)
O is for okay (satisfactory but not exceptional)
G is for gripping (engrossing)

Any ideas for topics or blog names? Help, please.

Brookings Mall aka Spring Break!

Great things about Brookings include, but are not limited to:

Angela
Aaron
Asher
(all the above are related)
Cover to Cover (gift shop with Sugar Free Chai)
Pumpkin Spice Cake (Angela made it)
Taken (a mini-series about Aliens)
House shopping (my friends are seriously adults)
Being in my sweatpants
The heat wave

Anyone wearing shorts out there?

the many habits of my effective people

habits in development and friends who have 'em:

drinking water: christine (she's a champ)
exercise: emily (she never skips a day & is very tough)
being funny: angela
knowing spanish: sarah anne
throwing parties: angie
having office supplies: rach-bach
always looking good: stacey
being fun: tera

Wee World

The planet is decidedly mini. Three months ago on the plane to Saudi, I met a guy from Colorado whose family lives in Bahrain. We chit-chatted some.

Today, my darling Tera called me from Fort Collins where she's been visiting her fiancé, Robbie.

Tera: "Guess who's in the car with me."
Me: (a little frightened) "uh...I don't know."
Tera: "Did you meet someone from Colorado on a plane to Bahrain?"

Why yes, I did. So, Kevin and I had a phone reunion. It turns out he's Robbie's ROOMMATE. I love irony/coincidence!

You know

What's the biggest problem facing humanity?

May I suggest?

Slate Magazine has a summary of what's in the papers nationwide everyday. It's quick and simple and enlarges your IQ. (That could be a lie.) Today's summary is at this link.

Dubai I think you might enjoy this splash of Middle Eastern culture and simultaneous near-crazed modernization.

This is a sign pointing to the massive Ibn Battuta Mall and a row of skyscrapers being constructed:

So, Ibn Battuta was an explorer and his namesake mall is broken up and immaculately decorated by region of exploration, with sections for China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia and Andalusia. It's like the Disney World of malls...but more like "Explorer World." Wow. I'm def no marketer.

Isaiah!

61:3b

(Giving them...)

The oil of gladness instead of mourning.

The mantle of praise, instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord,

that He may be glorified.

Jobz

It has begun. I need two jobs: one for a big chunk of the summer. Another (a more permanent job) starting in August or September.

In applying for a job yesterday, I had to fill out a test/questionnaire. It would spew out four qualities and you had to label one of them most and one of them least (and just leave the other two). The choices were ALL GOOD, like :

I'm organized
I'm tolerant of others' viewpoints
I follow instructions of supervisors
I work well in a team environment

Really what happens is you're forced to "fess up" to being unorganized or intolerant or rebellious or a hater of other people. Arbitrary is the appropriate word, I think.

The best part of yesterday:
New Track Jackets at work!

A million parties

Online dating is the largest portion of paid content on the web.

The best of an a.m.

Alyssa & I are basking in the glory of our warm office. The Current is playing. The snow is falling. My laundry is circulating. And she just read me her "100 Things" list. As the name suggests, it's 100 things to do before death. (I want suggestions for mine. Got any?)

Last night our house met at SlausKurShub para un video. We watched 'Oldboy,' an uber-violent Korean film that I highly recommend.

Back to today. There's an old article on Slate.com about heaven....
"Paradise Lite:
In heaven, you'll be thinner, happier, and smarter—or so Americans think."

Excerpt here:

If, as Christianity believes, it is the place where our souls are united with God, then it's no more possible to describe heaven than it is to describe God himself. That's why Dante, at the conclusion of Paradiso, declares that he is unable to write down what he saw: "From that moment my vision was greater than our speech." For austere or mystically inclined believers, this absolute otherness of heaven is what makes it absolutely desirable. "To be in paradise," John Calvin reminded his followers, "is not to speak to each other and be heard by each other, but only to enjoy God."

The rest is at this link

Today in facts

Snow
In the early 1900s, skiers created their own terminology to describe types of snow, including the terms "fluffy snow," "powder snow," and "sticky snow." Later, the terminology expanded to include descriptive terms such as "champagne powder," "corduroy," and "mashed potatoes."

Weddings
A Mexico City couple got married in 1969 after an engagement lasting 67 years. Both were 82 when they finally took the plunge.

The wedding tradition in Greece is to write the names of all the bride’s unmarried female friends and relatives on the sole of her shoe. After the wedding, the shoe is examined and those whose names have been worn off are said to be next in line for a journey up the aisle.

Impotence is grounds for divorce in 24 states in the US.

In China, there are bridesmaids for hire.

Board of Directors

Tips for how to run an efficient board:
~ NEVER have the board meetng "at" the board meeting. ALWAYS call every director a few days before the meeting and run every important issue by them to get their input, Also update them on company performance, especially the bad news, and let them "beat you up" privately. That way, the meeting can focus in a constructive fashion on problem-solving and building the Company for the future.
~ Maximum Powerpoint show is four slides from any presenter, especially yourself. This should be the limit of director interest in detail.
~ Carefully consider every director's input and take good notes at the meeting. These people have lots of experience and many great contacts. But you make the final decisions (and if you don't, they will start to look for someone who will).