So get this...
Yesterday the Hebrew professor never showed up for class because her alarm didn't go off. And now we've received word that tomorrow's Hebrew class has been cancelled. Why? Don't know, don't care. All I know is that I get an entire week of reprieve from Hebrew class!! God loves me! He really, REALLY loves me!!
So tomorrow morning, instead of considering the subtle art of Hebrew vowel pointing, I'll be wallowing about in the pages of the dust book. And the next chapter starts with a discussion of dust in the preindustrial world followed by its relationship to the dust of the European peasants in the Middle Ages. I'm all a-quiver with anticipation!!
Shalom! (That's my tip-of-the-hat to Hebrew for the week.)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A Fascinating Moment of Self-Discovery
I had a watershed moment of personal revelation last night. I realized that I had reached an entirely new level of uber nerditude when I started reading a book about the history of dust - just for the fun of it! Furthermore, I'm finding it FASCINATING! Now bear with me for a moment, kids...
How can dust not inspire a certain amount of whimsey? After all, common house dust is a mixture of dead insect parts, flakes of human skin, shreds of fabric, pollen, molds, and (my personal favorite) excrement. And I know that at this very moment you're probably thinking, "Dawn, shouldn't you be studying Hebrew instead?" Of course I should. But dust is so much more understandable! Unlike Hebrew, excrement is a concept that I actually GET! And just think of the theological component; every year on Ash Wednesday we usher in Lent by proclaiming, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." What could squelch your nasty pride more than having your minister tell you that you're just a massive pile of poo and that's all you'll ever be? (And a note to every minister I've ever had: you can wipe that smirk off your face because I've been told by tons people other than you that I'm full of doodie. You are NOT original.)
So be prepared - until I'm finished with this little leisure read, I'm going to be polluting you with endless factoids about dust. If any of them help you win a trivia contest, I expect a Christmas card. And if any of you want to read along/get neridified with me, you can order the book on Amazon (Joseph A. Amato is the author). Come on over to the dark side - it's nice in here.
One final morsel for you smokers in the peanut gallery: a single puff of a cigarette produces 4 billion particles of dust. So just say no, kids.
How can dust not inspire a certain amount of whimsey? After all, common house dust is a mixture of dead insect parts, flakes of human skin, shreds of fabric, pollen, molds, and (my personal favorite) excrement. And I know that at this very moment you're probably thinking, "Dawn, shouldn't you be studying Hebrew instead?" Of course I should. But dust is so much more understandable! Unlike Hebrew, excrement is a concept that I actually GET! And just think of the theological component; every year on Ash Wednesday we usher in Lent by proclaiming, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." What could squelch your nasty pride more than having your minister tell you that you're just a massive pile of poo and that's all you'll ever be? (And a note to every minister I've ever had: you can wipe that smirk off your face because I've been told by tons people other than you that I'm full of doodie. You are NOT original.)
So be prepared - until I'm finished with this little leisure read, I'm going to be polluting you with endless factoids about dust. If any of them help you win a trivia contest, I expect a Christmas card. And if any of you want to read along/get neridified with me, you can order the book on Amazon (Joseph A. Amato is the author). Come on over to the dark side - it's nice in here.
One final morsel for you smokers in the peanut gallery: a single puff of a cigarette produces 4 billion particles of dust. So just say no, kids.
Monday, October 8, 2007
An Inexcusably Overdue Perusal of the Mailbag
You see, the thing is, I had a big Hebrew test at the end of last week. And since the test was worth 20% of my total grade and the blog is worth (sadly) 0% of my grade, the blog went on temporary hiatus. But that means that I have TONS of mail to answer now, so I hope you have a refreshing beverage in hand 'cause baby got blog! Let's hit it...
Question 1: "So did you end up passing your ordination exams or what?" I dunno. We get our raw results (pass/fail data only) on October 22, then we get our papers with critiques returned about a week or two after that. But don't worry - I'll let you know. Unless, of course, I totally stunk it up, in which case I probably won't tell you that I stunk it up; you'll just have to put two-and-two together when January rolls around and I start posting grumpy messages about having to take ords again.
Question 2: (From countless readers) "When you titled one of your posts 'Engagement Announcement' we thought it was going to say that YOU were getting married again." To everyone who sent me this message...y'all are seriously smoking copious, COPIOUS amounts of crack. I mean really.
Question 3: "Were you really considering putting superglue in your nose to cure your cold?" Ummm...no.
Question 4: "Are you going to continue testing Oprah's suggestions for saving the world?" Sure, but you have to be patient. I've had the new issue of the Oprah magazine for over a week now but haven't had a chance to evaluate this month's suggestions yet (on account of Hebrew, you understand). But it keeps me amused and arms me with interesting blog fodder. Plus, it gives me an excuse to wear my cape.
Question 5: "Why don't you ever post pictures on your blog? It would be fun to see your friends/home/school/fill-in-the-blank." Oh for Pete's sake. I'll see what I can do.
But for now, I'm going to hit the sack. It's good to be back among the cyber-living! Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Question 1: "So did you end up passing your ordination exams or what?" I dunno. We get our raw results (pass/fail data only) on October 22, then we get our papers with critiques returned about a week or two after that. But don't worry - I'll let you know. Unless, of course, I totally stunk it up, in which case I probably won't tell you that I stunk it up; you'll just have to put two-and-two together when January rolls around and I start posting grumpy messages about having to take ords again.
Question 2: (From countless readers) "When you titled one of your posts 'Engagement Announcement' we thought it was going to say that YOU were getting married again." To everyone who sent me this message...y'all are seriously smoking copious, COPIOUS amounts of crack. I mean really.
Question 3: "Were you really considering putting superglue in your nose to cure your cold?" Ummm...no.
Question 4: "Are you going to continue testing Oprah's suggestions for saving the world?" Sure, but you have to be patient. I've had the new issue of the Oprah magazine for over a week now but haven't had a chance to evaluate this month's suggestions yet (on account of Hebrew, you understand). But it keeps me amused and arms me with interesting blog fodder. Plus, it gives me an excuse to wear my cape.
Question 5: "Why don't you ever post pictures on your blog? It would be fun to see your friends/home/school/fill-in-the-blank." Oh for Pete's sake. I'll see what I can do.
But for now, I'm going to hit the sack. It's good to be back among the cyber-living! Thanks for hanging in there with me.
