I really like Halloween.
It’s not an Eastern Catholic celebration (All Saints for us is the Sunday after Pentecost). Nonetheless, it’s a very traditional celebration, one which goes back to pre-Christian times. Many different peoples saw this time of the year to be the end of the year itself. The annual cycle reached its end. Summer and its fruitfulness is gone. Indeed, death [...]
Archive for October, 2007
Halloween
Posted in Halloween on October 31, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Cool Air
Posted in Seasons on October 29, 2007 | 1 Comment »
It’s a nice, cool morning outside. We have had our first major fall frost for the year. The rain brought in more than an end to our drought, but it also brought an end to the above-average temperatures we have had to face throughout October.
Walking to the grocery store this morning, looking at the windows [...]
I Made a Mess
Posted in Church, coffee on October 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Marvin and his wife were not at St Gregory’s today. That left me to make the bulletins by myself, and then afterwards to try to make the coffee.
The coffee maker was not one I had used before. It is made to make a lot of coffee and a lot of coffee fast. There is no [...]
And then there was light
Posted in Rain on October 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
After a morning clothed in darkness, the rain has departed, revealing at last the glorious light of day.
Please Pray
Posted in Rain, news on October 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Sometimes one wonders why one turns on the news. Right now it just seems everything bad which can happen is happening.
Last week, Bush started talking about the possibility of World War III. Then came the wildfires of California, which are still incapable of being put out. So many people dead, so many more with their lives utterly devastated. It seems [...]
Flooding
Posted in Rain on October 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Rain continues to fall. We have not had this much rain at one time for over six months. While this is good for the region, it still seems to be too much at one time. The rivers are swelling up and beginning to flood. Luckily, it will not affect me unless we continue to have [...]
More Rain
Posted in Rain on October 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I’m hoping this will not become the norm for the next few weeks. We have had rain all night, and it has been raining again this morning. It is supposed to stop during the day, but it also looks like we will get more rain this weekend.
It’s good for the crops. It’s good for water [...]
More Rain?
Posted in Rain on October 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
After living through a drought in the summer, fall seems to be bringing in the much-needed rain. Rain is predicted for this afternoon, tonight, and even tomorrow morning.
Personally, it’s not the rain I mind. We need it, and if we don’t get it, things will quickly become very difficult.
It’s when it rains when I am [...]
It’s Monday Already?!
Posted in TV on October 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
And here it is, third day in a row, I wake up early. It seems it is becoming a habit. There has got to be a way to counter-act it. I don’t want this to become my new normal time for waking up. It is not doing by any good. I will certainly need a [...]
Two Days
Posted in Sleep on October 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Now it is two days in a row where I woke up early. Though today I woke up a bit later, I am feeling as if I got less sleep than I did when I woke up yesterday. I think it is because of the impact of two days in a row waking up early. I [...]
Early
Posted in Uncategorized on October 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I woke up early this morning (3 am). Sometimes I do this. When I wake up around this time, I just can’t get back to sleep. So I decided to get up and begin my normal morning rounds on the internet as I slowly adjust to being awake.
I expect, however, I will not feel fully awake at [...]
It’s Rain!
Posted in Rain on October 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Well, that’s what the forecasters say we will be getting today. A day full of rain.
The DC area has had very little rain; many of the outlying areas have started to put into place water restrictions (like no watering of grass) to deal with it.
I have not looked outside yet, but the news has said we [...]
Wandering Geese
Posted in CUA on October 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I saw a flock of 30 or more geese walking around the CUA campus today, digging their beaks into the ground, trying to find food.
They were congregated at the grass field which separates the library from the parking lot for the shrine. Due to the drought, the land is dry and crumbly. Maybe it makes it easier to eat. Maybe [...]
Medieval Scholasticsism has nothing on Abhidharma
Posted in Asanga, Research on October 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Abhidharma teachings, the higher, systematic, and highly philosophical presentation of the dharma within Buddhism, developed, like Medieval Scholasticism, into a highly complex system of thought detailing all kinds of distinctions, leading to list upon list, definition upon definition, of those elements which constitute reality and how they relate to one another. It is understandable why Mahayana [...]
Morning Lows and Afternoon Highs
Posted in Seasons on October 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Listening to the news this morning, I heard that right now the temperature is in the 40s and this afternoon the high will be in the 70s. This is very common at this time of year. While I love the fall, this diversity in temperature is one of the few things which I find it difficult to deal with and rather dislike. Morning [...]
More Chills
Posted in Seasons on October 15, 2007 | 1 Comment »
If faced with weather being too cold or being too hot, I will always choose the cold. I can always add more clothing and warmth to stabilize my body temperature. Heat, on the other hand, is very difficult to remove, and the stress it puts on my body seems to be much more than any [...]
Back to Normal
Posted in Church, Liturgy on October 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Divine Liturgy was back to normal this week. We had our usual mix of Slavonic and English (the majority of it being in English). There was no choir to help lead with the melodies, so the chant was also back to normal. Finally, it also meant that Matins was in session before Divine Liturgy, and with [...]
End of Week Clean Up
Posted in Uncategorized on October 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Saturday, my day for cleaning. I’ve already got some of it done. I have much more to do. But I had to open my newest Doctor Who figurine: Doctor Constantine from the 2005 story, The Empty Child. Constantine came with two heads: one which was supposed to be his normal head, and one which was [...]
Another Fall Day
Posted in CUA, Seasons on October 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
We have had great weather two days in a row. Arriving at CUA later than normal, I did not have to sit outside and wait for the library to open. However, I also didn’t have a cup of coffee in hand to relax and wake up with. Still, I was able to experience the coolness [...]
A Cool, Fall Day
Posted in Seasons on October 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
It finally feels like fall today! The high temperature will be less than 70. It’s cool, but breezy. I am sure I will finally begin to see leaves changing colors soon, and from then, to appreciate the full glory of fall’s beauty.
There must be something killiing birds at the CUA campus. When I walked to [...]
Did We Get Rain?
Posted in Rain on October 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I heard on the news that it rained overnight. I didn’t hear any rain pouring down overnight. Nor do I see any remnants of it outside. If we did get rain, it had to have been an insignificant amount (at least where I live). However, it does feel slightly different outside today; it is warm, but not as humid [...]
Rose to Return
Posted in Doctor Who on October 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Reading the Doctor Who news the last couple days, I am not very surprised to hear that Rose should be returning at the end of the 2008 season. It was clear to me that her story was not yet over. What is interesting is that the final story in which she is to be in (if the [...]
Humidity Seeping Into My Apartment
Posted in Apartment on October 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
It’s a humid morning. For the third day in a row, the sky is full of fog. Today, however, it is holding on much longer than the previous two days. I would not be surprised if it holds out and is still with us at noon!
Moreover, it feels as if this humidity is getting into [...]
Slavonic Liturgy
Posted in Church, Liturgy on October 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Liturgy was done 99% in Slavonic today. It’s been years since I’ve been to a liturgy which was (more or less) completely sung in Slavonic. Most of the time at St Gregory’s we sing about 1/4 of the liturgy in Slavonic and the rest in English. However, today was different: we had a guest choir group (Lyra) from St [...]
Balthasarian Break
Posted in Balthasar, Research on October 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been reading Balthasar for several weeks now. Of course, not all I read has been from him (I do read different books at night to relax and get my mind off of my studies). But I’ve decided this weekend I am having a Balthasar overload. Thus, I decided I need a short break and so I am now reading Frederick’s [...]
Coughing Away For Another Day
Posted in CUA, Sick on October 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
My cough was getting better. It really was. But last night, when I went to bed, I couldn’t stop coughing for hours. I was finally able to get to sleep (I don’t know when); when I woke up, the routine started again. I coughed hard for hours.
Right now I am drinking some coffee, and it [...]
Oh, I Have To Get Up Now?
Posted in Apartment on October 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Last night, in the middle of my sleep, we had a fire alarm at my apartment complex. I do not think there was actually a fire. One could tell that there seemed to be no major problem as people were slowly leaving the building, not sure if they have to or not. There was general confusion from the [...]
Day Three: Better
Posted in Balthasar, Dissertation, Research, Sick on October 3, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
This morning, the headache did not appear immediately after I woke up, but slowly I felt its insistence to be noticed. I finally decided to take two advil, and it started to help. Having had some coffee, it is even better. I think today the headache will be defeated.
I can only hope.
I was able to [...]
Will Someone Take Out the Hammer Pounding My Head?
Posted in Sick on October 2, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, I started developing a slight headache. It wasn’t really a headache, but my head didn’t feel well. Overnight it developed into a full-fledged headache. I’ve taken advil, which normally works, and have found it to have done little help this time. I think it has made it slightly milder, and I expect if I [...]
Early Morning Shopping
Posted in Shopping on October 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I walked to the Giant this morning to get the majority of my groceries for the week. Because sunrise is later and later in the morning, birds are now beginning their day as I head off to the store.
It’s always amazing to hear the sounds of so many young birds waking up and chirping to [...]
