Slow Metro Service

Metro is slow this morning; the trains are being told to go about 1/2 the speed of normal because the tracks are filled up with wet leaves, causing problems to the service.

That is understandable (although one wonders why metro does not hire people to remove the leaves at night); what is perplexing is how it was managed aboard the train I was on. Silver Spring was fine; I got on and the train moved on; Takoma was fine: train stopped, let people on, and then moved on. But when we got to Fort Totten, everything seemed to break down. The train stopped; the doors remained closed; a few minutes later, the trained edged forward, stopped, and the doors remained closed. People outside got restless: one guy pounded on the doors. Finally, after maybe five minutes (or more, I did not time it), they opened and let the people in.

I have no idea why it was done like this, but I found it more than a little irritating. Luckily I was inside with all the heat, but I would have been more than a little angry if I were one of the people outside waiting to get in, not knowing if the train will even open up.

At the library, I was able to talk to Jonathan this morning and ask him about his wedding; he said it went well, but there was a lot of stress involved with it: three days before, he had to turn in sixty pages of his dissertation, then afterwards, they had their honeymoon, but at the end, they had to go separate ways since he had to go to a conference for several days before returning to DC. He said he felt bad having to do it, but when he was at the conference, he heard all kinds of people from Oxford, whom he studied with, complaining about the job market in Early Christian Studies: too many people, too few positions.

Thankfully my specialization is in more than one field, and that will help me when the time comes for job hunting (all so soon).

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Research Work at CUA

It’s been two weeks since I have been on campus because it was closed down for Thanksgiving. I am amazed at how many of the trees are still showing their blight plumage despite it being nearly December. The leaves are starting to turn brown and droop on many of the trees, so it is clear that they are about to fall off.

Coffee this morning was a disappointment; I always need to put some cream in it, and if I don’t tell them that, it seems the cup becomes overflowing and the hot coffee jumps out at me when I walk from the student center to the library. So when I told them I needed some room for cream, today, instead of just a little less coffee, it seemed like 1/3 of the coffee was left out. 

Maybe I am supposed to cut back — at least just for today? 

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A Strong, Cold Wind

We continue to have winter- like chills today, but its effects are felt far greater by the strong gusts of air blowing past one’s skin. It would be nice to walk around if it were not for the wind; the sky is beautiful, and the moon continues to shine despite it being long past dawn.

Caribou was playing Christmas music today, and it somewhat annoyed me, because it was, of course, the commercialized music and not true classics which one could hear (fewer people, I am sure, take offense to it than music about the nativity). I couldn’t concentrate much in my reading because of it, and so I returned him rather quickly today, with half of my late with me to drink at home.

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Coffee and Laundry in the Morning

Fall is almost over, and winter is trying to come in. To be sure, we have been rather lucky in the DC area: even now, at this late date, many trees are holding on to their bright, beautiful leaves; but it is very clear that as time progresses, more and more trees are giving way to the times and letting the wind take their treasure away from them.

Yesterday, I started reading through Langland’s Piers the Ploughman and I took it with me to read at Caribou. I have been waking up early the last couple days, giving me headaches which has made it difficult to concentrate on my studies. So I have taken it easy in my morning readings, although I will get back to my studies soon.

Upon getting back from the coffee shop, I decided to do my laundry. The laundry room felt hot today, as if the heating inside was set a bit too high to my liking, so when I was putting my clothes into the washing machines, I felt sweat rolling down my brow. I never like the way that feels.

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Scattered Showers

It’s been a dark, grey morning, and we have had scattered rain in the forecast. We were told they would not arrive until late this morning or early afternoon: of course, that is not what happened.

I went to Caribou for coffee, and finished reading through The History of the Hobbit while I was there. On my way back home, it started to rain; it was light, to be sure, but enough to cover the ground. I was prepared for it this time — I had my book-bag with me, wherein I had placed an umbrella. Still the sudden rain hit me for about half a minute before I was able to get the umbrella open; and it stopped as soon as I got to the door of my apartment building!

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Bad Drinks

As we were folding bulletins today, Marvin asked me if I had ever had rye whiskey and what I thought of it. I told him I had it once and did not like it at all: it was way too raw for it to be any good. He then said he used to drink it when he was younger but he didn’t remember why. I suggested that it was cheap, and probably easier to get, when he was younger, and especially when he was in the military during World War II. He agreed that was probably it.

Then I mentioned how years ago I had seen a large, plastic bottle of “Osco Brand” Scotch at a drug store; it was cheap (less than $10), and so I knew it had to be bad — very, very bad. But I had always wondered how bad.

This got Marvin thinking about bad alcohol in general. Then he mentioned his time in the army and how he once tried to get some aftershave. He was told it was sold out, and that it was always sold out. Perplexed, he asked why and he was told that some soldiers would take it and drink it as soon as it came in. He had never done it nor ever thought of doing so; however, he decided to ask George when he came in if he ever had. George said no, never, but he had once seen some people who had, and they died from it — the mix of chemicals (and probably the kind of alcohol in it) just did not mix well with the human body. 

Coming back from church today, I was almost hit twice by people coming into my lane right in front of me. Once it was at a double turning lane, and the car to my left did not stay in his lane (the reason was, he didn’t mean to get off the beltway, and so he had to go through several lanes to get back on); then a few blocks later, a van on my right saw his lane was going to have to turn right and so just ran right in front of me. Both times I was saved from an accident by fast maneuvering on my part.

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Saturday Morning Rest

Another Saturday morning, another cold morning. Two days of chills allows one to at least adjust to them. While I prefer a slightly warmer temperature, one where I do not need to wear a coat when I am outside, but cool enough so I do not need to run air conditioning in my apartment, I also prefer a constant temperature like this than the rapid flux we had earlier this week.

I did not have as much to clean up today as I do some Saturdays, so I have been able to relax and read more from my copy of The History of the Hobbit. While the book is interesting, and I am fascinated at some of the changes which exist in the text from the original hand-written copy and the final, published version, I am also finding the essays and notes at the end of each chapter to be quite good (better than I expected)  and I believe they will be useful in some of my own writings and research on Tolkien.

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It’s Christmas Time…

Thanksgiving has come and gone, providing for us “Christmas time in the city.” Stores are now open, trying to make people want all they have to sell, so that shopowners can have a big profit this “holiday season.” But no one is fooled: it is not about Christ, it is all about the love for money, and anything which can be done to make even a little more profit will be done.

Indeed, walking to Caribou for coffee this morning, I heard Christmas music being played outside the Blair shops. It’s now open season upon the shoppers; I expect to see all kinds of tough marketing this year, more than usual, because of the weakening value of the not-so-mighty dollar. I just hope I don’t get disgusted by the time it is all over.

Perhaps that’s why today we have now seen the great change in weather: cold temperatures are a welcome friend for cold hearts.

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Thanksgiving Day

I know I am going to get some heat for this, but Thanksgiving Day is a day which means little to nothing for me. I don’t know fully when I developed an aversion to it, but I have. People tell me I should take the day to contemplate myself and explain what it is that I am thankful for — but why today of all days? Why not everyday? To me, there is something so artificial to it all. Indeed, it feels as if secular society, noticing it lost something by its rejection of the traditional Catholic calendar of feasts, tried to make one day to make up for it.  Yet, it doesn’t get anywhere close to what we have lost. 

Perhaps one of the reasons I find myself having a dislike for the day is that I find Thanksgiving has taken on more importance and prominence in society than Christmas or Easter. How is that possible? Why have we made the day far more important to us as a society than the birth, death and resurrection of Christ? What does it tell us about ourselves? While Christmas continues to have a prominent role in our society, it is because it has become the grand celebration of consumerism, not because we care for Christ: and it is its consumerist side that alone will make its celebration mandatory until the end of the age, otherwise, I suspect, Christmas would be a thing of the past and forgotten save for a few of the faithful.

So I went out this morning to get my normal cup of coffee, and read a little from “The History of the Hobbit.” Caribou Coffee was quite calm; it was quite peaceful and restful there this morning, without all the normal business rush I see when I normally go there. Then I went to the grocery store, where business was a bit more than usual, because of all the people there rushing to get last minute items for Thanksgiving. I just wanted to get some groceries, since I was running low on what I had.

Walking to and from the stores, I enjoyed the beautiful, warm weather; we are told it will not last, and soon storms should be coming in with another cold front, bringing with them a drastic change of temperature, going from around 70 to 40 within a few hours. I just hope my arthritis doesn’t act up when this happens.

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A Beautiful Morning

What a difference a day can make: today the sun is out, shining, and warming the land. While the clouds in the sky clearly are making their presence known, the sun is winning out in the fight between the two, providing for this reprieve from the grey skies we have had the last few days. 

It makes me want to be outside and take in the beauty while I still can. 

When winter hits, this will be all gone. 

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More Grey Skies

Another morning with grey skies. It is becoming a habit. It’s the kind of sky one associates with a mid-winter morning, and not the fall. It seems that there was a little rain earlier, for I saw the ground and cars were wet, but it must not have been a heavy rain, since I did not notice it earlier.

I decided to wear an old Tolkien sweatshirt today; it’s one I’ve had for over a decade. It is a little old and thinned out in the inside from all the washes it has been through, but otherwise it still is fine and something I wear from time to time, especially when I don’t feel like dressing up and it is cool outside. I have a coffee mug with the same image as the sweatshirt, and I tend to drink from it when I am trying to write fiction. I always like feeling connected to some of my favorite authors.

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Grey Day

Today is a grey, dreary day. The sky is overcast, the sun is blocked, making for a very cool morning. 

When I walked to Caribou to get my coffee for the day I noticed some of the birds were active as normal, but it seemed as if there was half as much as is normal. Have many of them already left the area? I don’t think so. Are they resting? Possibly. I just don’t know. Maybe they have been so active gathering up food for the winter, that today they are taking a day off. Do birds have their own sabbath?

 

I had lunch with Fr. Frank today to celebrate his new job in Arkansas. He told me he will be moving there sometime in January (probably around the 12th or 13th). He is excited about the position. It turns out that our friend Tommy (who is from Arkansas, and has done catechetical work there) has been helping him get it with the contacts he knows and the reputation he has in the area. Frank told me that he is also concerned about what is going on in South Africa and so if all goes well, he hopes to become a U.S. citizen and retire here.

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Sunday Morning Chat

Talking to people before liturgy at St Gregory’s, I learned 1) George was gone last week because he was giving a speech for Veteran’s Day (as one of the veterans of the Battle of the Bulge), and 2) Marvin is now sick, making him sleep in longer than normal in the mornings. He told me this means he sleep in to 6:20 or so; while that is probably early for most, I told him that it would be extremely late for me, seeing today I woke up at 3:20.

Marvin and I also discussed how unusual the weather has been: today it looks like what one expects it to be like late in October. The really colors coming from the trees are great and still capable of being seen. Earlier this fall I was getting worried that we would not see such grandeur around here: because at such a late time we had yet to see many leaves change color, I thought a big frost and a strong storm would make them drop quickly off their trees and not allow us to see their beauty except decaying on the ground. 

I am thankful that this time I was wrong.

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Saturday Morning Cleanup

Another week has come and gone, and I have had another morning  cleaning up my apartment so as to make sure no bugs take notice of it and find a new home within.

This week, I had less trash to take out than normal: there was a grand total of one and a half bags of trash, instead of the normal two over-stuffed bags I usually take out. I am not sure why there was such a difference. Did I get far less junk mail this week? 

To make up for the trash, there seems to be a thicker layer of dust than normal over much of mu furniture: I think last week I forgot some of the places which were the worst offender in this regard.

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A Mighty Wind

The rain is gone (although I saw several places where the ground is still wet), but the wind clearly remains. It’s a powerful wind, one which feels like it can lift you up in the air. Since it is now also cold outside, the wind is quick to chill, and one is required to wear all kinds of protection (a winter coat, gloves, hat, et. al.) in order to escape its wrath.

Yet we can learn something from the trees! Despite the constant temptature flux we have had this week, despite the mighty rain and even mightier wind, the trees are holding on to their leaves very well– one would expect the leaves to be gone from the trees by mid-November, but yet, for the most part, they remain. The colors are extraordinary, the vitality great: what is it that the trees have which allows them to continue to thrive in this messed up weather?! I wish I knew.

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Weather Guy Was Right

Weather prediction can be difficult at best; because of this, forecasts are often wrong. Hence weathermen are woefully mistreated, with the public reacting to them as if they were astrologers predicting the future (even though either one of them could in theory claim superiority: a weather forecast is usually quite specific and with these specifics, the weatherman tends to be accurate; the astrologer tends to be vague, allowing one to interpret their predictions to match actual events).

The forecast called for a strong cold front to come in during the morning and bring in a heavy rain. We are getting that rain right now. There is no thunder or lightning, but the rain is coming down fast and furious, and the storm has brought a heavy wind with it. I’ve decided to stay inside (at least as long as the storm continues) and study at home today. If it clears up this afternoon, I might go out for a bit to get some coffee at that time.

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Fog

A cloud of fog covers the ground. It’s warm outside, but a cold front is coming and will be here by tomorrow. With it comes predictions for powerful thunderstorms to be causing havoc in the area Thursday morning. The wildlife seems to know it: birds are out in a frenzy; they are flying around fast, gathering food as it is available, calling to one another whenever it is found.

The interfaith dinner I went to on Tuesday was quite good. There was a small group of us (only ten were able to make it). After being presented with slides from Patrick Birge   we had a nice dialogue on the arts, raising questions of how the arts can be used for interfaith dialogue, but also what one is to do when religions encounter each other and how are they to dialogue if they do not share all the same arts in common. What does it tell us about a specific religion if some forms of artistic expression are either unknown to it or, in more drastic situations, forbidden?

I also met Fr. Francis Tiso, the Associate Director for the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the USCCB. He shares with me interest in Buddhism and has done considerable research in the field — such that I expect we will have several great chats in the near future (he told me to keep in touch).

Overall, it was a great evening — despite having little sleep before going to the dinner.

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More Rain, More Heat

This morning it is raining again. It had stopped overnight, but by the time I had to go out and make my way to CUA it started to rain again. I am at CUA all day – and I know the rain is supposed to come and go throughout the day with me. It would have been easier for me if it had stopped (since I have to carry enough to school as it is), but at least the rain so far seems light and when it is not raining, it is warm and in the 60s again.

 It does mean the great fall colors I have been hoping to see have to wait for another day when the rain has ended and the sun is out.

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An End to the Chill

Rain has come again, and this time, it has brought warmth with it, instead of the chill which came with the last storm we had. It’s not summer weather, but it is at least fall-like and mild. If it were not for the rain, one could probably go out without a coat, or, if one were necessary, it would only be a light jacket instead of the winter coat that had to be worn over the weekend.

Yet, while time keeps passing by, and the foreshadowing of winter has come and gone, I still face the fury of time: I still can’t sleep in. This means I wake up in the morning with enough energy that it makes it impossible to get back to sleep, but as the day goes on, all my energy is sapped from me. For now I have to continue with the struggle between the moments of fatigue where I feel the need for rest and moments of energy where I read and study.

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Wintery Sunday

While we do not have snow, it is clear that the colder weather we have been having has been making the animal life uncomfortable and forcing them to take desperate measures to prepare for the winter ahead. This morning, as I was driving into the Target parking lot at Wheaton Mall, I suddenly saw in front of me a group of at least six birds trying to pick up (together?) a fairly substantial piece of bread. They saw my car coming and yet did not want to get out of the way. I drove slowly forward, thinking they would not stay put: they moved only when my car was within inches of where they were.

After going to Target, I made my way to church. Driving down Old Gunpowder Road to St Gregory’s, people in a large van behind me were upset at me for driving within the speed limit. In fact, I was probably a couple miles over limit– and yet the van tried to push me forward by tailgating. I slowed down — but they only continued to drive close to the rear of my car, not backing down. I can’t figure out where the people in the van were going, but it’s the first time in a long time where I’ve had the person behind me not back off once I started slowing down.

At St Gregory’s, Ellie, Marvin’s wife, had a black eye — it had developed overnight, and neither she nor Marvin knew what caused it. Of course the joke was he hit her while they were asleep.  Neither really thought that happened.

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The Shadow of Death Looms Over the Earth

Walking to the library this morning, past the metro, I saw a dead, smashed squirrel lying on the road. It seemed to be a fresh kill, and I could only hope its death was quick and painless (although that is not too likely). Yet, it served as a good reminder of the way death is all around us and something we must experience and in some ways embrace: for it is only through death that new life emerges, both in history, and in the eschaton.

Then this morning I read an e-mail from my dissertation adviser inviting me to an inter-faith dialogue event at CUA on Tuesday afternoon. The event is by invitation only, and includes a free meal. Since he sent it on Thursday morning and I only saw it today, I hope I did not respond too late to go.

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Cold Wave

It’s time for a real cold wave in the DC area; by the end of the week, the temperature will be in the 20s. It’s what one expects at the beginning of winter. Yet, when I look around, many of the trees still have their leaves on, many still are perfectly green and healthy looking. Surely this is not going to last.

Walking to the library today, it was clear that the animal population was feeling the full effect of this cold wave. The squirrels seemed to be moving about as if they were caught by the cold before they were ready. They were more frantic than normal, but they still showed their characteristic fear of humanity: when I walked past them, they ran quickly away, only to return to where they were when I was far enough distant that they no longer felt threatened by my presence.

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Early Start of Day

I got to an early start with my work this morning. I went to get some coffee at 6:30 (because it feels more like 7:30 for me), started my Balthasar reading for the day, and when the cup of coffee was finished, came back home and started my laundry.

I always hate doing laundry. Folding it always seems to cause pain to my shoulder and my hands. But it is something I have to do. I can’t live in the world a dirty mess, now can I?

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More Of the Same

I had to go to bed early last night; I was too tired to do much. That meant I was not able to sleep in today; I will have to try better for tomorrow to get my internal clock reset to fit the hour shift we went through.

Today must be Doctor Who Tuesday: the complete Series Three of the new series is being released on DVD alongside two classical Doctor Who stories. Since I decided not to buy the third season until it was released as a boxset, I will have to get it now that it is out.

My Balthasar reading continues to move slowly forward; I am right now at a stage where I need a break from it, but I know I cannot take that time. I guess that truly turns my reading from pleasure to work. It’s not that it is not good, it is just there is so much that one gets bogged down with the particulars when one does a massive study like this. 

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Ouch!

I didn’t sleep well last night. I tried to stay up later than normal to force myself to sleep in this morning. While I was able to push myself a bit last night, I awoke at my normal time this morning. I will have to try again tonight and into tomorow.

Not only does lack of sleep tend to make me cranky, it makes me clumsy as well. I have some mechanical pencils in the case I use to carry my laptop in. It has slots for them, and so to make sure I have at least one with me when I have my laptop with me. However, I sometimes forget to retract the lead and the pencil ends up having a sharp point sticking out and ready to attack my unsuspecting hands. It did so today, and struck with a deadly pin-point accuracy on my right middle finger. I now have a nice circle of dried blood at the base of that finger.

The temperature outside is still has a nice coolness to it; the high today will be in the lower 60s. But the prediction is that this might be the warmest day of the week. There is even talk about some snow light making its way into the area by the end of the week! 

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Time Changes And Other Odd Things

Clocks have been set back one hour. Everyone seems to be in a zombie-like state because of it. One might think with an extra hour of rest we would feel better than normal, but instead, too much rest makes one sluggish, making it that much more difficult to wake up properly. I wonder why we still put ourselves through such physical punishment two times a year. Does it really do any good?

On the road to church today, some woman in an older looking car got behind me and was upset I was not speeding. She started tailgating me, and so I slowed down. Upset at me, she changed lanes. Then I believe she tried to sideswipe me. She got back in my lane in front of me, but the way she did so forced me to move to the side as she did so: if I did not, she would have hit my car.

At church, Michael, one of the cantors and a law professor at CUA, said he is about to go through his review with the school and that he was told he needs to get something published. He asked me to look over a hundred page article he has written (as a layman, not as a legal scholar) to see what comments I could offer since I would come from it from a different perspective than a legal one. He is concerned that the issue is sensitive, and his perspective might not be a popular one, so he wants to make sure he gets enough input from others so not to publish something which could jeopardize his reputation and career.

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Goethe

I tried to find some of Goethe’s scientific and artistic writings today. Reading Balthasar, who is heavily influenced by Goethe, I thought it would be right to do a bit of reading on Goethe myself. I always like to research influences on people I research and write about.

However, I found it difficult to find the books I wanted locally. I can get Faust without problem. I can get some of his novels without problem. But his other works, all I could find was from his travels in Italy. It wasn’t what I was after, and after almost buying it, I decided to return from the bookstore empty-handed.

Since I drove to and from the bookstore, I decided not to wear any jackets. I would be inside either my car or the bookstore for most of my journey. But when I was outside, I did notice the dip in temperature continues. One older woman in the elevator noticed I did not go with a coat, but when I told her I wasn’t really outside for any length of time, she agreed it probably is not necessary. But she said it’s clear winter is coming.

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It’s Cold Outside

Today we probably won’t reach 60 degrees.  A cold front moved in over night, causing the temperature to fall. But it’s not too bad, really. Nothing a coat can’t fix. 

The Washington DC metro once again had single lined their red line track, causing a very slow ride back home. Metro has had more and more problems with their tracks the longer I’ve been in the DC area. I assume they only do minor repairs — quick fixes — and major repairs have yet to be done. One wishes with all the price increases they have had of late, one would get better service. Alas, that never seems to be the case. 

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And then the aftermath….

Walking on the CUA campus this morning, I quickly saw little pieces of pumpkin shell on the ground. At first, it was only one pumpkin; but the closer I got to the student center to get my morning coffee, the more smashed pumpkins I saw laying all over the ground.

 I’ve never been able to understand the appeal of such destructive behavior. I cannot see any fun in making an act of aggression.

Yet, nature has a way of reminding me of its simple ways of countering aggression. Birds are all around the campus, flying through the sky, finding the pumpkin remnants of Halloween night as a great and bountiful feast.

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