For the last week, my hands have been quite painful. They continue to be that way. I am trying to use arthritis cremes to help, and they do, but the relief is limited and temporary. I am not sure when this will end, but I am sure it will, sometime.
Yesterday, I put my name at [...]
Archive for March, 2008
My Hands Still Hurt
Posted in Sleep, pain on March 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Thomas Sunday
Posted in Church on March 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
As the eighth day of Pascha, Thomas Sunday can be seen to represent the fact that Jesus leads us into the new week of creation, the everlasting eighth day. But it is also the affirmation of the human condition. Most of us, like Thomas, have heard of the resurrection without seeing it; some of us need strong evidence [...]
Bright Saturday
Posted in Sleep on March 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We are nearing the end of the “8 Days of Easter,” but that won’t mean it is the end of the Easter Season. The 8 Days of Easter look at the whole time as “Easter,” but the days which follow will still be within the Easter-spirit, a spirit of joy and celebration, as we remember [...]
Bright Friday
Posted in Uncategorized on March 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Well, at least ecclesiastically, it is bright; we will be getting rain here later in the day. It is expected to get around 70 today — which means it will be quite uncomfortable inside this afternoon, and with the rain, it won’t be nice outside to get away from it.
I was able to sleep in this morning, going [...]
Bright Thursday
Posted in pain on March 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Moving closer to the eighth day of Pascha, we must remember that our new life in Christ is itself the “eighth day” of creation, the beginning of the new, ever-lasting week.
***
Last night, I continued to have problems getting to sleep, but I felt as if it was not as difficult as the night before. I [...]
Bright Week Continues
Posted in Church, Sleep on March 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We are at the half-way mark of Bright Week. Easter and its celebrations continue. Christ’s resurrection changes everything; even the way we look at time. The day of the Lord is greater than human days, and this is exemplified by how Easter is celebrated.
**
Last night, I just couldn’t get to sleep. And I kept waking [...]
Bright Tuesday/ Annunciation
Posted in Church, Sleep on March 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It is one of those rare times when the annunciation takes place during bright week (and not lent). Because of its connection to the Feast of the Nativity, it is not forgotten but commemorated with Bright Week itself.
***
Yesterday morning, when I went out to get some coffee, there was a helicopter hovering right over my [...]
Bright Monday
Posted in Church on March 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Paschal celebrations continue all week, and end only on Thomas Sunday as the 8th day of Easter. The resurrection transforms the world and brings us joy:
Their sound is gone forth into all the earth, and their sayings to the ends of the world.
***
Yesterday, Easter service was extra long, as one could expect (it’s the major [...]
Pascha!
Posted in Church on March 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It is the day of Resurrection, all People, let us be enlightened by it. *The Passover is the Lord’s Passover, * Since Christ, our God, has brought from death to life * and from earth to heaven. * Therefore, we sing the hymn of victory:
Christ is risen from the dead!
Let us cleanse our senses * [...]
Holy Saturday
Posted in Church on March 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One of the big contradictions of talking about Holy Saturday — is that one is talking about Holy Saturday. The day is the day of silence. Jesus is dead and buried; he is in hades, with the rest of the dead. And the world hears nothing. Certainly, there is much which happens on this day. Yet how [...]
Holy Friday
Posted in Church on March 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Christ is crucified. He who is the judge is judged by men. He who is the author of life dies. He who resides eternally in heaven descends to hell.
***
I was able to make it to St Matthew’s and go to one of the longest (and best run) Western Liturgies I’ve been able to experience. Of [...]
Holy Thursday
Posted in Church, Sleep on March 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
So much happened in one day. Jesus’ institutes the eucharist. He cleanses the feet of his disciples. Judas leaves, only to come back betraying his master. Peter and the other disciples are unable to stay up with Jesus through the night as he prays. When the authorities come to take Jesus in, chaos ensues, and the disciples [...]
Holy Wednesday
Posted in Church, Sleep on March 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today we remember two major events: the love a woman showed to Jesus when she anointed his head with oil, and the betrayal of Judas, one of Jesus’ intimate disciples.
Judas is, and will always be, a figure we can never understand. What spawned his betrayal? How should we understand it? Should we see him turning [...]
Holy Tuesday: Christ the Bridegroom
Posted in Church, Sleep on March 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today, the East remembers the parable of the ten virgins, five wise, five foolish, who were called to meet with the bridegroom. Christ is the bridegroom. Many theologians suggest that we should interpret our five senses as representative of five virgins. Will they lead us to Christ or away from him?
***
Last night, my fatigue was causing [...]
Holy Monday
Posted in Church, City Life on March 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today is Holy Monday; Jesus is preaching in Jerusalem, gaining the ire of its rulers. Today the East remembers the sign of the barren fig tree. The fig tree was one of the most common symbols of Israel, and it was clear that Jesus was making a judgment on the situation of his time. We [...]
Palm Sunday
Posted in Church on March 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
O Christ our God, when You raised Lazarus from the dead, before the time of your passion, you confirmed the future resurrection of all. We too, like the children of old, carry before You the symbols of your triumph and victory and cry out to You, the Conqueror of Death: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed [...]
A Very Sad Sight
Posted in Sleep on March 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, I went to and from CUA in the morning, and on my way back, I was alone in a train car with a man with obvious problems. I assume he was homeless. He was wrapped in a towel and some light clothes, and was obviously shivering. He was holding up a sign which said [...]
Yuck
Posted in Sleep on March 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Well, this is not good. It seems I am alternating between good nights and bad nights in regards to sleep. Last night, I couldn’t get to sleep, and couldn’t stay asleep. Maybe tonight, then, I will once again sleep well. If I get a good night’s sleep every other day, it is better than not at [...]
Now That Was Better
Posted in Sleep on March 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Last night I had some slight difficulties getting to sleep but once I got to sleep, I was able to sleep in and much later than I have of late. It feels good. It was needed. Although, I am sure, it won’t replace all the lost sleep I’ve had this week, it certainly should help.
I [...]
Another Night Of Sleep Problems
Posted in Sleep on March 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
While I got to sleep fairly easily, after midnight, I just kept waking up, making sure the last half of my sleep was mixed between light sleep and no sleep. I’m not sure what this will do to my energy today: maybe nothing, maybe a lot. But, I guess, this is a time where one [...]
Still, The Best Location
Posted in Apartment on March 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Over the past few days, there have been considerable amounts of power outages in the DC area. Some people lost power due to the wind over the weekend; but last night, about 5000 people lost power because of a “manhole fire” around Adams Morgan. I am not exactly sure what that means (I assume there was [...]
I woke up late
Posted in Sleep on March 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Ok, it wasn’t late — just it looks later than what I’ve used to; but of course, if I look at the time I woke up in “real time” instead of “clock time” it was about the same as usual. But it does mean my mornings are now going faster — which probably is a [...]
St Mary of Egypt
Posted in Church on March 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today, the Byzantine Catholic Church remembers St Mary of Egypt. Her story is the story of a young sinner (a prostitute who sometimes gave her favors for free) who, on a “pilgrimage” to Jerusalem, had an awakening of consciousness at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which totally transformed her life. After repenting of her sins, [...]
Next Time: Know The Address
Posted in City Life, Sleep, cleaning on March 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I used to have a good sense of direction. If I have been to a place a couple times, I knew how to get there, even if I didn’t know the actual address. This ability seems to have vanished.
Last night, I was intending to go to movie night at St Matthew’s. I went early to make [...]
Why?
Posted in Sleep on March 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Well, I woke up a little before three this morning, and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m not sure why; it’s earlier than I’ve been getting up, although I still get up earlier than most anyone else I know. I wasn’t ready to get up, and so I decided to just watch/listen to some tv, with [...]
Even Cooler
Posted in Books, Temperature on March 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve dropped another fifteen or so degrees since this time yesterday; now that’s more like it. If only it would level off and stay like this for a few days, then everyone would be able to adjust to it, instead of having the situation where every day feels like it’s been pot-luck with the weather.
For [...]
A Heavy Rain
Posted in Rain on March 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The rain last night was heavy, and came down fast and furious. It didn’t start out that way; when I went to bed, I had my window open to help keep my room cool. But I woke up a couple hours later and I saw that rain was getting into my room (although it did so as a [...]
Warm Morning Before Evening Rain
Posted in Temperature on March 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s another warm day here, although I don’t think it is supposed to get as hot as yesterday. I hope not: because the heat, while nice outside, still is suffocating while in the inside, making my fatigue that much worse. And that doesn’t help with my mood (I know, when my energy is at is [...]
Still Irritated
Posted in Eye, Temperature on March 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
While it is better, my eye is still feeling irritation and I am using my eye drops to help give it some relief. When I wake up, though, there is no crusting over the eye, which should be a good sign it isn’t something like pink-eye. But there is still enough irritation that it is [...]
Sunday of St John Climacus
Posted in Church on March 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today is the fourth Sunday of lent, and we remember the abbot, St John Climacus, of Sinai. He wrote what an important manual of spiritual (and monastic) discipline; while much of it is written for the sake of ascetics (monks), it’s ideals can be adapted to the non-religious as well.
TROPARION OF THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF [...]
