Letters

Dear Couple sitting two rows in front of me,

I'm glad that you love each other. But please refrain from kissing in the middle of class. And snuggling during lectures.

It's annoying.

Sincerely,
Jana

Charlie vs. The Office Chair

Charlie's foes may have gotten bigger since the doorstop, but his reaction remains the same.

California Summer

Summer is most definitely here. It got up to 97 today; Jeremy and I finally broke down and put on the air conditioning. Summer also means...well...summer classes. Jeremy's taking a Greek intensive this summer - or, 10 weeks of 12 credits worth of Greek, meeting 3 times a week for 4 hours per meeting. He's doing well, since he took it at Calvin, but he's grateful for the refresher before he takes classes that utilize Greek. I'm taking three classes this summer (also 12 credits) - a one-week intensive and two two-week intensives. I just finished my one-week intensive, Biblical Foundations of Mission, which met from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. - long days, but it was a good class. Then I'll start my other two classes soon. So...summer will be busy! Good thing we like what we're doing.

Jeremy and I also begin our jobs this week. (Finally!) We're working in a church, leading a worship service for the youth. I think I mentioned it in my last post...so you can look at it there, because I don't want to type it all now. But, we start this week...and we're excited.

Not too long ago, we went to a place called Venice Beach, which is basically the hippie haven of the LA beach scene. Here, we learned why pot should not be legalized. The area started off as one of my favorites in LA so far; there were vendors lining the beach, selling their art glass and jewelry and cool clothes. The further we walked, however, the more bong-sellers we passed and the more really bad indie music street musicians we passed, which soon turned into people on bikes yelling "Hey, man, you want a bong?" and a not-so-authentic looking medicinal marijuana clinic. And, it culminated with a guy, who rode his bike in a sort of zig-zag pattern, running over an unsupervised small child. But, hey, the beginning of the street was pretty cool.

Also, I think every Christian should watch the movie Saved. And that's all I have to say about that.

Jeremy would like you to know that Charlie has developed the ability to be even lazier than he was before, which is no small feat.

As you can tell, I'm running out of things to update you on. We're still doing well and we still like California a lot. And we're keeping busy. At this very moment, we're all piled on the couch, Jeremy and I on one cushion, and charlie on the other...with his butt trying to push me further onto my own side. This is in fact an improvement, as usually Jeremy and I are laying on the floor, while Charlie stretches out across the whole couch. Oops.

And, as always, I leave you with a picture. Let's make it a Charlie one:

What's happening lately, in bullet points.

• We're heading towards finals, which means Jeremy and I both are spending our entire lives on our computers, in the library, or with our head in a book somewhere doing research and study. Hooray!
• I've developed an addiction to gummy bears and decided that I prefer white wine over red, but I'd drink either one.
• It turns out I don't think I hate Adam Lambert as much as I thought I did. Now that American Idol is over, I can appreciate his talent, and I think I was more reacting to the way the judges were clearly defining him as the winner, and simply thanking everyone else for showing up to the Adam concert. So, please accept my apology, Adam, although I must say you're still not my favorite. Judges...boo to you.
  
• I recently lost my babysitting job when the father of the 2 kids got laid off. So, we're back to square one. Jeremy has a job doing telerelations for Fuller - a fancy way of saying he's calling alumni to ask for money. Not his favorite, but it's something. Meanwhile...
• ...we do have some exciting job opportunities! We're currently in conversations with two different churches in the area regarding some open positions. One church had just opened up a search committee to find an on-staff, part-time worship leader, when they were given Jeremy and my resumes by a connection of ours. So, we officially have an interview with them, first informally on June 21st, then more formally to follow, along with a "trial run" of leading a service for them and some observations, etc. etc. etc...
• ...The other church is looking for some help developing their youth program. Part of this will be an entire youth-centered worship service, which Jeremy and I would lead, among some other things. It would be with mostly high school students - maybe some junior high - but what we like about this position is that it's very multi-cultural. The church has 5 different congregations that meet for worship seperately (except for a once-a-month combined service) because they're primarily made up of first-generation immigrant families. However, most of the high school/junior high students were born in the US and primarily speak English - plus, their friends are English-speakers who aren't necessarily of the same ethnicity - so they're really craving a time when they can worship with the people they feel more of a community with. So, the church's big vision is to create a youth-centered, multi-ethnic worship service that would meet seperately from the other 5 services held at the church, in hopes of creating a sense of reconciliation and grooming the next generation to worship together as one body of Christ. That's pretty cool. :) Also, another issue a lot of the youth are facing is the tension of essentially having two cultures, since their parents are relatively new to the US, but the youth have spent their whole lives here. That tension is something that Jeremy faces, as well - and, together, Jeremy and I often face issues of multi-ethnic relationships, etc. So, it's pretty exciting to think of having the opportunity not only to minister and develop young leaders in worship and faith, but also to use some of the unique aspects of our relationships to minister to others, as well.
• Basically, though...we need money. So, we're praying that something comes through and quickly. While the second option would be more of a challenge, we think we're decently equipped to do either one (maybe the first one more so, but the second one, too). The tricky thing is thinking of our financial needs in tension with the needs of the individual churches...and, ultimately, the kingdom of God, really...so...we're praying.
• Charlie is always discovering more and more ways to be weird. These ways include drinking from the toilet, "boinging" the door stops, climbing to the top of Mt. Puppy Pooper (otherwise known as the top/back of our couch), opening and closing doors with his nose, undoing zippers, and pushing library books across the floor.
• He's also developed a crippling fear of garbage trucks and dumpsters.

Those ended up being longer bullet points than I anticipated. Oh well. Here's a picture to make you feel better.

Spring in Pasadena: A Photo Update

I present to you...

an update in pictures.

I am fascinated by lemons on trees.

Some people live in houses bigger than our entire apartment complex. Who lives in these places??

LA traffic at its finest.

Best sculpture ever.

(On our first anniversary date!)

A Rant on Adam Lambert

Okay. I admit it. Adam Lambert, from American Idol, is good. He's got and incredible talent for connecting to the emotion of the song he's singing, and, lets face it, he can hit some notes. There. I said it. He's got talent.

But, really? Does no one else see the intense musical theater-ness of his style? Is there no one else in the world who thinks he has HUGE potential as a Broadway star, but not so much on the radio? Or, even better - does anyone else see the potential he has to be the world's next Meatloaf? How's that for filling a gaping cultural hole?

And, really? Does he always have to get the best performance spot on the show? Is it really necessary that he end (or almost end) nearly every show of this season, leaving us with a huge Adam-imprint to carry us into voting?

And does he really need to get all the fancy lights and stage set-ups, when everyone else gets a mic in the center of the stage...or maybe, just maybe, in the middle of the "mosh pit" of teenage girls in the front?

And One?? Really?? One??? Sure, it was a decent performance, but I'm sorry, no one - not even the Lord of the Universe Adam Lambert - can touch that song. Except Bono.

Am I the only one who notices the incredible bias that American Idol presents with every Adam Lambert performance?

And please, Mr. Lambert. Put away your tongue. I gag a little whenever I see it.

Charlie vs. The Doorstop

Charlie has recently discovered the door stop.
Enough said.