Measure of a Day February 27, 2007

Some days can be measured in smiles and laughs. Other days can be measured in hugs and kisses.

Then there are those days that are measured by how far you’re willing to scrounge to find enough change to get chocolate from the vending machine in the lunch room.

Today I emptied out my purse. I got on my hands and knees to check underneath and behind my desk. I systematically searched through all of my drawers and it was beneath the box of CD sleeves that I found the last 15 cents I needed to get a Twix. YES!!!

At least now my day has been productive and successful.

Because I Said So [2007] February 25, 2007

On a girls nite out we all went to the Irvine Spectrum for dinner and a movie.

Now I’d heard bad reviews about this movie but there wasn’t any else out that we could agree on so we went to see it anyway. It wasn’t hair-pulling awful, but it is a movie best left for a rental or even its tv debut.

Daphne Wilder, a single mother who raised three daughters, is worried that her youngest Millie, whom she describes as psychotic flypaper for men, will follow in her footsteps and end up alone. So as all overbearing, smothering mothers must do she intervenes and decides to find her a stable, successful mate. Of course she uses the internet to do it and must endure a freak parade before she finds "the one."

It’s just overkill and overplayed. Any mother that intrusive would drive you to therapy, which I think they all need. It was all just too much. Too many predictable moments. Too many cutsey moments.

Although I have to give Keaton props for building in her own romantic moments into this movie. She gets her man too.

Unpacking Part 2 February 25, 2007

I promised myself that I would unpack every single box and tote this time. Normally I just live with boxes.

Erika came over to check out the new place and help me settle in.

I did a farely decent job of putting away 80% of my belongings but it’s the last 20% that kills you. That and the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to organize my room. For the past month I’d look at the mounds of stuff, get overwhelmed and avoid my room.

Enter Erika, queen organizer. She is the perfect one for this job. Seriously.

She asked me the tough questions. Do I really need to have three alarm clocks? How many chenille blankets does one person need? She made me sort through eighteen mismatched sheet sets. She forced me wittle down my collection of purses to a manageable number. She made me find a home for everything and if I couldn’t it went into the Salvation Army pile.

Erika is a gift. Not only do my belongings have a home, my room is organized and the furniture has good feng shui. And I must say she is freakishly strong.

I felt like I let her into the inner workings of my mind today. She has officially seen the wizard, so to speak. It was hard but fun because it was someone I trusted loving helping me to do it. 

My life actually feels better now that this task is nearly accomplished. Now I just have to get the pictures hung.

Being Meredith Grey February 23, 2007

I’m begining to think that Grey’s Anatomy is like the movie, Being John Malkovich. We are seeing the world through Meredith’s eyes, experiencing her pain, neurosis and how she affects her world.

Tonight was about her deciding to live, deciding not to give up, deciding not to let go. Meredith is a dark and twisty girl. Derek had to confront this in his greatest fear, that he would lose her. Shonda said, on the podcast, that this was the beginning of an interesting journey for them as he lives out that reality.

We all have dark and twisty parts to us. Have you ever wanted to let go? I’m not talking about suicide, but that space in all of our minds where we we don’t like to visit. The place where we numb out, get lost and avoid the pain. We’re not really living but we aren’t dead either, we’re just floating.

It’s the dark place that threatens to take over sometimes. In part, this is about shadows, but it’s also about our neurosis, fears, scars and trauma.

Use Me February 21, 2007

At a conference today I saw a woman I met a few weeks ago at an information night for a missions trip to the Ukraine. She has been all around the world training leaders to participate in Celebrate Recovery. It’s one of those awkward moments where I wasn’t sure if she’d remember me or not, but she did and came over to say hi.

This past weekend she shared her testimony in all of our weekend services. I was blown away by her strength, courage and poise as she talked about her childhood of horrible physical, emotional and sexual abuse. She was open about her failed marriage and how God healed her of all those wounds and brought wholeness and peace to her life.

I told her how moved I was by her testimony and was amazed to see how God was working through her. She said that it all started a few years ago with a simple prayer that our pastor challenged everyone to pray, Use Me.

The Bible Experience February 21, 2007

I hate being read to.

It doesn’t matter if you’re reading me an article, recipe, a quick quote or part of your diary. I just don’t have the attention span to listen to it. I lose focus. I just can’t hear you. I don’t know what it is.

Even as a child I didn’t like it. My mom said I would only let her read the story once then I would make up my own stories.

So the idea of listening to the Bible on CD not appealing to me. I’d rather read it for myself.

But then we got some samples in the office of a product called, The Bible Experience. I was skeptical. Then I saw that celebrities like Blair Underwood, Samuel Jackson, and Denzel Washington were acting it out. Interesting.

Then I watched the making of video and was sucked in. This is phenomenal.  It actually gave me goose bumps to watch it, but would I be able to focus during a "reading?"

Then I heard a sample section and I was hooked. It really makes the Bible come alive in a whole new way. It isn’t just some guy in a room reading it is a story. There is real artistry to it that enabled me to hear it with new ears. I heard new sounds in the crowd. I could hear the pain in Jesus voice as he hung on the cross. I could hear to conversations the disciples had. Amazing.

I actually wished I had a commute to listen to this in my car.

Bored and Restless… Again February 21, 2007

I have a terminal case of the boreds.

My life is boring. My job is boring. My hair is boring. Everything is boring.

I’m in a rut and I don’t know how to get out of it. My life is missing some joy.

I feel like the before picture of some infomercial. I just need to find the miracle product that will catapult me into fulfillment and happiness.

Before you write letters and question my salvation I know happiness a choice. I am very grateful for my life, where I live and what I do.

I know all that but there is something not right in my life. I’m not sure what it is.

The Queen [2006] February 18, 2007

Tina and I went to see the Oscar-nominated movie about the British monarchy’s response to Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

It is a voyeuristic look at the royals in their everyday life. It is one full of duty, obligation, tradition and stoicism. They give everything to public service and maintaining the status quo. Diana very much shook them to their core and disrupted their existance. They disliked her claiming that she charmed the media and public, but they [the media and public] didn’t really know her.

Meredith is Dead? February 16, 2007

Ok, I have to post about last night’s Grey’s Anatomy. It was the "who shot JR" episode, in terms of shock factor. Thank goodness we don’t have to wait until next season to find out. Has any show ever "killed" its main character for sweeps?

Music and Lyrics by [2007] February 15, 2007

My date for Valentine’s day was my friend Lisa. We went to Daphne’s for dinner and to the movies.

Music and Lyrics by is yet another Hugh Grant movie where he is the bumbling, charming, boyish man who does nothing to get the girl, manages to lose her and has to do something big to get her back.