New Computer

Dear Jack,

We finally got a new computer. The other two are dead. The Acer may be salvageable, but the Dell is not. Mind you, the Dell was bought in 2004 and lasted longer than the Acer. The Acer will need data recovery, and then it can be wiped clean and used again. Just a pain in the ass.

Not having a computer, posts have been very few and far between. We have had some fun parties that we have attended...namely Abigail's Sweater Party, and Jason and Paul's Christmas Party. It seems like every weekend we are busy. It was funny when on the blog "Things White People Like", Abby found "Sweater Parties" and it was published literally a day after the event.

Christmas is a few days away, and most of my shopping is done...still a little to go. Katsumi had her last day at HWLC. I had a bad day that day.

I am hopeful that 2009 will be a good year.

Scrappy Was Scared

Dear Jack,

So Katsumi brought Scrappy to work for Halloween. Jon brought Choco. The day was pretty uneventful, 'cept that we were all dressed up. I was in my Hogwarts outfit, going as "Dumbledore's Ex-Boyfriend". We handed out candy to the students.

So here is the weird thing that happened. Around 4pm we were all chatting in the open area, and out of no where, Scrappy starts freaking out. I mean he was barking frantically, and running in a circle, running back and forth, scared, jumping at Katsumi. Then he leaped up into Jon's arms and pissed on him. Still barking, and peeing, he was pushed into the office, and the door was closed. We had never seen anything like it before. Katsu said Scrappy has never behaved like that. We sent Jon home, because he was covered in dog pee. Scrappy began to calm down.

At 5pm Abigail came with Lucia and Stephanie. We were chatting, all petting Scrappy (Choco having gone home with Jon). We were chatting and then out of nowhere, Scrappy did it again. He started barking and freaking out, and this time not only did he pee, but he pooped on Alana, and we put him in the office again, and he kept freaking out.

The bark was such a frantic bark, and he was looking behind me when it began. Then, out of nowhere, my nose started bleeding...and it gushed. I haven't had a substantial nose bleed in ages. It was so weird. I can't help but hypothesize that the two are related, and if they are, I don't want to know how.

Later I went with the girls to the Halloween Parade. Then I joined Michael in Astoria, and we went to a party, and then Albatross, then a diner, and then home.

It was a busy Halloween.

Autumn Arrival

Dear Jack,

Fall is definitely here. It is cool and crisp outside, and the leaves are beginning to change. I love the fall and the winter best. they have always been my favorite seasons. I am excited about the holidays that come in them. I also like the nights, as I sleep better since it is cool, and I get to bundle in blankets.

Mikey is not as big a fan of the cooler seasons because he doesn't like the cold. I will say though, his favorite foods all seem to be best suited for the fall and winter.

This fall, we have plans on going to a Halloween party with some friends, celebrate Thanksgiving with Abigail and Jon, and then have Christmas with friends from St. Luke's and possibly Jon again if he cannot go home to Michigan.

I have the itch to bake and cook again. Having worked so much in the evenings, I really miss fixing food and baking cookies. Additionally, the kitchen has become not that organized or stocked. I hope to change that a little bit.

Domesticated

Dear Jack,

Well on Friday, Mike and I headed to Manhattan and registered with the City as domestic partners. To celebrate we met several friends at Mundo in Astoria on Saturday for dinner. Keri, Jason O., Paul, Karen, Jason N., Daniel, Sebastian, Lucia, Abigail, and Jon all joined us. It was great. Unfortunately Mundo, or well, the owner, was rude to Karen and Jason N.. I was embarrassed, and will probably not be going back anytime soon. It was unlike the owner, but I was really upset.

After dinner, Jason N., Daniel, Sebastian, and Brendan joined us at Omonia for desert. That was much more pleasant.

Today Michael and I visited Saint Luke in the Fields on Hudson St. It was a most pleasant visit with some wonderful people. We will be back next week for certain. I am hopeful that Michael and I will eventually find the parish that we need to be at. This may be it, but it may be not.

As I write about the parish we visit, my mind is drawn to the service that was held earlier today in Lambeth. The Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka was the preacher and in another post I will share his sermon. It is worth a read.

My mind is drawn to when I was in Oxford in the summer of 2003, and how as I studied with Dr. Hobbie, the Episcopal Church met for General Convention and decided to consent to the nomination of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. I've recently been reviewing journal entries from that time and adding them to this blog. How similar is my anxiety as I read about what is going on there. It is even more pungent to me, having met Bishop Robinson on many occasions, as well as becoming closely acquainted with Davis MacIyalla of Changing Attitudes Nigeria. I know not much will happen, and I know their exclusion is bearing witness to work that needs to be done. I think also of my 2004 summer at Kanuga when Archbishop Eames and the Lambeth Commission drafted parts of the Windsor Report. I had such an opportunity to be there and overhear their conversations. Part of me wonders if I could or should have spoken to them.

How far my life has come from 2003 and 2004, and yet how very slowly has the Church come in the same time. I read my posts and entries from 2003 and 2004 and see how immature I was in many ways, and I hope I have grown up. In someways, I see the opposite in the Communion, as some bishops refuse to break bread in the Sacrament of Unity ordained by Christ as a way of memorializing him. It reminds me of the children who are upset and take their toys home. Bishop de Chickera was prophetic in his restatement of the parable from Matthew today. "There can and there must be no uprooting, simply because if we attempt this game of uprooting the unrighteous then, my dear sisters and brothers, none of us will remain."