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saturday summary – the malfunction week
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not to complain (really–nobody likes when i get whiny), but this week has been characterized by technical difficulties. every digital device that i rely on in my daily life decided to cry mutiny this week, so it feels like i spent the majority of my days on the phone with technical support…or on hold.
but other than my electronic frustrations, the week held some really fun moments, too. i stayed an extra day in colorado to take in the mad scene known on snowy slopes everywhere as “gaper day“ (april fools’ day). i’ve just missed it many times before, and was convinced by my brother’s great photos that i needed to see it in person. i was not disappointed.
i was anxious to really give my garden some attention once i got back into town, but every day has been dreary, overcast, and rainy. i’m still taking advantage of the cooler temps and softer soil to rid the last of the weeds and start a few new veggies, but it’s more fun to tend a sunny garden. at least i can count on a few plants coming back strong without much help from me, like my beautiful strawberries and the tall onion chives. i was even surprised by some healthy red chard resurfacing while i was gone.
my days held several business and personal meetings, all of which brought good things. enjoying a belated birthday lunch with robyn was the highlight.
the one digital development that did go right this week was the release of the instagr.am app for android! i have been waiting for this for what seems like forever. now i have more incentive to participate in fatmumslim’s photo a day challenge for april! frustration with the inferiority of the flickr app made me unsure that i would continue participate once march’s list was complete, but now i’ll take any excuse to use my shiny new app!
as a grammar junkie, i got a kick out of a couple of articles on the word “whom” and if it should die or be revived. from criticizing the correctness of twitter’s “who to follow” to graphing the prevalence of whom in recent books, it seems to be something grammar police are fired up about. my philosophy on grammar and vocabulary definitely falls more under “descriptive” than “prescriptive.” i believe we should absolutely teach and promote correct usage, but if the evolution of language creates a new norm, i think that should be recognized as valid communication.
if you have a bit of extra time, these five classic creative challenges compiled by the99percent are entertaining and revealing. test yourself and gain some insight on your creative strengths.
i hope you all have a wonderful and meaningful Easter tomorrow. i’ve truly been encouraged by the Artist Bible reading plan for Holy Week on youversion. if you haven’t had a chance to check out The Artist Bible, do it today!
bookworm wednesday – all is grace
a biography makes it’s way into our bookworm review lineup this week. i was eager to read the final written work of an author i’ve always admired: All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir by Brennan Manning (3.5 of 5 stars).
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manning has never been afraid to expose himself as a ragamuffin soul, tattered and flawed, but wholly accepted by God’s grace and love. his autobiography is no exception.
the author takes his readers on a meandering tour of his life, offering a brutally honest recount without a trace of sugar coating. his story might feel depressing and hopeless if it weren’t coming from a man whose central theme throughout his career has always been “Abba Father is enamored with you, warts and all.”
leave it to manning to not only indirectly inspire hope with his own story, but to explicitly challenge his readers to develop a trusting heart and openly accept the overwhelming love, grace, and forgiveness of a God who is enough.
have you read any of brennan manning’s books? do you think a non-fiction author can share a message more or less effectively through his or her own story?
the finish line
it’s incredibly motivating and satisfying to set your eyes on the completion of any project, big or small, and reach the finish line successfully. jon acuff is encouraging a “finish year” with his online community, and so in january i set my own list of commitments for the year. my list mostly focuses on my one word for 2012, but also includes personal achievements i think will better me.
please allow me to indulge for a moment and update this personal weblog with an account i’d like to record for posterity… because when i reach a goal, i don’t want to miss the chance commemorate, share, and celebrate. plus, i want to remember the details, because even if i repeat the experience, i don’t think it will be as thrilling as my first time.
one of my goals for 2012 was to run a half-marathon sometime before the end of the year. i gave myself a long window of time, because it seemed like a monumental task to tackle. (my marathoner friends, bear with me. you amaze me.) i had never run more than ten tired miles in my life, and was only comfortable with about six when i set the goal. i figured doubling my regular distance would take some time.
but when scheduling conflicts developed and my fall race was no longer an option, i realized that i’d have to run much sooner than planned if i wanted to achieve half-marathoner status in 2012. so when i discovered a race two weeks out on my mom‘s birthday weekend, i decided to run it in memory of her and hope she and her angel friends would whisk me forward if i pooped out. 
the problem was, i was already scheduled to work an all-day event the day before the race. on my feet. for fourteen hours. until 12:30 am. oh, and the other problem was i hadn’t really been training that consistently, because, you know, i wasn’t planning to race for many months yet. but ill-prepared, worn-out legs, and inadequate sleep be darned, i was going to try.
the morning of the race was chilly but not cold, overcast but not raining yet, and incredibly windy. i felt good, but confirmed my backup plan just in case: dad and lee stationed themselves at the halfway point offering two choices: sugar calories if i needed more energy, and the car if i needed a ride home. so with the 33mph gusts defying us to move forward, the crowd started running at the horn.
it always takes me a while to settle into a groove, but by the third mile i was just enjoying the scenery around the lake. i didn’t carry a timepiece, instead allowing my music to set my pace. when i have a time goal, i will obsessively calculate my pace throughout a run. i wanted to enjoy the experience, and i knew if i pushed too hard i might not finish, especially under the circumstances.
previous runs indicated that i could finish in 2:15 if i maintained my average pace throughout the race. i decided i would be happy with anything under 2:30. the fastest time i thought was possible for my conditioning was 2:10.
when i hit the halfway point feeling fresh at just 63 minutes, i knew i was having a good day. i waved happily to my small cheering section, grabbed a fistful of honey packets out of lee’s outstretched hand, and turned back toward the finish line.
as i ran the second half, periodically sucking down mouthfuls of refreshing sweetness, i was grateful for the wind now at my back, the motivating tunes in my ears, and the cheerful volunteers at the water stations. i was also thankful for the little fortunes (or lack of common annoyances): earphones not straying, ponytail not drooping, clothes not chafing, knees not aching, side not stitching.
and i tried not to think about the 11th mile.
everyone told me, “if you can run ten miles, you can run thirteen.” but i couldn’t help thinking that the extra 31% seemed significant. so every step after the ten-mile mark was a milestone for me. “this is the farthest i’ve ever run.”
at twelve miles i knew i was going to make it, so i put an imaginary bulls-eye on the back of a girl in a purple shirt who’d been about 100 yards in front of me for the last five miles. i was determined to pass her by the time we reached the finish line. with the help of a downhill grade for the last mile, i flew past her and practically sprinted to the end.
i was shocked to see 2:04:36 on the clock as i crossed the finish line. obviously i’m thrilled with my time, but i’m honestly just as happy that that i wasn’t miserable for the last several miles that and i didn’t have to quit. it feels awesome to have one of my big 2012 goals crossed off the list. thanks for letting me re-live it here.
saturday summary – the mountains week
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my week in colorado has not been your typical mid-march visit. last year at this time the snow was still dumping by the foot. this year you could comfortably wear a light hoodie at the top of the peak.
with the in-town temps reaching the 60s in the afternoons, i was happy to head across the street and take advantage of a favorite summertime activity — a jog along the lake trail. i kept the distance short and the pace slow so as not to burst my lungs sucking in the thin mountain air, but the clear skies and glassy frozen water were too beautiful not to enjoy close-up.
i’ve become so addicted to snowboarding that i only strapped on my skis one day this trip…the only time the whole season, come to think of it. this is a semi-shocking development for this hard-core skiing fan, but i think having a boarding instructor as my host may have something to do with it.
palm sunday is tomorrow, which signifies the beginning of holy week, or “passion week,” leading up to easter sunday. a new project called The Artist Bible is launching with the first installments coinciding with holy week. TAB is “a living response to the Living Word,” and a collaboration of oklahoma city artists have contributed the first artistic responses to Scripture to be included in the project. look for the release on the youversion Bible app and follow @theartistbible on twitter to keep up with new contributions to the project.
i got a good giggle out of this article about the world’s leading laugh scientist from mental floss. i love to laugh, obviously, and i’m afraid too much information from the field of laugh science would ruin the magic for me. but this short piece with observations on tickling, history of a laughing epidemic, and data on laughter as medicine was fun and interesting.
earlier in the week i posted a video of ballet dancers moving in slow motion on the OLIOsnippets page. if you missed it, you must take a few minutes to watch it now. the extraordinary power and grace of their movements is highlighted by the slo-mo and an awesome radiohead remix.
visually-pleasing surroundings are important in creating the desired atmosphere of a space. you want your bedroom to be peaceful, your living room to be inviting, and your office to be inspiring. i’m always trying to make the space where i work more creatively motivating, so i was eager to browse through this gallery of 60 walls that aren’t boring from office snapshots. while the walls featured there could certainly inspire, few are easily re-produced and some just seem distracting. but boring? no.
i head home tomorrow, after i get in one more day of riding the slopes. if the sun hasn’t already melted all the snow away, that is.
figment friday – tough minutes
you know my favorite daily theme from the week is going to be the one with the seinfeld reference. today’s figment friday channels george costanza. it was fun to write, but this is honestly my least favorite of the responses i’ve shared. it’s pretty uninteresting and seriously lacking in creativity.
PROMPT: In “The Busboy” episode of Seinfeld, George refers to moments like letting the car warm-up or waiting for your hair conditioner to work as “tough minutes.” Narrate a character’s thoughts in one of these “tough minutes.” What does he or she think about during those interminable seconds?
downloading…downloading…c’mon, load already! why is it stuck at 47 percent? did i lose connection? no, it’s just slow. i don’t remember the internet here being so sluggish.
don’t watch the status bar, or it’ll never complete. it’s like waiting for water to boil. find something else to do…make a phone call. um…i know, i need to let corey know about the schedule change, anyway. oh, but it would probably be better in an email. yeah, i’ll email him later.
maybe i’ll get a refill of tea. what time is it…almost lunch? ugh, not nearly. i’m gonna need a snack. only 62 percent?! okay, stop looking at it.
i’ll go get that paperwork from the car after i order something to drink and eat. but as soon as i start working on something else, it will finish downloading, of course.
oh! it’s finally done! what? “cannot open file.” you’ve got to be kidding me.
bookworm wednesday – ender’s game
i have plenty of newly-released books on my to-read list, but when i overheard my brother-in-law recommending this book to my husband, i remembered that the sci-fi “classic” has been on my i-should-read list for quite some time. so this week’s bookworm review is of an oldie that is still going strong: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (4 of 5 stars).
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set in earth’s future, the novel presents humankind in conflict with an alien species called “buggers” by the humans. in preparation for an anticipated third invasion of the buggers, an international fleet has a school to train future commanders…among very young children. the world’s most talented children, including andrew “ender” wiggin, are taken as early as age six to a battle school where teachers train them in the arts of war through increasingly difficult games in zero gravity.
card’s takes a potential contrived plot and creates something extraordinary with skillful development of his main character’s genius, brutality, and vulnerability, and clever pacing in revealing the complexity of the tactical games.
some of the major underlying themes at play here are the same as another wildly popular story about a game — violence among children and the government taking children from their families. the moral dilemmas presented in ender’s game are the source of much criticism toward the book.
i truly enjoyed the story, and then i listened to an interview with the author (regarding this novel) that gave me an even deeper appreciation for ender and his game. i want to read more books in ender’s saga and also the ender’s shadow series, and am now really looking forward to the movie due out next year.
how do you feel when reading dystopian books like ender’s game and the hunger games that address political and moral issues so directly? why do you think these types of books become so popular?
