The Burlap Soulmate

We've spent the entire weekend paintng the upstairs of our new house. That is, we've spent the entire weekend preparing to paint the upstairs of our new house. Who knew that moving stuff, taping, mudding, and sanding an entire upstairs could be so time consuming and tedious? There is also a fine coating of drywall and putty dust over EVERYTHING, adding a grtty, dirty charm to humble home.

And yet, even spotty, fuzzy smooth yellow is much better than just yellow. At least it holds the promise of another color.

I haven't done a thing since 9:00 tonight. I can't quite explain my sudden lethargy or lack of enthusiasm. I guess it's one of those things where all of the projects on my list take much more time to complete. Yeah, that must be it.Wait till tomorrow baby. I'm gonna kick some ass.

After I make my new to do list, you know, the one that includes, house, wedding, work, and everything else that is is supposed to NOT make me feel overwhelmed and crushed under a mountain of things to do, buy, or fix.

But for now...I'm going back to sleep.

Theres no shortage of things in this world to disparage my faith. Worldwide abuse scandals and former nazi popes aside, we catholics get a lot of grief at times, not all of it undeserved.

That being said, I was never more proud to be catholic as this past Easter. Oddly enough, I was by myself too. I decided to go to Mass in Staz's hometown in Eastern Kentucky. Home of 1 Catholic church and 40 Baptist ones. I went by myself, since no one in Staz's family, let alone Staz herself, is Catholic. Immediately, it was all familiar though: the rituals, the chants, the sacraments. It made me very comfortable. But what really struck me was the people arrayed in the church. In this little eastern Kentucky town, seated geographically in the middle of the country but culturally more in the south, the only Catholic church was home to a vast variety of Asians, African Americans, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and of course the ubiquitous white guys. But it still made me proud to part of such an all-inclusive faith.

As if that wasn't the topper, the priest himself was African-American, only he was REALLY African, with a thick Swahili accent. And yet, despite the obvious culture shock, he gave one of the best Easter sermons I'd ever heard. Some of it is still with me, such wise words they were to live by. I left feeling very much loved and at peace.

There are so many reasons to doubt one's faith, it was really nice to see the good in it for a change. And for that, I am grateful.

but you can save then for the birds and bees...

It's wedding crunch time, and there's never enough money to go around. It'll be beans and rice for the next two months I'm sure. But we'll make it. I have a deep underlying faith in that and a confidence that all will be well. But ther's always that lingering fear...

I suppose I just need some perspective. We're a long way from where we were. We're not trading food for gas. We're not rushing to the bank on payday to cash a check before the power is turned off, or worse, before my employer goes broke. When you look at it that way, whether we have enough centerpieces, or whether I go with the white or dark jacket, seems pretty trivial.

It'll be nice when it happens, so I can quit worrying about it.

Life is good lately. I'm enjoying my job. And I seem to be pretty good at it. I have one patent application in the works and another I'm working on. Pretty cool. I just got a raise too, which totally rocks.

What's this strange feeling...? contentment, happiness, or some combination of the two? Whatever it is I like it.

Allow me to wax political for a moment...

In the waning days, well, years of the Clinton presidency, it was infuriating and frustrating to have to listen to him speak, because you couldn't believe a word he said. I believe it was because he was both a liar, a cheat, and just an overall asshat.

Now, in the waning days of the Bush presidency, it is infuriating to listen to him speak, because you can't believe a word he says. I believe this is because he is incompetent, delusional, and an overall asshat.

Not trying to be overly cynical, or even negative. Politicians are politicians, and honesty and/or intelligence don't win elections. It would just be nice if they did once in a while.