The Boss (condescendingly): Have you ever run a 5k?
Me: No, but I have run a 10k.
The Boss: Oh. Well 5k’s are deceivingly difficult. They suck you in by saying “it’s only 3 miles…”
In other work news, below is a picture from The Boss and my “OSHA smoke break” today. Which do not, however, include cigarettes, but do include sports time. I am so happy that one of the requests from my proposal was honored.
The other day, the boss came into my office asking how he could make my job better. I told him I had a few ideas, and he asked for a written proposal. Below is what I put on his desk. Twenty minutes later, The Big Boss walked into The Boss’ office and found my proposal. Busted. Good thing he thought it was hilarious, and suggested I write a “real” proposal for better lighting.
On Monday, the Gamecock community suffered a great loss. All star wide receiver, Kenny McKinley, took his own life, leaving behind his family and friends, including a one-year-old son. Newspaper headlines have been dedicated to this tragedy all week, with articles celebrating his life and career, as well as mourning the loss of a South Carolina icon.
Burdened by the tragic end of a short life, I could not help but think of all the people who die each day without anyone caring, or even with people celebrating their execution. Also in headlines this week was the execution of a Virginia woman who hired two men to kill her husband and stepson. For Teresa Lewis, there will be no funeral or celebration of her accomplishments; instead “justice” will be served.
Throughout the week, I was burdened by Teresa’s story. While she committed a crime that deserves punishment, does she deserve to die or does she deserve the opportunity to receive the grace and forgiveness that the Lord calls us as Believers to offer? I was burdened by the brokenness and sin that causes people to commit such crimes, and thankful for the Lord’s forgiveness of that same sin in my life.
The truth is the sin in murderers is the same sin in my heart. The truth is I am no better than Teresa Lewis, but I humbly walk in the grace of Christ.
In The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran says this:
Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.
But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.
And as a single leaf turns not yellow, but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,
So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.
As a Believer, I am called to recognize the brokenness of the world as the result of sin, and celebrate the fact that I have been redeemed. As Paul says in Revelation 2:5, I am to “remember the height from which you have fallen.” We are all the product of a wrecked creation, and I am no better than my neighbor, no matter what their life looks like on the outside. I am called to feel compassion and grace for those whose lives are shattered by sin.
Henri Nouwen speaks of the importance of compassion in his book, The Wounded Healer:
Compassion is born when we discover in the center of our own existence, not only that God is God and humans are human, but also that our neighbor really is our fellow human being.
Through compassion it is possible to recognize that the craving for love that people feel resides also in our own hearts, that the cruelty the world knows all too well is also rooted in our own impulses. Through compassion we also sense our hope for forgiveness in our friends’ eyes and our hatred in their bitter mouths. When they kill, we know we could have done it; when they give life, we know we can do the same.
…Thus the authority of compassion is the possibility for each of us to forgive our brothers and sisters, because forgiveness is only real for those who have discovered the weakness of their friends and the sins of their enemies in their own hearts, and are willing to call each human being their sister and brother.
There is a broken and tattered generation crying out for the grace and mercy of a Savior, of my Savior. We all deserve the grace that Jesus died to give us, and I am called to show compassion to all humans, even those who the world thinks least deserve it, even those who will not be mourned and whose lives will not be celebrated after they are gone.
Me: I have a question.
The Boss: Okay. (starts walking out of my office)
Me: Don’t leave! Don’t Leave! I need you!
The Boss: I love it when women say that to me. I hear it all the time.
Yeah right.
Please meet Keenan Cahill. He is a 15 year old dwarf who started posting videos when he got his first I Mac at 13. My roommates and I watch his videos every night and practice his facial expressions. I may even join Twitter just to follow him.
The other day, The boss had to call a lady about an expense report issue, all on speakerphone. Across the hall in my office I could hear every word. After the issue was resolved, the conversation went as follows:
The Boss: Thanks (insert name here), next time just make sure to use a different expense report number.
Lady: Okay, or maybe i will repeat my mistake just so you have to call me again.
The Boss: Ha ha ha. Have a nice day! (Hangs Up)
At this point I am sitting in my office, lip quivering from withholding laughter, and biting my tongue.This went on for a few seconds which seemed like hours.
The Boss: Was she just hitting on me??
I released all the laughter I had been painfully holding back.
My good friend has coined a popular phrase here in Columbia: “what a dumb.” Most of the time it is spelled as one word, whatadumb. Now after a few discussions with friends, it has become a website. Here is a recent conversation with one of the founding partners:
Me: I am so glad that you are so into this new website
McK: I know. It’s going to be huge. Yall should make me sign a contract or something. Once this gets big and it makes a lot of money you never know what could happen. I could run off with all the money and leave yall with nothing. Money changes people.
Me: Ha Ha Ha.
My friends are funny and they are making a website.
For the past week, The Boss has been coveting my penguin Silly Band. In my pursuit of the perfect trade, I was hesitant to open negotiations for one of my best Bandz. However, on Friday I decided to see what The Boss had to offer. Here is what he brought to the table:
I mean, what is all this? Outside of the fairy I couldn’t even tell what these things were. While The Boss offered me all of these for my one penguin, I had to decline. Trading up is about quality, not quantity, and none of these were quality.
A few hours later, The Boss came into my office with another offer:
“Before you say anything, I have to tell you what they each are: this is a zero, this is an ‘o’, and this is a circle. Or they could be three in one, like the trinity.”
While I appreciated the wit behind the offer, again I had to decline.
Just another day at the office.
Epilogue:
Later that evening after a run, the penguin broke. After the negotiations, The Boss and I were both left without a penguin. If I was smart and had taken the trade, I would at least have a fairy.
one of the first convos with the boss:
me: you didn’t ask me about tennis practice.
boss: i follow your blog. i already know
me: oh.
boss: if i followed you on twitter we would never even have to talk.
a few hours later…
(boss whistles that “i throw my hands up in the air sometimes” song)
(i start singing that “i throw my hands up in the air sometimes” song)
20 minutes later…
me: (singing) i throw my hands up in the air sometimes, singin ey-o…
me: you got that song stuck in my head!!!
boss: look at these great things i do for you and all you do is complain…
who says work can’t be fun.
I have always wanted to learn to play tennis. So, I joined a tennis team. A real-deal team in a real-deal league.
I have never played a real game in my life. I went to my first practice today without even knowing how to serve. Walking up I saw my teammates, who are also “beginners” in their cute skirts, dri-fit tank tops, and visors while I was in old running shorts and a gray v-neck which revealed every drop of sweat in the oppressive South Carolina heat. I was out of place.
My teammate and I never won a game, and we play together next week in a real match. This is not going to be pretty.
However, I have to start somewhere. I forget that beginnings are messy. Most things I have ever started have not come naturally, and now I just have to push through. I will probably fall flat on my face, but I know I can get back up and try again. The only way I will ever learn the game is to actually play.
So this weekend you will find me at the tennis courts learning how to serve and hopefully being able to actually get the ball in play. I will be reading rules and technique and finally learning something I have wanted to do for a long time.
While beginning this new hobby is going to be hard, and everything in me wants to stick to running as my sole form of exercise, I know one day I will be glad I tried and failed and tried again until I got it. In 25 years when my hips and ankles are too weak for running, I will be happy I can go to the tennis court and play. I will never be a pro, but I know that with time I will be able to maybe win a match one day.
After a year abroad, I came home to a new trend sweeping the nation: Silly Bandz.
At first these colorful accessories looked like simple rubber bands, however after the wearer takes them off, you find they are so much more. Disney Princesses, dinosaurs, sea creatures, and other crazy characters are now adorning the wrists of America.
For the few months I have been back I have wondered what the big deal is with Silly Bandz. What are they more than rubberbands? How are they so popular? Why are so many of my friends wearing them?
This weekend I decided to try them out. I put on three: a dinosaur, a penguin, and a seahorse. For most of the short time I have had them on I still didn’t get it. I kept looking at my wrist wondering why these things were so popular. After a conversation with the waiter at dinner I finally got it.
It’s all about the trade.
I noticed our waiter was wearing Silly Bandz so I decided to ask his about them. He gladly took them off, and I saw that he had EXACTLY what I wanted: a snail named Gary.
Now while it would probably be easier to go to Walgreens and buy the Sponge Bob Silly Bandz pack to get my own Gary, where is the fun in that? I realized I now had a goal with this new fad: a bigger and better trade. I have to to find another Gary.
However, I have a long way to trade up. Here is what I am starting with:
Outside of an awesome color combination I don’t have much to offer for Gary. Let’s be serious, the best I have is a seahorse.
I have finally discovered why people love Silly Bandz. They are the POGS of a new generation. It’s all about finding bigger and better. It’s all about the trade and while I have a long way to go to get to Gary, I am up for the challenge.
Coming home from the World Race, I hit the ground running. Traveling from place to place, I raced to catch up with all the friends and family I missed while I was away. In the midst of this, I got a new full time job and moved into a new house with new roommates. Then I hit what the World Race staff would call “re-entry.” For about six weeks I ran so hard that I couldn’t see straight and ended up running straight into a wall.
It hurt. For almost a day I cried. An accumulation of tears from the year finally escaped, and didn’t stop flowing until I went to sleep. I grieved the loss of a wonderful community and felt the pain of people I met throughout my journey over the past year. After running so hard, I took a second to catch my breath and look at the new person I had become after a year of once in a lifetime experiences, and I cried, and cried, and when I thought there were no more tears left, I cried more.
I didn’t fully understand what re-entry meant when the World Race staff tried to warn me. I felt I was ready to come home, back to comfort and security, back to the ease of life in America. I was grateful the amazing journey God carried me through but ready to experience what was next. I wish I had known the next step would be waiting.
After running so hard to get to my new destination I didn’t take a moment to realize I was there. I thought there was more. I thought I had further to go. I thought I was running to my ultimate purpose in life. I could not have been more wrong. Instead I am waiting. Waiting for God to show me what is next, waiting for God to show me a grander purpose.
I am learning to be content in this place. I am learning that as I wait, I must look for new horizons in familiar places.
In order to process it all, I made a list of goals for my new life in America:
Simplification
Coming home I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I owned. After living out of a backpack for a year, I almost broke down when I could barely fit my belongings in my car. This calls for streamlining. As a first step I gave away about half of my closet.
Travel More
I also realized that at this point I have seen more of the world than I have in my own country. First destination: Boston in November hopefully followed by Portland in December.
Learn New Things
I have never truly played tennis, but for the past few years wished I knew how. Therefore I am now a member of “Rackets and Ritas,” a tennis team for beginners. I will be playing once a week with middle-aged women who want to learn also.
While I am not quite excited about being stuck in the midst of another transition, I am excited to see how God changes me in the midst of waiting. I am excited to find new horizons in familiar places while also looking for what is yet to come.
*Me and one of my two new roommates, Katie!
