Friday Five Do Nothing Edition

Sally at RevGalBlogPals writes:
I am reading a wonderful little book for Advent it's title: "Do nothing Christmas is Coming!"

So this week's Friday Five is simple.

List Five things you won't be doing to prepare for Christmas.

And while you are doing nothing play the bonus, put your feet up and listen to your favorite Advent Carol, and post it or a link to it...

so, what am I NOT doing...

1. I am not preaching, because, although the PNC and I decided back on 12 October, this is a slow process and the fat lady has not yet sung.
2. I am not buying a lot of presents because, well, I just finished 3 years of seminary and am not yet employed (and DH is on short term disability). (Although buying an old goat in Dad's name is an attractive option even if he doesn't get the joke)
3. I am not decorating, because both DH and I are temporarily partially incapable and we're probably going to skip town anyway--to go see the families for Christmas on this last Christmas I'll be free to travel (God willing!).
4. I am not singing in the choir, reading or otherwise involved in the Christmas service, for the first time in lo, these many years.
5. I'm not cooking or baking or whatever. I'll go to Mom's house for Dinner! (I'll go to Dad's, too, but Step-Mom doesn't get the gluten thing and can't be bothered, so I won't eat there.)

Christmas carol? I'd like to say "My Christmas" by Brett Williams, but I can't find it on YouTube. it's a hoot, if you can find it!

I like so many carols, and I'm a choir geek, so I sing the tenor line as we walk through stores (and not just to embarrass my husband!). But today, I'll choose a modern carol: "Strange Way to Save the World" by 4Him

Traveling Friday Five

Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals writes:
I spent a good bit of time today registering and making travel arrangements for the American Academy of Religion meeting in Chicago at the beginning of November. (Anyone up for a meetup? Shout out, okay?) I'm not presenting this year, so I'm busy sending out resumes and cover letters, but at least I'm not stressing about getting a paper written.

I'll see friends and teachers from grad school, try to resist temptation in the book hall, attend some presentations if time permits, and, God willing, have some preliminary interviews in the everlasting college-teaching-job-search process--prayers welcome, as always. And, thanks to my dear Mom who agreed to babysit and donated some frequent flyer miles, it will also be a busy-but-happy getaway with my sweetheart.

So for today's Friday Five, you're invited to share your experiences with the exciting, challenging world of business travel....

1. Does your job ever call for travel? Is this a joy or a burden?
My former life was on the road a lot. At least 75 nights a year. Although it can start out fun, it gets old very quickly. I think I'm more homebody than I like to admit.

2. How about that of your spouse or partner?
Nah, he hasn't traveled regularly since we've been married. And he said he didn't like me on the road all the time.

3. What was the best business trip you ever took?
One of the ones where I had to stay over a weekend and DH was able to use some of my Frequent Flyer points to come join me -- once to Disney Land and once to Disney World. He never came if Disney wasn't involved. Hmmmm.

Oh, and the hotel chain did bump me to a suite once. a BIG suite. With a baby grand, a fireplace and a living room the size of 4 or 5 rooms (dining room table to seat 10). Kinda weird to have to myself. The piano had cranberry juice on the keys but was reasonably in tune.

4. ...and the worst, of course?
4 extra days (on a 3 day trip) to Texas in September 2001. Finally got out, transferred in Houston, wouldn't let me take the early flight because my bags wouldn't make the plane so had to sit there for three hours, got into home airport after midnight, waited for bags that never came, went to the office: yep, they had come on the earlier flight. Drove the hour and a half home.

We used to have a contest for the worst trip of the quarter. I rejoice that I never won that one!

of course there were innumerable non-smoking rooms that reeked of old smoke, lost luggage, kids kicking the seat for an entire 5 hour flight. Mustn't forget the early Nov trip where the parents were bribing the 3 kids with sugar (Halloween candy) as we boarded the plane for a 5 hour trip -- "Could I upgrade, please?"

Oh, and one mustn't forget sharing the (very nice) hotel with the dairy goat convention (including goats and odoriferous byproducts of said goats).

Or the one with the traffic accident and bump on the noggin at 6:30 am before starting a 3 day speaking engagement.

5. What would make your next business trip perfect?
No plans anytime soon. Only travel now is back to governing body of care to be evaluated ... Don't know that you can make that one perfect, I believe it's intended to be a nightmare, errr "growing experience".

temporarily hijacked by the cats

Mugsy over at MEOW challenged us kitties:
Mugsy here!!!!! Wanna play?
Here's the rules:
1. Any animal can play, except human beings, cuz they do their own memes! Thank you very much! (Well, we've gotten in on a couple of those friday five things, but this one is JUST FOR US!)
2. If you play be sure and tag another pet pal to play and be sure they know they got tagged.
3. Answer the nine questions (duh, nine lives, nine questions).
4. Be honest
5. Let people know you played too!
Here we go....
1. Favorite place to nap? on the back of a living room chair. in the front window seat in the sun, or in the basket on mama's desk.
2. Favorite past time? napping and chasing each other
3. Favorite treat? Padme: food Delenn: Banana! (I even bite into them on the counter if Mama doesn't give me any)
4. Indoor or outdoor preference? Indoor. But we like to watch the birdies at the feeder, and sometimes we go on the patio.
5. How did you come to live with your peeps? Delenn: I came from the shelter in a southern town. Padme: I came from a kitty rescue at the pet store in a more northerly locale.
6. Litter box, tree or fire hydrant? litter box, but Delenn won't poop in it. I would, too, if you didn't sneak up on me.
7. Best toy you ever got? balls of paper or anything small and light to bat and chase around. I also like paper towel rolls, they're just the right size and texture to shred! (Padme)
8.Sleep in or early riser? the sun is up, why are you still in bed?
9. Wish for all the world? All the kitties have a warm dry place to sleep, a full food bowl, and hoomans to love.

Labor Friday Five

Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals writes: Here in the USA we are celebrating the last fling of the good ol' summertime. It is Labor Day weekend, and families are camping, playing in the park, swimming, grilling hotdogs in the backyard, visiting amusement parks and zoos and historical sites and outdoor concerts and whatever else they can find to help them extend summer's sun and play just a little bit longer.

It is supposed to also be a celebration of the working man and woman, the backbone of the American economy, the "salt-of-the-earth nieces and nephews of Uncle Sam. With apologies to those in other countries, this is a Friday Five about LABOR. All can play. Put down that hammer, that spoon, that rolling pin, that rake, that pen, that commentary, that lexicon, and let's have some fun.

1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.
I was hired as a manager in the consulting branch of a big accounting firm. The two branches (accounting and consulting) divorced over irreconcilable differences a year or so after I left. The culture was so arrogant, they didn't realize there were ways to do things other than the way they did. "We're Absolutely Consummate". And they tried to copyright a process that's been in textbooks for decades becasue they thought they had created it. AARRGGH. They promoted a backstabbing environment in the competition to get promoted to the next level. Everyone was out to get you and if you weren't paranoid, they got you good. I swam with those sharks for a little over a year, and that only because I had a mortgage approved and the house wasn't built yet (bad time to change jobs). I hated every minute.


2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.
working on a military base with the military personnel as a consultant. The guys were great, the work was challenging and rewarding (yeah, there were difficult people, but we had the support of the commander, so it was overcomeable).

3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.
Well, I quit my job, sold my house, and moved to another state to go to seminary. I trust God's providence that being a pastor is the answer to this one.

4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?
What is this "break" of which you speak? I did get to go to my favorite spot on earth for a few days, got to see the parents and have a change of scenery to study for my ordination exams.

5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?
From CPE to ordination exams to Back to School. This is my last year of classes (God willing), only two classes are required, so I get to pick lots of electives!

Bonus question: For the gals who are mothers, do you have an interesting story about labor and delivery (LOL)? If you are a guy pal, not a mom, or you choose not to answer the above, is there a song, a book, a play, that says "workplace" to you?
Well any Dilbert book pretty much summed up my first career!

on the road again....

I used to travel a bit


visited 35 states (70%)


but mostly in the US of A

visited 10 states (4.44%)



Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president
this is not getting my sermon written....

It's Friday

OK. I'm a sad fringe player/lurker, and nobody tagged me. But I didn't like todays RGBP Friday five so I chose a meme instead.

Ten years ago:
1998. I was working as a Software Engineer at my worst. ever. job. I stayed at the job because we had a house being built, the mortgage was approved, and they don't like it if you move jobs in the middle of that. I was working for a big name "firm" that was ALL SHARK. I am not. I hated going to work everyday. As soon as the house closed, I changed jobs to a place I stayed for 6 years.

Five things on today's "to do" list:
1. Pre-reading for CPE
2. Pay Bills
3. Go explore local park with walking trails
4. Work on sermon for next week (not preaching this week, and I'm still pretty slow)
5. Laundry

Three bad habits:
1. Stress eating
2. Procrastination
3. Piles. On my desk, on the floor. But they are organized piles (until the cat gets to them!)

Five places I've lived:
1. Alexandria, VA
2. Tampa, FL
3. Belleville, IL
4. York County, VA
5. Gaithersburg, MD

Things I'd do if I were a billionaire:
Pay to have my house cleaned.
I'd start a foundation to protect the money and make it last longer and work harder. I'd love to be the Klingenshoen foundation* to an area left behind by progress.

Five jobs I've had:
1. Busch Gardens games hostess
2. Bank front area (new accounts, switchboard, etc)
3. Framing shop
4. Programmer
5. Software consultant


*fictional foundation in Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat who ..." novels

I am alive....

I'm in the midst of end of term fun, so there' s even less blogging than normal.

However, I did find a lovely reason to say that I blog anonymously:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Now this was with my real name, not Althea N Agape which the more astute of you have figured out is "truth n love". (Hey, I was taking summer intensive Greek when I had to name the blog)

I just want to know if that 0 is supposed to include me?!?!

well, almost 1300 exist with my maiden name, so I guess it's my husband's fault that I don't exist in the US.

The Kingdom of God

What is the Kingdom of God? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as The Kingdom is mystical communion The Kingdom is mostly mystical communion. You place a strong emphasis on continuity with those who have gone before you in the faith, and you might see the Kingdom of God as primarily a matter of spirituality. The Kingdom as a counter-system 100% The Kingdom is mystical communion 100% The Kingdom is a Future Hope 92% Kingdom as a Christianised Society 83% Inner spiritual experience 58% The Kingdom as Earthly Utopia 58% The Kingdom as a political state 42% The Kingdom as Institutional Church 33%

My interesting life

my life related to blogging, and the cats' unfortunate result.

(thanks to Pat Brady, picture is on Comics.com)

Mreow

You Would Be a Pet Cat

Independent and aloof, you don't like to be dependent on anyone. And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don't care. You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands. Why you would make a great pet: You're not needy or greedy... unlike other four legged friends. Why you would make a bad pet: You're not exactly running down to greet people at the door What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

Padme and Delenn are so proud of me!

silliness and amusement

The Recipe For Althea

3 parts Humor 2 parts Warmth 1 part Mischief Splash of Flirtation Shake vigorously

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

and perhaps a bit true?

Eucharistic Theology

You scored as a Calvin

You are John Calvin. You seek to be faithful to Scripture, and to harmonize difficult sayings. You believe that in the Lord's Supper those who have faith are united to Christ, who is present spiritually, yet in a real way.

Calvin --------------------------------100%
Orthodox ---------------------------- 75%
Luther ------------------------------- 63%
Zwingli ------------------------------- 50%
Catholic ------------------------------ 13%
Unitarian ---------------------------- 6%

Gannet Girl's friend Tipper agreed to interview us, so we sneaked onto the food giver's computer!

And here's one for the kitties!
Dear Delenn and Padme,

1. Those are unusual names! How/where did you get them?
Delenn: I am named after Delenn in Babylon 5. She was a hero of the Grey council and I'm grey.
Padme: I was named after Padme Amidala. Cause Mom thought I was just a handmaiden, but found out I was really the princess!

2. I am the only four-legged creature left in my house. Do you have others in yours?
D: Mommy keeps trying but Daddy won't let her near the adoption cages in PetsMart. I for one am glad.
P: I want someone else to chase up and down the stairs!

3. I have noticed that cats don't have much interest in me. What are your feelings about dogs?
D: will you feed me or pet me?
P: Can we play?

4. We had a found cat here for a few weeks last summer. He made himself at home rather quickly. Too quickly, in my estimation. Where are yuor favorite parts of the house?
D: on the foot of the bed, especially if there are nice clean clothes that haven't been put away yet. Second favorite is on Mommy's desk in front of the monitor. I cannot imagine why that flat light is more interesting than I am!
P: in the sun in the front window where the whole neighborhood can see me! Otherwise on anything dark so I can show off my beautiful white fur, And on top Mommy's books when she's studying.

5. My human noticed that your human's blog name is Greek. She is very proud of her quite limited vocabulary, but I am sick of it, because there are Greek worksheets and notes all over my bed. Would you describe yourselves as more Greek, more Egyptian, or more American types of the feline persuasion?
D: Daddy tells me I'm Russian Blue, but the lady at the pound place called me a DSH. That doesn't sound nearly as exciting.
P: I came from a very nice neighborhood, thank you very much. hmph.

Looking forward to learning more about you,Your new friend,Tipper the Dog
We enjoyed the interview! Delenn and Padme

Visionary...