Final List

Okay....

so I spent two hours watching g.i. jane on cable so that my brain might turn to comfortable lime gelatin, only lime gelatin is not comfortable I found; and I have eaten more pizza, I mean pepperoni sausage mushroom black olive this is not how one bulks clean pizza than I have eaten in months. Even a margarita, though when I made the second I spilt it on the floor, mopped up the ice and left it at that.

I made finalist. Five names were advanced for two positions. This morning was my exec. interview; me, the president and the vice-president of instruction. And it was longer, more grueling again, than I expected. I think they might be pushing for a third position, which means the candidates were probably very strong. Coming from in district with my tech background....I think I chatted them up pretty well. But now that I've done all I can do (I'll hear by Tuesday, by phone, either way) I feel like eating drinking watching crap t.v.

Which I have done.

It's been exhausting. I know I already have a job, have tenure. What I'm after could even be called convenience, or quality of life. Plenty of good teachers out there are sweating on adjunct slave pay. Plenty of them will keep doing so if I take this position.

Good god, now some chuck norris vietnam movie is on television. I'm too lazy to change the channel. And the laptop on my lap is so nourishingly warm.

On my first real job as senior warden: I don't know what the man I helped move did or when. I know he's supposed to be back out in a few months; he hasn't committed a new crime. I also know a handful of very amazing people showed up to help me on Wed., and I'm humbled. For whatever reason, his place was thrashed and smelled like cat piss (luckily, someone had already rescued the cats). I've talked before on my blog about service being the heart of Christian faith; I feel fortunate enough just to have tasted that truth. For as grimy and dirty and creepy as that work felt, I had a chance to do something that I know unequivocally was right, even apart from my faith. And if I consider my faith, something which represents it completely. Over and over I thought of the story of the man who rescues the despised samaritan:

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Not much ambiguity in that text. My goal is to still go and visit this guy in prison when school gets out; it's a day trip, and I have to get pre-approved or something, but he wants visitors and why not go and pray with him at least? Hell, I've been mentally ill in my own way.

And something else: I'm looking at taking EFM classes. If I could fit this in, I would love it. Four years of seminary (lite--no actual units or papers) right at my parish. For me, dream time. There's nothing I want to study more right now than what I understand is in their curriculum. And this is my priest's strength, small group academic study.

Oh everybody, I'm full and tired and need a hot bath. All is not perfect, but I've gotten past one giant hump and will post soon as I know if I got the job at the other campus; I feel I've made too much of it, but it's felt so heavy to carry all the same. Meantime, I think I can shove in one more piece of pizza. More on Mr. Doom, my epithet for my ocd, soon.

t