Gardening.

I really, really love studying the details of remarkable flowers. For example, Ben's grandpa grows birds of paradise in his garden. These are amazing and colorful. I like looking at them because the details make me contemplate concepts like God knowing the number of hairs on our heads. Also, I like to think about how I would paint various flowers. This is because I love God and I love painting. I also like to hear people who really, really love flowers talk about why they really, really love them. I think this is because I like to hear people talk about what they love.

I do not love flowers. I do not love shrubs or other plants. I love enormous trees--the ones big enough to really climb, or the kind that five people need to hold hands around to encompass them. I like the concept of nature and I love to observe the big picture. I love the forest, enormous stones, and the sea.

I say this to tell you that Ben waisted $20 taking me to the botanical gardens yesterday. I would have been interested in many of the flowers there if someone had lined them all up in a row, but because we had to walk a mile and a half to see just a few varieties, I was too bored to notice any of them. The only flowers I saw were the ones Ben pointed out. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or unappreciative. I tried as hard as I could to force myself to get interested in all the plants, but I failed.

My favorite parts of the botanical gardens were the trolly ride there and back, and the volcanic rocks. My least favorite parts were the mosquito bites and the plants.

So, now we have lots of photos of flowers, which are infinitely more interesting to me that the real flower bushes, and lots of photos of me standing with my arms crossed, bored out of my mind.

Poor Ben. I hope I didn't ruin his day.

Directions

Hawaii is great. I can't, right now, remember the reasons we don't just live here. There is family, and jobs of all sorts. Wait. It's coming back to me now. Something about a calling to work with poor people. Oh yeah.

There have been 2 major hilights from our trip so far. The first is Ben's awesome grandpa. We had an hour and a half long conversation about mental illnesses and deamon posession the other night. It got late and he had to go to bed. Instead of saying, "Well, that's enough of that," he said, "to be continued..." Geez. Bob loves to talk about politics, religion, and money. Loves it. I'm game. And I do mean talk, not argue. It's great.

The second hilight was our hike on Monday. 2 years ago we cruised by the hanging valleys--the awesome shore line at the begining of Jurasic Park. Monday, we took a 6 or 7 mile hike out onto the top of one. The view was so amazing, and the sides of the trail were sheer in some places.

The biggest downer of the trip has been the really very crapy head cold that I have. It was at its worst during our 7 mile hike and made my head throb for the second (uphill) half.

I got a voicemail from Jen saying she's stranded in Athens with no knowledge of how to use our DVD player with the TV. Jen, here are direction. Everyone else, stop reading now. It's mind numbing.

1. Turn on the TV, DVD player, and stereo receiver.

2. Insert DVD.

3. Look at the rown of buttons on the stereo. One of them says "video 3." Push that button.

4. Get the old TV remote--the big gray one, not the colorful Direct TV remote.

5. To the right of the up/down chanel buttons is a small, round input/av button. If you can't find this button on the remote, you can also use the button on the front of the TV by the power & volume buttons that looks like a button you would never, ever need to push. Both buttons do the same thing. Hit this button until you get to a screen that says "a/v 2."

6. You should now be able to see & hear your DVD.

7. If you CAN'T hear it or see it, try hitting "video 2" on the stereo.

8. If you can HEAR IT BUT NOT SEE IT, hit that input/av button on the remote until the right screen comes up.

9. TO WATCH TV AGAIN, turn off the stereo and DVD player and hit the input/av button until you come to the screen called "s-video." This in the Direct TV screen, and you can now switch back to the normal, colorful, familiar remote.

I realize this is complicated, but wow! it really sounds like you're in the movie!

Kauai

In about 26 hours, Ben and I are driving to Port Columbus and flying here:


This is Kauai. It's one of the the northernmost islands that make up Hawaii. Ben's grandparents live there. They're flying us out so we can spend some time with them over Ben's spring break.

I must say, I'm pretty excited.

Mapled!

Uh huh.

So, my brother Charlie is a lumberjack mountain man of a construction worker. He has a lot of maple trees in his yard, and has tapped them all this year. Last night he gave me about 3 gallons of sap, which I'm boiling down right now so I can have home-made maple syrup. I tried Charlie's last night and it was awesome.

Waffles for dinner. Soon. You're invited.

Oh yes...

Tiny bears.

So, I know this is inane, and maybe a waste of words, but I love miniature things. I love them so much that I keep these two gerbils as miniature pets. They stand on their teeny tiny back legs a lot, and when they do, they look like little kangaroos, or sometimes tiny circus bears.

Just wanted to let you know what's on my mind right now.

Also, sometimes, for days at a time, I get songs stuck in my head. Pop songs. Except they're sung by a cat chorus, like the Meow Mix theme.

Yup. Pretty deep.

Billy Jean

Sometimes, every great once in a while, I have a day where I feel like Michael Jackson in the Billy Jean video--like every step I take lights up. Half of today was like that.

At church this morning, I got to play airplane with a little kid for like 20 minutes. It was amazing. This kid frequently screams through all of church, so discovering that she loved airplane was a small miracle.

Tonight, my volunteers were stranded in Columbus, so I had to work their shift. This shift was great. I ate pizza. I hung out with people I don't get to talk to often, and my pastor had this open time of discussion about faith with anyone who wanted to come. 3 former residents came--it was great. I though they had just come by to see if they had mail, but they stayed for an hour long conversation about who the Holy Spirit is. Unreal. This shows that all the energy and love we've been pouring into these folks is sinking in. And these are people we've been tough on, too. We let them know when they're slacking off or being foolish, and they still come around. I'm so glad.

The not so lights on the floor part of my day was staying up 'til 3 am, taking a super crappy nap, and waking up from it with a sinus headache, but that was easily overcome by medicine and coffee. I also had a former resident tell me I was mean for being hard on him. That was a bummer, but I can understand his perspective.

Yeah, lights on the floor.

Voting

I'm not voting today.  I don't know who to vote for and I'm exceptionally discouraged by political talk that doesn't ever add up to anything.  I couldn't work out in my conscience how I should decide which candidate's fake promises to endorse.  I feel like voting is a big deal, especially if you live in Ohio.  I don't take it lightly and I'm not blowing it off.  I'm deliberately abstaining from practicing my right to vote today, just like I'm deliberately abstaining from my right to bear arms.  I think it would be dangerous to do so, and I'm not willing to pick up ballot or a gun in the hopes of producing change today.  I'm not sure if or when my feelings on the matter will change.

I am glad so many people are voting today.  I'm glad people are feeling good about it and, in this most economically depressed part of the state, taking action that they believe will lead to a better life.  Good for them.  

Feel free to descend upon me with anger and fits of rage--I can hack it.

In the mean time, read this article about Southeast Ohio in the Chicago Tribune.