UPDATE FROM ACROSS THE OCEAN

Greetings from London. I'm not joking. Philip is here on business, and I came along, because, well, why not? Our lodging and his flight are being covered by his work, so our only large expense was my flight.

So here I am in our hotel room, taking advantage of the wireless Internet. It's a bit like Lost in Translation, minus the karaoke. And of course, Philip isn't wearing ridiculous sunglasses and running around with supermodels, and the only other man I'm spending my days with is a stuffed monkey. I just had lunch at Pizza Hut (again, not joking) and am listening to Imogen Heap, because being in the U.K. just has me in the mood for some blond power Brit-pop.

I am surfacing just briefly to "blog" before I have to jump back into another editing project. My editing "career" has really taken off, a direct answer to prayer. I have completed four projects in the last two months, which is about twice as much work as I did from January to October 2004.

But of course, as I am the kind of person who struggles to be content with her circumstances, I am questioning if I really want this much work. What is wrong with me? I am just feeling a) too busy, and b) like writing has fallen completely off my radar.

I am also working a couple days a week at Barnes & Noble. The purpose of joining the bookseller ranks was to get out of the house a bit (being alone at home all week long gets one a bit stir-crazy) and to develop some friendships outside of my church circles. No offense to all you Christian friends, of course. So that adds to the fullness of my schedule.

It's give-and-take, I guess. Becoming a retail worker and having 40+ hours of work a week total, in a lot of ways, has made me happier. I feel less lonely and more like an actively contributing member of society, not to mention like a more equally contributing member of my household. But time with my husband, my friends, and my writing has all suffered as a consequence. Not like I was writing much when I had all the time in the world anyway... (Sidenote: Being around thousands of books at B&N is both inspiring and intimidating. As I hold a nice smooth paperback in my hands, I think, I could do this - write one of these. I should be doing this. But the reasons why I don't are varied and reveal a lot of my insecurities and shortcomings, and honestly, I just don't want to get into it again right now.)

Anyway, finding a nice balance in life and a strong sense of purpose in my relationships and work is something I think I will always be striving after - in other words, I don't think I'll ever fully attain either. Sometimes the fulcrum is closer to the middle than others.

Over Christmas, the fulcrum was waaaaay far to the side, as too many hours at B&N, two editing projects, a party we were planning, Christmas shopping, and my grandfather's illness had me virtually spinning and feeling close to a breakdown. My husband got pushed pretty far down on the priority list, which definitely put a strain on our marriage, not to mention hurt him, which is the last thing I ever want to do.

Now, things are not nearly so stressful, but I still feel like I want life to slow down. Nevertheless, I am breathing sighs of relief that our pace looks nothing like it did back in December. I have so much to be thankful for that it's a bit overwhelming when I stop to think about it. I love being married to Philip; we have so much fun, and the security and intimacy of being this-side of the wedding with him is something so precious I can't even really describe it. Our apartment is truly a haven and a personalized home, which is something I feel that I'm wholly experiencing for the first time since I left for college eight years ago (eight years ago??). I am feeling more and more at home in Orlando, as I build friendships and slowly define my roles in our church and in my work. Living downtown helps also; the area fits much better with my sensibilities. And of course, we are healthy and well provided for; we can travel, and we have a lot to look forward to.

So that is life in a nutshell ("No! This is me in a nutshell: 'Help! I'm in a nutshell! How did I get into this bloody great big nutshell? What kind of shell has a nut like this?'") I'm sorry for being absent from this blog for so long. Now that I feel that I have you a bit caught up, I'll try to be on here more frequently, and consequently, make the entries shorter and easier to digest. (smile)

Cheers.

AN EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Since Erika bought me Michigan by Sufjan Stevens in 2003, I've been a big fan of his. My best friend used to listen to Danielson Famile a long time ago, but I never connected Sufjan with Daniel Smith and his family.

We listen to Sufjan a lot. Yesterday, while reading through a few blogs, I came across the most amazing early Christmas present. Not one, but three Sufjan Christmas albums. These aren't released records, that I know of. If someone knows different, let me know.

Sufjan Stevens Christmas Albums

In case you missed it, here is Sufjan's NPR special.

NO MORE TV TRAYS

After searching all over for a table to break bread on, Erika and I have finally made the big purchase. I'm very pleased with it's construction. The next time you come over to our apartment for food, we won't be sitting on the couches.

PET PEEVES

Is it fun to read about another person's pet peeves, or does it just bring you down and make you grumpy? Let's find out. Here are mine.

1. When someone says, "I'm bad with names."

If you say this, shame on you. Have you ever noticed that EVERYONE says this? Did God place a genetic defect in 99 percent of the human race that makes people psychologically unable to remember a person's name? No. He didn't. People are bad with names because either they are not really listening when someone tells them their name, or they are not intentionally trying to remember the name. To anyone who claims this lame untruth, when someone tells you his name, say to yourself (silently of course), "His name is John. John is his name. People call him John." Notice something unique about John. Associate John with another John you know. You will be amazed that suddenly you are not so bad with names anymore.

2. When a friend has a blog or any new contact information, and they don't tell me.

How am I supposed to get ahold of this person? How am I supposed to read their thoughts and share in their virtual ponderings? When someone does this to me, I feel unloved. That's the bottom line.

3. Usage of the (not really a) word, "irregardless."

This is my number one pet peeve of all time. "Irregardless" is not a word. It does not appear in the dictionary. When I spell checked this blog entry, the spell checker highlighted all occurrences of it. The word is just "regardless." I had an English teacher who used this supposed word all the time. An English teacher! It was too disheartening for words. I judge anyone who utters this word.

But of course, kind reader, you do none of these things. Thank you for being so considerate.