Reading Jane Eyre makes me want to have something brilliant to say. How I wish I had been born into the generation(s) that knew how to string together words in a way both lucid and poetic!
A line I don't want to forget: "the fury of which she was incapable had been burning in my soul all day, and tears, hot and large, had continually been scalding my cheek; for the spectacle of her sad resignation gave me an intolerable pain at the heart."
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Not an excuse
Feeling lonely is not an excuse for despair.
It hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. I think I've tried to dodge that pile (of bricks) quite a number of times in the past, because it's not anything newfangled. This is the truth: None of my feelings - legitimate as they are in and of themselves - legitimize despair and unbelief.
Our feelings can be so real sometimes - the sense of alienation, fear, or hopelessness can weigh on us oppressively. In some of those moments, I barely have the strength to search for hope and truth.
Not everyone is inclined this way, I realize. But I know that I need help to see the truth when my heart is clouded over. I struggle to remember the objective truth of the gospel when my subjective experience bids me believe otherwise. Though the enemy may feel like a tyrant, he does not rule superlatively. I must remember that my God is sovereign - that my times are in His hands (Ps. 31:15).
I love the turn that Psalm 31 takes. After he tells us about his adversaries who scheme against him to take his life, David says,
But I trust in you, O Lord. I say, "You are my God" (v. 14).
"Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)
"And without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Heb. 11:6)
"And without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Heb. 11:6)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
On being human
A quote:
My humble suspicion of the taint of selfish impulse keeps alive in me the need for redemption. I shall humbly accept that my motives are not fully transparent to me because I am not a pure spirit, but a fallen human being in need of purification. I shall be satisfied with a peaceful pondering of my intentions within the limits of reason and possibility. The rest I leave to God in surrender.-- Adrian van Kaam, 1968
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Highlights from the weekend
It was really good to fly down for Sharon's birthday (08/08/08). At first I hesitated, considering instead offering to put the $100 plus towards her flight to see me sometime this upcoming year. (Of course, I told her that would only cover one-way, so if she didn't have any money, she would just have to stay!) But I'm glad I went. Highlights from the weekend, in somewhat chronological order:
1. The VBS concert. (Sharon the PK was a teacher this last week.) It was so fun to watch the little kids sing about God; it was such a good reminder of simple faith. "He's got the whole world in His hands." A timely reminder for me.
1b. And the jumphouse on Sunday was great. Absolutely splendid.
2. Tea for Sharon's birthday (technically we went Saturday). Sandwiches, scones, seeing Dorothy and Kristen. Loved it all. Except for the heavy door. I'm wearing a dress. Please, I can't do that and open a heavy door at the same time.
3. Hanging out at the Fuller bookstore for a few hours. For starters, we were all dressed up from tea, so I'm curious how many people there thought we were SDAs (it was Saturday; see number 2 above). There was a note on the coffee table by the comfy chairs to remind patrons you're welcome to browse, but please don't use our books for research, that's what the library is for. We pretty much made a game out of skimming as many books as possible and trying to bypass the guy at the register while heading to the bathroom. (More like, Lisa did the former, Sharon the latter.)
4. Watching the Olympics with Sharon's narration. Every time an Asian person was psyching themselves up before their performance, she would say (for them) "This is for my family."
5. Getting to see lots of people: Jnak, Sufey, Mark Kuroda's dad.
6. On that note, surprising David at In-N-Out. (More like, crashing Laura's surprise.) My favorite part was walking in, spotting the family, seeing his dad give us a weird face, ducking at the door, all within the period of a few seconds. Later, hanging with the Looses (DEB, reminds me of Hang Loose), going to Din Tai Fung and devouring 60 xiao long baos amongst the four of us, watching Juno, and more. Good times.
Overall, a really good time. I appreciated the balance in how we did a lot without it feeling rushed. I couldn't have asked for more. Happy Birthday, Sharon!
1. The VBS concert. (Sharon the PK was a teacher this last week.) It was so fun to watch the little kids sing about God; it was such a good reminder of simple faith. "He's got the whole world in His hands." A timely reminder for me.
1b. And the jumphouse on Sunday was great. Absolutely splendid.
2. Tea for Sharon's birthday (technically we went Saturday). Sandwiches, scones, seeing Dorothy and Kristen. Loved it all. Except for the heavy door. I'm wearing a dress. Please, I can't do that and open a heavy door at the same time.
3. Hanging out at the Fuller bookstore for a few hours. For starters, we were all dressed up from tea, so I'm curious how many people there thought we were SDAs (it was Saturday; see number 2 above). There was a note on the coffee table by the comfy chairs to remind patrons you're welcome to browse, but please don't use our books for research, that's what the library is for. We pretty much made a game out of skimming as many books as possible and trying to bypass the guy at the register while heading to the bathroom. (More like, Lisa did the former, Sharon the latter.)
4. Watching the Olympics with Sharon's narration. Every time an Asian person was psyching themselves up before their performance, she would say (for them) "This is for my family."
5. Getting to see lots of people: Jnak, Sufey, Mark Kuroda's dad.
6. On that note, surprising David at In-N-Out. (More like, crashing Laura's surprise.) My favorite part was walking in, spotting the family, seeing his dad give us a weird face, ducking at the door, all within the period of a few seconds. Later, hanging with the Looses (DEB, reminds me of Hang Loose), going to Din Tai Fung and devouring 60 xiao long baos amongst the four of us, watching Juno, and more. Good times.
Overall, a really good time. I appreciated the balance in how we did a lot without it feeling rushed. I couldn't have asked for more. Happy Birthday, Sharon!
A few randoms, IV
[Some randoms I started collecting last week, but never posted. I've added the last three, so I could publish and then start a new post about the weekend. Number seven: This is my last full week in Berkeley! Eep.]
1. The guys downstairs are blasting John Mayer. It's slightly better than the non-music they used to play last year, but I still find it strange. Is it really necessary to blast Mayer? I didn't think that was the point.
[1b. David, was it really necessary for me to italicize twice? And I just did it again.]
2. The girls had been looking for roommates, so in a Craigslist post, they wanted to express that they would prefer Christian roommates. But since they couldn't explicitly require that (Craiglists rules dictate), we deliberated for a while and then came up with this: "We are two Christian females looking for roommates in our 3 bedroom..." Apparently this didn't help to filter out this looker:
Hi Christian Ladies.What's up? My name is Eric. To tell the truth,I am not Christian first of all,but I believe in God who is God of Jesus,Moses,Muhammad,Budah etc.So if it matters,you'd better not response to this email. Secondly,I am not a female! I am a junior transfer to UC Berkeley for this coming fall semester.I am a clean,organized,disciplined guy who keeps himself out of all sort of troubles all year long.So if the gender is just a matter of "Preferration" and not "Proliferation",I would be more than happy to get to know two young,bright ladies and take them as my friends.You know,more friends is never enough. Ok.I guess I said enough.By the way,I can send my pictures too and then, you guys can see what a good-looking roommate you could have! And I am not kidding! I look forward to your reply whether with a green light or a solid red. Take Care Eric
Wow is all I can say.
3. Watched a fascinating instructional video on the Abilene paradox - the paradox in which "a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of any of the individuals in the group. It involves a common breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own preferences are counter to the group's and do not raise objections," according to Wikipedia. Glued to the screen, Maria, Sammypants, and I were surprised/impressed by how un-80s the skits were.
4. This is beautiful.
5. Best of this last weekend? Visiting Sharon in LA. Post to come on that pronto. Best thing after coming back from a weekend away? The feeling after hitting "Mark all as read" to the 40 some posts in Google Reader. [Of course I read all the important things from friends, and then I got to experience the great (albeit misleading) feelings of having accomplished something without working for it, while not feeling guilty. At least, not too guilty.]
6. Oh, and Digsy drew me another comic! Thanks!
1. The guys downstairs are blasting John Mayer. It's slightly better than the non-music they used to play last year, but I still find it strange. Is it really necessary to blast Mayer? I didn't think that was the point.
[1b. David, was it really necessary for me to italicize twice? And I just did it again.]
2. The girls had been looking for roommates, so in a Craigslist post, they wanted to express that they would prefer Christian roommates. But since they couldn't explicitly require that (Craiglists rules dictate), we deliberated for a while and then came up with this: "We are two Christian females looking for roommates in our 3 bedroom..." Apparently this didn't help to filter out this looker:
Hi Christian Ladies.What's up? My name is Eric. To tell the truth,I am not Christian first of all,but I believe in God who is God of Jesus,Moses,Muhammad,Budah etc.So if it matters,you'd better not response to this email. Secondly,I am not a female! I am a junior transfer to UC Berkeley for this coming fall semester.I am a clean,organized,disciplined guy who keeps himself out of all sort of troubles all year long.So if the gender is just a matter of "Preferration" and not "Proliferation",I would be more than happy to get to know two young,bright ladies and take them as my friends.You know,more friends is never enough. Ok.I guess I said enough.By the way,I can send my pictures too and then, you guys can see what a good-looking roommate you could have! And I am not kidding! I look forward to your reply whether with a green light or a solid red. Take Care Eric
Wow is all I can say.
3. Watched a fascinating instructional video on the Abilene paradox - the paradox in which "a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of any of the individuals in the group. It involves a common breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own preferences are counter to the group's and do not raise objections," according to Wikipedia. Glued to the screen, Maria, Sammypants, and I were surprised/impressed by how un-80s the skits were.
4. This is beautiful.
5. Best of this last weekend? Visiting Sharon in LA. Post to come on that pronto. Best thing after coming back from a weekend away? The feeling after hitting "Mark all as read" to the 40 some posts in Google Reader. [Of course I read all the important things from friends, and then I got to experience the great (albeit misleading) feelings of having accomplished something without working for it, while not feeling guilty. At least, not too guilty.]
6. Oh, and Digsy drew me another comic! Thanks!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Gmail tip #2: The Filter Label Combo
In my last tip, I talked about using filters to automatically mark as read any emails you send to yourself.
It's taken me a while, because this is a whopper of a tip. I call this tool the Filter Label Combo. It's sort of a two-pronged attack for getting on top of your email. You may already use labels (and yes, Josh the Pen Pal, hopefully with colors, too!). You could use labels for a myriad of reasons, and I'd love to hear what those are for you.
Let me set the stage by giving examples for three approaches of the Filter Label Combo tool:
1. Cataloguing your life (i.e., things you send to yourself such as reminders, etc.): Filtering By Subject. For me, for example, I often send myself recipes, articles or titles of books I want to read, job postings, friends' mailing addresses, funny/interesting things about which I would like to blog, wines I like. I learned to make labels for those things, and I've set filters to automatically (in addition to mark as read) label them. So when I have a few minutes and want to read an article, I know where to go. Or when I need a quick dinner idea, I know where to go. But mostly, just because, I really, really, really like to catalog things. (Steph is like this, too. When she got excited about Systematic Theology, I told her, "You would like that. You like everything that has the word 'systematic' in it. I bet that if I gave you a bag labelled 'systematic garbage' you would love it.")
2. Filing incoming mail from sources other than yourself: Filtering by Sender. For example, I created a filter that added the label Trinity for anything that came in from an address that looked like this: "*@tiu.edu". The wildcard (*) serves as a placeholder for any series of characters.
3. Getting email that's somewhat from yourself; or from mailing lists: Filtering by Recipient. If you forward your email from your school account, this could be helpful, too. And same approach, but different means, for mailing lists.
I really think the whys are more important than the hows, in this case especially, because I think you're all smart enough to figure it out, but I'd like to break it down for those of you for whom it would be helpful. Here, then, are the hows.
Let's start with scenario 1: by Subject. What this presumes is that you'll pick a system so that you can filter. I now send all recipes to myself with the word "recipe" in the subject line, and I'll also put the name in it. So it'll be something like "recipe: chana masala." Here's a snapshot of my emails labelled "recipe." (Incidentally, you may notice that I figured out this method only recently. Also of note: you can still manually apply your label, even though you're now using a filter.)
So, first decide what will be the keyword (e.g., will you put a signifying word in your subject line?) and then proceed to create your filter. Go to Create Filters, and fill in the criteria, like such:
In the next step, you'll probably want it to be Mark as Read, and you'll want to Apply the label... You can create a new label at this point if needed.
Then click and you're done! Test it by sending a congratulatory email to yourself. Woohoo!
Now, to scenario 2: by Sender. Here's what the set-up might like look for the example I gave above. Vary it for your situation.
Lastly, scenario 3: by Recipient. 3a. You can also filter for emails that are sent to your school (or other) account and forwarded to Gmail. (You can ask me for help if you need.) You'd simply set the To in the filter to youraddress@yourschool.com. So any email that looks like it's been sent to your other address gets labeled "calmail" or whatever else you want.
3b. I set a roommate filter/label for emails sent to our house mailing list, males@lists (Maria, Anna, Lisa, Elizabeth, Sarah spells MALES). Similar idea: set the "To:" to the mailing list address and go from there, as such:
3c. Some of you may have heard about this tip from the Gmail blog that discusses how you can add a plus (+) to your account and have all emails still arrive in your box. So you can give away your address as youremail+cb@gmail.com when you sign-up for Crate and Barrel, and if you start getting junk mail, you can just auto-filter to delete. Or you can use it for certain organizations you join. Use the same principle in this Scenario to filter those emails.
Alright. Enough for now. Let me know how it goes! And with luck, there will be a third tip about Quick Links. Happy Gmailing!
P.S. Firefox spellcheck doesn't like my double-l spelling of "labelled" - and dictionary.com says its British spelling. What say you?
It's taken me a while, because this is a whopper of a tip. I call this tool the Filter Label Combo. It's sort of a two-pronged attack for getting on top of your email. You may already use labels (and yes, Josh the Pen Pal, hopefully with colors, too!). You could use labels for a myriad of reasons, and I'd love to hear what those are for you.
Let me set the stage by giving examples for three approaches of the Filter Label Combo tool:
1. Cataloguing your life (i.e., things you send to yourself such as reminders, etc.): Filtering By Subject. For me, for example, I often send myself recipes, articles or titles of books I want to read, job postings, friends' mailing addresses, funny/interesting things about which I would like to blog, wines I like. I learned to make labels for those things, and I've set filters to automatically (in addition to mark as read) label them. So when I have a few minutes and want to read an article, I know where to go. Or when I need a quick dinner idea, I know where to go. But mostly, just because, I really, really, really like to catalog things. (Steph is like this, too. When she got excited about Systematic Theology, I told her, "You would like that. You like everything that has the word 'systematic' in it. I bet that if I gave you a bag labelled 'systematic garbage' you would love it.")
2. Filing incoming mail from sources other than yourself: Filtering by Sender. For example, I created a filter that added the label Trinity for anything that came in from an address that looked like this: "*@tiu.edu". The wildcard (*) serves as a placeholder for any series of characters.
3. Getting email that's somewhat from yourself; or from mailing lists: Filtering by Recipient. If you forward your email from your school account, this could be helpful, too. And same approach, but different means, for mailing lists.
I really think the whys are more important than the hows, in this case especially, because I think you're all smart enough to figure it out, but I'd like to break it down for those of you for whom it would be helpful. Here, then, are the hows.
Let's start with scenario 1: by Subject. What this presumes is that you'll pick a system so that you can filter. I now send all recipes to myself with the word "recipe" in the subject line, and I'll also put the name in it. So it'll be something like "recipe: chana masala." Here's a snapshot of my emails labelled "recipe." (Incidentally, you may notice that I figured out this method only recently. Also of note: you can still manually apply your label, even though you're now using a filter.)
So, first decide what will be the keyword (e.g., will you put a signifying word in your subject line?) and then proceed to create your filter. Go to Create Filters, and fill in the criteria, like such:
In the next step, you'll probably want it to be Mark as Read, and you'll want to Apply the label... You can create a new label at this point if needed.
Then click and you're done! Test it by sending a congratulatory email to yourself. Woohoo!
Now, to scenario 2: by Sender. Here's what the set-up might like look for the example I gave above. Vary it for your situation.
Lastly, scenario 3: by Recipient. 3a. You can also filter for emails that are sent to your school (or other) account and forwarded to Gmail. (You can ask me for help if you need.) You'd simply set the To in the filter to youraddress@yourschool.com. So any email that looks like it's been sent to your other address gets labeled "calmail" or whatever else you want.
3b. I set a roommate filter/label for emails sent to our house mailing list, males@lists (Maria, Anna, Lisa, Elizabeth, Sarah spells MALES). Similar idea: set the "To:" to the mailing list address and go from there, as such:
3c. Some of you may have heard about this tip from the Gmail blog that discusses how you can add a plus (+) to your account and have all emails still arrive in your box. So you can give away your address as youremail+cb@gmail.com when you sign-up for Crate and Barrel, and if you start getting junk mail, you can just auto-filter to delete. Or you can use it for certain organizations you join. Use the same principle in this Scenario to filter those emails.
Alright. Enough for now. Let me know how it goes! And with luck, there will be a third tip about Quick Links. Happy Gmailing!P.S. Firefox spellcheck doesn't like my double-l spelling of "labelled" - and dictionary.com says its British spelling. What say you?
Friday, August 1, 2008
A few randoms, III
(Do I just need to start a blog called, afewrandoms.blogspot? Slash, how many of my questions begin with "Do I just need to start a blog called..."?)1. I came in late to work today. (Good thing Sarah came in to give me a rub, rub or I would have never gotten out of bed!) It's not news that my job is flexible, but actually it's quite rare for me to show up to the office late if it's an office day (as opposed to lab/teaching day). But it seems that on the days I do show up late, I've missed the memo or something. I get there and everyone is gone. That's what happened this morning, and so I asked, Sharon-style (where she kind of rolls her eyes, but not), "Who scheduled the Secret Meeting?" Seriously. Well anyway, I found out they were cleaning out a storage closet downstairs, so I guess I wasn't missing much. (Last time they had gone out to coffee. Boo for missing that one.) When I show up in room 24, the first thing my boss says is "Cute shoes!" (Okay, he is like a late 50s or early 60s man whom I adore.) "This is unusual," he ponders, "you're always wearing tennies or flip-flops." (Hey, those were Chucks, not tennis shoes; and sandals, not flip-flops. Okay, well sometimes they are flip flops. With a sweatshirt. And jean with holes in them. I'm going to miss this job. Well, good thing I'm going to grad school, where it won't matter what I'm wearing. Unless, of course, I'm "man hunting," as someone would say. Advice I got from someone else regarding this? "Sit next to the cute boys. They're all Christian. Stay away from the ones with wedding rings, of course.")
2. I hope you are all enjoying the hidden shout-outs. Sometimes I don't name the person, but you can figure it out using the "word bank" that is the labels of this post. It's like a matching game. Only, should I number/letter the hidden shout-outs so that you know what you're actually trying to match?
3. Hilarious article/video about great books you're ashamed to have not read. Authors confess all. Mine would have to be Hamlet, which is really awkward to admit. Of the 20 some plays by Shakespeare I have read, I had to pick the one that I haven't read in its entirety to be my favorite. (It's my favorite tragedy; Much Ado, my favorite comedy.) I've been assigned this book twice in my school career, and I've written three papers on it. Ugh.
3b. What's your confession?
4. Good essay by Orwell about writing. I appreciate efforts to cut away at excess. (For example, I believe that good recipes don't include ingredients that don't add anything.) I also appreciate this blog's attempt at conciseness, and the author's advice on better blog writing, which I would do well to heed better. (Slash, David, you must finish Elements of Style!)
5. Encouraging quote:
“The only people who get better are people who know that, if they never get better, God will love them anyway.”
—Steve Brown, A Scandalous Freedom (West Monroe, LA: Howard Books, 2004), 68-69
6. Yay for Cheeseboard with Annie!**
7. Should we do a Keep-On-The-Media(n) Cheeseboard party before I leave? (Some of you aren't even here, I realize. Sorry!) When are you free?
Seriously, how effective is that? It makes me think of the sign on Telegraph that says "Drug Free Zone."8. Appropriately, for this number bullet, Happy August! (I can't believe it.)
**updated with pictures after lunch. Also, also! After pizza, we went next door to try some cheese. We ended up with baguettes fresh out of the oven. Armed with that and a small wedge of soft, double creme brie we sat next to the icecream truck man and had our second lunch. I was in love. (Not with the icecream truck man - I meant with the bread and cheese - though a lifetime supply of icecream wouldn't be too bad.)
More pictures here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)