Interstitiality

Graduation Pictures

As promised, here are some graduation pictures. Check out my Flickr page for more. I also included some photos from our Youth Group reunion.

Keane

Michelle and I saw Keane last night at the Aragon. They were fantastic! I was amazed that they created such a rich, full sound with three band members and two instruments. The lead singer, Tom Chaplin, only played a keyboard on one song. His vocals were clear and melodic. All the other songs were carried by the drummer, Richard Hughes, and piano/keyboard player, Tim Rice-Oxley. Some of the songs may have had backing base and percussion tracks; but for the most part, Chaplin’s vocals, the pianos, and drums carried the live music energy. Being a keyboard geek myself, I was appreciative of the way that Rice-Oxley hammered out relatively simple chords and voicings on a Yamaha electric grand--the keyboard that characterizes the Keane sound--to create a complex live backdrop for Chaplin's lyrics. Michelle and I also found out that they were filming for a forthcoming Keane DVD. Chances are good that we have face time.

You more than likely have heard Keane if you listen to the radio. Their hit song, “Somewhere Only We Know” was featured on a recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Their album, “Hopes and Fears,” is a very good album. In fact, it is probably my favorite album this year. Every song is worth listening to. In fact, you can listen to samples from the album on the Keane website. It is well worth it. Check it out!

Graduation

The graduation was full and wonderful! I will say more about it later, and I have some pictures to post. It was great to have my family out (thirteen of us total!). The baccalaureate sermon was inspiring. There was much eating and celebration. It was nice to have so much family presence on this important milestone in my life. It was also exhausting (with little sleep). I am thankful, full of gratitude, and glad that it is over!

Favorite moment: When President Torrance declared to the doctoral graduates: "Welcome to the community of scholars"

Not-so-favorite moment": Finding out that my diploma had not been signed; PTS will have to mail it to me later.

Graduation Announcement

I was only able to get 20 graduation announcements from Princeton Seminary, and they all went to immediate family. Here's one, so no one feels left out...

In Full Color(s)

Here is the picture of my new cap, gown, and hood.

Duh!

Geez, I never recognized this until now, but NU's email servers are, for the most part, named after Evanston area restaurants. Three of the four servers are named, Merle, Hecky (after Merle's and Hecky's, two very good BBQ joints), and Lulu (after Lulu's Dim Sum and Then Some, a pan-Asian noodle shop). Duh! How slow am I?

One Week and Counting

One more week before we leave for Princeton. It will be good to be back at PTS under less stressful circumstances. I really did enjoy my seven years there. In fact, one of my favorite aspects of A Beautiful Mind was that much of it was shot in Princeton. The movie really brought back some pleasant memories about my old stomping grounds. I can't say that I will every feel the same way about Soul Survivors

Michelle

I didn’t forget to mention it to her, but I didn’t say much on my blog about Michelle’s birthday beings last week. In the Yamada house we almost always celebrate birthdays on different days than the actual birthday. Still, Michelle’s birthday last Thursday gave me time to reflect on what a wonderful person, partner, and friend she is (I will spare all of you the other more intimate adjectives).

She is the cream in my coffee
She is “once, twice, three times a lady”
She is this Dawson’s Joey
She “completes me”
It is in her eyes, “the light, the heat; I am complete; I see the doorway, to a thousand churches; the resolution of all my fruitless searches”
She is this Charlie’s angel
She is Michelle ma belle

Slump

I'm already in my first mini-slump of the young softball season. I went 0-2 last night, lowering my season batting avg. to .400. Hitting .400 in baseball is a major accomplishment. Anything below .500 in slow pitch softball is not so good. Hopefully with the warming trend, I will find my swing.

And I did decide on the Easton Synergy SCX 22 (or Synergy 2). Nice bat!

Full Weekend

It was an eventful weekend.
-My mother-in-law is in town, and she has been nothing but helpful.
-Seabury lost its first game of the season against Garrett by a score of 11-8. It was a good, close, and fun game.
-Friday night, the Yamada clan avec Grandma Wright went to see Westside Story at ETHS. It was performed in what had to be the biggest high school theatre in which I have been. The performance was really, really well done. Hannah S., the daughter of a Seabury student, played a very convincing officer Krupke; and Anna L., daughter of the former Dean, sung well as part of a trio (this particular version of WSS had three high school young women singing “There’s a Place for Us”). I love WSS. It was a great show.
-Saturday night we celebrated Michelle’s birthday, which was last Thursday. She decided on Merle’s since her mother has not had decent BBQ before. What a feast. Ribs, ribs, and more ribs.
-Sunday, I began a six week adult ed. series at First Presbyterian Church, Arlington Heights. The topic: “Gender and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible.” It should be interesting. It was a lively group, and much larger than I expected. Looks like Presbyterians want to talk about sex too. Imagine that.
-Sunday night, I finished my final revisions for my now library ready dissertation. I burned 639 pieces of paper, 426 of it acid-free (btw, which you can purchase at Office Max, but not Office Depot). For you math majors, that means three copies at 213 pgs each. Michelle and I stuffed them into an undersized FedEx box, and I shipped it off Monday morning. Whew! Glad that’s done.