Interstitiality

Exposed

I swear, I swear that I am an alternative music guy. I swear it! I have always hated disco! However, my sisters have uncovered old photos that tell a different story:

MT Blog fixing

So, I have noticed that I have a blank line running across my blog near the bottom of the page. I don't read HTML very well, so I'm not quite sure what is going on with this. If there are any MT "fixers" out there, please feel free to leave me a note, and I will send you the code.

Sleep Anyone?

For some reason I have been having trouble sleeping lately. I typically fall asleep a couple of minutes after my head hits the pillow, and I can usually catch a cat-nap any time during the day. The last couple of weeks, however, I have been waking up regularly at 5:00 a.m. or a little after, and then I can’t get back to sleep. Since I am a night-owl, I am still going to bed at close to midnight or later. One would think that this trend would catch up with me or that I would walk around sleepy all day. It’s just the opposite. I have super high energy. I don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad problem to have. I suspect that it is tied to all the stuff going on around here and in my life; but I don’t feel particularly stressed or anxious—just super filled with energy. If this is a symptom of the whacked out stress that I have been facing, I’ll take it!

Parking Mojo, Round 2

I received a saint card from my dear Anglo-Catholic friends yesterday at an informal birthday dinner/gathering. It was of St. Martin de Porres, apparently the saint in charge of helping you find parking spots. Of course, as a Protestant, this kind of thing messes with the mojo. So what happened today? Adam and I went downtown for lunch, and we could not find a parking spot. We drove around for almost fifteen minutes. In fact, I had almost given up, saying, “Something must be wrong with the parking mojo; let’s go find a place to eat with a parking lot.” Then, BAM! out of nowhere a lady opened her door and pulled out. This happened right as I was finishing my sentence. Now for those who don’t know about the parking mojo, you don’t need to invoke the mojo regularly once you have it. It is kind of like the Holy Spirit, God gives it to you once, and you live into it (unless, of course, you are Pentecostal, in which case you receive the HS twice, but I digress). I think my St. Martin de Porres card has upset the mojo. I had to re-invoke it, indirectly I might add, in order for the mojo to start flowing again. Maybe I should put St. Martin in a scrap book.

New Book

I went to a book signing/reception for my friend, Carolyn Chen, whose book just came out through Princeton University Press. The book is called, Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience. Friends of Carolyn are so proud to know her. She is a superstar! Way to go Dr. Chen!

Feeling lucky?

For someone who is a Presbyterian minister, I believe a lot in luck. My particular belief in luck has its roots in Japanese American culture, for sure; but, as is typical among Asian Americans, my particular embodiment of that cultural expression is fraught with conflicting and overlapping notions from the East and West. One can see me practice my belief in luck when I am trying to find a parking spot in Evanston—no easy task. I put my trust in what my kids call “the parking mojo” and ouila! a parking spot quickly appears. In my family’s thinking, if you do things in your life that are in line with luck—practice the proper rituals, live the moral life, work hard, do good to others, etc.—you will have more luck. If you drive around, angry at life and everyone, you do not put yourself in a good position to have luck; and hence, you do not stand a very good chance of getting a parking spot. This notion of luck supposedly works for aspects of your life such as wealth, health, happiness, and, of course, the well-being of your favorite sports teams. Does good/bad luck work? Ask the Cubbies. However, luck does not always work. There are times when you can feel the parking mojo flowing through your veins, and yet those opened parking spots mock you as if to say, “Give it up kid!” A rational person would look at this practice and say, “Isn’t this all just chance?” I would answer, “no.” Mock the mojo and the mojo will mock you. It’s not so much that luck is a person whom you must appease. It is more like the force, and you must become the Jedi master. The more you are in tune with it, the more someone is likely to say about you, “the Force is strong with this one”—the more likely you are to put the proton torpedo in the Death Star’s shaft.

If you sense theological rumblings in my ramblings, you would be correct. Within biblical concepts such as wisdom (in both the Proverbs and Job/Ecclesiastes sense), I would say, even our notion of the Creator, one can identify this idea that one must be in alignment with Dame Wisdom or YHWH for shalom—peace, wholeness, completeness. It may not guarantee that you get every parking space, but this alignment provides one with the proper way to be in the world. Obedience, therefore, is not just about following a set of rules. It is about getting in line with the Alignment.

Good Prayer

I have been praying for Seabury often since the beginning of the year, as one might guess. At commencement this past Friday, I was unable to get through a hymn. The line that choked me up is, I think, a good prayer for me as I pack up my things from Seabury:

"Together met, together bound, we'll go our different ways, and as (God's) people in the world, we'll live and speak (God's) praise."

Pensive

I just started a facebook account last week. I'm having a great deal of fun with it. It has been a good distraction for me--connecting with people in light ways. From what is it distracting me? Myself. I am in a rainy season. Even though it is warming up outside, I'm strangely in the mood for hot teas, a cup of hot chocolate, a crackling fire, a warm blanket, and music that pulls me in. I am very full of all sorts of feelings. I guess that is what I should expect when I am figuring out how to say goodbye to eight good years of my life. I can't speak for everyone who has passed through Seabury's walls within that eight-year period; but it has been a good time in my life.

And what song comes into my headhpones from my ITunes as I type this? Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. Random play list? Whatever!

Graduation photos

Here is one photo from yesterday. Click on my Flikr link/thumbnail to the right OR on click on the photo below, then look in the Graduation 2008 set for more

Me and Andrew (student graduation coordinator)

News on the Personal Front

Here is the notice that I sent to those my email list:

Dear friends,

I know that I have kept most of you in the loop about the situation at Seabury and how it relates to my future. I have some good news. I have accepted an offer from McCormick Theological Seminary to be the Director of Asian American Ministries and Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible. The position begins in the Fall of 2008, and it is tenure-able. McCormick is a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.) and is located on Chicago ¢s south side in Hyde Park . After much deliberation, my family and I decided that this was the best decision for us. We are still hoping to live in the area, if our budget will allow it, so that our children can finish high school at Evanston Township High School.

Seabury has been an incredibly nurturing and supportive community for us. We have cherished our eight years here. We will miss this community greatly, and our prayers and thoughts will continue to be with Seabury as it discerns its way forward. We also thank all of you who have been praying for us, sending us thoughtful notes, and supporting us through this time of transition.

Peace and grace,
Frank