I compose this blog as I sit, drying, recovering, from a spontaneous water fight at the last chaplaincy BBQ of the year. Today marks the start of the last week of the academic year here at York. All/most the undergrads are leaving this week for the year. Originally, we were only going to trow water at one of the CaSSoc presidents, but that did not last very long. So, most of us ended the year soaking wet. It was amazingly fun. And it is part of the reason I am now writing this.
Earlier in the afternoon, I was discussing blogging. I said that I probably wouldn't blog for a while because not much was going on. Just like the impromptu water fight, I decided to write a bit. I also decided to reflect a bit--motivated by the end of the year, the homily from mass, and another friend's blog. (It's called Trowels and Tribulations, and it is great.)
Today is the feast of Corpus Christi. The conclusion of today's homily had two parts. First, in Catholicism, religion and faith are not simply individual matters--me and my relationship with Jesus my saviour--they are communal concerns--either we all go together or we go not at all. This is an idea I love. The second part was on the nature of goodbyes. We never truly say goodbye forever, just goodbye for now. So, while I will inevitably be sad (as I am a bit now), I can be happy that I will see the people I've grown to love here again. Be that in a few months, a few years, or when neither (none?) of us are alive. (That got a bit out of hand, sorry.)
My friend's blog today was about history and the strange dichotomy between permanence and impermanence. Not to spoil it, but he's doing an archaeology dig in Israel--where stuff is really old. I've thought about the same issues that he talks about. How do we mentally handle living in places where there are things built hundreds (or thousands) of years ago, while we happily walk around with cell phones and iPods? Those societies, which are for many people (especially Americans), only accessible through books, though they can sometimes manifest themselves in physical traces. When we find them as physical things, must confront something, but I have never found a truly satisfying word for what it is. At some point, we will not be here, but some of our stuff will be. That's a strange thought, but it deserves to be thought about.
Transitions are painful. That will never change. On a personal level, leaving somewhere and starting something new is tough--it's a feeling that I've almost become accustomed to. On a societal level, transitions are no less painful but they take longer to occur. I am no longer confident I understand my point, so I'll concluded with one thought. The Disney movie "Meet the Robinsons" (which if you haven't seen, you need to) has a theme based on a Disney quote: "Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new thing, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." OK, I lied, two thoughts. A second Disney movie quote, from "The Incredibles," "I never look back, darling! It distracts from the now." And so, as we all move forward, let us not forget to live in the present.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Summer Week 8
Hello all! Happy June!
Since my last post, I've been been to Manchester, London, and the Yorkshire Dales. But before all of that (including pictures), a work update. My dissertation has been coming along, I might even go so far as to say nicely. I was in Manchester for research at the Imperial War Museum North. I've been doing a bit of writing and I've had a couple supervisor meetings. Before my next meeting in about 3 weeks, I have to send my supervisor a draft of what I have so far. Which means I get to spend the next week reading, writing, and sorting out what I have already written. It should be fun.
This past week has been a bit hectic. It started last Sunday with the graduation mass and BBQ. It was a lot of fun, but I got a bit sunburned. So I'm rocking a bit of a farmer's tan.
Then on Wednesday I went to London with some friends. We were supposed to be on the 8:56 am train, but that one got cancelled due to a fault on the train, so we ended up on the next one (roughly 9:30). Most of us ended up sitting in between the cars by the doors, luggage rack, and toilet. After we got to King's Cross and had a quick lunch, we went to the British Museum. (Basically, the world's largest collection of found and stolen stuff.) It was really cool. We saw pretty much everything and were looking at the gift shop when one of my friends and I realized we hadn't seen the Rosetta Stone or the Elgin Marbles (at the museum, they are the Parthenon Marbles). The rest of the group gave us 15 minutes to see them. Luckily, we found them immediately. They were really cool. After the British Museum, we went to the Science Museum. It was also cool, a few of us spent about half the time we were there in the children's section. By the time we left to go eat dinner, all 10 of us were suffering museum fatigue. We returned to York on a 9 pm train.
Thursday was the CaSSoc end of term/year meal. It was an occasion for some of us to dress up and go out to a fancy dinner. We started with a reception at the chaplaincy and then headed into town. One of the guys wore a top hat, which ended up being handed around so everyone could try it on.
Saturday, CaSSoc (a small group of us) went out to the Dales, near Middlesmoor, to visit one of the biology faculty's sheep. It's a special kind that is generally found in Cumbria. It was a lot of fun. I got to feed a couple and got a lot of pictures of the sheep and the Dales.
That's it for my incredibly busy week. Term ends for the undergrads in two weeks, so that'll be sad. But, now I've got some pictures to share.
This is from the top of the Minster tower on Ascension day (there was a service with free food after).
Again, town from the top of the Minster.
The British Museum!
The Rosetta Stone.
The Parthenon Marbles.
Stop being existential museum! I don't know who I am.
Me in the top hat at the end of the year meal.
Welcome to the Yorkshire Dales!
Baby sheep in a fence!
I fed a sheep! Actually, I just dropped the food this time. The second time I fed one, no one took a picture. And the third time, the picture I have doesn't have me in it.
That's all I have this week!
Since my last post, I've been been to Manchester, London, and the Yorkshire Dales. But before all of that (including pictures), a work update. My dissertation has been coming along, I might even go so far as to say nicely. I was in Manchester for research at the Imperial War Museum North. I've been doing a bit of writing and I've had a couple supervisor meetings. Before my next meeting in about 3 weeks, I have to send my supervisor a draft of what I have so far. Which means I get to spend the next week reading, writing, and sorting out what I have already written. It should be fun.
This past week has been a bit hectic. It started last Sunday with the graduation mass and BBQ. It was a lot of fun, but I got a bit sunburned. So I'm rocking a bit of a farmer's tan.
Then on Wednesday I went to London with some friends. We were supposed to be on the 8:56 am train, but that one got cancelled due to a fault on the train, so we ended up on the next one (roughly 9:30). Most of us ended up sitting in between the cars by the doors, luggage rack, and toilet. After we got to King's Cross and had a quick lunch, we went to the British Museum. (Basically, the world's largest collection of found and stolen stuff.) It was really cool. We saw pretty much everything and were looking at the gift shop when one of my friends and I realized we hadn't seen the Rosetta Stone or the Elgin Marbles (at the museum, they are the Parthenon Marbles). The rest of the group gave us 15 minutes to see them. Luckily, we found them immediately. They were really cool. After the British Museum, we went to the Science Museum. It was also cool, a few of us spent about half the time we were there in the children's section. By the time we left to go eat dinner, all 10 of us were suffering museum fatigue. We returned to York on a 9 pm train.
Thursday was the CaSSoc end of term/year meal. It was an occasion for some of us to dress up and go out to a fancy dinner. We started with a reception at the chaplaincy and then headed into town. One of the guys wore a top hat, which ended up being handed around so everyone could try it on.
Saturday, CaSSoc (a small group of us) went out to the Dales, near Middlesmoor, to visit one of the biology faculty's sheep. It's a special kind that is generally found in Cumbria. It was a lot of fun. I got to feed a couple and got a lot of pictures of the sheep and the Dales.
That's it for my incredibly busy week. Term ends for the undergrads in two weeks, so that'll be sad. But, now I've got some pictures to share.
That's all I have this week!
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