Gazebo Double Take

As I jogged out to the peninsula in Central Park, my eyes diverted from the path when I noticed a stunning bride in the gazebo to the right of me.  After taking in the scene, I realized that she wasn't standing in the gazebo simply for photos, but rather she was reciting her wedding vows.  I had stumbled upon her wedding ceremony. 

Less than a dozen individuals appeared to be officially a part of the ceremony, but I joined several other New Yorkers to unofficially witness the marriage of the couple, whose deep love for each other was obvious to all those around. 

But the couple was not your usual.  While the bride stood a slender 5'8", her partner stood a portly 5'5" with dreads pulled back into a pony tail, and round glasses capturing her eyes.  And, although the bride wore a white gown and held a bouquet of flowers, and the other wore a tux with a tie and a buteneer, both individuals were women.

So there I was, in the heart of Central Park, unofficially witnessing a gay wedding ceremony.  And as the couple in front of me teared up, so did I, but not for the same reason.  While they cried for the beauty of their love, I mourned the brokenness of love in this world.

Time for the rings - Ethan, age 3
The flower girl - about 7 years

And the officiater declared, "I now pronounce you spouses for life."  And then they kissed, and both official and unofficial onlookers clapped and cheered.  And I observed the boy next to me, probably 5 years old, clapping alongside his mother...

A 1/2 mile or so later I ran into a few of my college students fishing at one of the ponds.  Mitch, one of my favorite guy students, and I got talking and I shared with him what I had witnessed.  And he then shared with me some of what he remembered from a talk that Sy Rogers...

This past fall I was talking to my coworker Elijah who oversees all our overseas trip at The King's College.  He explained to me...

Several years ago a bill was presented in Uganda that called for the death penalty of homosexuals.  Elijah explained that even the church in Uganda has failed miserably to love these people stating, "The church is cutting of access points for healing and salvation."

Filled with Surprises

September 2011 - Age 23 - Onsted, Michigan

"Mom, do you ever get tired of living?"  I asked the question not because I was suicidal, but rather because I was premenstrual and disappointed that the guy I liked hadn't called me since I told him to stop calling me in mid-April.  I had explained to him that I wanted to focus on my ministry for the summer and that I didn't want to be distracted by his e-mails and phone calls.  But the summer was well over, and I still hadn't heard from him.  And I was beginning to regret the mistake I had made in pushing him aside.

My mom looked up from her book, and paused for a moment to formulate an answer.  "No, not really.  The great thing about life is that you never know what's going to happen next.  It's filled with surprises."

Surprises... hmmm... God, isn't about time you surprise me a boyfriend?  After all, I'm 23 years old - I'm getting old.  Shouldn't I be getting married soon?

Shortly after my conversation with my mom I drove into Ann Arbor for some college night worship thing being held at a church that looked like a toaster.  In fact, we called it just that - The Toaster Church.

At the end of the worship time my friend Christopher (aka Godwin) got up to make an announcement.  "For those of you who are going to New York, we'll be meeting at the Markley parking lot at midnight to leave for the city.  Please be sure to bring a sleeping bag and pillow and keep your packing to a minimum."

As people started in on their post worship service chit chat, I made a beeline for my friend Christopher.  "What is this about New York?"

"A group of us are taking a 15 passenger van to the city to help with post 9.11 stuff.  We still have 2 spots left if you want to come with us."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  Do you want to come?"

I glanced down at the clock in the back of the church to see if I had enough time to pull off making a round trip home to pack.  It would be close, but possible.  "Count me in.  I'll be there at midnight."

I rushed out of The Toaster Church and sped home to pack up and tell my parents the news that I would be heading to New York for the next few days.  They loaded me up with cash and snacks, and I made the 45 minute drive back to Ann Arbor for the second time in that same evening, all the while pondering, my mom's statement, "You never know what's going to happen next; life is filled with surprised." 

I made it back just in time to join the others on the 15 passenger van.  I couldn't believe I was heading to NYC.

March 11, 2012
Several Sundays ago I had another one of "those" moments.  You know, one of those moments where your world seems less than ideal, and nothing seems to be going your way.  And you haven't quite yet identified or remembered that you're amidst a great spiritual battle (or perhaps, if you're female, another episode of pms.)

I complained to my parents over the phone, ".............."  and started considering jobs in Indiana, so that at least I could be closer to my niece and nephews.

But then, the other day, just as my mom promised me years ago, something unexpected happened.  I was surprised by life.    

But in some aspects I'm not surprised at all, mainly because the longer I live, the more I understand that living a life of faith is filled with adventure and surprises - good ones!

Leap Year

i'd like to propose that leap year day be recognized as a national holiday in which EVERYONE (not just postal workers) get the day off... or even better than that...

i propose that february 29 be a "day of jubilee" in which every four years all student loan debt is forgiven

Missing Me

Yesterday upon returning to my apartment building, I stepped out of the elevator, and gazed at myself in the hallway mirror, wondering who I've be come, and feeling distant from who I am - or at least who I once was. 
I tried to tell my roommate that I didn't feel like me, but I didn't really have the words to provide an adequate explanation.  I attempted, stating, "I'm just not New York." 
But I think it's more than that - or maybe it's that I've been trying to be someone I'm not.  But at this point, it's not really pretending - it is.  I am the me of New York City. 

While my feet crave chacos, I wear boots.  While my heart craves outdoor adventure, my adventures now consist of subways, cement, and pubs in the Lower East Side.

And I do like beer - but not that much. 

I miss climbing.
I miss surfing.
I miss snowboarding.
But most of all, I miss me.

February 1

After entering the New Year being plagued by sickness, I gave myself a break, granting permission to take the month off January "off" before I started writing again.

But who am I kidding?  I haven't been writing at all - unless we are talking about my grad school papers, e-mails, occasional text messages to cute boyz - gosh, I can't call them that can I?  Let me rephrase - text messages to handsome men.  Men.  Hmmm... that sounds sooooooo old, and full of connotations that aren't attached to most of the members of the opposite sex that I interact with on a semi-regular basis.  It's not that I'm saying that they are immature - which they probably are - it's just, well, I'd like to still be considered a girl.  And if they're men, then I'm no longer a girl.

But it's true, as my 2nd hottest friend (who is no longer officially my 2nd hottest friend) told me last year.  "Katrina, you're a woman."   

I'm not sure when that happened.  Or how, either - but it did.  Perhaps it's simply the age thing - or getting really good with my parenting adult voice that I occasionally have to use with students when they either make less than smart choices, or are amidst some sort of something that needs addressing.  Sorry, can't tell you what that might be - as, well, it's all confidential.  Which, is actually highly unfortunate that so much of my life is confidential, because I have some fabulous student stories that I'll never be able to write about for the world to read.  Like the one involving - oooooooooh wow - like I said, it's confidential.

But what's not confidential is that I'm not pregnant.  Not that I thought that I was - or even suspected possibility, but just in case anyone thought the 4 pounds I've gained since December was due to pregnancy weight - it's not.  I blame THAT on Jillian Michael's work out video.  The video is no good - it advertises itself as a weight loss workout, but I had to learn the hard way that her video is a muscle building weight gainer. 

For clarification, I'm still a virgin.  So is my friend Kate.  She's a nun friend of mine that also lives in city.  Growing up we also lived within a few miles of each other.   

Day 3

Somehow I missed day 2 of the year.  I also missed the memo that the Rose Bowl had been changed to January 2^nd.  Who does that?!?!  That’s like moving Christmas Day to the December 26.  It just isn't right.  And to not properly inform your tax paying citizens who purchase the crap that is advertised on the commercial breaks?  What kind of country do we live in?

On the first of the year I kept flipping through my 8 TV stations hoping that I would eventually catch a glimpse of the Rose Bowl.  But sometime around 10 pm, I had convinced myself that I had missed the game altogether.

I went into work the next day, disappointed that I didn’t have the knowledge to intelligently talk about the game with my coworker Nick.  But Nick hadn’t returned from vacation yet, and no one else seemed to have football on their minds, so as the day progressed my disappointment eased up and finally felt okay by the fact that I had missed the one football game that I make a priority to see every year. 

Later in the afternoon – on the 2^nd - I was confused why my friend Kim, who lives in Lithuania, posted on her facebook that she was up watching the Rose Bowl game late at night.  I thought that was foolish for her to stay up and watch the replay of the game, and to cheer on the ducks (who had already won or lost), when she could watch the replay during a more reasonable hour of the day.

I refrained from commenting with such a tip, and instead decided that it was time to overcome my sickness by heading to Rockwood Music Hall to hear my friend Adjoa Skinner play her first show in New York.  Adjoa, who also goes by Emily (and probably a few other names that I don’t know about), and I met several years ago in LA – in a restroom.  We became near best friends in one conversation, but then I never saw her again – except on facebook.  She added me as a friend, and to her e-mail list, and that’s why I knew she was in New York.

And so I went, and heard her sing about being tall, and men being too short, and as I drank my overpriced margarita – I wondered why e-harmony keeps trying to set me up with men that are shorter than me, when clearly we are not a match.  I haven’t officially signed up from e-harmony, but I’m nearing the day – I’m not sure how near, but nearer now that I have grad school out of the way (or so I hope; I’m still crossing my fingers that I pass my last class.  I could fail – and I’m not joking.)

When I got home from the show my roommate informed me of some horrific news.  Not only had I missed the Rose Bowl on January 1 – the one that didn’t happen – I also missed the 2012 Rose Bowl that had been played on January 2 – the one I COULD have watched, but was misinformed by bad newsfeed in my facebook updates. 

I cried. Okay, not really.  But I did console my football viewing loss with a cookie and diet coke.

But today – January 3^rd – was a new day!!!  And I knew today would be a good day, because I knew for a fact that Michigan would be playing a football game – and I knew I wasn’t going to miss it.

And so after work… and after my first nondate, date of the year at a nearby pub, with a near stranger from LA, I was off to watch some football with some U of M fans that go to my church.

After watching the game, I decided that it is time for me to start tap dancing again.

But not tonight – for now I need to get to bed and ponder all the funny things that I could have written in the past half hour, but didn’t because the thought didn’t occur to me until it was too late.

New Beginnings

I started the year standing at the corner of 38th Street and Broadway - too far from the heart of Times Square to experience the real thing, yet close enough to see the fireworks, and to stand among the crowds of people hoping to catch a glimpse of something.

We caught a glimpse of nothing - except people climbing up street poles and on top of telephone booths in hopes to get a better view.  They didn't, but I'm convinced they felt a tad more special by their elevated status and the fact that they could look down on us and shake the ashes from their cigarettes on top of innocent bystanders below.

I was one of the innocent bystanders.

Then again, the people I sat beside on my two legs into the city earlier in the day were also innocent bystanders, except they were bysitters rather than by standers.  The poor woman on my flight to Philly, and the handsome man I sat beside the rest of the way into New York were both exposed to my germs and my incessant sneezing.

I start this year sick, and confused by the man on Broadway dressed up as Santa Claus.  He must have missed the memo that Santacon was weeks ago.