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                  contra-dancing = fun
contra-dancing - preparation = heat exhaustion
                 heat exhaustion ≠ fun

Presbytera Athanasia and Saint Patrick

I went to the chapel this evening at 8 pm to listen to and speak with Presbytera Athanasia Papademetriou, author of Presbytera: The Life, Mission, and Service of the Priest's Wife.

Things I got out of it:
* Being married to a seminarian is a choice. First you said 'yes' when you married him. Then you said 'yes' to going to the seminary with him. It's important to remember that the first 'yes' was to your marriage. "You are wife before you are presbytera."
* Being a presbytera means being brave. Follow the Panagia's example: "I will do as you please."
* Father Elias was also there, with thoughtful contributions: On being called Presbytera instead of your given name: "In a thousand years, who 's going to remember 'Father Elias'? 'Father' and 'Presbytera' are what's important."
* Father Elias told of his first parish assignment, where he expected to be an assistant priest, but ended up being the main priest from mid-September through Pascha, giving Communion for 45 minutes on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Presbytera emphasized an earlier point, "So when he comes home, don't ask him to do anything!"
* Prepare for your bishop's visit: vestments, husband, altar, home, children, self. A delightful quotation from Presbytera on preparing your husband, grooming-wise: "Get *him* ready if he is forgetful -- some people do need help, you know?" Make sure your bishop and your children have a relationship.
* The divorce rate in the clergy is the same as the American divorce rate.
* Turn to prayer, to Christ, to the Panagia. Your husband can't always be there for you. Your parishoners are your in your care more than they can be your friends.
* Other quotations from Presbytera: "Do not be jealous of each other. ... If they praise your husband, be happy." "Cliques are not good. ... They divide. You must unite. Bring people together. They will love you for that." "The priest is the best counselor you will ever find." "You have to look at your whole life as a ministry." One from Fr. Elias: "You have to make an example for your husband."
* When Presbytera's son was singled out in a group of children after a window was broken and the others had run away, she came onto the scene, asking him, "Why didn't you run?" "I was there to tell the man I didn't do it."

Also, today is the feast of Saint Patrick! Nobody beat me to making an article on my beloved orthodoxwiki! My mother's package arrived here today. I got a button saying, "Thank God I'm Irish," while Virgil's proclaims, "Irish By Marriage."

Ah, confusion

Ms. R--- and I just had a conversation which went like this:

"I'm going up to Toronto to see a Blue Jays game."
"I like Toronto. It has the World's Biggest Bookstore."
"My daughter would be interested in that. What's the name?"
"The World's Biggest Bookstore."
"That's the name of the store. I see. There's the New England Book Fair which is in Newton. That's pretty close, so you might be interested in that."
"Neat. When is it?"
"Where? It's in Newton."
"No, but when?"
"It's a bookstore."

At which point we each burst out laughing.

Or you could just be crazy

Mr. A--- asked me to fedex a large envelope, which wouldn't fit in the fedex envelope. I could only find small and large fedex paks, and it was too small for the latter and too large for the former. (Yay for chiasmus!)

Naturally, I assumed we'd run out of middle-sized paks, so I told Ms. E----, and she went online to order more, but that option wasn't available: only small and large. Naturally, she called fedex and asked why she couldn't order middle-sized paks. Naturally, the answer was obvious: there are no middle-sized paks. Ever. (This paragraph brought to you by anaphora.)

[[Insert catchy tag-line here.]]

Liar, Liar, Car's on ...

Mr. S--- came back from a smoke. "Hey, B--, your car's smoking." So Mr. B-- went outside, quickly, and came back in, quickly. Ms. E---- called the fire department, and I watched the progression of smoke to flames through a growing crack, then hole of the windshield.

Ms. E---- noticed that her car and Mr. A---'s car were parked next to Mr. B--'s car. She went to move her car, and I had the delight of speeding to Mr. A---'s office and telling him, "B--'s car is on fire. Yours is next to it, and you might want to move it."

He got to tell the person on the line, "Hey. I have to move my car. The car next to it is on fire. Bye!" and race out the door. Not as neet as Tham's "Cat's caught in the printer; gotta go!" excuse to get off the phone, but still.

The fire department came (our phone number isn't for S--------, where we are located, it's for C-----, so the fire department of the latter came, taking longer); the guys were already out with two fire extinguishers (one I found in the stairwell). Nobody's hurt, but we've been smelling smoke all day long.

Okay, Mr. Gugg, I admit that there are benefits to smoking.

No word yet on what caused the fire. Poor Mr. B--.

Go Sit in Your Chair!

"His middle name is Aloysius."
"Why is [he] like a hand cream?"
"What?!"
"Aloe-icious."
"Go sit in your chair! Think about what you've done!"
[pause]
"But I like what I've done."
"Think harder!"

I don't think this what was Thomas Paine had in mind.

Lifehacks

Stumbled onto 43 Folders via Slacker Manager. Learned about lifehacks, which are neet.

I guess I do have things to do, if I want. So I'll do them now. Bye.

Today at Work

Ms. R--- is still on vacation for one more day, and Ms. L--- has gone on maternity leave. Ms. E---- went to the banks, and the guys were, well, swarming all over the office, unless you wanted to find one.

Put two thoughts together.
Fax.
Phone, phone, phone.
Fax.
Phone.
Work on inv-
Phone.
Work on invoices.
Fax.
Phone, phone, phone.
Work on th-
Phone, phone, phone, fax, phone.
Work on thing for Mr. A---.
Phone.
Work on thing for Mr. W-------.

Then the phone was possessed until [interrupted by phone while blogging] Ms. E---- came back.

Still need to work on thing for Mr. W------- and the invoices are now in two piles: possible and needing to have brain-power for. Possible is a large stack, and n-t-h-b-p-f is also a large stack.

Maybe tomorrow I'll pack a lunch so I can have more than Goldfish Baked Snack Crackers™ (Parmesan flavor) and water. Not that I'd have time to eat it, but it would comfort me.

I wish jobs came with a spring break. I'm quite envious of my husband, even though all he gets to do is paperwork, taxes, taxes, and taxes.

I have enough time to blog occasionally, since that doesn't require me to put two thoughts together, just one at a time. Or fewer.

Amen.

Why do you do what you do to me, baby?

10 points for the movie reference.

I would like someone to be able to explain me to myself. For instance:

After a long day at work, I can be counted on to greet my car (Gertrude Audrey Volvo*, for those of you who haven't been introduced) with a loud cry: "Babycakes!"

Then I will realize that this is an odd thing to do and look to see whether anyone has heard me. Not before. I need my own Cliffs Notes. No wonder my husband married me for comic relief.

*Picture is not of my actual car. My actual car has that under all the snow and salt and dirt, except for parts which have fallen off and are now stored carefully in various places.