Tuesday, April 29, 2014

iPhones can't swim.

And I should know ... mine took a tumble into the waters of the porcelain god and sank straight to the bottom. I'm sorry to say that my iPhone 5 has gone to be with the Lord. The ironic thing about this is that this particular phone was, by the way, already the second I'd had, seeing as how the first one became one with the ocean last summer. I put too much trust in the pocket of my sweatshirt. All we wanted was to watch fireworks - was that too much to ask? Apparently. Put some rocks in our way, throw the dog in my arms, visualize us running around said rocks to get a better view of the fireworks, and the end result is the ocean claiming my phone for its own.

Now I know we've all heard this before, and many of us fall into the "I'd-never-let-something-like-that-happen" category. Well, I'm here to tell you that your best intentions will fail you. How do I know? Because it's happened to me.

Twice.
There's not a whole lot to this story, except to put out a  
VERY STRONG WARNING!!!

Never again shall I put my phone in the back pocket of my pants. Well ... I probably will ... but I shall strive ever so hard to always check said pocket before using the loo. And I should like to encourage you and everyone of our acquaintance to do the same. Lack of vigilance may result in the purchase of a new phone much sooner and for much more money than is necessary.

I shall be especially aware as my phone is a means of communication with beloved people such as yourself, and I should not ever like to lose that. Because I like you quite a lot, dear friend.

Cellularly safe,
Mandar the Magnificent



Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The Peculiar Thing About Adventures...

Dear Mandar,

I know it has taken a long while for me to write, but I can explain.
To be perfectly honest, I was having a difficult time knowing exactly what to write because, well, I wasn't feeling like my adventures were much of anything. In fact, they didn't feel like adventures at all.
Then it occurred to me.
Even the best stories have passages related to " the before" or "the build up" to the adventure. And even the best characters in those stories are sometimes completely unaware that they are on an adventure, until they are smack dab in the middle of one.

It can be difficult to recognize the adventure we are on because we are so focused on moving beyond it to the next, more exciting one.
This has been my lesson lately.
I believe that God has been revealing to me the importance of being in the present, no matter the stage or season that part of the adventure or journey may be in.

So here I go, living, and writing in the present, and accepting this part of the journey, no matter what it looks, or feels like.

A few months ago, I woke up with quite a lot on my mind. I thought about the future, specifically how God would work out the whole, "stay behind to finish grad school while living separately from my husband for six months as he starts his fellowship program in another state," conundrum.
Then it dawned on me.
Maybe I didn't have to stay behind.
Maybe I could transfer to my Alma Mater, which was what I had wanted to do well before I even met my husband.
I remember in 2005, after graduating from good ol' CBU, praying that if it were possible, God would lead me back to this place to complete my masters program.
Here we are, nine years later and it appeared that this simple prayer was coming to fruition. I nearly jumped out of bed in excitement and startled Midge the pug. I consulted some important people in my life and after some prayer, decided to take a break from grad school and transfer to CBU.
Immediately after making the decision I felt such peace and was eager to get, "operation move to California" going.  I did as much as I could to get the proverbial ball rolling i.e. researched places to live, contacted a moving company, etc.
But now, as I mentioned before, this adventure is in quite the transition. I had been so focused on the actual move and getting out of here, that I was missing this important build up to said adventure which was, "the waiting."
Waiting doesn't have to be so bad. So far in this, "waiting" period before the big adventure, I've read two and a half books for fun, I've trained for and successfully ran a 15k (more on that in another blog post), I've taken up swimming, and gotten to spend time with dear friends. I consider these to be mini adventures while I wait for the big adventure to begin.
Whether big or small, this is precisely where God has me, and I am doing my best to enjoy it.

Though I miss you terribly, I know that you are right smack dab in the middle of the adventure that God has for you too. What a gift it is to lean in to the adventure God has us both on!

Your pal always,
Briatron