1. In case you were wondering, Notre Dame football is back and it is wonderful. I had a very good time at the gamewatch with the Milwaukee club, and plan to return tomorrow. The team looked pretty good, and more than anything I am just SO HAPPY to have them back.
2. I have not been overwhelmingly public with this bit of news, but I just submitted the last of the paperwork, so I guess it’s time for the announcement. I am not going to be finishing my degree at Marquette. It’s expensive, it’s draining, it’s no longer a good match for my career goals…. so when I (eventually) get a Masters, it will not be from Marquette. It will also probably not be a straight-up academic MA, either. With my interest in ministry, I want a program that is more in tune with ministry.
Major thanks, though, to the amazing and wonderful professors I have had over the last year who have taught me so much. I will miss them more than anything else.
3. I have had Taylor Swift’s new song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” stuck in my head for about two days. Now, as a youth minister, I feel it is my professional duty to be able to recognize, identify & mildly enjoy whatever the heck it is teens these days listen to on the radio. This particular song is catchy and upbeat, and let’s face it, I like pretty much any music I listen to. So I went to watch the video, because that’s a good way of listening to songs I am too cheap to actually purchase myself.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook know of my reaction.
I do not know what sort of drugs the creative team was on, but they appear to be having a good time. I think it’s a blatant attempt to pander to a much-discussed “hipster culture” that nobody really understands (Hint: Hipsters aren’t one homogeneous whole). I also think it’s really, really funny.
Really, really funny.
So, if you need cheering up, check it out. It’s a laugh a minute.
4. I just received a text notifying me that my goddaughter just army crawled about 6 inches. This child is 4 months old and utterly amazing. I am so blessed that she and her delightful parents are in my life.
5. I started knitting my boyfriend a scarf for Christmas an embarrassingly short time before the holiday last year. I knew from the get-go that it wasn’t going to be finished in time, but I got a respectable six or so inches done before we exchanged gifts, so I just wrapped up the whole work-in-progress, needles in all. I then repossessed it immediately so I could finish it (rest assured, it was not the only present I gave him).
I am not a consistent knitter. Which is why I’m still working on that same scarf. I am determined to finish it this month. I have a very specific deadline, and in order to meet it, I am taking that scarf everywhere with me. This is a point of great amusement for lots of people. Expect to see the scarf-in-progress making guest appearances in pictures and anecdotes for a little while. I may keep it up after I finish this project and move onto the next one. Maybe I’ll make a name for myself as the girl who knits. It apparently makes me very interesting.
6. One of the places I brought the scarf was the first ever Milwaukee Moth Story Slam! If you are not familiar with The Moth, you really need to be. It’s a non-profit organization dedicated to story telling, specifically, live, first-person story telling. No notes, no props, just you & an audience.
My boyfriend found The Moth many months ago, and has been listening to all of their podcasts. They came to Milwaukee for a Mainstage show back in May, and we went and had a grand old time. It was so fantastic. Now, they have established a Story Slam in Milwaukee. Story Slams involve 10 audience members being selected to tell their own five minute stories based on a unified theme. I did not have a story for last night’s theme of NERVE, but the boyfriend did, and he rocked it. So many nervy people with great stories made the night one to remember and just completely reinvigorated my spirit.
7. These quick takes are going up pretty late tonight. It has been an odd day, one part awesome, due to leftover Moth love and a fantastically extended coffee date with a friend, but one part good old-fashioned awful. The downside to remembering how you are meant to live is realizing all the ways you are not there. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers and good vibes. It’s one heck of a ride.
As always, Jen has all the quick takes. Let’s see if I actually remember to link up my own post this week…
the green notebook 