Stardate: -317744

This morning, after working my side job over by River Road, neither of my sisters left late enough for work to be able to give me a ride, so I took my time by bike. I went to G.I. Joes, Papa's office to say hi, downtown Eugene to drop off my time sheet, and back home. The bike path on the river is really beautiful when it's sunny.

Just when I was arriving home I passed by both Mom and Thad riding different places on their bikes. Since Papa rode the bus to work today in order to ride home on his Coker (read: big-wheel unicycle), and Simon regularly rides to school on his Coker, that means there were five of us riding man-powered transportation contraptions today. Besides Simon, that means the four of us had corresponding drive-able cars sitting in the garage, driveway, or in front of the house.

This just in: Gas prices for bicycles (and unicycles) are staying steady, registering no increases in the recent past.

Stardate: -317743.99

I applied for a specific shift for the house I am working at right now. I don't know who else has applied for it so I don't have any idea of whether I'll get it or not. It's just a temporary shift because the staff member who holds it is on an "indefinite" leave of absence. I'm not sure what that means. I guess that makes this schedule "indefinitely temporary."

My criminal background check hasn't been cleared yet, so I'm not allowed to be alone with the residents, but I am cleared to drive. Yesterday I drove for transport with another staff member riding in the van (transport is when we pick up/drop off the residents at their work). Both workplaces we picked residents up were in the far corners of Eugene, so the whole trip took over two hours. Kind of fun to get paid for driving.

I decided that it is interesting to drive a 12-passenger van with several developmentally disabled people in it, but not quite as exciting as driving a 15-passenger van with 12 rowdy teenagers in it. And now I've done both.

Stardate: -317739.42

It's such nice weather this week here in Oregon.

I'm applying for my own health insurance policy, as I am no longer going to be covered on my parents'.

There's an open schedule at the house I'm working at that I might try to get, I haven't decided yet. If not, I'll probably start training at another house next week.

God willing, I'm going to make my first payment on my student loan this week. I'm on my own custom plan determining the dates and amounts of my own payments, because of course they give you way too long to pay it back and therefore pay was too much interest. Not me. I'm going to pay it back as soon as I can.

I'm looking forward to basketball season. Now that I'm not in college, I have a little more time to follow what's happening, and I'll be refereeing as well, which certainly feeds how much I enjoy the game.

Stardate: -317732.84

With four real, uneventful games under my belt as a soccer referee, I am now relatively certain that referee experience is cumulative regardless of what sport it is in, although there is certainly in-sport experience as well.

I have been doing 3rd and 4th grade games, which is a good age because they can play the game some rather than just kicking the ball around, but they are still young enough to be (relatively) innocent and obedient. They're also small enough that I can keep up with them without having to use linesmen.

Stardate: -317724.94

To buy or to borrow?

That was the question that was going through my mind earlier today as I was browsing at my local public library. I like owning books, as it basically ensures that I will actually read the book. However, I am picky, and will often get indecisive when faced with buying a book that I really do actually want to own. If I borrow, I'll often borrow several at a time, and frequently not read all of them. When I'm borrowing, my intent is to give myself options for reading, not necessarily to read all of them.

The flip side of buying is that books, as wonderful as they are, are also bulky and can be hard to store, especially for someone who does not have his own place yet and is prone to move around a great deal in the next few years. Books are also expensive, especially new; but that is not much of a problem for me as I am an avid bargain shopper. So what it comes down to is whether I'm actually likely to read or reference a book more than once. If so, then it is usually worth buying. Even more so if it is one of my favorite books, is by one of my favorite authors, has enduring value, or is particularly interesting to me.

So, my resolution is to buy carefully, and borrow liberally when that option is available to me.

Stardate: -317718.94

Apparently Josiah, ny nephew, is a feisty little newborn. It's no surprise, since his name, I'm told, means "fire of God." Oh, wait, maybe not. I just Googled it and several different websites says it means "Jehovah helps" or "Jehovah heals." But, no, another website says it means "fire of the Lord" (see Link below). So maybe there is some credibility to it. Perhaps both will be true of my nephew.

Stardate: -317718.92

On Monday I had Paul's Bicycle Shop in Eugene put fenders on my bike. Fairly reasonable and it would have been difficult if I had tried to do it, probably 3-5 hours and a trip to the hardware store to get new screws. The person who was taking my payment said, "Now you're ready for the winter." To which I responded, "Here, it means I'm ready for the fall, winter, and spring."

So, I say, bring on the rain...

I also bought soccer linesman flags while I was running errands. Now I'm all set to be a soccer referee, except for my shirt which is kind of small for me, I really need to trade it in and get a larger shirt.

Stardate: -317714.12

That sunburn you can see on my face in the previous photo is from spending all afternoon on a soccer field yesterday (Sunday). There was a preseason tournament put on by Kidsports with many back-to-back half-length games, partially for the purpose of training new referees like myself. I did about seven twenty-minute games in five hours. I found that even though I am relatively new to soccer, my previous experience as a basketball referee gives me a significant advantage in being prepared.

There was a referee trainer there who was a "real" referee, by which I mean that he has refereed high school level or higher for an association. He said that the Lane County Association is badly in need of soccer referees right now, and that he would help me get connected with them if I was interested. I am, definitely. Though at first I was hesitant, I realized as the afternoon progressed that I may be more ready for higher-level officiating than I realize. So I'll get in touch with them and see what happens.

Stardate: -317713.97 Supplemental

Stardate: -317713.97

I was at Jason's for Saturday night and Sunday morning before church but I didn't see him or Kristen because they went into the hospital after her water broke on Saturday. Early Sunday they induced labor, but the baby wouldn't come, so they did a C-section. The baby is healthy, 7 lbs 4 oz, with brown hair and named Josiah David Wolf. I, now an uncle, saw my nephew this morning when mom and I visited them at the hospital. Kristen is doing fine but they're keeping her in the hospital for a couple days. I saw Jason's parents when they were here yesterday (Sunday morning), and Kristen's parents this morning.

Stardate: -317713.95

On Saturday evening, not long after we had returned from Portland, I biked out to 32nd St. in Springfield to the new Regional Sports Center and did one game as a soccer linesman. I was supposed to do a second game also, but it was a forfeit, so I got paid for two games (cash on-site -- can't beat that!) and got to leave early. I then rode my bike directly to Jason's house on River Road, about 15 miles and took 1.25 hours.

Soccer is a relatively simple sport, but the offsides rule is tricky. As a linesman, you're primarily responsible for calling the offsides violation. I think I finally understand it completely, since I looked at FIFA's 17 laws of the game.

Stardate: -317713.92

The real reason we went to Portland on Saturday was not for Powell's or sushi, but for my cousin Brian's wedding in the afternoon. It was a more formal, expensive wedding (at least for my family's frame of reference), but was offset by the fact that both the bride and groom were goofy and amusing. Ironically, the most memorable part of the wedding may have been the 10 minutes or so at the end that someone was trying to get a slideshow to play on a computer and we could see everything that he was doing on the big white screen at the front of the church. It didn't work, partially because the computer wasn't working very well. My technologically literate siblings (particularly my two younger brothers, who both do sound at youth group and other various church events) and I are all sitting in the same pew, whispering, "What are you doing?! Try a different media player! Can't you see Real Player at the top of the screen?" And so on.

I, for one, will have no qualms about asking one of my younger brothers to do sound at my wedding, provided he isn't offended about not being in the wedding party. But that's still a ways off. I was wondering, at my cousin's wedding where I didn't know very many people, and where I met his bride for the first time, how many people I'll invite to my wedding and how many of my friends from college will actually come.

My cousin, by the way, is my age, about a month older than me. That means that all my cousins that are my age are now married (there's three of them), though I have three older cousins who aren't married yet.

Stardate: 317713.88 Supplemental

Hmmm...maybe retractable chopsticks?

Stardate: -317713.88

It was a long, fun weekend. Today is also an off-day, which I am very grateful for.

On Saturday, I rode to Portland with my mom and two sisters. We went to Powell's (arguably the coolest bookstore I've ever been to) for an hour, where I was the only one of us to not buy something. I'm incredibly indecisive when I go to bookstores, unlike other stores. I'll spend a lot of time looking and either want to get a whole bunch of books or not really want to get any. Also, I'm such a bargain shopper that if I think there's a reasonable chance I can get it somewhere else for cheaper I'll wait.

After that we went to a sushi place. It's not the first time I've had sushi with raw fish, but I think it's the first time I've had sashimi (raw fish by itself). It's kind of cold and bland and squishy. It doesn't weird me out, but I don't like it very much. I don't like seafood very much anyway. I prefer to eat sushi in a bowl or bigger rolls with seaweed, rather than in little rolls like a delicacy (I'm partially biased because that's how my mom makes it, without the raw fish). I'm not sure that I like eating much of anything as a delicacy.

I need to figure out a way to carry chopsticks with me wherever I go, because every time I want them I never have them. I get annoyed by the cheap variety many restaurants give to you. If only it was socially acceptable for men to have purses...it seems like they would be really useful.

Stardate: -317705.24

This is the ninth day I've worked out of the last ten and it's been so low-key that I sometimes don't even feel like I have a job. Maybe it'll pick up more when I have more responsibility. I do get a three-day weekend, partly because I requested tomorrow off so I can go to my cousin Brian's wedding with my family.

Fall is approaching fast and that means that soon there will be leaves on the ground. It's been a long time since I was living somewhere that had a real fall.

I haven't driven my car in about two weeks. I walk to work right now and bicycle everywhere else, catching a ride with my sister Vjera back from Jason's house in the mornings after my second job.

I haven't heard yet if I'm going to get to referee any soccer games this weekend. There's supposed to be a preseason tournament or something, I guess I should call again and find out.

Stardate: -317703.6

Last night Thad called while I was the only one at home, wanting to know "How big does a fire have to be before you should call 911?" He was riding home on the bike path in East Alton Baker Park when he saw a small patch of grass burning. While he was talking to me on his cell phone he could see it growing. I spent a minute thumbing through the phone book looking for a non-emergency fire department number, then when I couldn't find it immediately I told him to just do the safe and easy thing and call 911.

About three minutes later I heard the siren from the fire engine. Just for fun, I hopped on my bike and rode to where he was only a few minutes away to keep him company while he watched the firemen put out the fire.

How's that for an anticlimactic, yet interesting, adventure...

Stardate: -317699.72

I was chasing the sunset last night (on my bicycle) and I was thinking that sometimes pursuing God is like that. He's faster and so much more amazing than we can imagine, but sometimes we catch him in a moment that takes our breath away. He's not predictable, and every time we see a glimpse of him it looks different. Then the moment is gone and we go on with our lives, but hopefully with a sense of awe and wonder, realizing that the same God who created the sunset just for us to enjoy also has a hand in every part and circumstance of our life.

So until I see him coming on the clouds, I'll keep chasing the sunset.

Stardate: -317697.85

All day today and yesterday I've been going through OIS (Oregon Intervention System) training at the Alvord-Taylor office. Actually really interesting stuff. Our teacher was very energetic, passionate, and knowledgeable, with a lot of stories and examples from his own experience in the field. Some of his stories were crazy -- I-can't-believe-that-actually-happened crazy. He was all over the place and would frequently go on very interesting tangents, so we learned about everything from communication styles to how alcohol affects babies in the womb to philosophies about institutional care and medicine. The main thing that we were learning, though, was intervention strategies, primarily preventively, but also reactionary and crisis situations, for negative behaviors and such. Today we were trained in evasive physical maneuvers to avoid physical aggression, and physical restraints to prevent injury from punches, kicks, holds, and the like. Physical restraints are a last resort, and not very common, but they do happen in the agency sometimes.

Wild. Welcome to Human Services -- direct care for people with developmental disabilities.

Stardate: -317688.84

Today is the last day at the house I'm working at before I go train at another house, starting on Wednesday. I have two days of training at the office on Monday and Tuesday.

I expect to ride to Jason's house tonight and not actually come back until Monday morning. I'll probably be out there all day tomorrow, between church, hanging out with people, and college group in the evening. I'm glad I don't have to work.

That means that I probably won't post to my blogs until Monday evening at least.

It rained some last night. Hopefully it won't rain too much tonight when I'm riding, since I don't have fenders or rainguards or whatever they're called yet.

Stardate: -317686.21

I just got my new schedule for the next three weeks. I'm working more day/afternoons and fewer evenings, which I'm thankful for. I'm also delighted to have the next four Sundays off. I'm training at another house, this one about six blocks from my home in Springfield. It'll take me about 90 seconds to ride my bike there, or about 8 minutes to walk, whichever I choose to do.

Jeff and co. from NYC are, I've been told, definitely moving to Oregon in October. What a development. Maybe we should hand out seat belts to everyone we know here, just to let them know that things could get crazy. Not like I expected everything to be 'normal' anyway. What is normal?

I have a sneaking suspicion that my bike tires aren't holding air very well. I should get some new tires and test the tubes. I should also see if I can tune it up a bit so the gears work better. I think I can work on that during the next week.

My younger brother Simon is at the beginning of the year camp for the new public school in Springfield that he's attending called A3. Academy of Arts and Academics, I believe. I think he gets back sometime tonight.

Stardate: -317681.72

Today while I was working I went on an outing with another co-worker and one of our developmentally disabled residents. We went to a park in Eugene and sat around and watched the ducks and geese and walked around the pond. Every time someone would walk by us the resident with us would wave at them and say hi. It was fascinating to see how people would react.

It prompted me to reflect on different situations when I have been in public with people I know who were perceived as different (physically, developmentally, or socially disadvantaged) from "everyone else." It often bothers "everyone else" more than it bothers "them." I love being with developmentally disabled people especially because they don't seem to take anything for granted when they're out in the world. Ducks, cows, airplanes, flowers, people, they're all amazing and worth gawking at, talking to, giggling or maybe even shouting about, and they don't care if it's appropriate or socially acceptable...they just do it.

I think we can all learn to see the world differently when we're around people who have that "gift."

Stardate: -317681.71

Yesterday I spent the day with two friends from Australia who I met at a summer camp two years ago who are visiting Oregon right now. It was fun and kind of strange all at the same time, having been a long time since I've seen them. I get an interesting sense of the passage of time and how much people can change (and how much I can change) when I see someone who I haven't seen for quite a while.

I spent the day driving them around as kind of a tour guide, taking them to the coast -- Pacific City -- and to Multnomah Falls. It was a lot of driving, probably more than would have been ideal, but it was fun nonetheless. I appreciate the beautiful places in Oregon -- which is really much of the state -- much more now that I've been to several different places in the country. I love the large portions of (mostly) undisturbed natural beauty.

Stardate: -317675.04

Jeff and co. from NYC are supposedly trying to figure out timing and transportation to move to Oregon, and they'd like to do it soon. They want to stay at Jason & Kristen's house, in the basement, where my two sisters are living right now. My sisters have agreed to move out (and probably back here, to my family's house) if it does go through.

It could be as early as October. Crazy.

At first I didn't think that there was any way that Jeff and his family and two friends (they all live together) would move here because it's such an extreme jump in so many ways. Then when they started thinking about it while they were visiting, I didn't think there was any way it would be so soon. We'll see if it actually pans out, it would definitely add a large dose of something (craziness? ministry opportunities? ethnic unity? Holy Spirit? all of the above??) to our world here in Oregon.

Stardate: -317675.02

I had a really great conversation last night with one of my co-workers who had grew up in church but had been turned off by some things that Christians said to him. I hope I am the kind of person who, when people are around me, have to reckon with the reality of who Jesus is and can't just write Christians off as "close-minded" or "judgmental." I am on a mission to remove everything from my life and thought that might give others that perception. I want to be a true Christian.

It's so important to be ready "to give an account for the hope that is in you" (I Peter 3:15). I am going to do my best to not avoid talking about Jesus, but also not forcing anything. I believe that if we do live like true Christians, we will be approached by people as much or more than we approach them. So we need to be ready, and not shy away from opportunities, even when it might be difficult or risk persecution. If I have to risk persecution and being made fun of for the sake of helping people come under the kingdom of God, then so be it.

Stardate: -317667.04

I was driving to Jason's house last night and there was a section of Delta Highway (a local highway here in Eugene) closed off due to a bad accident. I mentioned it to them when I got there and my sister Vjera e-mailed me this morning saying that the company she works for in Springfield, one of the owners has an infant grandchild that died in the same accident (see Link below for newspaper article).

Pray for the family, what a terrible thing to go through...