random ramblings, vol. 5

it's been over a year since my last post to the random ramblings series, so here you go: random ramblings, in no particular order of importance (if any).

1) did you know chaos is actually orderly?  i'm pretty sure it's true.  i read part of an entire book about it for my AP Calculus class in high school.  and no, i can't recall a single time i've ever used anything else i learned in AP Calculus.  (actually I can't recall much of anything else i learned in that class, either.)  but i did retain that random fact, and one other: cauliflower is self-similar.  if you don't believe me, go look at a head of cauliflower.  every little piece of the cauliflower looks like a miniature version of the larger head of cauliflower.

i am pretty sure i've remembered this mostly because cauliflower is such a cool word.  and i have a vague recollection of actually writing an entire philosophy of ministry paper using the self-similarity of cauliflower as a major introductory illustration.  i don't remember what i argued or why, but i remember doing it....  if i ever find the paper, i may revisit this random rambling.  :)

2) those of you who have been reading my blog for some time will be happy (i hope!) to note that (drum roll, please...): there is no longer a single (basket/ container/ drawer/ bag/ box/ what-have-you) of junk mail anywhere in my flat.  (insert cheering noises here.)  this has, unfortunately, had a negative impact on my kitchen table.  but being as how i have people over every now and again, the pile tends to be eradicated at least once every two weeks, which, as you know, is a drastic improvement over times past.  it's the little things in life...  :)

3) i am sorry to report that i am once again not making coffee in the mornings.  :(  i love coffee.  i love it dearly.  but even decaf is not sitting well these days.  sadness.  (sniff) but yay for Mayan Chocolate Tea.

4) i am reading a book entitled Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership (How To Become An Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures) by Gary L. McIntosh and Samuel D. Rima.  (i'm reading it for a book-club-ish type small group.)  it's actually not quite as gloom and doom as I feared from the title; lots of very interesting case studies.

but i'm about 3/4 of the way thru, and in the section you might consider "practical application," the authors are discussing the process by which you actually begin to deal with the darker side of your personality.  they've gone to great lengths to explain that having a dark side is normal, and that it's just part of being human.  now they're trying to take the edge off the fact that actually dealing with it can be (especially when you're starting out) a long and daunting, time-consuming, tough, emotional process - by explaining what the process doesn't entail.

And I quote:

the process does not require you to "utter cathartic screams of inner cleansing."

what does it say that I read that and felt disappointed?  lol.

personally, i think sometimes all you need is one great big long cathartic scream of inner cleansing.  it may not actually fix anything, but it IS actually somewhat cathartic.  (read - it makes you feel better.)  ;)

5) i have 22 lbs of apples in my kitchen, just waiting to be made into pies and applesauce.  YUM.

6) my third annual road trip with Jesus was awesome.  and it was in August.  i am sorry i did not take pictures this year, but i will still try to write about it a bit - hopefully this weekend.  :) 

7) i sat in a chair at a local coffee shop tonight that was labelled (by my friend) as "an epic fail."  who knew chairs could fail epically?  but this one did.  it looked like it was going to be an amazingly comfortable leather chair.  the sort you just sink into and don't want to get out of.  ever.

it wasn't.