Thursday, July 12, 2007

California knows how to party!

Just a few updates for y'all . . . 'cause the past week has been crazy.

Congratulations, Anne and Ryan! Almost as soon as I got into the States I hopped back on a plane and flew to Sacramento for my friend Ryan's wedding in Lodi, CA. I was able to spend a few days with some friends from my days at MSU, which was a real blessing. Sure, I had some friends before I began to follow Jesus as Lord, but if you were to ask me about them now, I'd surely put "friends" in quotation marks--or anything else that shows the reality to me of how different these guys are. Friends aren't drinking buddies or people you try to imitate and suck up to to garner their attention. They're people who accept you for who you are and use their words carefully to build you up, avoiding sarcastic I-was-only-kidding jabs that mince and wound no matter how lightly-intended they were.


Granted, I felt some distance, not having talked to some of these guys, let alone seen them, in months or even a few years. But it's good to find that we can still laugh, hug, dance like robots, support each other in the Lord, and--of course--play ultimate frisbee like always.



Then on Sunday we rolled out at 4:15 A.M. to drive down to Los Angeles, from which I caught the Amtrak Surfliner to San Juan Capistrano. I was greeted there by my uncle Chris and his daughter Lizzie, my one and only cousin. It was a treat to spend a few days with them in and around their home in San Clemente. Beach sand, brilliant sunsets, frozen bananas, and the Transformers movie--all good stuff.


Keep your fingers crossed. As if all that travel weren't enough action for a week's time, there's more. Today I had a telephone job interview with Henrico County Public Schools (Richmond, VA) that went pretty well, or at least well enough for them to say, "We want you, " and schedule a follow-up interview in person next week. This would be for a full-time high school chemistry position at a relatively good, racially diverse school on the outskirts of the city.

I also have another job interview at Haslett High School (near Lansing, MI) tomorrow morning.

I promise that I'll make good soon on posting some of my lessons from my time in Turkey.

1 comment:

Halfmom, AKA, Susan said...

Wow - that's a lot! for your first week home. Glad things are going well for you and you're feeling more comfortable about the job market!

I will be interested in how God uses the "Turkey" lessons to now teach you about America - I'm sure you're looking at it all through very different eyes then when you first left!