Life Update and Random Thoughts

Thought I’d update you on life a little bit. My dissertation defense has been pushed back a week or two - nothing to worry about, just logistical issues. I should be done by end of May. On that same note, there’s a possibilityof a local job that has opened up here, something we certainly weren’t expecting. I’ll let you know if nothing turns into something. Beth and I decided a while back that we would consider local jobs before entertaining anything else regionally or nationally.

I preached at a Baptist regional youth association meeting last night. It was fun - I haven’t preached to youth in a long time. Hopefully it didn’t show too much. It was the longest I’ve spoken in public in about two years. Two years! I think I did well - the youth came up afterwards and told me they enjoyed it and I caught several of the adults crossing their arms and scowling. That, my friends, is a sign of success at a youth function…

Beth and I have been car shopping. We don’t buy cars too often - we wait until they roll over 200k before even considering it. Our Honda Accord just did that. We’ve looked at all types of cars, concentrating on MPG (like everyone else). We’ve settled on buying a MINI Cooper. Strange choice huh? Yeah but the gas mileage is great and we’re a little unconventional anyway. I can tell you this: they are super fun to drive! More on that later.

I did notice something interesting while we were out car shopping the other day. We were the only people on the entire lot. Every dealership we went to was completely abandoned. The car salesmen did a good job of not acting desperate, but you could tell they were hurtin’ a little. It got me to thinking about America and our present state of affairs. All these beautiful over-sized, ostentatious cars glistening in the sun were just sitting there being driven by no one. It really represented much about the American mentality that intrigues me. The juxtaposition of “bigger is better” versus the reality of our relatively cash poor society. I chuckled at first, but then I felt a little depressed by it all. It just showed the emptiness of what society has placed emphasis upon. More than ever before, we now know that there’s more the life than cars…

On another note, I am watching the NBA playoffs fairly consistently. I was a Celtics fan back when it was old school - Bird, McHale, Ainge, Johnson, Parrish, etc.  So I’ve watched the Celtics with great interest. But what caught my attention the other night was Lebron James. And it had nothing to do with his stats. I was watching him - as he played, did interviews, interacted with others on the bench. Few people are more aware of themselves than that guy. Of course, we’ve created that scenario, but still the guy is unhealthily aware that he is on camera all the time. It was weird to watch him - everything he did reflected a cognitive awareness of his personal celebrity. Maybe that’s not what everybody else sees; he does a great job of looking nonchalant and humble. But I think there’s something more there - like with every drive to the basket, he’s thinking, “Hey, watch this America.” Maybe I’m wrong; I hope so. But maybe I’m not…

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Tags: basketball, cars, life

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