The Life and Times of a Youth Congress-Goer

Misc
Don’t ask me why I thought of this today, but have you ever analyzed any children’s nursery rhymes? It’s sort of disturbing when you look at what they actually mean. Take Alouette, the song we learned in elementary French class. It’s all about plucking off a bird’s head and subsequent body parts. Seriously. Then today I thought about Ring around the Rosy. Did you know it was all about people dying from the catastrophic Bubonic Plague in the 1600s? The “ring around the rosy” refers to the rash victims contracted, and the “posy” was herbs believed to ward off the plague. The next time you see kids chiming “Ashes to ashes / we all fall down,” think about it as they collapse to the ground in imitation of the many people who died from the plague and were cremated. Weird, huh?

Sports
Big win for Tiger. The Benchwarmer has more.

Scandal City
So what do you think about the Rove probe? President Bush has spoken strongly about it today in the face of growing developments that look bad for Rove. Yet another event that destroys confidence in our government officials. I am afraid we are getting dangerously close to the place where whatever the outcome of the investigation, public opinion for Rove will be irreversibly damaged.

More on Gluttony
Seriously, how big 'a deal is this gluttony thing to God? I wondered this as I sampled Aunt Connie’s lumpia, a delicious Filipino version of the eggroll; Aunt Darlene’s chocolate pie; Mom’s dressing; and a dozen other dishes by various aunts and cousins. Somebody once told me they thought Apostolics were guilty of making food a sport because other entertainment options were limited. I chafed under anyone’s accusation that we are in any way “limited” because of our beliefs. But that aside, do we really get carried away with eating?

Meanwhile one of my roommates and I got up before work to walk this morning. That is probably one of the most challenging accomplishments of my adult life to date. But what can I say? Youth congress is three weeks away and last week’s controversial NinetyandNine article “The Attraction Factor (Female Version)” really makes you think.

Speaking of…
Youth Congress! Who’s ready?! Who’s going?! Me! Me! My friends and I are finally at the stage where we’d sacrifice the “uncoolness” of the church van for the sake of not having to foot the gas bill. Alas, our church is not taking a formal group trip. (Did anyone else’s school districts start early this year? Our high schoolers couldn’t go because August 10-12 is during their first week of school.) Grown-ups that we are now, my best pals/roomates and I are flying to Columbus.

All this to say I’m looking into the legality of getting to Wal-Mart at 7 a.m. on every Saturday morning between now and Aug 10, roping off all parking spots within 50 yards of the door, and then selling them throughout the day to fund my trip.

But by far the greatest dilemma of the whole vacation experience is having to ask off for work. Not only can I not tell anyone "No," but I also cannot ask anyone to say "Yes" in a situation like that. I feel like I am somehow imposing, and my mother raised me better than that. The answer to any invitation always began with "Well, we wouldn't want to impose..." It doesn’t matter that I’m entitled to vacation time, I feel so guilty asking off. I don’t understand this. It is physically nerve-wracking for me to ask off. I feel like the world’s biggest slacker—not a good feeling for an self-diagnosed “must please all” syndromer. I was very fortunate, however, to escape the whole experience unscathed and with my precious two and a half vacation days safely in hand. So I will be going. ….Add to the “You Might Be Apostolic if” list: you spend your beloved work vacation hours at church conferences.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!