~~~
Day’s Verse:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Cor. 5:17
~~~

I ruefully admit that, when it comes to electrical engineering and cell biology, I have the attention span of a golden retriever. This term has passed more quickly than I might have hoped, and yet on the eve of my — dare I say it? — triumph I cannot force myself to sit down for the necessary focusing. It’s as if the rest of the term has suddenly steamrolled right over me, leaving zero space for a last push of concentration and diligence. It’s this point, when everything screams Just read your novel! Forget it! that the true student grits her teeth, sets the novel/blog/dishes/contrived distractions aside, and does what is necessary. Continue Reading >>

~~~
Day’s Verse:
We walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Cor. 5:7
~~~

Unlikely event of the week:
“Maybe we’ll get something from your family in Australia.”
“I doubt it.”
But doubting Thomas proved wrong with the appearance of a postcard picturing a long golden stretch of Australian beach and signed “Mom/MIL” in the black Apartment 1F mailbox. Slender odds triumph once more.

Disturbing experience of the week:
A strange day today, what with waking up early and having a 7:30 discussion about Prius negotiating with my still-groggy husband. This was followed by two hours of Cell Biology reading, a shower, a phone call home for advice, and ultimately the debarkation through the snow of the Massachusetts branch of the Ferguson family to Harr Toyota. There we found the white one under discussion Monday had sold, and would we like to order one? Discussion. We would; this would give us the opportunity to get color and features more or less to our liking. The car would be $25,500 — wait, no; we had seen the MSRP, we knew our package cost $24,000. Long minutes of checking, discovering that the higher price belonged to a pricier package, and yes, ours was $24,500. What? What was that $300 for optional amenities? Oh, a First Aid kit, floor mats, and a cargo net? Could we not forgo those and pay closer to the actual MSRP? No, indeed we could not, as the car came packaged from the Japanese factory. We could check other dealers, and they would tell us the same thing: no negotiating, take it or leave it. Exchange of significant looks. Take it, then, but do your best to find us one without those ridiculously expensive extravagances. Fine, he would do his best. Would we give him money now? We would, and plastic exchanged hands. Signatures. Hand-shaking. Excellent; he will call us in 10 days or two weeks to let us know when to expect our car. Continue Reading >>

~~~
Day’s Verse:
He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
2 Cor. 5:15
~~~

I lost one of my two really nice leather winter gloves and only realized it this morning on my way to class. They have stuck with me throughout my entire college career, faithfully protecting my fingers from frostbite and bitter wind, yet gripping slippery surfaces with all the confidence of my bare hands. Inside they were lined with soft black almost felt-like fabric, and they were the only gloves I have ever found to fit my small hands. This small loss is a tragedy of notable proportion in my humdrum life. Continue Reading >>

~~~
Day’s Verse:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed
2 Cor. 4:7-9
~~~

I have spent the last two days at the WPI Spring Job Fair. Amazingly, they recruited about three companies that need technical communicators, so I actually had people who wanted to talk to me! Usually I quake in my shoes at the idea of job fair circulating, and I have some very painful memories of previous job fairs. But this time I smiled and confidently introduced myself. This is my future on the line, not just some summer job here. Thus I distributed my resume to (in no particular order): Continue Reading >>

~~~
Day’s Verse:
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I have also been fully known.
1 Cor. 13:12
~~~

I started to write this thoughtful blog about relationships and people and life. But then I ran out of steam, re-read what I had written, and realized it was mostly trite anyway. So I’ll settle for an update, since lots has happened in the last few days anyway.

Friday: I took my ECE and Cell Biology exams and came off feeling beaten and wrung-out. I interviewed two ECE students for my job immediately after finishing Cell Biology, then went to English. After that long run, I felt like staring blankly at a wall. Instead, Ian and I straightened the apartment, scrubbed the bathroom, and vacuumed every nook and cranny in preparation for the Women’s Sleepover that evening. Continue Reading >>

~~~
Day’s Verse:
Bretheren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
1 Cor. 14:20
~~~

Poll!

I have the option to have my diploma read:
Technical, Scientific and Professional Communication or
Professional Writing.
Which would you suggest I pick, and why?

This sort of thing makes me wonder if anybody will ever care what degree I have on my diploma, or if this semantics difference will sway anybody at all.

The snowstorm’s effects have totally worn off. We still have piles of snow, but large patches of grass are also peeking through. My workload, however, is a heavier pile of snow than any that fell on Worcester; and for all that, I seem incapable of buckling down to really exercise the strength of will to do what needs doing. So excuse me while I go tackle my ECE lab, or perhaps study for my ECE exam or maybe my Cell Bio exam, both on Friday. Or maybe I’ll go do my Cell Bio paper, or start my English paper or rewrite an article for my ECE job, or even do some design work on my Professional Writing job. Alternatively, I could read some Cell Bio or ECE, or even start on The Physicists for English. Continue Reading >>

~~~
Day’s Verse:
When was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
1 Cor. 13:11
~~~

Today being Darwin’s 197th birthday, it seems like a good time to reiterate my own personal stance on evolution and Christianity. The abridged, annotated abstract runs approximately like this: They are not mutually exclusive, and evolution doesn’t endanger the Christian faith, or God’s supremacy, at all. Read the whole page I linked to if you want supporting evidence. Continue Reading >>