there's no place like home

I’m really enjoying things out here in California, but I make no secret of the fact that I miss Texas. I wish I could explain the complex mix of emotions that make up this homesickness, but it is not something that can fully be described with words. Also considering I’m in the middle of writing a research paper and studying for midterms, my brain is not up to composing a lengthy narrative. Instead, I present a rather short and incomplete list of things I miss about my home.

family and friends
protected left turns
Whataburger
open spaces
Kroger
Big XII sports coverage
convenient parking
Tex-Mex
drive-thru banking
Walgreens
central time

finding balance

One of my biggest struggles right now is finding the right balance of my time. To be honest, this is nothing new; I have never been a very disciplined student. In fact, I used to joke in undergrad that not only was I not “on the ball”, I had never even seen the ball. I am hoping to better manage my time in grad school, but recently a couple of other activities have been competing for my attention.

Last Friday as I was perusing the aisles of Target a guy came up to me and asked if I was interesting in going to a private screening of a new movie. Usually I would not hesitate to say no and keep moving when so approached, but I had been warned. This is actually a very legitimate and common occurrence here in Pasadena. They often test screen new movies and then survey the audience to see what worked and what didn’t. Knowing that this was not some shady proposition, I quickly said yes to the free movie tickets. So Sunday afternoon a friend and I walked to one of the nearby theaters and watched the new Disney movie Eight Below. The story is basically about explorers forced to leave their team of sled dogs behind in Antarctic and their desperate attempt to return and rescue them from the brutal cold. It is not a movie I probably would have chosen to go see at the theater, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was a good inspirational family movie and should be in theaters in February.

Also vying for my time is the Psychology Graduate Union (PGU), part of Fuller’s All Seminary Council. That’s right, I joined the student government. As much as I have avoided these forms of campus involvement in the past, I am excited about my position. Being part of the PGU MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) Cabinet, I will help represent my fellow classmates to the faculty and help bring about changes throughout the school. I am also the MFT representative to the Peace and Justice Concerns Committee. This committee is focused on building awareness of issues relating to social justice as well as participating in the amelioration of these problems. While at this time I am still not entirely sure of my exact duties, I have a feeling I will stay plenty busy.

Now that I have taken the time to thoughtfully rationalize my procrastination, I should probably work on my outline that is due Monday.

fire season

I’m beginning to learn more and more that no matter where you live, you will be affected by some kind of natural disaster. As evident by recent events, I grew up in an area of the country that is subjected to hurricanes and other tropical weather. Anyone moving to Southern California has to be prepared for the occasional earthquake. I even received a very informative booklet called Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country when I arrived in Pasadena. While my apartment would most definitely fail as far as earthquake preparedness goes, it was a different kind of natural disaster that recently caught me off guard.

September 22nd marked the first day of fall for those of us in the northern hemisphere, but there is another season that has also recently begun, fire season. Fire season is the time of year when the beautiful mountains of Southern California take on a slightly more infernal quality. High temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds, what the National Weather Service calls Red Flag conditions, are a perfect combination for fires to start and quickly spread. Strong Santa Ana winds have helped kick up a few pretty large fires in the last couple of weeks. I could see the smoke from the closest fire, located in the Burbank area, while driving around last weekend. It is the smoke produced by these fires that has the most far reaching effects.

One thing Los Angeles is not known for is clean air. In fact, it consistently ranks among the worst counties in the country as far as air pollution. Add to this smoke and ash and you have a serious heath hazard. At the height of the fires, I could not even see the mountains through the polluted air. While I was out running errands, I first noticed that my lungs were slightly burning. The irritation next moved to my throat and eyes, and finally settled in as a dull headache. It was then that I was resigned to the fact that it would probably be a good weekend to just stay in and get my reading done.