Author: esteban

Walter’s Tale

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This is Walter.  Say Hi!

Walter is a male cockatiel that belongs to my friends Andrew and Jessica.   I don’t remember how old Walter is, but he’s been Andrew’s pet at least 10 years I would guess.  He lived in St. Louis until about a year ago.

Last Christmas, Walter was a guest in my house for a week while Andrew and Jessica were away visiting family.  We bonded.  We shared Wheat Thins.

Five days ago, Walter flew away.  I never heard how it happened, but it was taken tragically by those that know him.   Walter has never been a free bird and it was doubtful that he would survive or be found. Continue reading →

9/11 Boatlift Video

/ esteban

I just ran across this video about the incredible boat lift of people out of Manhattan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.   If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth the 11 minutes of your time.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg]

Walkabout: Downtown Tulsa

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That little switch flipped inside my head this morning.
You know … the one that tells you that you had better step away from the computer before some other more serious circuit breaker pops.
Yeah, that one.

So, to get away from the house totally, I grabbed my camera and decided to just go on a walkabout somewhere and take whatever photos appealed to me in a given moment.

OK, I stopped for Asian food first, but then I found myself in downtown Tulsa.  My last corporate job was downtown (you’ll see the building, it’s a scaled down version of the World Trade Center towers.  Seriously), so I know the area very well.

Many of its buildings date from the heydays of the oil era when all sorts of tycoons worked downtown and built classical art deco buildings.  Other buildings are more modern, and others are showing the decay that comes from having outlived more prosperous times.

I didn’t nearly cover all of downtown, just parts of the south, east, and north sides.  There are other gems in the western part for another time.

So, here are my random shots.  If any of them pique your interest and you’d like to know more about them, just leave me a comment.

Cheers!

Taking One for the Team

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SQPN had its annual online Podcast Marathon to end its Giving Campaign.  CEO Fr. Roderick Vonhogen literally took one for the team by allowing viewers to bid on ingredients for a nasty concoction.

The shots above show what a good sport Fr. Roderick is.  I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to stomach it.  The viewing crowd was sending prayers out to St. Timothy and St. Erasmus, both patrons of stomach disorders!  🙂

What were the ingredients?

  • apple juice
  • Tabasco sauce
  • condensed milk
  • hazel nut paste
  • raw, chopped onion
  • whipped cream
  • raw mushrooms
  • spicy French mustard

I’m still a bit queasy having watched it.  I have to award this concoction an ignominious 3 burnt toast.

Faith Ablaze!

/ esteban

Easter Fire at Church of St. Mary

Last Saturday night, I had the real privilege of participating in my parish’s Easter Vigil celebration.  I’ve been to quite a few vigils over the years, but I will remember this one as particularly special.

Last August, nearly seven months ago, I agreed to sponsor a young man interested in joining the Church.  He and his wife, neither having a faith background of any kind, approached my parish with the idea of learning more about the Catholic faith through the RCIA program.  Although I’ve been the sponsor for several people in the past, this was the first opportunity I’ve had to be a part of RCIA from beginning to end.

The Easter Vigil has always been my favorite liturgy of the year.  The parish gathers, not only in the joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection, but also to joyfully welcome those joining the Church through Baptism or Profession of Faith.

This night was truly special, from the lighting of the Easter fire outside the Church, through the procession into the darkened sanctuary, the spreading of the baptismal light through the congregation, the reading of Scripture foretelling the life, death and resurrection of the Savior, the administration of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

My words cannot really share this, it seems.  Even though the Church was full, and we had more than 25 people joining the Church, this was one of the most intimate liturgies I’ve experienced in a very long time.

Our pastor, Fr. Jack Gleason, spoke to us passionately about the truth of our faith and made those present, both old and new to the Church, feel as freshly welcomed as those just baptized.

All that the parish did to make this an especially uplifting liturgy worked.  The terrific music, the lighting, the bells, the candles, the incense, the robing of the newly baptized … all of it worked in such a way that everyone present should have felt intimately involved.

It was a really special moment and I was privileged to be a part of it.   Being a sponsor for RCIA is a lot of work, but the personal learning, the participation in the life of the Church, and being allowed to be a part of someone else’s faith journey makes it all worthwhile.

I hope to do it again some day.

 

About the Bird

/ esteban

See that bird, up there in the header?  It’s really cool.

Now look down a bit and have a look at the black menu bar.  See the tab that says “About the Bird”? Click on that and learn a little bit about that cool bird.

Thanks.

7 Random Questions

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A little while ago, a big styrofoam box arrived with some Omaha Steaks inside.  A gift from my aunt for Easter.

Tucked away amidst the ubiquitous coupons and special offers where some “dinner conversation starters”, questions to ask your dinner guests.    I rarely have dinner guests, so I thought I would post them here.

1.  If you were in a tornado and had to take shelter immediately, what would you take with you?

Living in Oklahoma, we’ve all pretty much thought of this question.  Here’s what I came up with (assuming all the humans and animals are accounted for):

  • Never forget your shoes!
  • Keys – especially car keys and safe deposit box keys
  • Wallet & credit cards (with contact info for insurance agent)
  • Rain jacket
  • Cell phone & Charger
  • Laptop (with external drives where all my photos have been scanned) & Charger
  • Camera & Charger
  • Flashlight
  • Bottled water
  • Battery powered radio

The word immediately in the question probably negates some of this for the unprepared, but living where I do, we shouldn’t be unprepared.  If I had a light saber, I’d take that too because it would be cool.

2.  What is your favorite amusement park ride?  Why?

This is a tough one.  I tend to get sick on any rides that spin and I’m not a fan of heights.  Makes me a fun date at most amusement parks, I know.  I’ll go with log rides.  Yeah, that’s the ticket, especially if you get a nice spritz on a hot day.

3.  If you could tell your pet anything and have them understand exactly what you meant, what would you tell them?

Thank you.

4.  Have you ever stopped at a gas station for directions?  How long were you lost before you stopped?

I don’t think you have to be lost to ask for directions.  I don’t get truly lost because I tend to plan routes before I go somewhere.  I cannot remember the last time I had to stop for directions.

The last time I was lost was probably last May while in Rome.  I was walking from the Termini train station to a small B&B in a nondescript building in a part of the city I have never seen before, with only vague directions from Google maps.  I managed to find it without too many wrong turns but I had my doubts along the way.  I thought it was about 1 1/2 miles, but I think I walked at least 3 before I found it.

5.  How many famous dogs can you name?

Trick question!  I can name them all.   How many do I already know the names of?  Bolt, Old Yeller, Lassie, Snoopy, Bandit (Johnny Quest), Lady & Tramp, Marley, Scooby Doo, Eddie, Hachiko, and Buffy (Eskimo Joe’s sidekick – it’s an Oklahoma thing).  I ought to know more than this, but I’m drawing a blank now.

6.  What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?

Uh, no way.  If you don’t already know, I ain’t tellin’

7.  What events would you love to see in person some day?

Great question!  There are a lot of events in the past that I would love to be able to go back and witness, but I’m going to restrict my answers to events that haven’t occurred yet.

  • The beatification or canonization of Servant of God, Fr. Stanley Rother.  He would be Oklahoma’s first saint.  Probably won’t happen in my lifetime, if ever.
  • Opening ceremonies of a summer Olympics.
  • An entire 7 game World Series
  • An exploding volcano – I’ve seen some erupting volcanos or small rifts but not the big stuff.
  • Independence Day in Washington, DC

This question is harder than it looks.  Most of the ideas that first came into my head were impossible things, like watching men walk on Mars.  There’s no way I would ever be there for that.  Or being on the daïs when a new president is sworn in. I suppose that could happen but it’s not very likely.    I’ll be pondering this question for the rest of the day.  I guess I’m not much of a dreamer.

How would you answer these questions?  Feel free to post your answers.  I’d love to see them.

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

7 Thingy Thing

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— 1 —

This is my first attempt at this 7 thingy thing.  If I’m really bad at it, you can blame Maria at “Another Cup of Coffee“.  She’s urged me to do this from time to time.  If I’m lucky, I might actually beat her to the “Publish” button this week.

— 2 —

We’ve had 5-7 inches of rain this week in Tulsa, following a drought that began a year ago.  It’s been glorious!  The air has that crisp cleanliness of spring and my weeds are doing just fine, thank you.   Time to tune-up the lawn mower and start the Zyrtec regimen.

— 3 —

Income taxes.  Ugh.  We’re approaching the red zone for the filing deadline.  I call it the red zone because until I join the ranks, I’ll have to endure all the Facebook posts and tweets of the folks who get theirs finished before I do.  I don’t like feeling like a slacker.

— 4 —

I just finished the “A Quick Journey Through the Bible” portion of the The Great Adventure Bible study program offered through my parish.  I highly recommend this series of studies.  It will not make you a bible scholar or theologian (Jeff Cavins refers to it as a “helicopter flight over the Bible”), but if you’re like me and have trouble maintaining any private study of the Bible, this program will keep you moving along and give you more reasons to participate in the community life of your parish.  I encourage you to look for it at a church in your area.  One of them is undoubtedly doing a portion of it.

— 5 —

Do you live in Tulsa? Have you always wanted to learn some piano?  Check out Megan’s Piano Lessons.  I’ve been taking from Megan for two months and she’s been able to get this old dog to do new tricks, better than any of her predecessors.  The method she’s using really seems to work for me and I’m having great fun with it.

(Hint:  She gives lessons over Skype too!)

Sorry, no plans to release a CD any time soon.

— 6 —

My aunt says that we have gypsy blood in our veins.  Everyone in my family has an insatiable love of traveling and I’m fortunate to have visited many parts of Europe and Central America.  I’m pretty much ready to drop everything at a moment’s notice and hit the road.  I’m pretty antsy at the moment to head west somewhere.

I’ve recently become a fan of the website “BootsnAll – One-stop Indie Travel Guide.”  They regularly torment me (in a good way) with all sorts of interesting travel ideas.  The post I saw today has me itching for a trip to central Europe.   So much of the world left to see!

— 7 —

Umm … how did I do?

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Superbolt of Lightning, Very Very Frightening

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(Galileo!)

I had been having a rough night sleeping anyway.

Then about 3:30am, I was jolted out of sleep by something new.  It had been raining and thundering all night as it was, but I sensed something different was happening.

As I became fully awake, I knew that this particular thunder had been rolling across the city from west to east for a good 10 seconds.  As it passed my house, everything began to shake and the light fixture over my bed began to dance the hula.  No joke.  It sounded like it was ready to start dropping bits and pieces.

I started to wonder if this might actually be an earthquake, being so similar in sight and sound to the one experienced some months ago.

It took me a few seconds to focus on what was actually happening.  The ground was still, but everything else was shaking.

“Thunder-quake” some are calling it.  Apparently, it’s really a “super-bolt” of lightning, which occurs only 5 times out of a million bolts.

Thank God for that!  I don’t think my house would take too many of those.   Tomorrow I’m expecting reports of all sorts of psychotic animals and frayed nerves among the citizenry.

Here’s what the local news has to say about it.

Goodness, another weather phenomena to check off the list in Oklahoma.  It does keep things interesting.

Slainte!

/ esteban

I thoroughly enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day.

The day started with a fun recording of Catholic Weekend.  It must have sounded fun too, because Captain Jeff accused me of having too much Irish in my coffee.  I didn’t have any, actually.

Later in the day, while out running some errands, I picked up this terrific Reuben sandwich from Tulsa’s Petty Fine Foods grocery/deli.  Let me tell you, this was some of the finest corned beef I’ve ever had and the sandwich, while nothing special to look at, it was proportioned just right.

I ate it in Woodward Park among the blooming red buds and some particularly twitchy squirrels.

The evening was spent with my great friends, Jim and Kerry Fox.  Along with their two young daughters, we watched some basketball, enjoyed the backyard with the kids, and supped on Jim’s corned beef and cabbage.  There might have been a few Irish beers too.

The culinary fare ended with this:  Guinness Chocolate Cake from Antoinette’s Baking Company, and mint chocolate chip ice cream.  A perfect combination I would say.

All in all, this was a 4 napkin day of good food and great friends.

Saint Patrick’s Day

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On behalf of Saint Patrick’s Day, and since I’m Irish, and because I had the privilege of touring the northern part of Ireland with a group of Newman Center students in 2005, here are some photos we took that show just how idyllic the country really is.

If you can, go there.  Immerse yourself. Visit the holy places.  Visit the historic places. But most importantly, meet the people and share a pint with them.

Before you go, read this reflection, “Praying St. Patrick’s Breastplate”, by my buddy Pat Gohn on Patheos.com.

NewAdvent.org has the whole prayer and whole bunch of information about St. Patrick here.

Apropos

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“We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. We want a religion that is right where we are wrong. We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world.”

– G. K. Chesterton

Guatemala in the Springtime

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The Call of Atitlan

I’ve heard it said that if you practice a virtue long enough, it becomes a habit; and, if you practice a vice, it becomes an addition.  I think this is a bit of both.

This time each year, unbidden, I feel a longing to visit the Lake Atitlan region in the western highlands of Guatemala.  There is no doubt in my mind that this is caused by the many trips I took there during my time as campus minister at the St. Philip Neri Newman Center at the University of Tulsa.

Each March for 9 years, I spent a week there with a group of college students.  No wonder that I feel the pull to go there even now.

This tweet came across my screen this morning and it got me thinking about Guatemala all over again.  I jumped into my iPhoto library and rather willy-nilly started selecting photos for this post.

And I couldn’t stop until I reached nearly 250 shots, some from each of the trips I took with students.   (My apologies for attaching them all to this post and for the time it took to load on your screen!)

Unless you went on one of these trips, these photos won’t mean much to you.  Not knowing the context or the people in them won’t help either.  However, every time I look at them, I am struck over and over at how life changing these experiences were for me and for those I traveled with .  This was truly the best thing we did while I was campus minister.

 

Micatokla

The first six years, I think were the best.  We stayed in Santiago Atitlan, at the south end of Lake Atitlan, home of Micatokla (Mision Catholica de Oklahoma), the Oklahoma Catholic Mission that had reopened the parish there at the end of the 1950’s.  It had been abandoned for almost 150 years before that.

The dioceses of Oklahoma had strong ties to this mission and it was important for us to build on that connection.

We stayed in the guest rooms of the mission rectory, cooked our own food in the kitchens, prayed in the chapel and church, visited the schools, but most importantly, we assisted in the construction of stone homes in the Canton of Panabaj.

Panabaj is an outlying community south of Santiago Atitlan.  The parish owned land there and for several years, various parishes in Oklahoma funded the construction of homes (casa familiares) in that neighborhood.   The Newman Center was one of the few groups that actually went there, assisted in the construction of the homes,  learned about the mission and the community, and experienced a certain solidarity with the people who would live in those homes.

 

Luz Alta

Year after year, we would build homes next to, or nearby, the homes of the previous years. We made friends with the families, mostly the kids, and saw them growing up.   We were certainly not tourists and the people there didn’t see us that way either.

I enjoyed walking in that neighborhood, playing with the kids, greeting families of previously built homes and watching the interactions the students were having.

We always “sold” the trip to the students as a “house building trip.”  Serving the poor through their hard labor over spring break.

If you look at the photos, you’ll see many with the students up to their waists in trenches, pushing wheelbarrow, or hauling dirt and rocks.

And then, a few days into the trip, you would see the relationships take hold and the realization would dawn on the student that these trips were much more than just “house building trips.”    It was about learning, sharing, putting their own lives in context, and dealing with the idea that they were taking away more from the experience than they were giving.

I find it hard sometimes to keep my emotions in check when I think about these experiences and the wonderful students that went on them.  I think they were changed as much as I was.

 

Luz Differentes

The trip in 2006 was a major turning point in our program.  In October of 2005, a hurricane crossed Central America, causing terrible flooding in many parts.

Santiago Atitlan, and especially Panabaj, experienced terrible mudslides.  The areas, a tenth of a mile in any direction, around the neighborhood of our homes was devastated.  More than 750 people died in one night.

Our little neighborhood, now with about 30 houses, was miraculously spared any significant damage though I think a few of the inhabitants were killed or injured.

When we returned to Panabaj the following March, much had changed.  The visibile reminders of the mudslide were everywhere.  The neighborhood school, just up the road was battered and covered with 5 feet of dirt, rock and debris.

Our little neighborhood and all the homes that we had built was mostly abandoned, inhabited by squatters who snuck in after the government closed it.  It was deemed a high risk area of future mudslides and not suited for habitation.  It was a ghost town.

It was heart wrenching to go there, especially for any of us who had been there before and seen the life of that community.  Many of us cried when we visited the refugee camp where our friends had been forced to move and see the struggles they were once again facing without homes of their own.

From that point on, we started building homes closer to Santiago Atitlan, and eventually moved our location to the mission of San Lucas Toliman (operated by the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota) about 20 miles up the lake road.

Mision de San Lucas Toliman

San Lucas is a much bigger operation than the Oklahoma Mission (which had been returned to the local diocese a few years earlier). The experience for the students visiting this mission was still very good, but much different.

The students still worked on mission projects, visited its clinic, toured its coffee collective, forestry project, etc., but never really recaptured the same sense of camaraderie that we had with the people of Panabaj.

The mission in San Lucas is terrific and gave us new opportunities to share the life of the community, but I missed Santiago.

Perhaps fittingly, my last trip with students was during Holy Week of 2008.  We helped the parish prepare for Good Friday and Easter by mixing colored sawdust for their street decoration, and preparing flowers for the church.  We were very fortunate to take part in the town wide processions on Good Friday and the Living Passion liturgy in the church.

I guess if my time taking students to Guatemala had to end, that was a good time to do it.  As memorable a trip as any of them had been.

Four years have now passed since the last time I traveled there with students, and my thoughts still turn there every spring.   I hope I never forget all that we experienced.  The joy of the people, working side-by-side with them, making friends with the children, the amazing beauty of Lake Atitlan and its surrounding volcanoes.  I also want to remember the occasional food poisoning, amoebas, cold showers, harrowing highway journeys, tuk tuk rides, threats of bandits, long dusty hikes and the culture shock of returning home.

Some day I hope I can return there with another group of people, former students of one of the trips perhaps.  My pastor, Fr. Jack recently told me that I have “a heart for missions.”

I think he’s right.  I’m ready to go again.

 

The Fog of Spring

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I literally have tears in my eyes as I write this.

Why?  Because spring has arrived in Oklahoma!  After the drabness of the winter months, we are rewarded with all the beautiful colors of reemergent life all around us.

The Bradford Pear trees are already in full bloom.  The forsythia and redbud trees are just about ready, another week perhaps.   By Easter, we should be awash in the whites, pinks, and reds of azaleas.

As long as you’re good at dodging tornadoes, this is truly the best time to be in Oklahoma and I do so look forward to it.

Except for one thing.

You see the tears in my eyes are not only for the joy of spring.    I have allergies.

My life has not been the same since one clearly remembered day when I was 15 years old.    That day, in late summer of my sophomore year of high school, my body decided to add something new to the experience of being a teenager.

Sneezing, itching, tearing eyes, and a running nose became irresistible parts of my spring ritual.

See this photo?

It isn’t me, but it could have been.   This is the “scratch test” allergists do to see what pollens, danders, molds, or foods you might be allergic to.

I’ve had this test done several times, all with the same result.

I have been known to set a clinic’s record for the number of things reacted to.  I think the last test showed reactions to 120 different things, mostly tree and grass pollens.  Yay!  (Note:  don’t let your big sister, the nurse, administer the “scratch test.”  Let’s just say she took compensation for any little brother annoyances I might have caused her.)

Meet my arch-nemesis.   This is Juniperus virginiana, more commonly known as red cedar.  This little devil, is not only invading Oklahoma at an alarming rate, it’s a prolific generator of pollen that is carried on the wind to my vicinity from all directions, mostly from Texas.  It’s the precursor of things to come, usually arriving in mid-February.  It’s awful awful stuff.

My only defense against this spring onslaught, only to be repeated by its corollary in the fall, is medication.

The price I pay for the beauty of spring is the self-induced fog of antihistamines.  Flonase, Zyrtec, and sinus blasting nasal pepper spray are my weapons of choice.  I’ve experimented with them all.  I even gave myself allergy shots back in high school (they don’t let you self administer them now – too much liability).

These particular medications work for me, but occasionally, I find myself staring into space, my mind-clutch slipped into neutral by the combined effect of the antihistamines.  It also keeps me indoors on beautiful days, especially when the wind is up.

It’s the price I have to pay to enjoy the beauty of spring, but bring it on!  Summer beckons and I’ll only have to deal with ticks, chiggers, and mosquitos!

 

Obsolete Skills

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My brother Kevin and his wife Maureen were in town last weekend for my birthday.  We had a great time.

Whenever we get together, it seems like there are always occasions when I am reminded of the vast amount of trivia that seems to be stuck in my head.  I don’t know why I remember so many seemingly useless things, but I do.

For example, we bought some bananas at the local super market.  Unfortunately, the ones for sale were all very green.  Into my head popped the method I learned from somewhere about quickly ripening bananas by sealing them in a paper bag.  I haven’t the faintest idea where I learned this trick, but it was in my head.  And it works!

Then it occurred to me that over the years, I’ve learned some pretty specific skills, many that are pretty obsolete and not likely to be used much in the future.   I don’t know how I should feel about this.  Archaic?  Well-educated? Road-weary?

Anyway, here are a few of my well-honed skills that have entered the realm of obsolescence, at least in the context of my life.  I dare say this is not an exhaustive list.

Rotary Phone Dialing

I grew up with telephones just like the one.  I image someone who’s never used one like this might have to pause for a moment the first time.  There’s a certain panache needed to dial a number and not look like a total doofus.

Did you use one of these?  Do you remember how to call for help before 911 service was started?  How to tell your loved ones that you reached your destination without actually paying for a long distance call?  What the sound of an actually ringing phone is?

Church Keys & Pull Ring Cans

I betcha that there are kids in America today, that have one of these in a kitchen drawer and don’t have the faintest idea for what it is used:

 

This is what my dad would call a “church key”, although I’m sure that anything that is made to open one of these could also be called that:

 

 

Although pull ring cans were pretty common when I was a boy, there were still plenty of cans around that used church keys.  Motor oil cans come to mind as one example.

I think these are really pretty efficient and don’t cause all that unsightly littering that other pull top and pop top cans caused.

One of my first physics lessons came from using cans like these.   Two holes on opposite sides of the can, of course, made drinking and pouring so much easier!

 

Drive-in Movie Projectionist

My first real paying job came during high school.  Yes, my social security records will show that I began my work life as a movie theater nerd.  Ever see Fast Times at Ridgemont High?  Yep, I was just like the repressed teenaged geek in that film.  I worked at all three of the movie theaters in Hobbs, New Mexico, including the Flamingo Drive-in.

I felt pretty lucky when I graduated from ticket seller and concessionist to running the awesome projectors at the Flamingo.   That baby, similar to the one above, used carbon arc welding rods to produce the light.  It was like watching a small nuclear reaction.  That was great fun and, boy, did I learn a lot at the drive-in!  Here’s a Youtube video that does a pretty good job illustrating what I used to do:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iScIfqfCGk]

 

 

 

Oilfield Roustabout

During my undergraduate college years, I spent my summer working as an oilfield roustabout.  Not to be confused with a roughneck.  Roustabouts do repair work on oilfield production equipment, such as pumpjacks, tank batteries, heater-treaters, separators, etc.  Roughnecks are the workers who work on oil drilling equipment – much harder and more dangerous work.

I learned quite a bit about the various types of oilfield equipment.  Not much call to use it now, but I still know my way around an oilfield.  I do still use some of the skills I learned with the various types of tools we used – mostly different kinds of wrenches.  Pretty handy fixing that old kitchen sink.

That summer I spent changing mufflers on a fleet of pickup trucks?  Yeah, not so handy now.

Other Stuff

There are loads of other things I could write about, but here what comes to mind:

  • how to write a computer program using punch cards
  • how to fix typewriter ribbons
  • how to clean a four-barrel carburetor
  • that awkward bamboo dance I learned in elementary school gym class
  • MS DOS commands / BASIC
  • the chemical formulas for ferrous and ferric oxides
  • how to bake an apple in a campfire

Cool, huh?  I think I’m tending toward the archaic. Time to learn some new things.

What skill do you have that are mostly useless these days?

 

I have a plan …

/ esteban / 2 Comments

I know I run the risk of seeming prideful or otherwise lacking in humility, but this post is mostly for me, as we begin Lent.

I think I have a healthy appreciation for the opportunities the season of Lent offers us, but lately I haven’t really embraced those opportunities.  Last year was particularly frustrating.  I didn’t have any clear ideas of what I wanted to do.  I vacillated so much that the season ended up being wasted.

So, to give myself some more concrete motivation, I’m going to post “my plan” for the world to see, or at least the 10 people who might actually read this.  You get to keep me honest.

Spiritual / Emotional

  • Eucharistic Adoration – I’ve been a slacker at having and adhering to scheduled time for Adoration.  A couple of years ago, I had a 4am time slot at the St. John Hospital’s perpetual adoration chapel.   I let it go when my job situation changed but never took a new time.   I’m going to try a few different times during Lent and hopefully find one that I can embrace going forward.  My goal is one hour per week of Lent.  Incidentally, I highly recommend those hours in the middle of the night.
  • Edifying Reading – I’ve been an avid reader since I was in elementary school.  Unfortunately, like many people, I’ve let TV and the Internet encroach on that habit too much.  Working from home has only made it worse as a constant temptation.  In addition to some pleasure reading that I have right now, I have the goal to make it through the following books during Lent:
    • The Holy Longing – by Ronald Rolheiser.  This is one of those books that I’ve started to read a couple of time, but never made it all the way through.  My friend John White has invited me to join an email reading group that is making its way through it.  I’m two chapters behind, so I have some catching up to do.
    • Walking with God – by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins.  I picked this book up in 2010 when it first came out.  It’s been gathering dust, so it’s high time I cracked it open.
    • Understanding Exposure – by Bryan Peterson.  As an avid amateur photographer, this book was recommended to me as the “bible” for understanding how to shoot great photos.  With spring approaching, I’m hoping to have some time to experiment with some outdoor shooting in the coming months.

Three books seems ambitious to me, but I thought I would set a high mark.  I’ll keep you posted.

    • Write Easter letters to my CFCA sponsored children in Guatemala.  I always forget to do this in time for them to reach them before Easter.  With it on the list, I should get it done.
    • Daily Lenten Reflection – I haven’t decided how I’ll approach this yet, but it will either be via the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily Mass readings, or some other guide that I find.  Suggestions?

Physical / Emotional

  • Gym – I’d be the first one to admit that I need more exercise.  The winter is always tough on me when it comes being active, but I really have let it go on too long.  I signed up for a membership at the neighborhood YMCA and I anticipate using the pool there.  My goal is exercising at the Y or the neighboring LaFortune Park three times a week, minimum.  Gulp.
  • TV – As I mentioned above, TV has become too much of a distraction for me, so I’m going to limit myself to 1 hr a day.  This doesn’t include catching the evening news when needed.   I’m deleting some of the recording schedules from my DVR to reduce the temptation to gorge on TV on Sundays (not included in the days of Lent).
  • Facebook/WWF – Another temptation I face daily.   It’s pretty much useless time and my recent introduction to Words With Friends has only made it worse.  Away from me!  I do have to get on FB occasionally for work purposes, so I will attempt to keep that to a minimum.
  • 20 Bags – Spring cleaning is here and I have a goal to reduce the clutter in my home by 20 bags, boxes, or other donations to Catholic Charities and Goodwill.   If I don’t write it here, it won’t happen.
  • Reduce Caffeine – I go through these periods of overindulging in caffeinated beverages – usually too much coffee in the morning, followed by a never-ending glass of iced tea throughout the day.  I do well in avoiding soft drinks, but I can do better.  I can’t put a goal on this one, because caffeine can be a bit hard to avoid sometimes.

Add a little fruit to my diet, and that’s the list.  What do you think?  If you know me, is this doable?

To me, this list is more of a spiritual exercise than it might seem to the casual visitor.  Reducing meaningless distractions like Facebook and TV, and concentrating more on reading, prayer, and the work I need to do, will definitely help me focus on things better and to think through the decisions that I have to make this year.

What’s your plan?  Care to share?  Care to go on record for the world to see?

Eagles Nest

/ esteban

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The Sutton Avian Research Center, here in Oklahoma, has some webcams positioned over  the nests of some bald eagles.

I usually watch them for a few minutes each day during this time of the year as they lay eggs and nurture their hatchlings.  A local TV station, KOTV Channel 6, has links to the live streams from the nests.

This morning, I caught a glimpse of both eagles in the nest, apparently taking turns sitting on the eggs.  I wasn’t quick enough to capture an image of the two of them, but you do get a good view of the 3-egg clutch waiting to hatch.

Catch the stream yourself at this link:  http://www.newson6.com/category/163029/sutton-eagle-camera

I’m so glad they told me …

/ esteban

What’s the deal with this? Document Enclosed – ooooo!

I know it’s a trick to get me to actually open the envelope and see what “fantastic offer” is inside.

But seriously, did they think I’d wonder if something else was in the envelope, like a puppy?

Soup

/ esteban / 2 Comments

I have to ask … which soup would you choose and why?

Yesterday, I went to my cupboard to get some soup for lunch.   I found three cans of chicken soup.  One “hearty chicken pot pie style” soup, and two that are basically “chicken with wild rice” soup (slightly different, but basically the same).

Most people probably have no problem just picking the soup that  appeals to them the most.  No worries.

I really wanted the chicken pot pie style soup, but I have to admit that I paused to consider that I had TWO chicken and rice soups and I ought to have one of those instead.  Just to even up the numbers.

Do you ever have urges like this, or am I just being esteban about it? 

 

I fought the compulsion and had chicken pot pie style soup.  It was yummy.  A solid 1 napkin experience.

 

previously esteban

/ esteban

Yup. I got distracted by a few things and haven’t posted anything here in awhile.  We all go through things like this.

So, I’m going to do what others have done and gather up some of what’s happened in the last 6 weeks, wrap a big bow around it and offer it up to you in a neat package.   People like lots of photos, so hopefully it won’t be too boring or self serving.

The Cabin

As the summer started winding down, I began a project to paint the outside of my family’s lake cabin.  As you can see from the photo, it’s not a particularly big cabin, only about 4 rooms.

It’s a great place, full of so many memories.  It’s been in our family for over 60 years and includes 14 acres of lake front.  I have memories of being in the lake even before I learned how to swim.  It’s the one place left in our family that ties us all together.

Anyway, the cabin is overdue for a new paint job.  The early 80’s mauve has long since faded and needs to be updated.  I chose a sea foam (ish) green color in a moment of nostalgia.  It was originally painted a really minty green color (ala 1950).  I couldn’t quite go there.  The new color is really not as green as the photo portrays it.

As it stands, I’m only about 50% done.  I’m hoping to recruit some help to finish it before it gets too cold.  Wanna help?

Kansas City

I made two trips to Kansas City in the last month.  The first was an overnight trip to check on preparations for the Catholic New Media Conference which I helped organize for SQPN, and the second was a full week for the CNMC itself.

What a great time!  I love the time that I get to spend with the SQPN folk and all those involved in Catholic new media.  It is such a passionate and lively group.

Take a minute and have a looks at these photos:

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There’s a lot in those pictures.  A trip to see the Kansas City Royals with my friend Dr. Paul Camarata, several photos of my new friend Ian Maxfield (an English podcaster, now living in Scotland) and his adventures at Waffle House, California Pizza Kitchen and Latte Land, and many shots of the CNMC and the good folks in attendance.

 Football Season

It’s college football season now and I have had a great time following both of my favorite schools, the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane.    I’ve been able to attend a game at each school, so here are some photos, which include my sister Stacey and my friend Jim, the one burying his face in a funnel cake.

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I don’t have any photos to show it, but I was also enthralled in the baseball World Series during this lapse of blogging.  If you follow baseball, you’ll understand why.  No one will ever forget Game 6 between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.

There’s more to catchup, but I think I’ll save those for other posts.

Adios!