oh...it's september

if you've been around long, you might notice that i am constantly amazed by the passage of time as marked by a season's change. i know. i've been on this planet long enough and should probably be done with the childlike wonder, but i'm totally hooked.

so...it's september. fancy that. i've been in blissful ignorance of that fact for the last week due to beautiful weather and general frolicking that comes with extra-long weekends and shortened weeks. but, today, right on target, it begins to rain and get cold and has hardly let up. i'm wearing a jacket, a first for the season. but it's just september, let's not talk about daylight savings time ending and winter happening. let's not talk about it, okay?

be in prayer this week for wheatonites. some receive undue amounts of tragedy--and of course there is never a good time for that.

and that's all.

epic transportation fail

today, i was supposed to make a complicated trip to see an australian friend who happens to be visiting the US. suffice to say, i didn't make it. let's break down the segments of this trip that needed to happen:
1. take a train from wheaton into the city.
2. catch another train from the city to a southern suburb.
3. get picked up by a friend and drive 2.5 hours to final destination.

okay, perhaps its not all that complicated. but when you factor in train schedules and the distances between train stations--it becomes more so. SO. here's what really happened.

i show up on time for my first train, but it is running late. very late. the train that was supposed to come before it hasn't come yet. but a few friends of mine are in the station, so we chat and guess where the train could be. a middle-aged woman passes us and mentions that there is a hostage situation at a bank around the station before ours, so the trains are held up. a hostage situation?! WHAT?
one of our little group offers to drive us all into the city after we decided it was not worth waiting on the train. so we pile into his van and head out to brave chicago traffic. there is still hope that i can reach the second leg of my trip upon arrival to the city.

we get downtown amidst five o'clock, friday night, downtown TRAFFIC. it takes us a complete turn around the loop to figure out where the my train station even is. in the middle of this navigating, i get a call from my roommate who updates me on the hostage thing a bit, and says she heard there might be problems with the southbound train lines. she was right: all the southbound trains were delayed. in the station, the PA system seemed to be saying that trains were starting to move again, but i could not gauge how far behind they were or if it was worth it to stay or not. i am an hour and a half behind schedule, so i call my would-be ride and last leg of the journey and tell her to go on without me. give our friend a hug and a kiss and an apology.

i ended up spending the evening with my ride and his friend from home. we had a great time that never would have happened otherwise. i think that's the first time ever a plan has gone that horribly wrong circumstantially, and what bizarre (and tragic) circumstances! the heck!
i'm going to go out on a limb and say this: my plans have this funny way of just getting messed up. (particularly if there are trains involved). on this particular trip, i did everything right. i packed up perfectly, i got cash before i left, turned off my computer, was on time for the train, yada yada yada. and the TRAINS mess up. other times, the error is mine and the plan goes to pot. my plans just have this nice way of not working.

politics (i never intend to discuss them seriously here)

when classes begin on wednesday and are followed by a three-day weekend, it hardly feels like they've begun. but, such is the case. this week, our second "week" of classes, things are starting to roll at a respectable pace. it's keeping me on my toes.

in the past few years, i've followed somewhat in the steps of my father by expressing a minor interest in following politics. i say "minor" not as an expression of my father's sentiment (i'll let him do that for himself), but in my own. i say "minor" because i carry no banners, fly no flags, and basically only have a fraction of an idea of what's going on at any given point in time, but usually carry just enough information to get me into trouble.

and with that information, i will confidently say this.

enough with the "maverick" schtick. it's been said too much. get over it.
all the writers must have had a field day when this mccain descriptor first hit paper: "maverick! it's brilliant! it denotes a rebel, an independent thinker. and we NEED to distance ourselves from bush right now. have you SEEN his approval ratings? YIPES! and, it connotes youth and action! mccain is getting nailed for his age. let's show him smiling and call him a name that makes us think of mel gibson saving the day! and sarah palin can be jodie foster! cool!



i'll be the first to admit: it's a great word. kudos for thinking it up. however, it's the kind of word that doesn't bear repetition well. repeat the thing and it loses spark. let me assure you, it was overused before you got to it (ask google to define it, you'll get over a dozen other users of the word). but when everyone and their reporter's and pundit's moms are saying it, it has jumped the shark. SO. MOVE ON.


just for clarification: i'm not saying mccain isn't a maverick. i'm not saying he is. i'm simply saying the word has been over-applied and now does little but annoy me. i am saying palin is hot. i'm not saying that matters at all.