penn

Maine

It's just over a month until I move to Maine for my three month stint at an outdoor school there. I received my welcome packet in the mail today, and I am super excited to go.

I've pretty much got my way all planned out, but I'd appreciate any tips/ideas people have.

Minnesota -> Chicago (for late lunch with friends) -> Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor -> Hamilton/Toronto

H/T -> Upstate NY via Niagra Falls

Upstate NY -> Boston

Boston -> my new job in Maine

I start work on Sept 7; yes, on Labor Day. I don't have to be at work until 10, so that should allow me to leave Boston at a decent hour and still make it in time.

Thoughts? Comments? Places I desperately need to visit, either en route or in New England while I'm there? I only have to work one weekend, I think, and the place has encouraged us to do lots of sightseeing. I'm definitely taking my camping gear!

Beautiful Friday

A few beautiful things I've seen over the last couple months. I love carrying around a camera phone; the pictures aren't pro-quality, but they're good enough to capture a lovely image and preserve it for me. Somehow, I remember things much better once I've photographed them. And it's not just looking at a photograph repeatedly; something about the act of taking a photograph, of studying the object to capture it best, helps me remember the beauty of the object.

a shell interior at the Oregon Coast ground nest on gooseberry bush -- found while hiking a luna moth

very much alive

But very much busy enjoying life (or catching up on sleep). From my walk on Monday to check bluebird boxes with my boss:

eggs!

and two babies with an egg!

I'll have more pictures soon! I finally cleared off my cell phone camera and have lots of cool ones to share.

A science to online dating?

I've done a fair bit of online dating in my day. Heck, my dad even suggested it to me after I met (and sometimes dated) a fair number of "real life" duds. It's much less random than bumping into someone on the street, and it's easy to vett out the guys who obviously aren't compatible with you.

Online dating has worked well for me; I met my current boyfriend online. So it was with great interest that I read a story in this week's NYTimes about the science of online dating. In the article, the author discusses eharmony, match.com, plentyofffish, and several other for-pay dating sites. I like her conclusion -- that no one site is better than another -- but I think she had some major oversites in her article.

For starters, she only discusses sites that cost money. Yes, there is a big segment of the online dating world that is costly. But there are also sites that provide the same services for free. I suppose I'm biased, since I've never paid to use a dating site. However, I have watched other friends pay for their subscriptions, and I really don't think my experience was that different from theirs.

The two sites I've used predominantly are craigslist (CL in net speak) and OKCupid. CL is substantially different from other dating sites, as users just post a brief ad and sometimes a picture, but it is one way to meet people. I've dating a handful of fellas from CL with the net gain of one short relationship. OKCupid is much more like match.com and other sites; you post pictures, a profile, and some stats. You also answer a lot of questions about yourself. The nice thing about OKCupid is that you can always answer more questions, at your own pace, to help increase your chances of matching well. No one sees the answer to your questions, but the computer uses your answers (which include your answer, your desired answer in a mate, and how much you care about the question) to match you up with others.

OKCupid has done me well. That's where I met Matt, and I also had another boyfriend from the site. Better yet, I gained several friends from the site, and I think that's the true benefit of a for-free dating site that offers lots of options (you can look for just friends, a hookup, casual dating, or serious dating). I wouldn't say the process is substantially different, but the benefits of not having to pay can't be overestimated. Plus, knowing the service is free helps take the sting off of the multitude of crappy dates (ratio? probably 2-3 crappy dates to each decent guy that I met).

In the end, it seems to me that what matters most is adding to your repertoire of how to meet people. With online dating, I had another tool in my kit that helped me socially engage with the people in my area. And as a young adult who no longer has the social structure of school to help me meet people, I appreciate every method at my disposal for social interaction.

David, interpretation, and reflection

Sometimes, meandering can take you somewhere you didn't exactly mean to go; such was my morning, and such is this post. This morning, I dropped Matt off at the airport. I'd intended to stay around the area and do some shopping, but I would have had to wait for at least an hour for the stores to open up. So I just started driving to see where I could get.

I ended up at church -- the one I think of as mine, which is really a UCC church in the town 20 minutes to the north. Despite having a UCC church in town, I prefer the one to the north; the one I occasionally attend is vibrant, open & affirming, and a just-peace congregation. It's also a college town with lots of intellectuals, which admittedly is more my kind of crowd.

The scripture and sermon today covered David post-Goliath. David became king and also moved the Ark to his own house after some minor trials and tribulations. What struck me most about the passage (2 Samuel 6 -- link has commentary too) was the wrath of God. My pastor chose -- perhaps rightly so -- to focus on the cheery part of David dancing with the delight of God. One of the things I love most about visiting church is hearing the sermon and how someone else interpreted the bible passage. For me, the parts concerning the wrath of God stuck out the most; but for my pastor, she was drawn to the rejoicing.

Is this a difference of opinion or a difference in attitude? It's hard to say for certain, but that is something I am mulling over at the current time.

If you're interested, go check out the passage completely with commentary. I actually find that this commentary adds a whole additional layer to my understanding of this passage. In gaining more perspectives, I often find it easier to see and comprehend the whole rather than just holding my own narrow viewpoint.

When my father reads bible passages, he ends with "May God add grace and understanding to the hearing and the reading of this word" (at least, I think that's it -- feel free to correct me). My denomination reminds us: "do not place a period where God has placed a comma; God is still speaking." I love those ideas and the implicit thought that we continue to learn and grow in understanding each time we read the bible.

And thus it was that I ended up at church this morning and spent a good bit of time contemplating just one short passage from the bible. At the end of church, I said hi to the minister and apologized for my clothes (I was not dressed in a churchy manner, as I wasn't intending to go). And she reminded me of perhaps one of the most important things the UCC says:

"No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here."

Happy 4th of July!

I'm up camping in Grand Marais for this weekend. Since I don't have internet access there, I'm pre-posting this with a picture from last weekend. Hope everyone is enjoying our nation's birthday!

New Bikes

It's been quite awhile since Matt and I got our new bikes, but we are still enjoying ourselves. Here's some photos from a recent bike trip. We traveled about 10 miles or so and enjoyed some ice cream en route.

Waterskiing

Two weekends ago found us in the town of Matt's youth. We visited some of his friends for a day on the lake. Excellent times were had by all, and I thought I'd share some photos with you.

We visited the giant ball of twine (my "Minnesota tourist spot" from my 101 things) en route

Turns out Matt is an excellent waterskiier!

I, however, am not. I made several valiant efforts to get up . . .

But I mostly just made a lot of big splashes.