reunions
Hmmm... it looks like all of this reunion talk fizzled before I was aware that it had started up again. I remain up for anything on the Eastern Seaboard, which could include western New York if that conversation is rejuvinated.
So, although the "big reunion" that has been threatened since approximately the time we all left Oxford still isn't happening (okay, it did once upon a time, not that I'm at all bitter that I couldn't make it), the little mini-reunions still manage to happen for me a couple times a year. Here are some pics from when I visited Nicole on the
way back from South Africa. You can guess where we are by the whimsical brick pattern on the building behind us. I managed to chip out a blue brick while no one was looking, which I will present to the society of reactionary architectural saboteurs at Exeter College upon my next visit. Nicole is generally opposed to having her picture taken, so I was lucky to get this. While I'm at it, here's me in front of the building I spent perhaps the most time in while in Oxford (it might even beat out #10, since I only slept about 4-5 hours a night back in those days). We didn't even bother to walk down Canterbury Road, but we certainly visited all the old pubs, and some new ones, with Nicole's friend Rosie. Sadly, Mr. Hussein's cart had not pulled up before we left, so we had to get our chips at the other kebab stand.London was good times as well. I helped out with a football tournament for the young people Nicole works with, and as usual we walked all over the place. I am always impressed by how well Nicole knows her way around London on foot, and how often I encounter places I have never seen. I guess living there for just one year didn't get me around as much as I thought. One very welcome addition to this visit was watching an entire season of "The Office" - the American version! I once thought it was blasphemous, since I think the British original is genius, but I have seen the light, and am glad that Steve Carrel and company have two more seasons on DVD that I can watch. Ryan Rich, you were right and I was wrong.
I then visited Missy when I was in DC the following week, just a wee coffee date on Pennsylvania Avenue. My girlfriend Kristina lives there, so I have a feeling that Missy and I will be seeing
a lot more of each other over the next year (by the way Missy, since this is as quick and convenient a way to contact you as any, I'll be down all next week). Once again, evidence that squishing together and holding the camera directly in front of your faces usually does not result in the finest photography, at least of me.In other news, my final year of Princeton Seminary is underway, and I am again asking the "what am I going to be when I grow up" questions. My current plan is to do a year-long residency as a hospital chaplain in the DC area next year, which would put me close to Kristina, and keep our options open when her two-year job commitment terminates at the end of that same year. I have different ideas about what I want to do after graduation every six months or so, and while I may or may not stick with chaplaincy long term, it would allow me to develop the skill set I would need to be a therapist or counselor or something like that further down the road. Not a pastor, however, as I just can't see myself as a minister of word and sacrament even if other aspects of the pastoral role appeal to me. While it would be great to just know what I want to do with my life already, I will probably keep trying new things for the foreseeable future, and probably trying them in a variety of interesting locations.
Hope the reunion planners can work something out. I am certainly game.
posted by Zack @ 10/18/2007 08:27:00 PM
8 Comments:
Lovely pics, Zack...and nice update as well. I hope to post my own news (once it's confirmed) within the next month or so... :)
An East Coast reunion is definitely something we should do within the next year. Accomack County, anyone?!?!? It's great. There is all the fried chicken you can eat. And fried crabs. And fried clams. And fried oysters. And fried vegetables. And fried flounder. And french fries. And fried green tomatoes! MMMMMMM, I can feel my arteries clogging already. Not to worry though.....you'll burn off those extra calories swatting at the continual presence of giant mosquitoes. On your way through, remember to plug your nose if you're anywhere near a poultry barn or one of the poultry processing plants. (If you don't, you may never want to eat chicken again.) Have I enticed anyone yet?
Oh, by the way, this is not Jill....this is Sean. I happen to currently live in Accomack County, where I teach high school history & geography. Needless to say, Accomack County is probably not a reunion possibility. =) Anywhere in a civilized area on the East Coast would be good for a reuinion. Any ideas? I am definitely in favor of a reunion, especially as I missed the last one due to being abducted to the Planet Zorf during 2003.
You can tell by the decrease in the sarcasm factor that Jill has now taken the keyboard. Unlike Sean, I am actually quite taken with my new home on Delmarva. Sean is loudly insisting that I state up front that I do not live in Accomack County, VA, but rather Kent County, MD. Which is pretty charming: picturesquely colonial, a fascinating blend of southern culture, Chesapeake Bay sensibilities, and Beltway influence. He's on the Lower Shore, I'm on the eminently superior Upper Shore. I've been here since June, when I finally finished my Ph.D. (yay!!!)and took a delayed entry into what I still hesitate to call "the real world." Given that I absolutely love what I do, that I get to sail on 18th century revenue cutters and help create amazing racial reconciliation events, it bears absolutely no resemblance to the infamous 9 to 5 grind.
We're really sorry to take up so much space in a comment, but we couldn't figure out how to do an actual post (administrator, anyone?) Come on, really, what do you expect from two people teaching history? Just as a test to see if anyone actually reads these comments, I'm going to toss out the fact that we're dating, and see if anyone notices.
If anyone wants to get the reunion ball rolling, the Eastern Shore contingent is ready to go.
Oh, wow! Congratulations you two!! Wow.
Both of you have individual accounts on this thing. When you log in, just click on "create new message" and there you go.
It would be wonderful to see you guys. Hopefully, something will work out someday.
Embarassingly enough, that's not working for me. I think the account I have on this blog is linked to an out-of-date email address....help!
Is your news confirmed? Curiousity swirls!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jill/Sean,
Yes, we read the comments! Wow! I'm happy to hear that you're dating.
I think Ana Maria can e-mail you a new invitation so you can post properly and so forth. Blogger "upgraded" recent(ish)ly and it's been a pain for all of us who use it. I'd be happy to e-mail an invite to you, except that I don't have the permissions to do that. (Ana Maria, any way I can get those?)
Take care--hope to see you sometime!
Chelsey
must confess, the "sarcastic jill" had me suspicious, and the "this is not jill it's sean" had me more suspicious still, so i scoured the entry for the subtly put "announcement." i love it. and how do the two of you NOT make it to DC on your way to see each other? i am miffed...
We're heaving a big sigh of relief that no one has made a comment involving the word "incest" - or at least not on the blog!
If anyone could send me a new Blogger invitation, I'm at jill.ogline@gmail.com.
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