Thursday, September 01, 2005
What a week!
What a week! The hurricane tragedy continues to preoccupy my mind when I'm at home, but I have been so busy that I haven't been at home very much.
Wednesday was a much needed day of rest, but of course I couldn't turn away from the news coverage of the people waiting in New Orleans to be rescued. Wednesday night Jim and I went to a dinner for residents of the Theology School housing where we are living. It was nice to see all the other new residents, and talk with some further that I had already met. It was too short to really meet people, though. After that, we went to get Jim a haircut and try to get some gas. I had heard about gas prices shooting up and gas lines after lunch on Wednesday, but we didn't realize some stations would already be out of gas. We only found one station pumping and the lines were enormous. We gave up and Jim had to drive my car, which has no A/C, to work for the next two days. That experience was very stressful, and so I went to sleep the night before Orientation with a lot on my mind.
Thursday morning I tried to walk over in time for Morning Prayer at 7:30, but there was a lot more traffic, so I had to wait longer to cross the street and was late. I sat and enjoyed the early morning cool for a while instead, then took a few minutes for private meditation in the tiny prayer chapel at the seminary. The official Orientation sessions began at 9:00 in the big chapel, which is also the campus chapel for the whole University. I had attended a labyrinth and a tour there earlier in the week, and it is a very modern, but very architecturally beautiful space. It is stark, with soaring ceilings filled with windows. It is designed to resemble a train station, with seating in different areas at different levels, which taken together forms a spiral towards the altar. I normally prefer more traditional church architecture, but this chapel has a definite presence which seems to center you and bring you to attention when you walk through the doors, similar to more ornate sanctuaries I have experienced.
More about that later, gotta run....
Wednesday was a much needed day of rest, but of course I couldn't turn away from the news coverage of the people waiting in New Orleans to be rescued. Wednesday night Jim and I went to a dinner for residents of the Theology School housing where we are living. It was nice to see all the other new residents, and talk with some further that I had already met. It was too short to really meet people, though. After that, we went to get Jim a haircut and try to get some gas. I had heard about gas prices shooting up and gas lines after lunch on Wednesday, but we didn't realize some stations would already be out of gas. We only found one station pumping and the lines were enormous. We gave up and Jim had to drive my car, which has no A/C, to work for the next two days. That experience was very stressful, and so I went to sleep the night before Orientation with a lot on my mind.
Thursday morning I tried to walk over in time for Morning Prayer at 7:30, but there was a lot more traffic, so I had to wait longer to cross the street and was late. I sat and enjoyed the early morning cool for a while instead, then took a few minutes for private meditation in the tiny prayer chapel at the seminary. The official Orientation sessions began at 9:00 in the big chapel, which is also the campus chapel for the whole University. I had attended a labyrinth and a tour there earlier in the week, and it is a very modern, but very architecturally beautiful space. It is stark, with soaring ceilings filled with windows. It is designed to resemble a train station, with seating in different areas at different levels, which taken together forms a spiral towards the altar. I normally prefer more traditional church architecture, but this chapel has a definite presence which seems to center you and bring you to attention when you walk through the doors, similar to more ornate sanctuaries I have experienced.
More about that later, gotta run....
