PS

I forgot to mention in the last post that I locked my keys in my car yesterday. While walking away from my car I realized that I dint have my keys in my hand and thought "wouldn't it be funny if..." but they weren't in my pocked either -- so I went back and longingly stared at the keys resting on the driver seat of my car - it wasn't funny, but its all part of the adventure. My first thought was, "I hope the APU security can brake into cars." They said they couldn't, and instead gave me the phone number for a lock smith. While walking back to my car I had my second thought which was "I bet I can brake into my on my own car." So, on the way back to my car I walked behind the cafeteria and found two long pieces of wood broken off of a pallet. With the help of a little paper I was able to pry the driver window away from the car body with the first piece of wood, and slip in the second piece in to unlock the car with a spike I had taped to it (tape provided by a very nice security guard). The highlight of the experiences was two girls that drove by while I was in the process of jamming pieces of wood between the car window and the frame. As they passed I heard one exclaim loudly to the other "is he braking into that car?" I was, but they never called the police or campus security which makes me glad I don't own an expensive car.

Also, perhaps unwisely I tried drying out some sliced sausage today. Although it's the type of thing moms don't like, I left the sausage in my car overnight, and laid the slices out on a piece of cardboard the next morning. When I got to campus I put my little plate of goodness on the dashboard. Although this type of thing is frowned apon in America, its not terribly uncommon in foreign countries. In the end I just wanted to see if I could pull it off, knowing that at worse I would spend the evening somewhat miserable. After an afternoon in the sun they were reasonably dry so I had a few. I had slight stomach ache for a few hours, but it went away after I ate a pomegranate. I don't think I will make a habit of drying meat out on the dashboard of my car, but I now know it can more or less be done -- and I want to assure any readers that I would never attempt to do something like this with raw meat.

The Good Times Continue

Two weeks ago I parked my car on a side street for the night, just to see what it was like. Because I didn't want to roll the windows down, so I tried leaving the vent on low overnight to bring in fresh air. That turned out to be a mistake. I woke up around 7am to a stuffy car and quickly confirmed that the battery was completely dead. The street was level, so I first tried to push-start my car. After successfully tweaking my back out, but failing to start the car, I sat in the middle of the street with my little house, waiting for someone to drive by. Since it was Sunday morning, there was not much traffic. After fifteen minutes a mother drove by in a van, to my great relief. She was willing to stop long enough to tell me that she was in a hurry, and couldn't help, but that there were a lot of nice people in the neighborhood. She then left me in the middle of the road, with a number of biblical stories running through my head, but I have no idea what was awaiting her. A short while later, a guy drove by and helped bring my car back to life within a minute.

Last weekend I attended a "Break Through" conference, put on by the Association for Christian Character Development (accd.org). Although there are some articles online criticizing the training, I can say from personal experience that it is excellent.  Aside from the great insights I gained last the weekend, I was referred to a family near Azusa, willing to let me park in front of their house. Last night I joined them for a Bible study held in their house, and hung out with them and their kids afterward. They are amazing people and I look forward to getting to know them.

I am learning to take joy in whatever circumstances I find myself in. It is scary to wonder where I will be tomorrow, but learning to let go, and dwell in the present, has allowed me to experiences more amazing moments than I ever could have by trying to plan everything out. My encouragement to anyone reading this is to remember that unexamined formulas blind a person to the joys of life. Living a purposeful (and adventurous) life requires the traveler to look up from their map and consider where they are going, what alternatives exist, and where they want to be going. Life is short, and should only be lived with eyes and heart wide open.