Bama falls

Kentucky 78 Alabama 71
Ouch! Maybe in the tourney...

Hope 2 -Possibility

This post will make more sense if you have read the previous post, Hope 1, and the comments that followed it. That discussion is not finished yet, but I wanted to go ahead and make this post to lay the rest of my hand on the table.

The second aspect of hope as I see it now is the belief in the possibility of change. This means that I recognize not only present evil , but that evil can be overcome. This aspect of hope is possibly the more popularized notion, but it needs to be nuanced. First, I don't believe that this hope has to be totally oriented towards God's intervention in the end of time. That would only allow hope for my personal soul, and would only motivates me towards individual piety. It probably doesn't even motivate a healthy form of that. But what about hope for and in the world? Do we believe that the wrong we see around us (please don't misunderstand what I mean by that to be limited to oversimplified morality) can be made right? Can evil give way to goodness? Here hope is linked directly to faith, and brings us to a place of risk. Hope risks delusion. We don't wish to be pollyannas walking around telling everyone that everything's going to be okay (there's a reason for this, it's all part of the plan, etc.) and that God will fix things, particularly if he won't. So we take a much safer route, saying "God will take me to heaven when I die" which is a hope that has virtually no risk at all, and probably no use at all.

There is danger in not believing as well. Only claiming the first aspect of hope, the recognition of wrong, leaves us in cynicism. From my own perspective, cynicism is an unbelievable threat to ministry. Without overgeneralizing, it seems that there are so many people in ministry vocations that fall helpless to cynicism, because while they can see clearly the things that are wrong in the world, they have lost touch with the belief that things can be otherwise, with possibility. So we are left with a corps of people who should be, in a positive sense, change agents, but are powerless because they do not believe in the possibility of change. This is hopelessness. This is despair. This, on it's own, is useless. If I am right and this description of the church's leadership is correct, then it explains much of the church's impotence around the world. It's not as much that the church is dead(although there may be use for that description, too)...It's that the church is just waiting to die. It has traded its powerful hope for a useless one.

So there must be a place for the "yes" of possibility. For the church, that yes comes from the power of God, which is able to defeat even our enemy death. It comes from the power of God to bring about change in our own hearts and souls and lives. The yes is spoken and lived as we become different, and thus see the possiblity that all around us could be made new, that the death around us can give way to life, darkness be overcome by light. This is true hope, not blind to the darkness, but not blind to the power of light, either.

Partly because of the discussion thread on the last post, there is a question in my mind about the utility of hope, and now one about the utility of despair. I'll post more about that next week. For now let me explain (there is no time: let me sum up) my basic understanding hope by this description: Hope is (1)the recognition of wrong combined with (2)the belief that such can become good.

Hope 1

Alright, I'm beginning to dive into some material about hope (the Moltmann book, Theology of Hope, on the left), but before I get too far into it, I want to go ahead and offer how I think about hope currently. First of all, I believe that real hope, hope that has a bite to it, has two essential components. It is essentially a dialectical model, and ommission or neglect of either aspect leads to some substantial problems.

The first component is the perception that something is wrong. I believe that this perception has to go deep for our hope to possess power. This is the "No" aspect, that rejects the status quo as acceptable. This aspect of hope is the recognition of wrongness. It perceives the brokenness in the world, in my brothers and sisters, and in my own heart and soul.

Without this negative side hope falls to apathy. It has no content, save in concepts that are distant and abstract. It becomes disconnected with physical life, and motivates nothing. When we burn with the brokenness of the world in all its concrete reality, hope can take root and have teeth. It can become a formative hope. It can work transformation in how we live and what we live for, exerting its power in life. The recognition of darkness brings us to working with and becoming light. Provided the second aspect is present. more on that tomorrow. Any thought's about the kinds of wrong in the world that can become food for our hope?

Cleaning out my Inbox

Okay, so this morning I thought I would clean out my inbox. I deleted 1238 emails, leaving me with just 216, 14 of which are unread. That was a long time coming.

Wow, busy times! this weekend we relaunched our sunday school system, now featuring elective classes for 7-12 grades. Reports so far have been positive, but we'll give it a few weeks to see how it turns out. Any ideas on electives we could offer? they last 8 weeks. this time we're offering:

Sr high:
world religions
getting God out of your box (paradox and apologetics)
Philippians
God's evangelism (the book of Mark)

Jr High:
Relationships
The servant's heart
Old Testament Heros
Disicpleship 101
Intro to the Bible


I also had a great time this weekend at a retreat with the Highland youth group from Memphis. I loved getting to spend time with those brothers and sisters, playing and praying with them. One of the best parts was getting to share in ministry with my friend Donnie. It was really awesome to get to come alongside for the day and work with him. I have several other friends there, and known so many people who have been influenced by that church. Most of the sesisons were about passion, but in the end it came down to trying to be like Jesus. doesn't it all?

A short short story

Gregoreite
(Gray-gor-ay-tey!)

Mr. Johnson died from watching television.

Not to say that he died of watching TV, which would mean that somehow his nineteen inch set, made by Panasonic, had killed him. To say that he died of watching television would imply that television had been the killer, the mechanism by which Mr. Robert Douglas Johnson’s life had been parted from his body. That would be an understandable mistake, though, if it had been the conclusion drawn by the pair of policemen who showed up at his house on the second day of October, which happened to be a Tuesday.

They had gotten a call from Bob’s neighbors, the Hudsons, who said that the lights in Mr. Johnson’s house had been on all night for five nights straight. At first, they thought he might have just left for the weekend and accidentally left the living room light on. Then, on the third day, they peeped in the garage window while jogging, and saw his car. They thought that meant he was back, but for two more nights, the lights in the living room stayed on day and night. On the morning after the fifth night, they made up some excuse and went over to knock on the front door. They stepped on the porch, and saw a pile of newspapers, still rolled up in cheap rubber bands. They heard the TV on, but didn’t get any answer when they knocked. Something didn’t smell right. The Hudsons called the police.

That’s how it goes, when somebody who lives alone eventually dies that way. It might take a few days for anybody to notice, and then the police show up to find something like they found at 147 Sycamore lane. Eventually they break open a door, find a corpse, and put together a story of how it happened.

This is the story of how it happened.

Bob Johnson was sitting in his easy chair, watching wheel of fortune. He was eating a bowl of macaroni. He had a heart attack, became unconscious, and soon died. He dropped the bowl of macaroni. The lady from North Carolina won wheel of fortune, making $12, 340. She did not win the car. Five days later, the police broke in the back door, and found the body and the macaroni. A couple made out on TV, part of some ridiculous soap opera. The police took notes, called the coroner. He took the body, they cleaned up the macaroni, and turned off the television. That is the story of how his death happened.

But his life? How did the event known as Robert Douglas Johnson happen? What did it mean?

This is the story of how it happened.

Thirty-two years ago, Mr. Johnson had a night where the dread of dying filled him completely. A person living in his dorm at the University of Central Arkansas died. Although he didn’t know the student very well, it began him thinking, and a few nights later he lay in bed, wondering what it would be like to die. He was utterly terrified of what lay on the other side, of what his death would mean, or what it wouldn’t. Eventually, he sat back up in bed, and gave up on trying to sleep. He left the room, so as not to disturb his roommate. He walked down the hall, and downstairs to the lobby, where one of the dormitory supervisors sat watching some late night movie. Robert took a seat, and finished the movie. The supervisor went to bed, but Robert stayed to see what was on next, and was soon entranced by the next movie, which was so bad it had been banished forever to cable at 3:00 AM. Robert watched it all, and fell asleep watching the one that followed. At some point he got up, when other students were leaving the dorm, and went back to his bed.

The next afternoon, he walked downstairs, having missed classes, and turned on the lobby television. He fell asleep ten hours later on the lobby couch, without the thought of going to class or dying. He soon flunked out of school, and moved out. In order to have money to buy food and cable, he worked jobs with odd hours for thirty years, and on the even hours he went home and watched TV. He didn’t think about death again for thirty years. Then he died.

That is how he happened.

Mr. Johnson died from watching television. Not of television, meaning the TV killed him. He died from it, meaning that for him, the moment of death separated him from all that was his life. Television was all that was his life, and when he dropped the macaroni, he departed from his dearly beloved programming. He left TV behind.

Of course, an argument could be made that he died of television. That for thirty years, TV sucked the very life out of him, whittled his life away until October second, when his body finally conceded that there was nothing left. Maybe it is killing us all.

A Little Help

Okay, hypothetical situation.

I used to have a friend who had this conversation with a girl on a date,
"Can I ask you a hypothetical question?"
She said, "Yes."
He went on, "Can I kiss you?"

Okay, hypothetical situation:
You have seven guys, fifteen years old. You have eight ssessions to spend with them in a class setting about scripture. What do you do? What would you want to make sure and say, what would you want to NOT say? What would you ask, what would you share, what would you tell?

Hypothetically, of course.

g'night now

Man, am I whupped. It's been a long day, and I'm read for a little pleasure reading, maybe even a soak in the tub.

There's always the outside chance you'll want to watch this. Or, you might find it infuriating. One of my most delightful students shared it with me at church tonight. I let it run for awhile, but I can't tell you if there's really an ending or not. If anybody finds out, let me know.

Bama beats Hogs

Alabama 72 Arkansas 63
Roll tide!

VH-Day

Kelly and I had to postpone our Valentines day celebration until last night due to the weekly pilgrimage to Memphis. So last evening we had dinner and a movie, and all kinds of cuddling.

I have some recommendations that have been building up, and the movie last night was the last straw, so here they are:

Recommendation One, category: film.
Hitch
This is what Kelly and I saw last night, and I laughed my face off. This is the romantic comedy movie done up to the nines. The romance is good, the comedy is very good, and every facet of the movie is in my opinion well done. I think the sucker even has something to say, and the movie doesn't revolve around casual sex. I think the casting, down to all the minor characters, is perfect. It's well written and pretty much a sure bet for the ladies. I really am missing a face now.

Recommendation Two, category: fiction.

The Gunslinger (Dark Tower Series)

Okay, so I've read more and more fiction over the past three years, and I want to recommend to you a set of books that might not normally get your attention. I would recommend to you the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. the series is basically an epic story that spans seven volumes. It's a tale that doesn't fit into the horror nitch, even though there are times when it gives me the willies. It's also rough, so don't jump in thinking its G rated. the story and characters move me though, and the battlelines between good and evil are well drawn, ambiguities not avoided. If you get a chance and are llking for some fiction, check out the first volume, The Gunslinger (link on the left) and see if it grabs you. All but the last two are available in paperback, and unless you fly through them in the next few weeks, the sixth one will become available in April. the storyline follows a characater named Roland who is a gunslinger, a sort of combination between a wild west sheriff and a knight from camelot. the series tells of his quest for the Dark Tower, a mysterious entity that Roland will seek as long as he hsa breath. Other characters join him and interfere with his progress, but still the tower looms. the series is more Lord of the Rings than it is Carrie, but I have a whole lot of respect for King's craft.

I've got two other recomendations, but this post is long in length and perhaps in boredom already, so I'll save those for later.

Report from Academia

Another day spent in Memphis, soaking up the wisdom of the academy.
Grad School Note A:
Today's class was invested mostly in discussions of Vatican II, and was perhaps a little dry. There's just something old school about a bunch of protestants critiquing the Roman Church, even if the tone from both the Hatfields and the McCoys is a bit more conciliatory than in the past. I believe there's hope in that tone but there is so much tradition that stands between us. Shouldn't this always shame and sadden us? Next week we're going to spend in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, which is more unfamiliar to me, and I'm looking forward to it.

Grad School Note B:
That ridiculous copier in the basement of the library drives me crazy. Today Shannon and I just took the reserve articles we needed to copy to Kinko's. I felt like this saved me about three hours. The copier that's in the library now stinks. I think there's a little bird that lives in the bottom of it, Flintstone style. I imagine this little bird looks at whatever I put on the glass, and copies it with a pencil. If you try to use the feeder, the bird takes this literally and tries to eat whatever you give it. I think in the morning they actually put bird food into the feeder, for the nourishment of the bird. I bet that bird gets hacked off when put theological articles into the chute instead of seeds.

Grad School Note C:
Next week Shannon and I are going to play disc golf with our friends Donnie and Zac. This is somewhat perilous, since Zac's trunk contains more discs than I have ever seen in one place. I mean I bet there were 150 in there, conservatively. It was awesome to behold. It should be some serious good times, if not good competition. Maybe if he plays lefthanded...

Finally, Grad School Note D:
Shannon wanted me to post this link, and I think it is only fair warning.

Steven consuming the best burger in the Rock.  

Little Rock's finest

You'll have to wait for my mushy valentines day post, and I'll post something non-edible tomorrow, but while we're on the subject of the Grill, allow me one more thought.

The picture above records what I am convinced is Little Rock's best burger for sale (sorry cothams, but reputation isn't everything). It's hiding for you at Bennett's market in the Rock Creek shopping center, which is in tunr located at the corner of Markham and Bowman (home also to El Porton, Mardel, blockbuster, and Hobby Lobby). This burger is absolutely delicious, but threre is a trick. Bennett's offers two burgers, I believe 8 and 12 ounces. the larger specimen is not only bigger, but it is qualitatively better. If you don't think you're up for the large version, you must order it anyways and save half of it for later, or take a friend and split it (my right hand holds one half of the burger, and as you can see, it will satisfy). they will put bacon and chees on this if you ask, though whether those are unacceptable condiments, I will leave to you and your own conscience.

If you live in Little Rock and have not eaten this burger, you should get up and go immediately. If that is not possible, then check your schedule and make it happen. Trust me on this, people. I know burgers.

Roll Tide!

Alabama 71, Mississippi 45

Roll Tide!

OSEA

When I was in school at Harding my friends and I also had this weird thing going on that involved a lot of tradition and community. It all revolved around grilling out, and in particular these two events. We called ourselves the OSEA, (Old School Eating Association) and the two events were KOGS (Kick-Off of the Grilling Season) and WUGS. We made up all kinds of rules,lingo, and rituals, almost a little subculture. It started off as a little grillout we were having in my backyard right off campus, and then in a couple of years we having like 400 people show up and moved over to a little park that was close by. It was totally a blast, and I still meet people and have them say things like "I think I came to some grill-out you had one time." It was hilarious how people got into the rules and all. For instance, our motto was "if you need condiments, you need another burger." So we would forbid people from bringing any kind of condiments. Every once in a while, somebody would playfully bring a bottle of ketchup or something, and when they would pull it out, everyone would gasp and look horrified, until somebody snatched it away, and disposed of the vile condiment. Or they would have a rookie come up and ask where the mustard was, in which case we got everyone's attention, and began the phrase so that everyone could finish it. There was really nothing like hearing a couple of hundred people say, "...you need another burger" to some poor unsuspecting rookie.

What great fun.

Saturday morning writing and playing

So today I got to spend most of the day trying to help some friends write a skit. So darn fun. I mean really, we spent all this time playing with ideas, improvising, talking about our experiences of God and life. It was great.

I spent a great deal of time in college as part of this group, which is called theatron. Each year people move out of it and the recruit new members, so the group is made up of a totally different group now than it was when I was there. It was fun to contribute today, though, and rejkoin them in the writing process. It's been to expereince a living organic group like that, to take part in what has become a thing with tradition. They still do some of the same skits we wrote, and some that are new and different. It's neat to think of how a bunch of very different people have contributed to some of those skits, so that they've added gags along the way and grown.

That was one of the places where I have experienced community in an intense way. I think some of what I learned there was the importance of sharing life with people, and in particular, sharing in the experience of ministry with a group of people. It forever shaped the way I think about teams and how groups work together.

Keith posted here an experience of his where he found a community experience among a group of Trekkies. I was thinking about another experience of community that I had, but I think it would make this post too long, so I'll save it for tomorrow. In the mean time, you're welcome to comment about times that you've experienced community.

a place to...

Okay, here's a way I'm thinking about ecclesiology these days. I've been plugging words and phrases into this formula:

our church is (or should be) a place...

It's a local ecclesiology, in other words it how I'm coming to understand our assembly of brothers here in this place. I'm okay with that, since it seems that we know the church first of all as local and particular before we understand it in the broader, universal terms. More on that later, but here are some things that come to mind in the little formula:

Our church is a place...
to follow
to grow
to be safe
to belong
to understand
to be understood
to share
to be challenged
to love
to be loved
to serve
to contribute
to worship
to wonder
to see Jesus
to share life

thoughts?

Roll Tide!

Bama 72, Tennessee 54

That helps take a little sting out of the beating we took from Florida last weekend.

Roll Tide!

Ash Wednesday Report

Okay, as a part of a pretty non-liturgical church, I don't have any kind of normative lenten expectations. Still though, like many evangelicals in this situation, this time of year affords an opportunity to dabble in the church calendar by participating in some sort of personal fast.

Every year I approach lent in pretty much the same way, eagerly anticipating the chance to embark on a temporary fit of discipline, particularly one with a little more spiritual flavor than your typical new years resolution. Every year I have trouble knowing exactly what to give up, though, so I spend most of Ash Wednesday trying to make up my mind. This is a great opportunity for the weakness of my flesh to show itself.

I always have dozens of ideas of things I could fast from during lent. The problem is that almost all of them require virtually no sacrifice whatsoever, and thus seem to be unfit. I'm trying to have a little sense of humor about this, even though it really is silly that I think of some of these things. Anyways, in recognition of my own weakness and in a little bit of humor, I think I'm going to submit a list of things that I've thought about giving up for lent.

10. sodas
9. political conversation
8. physical labor
7. salad
6. dancing
5. sermon criticism
4. sandals
3. x-Box
2. the radio in my car
1. lunch.

Really biting sacrifices, eh? I feel so embarrassed when I think of what this season really represents.

Okay, okay

Okay, so in a world where I would reveal my masked subjects, it might be possible that I would agree to the identifications proposed in the comments to the last post. But I'll never tell, so there!

Today I'm in Memphis at grad school and have spent the day puzzling through my class, which is called Contemporary religious Thought (syllabus) and basically covers different thinkers of the last century. Today we were working through what is called process theology, which I have to say contains, in my view, what a whole host of problems. I think it's good to take time sorting through systems like that though, even if in the end you don't buy what they're selling. I think learning to talk with and learn from those with whom we differ is a major skill critical thinking, and can open up so many possibilities of understanding. I don't mean that in a fluffy we can learn from everyone kind of way, either. I just think thoughtful dialogue and the ability to think critically and honestly are useful skills in sharpening our own conclusions. So thanks, process theologians, for the food for thought.

Today we also had a great discussion about whether God created the world from nothing, ex nihilo, or whether he just ordered the world out of its chaos. (Process theologians are not the only people who would argue the latter position.) Particularly, at least some people think that what some places in the Old Testament describe is God becoming master of the chaotic world and giving it form and order. Other places read as though God whips up the earth from scratch, or less then scratch, nothing. Personally, I think that scripture describes it both ways at different times. I believe that ultimately he made the world from nothing, but that accounts like in genesis 1 describe him giving the world order against the forces of chaos to describe the battle god is engaged in from the beginning of creation. He created a world where struggle was possible, where chaos was allowed to have some play. In the end, though, he is at work fighting the chaos, and will be ultimately victorious over it. I need to spend some more time sorting this out though.

Report from fifth period

Okay, this class has easily been the best as far as work level and general behavior. Also, I'd like to record the following conversation, as I think it is a funny one for high school sophmores. I do this with permission, though I will still mask the identities.

Student A: "Hey, Student B."
Student B: "Yeah?"
Student A: "Do you know what I'm going to do if John Williams wins an academy award?"
Student B: "What?"
Student A: "Scream."
Student B: "Okay."

Substitute blog

Today I'm blogging from a pretty unique location, among some new friends. I'm substitute teaching for high schol english, which is a great way to make new friends. Except last time I made a new friend I forgot her name. It's Kim, I now know since she's in my class today, too. Everytime I'm here I meet her again, then I forget her name, which is very bad for friendship. She's either terribly offended, or just used to it, which can't be good for her self confidence. I think she has good self esteem, anyways. She denies it though, which makes me feel worse.

Asha is another new friend that it appears I've met repeatedly. Kaent didn't seem sure, but I think he was just being nice.

Substitute teaching is the best. Really it boils down to hanging out with students all day as they do various forms of busy work, or play games...er...build hand eye coordination. It's funny to watch the students react to the assignments. Different classes react so differently to the exact same set of instructions. Some take them ultra seriously, and hurry through them, and some just sit there and do absolutely nothing. Most of the students today have been pretty good about getting through their work, but the variance is still pretty interesting to watch. The main function of the substitute teacher is to man the holding tank and make sure the students don't escape, and I feel as though I'm fulfilling that obligation. I even feel like they're getting some work done, so hoorah for being a part of the educational process. Before I passed out the worksheets for the class I'm in now I gave a fine motivational speech about how valkuble their education is and how they had a chance to be active in their own learning processes. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

Oh yeah, my Super bowl pick. I was very disappointed at the last touchdown by the Eagles. It looked like my 10 point prediction was going to be dead on up until that last TD. Overall, I thought it was a great game, and one of the best football games I watched all year. Congrats to the Pats!

Picking the Pats

Okay, it's super bowl sunday, so really quickly before church, Let me make my pick. give me the Patriots by 10. Here's to football played as a team sport!

We're also taking part in the "Souper Bowl of Caring" which is a national grassroots fundraiser. Check it out at:http://www.souperbowl.org

There's a really neat story behind this and how it's grown.

Come Together

Alright, a sleepy saturday morning with nothing much to do except read and write on the blog! Now that doesn't come once a week like the calendar says it should. Seems like it was 1992 the last time a saturday llike this rolled around.

I'm still reading in this Luke Timothy Johnson book, Scripture and Discernment and he gives another good road sign that points towards how we think about the church. He suggests that the doctrine of the church must begin with the local assmbly, because of Jesus words, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20).

does that suggest that this is the primary identity of the church? Is it primarily the gathering together of people in the name of Jesus? I think that opens a lot of doors of self-understanding for the church if we begin in that place. to meet in the "name of Jesus" is such a loaded phrase, and can mean so much. It gives us a good boundary too, since it would mean we can only do as "church" what we can faithfully do in Jesus' name. It is full of promise too, since it comes with Jesus' pledge not only to be with us, but to honor our askings. The more I look at it, this passage in Matthew 18 also deals with accountability(if a brother sins against you...), forgiveness(seven times?), mission (lost sheep), and even leadership (who is the greatest). I think this is a place I want to spend some time over the coming days, and see what it yields.

Grace.

Woo-hoo for "being" healthy!

Okay, this week seems like a dull blur in my mind, but the fog seems to have lifted and I feel much, much better. Therefore, as an act of gratitude I hereby lift the "healthwatch" curse that has been on this blog over the past week, and pledge to post nothing about my nose, throat, or other congested area for a period of no less than two weeks. Hoorah!

Luke Timothy Johnson in Scripture and Discernment: Decision Making in the Church, Abingdon press, 1996

...Some groups tend to be defined more by the tasks they perform, while others by simply "being" a certain way. It is not always possible to distinguish one from the other since both kinds of groups make both task and identity decisions. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that groups defined by "being" a certain way (a "community of the pure," a "witness to the truth," a "school of the Lord's service") will find decisions concerning identity more difficult and threatening than those Concerning tasks. For groups whose purpose is fulfilled by a certain kind of "doing," on the other hand, "task" decisions will be more difficult.

When I read this, it made me think about some of the resaons we miss each other in the church, and come away without understanding each other's perspective. I think we're all over the map in how we understand her. some of us think of her as identity driven, some of us think of her as a task organization. Probably most of us think of her somewhere in between, with different purposes that sometimes seem to be in conflict with each other, if not in some sort of ambiguous relationship with each other.

This self-understanding of the church is something I think about all the time. Who are we? What are we supposed to be doing? The more I think about it, it seems like the problem isn't that scripture says too little about those things. It's that it says so much! I mean, in reality, isn't that what so much of scriptre is doing, telling us who God is so we can understand who we are, telling us what he did so we can understand what we're supposed to do? Our understanding of identity and task is response to our understanding of his identity and task.

So where do we come out? I think He is the creator, so we are the created, and we are partners in his creating. I think he is the Savior, so we are the saved, and partners in his saving. He is revealer, so we are the ones who have heard him and who continue to proclaim him. He is Lover, and so we are loved, and we are part of his loving. Is this a good way to start?

sickly, but working on it

Okay, so this year it seems worse. I mean, I know that every year there's a cycle when it seems like everyone on earth is sick, and we're all passing around some crazy germ that makes us cough our heads off. But for real, I think this year it must be worse. Some schools around here have closed for a couple of days, and the ones that haven't aren't able to get a lot done, with so many students gone. No quorums anywhere.

I've got a couple more days in front of me before I finish off the junk I'm hacking through. I felt better today, but my throat hurts...ah, a new pain, at least. My wife has somehow still managed to stay healthy, and that's good, particularly since I would never be able to get her to take any medicine anyways. I'm glad she doesn't have to worry about it.

I haven't felt social at all the past couple of days. Usually my spirits stay pretty high throughout this sort of thing, but maybe I'm just past my threshold for it. I just want to crawl in a solitary hole for a couple more days and emerge a healthy human. Alas, that's just not the way it works.