How to give up Facebook for Lent (CNet)

The best idea on the write-up is changing your photo to be a black box stating that you’re off Facebook for Lent.  Great tips!

To those of you staying off Facebook: good luck! Me, I’ve decided to give up parking close for Lent. I spend a lot of time driving around looking for that magical spot – that’s going to stop.  If you’re driving and see me walking across from the furthest parking space, try not to speed up.

• Liturgical dance stupid

**UPDATE** Inspired by the comments, I’d like to amend my previous statement. Agreed, liturgical dance is not in and of itself stupid. The liturgical dance at Congress was farcical, but even then the thought in the back of my head was, “I’m sure they get a lot out of this, but I just find it distracting”. Thusly, I clarify my position and apologize for making a statement that didn’t accurately reflect my position in the first place.

In response I wrote:

I completely agree with your amended position on Liturgical Dance, as well as pretty much agree with your original position of Liturgical Dance. I think people look at their talents and think about how they can serve at Mass. You have people who are good readers, they’re Lectors. You have people who are good musicians, they’re in the choir (and yes I’m fortunate that they extend to accepting drummers). You have people who are good at being ushers, and they’re ushers. Then you have the dancers, which want to find some way to use their talents so someone created Liturgical Dance to give them something to do and they feel a sense of fulfillment by dancing, even though it’s pretty much distracting and lame at the same time.

Not all Liturgical Dancing is bad. When used sparingly, it can greatly enhance a liturgy – like when during the Mass Liturgical Dancers are setting the Alter during Preparation of the Gifts. However, most of the time it’s just overblown and basically has the dancers taking advantage of a captive audience. The worst is “interpretive dancing” during the reflective song after Eucharist. The other part when it was completely out of hand at Congress was when it was used for the readings during the Opening Ceremony. The dancer freaking picked up the Word and started dancing around with it, making me wonder “if the dancer has it, what are the readers reading?!?”. I basically lost my attention and stopped listening to the readings.

Sorry dancers.  What I say may be harsh, and God bless you for trying, but I have to be honest here.  Just ask the people around me that listen to me groan whenever a dancer starts up in the middle of Mass.

I took this picture of LA Cardinal Roger Mahony taking part in an a live chat, in which he was using Firefox.  My picture isn’t the best quality, but loyal Firefox users can make this out:

Do you need any more reason to stick with IE?  Even Cardinals are using Firefox.

We’ve had a tradition going down a day early and going to this pier in Dana Point.  We then spend the afternoon walking the beach, and then heading up to this bar to watch the sunset and eat some clams.  It’s a great way to kick off a great conference.

I’m also excited because my sister and her fiancée are joining us.  I’m also excited to be going with my buddy Joel and hopefully will get to see Andie as well.

LA here we come!

• 1st Sunday of Lent: End of Days – “Overcoming Temptation” 
• 2nd Sunday: Phenomenon – “Transforming Light”
• 3rd Sunday: Bridges of Madison County – “Secrets”
• 4th Sunday: The Miracle Worker – “Discovering ‘Fullness of Life’ ”
• 5th Sunday: Awakenings - “Life That Will Never Die”
• Palm Sunday: The Insider – “Life and Death Convictions”
• Holy Thursday: Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story – “Struggling with Faithfulness”
• Good Friday: The Miracle Maker – “Through the Eyes of a Child”
• Easter Vigil: Girl, Interrupted – “Buried So as to Rise”
• Easter Sunday: The Hurricane – “Victory over Darkness”

I’m going to go ahead and kick off with Week 3, but I’ll see if I can go back and at least squeeze in reflections on Phenomenon as well, as I really enjoyed that movie.  Wish me luck!

So basically I’ve found yet another way to screw up these lent movie reflections.  I’m pretty bummed because I had all of the movies queued up and on my way to my house, and obviously I had already done Quiz Show.  Argh.

I do have the Lectionary A book, but I don’t have it with me.  Being this far behind and making such a stupid mistake, I’m going to cut my losses on the first two weeks.  I’ll pick it up tomorrow and start at the 3rd Sunday of Lent in the right movie cycle.  I’ll push out a new movie list as well.  Argh.

By the way, that means I’m using a different book, the Cycle A version.

• 1st Sunday: Quiz Show – “Modern Temptations”
• 2nd Sunday: Close Encounters of the Third Kind – “Glory on a Mountain”
• 3rd Sunday: Bringing Out the Dead – “Disasters and Depression”
• 4th Sunday: A River Runs Through It – “A Memoir of Two Sons”
• 5th Sunday: Thelma and Louise – “Casting the First Stone”
• Palm Sunday: Mad City – “The Public Is Fickle”
• Holy Thursday: The Shipping News - “I Am Not a Water Person”
• Good Friday: Changing Lanes – “Rage and Redemption”
• Easter Vigil: Green Dragon – “Do Not Stay Among the Dead”
• Easter Sunday: Fearless – “Sharing Risen Life”

If you’re looking for the corresponding readings, I would suggest checking out the USCCB’s web site.  If you’re interested in seeing any of these movies and sharing reflections, I definitely would enjoy the dialog.  Let me know if you’re interested.

Update: Nothing from Blockbuster on Monday.  Hopefully it’ll be here Tuesday.  I’m going to request movies for week 2 & 3 now so this doesn’t happen again.

A lot of people typically give up something for Lent.  Some years I try to give things up, but some years I instead try to take something on that I don’t normally do.  Part of it is with the intention of reflecting on myself and where I need growth (of fasting) in my life, but also what are things that can keep me prayerful by doing (or not doing) those things.  This year I have decided to do a little of both, hoping to improve my physical health along with my spiritual health.  I have been doing really well with keeping up with the gym, working out 4-5 days per week.  It’s not necessary something new to take on, but it is a challenge to maintain this momentum, especially as life is starting to get really busy again. In addition to that, I have decided to refrain from sweets and desserts – no ice cream, cookies, chocolate or candy bars from vending machines.  Eating sweets isn’t necessary something I do every day, but it is something that I will take advantage of at certain restaurants.  Bethany is also giving up the sweet craze as well.

One last thing, Bethany and I are going to do some faith sharing through film, watching movies based on the scripture readings for the Sundays of Lent.  The movies come from a book called “Lights, Camera, Faith“, which is a book that uses recent and popular movies as another way of looking at scripture readings.  If you’re a movie buff at all, and would like to see how God can work through media, I invite you to try this out. The first movie for this Sunday is Quiz Show.  After watching the movie, I will offer my thoughts and reflections through the blog. If you’re interested, I would invite you to do the same, either by responding to my posts or perhaps we could set up a discussion board somewhere.  Let me know if you’d be interesting in learning more, of if there’s something I can do to help you get started.

Being involved with church choir  (and directing the student choir at my church for a year), this song has become the bane of my choir existence.  Thank God that we only have to play it once per year, but if you ask me that’s twice too much.  Stephen Colbert perfectly articulates how I feel about this song:

We got the opportunity to witness the devastation of Hurricane Katrina first-hand by getting on a bus and being led around the city by residents of New Orleans.  I was asked to write a reflection on my trip for the conference newsletter, which best captures my thought of the trip:

Sixteen months after Hurricane Katrina, the headlines seldom remind us of the devastation brought by this storm. After witnessing the destruction first-hand through the bus tour, the impact of this national tragedy resonates through my heart and the hearts of students from all parts of the nation.

Students watched in awe yesterday as we entered the 9th Ward. It became difficult to count the boarded and standing houses, that remain empty to this day. Emotion overcame us as we saw an “X” marked on each house, each documenting the victims left by the storm. In our own homes, the opening of a new store brings a new place to buy material goods. However, here in New Orleans the reopening of a simple grocery signifies hope, a symbol of rebuilding and resurrection.

The narrators offered a first-hand account in many ways. We could hear their anguish – but above all – their pride for their community, and their determination to overcome adversity. In the midst of destruction, light was revealed to us in the form of the Musicians Village. Marked by vibrant Easter egg colors, these homes embodied new life delivered from death. In many ways, we witnessed the “Deltas of Change” through the eyes of the New Orleans survivors.

Musician’s Village

I took a few pictures from the bus and posted them on Flickr.

Last night we also got to experience something called the "Second Line", which is a New Orleans celebratory procession.  Led by a big marching band, 700 students danced and marched along the streets of New Orleans, ending up at Jackson’s Square by Bourbon Street.  It turned out to be a blast.  People were hoisting people on their shoulders and dancing in the streets.  I raised my friend Sarah onto my shoulders and managed to carry her for about 5 blocks.  I was surprised that my shoulders could sustain for that long. As we were marching the streets, people came out onto the balconies to cheer and throw out beads.  It was an amazing sight!

More pictures on Flickr

Today there were plans to do a lot of service projects throughout the city, but they have been canceled due to rain.  We’re just sitting in our hotel rooms now, and I’m spending some time catching up on work.

The conference is definitely different from previous years, but I’m enjoying it nonetheless. I’ve seen great things today, I’ll look to share more about it in the coming days. It’s good to see some of my old friends here, but I’m sad that I really haven’t had an opportunity to catch up with them.

As far as the leadership activities go, I’m ready to be done and move on. In many ways, I’m looking forward to only having three days left in my term. I’m ready for a much-needed break.

The leadership discernment process is over, and the basic result is that I was not selected at the chairperson.  I definitely am holding a bag of mixed emotions within me at this point, feelings that are extremely important to process.  One side of me is very relieved and very joyous. I am happy with the result and the person whom was called forth to be chair.  I have a sense of relief because I no longer need to fret about the balance of my schedule, the stress of a larger sense of responsibility, and the grief of giving up some of the duties I most enjoy (i.e. maintaining the web site).  A large part of me is joyous.

Still, there is a sense of disappointment, and my initial confidence in my abilities & perceived value is definitely shaken from this experience.  Throughout the rest of the day I’ve been left to question whether I was the only one that felt called to put my name out there as chairperson.  Before the final selection process, I made some comments that may have been perceived as radical.  I was definitely honest in my view of the challenges facing this organization, and I think the suggestions I offered may have simply been too radical and challenging – the changes too drastic, to the people listening.  I am left to wonder whether I would have been truly better of keeping my mouth shut when it came time to offer suggestions.

I feel I definitely offer a unique perspective in this process.  Being a non-traditional student with over 6 years of involvement in Campus Ministry has definitely shaped me differently.  My struggles with Campus Ministry at J23 have given me some unique experiences from which I base my motivation and advocacy.

In the end I wonder if I am better for the experience for participating in this experience.  This is the second year I’ve participated and in a joking way I can say I’m 0-2 in this process.  I would like to think of it as God calling me to be doing something different, to devote my energies elsewhere (God knows I have enough else going on at this point).  I am ultimately glad I stepped forward and put my name out there, but there is defintely a degree of doubt and pain I’ve taken from this process.

These are just some random notes that I am writing down, for the sole benefit of getting something "on paper".  Some of this may just be a braindump, and in the end I’m not sure just how understandable this will be.

I find myself going back and forth as to whether I really feel called to this position.  I look at where NCSC is at, I look at many opportunities and struggles and I see how I could plug in effortlessly into this position and serve the NCSC well.  I think I have a lot of really good ideas, some really good vision as to how the NCSC is run, and do get excited about the opportunity to serve Catholic students on a national level.

At the same time, my overbearing schedule rings in my head like a loud church bell.  I step back and look at the fact that I’m working 40+ hours per week, going to school, playing in a band and now starting a new business – do I really have time available for this?  Is it fair for me to take on something this big – when I think about my relationship with Bethany?  Am I setting myself up for failure by taking on too much.

I know I do a lot of NCSC work right now, and that it simply might just be interchanged with more NCSC work, but is this what I’m really called to do?  Can I be effective at this?  Right now I know there are things that I could improve upon in my current position in NCSC, is it right for me to move on to something else?  Would I be happy doing this kind of work?  There’s a part of me that really wonders if it would be best for me to be off in my own corner, simply do web site and tech development.

Last year I discerned for the National Chair position, and things didn’t go quite as well as I would have hoped.  I am extremely supportive of the result of last year’s discernment, but where I struggled was the part where people reflected on my gifts and what I brought to the group.  I was shocked that the gifts that people didn’t name the gifts I wanted them to name.  I thought as myself as a visionary, organized and detailed person, and it felt like people couldn’t see past my technological abilities.  Part of me doesn’t really want to put myself out there because the same thing will likely happen again.  It’s not that I don’t mind people thinking I’m a tech geek, but it frustrates me when it seems like people don’t see past that.

I would appreciate any advice and prayers over the next few days.

I began the day by working at my home-office, on one of my many teleconferences.

Driving to down-town Fort Collins to have lunch with my girlfriend Bethany.

Bethany and I at lunch at Old Chicago’s in Old Town, Fort Collins.

Downtown Fort Collins

I then drove down to Lafayette, Colorado to go see my God-daughter and her family. (Driving on I-25)

This is my God-daughter, Sophia. She is playing with a coffee cup here

Sophie and I at dinner

Sophie and I with Sophie’s Aunt Jess

We fired up my laptop while I was visiting and Sophie saw my desktop background (which is a picture of Sophie and I)

Driving home on I-25

Bethany and I got together for some dessert at Whole Foods (I really didn’t put all of that in my mouth)

And a day wouldn’t be complete without spending some time in Second Life…

That should do it for May!  If you are interested in seeing more 12 on 12th check out the Daily Breakfast Forum.