Friday Five

It's been awhile since I've played the Friday Five. So here goes...

1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had. 

That one's easy. I worked at this horrific place on Ponce deLeon called Dugan's, where the motto was "Do it at Dugan's!" It was a wings and beer place, and it smelled awful. I was in college and coming home I'd leave my Tretorns outside of my dorm room and throw all my clothes in the hamper because I reeked of the place. I think I lasted 3 weekends there. I finally quit when the boss asked me a question that, had I been miked, would have won me a great big sexual harassment law suit. 

2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.

Aside from the being a priest thing? Okay. It's kind of a toss up. I loved being a massage therapist and owning my own business. The most amazing people entered my life in that time. And I got to work with athletes that went on to win gold and silver in the Olympics. I learned a lot about what makes good business practices and what doesn't. But most of all, at 26 years old, I owned a profit producing, successful, and joy filled business. I'm really proud of that. 

But I also loved being a Director of Christian Education at my home parish, Emmanuel in Athens. I learned so much about the work of the church while in that post. And I got to work with a wonderful team of people. There were 5 of us who made an amazing team. It's a system I strive to reproduce. 

3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.

Be a priest and advocate for Palestinians in Jerusalem or the Galilee. Show pilgrims the beauty of the Holy Land.

4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?

I've got Monday off. I'll spend Sunday night listening to Aimee Mann and Squeeze under the stars at Ravinia. 

5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading? 

Summer usually slows down, but not this summer. It's been CRAZY busy. And the next 2 months are no exception. 

I'm anticipating the return of some folks who've been away for the summer. It's always fun to have a fuller church on Sundays. And I'm eager for the choir to come back. 

I'm dreading moving. That happens on Sept 30 and Oct. 1. I'm downsizing (and saving $600/month!!) but I HATE moving!!

Bonus question: Is there a song, book, a play that says "workspace" to you? 

"Come Labor On" from the Hymnal, of course!

big fish productions

for the first 10 years of my life, my father was a TV producer. you know the guy who produced the series Seinfeld? well he worked for my dad first. my father worked for public television, so there was never tons of money. but he did good work--work that was recognized, i think he might have even won an emmy or something.

it's funny now to hear him tell his stories about his time at the tv station. there was, as is true at most workplaces, tension and arguing. there were good times as well--discovering the abilities in unexpected places. he met my mom when she applied for a job there (and she left saying he was the biggest jerk she'd ever met...my how things change!).

when i was little, i spent much time at the studio. my mom would go record the voiceover announcements and i would sit beneath the desk where she recorded, always being as quiet as a 4 year old could as she would say "tonight on GPTV, Nova explores the world of jellyfish." when i was a little older i got in trouble for taking all the lemons out of the cafeteria to put in my water. the frozen strawberry pie at that cafeteria is the stuff of legend. there was a fountain and it's where i first learned about thowing pennies in (and not taking money out of the fountain--i got in trouble for that too!).

my parents, in addtion to me, made some interesting things together. my father's documentaries were bold--one on jerusalem, one on racism in georgia (doing this in the 60s and 70s). they did one on the carving on stone mountain and my mom was the first woman to ever stand on the carving. i know all this now. i know how groundbreaking this stuff was. the man could even make a show on needlepoint exciting. yoga, gardening, god--he made tv on all of it.

but what i remember as a kid was none of that. i remember the tv studio, where lights had filters on them that could change the bright in front of me from blue to green to pink, illuminating the set. i remember the viewing room outside of the studio, where i would sit, as papa worked, and watch what he was doing. a huge TV screen (think movie theatre size, only a little smaller) and a black sofa, i would sit and watch the different cameras move, capturing different angles, different voices, my father's voice booming directions above it all--camera one now, camera two zoom.

when i was in kindegarden, we took a field trip to the studio and we walked past the viewing room, into the studio. my father would put each child on camera and ask their name and we got to see ourselves on tv. i remember he got to me and asked "and what's your name?" and i laughted and blushed and said "papa!!! you know!" in the way a little girl, wildly in love with her father's affection will do.

the station moved to atlanta around the same time my parents divorced. he was moved to an adminstrator's office and position, the artist in him somewhat silenced. my mother's voice now rang out not on TV but in the classroom of high school english classes. the lights, the colours, the wonder of the studio all disappeared. yet it remains as vivid in my mind as clear as the lights that shone out, blue, green, pink, onto the false world.

a recipe, just for kicks

so there's this amazing restaurant here in chicago called enoteca roma. it's a wine bar and also sports bruschetteria, risottos, pasta and antipasta. but, what made my heart sing was the polenta. they pour it onto a marble slab at your table and then all the toppings are poured out on top. ours had mushrooms and caramelized onions, gorgonzola, and some other deliciousness. so last night i tried to recreate a version of it at home. not QUITE the same, but pretty darn close and very delicious, if I do say so myself. 

So here's what I did:

Caramelize the onion (sliced in circles) in a non-stick pan, heated with a little extra virgin olive oil. I threw in a bit of apple vinegar and maple syrup. At some point, throw some thinly sliced mushrooms. And add a little extra olive oil if stuff starts to get dry.

When that's about done, make the polenta (which is just cornmeal). 

Heat one box of stock, 4 C (I used veggie) and add in one cup of cornmeal. 

Stir constantly, until it thickens. 

Pour and spread cooked polenta onto a large platter. 

Add the deliciousness  from the skillet. 

Top with parm or your favorite stinky cheese. 

Wait a minute for the polenta to get all polenta-y.

Enjoy!

twilight saga rant

so anyone who's spent any time with me in the past 2 weeks knows that i have been reading the "twilight saga" by stephanie meyer. 

many of my facebook friends had status updates about the series "the best series since harry potter," "i'm not feeding my children because i can't put these books down" etc, so i bought the first book, read it, found myself absorbed. they are like CANDY. i couldn't stop reading them. but at the same time, i'll be the first to say that they are poorly written (stephanie meyer needs to use a thesaurus) and they are filled with problems. 

SPOILERS will follow, just so you know. 

the premise of this story (four books total) is that bella, a mortal, meets and falls in love withe edward, a "vegetarian" vampire (i.e. he hunts animals, not humans) and in introduced to his family of veggie vamps. also in the mix is jacob, the werewolf. don't get me wrong--the tragic love story of the girl in love with the one who is unattainable appeals to me. and so i understand why i get sucked in. some folks asked me if it's like buffy. a resounding no. buffy is a hero in her own right--full of humanity, trying to become full actualized, and her humanity is what makes us relate to her. she's also funny and doesn't take herself too seriously. bella, in stark contrast, is so full of self doubt and self loathing that it's exhausting to hear her talk about how unworthy she is of edward. and there's nothing funny or light about this series. it takes itself SOOOO seriously!!

the biggest downward spiral, at least for me, happens in the last book, "breaking dawn." in it edward and bella marry (so they can have sex because the author's mormon viewpoints come into play a fair amount in this area). some have praised it as a role model for children, a way for parents to talk about "the birds and the bees" with their children, etc. the problem i have with this (aside from the antiquated view of sexuality--edward admits to having killed humans, among other things that break the list of the 10 commandments, but his hope is that by being virtuous and not having sex before marriage he may still be able to be redeemed. i truly don't understand her theology) my biggest beef is that when they finally do have sex on their wedding night, edward's vampire lust and power is so great that it leaves bella black and blue from bruising. as bella basks in the beauty of their lovemaking, edward feels horrible that he's abused her. and it's not the first time we see the dynamic of abuser/abusee in the series. it's subtle, but these books are written for pre-teens and teens and the characters are held up as role models for young girls.

in the final book, bella gets her wish to be made a vampire. once she is dead to her old self, once she has given up all that she was, then she truly feels she knows what she was made to be--a soul-less, blood thirsty vampire. she has to literally die to feel comfortable in her own skin. she goes on to talk about how her mortal self was ugly and unworthy (a theme throughout the book) and i worry at the message being sent to girls. 

i've left out other pieces, like the 17 year old teenage werewolf falling in love with the infant (no, that's not pedophilia the fan boards cry. if that's not pedophilia, i'm not sure what is), a focus to a fault on external beauty (contrasted with Harry Potter and Buffy, where the characters are known for bravery, passion, seeking the good). i could go on, but it's sunday afternoon and i'm ready for a nap. 

my dear friend, the snarky squab, has a new blog, books your kid should read. i doubt these will end up on her list. i'm no fan of censorship, but if there's a books your kid SHOULDN'T read blog somewhere, i'd nominate these. 

graduation day

saturday morning, en route to a graveside funeral, over which i'm presiding. i realize that i need to eat. so i drive through the mcdonald's drive thru and order a large diet coke and an egg mcmuffin. 

i should mention that i'm dressed for the funeral, which means i'm wearing a cassock and surplice, which looks like this: 

but i'm tucked away in my baby SUV and not thinking much about it. yeah, i get a second glance from the guy i give my $$ to, but that's it. until i pull up to get my food.

"you must be graduating today" says the joyful mcdonald's employee.

"what?" i say. and then i realize the comment has to do with my attire. "no, not me, but i'm on my way to a graduation of sorts..." 

"well, congratulations!" he beams. 

"thanks" i say as i drive out, being careful not to spill my diet coke. 

life in an anglo catholic parish...

me (to deacon nancy): so, would you preach today?
deacon nancy: sure. who is it?
me: st. bernard
deacon nancy: the dog?
me: uh....

sorry for the lack of posting of late. i'm working on it.

for the curious: st. bernard