ResCov Expatriates, Sports, and Small Victories

First off, I spent the weekend in the wonderful state of New Hampshire with the likes of Amy and Andrew Daigle and Sarah, TK, and Sawyer Johnson! It was a great time of conversation, craft brews, reminiscing, and a good deal of eating (to put it positively). We took an excursion to Robert Frost's Farm in Derry, New Hampshire where he lived for 11 years during his adult life. While the building was shut up and there wasn't much too the place, you could walk along the stone wall that inspired one of his most famous poems, "Mending Wall." This is the poem that includes the line, "Good fences make good neighbors," but it's often forgotten that Frost is critiquing the idea, especially on a farm that doesn't have cattle to stray into another's property. Also, you can walk through the woods and think of the amount of poems that Frost must have been written after such walks. We also headed back to the quaint town of Portsmouth, which has to be one of the most idyllic of New England towns with its location on the Ocean, old church buildings, and winding, narrow streets that are built into the contours of the city. It is actually a pretty great place. Then, Sunday afternoon I went to Amy's parents (after driving home Saturday night for church on Sunday morning) to watch the football games. It was a pretty quiet house/state/New England region in the second half of the Patriots game.

As I mentioned on Facebook, I am not looking forward to this Harbaugh Bros. Super Bowl. I can just see the feel-good pre-game video talking about their childhoods/rivalries/relationships, the constant terrible commentator lines about "family feuds," "Harbaugh Bowl," and "brotherly love," and the constant shots of family members. However, I am glad I don't have to see Bill Belichik in his cry-for-attention-cutoff-hoodie. I'm sorry, if you don't care about the way you look, you would just wear a hooded sweatshirt. He is trying to go for the "I'm-so-busy-and-football-minded-that-I-can't-even-wear-a-clean/full-sweatshirt" look, which I'm not buying. I think I'll be rooting for the 49ers as fellow NFCers, even though I have a harder time with Jim. Why? Exhibit A:



I've seen toddler temper tantrums that are less emotive than this. Get a grip - even a loose, tentative grip - on your emotions.

So, two games in and the Wild are 2-0! That first forward line of Parise-Koivu-Heatley is looking to be tough to defend, especially on powerplays.

So, I packed a lunch today. By the level of pride I am feeling for this insignificant action, you would think I had climbed Everest, won a Nobel Peace Prize, and cured cancer. Yet, "it is the small actions that make all the difference," someone probably said at some point.

Today is my last first class of the semester, so after this I will know what the semester holds. I don't think it should be a game-changer, but one can never tell.

(a few hours later)

Good news! It wasn't a game-changer, and I think I should be set as far as work goes this semester. The bulk of the work is three larger papers that will focus on the origins of Advent, Social Gospel hymns of the 19th century, and the development of Sunday School hymnals in the Methodist church. Let's do this!