So, yesterday I was supposed to have a dentist appointment at 10, but Pam Carlson called the day before and proposed a day trip to Ely. You may remember Pam as the other half of my fundamentalist pastor/wife halloween costume:

So, to Ely we went! Ely is here:

As you can see, it's pretty far north and on the west side of the Boundary Waters Camping Area (BWCA). Our first stop was Steiger Mukluks. Mukluks are winter boots made usually with leather that originated with Native North Americans. Here's the store:

Pam picked out these mukluks and then proceeded to talk about how excited she was with her purchase for the rest of the trip.

After that we headed to the local brewery and ate some lunch while enjoying a wild rice beer and an IPA. Very tasty! The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing the stores of Ely. I bought a few flannel shirts and resisted buying a lot more at all of the outfitters. We headed home, and I spent the night with Luke, Chelsey, Jared, and Eric watching the Vikings actually win and bowling. You may remember that I went to Ecuador with Jared and Eric. Here's a picture to jog your memory.

And Luke and Chelsey (whose wedding I officiated this summer):

Today I'm celebrating family Christmas! I'm very excited about that. But before that, I'm heading to an eye appointment. Happy New Year's! I may even get a some contacts.

Well, Christmas in Duluth as been great with more still to come. Jessica and Isaac (sister and brother-in-law) don't get in until Wednesday night, so Christmas isn't officially being celebrated in the Bjorlin family until Thursday. Christmas Eve was spent eating dinner at my grandma's. I ended up going to both a Vineyard service and ELCA service for the Christmas Eve services. With no offense intended, contemporary services, especially on the major Church holidays, need to get back to the basics. I think that there is no reason to do anything but carols or classic Christmas hymns during a Christmas Eve service.

Christmas day was spent at my sister and brother-in-law's, Anna and Peter, out in the boondocks. We ate brunch, opened a couple presents (saving the rest for when Jess and Isaac get here), and played some games (I also took a nice nap). I got subscriptions to The Economist and The New Yorker, two pairs of smart wool socks, and a CD from Concordia-Moorhead's Christmas concert. I'm excited about all of them. Oh, we also watched The Newsies (I know, not exactly a holiday classic, but I wasn't complaining).

The rest of my time here has been spent reading and doing some writing for church. I have read:

1. The Short Reign of Pippin IV - Steinbeck

2. Once There Was a War - Steinbeck (I'm working through Steinbeck)

3. The Courage to Teach - Parker Palmer. Even though this was required for a J-term class, it was really a great read (no surprise with Palmer).

I've also been trying to put together a sermon for this next Sunday. The text is John 1 ("In the beginning was the Word"...and so on), and I thought it would come together easily. I think it's harder working on a sermon that deals with such a familiar text. Today it finally came together, and I'm going to be writing on John as an example of the Christian's need for paradox and mystery in their faith going off of the idea that the Matthew/Luke version of the Christmas story are prose while John is poetry, Matthew/Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity and John his divinity, etc.

Also, since I have Minnesotacare (public aid health care), I only get coverage in Minnesota. So, this vacation I have had or will have a doctor's appointment, a CPAP appointment (sleep apnea stuff), dentist's appointment, and an eye appointment to buy some contacts and possibly some new glasses. I feel like I just got to Oz and they're shining my metal facade, combing out my mane, or re-stuffing my straw. Okay, going to hang out with some high school/CBC friends. Later.

Home for the Holidays

Hello everyone. In lieu of sending out a head shot of me sitting at a piano for a Christmas card, I decided to make my long-overdue return to blogging.

I'm currently sitting in Hermantown on Christmas Eve at Luke and Chelsey Harju's house enjoying some rest and relaxation. My first night in Duluth seemed fitting as we got about ten inches of snow and school was cancelled. Ahh...just how I remember it! It's hard to think what to write when my last post was in the summer.

This semester went well. I finished the first chapter of my thesis on the relationship between worship and ethics, finished my internship credits, finished up my second Advent at church, only have two more classes (beside the thesis) next semester, and will be going through the call process with the Evangelical Covenant Church starting in January. What now? I know!

Top ten favorite Christmas songs:

1. O Holy Night- Most versions, although Josh Groban's is getting a little old. Mariah's, on the other hand, ages like a fine wine.

2. Cradle in Bethlehem- This song, both by Sarah Groves and Neal & Leandra has been one of my favorite new finds.

3. Trumpet Child - How had I not heard this Over the Rhine gem before?

4. In the Bleak Midwinter- "Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor the earth sustain; heaven and earth shall pass away when he comes to reign." Doesn't get much better than that. I like JT's version almost the best.

5. Salvation Is Created- Aaron turned me on to this Chesnakov (sp?) song. Ironically it was his last religious song he was able to write before the Soviet Union took over and forbid it. Commies ruin everything!

6. Star Carol - Simon and Garfunkel put out a great version of this that always gets me.

7. The Birthday of a King - Always loved it, especially Judy Garland's version.

8. O Come All Ye Faithful - obvs.

9. Once in Royal David's City - especially when sopranos from the North Park choir sing the descant on the last verse; I'm a sucker for descants.

10. All I Want for Christmas Is You - classic.

11. (tie) Happy Xmas (War is Over) and Wonderful Christmas Time - John and Paul getting their Christmas on.

Some songs that have rubbed me the wrong way this Christmas season:

1. Dominick the Donkey - I don't even understand this song.

2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - This will screw a kid up. This is even worse when the Jackson 5 sings it and Michael talks about telling his dad. I always think, "Don' tell Joe! What if Santa wasn't him? He'll go crazy! I've seen Jackson 5: An American Dream - he doesn't handle anger well.

3. Baby It's Cold Outside - No means no, dude. Don't accept any drinks (not even half a drink) from that guy. This song reminds me of Kathy Bates in Misery.

4. Away in a Manger - I dislike the tune but love the alternate tune...not to mention the gnostic tendencies of "no crying he makes."

5. Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer- Now that's the Christmas spirit! Grandma getting run over!

Okay, I'm going to eat lunch with my brother. Merry Christmas!

Trip to Grand Rapids

So, this weekend I took a long overdue trip to Grand Rapids. Andrew and I went up Sunday after church and stayed until late last night with Aune at her mom's condo. Here's how the trip went.Sunday, Andrew picked me up from church at about 1:15, and we got on Lake Shore Drive and headed South (then East, then North). To my great pleasure, Andrew was in the middle of listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so much of the ride was spent enjoying the dulcet tones of Jim Dale.

We arrived at the Carlson complex at 6 p.m. EST and first went on a tour of Grand Rapids. We saw downtown, Wealthy St (I mean, their rich people have no shame), the many, many churches in the area (which seemed to alternate between some type of reformed church or a megachurch of some kind), First Covenant, and also the scenic beauty of some of their parks. I was also reminded of the more conservative nature of Western Michigan when I saw a billboard with this message (this isn't the exact billboard, but it is the exact wording):

I know it's true for me. You don't know how many times someone goes into cardiac arrest at the hospital, and I think to myself, "If only one of us had a pistol, we might be able to save this person!"

So, after going on the tour, we ordered pizza from a place named Jet's and went back to the condo and ate. It was a good time had by all, and Trix (Aune's mom) entertained us by showing us her old Swedish/Dutch books and records. At about 10 we headed out to Founders, Grand Rapids local brewery.

We had a couple tasty brews, watched a very inebriated man painfully hit on a group of girls, and then watched as they got into a screaming match that somehow climaxed with the man smashing his fist into his own passenger side window of his truck. It was a pretty eventful night.

The next morning we woke up late and headed for the pool. We spent the majority of the afternoon sipping on margaritas and sunning ourselves poolside with intermittent swims. At about 4:30 we headed to a mansion that had been turned into a restaurant/bar and had some pizza. That night we headed back to the Carlson complex and I took a nap while the others went for a walk. When I got back, Aune had grabbed her great uncle's old tenor sax, so Andrew and I played a bit. I haven't played in quite a while, so that was pretty great.

Around 11 we decided to go. The drive home was smooth, again entranced by HP5. I arrived home at 1:20 a.m. making today a little touch-and-go. To use hospital lingo, I'm kind of feeling Alert Oriented x 2.

Softball game tonight...hopefully. ResCov made the playoffs, so now it's all about seeding. Okay, I'm out.

Well, I'm pretty excited by the fact that I have tickets to two great shows in the month of August. First on August 7th at Lincoln Hall I will be seeing one of my favorite current bands Blitzen Trapper after they play at Lalapalooza that afternoon. Here they are performing their most popular song "Furr" on Conan:

August 12th, I will be attending a showing of Once at Lincoln Hall that will be followed up by an interview with Swell Season by Jim Deragatis and Greg Kot (of Sound Opinions fame) followed up by a Swell Season concert! Here they are doing the song (Falling Slowly):

So, it's always nice to have something to look forward to. Also, I'm taking a short trip to Grand Rapids, MI Sunday-Monday to visit Aune Carlson. I feel like in some ways taking a trip to GR is a necessary step at this point in my life. I think it's kind of a context pilgrimage as I see the city where so many of my friends (Aune, Andy/Jim Meyer, Megan V. Hanson, the Petersons, the Tournells, Al Hollemans, I can't think of any more of the top of my head and I'm sure I'm missing some obvious ones) grew up. I'm looking forward to it.

I swear that construction on our road starts at about 5:30 in the morning. Nothing is quite as relaxing as getting ready in the morning while a steamroller and jackhammer are working seemingly on your front porch (on your frontal lobe).

I just had my first true code blue (the rest were people passing out after giving blood) today. It was definitely an interesting/eye-opening experience. There were a lot of people in that small room and then me standing outside looking stupid. Good thing it is one of my spiritual gifts (looking stupid that is).

I really need to paint my apartment. No more excuses. I should start looking at colors soon. Okay, I should go.

I've had some long days at work before, but I swear this one is moving at half-time. I feel like I've spent 24 hours at the hospital... 1.5 hours left. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. My parents have been in town this past week, which is always simultaneously fun and exhausting. They got in on Friday night. On Saturday I worked on church stuff and then Matt and Elsa came over and had tacos with the folks. After that, I walked over to Margie's to celebrate two of my favorite people's birthday (purposefully vague to show that I was celebrating with Amy but also celebrating Jenny in spirit):

On Sunday after Church, my parents and I headed to Marquette, my home from the age of 2-5. Here's the house we lived in during that time.

While there, we stayed at Marge and Barry's, two of our best family friends. It was a good time down memory lane. We got home Monday/Tuesday morning at 12:30 leaving me a good 6 1/2 hours of sleep. This might have been the case had my mom not gotten up without her glasses on, looked at the clock, saw 8:05 instead of 6:05, and came and woke me up because I was late. That's a good way to start your work week.

Tuesday night we headed to Ravinia with Tom Kennington (former pastor at DGT) and Cindy Beier (former worship leader at DGT). We saw Peter and Paul (of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame) and their tribute to Mary. I have to admit that the first half was kind of lame. However, after intermission about three songs in they did a "This Little Light of Mine/Woke Up This Morning with My Mind Set on Freedom/Down by the Riverside" medley. That was definitely the highlight of the show and the turning point. From there they did "Leaving on a Jet Plane," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "If I Had a Hammer," "Blowing in the Wind" and "This Land Is Your Land." It was wonderful. Again we arrived home late and, again, I was exhausted at work.

Last night we went to "Million Dollar Quartet." It's the story of the day Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Louis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash all met up at Sun Records and recorded some songs. While some of the dialogue was stilted/forced, the music was pretty great. It was also the perfect show to bring my dad to. So, if nothing else I get good child points. Here's a picture of the actual day they met

...and a picture of the show.

So, now I'm finishing my last day at the hospital for the week and dreaming about sleeping in tomorrow. Softball game tonight! Hope it doesn't get rained out!

Have you ever had the experience where you are about to go to bed and decide you need a drink? So, you go to the faucet and pour a glass too large, but you decide that you won't drink it all. However, when you start drinking, the water is just so good that you keep drinking and drinking, and as you are doing it you know this is going to cost you a middle of the night bathroom run but you just are really into instant gratification at the moment? Well, that happened to me the other night, and I still think it was worth it in the end.

If hell was a Chicago neighborhood, I'm pretty sure mine would be Wrigleyville. I had to drive through it yesterday, and it just grosses me out. How can something in the shadow of the great Wrigley Field be so trashy?

There's a Loudon Wainwright III concert this Thursday in Evanston, and I'm debating whether I should go or not. I mean, I know that I shouldn't spend $28 on a concert, but I also don't know how many opportunities I will have to see him around here. I think I'll do it. I rarely regret spending money on a concert. The best is when you buy the tickets far enough in advance that by the time the concert comes, you feel like you're going for free! Here's him playing a great song:

I don't think I'll ever live in a place south of Chicago. If it too hot for me here, how will I ever make it in places that are actually in the South? I'd much rather take frigid winters if it means comfortable summers.

I'm about to start a tutoring session, so I gotta go.