Mín Englisc Blog

My last post of the year...

Again, two days without posts; I didn't plan to do that, but simply forgot. I've had a rather enjoyable time over the last few days, reading and doing other things (including playing a computer game that I've not done in a few years!). I'm over ¼ done with Calvin's Institutes, which I want to finish before my class on the book begins next semester. Hopefully, I can get done soon...

Benazir Bhutto

After two weeks of being done with the semester, I finally got to go to the bank today, taking care of a few paychecks. I'm glad that I could; it's not nice to have them sitting there for two weeks!
Yesterday, Dad wanted me to go along with him when he took our contingent of highschoolers to the CYPU Winter Conference. It was an enjoyable trip, rather useful, and I even got a book! When we were at a Barnes and Noble in Greenwood last week, I bought a book on Nikita Khrushchev, but when I got home two days later, I realised that it was missing. I thought I'd left it with Bussells, but it turned out that I'd left it at Rays'; she ended up sending it with Grace Hanson, who passed it to me yesterday. I finally have my book, and only a week late — pretty good for leaving it a full state away from home!

Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, has been assassinated. Pakistan is in chaos.

Happy Christmas!

Our family celebration was today. We're visiting at my uncle's house, Dad's brother, for a few days.

Sorry for so little posting this week. I had such a wonderful time in Indianapolis, I don't know what to say...and after I got back, I was just rather sluggish and wanting to relax — but not feeling like posting :-(
Dad preached today from the last three verses of Micah. We had forty people present today, apparently a normal or a little below normal attendance — such a blessing that I'm accustomed to a slightly larger congregation at school!

Happy birthday to two people:
• Grandmother Pockras, yesterday. I called her last night and had an enjoyable conversation, and I'm quite looking forward to seeing her and the rest of our family at Christmas.
• Tony Mastris, today. I tried calling him where he was staying, but he was out, so I had to go with the cellphone...ah how convenient cellphones are!

Sorry for nothing posted for several days! I'm at Bussells' at the moment, having had a good day and at the moment taking a break from effectively being a TA for Mrs Bussell :-) Yesterday, a group of six of us — including Abby Elder, with whom (I believe) I'd not had any contact in over three years! — went to the newly-opened central branch of the Indianapolis/Marion County Public Library. I must say: I've never seen such an amazing library! Six stories high the top floor, a completely glass wall facing downtown, and the Circle just eight blocks to the south! Moreover, it's significantly larger than what I'm used to at McCartney, and the Logan County system can't compare at all. Katie checked out a book for me to read (40% done so far), which I tried to get at McCartney: the Green Book of Muammar al-Qaddafi — the military dictator of Libya — similar to the Little Red Book of Mao Zedong. Last semester, for my Modern Middle East history course, I wanted to discuss modern Libya, but I couldn't because McCartney doesn't own this text. I'm glad finally to be able to read it :-)

Yesterday went well, whether the test or the trip to Belle Center or the trip to Russiaville or the trip to West Lafayette. We spent nearly an hour at my house and in Northwood, showing Flo and Luke the oiginal site of Geneva College. Eating dinner at Dinkledines' was great: I enjoyed seeing their family, and Mrs Dinkledine made some great ribs :-) After arriving at the Blackwoods' apartment in West Lafayette (where I am now), we went over to "Green Gables", where the Sturms and Cerbuses and other RPs live. I've heard so much about it for several years, so I'm glad to have gotten to see it as well as them.
This morning was rather slow and relaxed; the only really active thing I did was help wash the dishes. However, shortly before noon, we (Aaron Dinkledine, Allen Blackwood, and I) had two visitors: Elder Schroeder and Elder Julian, two LDS missionaries. We ended up speaking outside for over an hour (probably the only people in the apartment complex that spoke much with them, as most students here are leaving, with the semester over) on all different subjects. I'm glad that I was able to hear them speak, as I wasn't sure about many of their beliefs. When I had a chance to speak, I didn't want to address their heretical interpretation of the Bible, but seek to attack their basic dependence on Smith's words. One President of the Church (thus holding the prophetic title) proclaimed in 1890 that God would outright remove him from the prophetic office (see here, toward the bottom) if he spoke wrongly, and D&C 87 proclaims a blatant historical inaccuracy: that the American Civil War would cause that "war shall be poured out upon all nations". It was rather interesting when I got a chance to say this: they simply said that they had no memory of the passage, so weren't aware of it until I borrowed their copy and read it to them, and then were rather unable to respond to the question. I'm glad I'd read a bit of their scriptures! I'm now only wondering: what is the standard reply to that question, for missionaries who know about that text?

Soon to bed. I have a test at 8:00, an open-book test on an easy subject. After that, it will be time to leave for Indiana for a week :-)
Like I posted the other night, I'm glad for brotherhood in Christ. Tonight I said goodbye to Akambe, since I'll be leaving too early to see him tomorrow, as well as bidding an acquaintance at the dining hall farewell. It's so much easier to depart from a friend with the knowledge of God's care for us in Christ.

Yesterday's tests went quite well, as expected. This morning's my one big test, HIS300 Late Antiquity, for which I had a useful study session last night.

Today, I finished the Commander Keen level, something I've never done before. It was impressive to have Keen riding on a big foot, meeting a man whom he thought he had to rescue but who wa only a janitor, seeing the actual end of the story...
Today has been "Reading Day", a day without finals schedulled. Tomorrow, I have two finals: Biblical Literature 0800-1000, Chemistry 1300-1500; on Wednesday, I have Late Antiquity (history) 0800-1000; and on Friday, I have my core Bible class, 0800-1000. Tomorrow's tests shouldn't be too hard, and Bible is an open-book, group discussion test — I can't imagine how it could be too much easier. Only the history test might be hard.

It's hard to believe that I'm virtually done with my fifth semester of college! As Dad says, the days when I lived in Pearce are no farther away now as is graduation. I'm glad that, tonight, I was able to get a portrait picture of a friend, a native of Ghana, who's graduating now. We've never been close friends, but I met him at orientation, and we've always been able to talk on various subjects. It's not nice to have to say goodbye. I'm thankful for the reunion that all of us who are in Christ will experience; after the next few days, I'm going to be surprised if I see Akambe again in this life, but I'm confident that we'll meet in glory.
Last night was quite enjoyable: some friends of mine invited me to a game night up at Schoolhouse, and I ended up spending several hours enjoying Apples to Apples, Psychiatrist, and other typical games. I'm glad that to be able to attend a party at which the strongest drink is Diet Coke, and the most powerful eatable-thing is salsa :-)
Today has been rather slow. I have final exams, but they'll not be that hard, and there's no need to study today. Tonight, my RA's parents invited fifteen of us to eat dinner at their house: although I didn't have the opportunity to speak with them very much, it was quite nice, and I enjoyed being at a friend's house. It was nice to be able to speak with several friends today, including a phone conversation this evening.
Other than this, the only big thing today was tonight in the dorm. While talking at the RA's house, I found that a down-the-hall neighbor owns the first several editions of the "Commander Keen" computer game series, which I played when I was little but which has since become corrupted. He and I ended up spending two hours with it: I played, he guided, as I didn't remember most elements. I rescued five of the eight Elders that need...well...to be rescued, and I'm hoping that I can finish the game soon.

Wow, I'm up late for the third straight night. I'm just glad that I got a nap this afternoon! I think I'll try to get another one tomorrow...
After finishing my next-to-last paper tonight, while the library computer was getting ready to print the paper, I decided to check out a comic-strip collection: the complete Peanuts collection from the first strip until the end of 1952. I've never read this old of Peanuts, and I really enjoy it: it's full of simple yet funny jokes, simple characters that anyone can understand, and fully capable of being funny even when there's no dialogue at all.

Not much happened here today, other than the usual heavy Wednesday workload. I've not slept too well lately, and tonight will be no exception...I'm looking forward to a chance to nap tomorrow. I'll be working on two papers: a short review paper on a book, and the last three pages of my big philosophy paper. Working through this book, a translation of the heretical ninth-century ''Treatise on Divine Predestination'' by the Celtic theologian John Scottus Eriugena, has been one of the hardest things I've had to read while in college: its highly philosophical and rhetorical style, coupled with its repetition, make it nearly as hard as last year, when I had to force myself through the ''Pistis Sophia''. There's one difference: I read ''Pistis Sophia'' as a background text, eventually making very little use of it, but this one I have to use for that paper.

Tonight was the annual Winter Wonderland in Clarke: a special two-hour open hours for all to see the dorm, which the hals had been furiously decorating since Thanksgiving. The three halls were themed from top to bottom respectively The Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Candyland, and something else that I don't remember. The Twelve Days especially struck me: they rewrote the song and recorded some of the residents singing it, with (among other things) Ten Lords a'Lecturing (professors), Nine Ladies Not Dancing, and Five Rings by Spring.
Daniel Carr is visiting here tonight through Thursday; he's to stay with us tomorrow night, but tonight he's staying elsewhere.

Yes, I'm still alive.
No, I'm not giving up blogging.
Sorry, I've just been busy since Thanksgiving: this is the last week of classes, and finals are next week.
Definitely, I plan to get back to regular posting.