The past two weeks have been crazy busy. Which is a good thing I suppose, because with free time on my hands I tend to over think, second guess myself, and generally make a mess of things. When I started my job in August 2008 there was no regular programming attended by students. Now we have a Tuesday discipleship group that breaks bread together and discusses what God is doing in our lives, and how to better follow Christ. Wednesday we gather for food, fun, and fellowship with a group that was two people at our first meeting in 2008 and now regularly passes two dozen. Thursday afternoons is Bible study that is accessible to people who have never read it before. Thursday evenings is game night. Starting next week Friday evenings there will be a Spanish language Bible study. Morning prayer is offered every weekday. I am trying to cook dinner for my coworkers once a week, and Saturdays look like they might turn into cooking and crafting classes at work (we started a batch of beer last week, and a second will be underway on the 20th).
What I haven't made time for is personal study, reading, writing, and exercise. The weather is starting to not be awful this week, and so I hope outdoor activities with coworkers will commence soon. If not, bicycling to and from work at least keeps my knee limber. I read that a great way to stay motivated on a fitness goal is to take pics of yourself in a swimsuit and give them to a friend who is willing to embarrass you. Then if you don't trim up in 8 weeks he posts the pics onto the internet. The thought of my soft and squishy self posted in one of the diocesan newsletters is more than enough motivation to skip dessert and do my ab workouts.
Writing... well, menus aren't much, and rambling "dear diary" entries aren't much better, but they help establish the daily discipline.
I don't have a clue how I fell out of the habit of readying and studying. I love both activities, and think of myself as a perpetual student. Yet since coming to the island the contents of my bookshelves have done little besides collect dust. If I'm too tired after 10-12 hours at the office to study at home I suppose I will simply have to be selfish and carve out a study hour each day while at work where I am not to be disturbed for anything other than a pastoral emergency. How to divide the week between Greek, knitting, guitar, history, theology, and current events will come later.
Onto my eating habits for the day. I had a latte for breakfast because I just didn't feel like cereal today, and didn't have time to make eggs before morning prayer. Lunch was leftover polenta toppings: sausage, grilled onions, tomatoes, and some shredded sage leaves. It was almost as good by itself as it was last night with the polenta. Speaking of which, I have learned that I can't make a batch of polenta that starts with five pounds of cornmeal on the work stove. It took 90 minutes just to get the water to a boil. So the polenta didn't thicken up properly, but since most of the students had never eaten polenta before they didn't realize what a poor job I had done. I need a new range that can put out significantly more BTU's than the electric coils on this model. Oh well, with spring on the way I will just start doing more with the grill outside. Back to eating; I did have a handful of potato chips this afternoon, which was a lapse, but I will keep dinner portions small (I don't have plans yet, I might just poach from whatever the volunteers are eating tonight). I haven't been shopping for food at home in too long, which is why food this week has been so light on greens and fruit. At least I've been good at keeping dessert limited to only the Wednesday dinner with students.
