Kevin and I are starting a combined blog. I will no longer be posting on this blog, but will begin posting on the new blog. So change your "favorites" list (Come on, you know I'm on there :) so you can find the new address, which is:
http://ruvin2007.blogspot.com
Can you believe that someone already had the address "ruvin"? What kind of people are these?
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy keeping up with us in this upcoming year. Do remember that just because you read about my life doesn't mean I have any idea what is going on in yours! So be sure to email sometimes and catch me up!
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
All Eyes on the Olympics
ZG Briefs sends out free weekly updates on China news, and they will be sending out two special Olympic news editions which I think will be quite interesting. I would encourage you to check it out. You can sign up by going to www.zgbriefs.com.
On August 8, 2008, at 8pm, the world's attention will be focused on Beijing, as the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies begin. Perhaps more than previous Olympics, China has closely linked it's self-image and perceived standing in the world to these Games. Beyond the sport, there will be many interesting stories being played out: the environment, the security, the reaction and effect of the Games on the lives of ordinary Beijingers. The ZGBriefs team will be producing two special editions for the Olympics, on August 14 and 21, with article summaries and links to articles and blogs that will help you understand the larger context of the Games.
I would also recommend that you keep an eye on the blog of a friend living in Beijing. She has lived in China for many years, so she always has lots of interesting (and funny) insights. Recently, many of these insights have been Olympic related, and I think you would enjoy them.
On August 8, 2008, at 8pm, the world's attention will be focused on Beijing, as the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies begin. Perhaps more than previous Olympics, China has closely linked it's self-image and perceived standing in the world to these Games. Beyond the sport, there will be many interesting stories being played out: the environment, the security, the reaction and effect of the Games on the lives of ordinary Beijingers. The ZGBriefs team will be producing two special editions for the Olympics, on August 14 and 21, with article summaries and links to articles and blogs that will help you understand the larger context of the Games.
I would also recommend that you keep an eye on the blog of a friend living in Beijing. She has lived in China for many years, so she always has lots of interesting (and funny) insights. Recently, many of these insights have been Olympic related, and I think you would enjoy them.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Jumping Around
I told Kevin last night, "we have just been in too many different worlds in too many different places with too many different people." I thought of The Magician's Nephew with the transition place with all the lakes leading to different worlds. I feel as though I have been jumping from one lake (and world) to the next, only the in between place is more like a busy airport than a sleepy-calm woods. I am starting to feel geographically displaced and mentally confused. Our lives look like this:
Pasadena->
Kevin's parents (7 days) ->
Wheaton (3 weeks) ->
Kevin's parents (1 day) ->
Ward Lake (5 days) ->
Kevin's parents (4 days) ->
Ruth's parents (4 days) ->
Hilton Head beach (7 days) ->
Ruth's parents (9 days) ->
China
In other words, we have gotten lots of practice with packing and repacking and unpacking and repacking seemingly every few days. Good thing I like my new suitcase.
Granted, all of these travels have been good so far. Our time at Wheaton went well (i.e. I stayed much more sane than last summer). The classes (Theology, History, and Research) were much better than I thought they might be, and we had an Australian professor with a nice accent who kept saying, "Take it easy." Of course, the best part was getting to hang out with friends, and it was a shame that classes got in the way of that so much. We were living right next door to Matt and Corrine, so we had a great time pretending like we were teammates again. I got to hang out with a lot of friends I hadn't seen since last summer. Sitting in class, I thought, "I have probably never been in a class before where I liked and was friends with so many people." It's a fun group, with everyone still pretty crazy from Asia. When not in classes or taking long naps (the major part of our days), we went to an excellent performance at a jazz club in Chicago, saw Iron Man, and ate yummy food with friends. I also got to eat ice cream, aqua-jog for the first time (lots of laughter involved), walk all over Wheaton while catching up with friend's lives and drama, and buy a hat, which was very handy for...
Camping.
When we got back to California we whisked off to Ward Lake, a favored spot in the High Sierras to go camping with Kevin's family and some friends from the church. The area was beautiful and secluded (accessible by 1 hour on a bumpy 1-lane mountain road). It a little peaceful lake right in the middle of the mountains. I had never been camping longer than overnight before, so I was a little hesitant about 5 days with no showers. This camping trip had a marvelous addition from my previous ones however: an air mattress. Makes all the difference. It was really nice to sit around and not have to do anything besides take an occasional walk around the lake, read another book, or take another nap. We lay out on the rocks at night looking at the stars and listening to the silence.
Somehow, after all that sleep and relaxing, by the time we got back here I was tired again. Perhaps it is just the thought of all the adjustment still ahead and the underlying stress of everything that has already changed. Adaptability is definitely a weak point for me. I keep feeling like I am forgetting something. Maybe it is something I need to do before we leave or something I need to pack or what my address is or which time zone I'm in. If you have any information that might be useful in helping me remember where I am and what I'm supposed to be doing, let me know.
Pasadena->
Kevin's parents (7 days) ->
Wheaton (3 weeks) ->
Kevin's parents (1 day) ->
Ward Lake (5 days) ->
Kevin's parents (4 days) ->
Ruth's parents (4 days) ->
Hilton Head beach (7 days) ->
Ruth's parents (9 days) ->
China
In other words, we have gotten lots of practice with packing and repacking and unpacking and repacking seemingly every few days. Good thing I like my new suitcase.
Granted, all of these travels have been good so far. Our time at Wheaton went well (i.e. I stayed much more sane than last summer). The classes (Theology, History, and Research) were much better than I thought they might be, and we had an Australian professor with a nice accent who kept saying, "Take it easy." Of course, the best part was getting to hang out with friends, and it was a shame that classes got in the way of that so much. We were living right next door to Matt and Corrine, so we had a great time pretending like we were teammates again. I got to hang out with a lot of friends I hadn't seen since last summer. Sitting in class, I thought, "I have probably never been in a class before where I liked and was friends with so many people." It's a fun group, with everyone still pretty crazy from Asia. When not in classes or taking long naps (the major part of our days), we went to an excellent performance at a jazz club in Chicago, saw Iron Man, and ate yummy food with friends. I also got to eat ice cream, aqua-jog for the first time (lots of laughter involved), walk all over Wheaton while catching up with friend's lives and drama, and buy a hat, which was very handy for...
Camping.
When we got back to California we whisked off to Ward Lake, a favored spot in the High Sierras to go camping with Kevin's family and some friends from the church. The area was beautiful and secluded (accessible by 1 hour on a bumpy 1-lane mountain road). It a little peaceful lake right in the middle of the mountains. I had never been camping longer than overnight before, so I was a little hesitant about 5 days with no showers. This camping trip had a marvelous addition from my previous ones however: an air mattress. Makes all the difference. It was really nice to sit around and not have to do anything besides take an occasional walk around the lake, read another book, or take another nap. We lay out on the rocks at night looking at the stars and listening to the silence.
Somehow, after all that sleep and relaxing, by the time we got back here I was tired again. Perhaps it is just the thought of all the adjustment still ahead and the underlying stress of everything that has already changed. Adaptability is definitely a weak point for me. I keep feeling like I am forgetting something. Maybe it is something I need to do before we leave or something I need to pack or what my address is or which time zone I'm in. If you have any information that might be useful in helping me remember where I am and what I'm supposed to be doing, let me know.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Summer Rain
I was on an after dinner walk with a friend. We walked up and down the streets of
As we walked, it began to rain. Gently at first, light drops filtered through the trees. Then thicker and faster until it was running down our faces. We could hear it rustling through the trees overhead and whish under car tires. It was a summer rain, cool and refreshing against the warm air. We saw no need to hurry. I felt cleansed and alive, like the earth was quietly accepting me.
When I came back to our third floor apartment, the rain was pattering on the roof. It is a beautiful sound. I realized how I have missed rain this year. It doesn’t rain much in
The rain became harder and thicker, hammering now. Falling in sheets. Swirling around on the pavement. Drumming the trees whose leaves hang limp. The trees sway. The clouds shift and a crack of light is revealed.
The rain slows and then stops, and the earth is still again. The sun falls away behind the trees and a wet dusk settles in. I can’t help thinking that the earth, the trees, the roofs, the pavement – they must feel content, they must feel blessed. That is the effect of a summer rain.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Moving
We are moving out in approximately one hour, and I am writing a blog because we are officially set and ready to go! We are just waiting around for our move out appointment. One hour extra time. That’s pretty good.
Everything is clean. We scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom and baseboards and trash cans. I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the kitchen floor, which I haven’t thoroughly cleaned since, well, since ever. I’ve never seen such a clean place, if I do say so myself. It’s a rather satisfying feeling. But then I am one of those people who gets a kick out of cleaning and things away.
Everything is packed. Our little Honda is loaded from top to bottom and all the little cracks in between. It is so packed that if you open a door everything falls out. The last backpack will fit in under my feet. When we looked at the huge pile of boxes and suitcases in the living room yesterday, I really didn’t think it would fit. I said, “Maybe the car is bigger than it looks,” and what do you know – it is. Good old Honda who still needs a name.
It helps that all the furniture stays here. We actually took a load of stuff up to Kevin’s parents last weekend. I am a little perplexed as to where all this came from. When we moved down, we only had one (definitely not so maxed out) car load plus a few more boxes. We have purposely not been accumulating things because we’ll just have to leave it behind. Moving constantly makes me very aware of accumulation. Why do we have so much stuff? I guess we did have Christmas and birthdays – a sewing machine, a tool box, a drill, a suitcase, some books. (I don't mind accumulating books.) We also borrowed a TV from Kevin’s parents. So I guess it makes sense. Still, it makes me feel nervous, having too much stuff.
Generally this part where everything is packed up and the walls are bare is a little depressing, like taking down the Christmas tree. But I have to admit that this time I feel accomplished and relieved. Looking at the stuff that was still here and knowing it would all have to be packed was stressful. It’s quite satisfying to see it all gone. I do feel a little sad. It has been a good apartment and our first married home. It was great to unpack and hide our suitcases away and leave our belongings on the counter. Oh well, now it’s time to move on. To Kevin's parents, to Wheaton, back to California, to Georgia, and to China.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Continued Saga
Saturday
Temperature high of 104F.
Spend two hours at a fast food restaurant for the air conditioning.
Go shopping to avoid returning home (sense the desperation?).
Return home after dark, driven by hunger, to a furnace-like apartment. It’s hotter inside than out.
Try to fall asleep with a fan two feet away but even the creases in my eyelids and dent in my chin are sweaty.
Sunday
Wake up exhausted because the heat has kept us awake half the night.
Go to Mosaic. They just put in air conditioning! I love that place…
Head up to Kevin’s parents. They have air conditioning.
Spend the night at Kevin’s parents. They turn off the air conditioning because it gets so cool at night!
Monday
The air conditioning is supposed to be fixed today!
Spend half the day at Kevin’s parents. They have air conditioning.
Return to apartment with bated breath: is it fixed? Turn on A/C. Loud clanking and banging. That would be no…
Fortunately it is cooler, in the high 80’s.
Sleep in the living room directly in front of the A/C (which keeps banging loudly) and a few fans.
Tuesday
Cool enough to actually be pleasant. Cool enough to think and function.
Find out the A/C was installed improperly which is why it doesn’t work right. They should fix it tomorrow or the next day.
Find out the A/C won't be fixed until Monday…two days after we move out. Appropriate.
Oh well. Just a few more days. At least the weather's cooler!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Long, Hot Summer Days
The heat has begun to define our lives. The past few days have been averaging 105 degrees and our air conditioning conveniently chose this time to start dying. While the little AC unit had never been strong (it cools the one area directly in front of it), it now doesn't work at least half of the time. Occasionally, it will send out merciful bursts of cool air before returning to oven temperatures. If it is turned up above the lowest speed, the fan starts clanking and banging like it's going to fall out of the wall.
The mornings have been okay, when the heat of the day hasn't yet peaked, but from about 1pm to midnight, the apartment becomes increasingly more unbearable, even with our three fans. We went to two movies in the past two days (even hung out at the mall) primarily for the benefit of air conditioning. The repair man is supposed to come on Monday afternoon. Until then, we are thinking up new ways to avoid our apartment as much as possible.
Unfortunately, the packing and cleaning that needs to be done can only take place at our apartment. I try to pack for a little bit and then give up. It's too hot to do things like that. Especially since packing takes me out of the tiny path of sometimes-cool air. Actually, it's too hot to even think or function at a normal level. I don't even like to shower, because the cold water is hot and I'm sweaty again as soon as I get out.
On Monday, the temperature is supposed to get down to 90 degrees. We are super excited!
The mornings have been okay, when the heat of the day hasn't yet peaked, but from about 1pm to midnight, the apartment becomes increasingly more unbearable, even with our three fans. We went to two movies in the past two days (even hung out at the mall) primarily for the benefit of air conditioning. The repair man is supposed to come on Monday afternoon. Until then, we are thinking up new ways to avoid our apartment as much as possible.
Unfortunately, the packing and cleaning that needs to be done can only take place at our apartment. I try to pack for a little bit and then give up. It's too hot to do things like that. Especially since packing takes me out of the tiny path of sometimes-cool air. Actually, it's too hot to even think or function at a normal level. I don't even like to shower, because the cold water is hot and I'm sweaty again as soon as I get out.
On Monday, the temperature is supposed to get down to 90 degrees. We are super excited!
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