24 hours of... me

So I have the intention of writing about my life within the UM with this post, but you never know where my mind will meander.

I felt curiously calm this evening. Part of it may have been some of the strangeness (how non-committed was the beginning of this sentence?) during the reflective drive home - the old way home. I haven't gone that way since May because of construction. It felt so foreign. So far away in memories of youth gone by. I was listening to Thrice again and realized with a start that I bought that album when I still lived at my parents. But how could that be? I've been gone... oh only 6 weeks. Yes, I continue to stay true to my ridiculously fast adapting nature.

So what is normal now?

Normal is waking up at 5:30 AM, throwing on a hoodie, and going out to the kitchen to make myself breakfast and lunch. Both of these are slightly different now. I have my own kitchen cupboard and I have two fridges to choose from (actually there's 3 but I practically forget the other one exists and never look inside). Since the rest of the house is drinking skim or 1% or really weird, soy, I have to be different and have switched to homo. Connor shares my milk since it's especially vital that kids are nutritious.
Depending on how long I took for food, I will then unload the dishwasher and put away any dishes on the drying rack(s). This is very similar to home I suppose, it's just a different kitchen. Mine is much bigger, and much cleaner. My poor Mom, and the rest of the family. One day, one day.
At 6:30 AM is morning prayer. If I am responsible then I have already gone back to our room and changed into work clothes, grabbed my keys and wallet and have brushed my teeth. If not then at 6:40 AM is morning prayer...
Morning prayer has had low turnout so far with a few faithfuls (mostly the guys) but the others are repenting, just kidding, I kept telling them they could have a second morning prayer session later so they don't have to wake up early but Andy is just so darn cute that the girls can't bring themselves to have prayer without him.
I really appreciate whenever Jamie prays in the morning. I would never vote him a morning person but man alive he has some amazing prayer going on first thing.
Our prayer times have usually resembled reading a chapter or scripture, often a psalm, often 3 times, and then praying. We'll probably become more creative later. Either way, Andy blesses us with his previous experience with such things and has cool latin names for different styles of prayer.
Off to work I go. It usually takes me 25 - 30 minutes to drive to work in the morning. 60 km/h is what the lights are timed to and even then weaving may be required to ensure non-stop flow. Some mornings it's easy to relax and not care, others, well, I should say, nearly all, I am my usual intense driver self. Music is usually loud in my car.
7:30 AM I start work. It's really dark now at 7:30 AM. Day light savings kicks in though in a couple weeks so no sense in changing start time. Especially since it doesn't affect Jay who car pools and gets there at 8 anyway, and Kyle who likes to let me set up all the tools and then start working, or else just wait until 8 when Jay arrives. I actually don't mind. In principle it bothers me a tiny bit, but really I kind of like the quiet alone time without the stress of thinking about what I must do - I already know it.
Work until 10:00 AM. I do my thing, hopefully it goes alright. I like when I have ample materials to work with. I like when equipment is accessible and working properly. I like when I am not wet or cold. I like when I am not tired, because I like when I complete tasks quickly, and correctly. I don't like not knowing how to do something.
30 minute break time. I eat food, usually carrots, an apple, some yogurt. Then I read my Bible. Today for example I re-read Psalm 139 which we read for morning prayer. I love my amplified bible. It cleared up lots of thoughts from the morning. Then I was really tired, so I had a nap.
Work until 1:30 PM Work always includes discussing the news, sports, last night's activities, lots of joking around, music, and whatever else comes up.
30 minute break time. Repeat as above except I eat something a little more substantial, often left-overs, and more fruit. Today I read Proverbs 3 because God convicted me of my selfishness on the ride to work because this morning I was running late and flipped on the bedroom light instead of just the closet light because it makes finding keys, phone, etc. easier, except that Conner had come down and slept with RJ (this is the first time it's happened since we moved). RJ asked me to turn off the light. No. Please. No. He flipped the light off, I switched to the closet light. What was that you just read? Selfishness.

Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart.

Then I noticed a cross-reference to Deuteronomy and ended up reading chapters 24-28 which are sweet. I have a couple friends quite interested in Judaism in various forms, and I myself am rather intrigued with the ideas, and I loved reading these chapters today.
On that note, please pray for Jesse, ask the Holy Spirit...

Work until 5:30 PM I wish I had more opportunities, or was bolder, or that Jesus would reveal himself to them, I suppose I'll just continue praying.

Drive home. More traffic, different strategies, still takes 35+ minutes.
Chat with whomever is around - probably in the kitchen though today I had to go looking downstairs (although if I'd actually come home at supper time tonight there would have been people in the kitchen).
Shower, dress, more kitchen hang out, or eating.

Evenings. This might include hanging out with people in the house, talking, listening, praying, cleaning, cooking. I have to do laundry once a weekish. I have dance classes on Thursday nights. I have so many friends (that I was advised to 'dump' some of them) to hang out with along with family. I'm always busy somehow. I don't know why. I can't believe I've lived here 6 weeks and my bedroom is such a disaster. I still have to go try mattresses, have Cyler order them (isn't he swell and a half?), figure out how to make a bedframe and then do it, along with the shelves and bookshelf we're building.
Hopefully Tuesday nights will become jam time. As always I'm beginning to feel the nag of my less than zealous nurture of my hobbies. I don't practice dancing during the week or go clubbing. I don't practice guitar. I don't do anything active.
I also fight with the question of whether either of those hobbies has any eternal significance.
Whether anything I do has any eternal significance. Yes 23 is a rather vague year. My focus is hazy and I don't understand life but it certainly keeps moving at breakneck speed.
I stay up too late. I'm usually in bed no sooner than 11:30 PM, and thus feel satisfactorily irresponsible and very angry that I will be tired the next day.
I end every day with my prayer from Ricardo. My liturgy. I know it's important, and almost every day it feels personal, even if I hardly need to look at the paper anymore. Still I have the nagging thoughts that I'm neglecting any intimate alone time with God.
Most days I have hope that the weekend will bring rest, or at least I tell myself it will, until the weekend comes and I am busy then too.
I also suspect I'm becoming addicted to people. I never want to hang out by myself. Maybe that's because I drive by myself and I have breaks at work by myself and many times at work I'm performing tasks by myself. I haven't seen friends for eleven hours.

Ha! Fooled you, I haven't written about the UM at all, just about me, me me me, all me.
Ah well maybe some other day, it's 11:00 PM and I haven't even showered, and by now I really don't care...