True Love

I would like to introduce someone I love: my dog Pico. Pico is friendly and fun, funny and cuddly, and a true delight. She greets me warmly every time I come home and plays with me whenever I'm working. She adds excitement to my daily routine when she runs away. She makes sure I get my exercise by hiding the ball in inaccessible locations. I love my dog!



This picture was taken by someone else I love.

My office - my environment

My work office this year is wonderful! I have space. Empty shelves. A computer with fast internet access. A BIG window into the atrium, with natural light filtering down. Empty drawers. Wide-open counter space. See for yourself:




On the shelves I keep my books (home and library), a blanket (for sitting outside, or if it's cold in here), scrap paper, snacks and personal supplies. I also keep hand-towels, because I'm right across the hallway from the women's staff bathroom and I'd like to reduce my paper consumption:



It is a good place to work and focus. Which is what I'm going to do RIGHT NOW:

Green

I snapped a shot of this truck today while waiting at a stop light. I'm in love with the green, and its classic lines:

More Bible

I read a few more chapters this morning - fascinating. The details of incest laws are spelled out, along with other aspects of social behaviour. The figure of the Lord in this section makes clear that following these laws brings you closer to Him. It also seems that these are not "natural" laws - they are routinely flouted in the other communities at the time. The public health benefit keeps jumping through for me - of maintaining genetic diversity, of cleanliness to keep disease away. And these laws are expressed in terms of pure and impure, of social inclusion and exclusion. How else would they be understood in a pre-biology society?

Leviticus

I'm finally back to reading the bible again. My interest in history and old civilizations has been growing the past few years, and I'm so eager to read and learn more about early times in the middle east.

I'm reading Leviticus now - a book of laws, as handed down by God through Moses and Aaron to the Israelites. It is at times extremely repetitive and pedantic. But also fascinating. Some things I'm picking up:
-the divine role in prescribing appropriate human behavior
-a worldview that separates everything into clean and unclean. What would it be like to see the world that way - divided into two spheres? And the geographic implications of dividing the world up into sacred and profane spaces?
-curiosity about the public health implications of many of these laws, relating to plagues and other illnesses, cooking certain foods in certain dishes, etc.
-priests as religious but also medical authorities, and the diverse branches of knowledge they would need to develop
-the numbers of offerings that were prescribed: sin offerings, burnt offerings, on and on. And so many animals offered!
-details about what species Jews can and can't eat. Clams are not okay, but crickets are. Eagles aren't. And on and on.
-women aren't so visible in this book
-the scapegoat literally was allowed to escape! He took penance for your sins and you let him wander in the wilderness. But the other goat, he got sacrificed.

Just a few ideas that are coming to me as I read this chapter. I'm looking forward to Numbers - coming up soon!

Warm and comforting

I stood in front of my class this morning, my blue TherMax coffee mug in hand. As I wandered the classroom, I sipped periodically: lavender rooibos tea with almond milk. The mug in my hand, the warm and rich beverage, warmed me inside and out. I felt happier, calmer and more secure.

Does that mean it's a drug? Maybe. Or maybe just a self-soothing mechanism.

Fall Walks

In fall of the last two years, I spent time visiting a friend in Bellingham. I went down for weekends or weeks. She worked, I worked on my computer, we wandered around town and hung out at the food co-op. And we'd often go for long walks.

Bellingham has beautiful trails. Rail lines and blackberries, a view of the ocean (or sound - it's water and it's all connected). The air was sometimes crisp and sometimes warm. Those simple walks are one of my best memories.

Now it's fall, and I'm craving the outdoors again. Mission Creek Park is calling my name. Fall leaves, rushing water, walking. I think I'll wander around our neighbourhood later today.

Rivers

This summer, M & I went on a beautiful roadtrip through the Kootenays. We stopped by a beautiful river. Rivers are magical to me - beautiful and mysterious and adventurous and refreshing.

Falling into fall

Or leaping perhaps ... I felt the chill in the air from late August, when I needed a jacket (and sometimes a scarf) to be out at night. Today my mom wasn't sure if she should bother hanging the laundry outside to dry. I have 2 throws on my bed, and need them. It is definitely moving towards fall.

And the school year is starting. I am preparing to teach again. This, my third year of teaching, will be good. I know I still have a lot to learn, but some of the fear is gone. I feel more prepared than I have in the past, while also recognizing in the most real way possible that I will continue to have to work long and hard to do a good job. It feels like the most balanced I've been on approaching teaching. And this year I get an office - shared space, but plenty spacious enough for 2, with room for books and chairs. That is actually very exciting!

So for now, I will get back to my preparations for tomorrow - the first day of classes - the first meeting with both of my courses.