It's only been four years since I started working on a bucket list, it's true, and I've got my whole life to complete the next 90 items, but I think it's time to reconsider at least one item and replace it with another, more interesting, or just personally rewarding item.
When I was a kid, my dad invented this natural gas lever you can attach to your gas meter at your house so that if there's an earthquake (or some other emergency) you can easily and quickly turn off the gas supply without having to wait for a professional to come over. He got it patented in the States, and I was naturally quite impressed. Still am. But I'm no engineer, like he is. I don't have a scientific mind, and I'm not a tinkerer. This is one girl who won't be reinventing the light bulb anytime soon. And I'm perfectly fine with that. I won't have pangs of regret on my deathbed if I haven't invented something new.
So I'm going to replace item #4, "patent an invention," with something else that I've thought about doing since I was in high school, but never really thought of as a real possibility until now: shaving my head.
It might seem silly, and maybe it is, because it doesn't take much effort or time to do, but it is something significant in our society where looks (and hair) signifies so much. Why can't a person (especially a woman) shave her head bald without it MEANING something? I'd like to know what it feels like to not have to worry at all about doing anything with my hair in the mornings. I'd also be curious to see what kind of reception I get from men, women, children, dogs... not to mention my family and friends...
Definitely going to freak my mom out. Ha!
I thought I'd have to shave my head when I cut off my dreadlocks back in 2005, but the roots were loose enough I just had short hair I got trimmed into a pixie cut. It was both a relief and a bit of a disappointment I wasn't forced into it. But I LOVED having short hair. True, you can't change up your look, but then, there's a trade-off for everything. If I don't have any hair I don't have to shampoo, condition, or use product.
I imagine it will be freeing. And yes, shocking, considering my head will be bleached compared to my face. A long time ago I watched a documentary about a group of people who went adventuring around the world on a tall ship (I think it was a school program) and the tradition was that whoever was crossing the equator for the first time would shave his/her head. I thought that was painfully cool. I resolved to do it one day. Thing is, I have no idea when or if I'll cross the equator in a tall ship, and even if I do, I may just not want to lose all my hair at that particular time in my life. At this point in my life, however, I'm excited about the idea. Nervous yes, but excited. And I think it's worthy of being on a bucket list.
Leaving a half inch of hair was also initially what I'd also imagined I would do, but then, if you're going to shave your head once in your life, don't you want to know what you look like with NO hair? If I shave it to the scalp I'll discover what my head shape is, what my scalp feels like, and be able to truly start all over again with a new head of hair. Who knows, maybe it'll grow in straight! Yeah, right. And besides, it'll take about 20 minutes until my slick noggin has stubble again.
Might do it this summer. Probably. No promises though.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Ruth
What a pleasant surprise! A book in the Bible that is short and sweet and has a happy ending. The Book of Ruth is only four chapters long, and it tells a simple, touching story.
There is a famine in Israel. A woman named Naomi travels east from her home in Beth-lehem with her husband Elimelech and two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to find food. When they get to a new town, Elimelech dies and everyone's sad. And then Naomi is extra sad because 10 years later her two sons die, too. They had gotten married, however, and she tells her daughters-in-law to go back to their parents' families, and she plans to go back to her own home town. The one, Orpah, goes, but the other, Ruth, says she wants to go with her mother-in-law:
"And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: they people shall be my people, and thy God my God; Where thou diest, will I die; and there will I be buried; the Lord do so unto me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." (1:16-17)
So Naomi and Ruth head west to Beth-lehem, where they're poor and pick up bits of barley left over from the farmers threshing in their fields, until Ruth catches the eye of a guy named Boaz who falls in love with her. They want to get married, but another man lays claim to Ruth (because he's more closely related to her dead husband, Mahlon). Thing is, the rule back then said this guy would get Mahlon's land and his widow, Ruth, but would also be responsible for his mother, Naomi. When Boaz reminds the guy of this, he cops out. So Boaz and Ruth get to be married happily ever after, with Naomi as part of the family. She even helps raise their son, Obed. Love wins in the end.
And they lived happily ever after.
**NEXT: I & II Samuel
There is a famine in Israel. A woman named Naomi travels east from her home in Beth-lehem with her husband Elimelech and two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to find food. When they get to a new town, Elimelech dies and everyone's sad. And then Naomi is extra sad because 10 years later her two sons die, too. They had gotten married, however, and she tells her daughters-in-law to go back to their parents' families, and she plans to go back to her own home town. The one, Orpah, goes, but the other, Ruth, says she wants to go with her mother-in-law:
"And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: they people shall be my people, and thy God my God; Where thou diest, will I die; and there will I be buried; the Lord do so unto me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." (1:16-17)
So Naomi and Ruth head west to Beth-lehem, where they're poor and pick up bits of barley left over from the farmers threshing in their fields, until Ruth catches the eye of a guy named Boaz who falls in love with her. They want to get married, but another man lays claim to Ruth (because he's more closely related to her dead husband, Mahlon). Thing is, the rule back then said this guy would get Mahlon's land and his widow, Ruth, but would also be responsible for his mother, Naomi. When Boaz reminds the guy of this, he cops out. So Boaz and Ruth get to be married happily ever after, with Naomi as part of the family. She even helps raise their son, Obed. Love wins in the end.
And they lived happily ever after.
**NEXT: I & II Samuel
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Judges
The clearest thing about the Book of Judges is that, "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." (21:25) That is repeated several times in this book. After Joshua dies, there's a long period in the promised land wherein the twelve tribes of the descendants of Jacob (Israel) keep turning away from God's rules and need some judge to step in and set them right.
The story of Jephthah, the guy who made a stupid promise to God, is just sad. He says to God, I'll sacrifice whatever is the first thing out of my front door when I get home if you'll let me take out our enemies the Ammonites. He's assuming it'll be a chicken or a goat, I guess, but it's his daughter, his only child, who runs out to greet him when he gets back. He feels awful about it, but a promise is a promise. Even his daughter recognizes the seriousness of breaking a promise to God, so she doesn't put up a fuss, but allows herself to be killed by her dad. Tough stuff. Lesson: don't make stupid promises you won't want to keep.
Deborah is a judge who is also a warrior. The feminist in me delights in the fact that a woman is finally not just a pawn in the terrible games men play in the Old Testament. When Barak, the Israelite military leader, asks her to go into battle with him, she prophesies triumph against Jabin, the Canaanite King of Hazor, but says it will be a woman who will be remembered for the victory. Yep. A woman. Not her though, but a woman called Jael who tricks a Canaanite guy (Sisera) into coming into her tent for a rest and then while he's sleeping drives a tent peg through his skull. More graphic violence, but at least this time it's a woman doing some damage instead of passively allowing herself to be subjected to the idiocy of the men around her.
In FACT, the best story in Judges (IMHO) is the story of Samson and Delilah, in which a woman again defeats a man (well, in the short term, at least). Samson's this guy who's holy right from the moment he's conceived, and his power comes from his hair, so he never gets a haircut. I'm picturing a middle-eastern Fabio. About as dumb, too, it seems. One day he falls in love with this Philistine (read = enemy) woman called Delilah, who keeps trying to get him to tell her the secret of his power so her crew of Philistine thugs can kill him. He keeps lying to her, and each time the thugs try to take him out they fail. Finally, however, he gives in and decides he loves her so much it's worth revealing the truth, that if his hair's cut off they'll be able to overpower him. And just like that, he falls asleep on her lap (idiot) and they come in and shave him bald, tie him up, pluck out his eyes (I'd say this is overkill) and take him away to their palace where they proceed to party. BUT, he makes a promise to God that if He gives him his strength back, he will avenge His people (the Israelites). A bit of his hair's grown back by this point anyway, so when he pulls on his chains, which are tied to the pillars in the palace, the whole place comes crashing down, killing everybody, including him. So everybody dies in the end. Wow. I have no idea what the lesson is here, but at least it's got intrigue and a good narrative arc.
So that's Judges. There was a bunch of other stuff going on, of course; mostly Israelites worshipping other gods (who ARE these other gods?) and needing to be set back on course. There's lots of battles against other nations, and a whole bit about Benjamin (an Israelite tribe) going off the rails and needing to be taken out. But then everyone decides the Benjamites need to be built back up again so they go and get them some Philistine virgins to repopulate their tribe.
I'm glad I didn't live back in those days. It was all vengeance, violence, burnt offerings and raping of virgins. I'm also glad I wasn't on the wrong team. If you weren't an Israelite, who were you? Nobody. And you needed to be dead. My God can beat up your God, and all that.
**NEXT: Ruth
The story of Jephthah, the guy who made a stupid promise to God, is just sad. He says to God, I'll sacrifice whatever is the first thing out of my front door when I get home if you'll let me take out our enemies the Ammonites. He's assuming it'll be a chicken or a goat, I guess, but it's his daughter, his only child, who runs out to greet him when he gets back. He feels awful about it, but a promise is a promise. Even his daughter recognizes the seriousness of breaking a promise to God, so she doesn't put up a fuss, but allows herself to be killed by her dad. Tough stuff. Lesson: don't make stupid promises you won't want to keep.
Deborah is a judge who is also a warrior. The feminist in me delights in the fact that a woman is finally not just a pawn in the terrible games men play in the Old Testament. When Barak, the Israelite military leader, asks her to go into battle with him, she prophesies triumph against Jabin, the Canaanite King of Hazor, but says it will be a woman who will be remembered for the victory. Yep. A woman. Not her though, but a woman called Jael who tricks a Canaanite guy (Sisera) into coming into her tent for a rest and then while he's sleeping drives a tent peg through his skull. More graphic violence, but at least this time it's a woman doing some damage instead of passively allowing herself to be subjected to the idiocy of the men around her.
In FACT, the best story in Judges (IMHO) is the story of Samson and Delilah, in which a woman again defeats a man (well, in the short term, at least). Samson's this guy who's holy right from the moment he's conceived, and his power comes from his hair, so he never gets a haircut. I'm picturing a middle-eastern Fabio. About as dumb, too, it seems. One day he falls in love with this Philistine (read = enemy) woman called Delilah, who keeps trying to get him to tell her the secret of his power so her crew of Philistine thugs can kill him. He keeps lying to her, and each time the thugs try to take him out they fail. Finally, however, he gives in and decides he loves her so much it's worth revealing the truth, that if his hair's cut off they'll be able to overpower him. And just like that, he falls asleep on her lap (idiot) and they come in and shave him bald, tie him up, pluck out his eyes (I'd say this is overkill) and take him away to their palace where they proceed to party. BUT, he makes a promise to God that if He gives him his strength back, he will avenge His people (the Israelites). A bit of his hair's grown back by this point anyway, so when he pulls on his chains, which are tied to the pillars in the palace, the whole place comes crashing down, killing everybody, including him. So everybody dies in the end. Wow. I have no idea what the lesson is here, but at least it's got intrigue and a good narrative arc.
So that's Judges. There was a bunch of other stuff going on, of course; mostly Israelites worshipping other gods (who ARE these other gods?) and needing to be set back on course. There's lots of battles against other nations, and a whole bit about Benjamin (an Israelite tribe) going off the rails and needing to be taken out. But then everyone decides the Benjamites need to be built back up again so they go and get them some Philistine virgins to repopulate their tribe.
I'm glad I didn't live back in those days. It was all vengeance, violence, burnt offerings and raping of virgins. I'm also glad I wasn't on the wrong team. If you weren't an Israelite, who were you? Nobody. And you needed to be dead. My God can beat up your God, and all that.
**NEXT: Ruth
Friday, March 11, 2011
Running in the Rain
Last night was the weekly track workout, which has come to be known as the "hard" workout. Sunday long runs seem like a walk in the park in comparison.
Last night we ran 1 km loops at full speed, six times, with a two minute walk break between each loop (2.5 times around the track). Just about killed me. It's not so much the physical effort, actually, as the mental game you have to play with yourself to keep going.
It was raining when I got there. Hard, and sideways. Nothing makes me feel more like a hero than running at night in the driving rain under the spotlights.
We started with a four-lap jog, followed by short sprints and hurdle lifts to warm up. Then the six sets. Holy crap. I had to think of Terry Fox and Steve Prefontaine and Sylvia Ruegger to keep motivated to keep moving forward. At the end I've got enough to speed up, but in the middle, it feels like I'm done. Total mind game.
There's just about six weeks till the half marathon. I'm definitely stronger and faster than I was January 1, but there's still lots of training time left and I want to make the most of it. Bring on the driving rain! Yar!
Last night we ran 1 km loops at full speed, six times, with a two minute walk break between each loop (2.5 times around the track). Just about killed me. It's not so much the physical effort, actually, as the mental game you have to play with yourself to keep going.
It was raining when I got there. Hard, and sideways. Nothing makes me feel more like a hero than running at night in the driving rain under the spotlights.
We started with a four-lap jog, followed by short sprints and hurdle lifts to warm up. Then the six sets. Holy crap. I had to think of Terry Fox and Steve Prefontaine and Sylvia Ruegger to keep motivated to keep moving forward. At the end I've got enough to speed up, but in the middle, it feels like I'm done. Total mind game.
There's just about six weeks till the half marathon. I'm definitely stronger and faster than I was January 1, but there's still lots of training time left and I want to make the most of it. Bring on the driving rain! Yar!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Joshua
Finished reading the book of Joshua tonight. The Israelites made it across the River Jordan into the promised land (Canaan) and promptly started killing off the people who lived there to take it as their own. First it was Jericho, with the trumpeting and shouting seven days in a row till the walls fell down, and then a bunch of other kingdoms, which were all destroyed and taken over by the different Israelite families. Joshua was their leader during this time, taking over the role that Moses had had. Once the land is divided up, Joshua dies.
This book was probably the most boring so far. And repetitive. Still lots of warring and God reminding everyone not to worship other gods. (If He IS the only God, then what's the concern?)
Next is Judges. Not sure what to expect, but I'll be surprised if there isn't more bloodshed, whether human or animal...
**NEXT: Judges
This book was probably the most boring so far. And repetitive. Still lots of warring and God reminding everyone not to worship other gods. (If He IS the only God, then what's the concern?)
Next is Judges. Not sure what to expect, but I'll be surprised if there isn't more bloodshed, whether human or animal...
**NEXT: Judges
Monday, February 28, 2011
Deuteronomy
Finished reading Deuteronomy tonight, which ends the five books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch. The word Pentateuch evidently comes from the Greek "pent teuchos" meaning "five-volumed book" after the Jewish "five-fifths of the law." Jews would refer to it as the Torah ("instruction"), Christians call it the first part of the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy is known in Hebrew as "The Book of Love," because it's a reiteration of God's covenant with the people of Israel (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's descendants) and his expression of His love for His people. This last of the five books is basically a repetition of all the rules and laws God teaches in the first four books. (Don't drink blood, don't sleep with your sister, don't steal, etc.) There is much about killing other nations, which I really don't follow, but there are also some beautiful verses about God's love for his people:
"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God); he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of they fathers which he sware unto them." -- Deuteronomy, 4:29-31
Overall, I'd say I am a bit disturbed by all the God-sanctioned violence towards other nations, but there is definitely some very beautiful (though graphic) poetry in this, the fifth book of Moses:
"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgement; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh;" -- Deuteronomy 32:41-42
In the end, Moses goes up onto the mountain, from where he can see the promised land, and dies. God Himself buries this prophet, and no one knows to this day where his remains were interred. I don't understand how Moses could have written about his own death, but then I have to remember that not everything in the Bible so far has made sense. Consider the talking donkey in Numbers.
Now that I'm finished Deuteronomy it's on to the book of Joshua, who was a good friend of Moses, and the man who will lead the people of Israel across the River Jordan and into Canaan, the promised land. There's been a lot of hype about this place, so I'm looking forward to finding out what the Israelites will do with all their newfound milk and honey.
After all the travelling around through the desert for so many years, it'll be nice to find out what these folks do once they settle down. Speaking of travelling around, I couldn't help but notice a strange parallel between the scenery described in Numbers and the scenery described in The Lord of The Rings. The Israelites, like the group of nine brave heros in Tolkien's epic novels, move from mountains to planes to forests and come across all kinds of dangers during their travels. It makes so much sense to me, having read the very epic, long tales in the LOTR trilogy, that Tolkien was a reader of the Old Testament.
Everything comes back to the Bible. I wish I'd read it before I studied English Literature at university. Might have understood a lot more about all the allusions and inspirations so many Western writers have had, since, well, biblical times.
**NEXT: Joshua
Deuteronomy is known in Hebrew as "The Book of Love," because it's a reiteration of God's covenant with the people of Israel (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's descendants) and his expression of His love for His people. This last of the five books is basically a repetition of all the rules and laws God teaches in the first four books. (Don't drink blood, don't sleep with your sister, don't steal, etc.) There is much about killing other nations, which I really don't follow, but there are also some beautiful verses about God's love for his people:
"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God); he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of they fathers which he sware unto them." -- Deuteronomy, 4:29-31
Overall, I'd say I am a bit disturbed by all the God-sanctioned violence towards other nations, but there is definitely some very beautiful (though graphic) poetry in this, the fifth book of Moses:
"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgement; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh;" -- Deuteronomy 32:41-42
In the end, Moses goes up onto the mountain, from where he can see the promised land, and dies. God Himself buries this prophet, and no one knows to this day where his remains were interred. I don't understand how Moses could have written about his own death, but then I have to remember that not everything in the Bible so far has made sense. Consider the talking donkey in Numbers.
Now that I'm finished Deuteronomy it's on to the book of Joshua, who was a good friend of Moses, and the man who will lead the people of Israel across the River Jordan and into Canaan, the promised land. There's been a lot of hype about this place, so I'm looking forward to finding out what the Israelites will do with all their newfound milk and honey.
After all the travelling around through the desert for so many years, it'll be nice to find out what these folks do once they settle down. Speaking of travelling around, I couldn't help but notice a strange parallel between the scenery described in Numbers and the scenery described in The Lord of The Rings. The Israelites, like the group of nine brave heros in Tolkien's epic novels, move from mountains to planes to forests and come across all kinds of dangers during their travels. It makes so much sense to me, having read the very epic, long tales in the LOTR trilogy, that Tolkien was a reader of the Old Testament.
Everything comes back to the Bible. I wish I'd read it before I studied English Literature at university. Might have understood a lot more about all the allusions and inspirations so many Western writers have had, since, well, biblical times.
**NEXT: Joshua
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Numbers
Finished reading Numbers tonight. There's a lot more sacrificing of animals, same as in Leviticus, plus a lot of human bloodshed. Moses and his people continue to wander around the desert, (mostly) following God's commands, which often happen to include going to war with other nations. Um, what?
Did the Lord not explicitly say, just a few months before at Mt. Sinai, "Though shalt not kill"? Yet, here we have in Numbers 31:7 -- "And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males." What's this about? Not only is God okay with the Isrealites slaughtering other people for their land, He's actually commanding them to do it.
It gets worse.
Numbers 31:9-11 -- "And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the children of Isreal took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire."
Moses, by the command of God, is inciting wars against everyone so that his people can inhabit their promised land. I just don't get it. I also don't get why in Chapter 15 that poor guy who goes out into the desert on the Sabbath to collect sticks is stoned to death. Okay, he wasn't supposed to be working on the official day of rest, but does picking up sticks really warrant a horrible execution?? What the %$@! happened to the sixth commandment? This Old Testament God is not only moody and vengeful, smoting everyone in his path (even Moses at one point!), but is He not also hypocritical?
Of course, anyone who knows the Bible would say "no," and explain to me what I've missed. I'd love to hear it. I clearly have much to learn about the message that is not made clear from the text itself.
**NEXT: Deuteronomy
Did the Lord not explicitly say, just a few months before at Mt. Sinai, "Though shalt not kill"? Yet, here we have in Numbers 31:7 -- "And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males." What's this about? Not only is God okay with the Isrealites slaughtering other people for their land, He's actually commanding them to do it.
It gets worse.
Numbers 31:9-11 -- "And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the children of Isreal took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire."
Moses, by the command of God, is inciting wars against everyone so that his people can inhabit their promised land. I just don't get it. I also don't get why in Chapter 15 that poor guy who goes out into the desert on the Sabbath to collect sticks is stoned to death. Okay, he wasn't supposed to be working on the official day of rest, but does picking up sticks really warrant a horrible execution?? What the %$@! happened to the sixth commandment? This Old Testament God is not only moody and vengeful, smoting everyone in his path (even Moses at one point!), but is He not also hypocritical?
Of course, anyone who knows the Bible would say "no," and explain to me what I've missed. I'd love to hear it. I clearly have much to learn about the message that is not made clear from the text itself.
**NEXT: Deuteronomy
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