Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

Thanks Sandra!

Bread

We've been working really long days for Urbana operations planning and some of us (me!) don't get the chance to work in close proximity to the team. Makes things more challenging, to be sure but I'm so grateful for Rob's leadership & solid relationships with everyone on the team. They're really amazing people and some have been working on a number of Urbanas already. Their expertise is really appreciated by the team, and eventually by all 20,000+ people that show up at Urbana on Dec. 27th!

Stemming from a high value in teamwork and team building - we have 'forced fun' evenings together. :) Usually, it's the last evening of our multiple day meetings together where we relax, have dinner and do something fun. It's optional, but everyone makes it a priority to hang out and get to know each other outside of meetings. It's a huge testimony to the dedication of the team, since we usually meet from 9am-9pm each day, some are married, some have kids and we all have a ton of work that means we're pulling really long days to keep up with the demand.

In September, we went to the Cardinal's game - soooo fun! I'm not a huge baseball fan, but it was great to go and chat with everyone while enjoying the city of St. Louis.

This last month we were in Madison and baked bread! I jokingly asked someone what happens when a bunch of operations/logistics people get together to relax? We bake bread! Not just a type of bread, about 8 different types at the same time! It was an logistical feat that went really smoothly thanks to a local team expert who used to be a camp director on Catalina Island just off the coast of L.A. It was a Julia Childs theme and we all learned how to kneed properly. We were pretty kneedy. ;)

I was at the cinnamon rolls station with the Vickster and Rachel. There was also French bread, rolls, a rye bread, scones, muffins, etc, etc. Notice the hairnets?

We played board games (got pretty competitive) & watched Julia Childs videos (including a Saturday Night Live skit) while the breads baked. The smells were fantastic and the feasting was even better!

"Thanks 'Julia!'

P.S. Does anyone else notice that our 'Julia' looks more like Jim Belushi? :)

Life in East Toronto

I live near Little India and really love it. I had friends over for a dinner party last night - people who only come to East Toronto because of me. ;) They were impressed by the crowds on the street - this is the norm on weekends - 3 generations of South Asian families milling about eating dinner and shopping in the many clothing stores selling colourful & gorgeous saris.

I was at the local grocery store, and passed a newly purchased coconut to it's owners in front of me. The guy holds both coconuts up and smiles, and I say a hearty "YUM!" I turn to look at the lady and ask when dinner's ready.

She turns to me and says to come over anytime!

Really?

Yes! Come over anytime! We're Indian and we like it when friends come over any time!

I immediately thought of yummy coconut filled food and the fact that I was stressing out about making dinner for 12 people that night!

I was about to ask what her address was, when the guy behind us yelled, "excuse me!" as he pushed his cart into our backs.

Side Note: My car called it quits this week, so I've been doing a lot more reading on the TTC & streetcars - I get really ill reading on the bus, but I happily discovered I can still pull it off for the other modes of transportation. Good, since I have a ton of reading to do for Arrow next month.

Despair.com

I've been a HUGE fan of Despair.com for years and then something happened to make me an even BIGGER fan (you're wondering how it's even possible?!?!).

My friend left staff to move to Austin, TX & join the Despair.com ranks! Booyah!!!

I love Despair.com.

Seriously.

They're hilarious and make me laugh.

I got a call from this friend of mine over a year ago (we both worked on Urbana 96!). I pretty much yelped for joy. :) He's trying to figure out the best company to ship to Canada and called me to be his guinea pig as I'm the only Canadian he knows!

SWEET!

I got to choose the shirt I wanted to receive. It's not on the website right now (?) but it's grey and says;

PLEASE REMAIN CALM ~

it's no use both of us being hysterical at the same time.

I'm just getting used to the 45-60 minute commute by bus to work. Sigh... I got home from a working an extra long day at the office to see a little package propped up on the outside of my back door. My heart did a little leap of joy - UPS really went the extra mile to deliver it to me!

I'm wearing it right now as I type - perfect timing as the fee increase for Urbana 09 is tomorrow.

Yay me!

PS: I just looked at the invoice - their address is 866 Woe-Is-Me 800 Interchange Blvd in Austin!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

Do you remember this post? It's the gift that keeps on giving!

I went to a housewarming a few weeks back of a couple of gals that I know and gave them the button! I think they enjoyed it and passed it around to people so they could have a listen. ;)

The funniest part is the guy's southern accent - it sounds completely self-recorded.

Even the Little Things

It's been a tough, but good week. It seems that things are coming from all sides (is that because Urbana is around the corner?). Less than 3 months away before all 20,000+ people show up for incredible teaching, worship & communion.

Thursday, I was grabbing dinner before the last Tyndale College class I was helping the professor teach. It's only a 5 week course and it was great! I loved the course, teaching at an undergraduate level, the students were thoughtful, funny and engaging. :)

The professor asked me to point the students to resources to increase their understanding of the community context of their churches. The project was to brainstorm ideas on how to connect with their surrounding communities better, what are the needs, how can they help out practically and spiritually.

Anyway, it had been a hard week & I needed coffee before the 4 hour class! I put out my hand for the change and dropped some in the process, including my bus token. :( I was a bit sad about that, thinking to myself that it was now a pretty expensive coffee! I looked a bit silly, staring at the ground for a long time, to no avail.

I got to the parking lot @ Tyndale where you need to pay $3 for parking. A car drove up and gave me his parking ticket good for the rest of the evening! Cool!

I got home and emptied my bags. My bus token dropped out of the bag and onto the floor of my bedroom.

Coincidence? Karma? No, I definitely sensed God's gentle reminder that he cares even about the little things that impact us.

Korean Cheerleading - Try to Top This!

I was totally blown away by watching this cheerleading squad from S. Korea.

Enjoy!