Football, Fanatics, and Family

I’m going to tell you a story.  Actually, I’m going to tell a couple of stories.  My narrative tone may have been influenced somewhat by my recent addiction to the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” (HIMYM), which is basically about a guy telling his kids a bunch of stories about him and his friends living in New York while he searched for true love.

So in that vein, let me tell you a bunch of stories about me and my friends, family, and...football.

Before I was born, my dad was into football.  Not just into it—he played in high school and college.  He even won awards—he was really good!  But his love of football never really transferred to the rest of our little unit.  I was never coordinated enough to care much about sports; I got hit in the head one too many times in gym class and I guess it knocked out a good chunk of my competitiveness as well.  Growing up, fall and winter weekends were full of yelling in my house—my dad, hollering at the TV with such volume and enthusiasm that the rest of us were forced to take refuge away from the living room.  I didn’t get it.  Not only did I fail to comprehend the game itself, I didn’t see the appeal of cheering for a bunch of guys in tights that I didn’t even know.

Flash forward to college.  I went to a small Presbyterian liberal arts school in Missouri.  We didn’t have a football team; we had a basketball team.  I didn’t really get into that, either.  I was into doing drama for BSU and leading worship at InterVaristy and having long philosophical discussions with my friends.  And in my sophomore year, my family moved from Washington state to Western Pennsylvania.  To Pittsburgh, in fact.  And so I would go “home” to a city I was totally unfamiliar with.

One summer instead of working on campus, I went “home.”  I ended up doing an internship of sorts at the same water authority office in which my mom worked.  And that was when I discovered something strange and unique about Pittsburgh: their love of sports.  All my life, I’d considered football a “guy’s game,” something that gave men an excuse to yell and drink and be physical.  Sure, there was the occasional woman who got into it, but she was the exception.  NOT SO in Pittsburgh, my friend.  As I worked in that office, I overheard grown women sitting around in their jerseys talking about the game.  I was astonished; surely they didn’t mean the football game?  But they did.  I came to learn that these women weren’t an anomaly, either.  Pittsburgh has an overwhelming fixation on their teams—mostly the Steelers, though the Penguins get a lot of love, too, and the Pirates…well, they suck, but it’s still fun to catch a game at PNC park. 

Even the mildest of people can occasionally get caught up in the excitement when their town's team is in a big game, like against a rival, at the playoffs or the Super Bowl.  And everyone kinds roots for their hometown team in such cases.  You know, bit of hometown pride. Pittsburgh, however, tunes in devotedly anytime the Steelers are playing.  Win or lose, they're cheering them on, waving their terrible towels.  Game days find everyone from businessmen to kindergarten teachers wearing black and gold and/or jerseys.  Often at work.  I am not making this up.

And so a strange thing happened: I found myself, for the first time ever, watching the Super Bowl, and actually caring about the outcome.  Actually rooting for a team—unheard of!  I may have said that I rooted for the Redskins because it was the team from the state I was born in, but I never bothered to watch them play a whole game.  Slowly, over the next few years, I became swept up in Steelermania.  Not quite enough to buy my own jersey (though I did consider #43, Polamalu!), and I still had a hard time watching the entire game, but it was by far more invested than I’d ever been.  Pittsburgh’s love of their team—their pride in the Steelers, win or lose—was infectious.  

So, it’s weird for me to tell you this story of how I started watching football, and why I am a Steelers fan.  Weird because I watched the playoffs tonight—all four quarters, AND I yelled at the TV!  Weird because I no longer live in Pittsburgh.  But when you’ve moved around as much as I have, sometimes you hold onto weird things.  Sometimes they’re tangible mementos, sometimes it’s a favorite brand of something, or a certain pronunciation of a word.  Sometimes it’s a football team.  It gives me a strange sense of continuity in a life that is otherwise often fractured.  But it’s also weird because sometimes I get a glimpse of my own transformation from the other side.

For example, once I met an author at a conference.  I’d read some of her stuff, and I was a little in awe of her, so I started rambling.  This was right after the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2006, and the town was still riding the high.  You need to understand that seriously, Pittsburgh is not like other towns.  I’ve lived a lot of places, but I've never lived anywhere that gets as wholly, almost unanimously invested in a team.  Seriously.  And I had been sucked in.  So I asked her what she thought, haha, of all the hullabaloo still going on.  She looked at me blankly, like she hadn’t noticed.  I tried to explain that it was a big deal to the people of Pittsburgh, where the conference was hosted, and she still had a kind of glazed over look like she’d never considered actually caring about the outcome of a football game…and I realized I’d suddenly become one of them.  I used to be really embarrassed by that story, but now it doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

The 2006 Super Bowl brought about an unfortunate, unforeseen side effect: family drama.  They played against the Seattle Seahawks, and in case you forgot, we used to live in Washington, and still had family in the Seattle area.  (And in fact, we are back again!)  What started as good-natured ribbing ended up becoming harsh on both sides, causing some temporary rifts that have thankfully healed since.  But I still have very good friends and family members who hate my favorite team.  In such cases, it’s easy to get swept up in the moment and forget the bigger picture.  Family & friendships are much more important than who wins a game of football! 

Fanaticism about anything can bring you closer to some people and divide you from others if you’re not careful.  Does that mean it’s bad to be a fanatic?  I don’t think so.  I’m a fan of a lot of things, and a twenty minute conversation with me will probably start to reveal them.  You could even say I geek out about stuff.  But the point of geeking out and becoming a devoted fanatic shouldn’t be merely to prove our own dedication and thereby exclude ourselves from the uninformed, unenlightened masses.  It should be to invite them to share our passions.  That’s what got me into football in the first place—I felt the city of Pittsburgh inviting me to share their joy and fervor over a good game.  If I hadn’t lived there so long (longer than anywhere else in my life) and experienced it for myself, I’d probably hate the Steelers, too.  I usually root for the underdog, and with six Super Bowl wins, the underdog they ain’t.  But instead, I’m a fan.  A black-and-gold-wearing maniac.

The funny thing is, there are tons of other things I’m more fanatic and geeky about than the Steelers.  Ireland, superheroes, Star Wars, philosophy, good stories, God, writing, Switchfoot, and Narnia, just to name a few, in no particular order.  In a way, it’s kind of fun to branch out and defy a few stereotypes.  Football, science fiction, and chick flicks.  Yep, I’m that kind of girl.  

I guess the moral of the story is: if I annoy you with my tweets or facebook status updates about the Steelers…especially when the Super Bowl is on…I’m sorry.  I’m apologizing in advance.  Just know at the end of the day, no matter how fanatic I sound, I am sane, and I care more about you than I do about the Steelers.  Now let's go forth and invite people to share in our fanaticisms, instead of driving them away.

Oh, and…go Steelers!!!  (I couldn’t resist!)

What's up with that?

I'm spending a lot of time in fictional worlds, lately.

One is an island--hard to get to, hard to leave.

Another is a rainy town in Washington where Monsters live.

The last is one of my own making--and it's familiar enough, though it's inhabitants exist only in my head.


What is it about Story that sucks me in? It's hard for me to explain. And while I love, LOVE analyzing stories and pulling them to bits with friends, sometimes it's hard for me to express all that rushes through my brain.

I succumbed to peer pressure (well, really friendly recommendations) and started the Twilight series. Several friends (whose other literary interests often coincide with my own) told me I should read them. I resisted for a long time, held back by the hordes of teenaged girls who worship the series and its vampiric hero. Also, I don't like vampires. Never have. Likely never will.

I'm nearly done with the second book now...and I'm sort of starting to see why they are so popular. They are entertaining and well written. I keep going, page after page, even though I think most of the characters are kind of ridiculous. It annoys me that I would keep reading a book in which I don't care about most of the characters. Hopefully they will grow and develop some.

The narrator, Bella, is absurd and naive. A typical teenager? Maybe. I hope not. Edward, the guy she falls for (along with half the teenage girls in the country) is not only a vampire, he's practically perfect. Or at least, a representation of perfection. I find him mostly annoying. I think their interest in each other is shallow, even though it's meant to be deep and profound.

It might not bug me so much if I wasn't working on a story of my own with similar-ish themes. (No vampires. I prefer superheroes.) But I don't want it to be all tingles and meaningful gazes. I've been wrestling with this a lot lately. I feel like I'm straddling a fence here--both enjoying the story, and yet, being frusterated by it so far. Wanting my own writing to be both appealing, but deep. (Is that even possible??)

Anyway. I just had to vent a little. It's not like I picked them up because I thought I'd enjoy them. I wanted to know what everyone was talking about, and I wanted to check out the "competition." So to speak.

But I find that I have very little patience with fictional characters. It's easier. I don't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings or asking forgiveness. I can just fume and be annoyed by someone who isn't real, while acting that way in real life makes things really complicated.

I wonder, though: am I spending too much time analyzing fictional characters and their stories that I'm neglecting my own? I hope not. My own life is rather complicated at the moment, so escapisim isn't an unnatural reaction. And I want to work on my own writing. It's easy to lose myself in a story of my own making, to plumb the depths of characters I created and am still getting to know.

And the big question on my mind is, "What will people say about my writing?" --That is, if it's ever made available to the greater public. But shouldn't the bigger question be, "What will people say about my life?"

Writing is only one part of my life--granted, it feels like an important part at the moment. But there are other things I want, too: a simple, healthy, natural, debt-free life. I'm trying to work on all those things, too. But a lot of that can't be scripted, no matter how much I would like it to be.

A life like that flows out of big and small moments alike and is shaped by every choice I make. I don't want to be Bella, centering my whole life around one desire (in her case, to be with Edward!) unless that desire is from God, and for God. But the moments slip away, and sometimes I can't see where my own story will end up. Most of the time, I can't even see the next paragraph, let alone chapter.

This is kind of a weird, long, random post, and for that I apologize. Perhaps next time I won't be so scattered.

Year in Review.

I stole this survey off of someone else's blog, because I couldn't come up with anything creative and contemplative on my own.


1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Traveled overseas. Got a passport, had an international flight, went through customs.
Drove into Pittsburgh by myself. Drove to Missouri and back, the whole way!!


2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Um...not as well as I would have liked. I am making some resolutions, because hope springs eternal. And also because I'm making new "decade" resolutions.

And because some things just have to change!!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Well, I know a few people who had babies. Nobody that I'm super (at least in terms of physical proximity) close with, though.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not this year, no.

5. What countries did you visit?
IRELAND!!! It was awesome.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
I would love to know what I'm doing with my life, but I doubt that will happen.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
From '07?? Well, probably some boy related ones that seemed momentous at the time but are now irrelevant...and Jan. 2nd, when Brianne got her tat and I got my nose pierced. That was a good day in 2007.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Geez. This is tough. I mean, I think just going to Ireland was the biggest deal. I finally did it. That was a lifelong dream, to get over to that part of the world.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Sometimes the way things ended with CW feels like I failed. Or maybe just how I handled it.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the usual colds I always get.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My camera. They say material things can't bring you happiness, but it has brought me such simple joy.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
We threw Jake a going away party...but that wasn't really a celebration. We still miss him.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
It was hard watching my brother's relationship go sour. (Sometimes it was hard to watch when it was good, too; but it sucks watching someone you love go through a bad break-up.)

14. Where did most of your money go?
Stuff I didn't need at Target, probably. And Mp3 downloads.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Ireland. Going to see Brianne. Prince Caspian. My new phone. Spring.


16. What songs will always remind you of 2008?
Pocketful of Sunshine. "This is Home," by Switchfoot. "The Call," by Regina Spektor.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About even, I think.
b) thinner or fatter? I've probably put on a few this year.
c) richer or poorer? Slightly poorer, since my job change.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing. Job hunting, maybe. Yoga.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying. Stressing. Complaining.

20. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
Hopefully going downtown for First Night with friends.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No. Fell out of love, actually. But it's a good thing.
Well, unless you count my mad crush on Zachary Levi of "Chuck."

22. How many one-night stands?
None. I could have changed that to "dates" and the answer would still be the same.

23. What was your favourite TV program?
Chuck. Eli Stone. Heroes. Lost. Bones. Pushing Daisies. Monk. Psych. Samantha Who?

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Well, it's more that an already strong disliking intensified.

25.What was the best book you read?
"Culture Making" by Andy Crouch, or "The Celtic Way of Evangelism" by George G. Hunter. Both AMAZING books. I'd put "Walking With God" by John Eldredge, but I'm not quite finished with it yet.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I discovered that I love Coldplay. I know, they're popular and ubiquitous. Like U2. I never thought I liked them much, either. But I do, now. It's weird.

27. What did you want and get?
A camera. My new phone.

28. What did you want and not get?
A new job--something that I'm MEANT to do, you know? Some purpose and direction.

29. What was your favourite film of this year?
Ooh. Well, the sad thing is, I haven't seen a movie since July ( I know, right?!). Ironman was good, so was Get Smart. I really liked Prince Caspian, despite plot changes. HATED The Happening, but Kung Fu Panda was cute. I adored Wall-E.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Hmm...I believe I went to Seib's with friends. Yes. Several birthday drinks were consumed. Well you only turn 29 once. Or, once a year from now on.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A sense of where I'm going and what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. That would have been helpful.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Scarves. Ballet flats.

33. What kept you sane?
My friends. You know who you are. My head would have exploded without you.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I think I answered that already, but I'll gladly say it again: Zachary Levi. Mmm.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Ugh. Don't get me started. I tried to avoid everything remotely political.

36. Who did you miss?
Brianne.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
I met some cool folks in Ireland.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008?
Community. Fellowship. Vital to survival.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"It started out as feeling, which then grew into a hope.
Which then turned into a quiet thought, which then turned into a quiet word.
And then that word grew louder and louder, until it was a battle cry!
I'll come back, when you call me, no need to say goodbye."
--Regina Spektor, "The Call" (From the Prince Caspian Soundtrack)

I used this already this year, but:
"I still haven't found what I'm looking for." --U2

Taking Deep Breaths

Okay, so, in spite of the optimism in my last post, I've actually been really wrestling lately. It seem like I go through cycles in my life, and right now, I'm revisiting Restlessness.

I guess in a way, I thought that by the time I turned 30, I would have a few more things figured out. Such as, What I Want to Do With My Life. I'm several months away from ending my second decade, and I know that 30 is just a number, not a deadline. But still. I can't seem to make sense of my passions and desires and gifts, at least, not in a professional, salary-earning sense. And it's causing me a lot of frustration.

It's like, Whoa, here I am in Adulthood. And I wasn't really ready to be here, but now I am. Where do I go and what do I do now??

I'm reading this fantastic book called "Culture Making" by Andy Crouch. I know it seems like every time I mention a book I'm endorsing it, but if I bother to mention what I'm reading, it's because it's good. Really. So Crouch is talking about how we as Christians--and Humans, foremost--have a fundamental calling toward culture. Well, two, actually. One is to cultivate the good that is already there, like a gardener. Like our first parents, in Eden. The second is to create new culture. And that it is only by doing these two things that we begin to "change the world."

To do either of those things well, Crouch suggests, one must first be a culture keeper. I sort of feel like I've already been that most of my life. Even this past week, I spent a good chunk of my recreational time watching TV shows. I don't currently have a working TV, so it was either catching up on this season's Heroes, Chuck, Pushing Daises and Bones online, or watching DVDs of last season's Chuck and Eli Stone. (I like a lot of TV shows. I'm a sucker for a good story, and all of those that I listed qualify. )

But I don't want to just consume culture anymore, or even critique it to point out why it's a good story and you should watch, too. I long to create something that no one else ever has, to send something out into the world and have it "push the horizons of the possible."

I'm realizing, though, that things like that don't happen overnight.

It's hard for me, to be stuck here again, in this place where I can't quite see what God is doing in my life. (I think it helps, a little, to watch the stories of others who must feel the same way--I'm sure Chuck and Eli could both relate a little to this feeling!) I'm not going to lie, I've been really stressed and frustrated lately. Maybe even a little depressed. I feel like all of my emotions have been closer to the surface than usual, and not just because of biological reasons.

Outside, it's been beautiful here--and I love the fall--but somehow I just haven't been able to enjoy it as much. And that's sad. I don't want to be like that. So I'm trying a different approach. A more grateful approach. I want to acknowledge and be thankful for the good things in my life, like family and friends. And little things, too, like a new pair of earrings or a tuna sub from Subway.

You know. Spending time in worship. Learning new songs. Working on my writing. Taking pictures. Watching a good TV show. Recycling. Playing with pets. Smelling good. Taking deep breaths. Not letting myself get all bent out of shape when things don't go my way. Realizing that life is never without battles. Last year, it was my love life; now that I've made peace with that, it's my professional life. And so it goes.

I'm not trying to be glib or sanctimonious here. It's a real struggle for me to have all this passion to change the world and the church and to do something meaningful and lasting, but not actually have the means to do it. Yet. But like any good lament, if I can't pause at the end of the day and acknowledge that God must have a purpose I can't see yet, then I would really be in bad shape.

Psalm 138:8

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.

And this was the Biblegateway.com verse of the day:

“Many are the plans in a man's heart,

but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”- Proverbs 19:21

Oh, Boy(s).

It’s interesting being a single gal these days. Seriously. I’m in a very peculiar place.

It would be very easy for a girl like me to get discouraged about my relationship status. After all, I’m 28. Not getting any younger. The biological clock is ticking and all that. And there are times when it is a struggle not to feel lonely, overlooked, or impatient. Like at weddings. Or on Valentine’s Day. When someone has a baby. Or when you find yourself surrounded by couples. After a Chick Flick binge.

But the truth is, I’m in no hurry. You know how at the beginning of the movie “Hitch,” the dating guru tells us that no woman wakes up in the morning hoping to NOT get swept off her feet? That’s true. But some of us have a lot of other things going on in our lives. Some of us don’t want to try eHarmony or be fixed up on blind dates. We want to find Love, sure. But in the meantime, until it finds us, we’re going to keep getting on with our lives.

One fun distraction I’ve given in to from time to time is TV crushes. My first love was MacGyver—seriously. Ever since then, I’ve had a slew of TV characters whom I’ve made regular dates with. More recently, I was digging Peter Petrelli of Heroes. But oohh, I just liked him so much better with the emo-bangs. Then I also fell surprisingly hard for Chuck. That’s the nerd-love side of me, I guess. Right now, I’m logging a lot of hours watching reruns of Psych. That Shawn Spencer is hilarious.

The thing is, real guys are sooooo much more complicated. Although I am blessed to have some good guys in my life again. It’s nice, because all of my guy friends from college either got married and/or live ridiculously far away. So, now I’ve developed a new circle of friends out here, which includes guys. Several of them are married or otherwise taken, but a few are single. And there’s just a different dynamic in a friendship when both parties are single. Usually. Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to be a little more guarded around “taken” guys, though it helps if I’m close to both halves of the couple. Anyway you split it, friendships with guys are complicated—but I wouldn’t give them up.

What’s nice about it is, it satisfies what I believe is a fundamental human need for interaction with the opposite sex. I was talking about this with one friend, whom I’ll call Clive. (I’m changing the names of the guys so that if by some chance they read this, they won’t feel so exposed. Or something.) Anyway, I was telling Clive that as important as I think it is for guys to have guy time, and girls to have girl time, it’s also really important to have that guy-girl time, too. It doesn’t have to be romantic. It’s just good to get that other perspective. Both man and woman were made in God’s image—both of them representing something different about the nature of God (as John Eldredge discusses in Wild at Heart and Captivating). I’ve learned to appreciate this other element, this masculine component, in ways I never used to. Of Course, I still get baffled and sometimes frustrated with the way guys think and act.

Like my one friend, Theophilus. Theo is this great guy—intelligent, funny in a snarky way, a real servant. Easy going, low key, multifaceted. But he’s got this way of keeping things to himself, not offering anything deep. And then he masks things with sarcasm, and a self-effacing humor. It’s perplexing. What’s he really thinking? I haven’t a clue—and I can tell he wants it that way. Unlike Clive, who has been remarkably open and honest about his struggles and his “walk.”

Not that I have a problem with quiet guys. My first (real, live) crush was on a very shy guy. And right now, I’m also friends with Duncan. It took me a long time to really start to get to know him because he’s just a very unobtrusive person. He’s polite and an all-around Nice Guy. And then, out of nowhere, he’ll say something that makes you laugh. It took me by surprise at first.

I love a good laugh, and I have such a broad sense of humor that it doesn’t take a whole lot to get me going. But my one friend Jason just has this knack for saying the funniest things. I wish things like that rubbed off on people. He is seriously one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, and he makes it look just effortless. I wish I could think that fast and that witty, but I’m left just laughing hysterically in his wake.

And it’s a blessing to have developed such an interesting circle of friends. Like I said, it can sometimes be daunting to a Single Woman to look at her life. The New Year makes us reflect on the past and look ahead to the future, and I find myself still in that process. This past week has really made me reflect on my guy friends, as I’ve spent time with them each in different ways and settings.

While I might sometimes wish for romance to be closer around the corner than it is, I appreciate the fact that I once again have guy friends that I can be myself around, talk to, grab a drink with, and laugh with. (It’s nice when I feel appreciated, too!) So here’s to all the pub nights, jam sessions, Bible study, TV shows, games, inside jokes, wii sports, guitar hero challenges, worship times, and impromptu, spontaneous hanging out in this coming year. Yay for guys! The world would be a much less interesting place without them.

Busy!

Yeah, I've been busy lately. Not really an excuse for not blogging, though, since I've made time to watch things like the Heroes finale, the Tinman miniseries and the movie Enchanted (I loved it! I can't say it enough!!)

There are a lot of things I thought about writing about...but for now I'm going to focus on the things immediately at hand.

1) New Noel. It's this Saturday (the 15th). If you live around here, please come! 6pm, at Memorial Park Church. The theme is "Joy to the World," and we'll be looking at how Jesus' birth is good news for the whole world, and for us, too. There will be music, scripture, and videos, among other things. It's going to be fun, so plan to come.

2) Blue Christmas. It's the 22nd, also at 6, and also at MPC. This will be a very different kind of service, but I believe it will be equally good. It is geared more toward quiet reflection, acknowledgment of the things that often come between us and the Good News of Christ's Coming, and the Hope that this season brings. Christ came to be Human, to meet us in our brokenness. He came to be God with us, and that goes for everyone, whether we feel excited and happy about it or not.

If you know someone who is struggling with feeling joyful this year, or who is missing someone who has passed on, please invite them (and accompany them!) to this service. Let's take an hour (or two, if you come to both!) out of our crazy, hectic schedules to let ourselves remember what Good News this holiday really brings.

I've been feeling frazzled myself, and not really in the "spirit"...until last week, when I was caught off guard by Relient K's new Christmas album ("Let it Snow, Baby...Let it Reindeer"). In between renditions of familiar songs that made me just laugh out loud, were these poignant songs about how hard the holidays can be, but how there is still hope.

I believe that, or I would not be involved in either of these services.

I hope you'll come.

But if not, I hope that you find Hope and Joy this Christmas, wherever you are.

TV, and More TV

First of all, lest you should think that I am completely shallow and obsessed with nothing but pop culture, let me assure you that I have in fact been using my brain the last few weeks. Truthfully, that's probably WHY I watch TV. To make myself stop obsessing over things in my life that are out of my control (and some things that are somewhat in my control, but I haven't quite fixed yet).

I have had deep conversations with several friends on weighty (but non-essential) theological matters (like women in leadership, predestination, and the Emergent Church). Also, I'm in the midst of planning CW's Christmas services (yes, we are doing two--more on that later). And trying to write more. I've got a fresh batch of ideas.

But in my downtime, I find myself gravitating toward my TV. It is Fall, after all. Lots of new shows. ANd new stories on the old shows. Now that I have my own DVR, it's not hard to catch up on anything and everything I want to. And as I tend to eat my dinner (and other meals when I'm at home) in my living room, rather than my kitchen, it's a great time to catch up.

I know lots of people who are always telling me they don't have time for TV. I think that's great. Very noble. I am sure they are involved in a lot of terrific things. ...Hm. So am I, for that matter. I'm out a few nights of the week, with Church stuff, Practice, and Chinese Church. But I still watch a ton of television, maybe because I have a living room all to myself. But I don't consider TV to be a completely anti-social activity. In fact, one of my nights of the week is dedicated to watching a particular program with my family and friends.

Heroes comes on Monday nights, and it is such an incredible show. I've loved it from the first ep. But you know I have a thing for superheroes. And now, just before it, Chuck comes on. It's only been two episodes, but I already like that very much, too. It combines spy stuff with geek humor, which is a fantastic combination. And then there are the other comedies--like The Office (I'm missing the Jim-Dwight pranks!!), the new Back to You, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. I've also been checking out The Reaper on the CW (even though I swore I was done with that channel after they canceled Everwood AND Veronica Mars!!--Luckily, the plucky Kristen Bell will resurface on Heroes!!). It's an interesting show, full of moral conundrums and theological liberties, but I'm waiting to see how it develops, just like Pushing Daisies.

I'm also still watching Bones (Brianne got me addicted!!) and Ugly Betty. What about Lost, you ask? Still a few months to go before that comes back on. February, I believe. Psh. Not that I'm any less interested. I know a lot of people are on the verge of giving up on it, but I'm holding out. I have to know how they're going to play this out.

And then...I got sucked into this British mini-series my friend Lynne lent me. It's called The Forsyte Saga. It's basically a soap opera set around the turn of the century, revolving around the members of the wealthy Forsyte family. At least, that's how it was described to me. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I am such a sucker for British stuff...I love the way they talk. And it did keep me wondering what was going to happen next. And unlike regular soap operas, there is an end in sight. I'm close to it! Oh, the feuds! The drama! The divorces, the affairs, the extravagance!

So yeah, all in all, I've been watching a lot of TV. But I'm not apologizing for it. I know a lot of people think that TV is kind of evil; or if not exactly evil, not a worthwhile way to spend time. Maybe not. I guess it depends. I'm not really of the philosophy that something has to be sanitized and religious for it to be watchable. Mostly because that's not the world we live in. I don't want to fill my head with garbage...but I don't want to ignore our culture, either.

I've said before, I think, that Stories are what I'm most passionate about anyway, and stories come in a lot of different forms. Including TV. So while it gives my brain a chance to rest for a little bit while I watch, it also keeps me thinking long after the show is done. About life, relationships--the way we interact with each other, and how things play out differently than we typically think they will. It makes me think about my own life, and about the stories I have developing in my head.

So, what do you think? TV: Good or Bad? You know my opinion. What's yours?