Instead of the normal green of our regularly scheduled 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, I arrived at church to find the altar and tabernacle draped in red. Soon, I found that our pastor's and deacon's vestments were also in red. I felt a little out-of-place in my green shirt and tie; I usually try to stay within the liturgical colors, but this caught me by surprise.

Pope Francis has announced a synod (a gathering or assembly) on synodality (unity; literally "walking together") in the Church. The process begins now, lasting two years until the major gathering in Rome in October of 2023. This process first begins with input at the local levels as members of each parish are supposed to reflect and discuss on the very mechanisms of reflection and discussion within the Church. From there, the discussions will move to the higher and higher levels until with worldwide meeting in Rome.

The membership in the Catholic Church has not been increasing to the same degree that it had in the past. In fact, there are some regions (such as the United States) where its numbers have actually decreased in just the past few years. Considering the abuses in the Church and the rise of more fundamentalist, ultra-conservative moments in the Church in the U.S., I am not that surprised. Unless backed by the force of law (like in the time of the Inquisition or the more modern Taliban) extreme fundamentalism traditionally (pun intended) shrinks religions. The divide in the U.S. between even moderates and the ultra-conservatives in the Church has started to create a significant breach between the Faithful. With COVID, many people have found a way to reduce their participation even more.

I believe this is why Pope Francis has called this Synod. We need to reconnect and heal. Now is the time to work together, not fracture apart. 

As ludicrous as the series has become, I have still enjoyed the Fast and Furious films--until now. This latest movie felt more like a Michael Bay Transformer film with all sound and little substance. Most disturbingly, the characters themselves seem to recognize this. The film even spends time with one of the characters trying to rationalize how they have survived everything that has happened to them.

That said, Rowen loved it. He was belly-laughing through most of the movie and was excited for every computer generated stunt that they threw at us. For me, there was just no risk involved. At no point--no matter how hard the film tried to suggest otherwise--was I concerned for any character's safety. No matter how precarious or unbelievable the situation, none of the threats had any heft to them.

Honestly, I don't know how that makes it any different than the previous movies. Perhaps, in their constant need to top the previous levels of insanity, they just went too far this time. Still, I'll most likely watch the next one when it comes out.

Yesterday, I received my second Pfizer booster. I debated with myself for a while about it. While I qualified for it due to my role as a teacher, I was concerned about receiving a third shot when so many people in the world have not even had the opportunity to receive their first. Honestly, the disparity still bothers me; however, two things brought me to make the choice that I did.

The first is that shot was not going to one of those places. Instead, if I did not get this shot, a dose would have just gone to waste, like the over 15 million doses that have expired in the U.S. because people have been refusing to get them. Even though I love America, the decadence shown by our nation throwing away vaccines that other nations are desperately begging for could really shake my faith in this nation.

The second is that we are still in a teaching and substitute shortage. Meanwhile, many students have been in and out of school for a variety of reasons related to COVID (as well as the normal reasons). I need to be in the classroom as much as possible to ease the burden on my students and our school system.

I'm happy to report that, so far, the side effects have been less than they were with the second shot. I'm a little surprised by this as I also got the flu vaccine at the same time, albeit in the other arm. I was dragging for a bit in the middle of the day today and my arms are still a little sore, but that's been it.

One last note: a friend of mine happened to be working at the vaccine station and gave me the shot. For that matter all three of my doses have been administered by friends of mine. Two of the three were school nurses. I'm really impressed with the time that they dedicate to the health of our community.

I don't know how long it's going to last, but snow that started this afternoon has actually left a coating on our lawn and driveway. To be sure, it is a thin coating, but I was surprised to see even that much sticking as I didn't think that it was all that cold today. A look at the weather forecast suggests that it won't be around for long. Still, it made me happy.

I enjoyed watching the big, lazy flakes make their way to the ground and join in clumps of their brethren there. There is something about the falling snow that brings me a feeling of contentment that is difficult to describe. Seeing it on the ground before it gets coated in mud and slush makes hope and joy well up within me for reasons I do not fully understand.

Certainly, there is danger in this beauty. It is easy to forget how treacherous driving can quickly become in these seemingly innocent conditions. Unfortunately, it seems to take people a while to remember that fact.

Hazardous or not, this snow is a signal to me that it's time to change some of my outer gear. While I'm not shifting to the parka just yet, I did bring out the coat we got last year that is a step between the parka and my fleece jacket. Whether I switch from shoes to boots will depend on if the snow is still around on my driveway in the morning.

I kind of hope that it will be.

It's been well over a decade since my last failed attempt to meet the National Novel Writing Month challenge of 50,000 words written between November 1st and November 30th. At present, I do not even have an idea let alone a burning desire to write. However, I feel like I might want to take up the challenge this year.

If I decide to do this--and I am still only partially convinced--I am going to go easy on myself regarding expectations. I don't need to build an entire world or an elaborate, interweaving plot. Rather, I should just pick a story and tell it--no research, no symbolism--just a straightforward tale that takes both me and my characters on some sort of journey.

I am not certain if I will do it as a replacement for these daily blogs. If I do replace them, should I make the mess I'm making public in their place or just take a month-long hiatus? I've tried a couple of attempts of writing "live" stories with no real success. Still, the idea does have some appeal to me even if it means that I would need to substantially increase my daily word count. However, it also means a fairly public failure, too.

I still have time; I will need to give the idea more thought.

Soon after we arrived in Soldotna, we discovered the Papa Johns had a a carry out special (10.99 for a large 3-item pizza) which worked well for feeding our family. After our first time ordering, I noticed an offer to create an online account that we could use to order and pay for the food. The process was simple, did not require waiting on hold, and has yet to lead to any order screw ups after 6 years of using it. I didn't think much about it; it just became the way that we ordered pizza. 

A couple of months ago, our favorite sushi place (Sushi Exchange) finally reopened after months being closed due to a fire. They were so overwhelmed by orders in those first few days that they made a few large mistakes (according to their Facebook page). As a response, they temporarily stopped taking phone or in-person orders, only accepting orders through their new online program. Although we waited a couple of weeks for the heavy traffic to diminish, I still thought that I would try ordering and paying online rather than over the phone. The process is immeasurably smoother.

The last couple of times we have gamed, I was surprised when a member of our group ordered online from Odie's one time and Siam Noodles the other (both with great food). Again, I was surprised by how convenient and how much easier the process was. The menu is right there. You just have to push a button when someone says, "I want that." You can read off the list to make certain the order is right before pushing confirm. All of this is done without needing to speak clearly from a hastily written list to a person who is struggling to hear you through the din and confusion on their end. Picking up the food is as simple as going in and stating the name on the order.

We do not eat out that often, but calling in orders has always been a mild stressor. I am pleasantly surprised to find more local businesses using this sort of online ordering system. I hope that more choose to do so as I feel it makes life easier on both ends of these transactions. 

Once again, I was greeted with strange looks as I loudly proclaimed "Happy Indigenous Peoples Day" to anyone who came my way. By the end of the day, quite a few students were saying it back to me--or even saying it preemptively. Only two made comments about how it was "actually" Columbus Day. I did not argue with them, but just said, "It's that, too."

Due to the way my school day went, I did not have the opportunity to discuss Indigenous Peoples Day or the history behind Columbus day with any of my classes. I was mildly disappointed about that because it is a topic that I enjoy talking about. While Columbus has become more vilified as of late (with cause) and I tend to think of him as a phenomenal bumbler, there is no denying that his voyages had a significant impact on the entire world. Still, I don't know if that means its a day worth celebrating anything other than the heritages of those people who "discovered" the Americas so much earlier than him.

As one commenter I read said, "The only appropriate way to celebrate Columbus Day is to get lost in a grocery store while looking for spices." 

While I could write about the value of God's Wisdom as expressed in the first reading or the rich, young man's quandary that was expressed in the Gospel, I have found my attention focused on the "two-edged sword" from the second reading. Certainly, I've always been attracted to swords; thus, I remember hearing this verse as a child. I believe that it was even one that I memorized as part of our nighttime ritual.

I do know that it often sprang to mind during a recurring dream that I had in high school. I was fighting a devil-creature that was somehow a cross between William Shatner and the Tim Curry devil from the movie Legend. In the dream, I entered an arena whose audience consisted of twisted cherubim, their childish features full of spite, their mouths with pointed teeth, and their wings made of a bat-like leather that clapped in both anticipation and malice. I faced the devil unarmed despite his massive reddish barbed blade. As he swung at me, I dodged and rolled, repeating the verse from Paul's letter the the Hebrews "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-bladed sword" (which I how I learned the verse). At this point, an Excalibur-like blade formed in my hands just in time to parry the devil-creature's attack. A second swing either broke or knocked his blade out of his hands. 

I don't remember the dream much past that point other than I emerged victorious. I do remember quite liking the heft of that sword in my hand. Although I have come to understand that the two-edged sword is a symbol of a weapon that can be easily turned against the person using it, I still have fond memories of the verse and the dream where the verse saved me. 

I love having ceiling fans in most rooms of a house or office. While they are not practical in low-roomed ceilings (even though had them placed in the downstairs bedroom of our previous house) or in kitchens and dining rooms (unless you're trying to recreate cooking or eating in the windy outdoors), I like both their visual aesthetic and their help with airflow nearly everywhere else. 

I do not, however, enjoy installing ceiling fans. This fact was in evidence today as I was attempting to do just that in the corner downstairs bedroom. A number of roadblocks presented themselves--including a miswiring on my part, and a disconnected wire on the part of the manufacturer. Due to the level of frustration and anger that I attained, the project is currently on hold until tomorrow. I think that I have everything figured out, but I'm not willing to test my patience just yet.

I look forward to having the fan installed … and then putting the other one I bought in the middle room.

Something in my house must be downloading something. My computer is loading so slowly and it has gotten so late, that I started writing this post on my phone as I could use cellular data. This is quite frustrating and has been happening more frequently over the past few years, likely due to more devices trying to use the same limited space.

Due to this increasing issue, I have preordered a subscription to the Starlink service provided by Elon Musk's Space X. It's supposed to be available in our area sometime in 2022. Recent news articles have indicated that the service might be available as early as the end of the month. While it requires an upfront equipment fee, its monthly rate is listed as lower than what we are currently paying; although, we would lose our landline number if we cut that service completely.

I think that the faster Internet would be worth the tradeoff. 

I need to clean up my desk. It's not a terrible mess, but over the years I have placed reference books, various printed pieces of information and MANY Post-It notes all over the place. Some of it is still relevant, such as reminders to deal with something or ideas for future blog posts. Much of it, however, is made of remnants of my Walden classes and my dissertation process.

I almost started clearing some of this stuff the other day, but I'm not quite sure that it's time yet. For one, I'm technically enrolled at Walden through the rest of this current term--which ends in mid-November. For another, some of these notes and items have been on my desk for so long that they almost feel like they belong here. 

As an example, I have a Post-It note that has the benchmarks for my dissertation process that were worthy of earning a Dinobot. Next to them are the expected number of months that it should take to complete each step based on the acceptance of the prospectus (the first major hurdle). These benchmarks and the dates come from a planning tool that I had to use in one of my first classes (BTW, I actually finished months ahead of every benchmark after the disastrous start with my prospectus). I crossed out each benchmark as I reached it… well, all except the last one. Even though I reached it a couple of weeks ago, it still doesn't seem real. Also, if I cross it off, I feel like I would need to throw the note away.

Perhaps, once my diploma is in hand I will have less hesitancy to clear some of this detritus away.

I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie Cyrano today. While I doubt that this movie will shake my belief that the Steve Martin movie Roxanne is the definitive version of the story, I was intrigued by the idea that it is a musical. In my mind, there are not enough musicals out in the theaters. I don't mean rehashed versions of Broadway musicals either. I would like more movies like Moulin Rouge or The Greatest Showman--not for their "historical" depictions but  for their amazing mix of music. Connor complains that my current Spotify playlist is basically The Greatest Showman as I added not only the original soundtrack but the album with the show's songs sung by modern pop artists. 

There's something about a musical that reaches me deeper than the best prose work. When paired with ingenious cinematography, I can feel my soul itself move to the rhythm of the melodies while still soaring along with the intricate harmonies. Certainly, some musicals are too ham-fisted or downright awkward to be much more than an embarrassment. However, recent musicals have made me like historical figures such as Barnum and Hamilton whose actual stories I do not like. 

I can only imagine how a great story might be magnified by a well-done musical adaptation.

I headed out to get pizza in the long twilight of this evening. I was not even able to leave my driveway before a hare jumped into Mera's path and refused to get out of the way. I was close enough to see the fuzz on its ears, but I managed to not run it over. Still, it just stared at me as though it was trying to will itself invisible (and invulnerable). Only after I tried to squeeze around it, did it decide that it was seen and scamper off into the forest.

I barely made it up my road, just about to go up the hill, when a moose burst out of the trees several car distances ahead of me. It seemed to be late for an appointment as it just ran across the road and down towards the local pond (affectionally called Bear "Lake") without acknowledging my presence at all, let alone asking how my day had been. It had been far enough ahead that, although it got my heart racing, I didn't even need to tap my brakes.

After getting the pizza and heading back home, yet another moose decided to test the brakes on the car in front of me by Mackey Lake road. I still do not know how that car managed to stop in time, but it thankfully did. This moose was larger than the first one I saw and had an impressive rack--which I rarely get to see. It, too, was in quite a hurry and didn't stop to see if the driver it nearly scared to death was okay.

As I was just about home, I again had the privilege of watching an animal cross in front of me. I believe that this was the same moose that ran off on my way out because it treated me with the same level of indifference. This time it didn't run as far, but just crossed the road and made certain that I had a full view of its posterior. 

Thankfully, the pizza made it to my home safely.

I'm not great with costumes. While I loved dressing up for the Renaissance festival, I usually stuck with the Pendragon ​doublet that I acquired decades ago. Granted, it still looks good; however, I do not have much in the way of variety, and there is a social stigma attached to using the same costume for Halloween year after year.

I wouldn't mind having a good-quality set of Jedi (or Sith) robes or even a Starfleet uniform. Unfortunately, "good-quality" means either skills that I don't have or expense. This also means trust, as there are multiple companies who promise good-quality, but might not actually deliver it. 

I also have to contend with the fact that I will not be a perfect version of most of the characters that I would like to emulate. My extreme masculine physique is not quite the same as Hollywood's standards. I even had this issue when I went dressed as "college-age" me. Let's just say that I've grown a bit.

I'm running down on time for this coming Halloween, and I don't think that it's worth the effort. I won't be wearing it at school as Halloween is on a Sunday, and even if we went out on an evening that weekend, any costume would likely have to be hidden under some level of cold weather gear (unless the costume involved cold weather gear). For that matter, even if I could wear it to school, most costumes don't have pockets (this is also a serious design flaw in most Starfleet uniforms and Jedi robes) which would make carrying my keys awkward.

Like I said, I'm not great with costumes.