Friday through Sunday

The retreat was really fun! Except for not being able to get to sleep on Friday night because people in the great room were being sooo loud for hours, I had a very enjoyable time. I got to see some old friends and I talked to some new people as well. I was kind of glad to be leaving yesterday evening though (we left after dinner), because I was so tired.

We did an interesting activity about cultures. If you don't care, skip this paragraph. If you're interested, keep reading. We broke up into two groups. One group stayed in the dining hall, and I was with the group out on the porch. Each group had their own culture and their own set of rules. My group was all about gathering little cards with pictures of fruit on them. We had to get a set of five cards and put them in a box, and then go get more cards to trade with people. There were rules though, like you could only trade with your left hand, and you had to offer people cards, not tell them what you need. Once we had our culture down, we sent a "missionary" over to the other group and they sent us one as well. The missionaries had to try to figure out the other group's culture by observing, and trying to participate. But if a missionary broke a rule, which was often because they had no idea what the rules were, then we had to be all offended. When our missionary returned, he explained what he saw going on in the other culture, and we sent out a different missionary. That happened three times, three different missionaries. I didn't get to be a missionary, but it was interesting to hear about the other culture. The first guy came back and said that they go around and make small talk with each other, and when the conversation is over, they touch the person's forehead, then their own forehead, and walk away. I was like, "So how do they get fruit?" And he was like, "There's no fruit over there!" We were pretty appalled. It was a fun activity, and we kind of got a sense of what it's like to be a missionary, or just anyone, trying to learn a new culture.

Today has been a long day so far. I left for church at 7:00 and didn't get back until 2:30 because of practicing with the youth group and figuring out my songs for this week and choosing hymns. But I sang the Easter cantata with the choir at the later service and it went really well.

I still need to go to the laundromat and do my laundry today. And also post my March book list. But it's nice to just relax for a bit.

And baseball season starts TOMORROW!!!

March 2007 Book List

The Curse of Rocky Colavito by Terry Pluto
Rocky Colavito was an outfielder for the Cleveland Indians back in the 1950s. He was a fan favorite, and an excellent player, but he was traded just before the 1960 season started. This book was written in 1994, and at that time, since 1959, the Indians hadn't even been in a pennant race, let alone reached the postseason. This book tells about the history of the team from that point, and explains about all the things that have gone wrong over the years. Some of the stories were actually really sad, about players getting injured, or struggling with addictions, or family problems. But maybe it's ironic that in 1995, after the book was published, the Indians went to the World Series. They lost, but at least things were exciting again. Still, the last time the Indians won the World Series was 1948.

Sin Killer by Larry McMurtry
This book was amusing enough to keep me listening to the whole thing, but ridiculous enough to keep me from listening to the other three books in the series. It's about a wealthy British family that is moving to America in the 1800s, and they are going to start a homestead or something. But in the book, they are just traveling down a river on a steamboat, on their way to wherever they're going. It was a really weird combination of a western and a soap opera.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
It's the second book in the series, and it's still really funny. Becky is still having money problems, but this time she's in Manhattan. I really like listening to these books.

The Tavern on Maple Street by Sharon Owens
Another intriguing story about a business in Belfast. In this one, the owners of the tavern don't want to sell their property to a developer who wants to build a shopping mall on their block. So even though their tavern has always been very quiet, they liven things up by hiring some help, and a band, and renting out for parties. It's a lovely, cozy story.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
BOOK OF THE MONTH AWARD
This book was extremely fascinating. It has Christopher Moore's signature humor and quirky storyline, but at the same time, it's a story about Jesus. Moore says that because Jesus was one of the most influential people who ever lived, it's a shame that we don't really know about the first 30 years of his life, except that one story in the Bible about when he was 12. So he made up a story. He knows it's fiction, and anyone reading it knows it's fiction. It's not meant to convert anyone. It's just a story. The story is, from the title, told from Biff's point of view. Biff isn't the most wholesome of characters, but his loyalty to his best friend is unquestionable. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone because, if you think it might offend you, or if you're looking to be offended, you probably will be.

Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot
The eighth book in the Princess Diaries series. Mia is always so unsure of herself and she freaks out about everything. Sometimes I just want to shake her. But I enjoy reading about her anyway.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
This is an interesting little teen fiction novel. It's like a sequel to the story of Cinderella - what happens after she gets to the palace and readies herself to marry the prince. And it's not easy because all these people are telling her the rules and how to behave, and usually the rules are stupid. So she takes things into her own hands.

The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Julie's husband died a few years ago, and she finally feels ready to start dating again. She finds Richard, who is a perfect gentleman and treats her like a queen. But there's also Mike, who has been her friend for a long time. And things get creepy when someone starts stalking her. It was a pretty good book.