summer plans

In the last month I've tried to compose several posts, with topics ranging from the Eucharist to the antichrist, but I'd rather not turn this blog into a platform to discuss those types of things... maybe another day/another blog.

For now, I want to give a brief outlook of my summer plans... If you know anything about me, you'll know that I don't really enjoy playing the catch-up game, so I'm going to try to make this as quick as possible.

here we go:

My housing will be up in a couple of weeks, but I'm not returning to Texas until late June, so I'll be living on the grace of loved ones and working in the city until then.

After finishing work, I'll spend a weekend in Portland with my good friend Jon (pictured), and hopefully we'll shoot a movie.


I'll then go home for 2 weeks or so, giving and receiving an abundant number of hugs... These will potentially be my favorite 2 weeks of the season.

Michael (my younger brother) and I will then depart to Europe: 10 days in Denmark, 14 in Norway with the extended Rogers Clan, 14 more with the two of us, followed by 14 days in Norway with only strangers to love (and by whom to be loved).

This trip is going to be amazing, and Michael and I will both pee our pants at every leg.

I'm hoping to shoot a film while there as well, with minimal funding and maximal care... and hopefully I can see it through to the end.

At this point, it will be September.

While I've been planning to return to Stanford for the fall, I'm thinking that I might rather create a cave for myself; I could then crawl inside it to try and edit 2 films before Thanksgiving - this is called "planning on top of planning", because the footage I want to edit doesn't even exist yet... I have not proven myself to be very good at this sort of planning, so I'm not really sure how to approach this fall.

I think I'll try to approach it carefully.

So that is my summer into fall (Lord willing).

Whew

It's an amazing life, I know, but please don't succumb to the temptation to romanticize it - I will, for you, try to resist the temptation to make it sound too romantic. I'm trying to make the most of the life that I was given - the thing that makes this task difficult, for me, is that I have been given a lot of life to live.

recent art

Although lately my thoughts have been consumed by godtube.com (bordering on compulsion), and my time has been consumed by work (mostly with Bolo),

I have managed to make a little bit of art.

The first is the finished version of my refrigerator project for my Art and Biology class (not one of the 2 projects that would satisfy my 'incomplete' in that class... Gail, I promise I'll finish those projects before June 6)



The voice is Teva's - one of the kids that I babysit - and yes, that is his refrigerator,
and most of the pictures come from a 2-day door-to-door adventure with my friend Audrey ("May I take a picture of the inside of your refrigerator?").

About 1/3 of the pictures come from emails, though, and I really appreciate everyone who participated - Hopefully, if you watch the video enough times, you can see your reefer in its .08 sec of fame!

Now for the second project - I'm really proud of this one.



This piece was titled "predominantly mail art," and it took place at An Art Affair at Stanford last weekend.

During the festival, over 20 people wrote messages on postcards that I made, and I mailed every one of them last Wednesday....

Here is what the postcards looked like.

The bummer moment happened at the post office when I was mailing them.

Saray, the woman at the post office, told me that they weren't "standard postcard size." She placed them onto a measuring diagram and showed me that the minimum size is 3-and-a-half by 5 (most of my postcards were about 3x5).

"...Can I just buy the stamps and try to send them anyways?" (it's not like I had anything better to do with them).
"Yes, but I can't guarantee they'll be mailed. Just put them in the mailbox outside, because I'm not supposed to handle anything that doesn't qualify."

I bought the stamps and sent the postcards... we'll see if/when they ever arrive.

Moral: if you ever do a postcard-writing campaign, make sure you cut the postcards at 3-and-a-half by 5, at least.

work

I've been working for George in San Francisco for the last 3 days. Yesterday and today I worked with a guy named Bolo, and he and I have already had some really interesting conversations.

I took this picture yesterday (the day that I met Bolo).


The mirror came from a bathroom that Bolo and I gutted, and I saved it for my friend Deb to make a mosaic.

godtube.com

I still haven't found a job yet (I promise I'm looking), but I did find something that could potentially occupy just as much of my time...

It's called Godtube, and yes, it's real.

When I discovered the site, this was the first video that I watched:


It made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

The crying half of me is the part that is sad that Christians are still working to create their own version of "the media", which isolates them from so many interesting ideas that they could interact with (not to mention the people behind those ideas).

So I decided to post a video.

I decided that, since Godtube is an interactive web space, my voice could have a place in it. The video is very short, and it has been very well-received. I am trying very hard to stay away from controversies (like evolution), but I'm also trying not to dilute my feelings toward Christianity.

Curtis Steven and Michael: some of the things that I say might come as a surprise. I really don't know, though, since we haven't had too many conversations about this sort of thing. Maybe after this, we can have more of them.

I posted the video yesterday, and today it's on the Featured Videos page (it's already been viewed over 500 times).



I was encouraged by the response I received, so today I posted another video... I'm a little nervous about what will happen if/when the (extended) Rogers Clan discovers my role as the "token nonbeliever." I hope, though, that they would be comfortable enough to approach me about it if/when they do.

At the very least, I think that they would pray for me, and I always appreciate people's prayers.

night of the roundtable

Tonight I went to a roundtable discussion for hospice volunteers in the area. Fifteen of us showed up, with fourteen being between 30ish and 70ish and female.

I didn't do very much of the talking.

About an hour into the discussion, George arrived - he's about 40ish with a mustache. We walked to our cars together after the thing was over, and he told me that he is a chiropractor who likes to go camping. He was really nice with lots of charisma, and he was really impressed that I go to Stanford.

I told him actually I don't really go to Stanford right now.

"I totally understand what that's all about," and he told me about when he took some time off too.
"Yeah," and I nodded with my mouth open.
"Well, I'll see you at next month's discussion," and he turned to get into his truck.
"I'll see you at next month's discussion."