Encyclopedia of the Unexplained.

Class this morning was only okay. It might've been better, but the book we read was not interesting. In fact, it epitomized boring. We all stretched to find jewels hidden among the swarths of misery, but alas, ours was not a successful quest. I am, however, thrilled with the people in my section: Tom, Keith, Debbie, Tim, Sarina, and Andrew, to name a few. I rarely agree with most of them, but highly respect the thoughts and opinions of all of them.

Last night was great. CHUP was holding its first Wednesday night service, and I thought it would be a nice way for me to get to know some of the members. Also, because CHUP (and the entire Pgh Presbytery) maintains close relationships with several churches in Malawi, I thought it would be nice to bring Steinsford and Takuze along. Not wanting to be an isolationist, I also invited Kenan, who is here for the year from Nigeria. The ride down was a landmark event for the three men in my car: their first ever trip in a convertible! I was pleased with the weather, as it allowed me to put the top down both going and coming. Along our route down 28, Takuze and Kenan (the peanut gallery who were stuck riding in the back) argued as to whether it was the will of God for me to live in Malawi or Nigeria. They even went so far as to tell me that I hadn't been reading my Bible closely enough if I missed the part where it told me expressly that I ought to move to (insert appropriate country here). Amusing, to say the very least.

Our dinner was tasty--potlucks tend to be that way, since it's often a display of people's favorite/best made cuisine. Although, I am sorry for the person who brought Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup if, in fact, that was their greatest culinary achievement. At any rate, several people were there, and I felt good about the fact that I actually remembered most names. Dinner was followed by worship, which was fantastic. It was just nice to sit back and have some space in the midst of everything that's going on right now. I, of course, recognize that my concerns are rather pitily when compared to so many others (granted, this has always been the case for me), but they are still on my mind, nonetheless. Anyway, our ride home was also terrific: Takuze and Kenan first tried to get Steinsford and myself to sing for them, but Steinsford requested financial compensation...So, Takuze and Kenan then threatened to erupt into their own rendition of music, and, in fact, did just that. So, we had the top down on my car, we were all singing various hymns (I did a lot of humming and harmonizing, actually), and Steinsford would lift his camera over the top of my car to try and take pictures of a lighted downtown Pittsburgh as we drove past. Entertaining, to say the very least.

Today is going to be busy again...My Ethics section was canceled in favor of attendance at our lecture this evening. Sherron Watkins, the "whistleblower" at Enron, will be speaking tonight, a presentation followed closely by multiple Ethics professors in the area conducting some sort of panel discussion. Hopefully they're not only ethical by trade. I have UMF lunch today (this, sadly, will be the last free lunch for awhile), Doctrine for a few hours, then a sizeable chunk of time in which to do some work. I haven't had that yet, so I hope to do a lot of catching up. I need to pack tonight for Columbus, as the WMI Conference Board (of which I am a member) is meeting tomorrow morning from 10-12, and I need to be at Ben's place before 1. Studying in the car will be the name of the game!!!

I am currently trying to get things together to send out to Kalypso, and have actually had everything ready for about a week--with the exception of brownies. I need one egg and 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and then my package will be complete. I wish I had eggs. Perhaps I'll run to the store tonight--we'll see. I looked for mint chocolate frosting, since she told me it was her favorite when we first discussed "chocolately pies" in Israel, but Pittsburghers apparently have poor taste when it comes to frosting. Hopefully she will appreciate the gesture. And the suggestion from one of my friends to put Peppermint Schnapps into the brownies (which came prior to his learning that Kalypso is 10) is going unheeded.

Anyway, I really ought to learn something about Methodist Doctrine now...