Imprecise advice for a sluggard. (a poem)

Go to the beach, you sluggard,
see how the waves
 beat ceaselessly on the sand.

And the surfers pushing past breakers
to wait to catch
a long rolling wave for the shore
to repeat again and again.

See the sea gulls like pigeons,
vying for scraps on the wharf
left by leisurers as they walk

And the wind endlessly blows,
lifting kites and powering
 errant umbrellas away from
sand-sitters.

See, in folly how they build sand-castles
which will soon wash away
all the order and energy lost
even the memory forgotten

O sluggard, take heed at the beach
and mark well these things
that you may change your ways,
and enjoy your days.

Q: Does the moon's orbit?

Does the moon's orbit follow the earth's equatorial plane? Or is it to the orbital plane of the earth to the sun?

When it is summer, does the moon stay longer in the sky and go higher? From the poles, are there times when the moon is never seen, or when it never sets?

Does the moon have it's own "summer" wherein it does arc high in the sky, regardless of the earth season? Are there polar nights where only the moon lights the landscape for weeks on end?

If the moon were on the same orbital plane as the earth is to the sun, we would have frequent eclipses. Every New Moon would be a solar eclipse, and every Full Moon would be a lunar eclipse. Because this isn't the case, then the moon's orbit must not be on the same plane as the earth's orbit to the sun.

Fits and starts, an update.

Early September was the last post I got up. That's terrible.



This past weekend was a big milestone, my friend Lem got married to Shannon (who is also a friend) and there was much rejoicing. I was able to go to the wedding; this is something which was uncertain because of my work due to it's "owning" me, by contract, on Saturdays. The training which would enable me to work on Saturdays hasn't been given to me yet, so I was good to go! It looks like I may not get that training until January.

Going to the wedding involved driving up early Saturday morning, (5am) but we made good time. Erik was co-pilot and handled all the navigation stuff. The only time I drove the wrong way was when he started taking a nap, I started eating a scone and the next thing we knew we were in Bakersfield. Bakersfield!!? A short detour.  Weather was pretty magnificent on the way up, but with rain on the 152 (to Gilroy) and a horrible accident we drove past. Totally crushed and upside-down car. Blegh. Other minor accidents here and there from the weather.

Being friends with Lem and Shannon, I also share many of their friends, so a major highlight of being at the wedding was seeing so many friends who don't (or do) live in the area. So rich a time, and I feel like a pretty rich friend. Ever thankful. The wedding was also very good and nice. I feel like it represented them well, which is what a wedding should be, right?

The next morning, too early, we drove up to visit the Walkers at their home church. The drive from San Jose to Danville was pretty epic and, given the choice, I would probably not do it again. The rain was blinding, there were significant sections of water on the freeway and we passed quite a few accidents. Messy and nerve wracking driving. When we did get to the church I almost fell asleep during the sermon because I was so worn out. It was great seeng the Walkers, and we even got to hear Marc sing in an ensemble, plus Diana conducted the choir. Excellent music all around. They both abound in talent.

New Work!

I won't say where, so I can post some stories, but it's good o be employed.

In other news, I've been back in Southern California for a couple months now. There are some if the usual adjustments.

- Finding work. (yeah!)
- Staying at my grandparents. (yeah!)
-- Breaking their shower this past Sunday. (boo)
- Reunited with Grace EV Free (yeah!)
- Being dismayed about litigation culture. (boo)
-- Apparently it is illegal to bring a frisbee or football to the beach. I find this alarming.
- Going camping with friends!
- Enjoying many home cooked meal plus good ol' American food.

So far at my work I've only had a few hours each day. I need to get more training, plus a couple other hurdles an I'll be good for more hours. Where am I now? LAX. Fun!

In Y Town

Here in China there's a lot of interesting things about this community.  I've been itching to write about some of them for a while now, partially out of frustration, partially out of how unusual it is. I'll just write a couple things for this post.

In Y we can have students over for meals during the week.  I live in a university dorm, like most of the other teachers and my room is really small (but all my own).  Every Friday night the 11th grade boys come over and play computer games and hangout.  The fact that students can come over, eat meals with the teachers and generally hangout is really cool.  The community at the school is more casual. I've shown some of the 11th grade girls how to bake scones, counseled the soccer club's leaders when they needed advice, and done "pomodoro" (a time management technique) with another student to get things done. My 5th and 6th graders nag me for my phone number and ask to come over at least every week (I haven't had them over yet). Other teachers have students to their house every week as well for studies, homework help and talk/game time. It's pretty cool.

In Y the parenting system is often broken. This is a huge frustration for us as teachers. Too many families have one parent who's in Korea while the other is here in China. Parents keep themselves so busy that they don't have time for their children. They send them to school in the morning before the school is even open, and hope that the school will raise their kids. Students at home frequently have no supervision and so play video games and watch R-rated movies at will. They sleep crazy hours (a student told me today that he feels he does best with just 2hrs of sleep a day). Some students have no will to study or grow, feel bad only when caught doing wrong, and know nothing about the Bible (their parents are "workers" here). I believe these problems are largely from poor/lack of parenting. Some of the parents go through significant gymnastics to get their students into our school (from Korea).. it's really almost insane.

Anyway, that's just two facets of life here in Y. Hope (as always) to write a bit more regularly.
Peace and joy.