1. Happy Canada Day!
2. I got Netflix, which has been trouble. I've been watching too many shows now. I have gone through the first season of Community and both seasons of Dollhouse. This has had a negative impact on my productivity.
I do have a few thoughts on these, though. I really enjoy Community for its genre-savviness. I know some people find the main characters unwatchable, but I do also enjoy most of the characters' assorted story arcs. A few episodes were less interesting to me, but nonetheless I find that as the season went on, their consciousness in storytelling improves.
Dollhouse is even more fascinating. How does one tell a story in which the protagonist changes personality each episode and/or has the absolute minimum requirements for being a person? Echo is a doll, a person wiped of memory, personality, and skills and imprinted with those she needs for her engagements. Essentially, she and her fellow dolls are rented out to wealthy clients by the illegal Dollhouse. It's very strange, and it necessarily places more weight on the supporting cast (which, I should add, is quite good). But Echo slowly develops a personality out of the skills and memories she somehow retains despite complete wipes, and this is also interesting to watch.
It's unusual for me to watch this much TV. Netflix has changed my veiwing habits; my standards are in some ways higher and some ways lower. If the first five minutes do not interest me, I stop watching. However, because I'm paying the same amount no matter how much I watch, I do sample the beginnings of many many shows and my threshold for enjoyment is lower.
3. I'm apartment- and cat-sitting for a professor. The cat was shy at first but is now very affectionate, usually at the times which are precisely least convenient. She likes to nap on me at about 4:00 in the morning, sitting squarely on my chest. It's taking some adjustment, but I do enjoy having her company.
4. I've visited friends and dined in new restaurants. Among other things, I went to North Vancouver and saw some of the Deep Cove area. That was fun.
5. And I had a joint (half-)birthday party with a friend here. I was not expecting presents but got some anyway, including a rosary from the friend whose half-birthday we celebrated alongside my own. It's a Catholic rosary and not an Anglican one, though; notably, it has a crucifix instead of a cross. I'd prefer a cross but otherwise it's a very nice-looking, minimalist rosary. I also got some lovely green tea and a CD of rap in order to broaden my musical horizons.
The party consisted of dinner at Hapa Izakaya Kitsilano and then games (Citadels and Taboo) at the other celebratee's apartment.
6. They've been keeping me busy at church. I was asked, spontaneously, to serve two Sundays ago and last Sunday I was scheduled for sidesperson's duties. Next week I am serving again. Perhaps the following week I will be a passive parishioner, but it seems unlikely. I suppose this is what happens when you are one of the few people to be trained in multiple responsiblities. It just seems odd when I still feel relatively new.
As sidesperson I was asked to read the Prayers of the People. I was told that I have a good reading voice. This aspect of service fascinates me: it's one of the rare places that laity get to prepare responsive reading. I didn't prepare it this time because I'm new (the diaconal candidate did it for me), but in the future I will be writing my own. A friend who has recently moved from Salvation Army to Anglicanism says that she's far more used to extempore praise than scripted liturgy. I think I have a whole post in that, but I suppose it seems less unusual for her that laity can choose words than it does to me. She's suggested that the Prayers of the People would be a place where the Anglican church could better incorporate spontaneous praise.
7. I've done some reading, but I'll save that for another large-ish Books this Summer post. Instead, I'll tell you that there is a lovely crêperie near where I am catsitting. They have both savoury and sweet crêpes, as well as tea. I can't eat there often (it would be too expensive), but if I was idly rich I would eat there perpetually.
This carnival is hosted by Jen Fullwiller at Conversion Diary.
2. I got Netflix, which has been trouble. I've been watching too many shows now. I have gone through the first season of Community and both seasons of Dollhouse. This has had a negative impact on my productivity.
I do have a few thoughts on these, though. I really enjoy Community for its genre-savviness. I know some people find the main characters unwatchable, but I do also enjoy most of the characters' assorted story arcs. A few episodes were less interesting to me, but nonetheless I find that as the season went on, their consciousness in storytelling improves.
Dollhouse is even more fascinating. How does one tell a story in which the protagonist changes personality each episode and/or has the absolute minimum requirements for being a person? Echo is a doll, a person wiped of memory, personality, and skills and imprinted with those she needs for her engagements. Essentially, she and her fellow dolls are rented out to wealthy clients by the illegal Dollhouse. It's very strange, and it necessarily places more weight on the supporting cast (which, I should add, is quite good). But Echo slowly develops a personality out of the skills and memories she somehow retains despite complete wipes, and this is also interesting to watch.
It's unusual for me to watch this much TV. Netflix has changed my veiwing habits; my standards are in some ways higher and some ways lower. If the first five minutes do not interest me, I stop watching. However, because I'm paying the same amount no matter how much I watch, I do sample the beginnings of many many shows and my threshold for enjoyment is lower.
3. I'm apartment- and cat-sitting for a professor. The cat was shy at first but is now very affectionate, usually at the times which are precisely least convenient. She likes to nap on me at about 4:00 in the morning, sitting squarely on my chest. It's taking some adjustment, but I do enjoy having her company.
4. I've visited friends and dined in new restaurants. Among other things, I went to North Vancouver and saw some of the Deep Cove area. That was fun.
5. And I had a joint (half-)birthday party with a friend here. I was not expecting presents but got some anyway, including a rosary from the friend whose half-birthday we celebrated alongside my own. It's a Catholic rosary and not an Anglican one, though; notably, it has a crucifix instead of a cross. I'd prefer a cross but otherwise it's a very nice-looking, minimalist rosary. I also got some lovely green tea and a CD of rap in order to broaden my musical horizons.
The party consisted of dinner at Hapa Izakaya Kitsilano and then games (Citadels and Taboo) at the other celebratee's apartment.
6. They've been keeping me busy at church. I was asked, spontaneously, to serve two Sundays ago and last Sunday I was scheduled for sidesperson's duties. Next week I am serving again. Perhaps the following week I will be a passive parishioner, but it seems unlikely. I suppose this is what happens when you are one of the few people to be trained in multiple responsiblities. It just seems odd when I still feel relatively new.
As sidesperson I was asked to read the Prayers of the People. I was told that I have a good reading voice. This aspect of service fascinates me: it's one of the rare places that laity get to prepare responsive reading. I didn't prepare it this time because I'm new (the diaconal candidate did it for me), but in the future I will be writing my own. A friend who has recently moved from Salvation Army to Anglicanism says that she's far more used to extempore praise than scripted liturgy. I think I have a whole post in that, but I suppose it seems less unusual for her that laity can choose words than it does to me. She's suggested that the Prayers of the People would be a place where the Anglican church could better incorporate spontaneous praise.
7. I've done some reading, but I'll save that for another large-ish Books this Summer post. Instead, I'll tell you that there is a lovely crêperie near where I am catsitting. They have both savoury and sweet crêpes, as well as tea. I can't eat there often (it would be too expensive), but if I was idly rich I would eat there perpetually.
This carnival is hosted by Jen Fullwiller at Conversion Diary.
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