free geek

Today I took 11 boxes of rummage (and some assorted items) to my parish for the upcoming Rummage Sale.

I also took my old laptop, CPU, monitor, and accessories to a cool local nonprofit called Free Geek. According to their website:

"Free Geek was founded in February 2000 (and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in April 2000) to recycle computer technology and provide low and no-cost computing to individuals and not-for-profit and social change organizations in the community and throughout the world.

In the four years since its formation, Free Geek has recycled over 360 tons of electronic scrap and refurbished over 3,000 computer systems that are now in use by individuals and organizations in the community."

You can donate any computer equipment to Free Geek (they do ask for a donation - mine was $21). They'll repair and reuse what they can. Pure junk will be "recycled responsibly." Unlike a newstory I saw on tv a few months ago (where "recycled" computer equipment was sent to China to fill up junk heaps), Free Geek actually means it. They take the machine apart and send the various parts (plastic, steel, circuit boards, etc..) to local industrial recyclers to process the materials.

Part of the reason I took my cpu to Free Geek was I knew that they took extra care with the hard drives. I tried to take stuff off the machine, but I'm a pure amateur. If Free Geek is going to keep the hard drive, they remove the partition table remove and then are overwritten five times in the process of testing. If they're not going to reuse a hard drive, it is physically destroyed or sent to a recycler which will physically destroy it (hence the picture!).

Cool!

bilingual book meme

I've been tagged by Estefania. The questions are bilingual (thanks to the aforementioned Estefania), but the answers are not!

Book meme

1. One book that changed your life / Un libro que cambió tu vida

Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen

2.One book that you´ve read more than once / Un libro que has leído más de una vez

All books by Jane Austen (and the Harry Potter books too!)

3. One book you´d want on a desert island

Bible (but which translation?)

4. One book that made you laugh / Un libro que te hizo reír

All of The Series of Unfortunate Events Books by Lemony Snicket

5. One book that made you cry / Un libro que te hizo llorar

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell


6. One book you wish had been written / Un libro que deseas que hubiese sido escrito

The "What Susan Rose Should Do With Her Life" book .... would have made this discernment thing much easier!

7. One book that you wish had never been written / Un libro que deseas que nunca hubiese sido escrito

All books have their audience.

8. One book that you´re currently reading / Un libro que estès leyendo ahora

Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo

9. One book you´ve meaning to read / Un libro que has querido leer

I would say the House of Brede except that I finally read that one. Hmm.... I've been meaning to FINISH A Hidden Wholeness by Parker Palmer.

I'm not a tagger, but if anyone wants to play (in the comments or on your own blog) feel free!

postcard from my living room

I'm making good progress on project sort/purge/pack. As someone who feels like she's been living a fairly simple lifestyle however, I am mystified at how I ended up with so much stuff!

Yesterday I tackled my craft closet. Today I tackled my scary scary hall closet. There were layers of things in there, including a Strawberry Shortcake Doll I intended to give my now 9 year old niece when she was 5, some long lost photographs and a Japanese Language flashcard set. I have no idea where that last one came from.

I've also been getting misdirected phone calls of people hoping to order seafood ... my number is one digit off of a major seafood distributer. That's something I won't miss.

I ran into my neighbors while I was taking out loads of trash. I mentioned that I was moving. They asked where. I said New Jersey. They asked why. I told them. He was absolutely flabbergasted. "Why would you leave your good government job to do that?" he asked. "Because it's what I'm meant to do," was the only answer I could come up with in the afternoon sun.

Tomorrow I can start taking my rummage to the church hall. It will be good to get some of it out of my house. I've got 10 boxes to donate sitting in my living room from the past few days, not to mention as many boxes in my storage space from my sorting vacation last year.

I've got to start getting more serious (less movie breaks and lunch with friends, more sorting and packing) as I've got 3 days left of my purgin/packing vacation. But for now I think a nap is in order!!

pray for peace

Today's 1st Reading is from Jeremiah:

Let my eyes stream with tears
day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.
If I walk out into the field,
look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look! those consumed by hunger.
Even the prophet and the priest
forage in a land they know not.

Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness,
the guilt of our fathers;
that we have sinned against you.
For your name’s sake spurn us not,
disgrace not the throne of your glory;
remember your covenant with us, and break it not.
Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain?
Or can the mere heavens send showers?
Is it not you alone, O LORD,
our God, to whom we look?
You alone have done all these things.

I'm not taking sides. Personally, I don't think God takes sides so who am I to do so. But I am praying for peace. Someone asked me recently if, with all the chaos and destruction in the world, it's hard to have hope. My answer was, it's harder not to have hope. And so I pray for all the innocent civilians who have been impacted by the most recent chaos & destruction in the middle east. May they find peace, comfort and healing, and may the violence end.

random bits

I am safely returned from my weekend in Vegas … with the exception of a sunburn that is! My shoulders aren’t quite lobster red, but they’re close. I had a wonderful time lounging in the pool however. Cirque du Soleil was amazing last night!! I am back tired but rested, if that makes sense. Resting in the company of good friends who know you deeply is very special. Of course, they’re good friends so you do lots of fun things which makes you tired. All in all I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend of fun prior to entering the Novitiate in less than a month!!

I also wanted to point out an interesting post that is worth a read by my bloggy friend Sr. Steph.

Is religious life dying out? No. Is the face of religious life changing? Yes. Are the numbers of priests and religious decreasing? Yes. But does that mean we're dying out? No. Quantity isn't everything. And while we need to plan for the future, that doesn't mean we should give up our present. Read the rest…

You can also listen to bloggy friend Sister Christine on the latest Busted Halo Cast (it's "Part One of the Vocaion Episode").

As for me, I’m tired and will spend the rest of the evening watching more of season 2 of the House of Elliot (a British tv show I have recently become obsessed with watching on dvd). Tomorrow I must get serious about week two of my sort/purge/pack project.

postcard from vegas

Last night as I was walking from the New York New York Hotel to the Excalibur, my friend pointed to a group of scantily clad young women, one of whom was wearing a veil (obviously a bachelerotte party). She turned to me and said, "We should be making you wear the other kind of veil."

Luckily & happily, it is not so. But we're having fun here. Yesterday we rode the roller coaster, played in the pool, had a nice dinner and explored. I also found a new favorite penny slot machine .... you get to feed little goldfish. No, I'm not much of a gambler. Today it will be more of the same, except that we're splurging and going to see Cirque du Soleil tonight!!! I'm quite excited about that.

It's hot but not unbearable, which is good. Well, I only paid for 24 hours of internet access and it's almost up so ciao for now!

postcard from the airport

I'm taking advantage of the free wi-fi at the airport (another reason I love Portland - most other airports charge a fee) to check-in and tell you two stories.

Story One: There once was an independent free spirited little girl named Susan. Her mother had taught her how to use public transit at a young age - the theory being if she ever WERE to be kidnapped, she'd have a chance of making it home if she escaped! Anyway, when Susan was in middle school and junior high, she used to take the Metro downtown and meet her mother for lunch. Her mom worked on Capitol Hill and it was always exciting to walk through the halls. Sometimes Susan would head down to the Smithsonian before or after lunch ostensibly to explore the museums. But what Susan really did most times was play a litte game called "I spy." No, not "I spy the Washington Monument" but "I spy a family from Kansas and will follow them around the Smithsonian all day." Seriously ... it was fun! So what if it was a little too much like stalking. The main point of it was really just to see my hometown through the eyes of out of town visitors. I especially liked seeing the sights through the eyes of families from foreign countries!

Story Two: This afternoon I took the light rail to the airport. Across the aisle from me were a brother and his sister. He's probably 13, she's probably 11. They were also headed to the airport, but I got the distinct impression they were headed there not to catch a plane or to meet someone but to play. Can't say I blame them .... it is airconditioned after all! Too bad they won't be able to get past security. On the train they were pretending that they were going to be late for their plane that left in 15 minutes! Then they were pretending that they were going to meet a long lost relative and didn't know if they'd recognize them. It was cute to see a brother and sister hanging out together and showing a vivid sense of imagination.

Now some of my bloggy readers may be horrified by these stories of pre-teen kids out and about in the city on their own. You may be concerned for their safety or suspicious about their activities. And there's a point to such concerns, which is why I always keep an eye on kids when they're on their own, even if I don't know them. But I also think that a lot has been lost in exchange for safety. Sometimes kids just need to be kids ... in the world not away from the world.

PS - thanks for the birthday wishes! It's been a really good day so far. I love being on vacation!

off to the desert

We interrupt this packing/sorting vacation for a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas with the girls. Yes that Las Vegas. I am meeting some of my college girl friends for a weekend at the Luxor. The plan is to catch up, have fun, and spend loads of time in the pool and enjoying the air conditioning.

The occasion? My 34^th birthday (which is July 27) and the fact that I’m becoming a Novice one month from today! No major plans for hedonism. And if I manage to win the jackpot (which is highly unlikely as I play the nickel slots) then yes, I think my plan would still be to enter the Novitiate!

I’ll check back in on Sunday. Have a happy & safe weekend everyone

sorting and finding

Well folks, I write to you from the box filled locale that is my apartment of the past 11 years. I've been busy sorting and packing on my "working vacation." It has been nice to not even think about work. I can get used to that I think.

I sorted through the family photographs and mementos I brought from my family home when we sold it a while back. When my mom died, I promised her that I would continue her project of making memory books for my siblings when they turn 40. She'd gotten around to the first two, but she wouldn't be around for my brother, sister & me. I finished Michael's book last fall and I'm bringing the pictures and supplies with me to New Jersey to make Monica's book.

My 40th's is 6 years away, so I'll just be storing my things until closer to that date. I did find a news clipping from 34 years ago that I thought I'd share. It's my birth announcement and is archeological proof of the fight my siblings had about the "big room" and my being a girl instead of a boy!*

NEW ARRIVAL at the new Francois house is 10 pound 8 ounce Susan Rose, born Thursday, July 27. Frank & Eileen purchased a new house on Seabury Lane earlier in the month and apparently Susan decided to wait until most of the moving had been finished.

Joey, 10 and Michael, 6, were hoping the baby would be a boy so the three of them could have the big bedroom, however Marie, 9, and Monica, 3, are very happy about the room arrangements.
-The Bowie Blade, August 3, 1972

* My sister Monica usually calls me on my birthday to celebrate the day the girls won and the boys had to move out of the big room. You see they were convinced I'd be a boy, as the prior birth pattern had been boy girl boy girl. The family had just moved into a new house right before I was born, and the boys had moved into the big room. I have always found it funny that my life started with this little feminist incident.

pray for peace

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, who are yourself our peace and reconciliation, who so often said, "Peace to you," grant us peace. Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice, and brotherly and sisterly love. Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace. Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace. May all peoples of the earth becomes as brothers and sisters. May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all. - Blessed John XXIII

pray for peace

I received this prayer in an e-mail from the groovy sister Congregation Office. If you like me feel helpless with the world falling apart around us, perhaps you would like to join me in praying for peace at this crucial time.

Peace

God of Solidarity,
We mourn the deaths of over 300 of our sisters and
brothers in Lebanon, and the displacement of over
500,000. Give us the ability to feel compassion.

God of the Poor and Vulnerable,
You call us to stand for the weak and for those who
cannot protect themselves. Help us to stand for the
poor and the vulnerable by refusing to stand for
continued death, destruction, and devastation.

God who gave each person Human Dignity,
You desire that each person can live a dignified life, one
in which basic needs are fulfilled. Because of the war,
people are left without housing, without sanitation or
electricity. Roads, transportation systems, and the
ability to make a daily living are now destroyed for many.

God of Peace,
We pray for a true resolution to the conflict between
Israel and Lebanon. The roots of the conflict are deep
and much difficult dialogue will be needed. We realize
that both sides share the guilt for needless destruction
and suffering. Bring peace, O God.

God who gives each of us both rights and
responsibilities,
Help us to guarantee the rights of those who suffer by
reminding our leaders of their responsibilities toward the
common good. Call all involved to dialogue. Let peace
come. Amen.

by Jill Rauch, Education for Justice

bloggy namesake

You may have noticed that the URL for this blog is actjustly.blogspot.com. Today’s 1^st reading is from Michah 6, and is my blog’s scriptural namesake.

"With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O people, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God. "

This morning starts Day One of Project Sort/Purge/Pack. I realized this morning that for the past few years I’ve taken a week of vacation around this time of year (in the heat!) to do just that. One benefit of being on vacation at home is being able to go to daily mass at my own parish. I remember one summer day two years ago when I was just starting to think about this whole vocation thing seriously. The 1^st reading that day was also Micah 6-8, and it resounded deeply in my core. I was searching for what God was calling me to … could be this simple? Indeed, I think it is for all of us. To act justly. To love tenderly. And to walk humbly with our God.

Or in my case this week, to sort, pack and purge humbly with my God.