Checkin' in and catchin' up

It has been, as a dear friend used to say, a Dickensian week - that is to say, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." First, I have been busied beyond even my standard guinea-pig-on-crack-on-the-exercise-wheel level, especially at work, related to my temporary employers' major fundraising event of the year and major pubic exhibition of the year. At the same time, I have struggled with some kind of intestinal bug all week (which sucks by itself, trust me!).

The combination of (a) and (b) (especially given my role as registrar and money-counter for our Winter Gala fundraiser) just sapped most of my best energy, with the result that I have been at work, at some (but not all) my usual AA meetings, then basically have gone home and collapsed into bed.

The result is that I have been absent from the keyboard for five whole days - and not really commenting with my friends in the blogosphere for a week or more - which is far too long. For me, this really sucks, because I find so much spiritual feeding comes from sharing my life with my online community - and through this venue, with friends as close as across the courtyard, and indeed as far as across the world. So to my friends and blogo-sistas-&-bruthas, I can say with a yawn (because I'm still draggin' tail), "He's BAAAAACK...."

A quick, 30,000-foot surveillance of the last week's events:

+ I have spent way too much time at work recently - but then everyone at work has spent way too much time at work, preparing for our Winter Gala and Chocolate Fest. (The Garfield Park Conservatory - the largest "garden under glass" in the nation - has the only fruiting cacao trees in Chicago (or for hundreds of miles from here, for that matter), and the cacao/chocolate pods actually ripen in February.

So this weekend was our Chocolate Tree Cabaret fundraising gala Friday night, and then Saturday (today) and Sunday are our ChocolateFest, where we will host more than 5,000 families each day, and share around a quarter-million pieces of chocolate from Godiva, Fannie May, Ghiradelli, Hershey, and other fine chocolatiers. Friday (gala day) started at 8:00 AM Friday and finished at 1:15 AM Saturday...and I was up at 8:45 this AM to hit my regular AA home-group meeting at 10 before hitting the ChocoFest from 12:30-6. All I can say about that is: nine more hours, and we're done. Then the clean-up starts...

+ My dear Kansas-City friend Tim Ternes visited Chicago last week. He and I went to the closest thing that Lutherans have to a basilica on Ash Wednesday - and I'll be sharing about that little adventure in high-liturgy-land later on in the week. The short version: it was emphatically not the worship service I wanted or needed - but Tim's company was delightful, and what worship service can't be improved with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory afterwards? In fact, some folks would say that the Cheesecake Factory is proof indeed that "God is good...ALL the time..."

+ Two days after a ground-breaking conference on HIV/AIDS drew medical and religious professionals to LSTC, the lead article (consuming the entire cover page) of LSTC's student publication The Door was titled "The Modern Importance of Bach's Theological Library." (Tune back later on this week in to hear a wee bit o'commentary on that editoral choice...as well as thoughts about Lent and seasons in the church in general.)

+ Permanent employment at my current job-site again seems elusive - but there are a couple blips on the horizon that seem to have some promise. So once again there is hope of something more permanent, somewhere.

That's it for now, folks - I'm going to bed, and take time to recharge physically, emotionally, and spiritually before the onslaught tomorrow. In all likelihood, I'll step back into the pulpit Monday night...till then, peace and e-hugs, y'all!