GPS!

I have a new GPS (on sale for $150 at Costco!) On the way home today I used it. Fascinated by the screen, I missed my freeway entrance and at once had to rely on the new toy to navigate me through neighborhoods I'd never seen before. It worked swimmingly and got me onto the freeway at the next entrance. As I drove I could feel all my internal maps and sense of direction draining out of my brain. From now on I shall be a dependent, mindless GPS-obeyer, much like my face-blind friend but without her excuse:

There also seems to be a tie between face-blindness and a lack of a sense of direction. I don't understand the physiology behind that connection at all, but I do know it's true for me. I have absolutely no sense of direction. I lived in my parents' house for twenty years and I cannot draw you a floor plan of that house. If I wanted to run two errands in a row, back before I had my GPS receiver, I'd have to run the first errand, return home, and then venture out for the second. This was because I had the paths from my house to the various stores memorized, but because they were learned by rote, and without any understanding of how the two sites related to each other in space, I couldn't deviate from the memorized directions and add a detour into the trip. When people give me detailed directions how to get somewhere, if I'm expected to return after I get there, I have to ask them for directions back. I lack the ability to reverse directions. This seems particularly difficult for people to understand, so I get the, "Just... reverse them!" response a lot, as if I'm trying to be smart with them. Sorry. Can't reverse them!

We lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing!

I had a great weekend, but I've no time to blog it now. I'm done with my taxes! They were complicated-- hope I won't get audited. I leave you with a much-quoted quote that I love. It's the end of the homily of Benedict XVI's inaguration Mass, April 24 2005, and he was paraphrasing John Paul II:

If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.

Hanging with the nuns

I have a friend who's thinking of becoming a nun. There's a monastery of contemplative Dominicans up in Menlo Park that she loves and she's already done an aspirancy there. They told her to feel free to visit again and bring her friends, so three of us are going up this weekend. We'll only be there Saturday and Sunday. I'm sorry the visit will be so short, but some silly people have to work. :) Check out the daily schedule of this place:

5:35 AM: Office of Readings and Morning Prayer (Sunday: 6:05)

8:00: Mass

8:40: Terce (Midmorning Prayer)

11:30 Sext (Midday Prayer) followed by private Rosary

12:00PM: Lunch

2:00 -3:00: Profound silence (napping time :-)

3:15: None (Midafternoon Prayer)

5:00: Vespers (Evening Prayer)

6:30: Supper

7:00: Recreation

7:30: Compline (Night Prayer)

9:00: Lights out.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Breviary) I'm so looking forward to this. When our friend showed us pictures of her aspirancy, the chief surprise was how many parties she'd photographed. Those nuns always seemed to be feasting amid balloons or dressing in costume for All Saints' Day or something. They have too much fun up there.

Our plane leaves so early we'll miss morning Mass at our church, and we'll arrive too late for Mass at the monastery. But a very wonderful priest agreed to say a Mass just for us at 5:30 AM. This is a sign we're spoiled.

Okay, if I go to sleep right now I'll get 2.5 hours. :)

Hair one-upmanship

So I publish a post about cutting my own hair, so proud that I managed to trim off a tiny bit without major damage, and what does my friend Rachel do? Posts about the time she shaved her hair off entirely, complete with parental reaction.

I mean, how am I going to top that? I'll have to get a tattoo.

(I'm kidding. But in college I knew someone, a fellow biology major, who had the Biohazard symbol tattooed on the small of her back.)

Conversation from the convent

I was at the Missionaries of Charity convent this afternoon as usual, and the doorbell rang. A 30-something man stood there, laden with plastic bags, wearing sunglasses and a cell phone earpiece. I greeted him.

"Hello! You are the new sister?" he asked.

"Uh... not quite... Who are you?"

"Oh, you are going to be a sister!"

I was wearing a long tweed skirt and turtleneck; it didn't bear much resemblance to the MC habit but I suppose I looked like an aspirant. I noticed that the bags the man held were smelling delicious, like eggrolls. People often bring such donations. "What is that, food?" I asked.

"For sister, for sister!" he said cheerfully.

"I'll take it to the kitchen," I said, and reached out for the bags.

He handed them over. "You are beautiful sister, but then they all look good!" he told me.

"Thank you very much," I replied absent-mindedly, meaning to refer to the food.

And as I was closing the door I thought I heard him utter the word "hot". This is true-- I don't know if he was warning me about the hot eggrolls, or calling me hot. Couldn't quite hear him.

Maybe if I become a nun I'll get more attention from men...