end of an era

So, it’s the end of an era. Thankfully. I endured, I mean enjoyed one last night of the Bot... the centre of the Belfast student world (and you thought it was a university?), along with the bizarre conversations you have when your friends are wasted. I felt like I wanted to go and just see my class people one last time before we all scatter/emigrate/etc. The night began at a mad house party in the notorious Holylands (where council people arrived mid-party to tell us to shut up – rightly so...). And then to Lavery’s (?!) to hear a culchie band from Co. Tyrone who are friends of friends... not my cup of tea but was amusing! Then to the Bot where it was lovely to see everyone, but you had to shout in each other’s ears or else be content with the smile and nod approach... although to be fair, we all were saying the same thing ie: good to be done, what are you doing next (no idea) etc, so you could get away with the nod/smile even if you couldn’t hear!!! I lost my voice in the process though. Give me a quiet pub any day. Maybe I’m just getting old. Then about 12ish, a friend and I decided to head to another classmate’s house for a couple hours to catch the end of a quiet barbeque, beer and chat with a random mix of interesting people – much more my cup of tea. It was a good, celebratory night in the end, even though I started out dreading the Bot part - it is still a whole different culture that I have never come to properly appreciate and don’t think I ever will but sometimes when in Rome and all that....

I have made a few good friends that I hope I can keep. Sometimes friendships are easy when you see people most days for four years.

And so to the start of summer, the month of research for one of my lecturers in June (not quite away from the university yet, but at least it’s paid!) graduation no2 and then to whatever’s next!

In the short term, 2 books just arrived in the post and Donegal is beckoning... not a bad start to the rest of my life.

random reminiscing

I had a lovely dinner last night with 6 random people from my Queen’s days... random but in a good way! It’d been five years (almost to the day) since I’d talked at any length to most of them so we had a proper catch up and put the world to right.... everything from cheesy jokes and legendary quotes... to conversations about the beauty/struggle of ‘doing life’ with the people around us. In a letter my friend sent organising the dinner, she said it was to “mark these past five years... and freely look ahead with hope and faith for the next five years, longing for more of what God has for us all and this land...”

We’ve all gone in different directions, from designing sewage works, to teaching physics, to training to be a minister, to the Belfast music scene, to Newry solicitor, to getting married/engaged, to journalism, Kansas and back again, (to *ahem* still being a student)... but it was great to just touch base, even if it was a bit of an unlikely group of people round a dinner table!

Here’s to the next five :)

climb with me

One of the main pastimes of my childhood was climbing trees. We knew the best ones to climb and the best technique; the best fruit at the best time of year - especially mangos and guavas... although we ate them even if they weren't ripe! I have so many memories of just hanging out in trees! Probably sounds random to most people, but for us it was just so normal. One of my fellow tree-climbing friends from those days has just written a poem that sums it up... all I can say reading this is a sense of lingering nostalgia; she captures it perfectly.

--
canopy

climb
with me to the top
of the mango tree where
the fruit is
ripe and the air
smells green we seem
to hover
over earth almost in the sky
no longer bound
by gravity or sanity just
playfilled delight and bubbling glee
pretend with me as
we scramble
from branch.

to branch.
bruising knees skinning
shins chins sweet
with juice proof we’ve found
eden’s fruit eternal youth within
our grasp sap covered
hands feet bathed
in dirt revert
to ageless days
unafraid

by Jesse Kaminski

friends

Met a few friends last night for a late dinner in town and loved being able to catch up and just share life...

“Those who lack friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own hearts….This communicating of a man’s self to his friends works two contrary effects; for it redoubles joys and cuts griefs in half.” (Francis Bacon, “Of Friendship,” 1625)

Yay for friends :)

bittersweet dichotomy

A few years ago, I had a 5 day trip to the States for a friend's wedding / to see another friend (the joy of having friends all over the world, but rarely seeing them is the bittersweet dichotomy of an mk's world). One of the random memories I have when the 3 of us met up after over 4 years apart was that we were all wearing the same kind of shoes... i'm not sure if that was to be attributed to globilisation, good taste or just pure coincidence... but I bought a new pair of shoes this week to replace the ones i've been wearing for the last 3/4 years of my life that were about to die (about time!)... and the memory made me smile. i couldn't bear to break tradition...

anyway, here's to distant friends... I wonder if the 3 of us will be on the same continent again before this pair die?

minding my head...

Just back from a crazy weekend wrestling with how my faith can engage with all areas of life because of the all-encompassing lordship of Christ. It was so good to be able to have space to just raise questions, have some questions answered and realise that i'm not alone in my fascination and desire to know more about the relevance of my faith in relation to a wide breadth to topics. To give you an example of the things that I discussed or thought about over the weekend (whether that was in a formal session or just over coffee/dinner etc) : philosophy, history of christian thought, what is a critical mind, reformation, calvinism & kuyper, moderism, post-moderity, biblical narrative, embryology research, abortion/pro-life, IVF, theistic evolution, the age of the earth, the faraday institute, dawkins/mcgrath debate, science & 'book' of nature, theology & the bible, psychology of pain, human rights, position/role of church in society, human worth, centrality of Jesus, women's rights, art&faith "caress and collide", music, expression, observation of society, colossians re:mixed, relationships, intelligence, missions, worship, resting in jesus, sovereignty of God... and I really could go on but you probably get the point. So much to think through- almost don't know where to start!

Then tonight, so blessed to meet up with a good friend and to talk honestly about life and the down-to-earth realities and decisions that we're both facing as well as airing some issues raised from the weekend. As much as I love stretching my brain, it's only in fellowship and friendship that all the head stuff is put in perspective and teased out into everyday life...

your hand in mine

i took a random week long trip to the states over thanksgiving last year. this is one of the songs that has stuck in my head from that trip (which included many hours in a car with an old friend (see right) driving from atlanta, ga to college station, tx!). you know the way a song can evoke a memory? i just love the way it builds up and also i think that having no words somehow makes it more moving or something. it by a band called explosions in the sky and the song is 'your hand in mine'. it's a wee bit long and not fantastic quality but you get the idea :)

mediastorm

a friend recommended this website... she's a photographer in atlanta :) it has cool ideas to do with photojournalism / multimedia etc... really fascinating both in relation to the content as well as the variety of styles used.. i honestly dont know anything about this field but think it's so interesting... using photography to tell a story. the one on AIDS called bloodline really hit home. anyway, check it out!