New Locations and Responsibilities

What a lame post title!

I’ve had a few people ask what’s new in my little corner of the world, so I thought it would be good to do some true blogging, as opposed to writing. I won’t go into what I had for breakfast or the cute thing the dog did yesterday, but just kind of go with it and see where I end up. If you’re looking for some deep thoughts, I suggest either going down my blogroll or checking out this site. And just so you know where I’m linking you to, let me share my favorite one of all time.

To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.

Yes, that’s Jack Handy, who shaped much of my humor. The greatest influence on my humor, though, has to be my father. He is also one who has shared some Biblical insight to me over the years and who has challenged me in a roundabout way to seek out Biblical truth for myself. One of the most profound things he showed me is the reason why Sarah was buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah. I’ll give you a hint: You won’t find the answer from the recent post by Dr. Claude Mariottini, though he does share many wonderful insights. If you don’t read his blog, please take this moment to subscribe via RSS or bookmark him. His writing is certainly worth it!

So why did Abraham bury Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah? Ponder the reasons if you will. I’ll give the answer at the bottom of the post.

The latter half of last week was hectic, as everyone in my office was packing and labelling our things for a move across town. I am no longer located in my 9-5 near the Des Moines International Airport (International. What a joke!), but am located in West Des Moines, just about as far west as you can get. My commute is a bit farther than I am used to, but the impact will be minor. I’ll be on the interstate for the trip to and from, so I imagine the hamsters under the hood of my car can get up to speed and just maintain speed, rather than have to manage the stop and go traffic they have had to endure. I got my first look inside the new building Sunday afternoon and mentally imprinted the path from the restroom to my desk. You may think this is pretty trivial, but when you have to go you have to go.

Oh, I also set up a few personal items and made sure the computer would work, but most of my visit was sightseeing. The campus is huge, and the present comforts are very nice, though not yet completed. There is a “new building smell” to the place, and everyone is on the lookout for rodents, which are a real possibility in any new building project. If you would like to see some pictures of the campus, I aim to please. Another interesting aspect of the campus is the way the road around it is set up. The company didn’t want streetlights, so they had roundabouts put in. They are new to us, but once you’ve gone on them a time or two, it’s pretty simple.

What really has me jazzed up about this place, though, is the Caribou Coffee nearby. Parking lot to parking lot is under three minutes, though I don’t have time to run from my desk to my car to Caribou and back in a fifteen minute break. That’s OK, though. I will learn the value of delayed gratification. If I have to. I guess. I suppose I could buy a thermos, but I can’t find one big enough!

Let’s see here, what else is going on? Oh, we had a church quarterly business meeting/pot luck this Sunday. It was business as usual, but it certainly wasn’t boring. If you know what I mean. I don’t think it is wise to explain farther than that. One thing did come about. I was elected a trustee, which means that I am now a contact person if any repairs are needed on church property. If the roof flies off, I’m the man you’re looking for. Not to find out why it came off, but to see how we should put it back on. Is trustee an extra biblical role? Yes, it’s at least an extra biblical title. But so is usher and greeter and Sunday School Superintendent. These are ways that the local church manage their affairs with more coordination than if everyone was rushing in with individual ideas on how to get that roof back on the building! Oh, and I’ll be ushering in a few months if I can figure out how to ush.

The big game is coming up and I’ll have my expert analysis shortly. It may not be as in-depth as Micah’s, but I’ll be posting my guess at the final score in a last-ditch effort to get some cookies! My father in law is a Steelers fan, so I’ll be watching the game at his house.

There’s more to say, but I don’t want to leave any trivia buffs or scholars hanging any longer than I must. I’ll refresh everybody’s memory with that question from before. So why did Abraham bury Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah?

The answer? Because she was dead!

Yeah, my sense of humor is forever stunted by my father and Mr. Jack Handy.