Day 8

I got to sleep in today! Well, that is, if one considers 8:30 to be sleeping in, but still, the early awakening was worthwhile because I had my weekly breakfast with Sarah, one of my best friends, to look forward to, which was, always, wonderful. I'm really happy that I'm seeing my friends so much this semester–seems I've successfully learned at least some important lessons about how to place my social life above school.

Individual Fitness was what it was–not terrible by any means, but every day I'm always reminded at just how out-of-shape I am, and I'm not entirely convinced I've seen major improvements since the beginning of the term, other than slightly sore muscles at the end of the day. Maybe I just need to "give it time", like so many other things in life.

After exercising I almost always come back to the room for some alone time with my guitar and God, and today I played refreshingly better than the past couple times: my fingers obeyed very well, and I even hobbled my way through a couple new songs (new to me, that is; I'm sure they've been around many years). I've also found I seem to play better standing up than sitting down; no doubt this is a good thing, since when I actually get to the point of being able to perform, it will obviously be while standing.

Amazingly (to my surprise, you might say), the fax from the doctor made it's way to Northfield, so there was no problem scheduling my Remicaid. Whew. Good thing my Thursday test was postponed, since now I'd have no time to study right before it.

God blessed me with a day of friends and good conversation: I got to have dinner with another of my best friends, Amy, and we had plenty to talk about between our respective romantic interests, the overall dating scene at St Olaf, and Amy's post-graduation plans.

After dinner I went to listen to Terry Fretheim, a visiting Old Testament scholar. This is one of those times when, while I know he's really knowledgeable and, well, smart, the event itself was painfully boring, a situation only aggravated by the absurdly intelligent questions people asked: in short, I was completely in over my head and had no clue what everyone was talking about. Oh well, I did hear one great quote from the speaker (not that this single saving grace made the event fun, but call it one surprising saving grace in the midst of confusion and darkness): "Do make a distinction between the authority of the Bible and the authority of your interpretation of the Bible".

Post-lecture/discussion, the library, and God, had one last amazing surprise gift waiting for me: an unexpected, and long, conversation Kyle, Ashley's boyfriend. I've talked to him in brief passings before, but sadly never at any length, Tonight we finally had that chance to really talk, and to talk for real, beyond all the silly typical "what's your major" kind of questions (okay, some of those snuck in, too, but this was so much more than that). Just one more layer of icing on an already beautiful cake, er, um, day.