Haircut

It has been three months since I last received a haircut (Will's wedding), so I figured it was time to get a new one. Please understand that I enjoy haircuts about as much a getting my teeth worked on (although at least there I can spit). Part of the apprehension is going into one of the franchise operations where the stylist is someone I do not know. Do I really want to put my hair in the hands of someone I don't know?
(An aside: I used to get my hair cuts from Roseanne in Puyallup. I used to see her every 8 weeks and she would fix me up nice. this went on for 6 or 7 years until she finally priced herself out of my league. I mean $28 for some snip-snip is a bit too much!)
Deb happened to score a freebie to the Aveda institute in downtown Minneapolis. This is the place where "world-class" professionals train and learn their craft. It is located in a 4 story building on the edge of the UM campus. walking in the lobby is like walking into a bus or train station prior to the vehicle leaving. The associates were immediately recognizable by their all-black attire. For a minute I thought I was at a "Goth" convention. After giving my name and waiting for a few minutes my stylist-in-training came out and escorted me upstairs to the main salon. Ali had been with the organization for about 6 months. As we entered the room, I was taken aback at the size of the place. There must have been at least 100 chairs in use. each trainee had his or her own station, and if they weren't working on a live subject, they were practicing on wigs. It was hustle and bustle the entire time I was there. Ali showed me to her station, got me comfy and asked how I wanted my hairs cut. We then went through the whole procedure of washing, cutting, and inspecting the her work(which included her instructor) at various stages of the process. This took about an hour.
When it was done, it looked like I had gone into one of the franchise places. Not too bad, but...hey it was FREE! And this should last me another 2 months. Meanwhile I will spit on occasion just to keep up the practice.

Finals

Yes, it is that time of year again, when the stress levels of the seminarians rises exponentially with the amount of finals that need to be completed before the end of the semester. This rise also has factored in the length of time left in the semester itself. For example the stress level is considerably light with two weeks left in comparison to only having 3 days left. it should also be noted that sleep levels drop correspondingly with the rise of the stress. no wonder everyone looks forward to the break!
Now I'm a procrastinator to begin with (hence writing this blog as opposed to writing a final paper on the theological import of Lutheran worship [3 pages double spaced]). In fact I have a great mentor in this art, my friend Kristen, who claims to be the leader of the greatest (or at least largest) nation in the world: procrastiNATION. It is not easy to put off to the last minute the things that need to get done, and not exhibit any signs of concern.
And yet the papers and everything else gets done on time. And I still sleep well at night. Amazing!

Crosswords

No, I am not talking about the words we say to each other when were angry. These are the ubiquitous puzzles that appear everywhere (especially next to the comics page. Or in the want-ads. Have you wondered why they are located there? It seems all to strange to me.).
I can thank my friends Becky and Kristen from the seminary for getting involved in this repast. It all started innocently enough last spring when we started meeting in the cafeteria. Becky was doing a crossword and started asking about clues. (ie 4 letters for "pitch dark" starting with the letter "I"). Pretty soon there were 3, 4, or 5 of us trying to figure these things out. Now it is not uncommon to find one of us sitting around trying to complete the one of several that are found in the local paper. We have found that they usually involve a team effort to complete one. And the later in the week it gets, the harder the puzzle (don't even talk about the Sunday New York Times puzzle!). Excuse me, I think I solved 45 down (Knight's combat: Joust!)

Snow!

This is what the weather looked like on Friday November 30

This is what the weather looked like 12 hours later on December 1.

First the insult of the cold weather. And now this. We received 6 inches of snow that day. we have received another 3 inches last night. It looks like we will not escape the snow like we did last year. With that in mind lets look at some statistics thanks to the St Paul Pioneer Press (still only 25 cents!).

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has:
767 snowplows
61 reserve snowplows
1460 snowplow drivers
180 auxiliary snowplow drivers

Last year MNDOT used:
182386 TONS of salt
51716 TONS of sand
2.5 MILLION gallons of brine

Granted this is for the entire state. Still, this does not include the various county, municipal, and private pieces of equipment that is also rolling out there. Unlike the Puget Sound area, these people know what they are doing! So this is a big thank you MNDOT and all you other plowers. Keep plowing!

Sue and Dave

This is a shout out for our friends Sue (the Bishop) and Dave (the pastor's wife).

We had the opportunity to be with them at their house in Door County WI last week. (In this case they have an "Open Door [County]" policy). We have known them for the last 10 years from our time in Puyallup. They have been more than supportive of us, not only in getting to Luther, but since we have been here. Sue continues to be a mentor to the rookie in the clerical ranks, of which I am most appreciative. So this one is for you, you two!