Spring Break
Wow! The last couple of weeks have been packed, and I've been so busy I haven't had time to post about what I've been doing. So, now I will summarize.
On Thursday (March 19), I visited the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. This is a very sudden development, but I am now considering the possibility of doing a Master of Arts in Philosophical Theology after I finish my PhD in bio so that I can lecture and write on issues of evolution and religion, a topic in which I find myself very interested lately. I would be studying at the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences (CTNS) in Berkeley. At this point, it's just a possibility on the horizon, but potentially exciting. They are hosting a conference on Darwin and religion this Saturday, so that will be a good thing for me to check out. Anyway, PSR was very cool, I sat in on a class about the Rosicrucian movement in the late 16th century, and a class taught by one of the CTNS profs on illness and healing.He has a PhD in Bio and an MA in Theology, which is what I would have at the end, if I follow this path. I also met some students and had some good conversations. I was wondering what it would be like, since it is mostly Christian, and I have pretty negative associations with Christianity. But, this is Berkeley after all, and they are very liberal Christians there. In fact, PSR has the only research center for gay and lesbian studies in religion in the country. I met someone who is the founder of the student pagan association there, Open Circle, and got to talk to her about her experience of being pagan at a predominantly Christian religion school, and while her experience was mixed, and she was honest about the negative, it didn't sound bad. So, I think this is a very real and exciting possibility. We shall see.
On the weekend, I went skiing in Tahoe at Squaw Valley. I had never been skiing, so this was a big adventure for me. The first day, I took a beginner's class. Conditions were pretty bad. The ground was icy, and the wind was very strong. The instructor was having a hard time just keeping the class together, and was spending most of his attention on one student, who was having a very difficult time. Since I was one of the better students, I guess, he didn't pay much attention to me, so I didn't get much out of it. But, by the end of the day, I was able to ski down the slope that we were working on without falling down, which was a big achievement. The second day was much better. It snowed heavily on Saturday night, so the snow was super powdery and fresh on Sunday morning. I signed up for a level 2 class, and was the only one, so I got a private lesson for the price of a group lesson. Having the instructor's undivided attention was really helpful, and I was able to make much more progress. By the end of the second day, I felt confident enough on the green slopes to try a blue slope. I fell a bunch, and my skis came off a couple of times. The most exciting moment was trying to figure out how to get my skis back on, while standing on a steep, snowy slope, with one ski on, trying not to slip down the slope, with snow coming down around me, and the lift closing in 20 minutes. But, I managed to do it without injury, and got to the lift in time. Whew! Otherwise, I would have had to ski down the whole mountain to get back to the parking lot!
I was home for less than twelve hours Sunday night, before taking a 9 hour greyhound bus trip down to Santa Barbara to visit Andre, my brother. Things were quiet in SB, since the place had emptied out for spring break, so I got some good quality time with my bro. We went running up on the cliffs above the beach, and he gave me a couple of lessons in Muay Thai and Escrima. Another first for me. It felt very epic, practicing martial arts on these cliffs over the sea. Afterwords, we watched a couple of martial arts movies, including Bruce Lee's last film, Game of Death. The fight seen with Karim Abdul Jabbar is amazing! His arms and legs are like three times as long as Bruce Lee's. He's no hulking oaf, though. For someone of his size, he is incredibly fast. We also cooked a big pot of curried chick peas and veggies for some of Andre's friends. It was good to do some cooking together. I love cooking for people, especially when I have help.
I cam back up on the midnight bus on Thursday night, which didn't leave until 3 am, so I was pretty zonked on Friday, but still managed to make it to a kirtan on Friday night at Laughing Lotus, my home yoga studio. Then, early on Saturday morning, it was off to Berkeley for a tournament of Vampire the Eternal Struggle, White Wolf's collectible card game based on The Masquerade. I had only played in a tournament once, and got completely smashed. This time, I did much better. It was actually a triple tournament, three back-to-back tournaments over two days. In the first, I was surprised to find myself in the final round, and even more surprised that the game timed out with just me and one other guy left. He had more points than me, so he won. Technically, there is no second place, but I still feel like I came in second. The second tournament I didn't do as well, and didn't make it to the finals. But then, in the third tournament on Sunday morning, I managed to actually win round two as the last man standing, which gave me enough points to win the tournament! Yay! I can't believe I actually won a tournament with a Salubri antitribu combat-intercept melee weapon deck. I never expected that deck to win anything.
And finally, on Sunday night, I went to Sharanya's monthly Kali Puja to offer my love, gratitude, and devotion up to the Goddess.
This week, spring quarter started, so I've slowed down a bit, just reading papers and going to lab meeting and class. I'm taking a grad seminar on The Evolution of Life Histories. I think it will be a good class, and I'm glad I'm taking it. No midterm, no final, and no papers, either, just reading, so it's a light work load.
This weekend will be another crazy whirlwind. On Friday night, I'm going to see The Disco Biscuits at The Fillmore. Depending on what time the show ends, I may then head on over to 103 Harriet (the same club as 1015 Folsom) for more dancing at an event they are calling Temple of Mirrors, which also looks like it will be amazing. Then, I'm supposed to be getting to Berkeley for the Darwin conference by 10 on Saturday morning, and then on Saturday night I'm going to see Papa Grows Funk at The Independent with a couple of friends. I hope I can make it. It's going to take a lot of coffee to get me through Saturday. Sunday I expect to do nothing but sleep.
It feels great to have so much going on, even if it is exhausting. I love the intensity. Life is good.
On Thursday (March 19), I visited the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. This is a very sudden development, but I am now considering the possibility of doing a Master of Arts in Philosophical Theology after I finish my PhD in bio so that I can lecture and write on issues of evolution and religion, a topic in which I find myself very interested lately. I would be studying at the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences (CTNS) in Berkeley. At this point, it's just a possibility on the horizon, but potentially exciting. They are hosting a conference on Darwin and religion this Saturday, so that will be a good thing for me to check out. Anyway, PSR was very cool, I sat in on a class about the Rosicrucian movement in the late 16th century, and a class taught by one of the CTNS profs on illness and healing.He has a PhD in Bio and an MA in Theology, which is what I would have at the end, if I follow this path. I also met some students and had some good conversations. I was wondering what it would be like, since it is mostly Christian, and I have pretty negative associations with Christianity. But, this is Berkeley after all, and they are very liberal Christians there. In fact, PSR has the only research center for gay and lesbian studies in religion in the country. I met someone who is the founder of the student pagan association there, Open Circle, and got to talk to her about her experience of being pagan at a predominantly Christian religion school, and while her experience was mixed, and she was honest about the negative, it didn't sound bad. So, I think this is a very real and exciting possibility. We shall see.
On the weekend, I went skiing in Tahoe at Squaw Valley. I had never been skiing, so this was a big adventure for me. The first day, I took a beginner's class. Conditions were pretty bad. The ground was icy, and the wind was very strong. The instructor was having a hard time just keeping the class together, and was spending most of his attention on one student, who was having a very difficult time. Since I was one of the better students, I guess, he didn't pay much attention to me, so I didn't get much out of it. But, by the end of the day, I was able to ski down the slope that we were working on without falling down, which was a big achievement. The second day was much better. It snowed heavily on Saturday night, so the snow was super powdery and fresh on Sunday morning. I signed up for a level 2 class, and was the only one, so I got a private lesson for the price of a group lesson. Having the instructor's undivided attention was really helpful, and I was able to make much more progress. By the end of the second day, I felt confident enough on the green slopes to try a blue slope. I fell a bunch, and my skis came off a couple of times. The most exciting moment was trying to figure out how to get my skis back on, while standing on a steep, snowy slope, with one ski on, trying not to slip down the slope, with snow coming down around me, and the lift closing in 20 minutes. But, I managed to do it without injury, and got to the lift in time. Whew! Otherwise, I would have had to ski down the whole mountain to get back to the parking lot!
I was home for less than twelve hours Sunday night, before taking a 9 hour greyhound bus trip down to Santa Barbara to visit Andre, my brother. Things were quiet in SB, since the place had emptied out for spring break, so I got some good quality time with my bro. We went running up on the cliffs above the beach, and he gave me a couple of lessons in Muay Thai and Escrima. Another first for me. It felt very epic, practicing martial arts on these cliffs over the sea. Afterwords, we watched a couple of martial arts movies, including Bruce Lee's last film, Game of Death. The fight seen with Karim Abdul Jabbar is amazing! His arms and legs are like three times as long as Bruce Lee's. He's no hulking oaf, though. For someone of his size, he is incredibly fast. We also cooked a big pot of curried chick peas and veggies for some of Andre's friends. It was good to do some cooking together. I love cooking for people, especially when I have help.
I cam back up on the midnight bus on Thursday night, which didn't leave until 3 am, so I was pretty zonked on Friday, but still managed to make it to a kirtan on Friday night at Laughing Lotus, my home yoga studio. Then, early on Saturday morning, it was off to Berkeley for a tournament of Vampire the Eternal Struggle, White Wolf's collectible card game based on The Masquerade. I had only played in a tournament once, and got completely smashed. This time, I did much better. It was actually a triple tournament, three back-to-back tournaments over two days. In the first, I was surprised to find myself in the final round, and even more surprised that the game timed out with just me and one other guy left. He had more points than me, so he won. Technically, there is no second place, but I still feel like I came in second. The second tournament I didn't do as well, and didn't make it to the finals. But then, in the third tournament on Sunday morning, I managed to actually win round two as the last man standing, which gave me enough points to win the tournament! Yay! I can't believe I actually won a tournament with a Salubri antitribu combat-intercept melee weapon deck. I never expected that deck to win anything.
And finally, on Sunday night, I went to Sharanya's monthly Kali Puja to offer my love, gratitude, and devotion up to the Goddess.
This week, spring quarter started, so I've slowed down a bit, just reading papers and going to lab meeting and class. I'm taking a grad seminar on The Evolution of Life Histories. I think it will be a good class, and I'm glad I'm taking it. No midterm, no final, and no papers, either, just reading, so it's a light work load.
This weekend will be another crazy whirlwind. On Friday night, I'm going to see The Disco Biscuits at The Fillmore. Depending on what time the show ends, I may then head on over to 103 Harriet (the same club as 1015 Folsom) for more dancing at an event they are calling Temple of Mirrors, which also looks like it will be amazing. Then, I'm supposed to be getting to Berkeley for the Darwin conference by 10 on Saturday morning, and then on Saturday night I'm going to see Papa Grows Funk at The Independent with a couple of friends. I hope I can make it. It's going to take a lot of coffee to get me through Saturday. Sunday I expect to do nothing but sleep.
It feels great to have so much going on, even if it is exhausting. I love the intensity. Life is good.