A Month in Photos: My job at Truett Seminary

Bless me bloggers for I have sinned, it's been nearly a month since I last posted. As penance I decided to share some photos from my job as the Truett student worker for graphic design and photography. These were taken at various lectures, and events over the past month. One of the upsides of my job is getting to know photograph some of the renown scholars that Truett brings in. I also enjoy really getting to know our quality faculty here, many of whom are known world-wide in their field. I'll try to weave in some story with all the photos. Beware...this could end up being a long post.

One of my favorite profs, Dr. Gregory during one of his sermons.

A few of those who have donated to Truett Seminary.

The mailout I did for the lecture series. 

Dr. Scot McKnight ponders a question.

A Baylor students looks on as Dr. Scot McKnight delivers a lecture.

I enjoy getting to "stalk" my fellow students for our various media outlets.

A fellow student (a co-worker in the Tech Department) films a chapel service.

The fun side of my job.

Pics of Milt and Janet

Feeling bored today so I shot a few pics of Milton and Janet. Frustrating to not have the right equipment, lighting or editing software, but it was still a lot of fun! 

Milt on top of the TV cabinet

Playing with the sticky note

The sticky describes this photo

Big Bouncy Ball

Not to sure about the camera

She popped the ball :(

Squirrel!

Squirrel?!?

Fetch I

Fetch II

Full of Joy!

What a happy puppy!

Inside?

Snacktime

Snacktime II

Buddies

New Beginnings

At lot has been happening for me in the past couple months. Hopefully things will start to slow down a little, and I'm going to try to write at least once a week to keep anyone who reads this up to date on what's going on.

Saturday I moved back to Texas to attend seminary. This week has been spent unpacking and trying to get the house in order. I decided not to post any pics until I get it done, but since I'm on a grad student's budget, its gonna be awhile before I can afford to get the little things that will really spruce the place up. Here are some basic pics of the living room and kitchen as they are right now.

A view of the Living/Dining Room from the front door.

The kitchen, view 1.

The kitchen, view 2.

The Living/Dining Room from the kitchen door.

The Living Room TV area.

Its not much to look at but it's home. Still looking for a roommate to help split the living expenses, but I know it's all gonna work out. Milt and Janet are really loving the new place. Janet has a decent backyard to run around in, and Milton has loved playing in all the empty boxes from moving. This has been an adjustment for all of us, but having Milt and Janet has made the transition much easier.

The decision to leave my old job was a tough call to make. The church I worked at is full of loving generous people with whom I have become good friends. They even took up an amazing love offering that helped pay for all the deposits on my new place and for my moving expenses as well as some school costs. I will miss them all dearly.

The toughest part of the move was leaving behind all my good friends and adopted family. I know that a part of growing up is leaving and meeting new people, but that doesn't make it any less painful to do so.

I'll post some pics and info on school in my next post. I need to go spend some time on campus with the camera.

The good news is I'll be working for my school as a graphic designer/publisher. It's an exciting opportunity, but will definitely be a challenge. The good news is I get to use their brand new Canon T3i camera and Mac computer with editing software! I'm super excited to see where this leads.

Blessings to all. Hopefully, you'll be hearing from me soon!

Catching Up

Wow...can't believe how long its been since I posted on here. I've spent all my spare time working on a website for my office. You can see it at http://www.fbcark.org/ if you're curious. Working on that has just completely burned me out computer work, but that's about to end. Now to catch up on what's been going on.

First, the new addition to the family. Meet Janet (new name needed!) the 1/2 black lab, 1/4 golden retriever, 1/4 boxer mix. I got her from a friend who has a several months old son who will begin walking soon. She's just a little to hyper to have around a toddler. She's super sweet and she and Milton have become the best of friends. She helps make my life easier, and has helped heal my heart in a time of some pretty intense family drama. I didn't pose any of the pictures, she's just really photogenic. There's not an evil bone in her body, though she did chew through the books of Job and Psalms from my preaching Bible....guess I can't do any studies from those books.


She loves tennis balls and rawhide chews!




Sweet Face




Buddies


In other news I am about to leave my church job in Arkansas to move back to Texas for grad school. I'm currently searching for a job, house, and car. Things are stressful but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. (Note: there will be a rant coming soon on Craigslist scam artists). I'm hoping to do better about blogging as I miss the communication with you wonderful people.

Meet Milton

I am officially done with undergrad classes! I recieved my Bachelor of Arts degree on Saturday (blog post/pictures coming soon), and now that I am out of campus housing I can share my beautiful cat with you all! I got Milton from the rescue shelter here in town in October, but had to hide him due to the campus housing restrictions. I named him Milton Hops Bryan after a favorite quote of mine; "Malt does more than Milton can/To justify God's ways to man." - A.E. Housman. Milt's been a great joy to have around the house this year, but he is definitley a handful. It's kinda like having an unruly 2-year old who needs constant attention. He is spoiled rotten, and is Mommy's Little Boy. I'm planning to post a series of "Milton's Misadventures" now that the cat is out of the bag (cheesy, I know! but I couldn't resist) as he carries out more of his hilarious hijinks. Enjoy the pics, and don't forget to watch the video!

Milt congratulating me on my graduation!

Milt with my former roomate

When I first got Milt there was absolutely no way I'd be able to hold him like this.
It's amazing to see how trusting and loving he's becoming.

Milt's favorite chair, my former favorite one.

All ready for the 2010 Christmas party

Favorite toy is a simple plastic cup with nothing in the bottom.

Authentic Cowgirl

This weekend I had the opportunity to travel back home and visit my Dad, H and S. We also got the news that Dad's biopsy came back clean, so that was a huge relief! One of S's favorite things to do is ride horses. A while back I posted about how envious I was of her skill. So, I decided I would go riding with her one afternoon to spend time doing what she does best. I proudly pulled on my boots, hat, and jeans and looked every inch the authentic cowgirl. I mean, I really looked the part. Then I strutted up to the barn, looking like I knew exactly what I was doing. S quickly handed me this huge stack of tack (riding equipment). Although I had saddled a horse before, it had been some time, and it quickly became obvious that I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. S quietly came over and fixed my mistaken jumble of straps without fanfare, for which I am grateful. So there I was, looking the part but completely oblivious, and there she was in jean shorts looking like a supermodel, but the master of her craft. Later it became even more evident that I didn't have a clue what I was doing when the horse took off with me and I nearly killed myself, but that's a story for another post!

My crazy mind started thinking about how sometimes that's how we go through life. Looking the part, but not really living it. I used this as a Bible Study topic last night, about how many people claim to be religious but don't really "walk the walk," but rather just "talk the talk." It can apply to so much else though. Are we really letting our true selves out around others, or do we have a different personality for each different group we encounter? I know I'm guilty of having one persona at school, and another outside of it (but that is partly of necessity because my school is extremely strict). Wouldn't the world be a better place if we could all just be ourselves?

Just bored at work, so my mind is just ruminating on all sorts of crazy stuff. Hope you're doing great!

Some Days

I'm really working on being more positive. On looking for the silver lining, and putting my best foot forward. But some days it catches up with you. I'm getting ready to graduate in May with my BA degree, and just really wishing my Mom could be here for the ceremony. Dad had a prostate biopsy on Thursday, and we're waiting for Friday to see what the results hold. I'm not sure if I should wish for it to be all clear, or if I hope they find something we can fix that will cure his health problems. And to top it all of, there's a guy I like and who I think likes me back and I would just really love to be able to pick up the phone and call my mom to talk about it. Most days I just think about her as a passing thought with a smile, but today I just really wish I could get a hug from her and a listening ear. I'm surrounded by so many loving people, and my "adopted" Mom is really amazing, but it's just not the same.

Sorry for the depressing post, but I just needed to get it off my mind. My best friend and I are about to go to dinner and bowling, and I want to be in a better mood for him (wink).

So do me a favor, give your mom a hug if your able, or at least a phone call. Tell her you love her and that you're grateful for all she's done. Moms are such a big part of our lives, and sometimes we don't realize just how much so until its too late.

On Forgiveness

Had a lot on my mind and couldn't go our for a run due to an impeneding thunderstorm and I hadn't written in a while so I thought I'd sit down and see what happened. This is something I wrote and edited a little, but I kinda like it as is, raw and unpolished. The photos were taken by my H last time we were together (Thanksgiving I believe?). Let me know what'cha think! I want your honest opinions because the only way to get better is to learn. Enjoy!

On Forgiveness
Forgiveness is tough. Messy.
It goes against the grain of human nature.
To deny that primal need for revenge.
To not seek retribution,
Or hold a silent grudge.
To set aside the oft considered right of justice.

To forgive does not mean to forget.
Nothing can erase the offense from memory.
It will always be there,
Haunting my mind.
Plaguing my dreams.
But it does not control my life.


To forgive is not easy.
It takes time. Work.
It often brings pain before relief.
It is not a solitary act,
But an ongoing process,
A daily choice.

To forgive is liberating.
It frees my heart from strangling anger,
And piercing hate.
It loosens the bonds of animosity,
Restores peace,
And quiets my soul.

To forgive is necessary.
To let go, essential.
I am no righteous judge,
And justice is not mine to seek.
Instead I choose forgiveness.
And with forgiveness comes life.

CORE Classes

First, the obligatory apology. So sorry I haven't posted or really even commented in over a month and a half. My computer gave out on me during finals week last semester and I wasn't able to replace it until the first week of this semester. This forced absence, as well as some other stuff going on has just got me out of sync with the blogosphere. But I am back! And I will do better about writing...maybe?

So here I sit in my life science class...the one class I lack for graduation. All I need to do to graduate is pass this one class. And my motivation for actually trying in this class is completely gone. I wonder when in my future I'll actually need to know that a chloroplast is what makes a plant green, and converts sunlight into glucose. I just don't foresee needing that in my chosen career path. I see the need for CORE classes, but sometimes the professor can take them a little to seriously. We actually had a formal debate in class yesterday over genetically modified foods. All we really learned was that there is little actual evidence for both sides. I wish these professors would realize we really don't care about that subject and not give us all the busy-work.

On another note, since I'm not listening to the prof anyway, I had another triad of Murphy's Law the last week and a half. Water Heater broke, Credit Card got stolen (thus my bank account was put on hold), and now my car has died. The first two were resolved relatively painlessly, but it looks like I'll be walking everywhere for awhile. Not a big deal since I really need to lose some weight and exercise, but it is a little bit of a pain. It's going to be awhile before I can get a new vehicle, but at least the weather has been great and I'll probably be able to hitch rides to the grocery store with the adopted fam.

OH! I think I've found a time to write on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays! Maybe Life Science isn't very exciting, but it can provide an hour to get some writing done :)