Matrimoni

...a screenplay from German to English takes longer than I thought. But I like it (for the most part).
I think I would really like translating text better, so if anyone out there has contact with Alice von Hildebrand, I would very much appreciate if you would tell her I would like to translate Dietrich von Hildebrand's writings that haven't been translated yet. Thanks!

Yesterday morning, I did something I have not ever done before, but have wanted to do for a while....
During my morning commute, I listen to Morning Air (820am 7-9am). They were giving away family passes to the Catholic Festival of Faith that is going to be at navy pier in Chicago Oct 31-Nov 3 I try to call in every time they do this, but usually I can't get through. Yesterday I did. So I was on the radio!! Too bad I did not know then who the patron saint of newborn babies is (St. Briget of Ireland), or I would have won, but I don't feel bad because the lady who did win 1) looked up the answer on the Internet and b) has 9 children. By the way, you can register on-site for the Fest, so its not too late!

Something has been making me think about contraception. I am realizing that it is really and truly the only thing that we can do in this world to cut God out of our lives. There is no way that we can insure ourselves from poverty. If God wants us to be poor, He will see to it. There is not way that we can insure ourselves from poor health. If God wants our health, He can take that too. The only part of our lives that we can take, and tell God that "we know better" is to contracept and take away the possiblity of Him creating new life, or better said, not accepting the privelege of co-creating with God. For the most part, we humans are constanly seeking more affirmation, power, and responsibility, so why do we shun this one, given to us from The most positive, powerful, and responsible of all?

To quote very close friends of mine: (I have changed the words in brackets)
I just want to take a moment out to give a congratulatory shout out to some of our friends who have gotten [pregnant]. I'll avoid naming names (both to spare them the embarrassment and also to let them tell people themselves), but I will say that it's absolutely wonderful how many of our friends have found their Vocation and are embracing it!

My google search was "Chicago to Vienna" and this is what I got:
Chicago to Vienna: $15 (Practicalmadness.com)
It used to take maybe 1/2 hour door to door to go to Meinl. Actually I never went to Meinl, as it was also an upscale grocery store and Griensteidl or others were closer to the train, but I will take what I can get. It is nice to know that now there are 2 places in Chicagoland (The other being the new H&M in Woodfield or on Michigan Avenue) where I can go when I miss my true home on this earth, which is just about every day. If you are looking to a city to fall in love with, take my advice, GO TO VIENNA! Go to the Christkindlmarkt and a ball in the winter, the Volksgarten in the summer, and ride on the super-duper clean U-Bahn any day of the year, and you will see why I left my heart there. (The part of my heart that falls in love with cities, that is ;)

Mother Teresa felt empty, abandoned by God, her letters show...
...and through that she found deeper faith, greater joy, and more strength to do God's will. First of all, I would say that the sad fact is that ordinary Christians assume the holiest people are continually suffering. When they think of saints and holy people, they think of the "suffering" pope and choosing a life of poverty and self-denial. Mother Teresa is one of the only people who in our own times showed joy in her service to God in such a public way, as an incredible witness. These people have no concept of "spiritual dryness" which does come to most saints from time to time, which is a genuine feeling of disconnectedness from God, which God most often uses to bring the greatest fruit to our souls. Just as we, far less holy than Mother Teresa, may write in our journals how we "hate" some such person, or feel on the brink of despair, these feelings, in fact, pass, and prove not to be nearly as deep as we thought. Just because Mother Teresa is approaching sainthood, that does not make her less human. Perhaps she knew herself (or the world) well enough to instruct her "counselors" not to reveal these inmost (passing) thoughts because of the "scandal" they could cause, leading the world to believe that she always felt far from God. Hopefully these quotations from Mother Teresa are taken by the world for what they are worth, and that God helps us to use them to bring us hope, that we, who also have these kinds of thoughts from time to time, feel reassured, that even the holiest of people felt insecure, and inspire us to take up our own crosses with renewed strength, just like she did.

What if when our children are born into a world where it is perfectly normal for their friends to have two daddies or two mommies? It is already hard enough on kids to have to deal with the lack of a mommy or daddy, or the new "mommies" and "daddies" that come through divorce and remarriage. If only it were as easy as looking up the word in the dictionary and accepting what it has always meant....
Do Your Part for The Federal Marriage Amendment

'He's really hurting right now'
Poor guy. I do feel sorry for him, and am willing, quite frankly, to come to his defense. Who of us out there would be watching the field when a foul ball in a major league playoff game is heading right toward us? Everyone who goes to a baseball game has a glimmer of hope that they will catch the ball, not to mention the fact that it is hard, moving really quickly, and thus hurt a lot if it makes contact with the body. Bartman's catch was not only an instinct as a fan at a game, it was an act of self-defense. Too bad he is prolly gonna have to watch his back for a while now because of it.

well moni,
i got my first legitimate side job, designing a new credit union, wooo who....I really can't think of anything else today except that it was Alex Gonzalez fault just as much as that fan's fault that they lost last night. He fumbled the ball and costs the Cubs yet another out and allowed the tieing score in to home....arghhh!!! Well, at least the fan got a new coat out of the deal :-(

All I can say is that Dusty needs to start going to daily Mass. The Marlins' manager does, and see where it gets them?!
I have been learning a lot about baseball since the Cubs have been in the playoffs. Now if I get to reading that football book that Larry gave me, I will have updated my literacy to roughly 2/3 of what America is interested in. MJT taught me all about the draft, and minor leagues, and how major league teams can own lots of minor league teams (there are 5 or so levels!) and use them to develop players' talent for the majors. I then found out that the Peoria team used to be owned by the Cubs but now belongs to St. Louis. Hmmm. (Kevin told me that, for the record) So, in short, despite the fact that the cubs don't have a great defense, I will try to remain a cubs fan even if they loose, because they are the ones that inspired me to learn more about their wonderful sport. That guy who caught that foul last night by the waylives in the town next to mine. hmmm.

Today is my second day of blogdom, and frankly, having a blog makes me feel smart. I figured out how to tweak my template a little bit, but I can't figure out how to change the colors yet, so bear with me. I like working at my company because I am surrounded by languages. Today it was German, Spanish, and English. We hired 2 new people this week, and our lines are getting set up, so changes in the plant are already evident. What a difference it will make when we are 130 employees compared to our meager 8 (now 10)!

This week may well be one of the most exciting of the year: JPII celebrates his silver anniversary as our pope, Mother Teresa will be beatified, and the cubbies will be in the world series. I just talked to a canadian guy who is rooting for them. I think those who say cubs fans are second to yanks fans are KIDDING themselves!

Later all 3 of you! (actually prolly only 1, because I keep visiting my own blog ;)

"God made stink, and stink don't hurt.... But that only goes for men." -Kevin C. Manning (the love of my life: bringing new meaning to when I call you "poopie")

Well, Chris, Jenny, Julie, and all you who have blogs I enjoy reading, you have inspired me to start my own. I choose to give new life to the name of the couch-and-chairs grouping where we all spent so much time (where did it all go?) just a short time ago. It makes us feel old when people there, many now who were born in or after 1984, don't call it that, but merely refer to this place as "the lobby", or simply have no idea why it is called "the void" by so many. I hope this blog will serve as a mixture of all the blogs which inspired it: reflections on world events, links to interesting things, musings about funny things that happen, photos, wedding planning updates, and (because I can't help being me) maybe some stories that sound like they have no point (or go on and on for no reason, much like this post) but because you all love me so much, you will find them endearing and continue reading this blog nonetheless. Thanks for reading, and post a lot of comments!