Once upon a time, you and I would have been friends.

Hello, hello. Welcome back!

I had a really nice weekend. It started off well, as I had Friday off work. I was out of coffee, though, which was sort of disappointing. Despite my lack of coffee, I persevered, and managed to enjoy my weekend. Anyway, yeah, I got to be at home on Friday, which was nice. My wife came home for the day at about noon, we had lunch together, and then we loaded up the car and headed north. First we dropped off our dog at my parents' house, then drove over to EWALU Bible Camp, just outside of Strawberry Point, Iowa. I spend four of the best summers of my life on staff there, met lots of truly wonderful people, and made some of my fondest memories. This past weekend, Charlie and I performed a concert for the current summer staff.

It was tons of fun to be back at camp again. We got the stage all set and the sound system ready to go (well, Charlie did pretty much all of the set-up while I dined in Strawberry Point; sorry about that, Charles), did a brief sound check, and we were ready for the show. Another former staffer took the stage first and played a handful of his own tunes, which were quite good. Then Charlie, Jesse and I went on and played for about two hours. Man, was it fun! The audience was attentive and appreciative, and seemed to really enjoy our music. It was really neat to play for them.

After the show, we took down all the equipment and packed it up, then got to hang out with some old friends. That, too, was lots of fun. The next day I had meetings in the morning, but then got to enjoy lunch with the staff and friends, and then enjoyed a couple hours in the camp's very nice, very large swimming pool. 'Twas delightful! The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with family and playing with our littlest niece.

All in all, it was, as I've already mentioned, a really nice weekend. Camp is awesome, and I love going back there. It's a little strange, though, to go back now as an "outsider." I'm still pretty involved with the camp; I'm on the board of directors, I try to volunteer at least a few times each year, we occasionally take our youth group up there for a retreat or a service project of some kind...

Being back during summer camp, though, is different. The summer staff always forms such a tight-knit family over the course of the summer, and it's weird to be there and not be part of that family. The bond among the staff is obvious. That, I think, is one of the neatest things to observe about camp. Even Charlie, who had been there for only the preceding week, had formed an obvious bond with at least some of the staff.

As much as I enjoyed the time we spent at camp this past weekend, I felt like I was intruding. I didn't feel like I could just sit down and hang out with the staff (though I did, at least a little bit). I found myself looking at the summer staff and thinking, "Once upon a time, you and I would have been friends." Instead, though, I just sat there looking around at the group of friends, feeling like I didn't really belong. It was a little awkward, and made me feel a little sad. It made me realize that I will probably never get to experience summer camp in the same way again.

It also made me cherish the time I did spend on summer staff that much more, though. It made me think back fondly on my summers at EWALU, when I was surrounded by a huge group of friends and I felt like camp was mine and ours. When I visit now, it feels like it's theirs.

Still, I love that place, and I love the people I met there and the time I spent there. There will always be a certain sense of it being mine; it will always (I hope) feel like a second home to me. I want to someday take my kids there often enough that they feel the same way.

Thanks to everyone at camp this weekend. You all helped make it the wonderful, relaxing, pleasant time that it was. I hope to visit again soon.

Matt

I'm allowed to change my mind, aren't I?

Over this past weekend, I thought more about my recent decision to post a daily Bible passage on my blog. My initial thought was that I'd be doing a service to those who read my blog (few as they may be), sharing the Good News with the world, etc., etc. I still believe that those are worthwhile endeavors. However, I've decided that this is not necessarily the right place to pursue them. So, after posting only two such daily passages, I've decided to discontinue the practice.

After only the second one, I realized just how long my blog would become in a very short time. I think that it would quickly have become so long and full of daily Bible passages that some of my small group of readers might stop reading. That certainly is not the goal I had in mind. So instead of placing those daily passages on my blog, I would instead like to encourage you to visit the web site of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org) and find their daily Bible passage page. You can either just read it there each day, or you can sign up for their listserv, and they'll email you each day's passage. Then you can read it, ponder on it all you want, post it on your own blog if you feel so inclined, or post it as a comment on my blog. The important thing is that you would still be getting that daily dose of Scripture.

So that's that. Maybe occasionally I'll post a passage and share my thoughts about it. Maybe not. Have a nice day!

Matt

Amateurcrastinator? No, I get paid for it!

Good day! I'm at work this morning, toiling away (obviously!) at my desk. Actually, I'm procrastinating. I have a fair bit of work I need to do today, yet here I sit, creating a new post for the ol' blog. Hmm.

I used to occasionally say, "I was going to procrastinate, but I'll do it later," thinking I was quite clever and funny. I'm pretty sure that I was the only person who ever found that phrase even mildly entertaining, though. Oh, well.

I've always been kind of a procrastinator. Back in my school days, I pretty consistently waited 'til the last possible minute to work on projects or papers, complete an assignment, or study for an upcoming exam (if, that is, I studied at all). It seemed like there were always better (or at least more enjoyable) ways to spend my time, so I would put off those other things until I could put them off no longer.

I still do that. If I have a particular project that requires my attention, I'll often let it sit until the last minute. Unlike during college, however, it's not usually so I can go play frisbee or Betrayal at Krondor or do some good hangin' out instead of working on the task in question. Now it's more likely that I'll try to take care of smaller projects as they come up, until I absolutely have to work on the bigger thing.

This system seems to work for me, for the most part. When it comes time to get things done, I'm almost always able to buckle down, focus, and accomplish the task at hand. I think I work fairly efficiently under pressure.

For the non-procrastinators I deal with, though, that seems difficult to understand. Many of the people I work with now and have worked with over the years are the types who like to get things done and out of the way well in advance of deadlines. They're organized and prepared for each and every project or event, usually before a deadline hits. I, on the other hand, am pretty comfortable being mostly prepared in advance, ready to wing it if necessary. I don't usually get too flustered, as long as the major details are taken care of.

Those non-procrastinators, though, just don't like that. They think I'm disorganized or ill-prepared, and assume, therefore, that my project won't get done or my event will fall apart. I'm normally pretty confident, though, that things will come together. I try to calm their fears by exuding optimism that everything will be fine, but that seems to only go so far.

Some people probably think that I do just enough to get by. I don't think that's the case. I just function a little bit differently than other folks. I prefer to work under a little more pressure, I guess, and I like to sort of fly by the seat of my pants (where'd that phrase come from, anyway?) and roll with the punches. I don't need to have a detailed game plan. I understand that some people might read that as just getting by, but I take a little umbrage at that. I take pride in the things that I do, I want to do them well, and for the most part I think that I do.

At the same time, I don't want to use that as an excuse for procrastinating. It would be easy to always say, "I work better under a deadline," and go about my blogging or whatever. I know that it's something I need to work on, despite what I see as my strengths working under pressure. I'd probably have a little less stress in my life if I took care of things before the last minute, and it would probably make my boss a little happier. So I'll work on it.

Well, having said that, I should probably get to work on that project I've been putting off. Or I could write a few emails... Ah, we'll see how it goes.

Matt

The Impending Fruition of Mr. Peabody’s Grand Plan

Greetings, reader o’ the blog. I trust you’re well.

I have the extreme good fortune to have a job that I truly enjoy. For several years I toiled at a job that I did not enjoy in the least. Well, that’s a bit harsh, probably. My former employer was, undeniably, a solid, well-respected organization, and though its employees’ salaries were not always exceptional, their benefits were pretty outstanding. In addition, I worked with a lot of really good people. The job itself, though, was not enjoyable. But I digress. My point is that I now have a job I love.

Despite my contentedness with my current state of employ, I do still find myself occasionally troubled by some things about my employer. That’s natural, right? Most people don’t agree 100% with every policy, every decision their employer makes, right? I hope that’s the case…

The municipality by which I am employed seems bent on increasing tax revenue. To be fair, its residents enjoy many fine services as a result of that tax revenue, but I’m not sure the benefits outweigh the greater cost. Property taxes and sales taxes are probably its two largest sources of revenue (just so you know, I haven’t actually done any research to back any of this up—I’m just going on my own observations, etc.). The best way to increase both of those sources of revenue is to encourage development. Increasing development, of course, contributes to urban sprawl (already an obvious problem in this area), and urban sprawl is quickly gobbling up the pretty, hilly landscape surrounding the community.

Have you every heard the song “Little Boxes?” I haven’t for a long time, but it’s become more poignant for me over the past several years, as I’ve witnessed urban sprawl. I think the lyrics go something like, “Little boxes on a hillside / little boxes made of ticky-tacky / little boxes, little boxes / little boxes, all the same.” Don’t ask me to tell you what, exactly, ticky-tacky is… I often think of that song, though, as I drive past the vast housing developments.

Residential development is not the only problem, however. This particular town has basically become one giant strip mall. Driving down its main thoroughfare is like running a gauntlet of consumerism. It’s literally dizzying, especially at night, when the entire length of the street is lit with all types of signs for an amazing array of chain restaurants, stores, and other businesses. And it’s expanding! No longer is that type of concentrated commercial development focused on the main thoroughfare; it’s creeping out along other arterial roads, spreading and weaving its way into previously non-commercial areas. I can think of at least two recent commercial developments where numerous large, mature trees were cut down to make room for a new store or strip mall. Perhaps the most frustrating part of that for me personally is that both of those commercial developments could have been located on nearby land (I mean like right across the street) that was already cleared and leveled and available for purchase. There aren’t many nicely treed areas left in the middle of this town, and it upset me that two of them were sacrificed for commerce.

“Well, Matt, that’s the price of progress,” one might say in response. I guess I must have a different definition of “progress,” in that case. To me, a progressive community is one that understands the value of preserving some natural areas even though they could be developed, that realizes there is value in improving existing housing, and that values quality of life over quantity of revenue.

I’ll admit, this is a pretty cynical assessment of the city’s priorities. They have also set aside some parkland, built new trails, and used environmentally responsible building techniques and materials for a few of their newer facilities, and it's a darn good organization for which to work. I also realize that this particular city is not unique in its tendency to encourage as much development as possible. Recently other nearby communities have displayed similar tendencies.

One city in particular, which I would have thought less likely to woo such massive development, recently approved the building of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, which will replace the existing very large Wal-Mart store and be located within a couple miles of another Wal-Mart Supercenter. That whole situation makes no sense to me. There’s no need for two such stores in such close proximity to one another. Yet despite common sense, there they’ll both be not long from now. That same city also approved the construction of a brand new, giant Menards store, to be located maybe a mile from the existing—and again very large—Menards store. They claimed that the present Menards was not large enough to serve the customers effectively, or something, and also claimed that there was not adequate space around the existing store to allow for expansion. I find the latter claim especially difficult to believe, since there’s nothing but open space around the store. So thanks to that city’s recent decisions, there will be two extremely large stores sitting completely empty, and I, for one, can’t think of what other stores might be interested in moving into the vacated spaces.

I guess that’s not my responsibility, though. My responsibility is simply to spend my money at these stores, or at the chain restaurants, or at the strip malls or coffee shops or mega-malls or supercenters. I’m supposed to help feed the monster. And you know what? I do. I admit that despite my best intentions to be a responsible consumer, I do go to at least some of those stores. I think Starbucks coffee tastes good, so I occasionally buy it. I appreciate the convenience and low prices of the big stores (though I will say that I do not typically do any shopping at Wal-Mart (I guess that’s the extent of my boycott)), so I sometimes shop there.

So ultimately it’s my fault that our cities place such importance on development. Not solely my fault, but you get the idea. I probably engage in about as much sheep-like behavior as the next consumer. If given a choice between a buying something from a locally-owned store versus a big chain store, though, I’ll probably choose the local place. I could be more pro-active about such things. I know I’m a bit of a hypocrite. I do at least consider the consequences of my purchasing habits, though, and I guess the whole point of this blog entry is to get you, the reader, to do the same. I may not sway anyone to only buy local, or to boycott Wal-Mart, but if you at least consider the ramifications of your purchasing habits, then I guess I’ve achieved my goal (which I didn’t even have in mind when I started writing).

Just some (locally-produced) food for thought.

Matt