Talking in Metaphors and Cliches

I hate small talk.

I always feel like I am being a fake when I shoot the bull with people. I know that it is a necessary evil (ahhhh, there you go...cliche) but when I meet people while I am out doing streetwork it seems like I always end up responding to their epic (or not so epic, really) tales with cliche, banal commentary, engaging in metaphorical exchange whereby we talk of crossing thin lines and going cold turkey, or fueling the discussion of delusional manifestos.

What to do, what to do? People need to talk. People need to be listened to....for real listened to. People need to listen. I guess we have two ears and one mouth for a reason.....oh, how cliche.

Pray for Fransisco

Hey everyone,
I will write more specifics later but please be praying for Fransisco. He was on a short term stay at Simon House tonight and we had to ask him to leave. Police involvement and whatnot.

I refered him into the house and we really connected. In the process of necessarily kicking him out tonight, me and him talked for a while and prayed together. It was good, so good.

Please pray that the Lord would reveal Himself to Fransisco, that he would feel loved, that he would begin to experience healing both in addiction and emotionally, and that we (that I) would continue to be a part of his life.

Thanks guys!

A Stroll and a Fella Named Rodney

Today was my off day for the week and I was in the mood to take some pictures. I ended up down on the south side of the river along this great pathway that hugs the bank for a long while and is a sweet place to take a stroll. During my stroll I met a guy named Rodney who was playing the saxophone. I told him that I didn't have any money but wondered if I could take some pictures of him playing. He obliged and we talked for a while about America and England before the conversation turned to Coltraine, Monk, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Sevie Ray and the like. I am going to check out his band the next time that they gig out.

I you could see through my eyes you would have seen this tonight...

St. Paul's Cathederal from the south side of the Thames

The path that winds along the Thames...beautiful, truly (this picture was taken in a very dark area without a flash, if you look closely you can see these great ghostly looking figures in the middle)

The London Eye, a big expensive ferris wheel type thingy, built for the millenium celebration, that is supposed to give amazing views of the city

The Houses of Parliment and Big Ben from across the River (I love how the water looks)

The inimitable OXO tower named after none other than a beef bullion cube

Despite the fact that I can't remember what this bridge is called and the picture is blurry because I don't have a tripod, I really like this one because I kind of got the foreground vs. background thing right...it's all in the f-stop (that is a photography term, not a obscene comment)

Rodney

Rock on...

Dude is so fast he's a blur

25 or 6 to 4

It is now into the wee hours of the night and I am reminded of a fantastic song by the group Chicago. Tonight is the last in a string of three night shifts that I have done at Simon House and I am ready to get back on a regular sleep schedule.

Nightshifts are great in the sense that I am able to get some studying done for the GRE, catch up on emails, and work on graduate school applications, but they also mean that I end up sleeping half of the next day or not sleeping enough and being in a haze. In addition, I have been reminded from my college cramming-the-night-before-an-exam days that the brain begins to slow down when it is tired and its ability to process information is severely diminished. I would guess that a couple hours of studying at 2 in the morning (which doesn’t really happen anyways) is roughly equal to a good 30 minutes of studying at 6 in the evening while doped up on caffeine. Yet another downside to the nightshift is that Simon House is at least a 45 minute trip from Anton Street so the commute adds up to a good chunk of time as well.

If I was one of those changeable mood magnets on a refrigerator, my mood would currently be: “FRUSTRATED”. There are so many good things and so many bad things about this community and as is the case with bad things, they have a way of standing out above the good.

I feel as if the past few weeks have been really busy for me and, while I guess they have been, I don’t feel as if I have accomplished much. We have been able to hold down the fort at Anton Street in Isabel’s absence and I have learned logistical things along the way so that is good I suppose.

If there is one human emotion that has screamed at me (literally in some cases) since I have arrived it is anger, with a capital “grrrrrr”. People are just so angry…..chill out people, chill. People are angry about being in the kitchen when they are making soup, people are angry about you eating a knifeful of Peanut Butter when you haven’t eaten all day, people are angry about other people’s lifestyle decisions, and people are very, very angry when they don’t get things their way. Especially when someone else gets their way. Chill people….chill.

The next month is going to be crunch time with respect to finishing my GRE preparation and finalizing graduate school applications. This, coupled with increased responsibility in the Community, is going to make for a STRESSFUL next month or month and half.

Please continue to be in prayer that….
-Anton Street would grow and that as we grow we will be able to develop a sense of community within the household.
- I would be able to lead in general, but specifically that I would be able to exhibit a “cooperative leadership” approach that I think has got to be necessary in a democratic community
- I would be able to effectively segment my time between my life in the community and my preparation for graduate school. A social life of some kind might be nice too:)
-That there would be peace among the Community at large and that we would begin to work together and not against each other. That would be a miracle….I’ll let you know when it happens:)

Much love to y’all, Chris