Whose Line Is It Anyway?

So I stood in line for 5 hours today to receive a piece of paper. Of course that piece of paper says that my passport is being processed and sent in a month, but I still feel a little ripped off. Both Erika and I left feeling like we had forgotten something after bringing in our paperwork, photos, id, etc. and coming away with almost nothing.

Standing in a line for multiple hours is a weird experience. I don't think it's something that comes naturally to us at all. You are forced to stand still (interrupted by glorious seconds of movement) and do...nothing. Staring at your surroundings is great fun, but can only keep you enraptured for so long. So what do you do? Well, if you were smart you brought a book, or music, or UltraMegaSupraDeathalonic Sudoku. If you weren't you count the number of bricks in the wall and attempt to figure out how to make them fall on everyone in front of you.

You also form somewhat of a bond with you linemates. You share the common bonds of annoyance and frustration. Frustration at the fact that you got up early to get here and still have 5 hours of waiting. Annoyance at the baby that is inevitably right behind you and sounds like a sheep when it cries. But you help each other out - patiently holding their place in line if they have to duck out, making snide comments about others in line (and sheep baby of course), kicking them lovingly in the face when they've fallen asleep and the line is starting to move.

Then there's the tension just before you get to the front. Did I fill in everything correctly? Do I look like a terrorist in my photo? And then...MORE WAITING!!! Yay! Now we get to sit for 1.5 hours listening to people complain about the slow process, trying to figure out just whose fault it is and why they don't get preferential treatment like everyone else (note the inherent irony...sweet, sweet irony).

And now back to the real world.

Rant Alert

No post for a bit and here comes a rant...deal with it.

After 2.5 years of working in a cafe I still am unable to decode the mysteries of tipping in the average human psyche. I've tried to figure out why some people come in for a few minutes, don't ask anything of me and are completely pleasant, and then leave a large tip at the end while others spend come in, spend hours on a computer, ask a hundred questions, order 17 drinks, are rude about everything and leave nothing! One guy today came to pay and spent 2 minutes counting out change for his tab (okay, doesn't sound like much, but think about standing still for 2 minutes watching someone laboriously count metal disks while you need to be doing 10 other things). Then, out of his TWO handfuls of change he takes the one remaining penny and drops it into my tip jar! What does that say?

I'm not spending anymore time trying to figure this out

I'll Give You A Topic

"Doctrine is a wonderful servant and a horrible master"...discuss.

Oh, Fork Goodness Sake!

Ah yes, another of the great crossroads of life. Once again I find myself faced with two distinct paths. One involves living and ministering in a completely foreign culture and all the excitements and trials that go with it. The other, staying here in a familiar (although still somehow foreign...) culture, which some say is the most difficult mission field there is. I honestly feel that this is a time where God has placed these two options before me and assured me that both are equally valuable (although in entirely different ways). In some ways it's comforting to know that I can't screw up too badly either way, but it's also difficult to choose.

On one hand I long to go to a place where people are crying out for spiritual fulfillment and to show them how Jesus is that. On the other, I am coming to realize more and more the nature of the mission field right here - a world where Christianity is known all too well and is not on good terms with most people. Maybe I'll just stay here long enough to fix all the problems here first and then I'll move on to other countries...

Cain't Git No Betta!

Here I sit getting paid to blog while the new lackey does all the work...and it's completely legit because I'm 'training' him. How sweet it is!

Here's an interesting and completely new thought - did you know that our purpose as Christians is not to simply get to heaven, but rather to love God on earth and build His kingdom by loving our neighbours! It seems that so many Christians are just passing through, waiting for this life to end so they can go home. The preceding was said with just a hint of sarcasm, but sometimes I do wonder if this is a new idea to some of us, or at the least something that we don't really take to heart on an ongoing basis.