Well, I’ve now been a Pennsylvania resident for almost three weeks. I only state that because part of me is still trying to make this feel real. Most of me, however, feels at home here–I’m adjusting well. I’ve finally had some time to explore Harrisburg, and have loved getting to know “my city”…
I cannot count how many times I’ve been asked why I moved to Pennsylvania from California…this morning alone, at church, it must have been asked six or seven different times. 🙂 It’s amusing to me, because so many people have this view of California that Hollywood portrays…and really, though I will always love California, it’s not the only place on the planet worth living in. That’s my take, anyway. 🙂
This past week, I worked as a temp receptionist–and I’ll be doing that this week as well. It’s not exciting, but it pays the bills.
This week, while “working”, I read 2.5 books–which was awesome. I read Reading Lolita in Tehran–which is about life in Iran before and during the Revolution. I also read We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families–which is about the history of Rwanda and the genocide of 1994. Not light reading, but very stimulating. If you are at all curious about what happened in Rwanda, please read this book. It is the best book I’ve read on the subject, and it’s so informative in regards to the history of the country and what possibly led to the events of 1994. Excellently written…
My reading this week made me revisit some familiar emotions (such as my complete disdain for the UN and its utter uselessness), and has caused me to ask some tough questions (to no one in particular)–like, how can people make statements about Rwanda and the Holocaust that imply that they didn’t happen? So many people say it’s a “theory” and that it hasn’t been “proven”…nearly a million Rwandan lives were taken, and nearly ten million Jewish lives, and it’s just a “theory”?…that angers me, so I’ll stop thinking about that question on here for now. 🙂 Other topics I have been pondering are colonization (and how it has caused SO much tragedy in the world, including what happened in Rwanda–so I think, anyway), extinction of species (is it God’s plan and intention to allow old species to die out and new ones to be discovered? Like the dinosaurs…)…and other random things. My brain hasn’t been stimulated like this in far too long, and I’m enjoying it.
A beautiful quote that fits my life in the past few months, from Reading Lolita in Tehran:
You get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place…like you’ll not only miss the people you love, but you’ll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you’ll never be this way ever again.
When I read this quote, it resonated within me…I cannot even grasp at this point how much I am going to change because of this move to Pennsylvania. That’s part of the fun and the mystery of it all! But it has caused me to really evaluate who I was in Southern California, and who I want to be here in Pennsylvania. And this is a good thing 🙂
What do I miss about Southern California? So far, only Mexican food. 🙂 Seriously, I have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant. It’s quite tragic. 🙂 We’ll see what else I miss as the time passes…
Yesterday, I went kayaking with my friend Lena–and it was so relaxing! It’s quite an experience…and I am thinking about investing in a kayak in the future. We’ll see about that. 🙂
Life is good…great job prospect (pretty much my dream job, in fact!)…great friends (always looking to make new friends, as well)…amazing God who is in control of it all. 🙂
PS–if anyone knows Dan Tyminski, I need to meet him. LOL. I decided yesterday that I want him and his band to play at my wedding–how perfect would that be?! 🙂 No, I’m not engaged–just thinking ahead, since it could take awhile to meet him.
Even So, Joy 