Superman Returns

And he even has a myspace.

Superman is my favorite super hero. It's mostly because of his flying powers. If I could pick one super hero power, it would definitely be flying. I recently learned that his flying powers were not part of the original comic but were added later. Whatever. He flies now.

I also remember one vacation when I was little our family was staying at a cabin for a long weekend and we watched some episodes of the old Superman TV series. My dad always liked Superman so it was kind of a family thing.

I'm looking forward to the movie. Maybe I'll see it over the long weekend.

Weekend Update with Emily

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been a little busy with other things...so I'll take this chance to catch you up on some news.

Beautiful weekend. This weekend was beautiful! It doesn't get much nicer than that in Eden Park. Saturday we took a walk to Mt. Adams to get a chocolate malt at UDF...mmm, mmm good. Saturday night I went to see "Godspell" at the Carnegie in Covington. It was a good production (props to my cousin Brad as John the Baptist/Judas!) and a cool theater that has recently been restored. Sunday I went for another walk in the park and just hung out the rest of the day.

Keep it on the down-low. Congratulations to Melissa who got a job offer this week!! It was from an under-the-table but highly reputable source so I'll leave it up to her to disclose the location until it's official.

D-Day. Tomorrow is the deadline at work for me to find out the details of my benefits for moving to the UK...I think things are going to work out fine but I might have to put up a fight about my number of trips home. I'll let you know.

Michael Buble. Thursday night we're going to Dayton to see a Michael Buble concert. What a hottie ;)

Long weekend. I'm really looking forward to the 4 day weekend coming up. PLUS, I'm climbing the Purple People Bridge on Saturday morning! I hope it doesn't rain. Other than that I'm hoping to catch some time by the pool and see some friends from out of town.

Coming Soon. Stay tuned for more info on a 30 days of Prayer event for Echo's re-launch.

on moving

"If the darkness grows darker, then, correspondingly, the light can become much brighter. As Europe deals with layers of historical religious pretext and dwindling belief, there is the strong hope that Europe's light will once again shine bright."

This quote from a recent article, "God in Europe", on Relevant Magazine's website describes one reason I'm excited to move to London. In the US it's much more common for people to go to church and call themselves Christians without really allowing it to affect their life. Wheras in Europe, it seems that people don't bother going to church just to go. I According to the particular article 2/3 of Europeans identify themselves as Christians, but less than 1/5 of those even practice. n the US I think it's often more of a social thing, although definitely concentrated in certain areas of the country.

I'm not trying to get into the geography of Christianity here. I'm sure there are lots of theories for why religion has developed differently in the US vs. Europe, but I'm not educated enough on them to comment here (maybe I will read up on this). What I'm trying to say is I'm excited to experience a different culture of Christianity. From what I've seen and heard, the church is much more movement driven in Europe because the people who are there actually want to be there and passionately believe in what they're doing. I think a change is coming...

"European Christianity’s prospective or imminent demise has been predicted for centuries; yet while its 'inevitable' modern successors—from enlightened deist universalism to Jacobinism to Marxism—inevitably descend into strangely quaint anachronism (and there is nothing more quaint than the certitudes of bygone utopian fantasies), Christianity constantly renews itself from sources beyond the vicissitudes of history. Even amid the manifest sins and failings of its faithful, Christian faith proclaims the living words of which modern ideologies are so often parodies." From the article "Is Paris Turning?"

Live from Rohs Street Cafe

The best undiscovered jazz in the city. Seriously, you should come check it out on Thursday nights...

Have I mentioned that I gave up caffeine??

It's beginning to seem a little more real

There is now a tentative timeline for my move to London. Of course, this is all still assuming that I reach an agreement with the company about my benefits package- this should happen within a week or so. Since I'm 99% sure we'll reach an agreement, I've been trying to nail down the expectations and possible date that I might move. If you know me at all, you probably know I definitely need to plan ahead or I stress out even more. It looks like I will be moving between August 8 and 31^st. During the week of August 8^th there is a meeting I will need to go to. After that I’ll likely spend a few days there with a relocation company to find an apartment before coming back to Cincinnati. I’ll be home for a couple weeks and then make the big move in time for a meeting on the 31^st. This has all yet to be officially agreed upon but I thought I’d keep you posted.

All along I’ve been thinking I had until the end of the summer and it seems like that will turn out to be the case. But now that I actually have a date in mind it seems a lot more real again. I’m not freaking out or anything…

Yes, I live in Walnut Hills

You may know my sister Melissa has been scouring the Cincinnati area for summer jobs. It turns out my friend Eric who manages a CVS store had openings so she applied on-line to work there for the summer. When Eric received the application he thought she mistakenly checked a box saying that she was on welfare because the program spit out some extra forms she needed to sign. However, she was pretty sure she hadn't checked anything like that. Today she went for her first day and they found out that something else on her application had triggered the welfare forms to be printed...her zipcode! Just because she lives in Walnut Hills the CVS system printed out welfare forms for her. Apparently there are several things on the application that can trigger this (certain birth dates and I'm not sure what else)- but still. I mean, isn't that some type of weird discrimination or something? Who decides which answers qualify? If they need special forms for welfare, just ask the applicant if they're on welfare. It seems a bit presumptuous to print them based on their answer to other sections of the application.

Maybe this is just another reason to get your prescriptions filled at Milford Pharmacy and Wellness Center instead. (Shout out to my dad here! But we can still be friends Eric)

PS. You can pray for Melissa, she has 2 interviews for teaching jobs on Friday :)

Leaving a legacy

This weekend we went to Columbus for my Grandma Miller's "**th" birthday party. (Happy Birthday Grandma!) It was a big party and many of her family and friends wrote letters to her. My uncle put together a dvd with pictures, music, and Bible verses. At the beginning of the video he read pieces from several of the letters outloud. During the video I found myself crying and and hoping that my life would reflect Christ the way that hers does. I am blessed to have so many wonderful role models around me living out unique examples of following God. I can learn so much about God's character and serving him from my parents, sister, grandparents and many of my good friends...as long as I pay attention.

Sometimes I worry that God won't use me. When I look at all my imperfections I think I could never make an impact for God. But then I remember it's not about me. It is God who works in me to act according to his will. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) All I can do is be a willing servant, seek God and pray that my life will be a unique reflection of Christ.

Rock Your Body

All you need is love...and a toilet paper/iPod holder. You can't tell me you've ever seen anything like this :
Now, I've seen my share of iPod gadgets but I think this one definitely takes the cake...or the crap. I first heard about it in an article forwarded by my friend. I wanted to verify the information so I went to the website and yes, this gadget actually does exist. And it will only set you back $99. I could get a Coach iPod case for less money than that although only slightly less useful (or you might prefer a Star Wars cover.) Apparently just taking a magazine with you is so 2005. Maybe if they make it into a video projector I'll think about it. Rock 'n' Roll baby!

The Nasty Boys

Here's a little Reds flashback for you:

I'm sure everyone remembers when the Reds went wire-to-wire and won the World Series in 1990. I was 9 then and only recently learned what the term "wire-to-wire" meant (thanks Dad!). Although, I might have known it at the time because I was big into the Reds. Eric Davis was my favorite player at the time. I can't really remember why but he was definitely cool. (Hey, I never claimed to be a sports commentator). Melissa's favorite player was Chris Sabo...apparently she digs guys with rec specs.

So, if you're longing for the days when the Reds were a little more consistent, bid on this sweet Wheaties box my dad hung onto for 16 years. (I don't recommend eating them though)


Interesting note: Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Paul O'Neill, Billy Hatcher, Jose Rijo, Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers all have their own entries on Wikipedia but Chris Sabo doesn't. I wonder how it feels to have an entry on Wikipedia...or not?

scrapbook

Sorry I haven't written too much of great interest lately. I promise my next post will be an in-depth social commentary you won't want to miss.

For now, I've updated my photos including St. Lucia, Jenny's wedding and some other miscellaneous pictures. I've also included here a few of my favorite pictures from the past few months...enjoy.

me with Kelly and Kaelyn

me with Abby and Otis

me and Jenny

Red Hot

Go Reds!

I've decided to make it official. My new favorite Reds player is....drumroll please...Bronson Arroyo. He definitely has a cool name, nice hair and, as a bonus, he's my neighbor (Mt. Adams is close enough). He might be an obvious choice but I'll pick him anyway. He is a great addition to the team. Congratulations to the runner-up, Jason LaRue.

Wedding Weekend

I'd like to give a shout out to my awesome friend Jenny and say congratulations on her upcoming marriage this weekend! I'm going to be busy with wedding stuff until Saturday night so you may not hear from me for a while.

I've known Jenny since high school but we became real friends at Miami. After Miami Jenny and I lived together for a year and I wouldn't trade that year for anything. Jenny was there for me through the transition from college to the working world and is probably the person who knows the most about me outside of my family. We over-analyzed quite a few situations and every challenge that came along in our spiritual lives over Oreos and coffee. At the end of everything we realized it was all as simple as God as first priority in our lives, but for some reason we had to keep discovering this over and over.

Congratulations Jenny and Jimmy...I hope to see you in London!

Hi Mom!!

Happy Birthday Mom! (Actually, it's June 7th. Don't worry, her birthday isn't on 6/6/06) You don't look a day over 30...but for those of you who are curious, I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with nifty.


Get this video and more at MySpace.com

What makes the people purple?

I mentioned this in a recent post, but I'm super excited about the Purple People Bridge Climb. Only 7 days to go until it opens...sign me up, I'll be ordering a ticket soon! It's a little more expensive than going to the movies but much cooler. What a great way to experience the city in a whole new way. Apparently they are even working on theme climbs, I guess to keep people coming back. Or, you can pay extra for a sunrise, sunset or night climb. Personally, I think the sunrise climb should be a discount. Either way, it is on my list of things to do this summer before I move to London.

untitled

I have no real original thoughts today so I'm just going to leave you with this:

The one thing I ask of the Lord,
the thing I seek most:
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord's perfections
and meditating in his temple.

Psalm 27:4

Busy Week

Did you miss me? It's been a crazy week, I've been gone every night and am just about ready to drop.

Monday I went to my parents' for a cookout which was fun. I practiced my golf swing a little and managed to up the percentage of times that I actually hit the ball! Tuesday night I went to dinner with my friend Mollie who was in town from Texas. It was a great night of catching up and dissecting the ins-and-outs of the transition from college to the real world. Yes, we've been at it for 2 years now but the conversation doesn't get old, it just keeps changing as life goes on.

It's been a busy week at work, too. We had a lot of final presentations which kept me busy during the day. We also had our new Cincinnati office warming party so there were lots of directors from the Connecticut office in so that kept me busy at night. Ever since I started working for a company based in Stamford, CT, located just outside of NYC, I constantly find myself defending the lovely city of Cincinnati. Every time I think I've made some progress someone says, "It seems like kind of a dead city," and I have to make up lost ground. Whenever they come to town I try to be the hostess with the mostest and show them the cool places around the city, not just downtown. I know I don't have to convince most of you reading since you probably live or have lived here...but we have lots of great stuff to do! Check out the latest combined effort of Cincinnati Magazine and Cincinnati USA. The City Guide for 2006/2007 has tons of great articles and events. It also lists plenty of top rankings the city has received over the past few years. I, for one, am looking forward to the Purple People Bridge walk opening this summer.