i have a new place to live

Tonight i got a call from the owner of the house that i applied to rent. My application has been accepted and i will sign the lease on Wednesday of next week. I hope to actually move on the Satruday after Thanksgiving. I am so ready for this because i am so done with Bellevue. I want out of here!

I am so over SR 520 and the floating bridges. There are a million things that i will not miss when i leave here. not the least of which is my noisy neighbor. They are always playing the TV or the stereo too loud. It is never quite over on the other side of the wall.

I also won’t miss having to walk outside with my laundry to the laundry room or the limited hours that the laundry room is open or the inconvience of lugging the laundry over in the rain only to find that the washers are all full.

I’m looking forward to having a second room in which i can have my office (i.e. The Creativity Factory). I need a place, not in the church building, where i can read and write and create.

I am pleased to have a house that will not be so far from where my boyfriend lives, a house that is not far from downtown Seattle, a house that is near places in Seattle that i like, a house near good local establishments for music and entertainment, a house in a community in which i see lots of Black folk.

I know there will be challenges to living in Seattle again but i’m ready for those challenges. Just get me out of Bellevue and back to a place that feels more like home.

 

…meanwhile back on the fat farm…

Our hero is still valiently struggling toward fitness. Day by day, hour by hour, choice by choice i’m getting there. The best move i’ve made recently in that department is the purchase of the Wii system. I’d rather be walking outside for my exercise but it’s late November in Seattle and so it’s cold and rainy. I ain’t walking in that weather. Coming up on the end of the first week with the Wii and so far so good.

The Fit Plus software is very helpful for me. I’ve put together a little routine that invloves some yoga, some muscle toning/strengthening, a good dose of areobic work. It’s only been a week but i can feel the challenge to my body and i can tell that i’m pushing myself but not too hard. I don’t feel that i’m over-reaching. I’ll come back to the details of my little workout later.

 

facebook account hacked

I didn’t pay attention while i was online the other day. My security software warned me of a program that was suspicious. It even warned me three times and, to my chagrin, i ignored the warning. As a result my facebook account got hacked…

…and i had to shut it down. The computer itself is not infected with any known virus. The security software was able to fix the problem once i wiped the hard drive, restored the system and reloaded the security software. I lost some data though not a lot. Still it was an annoying lesson to pay attention to my security software. After all that is what i pay them for.

 

and now it’s public

Yesterday it went public. I told the people of the congregation where i serve that i will be leaving. I can now reveal details that i had to keep confidential. I will be the next vicar at All Saints Episcopal Church in Seattle. I begin my new duties the first week in January 2010. Since i’ll be going home for a little bit around Christmas my last day at my current congregation will be December 20th.

I found myself much more emotional than i thought i would be when it came time to make the announcement. There were certain members who i knew i couldn’t look at during my announcement or i was going to lose it completely. It was hard to say i was leaving even though i’ve only been there a short while and have been part-time on top of that. Still i care deeply about the people of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection.

The members expressed a mix of emotion: surprise and sadness seemed to be the most common. There were some who were angry and didn’t think it fair that i would have to leave after being present for such a short time. Honestly a few people are probably relieved. There was a segment of the congregation that was not comfortable with me. My way of coming at you with high energy, creativity and an emphasis on multi-cultural ministry made some people nervous and uncomfortable. They would just as soon i leave so that church can “get back to normal.” However most of the congregation expressed the sentiment that i will be missed and that i’ve already contributed a lot to the life of this parish.

There are lots of things i will miss about Resurrection. I will also really miss being in a team situation where i shared preaching and presiding at Eucharist. At All Saints i’ll be it every week. I think i’ll move to change that somehow so that i get a break and the people of All Saints get a break too. I’ve come to value to opportunity to hear different voices in worship and preaching.

And so i begin to move away from the Church of the Resurrection. The separation process has begun.

 

to gym or not to gym?

My plan for the cold weather months was to join a gym. However there is a problem with this plan. The problem is that i hate gyms. The setting is not to my liking at all. First off i hate the music that is played in them and/or the fact that televisions are everywhere in them. I don’t like the way they smell. Being around all those skinny fit people always makes me feel inadequate and a more than a little self-conscience about being the fat girl at the gym. These things make me not want to go. Then there is the cost. They cost about $50/month which is too much for me since i would only be using the gym for about two things: the track and one aerobic machine.

So i have hesitated to join a gym and instead have looked at some alternatives. I have decided on an alternative exercise/activity strategy for the cold months: a video game system. yes i said video game system. It’s the Wii. I researched it and decided that the Wii along with its Fit Plus software would be great to get me up and moving for my Weight Watchers activity points.

So Friday i bought the system and the Fit Plus software and got it all set up in my living room. Then i tried it out. It was great. There are games/activities to work on posture, balance, flexibility, strength, and endurance. And i had a great time with the Wii. It was more like play than working out. But i knew it was working out because i could feel the parts of my body that were getting worked. And when i woke up this morning i knew that i had been in a workout.

My next Wii workout is today. I have an event this evening and then i will workout afterward. I’m actually looking forward to the workout even more than the event.

 

another surprise at weekly weight-in day

So i stepped on the scale today at my meeting fully expecting to see a gain and i was surprised to hear that i’d lost 3.6 pounds this week and am now at 192.2 lbs.

Although i like what happened this week i am a bit perplexed as to how to explain it. I didn’t do well this week. At least i didn’t think i did well this week. I track my food and i do a pretty good job at doing that. In the Weight Watchers plan i get 35 points of food that i can use anyway i want in addition to the regular daily points. Usually i don’t use anymore than 10 to 15 points of that 35 each week. This week i used pretty much all of them. Add to that the fact that i only had one day of exercise (Friday) and i figured that i should be looking at a gain. Maybe what happened was that i overestimated the points of some of the foods i ate this week. I ate some things that i don’t normally eat and i think i got the points wrong.

Also most of the hours at work this week i was standing. I usually sit at a desk when i’m at D-House but since i no longer have a desk at D-House i’ve been putting my laptop on the piano in the Great Hall and standing by it. I guess doing this for 8 hours a day has helped me burn more calories than i would in a normal week. That might have helped me.

I am now at the place in this process where i need to think about what my final goal weight should be. Today it seems reasonable to have 160 lbs as my goal. That would get me in the high-end of a normal weight. That would mean that i have to lose 32.2 pounds before i’d be there. And that is still a lot of weight. When i get to 160 i’ll re-assess and see if i need to adjust my goal downward.

 

opps, didn’t follow my food plan this week

Friday has snuck up on me and i realized that the week has flashed by and that i haven’t been very focused on my eating and my exercise. The week has been so eventful and so full that i’ve not done any exercise in it. I’ve eaten way too much food. I’ve done a terrible job tracking food and activity this week. I feel the difference. I expect that tomorrow the scale will tell a sad story. I will be shocked if i have gained less than 2 pounds this week. My actual prediction is that i have gained between 2 and 2.5 pounds this week.

It’s not going to fun to see this on my weight record but this will bring me back to reality. Today i am back “on program” and have returned to eating right. Because it is raining and cold i’ll go someplace indoors to walk this morning. And next week the scale will tell a better story.

 

good news

This afternoon i went into D-House and the woman who handles deployment called me into her office. I knew what she wanted. She wanted to tell me what i already knew, that congregation #1 said no. So i sat down and waited to hear news that would not be news.

To my surprise she began, “I have good news for you.” She went on to say that congregation #1 has voted to accept the bishop’s deal and to accept me along with the deal. They said yes and i said GREAT!!!!!

The plan is for me to start at my new congregation on January 1st. I’m so excited that i want to tell everyone but i can’t yet. I have to keep it confidential until we figure out a way to tell all the parties involved in such a way as they all find out at the same time. Congregation #3 needs to be informed as does the congregation that i’m currently serving. When that happens i can go public. Until then i still cannot name names and i can’t tell anyone but my closest associates. My boss at D-House knows. Tomorrow i’ll tell the priest-in-charge at the congregation i’m serving the news. I’ll also tell my parents and siblings and, of course, i’ll tell my boyfriend.

There’s so much to do between now and January 1st. And i’ll be writing all about it here.

 

moving toward the future

I’m sitting in the Starbucks at the intersection of Rainier Avenue S and S Edmunds Street as i write this. Yes, i’m in Columbia City (again). What bring me here today? The quest for housing.  As of today i have about a month and a half left before my current job ends. I have no new job to go to. I have one less job option now than i did before this day began. And yet my search for housing has gone to the next level. I actually made and appointment and saw a house today.

The location is perfect. It’s here in Columbia City.

It’s a 7 minute drive from the church that i hope will call me. It’s a 6 minute walk from the Columbia City station of the new Link light rail that runs from downtown Seattle to the airport. It’s on a nice street that feels safe. It’s near all the stores and shops i want to be near. It’s in a walkable neighborhood. It’s in an ethnically diverse neighborhood. And there are lots of black folk here!

The house is the perfect size for me. It is small. But that is just what i want in terms of size. The larger bedroom will work as my sleeping space and the smaller bedroom with be a perfect study or as i’ve always called my study space: “The Creativity Factory.” the kitchen is a useable size and the living room/dining room will be just right. There is plenty of storage and there is a basement has a washer and dryer.

It’s an old house (1919) but a lot of upgrades have happened. New windows, new plumbing, reworked electrical system, newly insulated walls; roof in good shape. There is nice front porch and a beautiful rear deck and wonderful yard. And there is a garage too. I fell in love with they place. i want it. I’m filling out the application this afternoon!

The price is affordable. Yes, it will be a stretch financially but i expect that my salary will go up as i move from being an administrative assistant to being a fulltime priest.

And one more advantage of the house: it is available now. If congregation #1 says yes and if the owners say yes then i could be out of Bellevue by the start of December.

 

vox populi, vox dei

The day began with news from congregation #2. I was surprised to hear from them. I figured that it would be a week or so ye before i would get word from them. But that was not the only thing that surprised me. They informed me that they would be calling someone else and not me to be their priest.

In all my time in my previous church body no church ever said no to me. I got every position that i ever applied for. This is the first time that a church has ever said no to me. Now the very first Episcopal congregation to ever consider me says no. This is an inauspicious beginning to my new vocation as an Episcopal priest. And i admit that i’m a little shaken by it.

Part of me wants to know why they said no. When i look at this church i see a place that has never had anything but white male straight priests. Perhaps it was unrealistic to expect that they would be ready to call a black female transgendered priest. This congregation is in a military community. It’s Navy territory in Bremerton. Maybe i would not have done well in that setting. Perhaps i would not have been very effective there.

Plus, truth to tell, that congregation was my second choice. Congregation #1 is my first choice. That is where a challenge that i feel i can meet can be found. That is where my heart is pulling me. So today i pray for congregation #2:

“Lord, thank you for the people of congregation #2. Thank you for being with them in their discernment process and for guiding them in their choice. Bless the priest whom they call and give her/him wisdom to hear your voice in the voice of this community of faith. Thank you, Lord, for what you have shown me in this process. Give me the peace of closure and the grace to move forward in faith. Guide me also, Lord, because life in the church can get confusing. Amen.”