Sunday, October 03, 2004

Wow! What a weekend!

I don't even remember most of Saturday. Oh! Wait, yes I do. I was in class from 8 to 4. Then zoomed up I-280 (one of the most beautiful roads in Amerca) to go to Confession.

As long as I am on the topic of Confession, I never feel like I do a good job at it. I think it is bcause I have read things like this. But I just don't talk like that. Besides, I would just feel proud of myself if I did say confession like that. I'm really good at acting religious. I'm not very good at being real. Besides, I suppose if I ever tried to do a confession like the one I provided a link to, well, Fr. Victor or Fr. David would just tell me to start over.

After church we ate at Goat Hill Pizza (pictures here)on Potrero Hill. (Our traditional meal is a medium pepperoni, mushroom, and red onion - green salads with blue cheese dressing - root beer. They always bring the little boy a bowl of black olives kindey beans. Of course, he turns the olives into finger puppets.)

Church this morning was very excellent. In general, Orthodox sermonizing isn't as entertaining as Protestant preaching. But I am getting used to it. Fr. David talked about both the Gospel and the Apostol reading today. Summary: die to yourself if you really want to live.

Ran some errands after church. Took a nap. Cyndi hemmed some pants for me. (My aikido uniform and my medical scrubs.)

Did homework. Cyndi is a big help to me.

Came across this funny map of Florida on Get religion. All I have to say about it is this: God chastizes those whom He loves.

3 comments:

Huw Richardson said...

I can hear Fr David say exactly these words, "die to yourself if you really want to live." I can hear his voice and everything. I'll never forget the first time Fr V preached a sermon that moved me to tears... everyone at lunch (Mary C, Brian, Robert, etc) was at great pains to tell me to avoid actually complimenting him because that's not an Orthodox style thing to do. It does take a lot of getting used to, huh?

Have you read St Cosmos Aitolos on Confession? I foudn it very useful for my first one... but not so useful after that. If your worried about how your doing in confession, as Fr V for advice. He gave me some good stuff, and also Fr J did when I asked for more once I got here.

Not sure how you're defining 280 as "one of the most beautiful" in America... that's a macjor stretch of hyper boring suburbia with an 8 lane pavement running through it. I40 in northern Texas was better, and that's saying something! Unless you mean utilitarian beauty - cuz if you want to drive a vehicle filled with expolsive liquid up a volitile earthquake fault at hyper speeds, 280 wins hands down.

Now if you want beautiful, try I85 in the Shanandoa Valley, or Hwy 58 out of Bakersfield, over the St Francis Mtns to where it rejoins I40. THAT'S amazing. (I'll stay away from comments on well-known two lane roads, as most people who drive cars think I'm insane.)

Huw Richardson said...

I'd agree if it was "in the bay area" (although the PCH wins on that front) but Matt said "in America" and I don't think it makes even the top ten for that :-)

Matt said...

No, I haven't talked to Fater Victor. I will.

I-280: The road itself isn't beautiful, but the view of the hills to the west is gorgeous. The afore mentioned lake sitting in the fault, the redwoods at the higher elevations giving way to the oaks at lower elevations, the fog comming over the tops of the mountains, the horses and cattle between the road and the trees. I love it.

I also like the George Washington Parkway.

And that freway that runs between Nashville and Clarksville is pretty nice too. Green Tobacco fields in the Summer. Gold tobacco fields in the Autumn. And in the winter there is a gorge that freeses into a wall of sparkling icecicles. In the spring all of that ice melts and it is to beautiful to describe. Of course, I saw a horrible wreck in that gorge once. It was foggy. Car after car plowed into the wreck. I think there was a total of 40 or 50 cars involved. It was terrible.

But aside from that it is a beautiful road.

No, I didn't make it to the Altar consecration. I was in my CCRM class all day.