December 2012

No More Teenagers

Jean turned 20 this month. No more cheap "Teen Tix" for her. And it's nice to always be able to count on our auxiliary party place (Susan's house) for a birthday venue.

More welcome than presents perhaps is the ubiquitous COSTCO cake.

Her birthday falls in the limbo days between the end of fall quarter and the date autumn quarter grades are posted. She reports that she had another great quarter in the classroom — all A grades.

A Final Christmas Lunch with Jeff

For many years now I've been the longest serving staff member in the business school. I was the only one at the staff party that had worked for the previous dean, Alec Hill.

The quality of the white elephant gifts continues to lag (except the paper shredder I brought and Mark Oppenlander "stole" from Wilma Garrett), but this annual event is a staff favorite.

This group shot, taken while everyone was waiting for my Mu Shu Pork to arrive, is why I got another wide angle lens,
a AF-S Nikkor 18-135mm lens.

Autumn Study Ends "On Time"

Our autumn study of 1st Kings concluded right on time as we finished 1 Kings 22 on December 22nd.

We will return on January 5th and pick up our interim study of the Psalms in the praise Psalms (96-100). Then on January 26th, we'll begin our winter study through Colossians. I'm honored that these friends trust my leadership and scholarship enough to come back week after week, and many year after year.

BUS 2700 Preparations Get Under Way

It's not quite like writing a dissertation, but updating "my" statistics course, and integrating BUS 1700 Spreadsheets into it, is a daunting task. But this month, the process got a big jump start. Early this month, provost-to-be Jeff Van Duzer spoke with his boss (until January 31st),
Dr. Bruce Congdon, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the two agreed to reaffirm my courtesy title of Instructor. I've used the title since 2000. It had been granted by the last provost, Dr. Bruce Murphy, and my previous dean, Alec Hill. It is perhaps only important only to me, but it motivates me all the same. When I teach occasionally and advise students it's important for them to believe that I am "on the faculty" despite my staff contract.

BCS Wrestling

Nathanael checked in with his mentor Paul Perkins, at the annual BCS As Iron Sharpens Iron tournament.

I will only be shooting two evening duals in January, and that will be the extent of my winter sports photography. (The voluntary pre-tournament prayer was well attended.)

Christmas 2012

I believe this was the first Christmas I can remember where I slept well and was not rushed or anxious about anything. I was up until after 1:30 a.m. on Christmas morning but it was not to rush through last minute preparations. I was working on a rare family holiday letter. I did not get up in the morning until 9:00 a.m.

Again this year, Nancy and the kids asked that I not go overboard with the presents. I believe they were happy with my choices and self-imposed limits on quantity. Randy joined us at 12:40 p.m. and we had a simple ham sandwich and chips lunch before heading up to Susan's.

On Christmas Eve, JB dug up the tiny "Charlie Brown" tree where it had taken root just outside our family room door. It was a breeze to decorate. And, of course, it was a far cry from our typical huge trees, but we did not want to spend our time on a tree. We went to the children's 3:15 p.m. service at UPC and then stopped at Safeway to buy some canned goods to drop in the food collection bin as we drove through Candy Cane Lane in the U District. Some traditions don't change, but this time it was not dark as we drove by the decorated homes.

Everyone seemed happy with the gifts they received. But nobody was as excited (or as surprised) as Nathanael was when he unwrapped a 24 pound box that contained a chainmail shirt that I'd bought online from armorvenue.com the week before. Amazingly, Jean carried it in from Roy the mailman on Christmas Eve.

Nancy surprised me with a nice ham on Christmas Eve. I'd planned to hit Safeway for their $0.99/lb. ham but that would mean cooking. Nancy's COSTCO selection was ready to serve. And the whimsical iron coat rack she got me was a total surprise and quite welcomed. Now I have a hat rack to the left of the deck door and a coat rack to the right as I come home from work.

The Hobbit

On December 18th, Susan took Jean, Nate, Nancy and I to see The Hobbit in 3-D at the Cinerama Theatre. It was no doubt an exciting movie, but I at least could not separate the novelty of the 3-D presentation from the story. I could not concentrate on the plot when my mind was remarking on the camera angles and images flying out of Middle Earth and into this Seattle theatre.

Jean had especially been longing to see this first installment of the new trilogy. She even dressed as a hobbit. I thought she was too cute to be a hobbit and seemed to me more elven.

I did not notice the many places where the screenplay departed from the book until we began to reflect after the movie. Yet, I'm sure the family will get the trilogy on DVD in a few years.

It was a nice way to kick start the holidays. I still had to go back to work on Friday the 19th but it was a treat.

And Les Misérables on the 28th...

Jean, Nathanael, Nancy and I caught the early 11:10 a.m. matinee at the AMC Loews Factoria 8 theatre. I'm all for $5 movie tickets. And, having just seen The Hobbit and Marvel's The Avengers movie (which we borrowed from the library and watched three times over the holiday week), we deemed Les Misérables the far superior movie. We all cried. God was honored. Honorable deeds and personal sacrifices were displayed in abundance. We have long enjoyed the musical since the magnificent BCS performance. And Annie even saw it when she was in London. Annie gave it a B+, but we all gave it a higher grade.

Seahawks and #3 Russell Wilson Put Seattle on the NFL Map and into the Playoffs

What an amazing month for Seattle Seahawk football — five wins in the month. Dec. 2, 23-17 in OT vs. Chicago; Dec. 9, 58-0 vs. Arizona; Dec. 16, 50-17 vs. Buffalo; Dec. 23, 42-13 vs. San Francisco; Dec. 30, 20-13 vs. St. Louis. It was a great month for Seahawks football.

On the final Sunday in December, it was a long afternoon and evening of NFL football. After the Seahawks won, we watched the Washington vs. Dallas showdown in D.C. Rookie QB Robert Griffin III of Washington led his team to a 28-18 victory, the NFC East title, and a chance to host the Seahawks in Washington D.C. on Sunday, January 6th.

Bits and Pieces

The holiday break gave me a chance to begin my study of Matthew 12-16 for June and July at Emerald Heights. Sue Scott made it official when she emailed the request this month. I also had time to study Psalms 96-103, which will be our Saturday study the first three weeks in January.

Ginger and Bob would have celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on the 29th. We had a family party for her.

Ginger cat is still hanging in there and Shadow (right) continues to get into everyting!

My Quote from December

. . . I desired to be alone with Dejah Thoris, who represented to me all that I had left behind upon Earth in agreeable and congenial companionship. There seemed bonds of mutual interest between us as powerful as though we had been born under the same roof rather than upon different planets, hurtling through space some forty-eight million miles apart.

That she shared my sentiments in this respect I was positive, for on my approach the look of pitiful hopelessness left her sweet countenance to be replaced by a smile of joyful welcome, as she placed her little right hand upon my left shoulder in true red Martian salute.

"Sarkoja told Sola that you had become a true Thark," she said, "and that I would now see no more of you than of any of the other warriors."

"Sarkoja is a liar of the first magnitude," I replied, "notwithstanding the proud claim of the Tharks to absolute verity." Dejah Thoris laughed.

"I knew that even though you became a member of the community you would not cease to be my friend; 'A warrior may change his metal, but not his heart,' as the saying is upon Barsoom."

from A Princess of Mars, chapter VIII, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Raccoons Grow Up

Our local raccoon family stopped by. Mom and the four kits were not as welcome as when the kits were babies. But they stayed long enough for me to photograph them in the dark. I tried both of my newest lenses acquired again via eBay. The 18-135mm f1:3.5-5.6G (mentioned above) could not get a shot. I had bought it mostly for its wide angle ability. But when I switched to an AF Nikkor 85mm 1:1.8D, I got the shots.

I now own five Nikon bodies (of which one D70 is kaput.) And I've lost count of the number of lenses. This "prime lens," the 85mm f1.8, is primarily a portrait lens but joins my cheaper 50mm f1.8 lens for shooting in low light. Of course, the raccoons were in the dark and the flash still left a limited depth of field. But critters still make great camera targets, even this worm Nancy insisted I shoot in JB's clementine. For that, my 60mm f2.8D Macro lens was ideal.

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