A Week of Rest

I am finally on inter-semester break. I'm looking forward to have some time to regain my bearings, and really spend some quiet time with friends I've made out here. I was thinking about going down to West Virginia for a few days with some people but decided that staying around campus and working was going to be better.

I picked up a book on the Civil War for some "for fun" reading this week. It's called "Battle Cry of Freedom" by James McPherson, who is an American History professor at Princeton. It won the Pulitzer prize and is a one volume history of the Civil War. What makes that impressive is that most other scholars who write about the Civil War use multiple volumes to cover it, with 7 volumes not being unusual. So I'm very excited to jump into this book. It's written in narrative, which should make it more interesting and engaging.

Other than that, I'm planning on taking this time to explore, though with the turn in the weather, I may be confined in doors. This morning it was 23* before wind chill, which brought it down to about 10*. It was reminiscent of the cold in Florida in 2001 with the marching band. Hopefully it will warm up a bit this week.

I went to an Episcopal church this morning to "kill the heathen" (as my friend Christine was telling me to do). I hadn't had much of a chance to go to church while in NJ in December or during finals. It was an interesting experience. The church is right across the street from the seminary, and the building was built in the 19th century. It was a good service, my first at an Episcopal church. I'm finding that I really enjoy more liturgical services. I suppose that would make me fit well in an East Coast Presbyterian church as they're more liturgical.

I'm also going to invest in a bike when I get the money. I need a little more mobility than I currently have and they're so much to see around the area that having a bike will afford me the opportunity to get out a bit more. There are a group of students who go riding, so that will be good to find some of the good bike routes.

Finally, I was able to meet up with Andy Lucas while he was at the seminary. It was good to see a familiar face, and discuss seminary life.

Hopefully I'll be able to update a bit more in the coming weeks. It's a relief knowing that when I wake up tomorrow, I won't have to worry about class or finals.