our new pet

brett brought one of these home the other day. it's very furry and has pink toes. it eats crickets. i can't remember what brett named it, but he keeps it in our office. i don't go in there anymore.

my job

in one month and five days i am going to quit my job of almost six years. i feel like i must pay tribute to it.

first of all, i did not have to apply for this job. it was handed to me. in fact, it was handed to me across an ocean. at the time of the offer i was teaching in honduras, was penniless, and was clueless as to what i was going to do in the future. then, amazingly, one day i received an email from an old prof of mine that said, "Schipper, you out there?" I said I was. The next thing I knew I was on a plane home and two weeks later, sitting behind a computer making more money than what my mom likes to say is more than she's ever made in her life. heh.

i'm the type of person who gets bored easily. when i'm bored with something, i just quit doing it. so, obviously this job has held my attention. that's not to say that i haven't had a lot of extremely long, extremely boring days. but, for the most part this job has allowed me the creative freedom i have needed to stay put for awhile. my job is to write scripts and then make 15 minute radio programs based on those scripts for people who are learning English as another language. most of the programs have a christian twist or moral to them but some of them don't. and i can make these programs about anything i want. every day i come to work and i read hundreds of different news articles and websites about anything i care to read about. when something sparks my interest, i write about it. then, i make a radio program. i use different kinds of music and sound effects. once i even sang a song in one of my programs. that wasn't a very good one, but still, i get to do whatever i want. and then, thousands of people all over the world listen to them. sometimes they write to me or one of my comrades which makes me feel kind of like a superstar.

my job is really flexible. i've been going to school and working for two years now. sometimes i would leave in the middle of the day to go to class and no one cared. sometimes, b/c of a morning class, i wouldn't come in until after noon and people would just greet me at the door like it was 8:30am. and when i have to get something done, i just leave. like today, i had a dentist appointment at my fake dentist office (i swear everyone there is just pretending...but i've been going there for almost 10 years and haven't lost any teeth yet...). sometimes when it is near the end of the day, i just don't come back. i just make up the difference on some other day. they trust me that i'm working 40...so i make sure i work 40 hours. except for now i only work 35. they let me just reduce my hours. AND they still give me benefits.

benefits. that is another great thing about this job. i get to go to the dentist every six months. and believe you me...i am in that chair every chance i get! next year i won't have dental insurance OR vision insurance so i know what a treasure this is. i know that this job has really taken care of me over the years. like, for instance, that time last summer when i had to go to the doctor three times in one week for various weird ailments. did i pay at all for that? nope.

my job always has treats in the kitchen. usually left-overs from someone's birthday or sometimes someone will just bring in a treat just because. at christmas this place is an abundance of treats. we're talking stomachaches caused by treat overload. this is a great place to have pms.

sometimes my job flies me to cool places. since beginning work here i've been to england, cyprus, poland, hungary, mongolia, china, and equador. most of the time i just sit in meetings. sometimes i teach. once i got to meet people who listen to our program and some of them asked for my autograph. i had to sign "Rebekah Schipper" b/c that is my radio name. that was pretty rad.

and finally, the people at my work are real nice. they celebrate my birthday each year. they sing to me, with candles and everything! and many of them ask me about school. they ask me how i did on this or that exam. i feel like i have to do good so that i won't disappoint them. when i got married they threw me a silly shower. they all just pretended that they happened to bring random things to work that they no longer "wanted." sponges, baskets, tupperwear, towels...all things found on my registry and things they knew i would need. one time i was mentoring a mexican family that was experiencing some real needs. my coworkers pitched in and raised $300 for them. i couldn't believe it and neither could that family! everyone i work with is very generous. and they are also very strong christians. i mean, i don't always agree with everything that people have to say, but i know that they mean well. they are trying to do what they believe is best and that is something that i can admire. and many of the people i work with are very wise, each in their own way, and i have learned a lot about life, death, marriage, and christianity from them. some of the people who work with me are from far off lands. some of them are being persecuted for what they do. it makes me think a lot about what i stand for and what i do here at work. their stories remind me to do a good job when i start to slack.

i've really liked this job. there were times when i felt fairly useless, times when i felt like what i wrote or made programs about didn't matter. but then recently i got an email from a listener in Iran. he said he was a muslim but enjoyed my program about "acts of service." he said he really liked the example of Jesus i had used. i did not help bring this man to Christ or anything, but it was neat to see how he could identify with the Christ that i had written about. now, i feel more confident about my work here and can exit with pride.

it's definitely time for me to move on to new endeavors but i know the good Lord gave me exactly what I needed for exactly the time I needed it. -sn

signs of spring

this morning i walked outside into the sunshine and noticed that my tulips have started to push their way out of the still semi-frozen earth. they're awake! spring is on its way...

but this is not the only sign of spring that i have witnessed in the last week. another sure sign is that my neighborhood has come alive. unlike the slow growth of my tulips, my neighborhood explodes into life. people come out of their houses and sit on their porches. kids on bikes zoom through the streets challenging you to hit them with your car. and the noise level raises a notch or two. that and my own excitement for warmer weather makes it a little harder to fall asleep at night. i love these signs of spring.

but there are other signs that i do not love. i do not love the increased amounts of broken glass i find shattered on my sidewalk or the endless chip bags that collect along my fence. i do not love news reports that splash pictures of familiar streets while talking heads describe the latest gang activity, a shooting, a fight at the bus station, the rape of a girl two blocks away who had my same description, young, white, climbing out of her car, alone at night. i do not love the large groups of young men that travel like herds up and down my street. with more people outdoors come more requests for money, "i just need enough for the bus," more requests for rides, "my car won't start and i need a ride to the store," and more requests to do this job or that job around my house, "how much will you give me to do that for you?" i do not love this either.

last night was the first time ever that i decided to drive around the block to avoid a herd of 12 teenage boys instead of performing my usual routine of parking, getting out of my car, greeting the herd, and going inside. something told me to just keep going and i make it a habit to always follow my gut. but this made me sad.

i do not want to be afraid of the city. i do not want biased news reports, reports that only show the bad, to override what i know to be good and fill me with fear. i do not want my first reaction to ever be mistrust. mistrust builds barriers and there are already enough barriers between me and my black neighbors. these are historical barriers that i hope will one day be broken down. my mistrust would do nothing but act as a reinforcement to those historical barriers. but i also don't want to be stupid. and that is why i drove around the block.

i'm very aware that the number of traveling herds has grown in the last year. i see how these groups of young men taunt and threaten others on my street. i listen to my neighbor when she tells me stories of young kids who throw glass bottles through UPS truck windows in broad daylight on their way home from school. i understand that their boldness has grown. my ears are tuned to the sounds of police sirens that tear through my streets, that sound has become more common. my gut tells me that there is a sense of restlessness on the south east side.

but my gut also tells me that i am where i belong for the time being. God lives in restless places and God is alive in me. so, i sweep up glass and pick up chip bags again and again to demonstrate that i believe our neighborhood matters. i plant flowers and vegetables and explain to kids why i do, because they make our street look more beautiful. i talk to my neighbors and together we break down racial barriers. i make my home a place where the kids next door feel safe. it's true that i may have to take the long route home sometimes. but maybe, just maybe, it's also true that my presence makes a difference.

spring is upon us. the signs are everywhere. i pray that i am able to focus on the beautiful ones. -sn

my archaeological dig

i've always thought it would be fun to be an archaeologist, to dust off that ancient artifact and reveal all of its secrets, to experience the thrill of finding something that perhaps no other person has ever seen before. well, last week i probably came as close to "archaeologist" as i will ever come...and it wasn't that great.

last week brett and i, with the help of our friend shannon, proudly finished our basement. we ripped down the yellowing ceiling panels and spray painted the rafters, pipes, and wires a dark chocolate brown. we exposed the basement windows from their hiding place behind the 70s style wood paneling and built some windowsills. then, we painted over every surface with a light, cheery colour. and soon, we hope to replace the old orange and brown striped carpet. but, until we are able to afford that...we had to preserve the carpet and not drip paint on it while we gave the walls their make-over. no easy task. brett and i spent hours laying on our sides carefully painting the bottom edge of the wall, trying to avoid leaving a trail of paint along the carpet.

you must realize that the lighting in our basement is, well, non-existent. we had to set up lamps and drag them along with us as we painted. the lamps would sometimes cast eerie shadows, shadows that could sometimes play tricks on our eyes... at one point i was in the basement alone, laying on my side, painting a semi-obscure corner. a dark object in that corner caught my eye. at first glance i thought, "oh! my missing black nylon sock. hooray!" i picked it up. it did not feel like the soft sock my eyes led me to believe that i had seen. it was hard. it was a little bit crunchy. i brought it closer to my face for closer inspection, just like any good archeologist would do. it was a condom.

but not just any condom. this was an ANCIENT condom. it had become hard and crusty with age and the chemical reactions that had taken place over time had changed its colour to black. to whom did this condom belong? was this condom shared b/w two people who experienced true love? why would someone throw a condom in a dark corner of a basement? was this the actual spot of consummation? these are the questions of true archaeologists. i, on the other hand, was too busy washing my hands and holding down my lunch to ask such questions.

it's been said that my house once housed some of calvin's finest (b/c don't ALL calvin students exist under this category?) don't believe for a second if someone tells you that calvin students don't have sex. because they do. i've got archaeological proof. -sn

fennville

we conquered hills

we gathered speed

we risked death

we walked for miles

across unchartered territory

until we had it in our sights
FENNVILLE

restaurant of choice: CLOSED

luckily there was: The Blue Goose

On my first day of spring break brett and I did end up going to fennville, a one road town. i had heard a report on NPR about this little delight and wanted to check out the restaurant they had boasted about. i couldn't remember the name of it right away and we ended up walking into a grocery store on accident. but, looking up and down the street we did end up finding it and were greeted by a CLOSED sign. luckily the people at the blue goose were a little more friendly to us, the weary travelers. -sn

*note to everyone. always carry a sled in your trunk, you never know when you might need it.

testing, testing...

i'm gonna break it

i don't know why my pictures aren't showing up, but i'm about ready to punch my fist through this screen. stupid computer...

on to other more important things. it is now officially spring break. i am officially taking one week off of work and doing nothing except for getting a message, a wonderful gift from my husband. we may also try to go somewhere to do something. brett wants to go backpacking in Tennessee. but i said "no" to that plan. it is too hard for me to stay warm. then i feel tense. and then it is not fun. might as well just be in school...tense. sometimes i ruin brett's life. but hopefully we can come to a happy compromise. i even suggested skiing somewhere. also a cold activity, but one where i know i don't have to actually sleep outside on the frozen ground in 20 degree temperatures. i can go inside, drink hot chocolate, and snuggle under blankets any time i want. but brett kind of vetoed that idea. after skiing in colorado...skiing in michigan seems kind of pointless. i did hear a little report on NPR the other day about fennville. apparently it's an up and coming artist town. and they even have a vegetarian restaurant there! sounds promising to me...but probably best not to mention it. i think brett would be very disappointed. anyone out there have any suggestions for us? -sn