Happy Seattle Morning

I woke up this morning to the glorious sound of pattering rain. When this happens, I usually get super excited and end up running around the house, thowing open all the windows and doors -- I like to create the illusion of being in the rain, without actually being in the rain. And if it's cold, like it was this morning, I have to turn on my space heater and put on a jacket (or just crawl back into bed); whatever it takes to let the rain in.

I love the sound and smell of rain, and that nostalgic, melancholy aura that it produces. Most likely, it is a subconscious ode to the four years spent living in Seattle, where the phrase "partly cloudy, with a chance of rain" is all it takes to be a weather forecaster. A lot of stuff happened during those four years at UW, and my memories are jam-packed with crazy undergrad drama that ranged from the ridiculously great to the excruciatingly painful. But perhaps the one unifying theme was that, whatever it was, it most likely took place against a misty grey, if not rainy, backdrop. In many ways, the rain brings me back to Seattle.

Most people think Seattle == Rain == Depressing. But it's not so simple. Sure, it was annoying to have to wake up sometimes to the fourth consecutive day of rain or to have to trudge to class with the rain blowing in your face and your umbrella blowing inside out. But after awhile, you start to realize that it is the rain that gives Seattle its emblem of transcendent beauty: its true blue skies, crisp fresh air, majestic mountain view, myriad shades of lush green. You learn to not only tolerate the rain, but to also appreciate it. And on sunny days, Seattle is by far the most gorgeous place in the world...

Here in San Diego, it doesn't rain much at all. And even when it does, it's usually like this pathetic, wimpy version of rain, where it pours for like a whole five minutes and then the freaking sun is back out. Which is why today's long and fierce episode of rainfall was so, so great, despite my pants getting completely soaked.

My other Seattle-turned-Sandiegan friends and I have formed an unspoken new tradition. On mornings that greet us with rain or grey or anything reminiscent of Seattle weather, somebody is obligated to send out an email saying "Happy Seattle Morning!" as if to remind ourselves of our "homeland" or some cheesy crap like that.

And just for the record, for anybody who has ever teased me with the totally original and hilarious line "Why are you carrying an umbrella? Aren't you from Seattle?" this is for you: Being from Seattle doesn't make us waterproof or have some strange desire to get intentionally wet. It just means that we don't whine about it like the average Californian who is too superficial to understand the beauty of rain and throws a tantrum whenever they can't "work on their tan".

Um, just kidding? ;)

Islam 101

For the past two months or so, I've been leading a "study" on Islam during our bi-weekly bible studies at CEC. Though our bible study (which is probably more accurately defined simply as a group of friends who meet regularly to discuss our faith and religion) is accustomed to studying unconventional "bible study topics", this has been quite a unique experience for me.

I put the word "study" in quotes because I don't really know what to call it. Given my roots and background, I know very little about Islam besides what is emphatically portrayed by the media. I also have very few, if any, Muslim friends. In fact, as lame as it sounds, my first spark of interest came this past summer after reading a book -- Sam Harris' book, The End of Faith. Now, that book in itself is a post for another day. But the short version is simply that Harris' arguments against a violence-riddled/insane-asylum-worthy Islam were so blatantly simplistic, obvious, and biased, that they practically begged for further inquiry/corroboration.

So, I sought out a couple of more books. I started off with an English translation of the Quran, and Mateen Elass' A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book. Some may argue that learning about another religion from the perspective of one's own religion is a terrible method by which to begin, given that objectivity will probably not be one of its greatest merits. But in hindsight, I'd argue otherwise. I'd argue that for the beginner, the selection of information presented (as to draw curiosity) is more important than comprehensiveness and objectivity. After all, it was Harris' athiest rant that drew me into Islam in the first place.

Elass' book functioned in a similar way -- but with more substance and less attitude. It provided me with exactly the information needed to further provoke my curiosity for Islam. Most of these issues addressed were theological in nature: The book compared and contrasted the personalities of God and Allah, the roles of Muhammad and Jesus, the origins of The Bible and The Quran. It explored the differing frameworks for good/evil, purpose of mankind, and sin/redemption in the two faiths. It also told a fascinating story of two bodies of people with an immense amount of historical overlap, yet wildly different ideologies and expressions for worship.

Granted, Elass's book did absolutely no justice to Islam as a faith, nor as a culture. It did not acknowledge Islam's diversity, history, or struggles. But in all fairness, it wasn't meant to; it was enough that I was not only more apt to reading about Islam more generally and comprehensively* after that, but also had formed a very specific set of questions in mind -- about Islam, about Christianity, and perhaps most interestingly, questions about my own faith in places that I would've never thought to look.

This whole process naturally led to the formation of a study within my bible study group, a place where I have always been able to bring my struggles, my interests, and my questions to an open table.

I don't do much more than facilitate discussion at these meetings. Everybody reads assigned material and I prepare questions for discussion. The quality of discussion seems to always be at the mercy of the groups' preparedness/energy level and completely independent of the quality of questions and agenda I have prepared -- that is one thing I have learned :)

Most exciting, of course, is when people contribute novel or substantial ideas during the brainstorming process. Two broad questions that seem to keep resurfacing are: 1) How do we reconcile the New Testament God with the Old Testament God, and 2) How does culture, the century we are living in, and national ideology/values influence and shape our view of scripture and God, if at all? These are loaded questions, and we continue to ponder.

_______________________________________________

*Some pretty good books that I've read in whole or in part: The Vision of Islam, What Muslims Believe, No god but God, Islamic Interpretations of Christianity.

Blah Friday

Probably the only thing more American than being super excited for Black Friday is being super unexcited for Black Friday. But, whatever. This won't be a post about anti-consumerism or Buy Nothing Day, or even a promotion for the new Morgan Spurlock documentary, What Would Jesus Buy? I happen to fall into the second category for no better reason than feeling generally ho-hum about most of the items hyped up for sale (cameras, GPS systems, and kitchen blenders seemed to be the theme of this Black Friday).

If anything, the fuss just makes you feel stupid for not taking 'your slice' of the sale pie. During our Thanksgiving potluck, I tried getting excited by ruffling through the stacks of Black Friday ads with everyone else. First, I tried to convince myself that I needed a new camera. Then I tried to imagine how cool it would be to have a GPS navigational system in my car. I also felt obligated to check out the shoe section in every single ad; I've been looking for a nice pair of boots that won't make me look ridiculous while walking past palm trees in 60 degree weather, and it'd be irresponsible to not at least look for a sale, right?

But, really peoples. Shopping requires inspiration. Good shopping can never be forced, and a sale isn't a reason to buy. Most people come home with a bunch of stuff they don't need if they choose to rush into the mish mosh without a clear, premeditated goal in the first place. Half of the people I talk to end up returning the majority of the things they buy, and the other half end up standing in hour-long lines for a pair of gloves -- yay.

As for me -- I felt awesome waking up at 1 pm on Friday morning, and lounging around all day in my pj's, doing research and watching old episodes of Scrubs. However, just when I thought another Black Friday had come and gone, I went onto Amazon.com for the sole purpose of browsing some possible DVD titles to rent for the night. Which is when I came across this:

What in the WHAT?? The best, emmy-winning season of the greatest show ever on 4 dvds for only fifteen dollars?!?!

So, this was supposed to be a post about how unnecessary and futile Black Friday is. But now, all I can say is... if you want to watch Season 2 of The Office, come over to my place.