Love Letter to RIPTA

Dear Rhode Island Public Transportation (lovingly referred to as RIPTA),

When our relationship started, it was pretty shaky. I didn’t know what I wanted, and you knew all too well. I was just using you, and you saw through it and let me off at the end of the route, on a dead end, I was 18 and didn’t know how to navigate such waters yet. But soon enough we reconnected and I was smarter this time… respecting your power and embracing everything about you, even if it brought us into a bind here or there.

Things were good, and we spent many hours together. I got to know your crazy side, the 99. Every ten minutes a bipolar mess, home, class, work. We made it through. After a year of that it was time for a change. The 56 and 57 are the multiple personalities that remind me of two comedians who like to taunt the audience. I learned how to take the jokes, and I loved you more. Sometimes when things were stressful, you would show me your quiet, tender, compassionate sides- the 30 and the 22, and late into the night we would spend thinking things through as we went on trips to Warwick- just you and me as we escaped.

Remember that summer we spent wandering through Cranston in the early morn? You would pick me up from internship and bring me right to my job back in Providence. So kind of you to carry my books. Sometimes we would take day trips down to Newport and explore the beaches and mansions. How we would dream of our future together.

You know, even when you were late to our dates, or went on vacation for Victory Over Japan day without telling me (how am I supposed to know? Im not a native!), I forgave you and we moved on. Through 4 years of loving you, I only cheated twice. Once was that time on my study abroad (what happens in Russia stays in Russia), but I knew what I had with you was too special to just give up. The second time was when I thought having a car would be for the best. But the car dumped me and you took me back. You even loved me when I would take extended phone calls while we were together. What a love.

Why are things strained between us now? I thought we had a good thing going. Last night when you wanted us to “define the relationship,” it really caught me off guard. Why did you announce it over the news? Couldn’t we work things out differently? I can’t afford to lose you, any of you, I don’t want you to hold back.

RIPTA listen to my plea! Without you how will I get to work, class, the grocery store, my friends house, on vacation, to the airport, to the train station, to the Greyhound Bus, to the DMV, to the park, to the mall, late at night, early in the morning, during the afternoon, at rush hour. You have been good to me, spoiled me. I know I don’t have a lot of experience in this kind of relationship, but it’s better than what I had before back home. I know you are poor, but I'll do anything, we can figure out something out.

Please don’t leave me high and dry. I admit it, I am codependent on you, I use you, I need you. Think of me when deciding what kind of “life change” you need. Please, think of me.

Much Love,
-Alissa

 

Articles:

* Photos and Thoughts on [Today's] RIPTA Rider Rally

* Worries over RIPTA Route Cutback in Northern RI
* RIPTA Cutbacks Considered

* Cant We Fix RIPTA?

* RIPTA's Annual Financial Crisis

Where am I

Where am I in the scheme of things?

My last class is August 8th. My last day of work at Johnson & Wales is August 12th.

Cant believe it really.

I need to find a job. I've put in applications at AAA, Collete Vacations, and Tillinger's Concierge. Last night I got a call about an interview at AAA! WHEWW Rock on. So that is this Wednesday. The position is part time Wednesday-Saturday, but hey, it is a foot in the door. 

Liz said to me yesterday "Remember when I met you last year and you told me that working at AAA would be your dream job?"  So that is pretty cool, and I pray that they think I am a great candidate!

This weekend I am going to San Diego California for a conference sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage. The conference is called "It Takes A Family to Raise a Village," and will be 3 days of lectures on defending traditional marriage from social and political standpoints. It is not supported by a specific "faith tradition" but more of an advocacy and educational organization. I was accepted to this conference and they are basically paying my way, which is dang great. 

While the conference is not affiliated with a specific religion, most people going are Mormon, Catholic, and Protestant, and from around the world. The goal is to equip young people to educate and defend marriage. They have already provided us with a ton of readings to do before the conference, which look rather intriguing.  I have some mixed feelings on this topic, and probably some ideas that are not popular among conservatives (I'm just not interested in America as a theocracy or inflicting nonplural ideology, is the gist of it), so I am interested to see what goes down. The conference takes place at Point Loma Naz University, and I will also have a day after the conference ends to explore. Not sure how that will work out, but I am excited to see the west coast!

There is so much to do in the next few days! Oh man I need to prepare.

The Electric Dream

Tossed and turning, the heat is the body bag holding me in captivity.
The fan whirs and cuts and chops the air but there is no release.

I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time, 10:30-ish these days, because 6am comes like a thief. Tonight, there was no hope for me in this kind of prison. Hello 1 am.

Maybe dreamland showed up, but obviously not for long.
I sit on the 2nd story balcony, listening to a strange electronica mix, and observe my baby cucumbers. I'm sure they revel in this kind of situation, begging for the bondage of the sun. I do not envy their lives.

The breeze tries making it's way around the hot enemy, but you can tell it is a fight this evening.
Ozone is thick, and I'm groggy because of it. Maybe also because my captor Chinese tortures me with exhaustion as well.

I read that there is an alligator in the Woonasquatucket River, just hanging out. With weather like this no wonder it is confused? Are we in the everglades on a summer day?

Electric and exciting dreams pulse through my mind. A cool mountain cabin in the cool forest far. Please let me dream of this sweet freeze for just a moment.

Balloons

Today on the 99 to Pawtucket via Main, the bus driver tried to take away my student identification card, because obviously I was trying to abuse the system. "No sir, but I AM still a student at JWU." And we all know that the only quarters I carry are for the clothes on my floor at home. So my internship awaits, dragon boats and all. Tomorrow there will be a few things to catch up on, including seeking out the seeker sensitive Dining Services. "So, why wont my card work again?"

This heat is killing me. 80s, 90s, and TODAY, whew.

I take refuge in the Johnson & Wales Downcity Library, central air, going centrally to my fried brain. It's great that Pandora can stalk my Facebook and give me some jams, but when was the last time I said the Pixies were something I liked? Ok now we are slammin' with some Yeahs x3 (dub mix, thanks).

Craigslist and Monster sound like the names of a creep and his pet snake, but even though I spend all my time at their house, dont worry mom. I'm hoping to get some money out of this deal. After all, I will be wild and free in less than a month and something has to pay the bills.

Oh, to be wild and free. The past 8 years, at least five streams of consciousness intertwine and get a little jummbled up. Kind of like the tangled strings of balloons by the handful. They are all still flying but it is a mess to separate and sell. A job, an education, a life, an internship that will educate me in real life to get a job, clubs, and three "what are your hobbies," contribute to this divided mind. Soon I can pop them all but my favorite colors and the birthday party theme will start to make sense.

My spanish midterm is tonight. Im not interested to die trying, but I will put up a weak fight. One more balloon to pop and string to cut. I can already start to sense the light start to focus.

Quoteable on Devotionals

"I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that “nothing happens” when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand." 

-C.S. Lewis

Mini Expeditions : Every Day Theology

I stumble upon quite a few blogs, and good ones at that. Usually I like to check out what my favorite bloggers recommend, and go from there. I don't remember who got me on to the blog "Blogging Theologically," but I really dig it.

My favorite posts have been a series on digging in to common theologies that people toss around as truth. It has been really interesting and eye opening. Take a gander, I'm sure you are familiar with most of them. Click 'em to read the real story.

"God won't give you more than you can handle." 
Oh really?


"You need to feed yourself."


"God helps those who help themselves."


"Money is the root of all evil."


"Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child."


"Just Listen To Your Heart"

What other common phrases exist that are pretty much crap theology? 

Experience New England: The Kennebunks!

My sister and I have desired to go to Kennebunkport, Maine for quite some time now. It's coastal charm called our names, and finally we planned the trip!

Located on the edge of Maine just 90 minutes north east of Boston, the Kennebunks are a group of about 5 towns that stretch across the shoreline.

From a tourism perspective, I was blown away with the breadth of niches that the Kennebunk area was able to fill. They are a perfect destination for families, nature lovers, beach bums, foodies, romantic escapes, and girlfriend getaways. Everyone was always friendly and helpful, parking was never a frustration, the bathrooms were numerous, free, and clean, and we never felt like we were caught in a tourist trap.

There are many resorts, cottages, cabins, and villas to choose from, but we decided to set up tent at Red Apple Campground in Arundel, Maine (literally 3 minutes from KBP). It is small, but one of the top rated campgrounds in the country. I was IMPRESSED with the hospitality of the staff. We arrived and the man in the office hooked us up with tons of information on the area. He also was kind enough to show us where everything was on the map! Our tent site was a good size for two people, and came with picnic table and fire pit. The bathrooms were astoundingly clean and never busy. It is definitely a family camp, but we didn't mind because we were usually only there when it was dark out and everyone was sleeping.

We only had about two days, and we had two dedicated activities that we wanted to do. Everything just fell right into place!

Our first afternoon was a little overcast, so we went into the downtown shopping district and walked around. So many neat little shops, restaurants, and art galleries. We wandered to the nearest Hannafords in Wells to buy bug spray (with the coupons included in the campground welcome package), then looped 'round to briefly check out Wells beach, saw some glorious summer homes right on the water in kennebunk, and by the time we got back to the campground it was time to start a fire, cook up some hot dogs, and then get to bed!

The next day we woke up with a plan. We started off on the road north to Cape Porpoise. Since it was already noon when we hit the road, we stopped and grabbed lunch at the Cape Porpoise Kitchen (best turkey reuben of my life) and hit the beach, Goose Rocks Beach. The sand was fine, the water was cool, and the sun was a blazin.

After getting a nice bronze, we headed down Ocean Ave to see former president Bush's summer home on Walker's Point.

We stopped a few times along the drive to admire the rugged beauty of the ocean coupled with whatever it was playfully interacting with whether it was sailboats, the chapel on the sea, a man with his painters eisel, or just the rocky shore.

Later that night, we arrived at our anticipated destination, The Lobster Bake and Fourth of July Celebration at the Nonantum Resort! We had been so excited for this- with the live band, fresh lobster, sand bar, ice cream, fireworks over the beach. It felt like we were at a picnic with 500 of our closest friends. Everyone was having a great time hanging out, cracking open lobsters, and enjoying the weather.

This trip went by too fast, that's all I can really say to sum it up. We are thinking about making it a tradition, and I think Kennebunk is definitely a place I would like to spend more time.

Challenge 2: Character of God

This is coming from nowhere, but I decided to post my responses to the 2011  Boundless Summer Challenge on my blog as well as a note on facebook note. 

Today's challenge encourages us to meditate on the character of God. Step one is to think of characteristics that we think describe God. I came up with some that I've been more recently pondering: 

• His is a Father
• Sovereign 
• Comforter
• Creator.

The past six months have definitely opened my eyes to the loving father that God is, and I have learned that he can be trusted to provide, and that he loves me like a daughter. This aspect of God is a sweet one to ponder, and I can get caught up in thinking about it during the day.

Then we were encouraged to read and meditate on Isaiah 40, thinking through the characteristics of God once more. After reading this chapter, I was just put in my place. 

The chapter talks of the holy, powerful, magnificent character of God. We see him ruling with a mighty arm in verse 10, to being a gentle shepherd in verse 11. No God isnt bipolar, but he has different aspects to his character. 

After reading verses 27-31, I realized how often I do this. "God, do you seriously not care? Can you hear me? Why arent you seeing what is happening to me! Do you hear my cause? Listen to meeee!!!!" And wow, of course he is listening, of course he knows what is happening. He is the creator, he is not weary of me, he is sovereign, he is Lord. Sometimes I have to realize that just because I dont get what I want, does not mean God isnt listening, in fact he is in control of the world, he will NOT grow weary, and I need to worship Him. 

Book Review: The Godly Home

     This book has been on my radar for a while. Whether it's the puritanical style or the fact that its about family life and marriage, I knew I had to read it.
     Just released from Crossway in 2010, yet written over 300 years ago, The Godly Home by Richard Baxter is actually a small part of a larger directory (totaling 1,143 pages) written in 1673. This specific section was titled "Christian Economics for Family Duties," and is an in depth treatment of the way Christians ought to worship God through family life, including marriage and child raising. In the useful introduction by J.I Packer, he quenches any uneasiness one may have with dealing with such an old text. He says "it would be mere chronological snobbery, to borrow a C.S. Lewis phrase, to assume that only contemporary treatments of Christian family life are worth reading." Agreed.
      Let me explain a few things about the book. It is definitely written to men. Where it does not directly address men, I think it is implied that the men are reading to the children or to the wives. I got a good laugh anyways. The editor, Randall Pederson, did a really good of making it readable for the 21st century reader, taking out uncommon or old English phrases and still keeping with the authenticity of the text. It took me a minute to adjust, but that could also just be my ADD. There was no difficulty reading it, and it was never boring. In fact, I finished this in less than 3 days.
     The book is written in chapters, each first giving a theological examination of a certain family related topic, then providing listed out instructions, and ending with a question and answer section. This was very helpful, and quite intriguing to see certain cultural norms in place (the editor purposefully kept in the sections about marrying first cousins!). I found most of the advice to still be quite timely and important, despite the difference in centuries. Actually, I was very challenged and encouraged by reading this and think its a necessary read for anyone considering marriage and family.
    The first chapter has to be one of my favorites. Listen to the title: "Directions About Marriage." Baxter is very keen on making sure his reader has thought very thoroughly on choosing to get married and that "neither lust nor rashness thrust you into a married condition..." He explains very clearly that "every man is bound to choose that condition in which he may serve God with the best advantages and which tends most to his spiritual welfare and increase in holiness." It seems that at this period in time, many were just rushing into marriage (how curious!), so the advice given today might be slightly different. But yes, we must consider through marriage or singleness, which one increases our holiness!
    His second directive is to not rush into "a state of life where you have never thought of all the inconveniences!" Oh Richard Baxter. Twenty reasons why marriage is inconvenient later, he goes on to explain how one should go about choosing "the person on whom so much of the comfort and sorrow of your life will rest." Brilliant. It's gold advice. I want to rip out this chapter and give it to all my single or dating friends!
   Chapters 2-5 deal with "Family Government" and the "Careful Education of Children." There are many points that I had never fully considered before such as the sanctity of the christian family, discipline as worship, frequency and content of family worship, and authority structures in the family setting. Baxter takes care to explain how to lead the family in ways that will draw the children and family to Christ, instead of heavy handed or passive leadership which is the antithesis of a gospel centered family.
   "Mutual Duties of Husbands and Wives Toward Each Other," "Duties of Husbands to their Wives," and "Duties of Wives to Their Husbands" are the titles of chapters 6-8. It is obvious that these chapters reflect on solely the marital relationship. "Never say you love them if you will not labor for their salvation." The main goal is to encourage spouses to point each other in a respectful and loving way towards godly growth. I loved the part about preparing each other to "die well." Sounds morbid, but it's very helpful. Baxter also deals with godly submission of wives to their husbands. I even learned some things from the footnotes in these chapters.
    Chapters 9-12 deal with the relationship between parents to children, children to parents, and children to God. I think anyone can relate to these chapters, and even in the "Duties of Children and Youth to God" chapter, I was admonished and helped by some of the directives. He reminds children that "[you] have corrupted natures to be cured and that Christ is the Physician who must cure them." Amen sir.

 Throughout this book I caught some paedobaptistic references that I would definitely challenge. I also am now interested in learning more about the theologian William Ames. It also does a good job at subconsciously making the case for local church involvement, membership, and discipline. Some of the quotes from this book remind me of some helpful resources out today such as "Shepherding a Child's Heart," by Tripp and "When Sinners Say I Do" by Dave Harvey.

  Overall, "The Godly Home" is quite the robust guide for all things marriage and family. I give it a two thumbs up.

Have you read it? Thoughts?

Pops and Strawberries

A few weekends ago I had some very exciting expeditions. Not that I usually don't, but this weekend was especially fun!

A group of us got all fancied up and hit the road for Boston. We arrived at Symphony Hall just in time to see the Boston Pops performing to the theme of "Broadway Diva's." The music was all taken from popular Broadway shows, and featured pieces especially performed by strong leading ladies. Two of the women who had been int the Wicked broadway show were hosting and singing for the evening, and they added a lot of fun and pizzazz to the show.

I dont know why Hannah looks so alarmed! After the show we went to Finale Desserterie & Bakery and had delicious desert.

It was a fun evening, and I was surprised that I enjoyed it so much. Usually musicals don't do it for me, but I would totally go see Wicked now!


The next morning, Hannah and I woke up early and headed to Dame Farm in Johnston RI to go strawberry picking with some friends!

It was a beautiful morning and the fields were ripe for harvest. I guess it is still early in the season, but we ended up with a good bounty!

Just thought I would share some of my summer time fun!