A night at the Harpers

I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't be looking this excited - after all, it's not the first time I've been in the presence of the cool and collected Mr. Harper - but there's not much I can do about it now, is there.

I had a very enjoyable time at a garden party for exempt staff at the Prime Minister's home at 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. The food was excellent and the connections made were great.

I don't mind that at all.

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Ottawa is an incredible place for wandering to and fro - I think many of us here with the program are discovering that. It's a city rich in memorable places, plaques and people. For many of us, we come from smaller towns or cities that lack the tremendous heritage that is present in so much of the downtown core of Ottawa.

Our house, the J.R. Booth Mansion, certainly stands out and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be spending my days and nights here. It's truly a privilege.

On a recent walking trip -

Curious reply

I recently called my local radio station to complain about two commercials that they were airing. I received a very interesting response back. The first was a commercial for Lammles Western Wear that was a tongue-in-cheek "appeal to a more urban clientele" that had a man who was clearly attempting to sound "hip" using numerous urban phrases, including the phrase "don't wig out". In the context that it was in, I don't think it was much of a stretch to wonder if it was possibly referring to the word "wigger" which is a fairly derogatory term. Rod Schween felt otherwise. That's ok.

The second commercial was for a pay-day loans outfit that was talking about using cash for Back to School shopping. The interchange went kind of like this:

person 1: Hey, where are you going with that cash?
person 2: I'm going back to school shopping.
person 1: Back to school? There's no way I'm going back to that hellhole!
person 2: Noooo, back to school shopping
etc.

Me? I find it very objectionable and hardly family friendly to refer to, in back to school season, the notion of school as being a hellhole. Just my opinion. His response is very interesting though. See for yourselves.

Norm,

Thank You again for your call last week regarding the commercials for Speedy Cash and Lammles. I have checked a number of sources and quizzed a number of people both inside and out of our building and have yet to find anyone who makes the same connection between "wigged out" and "wigger" that you did. The most common definition and the spirit which I believe the advertiser intended the phrase to mean would be,

devoid of reality, To lose sense of normalcy, To act crazy as a reaction. To briefly flirt with lunacy.

That being said, I will inform the advertiser of your concern for future reference.

I also took the opportunity to listen to the Speedy Cash commercial that you mentioned. The version that I listened to talked about going back to school, to which the reply was "no way I'm going back to that hellhole". In our determination of what constitutes “Family Friendly”, we must consider current social norms and the intention behind how the word or phrase is utilized. Our goal is to exceed the current social norm, but still be relateable to our audience. In our view the term is not being used in an intentionally irreverent or demeaning way. I understand that this is only one interpretation, which is why I appreciate your feedback as it helps us be reflective of local community standards.

Sincerely,

Rod Schween

Before the Censoring Begins

Living side by side with 21 other people in Ottawa definitely has its perks. I've been very interested in what the Laurentian Leadership Center program has to offer and now it's slowly being unpackaged before my eyes. It's a profound and unique experience.

Our get-together with the LLC alumni was tonight and it was very interesting to reconnect with many of my peers and former classmates who have also, at various points along the way, graced the halls of 252 Metcalfe. They all sat in on the classes I will be taking and many of them observed the things that I soon will. I know we have a lot to learn. That is clear. The alumni were all quite positive about their stint at the LLC and certainly are all involved in some pretty interesting and diverse roles in Ottawa. Some are Legislative Assistants, others are policy advisors or researchers, while others fill roles that defy most descriptions. Life is interesting for them in Ottawa.

I'm very glad that I am here. I, of course, miss my lovely fiancée Rosanna and really wish that I was with her. However, this is also a time where we can build our relationship through the strains of distance and time changes. It was certainly a growing experience to be apart during my stint as a tree planter and then again during her time in Normandy this summer.

Church was also interesting today. I went to the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ottawa that also was the home church of J.R. Booth, the lumber baron who constructed the Booth Mansion that we stay in at the LLC. (He is of no relation to William or Catherine Booth from what I understand) I attended the service by myself and was introduced to a number of people in the congregation. It was a very nice service but a very disappointing sermon that lacked any real significance or depth of application. I'm not exactly an easy person to please when it comes to preaching, but I do know that it felt quite short of a solid 3-pointer. I must admit, however, that the presence of the building, being as it is the oldest Protestant church in Ottawa, was quite thrilling and certainly contributed to a sense of reverence and awe. It is a beautiful facility.

I'm hoping to have my interview for my internship soon and it is my hope that everything will be arranged smoothly.

Resuming from where I left off - on a different foot

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5

Ripe memories glisten on the branches, sweet and succulent, filled with delightful moments and particularly remarkable encounters and it is in this orchard that I now begin my delicate attempt to unpackage my summer. From the orchard and into the box; I must carefully transmit these memories in an honest, unembellished and pleasant way that will soothe the particular palates of friend and foe.





A half-shot of Kahlua may ease this process. Thanks Keith and Jenn. They're two wanderers who are off in Europe sampling delicacies and exploring fabulous places and I'm their catsitter for the time that they're gone. They were quite explicit with their final remarks; "We don't stock the house, but you can have whatever's in the house at the time of our departure". Maybe they didn't understand that, for a college student, a house with food to fill each cupboard and drawer definitely qualifies as a fully-stocked house. Which brings me to the Kahlua. Maybe I'll get that other half. Hmmmm, yes, I shall. Thanks again. cheers.





Drinking alone? Sorta, but Sam's here to keep me company.





I'm engaged to be married to the delightful and marvelous love of my life, my dear Rosanna. That's noteworthy for sure. I was a model of efficiency. During a twenty minute visit to the jeweller (en route to Rosanna's house on my bike), I selected the perfect ring. It's arrival was pegged for the 25th of May and I knew that I would indeed be able to bring up the prospect of marriage on the following day in Waterton Lakes National Park.

This day, the 26th of May, also happened to be my half-birthday, an occasion that I have never really celebrated and only rarely paid any attention but it will now stand as an excellent reminder of that special day. Rosanna is a lot more eloquent when it comes to telling our story but it basically revolves around 6 bears, no canoes, a windswept beach, a pleasant bottle of Yellow Tail chardonnay and a gourmet picnic on the shore of Waterton Lake. Having rehearsed 60 different variations of the fine and noble speech that I would propose with, I, in my excitement, simply went with the few words that I held most dearly and proposed with incredible efficiency. No flowery speeches or video montages, no flying banners or elaborate cat and mouse games - this was pure Norm at its finest.

She said yes.

!

!!!

We've determined a wedding date (May 31st), a location (Lethbridge), a minister (Rev. Gordon of Lyden, WA), and a theme (nascar).

I'm working as a landscaper for my brother Ryan's company and it has been a very enjoyable experience. Good working conditions, good work, and good company - it has been a pleasant summer job. It's certainly not as lucrative as tree planting can be but I certainly have a little more to show for from this summer in regards to experiences and moments to remember. Hmmm, I guess that treeplanting does conjure up a hundred stories in an instant, but somehow this summer has been different.

Positively different. Spending a lot of time with Rosanna and her family in Lethbridge has been very good. Being in church every Sunday has been a tremendous blessing. Volunteering at the Lethbridge homeless shelter has taught me a lot. Participating in a summer Bible study has been very enriching. Learning about myself and my relationship with the Lord has been incredibly profound and life-changing.

I'm catching up with myself here. It's a good thing I did.

Chicago and a visit to Mid-America Reformed Seminary stands next (Aug. 6-9) and following that I'll be off to Ottawa in no time.

Wow.

!

Limited Context

I'm concerned. I have wasted a lot of time lately. I have dwelt in the lands of bourque.com, digg.com, and youtube.com and barackobama.com. It is not exactly an arid wasteland but it has certainly contributed to a certain degree of aridness in my upper cranial cavity. As my eyes scan various pages my capacity to learn gradually reduces. Of course, I am certainly building up my sizable database of interesting information (did you read that Google is now turning into a social activist by using Google maps to highlight villages that have been destroyed by warfare in the Darfur region of Sudan?). However, I am not accomplishing the more significant things that I am expected to be doing.

Such is life?

Not necessarily. When I am in a keen state of mind, I am on top of these things. They're all there somewhere in my consciousness and I have an extensive capacity for automatic recall when it is necessary.

Alas, my capacity is limited by my inconsistency.

Dinner waits. I shall return.

Lord, thank you for slowing time down for me.

I suppose I would have missed a lot of things. Present yourself more clearly in the days to come. I have your word to guide me and yet I'm neglecting the guideposts. Dust is the enemy of piety. It lays down more and more guilt as layer after layer builds up. Dust on the Bible- that's what I'm contemplating. I recognize that having two Bibles is a sign of piety - maybe I should have a pocket one that will osmose its way into my consciousness through every waking moment.

Good Friday looms.

The Lord spent his last days with his disciples, instilling in them the discipline of servants, the wisdom of sages, and the heart of saints: all has been recorded in these pages and it eluded them and still eludes me. The lessons of today are those same lessons that Christ taught. To invoke His name in a time like this is soothing. It beckons me closer into his bosom. I am drawn by my Lord, leaving behind a cloud of anxiety and dreariness. The Cross emerges as the central focus of history for the lost and the weary - those who have been lost in a dry and weary land.

Kyrie Elieson. I ask for Christ's mercy because I am assured that it has already been granted to me because of my standing before the throne. The Holy Spirit isn't waiting around till Pentecost 2007 to enter into me. It has been present for 22 years, guiding and protecting me in my way - I see in me a dark and shapeless void - He sees a sign saying "another work in progress" and He smiles. Joy and triumph. "Another work in progress" brought to you by "He who died". It is enough. Amen and Amen.

Maybe I haven't clarified enough lately. I desire to preach the Gospel. This Gospel which I have so brokenly and awkwardly elucidated in an impromptu declaration just prior to this. Mindful of the immense burden faced by today's bearers of the Gospel, and recognizing the central need for instruction and intensive contemplation prior to entering into the ministry, I am desirous of a spot in a Fall 2008 Masters of Divinity program at a to-be-announced seminary. It is exciting and thrilling to realize that it is not very far away now. I can definitely attest to the dramatic need for increased self-examination and a pronounced development of my contemplative disciplines, but I am seeking the counsel of great men in my preparations.

I have five classes left in my POLS program and I shall satisfy the requirements of my degree program by studying at the Laurentian Leadership Centre this fall, meaning that I will graduate with a POLS major and a Philosophy minor in December of 2007.
The Laurentian Leadership Centre will be my opportunity to apply my 'skills' to real-life situations.

However, it is my hope that I will actually find work this summer that will also use these same 'skills' in real-life situations, thus preparing me more comprehensively for political action than my previous summer jobs have. Treeplanting is good for the soul but tough on the mind.

Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria BC

Rosanna is taking me to this stunning display of ingenuity and craftsmanship for a Good Friday service in two days.

I am looking forward to Mozart's Requiem.

It was only a year ago that Rosanna and I embarked on our 2nd date of our brief time together and it was to the Orpheum's hosting of Mozart's Requiem that we traveled. Our time was wonderful together. It included an incredible variety of activities and concluded with a delightfully romantic desert for two along the waterfront. (For music buffs, you may be interested to know that this particular performance of the Requiem included one thing that probably still haunts the CBC Radio Orchestra and its conductor: a movement that began in disarray resulting in a restart. Restarting a fine orchestral piece: that's remarkable. I'm glad that I could have been a part of it.

Life beckons. Make more of it than the last guy did. Or stand back and watch others rush by in a theology-of-glory induced coma. I know I should, but I'm not sure if I do, prefer the theology-of-the-cross. Oh Luther, Calvin and co. You reduce me to a heap of dutchness.