Hobbit-Sense at OneFreeGarden.com

I’d saved up some quick takes and then I didn’t even get them up last week!  But oh well, better late than never, right?  They include photos as well.

1.  I did try the bacon-flavored chips, and they weren’t really my thing.  Not terrible, but definitely not on my top ten list.  I have, however, discovered a non-dairy potato chip besides bacon, crab and caviar– the green onion potato chip.  If onions and potatoes aren’t a match made in heaven I don’t know what is.

2.  I have actually been trying to get a photo that truly captures how purple the soup I’ve been making is.  The sad fact is, no photo can truly capture it because of lighting, etc., but it’s really purple.  My roommate was explaining to me about a hierarchy in the cabbage family from brussel sprouts to plain green cabbage and said red cabbage was a higher grade.  It just so happened that the store had a half-head available in red cabbage and not in green cabbage… so I bought that and didn’t even think about the possible ramifications.  I should be clear- purple soup is totally fine… it was adding bits of chicken in that afterwards turned purple that got a little weird… but it was still tasty.

3.  I know I shouldn’t get it, and luckily I’m practical or I would just go and buy it, but another teacher bought this incredible kitchen gadget that I want– one motor can power a whisk-mixer, a blender, and a food-processor sort of thing.  I think this is the one he got.  What is it with me and kitchen gadgets and office supplies?

4.  This happened a while ago but it was funny so I have to share.  Twice a week I work at this one school, and on the way there I always pass something that reads KURI-GRILL (transliterated).  I had been forgetting lunch (a bad idea- stomach growls in front of tweens is not so smart) so I thought I’d stop there.  It must be some cool random Indian place- “kuri” meaning “curry.”  For 190 rubles, I figured it was a decent price for something different, so I ordered one kuri-grill and some lavash.  What I got was this:

Yes, that’s a whole rotisserie chicken covered in lavash.  Once he handed it to me it all made sense…  but of course I didn’t have time to actually eat it then.  So I got to the school and stuffed a small chicken in my backpack!  It smelled so good I was worried it would give itself away.  My roommie explained to me that night- curry is transliterated as “kari” in Russian– “kuri” is just a shortened form of “kuritsa”–chicken.

The thing is, perhaps if I’d just thought about why there were huge numbers of chickens on rotisserie and no smell of curry, I might’ve figured that out, lol.

5.  It’s been an interesting experience being a teacher, especially with some very demanding students (and parents).  I usually take to things pretty quickly, but I have definitely had some challenges– and I think it’s probably good for the soul to not be instantly wonderful;  one more onion-layer of ego pulled away from the real stuff.

6.  This week I had one pretty crappy day and then the next day was actually quite nice (and will stay that way as long as the grandma I heard say, “Bozhe moi!” (“My God!”) when she saw I’d handed out candy to the kids post-test and for Halloween doesn’t complain– luckily the child did quickly respond- “Amerikanskaya traditsia”- “American tradition,” – so I’m hoping that will be fine).  Bribery seems like a good thing for teaching…

7.  Got another cold!  I seem to bounce between not really minding/noticing and feeling pretty miserable, but lucky for me the able-to-ignore stages are larger (the me=blech stages revolve around certain necessities and nasty coughing spells), and I have a pretty good attitude about it- being around other people is a lot of good.  I haven’t gotten sick repeatedly like this since I was a kid I think.  I’m thinking… taking the metro every day and working with kids every day and walking home in cold nasty spitting rain nearly every night must be the culprit.  I have, however, found the perfect medicines:  tea with honey, grandma’s egg drop-esque soup, random Russian medications, and….

I’ve also figured out the Russian word for flu- “grip” (pronounced “greep(b)”)…. It sounds like it, doesn’t it?

Well random assortment… and I think it’s time for a brief nap before planning for my lesson tonight.  Next week there’s a holiday and a few of my classes are cancelled… here’s hoping I don’t get too many sub classes and can just enjoy the time off.

This post is part of Support a Catholic Speaker Month hosted by FallibleBlogma.  Welcome to all guests!  Father Stan Fortuna is a priest and member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who is a musician and speaker.

I first heard of Father Stan Fortuna when my parents were looking for an alternative to rap for my brother, whose classmates had gotten heavily into the generally seedier mainstream rap. My brother actually went to a Fr. Stan concert and came home with a couple of CDs.  Naturally, without even thinking about it, I put them in my iTunes- hey, a musical priest was inherently awesome.

And then one day, I actually listened to them.

They were fantastic.  The beats are strong, the interesting lyrical interludes give it a lot of depth, and mostly the lyrics are powerful beyond belief.  Fr. Stan addresses doctrines, faith, virtue and the challenges of Christian living, hypocrisy, and even difficult moral issues.  And while a song may not seem like a place to treat them with depth, the lyrics are packed- they are like poems in their onion-layers.  Here is the chorus from one of my favorites, a song called “Unborn Victims of Violence”:

Thou shall not kill
But not on capital hill
Ya let us do it with the doctor
Or we do it with the pill
Mommies ain’t safe in the streets
But if a thug comes and beats
Mommy over the head
And leaves the baby for dead
Ya say it’s fine but it’s tragic
We can’t stop it with magic
It’s politically bleak
It’s cause we’re spiritually weak
Y’all try to cover up the scam
With illegitimate silence
Check it “I’m here to defend
Unborn victims of violence”

The amount of truth packed into those short lines is incredible.

But it’d be a mistake to pigeonhole Fr. Fortuna as a priest who’s ministry consists of Christianising elements of popular culture.  He lives in the South Bronx and works with poor and needy members of society there.  His production company, Francesco Productions, supports his work with the poor and has a mission of cultural transformation.  Fr. Stan has released 3 CDs of rap and popular music, but has also recorded traditional hymns.  Francesco Productions has even founded an international charitable group serving the underserved abroad.

Perhaps most important is Fr. Stan Fortuna’s dedication to core doctrines of the faith.  Rather than watering down the faith in an attempt to make it palatable, he’s instead focused on using modern means to communicate the timeless truth of our faith.  So those who encounter him are getting the full message, not Hansel and Gretl breadcrumb trails to lead them somewhere else, but a big meaty meal that shows them how God’s there for them.

Father Stan has spoken and performed at countless churches internationally and is a favorite speaker at youth and campus ministry events, including multiple World Youth Day appearances.

For more information the following websites may be helpful, and were consulted in the compilation of this post (all links open in new windows):

Francesco Productions Official Website

Last.fm’s Radio Station and Info Page on Fr. Stan Fortuna

Wikipedia Bio

Fr. Stan Fortuna, CFR, “Traditional Catholic Hymns”

Fr. Stan Fortuna “Faith and Family” 3-Day Mission in Toronto

I really highly recommend Fr. Stan’s music as powerful and faith-strengthening as well as challenging.

~theRosyGardener

Dawn noted on my last post that I’d basically upped the ante for God- and I think that’s an accurate way to put it.  But I guess it’s good to keep in mind that in a poker game, you keep betting until everyone’s even.  Ironically enough, I even found mention of a “poker priest” who’ll be on a televised competition, trying to win money for his parish.

I have to say, I really enjoy watching Texas Hold’em, which is a rare game where it’s definitely more about the betting– much more about the betting than the cards.  You don’t play the cards in Hold’em:  you play the people.  So I’ve watched and gotten all the catch phrases down- “Pocket deuces” and “he flopped trips!”  and calling Kings “cowboys” and such.  And in case you haven’t watched Celebrity Poker Showdown (the one you actually learn the most from) or the World Series of Poker, here’s a quick primer on how it goes.

There are some obligatory bets in Hold’em – a bigger one and a smaller one (half the bigger one)- called “blinds.”  Then those who haven’t put in the largest amount in have three options: “fold” and be out of the round, spending nothing;  ”call” and put in enough to match the big blind;  ”raise” by putting in more money.  The trick of the raise is that after that, everyone has to put in enough to match it or else fold.  And players can “re-raise.”

And that’s exactly what I think has been happening with me, Ten Prayers, and God.

Today I dawdled and delayed a bit by reading more in Orthodoxy (GKC) and Ten Prayers (DeStefano) before realising that, yes, I did actually have to shower and get dressed (I was in fact in my pajamas quite late- I like them and had nowhere to go yet) and go to Mass.  I hit chapter 8 today, well started it- at 1:40 I finally came to my senses (English Mass is at 3- well there’s one at 9 but I’d have to leave at about 8:10 to get there and that’s not going to happen right now).

I had to pull myself out of Ten Prayers in Chapter 8:  ”Sometimes Being Smart Just Isn’t Enough; God, Give Me Wisdom.”  DeStefano was just telling me about asking God to help with decisions.  This is an area in which I can use a lot of encouragement.

I think it comes down to being afraid of what God will say.  What if he wants me to be a “holy beggar” or something?  What if he wants me to do something completely different from what I thought?  What if he tells me and I don’t know how to listen?  Actually, the last one is a biggie for me, because the thing I miss most from my childhood is the closeness I felt with him, where I was sure I heard his voice.  I don’t regret growing up, but I do regret growing foolish and unable to hear him.  How will I know what he wants?  And will I be able to give it?  I know logically and through faith God won’t give more than I can handle, but that hasn’t stopped the fear.  I guess that’s why any time he has a big announcement, it starts with, “Don’t be afraid.”  In one sense, I trust God quite a lot– because of my closeness as a child, I have been blessed with certainty of his existence.  In the senses that matter more in everyday life… I’m a real skeptic.

But I’ve been smart enough, I think, to be skeptical about my own plans as well.  I just don’t know that they’re what he wants, so I don’t have complete peace with them.  So I figured I ought to pray that prayer.  I almost “dashed it off” quickly as I read and then hopped in the shower.  I figured I’d already gone in on the whole charitable giving thing, and that if I really missed that closeness, prayer was the only way to get it back.  So I said it.

And God saw my bet, and re-raised me.

As I mentioned in a Quick Take a couple weeks back, I was asked to lector at Mass the second Sunday I attended, after which I also said, I’ll be here til July, so you’ll see me around.  Well, every Sunday I’ve been since then I’ve been asked to lector.  Not only have I been asked to lector, but I’ve been given the biggest portion- first reading plus the psalm response.  Today I only got there with about 5-8 minutes to spare, and figured they’d have already gotten someone.  But I guess they were hoping I’d show because I sat down and immediately was handed the lectionary.  The fellow who is basically the acolyte and does things like assign readings and get Communion counts told me they love it when I read.  I’m one of the few English speakers there from a country where it’s the sole dominant language so it’s easier for me to be expressive I think, plus I figured if I’m reading it I should read it with expression.  As long as no one else is getting shafted, I’m happy to help, even though a bit nervous when I step up there.

Given that I’m eight hours ahead of EST, it’s entirely possible that some folks haven’t gone to Mass or service if you’re in a Protestant church that follows the calendar of readings, so here’s a little liturgical “spoiler alert.”

I looked down at the book, and I almost had tears running down my cheeks– my eyes were suffused with them, and are again now even thinking about it.  Here is the first reading:

I prayed, and prudence was given me,

I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepter and throne,

and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,

nor did I liken any precious gem to her;

because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,

and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,

and I chose to have her rather than the light,

because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.

Yet all good things together came to me in her company,

and countless riches at her hands.

– Wisdom (!) 7:7-11

Okay, okay, I get it.  That’s a dose of wisdom, a “trust me” and an implied “be not afraid” all in one, right when I asked for wisdom.  I don’t get amazed by “coincidences” — I am constantly amazed by how detailed God is, and how, if you’re looking, he’s really hitting you over the head (lovingly, of course) all the time– he just knows everything so well that he stands behind you encouraging you, and is the ground beneath you so you have a good path, and is the star before you to follow, and when you finally do listen, he’s already in the place he’s been leading you to, ready to welcome you in.  It’s mind blowing, because it’s so incredible- and so incredibly loving.

I’ve been shuffling my way along on this wisdom thing for a long time.  I think God even helped the priest out with the homily today just for me, the one about the rich man who doesn’t want to give up all his stuff.  He said something like, ‘It’s not enough to stay out of trouble;  you have to go beyond that.’  Giving God something to outdo, and now asking him for wisdom– and it seems like that line is just for me.

You know what I didn’t mention about betting in poker?  At any point in the game, any player who’s still got his hand can go “all in” — and anyone who wants to remain in the game has to go all in, too.  I think the reason I was folding so many hands was because I’ve been afraid of going all in.  I hope that the prayers I’ve been praying, “God, outdo me in generosity,” “God, give me courage,” “God, give me wisdom,” and “Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” will prepare me to go all in.

I sure hope so– because I’m finally starting to want it again.

-theRosyGardener

Updated only to add categories and correct a typo in which I accidentally claimed I’d been asked to lecture at church– thankfully for both my pride and the very lives of anyone potentially subjected to a lecture by me, I was asked to lector.  And all my family will commence laughing now….

I haven’t been as dedicated in reading this week, but I have been pondering what I have been reading.  As I mentioned, per Jen F.’s recommendation I got Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To.  The only thing consistent about my prayer life is how haphazard it is, so I’ve been trying to get in rosaries or the Jesus prayer when I think of it.  But this little book has been a gem, not only because it’s got a lot of truth and good pointers, but also because it’s made me think about my values.

More than thinking about them, it’s got me thinking about how I live them.  I’ve always been sensible and I’ve always been big-hearted, I think.  And in many instances, these two things have been at odds.  Sometimes, the heart wins, and sometimes, the head does.  Of course, sense and compassion aren’t inherently contradictory– it’s just that I often find myself pulled between them.

The heart winning has had its problems– I can tell you it does not mean one jot in terms of holiness in and of itself.  But that would take another whole post.  The head winning has saved my bacon a number of times, but there has been one area where it has always left me heartsick.

The prayer from that book is this:  God, outdo me in generosity.

I like to think of myself as a generous person.  I am I think rather generous with time and talents.  But giving money I’m not usually so generous.  And it bugs me.  One is purely selfish, not giving at church or giving little.  If a disaster happens, or I read about some charity needing help, I’m there– but when it’s personal, I am always in two minds- or rather I’m stuck between head and heart in a cycle of charitable heartburn.

Basically, I listened to all the arguments about giving to strangers on the street.

And I never gave anything to strangers on the street.

And I always regretted it.

But this prayer got me thinking.  God will always answer it, but I didn’t want to ask– because there was nothing to outdo, atleast monetarily.  I let money concerns for myself, which could easily budget in a few rubles for other people, outweigh the heart that walks past a beggar and cries a little.

I had grand ideas– okay, so maybe beggars are drunkards, and if you give them money they’ll buy booze.  Well, one day, thought I as a little girl, I’ll go around with McDonald’s money so I know it’ll be for food.  And the adult never has.  One day, I’ll give them rides to homeless shelters or work with the beggars.  And the adult never has.  Now, I’m still early 20s, so I’m not counting myself out, but I miss the little girl my parents were terrified would be walked all over trying to be friends with everyone– the little girl who said “Hi!” to every person she passed in the mall.

And here in Moscow, it’s worse.  Yes, there are drinking problems, of course.  But the beggars are largely old women and disabled people, some on the metro, some old women in the streets prostrating and crossing themselves.  And for the past few weeks I’ve walked right by them into the church I attend, where I put a few rubles in the collection basket and felt like a hypocrite.

And that feeling, at the same time as reading this book, and the old worries about it percolating around my brain, may have been the greatest gift I’ve gotten this year.

God, outdo me in generosity.

I figured, if I wanted to really be able to say that prayer honestly, I needed to do something.  I don’t make tons as a teacher, and I haven’t mastered budgeting (although I’ve done a good job of not spending everything).  My main issue at this point is how hard it is to get change, actually.  I know that I really cannot afford to give lots of money.  But I decided I had to do something.

I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of scary.  I always seem to be picked out by the more forceful beggars- if five people are walking down a street, I’m the one who is actually approached and asked.  Throw in that I don’t really know the functional language of begging, and it’s pretty jarring.  And old man chastised me on my street a week before this decision for not giving him money, not realising I was actually pretty startled (he crossed the street to ask me).  I don’t know why I get singled out, but I think it was probably a grace I didn’t know I was getting.

I didn’t give that old man any money, just like I didn’t give the crippled girl any money, or the man with no legs who rides on my metro line on a plank with four wheels any money, or the few beggars outside church shortly before my Mass starts.

I thought Moscow would be a tough town to be a beggar in.  And I guess I was wrong- because all of a sudden, where I hadn’t seen anyone giving money, I started seeing people in the metro, which seems so… distant- there is no cameraderie in the kind you sometimes get on the T in Boston really– I started seeing them pull out money, often bills (as opposed to coins which are only up to 5 rubles).

And I did too for the crippled girl, that second time I saw her, with my bag from freakin’ Ikea.

It wasn’t an overall change, but it was something.  I still didn’t give anything to the old lady crossing herself I passed searching for a metro.  I was unsure how to handle all people begging underground, too.

And then on Sunday it was enough.  I couldn’t walk into God’s house and leave his children outside without atleast doing something- and I couldn’t pray that prayer, either, even though I wanted to.  When I walked in, there was a begging bag sitting there, and a crippled man standing. I wasn’t sure what was his, so I put some coins into both.  On the way out, there were two old women begging.  I gave each of them 10 rubles, not much but there being so many beggars I figured it made the most sense– I can’t go past them anymore.

One of them called for God to bless me.  The other told me she had a bad leg and needed lots of money.  I certainly felt better, even with feeling bad about not giving more– and better yet, I didn’t feel resentful of the fact that the second had peeked into my wallet as I got out the bill and seen I had more cash on me.

I gave away money to 2 or 3 more people this week.  I haven’t get given to my ‘local’ beggars who are usually at my metro stop, because I think I can’t afford to do it every time I see them so I will space it out.  It will also depend of course on what bills I have on me- I can’t afford to give away the bigger bills, and if people are stacked up in a row I can’t do that for everyone.

Essentially, I’m still a long ways from the widow’s mite– but I’ve finally given God something to outdo.

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Hmmm.. that turned out longer and more rambling than anticipated.. I think I needed to do it.  Too bad that now I really need to go to bed!  Thanks, any who may be reading.

-Rosy

Okay so last week I was so on the ball and this week I’m back to not being so on the ball.. but on the bright side, I’m now 9 hours ahead of Jen… which makes me 9 hours less late!  Aha!  Please do go drop by Conversion Diary for the Quick Takes hub- the graphic to the right is a link.

1.

So I got a question last week about this logo, and while I did answer it there I don’t get tons of traffic so I thought I’d recap in a quick take this week.  When Jen first mentioned she was thinking of a graphic, I made this one for fun.  It doesn’t really match her site however and she’s got that post-it note one that’s adorable (I consider anything even vaguely related to a post-it note good as a post-it note addict myself)… but since I made this one obviously it’s in my tastes.

It’s not meant to be an “alternative logo” as if there were any competition, but we’re all fellow quick-takers and if anyone would like to use it s/he’s welcome to it– I just ask that you save it and upload it to your own webspace.  If anyone asks where it’s from, a link to Hobbit-Sense would be nice.  :)

2.

I discovered why I was extra suspicious to the grocery store people!  I hadn’t noticed that I was marching in with a backpack on right past the counter before the entrance where you’re supposed to take your big bag to be sealed– amazing what a bit of observation will do.  They actually put large bags in a plastic bag and seal the plastic with heat. That it some serious theft prevention measure…..

I think I prefer the locker method I mentioned last week.  On the bright side, this time I was able to buy a couple random objects without alerting the scary men- whoo-hoo.

3.

Can you guess what Russia’s going to have soon?  I cleaned the picture up….

Yes, an election.  I’ve seen this painted on sidewalks a number of places.  I can’t just stand around gawking at it, and honestly, I’ve been trying to surreptitiously photograph it all week when I got lucky on the way home from work- no one else was around and I just whipped out my camera and did it sideways and fast.. which may explain a few things.  I haven’t translated the long, cut-off, penultimate word at the bottom, but it’s something about the Moscow City Duma (city council I guess)– Yes to #5!

4.

This also explains why I was handed a newspaper coming out of the metro last Friday… I figured it’d be good language practice so I took it without thinking.  Upon further examination, I discovered it is titled “Sovyetskaya Rossiya” – yes, that’s “Soviet Russia” – the “Informational Bulletin of the Moscow City Bureau of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.”

The headlines are really grabbing- “OneRussia (Putin’s political party) didn’t come to debates with communists– WHY DOES THE POWER (THE AUTHORITIES) GAMBLE ON VOTES WITHOUT VOTERS?”  – and yes, they really did put that in red.  The really interesting thing though is a Communist party worried about votes…  given this joke from Soviet times especially:

On the day of elections a voter received a ballot, but instead of lowering the ballot into the voting box, he began to read the surname of the single candidate.

‘What are you doing?’ his observer asked

‘I want to find out who I voted for.’

‘Yes but don’t you know that elections are secret?!’

I doubt I can trust the CPRF (KPRF) for accurate reporting, but it’s quite a historical twist…

5.

Of course, it was explained to me that I shouldn’t walk around with the paper.. I don’t think it would get me into too much trouble, and the picture of a party member demonstrating against the current government by having a display of a bear burying his head in the sand is hilarious.. I just can’t decide if it’s meant to represent Russia as a whole (the bear being a rather traditional symbol of it) or Medvedev, whose name means “bear.”

6.

The sign above this door does in fact say “Emergency Exit” (okay, more like, “Dangerous Exit” but it’s the Russian equivalent…)

Run Out This Door In Case of Emergency! .... Or if you need a smoke...

Or the stairwell can double as a smoking lounge..

Or MAYBE the need for a cigarette IS the emergency!  It all becomes clear suddenly…

7.

I finally have an idea of food that might make sense…. hallelujah.  I have been a most sporadic eater, and it’s not been so smart… so I’m going to go back to Plan A (Soup) and supplement with Plan B: Freezing stuff.  So, a pot of soup Sundays and I got chicken wings so I can have an okay stock (I know you need more than that but limited space, budget and time) plus some veggies and then freeze the remaining chicken wings till next Sunday when I use some more for a new pot of soup.. and I got ground beef so I can make cevapcici … well kind of, ideally it’d include some lamb and pork… although actually I don’t know the exact meat words for anything but chicken so it could be, lol.  Freeze and cook individually… add in some frozen veg and we’re good.. not the best, but cheaper, cost-effective, and doable for someone who works 4ish-9ish…

And even if it doesn’t– hey, atleast there was a plan!

Thanks and have a great week, hope to be back more regularly soon.

-Rosy