I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Trish1 Comment

THIS BOOK.  Holy cow, it’s been a while since I’ve torn through a book in one day, but I’ll Give You the Sun was impossible to put down.  Art, mystery, family, love, grief–this book is absolutely beautiful, both in the way that it is written and in what it covers.  I’m still stunned.  This book shook me up, made me lighter, and weighed me down.  It even made me start thinking in contradictory metaphors.

I was skeptical of Nelson’s setup–she alternates chapters between twins.  This is a common writing device, but Nelson adds a twist.  The chapters told by Noah are from his 13-year-old perspective, while the chapters told by Jude jump ahead three years to when they are 16.  I didn’t know how Nelson could keep the plot moving if we found out in Jude’s chapters everything that was going to happen to younger Noah.  But I was wrong!  This worked out so well!  The hints and foreshadowing only made me more curious.  On top of that, Noah and Jude keep an incredibly amount of secrets from each other, and this makes their individual chapters all the more interesting. Continue reading →

Retirement is Not in My Future

TrishLeave a comment

It’s always reassuring when I discover one more way my brother and I are similar.  At my graduation lunch with my nannying family and my real family, Roy answered questions about his career.

“I work for an architect who came out of retirement to do a few jobs for fun.  It’s been pretty great,” he said.  “I discovered I have the work ethic of a post-retirement architect.”

“What do you mean by that?” my boss asked.

“I like to come in late, leave early if necessary.  I work on projects that interest me, and I love being able to take off time for vacations and traveling.”

“That sounds nice,” my boss said ruefully.

It does sound nice!  It sounds a little too perfect, but that’s because there are two unsaid aspects to this work philosophy.  First, it means Roy will never be wealthy.  Second, it means Roy will never be able to retire.  Continue reading →

Tricia Goes Two Stepping

TrishLeave a comment

I have two friends in Dallas who are too cool for me.  Stephanie and Candice actually go out on weekends, and I usually beg off because I’m working late, watching Netflix, or reading a new book.  But since my time in the great state of Texas is running out, I agreed to go two stepping with them.  This would allow me to do two things:  hang out with friends in their natural habitat and experience a distinctly Texan entertainment.

IMG_4318Stephanie loaned me her cowboy boots, since I never did buy a pair during my three years here.  The night of the two stepping, I stared at my feet, trying to imagine I felt normal in them.  Nope.  I felt like I was playing dress up.

Ten minutes after she was supposed to meet me, Lindsay texted and asked, “Can I bring Shipley??”  Shipley is her golden retriever, famous for calming anxious minds.  “Only if I can bring Rory,” I responded, since the idea of dancing with strangers was also making me crave some cuddle-time with my cat.

We arrived at the two stepping dance hall, and I froze.  “Are we…do we dance in that??” I asked.  There was an oval wooden track in the center of the massive room, with a bar and tables in a lowered middle section and counters and tables surrounding it on the outside.  Everyone was always looking at everyone on the dance floor.  Continue reading →

Travel Tip: Roadtrippers

TrishLeave a comment

I found the Roadtrippers app a year ago, and I played with it for a couple hours before hiding it in a “Useful Travel Apps” folder.  Because it is well-named, I thought of it again a few days ago.  I mentioned on Facebook a desire to take a seven-month roadtrip in the time between leaving Dallas and going to Athens.  Several people surprised me, insisting that I take advantage of my free time and explore the country.  When it comes to traveling, a little encouragement goes a long way, so I spent all of Tuesday creating a month-long roadtrip for October.  Continue reading →

The Longest Way Home by Andrew McCarthy

TrishLeave a comment

A book about a traveler who fears being unable to commit to marriage?  Um, yes please!  McCarthy’s book is an absolutely beautiful combination of self-awareness and travel log.  As he hops from Patagonia to the Osa to Vienna to Kilimanjaro, McCarthy considers how his love of travel–and the escape it offers–affects his relationship with his father, his children, and especially his fiancee.

This combination of physical exploration and emotional introspection hit exactly upon what I too love about traveling.  Finding yourself outside of a normal routine, relying on strangers for help, and witness to events and sights totally new–these circumstances of travel offer people a chance to examine themselves in a deeper way than life typically allows.  The fact that this can become a crutch, so that self-awareness is dependent upon isolation and exploration, is also explored as McCarthy works his way toward marriage.  His honesty and transparency made me trust him and root for him as he found a way to merge his love of traveling with his love for his fiancee.  Continue reading →

How Will We Be Greeted By God in Eternity?

Trish3 Comments

At the graduation ceremony at Dallas Theological Seminary, an allusion was made to “Well done, good and faithful servant,” at least three times.  This phrase is from a parable Jesus told in Matthew 25 in which a man entrusts money to three servants in the hope that they will use it well in his absence.  The two who invested are rewarded by their master and told, “Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness!”

If we are the servants and God is the master, it’s a nice thought that we might be greeted by him in our resurrected bodies with this kind of affirmation.  But the near obsession evangelicals have with this verse concerns me.  It feels very close to a works-based faith and a desire that God see our actions, our ministry, our goodness, and commend us for it.

Or maybe I’m just wired differently, because if there is one thing I want to hear God say, it is, “I love you.”  I’ve spent my whole life working to impress people.  I live for approval, and I’m just self-conscious enough to crave constant compliments.  That kind of affirmation is fleeting, and I am never satisfied.  I don’t want to work for God’s affection.  I don’t want his affection to be based upon my work.  Continue reading →

D.C. for Book Lovers (Guest Post)

Trish1 Comment

Elizabeth Waibel works in communications in the D.C. area. Her laptop has been broken for months, so she gets a lot of reading done. She once did an internship located mostly in the basement of the Folger library.

Washington, D.C., may be better known for Supreme Court briefs than its literary hangouts, but the District is also home to many universities, flourishing independent bookstores, and the largest library in the world. Julia Child lived in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, both before and after a stint in France that inspired her work on the revolutionary cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Its museums and archives are home to the founding documents of America and some of its most iconic movie memorabilia.

DSC00755When Tricia visited me in the D.C. suburbs in 2013, short on time, we decided on a literary theme to narrow down our options of places to visit and to indulge our mutual love of books. Whenever we had trouble deciding what to do, we picked the activity that involved the most books — problem solved. As an indecisive person, I loved delegating decisions to a pre-determined theme, and I also loved having an excuse to watch a Shakespeare episode of “Doctor Who” when we got tired of exploring.

Here, in no particular order, are a few of the places we visited, plus a few I’ve discovered since then.  Continue reading →

Nannying Has Ruined Me For Motherhood

TrishLeave a comment

As a nanny, I:

  • arrive half an hour early to sit in a carpool lane
  • drive across town to pick up dance recital outfits
  • stock my car with snacks
  • say things like, “you’re hearing, but you’re not listening”
  • pretend to enjoy their every new interest
  • spend hours sitting through their events and practices

In a lot of ways, I’m learning how to be a mom.  And while I absolutely adore the kids that I nanny, this does not make me excited to be a mom.  Why?  Because I get paid!  All the boring parenting stuff?  Comes with a paycheck.  Real moms and dads do not get paid for all the work they do, which I think is appalling.  Whenever I have kids, I’m going to keep track of my hourly rate and retroactively charge them for my care when they’re grown and making money.

Or, put another way, I have a lot of respect for moms and dads who invest so fully in their children without getting paid.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Trish3 Comments

My roommate let me borrow this book as a birthday present.  As much as I love fantasy, I have a weird “but I’m not that nerdy” attitude toward authors that aren’t J. R. R. Tolkien.  Which is completely dumb, because I am that nerdy.  Anyway, I let it sit untouched for a month, at which point my roommate said, “Um, are you ever going to read that book I gave you?”  Feeling guilty, I started reading….and couldn’t stop!  Mistborn is SO GOOD.  It’s a high fantasy heist novel, two genres I didn’t realize need to be combined all the time!

The world of Mistborn is atmospheric (ash falls from the sky on a regular basis) and extremely intriguing.  Although we don’t learn how Allomancers first received their power, not in this book at least, I am totally in love with the creativity behind these “magical” powers.  Allomancers can swallow and then “burn” metals, which give them various abilities.  Special Mistborn men and women can burn multiple metals at once, giving them the ability to alter peoples emotions, gain strength, or most impressive, push and pull metals around them.  The ways in which characters use these abilities are increasingly creative throughout the story, and I was delighted by their creativity.

I also appreciated the…in-betweenness of the level of violence in Mistborn.  People definitely die, and there are a few scenes of squeamish grossness.  But this is no Game of Thrones, which I’m grateful for.  I want realistic levels of death tolls in a story about war and uprisings, but I don’t want to be constantly grossed out.

I should also mention how awesome Vin is.  She’s a terrified street urchiin turned fake noblewoman, both roles which help her discover her true self–a scared but bold woman who fights for those that she loves and delights in her skillset.  I can’t wait to read more about her in the final two books of Sanderson’s trilogy.  Continue reading →

Thank You, Dallas Theological Seminary

TrishLeave a comment

I am a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary!  Three years of reading, writing, and learning, and I am a Master of Biblical Counseling.  I am so relieved to have a brain break, but I admit that part of me is sad to leave the school behind.

IMG_4416DTS is not a perfect place because it is full of Christians.  But despite my occasional rages against the more conservative leanings of the school, I am so grateful to have attended.  My faith blossomed at DTS as I learned to see truth everywhere–in psychology textbooks, in the Bible, in nature.  I learned to trust in a God bigger than I’d ever considered, a God who cannot be fathomed except that He made Himself known.  I learned to stop putting so much of my identity in my GPA, to value knowledge for its own sake rather than for a grade.  And more than that, I learned to put knowledge into practice, because what’s the point of having wisdom if it doesn’t affect the way you live and love other people?

Most of all, DTS taught me to appreciate grace.  I live so often by the law of karma, demanding good for the good things I do and expecting bad when I do something wrong.  I learned, by teaching and by experience, that God throws cause and effect out of the window.  I learned to delight in a God who gives and gives and gives, who held out His arms to His people no matter how many times they ran away from Him.  Continue reading →