Ba daa, baa da daa da da

***I wrote this on 10/5/09, which was 2 Mondays ago. Just realized right now that it didn't actually get posted!***

"Monday, Monday..." I keep thinking of the Mamas and the Papas' song when I think of this day. It's my day off, and after the first one, which I frittered away on thrift stores and some shopping, I have been using them purposefully: doing things I always sit around and say I wish I would do.

Monday #2 of my Gaithersburg venture was my first venture into Washington, D.C., as I chronicled here. (The language of Kings and Chronicles, which I've just ploughed through, comes to mind: "And the deeds of that Monday, its museums and its sunsets, are they not written in the blog of the chronicle of John Behrens?")

Monday #3--last Monday--was my Museum of Natural History day. I got down there a little later than the previous week, and spent the hours from 11:30am to 5:30pm slowly going through three exhibits: Mammals, Ants, and Origins of Western Culture. I hadn't dared to hope this, but in fact I was treated to another perfect sunset, this time with a full battery and my eye to the camera viewfinder. I'm still sorting through all the pictures I took there. They will show up on Facebook and Flickr eventually. It was a spectacular sunset.

As soon as I started in on the mammals exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, I thought "Man - these dead stuffed animals are super cool. I want to see live ones!" So today, Monday #4, I got off a few stops early on the Red Line and walked to the National Zoological Park (aka National Zoo). I had succumbed once again to sleeping in (which is important, to a degree), eating a big breakfast (also important for not getting nauseously hungry during the day), relaxing a bit (not so important), and consequently arriving at my destination later than desired. Fortunatly the zoo stays open till 6, so I still had a good amount of time.

I'll restrain myself and keep it short: I saw Asian short-clawed otters--the CUTEST. CUTEST animal I have ever seen. If I ever become a king, I will have these as my pets. I saw elephant-nosed shrews, sloth bears (which look like something from a cartoon), monkeydudes, a lion and a tiger (who were both waiting to be fed), and MEERKATS! Aahhhh, what a cool animal! Took a lot of time to take pictures of them. I saw scores of amazing reptiles, including a python whose body was bigger around than my thigh. I saw creature after creature that made me stop in wonder and want to stay and stare at it for hours. It was amazing, and I want to go back and see jaguars. They are the coolest animal ever. And Asian short-clawed otters are the cutest.

Once the zoo closed I confirmed by a bus stop map that I could indeed go on down Connecticut Avenue and get to another metro stop. This was happy news. It's a cool area--feels high-brow collegiate to me--and I enjoyed walking down the grand sidewalk. It felt remarkably like a bigger, wider Brooklyn. The metro stop ended up being in a big spat of cool shops and restaurants, and I landed at a tiny Thai place as dusk gathered. Nabbed low low happy hour prices just in time, felt super cool sitting outside on the little patio, enjoyed my deep-fried tofu and shredded chicked with cilantro (and HOT chili flakes), and read Zecharaiah and Ezra. I have found that asking how to say "thank you" in another language is a good cultural ice breaker. The Thai phrase for thank you is: "Kop pun". You're welcome is "Kop pun ka." People like to be thanked in their own language.

Then I sat at the deserted far end of a metro stop waiting for the tracks to be cleared of a stricken train, reading Daniel and feeling like I was in the Matrix. Back at home again, I have limited myself to ONE hour--till 11pm--to do stuff. I need to start disciplining my days the day before, providing for myself the ability to wake up with enough time to read some Bible and stay sane before leaving for work. I can feel the tug and pull to become complacent, as though the fact that all these folks are so appreciative and friendly means I'm doing things well, when in fact it's because they're all wonderful, God-following folks, and I need to hustle my tail every hour of every day or I will leave important things undone and dig for myself unescapable pits.

There are many things I want to do right now. Here's a sampling of a few things that I actually have done so far, but am finding myself unable/struggling to keep up with currently: writing songs; learning the ropes of my synth; playing synth or guitar along with a metronome to learn good timing; playing electric guitar; taking pictures, threshing them out, and posting them online; practicing drums at the studio; reading "Worship Matters" by Bob Kauflin; reading books about live sound and recording; listening to latino music on the XM; listening to the CD's I bought on Monday #1 at thrift stores; reading 22 pages of my Bible per day; keeping up with this blog; keeping up with folks back home; going jogging; brushing my teeth. I am not unhappy or depressed about this. Right now I'm resolute, and honestly, what a cool setup this is to be able craft my lifestyle from scratch! I have absolutely no attatchments right now. I can do whatever I want, every day, with work being a flexible, grace-filled commitment that I love to do. This is a great "training ground" for time management, as well as a wonderful bit of time to enjoy the pursuits of my choice. I do not expect the rest of my life to be anything like this, so I am thoroughly enjoying it :)

Umm, a couple other items:
- Greg's having the kitchen remodeled, so I have been without countertops, a sink, or a dishwasher. I managed to make lamb chops on the George Forman, but resorted to going over to the Boers' Friday night and cooking for a couple hours. Words can hardly express the delight and joy I had in container after container of affordable, healthy, REAL food, all of which is only a microwave away from being eatable. The whole time here I've only been a meal or two away from having nothing good to eat, so this is a wonderful peace :)
- This weekend Ken had a 34-piece orchestra for worship, in addition to a regular-sized rock band. The setup for all that actually went swimmingly, and it sounded glorious. I ended up running the lights, which was good. Rolling along the lighting catwalks in the ceiling on wheeled creepers is one of the funner things I've done down here.
- I'm taking on the role of coordinator for a Spanish Worship album that CLC will be producing. This will be my first real time in the studio, and it's a perfect opportunity to see the music production process, from rehearsal and song selection to mixing the songs and burning the discs.
- Sunday--yesterday--was the annual Covenant Life staff social. It was a splendid time - just a quality group of people, relaxed and enjoying each others' company. We had a big dinner, and most of the evening centered on an epic ping-pong tournament. I got schooled by Raoul, who is a whiz. Hopefully we'll get to play some more on the table down in the SGM warehouse!
- Before the social, after stage tear-down finished at ~2pm, I joined part of my care group at a "harvest festival" at a nearby farm. It was a huge affair, full of people. There was cow milking and hayrides and a corn maze, craft booths, food booths, butter-churning booths, chestnuts roasting on an open fire... the whole nine yards. It was a gorgeous day, and a good time with care group folks.

It's 11:02pm, so I'm stopping. I'll have to come down later and get my load out of the drier, but I'm shutting down the writing (and hopefully the surging brain activity that accompanies it). Farewell, and live strong.