Long December

Whenever one has too much or too little to do, one is in danger of becoming paralyzed. Unfortunately, these two states of being have simultaneously descended upon me, causing not paralyzation, but rather, writer's block, or more precisely, "Writer's Neglect." Do you ever go through periods in life when the last thing you want to do is the thing you need to do? I love to write, particularly on this blog, although you wouldn't know it by the meager entries that have been put forth thus far. This is how it normally goes:

Something fantastic, and yes, noteworthy, occurs in my life.

I decide to record it for posterity and for all the world to see on my blog.

I begin to write and my perfectionistic tendencies pull a mental coup, causing several rewrites of the aforementioned blog entry. (In fact, if this makes it to your eyes, I will be thoroughly surprised!).

Finally, mild-mannered Andrew is able to regain control of his faculties and realizes he doesn't have any more time to write, so he heaves a sigh of frustration and hits the red "X" in the upper-right corner of his browser.

But not tonight! It's been a long time since my last blog and MUCH has happened: life-altering, joyous, heartrending things have occurred, and YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THEM!

And so, after much ado...

On October 26, 2006, I got engaged to the woman of my dreams: the elegant, beautiful, brilliant (and patient!) Elanor Joy Rimmer! Rather than reinventing the wheel to tell you how the engagement went down, I will refer you to her much-more-updated-than-mine blog--> Elanor's Blog

Suffice it to say, it was a wonderful day and SHE SAID YES! In my book, that's all that matters!

Also, a while back two of our teachers went back home to the States. This was a very difficult and trying time with lots of tears, conversations, and reshuffling of duties, but all is well and I think it was for the best. Keep them in your prayers.


Recently I experienced my first Ples. A Ples is the Czech equivalent of Prom, only on a much grander scale. This Ples was for Elanor's school, and it was held in downtown Prague, in the same place where they filmed Swing Kids! Basically it's a big dance, only weeks before the Ples everyone goes to dance lessons so they can all waltz, swing, etc. very well. The other big difference between Ples and Prom is that there was a professional live jazz band, and at various points during the evening the seniors put on different "acts" where they would come out and do choreographed dances. It was spectacular! There was one part where all the people in the class were introduced, and they came out in groups of 5-10 people, usually 1 guy and the rest of them girls, doing some kind of runway model-esque synchronized dance. It was definitely a sight to see, and so much cooler than Prom will EVER be. Elanor and I hope to someday bring the phenomenon of Ples to the States, it is so cool! My school's Ples isn next Friday, and although it will be smaller than Elanor's, it will still be great!

Also, I recently experienced my first out-of-the-US Thanksgiving celebrations. That's right, celebrationS (plural) because I had three of them! The first was two weeks before the big day in a small village south of Ostrava (eastern Czech Republic). We had an American-style thanksgiving in the basement of this large hotel that looked like it was straight out of "The Shining." It was wonderful, plentiful, but didn't quite feel like thanksgiving. The next Thanksgiving occurred on the actual day, and we were in a hotel in Brno, the second largest city in the Republic. It was nice, although I was feeling a bit ill and we all were a bit exhausted. The hotel promised a full American-style thanksgiving, but it was more like cafeteria thanksgiving food in elementary school. Part of the essence of Thanksgiving (in my opinion) is that you come away so full of tryptophan and mashed potatoes that you could sleep for a week! This meal left something to be desired. The 3rd and final Thanksgiving celebration occurred last weekend in Prague at the Gymnazium Nad Aleji. All the Prague-area teachers got together and had a real Thanksgiving, and it felt like home. It was noisy and crowded and the flat smelled like Turkey and wassail. No Thanksgiving would be complete without my mom's crescent rolls, so I asked her for the recipe and made them! They didn't turn out exactly right, but the idea was right, and they tasted good enough.

Then this past Wednesday I went into Prague to see Elanor and we went and got a Christmas tree for her flat. We put some lights on it, and listened to Amy Grant Christmas music while drinkin eggnog and watching episodes of Lost (which I'm positively addicted to now!). I love Christmas!

Now there are only two more weeks left until Christmas break...the year is truly flying by. Last night I practiced my new trombone (I bought a new Schagerl trombone a few weeks ago) with Boris, a physics teacher at my school. He and I are going to play a few Czech Christmas carols as well as a few English carols on the last day of school before the break. I was honored when he asked me to play with him(he's a very talented jazz saxophonist who has played extensively on the Prague jazz scene). It's good to be playing again, I missed it a lot.

Well, I think that's about it. Oh, I went and saw Casino Royale tonight with my friend Honza (Johnny as he likes to be called) and surprisingly enjoyed it! We had a good time, and now I'm at home in my warm flat listening to Benji snore. Tomorrow I will head into Prague for a meeting with Elanor and the wedding planner. Can't wait! I hope and pray that this post finds you well and walking in the light of Christ, serving in whatever situation you find yourself. Be blessed, and continue to pray for the people of the Czech Republic! Ciao.