All Souls' Day

Father of all, we pray to thee for those we love but see no longer. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, we pray thee to set thy passion, cross, and death, between thy judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living, pardon and rest to the dead, to thy holy Church peace and concord, and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and ever.

Ross Arnett, Jr.
Mary Arnett
Robert Crowell
Jo Ann Crowell
Elizabeth Russell
Thomas Russell
And for all the faithful departed

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine,
et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
Requiéscant in pace. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

The Feast of All Saints

Sancti Omnes, orate pro nobis!


Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Mary and Joseph, pray for us.
Michael and all angels, pray for us.
Anna, Joachim, Elizabeth, pray for us.
Elijah, Moses, John the Baptist, pray for us.
Isaac, Sarah, Abraham, pray for us.
Jacob, Joseph, Samuel, pray for us.
Ruth, David and Solomon, pray for us.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, pray for us.
All you holy men and women, pray for us.

Peter, Paul, Andrew, pray for us.
James, John, and all apostles, pray for us.
Mary Magdelene, Veronica, pray for us.
Barnabas, Matthias, pray for us.
Stephen, Philip, and Cornelius, pray for us.
Prisca and Aquila, pray for us.
Timothy and Titus, pray for us.
Linus, Cletus, and Clement, pray for us.
All you holy men and women, pray for us.

Lawrence and Chrysogonus, pray for us.
Innocent and Boniface, pray for us.
Hippolytus and Origen, pray for us.
Athanasius and Basil, pray for us.
Felicity, Perpetua, pray for us.
Cosmos and Damien, pray for us.
John Chrysostom and Justin, pray for us.
Lucy, Agatha, and Agnes, pray for us.
All you holy men and women, pray for us.

Jerome and Eusebius, pray for us.
Scholastica and Benedict, pray for us.
Ambrose, Monica, Augustine, pray for us.
Martin and Gregory, pray for us.
Clare, Francis, and Dominic, pray for us.
Francis Xavier, Ignatius, pray for us.
Elizabeth and Catherine, pray for us.
Louis and Wenceslaus, pray for us.
All you holy men and women, pray for us.

Lord, be merciful, save your people.
From all evil, save your people.
From every sin, save your people.
From everlasting damnation, save your people.
By your incarnation, save your people.
By your death and resurrection, save your people.
By your gift of the spirit, save your people.
Have mercy on us sinners, save your people.
Christ hear us, Lord Jesus hear our prayer.

Lord give new life, hear our prayer.
To his chosen, hear our prayer.
By the grace of baptism, hear our prayer.
Oh Jesus Son of the living God, hear our prayer.
Send your Spirit, hear our prayer.
In its fullness, hear our prayer.
On your sons and daughters, hear our prayer.
Who believe and profess you, hear our prayer.
Christ hear us, Lord Jesus hear our prayer.

AJ Update

Anthony Jr. has been home for about two weeks now. He has gotten so big. It is odd to count a 5 month old baby that weighs 6 lbs big, but it is big for him. He's doing very well. He came home with only oxygen and a feeding tube, which is really great. My mom says he is a very animated baby and even has a little bit of a temper. I'll place money that he gets that from the Arnetts. Anyway, here is a pic of him and my brother.

Post-it Note

I haven't had a lot of time to write lately. The semester (or quarter or term or whatever they call it here) is winding down and there is only a week left of classes. After this week I get a week off of work. Yay! I teach four classes next semester (two English 101s and two English 102s) and I'll be working at the writing lab for a pretty sweet hourly sum. I'm coming home from November 5th to November 10th.

I had lots of bad dreams last night. I had a dream that someone close to me died. I also had a dream that I had a baby that killed me and ate my brain. I don't even want to get into the symbolism. I'll just bury that dream in a dark place and wait for it to manifest itself through an irrational fear or another personality. Whoo!

I'll have a real post soon.

School Daze

Well, yeah... I am seriously thinking about going back to get my PhD now. Wow. That took less than six months (and less than two months on the job) for me to realize that working isn't that much fun. It's funny because when I finished in May, I was all like, "I'm never going back to school. It's no fun and almost everyone in academia is disassociated from the world of real people." You know, real people? The people who have never even heard about the Junius manuscript, and even if they did hear about it, they wouldn't care at all. I think this is at least 99.98% of the world's population, but I haven't done the math.

I still believe that last part- the part about academics being disassociated from the real world. I'm just excited about it now instead of disheartened. David had a good insight yesterday about our different motivations for wanting a PhD. He said that I want to be an academic (aka- someone who has the degree, the job, and can spout off some smart stuff) but I don't want to get involved with expert research and specialized study. He, on the other hand, wants to get involved with the research and specialized study, but he doesn't necessarily want the associations that go along with being an academic. (It sounded better and I'm sure made more sense when he said it)

It's true that we have used the term "academic" as a dirty word in our household before, but that's because many professors seem zeroed in on just one aspect of life and it gets under our skin. But on Wednesday and Thursday I got to talk to some professors and former classmates who are really cool and don't seem disconnected at all. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've found out that I can be an academic and a real person at the same time. I can tell people about the Augustinian influences in Donne's poems and still mistake Rowan Williams for Rowan Atkinson all in the same day.

So I'm going to check out UC's comparative lit. department next week and I'll go from there.

In Lafayette

The prize winning David O'Neil has just graciously deposited his prize winning check into our (not so) prize winning joint bank account. Perhaps I should let him keep it all and spend the whole wad on Chipotle like he would probably do. What's the point of having a prize if you can't buy neat or yummy things with it? But alas, the check is going toward rent. Boo.

The awards ceremony last night was nice because I got to see the person I love recognized as a fellow who is a promising scholar and cool guy. It was also neat because it made me think about going back for my PhD.

We're in Lafayette right now, but we have to go back in about three hours. Boo again.

My Birthday Week Approacheth

I, like Caitie, absolutely love my birthday. Most people probably love their birthday even if they don't admit it or act like it. I just happen to act like it. A lot. First, I happen to be born in the best month of the entire year: October. This is the month where the weather is perfect, football is on every weekend, everybody wears their cutest clothes, and people have entire celebrations devoted to good beer. But it gets even better for me. I happen to be born on the best day of the best month, which is the 15th. I get to say I was born on the ides of October, and that would be cool enough. However, October 15th also happens to be the day the Gregorian calendar was put into effect. See, the Julian calendar had some problems with it, and in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII was told something had to be done. The vernal equinox was drifting back and the date of Easter was way off, and there were about ten days that needed to be scratched from the calender. So Gregory XIII said that everyone would go to sleep on October 4th and they would wake up on Monica's birthday...I mean October 15th. From then on, the Gregorian calendar has been in place. As if the day couldn't get any better, October 15th is also the feast day of St. Theresa of Avila. So as you can see, this day is extremely cool. I'm so glad I decided to be born on October 15th instead of my due date at the end of November.

But you might be asking yourself about the title of this post. What the hell is a Birthday Week? Well, about six years back I was a little stressed out about my approaching birthday. How was I going to visit all my family, various groups of friends, see David, and have some coveted time to myself all in one day? And then it hit me. Like a modern day calendar wizard, I decided to expand my birthday to an entire week. Pope Gregory XIII would be proud, I think. I decided that I would do some special things by myself a couple of days before my birthday, spend my real birthday with my family, and spend the rest of the week with friends. The result was a smashing success. Here's my Birthday Week itinerary for this year-

October 13th (Saturday)-Birthday Week opening ceremonies, ie, mention to David that my Birthday Week has begun. Go to the Cincinnati Art Museum, which is free, and look at all the cool exhibits.

October 14th(Sunday)- Go to mass. Then veg out on documentaries from the library and drink iced coffee all day. Oh, by the way, when you go to church on the 14th you have to keep me in your prayers and request that I become a better wife, daughter, sister, and friend. This is a Birthday Week Decree, so it can't be refused. Anyway, most of you know me, and you know I need these prayers. It'll actually be to your benefit.

October 15th, my actual birthday(Monday)- Go to mass in the morning if I can swing it. By the way, all those who go to daily mass can pray for me on this day as well. Then after work, David is taking me out to Olives, a hip little restaurant down the street from us. He says I can even get dessert. Woot.

October 16th (Tuesday)- Sleep in. Wake up whenever and take a lovely walk around our cool neighborhood. I plan to stop by all the cool little shops on our street and look at all the neat houses around the block.

October 17th (Wednesday)- Go to Lafayette for David's Outstanding Thesis award. See how gracious I am? I'm sharing my Birthday Week limelight with David. David will be presented with a $500 check and we'll get a $350 travel voucher. That means we've rented a sedan to come to Lafayette, booked a room at the Holiday Inn Select with a king sized bed, and have planned a trip to exotic Thai. I also get to see my parents who will be there for the award thing. After the award ceremony or whatever it is, we're going to Kristin's parents' house to hang out with Kristin et al.

October 18th (Thursday)- Wake up in a king sized bed. Go to breakfast on Purdue's dime. Walk from the Holiday Inn Select to the Frozen Custard in Wabash Landing. Order a Boilermaker Sundae, which is a Birthday Week tradition. Go to lunch with my parents if both of them can make it. Go back to Cincinnati.

October 19 (Friday)- Birthday Week closing ceremonies. Officially recognize that I am 26 years old.

Sounds like an awesome Birthday Week to me. If you'd like a birthday week of your own, I suggest the following. First, you need to have family, friends, and a spouse/significant other that will put up with your tyrannical egotism for a week. Luckily, I've been blessed to have such a family, spouse, and friends. Second, about five days before your birthday, start casually dropping into conversation or posting on your blog that your Birthday Week is approaching. Most people will go along with it. Finally, plan a special event every day of your Birthday Week. Start two days before your actual birthday and end four days after.

Update Shmupdate

Well, I suppose I ought to update. I don't have anything going on though. Everything is boring.

I met some of David's classmates last night. They are all very nice.

Last week our neighborhood had a Streetscapes Festival. Artists throughout the city drew famous works of art in sidewalk chalk on Telford street, which is about two streets down from us. The chalk was actually a special chalk mixed with linseed oil and soap. As a result, many of the pictures are still on the street to look at. One artist did a huge Pieta (The one by Bouguereau) right in the middle of the street. It was excellent. It's interesting to walk down Telford and see the Blessed Virgin holding Christ crucified in the middle of the street, but it works. This weekend, our neighborhood is hosting a microbrew festival. People can sample from over 60 small batch beers right in the heart of Clifton. We aren't going to that, but we are planning to go to an apple cider festival tomorrow. It's at Hidden Valley Fruit Farm. They'll have several kinds of cider, hayrides, and other apple/ fall related activities. The best part is that it's free.

Oh, tomorrow we're going to try a new curch. We've been going to this church in Northside called St. Boniface. Pretty funny considering that's the name of our parrish in Lafayette. Anyway, St. Boniface in Northside is one of the most beautiful chruches I've been to, and that includes all the churches in Rome and Florence. It doesn't have the same grandure as the Italian churches, but St. Boniface does have beautiful mosaics, stained glass, a marble canopy, and on and on. Well, the preists there are just so-so. They are the kind that don't make you say your act of contrition because they assume you were contrite before you got to confession. So tomorrow we'll go to Annunciation Catholic Church, which claims to be "the Catholic church in the heart of Clifton." It's about six blocks away from our apartment and we'll be able to walk there. I actually walked there on the feast of St. Francis to check it out. I would have passed by this building if it didn't say Annunciation Church on the front of it, and It's not because it looks like some new fangled modern church. In fact, it looks exactly like an ancient Greek temple complete with corinthian pillars. The church isn't as pretty at St. Boniface on the inside or the outside, but it still has its charms. It has a huge dome behind the altar and there is a mural of the Annunciation painted on it. Surrounding the painting of Gabriel and Mary are paintings of scores of saints. It has the tabernacle in the middle, and (be still my little heart) they have a communion rail!!!! I hope they use it. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Most importantly, I hope the priests are solid.