Happy...um....Between Holidays Day!

Greetings and salutations, one and all.
Just a short entry tonight, because, although it is late and I must reluctantly rise early, I knew that if I did nothing to break the inertia of having not posted in so long, I might *never have written again*. Ever. The problem is, you see, once you let it slip by for a little bit, you feel the need to post something comprehensive, or at least interesting, to justify your absence. And as the events of life stack up, your imaginary tome grows longer, and more complex, until even the ghost of James Joyce appears by your bedside one night shaking his head somberly and saying "Just forget it. It's not worth it."
So, that being said, I may go into some of the interesting things (wait...what were they again...) that have happened in the meantime, but more likely I will simply continue to ramble on randomly as I always have.

I had a spinach salad with mandarin oranges and raisins for dinner tonight; it was actually pretty good, but I am already hungry again. You see, I've decided to try something of an experiment: between now and the end of the year, I am going to try to subsist on only fruits and vegetables. With the occasional fish for protein. And this may not include lunch meetings. Or Christmas. I haven't figured it out yet. Partly I want to see how quickly I can drop the few pounds I have picked up since Oxford, but partly I am just curious to see how I feel.
And, while this idea was not strictly spiritual in its inception, we are physical beings, so it all works together; I think perhaps God will teach me some things through the hunger, and the denial.
We'll see how it works out.

My brother John is officially a part of the United States Army. He finally triumphed over all the red tape and bureaucracy, and was sworn in on Monday. He ships out for boot camp right after the New Year, and, instead of working on helicopters as was planned previously, he will now (a blessing of the delay, I suppose) be working on jet aircraft. I believe that, by many accepted standards, John is now the Coolest Person I Know. On further inspection, being an aircraft mechanic is actually better than being a pilot, because 1)The pilots know you keep them alive, and treat you well and buy you drinks, and 2)There is far less risk of exploding or ramming into things at extreme velocities.
So here's to you, Sarge. *clink*

Speaking of velocity...I have been mulling over Special and General Relativity here and there, recently. I think I almost understand (you know the difference between knowing *that* something works, like a formula or something, and really getting your mind inside of it, when suddenly you really *get* it, and that little light goes off, and the kazoos start playing, and...right), but I still have some snags. Not that I think I've bested Einstein, or anything, but there are some things that simply don't seem to work out. I'm guessing it's just me. Perhaps more on this later.

I tried to catch up on some of my correspondence tonight. Something of a lost cause. Essentially just writing "Thank you for calling, please hold" numerous times. (BTW, Christy: I've misplaced your email address, and your don't allow comments on your blog. What up with that, yo? *Ahem*)

Oh, and I went to the Society of Biblical Literature conference in Philadelphia the other weekend.
And I had Thanksgiving.

Grace be with you all, because I am going to bed.

Brian