Sabbatical Day 6

June 25, 2004--Day 06
Today was not what I would term a "good" or "enjoyable" day. I've had a headache all afternoon and evening, but my Advil is already packed. Spent all day packing and cleaning, at my apartment and at church. And now that I'm "home" at Scott's apartment, I do feel very relieved.

Sabbatical Day 5

June 24, 2004--Day 05
Today was my journey to Nashville. Went to the Great Escape first. Bought three new comics and two issues of Star Trek: The Magazine. Found Centennial Park after driving around a bit (and a stop at Wendy's to get some lunch.) Went to the Parthenon gift shop first, then went back outside to eat some of my lunch. The Main Gallery featured a show titled "Greek Mythology Now," which featured naturalistic mythological paintings by John Woodrow Kelley. Seeing the gilded Athena was quite impressive. Unlike previous visits to the Parthenon, I had time to sketch and take lots of photos. I also was able to walk around the park a bit and do some work under a tree at a picnic table.

Sabbatical Day 4

June 23, 2004--Day 04
Spent the first half of the day with Scott. We saw the "Curious George" exhibit at the main library. Then we visited Lee Publications (where they make those 'Yes and Know' invisible ink books), followed by lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and shopping on Frankfort Avenue. Switched vehicles with Scott when he left, so he has my car and I have Mom & Dad's minivan. Drove down to Tennessee this evening.

Sabbatical Day 3

June 22, 2004--Day 03
Another day of "tying up loose ends." My brother Scott is on his way down with a minivan, so I can move some of my stuff to his apartment. We're going to the Louisville Melting Pot tonight for cheese fondue. For information about a Melting Pot restaurant near you, visit www.meltingpot.com.

Sabbatical Day 0

June 19, 2004, 11:40 p.m.
I spent today, my last official day of work, continuing the clean up from VBS. The teens went canoeing today. I got to see them off in the morning and then say good-bye to them when they returned from their trip. Made my final trips to Staples, Michaels and Kroger for last minute supplies for Summer Sunday School. I plan to sleep in tomorrow, which is something I don't get to do very often on Sunday morning. Then I will do laundry and begin cleaning up my apartment to get ready to leave. Later in the week I'll wrap up things here at the office, pack up my computer, etc.

June 18, 2004

Vacation Bible School is over today, and my sabbatical has unofficially begun. (It starts June 20). Our VBS was "Davey and Goliath's Camp Creation" this year, featuring the 'beloved' 1960s/70s icons Davey Hanson and his talking dog Goliath, which are characters owned by our denomination. VBS went well--112 children were registered, the second highest enrollment since I've been at Christ Lutheran. Not included in the 112 are 25 youth helpers who have completed grades 6-12, nearly twice the number from last summer. We had no major injuries, good attendance, and good offerings--one of which was an offering to help dig wells in Bangladesh. Twelve children are registered for our evening VBS program, July 11-13, which will be held while I'm on sabbatical. Most of my time tomorrow will be spent cleaning up from daytime VBS and organizing supplies and materials for evening VBS.

Be An Interplanetary Spy

Back in the day (the day being the 1980s), "Choose Your Own Adventure" books were all the rage. The reader of this type of book makes choices throughout the novel, which determine the plot and end of the story. Though I read my share of the series, I only owned one of the books, an autographed copy of either "The Statue of Liberty Adventure" or "Mystery of the Secret Room" by Ellen Kushner. There were other similar series, notably "Which Way" books. I think I have a copy of the Batman book somewhere. About the same time, a twelve-volume series called "Be An Interplanetary Spy" was published. Like CYOA books, the reader faced a number of dilemmas (or trilemmas) throughout the book, but in this series, there was often a puzzle or maze to solve in order to make the correct choice. I have a dog-eaten copy of #2, "The Galatic Pirate." I ordered another, "The Rebel Spy" from amazon.com before finding the entire series on the web in pdf format.