
— 1 —

Well, NaBloPoMo is almost over. I think I did pretty well with my modified goal, but trying not to fail brings you this third post today(-ish, since it’s after midnight). You’re welcome.
— 2 —
My second post today was critical, though. I’ve always gotten a ridiculous amount of traffic to my Catholic Calendar posts. Since Wunderlist has helped me stay on top of long-term to-do items, I realized that today was the perfect day to post it. People are focused on year-end holidays now, and I imagine calendars are already available in stores. The least I can do is a little data dump to aid the Catholic masses.
I used a different set of instructions for this year’s post. If you try it and it doesn’t work, please let me know: in the comments, using the contact form, or via Twitter. Thanks, and enjoy!
— 3 —
My Thanksgiving was uneventful, as my Not Alone Series Thanksgiving post indicated. I ate some turkey chili I’d made the night before because it felt un-American to not eat turkey at all on Thanksgiving Day. Then, I went off to work at the UT vs. TCU game. I spent most of the day on my feet and kind of cold (due to the required attire), but I had some good conversations and made some extra money.
I’ve been on the lookout for good side hustles since I started my financial revolution. I think it was a wise way to spend the day if not the warmest (relationally or environmentally!)
— 4 —
I went to a delightful wedding last weekend. It was my first Friday evening wedding, although I was in one on a Sunday morning, so I’ve done non-Saturdays before.
My original plan was to leave work early so I could change clothes and beat traffic. I don’t have many meetings for my job, but I had one scheduled midday, so I couldn’t take the whole day off. The day before, though, when I went to confirm the meeting with the organizer, I discovered that I had somehow fabricated the whole thing! I’m so glad I thought to double-check. My supervisor kindly let me take the rest of Friday off.
That turned out to be a double blessing, because the weather was awful. It was another of those rare rainy days in Austin, and I was grateful to not have to drive across town to work and then back for the wedding. I even managed not to let my surprise free time get away from me, and I arrived on time for Mass.
The wedding was beautiful. The couple nailed their memorized vows. That’s a plus for using the standard Catholic vows: they’re so short that they’re easy to memorize. The reception was forest-themed and held in a venue with actual trees inside it (all the time, not just for the wedding). The food was honestly delicious. I don’t usually eat meat on Fridays, so I substituted another penance earlier and was free to indulge. A friend of mine pointed out that drinking wine freely at a wedding is very Scriptural. That fit my sentiments and behavior. I danced basically the whole time. I didn’t even feel as glum about being single as usual. It was a great night!
— 5 —
Kudos to Verily magazine for responding to the “Computer Engineer” Barbie by pointing out that whether girls can work in STEM fields is missing the question. Perhaps that was a terrible book, but if we don’t let women actually pursue any occupation they want, we’re still holding them/us back. I won’t be able to call myself a feminist until choosing to stay home and care for children full-time is just as empowering and acceptable as working outside the home. You can feel forced into full-time childcare, but you can feel forced into the workplace, too.
— 6 —
If you’re into novenas, tomorrow (Saturday) is the day to begin your Immaculate Conception novena. I especially like this one because nine days corresponds nicely with nine months of pregnancy.
If you’d like a reminder, Pray More Novenas was inspired by this novena. Their version isn’t the one I usually pray, but in this case, which prayer you offer is less important than offering any prayer at all.
— 7 —
I got involved in an unexpectedly long discussion with a reader of my Austin CNM post this week. (At least I think he read it; he might have just read the title in the automatic tweet!) It made me realize, primarily, that Twitter is not a good venue for the kind of discussions I like to have. It’s too dependent on immediate responses, as though I don’t have a life beyond screens. The messages have to be so short that you can never quite get your point across. It’s too far removed from the original material.
I like Twitter, but blog comment areas are still my favorite. I’ve been blogging since before blog posts had comment sections or even titles, so I’ll stick with my old-school ways, thanks.
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
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