Extra Ordinary Time.

If the church's liturgical calendar is suppose to mirror not only the seasons of the year and the lectionary, but the seasons of our lives (birth, celebration, death, resurrection, etc), I feel like the last several months have been very Pentecost for me.  Not in the "everyone wear red this Sunday!" way, but in the long stretch of time through the summer in which we simply carry on.  It is often called Ordinary Time.

Perhaps this is not the best analogy.  It's not like things haven't been busy or changing rapidly.  Plenty of curve balls have been thrown (Surprise! You're moving back to Houston for the summer!), but I don't feel the roller coaster ups and downs as much as I usually do.  Maybe I'm getting used to them, maybe they aren't as big as they seem.  Right now I feel like I'm in ordinary time; soldiering on, because that is just what you do.

I think a big part of my personality comes from my grandfathers; family men, consummate churchmen, and men with close friends that they loved.  A big part of both their personalities was simply doing what needed to be done without much complaint.  JUst pressing on despite obstacles, because that's just what you do.  I know it's a generational mind set common to many of the "builders" but it is something that really stuck with me.

The season of Pentecost is often symbolized by wheat or other growing things.  It is ordinary time, but it's a time for growth and renewal.  Since KB and I will get to spend the entire summer together, we're counting on some of that.  The last few weeks I have really felt the lack of hours together compounding like interest, and need very much to pay back some of that debt of time.  It will be good to have a season to be together, to grown and renew, and to find joy in the ordinary.  Thank God for extra ordinary time.

Editor's note: this post isn't as well written as I want, but I also want to be better about regular updates, so...take what you can get.

Uncle Travelling Nick

So to start with, it's one thing when people tell me to update my blog in person.  Now I'm getting texts that say "Either update you blog or just delete it."  Wow.  Come on, peeps.  I've been crazy busy for the last...OK, so it has been a while.  Sorry.

So where to begin?  I've been travelling a lot work (hence the Fraggles reference above; also I was, in fact, in the land of the Silly Creatures).  I've been to Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, California, and Toronto in the last two months.  Throw a truly wonderful Boston trip in there, and I'm really racking up the frequent flier miles. 

The reason for my lack of updates is simply feeling that I don't have anything to say.  I try and write things to provoke thought or discussion, to draw out ideas, or to help form opinions.  I've been so engrossed in work that I have just not had any thoughts worth sharing lately.  It occurs to me, though, that the people reading this may not really care and are simply interested in what I'm doing or have to say.  Which is weird to begin with, but brace yourselves; here comes the engine stuff...

So let's talk tractors.  Like this one:



A John Deere tractor

 Tractors have what is called a "common sump" design, meaning that the fluids that lubricate the entire machine (except the engine) are in the same housing that runs the length of the tractor.  My company makes additives that go into the oils for those sumps.  We focus on parts like this:



Look kids! A piston pumps! And my desk!

Our chemistry helps maintain the integrity of parts like this piston pump.  It's made of a lot of different kinds of metals (note the yellow metal on top) that all have to be cared for.  Bad oils can be very detrimental:


Worn elliptical gear section

 The gear teeth above are worn down from being used in a bad oil.  This shortens the life of the tractor.  However, what we make...



Happy gears!

 
Keeps gears from spawling (metal shaving off), and extends the life of tractors and farm equipment.

OK I think that's it for now, my darlings.  You are all wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.  I'll make sure to send postcards the next time I venture out into the Land of the Silly People.