a life in my shelled nut

Greetings! I had a fairly peaceful week. I have joined a little mini-choir that will be performing a few songs at a local nursing home on the 15th. I haven't ever sung in a group, other than theatrical performances where I was masked by everyone else, so being one of the three tenors is a challenge for me. It is doubly challenging because I have to memorize both the words and the music. Until I have at least memorized one or the other, I can't even read along! I am also learning a little guitar, memorizing simultaneously the names of various chords in English and French. 

The French is going quite well. I talked with my teacher today about advancing to the next class after Christmas. She sounds optimistic about it. I will be talking to the directrice about it Monday or Tuesday, so please pray that God will grant me favor with her. Meanwhile, I am going to start working 2 units ahead of my class so I have a jump-start on the catch-up work I will be doing over Christmas break.

I will hopefully be getting some kind of seasons greetings sent out in the next couple of weeks. I want a picture. It is evading me. I really want a picture of all the lights and booths and action and color on the Champs D'Elysee, but the Arch de Triomphe is currently closed due to a strike, thus hampering my plans to take advantage of "free Sunday" this week.

and... I should take a quick shower (I am all sweaty because I just rode a mountain bike all over a forest on the side of a large, steep hill and I learned precisely how much tailside I can get with that particular bike on muddy leaves and it was marvelous), eat something, and go to the worship service being held tonight at a local church.

SWEET!

I had a fantastic dream last night. I was watching TV and a short feature came on celebrating a recent conference meet victory by my former high school swim team. (this was fictional, the season has just started in real life). It was a well made promo video. It captured the spirit of a swim meet, the energy of an upset victory determined by the 400 free relay, and it looked cool. As I watched it, I was impressed and wondered where our local station had come up with the creativity and time to produce an ESPN-quality video for a team few people back home even care about. Then I woke up and was hit with the sudden reality that the promo video was created by ME. It was 100% out of my imagination. I didn't know I had that much creativity. I knew I could watch that kind of thing and marvel but I never thought I could actually create it myself. Now I know that I can- I just have develop the skills and software knowledge to make it happen in real life. There is a ton to know and it's a lot of work, but now I know that once I develop those skills I have the imagination to use them well.

I praise God for giving me that dream. I needed it.

I've had similar dreams with music also. I've heard entire worship bands playing songs I've never heard before but when I wake up I can never remember the melody, to say nothing of the bass line and harmony. I'm not sure that I'll ever be much good at music, though I enjoy playing the four or five chords I've picked in the week and a half I have had my guitar. But at least I can literally dream it up once in a while.

Paris Shots

I wandered around Paris all day with this dude
Before we went into Notre Dame we noticed the name on this building and figured that maybe this is where God stays when He visits Paris.
The nativity in Notre Dame
This is the Paris skyline to the North from the towers of Notre Dame, featuring the Sacre Coeur. (Yes, HDR and enhanced) Here is the view 90 degrees to the west, featuring the Eiffel Tower and downtown (slightly enhanced)
Here is the same view with a little more digital work.
And this was taken through a narrow little window as we walked the winding stairs back down to the ground.