Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I don't know what's up with me lately when it comes to writing. Apparently the only time I feel like writing is when my plate is already overflowing. Give me a month where not much is happening and my desire to actually do anything, including writing and cleaning my apartment, just goes right out the window.

I've actually been working on an entry for several days, but, though it's a light-hearted look at an incident in my past, I'm just not getting around to actually finishing it. To be fair, it is rather long and should probably be broken into two parts. Soon. I promise you, my sweetlings. Soon.

(I know, I've said this before, about my Alabama vacation last year and my Tucson visit last month. Well, I'm actually writing those up separately and will be providing links once they're finished. Along with reorganizing my archives and building my site on my unique domain name. It's happening slowly, but it is happening. I just have to settle on a design for the new site, I've changed it about three times.)

I hate to get all meta on you, but I feel I have to. I just want to say, I love Al Schroeder. Not just for his writing (which is excellent) or his adoration of his wife and children, though those do figure prominently.

The main reason I love him is his strong faith.

See, I'm a big believer in spirituality, but I'm not one for religion. I believe that there is a Higher Power, or God, Goddess or whatever term you wish to use. I don't believe that Jesus was our Lord and Saviour, though I do find his teachings valuable. I've come to these conclusions after extensive pondering of my beliefs and ideals, turning them over and over in my head and my heart and my soul. It's an ongoing process with me, because I am, at heart, a deeply spiritual person.

Being both deeply spiritual and deeply skeptical, I've longed for a faith that I could commit to, but I find it difficult to do, because organized religions seem to be as much about politics as they are about worshipping God.

Then there are those fire-and-brimstone types, the ones who try to scare the bejesus out folks. "You're going to Hell if you don't follow my faith!" Frankly, if you're an example of people going to Heaven, I'd much rather go to Hell, thanks. Besides, all of my atheist, homosexual, agnostic, Jewish, pro-choice and fornicating friends will be there too, and they're ever so much more fun.

Between the politics and the narrow-mindedness and the endless proselytizing, especially by various Christian denominations, I've become very gun-shy of anything or anyone that mentions Jesus or the Christian religion. Part of it is my own knee-jerk reaction, I freely admit that. It's something I'm coming to terms with about myself. But I probably wouldn't have this kind of reaction if I didn't see so many examples to prove the rule, like the man who handed those Jehovah's Witness pamphlets to children at a bus stop down the street from a Hebrew school. (The boys were all wearing yarmulkes, so there's no way he could claim ignorance.)

However, this is exactly why I love Al's journal so much. For those of you who've never read Nova Notes, Al is a Christian who is very strong in his faith. He and his family had that faith sorely tested last year when his oldest son died unexpectedly just after Thanksgiving. Indeed, being the father of autistic children is enough to test one's faith, let alone losing one very suddenly. Al's faith has remained strong and continues to be a large part of his life.

But it's not just that I admire him for keeping the faith, as it were. He writes about his beliefs often, but he doesn't proselytize, doesn't write as though his path is the Only Path and doesn't tell others that they'll burn in Hell's fiery pits for not believing in Jesus Christ Our Lord. Christianity is a part of his life and he talks about it the same way others might talk about sports or movies or theatre. With a passion, with wonderment and questioning and intelligence, and always with a certain matter-of-factness. "This is a part of me."

Go there. Read Al. It's well worth it.

My reason for loving Al's journal is also the reason my third favorite character from M*A*S*H is Father Mulcahy. To be honest, William Christopher isn't always an excellent actor. He is afflicted with what I call "soft-spoken acting", which is what happens when a soft-spoken actor has to raise his voice and it doesn't quite sound convincing. (My ex had the same problem.)

Still, Mulchay was a wonderfully written character, a Catholic priest who truly loved his fellow humans, no matter the religion (or lack thereof), but never came off too good to be true. But it's not just the writing. Despite his occasional shortcomings as an actor, Christopher infused the good father with such decency, humor and intelligence, and even a bit of toughness, that it's impossible not to love the character.

Another link to my journal, this time courtesy of Melissa from Planning a Sky. She's already on my list of reads (see below), and for a good reason. I've connected with much of what she's writes, and not just because I've gone though some of what she's gone through. She's just an excellent writer.

No Oscar commentary today, maybe I'll weigh in later on this week. Or maybe I won't. It depends on how I feel.

Maybe the fact that I lost money on it has something to do with my ambivilence. That's what I get for not following my first hunch about Best Actor and Best Actress. *fume*

POSTSCRIPT - 3:10pm PST
I just ate lunch from Panda Express (my usual tofu in spicy garlic sauce and steamed rice). When I broke open my fortune cookie, there was no fortune inside. Considering that I'm a fortune cookie addict and have saved probably hundreds of fortunes, this is a very big deal for me.

It's now time for...

Lessons to be taught, from Rob's brief period as a single man.

Yes, I know I've used this photo before, but's it's perfect for this entry too. Now leave me alone.