The past & the future

Wow...it's been four years in Boston and one year in the South End. What a great year it's been! Praise God. First, here's my upcoming schedule:

9/15-16: Teaching a defense contractor in Denver
9/22-26: Teaching a Canadian military supplier in Montreal. Oui oui!
10/2-6: Teaching the public in Albuquerque. Coincidentally, the same week as the Albuquerque balloon festival. Woo-hoo!
10/27-30: Teaching the public in DC. My first time teaching our hardest course, and my fourth time in the DC area this year.
11/3-7: Teaching the public at our headquarters in Natick.
12/1-5: Teaching the public in Los Angeles. With luck, I'll be able to see another Price is Right taping!
12/8-12: Teaching the public in DC again. My 5th time in the DC area this year.

Now as for the past year, when I moved in to the South End (check out the link--my first attempt at a custom Google map!), it was a risk. I'm paying 50% more rent than I was living out in Allston. This is due both to the neighborhood (the South End is one of the most up & coming places in Boston) and the upgrade from a studio to a one bedroom. Thus, to justify the increase, I had set a goal with God & myself: that it would be a place for others to come and be comfortable. In particular, here have been some specific goals I had set:

1. That I would keep the place relatively clean.
2. That I would have others over to share common interests.
3. That I would have a place that people would want to come back to.
4. That I would have a place men could stay overnight who wanted to/needed to.

Other goals in the past year included:

5. Getting more involved at church
6. Running a 5k.

So how has it gone? Well, there have been some disappointments:

1. The 5k never happened, nor did it come close. The best I did during any training was one consecutive mile running. I just don't like running. I wish I experienced the "runner's high" that others talk about, but nothing of the sort ever happened.

2. I've gotten somewhat more involved in church, but I'm still nowhere near where I'd like to be. In particular, the weekend community group that I had been part of dissolved, and I haven't plugged into another one due to my travel schedule.

More importantly, though, a lot has gone well:

1. I have kept this place relatively clean; clean enough that when I have friends over, it takes no more than 30 minutes to get it in a state for people to come.

2. Praise God for meetup.com! I've gotten involved in a couple of groups there; the key ones have been a Settlers of Catan group and a Killer Bunnies meetup (thank you Rusty!). My niche here in Boston really has been all about the gaming. Anyway, I've hosted both those meetups at my place several times, to the point where the regulars now know exactly where to go when they need to get utensils or napkins.

3. I had my first real test at having someone over when a great, goldy friend and college roommate, Matt Patton, came and stayed at my place for two nights a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time. He seemed quite comfortable on the futon and the day we had together went really well. I actually had the Settlers of Catan meetup group above over that night and made Swedish Meatballs and garlic bread for everyone...good stuff.

So I've renewed the lease for another year (no rent increase!) and am working on my goals for this next year. One of them will be to get to know my neighbors better this year. Other things I'm learning right now:

1. That once I have feelings for a woman, they can be rekindled even if I think you're over the person. You can see my post from last year detailing a crush I had on a non-Christian. Well, I had been mostly avoiding talking to her to protect myself, but last week ran into to her and chatted for a while. Yup, the feelings rushed back. They seem to be gone for the time being, but I know I need to be careful about doing that again.

2. To focus on the future, not the past. I'm reading Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, and this is one of the key points he makes. It's easy for me to think about the way things were in Illinois and wonder why they aren't the same in Boston, but I can't think that way. I'm learning to be joyful for what God has given me here (a lot of which became clear when Matt was here and we talked about how I've been doing.)

Later!