My Blogging Summer

This is my 87th blogging entry (though there are a handful of those still in unpublished draft version), reaching back to April 27th with this post. With the passing of Labor Day, it feels like the summer is officially over, and as I reflect on the themes in my life during this period, blogging is definitely one of the noteworthy ones.

But now it is time to take stock of the priorities for the fall semester, and I'm afraid that blogging is not going to be very high on the list. I have thoroughly enjoyed it for a season, and am not going to completely remove myself from the blogosphere. But I'm not going to be very regular at it for the immediate future. There are too many other demands on my time right now and I need to be a good steward in that area of life.

I've discovered that blogging well is pretty significant commitment. It is not merely the time to write things down, but there is the time spent reading other blogs, and (perhaps more significantly) the mental commitment to blogging in the sense that it is one of the projects that never ends and competes with the other things in life.

Lest I end on a downer, I'd like to note the things about blogging that I see as positive:

1. I love the medium of language. Others paint or play music or blend media together in movies or what have you; I like straight language. It is remarkable to me that a certain pattern of ink splotches on a page, illuminated pixels on a screen, or vibrations through the air can be such powerful communication tools.
2. Blogging promotes a reflective lifestyle. Most all life forms experience the world (I'm not sure about bacteria...); I'd like to think that we humans are unique among creatures (at least those on earth) in that we are capable of reflection and the organization of our experience. Writing about our experiences is a great way of expressing our humanity.
3. Blogging promotes an interactive lifestyle. I suspect most all bloggers refer consistently to postings in other blogs. The nature of the web has grown this aspect exponentially over things like letters to the editor in a magazine, and I see it as a positive dimension.
4. It feels so hip to mention that you blog.

I have appreciated very much the feedback I've received. Perhaps I'll see you again next summer...

Returning Home

I'm sitting in the airport in Kingston, waiting to return to the U.S. We have an early flight (6:40 am). My host suggesting getting a van from the hotel at 4:00am. Nothing else this weekend has gone on time, so I figured this was a good idea to aim for being early. But the driver called from the hotel lobby at 3:28am this morning--a full 17 minutes before we set the alarm. We got here to the airport and checked in and whizzed through immigration. The plane is expected to be late (no shock there). So we sit in the waiting area...

It was a great cultural experience for Casey and me this weekend. It wasn't very much tourism at all. We got the authentic experience. The commencement ceremony at JTS was late and long; church yesterday was late and long. And then there is just the different pace of everything. Yesterday, we were to drive from Kingston to Mandeville for church (about 90 minutes) and expected to return to the hotel by about 3pm. We got back at 8:30. But it was a good time. We stopped and visited with people along the way, and everything is just very relaxed.

Our hosts were very gracious at every point. We hope to return soon.