7 Quick Takes: 2011 #7

-ONE-

I like the heat and I'm not complaining about it.  If it was 90 and sunny everyday of the week all year, I'd be a happy man.  Although, I do worry for the land.  It's been entirely too dry.

-TWO-

Broke the 200 mile mark on my bike yesterday.  I'm amazed how quickly your second 100 miles compared to the first.  Aiming to hit 300 before the end of summer.

-THREE-

Our bank (though technically a credit union), refuses to let us deposit a check made out to "Andrea Kovac Photography" even if Andrea Kovac is present.  I politely informed the manager that the county clerk allows you to do business under your own name if your legal name is in the business name.  She bascally told me that she didn't care and we have to set up a special type of business account.  In combination with this illegal activity and other inconsistencies I've experienced with Visions Federal Credit Union, I'm ready to take my business elsewhere. Any recommendations?

-FOUR-

Since I last wrote about my summer class at BCC, I've had a many students stop showing for a variety of reasons.  My class that started with 12 students is down to 7... maybe 8.  It's hard to tell because I've yet had a day where everyone registered has shown up.  Either way, it's frustrating to see students leave when I know that they NEED this class in order to graduate and I really can't make it much easier for them without sacrificing the integrity of the course.

-FIVE-

Summer has been great for adventure this year.  After returning from Cayuga Lake last weekend, Andrea and I will be laying low in Binghamton this weekend.  But at the end of the month, we're off to RI with Tom to see Kellie and Albert.  Looking forward to another awesome weekend with awesome friends.  We have one more trip planned to see Kenny in Rochester sometime in August.

-SIX-

With the unfortunate news that Soli Deo Gloria will not be meeting this year, I've been vigorously looking for any job that I'm qualified to do that is also full-time.  Of recently, I've been poking around at UHS, CareerBuilder, some specific jobs off company websites, and today I went to some temp agencies in hope they can find me a temp-to-hire position.  If you have any suggestions or hear of any job leads in the Southern Tier, please, please, please let me know.

-SEVEN-

Here's my new favorite song.  Note: It's not my All-Time Favorite Song.  This song is just more of the flavor-of-the-month type.

Owl City - Alligator Sky (without rap)

For more 7QT see Jen or Anne

Five Benefits of Biking

After talking to a few people who already developed a love of biking last summer, I decided I wanted to get a bike and see what all the fuss was about.  For Christmas, my wife bought me a bike, and from what people tell me, a pretty darn good one.  This is my first real bike before so I can't make comparisons, but that doesn't mean I'm grateful.  Here are a few reasons why I love my bike.

ONE - Efficient Transportation

Everyone complains that the summer is too short, and I agree.  I assume most people say that because they don't get enough time outdoors.  So instead of driving to work, I've managed to figure out a way to ride to and from work on a daily basis.  When people ask where I bike from, they are astonished that such a creature would ride a bike to work and immediately ask how far I ride.  To be honest, it's only 5.5 miles and that is not far on a bike.  Being a relatively healthy human being who started started biking for the first time this Summer, it takes me no more than 28 minutes, one-way.  On average, the 25 minutes to bike to work is only adding about 10-15 minutes of travel time.  That's a sweet deal.

TWO - Improved Health

I'm not going to lie.  The first few weeks you're sore.  Very sore.  But to be fair, I'm using an entire system of muscles that I haven't used since I was 10.  I'm just starting to get over the soreness now, but I've clearly seen some health benefits already.  I have more energy throughout the day (even though I expend more), my average speed per trip is increasing, and when I finish I'm noticing that I'm not as winded.  It's challenges you mentally going up hills and it's an adrenaline rush to go down them.  I have no doubt my heart and lungs are cleaning themselves out since I stopped swimming and running competitively almost 8 years ago.  And in a country where most people don't exercise, I'm getting a solid 1-hour dose of it.

THREE - Economic Benefits

Currently, I've rode 163 miles.  Subtract the mileage from the fun trip I had with two friends a couple of weeks ago, and I'm at 155 necessary miles.  What do I mean by necessary miles?  That's the distance that I would have had to drive if I didn't have a bike.  Here's some math:  If' we're halfway through the summer, let's say I'll be around 300 miles.  If you have a car that gets about 25 miles a gallon (average between city and highway) means I haven't used 12 gallons of gasoline.  At $3.75/gallon (and ever rising), that's a total of $45.  This may not seem impressive but also consider the following: I got to reduce my car insurance payments because of my decrease use of the car, which saves me about $80 over the course of the summer.  I'm putting 155 less miles on my vehicle, which means I won't have to drop as much as I normally would into the four-wheeled machine.  And the activity itself is keeping me in shape and out of the doctor's office (if I had health insurance).  So what I'm trying to say is that if I keep riding my bike for necessary travel, it should pay for itself just in gasoline and car insurance savings in less than 6-7 years.  Hard to argue with that.

FOUR - Spiritual Growth

Because I like making sure I have extra time when I bike or drive, I've been in the habit of getting up in the morning an hour earlier.  But after realizing that it only tacks on an extra 10 minutes to my morning routine, I've been able to pray at work with all that extra downtime that I've accumulated.  In fact, by the end of the Summer, I might be riding so fast that I'll be able to read and pray for a whole 30 minutes and do all of my teaching prep work before class starts at 8:30am.

FIVE - Sense of Accomplishment

When I get home, I can't help but feel some sense of accomplishment.  Apart from developing a healthy tan, I can't help but feel some sense of accomplishment when I get home.  I've completed a day's work (though I will always have lessons plans to write), I've spent some quiet time with God and knocked down 10-11 miles of good exercise.  That leaves leaves the rest of the day, ripe for the adventures that lay before me.  And hey, if I'm feeling ambitious enough, I can go out and ride more with friends for the sole purpose of fun.

Core Christianity: The Tie that Binds

For those who don't know already, I love the church.  I'm not talking about where I go to worship in community every Sunday though.  I'm talking about the full body of believers, from every congregation, country and location that you can think of.  It is my belief that through the entire and united church, God can be witnessed in His full character.  Over the course of a year, I've been thinking about how different denominations interact with one another, and only now do I feel I'm getting close to sharing my thoughts with everyone.  When I told a friend about my little investigation, they suggested that I read Core Christianity by Charles J. Colton.  (For all you local readers, he's a professor right here in Binghamton at Davis Bible College.)

And I'm glad that I did take the time to read through Core Christianity.  The book is split into two main sections: Figuring Out the Core and Living Out the Core.  The bridging element, as you might have guessed,  is what constitutes the core doctrines of Christianity and how we can use these essential values to heal and grow the Kingdom of God.

Figuring Out the Core takes up the first five chapters, and is quite a challenging read, even for those who have been in the faith for longer periods of time.  Although I enjoyed reading about the past creeds and some of the most important Christian documents outside of the Bible, the language is worthy of a seminary scholar.  This made some sections difficult and slow for me to understand.  I'm guessing that Colton's target audience isn't the layman, but pastors and those who have gone through the rigors of earning a degree in divinity.  However, I'm certain that anyone can get something out of it.  Once I got used to diction, this section was a great asset in organizing my thoughts.  So for that I am thankful because it would have taken me longer to do so on my own.

Living Out the Core was more practical and quite a bit easier to read.  Still, I feel that most of this section is directed toward those in church leadership.  Colton strongly encourages all churches to solidify their doctrine, even if they are non-denominational, and then live it in on Sunday and in their personal lives.  He also brings to light many of the hardships found within and between churches, while providing practical solutions.  As a pastor himself, he has plenty of personal experience to draw upon, but also mentions more than once that each church should follow and stay true to their own model.  Colton shows considerable respect for the diversity of the church as a whole, and if you are a leader in your local church, this section is wonderful for discovering meaningful insights and making wholesome decisions for your local congregation.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I feel it loses some bacon point on the premise that I can't recommend it to everyone.  In fact, I'm not even sure if I am the right person for this book.  So it's only getting 3 outta 5 from me.

Sorry, not every book deserves high marks.  We can't go around cheapening the the value of the bacon, now can we?

Taughannock Falls - Ithaca, NY

When people say that it was a perfect day, they were talking about this Saturday in the middle of June.  It was warm, but not hot.  It was breezy, but not windy.  Basically, it's the type of day that we wish for everyday in upstate New York but rarely get.  And The Five made good on it.  "Who are the five?" you ask.

From L to R: Zack, Elisabeth, Pisey, me, and Andrea.

What was first a loose and ragtag plan, eventually emerged as The Five celebrating Elisabeth's birthday with a day of food and hiking at Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, New York.  (No, I didn't make up the name, click the link!)  Once assembled, The Five got into one vehicle most of the ride there (and back) was consumed answering questions from Pisey's trivia app on his phone.  Lunch was a delightful spread of sandwiches, chips, salsa, hummus, peaches, peanuts and string cheese.  With full stomachs and water bottles, we tackled all 4.5 miles worth of trails and even splashed around a bit in the gorge when we were done.  The end of the trip was capped off, naturally, at Purity Ice Cream.

Here are some visual highlights of the day. (I'm playing around with the X-Large picture option.  Comment me on how it page looks from your computer.)

A stone staircase leading to the Lower Rim Trail

The cliffs reach a height of nearly 400 feet from the gorge.

The falls themselves are 215 feet tall.  That's 48 feet taller
than Niagara Falls.  Take that, Canada!

Looks like my old banner huh?  Try to guess who's who.

The falls from the bottom of the gorge.

See stone sculptures... 

... make stone sculptures.

Nice "over the shoulder" shot of Pisey.

Elisabeth and Zack looking (and possibly studying?) rocks.

Me with my pretty wife and a pretty waterfall in the background.

Sporting a new look.  Think it's working?

Just tall enough to peek over the fence.

Pisey sneaking a picture with the Birthday Girl.