grace.kindness.peace.disruption.pain.processing.rinse.repeat.have a nice day.

For those of you that don't keep up on Ibero-American politics regularly (this includes me), here's an interesting piece in which Hugo Chavez chastises the former prime minister of Spain (in absentia) for being a fascist (translated: Hugo thinks anyone that has ever agreed with Bush is a fascist). The following video picks up as the current prime minister of Spain defends the former as an elected representative of Spain, and therefore should be respected as such. Watch as Hugo, the awkward uncle of the party, keeps talking after his mic is cut off. Toward the end of the video you'll see a third party leans into the picture and say "porque no te calla?" This third person is the king of Spain, Juan Carlos I, saying, "why don't you shut up?" Personally, I find this hilarious.

A short update tonight:

• I'm learning a ton at this school. I'm not even sure that I can put all that I'm learning into words, nor do I have the time to try. But man, it's good stuff.
• My knees are healing nicely from the surgery. I'm having some pain in my right knee, a pain that I thought the surgery would get rid of. I'm hoping my follow up appointment on Friday can provide some 'splaining about that.
• I'm almost done with a rite of passage paper and I'm darn ready. It's been quite an experience and I'd be happy with a 'B'. Strike that, I'd be elated with a 'B'. I'd be okay with a 'C', but it may cause things to come out in therapy (joking, but not too much so). The funny thing about this bullet point is that for most of you, the words "Harry paper" mean nothing, but they strike a combination of humble fear and sense of accomplishment to those that grace the halls of MHGS. Wow. You just don't know what you're missing and are probably better off for it!
• Ok, it's freaking cold. It dipped down into the high 30′s last night. It's hard to curl up when you're wearing a immobilizer on your leg.
• My niece Becca went trick-or-treating for the first time ever tonight (she's just shy of 10 months old) and may have been the cutest thing that have ever seen.

One of my professors introduced me to Def Poetry Jams several weeks ago. Many thought-provoking and moving poems from the show can be seen through YouTube. Here are a few:

I should be in bed, but I thought I'd accomplish one more thing that I've been meaning to do for a while. This week marked the end of my 7th week as a graduate student. It's seemed like so much longer than seven weeks. I've read more during this time than in any year of my undergrad, if not more. There's been a lot of good stuff to read … and then there's been Foucault. This short time has provided some of the most challenging moments of my life – and I say so without hyperbole. It's hard. If only it was the academic part that was the most challenging. Don't get me wrong, it's not undergrad work, but it still pales in comparison to the difficulty of deconstructing yourself – determining how you interact with people, think of yourself, think of others, and think of God. It is very challenging to look into your own heart looking for the brokenness and darkness … and to sit with it, hold it, and offer it to others around you. When you are laid bare before yourself and others, there is nothing behind which to hide. You see how little you love, how poor your faith is, and how you lack true hope. And you sit there humbled. But you're not alone – it would be a hell if this were not the case. These seven weeks have been but the start of a very painful, yet good, process.

I'm very much looking forward to this coming week – Reading Week. An undergrad fall break is replaced in grad school (at least this one) with a week to allow you to catch up on reading, work on term papers, and to read ahead (Lord willing) for the later half of the term. Into this whole mix I'm throwing a birthday party attendance, going to hear a top-notch theologian named Jürgen Moltmann speak, bilateral knee surgery (yep, both knees), going to hear Tony Campolo speak, and an apple picking adventure. Those are in order, so the attendance at the events after the knee surgery is questionable.