Daniel’s Pilgrimage

I took an IQ test this morning and scored a 138. That’s a top 1 percentile, super genius type score. Now, I knew my brain worked pretty decent on a good night’s rest, but I didn’t expect to do near that well. So, that leaves me with all kinds of questions. Is that test just easy and therefore inaccurate? Am I really a genius? If I am a genius, why aren’t I living up to my potential?!?!?

Be warned, if you take the test they will try to sell you an analysis of your score for around $10. Just be aware that you still get your score by email even if you don’t pay them, so don’t go wasting your money if you just want to see a number.

As everyone and their brother is reflecting on 9/11 I figured I should as well. Five years ago today I was working as a security guard for a stint because my computer consulting business was not going very well. My shift started at 5am, so I was at work when everything went nuts. I got to see a little of the tv coverage from where I was, but mostly I just got to deal with the employees of the place freaking out. It didn’t help that most of them were getting their news from the radio and it was horribly off. I had people telling me that bombs went off all over DC and that there were also terror attacks in LA and Chicago. Stupid radio. Not to mention that later they said that the missing plane could target a school and you had this rush of crying parents running out of there to get their children from the school. It was a hugely stressful day. After work I skipped a prayer vigil that my church was doing and eat a large pizza, drank a six pack of beer and went to bed.

That was five years ago. And while time heals many wounds I can’t help but feel like little has been accomplished since then. It’s still hugely unpopular to want to talk about non-military ways that we can end this terrorism. I don’t know of anyone advocating that we figure out what perceived wrongs motivate people to attack us and to right those wrongs. We the US have exploited the middle east for oil for years, we did fund wars over there and then completely bail on people once it accomplished enough of what we wanted. I can’t help but feel that us apologizing for our wrongs and making efforts to right them would do a lot to diffuse the situation over there. Because, despite what the media says, the people attacking us are not animals, they are just angry, desperate people who are looking for something worth dying for.

Today is 11 months for us in Richmond. There have been a few thoughts floating aroundin my head while thinking about it. Here they are in no particular order:

• Alicia has really done well with work and with connecting with people through the gym
• My work has not gone as well as I would have hoped
• Owning a home can be an expensive pain in the butt
• We are adjusting to being urbanites pretty well
• There are some more changes we need to make in life to really be thriving here

Yesterday afternoon we went over to The Fan for a worship service with the brand new Franklin Street Community. They are a new church community right by VCU’s main campus that is a partnership between Stony Point Reformed Presbyterian Church(on the Southside) and the Reformed University Fellowship at VCU. Some of our friends are going to be a part of it, and I’ve met the pastor/preacher guy Steve Constable before when he made an appearance at Beerble and I like him. There were quite a few young people there and it was a decent worship service of songs, responsive readings and a sermon(if you are into that). I really like their heart for the city and the poor, but I am very, VERY, far away from being Reformed/Presbyterian in what I believe so it will probably just be a group we are friends with and not one we are a part of. But if you can handle the Reformed thing and are looking for a group in the city, check them out at Sunday afternoon’s at 4PM at 822 E. Franklin St.