Drip, Drip, Drip

Today was an ugly day outside. Rainy. Dreary. Dark. Yuck. But at least it wasn't too cold. Only about 50.

The ankle continues to heal. The tendinitus in the other foot is a pain, but let's not get into that. I'm icing both feet right now, as is my evening ritual.

My intramural team, the Geckos, surprisingly made it to the volleyball playoffs. We started the season 0-2, losing badly in both games. We improved a lot this season. Even though we only finished 3-4, we won a four-way tie for the fourth and final playoff spot based on our head-to-head record against the other 3-4 teams. Basketball playoffs are a week from Tuesday. As a team, we're going to see the b-ball movie Glory Road on Friday as a community-building, motivational activity.

I'm excited about my class schedule for next quarter. I registered Tuesday. I got Systematics III (Holy Spirit, living a Christian life, sacraments, the Word of God, End Times); Pastor as Educator (we spend three of the 10 weeks teaching religion class at a Lutheran elementary school); Isaiah and the Prophets (my last core class requiring knowledge of Hebrew!); Studies in Creation; and the Gospel in C.S. Lewis' writings. The last two are electives. Both should be a lot of reading, but I think the subject matter will be very interesting.

The weekend is halfway over. Sigh. Hope your weekend has been good.

81

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points last night. I seriously had trouble getting to sleep last night because I was so befuddled by an NBA player scoring 81.

I went for a jog last night for the first time in exactly three weeks. The temperature was in the 30s, but I didn't care. It felt great to get some fresh air, clear my head, and test out the foot. It felt fine afterward. I'm looking forward to playing intramural basketball tomorrow. I won't be as effective as usual, but I need to get back into a rhythm before the playoffs.

We second-year students register for classes tomorrow. I hope I get the classes I want. If not, I'm sure whatever I end up with will be fine.

I'm typing this as I'm waiting for my dinner to settle so I can go for another exciting jog. My typical route is about three miles. I go down one main street, through the campus of nearby Washington University, and back up two more main streets to return to the sem campus. Another chilly night, but I'm dying for the exercise.

Thanks for reading. God's blessings.

Foot Is Getting Better

Slowly, the purple is fading from my sprained ankle. Actually, it's draining to my toes and gradually disappearing. I had to miss last Tuesday's b-ball game, and I'll miss next Tuesday's, too. We beat a previously undefeated team last Tuesday. I was the coach. It was fun substituting players and pacing the sideline like a real coach. I'm a big fan of our team. We also tied for first place in a three-on-three tournament today. (A player on the other team got injured in our championship series tied 1-1, so we called it a tie.) Again, I didn't get to play, but I got to watch some of the action. Our team has a lot of heart. We play hard.

After today's tournament, the team went to CiCi's Pizza. All the guys (and wives) have a real good time together. Intramurals this year has definately been the highlight of my seminary existence. I've had at least three other people on the team say the same thing.

Tonight, I'm helping with Taste of the Sem. It's a preview weekend for high school students considering attending the seminary after college. I'm assisting with - believe it or not - a basketball tournament. Should be fun.

Time to return a phone call or two now. Thanks for reading.

Fat Foot

I sprained my ankle pretty bad playing basketball Tuesday. Drove hard to the basket, jumped for a layup, got knocked down, landed on someone, and now I'm stuck with a fat foot that's as purple as Barney the dinosaur. It doesn't hurt. It would hurt if I tried to move the ankle, but I have no interest in moving my ankle. I'm just bummed I'll probably have to miss a game or two of intramural basketball.

Don't worry. I don't usually post pictures of my foot. Just this time.

Thanks to Andy Gimbel for taking the photo. Award-winning work.

Go Longhorns, national champs. Representing the state of Texas.